Findell Issues Report and Letter to CEO and Board of Directors of Figma
Believes
Calls for Management to Sharpen Product Focus and Rationalize Costs in Line with Competitors
Calls for Board to Examine Relationship with Anthropic Given Launch of Claude Design
Findell believes that Figma has a strong moat that investors will come to appreciate over the coming months. That said, Findell contends that there are several steps that Figma could take today to maximize its shareholder value:
1) Enhance focus in the product organization by simplifying its offering
2) Rationalize costs so they are in line with peers
3) Conduct a governance review of the Board dynamics in light of the Claude Design launch
We outline these points in our letter below and in our report (see here).
Dear Mr. Field and Members of the Board of Directors:
We and our affiliates are shareholders of
We write to the Board to respectfully offer ways Figma could further improve its long-term positioning as a publicly traded company:
1) Product Positioning and Leadership
We believe there is an opportunity to streamline the Figma product portfolio and also upgrade the product organization with seasoned leadership. Figma should further focus its product suite on Design,
2) Cost Rationalization
We would suggest that Figma bring its compensation practices more in line with industry norms and also align its cost base with scaled SaaS peers over time. Estimates call for R&D to exceed 30% of revenues in 2026 (exclusive of stock-based compensation).1 We believe this number should be meaningfully reduced as product focus narrows. Figma should rely on a mix of internal R&D and tuck-in outsourced R&D by way of acqui-hires. Analyst estimates call for Figma to spend ~$375mm or 27% of revenues on stock-based compensation in 2026,1 as compared to Adobe, which spent ~8% of revenues on stock-based compensation in its most recent quarter.2 This comparison is particularly stark because we believe Figma stock has more upside than Adobe on a relative basis.
3) Board Governance
We were concerned by some of the recent developments on the Figma Board.
It may be appropriate to consider refreshing the membership of the Board in light of these potential conflicts.
We believe Figma is a generational company and is being misunderstood by the market. Improving margins and governance will help unlock additional value alongside continued business execution and help the market better understand what a great asset it is.
Sincerely,
THIS COMMUNICATION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION, AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL SHARES.
THIS COMMUNICATION CONTAINS OUR CURRENT VIEWS ON THE VALUE OF FIGMA SECURITIES AND CERTAIN ACTIONS THAT FIGMA MAY TAKE TO ENHANCE THE VALUE OF ITS SECURITIES. OUR VIEWS ARE BASED ON OUR OWN ANALYSIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND ASSUMPTIONS WE BELIEVE TO BE REASONABLE. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT THE INFORMATION WE CONSIDERED AND ANALYZED IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. SIMILARLY, THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT OUR ASSUMPTIONS ARE CORRECT. FIGMA'S PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM OUR ASSUMPTIONS AND ANALYSIS.
OUR VIEWS AND OUR HOLDINGS COULD CHANGE AT ANY TIME. WE MAY SELL ANY OR ALL OF OUR HOLDINGS OR INCREASE OUR HOLDINGS BY PURCHASING ADDITIONAL SECURITIES. WE MAY TAKE ANY OF THESE OR OTHER ACTIONS REGARDING FIGMA WITHOUT UPDATING THIS COMMUNICATION OR PROVIDING ANY NOTICE WHATSOEVER OF ANY SUCH CHANGES (EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW).
1 Piper Sandler 4/28 Report on Figma Titled: 1Q26 Preview: Framing Up a
2 https://www.adobe.com/cc-shared/assets/investor-relations/pdfs/21306202/ay45th643t5y46.pdf
3 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579878/000162828026025127/fig-20260414.htm
4 https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-design-anthropic-labs
5https://thenextweb.com/news/sequoia-joins-anthropics-25b-funding-round
6 Kleiner Perkins firm materials, kleinerperkins.com (accessed
Contact:
info@findell.us
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