Callouts & quotes from 1,316+ activist slides

"We believe that if the business is properly managed over this period, you should easily be able to achieve approximately $4.00 per share of Adjusted Free Cash Flow by the end of 2020."

"In another departure from conventional wisdom, Singleton eschewed reported earnings, the key metric on Wall Street at the time, running his company instead to optimize free cash flow."

"Spruce Point's warns that for the first time ever before announcing the acquisition of Evoqua, Xylem citied as its first factor for increased cash flow "higher customer prepayments.""

"To arrive at our NPV per future program, we assume the midpoint of $7.5M ($5M to $10M) of negative cash outflow prior to a program starting and up until completion of its second year"

"Based on Free Cash Flow projections offered in the deal proxy, $1.66 billion was expected for 2019. However, based on our analysis, we estimate actual Free Cash Flow of $489 million."

"“...our conventional portfolio generate[s] the cash needed to fund the unconventional growth that we have in the Bakken and the Utica.” — John Hess, Chairman & CEO Hess, January 2013"

"Riot's business model is dysfunctional, characterized by seemingly endless capital spending, lack of operating leverage, unpredictable revenue, poor returns, and negative cash flow."

"As of Q2'09, CXW's interest coverage ratio was 5.4x. Its next debt maturity is not until 2012. Its cash interest expense is less than 6%, and more than 80% of its debt is fixed rate"

"Recurring, cash-flow generating catering services now opened up for market competition, while SCT is expanding on Food Distribution which require capital for investment in logistics"

"Altogether, these components sum to $385.8 million of lost MPLN revenue in 2022, which translates to an organic Adjusted EBITDA and Levered Free Cash Flow decline of $294.2 million."

"CFO At Jefferies Conference (Aug 2018): "I guess maybe one last comment on shorts. You can't fudge cash and cash flow was very, very strong. And that will my counter point to that.""

"In aggregate, we believe the exclusion of these uses of cash from the Company's FCF calculation has allowed Limbach to overstate FCF by over $37 million in the last 12 months alone."

"In H1 FY 2019, Dollarama’s cash flow contracted on a year-over-year basis for the first time since it went public – this despite management’s efforts to bolster earnings and EBITDA."

"Investors should be wary when public companies pivot toward highlighting Adjusted EPS as a metric for evaluating its value creation, while modifying language about cash generation."

"When combined with the negligible net income produced with realistic margin expectations for SMART Brazil (and SGH as a whole), the Company goes cash flow negative as soon as 2Q20."

"When cash flow is tight and liquidity for paying down CPIPG’s expensive bridge loan is in your own words a “priority above all else”, why did management increase lending to Vitek?"

"In either case, TI can generate $9.00+ of free cash flow per share in 2026 and will have demonstrated a path for continued strong growth in free cash flow in the many years ahead."

"Convenient that management regularly hits 100% or more of its annual target cash inventive bonus every single year consistently while it inconsistently defines its free cash flow!"

"Convenient that management regularly hits 100% or more of its annual target cash inventive bonus every single year consistently while it inconsistently defines its free cash flow!"

"It is rare – even among the frauds, promotes, and detritus that we short – to see losses and cash flow characteristics as dreadful as Ginkgo’s, much less driving a $23B valuation."

"While not calling this an error, it certainly caught our attention that the Company made this change which had the effect of reducing operating cash flow by $3.5 million in 2022."

"It’s no surprise to Spruce Point that XPO recently walked back its free cash flow guidance for 2019E to $650m ( vs. Consensus est. of $884m and implying virtually no YoY growth)."

"Mettler has excessive amounts of add-backs to free cash flow. In our view, cumulative FCF has been inflated by $347m with 80% of it coming after CEO Filliol took control in 2008."

"Spruce Point believes that Amcor's free cash flow presentation is becoming more aggressive, and that by our estimate, actual free cash flow declined more than 50% YoY in 2H 2019."

"Spruce Point believes that Amcor's free cash flow presentation is becoming more aggressive, and that by our estimate, actual free cash flow declined more than 50% YoY in 2H 2019."

"Long-term contracts and strong asset base at FirstGroup US can support higher debt levels at lower cost, providing a cash distribution to FirstGroup immediately prior to spin-off"

"HASI, on the other hand, fails to back out non-cash earnings from PIK interest income and gains on securitizations, which divorces the metric from its underlying cash generation."

