Callouts & quotes from 1,047+ activist slides

"36% incremental margins are not acceptable and not fully explained by the agency transition. We believe Autodesk should target 55% incremental margins."

"Spruce Point finds alarming evidence that WTRG's operating cash flow margin is in continued decline - having been 48.2% in 2017 to just 23.9% in 2022."

"MPWR appears to have a rocky relationship with its largest customer, yet somehow manages “very smooth growth” and is “adept” at “managing the margin”."

"The Company believed that it would nearly double Adjusted EBITDA in the Textile Effects business and raise Adjusted EBITDA margins into the mid-teens."

"Software companies with high gross margins and solid revenue growth can generate high incremental margins, which should drive margin expansion at BILL"

"While this contribution margin analysis implies $230mm of incremental EBITDA, we believe the actual number will be somewhere between $100mm and $230mm"

"Snacks business, if standalone, would be one of the most attractive consumer companies in the world (leading market shares, strong margins and growth)"

"Management expects this $300mm cost reduction program and continued operating leverage to increase operating margins from 25% in 2014 to ~34% by 2017"

"GoDaddy expects to generate 7% revenue growth and 28% Adj. EBITDA margins in Q4'23E as growth headwinds abate and operating leverage improves margins"

"A major consulting firm that evaluated BWLD at Marcato's request identified several areas for potential margin improvement equivalent to 275 – 600bps"

"PCC had better margins when it was the same size as EPS is today; EPS actually has greater Net Property, Plant and Equipment than Precision Castparts"

"While Zebra has done a good job expanding services and software gross margin to 53.7%, the margin profile is materially below the 73.2% peer average."

"On the surface, the OP margin jump in FY 2015 is very impressive. However, the information we have makes this jump seem unlikely – if not impossible."

"GoDaddy expects to generate 7% revenue growth and 28% Adj. EBITDA margins in Q4'23E as growth headwinds abate and operating leverage improves margins"

"Ginkgo reported $41MM of what appear to be “Biosecurity” cost of goods – suggesting a pitiful 6% gross margin on $44MM of 1H revenue for the segment."

"Management expects this $300mm cost reduction program and continued operating leverage to increase operating margins from 25% in 2014 to ~34% by 2017"

"Increased operating margins from negative 32% to analyst expectations of 20% in a little over a year and sold the company for a significant premium."

"Nestlé's CY16 EBIT margin 15.3% (16% ex-items) is at the low end of its peers, nearly all of which are now targeting high-teens to low 20's margins."

"The gross margin and operating profits are accretive overall to Zebra but not quite to where some of the other public companies in the space are at."

"Ancora estimates the combined company will have improved EBITDA margins and free cash flow generation which should lead to a re-rating in valuation."

"The segment has significant excess capacity, which is pressuring margins today, but will allow for explosive growth when the housing markets recover"

"NMC's margins appear “too good to be true” relative to UAE-focused publicly traded comps, Mediclinic International plc and Aster DM Healthcare Ltd."

"We believe that Twist concocts a positive gross margin by 1) misclassifying COGS as R&D expense, and 2) misclassifying COGS as capital expenditure."

"TWX has produced solid top-line growth versus the industry and has significantly greater margins reflecting its size, scale and leading franchises."

"R&D driven productivity (processes, packaging and ingredients) is not dropping to the bottom line → EBIT margin has declined since 2006 (excl. M&A)"

"If Dexcom fails to cut prices by a substantial (yet unsustainable) margin to better match Abbott, its near-term growth runway is severely limited."

"Cognizant maintains operating margins below HCL and Wipro, despite those being structurally lower margin businesses (low-to-mid 30% gross margin)."

"The performance of AOL's advertising segment trails the growth rates and profit margins achieved by Google, Yahoo, and other Internet comparables."

"As it scales up, we expect its negative margins to inflect in 2024 and reach 8% by 2027. From there, margins should continue improving toward 10%."

