Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

""Nothing about this is going to change my life financially. That being said, building relational database management systems was an important technology that changed the world. At Siebel I'm confident we did something important. I think this is more important and can change the face of computing. This is what is motivating me. I want to make a big contribution." — ZdNet.com"

"These results are a testament to our store associates' hard work and dedication, reflecting their tireless work to drive sales and engagement with our homeowner and Pro customers daily. We are happy to report that their efforts continue to result in high customer service scores across all our touch points, which helps set us apart from our competition. — CEO Taylor, Q1 2024"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

"In February 2019, the Company opened bank accounts and incurred fees totaling $34. There has been no other activity in the accounts in the period resulting in bank overdrafts in the amount of the fees. As such, the overdrafts have been recorded within Short-term debt and the corresponding expenses have been recorded within General and administrative expenses. — 10-Q 3/31/19"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""We continue to see a commitment to shareholder returns as being a strong differentiator in our E&P investor offering. Since 2007, we have returned, or have committed to return more than US$5.5bn from monetisation of exploration and production successes through a combination of special dividends, tender offers and share repurchase programmes." — Capricorn 2021 Annual Report"

"Cost cuts alone cannot help multiples expand and in order for the stock to see significant upside, there needs to be a credible revenue reacceleration story… now revenue growth requires a balance between price and unit growth. The company has to drive this process while reducing content and marketing costs, which makes the task even more difficult. — Barclays, November 2023"

"“I don't think there's any big deal because, for me, I've still got to prescribe medicine, so I see absolutely no benefit from it... you have to prescribe something anyway; it's just a couple of clicks. So, I don't know what the big deal is...so, Wakix is less scheduled, but it doesn't matter.” — Neurologist, sleep specialist, and professor at leading West Coast institution"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""A clean room has been newly established...and is being used as a research and development base from July 2023." — Lasertec Management. "I would like to ask you about production capacity...how much will production capacity grow?" — Hirakawa (BofA Securities Japan). "At this time, we have not announced when it will end or how much production will expand." — Okabayashi (CEO)."

"It sounds as if IPX's potential customer funnel has been dramatically reduced. After indicating that 200 potential customers had signed NDAs in October 2024, IPX said customer activities accelerated by June 2024. IPX now says it counts ~100 active potential customer programs which suggests that at least 50% of the potential customer pool may have already declined interest."

"Looking carefully at AMR's reported interest income relative to its unrestricted and restricted cash balance we see a startling observation: AMR reported an effective savings rate of between 2 and 6 basis points in Q4 2021, depending on whether it earns interest income on restricted assets. This could indicate that AMR was nearly out of cash and draining capital resources."

"By resigning on November 27, 2021, former CFO David Barter walked away from over 900,000 options with a $17.10 exercise price. The share price was around $38 at the time, and the options had nearly $20m of intrinsic value. One plausible explanation is that the former CFO thought by the time he could exercise the remaining options, the stock would be below $17.10 per share."

"We believe Disney should take more “shots on goals” and increase creative risks outside of its core franchises, similar to Netflix – explore allocating more budget dollars across lower-cost, easier to produce projects to further balance Disney’s higher-cost franchise content; prioritizing “retention” content spend should diversify away the risk of expensive streaming flops"

"The KOL stated that these two cases of diabetes – on a relatively small trial size – are under-the-radar and seemed to hint at pressure to stay silent, perhaps from a patient association or Soleno – “...and they’ve been told, like they’re pretty quiet about it...FYI, they don’t really feel comfortable telling other people about it because they don’t want to scare anybody.”"

"Experts question the claim by Quantumscape, backed by $500 million from Bill Gates, Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and VW — Marker. But most battery researchers don't believe it — The Mobilitist. But some observers aren't convinced that QuantumScape's lithium-metal batteries will power cars and trucks on the road as soon as the company claims. — MIT Technology Review."

