In 1986 Mark LeDoux was appointed CEO of Natural Alternatives International, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAII). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we’ll consider growth that the business demonstrates. 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.

See our latest analysis for Natural Alternatives International

How Does Mark LeDoux’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Natural Alternatives International, Inc. is worth US$75m, and total annual CEO compensation is US$844k. (This figure is for the year to 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$400k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO compensation was US$303k.

It would therefore appear that Natural Alternatives International, Inc. pays Mark LeDoux 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 get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Natural Alternatives International, below.

Is Natural Alternatives International, Inc. Growing?

On average over the last three years, Natural Alternatives International, Inc. has shrunk earnings per share by 12% each year. It achieved revenue growth of 22% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. While the revenue growth is good to see, it is outweighed by the fact that earnings per share are down, over three years. It’s hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration.

We don’t have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Natural Alternatives International, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 14% over three years, Natural Alternatives International, Inc. shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably wouldn’t be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

In Summary…

We examined the amount Natural Alternatives International, Inc. 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.

Neither earnings per share nor revenue have been growing sufficiently fast to impress us, over the last three years.

And while shareholder returns have been respectable, they have hardly been superb. So you may want to delve deeper, because we don’t think the CEO pay is too low. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Natural Alternatives International.

Or you might prefer this data-rich interactive visualization of historic revenue and earnings.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.