Markets
How the CEOs of Multi-Billion Dollar Companies Spend Their Time
How the CEOs of Billion Dollar Companies Spend Their Time
It’s easy to be envious of the leaders of Fortune 500 companies.
They get paid millions of dollars, and they have the power to make transformative decisions for some of the most beloved companies in the corporate world.
Despite the obvious benefits of being a top CEO, it’s a job that comes with immense pressure, scrutiny, and time commitments. Further, the lack of work-life balance can take a toll on physical and mental health, while putting a considerable strain on relationships.
What’s a day in the life of a CEO like, and how do they deal with the constant demands of the top job?
A Day in the Life
Today’s infographic comes to us from Raconteur, and it breaks down the CEO role in terms of tasks and priorities. It also provides an interesting glimpse at how CEOs tackle the difficulties of the job, while maintaining some semblance of sanity.
To start, we’ll look at how these business leaders allocate their time, according to research from Harvard Business School.
Time allocation of CEOs:
- Functional and business unit reviews (25%)
- People and relationships (25%)
- Strategy (21%)
- Organization and culture (16%)
- Operating plans (4%)
- Mergers and acquisitions (4%)
- Professional development (3%)
- Crisis management (1%)
The above data comes from CEOs who manage companies with an average revenue of $13.1 billion per year, and the focus of these top performers is pretty clear.
About half of time is spent on the analytical side of the spectrum, doing things like evaluating the success of business units or working on company strategy. Roughly the other half of time is spent on people, either on growing relationships or transforming organizational culture.
The Big Challenges
Managing a multi-billion dollar company isn’t without its potential setbacks.
Egon Zehnder’s recent study, “CEO: A Personal Reflection”, identified what CEOs described as the biggest unexpected challenges in their roles:
- Driving cultural change (50%)
- Finding time for myself and for reflection (48%)
- Developing my senior leadership team (47%)
- Balancing short-term financials with longer-term company transformation (40%)
- Managing the impact on my family/personal life (35%)
- Maintaining my physical health (31%)
- Engaging with external stakeholders (25%)
- Engaging with internal stakeholders (23%)
- Managing my stress levels (20%)
- Connecting with my peers (18%)
To deal with the many stresses and challenges of the position, many CEOs have turned to personal care and coaching. In fact, 60% of CEOs exercise multiple times a week, 50% have a personal trainer, 32% have a wellness coach, 32% have an executive coach, and 22% have a therapist.
After all, CEOs know likely more than anyone else that to stay in top form, their minds and bodies need to be performing as well.
Markets
The European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities
On average, the European stock market has valuations that are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations. But how can you access the market?
European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities
Europe is known for some established brands, from L’Oréal to Louis Vuitton. However, the European stock market offers additional opportunities that may be lesser known.
The above infographic, sponsored by STOXX, outlines why investors may want to consider European stocks.
Attractive Valuations
Compared to most North American and Asian markets, European stocks offer lower or comparable valuations.
Index | Price-to-Earnings Ratio | Price-to-Book Ratio |
---|---|---|
EURO STOXX 50 | 14.9 | 2.2 |
STOXX Europe 600 | 14.4 | 2 |
U.S. | 25.9 | 4.7 |
Canada | 16.1 | 1.8 |
Japan | 15.4 | 1.6 |
Asia Pacific ex. China | 17.1 | 1.8 |
Data as of February 29, 2024. See graphic for full index names. Ratios based on trailing 12 month financials. The price to earnings ratio excludes companies with negative earnings.
On average, European valuations are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations, potentially offering an affordable entry point for investors.
Research also shows that lower price ratios have historically led to higher long-term returns.
Market Movements Not Closely Connected
Over the last decade, the European stock market had low-to-moderate correlation with North American and Asian equities.
The below chart shows correlations from February 2014 to February 2024. A value closer to zero indicates low correlation, while a value of one would indicate that two regions are moving in perfect unison.
EURO STOXX 50 | STOXX EUROPE 600 | U.S. | Canada | Japan | Asia Pacific ex. China |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EURO STOXX 50 | 1.00 | 0.97 | 0.55 | 0.67 | 0.24 | 0.43 |
STOXX EUROPE 600 | 1.00 | 0.56 | 0.71 | 0.28 | 0.48 | |
U.S. | 1.00 | 0.73 | 0.12 | 0.25 | ||
Canada | 1.00 | 0.22 | 0.40 | |||
Japan | 1.00 | 0.88 | ||||
Asia Pacific ex. China | 1.00 |
Data is based on daily USD returns.
European equities had relatively independent market movements from North American and Asian markets. One contributing factor could be the differing sector weights in each market. For instance, technology makes up a quarter of the U.S. market, but health care and industrials dominate the broader European market.
Ultimately, European equities can enhance portfolio diversification and have the potential to mitigate risk for investors.
Tracking the Market
For investors interested in European equities, STOXX offers a variety of flagship indices:
Index | Description | Market Cap |
---|---|---|
STOXX Europe 600 | Pan-regional, broad market | €10.5T |
STOXX Developed Europe | Pan-regional, broad-market | €9.9T |
STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X | Pan-regional, broad market, sustainability focus | €9.7T |
STOXX Europe 50 | Pan-regional, blue-chip | €5.1T |
EURO STOXX 50 | Eurozone, blue-chip | €3.5T |
Data is as of February 29, 2024. Market cap is free float, which represents the shares that are readily available for public trading on stock exchanges.
The EURO STOXX 50 tracks the Eurozone’s biggest and most traded companies. It also underlies one of the world’s largest ranges of ETFs and mutual funds. As of November 2023, there were €27.3 billion in ETFs and €23.5B in mutual fund assets under management tracking the index.
“For the past 25 years, the EURO STOXX 50 has served as an accurate, reliable and tradable representation of the Eurozone equity market.”
— Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX
Partnering with STOXX to Track the European Stock Market
Are you interested in European equities? STOXX can be a valuable partner:
- Comprehensive, liquid and investable ecosystem
- European heritage, global reach
- Highly sophisticated customization capabilities
- Open architecture approach to using data
- Close partnerships with clients
- Part of ISS STOXX and Deutsche Börse Group
With a full suite of indices, STOXX can help you benchmark against the European stock market.
Learn how STOXX’s European indices offer liquid and effective market access.
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