T-Mobile will reportedly hold its Annual General Meeting on June 12 and any suggestions to raise Sievert’s salary are likely to be met with objections by shareholders.
T-Mobile CEO is (already) generously compensated for doing his job well
Granted, Sievert’s leadership has immensely benefited the company, even if its customers might not agree, with Earnings per share (EPS), which is a measure of profitability, rising by 50 percent in the past three years. The total shareholder return was 24 percent during the period.The revenue only changed by 0.7 percent last year, but shareholders will probably not be too worried about that, as the bottom line matters more than revenue.
Regardless, CEO compensation is not going to take center stage during the upcoming meeting, and for good reason. T-Mobile has a market capitalization of $209 billion and the total annual compensation for Sievert was $37 million last year. It was an increase of 29 percent on the year prior. Out of the total compensation, his salary was $1.7 million and the rest was non-salary compensation.
The total compensation was a whopping 920 percent higher than the average for the American wireless telecom industry. On top of that, Sievert also owns $55 million worth of shares, so the company’s success directly benefits him.
Since the company has been performing so well, no one is expected to object to Sievert’s high compensation, but the shareholders will probably not agree to a further raise, given the CEO is already paid so much more than the industry average.
This may make front-line employees who think they are not adequately compensated for dealing with angry customers feel a wee bit better.