Gary Steele became the CEO of Proofpoint, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFPT) in 2002. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we’ll consider growth that the business demonstrates. 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 Proofpoint

How Does Gary Steele’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Proofpoint, Inc. has a market cap of US$5.2b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$6.5m. (This is based on the year to 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$473k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$4.0b to US$12b. The median total CEO compensation was US$6.9m.

So Gary Steele is paid around the average of 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 a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Proofpoint, below.

Is Proofpoint, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Proofpoint, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 14% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 38% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. Most shareholders would be pleased to see strong revenue growth combined with EPS growth. This combo suggests a fast growing business.

Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. .

Has Proofpoint, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 41%, over three years, would leave most Proofpoint, Inc. shareholders smiling. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary…

Gary Steele is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

Shareholders would surely be happy to see that shareholder returns have been great, and the earnings per share are up. Although the pay is a normal amount, some shareholders probably consider it fair or modest, given the good performance of the stock. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Proofpoint.

Or you might prefer gaze upon this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow .

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.