Shareholders Will Probably Hold Off On Increasing Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s (NYSE:DAL) CEO Compensation For The Time Being

Key Insights

• Delta Air Lines to hold its Annual General Meeting on 19th of June
• Total pay for CEO Ed Bastian includes US$991.3k salary
• The overall pay is 328% above the industry average
• Delta Air Lines' total shareholder return over the past three years was 57% while its EPS grew by 90% over the past three years

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CEO Ed Bastian has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 19th of June. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

See our latest analysis for Delta Air Lines

How Does Total Compensation For Ed Bastian Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$34b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$27m over the year to December 2024. We note that's a decrease of 21% compared to last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$991k.

In comparison with other companies in the American Airlines industry with market capitalizations over US$8.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$6.3m. Hence, we can conclude that Ed Bastian is remunerated higher than the industry median. Furthermore, Ed Bastian directly owns US$33m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

On an industry level, around 14% of total compensation represents salary and 86% is other remuneration. Interestingly, the company has chosen to go down an unconventional route in that it pays a smaller salary to Ed Bastian as compared to non-salary compensation over the one-year period examined. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Delta Air Lines, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 90% a year over the past three years. Its revenue is up 4.9% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Delta Air Lines, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 57% over three years, Delta Air Lines, Inc. has done well by shareholders. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary...

Delta Air Lines prefers rewarding its CEO through non-salary benefits. Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. We did our research and spotted 2 warning signs for Delta Air Lines that investors should look into moving forward.

Important note: Delta Air Lines is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.