Callouts & quotes from 1,436+ activist slides

"“We’ve always looked at our MLPs as a financing vehicle, and we use them when there’s a better cost of capital” — Historic Comments from SE CEO Greg Ebel. “Our MLP drop-down strategy is already yielding positive results for investors.... total market capitalization of Spectra Energy and Spectra Energy Partners has increased by $6 billion” — Current Comments from SE CEO Greg Ebel."

"The first $500 million of synergies is expected to create a company with EBITDA margins of over 20% and annual EBITDA of over $3 billion, giving us the firepower to reduce the leverage ratio to 3 times to 3.5 times within two years to three years and then, subsequently, to deploy capital to create further value beyond our organic agenda. — CEO Michael Polk – Q4 2015 Earnings Call"

""Volumes delivery, asset utilization and cost management, each require discipline, determination, attention to detail and a mindset that every barrel and every dollar matter. That is the mindset and culture of today's Suncor." — Rich Kruger, Suncor CEO, February 6, 2025; "We also delivered on our goal of improving refining performance..." — Mark Lashier, Q4 2024 Earnings Release"

""When I look back over the past five years, I think that as we look at our roadmap, there are probably areas where I wish we had innovated on faster in retrospect and maybe categories we had entered more aggressively. We ultimately did a bit of a reset with our product strategy and go to market model going back about kind of two to three years ago." — CEO Aaron Levie, June 2021"

""Yes, remember, we -- you could arguably say we had 10 to 15 key patents burn off at the last -- last part of last year and I call those CAD/CAM patents which means you could design something on a computer screen and then 3D print it and that's what choked most companies from getting into the marketplace because you really couldn't scale." — Joseph Hogan – CEO, Align Technology"

"“...The entire episode has also revealed the limitations of ‘Disney nice.’ Avoiding face-to-face conflict, at least at the CEO and board level, fostered an environment where Iger and Chapek couldn’t hash out their differences. Executives who openly challenged others — Mayer, Rice, McCarthy — were ultimately dinged for their frankness...” — CNBC (Alex Sherman, September 6, 2023)"

""A number of people in our process actually advised that we not increase our bid significantly, that we move up in smaller increments, and I came up with the idea of bidding significantly higher because I thought it was the best way to cause Comcast to fold its tent, to ultimately cease bidding." — Robert A. Iger, CEO & Director, MasterClass on Business Strategy and Leadership"

"“Volumes delivery, asset utilization and cost management, each require discipline, determination, attention to detail and a mindset that every barrel and every dollar matter. That is the mindset and culture of today’s Suncor.” — Rich Kruger, Suncor CEO, February 6, 2025; “We also delivered on our goal of improving refining performance…” — Mark Lashier, Q4 2024 Earnings Release"

"CEO Gerald Hassell: "It's part of our goals that if we get a 4%, 5% revenue growth in a range, we should be able to produce positive operating leverage" — CEO Gerald Hassell. CFO Todd Gibbons: "Our core fee business has been growing at about the 3% to 5% range...on the lower end of that, to generate positive operating leverage...is going to be challenging" — CFO Todd Gibbons."

"“Our product development stems out of our own research and development labs. It comes from UCLA where we have the Mark Hughes Cellular Lab there, University of Mississippi where we have a botanical research lab in the Thad Cochran Center down there. We have doctors placed and scientists placed throughout the world, nutrition experts.” — Michael Johnson, Herbalife CEO, 9/3/08"

""The board should exercise objective judgement on corporate affairs and be able to make decisions independently of management. The roles of chairperson and CEO should not be held by the same individual." — NBIM; "We generally support proposals requesting the separation of the CEO and chair roles." — CalPERS; "The board should be chaired by an independent director." — CalSTRS"

"A number of people in our process actually advised that we not increase our bid significantly, that we move up in smaller increments, and I came up with the idea of bidding significantly higher because I thought it was the best way to cause Comcast to fold its tent, to ultimately cease bidding. — Robert A. Iger, CEO & Director, MasterClass on Business Strategy and Leadership"

"“because we had to change parts and add resources,” — Lasertec CEO; “...the current source cost, together with the current stage cost, doesn't make sense. I don't think they can shave a lot compared to KLA and, in a 2x-led price war, it doesn't add up to me... we are around—we are $23-24 million.” — Former KLA executive in a leadership role in their EUV mask inspection group"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

