Good morning. Welcome to Marsh & McLennan Companies 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. I'm Kate Brennan, I'm the corporate secretary of the company. Today's meeting is being webcast. I'd like to ask everyone in the room to please turn off your cell phones and any other electronic devices. Of course, cameras and recording devices are not permitted during the meeting. Please note that remarks made by management today may include statements relating to future events or results, which are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please keep in mind that a variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially. In addition, remarks made today may refer to non-GAAP measures. Please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information.
To conduct an orderly meeting, we will handle the business of the meeting as shown in the order of business card and ask you to honor the meeting procedures printed on that card. We ask that all stockholders please wait until the designated question and answer period for any questions or comments. With that, I will turn the meeting over to our independent Chairman, Ed Hanway.
Thank you. As Kate said, I'm Ed Hanway, the independent chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies. On behalf of the company, its directors, and officers, welcome and thank you for coming to this annual meeting of stockholders. Before turning to today's agenda, I'd like to ask the company's independent directors to stand as I introduce them. Tony Anderson, former vice chair and Midwest area managing partner of Ernst & Young. Óscar Fanjul, vice chairman of Omega Capital. Debbie Hopkins, former chief executive officer of Citi Ventures and the chief innovation officer of Citigroup. Elaine LaRoche, chief executive officer of China International Capital Corporation, U.S. Securities Incorporated. Steve Mills, former executive vice president of software and systems of IBM. Bruce Nolop, former chief financial officer of E-Trade Financial Corporation. Marc Oken, managing partner of Falfurrias Capital Partners and the former chief financial officer of Bank of America Corporation.
Morty Schapiro, the president of Northwestern University. Lloyd Yates, executive vice president of market solutions at Duke Energy and president of Duke Energy's Carolinas region. Dave Yost, former president and chief executive officer of AmerisourceBergen. Dan Glaser also joins me here on the stage this morning. In addition to being the company's president and CEO, Dan is also a member of the board of directors. Ed Morrissey of Deloitte & Touche is also in attendance. Deloitte & Touche is the company's independent registered public accounting firm, and Ed is available to answer questions during the Q&A session later in the program. I hereby call the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders to order. After proceeding with the formal part of the meeting, we will announce the preliminary voting results. Dan will speak about the company, following which he will open the floor to questions.
Please save any questions you might have until that time. We have received affidavits confirming the distribution of the 2017 annual report, 2018 notice of annual meeting and proxy statement, and voting instructions to stockholders of record on March 19, 2018. The list of registered stockholders eligible to vote at this meeting is available for inspection by any stockholder at the sign-in table. Representatives of Broadridge have been appointed to serve as inspectors of election for this meeting and have taken their inspector's oath. The inspectors have reported that 457,986,438 shares, approximately 90% of the shares issued, outstanding, and entitled to vote, were represented at the beginning of this meeting. This constitutes a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, and therefore, a quorum is present for the transaction of business. We are meeting today to vote on the matters described in the 2018 proxy statement.
Voting will take place on these matters after they are presented. The first order of business is the election of the nominees listed in the proxy statement to serve as directors with terms expiring in 2019. No other nominations were submitted to the company. The company has a majority voting standard in the case of director elections that, like today, are uncontested. Accordingly, each nominee must receive a majority of the votes cast with respect to his or her nomination in order to be elected to the board. The second item on the agenda, commonly known as say on pay proposal, enables our stockholders to approve by non-binding vote the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in the 2018 proxy statement.
The third item on the agenda calls for the stockholders to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. The audit committee previously approved this appointment. The fourth and last item on the agenda is the proposal asking stockholders to approve additional shares for two stock purchase plans. The polls are now open. Stockholders present who have already voted by proxy need not vote again unless they wish to change their vote. If you still have a proxy card, please give it to an inspector of election. Would the inspectors of election please identify themselves? An inspector will furnish a ballot to any stockholder or stockholder representative who wishes to vote in person. Please raise your hand if you wish to vote in person, and we will provide you with a ballot.
The polls are now closed. I'll pause just for a moment. All right. Will the inspectors please collect any ballots? Thank you. The preliminary tally based on the votes cast at the start of the meeting show the following results. With regard to item one, the majority of shares voted were voted in favor of each of the director nominees, and thus they have all been elected. For item two, the majority of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote have voted in favor. Thus, stockholders have approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the company's named executive officers. For item three, the majority of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote have voted in favor. Thus, the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent auditors for 2018 has been ratified.
