Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"The proxy statement depicts Xylem’s ability to retire Evoqua’s debt and pay transaction costs entirely with cash and equivalents from the balance sheet. However, the balance sheet below also assumes that Xylem has frictionless and unfettered access to all of its cash even though 86% of cash is in foreign markets and may not be freely convertible."

"Assuming Mettler made the $242m of permanent capital injection into the HK entity, our working theory is that it would have experienced a capital shortfall and needed to raise more debt. However, the fact that it did not suggests it maybe shuffling the money around internally, potentially to show auditors in China evidence of accumulated profits."

"Skepticism among scientists makes it "really hard" to get the machine’s data through peer review, forcing "absolutely crazy" amounts of extra validation; struggle to publish papers given lack of trust by academics; vicious cycle as institutions can’t afford the machine, which limits the number of papers; BLI cutting themselves “off at the knees.”"

"A typo, error, or misrepresentation of his qualifications? We observe that the AJRD's CFO was represented as a CPA upon his appointment to the role in 2016. However, the Company has changed his bio to say he "successfully completed the CPA exam requirements". What's clear from his record is that his CPA expired in 2009, or more than 10 years ago."

"However, the seemingly unrelated symptoms, notable for an unusual prevalence of pulmonary involvement, share a key trait – they are consistent with hypereosinophilia, which can present as dyspnea, respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism or edema, thromboembolism, cardiac manifestations like cardiomyopathy, fever, rash and allergic reactions, etc."

"Surgery is recommended for patients who have renal insufficiency secondary to BPH, refractory urinary retention secondary to BPH, recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), recurrent bladder stones or gross hematuria due to BPH, and/or with LUTS/BPH refractory to or unwilling to use other therapies. — Clinical Principle (AUA Treatment Guidelines)"

""Maybe I'll just elevate a bit here and take a step back and say that while the deal is not based on cost synergies alone, if you look at -- and you capitalize the cost synergies, which is $140 million, it's $3 billion. And the kind of premium was $1.5 billion. So that's kind of the math as I think about it." — COO Pine, Stifel Conf, June 7, 2023"

""So you've just seen the acquisition of PCC that's underway by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. And he paid for a business that is having $10 billion of revenue, whereas $6 billion of those $10 billion are having a full overlap with us, $37 billion. So you get a feel for the value that's possible there." — Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld, October 8, 2015"

"We grew the total number of customers generating more than $200,000 of revenue by 38% year-over-year on a trailing 12-month basis. — CEO, Aug 3, 2022; Our gross retention rate remains over 95%, and we have achieved 41% growth in the total number of customers generating more than $200,000 of revenue on a trailing 12-month basis. — CEO, Nov 8, 2022"

"Oh yeah. It is a dog fight. Absolute dog fight. I think between them two. Okay. And their CEOs do not like each other. — Former DV sales executive. No ad agency would ever buy them. Neither would a major platform. They have to stay independent to maintain that sort of perception of being, you know, a non-biased party. — Former DV sales executive."

"The FTC has approved revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, or Guides, which became effective on December 1, 2009. Although the Guides are not binding, they explain how the FTC interprets Section 5 of the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts or practices. — Herbalife 2009-2011 10Ks"

"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 strong customer relationships and product recognition allow us to attempt to capitalize on a number of important strategic opportunities, including (i) minimization of slotting fees, (ii) maximization of new product introductions, (iii) maximization of shelf space prominence, and (iv) minimization of cash collection days. — 2019 Annual Report"

"In a somewhat surprising tactic, PSX management talked down the potential SOTP upside (ie. [stating that the Company is] fairly valued)... [PSX considers the] potential uplift would be further reduced by meaningful compression on the “remainco”, with the stand-alone Refining business closer to a 5.0x EBITDA business... — Piper Sandler, March 2025"

"One former executive stated he is “very underwhelmed” at Grossman’s efforts, which he called “window-dressing,” indicating Nevro has “boxed themselves into a corner and now they’ll die of a thousand cuts.” — Former Executive. “Grossman doesn’t have a strategy,” — Longtime C-level executive. “I would not invest in Nevro today.” — Former Executive."

