Contrarian Corpus

127 documents showing 61–120

Muddy Waters 2017-06-16

Man Wah Holdings 1999.HK

Man Wah's response fails to address Muddy Waters' core fraud allegations: suspicious Macau profit-shifting, export revenue gaps vs. Panjiva data, tax inconsistencies, and undisclosed debt all remain unexplained.

N4 V2 C2
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
Marcato 2017-04-20

Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD

Sally Smith-led BWLD has underperformed peers, mismanaged margins, and wasted capital buying back franchise stores; replacing the board and refranchising to 90% unlocks a higher multiple.

N5 V4 C4
Spruce Point Capital 2017-01-12

MGP Ingredients, Inc. MGPI

MGPI's whiskey-premiumization rerating is an illusion: Diageo is going in-house, inventory is stranded, and insiders are selling — shares should collapse 60-70% to $16-$21.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2016-12-19

China Huishan Dairy Holdings 6863.HK

Huishan's revenue is fabricated: tax-bureau data, cow-farm photos, and e-commerce scrapes all show the reported top line is dramatically overstated — the stock is a zero.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2016-12-16

China Huishan Dairy Holdings 6863 HK

Huishan is a fraud worth close to zero — fabricated alfalfa self-sufficiency inflates margins, RMB 1.6bn of CapEx is fictitious, and Chairman Yang has siphoned farms to a related party.

N5 V2 C2
Land & Buildings 2016-10-06

MGM Resorts International MGM

MGM's discredited CEO Murren was just handed a pay-for-showing-up contract; replacing him and unlocking real-estate value via MGM China, CityCenter and Bellagio sales delivers 35%+ upside.

N3 V1 C1
Sandell 2016-08-22

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. BOBE

Bob Evans trades at $37 while its packaged-foods segment alone is worth $1.2-1.6bn; spinning off Restaurants leaves a pure-play BEF Foods parent worth $57-79 per share.

N4 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2016-07-20

Herbalife HLF

FTC complaint confirms Herbalife operates as a pyramid scheme

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2016-07-15

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

FTC findings satisfy the Koscot/Omnitrition/Vemma legal test for a pyramid scheme

N3 V2 C1
Marcato 2016-06-13

Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD

Buffalo Wild Wings should reverse course on low-return franchisee buy-ins, refranchise to 90% by 2020, recapitalize, and fix incentives — unlocking ~180% upside to ~$402.

N4 V4 C4
Muddy Waters 2016-03-08

Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA CO

Casino's claimed France recovery is fiction: Mercialys property gains inflate EBITDA, suppliers are being stretched, and the CFO's earnings-call language shows deception clusters.

N5 V1 C1
Engaged Capital 2016-02-18

Outerwall Inc. OUTR

Outerwall's cash-rich Redbox/Coinstar business trades at a 3x EBITDA capital-allocation discount; halting buybacks for a large dividend and running a sale process unlocks 150%+ upside.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2016-01-13

Groupe Casino CO

Casino is a highly-levered, deteriorating French retailer being hollowed out by controlling shareholder Naouri and using property-sale gains to inflate EBITDA; equity worth ~€7 per share.

N4 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2016-01-11

Macy's, Inc. M

Macy's $21bn real estate portfolio implies a negative-value OpCo; a real estate JV plus $500m+ cost cuts can crystallize hidden value without sacrificing cash flow or investment grade.

N3 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2016-01-11

Macy's, Inc. M

Macy's $21bn real estate portfolio exceeds its enterprise value; Starboard urges joint-venture structures plus $500M+ cost cuts to crystallize value without sacrificing cash flow or investment-grade rating.

N3 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2016-01-11

Macy's Inc. M

Macy's owns $21bn of real estate — more than its entire enterprise value; spinning iconic and mall properties into two JVs unlocks ~$70/share, ~88% upside.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2015-12-16

Groupe Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA CO FP

Casino's financial statements mask 8.9x leverage and inflated EBITDA via related-party Mercialys real-estate sales; shares are worth €6.91 vs €48.97, an 86% decline.

N4 V2 C2
Starboard Value 2015-09-30

Advance Auto Parts AAP

AAP trails O'Reilly and AutoZone by 800-900bps in EBITDA margins; closing the gap plus Worldpac monetization, buybacks, and multiple rerating drives AAP from $171 to over $350.

N4 V3 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
Trian Partners 2015-04-01

H.J. Heinz Company HNZ

Retrospective of Trian's 2006 Heinz campaign: a 13D white paper and proxy-won board seats drove brand reinvestment and cost discipline, delivering 178% TSR versus 40% for the S&P 500.