"These results are a testament to our store associates' hard work and dedication, reflecting their tireless work to drive sales and engagement with our homeowner and Pro customers daily. We are happy to report that their efforts continue to result in high customer service scores across all our touch points, which helps set us apart from our competition. — CEO Taylor, Q1 2024"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""Dated commercial strategy" — Barclays, April 2024; "Industry passed them by" — Southwest Shareholder, May 2024; "Lost the passion for low-cost" — Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, March 2024; "Outdated approach" — Bernstein, January 2023; "Systemic failure... to modernize" — SWAPA (Pilots' Union), December 2022; "Sat out the industry's evolution" — J.P. Morgan Webcast, May 2023"

""A clean room has been newly established...and is being used as a research and development base from July 2023." — Lasertec Management. "I would like to ask you about production capacity...how much will production capacity grow?" — Hirakawa (BofA Securities Japan). "At this time, we have not announced when it will end or how much production will expand." — Okabayashi (CEO)."

"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 [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"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 [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"With respect to Viterra, I'm not going to comment on whether it's included in those 13 or 14 assets. But what I can say is that we don't believe Viterra is accurately reflected in the value of the Glencore share price. So we are looking at ideas around Viterra to be able to provide that see-through value in our share price for our shareholders. — Glencore CEO, Feb 15, 2022"

"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 [the value of the midstream business] in the shares today. — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, Piper Sandler Energy Conference, March 18, 2025"

"We are thrilled to have someone of Allan's background and caliber joining Pivotal and taking on this critical role. With the industry becoming increasingly competitive, Allan's proven track record of tactical sales, marketing and strategic partnerships will provide us with new growth opportunities and further enhance our position as a payments industry leader. — CEO Fayer"

""Importantly, physicians are moving more and more to oral therapies, are looking more and more to oral therapies. And in those oral therapies, routinely, physicians select S1P modulators over JAK inhibitors. And when we put blinded profiles in front of physicians, they routinely select etrasimod over ozanimod." — Amit Munshi, CEO & President of Arena Pharma, January 2019"

""Our pricing in November [2015] really tried to price in some of the labor costs that we anticipate and that are happening...but if you're not going to add some price with, whether it's minimum wage, whether it's overtime...you are going to have to get it somewhere." — Sally Smith, Buffalo Wild Wings CEO and President, Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference June 2016"

"The sale of these surgical products will strengthen our ability to focus our resources across our portfolio... This transaction underscores our strategic focus on high-growth, high-margin categories where Hillrom can demonstrate leadership and supports our commitment to deliver on our promise of Advancing Connected Care. — John P. Groetelaars, Hillrom President and CEO"

""It is massively important that EnVe's can be easily connected to eGates, something we have been passionate about for a long time. eGates drive automation, security and member experience. We are piloting eGates in select airports today and absolutely believe this technology should be a cornerstone of modernized airport infrastructure." — CLEAR CEO (Q4'24 earnings call)"

"We are very pleased to link the name Pramac Racing to Alma, I thank Luigi Scavone [Alma Group CEO] for the enthusiasm with which he joined our team. We are proud to have as title sponsor a group like Alma that perfectly understands the dynamics of the labour market, always looking for a constant growth in terms of professionalism and results. — Campinoti (Generac EVP)"

"I would say, it's hard to say, Liam. I mean, it will come down to what opportunities there are. We want to maximize value on for those -- for that stake. The lockup is until July 2. I don't think anyone should expect us out in the market selling these shares on July 3. We will work very closely with Bunge and Greg Heckman. He's running a great business. — Glencore CEO"

""In closing, I wanted to emphasize that our business model and philosophy regardless of short-term volatility, we'll remain laser-focused on operational excellence, capital discipline, long-term shareholder value creation, and returning that value to shareholders while fortifying our balance sheet by continuing debt reduction." — Former CEO Mark Little, July 29, 2021"

""This consortium is so named because we are equal partners with Thales on this project... So we expect it to be very much a 50-50 partnership." — CEO Lance, Q2 2018 Conference Call. "Industry officials familiar with Telesat's LEO bidding process have said the company is all but certain to request an equity investment on the part of its major suppliers" — Space Intel."

