Does Air Lease Corporation's (NYSE:AL) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?

John Plueger became the CEO of Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) in 2016. 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 Air Lease

How Does John Plueger's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Air Lease Corporation has a market capitalization of US$4.9b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$7.7m. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.0m. We examined companies with market caps from US$4.0b to US$12b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$6.8m.

So John Plueger receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Air Lease has changed over time.

Is Air Lease Corporation Growing?

Over the last three years Air Lease Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 21% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 18%.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Air Lease Corporation Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 61%, over three years, would leave most Air Lease Corporation shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary...

John Plueger is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

Few would be critical of the leadership, since returns have been juicy and earnings per share are moving in the right direction. Although the pay is a normal amount, some shareholders probably consider it fair or modest, given the good performance of the stock. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Air Lease shares with their own money (free access).

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.

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.