Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced a change to the company’s 2018 Annual Shareholders’ meeting and activities. Starting this year, a brief formal business meeting focused on shareholder voting on proxy proposals will take place on Wednesday, May 30, followed by the company’s traditional event for associates and shareholders on Friday, June 1. Shareholders of record must present proof of share ownership and photo identification to gain access both Wednesday and Friday.
May 30 Formal Business and Shareholders’ Meeting
- The meeting will focus on shareholder voting on formal business and proxy proposals.
- It will take place from 10 a.m. CDT to approximately 11 a.m. CDT at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, Ark. No entertainment or other activities will be part of the business meeting.
- The meeting will be webcast on the company’s website and can be watched live here.
- The record date for shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting is April 6, 2018.
- As always, shareholders may vote their shares electronically, online or by phone if they cannot attend the formal business meeting on May 30. Preliminary voting results are expected to be issued the same day. View the voting results here.
The change in format continues an evolution that began when Sam Walton held his first shareholders’ meeting in 1970 and presided over five other people at a coffee shop table. Associates took on an increasingly important role at the shareholders’ meetings in the 1980s; during that time, the events became more and more celebratory and included more special guests. The venue for the meeting grew from the Walmart Home Office Auditorium to Barnhill Arena at the University of Arkansas and then to its current location at Bud Walton Arena in 1994, shortly after it was built.
