Acacia Research Corporation (ACTG)
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At first glance Acacia Research looks like a bargain: $307.5 million in cash as of March 31, 2026, a book value of $5.47 per share - and a share price below it. The filings with the U.S. securities regulator, the SEC, tell the other half of the story. In 2025 a single licensee delivered 88 percent of patent revenue; in the first quarter of 2026 that segment booked $0.7 million, down from $69.9 million a year earlier. The four operating businesses earned $31.1 million in 2025 while the head office cost $24.7 million. And above all of it sits Starboard Value with 63.4 percent of the stock. Let us read what the vault actually holds - and who decides about it.
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Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
NeutralIn den sechs ausgewerteten SEC-Berichten (2 Geschäftsberichte 10-K, 4 Quartalsberichte 10-Q, Zeitraum 17.03.2025 bis 07.05.2026) kommt kein einziger Treffer zu „artificial intelligence“, „AI“, „machine learning“ oder „generative“ vor — weder als Umsatzquelle noch als Risiko im eigenen Geschäftsmodell; die vier Sparten Patentverwertung, Industriedrucker, Öl und Gas sowie Kunststoff-Fertigung werden ohne KI-Bezug beschrieben.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-03-12 · 10-K 2025-03-17 · 10-Q 2026-05-07 · 10-Q 2025-11-06 · 10-Q 2025-08-07 · 10-Q 2025-05-09
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | -0.02 | 88.90 | 26 | 226.90 | -32.70 | 16 | -136 |
| 2024: Q3 | -0.08 | 50.00 | 23 | 131.20 | -60.00 | -1 | -7 |
| 2024: Q4 | -0.18 | -128.30 | 49 | -47.10 | -27.50 | -20 | -24 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.34 | 21.40 | 124 | 411.60 | 19.50 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.06 | -200.00 | 51 | 98.30 | -6.40 | 50 | 48 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.03 | 62.50 | 59 | 155.00 | -4.60 | 10 | 4 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.03 | 116.80 | 50 | 2.60 | 6.80 | 13 | 7 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.07 | -120.60 | 54 | -56.40 | -29.00 | 3 | -6 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
As of March 31, 2026 the books held $307.5 million of cash and $528.5 million of equity; the $90.5 million of debt sits at the subsidiaries and runs to 2029. Free cash flow came to $58.5 million in 2025. The asset base is real and recently grew larger.
The 2025 profit hung on a single licensee that accounted for 88 percent of patent revenue; $69.9 million of the $78.4 million landed in one quarter. In the first quarter of 2026 the patent segment booked $0.7 million and posted a $7.4 million operating loss. Without that one-off, earning power sits in the low tens of millions.
Parent general and administrative expenses ran to $24.7 million in 2025 - 79 percent of the $31.1 million of total segment income; in 2024 it was $30.3 million against a $2.6 million segment loss. In the first quarter of 2026 that line rose 41 percent to $6.7 million. The superstructure still has to earn its keep.
Starboard Value LP owns roughly 63.4 percent (as of March 9, 2026) and is named the controlling shareholder in the annual report. The filing itself warns that this concentration may delay or deter a change of control and reduce the value of the investment. A takeover premium is effectively impossible without Starboard.
Industrial, energy and manufacturing booked $53.5 million together in the first quarter of 2026 after $54.5 million a year earlier - stable, but without growth. Benchmark Energy delivered its strongest quarter since the acquisition at $18.7 million, yet lost $10.7 million on its price hedge over the same period.
At roughly $450 million of market value (as of July 25, 2026) and $5.47 of book value per share (March 31, 2026) the stock trades at about 0.85 times book; on paper the four operating businesses cost around $210 million. Cheap - but with no dividend since 2015 and no buyback since December 2024, the lever that would close the discount is missing.
Acacia Research is the vault trap in its purest form: $307.5 million of cash and a book value above the share price look like a safety net, yet 88 percent of the record 2025 profit came from a single licensee, the head office consumed $24.7 million of the $31.1 million of segment income, and in the first quarter of 2026 the patent segment booked just $0.7 million. Above it all sits Starboard Value with 63.4 percent - and with no dividend since 2015 and no buyback since December 2024 there is currently no mechanism that closes the discount to book value. Not investment advice.
- Acacia Research reached our research list through our in-house stock scanner "Big Earnings Surprise" (U.S. selection, rank 46 of 81 hits, RS rating 63, as of July 25, 2026). The lists are recalculated daily. One important qualification: the measured surprise refers to the adjusted earnings figure (Q1 2026: -$0.07 per share), not the GAAP number (-$0.16). The run of quarters is also not unbroken - the quarter ended June 30, 2025 came in 20 percent below the estimate.
- As-of dates differ and are stated with every figure: balance sheet and segment values as of December 31, 2025 (Form 10-K) and March 31, 2026 (Form 10-Q), share count as of May 4, 2026 (10-Q cover page), the Starboard stake as of March 9, 2026, market data as of July 25, 2026. The closing price of July 24, 2026 serves solely as a dated valuation anchor, not as an argument to buy.
- Easily confused: Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTG) is unrelated to similarly named consulting or real estate firms and should not be mixed up with its subsidiary Acacia Research Group, which denotes only the patent segment. The segments trade under their own brands - Printronix, Benchmark Energy, Deflecto.
About the Company
Acacia Research Corporation operates as an acquirer and operator of businesses across industrial, energy, and technology sectors in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through four segments: Intellectual Property Operations, Industrial Operations, Energy Operations, and Manufacturing Operations. The company is involved in investing in IP; and licensing and enforcement of patented technologies. It also designs and manufactures printers, including hardware and embedded software, as well as consumable products, such as inked ribbons for various industrial printing applications. In addition, the company acquires, explores, develops, and produces oil and natural gas resources located in Texas and Oklahoma. Further, it designs and manufactures purchase brochure, folder, and applications display holders; plastic injection-molded office supply, as well as arts, crafts, and education products; plastic and aluminum air venting and air control products; extruded vinyl chair mats; safety reflectors for bicycles; and emergency warning triangles, mud flaps, and splash guards for the heavy duty truck market and transportation industry. Acacia Research Corporation was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
| Employees | 986 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York, NY |
| Website | acaciaresearch.com |
| IPO Date | 8. Jul 1996 |
| Next Earnings | 5. Aug 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Martin D. McNulty Jr. | CEO, COO, Head of M&A and Director | 1978 |
| Michael Zambito | Chief Financial Officer | – |
| Robert Rasamny | Chief Administrative Officer | 1979 |
| Jason W. Soncini J.D. | General Counsel | 1977 |
| Kirsten Hoover | Controller | 1979 |
| Daniel Troy | Principal | – |
| George Broadbin | Managing Director | – |
| Jennifer Graff | Corporate Secretary | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 24, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.