Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"The problem with photonic interconnect is it’s even slower, and it’s very unreliable. If you ask me, this is still at a fundamental research level, and how they actually plan to bring such an underdeveloped technology that mainly sits in the area of doing fundamental research to a commercial product within the timeframe that they promised, it’s questionable to me."

"The overlap of administrators, the key contact persons’ use of anta.cn email addresses for communications with the local government, and the shareholding of known associates, insiders, and relatives of the Ding family led us to conclude that Jinan Ruili and Jinan Anchuang are controlled by Chairman Ding and the founding Anta families and are de facto subsidiaries."

"Since 2018, approximately 50% of Monster's $3.7 billion in total sales growth has come from international markets, with the largest growth contributor being EMEA. However, we do not expect international sales momentum to continue as only two countries have been added in the past two years, competition has vastly expanded, and regulation appears likely to increase."

"It's probably 90% down from last year...I could put you in touch with a lot of people that are just going to say the same thing, 'I hate TransMedics....I had recently had a conversation with the surgeon from our local OPO because I fly with them often for Paragonix. It's the same thing over and over again, just TransMedics, we don't see them being here in a year.'"

"ATTR-ACT Showed that Tafamidis Significantly Reduced the Combination of All-cause Mortality and Cardiovascular-related Hospitalizations Data Showed a 30% Reduction in the Risk of Mortality and 32% Reduction in the Rate of Cardiovascular-related Hospitalizations with Tafamidis in People with Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy versus Placebo — Pfizer Press Release"

"urges the Company to set and disclose individual caps on its short-term incentive plan so as to assure shareholders that executive pay will always be constrained by stated limits. — Glass Lewis; runs contrary to best practices and shareholder interests, as management may receive excessive compensation that is not strictly tied to Company Performance. — Glass Lewis"

""Each black dot in the chart represents an automotive securitization market transaction completed in 2018. The black line is the best-fit line of the individual transactions in the chart. The blue line represents the historical and current best estimates of future performance for all loans originated on Carvana's website." — November 2018 Investor Day Presentation"

"“…from a P&L point of view, what is a traditional product sale on day 1 by year 3 or year 4 transitions to a full as-a-service subscription recognition…the benefit we have is we don’t have to go and replace our installed base. In our model, we don’t have that replacement sale, right? …we are able to keep that original array, modernize it. Well, if” — CEO Giancarlo"

""And similarly -- slightly different with Fetch. So Fetch, just given its maturity and where it's at in its life cycle, was dilutive to EBITDA at the time of acquisition, but one that, over time, with the subscription model it has, we think both accretive to gross margin as well as profitability as we scale that business." — CFO Winters JPMorgan Conf, May 23, 2022"

"A lot of contractors out there, you have a lot of architect firms, you have a lot of vendors that are doing fixtures, a lot of them are very aggressive right now and doing deals. So if you're going to grow and open up stores, there's an opportunity to really drive down your build-out costs there. — John Smith, SVP of Development, Collective Brands, October 6, 2009"

"“... nearly 50% of our order volume is now being fulfilled out of our Ohio pharmacy and fulfillment center...I'm excited to share by year-end 2022, we believe nearly 100% of our services and treatments will be filled via our verticalized infrastructure, further unlocking efficiencies and capabilities consumers are looking for.” — CEO Dudum on Q2 2021 Earnings Call"

"Considering our products have a large freight component, being close to the actual installation helps significantly bring value to our retailer customers. In addition, our products are decorative in nature. By being closer to the end consumer, MSI can enable customers to see and touch the materials at our locations before making a final decision. — Co-CEO Raj Shah"

""We can't promise everything on your grocery list, but do offer a unique, daily treasure hunt of value and low prices for some on a tight budget and those who love to find a great deal. Our product availability is random because we purchase from many different outlets across the United States of overstocked, repackaged, seasonal and close dated items." — About Esh"

"So on the U.S. retail cheese, we were launching in March, 6 SKUs under the Vitalite brand, and we have 1,000 points of distribution that has been secured. So the marketing campaigns are going to begin in conjunction with our retail launch. So exciting times to come on the retail side of the plant-based cheese for our U.S. platform. — Saputo CEO (Q3 2022 Conf Call)"

""Disney has overcome one of the most challenging periods in its history and a new era of building is well underway..." — Disney Letter to Shareholders, 02/01/24; "[T]he attempts by the Trian Group... are likely to derail Disney's progress..." — Disney Letter to Shareholders, 02/01/24; "Mr. Peltz brings no media experience" — Disney Letter to Shareholders, 02/01/24"

""On the technology side a bit of a risk in my mind, which is Stryker is still very immature when it comes to its technology infrastructure... it's definitely taken a lot longer than what was initially projected... there's no way the company can survive otherwise because they're operating off of 40 different ERP platforms" — Former Stryker Supply Chain Professional"

