Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"Another undercover investigation in the Southeast in May 2022 involving two Generac solar distributors, Powerhome Solar (now Pink Energy), the largest home solar company in the Southeast, and Solar Titan expressed concerns that consumers were being shown potentially misleading economic realities about installing the solar systems and being overcharged."

"However, Pioneer sold a 40% interest in part of its acreage to Sinochem in 2013. For a portion of the purchase price, Sinochem pays 75% of Pioneer's share of the capital spending on those acres for the next couple years. Last year, that payment was $485 million, which reduced Pioneer's Capex and flattered Pioneer's claimed cost per BOE by more than $3."

"BEKE claims that its GTV from new home sales on its platform was RMB 908 billion in Q2-Q3, 2021. Based on the number of new home sales collected and the average sales price reported by BEKE, we estimate that BEKE's actual GTV from new home sales was only RMB 402 million, indicating that BEKE likely inflated new home GTV by at least approximately ~126%."

"I put a lot of money on the fact that dude, I'm probably their number-one guy. I can't imagine somebody more aggressive than I am about this...we probably went balls to the wall to get people on it...100% of every narcoleptic is offered Wakix, absolutely...we are extremely aggressive about offering Wakix...who the hell wouldn't want to write this shit?"

"Spruce Point believes Broadridge should have ceased capitalization of additional costs with the UBS project last year given delays and cost overruns. As a result, had the latest capitalized conversion and start-up costs been expensed, Broadridge would have been in violation of its “Leverage Ratio” covenant, which limits it to 3.5x Total Debt to EBITDA."

"The executive slammed its uptime as “just unacceptable” for inspection equipment: “doesn’t meet what we would normally expect”; “if it was not the only actinic inspection tool in the market, people would definitely go with another supplier”; “struggled with uptime concerns”; “not as sophisticated or as capable as the classic KLA mask inspection tools.”"

"As of March 31, 2021, we had approximately 4,000 front line teammates performing work in Content Security dealing with misinformation, offensive content, and critical policy issues. To care for their health and wellbeing, we have developed the TaskUs Resiliency Studio, a clinician-led and evidence-based psychological health and safety program. — TaskUs"

"I don't want to say there was no strategy. You know, [Nagamori] just -- he wanted to become the world's biggest motor maker, you know, and things that were somewhat related, you know, set that strategy. It was a little bit - it was definitely a lower hurdle than what Emerson would have used, I'll say that. — Former senior of Emerson motors and controls"

""Of the ~500m that was transferred from Leasing to Inventory, what portion was ever on lease?" "Less than half." — Investor and FTAI IR; "And to put it in perspective too, by the way, in the past year and a half, the prices for both serviceable and unserviceable engines, particularly CFM, has skyrocketed. Like I would say 40% to 50%." — Industry Expert"

""Chief Revenue Destroyer," — Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO). "When Blackwell starts shipping in volume, you couldn't give Hoppers away." — Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO). "A year ago or so, an H100 was $5-6 per hour. Now, it's around 75 cents, maybe less. Hardware typically depreciates in three to five years, but that's happening in a year now." — CEO of host.AI"

"“This is new. We just had a Journal Club on this drug at our hospital a couple of months ago...we’re aware that it’s a very expensive therapy. some people are a little hesitant when they hear the cost of it...20 doctors that were in the room...I don’t remember the methods of the study.” — Pediatric oncologist, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)"

"Given the issues we have highlighted regarding Procept's revenue recognition, gross margin accounting, and DSOs, we are concerned that Procept has never had a lead audit partner who has audited a publicly-listed company with more than $150 million of revenue, and its current audit partner has never had a publicly-listed client with any revenue at all."

"We believe owning Mercury at the current price is a terrible risk/reward proposition. The average analyst price target of ~$56/share implies just 9.5% upside, when not a single analyst is questioning the implications of replacing a key technology partner. We believe Mercury remains the most expensive stock in the A&D sector with 50%-60% downside risk."

"Cardiologists noted that PCPs are not qualified to interpret monitor results, an important point given the high rates of disagreement with final reports noted earlier. However, it is easy to see why iRhythm is pushing this treatment protocol, as many cardiologists believed it would result in over-testing, although with little to no impact on outcomes."

"We believe brand identify is a critical success factor in the food space. There’s already evidence prices are deflating, and the long run winner must be able to connect and market to the broadest audience possible. Califia Farms was founded in 2010 and has a nearly identically sized social media following to Oatly, which was founded over 27 years ago."

