What Happens At Annual Shareholder Meetings?

Apple Inc. AAPL is holding its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday morning in Cupertino, California. But considering the meeting is taking place at noon eastern time on a workday, even most local shareholders will be unable to attend. Here’s a look at what they will be missing.

By rule, all public companies must hold annual shareholder meetings. Typical shareholder meetings include the election of board members and shareholder votes on any number of proposals. Shareholders who are unable to attend the meeting can still cast proxy votes either online or through the mail.

Related Link: The Future Perfect: Gene Munster Knows The Biggest Threat To Apple

For shareholders that may not fully understand the proposals, a company’s board of directors typically makes recommendations as to how shareholders should vote. The majority of the shares of most large public companies are held by institutional investors, such as hedge funds. For Apple, roughly 60 percent of its shares are held by institutions. Institutional investors often hold millions or billions of dollars worth of shares and typically hold the most influence during the votes.

This year, Apple shareholders will vote to re-elect eight board members. Apple anticipates all eight members will be approved.

In addition, there are several shareholder-generated issues up for vote:

• A proposal that the company disclose annually how and why it chooses recipients for its annual charitable donations.
• A proposal that the company should engage an outside expert to look into reforming company’s executive payment policies.
• A proposal that the company be required to increase diversity on its board of directors and among its senior management.
• A proposal that Apple executives be required to retain at least 75 percent of their net stock compensation until they retire.

The company’s board of directors recommends shareholders vote down all of the proposals and believes the company’s current policies already address the underlying concerns.