Costco Gains as Investors Balk on Diversity Issue

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) shareholders voted strongly against a proposal requesting a report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives, the U.S. company said on Thursday, sending a message running counter to the intense scrutiny many such corporate policies face.The vote was seen as an early test of investor views about the value of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which many companies added or beefed up starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.More than 98% of the shareholders voted against it at the annual meeting, Costco said.Last year, shareholder resolutions at U.S. corporations looking to counter DEI programs and other corporate social considerations garnered less than 2% support on average.Lindsey Stewart, director of stewardship research and policy for Morningstar Sustainalytics, said the similar result at Costco “suggests that even if the political environment on inclusion in the workplace is changing, investors’ low propensity to support anti-DEI resolutions is thus far unchanged.”U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that directed government agency chiefs to dismantle DEI policies at federal agencies, federal contractors and in the private sector.COST shares grabbed $1.97 to $944.13.