May 7 (Reuters) – Payments firm BILL said on Thursday it was cutting its workforce by up to 30% in an effort to increase profitability, sending its shares up over 8% in extended trading.
The company said it estimates it will incur charges of about $30 million to $60 million in connection with the restructuring, with a majority of these charges to be incurred in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026.
San Jose, California-based BILL caught headlines in September when activist investor Starboard Value disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had amassed an 8.5% stake in the company.
A week later, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starboard nominated four candidates for BILL’s board of directors, signaling its readiness for a proxy fight to force changes.
The company was exploring a sale under pressure from activist investors such as Elliott Investment Management, which had built a large stake in the company.
However, the payments firm’s stock got a huge boost in February on reports that private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is in talks to buy the company.
Shares of the company, which has a market capitalization of about $3.73 billion according to LSEG data, have lost nearly 31% so far in 2026.
BILL provides cloud-based software that helps small and midsize businesses automate complex financial operations, such as managing accounts payable and receivable.
It expects to complete the restructuring by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. It also announced a $1 billion share repurchase authorization.
In its third-quarter earnings, announced alongside the job cuts, revenue grew 13% to $406.6 million and the company reported a quarterly profit compared with a year-ago loss.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru)
