SPS Commerce Faces Activist Heat Over Slumping Stock and Leadership Woes

Activists love a fixer-upper — and software company SPS CommerceSPSC

just landed on their list. Activist Hedge Fund Anson is turning up the heat after the stock plunged 50% under CEO Chad Collins. At the Bloomberg Activism Forum, portfolio manager Sagar Gupta called for cost cuts, an M&A freeze, leadership changes, and even a possible sale.

• Gupta urges the board to reassess leadership, run a full strategic review, and suggests “a sale of the company may be the best risk-adjusted path forward.”
• His presentation pointed to potential suitors among software-focused firms such as Thoma Bravo, Oracle, Roper Technologies, and SAP.

Déjà vu all over again: SPS Commerce still dominates retail supply-chain software, yet its shares trail rivals by 40% to 60%. Gupta has been down this road before — he helped drive a successful 2018 activist campaign at SPS while at Legion Partners. Anson has already met with directors and executives, pushing for efficiency consultants and wider AI adoption across onboarding and sales.