Yahoo Finance Does KeyCorp's (NYSE:KEY) CEO Pay Matter?
Beth Mooney became the CEO of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) in 2011. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big companies. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
View our latest analysis for KeyCorp
How Does Beth Mooney's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, KeyCorp has a market capitalization of US$12b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$9.7m over the year to December 2019. That's a modest increase of 6.6% on the prior year year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.2m. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over US$8.0b and the median CEO total compensation was US$12m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.
Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where KeyCorp stands. On an industry level, roughly 43% of total compensation represents salary and 57% is other remuneration. Non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of the remuneration pie for KeyCorp, in sharp contrast to the overall sector.
That means Beth Mooney receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a large company. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at KeyCorp, below.
Is KeyCorp Growing?
Over the last three years KeyCorp has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 17% per year (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 9.3% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has KeyCorp Been A Good Investment?
Given the total loss of 31% over three years, many shareholders in KeyCorp are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.
In Summary...
Beth Mooney is paid around what is normal for the leaders of larger companies.
We think that the EPS growth is very pleasing, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've picked out 1 warning sign for KeyCorp that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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