Apple shareholders reject call for report on China manufacturing risks

By Stephen Nellis and Zaheer Kachwala

Feb 24 (Reuters) – Apple shareholders on Tuesday rejected a proposal to report on the company’s dependence on China to manufacture most of its products. 

The vote came after Apple has worked for nearly a decade to broaden its manufacturing base to Vietnam, India and the U.S., where it said earlier that it would assemble some of its Mac mini computers to meet U.S. demand starting later this year.

During a question-and-answer session, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told shareholders that the company continues to plan for annual increases to its dividend but is prioritizing investments in technologies such as AI.

“We start by making all of the investments we believe are necessary to grow and manage our business, to innovate and to support our roadmap of products and services,” Cook said. “That’s our highest priority. It’s what drives decisions around investments, and it’s what has the biggest impact when it comes to creating value for shareholders.”

Apple shareholders approved all four of the company’s proposals in addition to defeating the lone proposal from shareholders on the day’s ballot.

However, the portion of Apple investors voting against the company’s “say on pay” measure – a mandatory vote for U.S. publicly traded companies to approve executive compensation – crept up slightly, with 8.6% of the more than 9 billion votes cast voting against it, after excluding abstentions and broker non-votes. 

The previous year’s share of “against” votes for Apple’s pay proposal was 7.6%.

Cook’s pay stayed steady in 2025, coming in at $74.29 million in 2025, versus $74.61 million the previous year, according to the company’s proxy statement.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Maju Samuel, Lisa Shumaker and Stephen Coates)