"“Jennifer Miller was the biggest enroller...I think Eric Felner was number 2”; “I think other than the top three, the rest of them had three or fewer”; “I think Felner and Miller probably had, out of the 77 that were in the withdrawal study, I think they probably had between 20 to 30 of them.” — Formerly in a senior medical affairs role at Soleno"

"“it’s not that big a deal” — Medical advisor to Harmony; “most patients I treat with narcolepsy are going to be a 2 or 3-agent regimen, and those are going to involve things that are at least Schedule 4.” — Medical advisor to Harmony; “the folks at Harmony market that stronger than probably it carries with clinicians” — Medical advisor to Harmony"

"In a somewhat surprising tactic, PSX management talked down the potential SOTP upside (ie. [stating that the Company is] fairly valued)... [PSX considers the] potential uplift would be further reduced by meaningful compression on the “remainco”, with the stand-alone Refining business closer to a 5.0x EBITDA business... — Piper Sandler, March 2025"

"Management made a new category expansion into pools in 2023 with expensive porcelain, tile and mosaic offerings. However, according to industry bellwether Pool Corp (NYSE: POOL), consumer discretionary spending on new pools and remodeling is down 15-20% over 2023 and the company warned investors a month in advance of its July 25th earnings date."

"The two greatest days of DuPont share price outperformance since 2009 were i) the release of Trian’s White Paper in 2014 and ii) the day Trian’s stake became public in 2013. The next three ‘top days’ were driven by macro events (cyclical companies outperforming the market as sentiment improved in the financial crisis) and other exogenous events."

"The two greatest days of DuPont share price outperformance since 2009 were i) the release of Trian’s White Paper in 2014 and ii) the day Trian’s stake became public in 2013. The next three ‘top days’ were driven by macro events (cyclical companies outperforming the market as sentiment improved in the financial crisis) and other exogenous events."

"PepsiCo is undoubtedly one of the world's great consumer franchises, whose leading scale and iconic brands have propelled it to over 100 years of exceptional performance. Yet, the Company's strategic and financial challenges have recently led to poor operational results, sharp stock-price underperformance and a meaningfully discounted valuation."

""The fiber business isn't a bad business. It's a great business. It's just not the tower business. And we are very clear, at American Tower, we want to be a tower business. We focus on being a tower business. We want to be the best tower business we can possibly be. We want to be the best tower business in the U.S." — American Tower, August 2017"

"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 that midstream business in the shares today. — Mark Lashier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips 66"

"the Small Business Administration Policy is far more applicable to the portfolio of a Business Development Company than the valuation guidance set forth by the SEC. — Allied Capital; the appropriate standard is, ‘what can you get for it today?’ — Douglas Scheidt, Associate Director and Chief Counsel in the SEC's Division of Investment Management"

"Hess has... outperformed the S&P 500 - the gold standard benchmark index... — Hess Letter, April 2013; ...we are E&P led. 88% of our capital employed is E&P... — John Hess, July 2011; ...we've completed our transition to being a predominately exploration and production company...[with] over 90% of our capital employed. — John Hess, November 2012"

"1. Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities 2. Strategy requires you to make trade-offs in competing – to choose what not to do 3. Strategy involves creating “fit” among a company’s activities — Michael E. Porter, “What is Strategy?”, Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996 Issue"

"“Kao conducts world-class enzyme research... I think enzyme-driven batteries will be useful in unexpected places” — President Yoshihiro Hasebe, December 2021; “We need a new engine for the future.” With this in mind, we aim to enter the medical (treatment/diagnosis) field... — Nikkei Business interview with President Yoshihiro Hasebe, March 2022"

"One of the subsidiaries previously reported as part of this segment has been transferred to the Nidec Motors & Actuators segment for the year ended March 31, 2015. All prior period segment information has been reclassified in accordance with the current period presentation to enable comparisons between the relevant amounts. — FY 2014 20-F, p. 64"

""And finally, Broadridge's objectives to expand margins through scale and efficiency to strengthen by adding Itiviti. Itiviti's 30% plus operating margin business will increase our adjusted operating income margin by 50 basis points by fiscal '23 and positions us for higher adjusted earnings growth." — CEO Gokey, Itiviti M&A Call, March 29, 2021"

