Activist investors are activating

If you had an activist investing comeback on your 2026 bingo card, you’re a winner.

As a refresher, activist investment firms make money by buying shares of a company, then using their power to pressure the board of directors to enact corporate restructuring and other changes they believe will result in a turnaround.

But this year, activist investors are not only ramping up the number of companies they’re taking stakes in, but ratcheting up the severity of their tactics, too.

Take a look at all the activists making moves this week:

• Starboard Value is planning to nominate a majority slate on Tripadvisor’s board, the WSJ reported today. The firm has a roughly 9% stake in Tripadvisor, and has called for changes such as selling its restaurant reservation platform TheFork, and even going so far as to suggest it sell itself. Tripadvisor rose 9.68% today on the news.
• Jana Partners has bought a stake in fintech service provider Fiserv, according to the WSJ. The investor is pressuring Fiserv to focus more on its core banking business, which it's hoping will get a boost from increased spending in the banking sector. Fiserv rose 6.89% today.
• Elliott Investment Management has built an over 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line, and outlined a plan to improve its financial performance and woo guests. In a letter to Norwegian, Elliott said its share price could reach $56 per share if its suggestions were implemented—and is willing to take the fight directly to shareholders if they aren’t. Norwegian rose 12.01%.

Activist investors ♥️ M&A

Part of the reason that activists are so active right now is because dealmaking is heating up, which means it’s not only faster and easier, but also more lucrative for activist investors to push a company into breaking up or selling itself, according to Reuters.

In the second half of 2025, over half of all activist campaigns were specifically pressuring companies to sell, up from only 35% of campaigns that demanded M&A in the first half of 2025, according to Barclays data.

The results are nothing to scoff at, either: Last year, activist investors launched a record 255 campaigns around the world, leading to 32 CEO resignations, while corporate raiders won 120 board seats.

Good luck, Tripadvisor, Fiserv, and Norwegian. You’ll need it.—LB