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Starboard Takes 8.5% Stake in BILL Holdings, Plans Boardroom Challenge

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Activist investor Starboard Value disclosed on Thursday that it has built an 8.5% stake in BILL Holdings (BILL.N) and plans to nominate directors as part of a boardroom challenge to push for changes at the financial automation software company. The move was confirmed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which followed a Reuters report earlier in the day.

BILL Holdings’ shares surged as much as 10% in after-hours trading after the news. The company, headquartered in San Jose and valued at nearly $5 billion, processes more than 1% of U.S. GDP through its platform but has seen its stock lose almost half its value since January. Shares have fallen 86% from their November 2021 peak, though the company has authorized a $300 million share repurchase program, acknowledging its stock is undervalued.

Starboard’s filing said it intends to nominate director candidates, and discussions with management and the board are ongoing. Four of BILL’s 12 directors are up for election at this year’s annual meeting, and sources said Starboard may put forward as many as four nominees before Saturday’s deadline. BILL stated that it values engagement with all shareholders and will consider Starboard’s candidates once officially nominated.

While BILL expects revenue to grow up to 15%, it currently trades at just three times revenue, making it one of the least expensive U.S. technology firms. Analysts say this, along with increasing M&A activity in the sector, could make it an attractive acquisition target. Rivals such as Melio, AvidXchange, and Esker have all recently been acquired by strategic buyers or private equity firms.

Starboard has a track record of pushing operational improvements and strategic changes. It has recently taken positions in Rogers (ROG.N) and Tripadvisor (TRIP.O), and has previously reached boardroom settlements at Autodesk (ADSK.O) and Kenvue (KVUE.N). BILL, in its latest 10-K filing, acknowledged the potential disruption activist investors could bring, warning that proxy contests could divert resources and impact business execution.

Nvidia hits $4 trillion market cap, cementing tech’s dominance in stock market

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Nvidia Corp’s remarkable rise to a $4 trillion market valuation highlights its pivotal role in the stock market and the broader technology sector. The AI chipmaker’s shares have surged roughly 1,350% since October 2022, with a 22% gain so far in 2025, outperforming the 6% rise of the S&P 500.

The milestone was reached during morning trading on Wednesday, about 13 months after Nvidia first hit the $3 trillion mark. This rapid appreciation has made Nvidia the largest single stock by market value in the S&P 500, where it now accounts for around 7.5% of the index—more than any other company.

Nvidia’s influence is even more pronounced in tech-heavy indexes like the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, though it has a smaller presence in price-weighted indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Microsoft ($3.7 trillion) and Apple ($3.1 trillion) trail Nvidia but are closing in on the $4 trillion threshold, underscoring the dominance of tech giants. The top seven companies in the S&P 500—also including Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Broadcom—make up about one-third of the index’s total market value.

This surge illustrates the growing dominance of the technology sector, which now represents about one-third of the S&P 500’s market value, nearing levels last seen during the dot-com bubble peak in 2000.

Other standout tech stocks in 2025 include Microsoft (+19%), Oracle (+40%), and Palantir (+88%).

Travel Tech Firm Navan Confidentially Files for U.S. IPO

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Navan, a corporate travel and expense management company based in Palo Alto, California, announced on Friday that it has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO). The company has not yet disclosed the terms of the offering.

Backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed, Navan raised $304 million in equity and structured debt financing in 2022, when it was valued at $9.2 billion. The filing comes amid renewed optimism in the U.S. IPO market, which has seen a resurgence after a slow start to 2025.

Recent IPO successes in the technology and finance sectors, such as space and defense tech company Voyager Technologies and advertising technology firm MNTN, have helped build momentum. Shares of Chime Financial also surged in a notable New York debut, encouraging upcoming offerings from crypto exchange Gemini and fintech company Klarna.

Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, highlighted growing IPO activity and interest from both institutional investors and traders eager to participate in strong growth opportunities with reasonable valuations.

Founded in 2015 originally as TripActions, Navan began as a corporate travel management platform designed to modernize services traditionally provided by companies like American Express and SAP Concur. It later broadened its offerings to include corporate payments and expense management.

Navan’s client roster includes companies such as Zoom Communications and Lyft, according to its website.