Company history noted, new board members elected at Tyson shareholder meeting
by February 5, 2026 1:46 pm 1,231 views
Devoid of pomp and circumstance, Tyson Foods shareholders, executives and board members gathered in the meat giant’s offices in Springdale to celebrate 63 years as a publicly traded company and 91 years of company history.
Founder John W. Tyson relocated his family to Springdale from Kansas City, Mo., in 1931 in search of new opportunities. It was then that he began buying chickens and transporting them to the midwest to sell at larger markets. That expanded into a feed business and eventually a fully-integrated poultry business, the largest in the U.S. by market share. In 2001, Tyson acquired IBP and added beef and pork slaughter and processing to its business, making it the only major three-protein meat company in the world.
“I take joy in the opportunity this gathering provides to reflect on our progress as a company and look forward to what is still to come,” said John H. Tyson, board chairman and grandson of the founder. “We sure have accomplished a lot in the past 90 to 91 years.”
Chief Financial Officer Curt Calaway provided an update on the company’s financials, saying Tyson entered fiscal 2025 with a plan to improve operational execution and drive better financial performance through deliberate actions.
“We successfully executed this plan, resulting in a significant improvement in profitability over the prior year,” he said. “Sales were $54.4 billion in 2025, up 2.1%, and in our full outlook for fiscal ’26, we believe our performance continues to move in the right direction.”
Earlier this week, Tyson reported its first-quarter results for fiscal 2026, and while net income fell 76% from the year-ago period, before one-time adjustments, revenue increased 5.1% year over year.
CEO Donnie King said the executive team is not satisfied and remains focused on continually improving the business and strengthening its financial position.
“We are committed to disciplined management of capital expenditures and working capital,” King said. “We are consistently strengthening our leadership pipeline, enhancing operational expertise and building the capabilities needed to succeed for the long term.”
BUSINESS MEETING
During the business meeting, it was announced that shareholders approved the three company proposals, including election of the slate of directors to a one-year term, and selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the company’s independent registered public accountant for this year ending Oct. 3.
An outside shareholder proposal requiring the company to report on the share totals by class failed. The Tyson family controls all the restricted Class B shares, which carry a 10-to-1 voting ratio over the Class A shares. A New York City Comptroller’s office representative read the proposal at the meeting representing the NYC Pension Plan, which has been a long-time Tyson Foods shareholder.
Tyson Foods has roughly 282.97 million Class A shares and approximately 70.01 million Class B shares, which are owned by the Tyson family.
Following are the Tyson Foods board of directors, along with ages, for the next fiscal year.
- John H. Tyson, 72, chairman
- Les Baledge, 68,
- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, 78
- Maria Claudia Borras, 56
- David Bronczek, 71
- Donnie King, 63
- Maria Martinez, 68
- Cheryl Miller, 53
- Kate Quinn, 61
- Jeffery Schomburger, 63
- Barbara Tyson, 76
- John Randal Tyson, 35
- Olivia Tyson, 33
- Noel White, 67
- Sarah Bond, 47