STOCK TITAN

Strong director support at Southern Company (NYSE: SO) 2026 shareholder meeting

Filing Impact
(Moderate)
Filing Sentiment
(Neutral)
Form Type
8-K

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

The Southern Company reported the results of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on May 13, 2026. Stockholders elected twelve director nominees, each receiving about 97% to 99% of votes cast. For example, Janaki Akella received 784,876,449 votes for, or 98.68% of votes cast, and John M. Turner, Jr. received 787,367,826 votes for, or 99.00% of votes cast.

The filing also lists several other stockholder voting results on ten matters overall, with detailed counts for votes for, votes against, abstentions, and broker non-votes. In addition, the company filed as exhibits a Certificate of Amendment and a Restated Certificate of Incorporation, each dated and effective May 13, 2026.

Positive

  • None.

Negative

  • None.
Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders Governance
Results of a shareholder vote on proposals at an annual or special meeting.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits Exhibits
Financial statements, pro forma financial information, and exhibit attachments filed with this report.
Votes for Janaki Akella 784,876,449 votes Director election, 98.68% of votes cast for
Votes for John M. Turner, Jr. 787,367,826 votes Director election, 99.00% of votes cast for
Broker non-votes on director items 179,338,232 shares Broker non-votes for each director nominee
Votes for a proposal by outstanding shares 733,634,497 votes Represents 65.07% of shares outstanding on one matter
Votes against a heavily opposed proposal 777,636,402 votes Item with 1.26% votes for and large votes against
Broker Non-Votes financial
"Abstentions | Broker Non-Votes Janaki Akella ... 2,053,270 | 179,338,232"
Broker non-votes occur when a brokerage firm is unable to vote on a shareholder’s behalf during a company election or decision because the shareholder has not given specific voting instructions, and the broker is not allowed or chooses not to vote on certain matters. They are important because they can affect the outcome of votes, especially when the results are close, by effectively reducing the total number of votes cast.
Restated Certificate of Incorporation regulatory
"Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated May 13 , 2026."
A restated certificate of incorporation is an updated, single-document version of a company’s founding rules that folds together the original charter and all later changes into one clear set of terms — like replacing a patchwork manual with a clean, revised edition. Investors care because it clarifies ownership details, voting rights, share classes and other legal rules that affect control, dividends and how value is created or diluted, so it can change the risks and benefits of owning the stock.
Certificate of Amendment regulatory
"Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, effective May 13 , 2026 ."
A certificate of amendment is an official filing that updates a company’s founding documents—its legal “rulebook” that sets share structure, voting rules, name and basic purpose. Think of it like changing the blueprint of a building: small changes are paperwork, big ones can alter who owns how much and who controls decisions. Investors watch these filings because they can affect share counts, voting power, dilution and company value.
Emerging growth company regulatory
"Emerging growth company The Southern Company (the “Company”) held its Annual Meeting"
An emerging growth company is a recently public or smaller public firm that qualifies for temporary, lighter regulatory and disclosure rules to reduce the cost and effort of being public. For investors, it means the company may provide less historical financial detail and face fewer reporting requirements than larger firms, so it can grow more quickly but also carries higher uncertainty—like buying a promising early-stage product with fewer user reviews.
Inline XBRL technical
"Cover Page Interactive Data File – The cover page iXBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document."
Inline XBRL is a file format for financial filings that embeds machine-readable data tags directly inside the human-readable report, so the same document can be read by people and parsed by software. For investors it makes extracting, comparing and verifying financial numbers faster and more reliable—like a grocery list where each item also has a barcode—reducing manual errors and speeding up analysis.
0000092122FALSE00000921222026-05-132026-05-130000092122us-gaap:CommonStockMember2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:Series2017B5.25JuniorSubordinatedNotesDue2077Member2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:Series2020A4.95JuniorSubordinatedNotesDue2080Member2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:Series2020C420JuniorSubordinatedNotesDue2060Member2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:Series2021B1875FixedToFixedResetRateJuniorSubordinatedNotesDue2081Member2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:Series2025A6.50JuniorSubordinatedNotesDue2085Member2026-05-132026-05-130000092122so:A2025SeriesACorporateUnitsMember2026-05-132026-05-13

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)May 13, 2026

Commission
File Number
Registrant,
State of Incorporation,
Address and Telephone Number
I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.
1-3526The Southern Company58-0690070
(A Delaware Corporation)
30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
(404) 506-5000

The name and address of the registrant have not changed since the last report.

