VERALTO CORP (VLTO)
Sector: Industrials
2026 Annual Meeting Analysis
VERALTO CORP · Meeting: May 13, 2026
Directors FOR
4
Directors AGAINST
0
Say on Pay
FOR
Auditor
FOR
Director Elections
Election of Class III Directors
Ms. Filler passes all policy screens: no overboarding concern (holds 2 public board seats — Danaher and Carlyle Group), attendance is strong (directors collectively at 97%), and the TSR trigger does not fire because Veralto's 3-year return of +10.3% versus the peer group median of +42.1% represents a gap of -31.8pp, which is below the 35pp threshold required to trigger a No vote for a company with low-positive absolute TSR.
Ms. Honeycutt is the CEO and an executive director; she is subject to the same TSR trigger as other directors, but the 3-year peer group underperformance gap of -31.8pp does not reach the 35pp threshold required to trigger a No vote, so no TSR-based concern applies; no overboarding, attendance, or independence issues are present.
Mr. Mitts holds seats at Veralto and TE Connectivity (2 public boards), well below the 4-seat overboarding limit; the TSR underperformance gap of -31.8pp versus the peer group does not reach the 35pp trigger threshold; attendance and independence are satisfactory.
Mr. Williams holds seats at Veralto and Sherwin-Williams (2 public boards), below the overboarding limit; the TSR underperformance gap of -31.8pp versus the peer group does not reach the 35pp trigger threshold; attendance and independence are satisfactory.
All four Class III director nominees — Linda Filler, Jennifer L. Honeycutt, Heath A. Mitts, and Thomas L. Williams — receive a FOR vote. Veralto's 3-year stock return of +10.3% falls into the low-positive tier, which requires a peer group underperformance gap of at least 35 percentage points to trigger a No vote. The actual gap is -31.8pp, just below that threshold, so the TSR trigger does not fire for any director. No overboarding, independence, attendance, or qualification concerns are identified for any nominee.
Say on Pay
✓ FORCEO
Jennifer L. Honeycutt
Total Comp
$14,803,238
Prior Support
93%%
CEO total compensation of approximately $14.8 million is broadly in line with benchmarks for a CEO at a $21 billion industrials company, and the prior year say-on-pay vote received 93% support — well above the 70% threshold that would require a response. Pay structure is strong: 90.2% of the CEO's target pay is variable or performance-based (far exceeding the 50-60% policy minimum), with long-term equity making up the largest portion and incorporating rigorous metrics including 3-year relative total shareholder return versus the S&P 500 and a return on invested capital modifier. While Veralto's stock has lagged its sector peers over 3 years, the variable pay structure — including performance share awards that pay out based on relative stock performance — appropriately links executive outcomes to shareholder experience, and there is no evidence of above-benchmark incentive pay being awarded despite poor performance. The company also maintains a robust clawback policy that was expanded in 2025 beyond SEC requirements.
Auditor Ratification
✓ FORAuditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Tenure
3 yrs
Audit Fees
$8,750
Non-Audit Fees
$1,600
Ernst & Young has served as Veralto's auditor since the company's separation from Danaher in 2023, giving it approximately 3 years of tenure — well below the 25-year threshold that would raise independence concerns. Non-audit fees (audit-related fees of $400k plus tax fees of $1,200k) total $1,600k against audit fees of $8,750k, a ratio of roughly 18%, comfortably below the 50% threshold. EY is a Big 4 firm appropriate for a $21 billion market-cap company. No restatement concerns are present.
Overall Assessment
Veralto's 2026 annual meeting presents a clean ballot with no significant governance red flags. All four Class III director nominees receive a FOR vote as the company's 3-year peer group underperformance gap of -31.8 percentage points falls just short of the 35-point trigger threshold; Ernst & Young is ratified on favorable fee ratios and short tenure; and the say-on-pay program earns a FOR based on strong pay-for-performance structure, high prior-year shareholder support of 93%, and a compensation design that puts more than 90% of CEO pay at risk.
Compensation Peer Group
16 companies disclosed in 2026 proxy filing