Microsoft to Keep Shareholder Proposal Rules Through 2027

Microsoft will keep existing shareholder-proposal eligibility thresholds through its 2027 annual meeting under a one-year written agreement with Paul Chesser, director at the National Legal and Policy Center. First reported by Reuters, the deal maintains Rule 14a-8 standards under the Securities Exchange Act. Chesser said Microsoft confirmed in writing that the company's smallest long-term shareholders will have an opportunity to be heard next year, regardless of SEC actions, and that every other company that claims to respect its shareholders should be asked why it is unwilling to do the same. Microsoft said holding the current criteria for one year gives a clear and predictable process while the SEC reviews the framework. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins proposed last week ending the agency's oversight of shareholder-resolution review and shifting that role to state officials. Chesser's group has similar proposals pending at Procter & Gamble and Oracle. Procter & Gamble's meeting is October 13; its August 28 proxy recommends voting against the NLPC measure. Oracle has not set a meeting date and did not comment. Microsoft's meeting is December 8, 2026. Contested: Procter & Gamble calls the NLPC proposal premature because the SEC had not yet issued its rulemaking when the proxy was prepared; Chesser presents Microsoft's written commitment as a model other companies should match.