Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"With PLUG's customers appearing to pressure the Company into supporting lease financing which it was ill-equipped to support, Spruce Point considers the (continued) shift towards operating lease-backed sales growth as a signal of deteriorating economics at PLUG."

""The very first thing you need, and you absolutely positively cannot take this for granted, is you have to have a collection system for spent batteries... The bottleneck is in the collection stream. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye." — Industry Expert"

"On March 1, 2011, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of a company that owned 650 communications sites in Brazil for $583.7 million, of which $543.3 million was paid using cash on hand during the six months ended June 30, 2011. — AMT Q2 2011 10-Q"

"“Successful companies generally have two things - a good strategy and solid execution. A good strategy establishes corporate focus and determines which businesses a company should stay in and exit over time. And solid execution gets the job done.” — Harvey Golub"

"“Viacom executives indicated in a recent conference call with investors that they were ‘encouraged’ by ad-sales momentum in the third quarter, thanks to new programs on MTV and Comedy Central.” — AdAge; “PLUS ÇA CHANGE, PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE” — French Proverb"

"The evidence we have seen raises concerns regarding the manner in which costs were allocated between those two entities, and the consistency of that allocation with public disclosures. — SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WORLDCOM, INC."

"“...our goal is to accelerate value. We have a deep multi-decade inventory and we want to bring as much of that value forward. So, our plan would be to leverage those efficiencies and be able to drill additional wells...” — Rick Bott, Continental President & COO"

"During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company received cash proceeds of $1,404 million, $1,496 million and $1,504 million, respectively, from the sales of accounts receivables under its factoring arrangements. — Zebra 10-K and 10-Q filings"

"(1) Consists of 32,623,385 shares held of record by Ever Alpha Fund L.P. Ever Glory Limited is the general partner of Ever Alpha Fund L.P. Ever Glory Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangfa Xinde Capital Management Limited. — Twist S-1 filing, Oct 3 2018"

"The duration of our contracts vary by customer. The weighted average contract duration for commercial Entities in the year ended April 30, 2020 was 35 months, while the weighted average contract duration for federal agency Entities was 11 months. — C3 Prospectus"

""If you take the SG&A for this year, Mike, we're probably -- we're around 24% to 25% on remainco with all of the costs on the SG&A, okay? We're targeting in '18 to get that number on a run rate basis down to 22% to 23%." — Greg Poling, President & CEO (May 2017)"

"“If you mean by “gain on sale” the gain from real estate promotion (i.e. the selling of walls/sites + rights to build attached and one day the option to buy back the walls of the shrunken stores) yes it is included in the EBIT/EBITDA” — Casino Investor Relations"

"“That is very interesting to me and I’m involved in as I worked for a private equity backed player. I counted about 40 private equity groups trying to get into the market just since February... Some PE groups are paying stupid money.” — Former Industry Executive"

"Something to think about when you're studying them is, kind of, why are their margins so high, and my theory is that their [Aerospace Products] asset base is at [the] depreciated book value and that's the cost that gets baked into their margins. — MRO Competitor"

"Management continues to describe a robust demand environment, benefiting from the IIJA and strong state fiscal support, with no change to positive outlook for the company's favorably-exposed Southeast private sector market activity either. — Baird (Nov 21, 2024)"

"Atrasentan is an investigational drug that has not been approved by regulatory authorities. Efficacy and safety have not been established. There is no guarantee that it will become commercially available for the use(s) under investigation. — Chinook Therapeutics"

"“Defendants’ program does not offer participants a viable retail-based business opportunity.” — FTC v. Herbalife International of America, Inc., et al. (July 15, 2016). Case No.2:16-cv-05217, Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief, at p.4."

"The reason, we infer, is subtle but nefarious, as we cover in a later chapter: we think the best way to hide that your drug made a substantial portion of Phase 3 patients pre-diabetic or diabetic over 13 weeks is by claiming they were pre-diabetic to begin with."

"“Defendants’ program does not offer participants a viable retail-based business opportunity.” — FTC v. Herbalife International of America, Inc., et al. (July 15, 2016). Case No.2:16-cv-05217, Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Equitable Relief, at p.4."

"CEO Dovigi has a relationship with Campus Auto Collison, which by public photographs, services GFL’s fleet refurbishment. Campus Collision is also friendly with Doug Ford (as seen in the photo below), who the Globe and Mail said has a history with drug dealing."

"Spruce Point believes that the recent terrible financial results reported by Carvana continue to validate our concern about its uneconomic business model that isn’t scaling, is capital destructive, and favors insider enrichment over shareholder wealth creation."