"Well, if you look at where we're trading today based on 2025 consensus earnings, we're trading at something like an 8.8, 8.9 multiple, that's more than one turn above our refining competitors. So, we believe there is some recognition of [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"Well, if you look at where we're trading today based on 2025 consensus earnings, we're trading at something like an 8.8, 8.9 multiple, that's more than one turn above our refining competitors. So, we believe there is some recognition of [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"We want to invest in technology, AI, but for us, AI is not just used to create exciting new indexes like our thematic indexes, but we use artificial intelligence also as another layer of quality assurance on our already existing very strong quality assurance processes on our indexes. — Diana Tidd, Former Global Head of Index and Executive Committee Member, Analyst Day 2019"

""The costs attached to each of the receivable balances have essentially been absorbed as we generate the revenue in any particular quarter. So as the cash comes in, there is no additional cost attached to that. And the reason that those receivables are there is because there is no meaningful service component attached to them either." — Scott Flanders Q1 2018 Earnings Call"

"With respect to Viterra, I'm not going to comment on whether it's included in those 13 or 14 assets. But what I can say is that we don't believe Viterra is accurately reflected in the value of the Glencore share price. So we are looking at ideas around Viterra to be able to provide that see-through value in our share price for our shareholders. — Glencore CEO, Feb 15, 2022"

"Well, if you look at where we're trading today based on 2025 consensus earnings, we're trading at something like an 8.8, 8.9 multiple, that's more than one turn above our refining competitors. So, we believe there is some recognition of [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"NICE, Verint’s most direct comp and competitor, also suggested that adoption of ASC 606 would not materially impact stated results. However, unlike Verint, Nice issued FY18 guidance under ASC 605 standards to provide “better transparency and comparability to 2017 financial data,” and its FY18 results confirm that its adoption of ASC 606 had little effect on its financials."

""So, there's a number of different options that we have been exploring and continue to explore. We could monetize value in some way with an existing REIT..." — CFO Mark Ohlendorf, Stephens Fall Investment Conference, November 2012. "Yeah. All else equal, we would rather own it. The problem is all else is never equal." — CFO Mark Ohlendorf, BoAML Conference, September 2014."

"I think they, in general, and what we shared was the common methodology of testing and so on. And we had been discussing also passing the blood-brain barrier and how difficult it is. And I think my impression that their finding was very similar to our findings as well. — Senior pharmaceutical executive/scientist, previously at Abbott and now at another major pharma company"

"Can we have six bottles of champagne and ten bottles of adia? Also add two bottles of vodka of whatever brand you have. What about condoms? Additionally, is it possible for me to pay to put some sexy lingerie in the room? I'd like to make a surprise and I'd give you all the sizes. That would mean a lot for me, the friends and the girls. Happy to pay — Guest email to Accor."

"Based on Spruce Point's forensic review of MDA, it appears the Company was not only struggling to cope with the levered acquisition of Space Systems Loral (SSL), but also using aggressive financial presentation and accounting methods to deflect its underlying problems of order declines as new high-throughput satellites and low-earth-orbit (LEO) constellations come online."

"He explained that one of Twist’s fundamental competitive weaknesses in NGS was its inability to make primers, which are “a huge portion of the [NGS] market,” which means “they are lacking in the ability to grow” – “everyone makes a kit that’s just as good as the other...it’s not a huge difference...if I were to run all kits side-by-side, you wouldn’t see much difference.”"

"Spruce Point believes that IAS is undervalued relative to DV and that the gap should narrow. We believe IAS offers greater exposure to faster growing and less saturated international markets. We also believe IAS has better patent coverage, financial reporting transparency and stronger equity sponsorship. We are long IAS as a relative value hedge for our DV short position."

"The OCS Specialist indicated the practice of flying in nonlocal teams is now the norm, not an outlier, suggesting fraudulent air billing on a vast scale; and that it began only after TransMedics purchased its own jets, providing further evidence that the real purpose of the NOP’s air transport operation is to inflate charges to transplant centers, not to drive efficiency."

"We note that the package insert says that the drug "has no appreciable binding to other histamine receptors," but the only source appears to be a 2006 preclinical paper by Bioprojet scientist Xavier Ligneau, a member of Schwartz’s inner circle and whose work other scientists have stated is not reproducible in their labs, leading us to take his papers with a grain of salt."

