Activist investors set record number of campaigns in 2025, Barclays data shows

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Activist investors who push companies to perform better launched a record number of campaigns in 2025, according to Barclays data, as market volatility, favorable financing conditions and more deal activity made for ideal conditions to lobby for changes.

In 2025, blue-chip activist investors including Elliott Investment Management as well as a sizable number of newcomers launched 255 attacks on global companies to make operational improvements, change out board members and even consider selling themselves. Well-known brands such as athleisure maker Lululemon Athletica, ride-hailing company Lyft, soda and snack maker PepsiCo and cooler and drinkware maker Yeti found themselves facing corporate agitators.

Last year's number of attacks marked a nearly 5% increase over 2024 and eclipsed the previous record of 249 made in 2018, the data showed.

"We went from maximum uncertainty in the first half of 2025 to M&A markets and private equity interest rebounding in the second half of the year, which made it feel like everything is possible," said Jim Rossman, global head of shareholder advisory at Barclays. "It was a great time for the activists' toolkit."

The bulk of activity with more than half of all global campaigns remained in the United States, where Barclays data shows 141 campaigns took place, representing a jump of 23% from the previous year.

But Asian companies also drew activists' attention, with the data showing a record 56 campaigns in Japan. This made up half of global activity outside of the United States, Barclays said.

The standout activist investor was Elliott, which launched 18 campaigns last year, spending nearly $20 billion in capital, Barclays data showed. In the fourth quarter alone, the hedge fund took on Lululemon, where it is urging the company to consider a former Ralph Lauren executive as its next CEO, and Barrick Mining, where it is calling on management to consider breaking the company apart. Over the year, Elliott won 17 board seats, including two at Phillips 66,  where investors voted to seat candidates proposed by the hedge fund. 

In recent years activist investors, once derisively called corporate raiders, gained fresh acceptance among corporate management as their returns improved and many tried to work with boards to help boost a company's share price.

Still, Barclays data also showed that corporate agitators' patience with chief executives can quickly wear thin. Last year, a record 32 CEOs resigned within one year of an activist campaign. In 2024, 27 CEOs resigned, up from 24 who left in 2023 after pressure from an activist.

"If executives don't perform, they are out," Barclays' Rossman said. 

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)