Long-Term Returns of Carl Icahn’s 10 Activist Targets

9. HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)

Stock Return: -13.02%
S&P 500 Return: – 0.40%
Investment date: 12/4/2019

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells personal computing devices and other accessing devices, including laptops, PCE, and related technologies solutions and services. Icahn sent shockwaves in 2019 after disclosing a $1.2 billion stake in the company while pushing for a merger with Xerox.

Icahn insisted that a merger between the two printer makers made sense and could yield significant profits for investors. At the time, he owned a 10.6% stake in Xerox and a 4.24% stake in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ). He would chastise the board in 2019 after they rejected Xerox’s takeover bid while insisting it was not in the best interest of shareholders. Xerox abandoned its $35B hostile bid, a move that caused Icahn to trim his stakes in HP.

When Icahn discarded all his stakes in 2020, his investment was down 13.02% compared to a 0.40% loss of the S&P 500.