Finally, for item four, a majority of the shares present or represented and entitled to vote have voted in favor. Thus, the proposal has been approved. The inspectors of election will provide a final certified report of the vote following the meeting. That report will become a part of the record of this meeting and is not expected to affect the outcome of the voting announced today. A summary of the outcome of the vote will be posted to the company's website, and details of the final voting results will be filed with the SEC. Before I adjourn the formal part of the meeting, I would like to announce that earlier this morning, the board declared a dividend of $0.415 per share on outstanding common stock payable on August 15th, 2018 to stockholders of record on July 11th, 2018.
The formal part of the Marsh & McLennan Company 2018 annual meeting is adjourned, and it gives me great pleasure to turn the floor over to Dan.
Thank you, Ed. Good morning, everyone.
Morning, Dan.
Thank you all for joining us today. This is my sixth annual shareholders meeting as CEO of Marsh & McLennan, and it's an honor to continue to lead this great company. We're fortunate to have smart, talented colleagues throughout our organization. On that note, I'd like to introduce you to members of our Executive Committee. Going to ask each of them to stand as I call their name. John Doyle of Marsh, CEO of Marsh. Peter Hearn, CEO of Guy Carpenter. Julio Portalatin, CEO of Mercer. Scott McDonald, CEO of Oliver Wyman. Peter Beshar, General Counsel. Scott Gilbert, Chief Information Officer. Laurie Ledford, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Mark McGivney, Chief Financial Officer. We'd also like to acknowledge our Board of Directors, led by Ed Hanway, our independent Chairman. Thank you for your continued and steadfast governance and leadership.
Marsh & McLennan exists to help our clients address the most pressing issues of the day. Shifting demographics, healthcare, cybersecurity, natural catastrophes, accelerating digital transformation, to list just a few. 2017 was the year that tested the world on these fronts and many others. Changing times are when our clients need us most and when we can do the most to help them succeed. Changing times mean new risks, new opportunities, and new roles for their people. With our expertise in risk, strategy, and people, Marsh & McLennan is uniquely positioned to make a difference. While companies face significant challenges that cut across dimensions, it's the relentless advances in technology that seem to test us in different ways on a daily basis, amplifying the risk and opportunity for business and society at large.
Along with the vast potential technology creates for our clients, it also gives rise to growing risks like cyber and human challenges relating to changing roles in the workplace of the future. These issues are growing in scope and scale alongside a range of existing concerns, from demographic shifts to the affordability of healthcare to narrowing the insurance protection gap. Our range of capabilities sets us apart from other professional services firms. Look at any of today's critical issues, economic, environmental, geopolitical, cultural, technological, you'll find Marsh & McLennan working on them. More than ever, organizations need advisors who can help them navigate today's complex risks, craft strategies to realize new opportunities, and redeploy their people to build lasting advantage in a shifting landscape, enabling them to prosper well into the future.
The excellent results Marsh & McLennan delivered in 2017 reflect the purpose-driven efforts of nearly 55,000 colleagues around the world. Our colleagues come to work every day thinking about what they can do for our clients, the problems they need to solve, and how to contribute to work that they can be proud of. They thrive on making a meaningful difference in critical moments for our clients, our communities, and our larger society. 2017 marked another strong year of financial performance for Marsh & McLennan. We generated $14 billion in consolidated revenue, an increase of 6% compared with 2016, or 3% on an underlying basis. Adjusted operating income rose 10% to $3 billion, and our consolidated adjusted margin increased 70 basis points to 21.2%, our 10th consecutive year of margin improvement. Our adjusted earnings per share grew 15% to $3.92.
Since 2009, our adjusted EPS has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 13%. We are among the elite 5% of S&P 500 companies with revenue over $5 billion that have grown adjusted EPS by at least 8% in each year since 2009. We established two capital commitments to shareholders at our Investor Day in March 2014. For the fourth year in a row, we met these commitments to increase our dividends per share by double digits and to reduce our total shares outstanding. In 2017, we returned more than $1.6 billion to our shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. We reduced our share count by 6 million shares, or 1.1%, and increased our dividends per share by 10%.
Our first quarter financial performance marked a strong start to 2018, consistent with our plan to deliver underlying revenue growth between 3%-5%, margin expansion, and strong growth in adjusted earnings per share in 2018. We strive to deliver excellence in everything we do for our clients and our shareholders. We do this by fostering a culture of open exchanges and constructive dissent, a culture of inclusion, respect, and a culture of doing what's right. Our unflinching commitment to acting with integrity in all that we do underpins our ability to deliver consistent and sustainable financial performance. I would like to thank our colleagues for their energy and commitment, our clients for the opportunity to earn their trust every day, and our investors for their continued support. We're always seeking investors who support our balanced approach of delivering strong financial performance today while investing for our future.
Thank you for your time today. Before I take your questions, I'll turn it over to Kate for an overview of the Q&A procedures.
