The annual Apple shareholders’ meeting was held on Tuesday at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, with shareholders re-electing the entire board of directors, expressing confidence in the management team, and following Apple’s recommendations on various proposals. The board was re-elected with 95 percent approval, but Apple CEO Tim Cook notably avoided questions about diversity on Apple’s board, as well as shareholder questions about a possible Tesla relationship.
Activist Reverend Jesse Jackson called for Apple to appoint an African-American to the board in an effort to further cement the company’s commitment to diversity. Cook would not commit to anything, but said that the company will do more work on diversity throughout the company. Apple has a pending vacancy coming up on its board, with the retirement of long-serving member and J. Crew CEO Millard Drexler. The company just announced today, in fact, that it will be donating $50 million to various organizations to help increase the number of veterans, women, and minorities working in the tech industry.
Cook’s remarks were largely a repeat of some of the points made during the “Spring Forward” event yesterday. In particular, Cook went over the introduction of ResearchKit as an example of how Apple does not focus on things solely for its “return on investment” or ROI, part of a continuing effort by Cook to educate shareholders on how to think outside of immediate, short-term profits. The development and effort behind ResearchKit is notable as an illustration of Apple using its wealth and influence to effect positive change outside of its core markets, unlike any of its rivals. The company has made ResearchKit open-source so that apps can be developed on any platform to support medical research.
Cook also discussed the partnership with IBM with regards to developing and deploying apps and hardware for the enterprise. He was unsurprisingly upbeat about what has been accomplished so far, and what might develop in the future. He talked about the growth of Apple in China, and revealed that the company had bought 23 other companies in the last 15 months.
Several shareholders asked questions relating to Apple’s relationship (if one exists) with Tesla Motors, the electric car manufacturer. A number of the queries were aimed at trying to extract news from Cook about any possible collaborations or partnerships — or even buyouts — involving the firm, but Cook predictably dodged such questions, saying only that he hopes Tesla will add Apple’s CarPlay technology to its future vehicles.
Shareholders voted on various proposals brought up by other shareholders, and followed the Apple board’s guidance on the issues, rejecting most of them. The most popular one, garnering 40 percent support, was a proposal to allow shareholders to pick future Apple board members. However, the proposal failed to pass, likely because of opposition of some large institutional shareholders who said they believe the company is working on a plan for shareholder input into board picks.
Another proposal, requiring Apple to disclose exactly how much it spends on alternative energy, was roundly rejected with a mere two percent support. Cook has previously had to stare down investors who questioned the short-term expense of making Apple’s data centers, headquarters, and stores use renewable energy resources, despite the fact that the longer-term savings from such moves are very obvious, and of course the impact such leadership and commitment has on improving America’s economy and livability going forward.
One shareholder proposal dealing with a slight change to Apple’s employee stock repurchase program was, however, approved. Investors appear to be happy with Apple management overall, with the stock up 68 percent over the last year (compared to the overall average of the NASDAQ index, at just 14 percent in the same period). AAPL is up over 140 percent from when Cook took over from the retiring Steve Jobs, shortly before his death in late 2011.
