Callouts & quotes from 37,061+ activist slides

"“I think you’ll see it happen soon because all of these OPOs, OrganOX has been having trouble producing the machines in these volumes, and it seems like they’re dropping them at an OPO, at this point, every couple of weeks with us being the second one.” — Executive at a West Coast OPO, longtime industry veteran"

"Approximately 3 to 10% of Caucasians and 2 to 7% of African Americans generally lack the capacity to metabolize CYP2D6 substrates and are classified as poor metabolizers. The AUC of pitolisant was approximately 2.4 times higher in CYP2D6 poor metabolizers than in normal metabolizers — Pitolisant package insert."

"During the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company earned $41,885 of incentive fees for the de-consolidation of BRPM 150 and $9,632 of underwriting and financial advisory fees from Faze and BRPM 150 in connection with the Business Combination and capital raising activities. — RILY 10-Q, 43, 11/4/2022"

"“Around 60-70%, disappointing from a trial inspection system. We would expect it to be 80-90%, problematic light source, uptime, and user interface not as friendly or capable as a comparable KLA system.” — Longtime executive at Global Foundries; directly involved with Lasertec and all aspects of mask inspection"

"“pretty scary...pretty weird” — Lasertec customers; “factory floor for finished goods is full.. a substantial amount of finished goods inventory that’s either not passing [evaluation]” — Lasertec customers; “literally no space left on their final inspection bays before the equipment ships.” — Lasertec customers"

"We estimate gross profit per system will continue to drop as the solar investment tax credit steps down over the next 2 years. Lower margins and a reduced benefit for tax equity investors look to pressure an industry which already has tight margins and relies on tax equity to support their negative cash flows."

"Twist is locked out of most of the NGS total addressable market because its technology can't make enough mass for primers – "this is well known" – thereby dooming them to a little niche with only a "fixed amount of space": "they don't have the core competency"; space is "owned by their competition like Roche.""

"Given our concerns about FND's leasing strategy and that a large amount of leases having become legally binding but not yet recorded on the balance sheet, we observe that FND ceased providing the supplemental balance sheet with information related to operating leases. We find this reduced disclosure troubling."

"We estimate GLOB founders sold (or transferred) over $80m of stock in the IPO, each of the subsequent secondary offerings, and multiple open market sales. Additionally, we believe that the irrevocable trusts may not have to file its sales in the open market, making it difficult to track their current ownership"

"A Tegus research interview conducted in February 2021 (a few months before the April 2021 IPO) of a former sales executive at DoubleVerify said the market for verification services was very penetrated. Yet, the Company claimed in its IPO prospectus that its core solutions were less than 25% penetrated in 2020."

"Axon’s $1.8 billion market cap valuation seems excessive relative to the market opportunity, which we do not believe has significant growth given: 1) stagnant law enforcement officer growth, and 2) deflationary forces that will compress Axon’s ability to charge for cameras while absorbing rising storage costs."

"Spruce Point believes Kornit Digital (“the Company” or KRNT) saw 2018 revenues, and particularly cash flow, driven entirely by Amazon’s expansion of its Merch program, which are likely to taper based on a slow-down of program growth, and would leave a gaping hole in Kornit’s aggressive revenue growth strategy."

"As an immediate first step, we call on management and the board to initiate an in-depth, open and truly independent review of BHP’s petroleum business, to be overseen by a committee which includes management, shareholder representatives and outside experts, with full disclosure of all results on a timely basis"

"As an immediate first step, we call on management and the Board to initiate an in-depth, open and truly independent review of BHP's petroleum business, to be overseen by a committee which includes management, shareholder representatives and outside experts, with full disclosure of all results on a timely basis"

"A simple re-rating of ACMR to its direct comparables set - other Chinese WFE national champions that will continue to be directed revenue by Chinese semiconductor customers for many years to come as the country aggressively builds out its homegrown industry - implies multi-bagger returns for ACMR shareholders."

