Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

""We continue to focus on food as a priority . . . [W]e've nearly doubled our commitment to food over a five to seven-year timeframe." — Gregg Steinhafel, CEO, Target 2Q'07 Earnings Call, 8/21/07; "We also continue to invest in our food offering in recognition of its importance in driving greater frequency, increasing guest loyalty, and making Target a preferred shopping destination." — Gregg Steinhafel, CEO, Target 4Q'08 Earnings Call, 2/24/09"

"The call for a reduction in the use of plastic grows louder each day. Unfortunately, there is no single solution and switching to biodegradable materials or any other single-use material will not be the silver bullet. Widespread plastic pollution is a result of systematic problems that include over-consuming behavior, reliance on the single-use connivance, and a non-sustainable linear model that ignores end-of-life waste disposal. — Greenpeace"

"“...further unknown to physicians and patients, the Zio AT failed to consistently provide ‘near real-time’ notifications because it regularly had a ‘lag time’ of around four hours or more. FE 3—a former iRhythm Zio AT technician from before the Class Period through November 2022—explained that because of this lag time, the Zio AT was not live and did not notify physicians of arrhythmias right away.” — Glazing v iRhythm Second Amended Complaint"

"General Recommendation: generally, vote FOR shareholder proposals requiring that the Board Chair position be filled by an Independent Director, taking into consideration the following: the scope and rationale of the proposal; the company's current Board leadership structure; the company's governance structure and practices; company performance; and any other relevant factors that may be applicable. — ISS United States - Proxy Voting Guidelines"

"On the supply front, we continue to work with our contract manufacturers to draw down component inventories, and we are substantially complete with renegotiations of long-term supply commitments. In Q4, we renegotiated 2021 agreement with a key electronic component supplier, incurring a $10 million expense. The revised agreement cancels a portion of the multiyear volume commitment and increases purchasing flexibility. — Q4 2023 Conference Call"

""The current secondary market structure works well for community banks and credit unions and allows them to meet their borrowers’ needs. Restructuring of this system is unchartered and untested and therefore raises numerous questions regarding fees and functionality when applied to the real-world marketplace." — Credit Union National Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, 4/11/2014"

"That model only works for a limited number of indications. It works well for ED medications and for hair loss...where a lot of things are just kind of protocol and routine - it's either you qualify or you don't. And they're more a low risk type of prescription. But it doesn't work for everything. That high throughput prescribing only works for a limited number of conditions and prescriptions. — Spruce Point Interview With Former HIMS Physician"

"“When I was there, there was very little focus on safety. But over time we saw significant improvements. I don't know if they've taken a step back. This is something that is a negative, it's hard to get turned around. if you get a trend going the wrong way. It's not overnight that it gets going in the right direction. If it becomes a talking point on the next call, a multiperiod issue, I agree it would be a concern.” — Former Rollins Executive"

"Pest control companies are getting 1-2 letters or communications a week from private equity buyers. It's getting people excited. There are some that are excited, and some that aren't. There are at least 7-8 private equity guys that are really good and know what they are doing. Private equity is changing the landscape. They are buying companies, and way overpaying for them, and will sell them to another PE firm or a strategic. — Industry Expert"

"The average value of each European UAV programme is less than half that of its North American counterpart — recent analysis by two European UAV experts. On the March, 2023 earnings call... CEO Jeffrey Thompson mentioned in the Q&A that 'what we've gathered from our meetings is [CBP] typically has about 400 drones that are in service, and they need to have 200 or so other drones to make sure those 400 always stay in service.' — Jeffrey Thompson"

"“I know this because I talked to Mark Ghobrial about this. Seventy percent of their transplants use TransMedics. And when I asked him, I asked are these all DCD's? And he goes, no. He goes, in their program, only about 30% to 40% are DCD or older donors, so the rest of them are being used to basically make transplants a semi-elective operation.” — One of the top liver transplant surgeons in the world, based at a leading Midwest academic center"

"General Recommendation: generally, vote FOR shareholder proposals requiring that the Board Chair position be filled by an Independent Director, taking into consideration the following: the scope and rationale of the proposal; the company's current Board leadership structure; the company's governance structure and practices; company performance; and any other relevant factors that may be applicable. — ISS United States - Proxy Voting Guidelines"

"On February 13, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued subpoenas to Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (the “Company”) and certain of the Company’s officers requesting documents and information relating to a range of topics, including metrics relating to the Ubiquiti Community, accounting practices, financial information, auditors, international trade practices, and relationships with distributors and various other third parties."