"Nelson Peltz seeks to understand other points of view as much as he seeks to be heard. He is an active listener. Having been a CEO, Nelson also has a healthy respect for the difficulties and challenges of leading large public companies...Nelson is collaborative by nature – he is always searching for the best ideas. That makes him a great change agent."

"BEKE claimed that its GTV from existing home sales was RMB 908 billion in 2Q-3Q 2021. Yet based on the transaction records collected from its own platform and the price disclosed by the Company, we calculated that BEKE's new home sales GTV was RMB 402 billion in 2Q-3Q 2021, suggesting the Company inflated its new home transaction GTV by at least 126%."

"Lower net per litre fuel margin at Petroleum reflecting a more competitive marketplace and the impact of the newly implemented carbon tax in some regions, lower growth in profit from the Company's margin-sharing arrangement with its Dealers, the impact of IFRS 16, and higher interest expense. — 2019 Second Third Quarter Earnings Presentation (slide 7)"

"Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). DSO is a metric we use to evaluate the efficiency of our working capital. It represents the average number of days to convert our trade and other receivables, unbilled receivables, contract assets, and deferred revenue to cash. We calculate DSO by annualizing gross revenue for the quarter as reported under IFRS. — Stantec"

"“DNA Script has an enzymatic process that they're making at benchtop, so it'll be kind of like an Illumina sequencer model... Molecular Assemblies—I know a little bit about them, actually a lot about them. Their enzymatic synthesis process and their service model are going to work.” — Longtime executive in Twist's space; ex-founder of a key competitor"

"We supported Mr. Pease’s appointment to the Board, in part because we were encouraged by his outlook on corporate governance. For example, during the interview process with us, Mr. Pease shared the very clear and widely held view that having a CEO also serve as Board Chair was detrimental to a company in need of change. — Elliott Investment Management"

"Elliott Investment Management has won support from a prominent Phillips 66 investor for its campaign to replace some of the oil refiner's board members. Gregory Goff said...that Phillips 66's pursuit of midstream assets alongside its refining business has failed to deliver shareholder value relative to more streamlined peers. — The Wall Street Journal"

"For select Premier Agent revenue transactions included within Residential revenue, we tested the amount of revenue recorded by developing an expectation for the amount by applying the percentage change from an independent variable to historical amounts recorded and comparing our expectation to the amount recorded by management. — Deloitte & Touche LLP"

"As pediatric endocrinologists, we are familiar with the short-acting form of diazoxide...we have used that for quite some time...with congenital hyperinsulinism.... side effects that have been a concern...it mostly may present as a lymphedema versus congestive heart failure; hyperglycemia...we know that diazoxide causes it. — Pediatric endocrinologist"

"guarantee the then approximately $1.3 billion value of the securities to CVC and certain affiliates thereof until such time the securities are purchased by or sold at the direction of Hamblin Watsa, prior to the end of 2022. The company, through Hamblin Watsa, continues to manage and have direction over these securities, including their voting rights."

"Some adjustments we would make to the standalone financial projections include the financial impact of potential operational improvements post-LBO (such as cost reductions), elimination of public company costs (if any), Amortization of Financing Fees, and adjusting the Balance Sheet for the new capital structure. — Financial Modeling Course References"

"“The ‘UAM Future Team’, which included Kakao Mobility, LG Uplus, and GS Engineering & Construction, which previously completed Phase 1 of the demonstration, also completed only the integrated operability demonstration excluding the aircraft. This is because the UAM Future Team also failed to secure the aircraft.” — News outlet (translated from Korean)"

"Our manufacturing capabilities in Brazil consist of receiving unmounted ICs in wafer form from third-party wafer fabs, preparing and packaging the ICs into semiconductor components, testing the components, and in some cases placing these components on substrates or printed circuit boards to make modules or multi-chip packages. — SGH 2018 SEC Form 10-K"

"Moe Tassoudji is also referenced in a lawsuit by West Virginia’s Attorney General in an attempt to prevent payday loan companies from doing business within its state. Payday Loan Resource Center LLC and Moe Tassoudji are called out for attempting to circumvent state law by charging WV customers a monthly fee to help them obtain Internet payday loans."

"With respect, one of the responsibilities of the Senior Independent Director at BP is to “be available to address shareholders’ concerns which have failed to be resolved by the chair, CEO or CFO or for which such contact is inappropriate”, which we believe perfectly describes the current state of the dialogue between Bluebell Capital Partners and BP."

