The number of securities class action lawsuit settlements increased in 2024 compared to the year prior, but the median, total, and average settlement amounts decreased during the year, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. Cornerstone Research’s March 26, 2025 press release about the report can be found here. The report itself, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements — 2024 Review and Analysis,” can be found here.

According to the report, there were 88 securities class action lawsuit settlements in 2024, representing a 6% increase in the number of settlements compared to the 83 settlements in 2023.

The median settlement amount in 2024 was $14 million, representing a 10% decline from the 13-year high median settlement amount of $15.4 million in 2023. The 2004 median settlement amount remained 24% above median amount over the past decade – the median settlement amount for the period 2015-2023 was $11.3 million.

The aggregate amount of 2024 securities class action lawsuit settlements was $3.7 billion, representing a 8% decline from the $4.0 billion of total settlements in 2023.

The average securities class action settlement amount in 2024 was $42.4 million, representing a 13% decline from the $48.7 million average settlement amount in 2023. The 2015-2023 average settlement amount was $50.7 million.

Several factors contributed to the decrease in settlement amounts in 2024: a decline in plaintiff-style damages of the cases settled; an increase in the number of settlements involving SPACs (which tend to settle for lower amounts than cases generally); the number of settlements involving companies that had been delisted from a major exchange or had declared for bankruptcy; and the reduced involvement of institutional investor lead plaintiffs; and a reduction in the number of mega settlement (settlements of $100 million or greater)

With respect to the size of plaintiff damages, the median plaintiff style damages amount in 2024 declined 20% to $272 million from a record high in 2023. In addition, the issuer defendants involved in the 2024 settlements were 65% smaller than in 2023 as measured by total assets.

According to the report, 19% of 2024 securities class action lawsuit settlements involved special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The median settlement amount of cases involving SPACs was $12 million compared to $15.3 million for non-SPAC cases. The report notes that one potential factor contributed to the lower settlement amounts for the SPAC-related case was the limited availability of D&O insurance.

Institutional investors served as lead plaintiff in only 39% of securities class action lawsuits settled in 2024, the lowest level over the preceding 10 years. An institutional investor serving as lead or co-lead plaintiff historically has been associated with cases with larger settlements and higher plaintiff-style damages. Lower institutional investor involvement is consistent with lower median plaintiff-style damages.

There were seven mega-settlements in 2024, compared to nine in 2023. The seven mega-settlements in 2024 contributed over half (54%) of the total 2024 settlement value. It should be noted that the highest 2024 mega settlement was $490 million, compared to $1 billion in 2023.