Sector: Health Care
AQUESTIVE THERAPEUTICS INC · Meeting: June 10, 2026
Directors FOR
3
Directors AGAINST
0
Say on Pay
FOR
Auditor
FOR
Election of Class II Directors
Dr. Brown has served since March 2007 and brings deep pharmaceutical, investment, and medical expertise; the stock's 3-year return of +195.7% outperforms the XBI benchmark by +182.3 percentage points, far exceeding the 65-point threshold needed to trigger an against vote, so no TSR concern applies, and no overboarding, attendance, or independence issues are present.
Mr. Cochran has served since January 2004 and brings private equity, finance, and CPA expertise relevant to his compensation committee chair and audit committee roles; the company's strong 3-year stock performance clears the XBI benchmark by +182.3 percentage points, well above the trigger threshold, and no overboarding, attendance, or independence issues are identified.
Ms. Jenkins joined in April 2024, which is less than 24 months before the meeting date, making her exempt from the TSR performance trigger under policy; she brings relevant biopharmaceutical commercialization and CEO experience, and no other concerns regarding independence, attendance, or overboarding are present.
All three Class II nominees pass the policy screens: the company's 3-year stock return of +195.7% outperforms the XBI benchmark (the appropriate biotechnology ETF) by +182.3 percentage points, which exceeds the 65-point threshold needed to trigger an against vote, so no TSR concern applies to any director with tenure over 24 months; Ms. Jenkins is exempt as a director who joined within the past 24 months; all directors meet attendance, independence, and overboarding standards.
CEO
Daniel Barber
Total Comp
$3,493,559
Prior Support
N/A
CEO Daniel Barber's total reported compensation of $3,493,559 is reasonable for a biotech CEO at a company with a ~$498 million market cap, and the pay structure is well-designed: a meaningful portion of his equity package consists of performance-based stock awards tied to specific stock price targets ($6, $7, and $8 per share) and stock options that only have value if the share price increases, together representing the majority of his pay and creating a genuine link between executive reward and shareholder outcomes. The company's stock returned +195.7% over three years versus +13.4% for the XBI biotech benchmark, demonstrating strong pay-for-performance alignment — executives earned above-market incentive pay against a backdrop of exceptional shareholder returns. No red flags are present regarding clawback policy absence, excessive fixed pay ratios, or prior say-on-pay rejection requiring a response.
Auditor
KPMG LLP
Tenure
20 yrs
Audit Fees
$1,128,000
Non-Audit Fees
$0
KPMG charged $1,128,000 in audit fees in 2025 with zero non-audit fees, giving a non-audit ratio of 0%, well below the 50% threshold that would raise independence concerns; KPMG has served since 2006 (approximately 20 years), which is below the 25-year tenure threshold that would trigger a negative vote; KPMG is a Big 4 firm appropriate for a company of Aquestive's size and complexity.
The 2026 Aquestive Therapeutics annual meeting presents three standard proposals — director elections, say-on-pay, and auditor ratification — all of which pass the relevant policy screens and warrant a FOR vote. The company's exceptional 3-year stock performance (+195.7% versus +13.4% for the XBI biotech ETF), a well-structured performance-linked executive pay program, and clean auditor fee data with zero non-audit fees combine to produce a straightforward ballot with no negative votes indicated.
