Activist fund pushes SPS Commerce toward ownership, leadership changes

An investment fund has purchased shares in Minneapolis-based SPS Commerce and is pushing for changes, including a potential sale of the company or change in leadership.

SPS Commerce, which provides systems that help retailers and companies that sell to them manage supply chains, has been one of the most consistent financial performers among Minnesota-based technology stocks.

Recently, though, its shares have sunk and Anson Funds Management has noticed.

The Toronto-based firm would not confirm how many SPS shares it owns. But a source familiar with Anson said the firm had a “notable position.”

The manager of Anson’s activism strategy, Sagar Gupta, talked about its stake in SPS Commerce at the Bloomberg Activism Forum 2025 on Dec. 9.

Anson, which has more than $2.3 billion in assets, focuses on small and midcap companies.

In his presentation, Gupta said the firm is concerned about SPS’ underperformance under CEO Chad Collins, who took the helm from longtime chief executive Archie Black two years ago.

Anson wants SPS to stop its mergers-and-acquisitions activity, perform an operational review driven by outside consultants and potentially make a change in leadership or ownership of the company.

“Following a series of earnings expectations misses, guidance cuts, poor M&A performance and an underwhelming Investor Day, the investment community appears to have lost confidence in management,” Anson noted in its presentation.

SPS said in a statement that its board of directors and management are committed to the best interests of the company and shareholders.

“We regularly engage with our investors and thoughtfully evaluate all input that advances our goal of creating sustainable long-term value,” the statement said.

The company has continued to grow.

For the 2024 fiscal year, revenue grew 19% to $637.8 million. The company said this year’s growth is expected to be closer to 18%.

Earnings — which increased nearly 70% since 2020 — are expected to grow more than 13%, the company said.

But even though revenue and earnings have increased, SPS shares are down 52% this year. After both the second and third quarter results, they dipped 20%.

Anson also pointed out that SPS has not been able to meet its long-term profit margin ratio of 35%.

Analysts have recently downgraded SPS over its growth prospects and a macroeconomic environment where retailers are tightening their spending amid tariff pressures.

On Oct. 31, Craig-Hallum analyst Jeff Van Rhee downgraded his 12-month price target on SPS Commerce to $125 a share.

And on Nov. 11, Morgan Stanley equity analyst Chris Quintero downgraded SPS from overweight (buy) to equal-weight (hold).

Mark Schappel, a managing director and analyst at Loop Capital, noted in a research note that one contributor to the third quarter revenue miss was a recently acquired business that fell short of expectations.

After Anson’s Dec. 9 presentation, Schappel issued another note saying that taking SPS private “could make sense.”

“We think many investors would likely welcome such a transaction amid the challenges of slowing growth, execution lapses, the hurdles of evolving into a multi-product company, and the need to enter a potential investment cycle to regain momentum,” he wrote.