Exxon Mobil’s decision to redomicile in Texas makes sense: 30% of its workforce is in the state, it’s been headquartered there since 1989, and there’s clear logic in being where the energy industry is. So, when shareholders voted earlier this month, the measure passed with 71.3% approval.
It passed over the explicit objections of ISS and Glass Lewis, the foreign-owned proxy advisory duopoly that controls 97% of their market and recommended voting against. Shareholders voted yes anyway. Why? Because shareholders want to get back to business, instead of focusing on ESG barriers.
As Derek Kreifels notes in his Washington Examiner analysis, the vote is a window into a broader realignment. ESG shareholder proposals dropped 47% this proxy season compared to the same point last year. As Kreifels explains, for three consecutive years, roughly three-quarters of votes are consistently rejecting ESG proposals.
The model is breaking down. What the Exxon vote confirms that shareholders still care about returns. The decade-long experiment of running corporations as vehicles for climate and social justice is getting voted out.