Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"Gross margin for the quarter was 44.8%... Our gross margin for the quarter was approximately $25.2 million or 44.8% of revenue as compared to 40% in Q3 FY '21 and up from 38.3% in Q2. The increased gross margin reflects the impact of higher revenues in particular higher NGS revenues and thus leveraging our fixed costs. — James M. Thorburn, Twist CFO"

"“was singled out as having one of the worst records for suicides in England and Wales.” — Wikipedia entry for HMP Styal. “reveals extraordinary levels of attempted suicide and self-harm at the prison and asks why so many women are driven to kill themselves when they end up inside.” — BBC documentary “Women On The Edge: The Truth About Styal Prison”."

""The contract is currently suspended. It’s been signed by COMIBOL and the company but without (parliamentary) approval it does not enter into effect. Until there’s a framework regulation, I personally don’t think this will get approved by parliament." — Hector Cordova, Former COMIBOL chairman (2011-2012) and former Vice Minister of Mines (2010-2011)"

"“...the only region in the world showing clear signs of increased E&P investments in 2017 is North America land...” — Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard; “...the market is a tale of two cycles. North America activity increased rapidly but not without growing pains, while activity in the rest of the world declined...” — Halliburton President Jeff Miller"

"On the other end, the spin/sale of the Midstream business is by far the single largest source of potential value creation ($40B-$45B of proceeds at a potential multiple - 10x - that offers by far the largest multiple uplift/arbitrage), but is also the strategy to which the management has been the most strongly opposed. — Piper Sandler, February 2025"

"I would say Resideo was a disaster. It was operational efficiency. From an operational standpoint, it was absolutely horrific. It was meetings all day long, the same meeting over and over again. Nothing was ever accomplished. It was just disorganized, and you have people calling you from all angles, asking the same questions. — Former Newell Manager"

"the structure – it’s totally crazy...if they for pay for an OCS system on the NOP with the flight, all of these costs get paid at cost plus back to the hospital; Waleed will talk about it all the time...his investor calls...he will talk about how Medicare pays the cost...what are you guys worried about? — Former executive in a key reimbursement role"

""And so, here's the new brand, keep it really simple, no mask, no hose, just sleep. We don't talk about implant, we don't talk about surgery, we talk about a therapy that will -- you'll use every night in your -- procedure, and... so, here's two commercials that we ran." — CEO Tim Herbert, SVB Leerlink Global Healthcare Conference, February 26, 2020"

"Procept is currently targeting the highest procedure volume hospitals, which are likely both the most aggressive early adopters of new technology and those most likely to achieve an attractive ROI. We expect Procept's sales efficiency will suffer markedly as it transitions to targeting smaller, lower volume, more geographically dispersed customers."

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"Mettler has made two recent moves to acquire real estate. It is clear from footnote disclosures that Mettler is trying to reduce its lease expense, partially improved by the consolidation of two Swiss properties (Uznach and Schwerzenbach) in 2018, but also by the acquisition of properties, which is a way to capitalize the cost on the balance sheet."

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"Technology doesn't work for cell line development, one of its two primary target markets and use cases; issues with contamination, cell growth/behavior, problems with BLI's chip; expert is not surprised BLI has basically killed of cell line development vertical, as the field is already satisfied with competing instruments at a fraction of the cost."

"Former employees stated the equipment is plagued by data integrity issues that make it difficult to trust the output, and that internal BLI users were aware of "way more problems" than the average customer: "data integrity was compromised"; device conflicts; "had to really, really analyze the data deeply and be very, very careful about the output.""

"Spruce Point believes part of what has driven Weis' share price is the belief that its operating cash flow grew 550% YoY in Q1'18. However, by pro forma adjusting results for its aggressive accounting change to accelerate accounts receivables as cash, and a one-time incentive payment (cash flow drag) from Q1'17, we estimate the growth rate was 74%."

"Look carefully: Van Trump’s biography, listed “continuing education” at MIT, but was changed to “post graduate work”. Based on MIT’s website and speaking with the admission’s office, there is no admissions process for its continuing education / professional studies program. Also, why did he then omit graduate coursework at Univ. of Central Florida?"

