By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A record number of activist shareholders mounted campaigns at global companies in 2024, a Barclays report showed on Thursday, as their pressure tactics produced strong returns, and further growth is likely this year.

"Looking back to 2024, it feels almost as if there was a shareholder revolt," said Jim Rossman, global head of shareholder advisory at Barclays.

In 2024, 160 investors such as hedge funds pushed companies to make moves like improving strategy and operations or firing chief executives, including 45 who deployed the strategy for the first time, Barclays said.

That's up more than 18% from 135 investors in 2023, which included 31 first timers. The number of campaigns launched last year, 243, surpassed 229 in 2023 but was slightly below the record of 249 in 2018.

Looking ahead to 2025, bankers, lawyers and analysts believe more companies will face shareholder attacks as last year's returns and expectations for continued equity market strength embolden investors.

"Investors are no longer willing to sit and wait for promised improvements and are saying, 'We want the companies where we are invested to change right now,'" Rossman said.

While performance figures for 2024 are not yet available, investors said several high-profile firms had returns approaching 30% last year. The S&P 500 rose a bit more than 23% over the same period.

High-profile campaigns launched in 2024 by longtime activists included Trian Fund Management at entertainment giant Walt Disney and Elliott Investment Management at coffee chain Starbucks and Southwest Airlines.

But newcomers also flexed their muscles, mounting their first campaigns.

These included Ananym Capital Management at Henry Schein, Daventry Group at Kinaxis and Firstlight Management at Sotera Health.

Investors also continued a shift seen in the last three years toward prioritizing operational and strategic improvements over mergers and acquisitions, the data showed.

More than one quarter, or 26%, of all campaign demands centered on strategy and operations, up from 19% in 2021.

Only 22% of campaigns in 2024 asked for M&A moves like divesting business units or selling a company. In 2021 when global deal volume hit a high, 43% of activists' demands focused on M&A.

Bankers and lawyers anticipated campaigns that could lead to divestment will pick up this year under the Trump administration, which they believe will be less likely to raise obstacles to deals than its predecessor.

In 2024, activists more than ever took aim at chief executives. A record 27 were replaced, up from 24 in 2023 and the four-year average of 16, the Barclays data showed.

Kohl's, which has been under activist pressure for years, announced a CEO departure in November as newcomer Vision One Management Partners exerted pressure.

Activist campaigns that led to new CEOs also included Glenwood Capital Management at CVS Health. Railway Norfolk Southern fired its CEO for violating company policies months after activist Ancora Holdings won board seats.

CEOs at Starbucks, SmartRent and Wolfspeed announced their departures as activist investors circled.

"Activist investors are holding companies and boards accountable and that includes sometimes no longer allowing the CEO to steer the ship," Barclays' Rossman said.

Nearly half of all global campaigns happened in the United States with 115 launched, marking a 6% increase from 2023, the data found. But U.S. funds, including Elliott, Sachem Head Capital Management and Trian, also found opportunities abroad.

While activity in Europe slowed, it boomed in the Asia Pacific region, notably in Japan, South Korea and Australia, with campaigns at Tokyo Gas and Nippon Steel.

The number of new global campaigns jumped 67% from the third to the fourth quarter in 2024, the data showed, suggesting a growth trend heading into 2025.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)