"Why would Perion reward the selling management team with destroying 440 basis points of margin and not incentivize them to increase EBITDA margin?"

"FTAI’s Leasing Segment Assumes a Material Portion of Aerospace Products’ COGS, Which Explains the ~1,000bps Discrepancy in EBITDA Margins Vs Peers"

"A recent benchmarking analysis of road paving profit margins suggest that LSP’s financial performance is at best average relative to the industry."

"Margin targets have been consistently missed and lowered. Why should investors trust this Board to execute on yet another plan to improve margins?"

"Margin targets have been consistently missed and lowered. Why should investors trust this Board to execute on yet another plan to improve margins?"

"Using the Wayback Machine, we find evidence that Generac is having to absorb increasingly more shipping costs which would pressure gross margins."

"Sub-scale and rapidly growing peers have significant operating expense burdens in their P&L – margins improve with greater scale and lower growth"

"In order to give the appearance of high gross margins, the Company has reclassified a material amount of expenses from cost of goods sold to R&D."

"Hill-Rom has achieved effectively zero margin expansion via "organic" means (restructuring, cost reduction, price increases, M&A synergies, etc.)"

"Hill-Rom has achieved effectively zero margin expansion via "organic" means (restructuring, cost reduction, price increases, M&A synergies, etc.)"

"BMC's growing Professional Services segment barely breaks even at the gross margin level compared to peers who have significant operating margins"

"The obvious effect of this reclassification is to improve Gross Margins which was a promoted long-term goal in 2021 that subsequently fell short."

"Agilent’s resilient results through the COVID crisis are demonstrative of its durable business model and significant margin expansion opportunity"

"Coincidentally, we observe that IRBT has made several expense reclassifications to boost its gross margin by shifting COGS to operating expense."

"In addition to the company’s declining gross margins, its reported non-GAAP operating margin seems to have reached its peak of 27.7% in Q2 2019."

"Note that the EBITDA margin is so high because of Site Sharing's abnormally high rents, which were apparently up to 3.0x market on some towers."

"But all the innovation of the past decade seems marginal compared to Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) and real time electrical mapping of the heart."

"The Amcor-Berry combination provides significant margin improvement on a proforma basis while also leading to more than 40% earnings accretion."

"With CEO Dominik Richter likely having faced multiple margin calls on his pledged shares, he has a clear incentive to prevent further declines."

"We believe Enterprise should have consolidated operating margins of mid-20s% to 30%, including the drag from lower-margin BPO / benefits, etc."

"If ADP returned to FY 2012 productivity levels in ES this would drive ~$65m–$90m of profit, or ~75bps – 110bps of margin opportunity for ES(2)"

"A company levered only 2x requires ~45bps less margin expansion per year to achieve the same EPS growth than an identical company with no debt"

"Lastly, we observe that MSCI is increasing its cost capitalization of development expense, which has the obvious effect of flattering margins."

"Given Vertiv’s business quality, high-growth end market exposure, and margin opportunity, we believe the Company warrants a premium valuation."

"Multiple compression driven by growth deceleration, margin compression, and store repurchases that earn a return below BWLD's cost of capital"

"The Company is promising to improve Adjusted EBITDA margins to 18 – 20% and consistently deliver an Adjusted EBITDA to FCF Conversion of >40%"

"Set forth herein is a table which details our assumptions regarding average unit level 4-Wall EBITDA margins for McOpCo and U.S. Franchisees."

"Southwest’s return to best-in-class margins should drive substantial share price upside of 67% - 87% and c.$3B - 4B of annual free cash flow."

"The Company is promising to improve Adjusted EBITDA margins to 18 – 20% and consistently deliver an Adjusted EBITDA to FCF Conversion of >40%"

"In each of these instances, chronic capex mis-forecasting was a leading indicator of future margin, earnings, and free cash flow contraction."

"Southwest’s return to best-in-class margins should drive substantial share price upside of 67% - 87% and c.$3B - 4B of annual free cash flow."