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"While DuPont may portray Trian’s involvement as intrusive, history suggests the result is enhanced performance and long-lasting, collaborative relationships with management and other board members; perhaps best evidenced by Trian’s continuing relationships with Bill Johnson, Arthur Winkleblack and Dennis Reilley (Heinz) and Dennis Kass (Legg Mason)"

"“I would say that is false. Again, I’m not a lawyer, but if somebody gave me that statement and you tell me it either has to be true or false, then I’ll say that’s really false...to me, when you say you unveil something, it implies you have it, but by the time the PR released, I do not believe we had it.” — Former senior scientific employee of IonQ"

"Right now it takes an average of 18 months between a researcher inquiring about using our systems to us designing a circuit that can carry out their idea to publishing a paper on the experiment. We’d like to get that down to weeks or months and build multiple systems and qubit technologies that are tailored for specific applications. — Chris Monroe"

""Several of the BWW expats have had communication over the last couple of days. Just wanted to let you know that the assessment of you and your team, as it relates to the challenges with Buffalo Wild Wings, are spot-on and things that literally we have been talking about and trying to change for years" — Former Buffalo Wild Wings Executive, 8/19/16"

""Where we've fallen short was on MCT, right, with the Zio AT product. In our long-range plan, when we put those expectations out, we actually expected to have the new MCT product in the market about 2 years ago. So we're almost 24 months delayed from where we thought we were going to be." — iRhythm CEO Blackford at Goldman Sachs Conference, 6/10/25"

"Why would you do pools anymore if you get the whole genome for $100? There’s no use buying something to do a panel, which will cost you $20 when the whole genome is $100. So, I’d be worried about enzymatic DNA synthesis. I’d be worried about the desktop synthesis. And I’d be real worried about the price of whole genome sequencing. — Previous expert"

"We are radically simplifying our end-to-end organization design so there are now only three handoffs going from global concept to regional tailoring to local execution... This gives us better line of sight from design to execution with clearer responsibilities, fewer internal transactions, fewer roles and stronger results. — P&G at CAGNY, 2/21/2013"

"“If we want investors to believe in the Phillips 66 story and have confidence in the Company as a best-in-class operator – this confidence starts with the Board and Management setting and meeting clear performance objectives. Investors are fed up with the lack of accountability and oversight from the current Board and Management.” — Stacy Nieuwoudt"

"Our total cost of services are tied to increases in headcount as we hire people who deliver specialized services to our clients. The cost of service as a percentage of revenue is not heavily influenced by the service offering mix. Instead, it is primarily influenced by the geographic location from which services are provided. — CFO, Q2'21 Conf Call"

""Pyramid schemes now come in so many forms that they may be difficult to recognize immediately. However, they all share one overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public." — FTC"

""A lot of the OCS specialists struggled...a lot of these people were coming in and they've never navigated an OR...so much stuff they don't know about an OR...it is stressful because you only get that one week of training...it kind of blows your mind...you do it once and then you're kicked out of the nest." — Former OCS Specialist who left recently"

"I would be most concerned about starting this medicine in someone that was pre-diabetic...the people that I'm the most concerned about are those borderline A1c patients that are obese and pre-diabetic...and I hesitate to start this medicine, and if I am, then I'm having a conversation about stopping it if they develop diabetes. — Endocrinologist #6"

"“Pyramid schemes now come in so many forms that they may be difficult to recognize immediately. However, they all share one overriding characteristic. They promise consumers or investors large profits based primarily on recruiting others to join their program, not based on profits from any real investment or real sale of goods to the public.” — FTC"

"Based on our analysis of over 30 years of financial data and public information, we question the public benefit of WTRG’s business model, and believe it is a vehicle for insider enrichment that operates akin to a Peter-to-Peter-to-Paul scheme whereby money from new and current investors is used to pay existing investors a highly promoted dividend."

