Why Aegon N.V.'s (AMS:AGN) CEO Pay Matters To You
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Alex Wynaendts became the CEO of Aegon N.V. (AMS:AGN) in 2008. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized 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 method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for Aegon
How Does Alex Wynaendts's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Aegon N.V. has a market capitalization of €8.5b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €4.2m. (This is based on the year to December 2018). That's actually a decrease on the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €1.3m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from €3.6b to €11b, and the median CEO total compensation was €2.2m.
As you can see, Alex Wynaendts is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Aegon N.V. is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Aegon has changed from year to year.
Is Aegon N.V. Growing?
Over the last three years Aegon N.V. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 80% per year (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop -67% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. Revenue growth is a real positive for growth, but ultimately profits are more important. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Aegon N.V. Been A Good Investment?
Aegon N.V. has generated a total shareholder return of 14% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Aegon N.V. with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.
Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. We also note that, over the same time frame, shareholder returns haven't been bad. You might wish to research management further, but on this analysis, considering the EPS growth, we wouldn't call the CEO pay problematic. Shareholders may want to check for free if Aegon insiders are buying or selling shares.
Important note: Aegon 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.
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.