"Weis claims hardship in tracking prices or products sold (don’t worry we’ve done the work): "Although the Company experienced retail inflation and deflation in various commodities for the years presented, management cannot accurately measure the full impact of inflation or deflation on retail pricing due to changes in the types of merchandise sold between periods, shifts in customer buying patterns and the fluctuation of competitive factors.""

"The Intel SPIE papers confirm challenges with Lasertec’s EUV tool, namely contamination and optics degradation from tin plasma (“ion induced damage to the optical components”); light source stability and brightness level; struggles in managing source brightness vs. source chamber pressure, as high pressure is needed to help mitigate tin debris but which reduces brightness; and unstable plasma which leads to dark pulses and inspection failures"

"As we look ahead to 2025, we remain steadfast in executing on our vision. We are a growth company with no shortage of growth opportunities. We will unlock value for new customer use cases, including seafarers, micro-businesses, and high-amount senders, all of whom have distinct needs that we are uniquely positioned to serve. We can serve additional use cases with minimal incremental investment given the strength of our platform. — Remitly CEO"

""Our 2009 rent relief total will be under $10 million, as in the $7 million to $8 million range. But as I think we said on the call last quarter, we hadn't seen much of it year-to-date. So it's a little back-end weighted, and as you look at the impact of average base rent it could have a nominal impact. But it's a small number in the context of the size of our income statements." — Steve Sterrett, CFO of Simon Property Group, October 30, 2009"

"Number one is the state of accuracy of the information that Oatly provides. I would make emphasis on division by division. EMEA, Europe, including Sweden. The U.S. is right now number one contributor to sales. The marketing channel and expectations from China from the Company; that's from a sector perspective. If I were to invest, want to make sure the financials are accurate and telling the right story. — Former Oatly Accounting Professional"

"“Our 2009 rent relief total will be under $10 million, as in the $7 million to $8 million range. But as I think we said on the call last quarter, we hadn't seen much of it year-to-date. So it's a little back-end weighted, and as you look at the impact of average base rent it could have a nominal impact. But it's a small number in the context of the size of our income statements.” — Steve Sterrett, CFO of Simon Property Group, October 30, 2009"

"I'm borderline. Not a sure bet for me. I think they need to roll out more things in production that complement their first sets of workflows... the antibody space is pretty crowded, and I think that other companies have found ways to optimize, lead candidates where they've been smarter about how to design diversity at a much greater scale than something like the Berkeley Lights box is going to be able to handle. — Gingko Bioworks executive #2"

"“those who are the most experienced are probably not as excited about it than those that are newer,” and stated “no, honestly, no” when we asked if he’s heard any excitement from KOL’s such as himself with large PWS caseloads. ... “they’re going to be making some inroads to that effect...they’re going to try to make it be the panacea...but I just don’t think it is.” — Trial investigator and physician; one of the leading KOL’s in the PWS field"

"“Joby is much further along by every objective metric”, finishing the interview with “when it comes to looking at the two of them [Joby and Archer], one of them has done a better job of getting the planes in production, or aircraft in production, and I think Archer has been built with the US stock market in mind and I think Joby has been built with the prospect of actually having a business in mind”. — Charles Lemonidas, Founder of ValueWorks"

"The ex-Nevro district manager’s comments reveal the severity of what we believe the company has covered up: that “sort of every KOL was saying the device isn’t working”; that sales reps across the country came to the same conclusion; the company refused to acknowledge the situation and blamed the reps instead; and that he personally couldn’t look customers “in the eye and ask them for visits anymore, because I didn’t believe in the therapy.”"

""Chris has had a solid track record of success in achieving operational excellence and financial performance. Given Chris's significant leadership skills and relevant industry experience, we believe he is the ideal choice to drive improvements in the business and further develop our brand while delivering a consistently superior customer experience for all existing and prospective customers." — John J. Anton, Chairman of WireCo, May 15, 2013"

"Vehicles may not be equipped with inward-facing cameras. Forward-facing capability of cameras shall not be used for discipline. Further, there shall be no in-cab audio recording or videotaping. Any functionality included in driver-facing cameras (including their driver recording and monitoring functionality) will be disabled and rendered inoperable to prevent recording and monitoring of in-cab activities. — Teamsters Final Agreement With UPS"

