How Much Is Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) CEO Getting Paid?

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Randall Stuewe who has served as CEO of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) since 2003. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Darling Ingredients.

See our latest analysis for Darling Ingredients

How Does Total Compensation For Randall Stuewe Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Darling Ingredients Inc. has a market capitalization of US$5.5b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$7.6m over the year to December 2019. Notably, that's an increase of 13% over the year before. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.2m.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from US$4.0b to US$12b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$7.8m. From this we gather that Randall Stuewe is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. Moreover, Randall Stuewe also holds US$31m worth of Darling Ingredients stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

On an industry level, around 22% of total compensation represents salary and 78% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Darling Ingredients allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary 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.

Darling Ingredients Inc.'s Growth

Darling Ingredients Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 71% per year over the last three years. It achieved revenue growth of 2.2% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. 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 Darling Ingredients Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Darling Ingredients Inc. for providing a total return of 97% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Darling Ingredients Inc. is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Investors would surely be happy to see that returns have been great, and that EPS is up. So one could argue that CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! Stockholders might even be okay with a bump in pay, seeing as how investor returns have been so strong.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We did our research and identified 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) in Darling Ingredients we think you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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. 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.

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