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Is AC Immune SA's (NASDAQ:ACIU) CEO Pay Justified?

Andrea Pfeifer is the CEO of AC Immune SA (NASDAQ:ACIU). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for AC Immune

How Does Andrea Pfeifer's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that AC Immune SA is worth US$603m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CHF1.7m for the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at CHF455k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from CHF391m to CHF1.6b, and the median CEO total compensation was CHF2.5m.

So Andrea Pfeifer receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at AC Immune, below.

NasdaqGM:ACIU CEO Compensation, February 24th 2020
NasdaqGM:ACIU CEO Compensation, February 24th 2020

Is AC Immune SA Growing?

AC Immune SA has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 45% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 401% over last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has AC Immune SA Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 31% over three years, some AC Immune SA shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Andrea Pfeifer is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies.

We like that the company is growing EPS, but it's disappointing to see negative shareholder returns over three years. We'd be surprised if shareholders want to see a pay rise for the CEO, but we'd stop short of calling their pay too generous. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at AC Immune.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than AC Immune, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.