Thank you, Dan. Before moving to the Q&A period, I'd like to highlight some of the meeting procedures found on the back of the order of business card, including if you would like to ask a question, please line up at one of the microphones on either side of the room. After you're recognized, please state your name, your status as a stockholder or proxy holder, and if a proxy holder, the name of the stockholder that you represent. Please limit your questions to two or up to two minutes each for a total of up to four minutes. In fairness to all stockholders in attendance, the chairman, the CEO, or I may stop certain comments or questions, such as those that are unrelated to the company business or repetitive.
Thank you. I'd be happy to take any questions. We have two microphones on each side of the room.
I'm Donald Graham from Springfield, Illinois. I'm very happy with your performance. I noticed that you have eliminated the defined benefit compensation for your high employees, I guess. You have a major position in Illinois and perhaps in many other states. I'm wondering, it seems that Illinois needs some help along those lines. Illinois provides defined benefit program for all of the state employees. You're an excellent consultant. Can you help in any way the various states that are having these financial difficulties move to a program like you have done?
It's an interesting question. It's an issue in a lot of municipalities where municipalities have made commitments that will be difficult for them to meet. We, as a matter of practice within Mercer and our defined benefit actuarial practice, decided to forego advising states on actuarial matters. At times, it can be quite difficult dealing with the changing vagaries of the political scene. We looked at it as being a sense that for, as a company, the risks associated with advising on public company, municipal type of pension plan on an actuarial basis, to us, exceeded the level of business that we would actually be able to generate and do profitably. That's not to say we're not consultants in defined benefit programs in general. We would be happy to assist states evaluate different ways that they would be able to still provide some level of retirement benefit.
As you cite, in many parts of the world, there has already been a movement towards defined contribution types of levels as opposed to defined benefit. I know we have at least one board member from Illinois. There's many states that are grappling with the same kind of issues, maybe not quite as severe as Illinois, I thank you for your question. Any other questions?
If there are no other questions, a simple and kind of open-ended one for you and also for the-
Sorry about that. Just wait one second. I think we're going to try
Obviously, as shareholders, we're interested in growth, and the board has accountability and leads with governance. I was just wondering what you feel are the biggest variables or drivers that would help growth and the issues or challenges in terms of governance. I see you as great risk managers professionally, and I would imagine you're not going to [make those children eternally].
Sure.
Thank you. Josh Reisman, I'm a shareholder. I live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Okay, thanks. Thank you. Let me take your question in two parts. First on, in terms of growth, I can assure you that when the executive committee meets, as we do regularly, we generally focus on growth. Growth strategies is one of the core areas that we dig into, along with financial performance, risk issues, people issues, and client development, client concerns. We're very much engaged in that. Growth, it starts with, are you positioned in the right businesses? We think the areas of risk strategy and people are all growth areas. There's a lot of changes going on in the world. In our view, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, the issues of risk strategy and people will still resonate.
It may be a far different environment with many different facets to an organization, but still in a broad sense, risk strategy and people, we think are positioned well. Are we in the right market? We're in over 100 countries doing business. Where there's growth in the world, I think we're there to capture it. Are we in the right areas? Yes. Are we in the right market? Are we positioned in the right segment? You may recall over many years, our position was a little top-heavy, where we had large positions in the large account business and less so in the middle market and in small commercial and in all facets of our business.
We have made efforts over the last number of years to really push into different segments of the market using our capabilities as a firm, taking those capabilities and resources and putting them to use in the broad middle market in many countries. Just as an example, in the U.S., our strategy of Marsh McLennan Agency or building out Jelf and Bluefin are two examples. Mercer, building a high-quality investment business and Mercer Marketplace on the healthcare side, Mercer MMX, are two areas where we have devoted a lot of resources for organic investment in those businesses, and all are growing well. We are very much focused on growth. Our performance over the last eight years now has been that we've been able to grow 3%-5% organically, and then we add to that through acquisition almost every year, although we don't budget acquisitions.
Fundamentally, we're cultivating companies over long periods of time, periodically we have an opportunity to do an acquisition, organic growth is at the very heart. Governance is very important for all companies, people businesses in particular. We have to have all of our employees really accept the notion that this is our company, and we're all obligated to do the right thing and protect the organization. When we look on our governance spaces, it's not only the hard and fast systems and controls that we have, it's also cultural.
All of the board and the executive committee encourage a company culture which is open, transparent, where it's safe to speak up and raise concerns, where everybody has a voice and is listened to, because we think that's the best prophylactic to protect the organization from risk issues that would pop up from time to time. Any other questions? You're welcome.
Annual meeting.
Thank you. Thank you very much for attending.