The Walt Disney Co. took a victory lap at its annual shareholders meeting Thursday, promoting its theatrical and series successes this past year while touting investments in its parks division and announcing a sequel to the 2017 animated Pixar hit “Coco.”
The upbeat tone of the online meeting was a far cry from last year’s tension-filled gathering, which was dominated by an ultimately unsuccessful bid from billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz to join the board and shift the company’s course.
Throughout Thursday’s meeting, Disney sought to highlight its creativity and its wide investment across many types of entertainment.
The meeting began with a sizzle reel highlighting the Burbank media and entertainment company’s many businesses, including animated films like “Frozen,” Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Brave New World,” FX and Hulu’s series “Shogun,” Disney’s parks and cruise line, “ABC World News Tonight” with David Muir and ESPN footage of the WNBA.
“From the renewed creative momentum at our studios, to the bold direction of our streaming and sports strategies, to the focused investments we’re making in our experiences business, how we are expertly leveraging technology in all that we do, I hope you are inspired and energized by the limitless possibilities before us,” company Chief Executive Bob Iger said at the meeting.
Shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the 10 members of the board of directors who stood for election.
They also voted to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company’s independent registered public accountants for this fiscal year and approve the company’s executive compensation proposal, which largely ties pay to achievement of the company’s financial performance goals.
Three shareholder proposals were not approved — a requirement that Disney publish a report on how it would shield its employee retirement plan investments from the effects of climate change; a bid to cease the company’s participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual corporate equality index that measures workplace inclusivity for LGBTQ+ workers; and a reexamination of the company’s advertising policies to ensure it stays politically neutral and does not discriminate against political or religious views.