""I asked Ushio what was wrong with their source, and they wouldn't say...if your source is not stable, then the intensity of light coming in through it fluctuates...so you have a stability issue...they gave us the data, and we had about six to seven different models of Ushio data...the bottom line is that there is something wrong." — Leading EUV lithography expert"

"Pursuant to this Agreement, the Company is pleased to announce that it has now signed the Implementation and Assignment Agreement and Definitive Gas Supply contract with RoG for a cumulative quantity of 0.75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas for this phase of the Project for a period of 25 years at a competitive fixed price. — Olam International Ltd. announcement"

"ATTR-ACT Showed that Tafamidis Significantly Reduced the Combination of All-cause Mortality and Cardiovascular-related Hospitalizations Data Showed a 30% Reduction in the Risk of Mortality and 32% Reduction in the Rate of Cardiovascular-related Hospitalizations with Tafamidis in People with Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy versus Placebo — Pfizer Press Release"

""Central Transport International Selects Manhattan Associates' Carrier Management Solution; Carrier to Gain Savings and Efficiencies" "We looked at similar products, but chose Manhattan Associates' solution because it is the only solution geared toward the LTL marketplace," said Phillip Van Trump, director of business continuity. — Business Wire (October 17, 2005)"

"“I often leave, and I’m like, ‘There’s no way they’re going to be able to use that organ’...I feel like they just keep going and going, keep trying and trying and trying...it’s going to be in an operating room with a recipient hours and hours later when the heart function is off.” — Organ procurement technician at a high-volume Northwest academic transplant center"

""I haven't gotten approved...we have filled out the form...oh yeah, it's taking time." — PWS nephrologist #11; "there were a few patients that were already on Vykat that were referred for edema and proteinuria"; "we weren't sure if it was a side effect of the drug, but that was the presumed mechanism"; "yes...for sure." — PWS nephrologist #11 regarding unblinding."

"I was in tears from the level of overstimulation; over two years straight, brutal as hell; terrified to turn it back on; feels like someone hit my legs with a baseball bat; legs and back burn so bad like a blowtorch; I was crying wondering if I made the right decision to have the implant; nobody will admit to it — Patient testimonials from Facebook support groups."

""...we announced ACTIS with High-NA, and in September, we also announced an EUV light source developed in-house with future needs in mind..." — Lasertec CEO, Jan 31, 2024 Q&A; "As for URASHIMA, we developed it in-house and leave the manufacturing to our partner companies as much as possible, just as we do with our other equipment." — Lasertec CEO, Oct 31, 2023 Q&A"

"ABML has already changed how it characterizes its relationship with BASF. Not surprisingly, the regulatory requirements of SEC filings have resulted in the most conservative characterization. We believe this is clear evidence that management is prone to exaggeration of its commercial status and prospects and that investors should find such changes very troubling."

"The previous study covered MAUDE data through 2021. Our review from 2018 to the present shows Aquablation has resulted in 24 deaths since FDA approval. Moreover, FDA adverse event data suggests Procept's transfer of manufacturing operations to a new location in Q3 2023 resulted in above-trend equipment malfunctions, suggesting poor execution at patients' expense."

"Procept’s “utilization” definition is handpieces “purchased”, not handpieces “used”. If handpieces “purchased” overstates known US procedures (as the Company’s proxy disclosure suggests), and if rising DSOs are indicative of hospitals ordering more handpieces than they need, then not only is Procept’s “utilization” metric overstated, it might even be meaningless."

"FDA clearance through the 510(k) pathway requires only evidence of “substantial equivalency” with a “predicate device” already on the market. That these aspiration catheters were cleared through direct comparison with Penumbra reinforces the commoditization of the industry and the ease with which competitors can enter the neurovascular aspiration catheter market."

"Bunge has significantly moderated talk of its oilseed processing business, once its biggest EBIT contributor in Agribusiness, from being, "extremely difficult to replicate" and "the global leader" to now changing segment reporting around the business and admitting the Viterra deal, "mitigates risk because it adds more balance to our oilseed processing footprint.""

"Considering that Zillow's Adj. EBITDA is virtually all stock-based compensation, Spruce Point believes free cash flow is a much better figure to value the Company. Zillow trades at a much higher multiple of free cash flow then nearly all its peers. At over 6x sales and ~37x+ FCF, we believe that Zillow is one of the most richly valued stocks among its peer group."

