Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) shareholders delivered a rebuke to CEO David Zaslav‘s leadership on Tuesday, with over 59% voting against his $51.9 million compensation package for 2024 in the company’s annual “say-on-pay” ballot.
What Happened: The symbolic vote represents growing shareholder frustration with executive compensation at the media conglomerate, which has seen its stock plummet 59% since the April 2022 merger of AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications created the company, The Wall Street Journal reported. More than 80% of shareholders participated in the non-binding vote.
Zaslav’s pay package rejection marks a significant deterioration from last year, when 50.8% of shareholders approved executive compensation. Corporate governance firm ISS considers anything below 70% approval as “low support.”
The compensation controversy comes as Warner Bros. Discovery faces mounting financial pressures. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the company’s debt to junk status in May, citing challenges in its cable-network business as consumers abandon traditional television for streaming services.
Entertainment industry CEO compensation typically exceeds other sectors, according to the report. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters each received over $60 million in 2024, while Disney’s Bob Iger earned $41.1 million. However, shareholders at both companies have previously rejected executive pay packages in similar non-binding votes.
WBD stock is showing positive momentum with an upward short- to long-term price trend, according to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings. However, it faces challenges in growth and valuation. See the full stock breakdown here.
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