Most Shareholders Will Probably Find That The CEO Compensation For Adyen N.V. (AMS:ADYEN) Is Reasonable

Key Insights

• Adyen to hold its Annual General Meeting on 15th of May
• Total pay for CEO Pieter van der Does includes €775.8k salary
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• Over the past three years, Adyen's EPS grew by 24% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 11%

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in Adyen. Read for free now.

CEO Pieter van der Does has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Adyen N.V. (AMS:ADYEN) recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 15th of May. We present our case of why we think CEO compensation looks fair.

See our latest analysis for Adyen

Comparing Adyen N.V.'s CEO Compensation With The Industry

Our data indicates that Adyen N.V. has a market capitalization of €48b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €807k for the year to December 2024. That's a fairly small increase of 6.9% over the previous year. In particular, the salary of €775.8k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.

For comparison, other companies in the the Netherlands Diversified Financial industry with market capitalizations above €7.1b, reported a median total CEO compensation of €807k. This suggests that Adyen remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Pieter van der Does holds €1.4b worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	€776k	€725k	96%
Other	€32k	€30k	4%
Total Compensation	€807k	€755k	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 49% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 51% of the pie. Adyen is focused on going down a more traditional approach and is paying a higher portion of compensation through salary, as compared to non-salary benefits. If total compensation veers towards salary, it suggests that the variable portion - which is generally tied to performance, is lower.

Adyen N.V.'s Growth

Adyen N.V.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 24% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 24%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. 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 Adyen N.V. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 11% over three years, Adyen N.V. shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Adyen pays its CEO a majority of compensation through a salary. Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the upcoming AGM. In saying that, any proposed increase to CEO compensation will still be assessed on how reasonable it is based on performance and industry benchmarks.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 1 warning sign for Adyen that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Important note: Adyen is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.