Contrarian Corpus

69 documents showing 1–60

Elliott Management 2025-05-15

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's conglomerate structure masks value; electing Elliott's four nominees to execute the Streamline 66 plan and fix governance lifts shares from $103 to $180+ (75% upside).

N4 V4 C4
Carl Icahn 2025-05-12

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's refining-plus-midstream conglomerate trades at a 6.1x discount to an 8.1x SOTP; breaking it up and replacing complacent directors unlocks ~75% upside to $183.

N5 V4 C4
Carl Icahn 2025-05-06

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66 has underperformed Marathon by 511% under a complacent board; electing Elliott's four nominees and spinning Midstream/CPChem/JET unlocks ~75% upside ($103 → $183).

N5 V4 C4
Elliott Management 2025-05-06

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66 is a conglomerate trading at a refiner multiple; replace four directors, spin Midstream/CPChem/JET, and buy back 80% of shares for ~75% upside to $183.

N5 V4 C4
Elliott Management 2025-05-01

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's dilutive midstream pivot has destroyed TSR versus refining peers; a midstream spin and refreshed governance — as at Marathon and Suncor — can unlock the buried value.

N4 V4 C4
Carl Icahn 2025-04-28

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's conglomerate structure and failed governance have cost shareholders 97% vs. peers; spinning Midstream and reconstituting the board targets $183/share — +75% upside.

N5 V5 C5
Elliott Management 2025-04-28

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's conglomerate discount and lagging refining execution have cost shareholders 450% vs peers; spinning midstream, divesting CPChem, and refreshing the board unlock ~75% upside to $183.

N5 V4 C4
Elliott Management 2025-04-28

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66's conglomerate structure has trapped value and lagged peers by 97% over 5 years; spinning midstream, fixing refining and refreshing the board unlocks ~75% upside to $183/share.

N5 V4 C4
Carl Icahn 2022-05-01

McDonald's Corporation MCD

McDonald's board broke a 10-year promise to end gestation crates; replace Penrose and Lenny with two ESG experts to fix systemic governance and sustainability failures.

N4 V3 C3
Sachem Head 2022-04-26

US Foods Holding Corp. USFD

Sachem Head owns 8.7% of US Foods and is running a proxy fight to install five directors who can close the Sysco margin gap and deliver ~100% upside.

N4 V3 C3
TCI Fund 2019-11-30

Airbus AIR

TCI, a 1.5% Airbus shareholder since 2012, demands stronger climate disclosure, an A-grade CDP score, and Airbus leadership in mandating low-carbon synthetic aviation fuels — or TCI will vote against directors.

N2 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2019-08-07

Burford Capital Ltd. BUR LN

Burford is a poor litigation-finance business masquerading as a great one through Enron-like fair value accounting, four-case concentration, and a CEO-wife CFO — and is arguably insolvent.

N5 V2 C2
Third Point 2018-07-01

Nestlé S.A. NESN

Nestlé has been too slow to adapt to a changing consumer industry; adopting a #NestléNOW mindset — sharper strategy, bolder portfolio divestitures including the L'Oréal stake, and a three-division split — can double EPS by 2022.

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2018-02-13

Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. TYPE

Monotype's three-year acquisition spree (Olapic, Swyft) destroyed $500M+ of value and halved EBITDA margins; Starboard demands four new directors to refocus on the core font franchise.

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2018-01-29

Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) — portfolio review PSH

Returning to roots: smaller investment-centric team, reaffirmed core principles, growth from returns not AUM

N3 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2017-08-17

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. ADP

Employer Services margins are 1,500-2,000 bps below potential vs. Paychex and peers

N5 V4 C4
Pershing Square 2017-05-11

Herbalife HLF

Country-level 'pop-and-drop' patterns are the signature of a pyramid scheme reaching saturation

N4 V4 C4
Pershing Square 2017-04-24

Pershing Square Portfolio (multiple positions)

Core longs (QSR, MDLZ, CMG, APD, HHC) are high-quality businesses in mid-transformation with untapped margin upside

N2 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2017-01-26

Multiple (PSH portfolio update)

Long-term track record intact: 503% cumulative vs S&P 163% since 2004 inception

N3 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2016-07-20

Herbalife HLF

FTC complaint confirms Herbalife operates as a pyramid scheme

N4 V3 C3
Marcato 2016-04-06

Epiq Systems, Inc. EPIQ

Epiq's board has insulated management through chronic guidance misses, a failed Iris acquisition and governance entrenchment; electing Villere's alternate slate is the unique opportunity to unlock value.