"While we acknowledge that some of ALO’s issue may have pre-dated her arrival, there is evidence the business got progressively worse under her tenure, culminating in a “non-reliance” on Alpharma’s financial statements, multiple restatements, material weaknesses, a DOJ Federal investigate and a covenant breach."

"KOL’s and ex-employees were remarkably consistent, across several dozen interviews, in explaining why Nevro’s sales growth collapsed – yet we failed to see one instance of device failures, lack of efficacy, and explants being asked about or mentioned in ~5 years of earnings calls or effusive sell-side reports."

"Surgeons freely admit that the only use case is convenience, to which the executive replied “100%...they told me first-hand...I’ll sleep overnight...TransMedics can go and get it...but TransMedics won’t let you just hire their surgeon to go...not something they will permit...you’ve got to use the cartridge...”"

"The Board of Directors concluded that none of these candidates possess the relevant board and management experience, expertise and engagement expected of the Company's Outside Directors, and that these candidates would not contribute to the effectiveness of the Board and the enhancement of the corporate value."

""Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, excluding intangible amortization, increased approximately 50 basis points as compared to the prior year period due to the impact of recent acquisitions that have a higher operating expense load relative to sales, given their start-up nature." — CFO Ragen Q1 2022"

"“…Odland's departure comes only days after the…office supplies retailer agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe that the company, Odland, and a former executive had improper contact with certain analysts and major investors.” — Palm Beach Post, 10/25/2010"

""There are a lot of ways to lose money in insurance, and the industry is resourceful in creating new ones" (emphasis added) and "The unpredictability of our legal system makes it impossible for even the most conscientious insurer to come close to judging the eventual cost of long-tail claims." — Warren Buffett"

"“…Odland's departure comes only days after the…office supplies retailer agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe that the company, Odland, and a former executive had improper contact with certain analysts and major investors.” — Palm Beach Post, 10/25/2010"

"‘the Subpoena sought communications and other documents concerning potential issues related to the Company’s Zio Systems, including that the Zio Systems were failing to timely transmit patient cardiac data to physicians for review after the occurrence of a cardiac event.’ — DOJ Petition for Order to Show Cause"

"Ms. Xu worked at NQ for less than six months, as marketing director, and then left NQ in 2007 in order to buy her stake in YDT; YDT is a separate and completely independent business from NQ; and NQ accounts for only 60% of YDT’s revenue. — NQ “Response to J Capital Report, ‘NQ Not At Any Price,’” August, 2013."

"“$69.6 million was due to the increase in non-cancellable non-refundable advance consideration or cash consideration received from customers which preceded the Company's satisfaction of the associated performance obligations relating to product sales expected to be fulfilled in the next 12 months.” — SMCI 10-Q"

"“Big picture, Disney's cost base is $4.8 billion larger than Netflix at similar revenue levels which given Disney's library, brand equity ability to window content and ownership of significant Media Networks to help promote their DTC platforms doesn't make sense at face value.” — MoffettNathanson, January 2024"

"The morale has gone down with the sale to Hill Rom. — Current Employee, Director of Quality. Once Hill-Rom acquired Welch Allyn the culture and vibe completely changed. The bottom line was all that mattered and a culture of fear and 'who's going to be let-go next' quickly evolved. — Former Employee, Anonymous."

"「TSMCはいつもとても賢明です。いつも、インテル、その他の大手が先に動くのを待っています。世界初のリスクを負うようなことはしません。極端紫外線についてもまさにそうです。お金の支出にも慎重だから、時間をかけて対応します。KLAのような従来の装置を使っていました。もちろん、他の選択肢が次第に現れてきます。KLAだって、ぼーっとしているわけじゃないですよ。KLAは極端紫外線マスク検査に使える、なかなかの装置を持っています。つまり、KLAにも十分魅力のある代替品を提供する能力があります」 — TSMCの研究開発の元責任者で、5ナノメートル仕様への移行とその関連の仕入れ先と装置の選定で中心的な役割を果たした人物、現大学教員"

