Callouts & quotes from 26,677+ activist slides

"Counsel noted a U.S. person may apply for a specific license to sell airplane parts to Iran, but given the sensitive nature that would be "almost unheard of" for such a specific license to be approved."

"During Q2 earnings season, GFL talked up a bullish recovery, especially in July, when most competitors were signaling caution, GFL then later recalibrates expectations around working capital benefits."

"In addition, in ONP's financial reports, their Top 10 Customers in 2008 and 2009 are also largely different. Of the 10 major customers that made the list in 2008, only two made the list again in 2009."

"Wide-ranging Issues Identified At Peoples Encompassing Accounting Systems, Internal Controls, Cost Allocations, Manual Processes And A Lack Of Formal Budgeting Policies Across A “Complex” Organization"

"In our Mid and High cases, we believe EBIT margins could be ~8.3% to 9.3%. In our Low case, if same-store sales remain flat, we believe Lowe’s can maintain current EBIT margins through cost reductions"

"AMT has, in its conference calls, stressed the growth in Adjusted Funds From Operations (“AFFO”) as one of its most important metrics, and this appears to have been followed by ATL’s telecom analysts."

"Per FTC guidance, disclosures like these “should be provided before the consumer makes the decision to buy, e.g., before clicking on an ‘order now’ button or a link that says: ‘add to shopping cart.’”"

"HLF took on substantial leverage in 2014 to fuel an aggressive buyback program and bolster its falling share price. With a $1B credit facility maturing in March 2016, Herbalife has fewer options today"

"XPO’s inability to deliver a game-changing acquisition in 2018 despite repeated promotions by management and brokers leaves more negative headwinds than positive tailwinds to future financial results."

"We believe CCI is equally frustrated with its valuation and may be considering a proactive change to its capital allocation plans – we share our thoughts on potential strategies in the following pages"

"We see 75-90% downside to PETQ on lower-than-expected services growth and margin contraction in the products business, as well as on multiple contraction as the market’s understanding of PETQ evolves."

"By executing plan "Streamline66," we believe the Company can achieve a ~$200 stock price (with the possibility of substantially more upside if Phillips is able to execute a plan similar to Marathon's)"

"MPC shareholders can own the various distinct securities to construct their own diversified portfolio: management should not be made stewards of portfolio diversification on behalf of the shareholder."

"We think that you realize, as we do, that Nintendo's competition is no longer just the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One. Nintendo's competition now includes Angry Birds, Candy Crush and Puzzle & Dragons."

"According to JP Morgan's analysis, Hess International Co's leverage would fall within the range of Hess's applicable proxy peers and would receive an investment grade rating from the rating's agencies"

"CPI PG has thus far failed to provide alternative explanations for the evident self-dealing and asset stripping of its controlling shareholder that appear to be hollowing out the value of the company."

"We are alarmed that the rate of increase in cloud storage costs is in decline. We find no indications that Tempus expected to be able to leverage cloud costs at scale, so why are costs not keeping up?"

"We believe it will be challenging for PowerSchool to expand in these markets in a meaningful way without diluting margins because of the structural differences in education funding in foreign markets."

"Their main objection was that our capital intensity was too high – they said their wells were more productive than we gave them credit for, and $15 per BOE would make more sense as a long-term target."

"Our research suggests both pillars seem unrealistic: it appears that DigitalGlobe is more likely to see prices decreases on the NGA contract and opportunities outside of U.S. government appear limited"

"Being an S&P 500 company is a validation of absolutely nothing, and can be a wasteland of corporate mediocrity. The bigger the Company, the worse the research is from sell-side analysts. Buyer beware!"

"Based upon publicly available disclosure, the separation of Alcoa and Arconic was the most expensive separation of a company with a below $50 billion market capitalization in at least the past 5 years"

"By executing plan "Streamline66," we believe the Company can achieve a ~$200 stock price (with the possibility of substantially more upside if Phillips is able to execute a plan similar to Marathon's)"

"According to official reporting of U.S. coal company production via the EIA, AMR reported 13.897m tons of 2020 coal production. This is below the 14.2 million tons of production reported to investors."

"Based on business similarities, we believe there is a strong case that iRhythm should be valued in-line with other outpatient testing and services companies, which trade at materially lower multiples."

"Spruce Point observes that Sunnova has engaged in a highly aggressive business practice related to prepaid inventory purchases which we believe has provided an unsustainable benefit to recent results."

"Spruce Point observes that Sunnova has engaged in a highly aggressive business practice related to prepaid inventory purchases which we believe has provided an unsustainable benefit to recent results."

"We recap below the events and main points which we believe justifies our conviction that the Chairman (Helge Lund) of the Board and the Lead Independent Director (Dame Amanda Blanc) should be removed."

"The fact that Twist undercuts Asian companies this severely – ones with identical capabilities and a fraction of its labor cost – illustrates the lunacy of its strategy and a key driver of its losses."

"In coordination with a mass effort, we will tailor digital and mobile media and services directly to our most desirable target market, connecting with them when they are most receptive to our message."

