Welcome to the annual meeting for Helmerich & Payne, Inc. Our host for today's call is John Lindsay, CEO and Director. I will now turn the call over to your host. Mr. Lindsay, you may begin, sir.
Thank you, Paul. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm John Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. I will serve as the chairman of this meeting. I'm going to call the meeting to order and welcome you to our annual meeting of the stockholders. In the interest of a fair and orderly meeting, we ask that you follow the rules of conduct of the annual meeting. The agenda, the rules for conduct, proxy statement, and annual report are available in the virtual annual meeting portal. Among other things, the rules of conduct address procedures with respect to questions. If we do not address questions at the meeting in accordance with the rules, we will reach out with a response. I'd like to start by making a few introductions. The Chairman of our board of directors, Hans Helmerich.
Other directors that are in attendance, Delaney Bellinger, Belgacem Chariag, Kevin Cramton, Randy Foutch, Elizabeth Killinger, Don Robillard, and John Zeglis. Trey Adams, our President and incoming CEO upon the conclusion of this meeting. Brian Storms, a representative from Ernst & Young, the company's independent auditor. An Inspector of the Election, Tony Carideo, who is representative of Broadridge Financial Solutions. Will Galt, our Corporate Secretary, will now make the statement regarding mailing of notice and declaration of a quorum.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This meeting is being held pursuant to printed notice mailed on or about January 22, 2026, to each stockholder of record on January 5, 2026. The affidavit of distribution from Broadridge Financial Solutions will be filed in the company's minute book. A notice of Internet availability of proxy materials and the company's proxy materials were first made available to our stockholders on January 22, 2026. The count of shares present immediately prior to the commencement of this meeting indicated that 92,362,119 shares of the company's voting common stock were present in person or by proxy, which constitutes a quorum for this meeting.
Okay. The polls are now open. Any stockholder who hasn't yet voted or wishes to change their vote may do so by clicking on the voting button in the virtual annual meeting web portal and following the instructions there. There are 4 proposals before the meeting today. Stockholders may submit questions using the text box on the virtual annual meeting portal if you have joined the meeting with your control number. We will address any appropriate questions regarding proposals after I address each of them. Proposal one: election of directors. The following 10 individuals have been nominated as directors of the company with terms expiring in 2027. Trey Adams, Delaney Bellinger, Belgacem Chariag, Kevin Cramton, Randy Foutch, Hans Helmerich, Elizabeth Killinger, José Mas, Donald Robillard, and John Zeglis. I declare nominations closed since the company has not timely received any other nominations.
The company recommends a vote for each individual nominated by the board. Proposal 2: ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors of the company for fiscal 2026. The company recommends a vote for proposal 2. Proposal 3: an advisory vote to approve the executive compensation disclosed in the proxy statement. The company recommends a vote for proposal 3. Finally, proposal 4: approval of the Helmerich & Payne, Inc. 2024 Amended and Restated Omnibus Incentive Plan. The company recommends a vote for proposal 4. While we allow time for stockholders to complete voting, I'd like to remind you that some of the statements made at this meeting may be considered forward-looking. We urge you to read the rules of the meeting and the notice regarding forward-looking statements posted in the annual meeting web portal.
We will pause for a moment to answer any questions. No questions related to any of the proposals have been submitted consistent with the rules of the meeting. We will now close the polls. The inspector should now tabulate the vote for the 4 proposals.
Mr. Lindsay.
Yes.
Would you like my report?
Yes, please, Tony.
All right. The vote shows that the stockholders have elected each of the 10 director nominees by a majority of the votes cast. The stockholders have ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company's independent auditor by a for vote of more than 96.55% of the shares present and entitled to vote. The shareholders have approved on an advisory basis the company's executive compensation, as disclosed in the proxy statement, by a for vote of over 97.6% of the shares present and entitled to vote. Finally, the shareholders have approved the Helmerich & Payne amended and restated 2024 Omnibus Incentive Plan by a for vote of more than 93.94% of the shares present and entitled to vote.
The final results of the vote today will be announced on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC within 4 business days of this meeting.
Thank you, Tony. I declare that the following have been approved by the company's stockholders. The 10 director nominees and proposals 2, 3, and 4 have been approved in the manner stated by the Inspector of Election. Since there is no further business to come before the meeting, the formal business of the meeting is now concluded. It appears that there are no questions, so no proposals related to questions have been submitted consistent with the rules of the meeting. Before we leave you today, I'd like to briefly recognize an important milestone for our company. Stockholders have elected Trey Adams to serve on the board of directors. I want to personally welcome Trey to the board and congratulate him as he now assumes the role of CEO.
Trey has been an integral part of H&P's leadership team for many years and has played a key role in advancing our strategy, strengthening our operations, and positioning H&P for the future. I have great confidence in his leadership, our leadership team, and in the continued success of H&P under his direction. It's been an honor to serve as CEO, and I'm deeply grateful to our employees, customers, directors, and stockholders for their trust and support over the past 12 years. I look forward to supporting Trey and the team in this next chapter for the company. Trey, congratulations.
Thank you, John. On behalf of the board and everyone at H&P, I want to congratulate you on an extraordinary career and thank you for your leadership, integrity, and lasting contributions to H&P. Your impact on our culture, performance, and long-term success will continue to be felt for many years to come. I am honored by the opportunity to serve as CEO and director and to continue building on the strong foundation that John and the leadership team have established. I look forward to working with our employees, customers, and stockholders as we continue to move forward.
In closing, we appreciate the continued support of our stockholders. Thank you for attending H&P's annual meeting today. Paul, we will now close the line.
Thank you. The meeting has now concluded. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.