2025 Analysis: Securities Class Actions

Cornerstone Research’s annual securities class action settlements report reveals a nearly three-decade high in median settlement amounts even as total settlement activity declined in 2025. The median settlement reached $17.3 million, driven largely by Securities Act of 1933-only cases, which saw their median settlement more than triple year-over-year to an all-time high of $32.5 million.

Key findings include:

• Seventy-four securities class action settlements totaled $3 billion in 2025, with ’33 Act-only cases representing just 12% of settled cases but commanding significantly higher settlement amounts.
• The median number of docket entries in ’33 Act-only cases reached a record high, suggesting greater case complexity and effort expended by litigants contributed to larger settlements.
• Settlement dollars shifted from the healthcare and financials/real estate sectors to communication services/information technology sectors, reflecting evolving case filing trends.
• More than half of settlements occurred prior to the filing of a motion for class certification, up from 48% in 2024.