Yahoo Finance Should You Worry About Lightbridge Corporation's (NASDAQ:LTBR) CEO Pay Cheque?
Seth Grae has been the CEO of Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ:LTBR) since 2006. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
See our latest analysis for Lightbridge
How Does Seth Grae's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Lightbridge Corporation is worth US$15m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.1m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$460k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below US$200m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is US$510k.
Thus we can conclude that Seth Grae receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Lightbridge Corporation. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Lightbridge has changed from year to year.
Is Lightbridge Corporation Growing?
Lightbridge Corporation has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 44% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 98%.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. Revenue growth is a real positive for growth, but ultimately profits are more important. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Lightbridge Corporation Been A Good Investment?
With a three year total loss of 72%, Lightbridge Corporation would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
In Summary...
We examined the amount Lightbridge Corporation pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. On the other hand returns to investors over the same period have probably disappointed many. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. Shareholders may want to check for free if Lightbridge insiders are buying or selling shares.
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.
