Comcast Corp. CEO Brian Roberts
Comcast Shareholders Nix Lobbying Transparency
June 11, 2018
Comcast shareholders June 11 voted against a proposal that would have called for greater disclosure of funding spent by the media company on industry lobbying.
Comcast spent more than $29 million in 2016 and 2017 on federal lobbying activities — fourth highest among U.S. companies, according to shareholder Kate Monahan. Speaking at Comcast’s annual shareholder meeting, Monahan claimed the company fails to reveal how much is spent lobbying at the state and local level.
She called on shareholders to approve her proposal requesting the board disclose all funds spent on lobbying. Monahan also called on Comcast to exit the American Legislative Exchange Council, a non-profit she claimed works against clean energy adoption.
“Investors have no idea how much the company is spending overall and yet the company could easily and inexpensively disclose this information,” Monahan said.
Shareholders, not surprisingly, rejected the proposal, according to preliminary vote tallies.
CEO Brian Roberts, after reiterating company highlights in fiscal year, reminded shareholders that anyone fortunate to buy a lot Comcast stock 46 years ago would be very rich today.
“If you had bought 1,000 shares of our stock with my dad at $7 a share in 1972, you would now have $10 million versus nearly $700,000 if you’ve invested in the S&P 500,” Roberts said.