"Therefore, you should assume that upon publication of this report, we will, or have begun to, close a substantial portion – possibly the entirety – of our positions in the Covered Issuer’s securities."

"Are regulatory infractions just a cost of doing business at Kratos, or emblematic of a rogue corporate culture designed to inflate financial results at all costs for the benefit of insider enrichment?"

"The result is that NQ users are vulnerable to Man in the Middle ("MITM") attack, a technique wherein a hacker impersonates the NQ server and intercepts all of the above listed data the app broadcasts."

"Bristol-Myers is estimating Celgene’s five near-term product launch opportunities will generate base case 2028 revenues that are 59% higher than the median of Wall Street analysts’ research estimates."

"As one of the world’s best-selling drugs, REVLIMID faces significant pressure from generic challengers, pressure that we believe will continue to increase as REVLIMID nears full genericization in 2026"

"PF McDonald's operating metrics are much closer to a typical Real Estate C-Corporation or a high branded intellectual property business such as PepsiCo or Coca-Cola than they are a typical mature QSR."

"Spruce Point believes the bear case against FND is validated from recent disclosures by the CEO, General Counsel and Chairman of the Board, all of whom recently enacted insider stock selling programs."

"Is Amdocs minimizing the immediate revenue contribution of acquired businesses only to realize greater acquisition-driven revenue later in an attempt to make the resulting sales growth appear organic?"

"Applying a peer-average PNAV multiple – a conservative approach given Sumitomo Realty’s superior asset quality – would imply a share price of just under ¥8,000, over 40% higher than the current level."

"Canada's commentary continues to reflect lower sales volumes, particularly in the retail segment and with fluid milk. This is being offset by improvements in the foodservice market, but mainly cheese."

"Spruce Point is concerned by the potential for heightened risk of fraud at Dairy Crest (U.K.), Saputo's largest acquisition in recent history which accounts for approximately C$785 million of revenue."

"Given the incentives of the various constituencies in bankruptcy, what is the best way for GGP to reorganize that preserves value for secured lenders, unsecured lenders, employees, and equity holders?"

"Allowed CEO Mark Lashier to consolidate Chairman role, add new directors with questionable independence from the CEO and receive generous compensation despite stock underperformance and missed targets"

"In 2020, FINRA found that Transamerica failed to properly supervise its agents, noting that agents' recommendations to clients contained materially inaccurate information or omitted essential details."

"Spruce Point has based prior successful short calls on companies we found had abnormal and poor capex guidance and inventory practices, notably Gentex (GNTX), Caesarstone (CSTE), and A.O. Smith (AOS)."

"We find alarming evidence that shows the faddish nature of FLAWLESS’s brands, which have no more than a 3yr life cycle. Recent introductions, highlighted below, are currently showing signs of fatigue."

"LAND & BUILDINGS STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE SOLICITATION STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION."

"We believe that SBUX’s robust unit growth pipeline combined with management’s sizeable capital return plan will drive EPS growth including dividends in the mid-teens or higher over the next four years"

"When investigators visited Mettler's two registered addresses in Shanghai accounting for >$700m of sales, they found an empty office in a building, and another gated building with no signs of Mettler."

"We are concerned that Hill-Rom may similarly demonstrate margin contraction and slowed FCF growth in coming quarters as management is forced to make up for seemingly-delayed spending on capex and R&D."

"Some investors are protesting that Darden’s idea of ‘direct engagement’ amounts to returning the phone calls of analysts and investors who agree with its strategy while ignoring calls from dissenters."

"Immediately start exploring all strategic alternatives for Parkland, including evaluating the sale or spinoff of non-core assets with the goal of becoming a more focused fuel and convenience retailer."

"Looking carefully, we observe that Stryker made subtle revisions to its “Long-term sustainable growth targets” of at least 9% EPS growth and 30 – 50 bps of annual EBIT expansion over the next 5 years."

"Our research suggests that Mobius has been a disappointment, and had significant challenges ramping up. This supports our concern as to why Stryker made milestone payments when clear problems existed."

"Management noted on its market announcement post the AFR article that it was unaware that one if its major clients had cancelled their contract, as staff from their subsidiary did not alert the board!"

"That Twynam would do this so soon after Olam bought QCH, and that Olam appeared to have no legal recourse against Twynam, is another example of poor quality due diligence efforts by Olam’s management."

"Rollins recently expanded its competitive factors listed in the Annual Report. Notice that “brand awareness” was added which is an interesting addition considering our extensively documented findings."

"Stable growth combined with an appropriate capital structure, ongoing share repurchases, and clear investor communication of leverage target and buyback strategy has led to significant outperformance."

"Since the appointment of Mr Looney as CEO (as a proxy for the current strategy) BP's TSR of 34% lags all of its peers (69% for Shell, 87% for Chevron, 101% for Total Energies and 143% for ExxonMobil)."

"Another store simply didn't exist. Branch 51 is registered at Zhugedian Village in Yanjiao Town. Yet when we visited the site, we could not find any Lianjia or other real estate brokerage to speak of."