Key Insights

• Barrick Gold will host its Annual General Meeting on 30th of April

• Salary of US$1.80m is part of CEO Dennis Bristow's total remuneration

• The total compensation is 149% higher than the average for the industry

• Barrick Gold's three-year loss to shareholders was 6.0% while its EPS was down 18% over the past three years

The results at Barrick Gold Corporation (TSE:ABX) have been quite disappointing recently and CEO Dennis Bristow bears some responsibility for this. At the upcoming AGM on 30th of April, shareholders can hear from the board including their plans for turning around performance. This will be also be a chance where they can challenge the board on company direction and vote on resolutions such as executive remuneration. We present the case why we think CEO compensation is out of sync with company performance.

Check out our latest analysis for Barrick Gold

Comparing Barrick Gold Corporation's CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Barrick Gold Corporation has a market capitalization of CA$40b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$13m over the year to December 2023. We note that's a small decrease of 4.7% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.8m.

In comparison with other companies in the Canadian Metals and Mining industry with market capitalizations over CA$11b, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$5.1m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Barrick Gold Corporation pays Dennis Bristow north of the industry median. Moreover, Dennis Bristow also holds CA$144m worth of Barrick Gold stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 94% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 6% of the pie. Barrick Gold pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Barrick Gold Corporation's Growth

Barrick Gold Corporation has reduced its earnings per share by 18% a year over the last three years. It achieved revenue growth of 3.5% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the EPS is down. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. 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 Barrick Gold Corporation Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 6.0% for the shareholders, Barrick Gold Corporation would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Given that shareholders haven't seen any positive returns on their investment, not to mention the lack of earnings growth, this may suggest that few of them would be willing to award the CEO with a pay rise. At the upcoming AGM, the board will get the chance to explain the steps it plans to take to improve business performance.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Barrick Gold that you should be aware of before investing.

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.