Overview
- D.E. Shaw joined Third Point on Feb. 4 with an open letter urging a sale, spinoff, breakeven by 2027, or shutdown of Homes.com while pushing for additional independent directors.
- CoStar said on Feb. 5 that abandoning Homes.com would cause irreparable harm and is impractical given its integrations with Apartments.com and broader shared infrastructure.
- The company outlined responses to investor feedback, including a $300 million reduction to 2026 Homes.com investment with at least $100 million less annually thereafter, accelerated completion of a $500 million buyback in 2025, and a new $1.5 billion program starting July 2026.
- Board and governance moves cited by CoStar include adding John Berisford, Rachel Glaser and Christine McCarthy, naming Louise Sams independent chair, and forming a Capital Allocation Committee.
- Activists say CoStar has spent more than $3 billion on Homes.com for about $80 million in annual revenue and over $2 billion in cumulative losses, with the stock down over 23% year to date as of Feb. 3.