A Teneo analysis of voting outcomes at S&P 500 annual meetings during the first half of 2026 finds that ISS recommendations continued to have a meaningful influence on shareholder voting during the 2026 proxy season, despite regulatory pressure and growing competition from AI-enabled proxy voting tools.
When ISS recommended against management, investor opposition often matched or exceeded 2025 levels, particularly in categories where ISS issued fewer adverse recommendations overall (e.g., say-on-pay and environmental and social proposals). Governance shareholder proposals and uncontested director elections were exceptions, with narrower vote differentials as ISS issued adverse recommendations more frequently.
Teneo advises companies to continue to closely monitor ISS policies and potential recommendations as they prepare for fall investor engagement and the 2027 proxy season.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!