N3 V3 C3
Land & Buildings 2015-03-17

MGM Resorts International MGM

MGM's US real estate is buried inside a 10x-EBITDA C-corp; a REIT conversion plus lodging-C-corp spin and MGM China dividend can lift NAV from $33 to $55 per share.

N4 V2 C1
Pershing Square 2015-02-26

Herbalife HLF

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

N4 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2014-11-06

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

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

N4 V2 C1
Marcato 2014-11-01

Dillard's, Inc. DDS

Dillard's trades at 6.2x EBITDA despite owning ~50mm sq. ft. of real estate; separating into OpCo/PropCo as peers have done implies ~$193/share vs. $109.

N3 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2014-09-11

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI

Darden's brands and real estate are worth $67-$86/share vs. $48 today — replace the entire board to execute the Brinker playbook: operational turnaround, real-estate separation, SRG spin-off.

N5 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2014-09-11

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI

Darden underperformed direct peers by ~300% over 5 years under current Board

N5 V3 C4
Starboard Value 2014-09-09

Darden Restaurants DRI

Darden, the largest full-service restaurant company, trails peers on margins and total return; an operational fix, REIT spin, and SRG separation can unlock substantial value.

N3 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2014-09-01

Darden Restaurants DRI

Starboard's REIT math inflates multiples by ~4x turns through flawed peer selection and LTM vs. forward mismatch

N3 V3 C2
Starboard Value 2014-05-22

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI

Darden's Board destroyed value by selling Red Lobster for ~1x EBITDA against shareholder will; replacing 12 directors unlocks a real estate spin, cost-cut turnaround, and peer-catchup upside.

N4 V2 C2
Marcato 2014-04-22

Sotheby's BID

Sotheby's sits on $1bn+ of excess capital while insiders own 0.8%; Third Point's slate brings aligned ownership to drive capital return, cost discipline, and higher ROE.

N4 V3 C3
Third Point 2014-04-01

Sotheby's BID

Sotheby's Board has presided over a 42% EPS collapse despite global wealth tailwinds; electing Third Point's three nominees can restore owner perspective and more than double pro-forma EPS.

N4 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2014-03-31

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI

Darden is rushing a value-destructive Red Lobster spin-off; a Special Meeting can halt it and unlock $1-2B of real estate and operational upside instead.

N4 V3 C3
Starboard Value 2014-03-31

Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI

Darden's rushed Red Lobster spin is the wrong deal at the wrong time — it traps ~$850M of real estate value and blocks a $1-2B REIT unlock; shareholders must call a Special Meeting to stop it.

N5 V3 C3
Trian Partners 2014-02-19

PepsiCo, Inc. PEP

PepsiCo has chronically underperformed because its 'Power of One' holding-company structure suffocates Frito-Lay and Pepsi; separate them into two focused companies and the combined value will re-rate materially higher.

N5 V3 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
Sandell 2013-09-01

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. BOBE

Bob Evans trades at a conglomerate discount; spinning BEF Foods, monetizing 482 owned restaurants via sale-leaseback, and tendering at $58 unlocks ~$78.50/share.

N4 V3 C3
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
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
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
Pershing Square 2013-04-09

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

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

N5 V2 C1
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
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
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
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
Pershing Square 2012-04-04

Burger King Worldwide Holdings BKW

Back best-in-class 3G management team retaining 70%+ equity

N3 V2 C2
Pershing Square 2011-11-08

Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW

LOW trades at 13.3x depressed EPS with ~8% FCF yield — cheap

N3 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2011-10-18

Fortune Brands Home & Security FBHS

Orphaned post-spin-off stock — recovery optionality mispriced at $13

N4 V3 C3
Greenlight Capital 2011-10-17

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters GMCR

GMCR's $9 EPS bull case ignores a smaller TAM, falling K-cup attachment rates, a September 2012 patent cliff, and accounting shenanigans at fulfillment agent MBlock — realistic EPS is ~$3.50.

N5 V2 C2
Pershing Square 2011-05-25

Family Dollar Stores FDO

FDO trades at same ~9x forward EBIT as Dollar General despite 37% performance gap

N5 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2009-05-11

Target Corporation TGT

Target board lacks senior operating experience in retail, credit cards, and real estate

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2008-11-19

Target Corporation TGT

Target trades at only 5.8x '09E EV/EBITDA while REITs trade 14.5x-35.7x — 22% of EBITDA mispriced

N4 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2008-10-29

Target Corporation TGT

Target owns 95% of its buildings — more real estate than any big-box peer, worth $39bn replacement value

N5 V3 C3