Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Reject CEO Zaslav $52M Pay Package

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have delivered a strong rebuke to CEO David Zaslav by voting down his $51.9 million executive compensation package in a non-binding 'say-on-pay' vote, with nearly 60% opposing the pay. Despite the vote, Zaslav and other top executives will still receive their compensation, though the board has expressed it takes shareholder concerns seriously and intends to engage in dialogue. The disapproval reflects broader dissatisfaction linked to the company's nearly 60% stock decline since the 2022 merger that created WBD and the downgrade of its credit rating to junk status amid heavy debt burdens. Zaslav has pursued aggressive debt reduction strategies, including pulling content from Max and considering a spin-off of TV assets, while focusing on growing the company's direct-to-consumer streaming business. Analysts maintain an 'Outperform' rating on WBD stock with a potential upside of over 30%, despite current challenges and shareholder pushback on executive pay. The vote underscores ongoing tensions between shareholder expectations and compensation practices at WBD amid a difficult financial and operational landscape.