Jeff Smith’s Top 10 Activist Targets and Their Returns Compared to the S&P 500

8. News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS)

Position Initiated: October 2023

Value of the Stake: N/A

Stock Return Since October 2023 to April 2025: 38.12%

S&P 500 Return Since October 2023 to April 2025: 19.74%

Number of hedge funds holding stakes: 51

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) is a diversified media, publishing, and digital real estate services company offering news, information, and cable network services. Starboard Value LP got involved in the company in October 2023 and started pushing for changes in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

From the onset, it promised to be an uphill test to push for changes in a company where the Murdoch family controlled 40% of the company’s voting shares. Over the past two years, Starboard Value LP has been pushing for the dissolution of the dual-class structure that gives the Murdoch family outside control of the company.

The activist hedge fund also wants News Corp to split off its highly valuable online retail businesses. Nevertheless, the hedge fund suffered its biggest blow yet after investors rejected a proposal to break the Murdoch family’s grip. News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) has always insisted that the current structure promotes stability.