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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Frequency Electronics (NASDAQ:FEIM) delivers shareholders splendid 56% CAGR over 3 years, surging 15% in the last week alone
The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But in contrast you can make much more than 100% if the company does well. For instance the Frequency Electronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FEIM) share price is 200% higher than it was three years ago. How nice for those who held the stock! On top of that, the share price is up 31% in about a quarter. Since the stock has added US$27m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. During three years of share price growth, Frequency Electronics moved from a loss to profitability. Given the importance of this milestone, it's not overly surprising that the share price has increased strongly. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.. As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Frequency Electronics, it has a TSR of 278% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! It's good to see that Frequency Electronics has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 152% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 26% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Frequency Electronics , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Of course Frequency Electronics may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) 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. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
David Zaslav will take a pay cut after Warner Bros. Discovery splits up—with a big hit to his bonus
CEO David Zaslav's pay package will be impacted by the upcoming company split. While he will earn less, he has been given options that could let him pocket $150 million if the company hits targets. Zaslav earned $51.9 million last year. The looming split of Warner Bros. Discovery is going to impact CEO David Zaslav's paycheck, in both negative and potentially positive ways. After collecting a pay package of $51.9 million last year, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the country, Zaslav is facing cuts in the coming year, reports the Wall Street Journal. Under a new contract offered by the board, he will retain his $3 million annual salary, but his target bonus would fall from $22 million last year to $6 million moving forward (with a cap of $12 million). In addition, he would receive a target of $15.5 million in equity next year, then $7.5 million in following years. Beyond that, though, Zaslav was given options for 21 million shares last week. He's also due to get at least 3 million more shares in January. He will become 40% vested in those over five years, with additional vesting benchmarks happening if the company's stock price increases in three levels over that time by 20% to 65%. Should all of the targets be hit, those options could let him pocket $150 million. The new pay package will kick in only if the split occurs by the end of next year. Zaslav's salary has historically been controversial. Earlier this month, shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery voted down his compensation package, as well as that of other top executives, in a 'Say on Pay' vote. That vote, however, was symbolic and nonbinding, and the board gave Zaslav his $51.9 million. The media and entertainment giant announced on June 9 that it will separate into two publicly traded companies through a tax-free transaction. Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios company, which will oversee movie properties and the HBO Max streaming service. Gunnar Wiedenfels, who has been CFO since 2022, will become CEO of global networks, which will include cable channel businesses CNN, TNT, TBS, Discovery, and more. Zaslav has been CEO of WBD since 2022. His pay rate is higher than that of several competitors, including Disney's Bob Iger ($41.4 million), Comcast's Brian Roberts ($33.9 million), and SiriusXM's Jennifer Witz ($32.1 million). This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
News Corp boss earns $42m as highest-paid CEO of Australian-listed company
News Corp's chief executive has become the highest-paid CEO of an Australian-listed company, a new analysis of CEO pay has found. Chief executives of ASX-listed companies are still being paid 55 times more than average workers in Australia but the gap is yet to widen to extremes seen overseas, according to the annual analysis from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). Robert Thomson, who heads up the American media company News Corp, was paid nearly $42m in 2024, a $300,000 pay rise compared with the previous year, when he was the second-highest-paid Australian chief. Jewellery retailer Lovisa soared to second for CEO pay after handing $39.5m to its recently departed chief, Victor Herrero, in 2024, despite being smaller than more than 140 other ASX-listed companies. Macquarie Group's Shemara Wikramanayake took $29.8m in 2024, swapping places with commercial real estate giant co-founder Greg Goodman to become the third-best-paid Australian chief. If only ASX 100 companies are analysed, Wikramanayake is the highest paid CEO. The disparity between what CEOs and average workers earned grew in 2024 compared with the year before, after ASX's top 100 companies gave their chief executives a near 14% pay rise on average in the 2023-24 financial year. The average worker's earnings rose 4.6% in the same period, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The gap has fallen since 2014, when chief executives were paid 70 times more than typical workers, the report found. Average CEO pay in 2024 was only slightly higher than it was in 2014, at $5.7m, whereas ordinary wages rose by nearly a third over the past decade. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Local chiefs were paid 55 times more than average workers but Australia compared favourably to overseas, where CEO pay packets have soared, according to ACSI's executive manager of stewardship, Ed Johns. 'We're probably doing something right in Australia, where we've seen a real breakout in CEO pay in other countries,' he said. Chief executives at the top 100 US companies were paid 348 times the median American employee in 2024, or more than US$33m (A$51m) on average, according to research from analytics firm Equilar using a different methodology. The 100 biggest British companies paid their CEOs 78 times more than their median employees, the UK's High Pay Centre campaign group revealed on Monday. Australian investors and company boards have protested against big bonuses put forward by numerous companies in recent years, including Qantas, Woolworths and AMP. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion But American enthusiasm for big pay packets was already lifting Australia's CEO pay levels and Australia's disparity could rise if investors stopped keeping watch for 'egregious' bonuses, Johns warned. 'We could see a breakout if that focus is lost, so in the upcoming reporting season we'll be watching really closely … to make sure that the pay is actually in line with investor expectations,' he said. The analysis found the average CEO for a foreign-based, ASX 200 listed company was paid $600,000 more than CEOs of domestic ASX 200 companies, which ACSI attributed to 'North American pay practices'. Two US companies made the top five: News Corp and American-headquartered health company ResMed, which paid its Australian head, Mick Farrell, $20m in 2024. Another three US-based businesses cracked the top 20. 'We wouldn't be surprised to see a number of those names continue to be represented in that list,' Johns said. '[But] we don't want to see Australian companies follow that same path, particularly where these large bonuses don't actually match company performance.' ResMed's Farrell had held the top-paid position the previous year, with $47m pay, but took a cut to $20m after shares in the company tumbled in value over the prospect weight loss drugs would eradicate the need for Resmed's sleep apnoea devices.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
'Golden parachutes' for Australia's top corporate leaders drop to lowest level in 15 years
So-called "golden parachutes", or big pay-outs when the leaders of Australia's largest listed companies leave, might be a thing of the past. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors' annual review of how much chief executive officers at ASX 200 companies are paid found termination payouts have dropped to their lowest level in 15 years. Total termination payouts have dropped to $8.4 million in the financial year 2024, down from $33.5 million the previous year. Some of that is explained by a smaller number of departures; however, the average payout per CEO also fell, from $1.97 to $1.4 million. "The research indicates this is saving Australian investors about half a million dollars per termination," said ACSI's executive manager of stewardship, Ed John. Mr John noted that there has been a continual decline in the size of payouts since the Corporations Act changed in 2009 after the global financial crisis. "This was a really major issue in Australia, and we saw more than $80 million of shareholders' money paid out to terminated CEOs before the law was changed in 2009," he said. "What those laws did was give shareholders a vote on large termination payouts. At Australia's largest listed companies, in the ASX 100, leaders' salaries come in at 55 times the average earnings of an Australian worker, despite flattening over the past decade. That's up from 50 times the average earnings in the 2023 financial year, but down significantly from 2014, when CEO salaries were 71 times the average worker's. "Australia is actually doing well relative to other markets where there's been a significant breakout in CEO pay," said Mr John. "There's been recent studies that show CEO pay is a multiple of about 106 times median salaries in the UK and in the US, that's actually more than 300 times in the largest companies." This table shows the chief executives with the highest realised pay (which includes fixed pay and bonuses received): The top earner was US-based Robert Thomson, who runs News Corporation, and earns almost $42 million a year. The only woman on the list, Shemara Wikramanayaka, CEO of Macquarie Group, made just shy of $30 million last financial year. The median realised pay for ASX 100 leaders, which includes fixed pay and bonuses received, was $4.15 million, compared to $3.96 million in 2014. Corporate governance expert, Swinburne University's Helen Bird, said the two-strike rule against remuneration has had a dampening effect on pay rises. It is designed to hold directors accountable for executive salaries and bonuses. That is because if shareholders vote against a company's remuneration report two years in a row, the entire company board can face re-election. While salaries at the very top end of town have been (relatively) constrained in recent years, the bosses of smaller listed companies are enjoying increasingly generous paydays. The highest-paid Australian-based chief executive was Lovisa boss Victor Herrero. The jewellery chain has a market capitalisation of $3.6 billion. In comparison, the Commonwealth Bank's market value is around $302 billion. CEO pay at smaller listed companies has increased over time, with the median climbing from $1.74 million in 2014 to $2.2 million in 2024. "The trend in small companies is interesting, so we'll have to do further work on this," said Mr John. Most chief executives received a bonus in 2024, with just five of the 142 eligible leaders missing out altogether, with most tied to company performance. Those left without a bonus were Tony Lombardo from Lendlease, Credit Corp's Tom Beregi, Mark Allison from Elders, Jamie Pherous from Corporate Travel Management, and Julian Fowles from Karoon Energy. The median CEO bonus was paid at just under 66 per cent of the maximum, which is in line with the long-term trend. "There is a concern among investors that in some places these are becoming a given or an expectation," said Mr John. "What we see is that the fixed rate of pay, which is the very basic salary of a CEO, hasn't changed much, but they're still getting very significant bonuses, up to 60-70 per cent of their entitlement is being paid, so they're getting quite significant incentives to work harder," said Ms Bird.