"Looking carefully at Generac's import records for a gauge of its economic activity since Jan 1, 2021, we see that imports sharply declined around the October / November 2021 period. This corresponds with the CEO forming a family foundation and entering into his second stock sale program on November 8, 2021 which wasn't disclosed until Feb 1, 2022."

"Investors seeking to diligence the background of PETQ’s CEO on the Company’s website will find no mention of the more questionable elements of Christensen’s history, including his personal bankruptcy, his ties to the Thomas Petters Ponzi scheme, his unlawful sale of unregistered securities, or association with the accounting fraud at Fleming Corp."

"The need to plan the succession of Mr. Fink, considering potential internal and external candidates and avoiding the risk that the succession process becomes a direct appointment by Mr. Fink of his most trusted lieutenant, makes it extremely urgent to reinstate strong independent oversight within the Board, by separating the roles of Chair and CEO"

"The original entities formed to provide physician consultations were incorporated under the Bailey Health name. However, these entities were managed and owned by HIMS or HIMS management, including CEO Dudum. In addition, we question whether the lack of proper disclosure around the entities' true business purpose was meant to evade CPoM provisions."

"Mailchimp was supposed to create yet another entry point for QuickBooks to penetrate larger mid-market customers. However, a former employee clearly indicates that Mailchimp suffered a similar churn issue as QuickBooks: the product might be OK when starting out, but customers tend to churn as soon as their needs become a little more sophisticated."

"We believe the Street has failed to critically assess the quality and performance of Mettler’s China business, and takes management’s Adj. EPS as given, without stress testing its accounting choices that are geared towards high capitalization of development costs, endless restructuring, and long periods of amortization in excess of industry norms."

"We believe the Street has failed to critically assess the quality and performance of Mettler’s China business, and takes management’s Adj. EPS as given, without stress testing its accounting choices that are geared towards high capitalization of development costs, endless restructuring, and long periods of amortization in excess of industry norms."

"Notwithstanding that Vivendi nominees Anna Jones and Camilla Antonini declared their independence in the candidacy papers, it is our opinion that such independence is doubtful, since they both resigned from their former position in the board — together with other directors — to accomplish what Elliott believes to be a pro-Vivendi oriented outcome."

"The need to plan the succession of Mr. Fink, considering potential internal and external candidates and avoiding the risk that the succession process becomes a direct appointment by Mr. Fink of his most trusted lieutenant, makes it extremely urgent to reinstate strong independent oversight within the Board, by separating the roles of Chair and CEO"

"Note that Nevro can only sell a permanent implant if the patient achieved 50% pain relief during the temporary trial period that lasts a few days, creating a powerful incentive for sales reps to bulldoze the patient into uttering the magic phrase, and creating a patient base in whom the device never worked and will eventually need to be explanted."

"Problems with swallowing Vykat tablets and chewing them instead - contraindicated by the extended-release formulation - appear widespread, leading parents to try clearly dangerous methods, such as getting kids to suck tablets through large boba straws - creating risk of aspiration and choking - which the 4th leading cause of death in PWS patients."

"Of the 2 other deaths, one was a 62-year old who died of pulmonary edema and a 38-year old who committed suicide. Although the reviewer indicated “no clear association” with pitolisant, we note an alarming number of similar adverse events since approval, per the FAERS database, whether pulmonary edema or psychiatric ones such as suicidal fixation."

"Bristol Meyers employee #1 (cont’d): Slammed BLI system as not that new or innovative; has no value proposition for big pharma like Bristol; hasn’t enabled anything meaningful for them as a customer; no one at Bristol seems to care much about the technology; hard sell to scientists internally; already have similar capabilities “much more cheaply.”"

