Southern First Bancshares Reports 2026 Annual Meeting Results

What Happened
Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (SFST) filed an 8‑K reporting the results of its Annual Meeting held May 19, 2026 (record date March 20, 2026). Of 8,247,710 shares outstanding, 7,510,163 shares (91.05%) were represented, and shareholders voted to elect 16 directors for one‑year terms, approved the non‑binding advisory vote on executive compensation, and ratified the appointment of Elliott Davis, LLC as the independent public accountant for 2026. The company also made the meeting presentation publicly available under Regulation FD (Exhibit 99.1).

Key Details

• Record date: March 20, 2026; shares outstanding: 8,247,710; shares represented at meeting: 7,510,163 (91.05%).
• All 16 director nominees were elected; typical vote counts showed ~6.5M votes for most directors and 883,789 broker non‑votes. Notable example: Ray A. Lattimore received 5,771,553 votes for and 854,821 votes withheld.
• Say‑on‑pay (advisory vote on executive compensation): 6,504,371 votes for, 115,546 against, 6,457 abstentions; 883,789 broker non‑votes.
• Ratification of auditor (Elliott Davis, LLC): 7,438,028 votes for and 72,135 against.
• Regulation FD disclosure: the presentation used at the Annual Meeting was posted and furnished as Exhibit 99.1.

Why It Matters
These results confirm the board leadership for the coming year and show shareholder support for the company’s executive compensation policies (non‑binding) and for its independent auditor. The high participation rate (91.05%) indicates strong shareholder engagement; however, the substantial number of broker non‑votes (883,789) affected voting totals on some matters. Investors should note the approving votes and any director vote margins (e.g., one director with a higher number of withheld votes) when assessing governance and potential shareholder sentiment.