Callouts & quotes from 90+ activist slides

"In addition to capital, what entrepreneurs really need is access to the broad expertise required to build a successful retail business. We see a tremendous opportunity to leverage Campfire's collective experience and relationships to further brand and scale FIGS to transform this $9 billion unbranded industry. — Christine Day, Partner at Campfire, current CEO of Luvo and ex-CEO of lululemon"

"In terms of value creation for shareholders, it's really a multi-pronged approach. So, topline growth around the product launches, biosimilars and the global expansion, as well as delivering operating leverage for the company, we expect here over the next several years to deliver a 15 point operating margin improvement for the business. — David Meline, Amgen EVP and CFO, November 2014"

"Capitalize on Corporate Infrastructure Investments. In recent periods, we have made significant investments in our senior management and corporate infrastructure in anticipation of future revenue growth... We therefore anticipate that, to the extent our revenue grows, we will be able to leverage this infrastructure base and increase our operating margins. — Kratos 2013 10-K, p. 9"

"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"

"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."

""By positioning ourselves as a "one-stop" environmental services provider, we plan to leverage our diverse service offerings to unlock potential cross-selling opportunities across our business lines. As we execute on our growth strategies, we will continue to leverage our scalable capabilities to manage costs and drive higher operating margins." — GFL Environmental"

"One important area in which fiscal '19 will differ from fiscal '18 is in capital allocation. With $600 million of acquisition debt repaid and our leverage target achieved, we returned to our historical priorities for deployment of cash, which our CapEx, acquisitions, dividend payments and share repurchases. — Cintas CFO Q4 2018 Earnings Call July 19, 2018"

"We have true opportunity for margin expansion through operating leverage, driving commercial and operational excellence and continuing to shift our portfolio towards digital solutions. — CFO Roland, Investor/Analyst Day Sept 30, 2021; The reality is Xylem’s digital sales are actually dilutive, not accretive. — Former Xylem Executive Response"

""Our operating leverage was up 245 basis points year-over-year..." — Todd Gibbons. "This is one of our real focuses, delivering positive operating leverage and improving the operating margins of our company...And so you can see over the last 12 months, the operating margin has in fact, improved by 78 bps across the firm" — Gerald Hassell."

"Analyst: “We always talk about incremental margins with you.... You got all this operating leverage. How do we think about operating margin then?” Mark Donegan (PCC CEO): “And again they move, but I think that the range in which you should expect to see it move is somewhere between that 35% and 45%, 48%.” — December 3, 2014"

"Overall, we find that closed-end PERE [private equity real estate] funds have underperformed listed REITs, even before adjusting for risk, leverage, illiquidity, and the uncertain investment timing associated with unfunded capital commitments. — University of Florida study, published in the Journal of Portfolio Management"

"There is certainly opportunity for operating margin expansion beyond '23, as we begin to leverage those operating costs more, but we'll still likely be based on where we're at today and closer to those single -- to close to double digit operating margin metrics. — Wilson at Investor Day November 2020"

""Our Foundry wraps proprietary software and automation around core cell engineering workflows—designing DNA, writing DNA, inserting that DNA into cells, testing to measure cell performance—and leverages data analytics and data science to inform each iteration of design." — Ginkgo Bioworks Prospectus"

"Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.'s ("Hill-Rom") Ba2 rating reflects the company's moderate financial leverage. The rating also reflects the risks associated with a growth strategy that is expected to rely on acquisitions, which could be debt financed and result in integration risks. — Moody's Credit Rating"

"We go to market with Google Cloud. We go to market with AWS. We go to market with NVIDIA. So those all look like market partners. So that is -- so we're using a lot of market leverage to be able to expand into these markets very quickly. — CEO Siebel, Wells Fargo, Dec 2, 2021"

"Although the resulting leverage exceeds the level appropriate for a ‘BBB-’ rating on an ongoing basis, the ratings incorporate S&P's expectations that Cox has the capacity and commitment to reduce consolidated debt to EBITDA within two years to the low-to-mid 4x area. — S&P"

"I'm sure we're going to talk about FDA remediation activities. There is incremental $15 million of spend going towards those activities. Ideally, we're wrapping those up by this year, and that will fall off and be a nice source of leverage for 2026. — iRhythm CEO Blackford"

""[PCC] generally leverages superb execution for market share gains through pricing strategies and long-term contracts. We believe [PCC] is one of the best operators in our space, as operating margins are generally above peer companies." — Bank of America, June 4, 2014"

"“...our goal is to accelerate value. We have a deep multi-decade inventory and we want to bring as much of that value forward. So, our plan would be to leverage those efficiencies and be able to drill additional wells...” — Rick Bott, Continental President & COO"

""This merger is for the next 50 years" — Scott Peters (quoted in March 2008). "the tenant-in-common assets managed by NNN's illiquid partnerships [that] were highly leveraged and the fees that NNN had generated [that] were not sustainable" — Forbes."

"We continue to target a long-term leverage of approximately 2.25 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA. From time to time, we may deviate from our long-term leverage target to pursue strategic opportunities. — Capital Mgmt."

"“They [Burford] gambled on an ability to leverage a buyout from Perry Ellis at a price above the merger consideration... They lost that gamble.” — Judge Michael Hanzman, February 3, 2020"

""We hope to leverage our industrial resources and work with China's top teams to change the current situation of foreign AI chip makers' monopolization." — Source"

"Tantu will leverage Ginkgo’s foundries to accelerate strain construction as a key step toward human clinical trials. — Tantu and Ginkgo Bioworks Press Release"

"“Huue will leverage Ginkgo’s platform to optimize microbe strains to accelerate production of its sustainable indigo dye.” — Ginkgo Bioworks Press Release"

""The Board appointed Alan Shaw as CEO because the depth and breadth of his experience would best position us to leverage PSR..." — Norfolk Southern Board"

"“although the sale and leaseback of the towers improved their liquidity, their lease adjusted leverage remains essentially the same.” — Fitch Ratings"

"“That said, we remain very committed to driving leverage below 4x as quickly as possible.” — Matthew Proud, CEO (Q4 2024 Earnings Call)"

"No major changes to the Company's financial leverage and capital allocation approach — Q3 2017 Earnings Call Presentation"

""In the case of this Sunnova model, all the leverage is with the salesperson." — former Sunnova employee"