Key Insights

• Nexstar Media Group will host its Annual General Meeting on 18th of June
• Total pay for CEO Perry Sook includes US$2.80m salary
• The overall pay is 183% above the industry average
• Nexstar Media Group's total shareholder return over the past three years was 13% while its EPS was down 14% over the past three years

Despite Nexstar Media Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:NXST) share price growing positively in the past few years, the per-share earnings growth has not grown to investors' expectations, suggesting that there could be other factors at play driving the share price. These concerns will be at the front of shareholders' minds as they go into the AGM coming up on 18th of June. It would also be an opportunity for them to influence management through exercising their voting power on company resolutions, including CEO and executive remuneration, which could impact on firm performance in the future. From the data that we gathered, we think that shareholders should hold off on a raise on CEO compensation until performance starts to show some improvement.

How Does Total Compensation For Perry Sook Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$5.0b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$29m over the year to December 2023. We note that's a decrease of 26% compared to last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$2.8m.

On comparing similar companies from the American Media industry with market caps ranging from US$4.0b to US$12b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$10m. Hence, we can conclude that Perry Sook is remunerated higher than the industry median. What's more, Perry Sook holds US$248m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 19% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 81% of the pie. In Nexstar Media Group'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.

Nexstar Media Group, Inc.'s Growth

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has reduced its earnings per share by 14% a year over the last three years. It saw its revenue drop 5.7% over the last year.

Overall this is not a very positive result for shareholders. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has generated a total shareholder return of 13% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

In Summary...

Despite the positive returns on shareholders' investments, the fact that earnings have failed to grow makes us skeptical about whether these returns will continue. In the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the board, including those related to CEO remuneration and assess if the board's plan will likely improve performance in the future.

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. That's why we did our research, and identified 3 warning signs for Nexstar Media Group (of which 1 is concerning!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the 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.