Shareholders approved 28th consecutive dividend increase to CHF 3.50 (+6.1%) per share for 2024, representing a 3.5% yield¹
Shareholders elected Giovanni Caforio as new member and Chair of the Board of Directors as well as Elizabeth McNally as new member of the Board of Directors. Joerg Reinhardt, Charles L. Sawyers and William T. Winters did not stand for re-election
Shareholders approved all other proposals by the Board of Directors, including the reduction of share capital, the 2024 report on non-financial matters and the 2024 Compensation Report, as well as the future Board and Executive Committee compensation in separate binding votes
Basel, March 7, 2025 – Novartis shareholders today agreed to the Board of Directors’ recommendations for all proposed resolutions at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). A total of 1,693 shareholders were present at the meeting held in Basel, representing approximately 57.42% of the issued shares of Novartis.
With a dividend increase of 6.1% to CHF 3.50 per share, shareholders approved the 28th consecutive increase, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.5%1. Payment of the 2024 dividend will be made from March 13, 2025.
Election of new Board Chair and a new member of the Board Shareholders have elected Giovanni Caforio as new member of the Board of Directors and Board Chair.
In addition, shareholders elected Elizabeth McNally as new member of the Board of Directors. Joerg Reinhardt, Charles L. Sawyers, and William T. Winters did not stand for re-election. All other members of the Board of Directors have been re-elected. All elections and re-elections pertain to a term lasting until completion of the next AGM.
Shareholders also re-elected all current members of the Compensation Committee and elected John D. Young as new member of the Compensation Committee each for a term lasting until completion of the next AGM. With his re-election, Simon Moroney remains Chair of the committee in line with the designation from the Board of Directors.
Reduction of share capital Shareholders also approved the proposal by the Board of Directors to cancel 77 508 630 shares and to reduce the share capital accordingly by CHF 37 979 228.70 (from CHF 1 073 065 943.53 to CHF 1 035 086 714.83).
Further share repurchases To allow for the full execution of the already announced share buyback of up to CHF 15 billion and potential additional share buybacks, shareholders approved the Board of Directors’ proposal to authorize the Board of Directors to repurchase shares as deemed appropriate from time to time up to CHF 10 billion from the 2025 AGM to the 2028 AGM. This is in addition to the remaining authorization of CHF 3.5 billion2 from the 2022 and 2023 AGMs.
Compensation for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee In two separate binding votes, shareholders approved the total maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Board of Directors, covering the period from the 2025 AGM to the 2026 AGM, and the total maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Executive Committee for the 2025 financial year. Shareholders further endorsed the 2024 Compensation Report in an advisory vote.
Resolutions For a detailed listing of all resolutions at the 2025 AGM, please visit: https://novartis.com/agm
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About Novartis Novartis is an innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach nearly 300 million people worldwide.