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:




RegistrantTitle of each classTrading
Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange
on which registered
The Southern CompanyCommon Stock, par value $5 per shareSONew York Stock Exchange
The Southern CompanySeries 2017B 5.25% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2077SOJCNew York Stock Exchange
The Southern CompanySeries 2020A 4.95% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2080SOJDNew York Stock Exchange
The Southern Company
Series 2020C 4.20% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2060
SOJENew York Stock Exchange
The Southern CompanySeries 2021B 1.875% Fixed-to-Fixed Reset Rate Junior Subordinated Notes due 2081SO 81New York Stock Exchange
The Southern CompanySeries 2025A 6.50% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2085SOJFNew York Stock Exchange
The Southern Company2025 Series A Corporate UnitsSOMNNew York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company  
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  




Item 5.07.Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
The Southern Company (the “Company”) held its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on
May 13, 2026. Stockholders voted as follows on the ten matters presented for a vote:
1.The nominees for election to the Board of Directors were elected based on the following votes:
NomineesVotes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
Janaki Akella784,876,44998.68 %10,432,4532,053,270179,338,232 
Shantella E. Cooper783,342,95598.49 %11,966,8812,052,336179,338,232 
Anthony F. Earley, Jr.778,970,28897.94 %16,310,2132,081,671179,338,232 
James O. Etheredge787,103,00998.97 %8,171,4852,087,678179,338,232 
David J. Grain771,268,16796.98 %24,003,6462,090,359179,338,232 
John D. Johns782,392,63498.38 %12,882,3962,087,142179,338,232 
David E. Meador780,239,34898.10 %15,074,9482,047,876179,338,232 
William G. Smith, Jr.772,562,01797.14 %22,714,1252,086,030179,338,232 
Kristine L. Svinicki779,969,35498.06 %15,380,3512,012,467179,338,232 
Lizanne Thomas774,256,08297.34 %21,142,0311,964,059179,338,232 
John M. Turner, Jr.787,367,82699.00 %7,923,3032,071,043179,338,232 
Christopher C. Womack773,084,31897.20 %22,205,4192,072,435179,338,232 

2.The proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, the Company’s named executive officers’ compensation was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
754,894,25895.24 %37,651,5704,816,344179,338,232

3.The proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2026 was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
947,424,57297.24 %26,799,4792,476,353N/A




4.The proposal to approve an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to authorize additional common stock was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
946,532,07297.39 %25,346,091 4,822,241 N/A

5.The proposal to approve an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to authorize the issuance of preferred stock was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Outstanding ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
733,634,49765.07 %60,516,5663,211,109179,338,232
 

6.The proposal to approve an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to provide for officer exculpation was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Outstanding ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
686,673,47660.91 %106,098,5074,590,189179,338,232

7.The proposal to approve miscellaneous amendments to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modernize, clarify and conform the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation was approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Outstanding ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
788,336,97569.93 %5,357,0893,668,108179,338,232

8.The stockholder proposal regarding an independent board chairman was not approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
103,219,77113.06 %686,754,6737,387,728179,338,232



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9.The stockholder proposal regarding a report on data center costs was not approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
76,742,4279.74 %710,841,5269,778,219179,338,232

10.The stockholder proposal regarding a report on climate due diligence was not approved based upon the following votes:

Votes For% Votes Cast ForVotes AgainstAbstentionsBroker
Non-Votes
9,987,2131.26 %777,636,4029,738,557179,338,232


Item 9.01.
Financial Statements and Exhibits.
 (d) Exhibits.
  3.1
Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, effective May 13, 2026.
  3.2
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated May 13, 2026.
  104Cover Page Interactive Data File – The cover page iXBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document.



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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date:   May 15, 2026
THE SOUTHERN COMPANY
By
/s/Melissa K. Caen
Melissa K. Caen
Assistant Secretary

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FAQ

What did Southern Company (SO) stockholders vote on at the 2026 annual meeting?

Stockholders voted on ten matters at the May 13, 2026 annual meeting, including electing twelve director nominees and several additional proposals. The filing reports detailed vote counts, percentages, abstentions, and broker non-votes for each matter.

How strongly were Southern Company (SO) directors supported in the 2026 vote?

The twelve director nominees received strong support, with about 97% to 99% of votes cast in favor. For example, Janaki Akella received 784,876,449 votes for (98.68% of votes cast), and John M. Turner, Jr. received 787,367,826 votes for (99.00%).

Were there broker non-votes reported for Southern Company (SO) proposals?

Yes. Several items show significant broker non-votes in the results tables. For the director elections, broker non-votes were 179,338,232 for each nominee, reflecting shares present but not voting on those specific matters under applicable rules.

Did Southern Company (SO) change its certificate of incorporation in May 2026?

Yes. The company filed a Certificate of Amendment of its Restated Certificate of Incorporation, effective May 13, 2026, and a new Restated Certificate of Incorporation dated the same day, both listed as exhibits in the report.

What exhibits were attached to this Southern Company (SO) current report?

The exhibits include a Certificate of Amendment of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation effective May 13, 2026, a Restated Certificate of Incorporation dated May 13, 2026, and an Inline XBRL cover page data file labeled as Exhibit 104.

Filing Exhibits & Attachments

6 documents