"“...we believe a peer group should range from 0.5 to 2 times the market capitalization of the Company. In this case, Glass Lewis has identified 16 peers outside this range, which represents approximately 80% of the peer group.” — 2011 Glass Lewis proxy paper on AOL; “Shareholders need to be satisfied that the peer group is appropriate and not cherry-picked for the purpose of justifying or inflating pay.” — 2011 Glass Lewis proxy paper on AOL"

"“These results are strange because the increase in histamine levels in the brain should be immediate and so the therapeutic effect should also be rapid (and should not require 6 months to reach a maximum effect). If one takes an antihistamine (H1 blocker) such as Benadryl, the somnolent effect occurs at peak plasma levels – approximately 30 minutes later. One does not need to take them for 3 months to achieve this.” — Pharmacology consultant"

"On July 26, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") brought a complaint against Andrew Left, who runs Citron Research. In that complaint, the SEC effectively alleged that (i) by making public communications arguing that certain securities are longs or shorts, and (ii) then very soon after those communications were made public, trading in the opposite direction of those communications... that Left was committing securities fraud."

"We have conducted on the ground due diligence in China and believe that Ballard’s Chinese growth ambitions are likely to fail from weak partnerships with Broad Ocean and Synergy, and a market that is not developed enough to support fuel cell vehicle growth; Déjà vu, Ballard’s last China deal with Azure resulted in a contract breach and revising guidance lower in early 2015; investors should brace for similar disappoints this time around too"

"Spruce Point believes Mako’s robotic surgical platform is one of the few growth drivers in Stryker's overall lackluster product portfolio and could be over $1 billion of annual revenues. However, we believe that sell-side analysts and investors are not attuned to the fact that Stryker recently cut prices on Mako’s product suite by -17% to -30% in response to companies like Zimmer, which have been giving their system away at no upfront cost."

"“Its Reputation in Tatters, Southwest Aims to Resume Normal Schedule on Friday” — The New York Times; “U.S. Senators blast Southwest holiday meltdown, labelled ‘unmitigated disaster’” — THOMSON REUTERS; “Southwest Doubles CEO Pay, Neglects Boardroom Risks Despite Crisis” — Forbes; “Southwest Airlines meltdown highlights insular management team” — FORTUNE; “Southwest hit by record $140 million fine for holiday service meltdown in 2022” — CNN"

""These independent directors agreed to join our board, because they believe in our outstanding plan, and they recognize that our plan is the right plan for all of our shareholders. We have had this strategic transformation, as my remarks noted, underway, really going back...since I became Chairman...In fact, Elliott got on the train after it really left the station...This is a culmination of a multi year strategy..." — John Hess, March 2013"

"“Portfolio construction should always begin with an evaluation of the company’s core strengths. If an asset doesn’t play to a strength, it shouldn’t be there. If an asset is not material with respect to NAV or doesn’t have the potential to be, it shouldn’t be there. Proper portfolio management requires a constant sharp evaluation of the portfolio to determine value and to question is it worth something more to someone else?” — David McManus"

"The transaction is based on a cash consideration of USD 1.81 billion, which includes a tax benefit with a net present value of USD 200 million. The $200 million tax benefit comes from an election made by the seller as part of the transaction, resulting in amortizable goodwill for tax purposes, allowing us to reduce annually the amount of tax that WSP will have to pay in the future. — CFO Michaud, John Wood E&I Acquisition Call, June 1, 2022"

"“Its Reputation in Tatters, Southwest Aims to Resume Normal Schedule on Friday” — The New York Times; “U.S. Senators blast Southwest holiday meltdown, labelled ‘unmitigated disaster’” — THOMSON REUTERS; “Southwest Doubles CEO Pay, Neglects Boardroom Risks Despite Crisis” — Forbes; “Southwest Airlines meltdown highlights insular management team” — FORTUNE; “Southwest hit by record $140 million fine for holiday service meltdown in 2022” — CNN"

"“...The entire episode has also revealed the limitations of ‘Disney nice.’ Avoiding face-to-face conflict, at least at the CEO and board level, fostered an environment where Iger and Chapek couldn’t hash out their differences. Executives who openly challenged others — Mayer, Rice, McCarthy — were ultimately dinged for their frankness...” — CNBC, Disney’s Wildest Ride: Iger, Chapek and The Making of an Epic Succession Mess, September 6, 2023"

