The CEO of Wirecard AG (ETR:WDI) is Markus Braun. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other large companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out our latest analysis for Wirecard
How Does Markus Braun's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Wirecard AG has a market capitalization of €19b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €3.3m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at €1.6m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over €7.2b and the median CEO total compensation was €4.3m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.
So Markus Braun is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. 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.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Wirecard has changed from year to year.
Is Wirecard AG Growing?
Wirecard AG has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 18% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 32% over last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Wirecard AG Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 240% over three years, Wirecard AG has done well by shareholders. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
In Summary...
Markus Braun is paid around the same as most CEOs of large companies.
Shareholders would surely be happy to see that shareholder returns have been great, and the earnings per share are up. Indeed, many might consider the pay rather modest, given the solid company performance! So you may want to check if insiders are buying Wirecard shares with their own money (free access).
Important note: Wirecard may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.