Jeff Smith is arguably the “most feared man” in corporate America, having waged some of Wall Street’s most aggressive and successful activist campaigns. Having served on more than 17 companies’ boards and chairing four underscores his reputation as one of the most successful activist investors in unlocking shareholder value. Smith has become one of the most feared activist investors at the back of Starboard Value LP, a hedge fund he founded alongside two partners in 2011. Given that the hedge fund has targeted hundreds of companies, it underscores its strategy of conducting in-depth analysis to discover stocks trading below their fair value.
In return, Starboard Value LP has always waged activist campaigns and pushed for strategic changes that could bolster the company’s value. Part of the strategy entails pushing for board seats or management changes. The hedge fund is known to agitate for the potential sale of units or the entire business in the race for shareholder value. By targeting IT giants and consumer cyclical stocks over the past ten years, Smith has more than doubled the hedge fund’s assets under management to over $5.5 billion. In addition, the average market valuation of the companies that Starboard Value LP invested in was over $45 billion, up from about $7 billion in 2020.
Over that period, Starboard Value LP established a reputation for making things difficult for executives and directors who disagreed with its change requests and occasionally fired them. Nevertheless, Jeff Smith’s strategy differs greatly from the more confrontational and widely publicized campaigns of fellow activist investors Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman. Following his appointment as Darden’s chair, he and other board members worked shifts to gain a close-up look at the company. Smith learned how to make pizza at Papa John’s restaurants, which he chaired before waging an activist campaign to unlock value.
Starboard Value LP returned less than 5% for investors in 2024, underperforming its peers. The poor performance occurred during a year when corporate America saw a massive upheaval in boardrooms as activist investors fought for change and showed off their muscles like never before. In 2024, activist funds produced an average return of 11.5%. ValueAct Capital Management, a competitor of Starboard Value LP, reported a 21% increase over that time as Sachem Head Capital Management delivered roughly 22% on capitalizing on the artificial intelligence-driven run in the markets.
Amid the underperformance in 2024, Jeff Smith’s hedge fund still stands out as one of the most successful activist hedge funds. Since its inception, the hedge fund has enjoyed an average return of 25.02% on its 152 activist campaigns, outperforming the Russell 200, which averaged 13.65% over the same period. With the current economic outlook in mind, let’s dive into our list of the Top 10 Jeff Smith activist targets and analyze their returns compared to the S&P 500.
Our Methodology
We sifted through financial media reports and settled on the activist investor’s biggest campaigns. We also computed their long-term returns compared to the S&P 500 since Starboard Value LP lodged its campaigns. The campaigns are ranked in chronological order.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK): Among Jeff Smith’s Top Activist Targets
A software engineer using AutoCAD Civil 3D to create a 3D design in a modern office setting.
Stock Return Since June 2024 to April 2025: 17.40%
S&P 500 Return Since June 2024 to April 2025: -1.21%
Number of hedge funds holding stakes: 74
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is a technology company that provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions. It offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design and analysis software. In June of 2024, reports emerged that Starboard Value LP had bought about a $500 million stake in the company and was pushing for changes.
The activist investor reiterated there is something the company could do to improve its margins and make changes to the board. The pressure mounted as Starboard Value LP accused Autodesk of failing to disclose investigations in private conversation. Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) was the subject of an internal financial probe that sparked federal investigations that revealed misrepresentations of key financial metrics.
Meanwhile, the activist hedge fund intends to nominate a minority slate of directors to the board to try and turn around the company’s fortune. The hedge fund insists Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) has underperformed the broader markets in recent years. The push comes on Autodesk embarking on a restructuring drive that entails slashing 9% of the workforce as it tries to bolster its profit margins.
Overall, ADSK ranks 6th on our list of Jeff Smith’s top activist targets. While we acknowledge the potential of ADSK, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ADSK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