""First, our outcomes continued to significantly outperform the national averages as they have done each year over the past five years. And second, our outcomes have continued to improve each year while the national averages have stayed largely the same over those five years." — Then-CEO David Schlanger on PGNY Q2 2021 Earnings Call; "...the national averages haven't been improving..." — CEO Peter Anevski at 2023 JPMorgan Conference, 1/10/23"

"I think some of the concerns, are going to be a little bit of, anyone in the ag and food industry, people are still trying to figure out GLP-1. To me, it's much more around the demand side. Aging populations in a lot of the core markets, what do those underlying trends look like and what does that mean for 10 to 20 years out? And, also around the GLP-1. How does that play out for the products that the company moves? — Former Bunge Executive"

"I could definitely see that happening...I get a lot of phone calls and texts from people around the country saying...do you think I should use it...what should I do...I get a lot of those texts and calls...[from] new users and people with less experience using marginal organs that they know we're using...a good word to describe the company is top-down aggressive...there's no question.... — Transplant surgeon at a high-volume academic center"

"“Its Reputation in Tatters, Southwest Aims to Resume Normal Schedule on Friday” — The New York Times; “U.S. Senators blast Southwest holiday meltdown, labelled ‘unmitigated disaster’” — THOMSON REUTERS; “Southwest Doubles CEO Pay, Neglects Boardroom Risks Despite Crisis” — Forbes; “Southwest Airlines meltdown highlights insular management team” — FORTUNE; “Southwest hit by record $140 million fine for holiday service meltdown in 2022” — CNN"

""We expect sales to be down by about 15," said one distributor that sells about $45m in electronic components annually. "This year the consumer products market is very poor. Huawei's orders are down, and that directly affects my customers and indirectly drags down our sales. ZTE's orders are also down. . . A lot of our customers sell to the U.S. The 2018 backlog is pretty intense, so this year's sales will drop." — China Market Distributor"

"“...we love the indoor water park business, the theme park business, family entertainment centers.” — John Payne, COO, VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI); “...if you want to think about our Las Vegas assets and come up with a corollary... I would encourage you to think of the corollary being theme parks... Because of the mass size, complexity, layout and development potential of these assets.” — Edward Pitoniak, CEO, VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI)"

"“So I'll end my remarks on where I started with wanting this slide to be emblazoned in your mind. Again, as I look at the 4 steps that I think get this company another $20 to $30 a share, I think that these are all eminently doable... And more importantly than anything I can say up here, I'm obviously not only have I drank the Kool-Aid, but it actually tastes great, and I'm a believer.” — Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President & CEO, May 2018"

""The [plug-in hybrid] ones they did have out, they claimed a 50% increase in miles per gallon, the most any of them got were 35-40%.... average was 25-35%." — Former XL Employee B; "Never would you come across 50% on the plug-in... The 50%, it’s insane that it’s advertised... You might see a decrease in MPG because you’re adding 800 pounds of batteries to the back of an F-150 and expecting it to achieve performance." — Former XL Employee A"

""The culture of success that has taken root at Suncor is stunning..." — RBC, 11/13/24; "SU has beat on the quarter five consecutive times..." — TD Cowen, 12/12/2024; "Record Setting Year. Suncor ended a remarkable year with a bang." — BMO, 2/6/25; "I would follow Rich into battle. New leadership at SU is clearly paying proverbial dividends with continued operational improvements in both the upstream and downstream." — Raymond James, 2/6/25"

""Because we do have a differentiated customer offering that customers love. Our NPS [Net Promoter Score] is high." — Ernie Garcia III, CEO Carvana, 1Q23 earnings conference call. "What were our differentiators early on, are no longer differentiators at all. Like, everyone will deliver a car to you now, everyone has a return policy...Everything that made Carvana what it was...CarMax? They've already caught up." — Unattributed expert source."

"“She was a very big proponent of the oxytocin. I mean, she was saying that was the most marvelous drug out there, oxytocin. Then she switched over to this...But she's a politician, too, and she's the one that was the spokesman. There's nothing ever going to replace oxytocin for treating Prader-Willi Syndrome. Then the next month, nothing's going to replace DCCR.” — Trial investigator and physician; one of the leading KOL's in the PWS field"

"LumiraDx and Butterfly Network are two recent SPAC merger targets that are focused on low-cost point of care diagnostic testing (blood/disease testing and ultrasound, respectively). Although they focus on humans as opposed to companion animals, their application areas offer high growth potential. However, despite their business similarity and dramatically higher anticipated growth, they still trade at discounts or small premiums to Heska."