"“And picking -- the tuck-ins are easy. Those -- we were good at that, and we'll keep doing those tuck-ins. But when we're talking about multibillion-dollar deals, then making sure we pick the right companies. And our track record has been pretty good so far, and I think we'll continue to be a disciplined acquirer.” — CEO Lobo, Morgan Stanley Conference, Sept 13, 2021"

""The investment from KKR is a strong vote of confidence in our vision, strategy, and continued efforts to increase growth and profitability. KKR is one of the world's leading technology investors with a deep understanding of our market and a proven track record of partnering successfully with companies to create value and drive growth." — CEO Aaron Levie, April 2021"

""[We] designed our mid-cycle methodology around the 2012-to-2019-time frame. You had cycles of strong margins and weak margins during that period of time." — Phillips 66 Investor Relations, March 14, 2024; "The biggest delta is in refining and well below mid-cycle refining environments baked into the '25, '26 outlook." — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, January 7, 2025"

""[We] designed our mid-cycle methodology around the 2012-to-2019 time frame. You had cycles of strong margins and weak margins during that period of time." — Phillips 66 Investor Relations, March 14, 2024; "The biggest delta is in refining and well below mid-cycle refining environments baked into the '25, '26 outlook." — Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, January 7, 2025"

"In closing, I wanted to emphasize that our business model and philosophy regardless of short-term volatility, we'll remain laser-focused on operational excellence, capital discipline, long-term shareholder value creation, and returning that value to shareholders while fortifying our balance sheet by continuing debt reduction. — Former CEO Mark Little, July 29, 2021"

"I don’t like the Transmedics people that much...a lot of people are very pissed off with the company...because they are acting too greedy and predatory. I really support that letter from that Congressman. Again, a lot of people in different transplant centers are very pissed off with the company.... I can tell you, I hate the CEO. — Transplant surgeon at Vanderbilt"

"HLF CEO Michael Johnson: “The FTC settlement is an acknowledgment that our business model is sound” — Herbalife. Carl Icahn: “The FTC settlement announced today, coming after a two-year investigation also concluded that Herbalife is not a pyramid scheme” — Carl Icahn. “I do not endorse that statement [referencing Icahn’s statement].” — FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez."

"“…from a P&L point of view, what is a traditional product sale on day 1 by year 3 or year 4 transitions to a full as-a-service subscription recognition…the benefit we have is we don’t have to go and replace our installed base. In our model, we don’t have that replacement sale, right? …we are able to keep that original array, modernize it. Well, if” — CEO Giancarlo"

"“... nearly 50% of our order volume is now being fulfilled out of our Ohio pharmacy and fulfillment center...I'm excited to share by year-end 2022, we believe nearly 100% of our services and treatments will be filled via our verticalized infrastructure, further unlocking efficiencies and capabilities consumers are looking for.” — CEO Dudum on Q2 2021 Earnings Call"

"Considering our products have a large freight component, being close to the actual installation helps significantly bring value to our retailer customers. In addition, our products are decorative in nature. By being closer to the end consumer, MSI can enable customers to see and touch the materials at our locations before making a final decision. — Co-CEO Raj Shah"

"So on the U.S. retail cheese, we were launching in March, 6 SKUs under the Vitalite brand, and we have 1,000 points of distribution that has been secured. So the marketing campaigns are going to begin in conjunction with our retail launch. So exciting times to come on the retail side of the plant-based cheese for our U.S. platform. — Saputo CEO (Q3 2022 Conf Call)"

""...we announced ACTIS with High-NA, and in September, we also announced an EUV light source developed in-house with future needs in mind..." — Lasertec CEO, Jan 31, 2024 Q&A; "As for URASHIMA, we developed it in-house and leave the manufacturing to our partner companies as much as possible, just as we do with our other equipment." — Lasertec CEO, Oct 31, 2023 Q&A"

"Simply put we lost focus. We lost focus strategically. We had too many initiatives that made the company unnecessarily complex... We lost focus within our products and brands... Lastly we lost focus in process and execution... And finally we didn't have a culture of accountability which led to poor execution. — Campbell Board member & interim CEO Keith McLoughlin"

"Generac Grid Services has been making excellent progress in expanding its sales pipeline, including meaningful opportunities beyond traditional software-as-a-service contracts. The fourth quarter saw significant progress in new deals closed and in the final stages of negotiation, increasing our top line visibility for 2022. — Generac CEO (Q4 2021 Conference Call)"

"“I would not put him very high on that list. But he's Taiwanese. He's a Taiwanese entrepreneur... he doesn't really care much about corporate governance per se.” — MPWR's Early Executive; “Michael (CEO) doesn't like people asking questions he doesn't like. And Alan was doing his job as audit chairman and sort of rocked the boat too much.” — MPWR's Early Executive"

""We are very excited about the potential Centrella has to accelerate the med surg bed replacement cycle" — John Groetelaars, President & CEO, Hill-Rom. "Hospitals are generally willing to put off bed purchases if needed... It's not going to accelerate the purchasing cycle over the long-term - this is probably more of a one-time blip." — Former Employee, Hill-Rom."

