So Far, Proxy Voting Reflects Stronger Influence of Anti-Woke Agendas

Annual meeting season reached its peak on May 22, 2025. In a mid-season analysis, there has been a sharp drop in the number of proposal submissions and a steep rise in the number of submitted proposals to the Securities and Exchange Commission omitted from ballots. Here are takeaways from the first half.

Key Points

• Total shareholder proposal submissions decreased while the number of omitted proposals increased sharply.
• Governance-related resolutions remain the most common type on the ballot.
• Despite a substantial decline in environmental proposals being voted on, resolutions related to the disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain the most common.
• Median CEO pay is at an all-time high for S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies.
• Say-on-Pay support levels have declined slightly.

According to ISS-Corporate, nearly a quarter of all submitted shareholder proposals were omitted, likely because of the SEC’s Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (CF) issued in February. That bulletin requires proponents to demonstrate that the topic of a shareholder proposal is significant and economically relevant to the company. Last year, just under 15 percent of submitted proposals were omitted.

Bulletin No. 14M (CF) introduced stricter criteria requiring proponents to prove their proposals’ significance and economic relevance to the company. This has led to a notable increase in the number of omitted proposals so far this proxy season.

Proxy advisor ISS tracked 782 shareholder proposals submitted at Russell 3000 companies with scheduled annual meeting dates between January 1 and June 30, a notable decline from the 906 submissions in the first half of 2024. Environmental and social-related proposals saw the sharpest drop in volume, while “anti-ESG” resolutions reached a record of 122 submissions. Governance-related requests remain the most prevalent type expected to go to a vote.

Although overall proposal volume declined, several companies had numerous shareholder proposals on their ballots. Alphabet leads with 12, Meta Platforms at nine, Amazon.com at eight, and Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway with seven shareholder resolutions on their ballots.

Meanwhile, shareholder support for executive pay packages has tempered slightly, according to an analysis by Farient using our Say on Pay Tracker^TM.  SOP voting outcomes at Russell 3000 companies found median support of 94.3 percent (as of May 25, 2025) compared with 94.7 percent support in 2024. As evidenced by the high median percentage, shareholders support for Say on Pay proposals continues. Conversely, the number of R3000 companies that received less than 50 percent support (1%) is on par with 2024 results, representing 14 R3000 companies.