Summary
American Express Company (AXP) filed an 8-K on May 6, 2020, reporting on its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 5, 2020. The primary focus of the filing is the shareholder approval of the Amended and Restated American Express Company 2016 Incentive Compensation Plan. This approval allows for an increase of 7 million common shares available for issuance under the plan and removes provisions related to the now-repealed Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code regarding qualified performance-based compensation exceptions. Additionally, the filing details the voting results for various proposals at the annual meeting. All director nominees were elected with a majority of votes cast, and the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for 2020 was overwhelmingly ratified. Shareholders also provided advisory approval of executive compensation and voted on two shareholder proposals.
Key Highlights
- 1Shareholders approved the Amended and Restated American Express Company 2016 Incentive Compensation Plan.
- 2The approved plan increases the share pool available for issuance by 7 million shares.
- 3Provisions related to the repealed Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code have been eliminated from the compensation plan.
- 4All 13 director nominees received a majority of the votes cast for their election.
- 5The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for 2020 was ratified with approximately 98.67% of votes in favor.
- 6An advisory vote on executive compensation received strong support, with approximately 96.07% of votes in favor.
- 7Shareholder proposals regarding action by written consent and gender/racial pay equity did not receive majority support.