Activist Conference Takeaways

Research evidence excerpt

Activist Conference Takeaways

JuneJune 11,11, 20262026

Wolfe Research Analysts’ Sector Focus Panel: Activism / M&A Targets in Software/FinTech

One panel at the conference featured a fireside chat with Wolfe analysts Alex Zukin and Darrin Peller.

Alex Zukin

ADBE: Zukin described Adobe as a potential activist opportunity, characterizing the company as "leaderless and

rudderless" despite its leadership positions across creative software. He believes an activist could help sharpen

Adobe's strategic focus, rationalize costs, and improve investor confidence by concentrating resources on higher-

growth AI and content generation opportunities. While Adobe remains a premier franchise, Zukin suggested the

company has become increasingly difficult for investors to value given the breadth of its businesses and evolving AI

landscape.

DOCU: Zukin highlighted DocuSign having significant customer stickiness, particularly across financial services and

enterprise customers. Despite the durability of the product, he believes the company remains operationally inefficient

and has meaningful margin improvement opportunities. As a result, DocuSign could attract activist interest focused

on cost rationalization and improving profitability.

HUBS: Zukin identified HubSpot as one of the more operationally inefficient companies across software, despite

maintaining a highly relevant product offering and strong market position. He noted that a path toward sustained

GAAP profitability could create meaningful valuation support while broadening the potential strategic buyer

universe. Given its growth profile and customer base, HubSpot was discussed as both an activist and M&A candidate.

DT: Dynatrace was highlighted as an attractive infrastructure software name that could benefit from growing AI