"Figs is a certified B-Corp, and for every set of scrubs sold, you give a set to a healthcare provider in need around the world. How does this define the brand to your customers and stakeholders? — brandchannel. This is at the core of our company and our brand. It’s the thing that gets us all out of bed in the morning and inspires us. — Trina Spear"

""The company is focused and executing on the following initiatives:.... Second, innovation; we're focused on further product development and innovation in each of the pet categories that we participate in and continue to broaden our portfolio across each of our factories' manufacturing disciplines." — Scott Adcock - President and Co-Founder, PetIQ"

"Hess is unmistakably materially undervalued, with oversight and discipline lacking. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to see Hess succeed. I believe my background and experiences have particular relevance to the difficulties at Hess and believe I can make a substantial contribution to unlocking the upside potential at Hess. — David McManus"

""We'll have fairly technical conversations with folks building AI clusters, and even if we can make a case about TCO or performance or energy efficiency or whatever the salient issues are for that customer or potential customer, at the end of the day they just don't think that deeply about storage..." — Marketing executive at SSD supplier Solidigm"

"“Extremely Toxic Work Environment and Unprofessional Leadership. The management, particularly the CEO, fostered an extremely toxic work environment. Employees were often fired on the spot in front of their colleagues, which not only created a climate of fear but also caused significant mental anguish among staff.” — Former Employee – Sept. 1, 2024"

"「豊田自動織機の発表には、財務予測、割引率、税務上の前提の開示が一切ない[...]」 — ACGA、2025年7月; 「豊田自動織機には、土地やその他の保有資産に多大な隠れた資産価値が存在する。」 — 会社役員育成機構 CEO (Nick Benes)、2025年6月; 「トップマネジメントと投資家・株主との対話は企業価値向上プロセスのエンジンであり、私共はこれを少なくとも四半期に1回程度の頻度を確保して頂くことを希望します。」 — Dalton Investmentsによる豊田自動織機宛て書簡、2024年5月; 「(豊田自動織機の)歴史的に低迷してきた市場評価は、そのガバナンスと所有構造の直接的な結果であり、したがって取引評価の基準として用いるべきではない。」 — GMO、2025年5月"

"“... I'm sure it does add a little bit to it [cost] because if you're talking about retention call, you might be looking at an outbound call, maybe 15 minutes or something like that, 15 to 30 minutes versus an enrollment call is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour so your cost should be a little bit lower on that front.” — EHTH Former Executive A."

"CLEAR showed off all the data that it collected on customers who enter stadiums, with the title “Identity Dashboard — Valuable Marketing Data.” That data includes favorite foods and beverages at sports stadiums, when they arrive at games, what kind of credit card they have, whom they attend games with, and how often they fly first class. — OneZero"

"“The overwhelming sense in the company is they are fudging the numbers. I couldn't really get a sense whether that - basically, they're clouding, obfuscating, fudging the numbers around two things: how many patients are on drug at any one time and what is the discontinuation rate.” — Ex-Harmony territory manager for a large region in the northeast"

"“You know, sometimes, patients bring it up, but 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.” — Neurologist who is a sleep specialist and professor at a leading institution; “What kind of value is there? I don’t see it.” — Sleep physician in great Los Angeles area"

"“Sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter of 2015 were US$114.2 million, an increase of 255.9% from US$32.1 million during the same quarter in 2014. Within sales and marketing expenses, advertising expenses accounted for US$61.9 million and US$12.6 million during the first quarter of 2015 and 2014, respectively.” — 58.com earnings release"

"“Yes. And one is implementation takes longer than expected and the second one is the slow-down of the industry. So, the two factors work together to slow down the shipments. For example, TSMC Arizona is delayed by a year or two. So, equipment gets delayed.” — Longtime, senior semicap equipment executive in Japan who is friendly with Lasertec’s CEO"

"“That’s right. That’s right. That’s a very good question. I guess you are very familiar with the CHIPS program under the current Biden administration... I think KLA definitely has a super advantage...the Lasertec guys are going to be put into the second choice... But under the CHIPS Act, I think KLA becomes the favorite.” — Former head of TSMC R&D"

"We believe the Street is structurally misunderstanding the magnitude of the cybersecurity-related costs that Mercury will face going forward, as well as the delays in revenue contract award opportunities it will face in its high-growth “command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence” (C4I) segment – expected to be a $100m business."