Good morning. I'm David Marriott, Chairman of the Board of Marriott International. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Thank you for joining us today. As is our custom, we will conduct the business portion of our meeting first, and then answer questions at the end of the meeting. You may vote or submit a question now online. Though we may not be able to answer every question, we will do our best to provide a response to as many as possible, and we will address unanswered questions after the meeting. As a reminder, any questions submitted should be pertinent to Marriott International and meeting matters and must be in accordance with the rules of conduct, which are posted on the meeting website. Now I'd like to officially call the meeting to order.
Let me introduce the other members of the Board of Directors. First, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Capuano. In addition, Marriott's Board members include Bella Goren, Debbie Marriott Harrison, Fred Henderson, Lauren Hobart, Aylwin Lewis, Meg McCarthy, Grant Reid, Horacio Rozanski, Susan Schwab, and Sean Tresvant. In addition to the members of the Board, our Corporate Secretary, Andy Wright, and our Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Rena Reiss, are also on the line, along with other members of the management team. I also want to recognize Debra Lee, who earlier this year announced that she will retire from the Board and is not standing for re-election at today's annual meeting. Debbie has served on Marriott's Board of Directors since 2004.
Among her many contributions to Marriott, Debbie helped guide the company through transformational growth and significant change while remaining a steadfast advocate of the company's culture and core values. She was an integral member and chair of our Inclusion and Social Impact Committee and has been instrumental in championing the company's efforts to create access to opportunity and connect people through the power of travel. We are so grateful to her for her more than 20 years of service to the company and the board. Thank you, Debbie. Our corporate secretary has reported to me that in compliance with our bylaws, the mailing of the notice of this meeting began on March 27, 2026, to stockholders of record as of March 11, 2026. He also reports that a majority of the issued and outstanding shares are represented on this call. Accordingly, a quorum exists.
The polls are open on all matters. As a first order of business, the agenda for the items to be voted on at today's meeting has been set forth and described in the proxy statement. Because these matters have been described in the proxy statement, I will not go into detail here. The first item of business is the election of the 12 director nominees listed in the proxy statement to serve as directors until the 2027 Annual Meeting. The second item of business is the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2026. The third item of business is an advisory non-binding vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers. The Board of Directors recommends a vote in favor of each director nominee and in favor of the second and third items.
As you know, stockholders were able to vote by mail, phone or online before today's meeting and were able to submit questions online. You may also vote or submit a question now online. As a reminder, any questions submitted should be pertinent to Marriott International and the meeting matters and must be in accordance with the meeting's rules of conduct, which are posted on the meeting website. We will pause briefly for any final votes or questions. The polls are now closed. Here is the outcome of the voting based on preliminary voting results. Item one, each of the director nominees was elected. Item two, the ratification of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent accounting firm for fiscal year 2026 was approved. Item three, the advisory vote to approve executive compensation was approved.
We will provide final result figures once the numbers are confirmed as final by the Inspector of Election. This concludes the formal agenda for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Marriott International Stockholders. This meeting is officially adjourned and will now address questions that were submitted before and during the meeting. I want to remind you that some of our remarks in response to questions may not be historical facts and may be considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, as described in our SEC filings, which could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our comments. As I mentioned before, I'm joined this morning by Tony Capuano, our President and CEO, and other members of the board and management team. Good morning, Tony.
Good morning, David, let me add my thanks to our fellow stockholders for joining us today. I want to remind stockholders that we reported our first quarter 2026 earnings this week. I encourage you to visit our investor relations website to listen to a replay of the earnings conference call for an update on our recent results and current business trends and outlook and to find other information about the company and our business. I continue to be so proud of the nearly 800,000 associates who wear the Marriott name badge around the world and want to thank them for the dedication and care that they bring to Marriott and our guests each and every day. Let's take some questions.
The first question that was submitted is as follows: Is democracy good for business?
Thank you for the question. Geopolitical and economic stability is good for economies, consumers, and our business. As a U.S.-based company with global operations in 146 countries and territories, we are focused on creating access to opportunity for our workforce and welcoming guests around the world, something Marriott International has done for nearly 100 years. We remain committed to working with government leaders around the world to help achieve positive outcomes for our business and will continue to do so as we look to the future.
The next question is: Will there ever be a shareholder discount?
Thank you for the question. We greatly value the support of our stockholders and their interest in engaging with Marriott and our brands. While at this time we do not offer a specific shareholder discount program, we welcome our shareholders to join Marriott's award-winning Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, offering discounts and other benefits for members across our global portfolio.
We received several other comments, but there are no further questions.
Thank you, and we appreciate your support, investment in the company, and membership in Marriott Bonvoy, and we thank you for staying with us around the globe. We consider you to be part of the extended Marriott family. We wish you all the best and thank you very much.
This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.