"“Actually, I would very much agree with some of the comments that were made by some of your other calls. I’m a fan of the technology, but the instrument has some fairly significant limitations, and there is a ton of upfront work that you have to do to be able to really utilize it in that capacity.” — Leading academic institution/ex-BLI scientist"

"First, the safety and efficacy profile of the Essure product is uniquely compelling. I mean, it really is just a terrific product and it continues, by the way by any medical device measure I think, and continue to be most effective option available for permanent birth control for women. — Keith Grossman, Capital IQ earnings transcript, 2/23/2012"

"Other SCS systems on the market are limited to a frequency below 1500 hertz. Omnia delivers the widest range of frequencies of any SCS system, between 2 and 10,000 hertz. In addition to HF10, Omnia offers the most waveforms in a single product and can be programmed to provide waveforms independently or paired with HF10. — Press release 11/5/2019"

"I think semen stains could be basis for settlement of civil suit. Here is how. They indicate Sofitel employees involved in a prostitution ring. The accor Group would not want this coming out in trial. So suit has to be sealed. This means it would contribute money to settlement. End of the suit — Email from 'Ed' to Jeffrey Epstein, April 4, 2012."

"First off this company is Chinese owned and likes to tell parents they are part of an "American Joint Venture" This is false. Secondly they are not registered with nor approved by SAFEA to hire foreigners, so all the foreign teachers working there are illegal and can be arrested any day... and then deported as a convicted criminal with a record."

"“You replace the collector and send it to Germany”; “I’ve seen a bunch of these unbelievable amounts of collectors there from Lasertec”; “it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars” to clean each collector every month; “takes almost two days to chisel all this debris.” — Former KLA executive in a leadership role in their EUV mask inspection group"

"KLA is genuinely arrogant because they have viewed that they control the wafer inspection market...particularly, there’s an individual at Intel who has not been happy with KLA and their attitude about it and has directed business away from them on purpose. — Longtime semiconductor consultant recently working for Lasertec; close to KLA management"

"Spruce Point believes that Xylem's digital ambitions are failing, in part, due to its lack of commitment to growth capital spending. We observe that software spending growth is declining and not exceeding its amortization. We also observe that in the quarter before closing Evoqua, Xylem made its first software impairment in more than two years."

"Management touted Antuit as a "high-margin SaaS business" with revenue growth that doubled over a 3-year period. However, after obtaining Antuit's financial statements, we observe that revenue growth flat-lined in the year leading up to the acquisition, and its gross margin at 46.7% is wildly below the 70%-80% margins of typical SaaS companies."

"Plc Acquires Ltd: Each Ltd shareholder would receive one new share in Plc but this unification structure is not a viable option due to high regulatory clearance hurdles, dilution from Plc trading at a significant discount to Ltd and extremely high investor costs – including loss of all franking credits (present and future) and substantial taxes"

"Ex-employees elaborated on the lack of further opportunity in cell line development: already ran out of customers; already killed off the segment despite what they promote to investors; was always "a hard sell" as couldn't show their tool is any better than current methods; no incentive or ROI for customers to use BLI for cell line development."

"Spruce Point has taken a balanced view when analyzing the animal health sector, having identified what we believe is both an over-hyped low-quality company as a short opportunity (PetIQ: PETQ) and a well-positioned beneficiary of a corporate restructuring transaction presenting a long opportunity (Henry Schein: HSIC spin-off of Covetrus: CVET)."

"When I joined the business I think we had a 15% gross margin, but this just wasn't sustainable at that level of profit. And so the last round of label negotiations was about elevating the margins to a point where, I think, the business would self-sustain...So what was good for Spotify was good for the labels and that's why the margin increased."

"I find it difficult to think that they will be able to really penetrate even a limited market just because of the adverse effects, the need for very, very close monitoring...how that plays out in terms of the kids not gaining weight over the next five years and having a more normal life, I just don't know because I don't think that data exists."

"The buzz is only amongst people in the quote-unquote, Prader-Willi community. Maybe some pediatric endocrinologists that aren't part of an academic center have like 1 or 2 patients, and so they're interested in learning more. But people positioned like me are probably prescribing it, but with some question about how successful it's going to be."

