Yahoo Finance Does Green Plains Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GPRE) CEO Salary Compare Well With Others?
Todd Becker became the CEO of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) in 2009. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized 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 Green Plains
How Does Todd Becker's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Green Plains Inc. has a market cap of US$406m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$4.6m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$671k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We examined companies with market caps from US$200m to US$800m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.8m.
It would therefore appear that Green Plains Inc. pays Todd Becker more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Green Plains has changed over time.
Is Green Plains Inc. Growing?
On average over the last three years, Green Plains Inc. has shrunk earnings per share by 7.8% each year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 13%.
Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And the fact that revenue is down year on year arguably paints an ugly picture. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Green Plains Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Given the total loss of 56% over three years, many shareholders in Green Plains Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Green Plains Inc. with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
We think many shareholders would be underwhelmed with the business growth over the last three years. Just as bad, share price gains for investors have failed to materialize, over the same period. In our opinion the CEO might be paid too generously! So you may want to check if insiders are buying Green Plains shares with their own money (free access).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