"So I guess when you think about ecobee and you look at -- as we ramp that up and they grow, their margin profile in the out years looks very similar to our clean energy business. We've talked about how that will probably be in the mid- to high teens EBITDA margins from a gross margin standpoint, closer to that mid-30% range. — Q3 2021 Conference Call"

"“...And for the overall business planning, we have our own team, in-house team for the e-commerce. In terms of the management of all the other aspects, we also continuously to consolidate. We believe in the e-commerce, in the future, it's going to be at least about 20%, 30% of the total revenue.” — Jie Zheng, ANTA Executive Director & Brand President"

"“The challenge is, can they scale it up? Do they have all the right pieces and approach to scale it up? And more importantly, can it be manufactured cheaply enough that it’ll fit where the market is right now? There’s a number out there for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles that the price point needs to be below $100/KWh.” — Former employee"

"“You are absolutely right. You are right. There are two separate steps: gene synthesis, and once you synthesize the gene, Twist is not the cheapest one because their cost is much higher than, say, GenScript, for whom most of their products are generated in China, and their labor cost and everything is cheaper.” — Former Twist employee, director-level"

"Leading a global member compliance team across 91 markets, Harbour will develop and enhance policies and infrastructure that ensure effective education, training and mentoring programs for the nearly 4 million independent Herbalife members worldwide, underpinned by robust and consistent monitoring and enforcement procedures. — Herbalife Press Release"

"I am choosing to devote my time and energy to this effort because I believe Phillips 66 is not only a strong investment, but also a company where my support for Elliott's campaign can make a difference for employees and investors alike. I have been disappointed by what I see as a breakdown in effective corporate governance at Phillips 66. — Greg Goff"

"In a key 1983 Policy Statement on Deception, the FTC explained that deceptive acts or practices involve three elements: 1. A representation, omission or practice 2. Likely to mislead reasonable consumers under the circumstances 3. And that is material, meaning likely to affect a consumer's choice or conduct with respect to the goods or services — FTC"

"I am choosing to devote my time and energy to this effort because I believe Phillips 66 is not only a strong investment, but also a company where my support for Elliott’s campaign can make a difference for employees and investors alike. I have been disappointed by what I see as a breakdown in effective corporate governance at Phillips 66. — Greg Goff"

"These issues should be troubling to shareholders, and also cast doubts for prospective buyers of the Core Business as to whether the process is genuine and whether they should commit the time and resources to evaluating a bid and making a proposal. — Francis Shammo (CFO of Verizon, Deutsche Bank Media, Internet, and Telecom Conference, March 8, 2016)"

"So the fact that having the program of record and the Army investment on the R&D to come to a selection of us, which we appreciate, now opens the doors for the other services to adopt that program of record potentially and do their own fielding upwards and in addition to what we're going to be doing with the Army. — Red Cat Management (SRR Town Hall)"

"“shortcomings in the documentation provided on the pharmacokinetics of pitolisant”; “many discrepancies”; “gaps in the understanding of the pharmacokinetics of the drug, introducing uncertainty...in the safety and efficacy...when administered to different subgroups or when co-administered” — EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)"

"RCT_KHAN's camera variously shows him doing paperwork at his desk, sits trained on his wall, or gets pointed upward at his ceiling. Occasionally, he will also chat with another Bigo performer on stream. We observed him on over 50 occasions over the span of nine months, and as far as we can tell, these are the extent of his “entertainment” activities."

"plasma based sources are the dirtiest parts in EUV tools. In inspectors, the problem of isolating the mask from source debris is more severe than in scanners — bounced/released micro-particles, liquid tin splashing, and accumulation (and sputtering) of deposited tin at the walls. — KLA presentation "Source performance metrics for EUV mask inspection""

"This Sn-based plasma emits Sn ion and neutral debris, which can damage the collector optic in three ways: sputtering, implantation, and deposition. The first two damage processes are irreversible and are caused by the high energies (1–10 keV) of the ion debris [8]. — 2017 paper by plasma physicists and others at U.C. Berkeley, Applied Materials et al"

"Spruce Point believes it odd that GFL did not discuss an amended agreement with Waste Management on their Q2 earnings call. At the same time, GFL is introducing greater regulatory uncertainty by acquiring the WCA business. A new "forward-looking" risk factor statement highlighted by GFL may offer clues that its deals are on shaky regulatory grounds."