"We are thrilled to have someone of Allan's background and caliber joining Pivotal and taking on this critical role. With the industry becoming increasingly competitive, Allan's proven track record of tactical sales, marketing and strategic partnerships will provide us with new growth opportunities and further enhance our position as a payments industry leader. — CEO Fayer"

""Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 54.0% for the year ended December 31, 2024 from 53.1% for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily the result of the Pricing Actions, decreased freight-in costs and decreased aluminum can costs, partially offset by production inefficiencies." — MNST SEC filings"

"Acquired intangible assets characterized as customer base assets consist of acquired customer contracts and the related customer relationships and are amortized over periods ranging from 3 years to 13 years. Acquired customer bases are amortized on an accelerated or straight-line basis depending on the expected economic benefit of the intangible asset. — CoStar Group 10-K"

""The Company stated that based on its assessment of market conditions today, management anticipates local currency sales growth in 2015 will be in the range of 4% to 5%. This sales growth will result in Adjusted EPS in the range of $12.80 to $13.05. Using the midpoint of the 2014 Adjusted EPS range, this reflects an increase of 10% to 12%." — Q3'2014 Results, Nov 16, 2014"

"「業界は依然としてアクティニックパターンマスク検査（APMI）を求めている。APMIは現存の検査装置よりも多くの欠陥を発見できるといわれている。現時点ではAPMIは存在しないが、数社はその実用化に向けて研究開発に取り組んでいる。なかでもレーザーテックがAPMI装置の実用化へ向けての研究開発を着実に進めている、と業界筋ではいわれている。また、レーザーテックは当該技術開発のために、半導体装置製造の大手企業から資金援助を得たともいう。〈中略〉レーザーテックがアクティニックパターンマスク検査装置野開発に取り組んでいるか、あるいは開発を検討しているかとの質問について、同社の浅井浩志経営企画室長はメールのやり取りで、『ご質問に対してコメントすることはありません』と答えた。」 — Semiconductor Engineering (May 2018)"

"Renee Pearson joined us 6 to 9 months ago as a Head of Technology. She joins us and brings a wealth of knowledge on that front. And we continue to make more changes across the back office. We think those people will drive further change, further productivity improvements and improvement in overall margin profile as we think about the future. — JP Morgan Conf Sept 19, 2023"

"(3) Non-cash impairment charges recorded in operating expenses and in other expenses in the consolidated statement of earnings by the insurance and reinsurance companies and Non-insurance companies reporting segment, respectively. During 2022 the company recognized non-cash goodwill impairment charges of $133.4 on Farmers Edge. — Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (Footnote)"

"I think both from the company standpoint, psychologically, legally, financially, but also I think from your standpoint as an investor, what I saw over and over was the complexity of this business and the complexity by which I mean, you have two very distinct business units that are pretty different in terms of their makeup and their business model. — Former REZI Executive"

"In sum, Defendants' compensation structure incentivizes Distributors to purchase thousands of dollars of product to receive recruiting-based rewards and to recruit new participants who will do the same... — 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.38."

"Basically, for these, we acquired, as you know, on the 2nd of November. We acquired the companies, so we had 2 months, November and December. And for the 2 months, basically, the contribution was, in terms of revenues, more than EUR 25 million, and in terms of EBITDA, it was more than EUR 10 million, between EUR 10 million and EUR 15 million. — 2015Q4 transcript in 2016/2"

"“Trian does not intend this election to be a referendum on separating the businesses, but rather a referendum on DuPont's performance. If elected to the Board, the Trian nominees will seek to work collaboratively with the other Board members to determine whether value can be optimized in the current structure or through a separation” — Trian Press Release, January 8, 2015"

"“With the Lasertec system, the reliability is very difficult to work with...the reliability is bad. So, they don’t meet the high 90%’s reliability at all. That’s the general thing that I hear that I can share overall. It matters. People spend lots of money based on what’s going to make their production work.” — Ex-KLA director of engineering focused on EUV mask inspection"

"In an absolute best case scenario in which ABML successfully builds and ramps its facility, secures adequate battery supply to operate at full capacity, and finds customers willing to purchase material at ABML’s estimated prices, and assuming ABML should trade in-line with a mix of battery value chain and recycling players, we believe ABML is worth less than $1.00/share."

"Manulife argues that “premium” refers only to payments that could reasonably be assumed to fund the life insurance portion of the contract. However, the court could find that a policy owner would understand “premium” to mean any and all monies paid to Manulife, especially if an average insured viewed the policy as an investment (rather than just a life insurance policy)."

"The original statement made in the prospectus that “save for their role as distributors… Mr. Su Weiqing or Ms. Wang Shuying having no relationship with our Group, our Directors or senior management, our shareholders or their respective associates aside from being a distributor” is clearly contradicted by representations to the media and the information in the SAIC files."

