Is Zoetis Inc.'s (NYSE:ZTS) CEO Pay Fair?
Juan Alaix has been the CEO of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) since 2012. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big 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. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Zoetis
How Does Juan Alaix's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing our data says that Zoetis Inc. has a market cap of US$49b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$11m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.2m. When we examined a group of companies with market caps over US$8.0b, we found that their median CEO total compensation was US$11m. Once you start looking at very large companies, you need to take a broader range, because there simply aren't that many of them.
So Juan Alaix is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Zoetis has changed over time.
Is Zoetis Inc. Growing?
Zoetis Inc. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 36% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 9.8% over the last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Zoetis Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 119% over three years, Zoetis Inc. 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...
Juan Alaix is paid around the same as most CEOs of large companies.
Shareholders would surely be happy to see that shareholder returns have been great, and the earnings per share are up. Indeed, many might consider the pay rather modest, given the solid company performance! So you may want to check if insiders are buying Zoetis shares with their own money (free access).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than Zoetis, 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.
