Special
By
Part 2
Election Results
At this point, it was announced that votes had been preliminarily tabulated and that the various proposals had all passed. Some had passed with as little support as 64% of all shares, and others with as much as 86% of all shares. The official results, we were told, would be in the minutes of the meeting.
Questions and Answers
Steve Case took to the podium again and opened up the floor for questions. He asked people to give their names and where they were from, and to wait for a microphone to get to them, so that everyone could hear, including those watching and/or listening on the Web. (It seems that some 650 people were virtually attending the meeting.) He also explained that he would field the easy questions and Bob would take the hard ones. Many people with questions raised their hands. About 15 were answered. Those who managed to ask questions were from the local area (Virginia and Maryland) and from places as far away as Oregon, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, and El Salvador (from the Web).
Here are just a few of the questions and answers. Again, I'm no stenographer. These are summaries I scrawled on my pad.
Q: What are the geographical limits to AOL Hong Kong?
A: AOL Hong Kong, like our other international services, is staffed mainly with local people, using local resources, and so on. It does set the stage for an eventual entry into China, but that might take a while. In the long run, China will be a tremendous opportunity. In the meantime, icq is building a presence in the region.
Q: (From the Web) Are free ISPs a threat?
A: That model works well in some places, but not the U.S. In the U.K. it hasn't destroyed value for us. As we've learned from our directors who work in traditional media, the blend between subscriber and advertising revenue is critical.
Q: Can we vote for a stock split? (hearty applause and cheers)
A: (Case laughs) Well, now a split is an option, as we've approved the increase in the number of shares. (Interestingly, a few hours after the meeting, the board of directors did vote on and announce a 2-for-1 stock split.)
Q: Is there any pending announcement regarding AT&T?
A: If I told you, I'd have to kill you, so I won't tell you. It's always important to have a dialogue with a company like AT&T. I would hope that at some point, in some way, we'll be able to do some things together. Was that a good duck?
Q: Who do you see as your competition, and what message would you like to send them? (laughter)
A: Well, Microsoft and AT&T are probably our major competitors in the long run, but it's kind of a surprise that they haven't been more so, so far. Also, many companies are trying to become Internet companies these days. Some will be partners, some will be competitors. Our main competitor has to be Microsoft, with its deep pockets. If we have easy-to-use products and keep enhancing them, we'll win. If we get lazy, we'll lose. Execution matters. Anyone can put out press releases.
Q: What will AOL TV offer?
A: The TV world seems ripe for reinvention. Navigating so many channels is cumbersome. The Internet is designed in an opposite way, with infinite choices. The two will blur a little. We can make TV better, make some things interactive, where appropriate.
Q: When we were driving around Dulles, it was hard to find your facility. What are your expansion plans?
A: (Case laughed and joked that it was hard to find so Microsoft wouldn't find it.) A few years ago we had 500 employees. We now have more than 12,000, many here in Virginia. We bought 80 acres a few years ago, and are expanding constantly. We're eager to be able to handle our growth.
Case closed the meeting after it had lasted about 90 minutes, in total. His last comments were (paraphrased):
Most people are still not connected. In the next decade, our opportunity is unbelievable. If we execute successfully, we can continue to make progress. Our goal is to build a medium we can be proud of, to become the most valuable and most respected company in the world.
Last Thoughts
I enjoyed this meeting and am now eager to attend the meetings of other companies in which I hold stock. If you've never attended an annual shareholder meeting, you should give it a whirl. As long as the company is one you're interested in and familiar with, you shouldn't find the meeting boring or hard to understand. Even though you might not feel like an important shareholder, you are still an owner of the company, like anyone else. You still have the right to be heard -- and this is the forum in which to be heard.
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