AUTOZONE INC
For the period ended Dec 18, 2024. Filed Oct 30, 2024.
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Dec 18, 2024 · Filed Oct 30, 2024
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
SCHEDULE 14A** INFORMATION**
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No.__)
Filed by the Registrant☒
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant☐
Check the appropriate box:
☐ Preliminary Proxy Statement
☐ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☒ Definitive Proxy Statement
☐ Definitive Additional Materials
☐ Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12
AutoZone, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):
| ☒ | No fee required. |
|---|---|
| ☐ | Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
| ☐ | Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |
Dear Stockholders,
In connection with our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held at the J. R. Hyde III, Store Support Center in downtown Memphis on December 18 th, 2024, it is my honor to address you, our owners, on key developments that have occurred since our last annual meeting.
For the first time in nearly two decades, our board of directors (“board”) facilitated a rigorous and robust succession planning process which lasted over three years culminating in the selection of Phil Daniele, who on January 2 nd, 2024, became AutoZone’s fifth Chief Executive Officer in our rich history. We recently completed our annual review processes of the board and its committees and during that exercise, every director reported being very pleased with the process and ecstatic with the outcome.
As part of the succession planning process, the board also requested that I remain Chairman of the Board and move into an Executive Chairman role. In this role, I’m pleased to continue to work with Phil and our talented Executive Committee (the senior most leaders of the management team). While I thoroughly enjoy working with the team in this capacity, sharing my experiences, perspectives and historical knowledge, it is important for everyone to have clarity – my role is one of advisor, coach, sounding board and mentor - Phil, in his role as President and CEO, is the ultimate decision maker. These changes resulted in us splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO for the first time since 2007. In our shareholder outreach, we’ve heard mixed perspectives on having these roles combined or split. Our board believes in optimizing the structure based on the talents and capabilities of the leadership at the time and we will evaluate future structures when appropriate. Today, our plan is to utilize this structure for the foreseeable future.
Our board is constantly working to enhance its performance and, as part of this quest for continuous improvement, for the fourth time in the last 12 years, we hired a third party to lead and facilitate a formal 360 review process for each member of the board. These reviews were both quantitative and qualitative and included feedback from several of our key Executive Committee members. Also, this year, we comprehensively evaluated our corporate governance principles which were initially developed in the early 2000s. Our fresh assessment of these principles led to robust discussions about important topics like age and tenure limits, committee rotations and the number of public boards on which our directors may serve. The Board ultimately decided not to set arbitrary age or tenure limits. Instead, it prefers to hold itself accountable to effectively self-govern and refresh when appropriate.
We are proud of the diversity of the Board. As we have learned over the years, diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives lead to better decisions and performance. In evaluating our board today, we note that we have an emerging tenure issue, as our overall tenure is higher than the S&P 500. Accordingly, we, as a board, are committed to refreshment and will do so in a thoughtful and disciplined manner. Recently, two of our directors, Enderson Guimaraes and D. Bryan Jordan, have shared their intentions to not stand for re-election this December. These changes will result in our board consisting of nine directors and we will begin a formal search process led by a third party to help us identify one or two incremental directors.
I want to thank Enderson and Bryan for their service to our company for more than a decade. They both have brought unique perspectives that they willingly share with our board and management team enriching the discussions and leading to better outcomes.
Historically, our say-on-pay vote has been in the high eighties or low nineties. Last year, our say-on-pay vote dropped into the high seventies. In response to this lower percentage, the chair of our compensation committee, along with our Vice President of Investor Relations, reached out to our shareholders to discuss our compensation program. We shared our approach and philosophy, resulting performance and we listened and have made changes to our program, which are reflected in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis report enclosed. I recommend you review this in-depth disclosure, as we believe our program is a crucial part of our success.
We continued our cadence of publishing our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Report in mid-April. This report reflects the progress we’ve made in pursuit of our 2025 and 2030 environmental goals and our work to meet our aspirational goal in 2050.
Over the course of the last few months, we have held off-season engagement with you, our owners, representing approximately 50% of shares outstanding sharing these changes and listening to your thoughts and ideas. We thank you for sharing and have taken your feedback to heart.
On behalf of the Board, I invite you to join us for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and as always, we appreciate your investment in us and your continued support.
