Our Take On Experian's (LON:EXPN) CEO Salary

Brian Cassin has been the CEO of Experian plc (LON:EXPN) since 2014, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Experian.

See our latest analysis for Experian

Comparing Experian plc's CEO Compensation With the industry

According to our data, Experian plc has a market capitalization of UK£28b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK£13m over the year to March 2020. That's a slight decrease of 4.8% on the prior year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at UK£1.2m.

For comparison, other companies in the industry with market capitalizations above UK£6.2b, reported a median total CEO compensation of UK£6.4m. This suggests that Brian Cassin is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Brian Cassin holds UK£15m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 71% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 29% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Experian allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Experian plc's Growth

Over the last three years, Experian plc has shrunk its earnings per share by 4.6% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 6.5% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the EPS is down. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Experian plc Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Experian plc for providing a total return of 106% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

To Conclude...

As we noted earlier, Experian pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. We feel that EPS have been a bit disappointing, but it's nice to see positive shareholder returns over the last three years. So while we would not say that Brian is generously paid, stockholders would want to see some EPS growth before agreeing that a raise is a good idea.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Experian that you should be aware of before investing.

Important note: Experian is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.