NETFLIX, INC. | Special shareholder meeting improvement at NETFLIX, INC.

Status
45.73% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
8
Resolution details
Company ticker
NFLX
Lead filer
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Shareholder rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders ask our board to take the steps necessary to amend the appropriate company governing documents to give the owners of a combined 15% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareholder meeting.
Supporting statement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: A 15% stock ownership threshold to call a special meeting would bring Netflix generally in line with more than 100 companies that provide for 25% of shares to be able to call for a special shareholder meeting. More than 100 companies do not attach strings to their 25% threshold. However Netflix attached a big string to its current threshold by excluding all shares that are not held for a full continuous year. Thus to make up for the exclusion of all shares held for less than a full continuous year the new threshold at Netflix should reasonably be set at 15%.

Filed by John Chevedden.

Since a special shareholder meeting can be useful in replacing a director, this proposal may be an incentive for Netflix directors to improve their performance and in turn improve Netflix shareholder value. For instance Mathias Döpfner and Jay Hoag, with excessive 25-years tenure, each received more than 60 million against votes. This compares to the other 2 directors on the 2023 ballot receiving less than 13 million against votes each.

Calling a special shareholder meeting is hardly ever used by shareholders but the main point of the right to call a special shareholder meeting is that it gives Netflix shareholders a Plan B option if management is not interested in good faith shareholder engagement. Management would have an incentive to genuinely engage with shareholders as an alternative to conducting a special shareholder meeting.

With the widespread use of online shareholder meetings it is much easier for management to conduct a special shareholder meeting and thus Netflix bylaws need to be updated accordingly.

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