Sincerely,
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| Bill RhodesExecutive Chairman |
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| NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS | ||||
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| DATE AND TIME | | PLACE | | RECORD DATE |
| December 18, 2024 8:00 a.m. Central Time | | J. R. Hyde III Store Support Center123 S. Front StreetMemphis, Tennessee 38103 | | Close of business on October 21, 2024 |
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| ITEMS OF BUSINESS | ||||
| 1.Election of 9 directors | | |||
| 2.Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the 2025 fiscal year | | |||
| 3.Advisory vote on the compensation of named executive officers | | |||
| 4.Advisory vote on reducing the ownership threshold to call special meeting of shareholders | | |||
| 5.Shareholder proposal | | |||
| In addition, we will transact such other business properly brought before the meeting.VOTINGYour vote is important. We strongly encourage you to submit your vote as promptly as possible through the Internet, by telephone or by mailing your completed and signed proxy card (or voting instruction form, if you hold your shares through a broker, bank or nominee). For more specific instructions on how to vote, please see page 79.MEETING MATERIALSThis Proxy Statement and our 2024 Annual Report are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.investors.autozone.com. Additionally, you may access our proxy materials at www.envisionreports.com/AZO.ATTENDING THE MEETINGWe are holding the 2024 Annual Meeting at the J. R. Hyde III Store Support Center located at 123 S. Front St, Memphis, Tennessee 38103. For additional information on how you may attend or vote at the meeting, please see page 79. | ||||
| Memphis, TennesseeOctober 30, 2024 | By Order of the Board of Directors, Jenna M. BedsoleSecretary | |||
PROXY SUMMARY
This Proxy Summary provides general information about AutoZone and highlights information contained elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. As it is only a summary, please refer to the entire Proxy Statement and the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024 before you vote. In this Proxy Statement, we use the term*“AutoZone,”** “we,” “us,” “our” and**“the Company”** to refer to AutoZone, Inc.*
MEETING INFORMATION
| DATE & TIME | LOCATION | RECORD DATE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 18, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. CT | J. R. Hyde III Store Support Center, 123 S. Front Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38103 | Shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 21, 2024 are entitled to vote. | ||
ITEMS OF BUSINESS
| Proposal Number · Board Recommendation · Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Election of 9 directors | FOReach of the directors | 25 |
| 2. | Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the 2025 fiscal year | FOR | 31 |
| 3. | Approval of an advisory vote on the compensation of named executive officers | FOR | 33 |
| 4. | Advisory vote on reducing the ownership threshold to call a special meeting of shareholders | FOR | 34 |
| 5. | Shareholder Proposal | AGAINST | 35 |
VOTING
We strongly encourage you to submit your vote as promptly as possible through the Internet, by telephone or by mailing your completed and signed proxy card (or voting instruction form, if you hold your shares through a broker, bank or nominee). You may also attend the Annual Meeting and vote in-person.
| Internet | Telephone | At the Meeting | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visit the website on your proxy card, voting instruction form or electronic communications. | Call the telephone number on your proxy card, voting instruction form or electronic communications. | Sign, date and return your proxy card or voting instruction form in the enclosed envelope. | Attend the Annual Meeting and vote in-person. | ||
For more specific instructions on how to vote as well as how to attend the Annual Meeting, please see page 79.
ABOUT THESE MATERIALS
We began mailing our Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the“Notice”) to each shareholder entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting on or about October 30, 2024. Our Board of Directors (the“Board”) has sent you this Proxy Statement to solicit your vote at the Annual Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
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| 2024 Proxy Statement | 1 |
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| | | AutoZone Highlights | | | |
| | FY24 FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS* ●$18.5 Billion in Revenue and $149.55 Diluted Earnings per Share ●Completed $3.2 billion in Share Repurchases●Average of 21.1% Total Shareholder Return (TSR) for past 20 years●7,353 Stores Globally, including 6,432 in the U.S., 794 in Mexico and 127 in Brazil●5,898 Commercial Programs in the U.S.For more information, see: AutoZone’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024 (the “FY24 Form 10-K”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). | | |||
| | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ●Board Leadership consists of Executive Chairman and Lead Independent Director●Disciplined succession planning efforts resulted in appointment of new President and Chief Executive Officer with over 30 years of AutoZone tenure and nearly 40 years of industry experience●Audit, Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees (the “Standing Committees”) made up entirely of Independent Directors●Use of Third-Party Firm for 2021 and 2024 Board Evaluations●Review and update of Corporate Governance Principles in FY24, which includes Board Diversity Policy●Committee charters reflect strong oversight of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) mattersFor more information, see: Corporate Governance beginning on page 7. | | |||
| | | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION●Significant portion of executive’s compensation is variable or at-risk ●Annual Incentive Plan tied to economic profit, as a function of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (“EBIT”) and Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”)●Robust Shareholder Engagement led by Chair of the Compensation Committee to understand Say-On-Pay Vote ●Compensation plans and practices reviewed to ensure they do not encourage excessive risk-taking●Stock Ownership Guidelines aligned to compensation strategyFor more information, see: Compensation, Discussion & Analysis beginning on page 38. | | | |
| | | SHAREHOLDER ENGAGMENT ●Conduct year-round outreach through our Board leadership, senior management, investor relations and legal teams to understand shareholders’ perspectives, priorities and concerns●In the Summer and Fall of 2024, invited investors representing 67% of shares outstanding to discuss corporate governance, leadership transition and say-on-payFor more information, see: Shareholder Engagement on page 21 and, for compensation-related engagement, page 41. | | | |
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** Information reflected as of, and for the fiscal year ended, August 31, 2024, as applicable*
Disclaimer: The contents of any websites, reports or other materials are not incorporated by reference into this proxy statement and do not constitute a part of this proxy statement.