N4 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2016-03-24

Yahoo! Inc. YHOO

Yahoo's board has failed for years on operations, capital allocation, and governance; replace it with Starboard's nine nominees to run a credible Core Business sale and unlock value.

N3 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2016-01-06

Yahoo! Inc. YHOO

Three years of failed turnaround have collapsed Yahoo's Core Business; Starboard demands a competitive sale process and leadership change, or it will launch an election contest.

N4 V2 C2
Starboard Value 2015-08-10

Yahoo! Inc. YHOO

Yahoo's Core Business is collapsing because of $550M of self-inflicted cost bloat; cutting costs and replacing the Microsoft search deal can restore profitability without touching Alibaba.

N4 V2 C3
Pershing Square 2015-08-01

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife pays multi-level royalties on unlimited downlines, violating China's pyramid-sales laws

N5 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2015-06-26

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

CEO Johnson on video admits Herbalife participation is a 'lottery ticket' with 'pyramiding'

N3 V1 C1
Engaged Capital 2015-04-22

Rovi Corporation ROVI

Rovi's entrenched board destroyed a decade of shareholder value while promising 'double-digit growth next year' every year; Engaged's nominees Lockwood and Rau bring operating credibility the incumbents lack.

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2015-02-26

Herbalife HLF

Former distributors lost $5K-$45K each chasing promised income that never materialized

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2014-11-20

Superb Summit International Group Limited 1228.HK

Superb Summit's HK$773m of reported revenue belongs to a coal company it never owned, and its HK$1.5bn JFT acquisition is a sham valuation routed through a mystery intermediary.

N4 V2 C2
Pershing Square 2014-11-06

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife is the largest and best-managed pyramid scheme in the world

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-11-06

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's largest purported revenue source, Yidatong, is a controlled shell whose offices, tax filings, and carrier records all contradict NQ's story — we maintain a <$1 target.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-10-29

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's Oct 25 rebuttal of Muddy Waters' fraud report contained ten provable lies — Yidatong is NQ, revenue and market share are fabricated; reiterating price target under $1.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2013-10-24

NQ Mobile Inc. NQ

NQ Mobile is a 'China Fraud 2.0': 72%+ of China revenue is fictitious, real market share is 1.4% not 55%, and the $127.9M cash balance is likely forged — target price under $1.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2013-09-02

Olam International OLAM

Ten months after our initial short, Olam's FY13 results confirm the thesis: 1.8% ROA, S$800m cash burn, ossified board, no acknowledgement of the over-leverage problem.

N3 V1 C1
Starboard Value 2013-08-02

Office Depot, Inc. ODP

Office Depot's entrenched board has destroyed value for years; replace four incumbents with Starboard's retail-experienced nominees to lift operating margins from 0.9% to 7.3% — standalone or merged with OfficeMax.

N4 V3 C3
Glenview 2013-07-01

Health Management Associates HMA

HMA's insular 17-year-tenure board drove a Lost Decade of <1% TSR; replace all directors with Glenview's blue-chip slate to fix governance, compensation, and capital allocation.

N5 V3 C3
Trian Partners 2013-07-01

PepsiCo, Inc. PEP

PepsiCo's snacks and beverages are structurally incompatible — Trian demands a Mondelez merger plus beverage spin (or a clean snacks/beverages separation), unlocking up to $175/share by 2015 vs. $85 today.

N5 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2013-05-13

DSP Group, Inc. DSPG

DSP has burned $557M on failed new products while its profitable cordless-telephony core erodes; new independent directors can right-size costs and unlock SiTel-level margins.

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2013-05-08

Procter & Gamble PG

P&G earns $4 EPS today but should earn $6 by FY2016 at 24% EBIT margin

N4 V3 C2
Starboard Value 2013-04-30

Tessera Technologies Inc. TSRA

Tessera has squandered $517M on the failing Digital Optics business while its core patent-licensing franchise shrinks; Starboard's six-director slate and IP-focused plan can unlock best-in-class 60-70% EBITDA margins.

