The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:30:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png 2025 Shareholder Activism Trends and What to Expect in 2026 – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 2025 Shareholder Activism Trends and What to Expect in 2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/02/01/2025-shareholder-activism-trends-and-what-to-expect-in-2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2025-shareholder-activism-trends-and-what-to-expect-in-2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/02/01/2025-shareholder-activism-trends-and-what-to-expect-in-2026/#respond Sun, 01 Feb 2026 12:30:59 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=179024?d=20260130191512EST Posted by Sebastian Alsheimer, Kyle A. Harris, and J.T. Ho, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, on Sunday, February 1, 2026
Editor's Note:

Sebastian Alsheimer, Kyle A. Harris, and J.T. Ho are Partners at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP. This post is based on a Cleary Gottlieb memorandum by Mr. Alsheimer, Mr. Harris, Mr. Ho, and Mark Kiley.

From an activism perspective, 2025 was a record-breaking year, with more campaigns waged than ever across an increasingly diverse spectrum of public companies.

While many themes continued from years prior, various regulatory and structural changes have shifted the landscape for companies and shareholders alike. Shareholder activism has become a feature of the public markets that almost all issuers have to deal with at some point, regardless of their size, reputation, maturity or corporate governance structure.

In 2025, dissidents targeted boards and executives in elevated numbers: activist hedge funds and other investors using activist tactics waged a record number of activism campaigns.

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