"To estimate 2016 revenues per program, we used the following data and estimates: Our revenue cohort assumptions for 2016, 2016 revenues by school disclosed in company filings, 2016 top ten programs by new student enrollment, Tuition data (credits to complete degree and cost per credit) obtained on schools websites where available, UNC enrollment data (from FOIA request)."

"It appears that no matter the auditor in 2017 or 2022, there's a consistent warning that a critical audit matter relates to the carrying value of the assets. The current auditor is evaluating the historical EBITDA projections vs. actual. Based on our review, management was overly optimistic about access to milk for production, and EBITDA margins have materially declined."

"DV's Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is Dan Slivjanovski and his biography says he was CMO and COO at RhythmOne. However, it was formerly known as Blinkx and listed on the London AIM. Blinkx was a spin-out from Autonomy whose founder Mike Lynch was arrested for fraud. While CMO at Blinkx, an influential Harvard professor alleged that the product was defrauding advertisers."

"During 2016, expenses were reclassified from sales and marketing expenses to cost of revenue and general and administration for one of our businesses. The expenses moved to cost of revenue are traffic acquisition costs in nature and more appropriately classified as costs of revenue, and the other costs more appropriately classified as general and administrative expenses."

"The ex-employee indicated internal disappointment among Soleno staff as trial data rolled in – “they want to believe it works...that was not my immediate reaction to what I saw...the person [who ran] clinical development also felt the same way...we were disappointed to not see what we were expecting...no matter how you slide and dice it, the data is there the way it is.”"

"Fun place, poor leadership, male dominated... There’s a mold- white men and young women. Lacks diversity in tight and leadership. Unsupportive over the pandemic in various ways... Advice to Management: Rob and the leadership team lack empathy and diversity - which is oh so needed especially during a pandemic. Get on board mentality or else. — Glassdoor (January 14, 2022)"

"Talk about a fall from grace. Of all the US airlines, Southwest has evolved the least since 9/11, relative to an industry that has undergone a massive profit transformation ... We believe substantive changes to its business model are required if margins are ever going to reclaim the high ground, but management (thus far) appears uninterested. — J.P. Morgan, December 2023"

"The people over there were never able to solve that because it was a materials problem. [Solving it] is sort of like saying I've made a time machine work. It just isn't possible... If you're going to say it satisfactorily performs at low temperatures as well, that's definitely reason for doubt because it's just not possible from a materials perspective. — Former employee"

"“We know that it [QS solid-state separator] is an oxide and whether it's LLZO or some other oxide, most oxides and ceramics are going to be very dense, and why is that relevant? Whether it's LLZO or some new oxide material that is amazing and they own outright, the challenge is that you have to get to a very thin layer. So, they talk about 400Wh/kg.” — Solid state expert"

""Pioneer management has delivered [a] text book repositioning of a portfolio previously spread across more than seven countries to become a 100% US focused resource player." — David McManus, Shareholder Nominee; "Golub and his management team orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds of a large public corporation in history." — Harvey Golub, Shareholder Nominee"

"ISS is a leading North American water treatment solution and services provider that brings access to a durable and highly recurring revenue stream as well as a diverse and attractive industrial verticals. With approximately 75% recurring revenue, ISS is known for dependability and bringing mission-critical water treatment expertise to our customers. — CFO Rowland Q2 2023"

"Talk about a fall from grace. Of all the US airlines, Southwest has evolved the least since 9/11, relative to an industry that has undergone a massive profit transformation ... We believe substantive changes to its business model are required if margins are ever going to reclaim the high ground, but management (thus far) appears uninterested. — J.P. Morgan, December 2023"

""Importantly, physicians are moving more and more to oral therapies, are looking more and more to oral therapies. And in those oral therapies, routinely, physicians select S1P modulators over JAK inhibitors. And when we put blinded profiles in front of physicians, they routinely select etrasimod over ozanimod." — Amit Munshi, CEO & President of Arena Pharma, January 2019"

"Talk about a fall from grace. Of all the US airlines, Southwest has evolved the least since 9/11, relative to an industry that has undergone a massive profit transformation ... We believe substantive changes to its business model are required if margins are ever going to reclaim the high ground, but management (thus far) appears uninterested. — J.P. Morgan, December 2023"