Both the number of securities class action lawsuit filings and the number and total value of securities lawsuit settlements during the first half of 2026 were on track for the highest annual levels in several years, according to reports published this week by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) and Cornerstone Research, respectively. The NERA report, entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: H1 2026 Update,” can be found here. The Cornerstone Research report, entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements,” can be found here. The D&O Diary’s own analysis of the securities suit filings in the year’s first six months can be found here.

According to NERA, there were 118 federal court securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2026, which projects to a year-end total of 236, which would be not only 15% greater than the 205 cases filed in 2025, but would also represent the highest annual total since 2020.

The increase in the number of filings in the year’s first six months is attributable to a number of filing trends. For example, according to the NERA report, there were 18 first half AI-related filings, already exceeding the 17 AI-related cases filed in all of 2025. There was also an increase in the number of cases with pump-and-dump allegations, from no more than two filings annually during the period 2022-2025 to 11 the first half of 2026. On the other hand, the number of crypto and SPAC-related filings declined sharply from 2025 levels, with only 2 crypto-related filings in the year’s first six months compared to 14 for the full year 2025, and only one SPAC-related filing in the 1H26 compared to five for the full year 2025.

With respect to securities suit filings against non-U.S. companies, the share of standard federal filings against foreign companies increased to 20.5% of all filings in the year’s first half, compared to only 13.8% in the full-year 2025 (a 10-year low). The 23 first half filings against foreign companies are just three less than the 26 filed in the full-year 2025. Despite this increase, foreign companies as securities suit defendants remained underrepresented in the 1H26 relative to their 29.8% share of all U.S.-listed companies.

The NERA report also notes that dismissals “continue to outnumber settlements.” During 1H26, there were 105 federal court securities suit resolutions, of which 65 were dismissed and 40 were settled, representing 62% and 38% of case resolutions, respectively.

The distribution of settlement values remained broadly consistent with recent years, according to the NERA report. Excluding merger-objection cases, crypto unregistered securities cases, and settlements without a monetary payment to the class, 43% of settlements in the first half of 2026 fell below $10 million.

According to the NERA report, the average settlement value in the first half of 2026 was $54 million, representing a 2025 inflation-adjusted average settlement value of $41 million. The median settlement value in the 1H26 was $18 million, the same as the 2025 inflation-adjusted median settlement value.

The Cornerstone Research report has slightly different figures for the 1H26 securities class action settlements. According to the Cornerstone Research report, there were 39 securities suit settlements in the first six months of 2026, with a total value of $2.2 billion. If the settlement pace continues in the year’s second half, then 2026 will exceed 2025 both in the number of cases settled and the total settlement value, with the projected annual settlement values being the highest since 2020. (By way of context, in eight of the past nine years, the number of settlements in the second half of the year has exceeded the number in the first half of the year.)

The Cornerstone Research report notes that the average value of securities suit settlement in the year’s first six months was $56.4 million, compared to a full-year 2025 average of $42.2 million, and a 2017-2025 annual average settlement of $46.8 million.

The Cornerstone Research report also states that the median first half 2026 settlement was $20 million, compared to a 2025 full-year median of $17.6 million, and 2017-2025 median of $13 million.

The Cornerstone Research report also notes that during the year’s first six months, there were four mega settlements (of $100 million or greater) accounting for 10% of 1H26 securities suit settlements.

The D&O Diary’s podcast discussing the securities lawsuit filings for the first six months of the year can be found here.