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| 2 | 2024 Proxy Statement |
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| | | CULTURE ●Our Pledge and Values foster a strong, unique and powerful culture of teamwork and customer service. Every AutoZoner, from the Board of Directors and CEO Team (Vice Presidents and above) to AutoZoners in our stores, strive to Live the Pledge.●Meetings at AutoZone begin with our Cheer and Pledge, to remind us of our commitment to customer satisfaction and our promise to put customers first, and an Extra Miler Story, to recognize fellow AutoZoners for living our Pledge and Values and taking care of our customers.●We believe our commitment to living the Pledge and Values and strong culture of recognition is what sets us apart from our competitors and drives our success. | | | |
| | | HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT●Approximately 126,000 AutoZoners Globally●Named to Forbes World’s Best Employers for 2021, 2022 and 2023●Significant diversity of backgrounds, experiences and tenures represented on the Board and Executive Committee ●Six Business Resource Groups (“BRGs”) supported by a cross-functional Diversity Council and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) Steering Committee●Published EEO-1 compliance disclosure in ESG Report For more information, see: Our most recent ESG Report at investors.autozone.com. | | | |
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Forward Looking Statements:* *Certain statements contained in this proxy statement, including statements about our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors that we believe to be appropriate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are discussed in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section contained in Item 1A under Part 1 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2024. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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| 2024 Proxy Statement | 3 |
Board of Directors Nominees
The following tables do not include information about Enderson Guimaraes and D. Bryan Jordan, each of whom have notified the Company of their intention not to stand for reelection.
| Name and Principal Occupation · Independent · Age · DirectorSince · Diversity · Committee Membership | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender · · Ethnicity · Audit · · Comp · · NomGov | |||||||||||||
| Philip B. Daniele, IIIPresident and CEO of AutoZone, Inc. | | 55 | 2024 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael A. GeorgeFormer President and CEO of Qurate Retail | 63 | 2022 | | | | | M | | | | | ||
| Linda A. GoodspeedFormer Managing Partner and COO of WealthStrategies Financial Advisors | 62 | 2013 | | | | M | | M | | | |||
| Earl G. Graves, Jr.President and CEO of Black Enterprise | Lead | 62 | 2002 | | | | | | | | |||
| Brian P. HannaschFormer President and CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard | 58 | 2022 | | | | | | | M | | | ||
| Gale V. KingFormer EVP and Chief Administrative Officer of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company | 68 | 2018 | | | | | M | | | ||||
| George R. Mrkonic, Jr.Former Non-Executive Chairman of Maru Group | 72 | 2006 | | | | | M | | | | |||
| William C. Rhodes, IIIExecutive Chairman and former President and CEO of AutoZone, Inc. | | 59 | 2005 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jill A. SoltauFormer CEO of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. | 57 | 2018 | | | | | | | | M | |||
| indicates Committee Chairperson M indicates Committee Member“Lead” indicates Lead Independent Director | “CEO” indicates Chief Executive Officer“COO” indicates Chief Operating Officer“EVP” indicates Executive Vice President | ||||||||||||
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| 4 | 2024 Proxy Statement |
BOARD Skills
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Skills | | Distinct Strengths | ||||
| Leadership | 9 / 9 | | Retail & Consumer | 8 / 9 | ||
| Financial Literacy | 9 / 9 | | International | 5 / 9 | ||
| Other Public Company Board Experience | 7 / 9 | | Technology | 7 / 9 | ||
| Strategy & Business Development | 9 / 9 | | CEO Experience | 6 / 9 | ||
| Risk Management | 9 / 9 | | Financial Expertise | 5 / 9 | ||
| | | | | Supply Chain | 6 / 9 | |
| | | | | Human Capital Management | 7 / 9 | |
BOARD COMPOSITION
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | | | | Diversity of Independent Directors | ||
| Independent | | 7 / 9 | | Gender | | 3 / 7 |
| Not Independent | | 2 / 9 | | Race / Ethnic | | 2 / 7 |
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| Age of Independent Directors | | Tenure of Independent Directors | ||||
| 50 – 59 years | | 2 / 7 | | 0-5 Years | | 2 / 7 |
| 60 – 69 years | | 4 / 7 | | 6-10 Years | | 2 / 7 |
| 70+ years | | 1 / 7 | | 11-15 Years | | 1 / 7 |
| | | | | 16+ Years | | 2 / 7 |
Executive Committee AT-A-Glance
| Diversity | DEI Leadership* | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Female: ●●● | BRG Sponsors: ●●●●●● | 0-10 Years: ●●●●● |
| Black: ●●● | DEI Council Members: ●●●●● | 11-20 Years: |
| Hispanic / Latin: ● | | 21+ Years: ●●●●●●● |
| Two or More Races: ● | | |
| Total: 12 Executive Committee Members | ||
** Refers to leadership, support and promotion of the Company**’*s DEI initiatives, through serving as an Executive Sponsor of a BRG, a member of the DEI Council or a member of the DEI Steering Committee.
AutoZone is committed to continuing to build a diverse organization that represents our customers and the communities in which we serve. This commitment to diversity begins at the top, and we are proud of the quality, strength, experience, tenure and racial, ethnic and gender diversity of both our Board and our Executive Committee.
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| 2024 Proxy Statement | 5 |
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.