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Ion bombardment usually leads to a change in the equilibrium sputtered surface composition of compound semiconductors. This change is matrix dependent. To compensate for this sputter-induced effect in quantitative AES, a sputter yield correction factor is usually employed. This factor is based on the relative component sputter yields of the atomic species in the compound. In an approximation of this factor, experimental elemental sputter yields have been commonly used. However, these experimental values do not always exist for all the atomic species. Therefore, this study used the Sigmund sputter theory to calculate the elemental sputter yields. Different nuclear stopping powers and α values were employed in the calculations. The AES-determined Ar⁺-sputtered surface compositions of several binary semiconductor compounds were obtained from a compilation of published data: for each compound the mean value was taken. A comparison between the experimental and predicted (using the sputter yield correction factor) surface compositions was not good, indicating that this approximation to the sputter yield correction factor in quantitative AES is not the correct one. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.