The Activist Steward: 2026 Voting Season Tracker: Fewer Proposals, Sharper Focus

Research evidence excerpt

The Activist Steward: 2026 Voting Season Tracker: Fewer Proposals, Sharper Focus

J P M O R G A N Global Equity Research

09 July 2026

The Activist Steward

2026 Voting Season Tracker: Fewer Proposals, Sharper

Focus

This note takes an early look at the outcomes of the 2026 voting season, drawing

on Bloomberg data and practitioner commentary across North America, Europe,

and APAC. While the number of shareholder proposals submitted globally has

declined year-on-year, this season reveals continued investor focus on core

topics such as shareholder rights and executive pay, with significant regional

divergence behind the headline numbers. EMEA Sustainable Investing

Research

AC• A drop in shareholder proposals, led by North America: Bloomberg data as Noemie de la Gorce, CFA

of July 3 suggest the number of shareholder proposals has fallen globally, from (44-20) 7134-4229

around 1,500 in 2024 to roughly 1,250 so far in 2026. This is driven primarily noemie.delagorce@jpmorgan.com

by the US, where growth in governance-related proposals has not offset a fall J.P. Morgan Securities plc

in environmental, social, and compensation filings. According to ISS, the Jean-Xavier Hecker

SEC’s decision to stop issuing views on most no-action requests has deterred (33-1) 4015 4472

proposal filing more than it has encouraged exclusion by companies. jean-xavier.hecker@jpmorgan.com

J.P. Morgan Securities plc

• Support for governance proposals holds: Average support for governance- Hugo Dubourg

related proposals has plateaued in North America (though remains high on (33-1) 4015 4471

topics such as board declassification), while increasing in both Europe and hugo.dubourg@jpmchase.com

APAC — the latter underpinned by wide-ranging corporate governance J.P. Morgan Securities plc