"So we got to put all that together when we put our 2022 guidance together formally. But I would say the initial receptivity continues to be strong. Our project remains online and on target. And the internal excitement here around what we can do with that product line is -- if you talked to Russ Minick and his team, I mean, he's incredibly bullish on what we're going to be able to do with that longer term. — CEO Jagdfeld, Q3 2021 Conf Call"

"“Yup. I’m right there with you. For me, I never understood Twist and Ginkgo. I never understood the two of them, who were in market pole position, if you will, had the hype and were the darlings of the synthetic biology community. I never understood either of their business models. I understood what they were selling. I didn’t understand how they were going to make money.” — Ex-senior executive of Gen9 and longtime expert in Twist’s space"

""I would say for the long term, I'd rather be invested in a company that has that type of a portfolio balance." — Gary Heminger, Former Chairman & CEO of Marathon Petroleum, May 8, 2019; "[W]e are excited about the industry-leading small cell business in the U.S. that complements our tower business and provides substantial potential upside to our 5G growth strategy." — Jay A. Brown, Former President & CEO of Crown Castle, October 22, 2020"

"A. Failing to disclose, clearly and conspicuously, before any consumer becomes a Marketing Program participant, all information material to a consumer's decision to participate in the Marketing Program, including but not limited to the following: (1) The number and percentage of current Marketing Program participants who have not received any commissions, bonuses or overrides; — FTC v. Trek Alliance, No. 02-9270 (C.D. Cal. June 24, 2003)."

""I would say for the long term, I'd rather be invested in a company that has that type of a portfolio balance." — Gary Heminger, Former Chairman & CEO of Marathon Petroleum, May 8, 2019; "[W]e are excited about the industry-leading small cell business in the U.S. that complements our tower business and provides substantial potential upside to our 5G growth strategy." — Jay A. Brown, Former President & CEO of Crown Castle, October 22, 2020"

"THIS FAA AIRCRAFT MORTGAGE AND LEASE SECURITY ASSIGNMENT (MSN 2851) (this “Agreement”) dated as of September 1, 2023, is made by and between UMB BANK, N.A., not in its individual capacity but solely as owner trustee, as the Grantor (the “Grantor”), and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as the Administrative Agent (the “Administrative Agent”) under the Aircraft Mortgage and Security Agreement — FAA Aircraft Mortgage and Lease Security Assignment."

""The Company reclassified prior year comparative figures in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows to conform to the current year's presentation. In addition, the Company reclassified certain prior year comparative figures from interest expense to net sales to conform to the current year's presentation. This change in presentation did not have an impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results." — Amcor Note 1"

"“What they do is they get these foreign-trained physicians to do recoveries. They haven’t gone through the process of being licensed to practice in the United States, and that’s exactly what it is. If you’re a recovery surgeon, you’re either in the twilight of your career and you’re just like the hell with patients, or you’re somebody who couldn’t hack it.” — CEO of a major OPO (Organ Procurement Organization), longtime industry executive"

""What I can share is that we are focused on building a revolutionary aircraft, not simply a hybridized version of an eVTOL" — Archer’s CTO, Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript; "You cannot simply hybridize a passenger eVTOL. You have to build a new bespoke aircraft" — Archer’s CEO, Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript; "You cannot simply slap a heavy fuel powertrain onto an existing eVTOL design" — Archer’s CEO, Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript."

"Over the course of his nearly two decades as an institutional investor, Mr. Loeb has developed a sophisticated understanding of how to create and unlock long-term value for shareholders. As Chief Executive Officer of the Company's largest shareholder, Mr. Loeb would advocate vocally for stockholders' interests if elected to the Board. For these reasons, we believe Mr. Loeb is exceptionally qualified to serve as a director of the Company."

"AMR had two audit partners at KPMG before being dismissed. Its current RSM audit partner has a history with a controversial company. Notably, Phyllis Deiso was audit partner at EBIX, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBIX). EBIX's share collapsed 50% in 2021 after RSM resigned and noted its inability to obtain sufficient audit evidence for significant and usual transactions related to its business in India. We note that India is AMR's largest export market."

"The culture is very toxic...We used to call Zymergen Theranos because it was lying so much about the Hyaline film, and all the stuff that came out about Hyaline being not good for customers and stuff, we all knew that for a whole year, we just couldn't talk about it. I just think that it's lying about stuff that's creating an extremely toxic culture, silencing...The culture is pretty toxic. There are some really terrible things going on."