"These charts represent the aggregate results of a pattern that has been formed over more than a decade – a period during which the current management team and Board consistently and repeatedly sold stock, often at prices well below where the stock trades today."

"On February 2, 2018, Michael Dell and Silver Lake made their threats explicit by announcing a strategic review of the business, shamelessly adding to their press release "we do this from a position of strength" – a subtle but clear message to DVMT shareholders."

"The problem of data fraud and lack of reproducibility is so common that one battery journal has proposed a checklist with “standardized battery reporting guidelines” – basically an “oath of honesty” that anyone making claims about battery performance must sign."

"We believe that a key role of an independent board is to bring an outside perspective to challenge strategies that might have worked in the past but will likely need to evolve over time – contrary to Target’s board’s apparent instinct to maintain the status quo"

"Despite this clear trajectory towards exclusive brands, it is noteworthy that John Grijalva, the current representative for three of BOOT's nonexclusive brands, is navigating against the tide. His relationships have not diminished; instead, they have increased."

"We firmly believe that a comprehensive reconstitution of the Board, including the appointment of shareholder representatives and qualified independent directors, is necessary to ensure a thorough evaluation of all paths to delivering enhanced shareholder value."

"In order for [refranchising to 90%] to create value requires...selling nearly 500 stores at multiples higher than we believe are achievable...[and] trading multiple expansion to levels significantly higher than demonstrated on a sustained basis by casual diners"

"a vote for Trian’s nominees is a vote for four highly qualified individuals who will seek to work collaboratively with the Board to: Assess the corporate structure and determine whether management is capable of achieving best-in-class revenue growth and margins"

"There is a $229m difference between the 2011 Adjusted EBITDA reported by Axalta and DuPont, for its Coatings business (same company, same year). We believe much of the difference is excess corporate expense, which in our view, burdens all of DuPont’s businesses"

"There is a $229m difference between the 2011 Adjusted EBITDA reported by Axalta and DuPont, for its Coatings business (same company, same year). We believe much of the difference is excess corporate expense, which in our view, burdens all of DuPont’s businesses"

"If you multiply the company’s $1.1bn of unallocated corporate costs (which would be eliminated if the businesses were separated) by 11x, it costs shareholders $12bn of value, or $8 per share, to have beverages and snacks together in a holding company structure."

"In our view, the total failure of AlloSure in the context of TCMR makes CareDx's recommended testing protocol a non-starter for Medicare, particularly considering that it would increase Medicare expenditures on transplant patients by 25% if implemented broadly."

"If the (2) Preliminary Alternative Plan was “prepared to illustrate to the Forescout board the degree of variability” in Forescout’s sales pipeline and future expenses, why was it not provided to prospective buyers alongside the more optimistic (1) Target Plan?"

"I continually was asking during my entire tenure there, can you give me a list of successful delivery examples? - and indicated an inability to find "even one or two examples of customers" who are "actually super happy with the strains that Ginkgo is producing."

"WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ ANY PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY MAY FILE WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION."

"The letter’s tone suggests alarm, noting ~108,000 MDR’s (medical device reports) received by the FDA including ~78k injuries, 29k malfunctions, and 500 deaths – and concludes by urging providers and patients “to report any adverse events...with SCS” to the FDA."

"McDonald’s company-operated restaurants (“McOpCo”) appeared to contribute ~50% of total EBITDA. However, once adjusted for market rent and franchise fees, McOpCo actually constituted ~20% of total EBITDA, with Brand McDonald’s contributing ~80% of total EBITDA."

"Disney’s Board decided to spend an estimated $40 million of shareholder money engaging in a proxy contest, while 11 out of 12 Directors have not even met Nelson Peltz or Jay Rasulo in-person during Trian’s engagement with the Company in the past year and a half"

"Moreover, chewing turns Soleno’s only argument about Vykat’s purported PK superiority on its head, since it releases the entire dose at once, and thus the CEO shoots himself with his own arrow by claiming that “high levels...put the person at significant risk.”"

