US Supreme Court backs SEC in fight over ’disgorgement’ power

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 4, 2026 unanimously upheld the SEC’s broad disgorgement authority, ruling that the agency need not show victims suffered pecuniary loss to recover ill-gotten gains. The decision affirms lower-court rulings and preserves a key enforcement tool that the SEC used to obtain roughly $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025 (and $6.1 billion the prior year). For markets, the ruling strengthens regulatory enforcement risk and could raise compliance costs or settlement exposure for listed companies, but it is unlikely to drive a large, immediate move in the S&P 500. Investors should watch for higher enforcement activity and potential litigation-related volatility for individual stocks with prior or ongoing SEC scrutiny.