Callouts & quotes from 26,677+ activist slides

"The SEC's order finds that MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp. overstated revenues for nearly two years in response to immense pressure placed on employees each quarter to meet revenue and gross margin targets that had been communicated to the public."

"dd-cfDNA was not able to discriminate TCMR from no rejection... The relatively low sensitivities observed in both studies [i.e., this and the Bloom study referenced above] indicate that the dd-cfDNA test is susceptible to false negative results."

"It is self-serving for pest control companies like Rollins to predict an increase in bee activity and their nuisance. However, experts that follow bees believe that extreme temperatures are stressing bee populations, resulting in fewer colonies."

"In late 2023 and early 2024, ROAD's CEO talked up Florida and noted its "crazy" growth. However, recently ROAD has not made bullish comments on Florida. Our Florida DOT FOIAs which suggest a marked decline in contract awards could be the reason."

"Weis gives a misleading view of its underlying sales performance in 2017. The Company says it attributes it sales growth "primarily" to acquisitions, but based on our analysis, all of its sales growth (and more) was attributable to acquisitions."

"A current executive of Synlogic spoke at length about their experience with Ginkgo and indicated Ginkgo failed to deliver successful strains: Synlogic had to switch to Zymergen instead, which successfully engineered a strain after Ginkgo flopped"

"Sector leader IDEXX actually innovated the subscription model and offers a range of similar purchase options, as well as a much broader range of products and services. Moreover, IDEXX lab diagnostics consumables account for 78% of total revenue."

"CLEAR talked about high incremental margin potential with TSA PreCheck. Yet, even as CLEAR increased its price from $189 to $199 per year, the discounted bundled cost of its service with the TSA partnership actually fell from $122.00 to $121.05."

"Limbach's declining position on the Engineering News-Record's (“ENR”) Top Mechanical Contractors list, from 9th in 2018 to 14th in 2024, underscores intensifying competition in the sector and suggests the Company has lost market share over time."

"MGH employs a term called “Never Events” for outlier situations that should never occur, which happen with TransMedics “at a higher frequency...sometimes even a couple of times a week” where MGH is hit with extreme charges for an organ recovery."

"The implication is clear: Norfolk Southern forced an unnecessary vent and burn of toxic chemicals to clear the tracks and get their trains moving. That greed threatened the health of my constituents—because profits mattered more than our safety."

"Apple's actions created meaningful value for its shareholders as Apple's share price appreciated 40% in the next 6 months to an all-time high and its multiple expanded 30% to 14x EV / EBIT, a valuation the stock had not seen in the last 10 years"

"The poster does not provide credible evidence for improved PK properties of DCCR. Instead, it highlights a pattern of data manipulation, non-transparent methodology, and implausible pharmacologic claims, undermining the entire DCCR PK narrative."

"He stated that speaker who didn’t write enough prescriptions were threatened that “no, you can’t be a speaker for us because you don’t write enough” - or induced with “now, of you write more our drug, I’ll possibly look at making you a speaker.”"

"In reality these customers are lucky not to receive N302AX – all evidence points to it being an overweight, vibey, noisy, non-conformal, unmanned drone, and not befitting of a product claiming to be close to a certifiable and inhabited aircraft."

"Das Management verschleiert dies durch KPI-Manipulation, indem es "hochwertige" Kunden bei hoher Abwanderung hervorhebt, das Wachstum durch steigende Lebensmittelpreise aufbläht und sich auf gesättigte Segmente mit niedrigen Margen konzentriert."

"Others indicated that the award is mainly to spite KLA, given tension over KLA’s pricing, according to a former KLA executive – and that the grudge is Intel’s main reason for buying Lasertec’s tool versus anything special about their technology."

"SafeCharge contributed revenues of $55,853 and net income of $11,643 to the Company for the period from the acquisition date to December 31, 2019. The net income contribution includes the amortization of identifiable intangible assets acquired."

"Manufacturers of clean energy solutions don't necessarily carry higher valuation multiples. Excluding Enphase, which has margins that Generac will likely never achieve, peers are trading around 2.7x and 2.0x 2022E and 2023E sales, respectively."