"The increase reflects solid performance in the first quarter of 2021, continued strong user activation due to the effectiveness of our marketing spend, well-executed launches of mobile sports betting and iGaming in Michigan and mobile sports betting in Virginia, and a modest contribution from our recently completed acquisitions. — DraftKings Q1 2021 press release"

"Simply put we lost focus. We lost focus strategically. We had too many initiatives that made the company unnecessarily complex... We lost focus within our products and brands... Lastly we lost focus in process and execution... And finally we didn't have a culture of accountability which led to poor execution. — Campbell Board member & interim CEO Keith McLoughlin"

"Generac Grid Services has been making excellent progress in expanding its sales pipeline, including meaningful opportunities beyond traditional software-as-a-service contracts. The fourth quarter saw significant progress in new deals closed and in the final stages of negotiation, increasing our top line visibility for 2022. — Generac CEO (Q4 2021 Conference Call)"

"“Managing forests, wood processing, the production of wood products and wood chemical products, and establishing a production facility with an annual production capacity of 50,000 m³ of Micro Density Fiber Board (MDF), managing a base of 120,000 mu (8,000 ha) of which the forest annual utilization would be 8,000 m³.” — Leizhou WFOE Amended Articles of Association"

"“I would not put him very high on that list. But he's Taiwanese. He's a Taiwanese entrepreneur... he doesn't really care much about corporate governance per se.” — MPWR's Early Executive; “Michael (CEO) doesn't like people asking questions he doesn't like. And Alan was doing his job as audit chairman and sort of rocked the boat too much.” — MPWR's Early Executive"

"[M]ultiple hundreds of millions of dollars — Gary Butler, Q4'2010 Earnings Call. [S]trong double-digit kind of bottom line margin — Gary Butler, Q1'2012 Earnings Call. [O]ur HR BPO products excluding the pass-throughs have margin characteristics that are roughly in line for most of the cases, with our overall margin profile. — Management, Q2'2016 conference call."

""Retail GM declined 120 bp, with CTR down 100bp, reflecting a lower true-up benefit related to margin sharing and negative shipment mix." — Patricia Baker, Scotiabank, August 8, 2018; "GM% was down 120 bps, primarily at CTR. -50 bps was driven by a negative swing in dealer profit sharing and another ~50 bps from poor sales mix" — Mark Petrie, CIBC, August 8, 2018"

""In our home market of Sweden, Oatly products had a 53% market share of sales in the total alternative dairy products non-milk based category as of 2020, according to Nielsen. The success achieved in our home market, in terms of brand awareness and new product development, has become a clear "north star" for future international expansion." — Oatly IPO prospectus"

""In our home market of Sweden, Oatly products had a 53% market share of sales in the total alternative dairy products non-milk based category as of 2020, according to Nielsen. The success achieved in our home market, in terms of brand awareness and new product development, has become a clear "north star" for future international expansion." — Oatly IPO prospectus"

"“Our competitors mainly are Chinese companies. You look at GENEWIZ and GenScript, and their founders are Chinese, and they have a lot of business in China. In that sense, they are very competitive in terms of pricing. Twist built a lab in the Bay area. You have to pay the Bay area salary and so on. That's why the competition is very great...” — Ex-Twist executive"

"“I expect our team to gain traction on expense reduction and drive step-change productivity improvements across the property… …I believe this franchise has more to deliver. I’m not satisfied with our operating ratio [2006 target was ~75% OR], and I’m raising the bar on Execution Excellence as a vehicle to drive accelerated improvements.” — Fred Green, Analyst Day"

"Quite honestly, I think they need to come down on price, and they need to invest in offering differentiated functionality. Right, and that goes to ownership of the firm, right? Like I would be very surprised, I could be wrong, if a private equity firm was going to invest the same way that Oracle invests in its technology. — Former Strategy Executive, DoubleVerify"

""We are very excited about the potential Centrella has to accelerate the med surg bed replacement cycle" — John Groetelaars, President & CEO, Hill-Rom. "Hospitals are generally willing to put off bed purchases if needed... It's not going to accelerate the purchasing cycle over the long-term - this is probably more of a one-time blip." — Former Employee, Hill-Rom."

"「そうです。しかし、二つ目の装置については、レーザーテックがアクティニック検査装置を実用化する以前も、極端紫外線マスクを検査するためには別の方法が必要でした。二つ目にはKLA製の深紫外線の光学装置、同社の『Teron』という製品を使いました。ところが、Teronは193ナノメートルの光源を使うので、検出できる欠陥に限界があります。極小の欠陥を明確に検出できません。そのような欠陥の疑いがある場合、座標を記録し、座標を電子ビーム検査装置に移し、欠陥があるとの疑いのある位置を見てみます。欠陥があるとすれば、マスクに転写された回路の画像にあるでしょうか。要はマスクを検査するために、光学の深紫外線と電子ビームを組み合わせる必要があるのです」 — 半導体製造装置企業の上席幹部として長年の経験を持ち、レーザーテックのCEOに親しい人物"

"The number of hits that it can spit out is somewhat underwhelming. The issue has to do mostly with the fact that we can only export binders at this moment, yet it would be much better if we could screen not only binders but also the function of those antibodies so that we can quickly identify the right antibodies with the right function. — Pfizer senior scientist"