"「そうです。しかし、二つ目の装置については、レーザーテックがアクティニック検査装置を実用化する以前も、極端紫外線マスクを検査するためには別の方法が必要でした。二つ目にはKLA製の深紫外線の光学装置、同社の『Teron』という製品を使いました。ところが、Teronは193ナノメートルの光源を使うので、検出できる欠陥に限界があります。極小の欠陥を明確に検出できません。そのような欠陥の疑いがある場合、座標を記録し、座標を電子ビーム検査装置に移し、欠陥があるとの疑いのある位置を見てみます。欠陥があるとすれば、マスクに転写された回路の画像にあるでしょうか。要はマスクを検査するために、光学の深紫外線と電子ビームを組み合わせる必要があるのです」 — 半導体製造装置企業の上席幹部として長年の経験を持ち、レーザーテックのCEOに親しい人物"

"To achieve that, you need to have a lot of underlying information about those securities. You have to know everything about their ESG profile, their climate profile, their thematic profile, their factor profile. So MSCI is turning into a giant equity research shop to try to understand the characteristics of securities so we can organize them that way. — MSCI CEO"

""So I think lessons learned for me. I would say I have a more full appreciation for the value and not trying to do an integration of that size on a shoestring, but to have it well planned out and to bring in a third-party to manage the process because that allowed us not to take our eye off the ball on our core business." — Keith Myers, Chairman & CEO, LHC Group"

""We also won by a wide margin at the US Army's most prestigious live-fire exercise in April of this year. Subsequently, we received a contract from the US Army, which will likely make us their preferred C-UAS standard solution. The US combat vehicle fleet will be equipped with an EOS R400 Slinger in a semi-autonomous special configuration." — CEO (December 2025)"

"“...were you aware you would lose a number of tenants in the fourth quarter or want to kick them out?” — Analyst; “Yes. So I think I might have mentioned that in the last earnings call that when we put under contract Carolina Pavilion and by the time we closed, we had 3 tenants basically go bankrupt and close their stores, which is highly unusual” — CEO Albright"

"“As soon as you get to 2023, then you get to go to scale in a different way, which is, I just tell somebody in Taiwan to start and give me 10,000 of those things. And you get to scale through manufacturing, as well.” [...] “We don’t have a manufacturing problem. You want a million qubits? No problem. That’s easy.” — Peter Chapman, IonQ CEO (Dec 2020 interview)"

"BP Moves Chief Executive to Lesser Role in Spill Response — The New York Times; Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in wake of safety issues — Axios; Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf Resigns Amid Scandal — NPR; 3M Names New CEO Amid PFAS Battles, Health Spinoff — The Wall Street Journal; CEO of Canada's Suncor Energy steps down after latest site fatality — Reuters"

"“The Trinity thing is well known. The NORA thing, I don’t think it’s as well-known, but I was at a meeting in Boston, and I made the comment, I’m like, ‘Yeah, they offered me a private flight,’ and the woman sitting across from me was like, ‘Yeah, they did it to me, too.’ We both kind of laughed about it.” — CEO of a major OPO (Organ Procurement Organization)"

"We find it unusual that somebody gets up and gives a speech about a company who never bothers to talk to management. I think most informed investors would appreciate some time spent with us so they can talk these things through unless you are simply trying to develop the short thesis to scare people and make a quick buck and move on. — Mr. Walton, Allied CEO"

""I said to another CEO...who had called me and inquired about Nelson, that if I were to form the board today, Nelson would be one of the first Directors I'd ask to serve because he is an insightful, communicative, enthusiastic, energetic and available Director." — Bill Johnson (CEO from 1998-2013, Trian Advisory Partner Since 2015), CEO Magazine, March 2008"

"Upon transition from CEO to Executive Chair on March 1, Mr. Gustafsson's base salary was reduced to $200,000 and he ceased participation in the 2023 Zebra Incentive Plan as of that date. Additionally, he received a one-time $9,000,000 equity award of time-vested RSUs that vest as of the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. — Zebra Executive Chair Agreement"