Irenic Capital has launched an activist campaign against Snap, calling for mass redundancies and better corporate governance. Snap's shares have plummeted 75% since their 2017 listing, far below pandemic-era highs. The hedge fund wants Snap to fire nearly a fifth of its employees, link executive pay to stock performance, and exit the hardware business.

A critical issue at Snap is that traded shares carry zero voting rights, unlike other tech companies where shareholders at least get a minor vote. For nearly 20 years, American regulators have increasingly allowed Silicon Valley to strip rights from shareholders. At Snap, shareholders can only register discontent by selling stock, as they have no ballot box leverage.

After Irenic went public with its stake, Snap shares rallied nearly 20%, adding $1.5bn in value. This surge doesn't reflect proxy fight chances but suggests Wall Street finds the hedge fund's ideas compelling. With Snap's $6bn annual revenue offset by excessive stock-based compensation, the future of shareholder activism appears to be about reaching an audience of one: CEO Evan Spiegel.