ANALYSIS: Will Coronavirus Impel Virtual Annual Meetings?

As businesses around the country test their remote working capabilities to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, many public companies are also faced with the decision of whether to hold their annual shareholder meetings in person. As we head into proxy season, the question of how Covid-19, as the disease caused by the virus is known, will affect annual meeting attendance remains largely unanswered. But we are beginning to learn about what some companies are doing to accommodate shareholders’ desire or need not to travel.

Virtual Meetings

Starbucks Corp. recently announced that “[i]n light of public health concerns regarding ...