Company

We’re empowering businesses to become stronger, more adaptable, and resilient.

PRESS RELEASE
ISS-Corporate Launches New Brand Reflecting Growth and Focus on Business Resilience
Solutions

Explore our suite of solutions that help businesses make informed decisions that meet the demands of the market and strengthen their organizations.

Corporate Governance

Utilize our data-driven platform to develop and manage a governance program that helps you respond to the demands of the market and your shareholders.

Executive Compensation

Take a research-backed approach to designing and monitoring executive compensation to show that your pay is aligned to performance.

Corporate Sustainability

Approach sustainability management and reporting with developed, targeted methods, and inform stakeholders and regulators of your progress.

Sustainable Finance

Get an independent, outside-in assessment of your sustainable finance offerings, ensuring they meet the highest standards demanded by the market.

Cyber Risk

Get an outside-in view of your cyber security posture so you can better identify and mitigate your cyber risk exposure.

Strategic Partnerships

Access the essential tools to inform corporate client strategies.

Resources

Explore the latest trends and practices in corporate governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk.

FEATURING
Disclosure Reset: Balancing Simplification and Ambition in Sustainability Reporting

  • Company

  • Solutions

    For Advisory Firms

  • Resources

    •
    Press Release

    U.S. Corporate Annual Meetings to Peak Tomorrow, May 25

    ROCKVILLE, Md. (May 24, 2023) – The peak of the U.S. corporate annual meeting season this year will fall on Thursday, May 25, according to an analysis by ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (ICS), a leading provider of compensation, governance, cyber risk monitoring, and sustainability offerings to help companies improve shareholder value and reduce risk.

    Roughly 41 percent of all Russell 3,000 companies will hold their annual meetings in May, though the 124 slated for May 25 represents just 4 percent of the universe overall. Blue-chip companies hosting their annual meeting tomorrow include McDonald’s, Voya Financial, SBA Communications, Pinterest, Xerox Holdings, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Invesco, and Navient Corporation. The 124 meetings falling on May 25 tie with the count of those held on May 17 and is followed by the number held on May 18 (120 meetings), May 24 (102), and those slated for June 8 (95), for the highest volume meeting dates in 2023.

    The U.S. annual meeting season thus far has seen less activism on environmental and social (E&S) issues and dissent over executive compensation compared with recent years. The volume of shareholder proposals on ballots for annual meetings held between January 1 through May 31 jumped 14 percent from 2020 to 2023, an increase that can be attributed in part to the rise of so called “anti-ESG” shareholder resolutions that have grown by more than 400 percent since 2020. Still, of the E&S proposals voted thus far in 2023, just one environmental proposal (report on reliability of methane emission disclosures) and three social proposals (two on diversity and one on human/labor rights) have received majority support so far this year.  By comparison and during the same period last year, five environmentally focused shareholder proposals and seven addressing social issues received majority backing.

    Trends evidenced thus far this proxy season suggest waning support for shareholder proposals overall, with median support levels down 5 percentage points compared with calendar 2022.

    “Trends evidenced thus far this proxy season suggest waning support for shareholder proposals overall, with median support levels down 5 percentage points compared with calendar 2022,” notes Jun Frank, Managing Director at ISS Corporate Solutions. “In our latest analysis, we see median support declining across all categories except for E&S blended proposals, such as those related to climate lobbying activities and health and safety issues that have social and/or environmental implications, where there are fewer proposals of this type. When all is said and done, we expect support for shareholder proposals to be down over past years and potentially closer to pre-pandemic norms.”

    Though support appears to be declining, there are plenty of proposals to be found on the ballot in 2023 with Amazon.com leading the way with 18 to be voted on at its May 24 annual meeting. The Seattle-based technology giant is followed by both Exxon Mobil and Alphabet at 13; Meta Platforms at 11; JPMorgan Chase, Chevron, Walmart, and The Goldman Sachs Group at eight; and Wells Fargo, United Parcel Service, Eli Lilly, and McDonald’s at seven shareholder proposals each.

    Meanwhile and in another notable trend evidenced thus far in 2023, dissent over executive pay appears to be decreasing after reaching historic highs in 2022.

    An ICS analysis of say-on-pay voting outcomes January 1 to May 17 finds just 43 instances, or 4.5 percent of the overall total, where voting support was less than 70 percent, a generally accepted key measure of significant investor dissent. By comparison, the figure during the same period last year stood at 72 and 7 percent, respectively, and 66 and 6 percent in 2021. Moreover, through May 17, ICS is tracking just 15 failed say-on-pay votes compared with 27 in the same period last year and 31 in 2021.

    “The trends we’re seeing thus far in 2023 suggest a tapering of scrutiny from shareholders that has, as our numbers show, been very pronounced over the past two years,” said Roy Saliba, Managing Director at ISS Corporate Solutions. “It is also likely indicative of companies positively responding to recent concerns by actively engaging with their shareholder base and incorporating meaningful changes to their compensation programs.”

    Companies turn to ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (“ISS-Corporate”) for expertise in designing and managing governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk programs that align with company goals, reduce risk, and manage the needs of a diverse shareholder base by delivering data, tools, and advisory services. ISS-Corporate’s global client base extends across North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as other established and emerging markets worldwide. ISS-Corporate is a wholly owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”). ISS-Corporate provides advisory services, analytical tools and publications to companies to enable them to improve shareholder value and reduce risk through the adoption of improved corporate governance practices. The ISS research teams, which are separate from ISS-Corporate, will not give preferential treatment to, and are under no obligation to support, any proxy proposal of a corporate issuer nor provide a favorable rating, assessment, and/or any other favorable results to a corporate issuer (whether or not that corporate issuer has purchased products or services from ISS-Corporate). No statement from an employee of ISS-Corporate should be construed as a guarantee that ISS will recommend that its clients vote in favor of any particular proxy proposal or provide a favorable rating, assessment or other favorable result. For more information, please visit https://www.iss-corporate.com/

    ISS STOXX GmbH, through its group companies, is a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. With roots dating back to 1985, we today deliver world-class benchmark and custom indices across asset classes and geographies and serve as a premier source of independent corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence research, data, and related offerings. Our products and services give clients the scale and leverage they need to grow their business more effectively and efficiently.
    ISS STOXX, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is comprised of more than 3,400 professionals operating across 33 global locations in 15 countries. Its approximately 6,400 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings, as well as companies focused on ESG, cyber, and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS STOXX’s expertise to help them make informed decisions to benefit their stakeholders.