Is Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLPN) Excessively Paying Its CEO?

In This Article:

In 2008 Bill O'Dowd was appointed CEO of Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLPN). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

View our latest analysis for Dolphin Entertainment

How Does Bill O'Dowd's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. has a market cap of US$11m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$529k for the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$250k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below US$200m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be US$526k.

That means Bill O'Dowd receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Dolphin Entertainment, below.

NasdaqCM:DLPN CEO Compensation, January 5th 2020
NasdaqCM:DLPN CEO Compensation, January 5th 2020

Is Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 121% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 1.7% over last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 95% over three years, some Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Bill O'Dowd is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies.

We'd say the company can boast of its EPS growth, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). We'd be surprised if shareholders want to see a pay rise for the CEO, but we'd stop short of calling their pay too generous. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Dolphin Entertainment.