A&M Activist Alert
The A&M Activist Alert (AAA) reports provide a comprehensive analysis of shareholder activism trends across Europe and the United States, offering insights into evolving market dynamics, activist strategies, and corporate responses.
The October 2025 U.S. Prelude AAA report marks the first publication with a U.S. perspective, serving as a prelude to a more detailed report set to launch in Q1 2026. This inaugural U.S. edition explores the rise in activism post-2024 elections, the role of M&A, and the concept of an Equity Story—a strategic narrative that aligns corporate performance with investor expectations.
PREDICTIONS FOR THE US - A PRELUDE
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM IN THE US
The October 2025 US Prelude of the A&M Activist Alert provides insights into U.S. shareholder activism trends, highlighting increased activity following the 2024 federal elections. Most notably, there's been a shift in focus towards established and large businesses, with prominent activists prioritizing board-related demands.
Delve into the importance of a strong Equity Story to mitigate activist pressures and align with investor expectations. This report offers prelude of what's to come: Our analysis of the rise in M&A deal sizes, sector-specific activism trends, and the role of operational improvements in driving value creation.
The 2020s have seen periods of heightened global market turmoil. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war on Ukraine, additional geopolitical events including trade and tariff wars, and competition from Chinese corporates increasingly moving up the value chain, have presented significant challenges for corporates.
How should they respond strategically and operationally? How should they measure the success of their transformation? And who will the activists target next?
CREATIVE DISRUPTION – OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM IN EUROPE - REVIEW OF 2025 AND OUTLOOK FOR 2026
The creative disruption being generated by artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical turmoil, and competition from Chinese corporates increasingly moving up the value chain, is presenting both opportunities and challenges. Shareholders will be looking for European corporates to capitalise on the opportunities and mitigate the challenges.
This sixteenth edition of the EMEA A&M Activist Alert reviews the shareholder activism landscape across Europe in 2025 and provides an outlook for 2026.
Both the EMEA and US AAA Reports underscore the growing significance of proactive corporate strategies to mitigate activist pressures and enhance long-term value creation. While the European report reflects on recent trends and predictions for 2025-2026, the U.S. prelude introduces key themes relevant to the United States, anticipating in the upcoming full edition.
Whilst we do not publicly release individual company predictions, we would be delighted to discuss specific AAA modelling and analysis for any particular corporate with a senior member of the company.
Arrange a personalised de-brief with the A&M team by contacting a member of our team in your local region.