"Box stock plunges after agreement to take $500 million investment from KKR — CNBC. Box shares were down sharply on Thursday after the cloud-based data storage provider announced a $500 million investment in the company by a group of investors led by the private-equity firm KKR. The investors will receive preferred shares in the deal. — Barron's"

"The XPO-owned facility will be strategically located in the Midlands to benefit from direct access to the M1 motorway for road transport, the East Midlands Airport for cargo flights, and an onsite rail freight terminal with direct access to the major UK ports of Southampton, Felixstowe, London Gateway and the Channel Tunnel. — XPO press release"

"Poyry has not viewed any of the contracts relating to forest land-use rights, cutting rights, or forest asset purchases — Poyry (2009 Valuation Report). It is important to understand that this is not a confirmation of forest ownership, but rather a verification of the mapped and recorded areas of stocker forest. — Poyry (2009 Valuation Report)."

"“In terms of ethics, I would say it’s questionable. I wouldn’t have done that. That’s a very dangerous thing to do. I think she got off light, if I’m being very honest with you. She even registered the domain and sent out her first pitch decks on the company internet. Not what I would do.” — Senior executive and longtime expert in Twist’s space"

"Beginning with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we have ceased using platform revenue retention rate to evaluate the success of our growth strategy... we have determined that platform revenue retention rate currently provides little to no value in evaluating our business and is not expected to provide value in the future. — 2U, Inc. 3Q17 10Q"

""In its first year, iHub contributes 40% of our year-over-year EBITDA growth and more importantly, our ability to capture signals from all channels to a central hub, as you can see it on your screen and analyze them is the main factor behind SORT superior performance over other conventional targeting methods." — CEO Gerstel, Q3 2022 Nov 9, 2022"

"“That doesn't mean life at Nidec is easy. Even in a nation renowned for devoted workers, the company stands out for its demands on employees. Meetings, Nagamori says, are held on weekends or after regular tasks are done. New staff are sometimes told to clean toilets, and taking days off is seen as lazy. Nagamori makes no apologies.” — Bloomberg"

"“Does it move Gingko forward to the tune of the $150 million? The jury's definitely still out - is it commercially useful? Like if it accelerates one workflow in one area but not the overall thing... I can say for Gingko, there has been utility, but whether it's broadly commercially useful, the jury is still out.” — Gingko Bioworks executive #1"

""The notion of a dilutive acquisition casts doubt on the assumption of margin expansion" — Dougherty (July 27th, 2016); "The acquisition is not an inexpensive one ... we are wary of the possibility that these moves bring TYPE into more direct competition with digital marketing companies, including Adobe, over time" — JP Morgan (July 21st, 2016)"

"I'm hesitant to describe this...I would say there is an investigator that I felt just behaved very strangely with regards to her patients and is very determined to get as many patients as possible into the study...I have doubts around her assessment of global improvement...very gung-ho in an almost non-biased way. — Ex-senior Soleno employee #2"

"“Cardiac is a big muscle, isn’t it? It can. Right? Potassium, yeah. It can be in edema itself. It might be related to not [being] able to keep the right amount of salt and water in your bloodstream...that’s why I said that I wanted to hold off...and see what happens.” — Trial investigator and physician; one of the leading KOL’s in the PWS field"

"If you can get $3,000 - $5,000 per account (or more),if you can get something like that, if you can find a product valuable enough for people to spend that kind of money, then you can actually be able hire people, build a team. You will be able to bootstrap and build your company to a point where investors will come to you. — CEO Interview 2016"

"Conclusion: CSF histamine and tele-methylhistamine did not significantly differ between patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy and other etiologies of non-hypocretin-1 deficient central hypersomnias; these measurements, therefore, are not useful in assessing the etiology or severity of centrally mediated hypersomnia. — Yves Dauvilliers et al., 2012"

""EHang does not currently have an EASA Type Certificate" — European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). "So that's just a vague statement. I believe they have limited access to very specific airspace. Um, such as the North Carolina corridor, it's the exact same thing, but there's no way that they're authorized to fly over people" — Mark Moore."

"Spruce Point believes PowerSchool’s current share price presents asymmetric downside risk due to growing regulatory risks, a domestic customer base that is struggling to fund necessities, a flawed international growth plan, and nascent personalized learning products that we believe are unlikely to become meaningful contributors to bottom line."