"According to the independent expert report (set out in full in the Appendix), valuing the OLC stake in Keisei’s balance sheet on a mark-to-market basis, reveals that (1) Keisei’s true equity to asset ratio is nearly double its peers; and (2) its ROE has consistently averaged just 0.6% over the last 5 years, a fifth of that achieved by Keisei’s peers"

"Taking two different approaches (taking Firth Rixson’s EBITDA and multiplying by the corporate multiple and taking Firth Rixson’s NOPAT over Arconic’s WACC) to measuring the extent of the value destruction as a consequence of the Firth Rixson acquisition yields the result that Arconic’s management has destroyed between $1.9 and $2.5 billion of value"

"Given BP's unacceptably dire performance, the abandonment and numerous U-turns in its 2023-2030 strategic plan, the complete loss of strategic direction and the recognition (albeit seemingly deceptively presented) that the communicated EBITDA target no longer applies, BP should immediately present an updated strategic plan to the investor community."

"Recall that Porch has hidden press releases from 2018. We found a notable Overstock.com partnership from 2018 promising “AI” features to offer customers installation and assembly options at checkout. As of our recent check, not only does this option not exist, but Overstock does not even mention Porch under its discussion about assembling furniture."

"BR's CEO cited many records in FY 2022, but what he doesn't point out is that cash flow declined. By adjusting the results for the onerous UBS project investment and COVID-19 effects, as well as the inorganic acquisition contribution from Itiviti, we estimate that BR's core business experienced declining Cash From Operations by approximately -17.2%."

"GINGKO BIOWORKS executive #2 states that they have extensively hacked and re-engineered BLI’s machine to get it to work for certain purposes: re-designed BLI’s chips, optics, and other components; machine they’re using is not typical and has a different architecture; custom-made chips Gingko is using are “totally new” and made specifically for them."

"Former employees state that competing products at 5% of the cost - $100K vs. $2MM - have already rendered BLI obsolete: competitors are not only far cheaper but have higher throughput; another wave of even cheaper disruptors are on the horizon; a former scientist at BLI states he would rather use cheaper alternatives if he was at a biotech customer."

"PGNY is a fertility pure-play in a market where we find fertility benefits becoming largely commoditized, and fast-growing competitors are driving differentiation and competitive advantage through significantly broader treatment coverage capturing the broader lifecycle of fertility, pregnancy, parenting, and ancillary services such as mental health."

"Assuming that on average, a new store costs $26mm to zone, develop and build or approximately $197/sq. ft. (1) and that each Distribution Facility costs $70mm or approximately $50/sq. ft. (1), the replacement cost of Target's owned real estate (excluding the value of its buildings on ground leased land and its existing leases) is approximately $39bn"

"We spoke with over 30 veterinarians about their views on point of care fecal testing. Not only did they generally prefer to continue using reference labs for such tests, but they also indicated a lack of willingness to try new equipment from a supplier other than their current vendor, which doesn't bode well for Heska given its minimal market share."

"If the chart reflected the value in the table, which appears to be the correct one given multiple references in the paper, it would show a quick and sharp reversal of the pitolisant trend after week 3 (visit 5), undermining the results and necessitating data longer than 8 weeks, which the trials clearly try to avoid with the absurdly short duration."

"Its scope of business includes “wood and wood product purchasing, processing, and sales; forestry and forestry-related product planting, purchasing, processing, and sales; specialized economic forestry and wood project development and construction…” (“木材及木材制品收购、加工、销售；林业及林下产品种植、收购、加工、销售；特种经济林木及制品基地建设和项目开发…”) — Yunnan agent business scope description."

"First of all, I think that multiples are very important in a stock price, obviously. But let's not get too transfixed on the multiple. If I look at the companies that have improved the greatest shareholder value that have gone up over the course of the last 2 1/2 years, 2 years, I think number one on that list is Lyondell. — Peter Huntsman, May 2014"

""They also push you to crank out numbers, and patient safety is not a concern at this place. There have been missed critical rhythms because people are just burnt out and exhausted. Run from this place as fast as you can. If you don't get fired the FDA will probably investigate you for even working here." — EKG Technician, iRhythm, Glassdoor, 4/2/24"

"Management reiterated that its distributors are independent, as each has its own management team that makes independent business decisions and its own financial and human resources management functions. This is also verified by KPMG, who has been auditing Anta and performing on-the-ground assessments of the distributors since 2004. — ANTA Management"