What Just Happened at the Disney 2023 Shareholder Meeting?
A year ago, The Walt Disney Company held its Annual Shareholder Meeting in early March.
Returning CEO Bob Iger delayed this year’s until April so that he could put down an insurrection by billionaires Nelson Peltz and Isaac Perlmutter.
So, in some Sliding Doors scenario, Disney held an extremely hostile Shareholder Meeting in 2023.
Thankfully, in our reality, Shareholder Meeting 2023 proved a Disney fan’s dream. I’m overflowing with great news to share with you!
The Easy Proposals
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. Ostensibly, one of the primary reasons for a Shareholder Meeting is to hear shareholder ideas to improve the company.
Some of them make proposals that would ostensibly benefit Disney. I say ostensibly because some proposals prove better than others.
Last year, Arjuna Capital famously persuaded Microsoft shareholders to demand more accountability. Then, Arjuna’s leadership attempted the same of Disney.
An Arjuna official sought more pay equity reporting from Disney. Surprisingly, 59 percent of shareholders agreed. It was a rare loss for Disney:
It feels weird to be listening to songs from Encanto and Frozen when my kids aren't around, but that's the hold music for the Disney annual shareholder meeting.
— Corbin Hiar (@CorbinHiar) March 9, 2022
Ordinarily, shareholders dutifully follow the company’s suggested voting patterns.
Keeping that in mind, we had seven proposals for 2023. Some were mere formalities like confirming Disney’s Board of Directors for another term.
Everyone stays in line with such proposals, as demonstrated by the fact that every potential board member earned at least 91 percent of the vote.
Last year, Bob Chapek gained 94 percent, which amounted to a strong vote of confidence for an executive Disney fired eight months later. So…
Still, this vote confirmed Mark Parker as the next Chairman of the Board at Disney, which is a very big deal.
Parker replaces Susan Arnold, who only started as Chairman last year, and faced a term limit due to her serving on the board for 15 years.
Parker, the former Nike CEO, replaces her.
Similarly, voters couldn’t care less which accounting firm represents Disney. So, they voted for Proposal 2, cementing Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLC in the role for another year.
Other Proposals
The other five Proposals possessed less-certain fates.
Proposal 3 called for “consideration of an advisory vote to approve executive compensation.” It’s pretty much what it sounds like, and shareholders agreed.
Disney recommended that people vote in favor, which 86 percent did. That’s a win for everyone.
Meanwhile, Proposal 4 called for a change in the number of times shareholders vote on executive pay.
Disney again recommended that people vote in favor of this…for one year. It’ll be an annual vote, an idea that 98 percent of shareholders approve.
So, that’s four hard yes votes. The final three proposals proved the opposite.
A few shareholders stood on the stage and provided two-minute explanations for why shareholders should accept their proposals.
Suffice it to say that this sequence wasn’t the highlight of the shareholder meeting, as some of the presenters were, let’s say, not people you’d engage in a social setting.
Yes, the crazy was on full display during some of these proposals. Not coincidentally, all three failed.
Proposal 5 called for detailed reports on Disney’s Chinese operations, but voters didn’t like the rationale.
So, they sided with Disney at a ratio of 7 percent for/89 percent against the proposal.
Remarkably, that wasn’t the biggest blowout. Proposal 6, which requested more transparency regarding charitable contributions, failed by a 7/92 vote.
Finally, someone sought a political donations report from Disney.
Their logic made sense in that Disney paid contributions to some of the politicians who later stripped Reedy Creek Improvement District of its powers.
I thought this one had a chance to succeed even though Disney recommended a no vote. Disney won in the end by a 36/63 split.
In short, Disney got its way with all seven proposals this year, unlike what transpired in 2022.
The Bigger News – DISNEY EXPANSION INCOMING!!!
Speaking of Reedy Creek, Bob Iger’s comments today won’t endear him to Florida’s governor.
Disney’s CEO bluntly responded to a question about the recent acrimony by saying:
“Our point on this is that any action that thwarts those efforts, simply to retaliate for a position the company took, sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida, and I’ll just leave it at that,”
So, yeah. Any hope anyone had of this matter settling down should be dead now. Disney has obviously decided that trying to ignore the issue won’t help.
Oddly, that philosophy could work to the advantage of Disney fans BECAUSE HERE IS THE BIG NEWS, EVERYONE!!!
Iger casually mentioned that his company would spend $17 billion on Walt Disney World expansion over the next decade.
That’s the head of Disney confirming that the company will build either several new themed lands and expansions or an entirely new theme park or both.
As part of the Reedy Creek changes, Disney had given itself development rights for the next 30 or so years.
During one of the final meetings of Reedy Creek, Disney also empowered itself to build a fifth theme park at Walt Disney World.
While Florida officials seethe and threaten, Disney holds the incentive to move quickly in starting its plans.
The idea here is that once the company breaks ground, anything that happens in court is irrelevant.
As we speak, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board has taken the odd step of seeking legal reasons to stop Disney’s plans. That doesn’t seem very pro-tourism, does it?
Anyway, by moving quickly, Disney sidesteps many potential hurdles the government or court system may create.
Oh, and we’re getting a live-action Moana movie starring The Rock, too!
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