How Should Investors Feel About Spherix Incorporated's (NASDAQ:SPEX) CEO Pay?
Anthony Hayes has been the CEO of Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPEX) since 2013. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
See our latest analysis for Spherix
How Does Anthony Hayes's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Spherix Incorporated has a market cap of US$22m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$350k for the year to December 2019. That's a modest increase of 0.3% on the prior year year. It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists almost entirely of the salary, worth US$350k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below US$200m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is US$596k.
This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Spherix has changed over time.
Is Spherix Incorporated Growing?
Over the last three years Spherix Incorporated has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 91% per year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 68%.
Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Spherix Incorporated Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 66% over three years, some Spherix Incorporated shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
In Summary...
Spherix Incorporated is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for companies of its size.
Anthony Hayes is paid less than CEOs of similar size companies, but the company isn't growing and total shareholder returns have been disappointing. We would not call the pay too generous, but nor would we claim the CEO is underpaid, given lacklustre business performance. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've spotted 6 warning signs for Spherix you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored.
Important note: Spherix may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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.
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