""We're not running the company for the OR, we're running the company for EPS growth, operating income, free cash flow" — Jean-Jacques Ruest, CEO, Q2 2021 earnings conference call"

"As a result of the small onshore cash balance at year-end 2018, we know that that almost all of the RMB 1.298 billion total cash balance was offshore: namely, RMB 1.160 billion."

"If Mettler’s is exaggerating and inflating profits, it should be no surprise that it would try to use highly aggressive and non-standard ways to portray inflated free cash flow."

"Based on interviews with its related-party “customers,” we believe that at least half of Ginkgo’s reported revenue is phantom – that is, non-cash and pure accounting hocus-pocus"

"Collectively, the group showed a net cash outflow of RMB 12.0 million. Yet, YY would have recorded RMB 17.1 million in revenues from gifts given to Ruitiantian, as shown below."

"Pershing believes that McDonald's, pro forma for the McOpCo 20% IPO, would have a 2006E Free Cash Flow yield of 4.3 % - 4.7% at stock price in the range of $46 - $50 per share."

"Adjusting for the combined effects of all of these dynamics, it becomes clear that GY is trading at 8.2x the recurring cash earnings power of its aerospace and defense business"

"Therefore, we conclude that IQ simply made up this non-cash contribution to add RMB 757.75 million of fraudulent deferred revenue which management uses to inflate its revenues."

"our work has corroborated the existence of deferred tax assets (in addition to the inherited carry forward) which should enable ADT to preserve a low cash tax rate for 6+ years"

"When a Company publishes a separate presentation to explain what exactly is going on with cash flow from operations, it is likely in response to investor concerns or confusion."

"On April 1, 2024, Autodesk announced the Audit Committee of the Board was conducting an investigation into the Company’s free cash flow and non-GAAP operating margin practices."

"We believe PBH's executive compensation plan does not align management's interests with the Company's top priorities of 1) long-term 2-3% organic growth and 2) cash generation."

"More Consistent Free Cash Flow Growth. Transition to annual billings for product subscriptions reduces FY24 FCF, but accelerates FY25 & FY26 FCF — Autodesk Investor Day Excerpt"

"Using an appropriate mix of debt and equity as well as growing cash flow from their franchise operations, they have paid out 210% of their cumulative Free Cash Flow since IPO."

"We estimate that, with proceeds from asset sales deflating reported capex, Amdocs' free cash flow has been overstated by between $5M and $30M on an annual basis since FY 2016."

"DuPont transferred >$6bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"The key takeaway from this period of TI's history is that long-term strategic investments and the commitment to free cash flow per share are not mutually exclusive priorities."

"DuPont transferred >$6bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"DuPont transferred >$6bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"Samsung Electronics is unnecessarily overcapitalized with KRW77tn of cash and near cash items on its balance sheet, representing c. KRW540,000 per share or 32% of total assets"

"We strongly encourage the Board to de-emphasize revenue targets and instead compensate management primarily based on EBITDA and free cash flow per share targets going forward."

"DuPont transferred >$6bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"Spruce Point believes the ultimate evidence that Stryker is struggling is by observing that its 12 month trailing Operating and Free Cash Flow has not been growing for a year."

"After adjusting Olam's EBITDA to remove non-cash accounting gains, it is showing that Olam is currently leveraged at 9.3x gross debt to LTM EBITDA, and 1.6x interest coverage."

"Fairfax determined that the Fair Value of its Quess stake as of March 31, 2018 was $1.1 billion, which resulted in a non-cash gain (and boost to Book Value) of $889.9 million."

"DuPont transferred >$5bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"DuPont transferred >$5bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"Despite spending an aggregate of $33bn from 2009 to 2012 – which was over 100% of operating cash flow – on capex, net acquisitions and restructuring, EPS has grown at just 5%."

"With no revenues and a depleting cash balance of US$ 113 million (~$0.50 cash/share as of 9/30/2021), we are short TMC and believe that its stock is going significantly lower."

"Enterprise Value = Equity Value + Debt + Preferred Stock + Unfunded Pension + Non-Controlling Interest - Cash - Marketable Securities - NPV of Tax Shield - Equity Investments."

"DuPont transferred ~$7bn of shareholder wealth to private equity owners by not running Coatings efficiently and selling the business for cash rather than doing a tax-free spin"

"It is unclear what this $96m and $62m cash flow discrepancy in 2013 and 2014 could be; however, in our LBO analysis we have conservatively included these ‘mystery’ cash costs."

"The fact that Adj. EBITDA growth does not translate into cash flow confirms to us that management's proprietary definition is not a meaningful measure of Company performance."