"“Big picture, Disney's cost base is $4.8 billion larger than Netflix at similar revenue levels which given Disney's library, brand equity ability to window content and ownership of significant Media Networks to help promote their DTC platforms doesn't make sense at face value.” — MoffettNathanson, January 2024"

"“OIG recently announced that they’re going to investigate every single OPO, and they’re going to investigate every single transplant program, and it’s going to happen by the end of 2025... I’ve been overcharging the whole time.” — CEO of a major OPO (Organ Procurement Organization), longtime industry executive"

"I could put you in touch with a lot of people that are just going to say the same thing....'I hate TransMedics,' the OPO's, the hospitals...it's the same thing over and over again...we just don't see them being here in a year. — Organ procurement technician at a high-volume Northwest academic transplant center"

"The present report provides an account of the synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of the new histamine H3 receptor ligands. Compound FUB 637 (Fig. 4), a potent histamine H3 receptor antagonist tested in vitro (hKi: 3.1 nM) and in vivo (ED50: 3.7 ± 1.0), was taken as a lead structure. — 2008 Schwartz paper"

"Creating an all-round ecosystem to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient helicopter operations should meet the current demand on the part of the transport system, passengers, and helicopter owners to improve accessibility and passenger mobility in Dubai and the UAE. — Aviation International News (ainonline.com)"

"Outside these transitory issues, we believe our business continues to build momentum. We now have 10 large customers for our AIML lifecycle services, which we believe will increase their spend with us in 2023, some significantly, based on our current line of sight. — Jack Abuhoff (CEO, INOD 3Q22 earnings call)"

"Thus, even though the Sponsor claims it is transferring equipment value to the Tax Equity, when one looks through the economics of the transaction, we believe it becomes clear that RUN is mainly selling assets that are not dependent on the homeowner's purchase of electricity once the FMV has been established."

"Nuvei filed with the SEC a registration statement on October 4, 2021 in which it attached the AIF dated March 17, 2021 showing Allan Lacoste as EVP Partnership Group, North America. However, it’s possible that Allan Lacoste left Nuvei prior to this filing. On Nuvei’s current website Mr. Lacoste is now absent."

"A 15% decrease in the price of product requires a substantial volume increase - even for high margin businesses such as Box - to contribute the same gross margin dollars to the company. Compare this to the volume needed for a price increase - decreasing price hurts a company worse than increasing price helps."

"So, is Ballroom doing well or not doing well? When I hear or learn that a claim is being filed in the German courts for the return of the purchase price you paid because Ballroom is not doing well, and yet you write under no. 11 of the response that Ballroom is doing well, then we are going to lose the claim."

"It appears CTC is more inclined to sell properties than it was in the past. In 2018 and during the first half of 2019, CTC drastically increased the value of sales. This is concerning given that CTC’s debt load has grown substantially over this time. We believe this is a sign the company is strapped for cash."

"Spruce Point believes that analysts are stretching for reasons to promote BOOT with a most recent example being Beyoncé’s new Cowboy Carter album. Unfortunately, we find that consumer interest is quickly fading, and such “one-time” sales benefits should not be a reason for BOOT’s valuation multiple to expand."

"There are extreme reporting anomalies with AMR’s former Trading & Logistics (T&L) segment. Were 2017 revenues between AMR / ANR $478 or $566 million? Furthermore, why was no EBITDA eliminated in the merger when AMR shows $89.3 million of segment EBITDA with 84% of the segment’s purchased coal coming from ANR?"

"There is evidence of exaggerated claims made regarding Oatly's China business. Its Asian president made a statement in China during September 2020 that mainland China had more than 10,000 cafes. However, SEC filings indicate that China foodservice (coffee and tea shops) were closer to 8,000 – 8,200 locations."

"We believe investors are ascribing an irrationally high valuation to Oatly. Per the Company’s own trusted data source of Euromonitor, the plant-based dairy market in its key regions is expected to be $21 billion by 2025. However, Oatly’s current valuation is almost $12 billion, or 62% of the projected market."