""The reporting wasn't excellent. We did learn of cases where multiple embryos were implanted, that didn't make me very happy. I don't know that it resulted in neonatal ICU cost, but it was not exactly what I had been sold...I felt that Progyny's ability to report interesting, useful data was pretty lacking." — Vice President Global Benefits at Activision Blizzard"

"The Compensation Committee, with the assistance of Ferguson Partners, determined that "adjusted funds from operations," or "AFFO" would be the most appropriate metric to gauge management's effective operation of the Company's business as a REIT. As a result, for 2023, the Annual Incentive Plan allocation to the Company's AFFO per diluted share was 50%. — CTO 10-K"

"“The core issue is that the cells which we have are not in the dimension which will be used in vehicles... This is basically just nice slides because these are just assumptions.” — VW employee; “It’s gambling, as far as how those questions will turn out.” — VW employee; “More layers, bigger size, in a module or a pack, how is the performance then?” — VW employee"

""The Company leases certain equipment from various third parties, through equipment finance leases. These leases either include a bargain purchase option, a full transfer of ownership at the completion of the lease term, or the terms of the leases are at least 75 percent of the useful lives of the assets and are therefore classified as finance leases." — Dropbox"

""Camera Uploads making duplicates (iOS)." — Reddit User; "I'm having trouble viewing previews in Win10 on some computers that use Dropbox Smart Sync" — Reddit User; "Dropbox support an utter disappointment with 88.4.172 issues -- they've just closed my case because of my OS" — Reddit User; "88.4.172 Wreaking Havoc (Sync Issues) and Dropbox Support" — Reddit User"

"“When Twist entered the market when I joined, they were targeting about 10 cents a base pair. Competitors at IDT and GenScript were at about 20 cents per base pair. What I've seen is that it has actually driven GenScript and IDT to drop their prices in response.” — Former Twist manager in a manufacturing role, previously and currently employed by key competitors"

"We note your disclosure that your “principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that your disclosure controls and procedures are effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act.” — SEC Staff"

"As one media consultant said, “It’s rather sad that AOL Time Warner couldn’t keep one of its most valuable brands in television like Comedy Central” — Media Consultant. “Companies like AOL are having to sell their best and most profitable assets in order to make a dent on the debt on their balance sheets. Nobody’s focusing on shareholder value.” — Bond Investor."

"“How did you know about the 1200 [audits performed for the ten customer rule]?” “I asked.” “Who did you ask?” “Julie Delaney... She works for Jenny [Heinrich]... She’s director or senior director. She’s been in the refunds and repurchase area, and I think she might have responsibility for the audits.” — Deposition of Jacqueline Miller in Herbalife v. Ford (2009)"

"To achieve that, you need to have a lot of underlying information about those securities. You have to know everything about their ESG profile, their climate profile, their thematic profile, their factor profile. So MSCI is turning into a giant equity research shop to try to understand the characteristics of securities so we can organize them that way. — MSCI CEO"

"“Those -- the businesses that we have been winding down -- we're out of the third-party rental business, we'll be out of third-party services business by the end of this year. So the $40 million or so of revenue that we had in this year's results for those businesses that we're getting out of will basically be nothing next year.” — Steven Strobel – CFO, Hill-Rom"

"Huishan claims at the end of the 1H17 interim report p. 64 that “currently, the global milk industry is recovering, [and] the domestic raw milk prices started to rebound” and points to new contracts signed with “several large scale dairy product enterprises” at a higher price as evidence of that. — Huishan 2015/16 Annual Results Announcement, June 2016, slide 15"

""Certain of our customer contracts, primarily within our Uniform Direct Sales business, include pricing terms and conditions that include components of variable consideration... Specifically, some contracts contain discounts or rebates that the customer can earn through the achievement of specified volume levels." — Cintas 10-Q First Reference Filed October 2018"

""So I think lessons learned for me. I would say I have a more full appreciation for the value and not trying to do an integration of that size on a shoestring, but to have it well planned out and to bring in a third-party to manage the process because that allowed us not to take our eye off the ball on our core business." — Keith Myers, Chairman & CEO, LHC Group"

"「KLAの人間は発表が近いような話しぶりでした。1年とか、それくらいでしょう。KLAはこの開発に一生懸命取り組んでいます」 — Samsung former executive. "レーザーテックは危険だと思います。同社には完成品の在庫が滞留していますが、KLAは各社に向けて次のように予告しています。『発注を2025年の中旬まで待っていただけるなら、新しいシステムを商業的に提供できます』" — GlobalFoundries former executive. "TSMCの生産ラインにおいては、生産性に関しても経済性に関してもKLA製のほうがレーザーテック製より性能がいい。だから、TSMCにおけるこの関連の商売の約3分の2がすでにレーザーテックからKLAに移行している" — TSMC former executive."