Activist Investors Target Norwegian Cruise Line and Tripadvisor
Activist investors are escalating pressure on corporate boards, with Elliott Investment Management disclosing a stake of over 10% in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and pushing for board changes and a new business plan. In a separate campaign, Starboard Value is reportedly planning a majority overhaul of Tripadvisor’s board and may explore a sale of the company.
- Elliott Investment Management criticizes Norwegian Cruise Line for a decade of strategic missteps that have led to it becoming one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500. Over the past five years, Norwegian's stock has declined 9.68%, while competitor Royal Caribbean's surged 335.85%. - Elliott is pushing for a board overhaul at Norwegian and has proposed former Royal Caribbean executive Adam Goldstein as a potential nominee. The activist firm's move comes just days after Norwegian appointed board member John Chidsey, a former CEO of Subway and Burger King, as its new CEO on February 12, 2026. - Operationally, Norwegian's 6.85% profit margin significantly trails Royal Caribbean's 23.8% and Carnival's 10.4%. Elliott also points to rising unit costs and a failed private island strategy as key areas of concern. - Starboard Value, which holds a stake of over 9% in Tripadvisor, is preparing to nominate a majority of new members to the company's eight-person board. This follows a 46% decline in Tripadvisor's stock over the past year. - Starboard has previously urged Tripadvisor to consider selling its restaurant reservation platform, TheFork, and to improve the profitability of its Viator and namesake brands. The firm has also criticized the company for its slow adoption of Generative AI. - Tripadvisor's fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $0.04 significantly missed analysts' estimates of $0.15. Following this, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target for the company from $14.00 to $10.00. - This is not Starboard's first engagement with Tripadvisor; the firm initially disclosed its 9% stake in July 2025, signaling its intent to push for changes. Tripadvisor had previously explored a potential sale in early 2024 but ultimately decided against it. - Both activist campaigns reflect a broader trend, with 252 new activist investor campaigns launched in 2023, a 7% increase from the previous year. Elliott, a prominent activist investor, recently settled with Southwest Airlines after pushing for changes, resulting in the naming of six new directors to the airline's board.
