Yahoo Finance Vistra Corp.'s (NYSE:VST) CEO Pay Packet Is Increasing
Key Insights
Vistra will host its Annual General Meeting on 1st of May
Salary of US$1.26m is part of CEO Jim Burke's total remuneration
Total compensation is 8.5% below peer average
Vistra's EPS grew by 44% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 363%
CEO Jim Burke has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Vistra Corp. ( NYSE:VST ) recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 1st of May. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.
View our latest analysis for Vistra
How Does Total Compensation For Jim Burke Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?
According to our data, Vistra Corp. has a market capitalization of US$25b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$10m over the year to December 2023. Notably, that's an increase of 22% over the year before. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.3m.
On comparing similar companies in the American Renewable Energy industry we identified several close peers with market capitalizations above US$8.0b, we found that the median total CEO compensation was US$11.8m. This suggests that Jim Burke is paid less than the median for the industry. Moreover, Jim Burke also holds US$46m worth of Vistra stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.
Component | 2023 | 2022 | Proportion (2023) |
Salary | US$1.3m | US$1.0m | 12% |
Other | US$9.2m | US$7.5m | 88% |
Total Compensation | US$10m | US$8.6m | 100% |
On an industry level, roughly 24% of total compensation represents salary and 76% is other remuneration. In Vistra's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.
Vistra Corp.'s Growth
Over the past three years, Vistra Corp. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 44% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 7.7% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Vistra Corp. Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Vistra Corp. for providing a total return of 363% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.
In Summary...
The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. Shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid lower than CEOs of of company peers.
While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Vistra that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
