The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:05:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.10 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png 2026 Say-on-Pay Results: Strong Overall, With Large Special Awards Common Among Low-Vote Outcomes – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 2026 Say-on-Pay Results: Strong Overall, With Large Special Awards Common Among Low-Vote Outcomes https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/08/12/2026-say-on-pay-results-strong-overall-with-large-special-awards-common-among-low-vote-outcomes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2026-say-on-pay-results-strong-overall-with-large-special-awards-common-among-low-vote-outcomes https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/08/12/2026-say-on-pay-results-strong-overall-with-large-special-awards-common-among-low-vote-outcomes/#respond Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:32:51 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=183000?d=20260811161224EDT Posted by Chloe Maister and Kenneth Sparling, FW Cook, on Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Editor's Note:

Chloe Maister is a Consultant and Kenneth Sparling is a Managing Director at FW Cook. This post is based on their FW Cook memorandum.

The 2026 say-on-pay season produced stronger results for most S&P 500 companies. Nearly 75% received at least 90% shareholder support, up from 70% in 2025, while the share below 70% declined from about 6% to 5%.

The low-support group became smaller in 2026, but the remaining weakness was more concentrated. Large special awards appeared in half of the 22 cases below 70% support, and all five failed votes involved an outsized equity grant.

Among widely held companies receiving an adverse ISS recommendation, support topped out in the mid-70s and averaged 56.9%, lower than in any pre-pandemic year in the period reviewed. Much of that weakness was concentrated among companies with large one-time awards.

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