An analysis of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) enforcement activity in FY 2025 reveals that the SEC initiated 56 actions against public companies and subsidiaries in FY 2025, a decrease of 30% from FY 2024. A decline in total actions from the prior fiscal year is consistent with the general pattern for other fiscal years when the SEC administration changed.
The findings in this report are based on data from the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database (SEED), a collaboration between the NYU Pollack Center for Law & Business and Cornerstone Research. SEED data cover FY 2010 through FY 2025 based on available data on the SEC’s website as of November 14, 2025.
RECORD LOW ACTIONS INITIATED IN 2H FY 2025
There were only three actions initiated in 2H FY 2025, the lowest in SEED. The prior low was 19 in 2H FY 2017. The two actions initiated in Q4 FY 2025 are the lowest in a Q4 in SEED, with six in Q4 FY 2011 as the prior low.
MONETARY SETTLEMENTS DECREASED BY 45%
Total monetary settlements of $808 million in FY 2025 are the lowest since FY 2012 and the second lowest in SEED. This is also less than half of the FY 2016-FY 2024 average total monetary settlement of $1.9 billion.
The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.
