{"id":40205,"date":"2026-03-20T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=40205"},"modified":"2026-03-21T12:08:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T04:08:45","slug":"activist-shareholder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/","title":{"rendered":"How activist shareholders make money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Activist shareholders, also known as corporate vultures, are sometimes more negatively associated with companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Methods employed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After identifying a target company, activist shareholders typically take the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Activist shareholders &#8220;buy&#8221; shares in the company. This is because a large or all of the equity is often held through derivatives, allowing them to claim a seemingly large position in the company while bearing relatively little actual cash risk and investment. This method also provides clues about the investment horizon of activist shareholders, which may differ from other investors because derivatives have expiration dates, while stocks do not.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They may also engage in public disputes with the target company and seek board representation, spin off parts of the business, merge with or sell to competitors, or raise debt to execute share buybacks (activist shareholders can help complete buybacks by offering shares).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the company responds to the activist shareholders&#8217; demands, they will sell their shares.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activist shareholders may also demand significant changes: including more diversified shareholding, higher leverage, and a change in management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wait for the right opportunity and repeat the above steps for another target.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/#Whats_the_strategies\" >What&#8217;s the strategies?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/#What_are_the_ways_to_profit\" >What are the ways to profit?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/#Famous_Active_Shareholders\" >Famous Active Shareholders<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/#Relative_articles\" >Relative articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_the_strategies\"><\/span>What&#8217;s the strategies?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Active shareholders typically use the following strategies to maximize their capital returns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increasing stock holdings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Major company restructuring, transformation, or change<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using methods or incentives to drive up the stock price<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_ways_to_profit\"><\/span>What are the ways to profit?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once active shareholders have successfully implemented some of the common strategies described above, they can enter the actual harvesting phase. Active shareholders use the following methods to profit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Selling their holdings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selling assets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Spin-off listings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using debt financing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stock buybacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Famous_Active_Shareholders\"><\/span>Famous Active Shareholders<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Carl Icahn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elliottmgmt.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elliott Investment Management<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pershingsquareholdings.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pershing Square<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"142\" height=\"90\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/activist_shareholders-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"activist shareholder\n\" class=\"wp-image-40206\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Relative_articles\"><\/span>Relative articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/03\/20\/activist-shareholder\/\">How activist shareholders make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/12\/17\/dear-shareholder\/\">Dear Shareholder<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/11\/17\/outsiders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outsiders, one of the greatest investment books for managment team<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Activist shareholders, also known as corporate vultures, are sometimes more negatively associated with companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,162],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shareholders","category-shareholders-reward-programs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40205"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41193,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40205\/revisions\/41193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}