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Should You Worry About The Williams Companies, Inc.'s (NYSE:WMB) CEO Pay Cheque?

Murray Armstrong became the CEO of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) in 2011. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at other large 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 process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

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Check out our latest analysis for Williams Companies

How Does Murray Armstrong's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, The Williams Companies, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$34b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$11m. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). That's just a smallish increase of 0.7% on last year. 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$12m. (We took a wide range because the CEOs of massive companies tend to be paid similar amounts - even though some are quite a bit bigger than others).

That means Murray Armstrong receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a large company. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Williams Companies has changed over time.

NYSE:WMB CEO Compensation, May 22nd 2019
NYSE:WMB CEO Compensation, May 22nd 2019

Is The Williams Companies, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years The Williams Companies, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 78% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 6.4%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has The Williams Companies, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 52% over three years, The Williams Companies, Inc. has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Murray Armstrong 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. So one could argue the CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Williams Companies (free visualization of insider trades).

Important note: Williams Companies 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.

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