Verizon Vote on Exec Pay: Too Close to Call

Shareholder efforts to gain a say on executive pay have been voted down at annual meeting after annual meeting this year. Except for the annual meeting of a company whose shares--ironically enough--are trading near their 52-week high.

Verizon Communications said a proposal to give shareholders advisory--a.k.a. non-binding--approval of executive pay was too close to call.

The Wall Street Journal reports that 49 percent voted for it and 49 percent against it. The company said that a recount is underway; results are expected next week.

The battleground of Verizon's meeting reflects of a trend of shareholders insisting on greater accountability in C.E.O. pay. This year, dozens of companies, from Merck to Morgan Stanley, have received such proposals, though none have won a majority of shareholder votes.

Verizon, though, may be a special case. C.E.O. Ivan Seidenberg has been under fire for months for his hefty pay--$21.3 million last year; $75.1 million over the five years through 2005. In that time, disgruntled shareholders noted in the proxy, "total shareholder return was negative 26.8 percent."

The A.F.L.-C.I.O. had also called attention to Verizon's meeting, urging shareholders to vote against election of the six-members compensation committee, which had been criticized for too-close ties to Seidenberg. Each of directors overcame this opposition and won at least 90 percent approval, based on results of Thursday's voting.

The same afternoon, Verizon's stock hit a 52-week high, closing above $41. The company recently reported an 8 percent first-quarter profit, but longer-term performance has been mixed. Though the stock price has increased more than 25 percent from May 2006, it is still trading well below its $50+ price six years ago.

by Mary Bridges