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Pay, perks and CEO prerogatives
It's good to be a US chief executive. Their pay packages are the envy of the corporate world, averaging $16 million (€13.9 million) for the S&P 500, more than double those for the UK's FTSE 100. And tucked inside are perks that mere mortals can only dream of. Thanks to tough US disclosure rules, we know pet supplier Chewy gave boss Sumit Singh a $29.3 million wad last year that included stock, cash, $424,474 for not one but two cars and $1,007,442 of 'security services' including 'meals and incidentals' for his guards. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz's $35 million package covers $898,426 in personal jet usage and sponsorship of a professional race car that Kurtz drives in competitions. The 2025 proxy cheerily paints this as a cost saving because it avoids 'hiring a professional driver'. Then there's Warner Bros Discovery . David Zaslav has been among America's highest paid CEOs since the company was created in a 2022 merger, and last year was no exception. He took home nearly $52 million and the gravy train included a $17,446 car allowance, $991,179 in personal security, $51,176 to cover the cost of taking personal guests to the Paris Olympics and 250 hours of personal flight time on the corporate jet worth $813,990. READ MORE Neither CrowdStrike nor Chewy has held its annual 'say on pay' vote yet, but Warner Bros Discovery has recently learned there are limits to what investors will tolerate. Last week, its advisory pay vote failed, with 59 per cent of shares voting against. The fury comes after Zaslav's pay climbed 4.4 per cent, even as the company posted an $11.5 billion loss for 2024 and its bond rating was recently cut to junk. Shares are down more than 60 per cent since the merger, and it just announced plans to break itself up. Both major proxy advisers flagged the pay package as problematic, and many investors agreed. The Warner Bros Discovery board said it took the result 'seriously' but investors in the streaming half of the business, which Zaslav will head, would do well to be wary. The directors have a history of setting bonus targets that require little effort because they fall below what the company has already achieved. Zaslav's grouchy investors remain very much the exception. So far this year, 95 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have held 'say on pay' votes have won approval from at least 70 per cent of shares voted. This is a tad more than prior years, according to Conference Board/Esgauge data. Critics of American capitalism say this shows that shareholders are too quiescent and have allowed companies to become unchecked engines of financial inequality. But the lopsided votes could also be seen as evidence that the system is doing what investors want. Detailed disclosures and vigilant proxy advisers keep shareholders informed, down to the last dollar and, except in egregious cases, they are happy to pay up. Now even that limited accountability is under threat. SEC chairman Paul Atkins is asking whether the current compensation disclosures are 'cost-effective' and avoid 'an overload of immaterial information'. It appears to be a prelude to cutting back on the detail investors get about how bonuses are calculated and the costs of private jets and other perks. Another commissioner, Hester Peirce, last week questioned the legality of 'pass through' voting, which gives fund investors the chance to participate in 'say on pay' votes, rather than being shut out of the proxy process. Congress is seeking to rein in the influence of proxy advisers and make it harder for them to galvanise shareholders against poorly run companies. One of them, Glass Lewis, plans to encourage clients to set their own policies on pay and other proxy votes rather than rely on its recommendations. Taken together, these moves would make it that much harder for investors both to keep track of who is getting paid what and to rebel when they think a company is overpaying or rewarding failure. CEOs may find the proposals attractive – few relish becoming the next Marc Benioff, whose board at Salesforce redesigned his pay package and capped his private jet payments after losing a pay vote last year. But reducing disclosure under the guise of cutting red tape carries risks. Huge payouts and perks are hard to attack if they have been fully disclosed and ratified. Things that smack of secret self-dealing would be more vulnerable. [ John McManus: Kenny Jacobs' €374,830 salary is a soft target; the problem lies elsewhere Opens in new window ] Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski is a cautionary example. Leaks about lavish parties and corporate art purchases stoked outrage and led to a prison conviction for unauthorised bonuses. Americans may be openhanded with CEO pay but they react badly if their generosity has been abused. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
