Shareholders' Rights & Shareholder Activism 2025

• Published date: 08 January 2026
• Law Firm: Travers Smith LLP
• Author: Spencer Summerfield

Shareholders' Rights and Shareholder Activism 2025: A Global Overview

Shareholder activism - whereby shareholders seek to exercise their rights to exert influence on a company or its management with the purpose of instigating change - remains a fixture of global capital markets. In recent years, activists have increasingly positioned themselves as champions of shareholder value, holding management and boards accountable for their performance. Investors are demanding higher standards of directors and are quick to act where those demands are not met. Activist shareholders continue to be vocal on a broad range of topics ranging from board composition and M&A to environmental, social and governance concerns and executive remuneration. Although some companies are more likely than others to be targets, it has become increasingly evident that no company is immune from the threat posed by an activist campaign.

Levels of activism, sectoral focus and scale of targets

In the first half of 2025, activism levels decreased by 12% compared to the record highs observed in the first half of 2024, but the figures align closely with the average of the previous nine years. Activists have diversified their efforts across sectors, with industrials, technology and healthcare witnessing the most pronounced concentrations, collectively accounting for 61% of activity in the first half of the year and significantly exceeding previous yearly averages.

Departing from last year's focus on mega-cap companies, the current period has seen a shift towards firms valued under USD5 billion.

As regards the geographical spread of shareholder activism, the USA, Japan and the UK emerged as the busiest, together representing 82% of campaigns in the first half of the year, while...