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The CEO of Tencent Holdings Limited (HKG:700) is Huateng Pony Ma. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other large companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

Check out our latest analysis for Tencent Holdings

How Does Huateng Pony Ma's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Tencent Holdings Limited has a market capitalization of HK$3.1t, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth CN¥41m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). That's less than last year. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CN¥37m. When we examined a group of companies with market caps over CN¥55b, we found that their median CEO total compensation was CN¥3.3m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.

As you can see, Huateng Pony Ma is paid more than the median CEO pay at large companies, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Tencent Holdings Limited is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Tencent Holdings has changed over time.

Is Tencent Holdings Limited Growing?

Tencent Holdings Limited has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 33% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 24% over last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. 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 Tencent Holdings Limited Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 90% over three years, Tencent Holdings Limited has done well by shareholders. 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...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Tencent Holdings Limited with the amount paid at other large companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. Considering this fine result for shareholders, we daresay the CEO compensation might be apt. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Tencent Holdings shares with their own money (free access).

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Tencent Holdings, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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.