Todd Newton has been the CEO of Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEN) since 2014. 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 - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

View our latest analysis for Apollo Endosurgery

How Does Todd Newton's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. has a market cap of US$43m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of 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$410k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below US$200m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be US$601k.

Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. On a sector level, around 23% of total compensation represents salary and 77% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Apollo Endosurgery pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, in comparison to the wider industry.

As you can see, Todd Newton is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. is paying too much. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Apollo Endosurgery has changed over time.

Is Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. Growing?

Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 139% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 17%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 84%, Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. However, the returns to investors are far less impressive, over the same period. While EPS is moving in the right direction, we'd say shareholders would want better returns before the CEO is paid much more. CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also identified 4 warning signs for Apollo Endosurgery (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

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