"To drive home the absurdity of Procept’s valuation, we project the Company’s total ten-year Aquablation opportunity making highly generous assumptions... we still calculate a revenue opportunity less than one-half of Procept’s enterprise value."

"On March 29, 2022, DY appointed Ms. Carmen Sabater to the Board and she serves on the Finance and Compensation committees. Her biography notes that she was the Controller of MasTec Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) from 1994 – 2000 and CFO through January 2002."

"Since losing control of TIM, Vivendi has: Refused to enter into constructive dialogue with Elliott and other stakeholders that could have resulted in finding common ground, instead of continued distractions and needless acrimony for the Company"

"In the circumstances, we believe that the best way forward is for you, the members of the Capricorn Board, to immediately withdraw your recommendation for the Proposed Merger and instead to initiate a transparent and meaningful strategic review"

"A CEO of the target [Xerox], facing likely ouster, serves as the loyal agent of the acquirer, designing a deal that is too good to be true: a cheap price, little governance protections, no market check, and a process that ignores other bidders."

"Multiple retired presidents/CEOs serving as advisors to Keisei whilst serving in senior roles at OLC results in significant and inappropriate influence over incumbent Keisei management - further impairing an objective appraisal of the OLC stake"

"Dell is now proposing a transaction to repurchase all DVMT shares, a massive transfer of approximately $11 billion that would indirectly benefit Dell’s controlling stockholders, Michael Dell and Silver Lake, at the expense of DVMT shareholders."

"Analysts model revenues beginning in FY 2026 and accelerating in the out years. We believe these assumptions are aggressive. Given the large current discount to the consensus analyst price target, the market appears to be expressing skepticism."

"In addition to virtual learning tools, many district leaders also used temporary ESSER funds to expand permanent full-time positions. The net result is that many states are at all-time high staffing levels despite flat to declining enrollments."

"In an effort to avoid admitting a large miss, management has recently started stating that "to get to its mid-cycle EBITDA PSX needs adjusted gross margin of $14.50/bbl," a level that even VLO (best-in-class operator) is not expected to achieve"

"BlackRock’s vote ‘FOR’ is a contradiction of BlackRock pledge in 2020 of “Exiting investments that present a high sustainability-related risk, such as thermal coal producers” (BlackRock CEO Mr. Larry Fink, ‘Dear CEO Letter’, January 14th, 2020)"

"APP and most APP games do not require a login; therefore, users, platforms, and stakeholders (games, advertisers, etc.) have the expectation that the TOS and user privacy rules are being followed and the users' identities are NOT being tracked."

"With current volatility the market can move 5% in a day. An 8% pullback is laughable, when the analyst hasn't quantified the potential downside risk or why one should buy when WDFC just tapped a 15x increase in its revolver vs. the last crisis."

"Therefore, because it is assumed that Content has the lowest tax basis, retaining Content as the Parent would enable Content to more meaningfully contribute to the funding of the share repurchase program than if Content were to become a SpinCo."

"Elite Circle materials stress respect for team leaders, enforce mandatory enthusiasm through standing ovations, and require a strict code of confidentiality, which closely resemble tactics utilized by cult leaders, according to leading experts."

"Spruce Point believes that when customers cut fees, suppliers and partners are typically expected to make concessions. We observe that MSCI's fees linked to equity ETFs have been in perpetual decline with further risk to the downside over time."

"While valuation data points for private asset analytics and technology companies are somewhat limited, there is ample evidence of increased M&A activity in the sector with large players like Nasdaq, JPMorgan, FactSet and S&P Global doing deals."

"Therefore, by failing to adjust for the impact of Voalte, management was able to report core growth of 6% rather than 4% - a significant swing for a key metric which management has trained analysts to use to evaluate the health of the business."

"the behavior we are witnessing is a clear indication of an unsophisticated and self-interested board focused on self-preservation and apathetic to external viewpoints, even when these opinions are provided by the Company’s largest shareholders."

"Porch trades at a lofty 2021E 9.0x revenue and 11.7x gross profit multiple on the assumption its recent revenue growth is sustainable, but we believe recent results are distorted due to low-quality acquisitions, which inflates inorganic growth."

