Starboard Value’s Jeffrey Smith names 3 top stock picks, including TripAdvisor
Starboard Value’s Jeffrey Smith, a prominent activist investor, presented three new investment ideas Tuesday at the 13D Monitor’s Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York City. Bill Holdings The first pick Smith highlighted was software name Bill Holdings , which he believes trades at a 50% discount to its underlying, intrinsic value. The company helps small- and medium-sized businesses manage and pay invoices. Bill makes money in three ways: subscriptions, transactions and float revenue, Smith said. A Starboard representative recently joined Bill’s board of directors. Smith said Bill’s various revenue streams decelerated in the aftermath of the pandemic, but he sees a turnaround coming. “The companies didn’t take enough action to improve profitability. They’ll fix that profile,” Smith said. “We believe there’s significant upsides in Bill at current levels.” TripAdvisor Smith also featured TripAdvisor , where Starboard has taken a 9% ownership stake. TripAdvisor operates three businesses: the brand TripAdvisor, what it says is the world’s most visited online travel guidance platform; Viator, a global marketplace for experiences in bookings; and the Fork, a European marketplace for restaurants. Smith, who began his career in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Société Générale, said TripAdvisor should explore a sale of Fork. “The Fork is the number one player in every single country in which it operates. Revenues growing more than 20% and profitabilities are improving,” he said. “The Fork is a valuable strategic asset. We think The Fork is sellable and non core … TripAdvisor is simply too cheap for a company that is growing and own[s] strategically valuable assets.” Fluor The third idea from Smith was engineering and construction company Fluor Corp ., which he said could benefit from rising global demand for power. “We believe Fluor is a great company. Well positioned as one of the two key global EPCM leaders, just ahead of what may be historic infrastructure building,” Smith said, referring to engineering, procurement and construction management companies. “But there’s more. Fluor also owns 39% of NuScale Power. It’s a leading publicly traded developer of small modular nuclear reactors.” Shares of Fluor are down about 3% this year after a 26% rally in 2024. “As global demand for power surges and infrastructure investment accelerates, a new industrial era is taking shape, and Fluor is going to be one of its biggest winners,” Smith said. Fluor responded to Smith’s comments at the conference, saying management is focused on delivering long-term shareholder value. “Fluor maintains an active dialogue with our shareholders and appreciates additional perspectives to advance our common goal of enhancing long-term shareholder value,” the contractor said in a statement. “We look forward to continued engagement with Starboard.” On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Starboard had taken a 5% position in Fluor.
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