Securities Litigation Heats Up Despite Lower Filing Numbers in 2025

While the number of securities class action filings declined 8% in 2025, the financial stakes for defendants have reached historic levels, with market capitalization losses more than doubling compared to the prior year, according to a 2025 review by Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse.

Plaintiffs filed 207 new state and federal securities class actions in 2025, down from 226 in 2024. The decline was driven largely by a slowdown in filing activity during the second half of 2025, when only 93 cases were filed compared to 114 filings in the first half.

Core filings, which exclude merger and acquisition-related allegations, totaled 201, down from 221 the previous year.

Artificial intelligence emerged as the leading trend category for securities class actions, with 16 AI-related filings in 2025, slightly outpacing 2024 levels. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) generated 10 filings, while cryptocurrency-related cases accounted for nine. Meanwhile, COVID-19-related filings dropped to their lowest level since tracking began in 2020, falling to just three cases last year from 15 in 2024.

Dramatic Spike in Financial Impact

Despite the reduction in case volume, the financial consequences of securities litigation intensified dramatically, according to the report. The Disclosure Dollar Loss Index—which the report uses to measure market capitalization changes between the last trading day before and after a class period ends—reached a record $694 billion in 2025, up 62% from $429 billion in 2024 and nearly triple the historical average of $250 billion from 1997 to 2024.

The Maximum Dollar Loss Index, tracking market cap declines between a company’s peak price during the class period and the day following its end, surged to $2.86 trillion in 2025 from $1.64 trillion in 2024.

According to Joseph Grundfest, former SEC Commissioner and Stanford Law Professor emeritus, “The sharp increase in the Disclosure and Maximum Dollar Loss metrics is the big news, because it suggests large future settlement values.”

Industry Sectors Facing Securities Class Actions

The industry sectors facing securities class actions diverged significantly in 2025. Consumer non-cyclical companies saw core filings jump 16% to 78 cases, with health care-products subsector filings climbing nearly 45%.

Technology companies experienced a decline, with core filings falling to 30 from 37, but maximum dollar losses for technology filings soaring 260% to $1.25 trillion. Consumer cyclical filings dropped nearly 50%, declining to 18 from 35 cases.

View the full report here. &