Third Point exits CoStar, ending its activist investor push

Hedge fund and activist CoStar Group investor Third Point has sold its shares of the Andy Florance-helmed firm. This news was first reported by Reuters and confirmed to HousingWire.

Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb informed investors of his firm’s decision to sell its shares in CoStar in a letter on Friday. 

​​The size of Third Point’s stake in CoStar remains unknown, but the hedge fund was ranked among CoStar Group’s 15 biggest investors.

Third Point did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment on its decision to divest its shares of CoStar Group. 

In an emailed statement, a CoStar Group spokesperson wrote that the company is “focused on executing our proven playbook to build on our momentum as we enter our next chapter of margin expansion and profitable growth. 

“We look forward to continuing to engage with stockholders as we continue to unlock the tremendous value of our digital ecosystem,” the spokesperson added. 

This move comes roughly two and a half months after Third Point sent a letter to CoStar’s board of directors calling on the firm to replace the majority of the board with “more qualified directors,” refocus on the firm’s core commercial real estate business and consider “strategic alternatives” for Homes.com, including shuttering or selling the platform. 

In response, CoStar has said that divesting Homes.com would cause the firm and its investors “irreparable harm.”

This letter came nearly a year after Third Point called on CoStar to embark on a journey of “meaningful self-help” and forcing the company to shake up its board. 

“So little progress has been made that we are convinced the Company never intended to do any of the things we discussed when we entered into the agreement,” Third Point wrote in its letter earlier this year. 

In January, CoStar provided investors with an update on financial and corporate governance initiatives for 2026, much of which they said was the result of a “robust review” of the company by the Capital Allocation Committee. While the update painted a fairly rosy picture for the firm as a whole in 2026, with estimated 18% year-over-year revenue growth to between $3.78 and $3.82 billion and a net income of $175 million to $215 million for the year, things did not look quite as strong for CoStar’s Homes.com. 

Although Homes.com has recorded a 337% increase in subscribers since Q1 2024, according to CoStar, the firm said it does not expect Homes.com to attain positive adjusted EBITDA until 2030. 

While CoStar Group is no longer facing activist investor pressure from Third Point, investor D.E. Shaw has also called on CoStar to divest Homes.com.