"There's Chinese companies making this stuff really cheap all day long. And that's a threat because whenever there's a market like the rugged tablet market is a good example and even the video conferencing market that I'm in, those are very high-margin businesses, like 40%, 50%, 60%, even sometimes 70% margin."

"To be used for the internal business of the assigned users only. Sharing, distributing or forwarding the entirety or any part of this article in any form to anyone that does not have access under your agreement is strictly prohibited and doing so violates your contract and is considered a breach of copyright."

"CEO Adnani is classic entrepreneur in our view who is self-assured with grand ambitions supported by highly promotional claims. However, we are further troubled by his judgement and association with a web troubling business relationships. Further, his time is distracted with two other public company ventures."

"Perion’s PP&E, operating lease assets, and capital expenditures in relation to its revenues are so far below the advertising technology industry average that it raises material concerns that either they are wildly underspending to develop and maintain their technology assets, or that their sales are inflated."

"GINGKO BIOWORKS executive #1 repeatedly stated “the jury is still out” despite ~24 months of partnership; still just “a concept on paper” that hasn’t been operationalized; unclear if machine is built for the right set of applications; “hard to know” how it compares to other ways of screening; “just so early.”"

"Heska fails to provide adequate financial disclosure to allow investors to properly assess business performance. We find that most of the omissions are provided by sector leader IDEXX Labs, suggesting Heska is not conforming to industry norms. Moreover, some Heska disclosures are simply wrong or inconsistent."

"In view of the apparent discrepancy between these public representations and the alleged unlawful practices occurring on the ground, there is a risk that Accor SA could be considered to have disseminated misleading information to consumers regarding the scope and effectiveness of its human rights commitments."

"And after thorough testing, we are using AI to efficiently serve even more customers by translating and responding to contacts in real time. These efforts have been key drivers of more than 95% of customer transactions proceeding without a customer support contact. — Remitly Q4'23 Earnings Call (Feb 21, 2024)"

"In a separate action, the board voted to reduce for 2003 the management fee rate to 24 percent from the current 25 percent... this action was taken after the board's consideration and review of the relative financial position of the Erie Insurance Exchange and the Erie Indemnity Company. — Company Transcripts"

""We always look at the numbers in the following way. That if we put great numbers up, we're in control, and if you don't have good numbers, then the outside world ends up being in control. If we want to stay on our agenda, we have to continue to hit our numbers." — Stephen Wetmore, Q2 2016 Call, August 4 2016"

"This case involves a public company's scheme to falsely inflate its stock price by means of accounting fraud and false public statements about its business, operations, and profit. The fraud is so egregious that Fleming has been referred to in the food industry as "Flem-ron." — Albuquerque Journal, 11/15/2002"

"“There’s a way to simplify your financial planning through one, convenient insurance solution designed to meet both your life insurance and investing needs. It’s called universal life insurance – a blend of two key financial planning elements in a single, straightforward policy.” — Manulife Marketing Material"

""We also acknowledge activism could create an opportunity to highlight value that is even higher at $40 (and in the range of the activist target) to account for significant margin expansion from current levels, premised on a market P/E of 17x and earnings of $2.37." — Morgan Stanley Research, February 1, 2017"

"In my experience, I would say almost 100% of the monitors that are chosen by primary care providers are chosen incorrectly. They're either choosing an incorrect duration or incorrect type of monitor for the wrong indications. Asymptomatic people generally shouldn't be monitored at all. — Surveyed Cardiologist"

""Adding Nelson Peltz of Trian on our Board has the potential to derail the transformation we're leading at P&G... P&G has a diverse and experienced Board that is actively overseeing our transformation and will continue to be agents of change to improve P&G's global performance." — David Taylor, August 1, 2017"

"By 2023 the company aims to generate 25% of sales with products that have been launched on the market in the last five years. — Sika; We generated sales of around €10 billion [17% of total] with products launched on the market in the past five years that stemmed from research and development activities — BASF"