"10) This assertion by Muddy Waters Capital is wrong in its substance and intended implications! The implied assertion by Muddy Waters Capital that our guidance relating to the profitability of this product group is questionable is grossly incorrect! — Ströer SE"

"These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which implies that the Company will continue to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business. — ABML 10-Q Filed 2/16/21"

"The main thing that confuses me is when companies on the front pages of their annual report always show any adjusted earnings or EBITDA and do not show what really interests me as a shareholder, namely EBIT and what is there after taxes. — Anonymous Shareholder"

"“We used 30x30mm cells, made from separators cut from our standard target commercial area separators, because it allowed us to effectively quadruple the number of test cells as we work to scale up our engineering line capacity” — QuantumScape Shareholder Letter"

"There needs to be real tight connection between the commercial organization and the refining organization...that's something that Phillips 66 seems to have taken their eye off the ball on. — Brian Coffman, Former CEO of Motiva Enterprises, Elliott Board Nominee"

"We define a Customer as each such buying entity that has an active contract to deploy the C3 AI Suite or one or more C3 AI Applications. We often provide our software to a distinct department, business unit, or group within a Customer. — C3 DRS October 23, 2020"

"“The appropriate size of [the] risk adjustment depends, of course, on such factors as the circumstances of the estate, the nature of the security, and the duration and feasibility of the reorganization plan” — Opinion of Justice Stevens, Till v. SCS Credit Corp"

""WPP Is Looking at CEO Martin Sorrell's Possible Misuse of Assets and Allegations of Improper Behavior Questions come as advertising giant is facing cost-cutting pressures from clients and stepped-up competition from Google, Facebook" — Wall St. Journal, 4/3/18"

"For products and services that are provided in advance of billing, such as our asset-based fee products, unbilled revenue (or a "contract asset") is included in Accounts Receivable on the Company's Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition. — 2019-2021 10-K"

"Research and development costs primarily consist of salaries, consulting and other costs. The Company expenses these costs as incurred — p. F-11; We have devoted an increasing proportion of our research and development budget to software development — 10-K, p.7"

"「私の勝手の概算ですが、住友製のステージは非常に高額で、少なくとも300万ドルはかかるはずです。また、例の複雑な光源は諸々の割引を含めても700、800万ドルになるでしょう。そして光学系になると、鏡は400万ドルはするでしょうし、全体で600万ドルにはなるでしょう。チャンバー（真空室）とか、結像演算などを含めると、さらに100万ドルはかかります。加えて、光源のアイソレーション対応は300万ドルほどかかるでしょう。合計でいくらでしょうか、2000万ドルくらいでしょうか」 — KLAで極端紫外線マスク検査を担当した元幹部"

"「光源の交換はだいたい1日のサイクルで行いました。大ざっぱに言えば2週間ごとに交換していました。極端紫外線の場合、空気中では伝達できないため、真空状態を作らなければいけないのでたいへんです。真空状態を作ったり解除したりするのはかなりの時間がかかり、ダウンタイムが多くなります。……光源が納まっているチャンバー（真空室）を開ける度に真空を解除しなければいけません。再稼働するときにはまた室内を真空状態に戻す必要がありました。」 — インテルのマスク工場を現場で担当していた、レーザーテックの元フィールド・サービス・エンジニア"

"Actually, the revenue recognition of the Shunshun business is based on they need to get an offer and they need to get a visa. So I think in general, most of them will come to recognize maybe in Q3 or Q4 next fiscal quarter. — TAL FY17 Q1, FY17 Q3 Earnings Calls"

"It is unacceptable that the current Board was not made aware of the contract termination when it took place. We are taking immediate and appropriate measures to ensure that this type of communication breakdown is not repeated. — Dalton Gooding, Quintis Chairman"

""If [HMA] does not meet or exceed the Quality Requirement, the [Compensation] Committee will exercise its discretion to reduce the portion of the Adjusted EBITDA-Modified Performance Components that is eligible to vest and be paid by up to 20%." — HMA Form 10-Q"

""In the current economy, I thought I would reform," — Mary Hall, New York Times, 10/24/2008. "I probably should, but I probably won't," — Kim Calloway, Wall Street Journal, 10/25/2008. "I'm about the bargains," — Charlene Stone, Wall Street Journal, 10/25/2008."

"50. Officer Defendant Dan Bodner has served as President and/or CEO of Verint since February 1994. Like Director Defendants Alexander and Hiram and Officer Defendant Kreinberg, Mr. Bodner also is a director of Verint. — Verified Shareholder Derivative Complaint"

""Desperate times call for desperate measures, Gavin. Not going to lie to you. We added some early customers and we had no references to show them. If they asked us to wear a tutu to the first meeting we would have done that too." — Jonathan Bush, April 18, 2014"

"Additional Collateral Shares means the class B ordinary shares in GSX Techedu Inc. (GSX) owned by the Company which are required from time to time to be subject to the Security created by the Deed pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement — Walkers Form R401."

"“they will talk themselves in circles trying to explain their rationale”; “they’re making an offer I can’t refuse...it’s like racketeering...mafia-style...a thug-style way of getting things done.” — Transplant surgeon at a high volume West Coast academic center"