"BlackRock’s vote ‘FOR’ is a contradiction of BlackRock pledge in 2020 of “Exiting investments that present a high sustainability-related risk, such as thermal coal producers” (BlackRock CEO Mr. Larry Fink, ‘Dear CEO Letter’, January 14th, 2020)"

"Vocera retracted its $6 billion TAM claim, one which it steadfastly promoted since its IPO, shortly after its CFO Justin Spencer resigned in January 2021 and Microsoft acquired Nuance Communications (Vocera’s backbone technology) in April 2021."

"Global Foundries, one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world, blasted Lasertec's EUV product, corroborating the damning color from TSMC and Intel with regards to a defective light source, contamination, and unacceptably low uptime."

"Spruce Point believes that Rollins is experiencing more intense competition but is not directly acknowledging it. Rather, we believe they are telegraphing the issue through more frequent discussion of advertising and customer acquisition costs."

"If FFIN is treated as a subsidiary and consolidated and not a related party, then FRHC would have to restate all financials. More importantly, it would immediately be in violation of the Russian War Sanctions and should be delisted immediately."

"Could the numerically increased deaths and heart failures, along with a statistically-significant increase in anemia and hypervolemia, account for the abrupt end to the SONAR trial? And if so, why would Chinook in-license a drug this hazardous?"

"Illustrative Equity Value is implied by the Justice transaction. It is calculated by dividing the Justice cash consideration ($1.4bn) by the pro forma Justice shareholder equity interest (25.7%), which excludes the Justice Founders' percentage."

"In short, we simply don't believe it. Moreover, the Company hasn't even made clear how it is going to market with Element AIM. Specifically, are they even charging for the machine or simply placing it for free to capture the consumables stream?"

"In our opinion, Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE: AJRD) – formerly Gencorp (NYSE: GY) – is facing fundamental pressures, masked by complicated and aggressive accounting, which gives investors a potentially misleading impression of stability and growth."

"Zillow has clearly stated that 2022 and 2023 were years for trial and errors. Spruce Point would like management to answer a few questions that would enable us and other investors to better understand the risks and opportunities that lie ahead."

"In an effort to avoid admitting a large miss, management has recently started stating that "to get to its mid-cycle EBITDA PSX needs adjusted gross margin of $14.50/bbl," a level that even VLO (best-in-class operator) is not expected to achieve"

"TransMedics portability is irrelevant, as its primary use case is not clinical but scheduling and convenience - in other words, it is already mostly used off-label as a back-to-base device while OR’s wait for surgeons to wake up or stack cases."

"at this point, nobody is really saying this is something we absolutely should be doing...the company thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread...you know what?...we are going to do our standard of care...we're not going to start it day one."

"Not surprisingly, trial investigators and other endocrinologists across our interviews dismissed Vykat as just re-packaged diazoxide; indicated they would just prescribe Proglycem or generic suspension off-label if they wanted to use it in PWS."

"As the call progressed, the endocrinologist appeared so skittish at our questions - "you're making me a little concerned about this" - that he encouraged us and/or skeptical trial investigators to go public with our concerns as soon as possible"

"The endocrinologist stated he had jumped to submit a few start forms only because he had been told by a study investigator – who we believe to be Jennifer Miller, based on his coy response – that the drug takes 4 to 6 months to show a response."

"Our pharmacology consultant then 1) used the single-dose plasma levels to calculate plasma levels at steady-state, and 2) used the change in QTcF vs. plasma level from another table in the same paper to develop a simple linear regression model."

"The sales rep was also kind of a little bit concerned and said, geez, we know it can do this, but one of the things he said was, not in very healthy people, it's usually people who have some other issues going on, but we know it can cause this."

"Absolutely. 100% of every narcoleptic is offered Wakix. Absolutely. It's a no-brainer. It's not even scheduled. So, I mean, to not think of Wakix is not malpractice, but it's absurd practice. So, we are extremely aggressive about offering Wakix"

"The sales rep was also kind of a little bit concerned and said, geez, we know it can do this, but one of the things he said was, not in very healthy people, it's usually people who have some other issues going on, but we know it can cause this."

"Bristol-Myers management was “aware that this class patent could be a roadblock to ozanimod commercialization,” yet has continued to promote the product’s blockbuster potential to shareholders, even going as far as to call ozanimod “de-risked”."