Would you believe that one of the angriest groups of shareholders in corporate America is, by one measure, at Netflix. What could shareholders have to complain about with the video streaming giant, given how its shares have appreciated over the past decade? Yet last week, shareholders owning 56% of Netflix’s shares voted against the re-election of one of Netflix’s most prominent directors, Zillow CEO Rich Barton.
Nearly as many voted against the re-election of another director, Microsoft president Brad Smith. (Netflix revealed this in a securities filing last week, which MarketWatch picked up today). The vote is moot: like a lot of companies, votes against a director at Netflix only count if there are people running against the board. Otherwise, only the votes in favor matter. That’s democracy, corporate America style.
