AMAZON.COM investors voted against all 14 resolutions that asked the retailer to disclose more about its carbon emissions and its directors’ donations, and to form a committee to oversee artificial intelligence (AI) development, among other issues.
Amazon announced the preliminary vote at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday (May 22), where all 12 directors were voted in for an additional term.
The company had asked shareholders to reject all of the outside proposals. Additional resolutions sought to have Amazon create a committee to address the financial impact of policy positions and produce reports on lobbying expenditures, warehouse working conditions and packaging materials.
CEO Andy Jassy appeared to indicate Amazon has no plans to announce a dividend, unlike this year’s moves by its rivals Meta Platforms and Alphabet. “We are convinced the best use of cash for customers and business and shareholders is investing in businesses in which we are pursuing,” he said during a question-and-answer session.
Amazon and Tesla remain the only members of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks that do not offer dividends.
Jassy also said that Amazon’s Alexa voice-assistant service would receive a “more expansive” generative AI update. “I am optimistic we will be a leader here”, he said. CNBC reported earlier on Wednesday that Amazon is considering charging customers a monthly fee for use of Alexa’s generative AI offerings.
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Amazon will later provide a full tally of the investor vote in a securities filing.
Shares in the retailer were virtually unchanged on Wednesday and had gained 22 per cent so far this year. REUTERS