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2013-04-09

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife distributors earn 10x more from recruitment than from retail product sales

N5 V2 C1
Relational Investors 2013-03-01

The Timken Company TKR

Timken's bearings-plus-steel conglomerate masks value; separating the two pure-plays unlocks 29% upside to $68 and ends Timken-family board capture entrenching the status quo.

N4 V3 C2
JANA Partners 2013-02-19

Agrium AGU

Agrium rebuts JANA's break-up case: the sum-of-parts math is contrived, Retail already trades at ~9x within Agrium, and no analyst endorses JANA's methodology.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2013-02-08

Olam International Ltd. OLAM

Olam's Q2 2013 results confirm Muddy Waters' Strong Sell thesis: debt is spiraling (9.5x EBITDA), cash is burning, and management's acquisitions and Gabon project reveal haphazard planning.

N3 V1 C1
Elliott Management 2013-01-29

Hess Corporation HES

Hess intrinsic value is over $126/share — 94-153% upside to the current price

N5 V4 C4
Muddy Waters 2013-01-24

Focus Media Holding Ltd. FMCN

New BVI registry evidence proves FMCN lied about its mobile-phone VIE acquisitions, reinforcing the long-running fraud thesis just as Carlyle's LBO consortium prepares to overpay.

N4 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2012-12-20

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Formula 1 is a $2bn 'brand nobody's heard of' — sales economics defy any genuine consumer demand

N5 V4 C4
Pershing Square 2012-12-20

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife is a pyramid scheme: distributors profit by recruiting, not retail sales

N5 V4 C4
Muddy Waters 2012-12-04

Olam International OLAM

Olam's surprise $750m Temasek-backed debt raise — at an effective cost over 10% — validates Muddy Waters' thesis that the company is days from collapse; Strong Sell maintained.

N3 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2012-11-30

Olam International OLAM

Olam's 45-page rebuttal ducks Muddy Waters' real points; we'll pay S&P to rate Olam's debt and prove the market underprices its accounting and acquisition risk.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-11-27

Olam International Ltd. SGX:O32

Olam is an Enron-style agri trader whose aggressive non-cash accounting, off-the-rails CapEx binge, and 9.3x leverage mask a failing trading business — equity likely worthless, bonds 14-33¢.

N5 V2 C1
Trian Partners 2012-11-07

Danone BN.PA

Danone is a world-class health-focused food company trading at trough multiples and a 1.5x P/E discount to Nestle; rerating to historic levels implies ~€78 vs €48, +62% upside by 2014.

N3 V3 C3
Corvex 2012-10-24

ADT Corporation ADT

ADT is drastically under-levered post-Tyco spin; levering to 3.0x EBITDA and repurchasing ~30% of the float delivers ~44% upside to a $55 target.

N4 V3 C3
ValueAct 2012-10-01

Multiple (ValueAct portfolio: Moody's, CBRE, Motorola Solutions, Adobe, Halliburton, Autodesk, Gardner Denver, Sara Lee, Verisign, CR Bard)

ValueAct's edge is concentrated, board-level positions in differentiated, recurring-revenue businesses — picking quality and avoiding leverage, complexity and bad governance.

N4 V2 C2
Sandell 2012-10-01

TPC Group Inc. TPCG

TPC Group's $40/share take-private by First Reserve/SK Capital is a self-dealt, low-balled sale; a proper auction plus MLP re-rating would deliver materially higher value to shareholders.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-07-18

New Oriental Education & Technology Group EDU

New Oriental is hiding an extensive franchising operation, filing fraudulent tax-exempt financials in Beijing and using a cosmetic VIE — expect a restatement and Deloitte to resign.

N5 V2 C2
Trian Partners 2012-06-18

Lazard Ltd LAZ

Lazard's premier advisory and asset-management franchise trades at a discount; executing the April 2012 plan to 25%+ margins, disciplined capital return, and stronger governance can nearly double the stock to ~$51.

N4 V3 C3
Elliott Management 2012-05-31

BMC Software BMC

BMC has underperformed every peer and index over 1-, 2-, 3-year and YTD windows

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2012-05-23

AOL, Inc. AOL

AOL's board lets management burn Access/Search cash on a Display strategy losing $500M+ a year; elect three Starboard nominees to enforce discipline and restructure or exit Patch.

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2012-05-16

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. JCP

Ron Johnson (Target, Apple Retail) can repeat his retail magic at chronically mismanaged JCP

N5 V4 C4