Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon touted the company’s strong performance, and spoke about both its pandemic journey and racial justice efforts Wednesday during a shareholders’ meeting held virtually for the second year.
Walmart had record sales of $560 billion in the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, up $40 billion from a year ago.
“The world looks different than it did a year ago. There is still a lot of uncertainty, but there are reasons for optimism,” McMillon said. “To combat the pandemic, our associates stepped up and put in place measures that enabled us to operate safely. This included a three-tier leave policy, reduced operating hours, enhanced cleaning, installation of plexiglass at registers and in our pharmacies, customer metering and other efforts.”
The company has offered $75 to employees in the United States who get vaccinated but will not require that employees be vaccinated.
“We’ve also continued work to improve racial justice and equity. Our percentage of African-American and Black officers is increasing. Our transparency is up. We’re now reporting, in greater detail, our diversity metrics twice a year,” McMillon said.
“As these various efforts were underway, we did not let up on other areas that are important to us, including the support of U.S. manufacturing. In September of 2020, we went further on our commitment to the environment, by announcing our aspiration to become a regenerative company.”
The board recommended voting against each of the five shareholder proposals that were presented, and none of them were approved. Those proposals requested a report on refrigerants; a report on lobbying disclosures; a report on alignment of racial justice goals and starting wages; the creation of a Pandemic Workforce Advisory Council; and a report on the company’s involvement with the Business Roundtable’s “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.” That 2019 statement, signed by McMillon and 180 other CEOs, declared that corporations have a duty to customers, employees, suppliers and their communities, as well as to shareholders.
Shareholders also elected the company’s 12-member board of directors, approved executive compensation, and re-appointed Ernst & Young LLP to serve as Walmart’s independent accounting firm.
“We have the people and the assets to succeed in the next generation of retail and we are building for that future,” McMillon said during the meeting. “The best way to create a valuable company is to build for the long term, manage the short term, and serve all relevant stakeholders. Walmart is doing that, and we will continue to. We see many opportunities in front of us.”
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