Callouts & quotes from 229+ activist slides

""Disney has an incredible legacy as one of the leading and most successful consumer entertainment companies in the world... But in recent years, the Company has lost its way resulting in a rapid deterioration in its financial performance from a consistent dividend-paying, high free cash flow generative business into a highly leveraged enterprise with reduced earnings power and weak free cash flow conversion," said Nelson Peltz."

""Yes, and Scott, so let's go back to 2015, you saw that we had about a 60% conversion rate of EBITDA to free cash flow* and through what you have seen this year particularly for this quarter we are in line with that performance. So I will say the expectation moving forward around free cash flow generation to EBITDA will we continue to be at that 60% level, I think we will be close." — Jody Tusa (former CFO), Q3'16 Earnings Call"

""So again, I know that some are very anxious that we hold those shares. Others, very anxious that we sell those shares or swap those shares and so forth. We've got a very close handle on that, and it is our objective to be able to monetize those shares this year and. And to bring in another, at least, $1 billion into the company and into the cash flow of the company." — Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President & CEO, May 2018"

""So again, I know that some are very anxious that we hold those shares. Others, very anxious that we sell those shares or swap those shares and so forth. We've got a very close handle on that, and it is our objective to be able to monetize those shares this year and. And to bring in another, at least, $1 billion into the company and into the cash flow of the company." — Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President & CEO, May 2018"

"So again, I know that some are very anxious that we hold those shares. Others, very anxious that we sell those shares or swap those shares and so forth. We've got a very close handle on that, and it is our objective to be able to monetize those shares this year and. And to bring in another, at least, $1 billion into the company and into the cash flow of the company. — Peter Huntsman, Chairman, President & CEO, May 2018"

"For the past few years our cash flow has enabled us to continue to pursue our growth plans and continue to pay down debt. Our free cash flow is now sufficient to fund both those priorities while enhancing new to shareholders through a quarterly dividend payment. We are able to generate the free cash flow to do all of this because we employ a simple growth oriented business model at Dollarama — June 2011 Conference Call"

"there will be a resumption of its order flow and shipments to Amazon — Stifel Research. Recent sales growth has been broad-based, but still supported by the return of meaningful Amazon sales. While these appear stable for the next few quarters, an unexpected slowdown here may represent the biggest downside risk going into next year should offsetting contribution from new platforms not materialize. — Barclays Research"

"We can calculate Terminal Value in two ways. First, we can calculate Terminal Value using the Perpetuity Growth Method. This method assumes that the company keeps operating and generates cash flow forever into the future. Second, we can calculate Terminal Value using the Terminal Multiple Method. This method assumes we sell the company to an acquirer at the end of our forecast period. — The Core Technicals Guide"

"“...the strategic infrastructure we have in North Dakota, having control of that adds a lot of value... the Tioga Gas Plant...that’s not something we would be interested in MLPing.” — John Hess, November 2012; “...we need some historical performance there of cash flow, of the EBITDA, from these midstream assets, and as we get that... I expect the timing of the monetization is 2015.” — John Rielly, March 2013"

""Capital expenditures were $190 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $169 million in the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase in capital expenditures is primarily driven by increased investment to drive growth and improve cost productivity. Free Cash Flow in 2020 is expected to be approximately $350 million, with capital expenditures of approximately $200 million." — Sealed Air"

""And we believe that the listing in New York in particular in the multi-capitalisation which will approach $20 billion once the synergies are factored in, will put us sort of mid-way in the S&P500 index and create index buying that actually will create flow forward, right. You typically talk about flow back in cross border deals. We would expect flow forward." — CEO Dalia, Deal Call Aug 7, 2018"

""Our compensation-to-revenue ratio came in at 34.8%. This is the low end of the range of what we have been running for the last several years. We have been running in the 35% zone. It is down almost a half point from our 2009 margin and really is consistent with our focus of realizing the benefits of beta flowing through to our shareholders." — Larry Fink, BlackRock Earnings Call (1/25/2011)"

"Well, of course, there's the antimony side. We received this $43 million award. You're going to start seeing news. We've already procured mining equipment and processing equipment, that will all be coming. I'm going to start construction on that Phase 1 plant next year. So news flow and things related to that to get into production with the antimony by mid to late next year. — CEO (Dec 2025)"

""It's not surprising to me [that big pharma/biotech customers don't utilize their machines much] because they have two applications they talk about. There's so much more you have to do once you discover the antibody, and the Beacon accelerated a part of that total workflow, but it didn't accelerate everything else, so you push the bottleneck somewhere else." — Gingko Bioworks executive #1"

"With an annualized dividend of $1.52 per share, the stock yields 7.8%. The good thing is that its AFFO payout ratio for the year was 76%, and the core FFO payout ratio was 80.9%. The forward AFFO and FFO payout ratios at the midpoint are 77.75% and 83%, respectively. Given the relative predictability of REIT cash flows, I'm not worried about dividend safety. — Seeking Alpha author"

""CGI's corporate performance - and stock price - warrant scrutiny. Among them are decreasing cash flow - a key metric of financial health - and falling bookings of new business, as well as various "accounting conventions" that have improved CGI's earnings, in part through recognizing revenue already counted by Logica plc, a big technology company CGI bought last year." — Newsweek"

""We're in the third year of the 3-year program. We target $475 million this year. That's on top of $680 million done last year and then $550 million in 2016. Those costs have not flowed all to the bottom line on our side, because we're offsetting whether it's currency headwinds, declines in revenues, this past year, about 4.7% in constant currency." — William Osbourn, Xerox CFO"

"“Against Engine’s ‘advice’ to not attempt a debt refinancing, and its hyperbolic posturing, the Company refinanced its debt on more favourable terms that materially reduced its debt service cashflows, staggered and extended its maturities, and saved the Company approximately CAD $20 million annualized in net interest costs.” — Dye & Durham Board (September 25, 2024)"

"During the fourth quarter of 2020, changes in mine plans and the determination that certain mineral reserves previously forecasted to be mined were no longer considered economic due to poor geologic conditions reduced forecasted cash flows for one Met and one CAPP - Thermal asset group to amounts below those required for full recoverability. — AMR 10-K, p. 106"

""Change can be scary, especially for employees in the field. It is very important to provide immediate rewards for the adoption of performance improvements and get employees to buy-in. Having the plants participate more closely will ensure that Arconic’s ‘ownership mindset’ flows through the entire organization." — Patrice Merrin, Nominee for New Arconic"

"“Does it move Gingko forward to the tune of the $150 million? The jury's definitely still out - is it commercially useful? Like if it accelerates one workflow in one area but not the overall thing... I can say for Gingko, there has been utility, but whether it's broadly commercially useful, the jury is still out.” — Gingko Bioworks executive #1"

"In our opinion, Ströer's auditor has committed a clear error. IFRS is clear that Ströer's borrowing activity should be shown gross. Even though we have had front row seats to some of the most spectacular auditor failures of this decade, we are still stunned that Ernst & Young has overlooked this basic and obvious problem in Ströer's cash flow."

"In Turkey - as in Germany - we are a clear market leader with our outside advertising with an over 50% market share. In 2015, we earned an operating EBITDA result of €14,000,000 with a cash flow of over €80,000,000 in sales in an admittedly relatively difficult market environment from a geopolitical perspective. — Udo Müller (CEO)"

""Dr. Ignarro has basically started the world on the track of nitric oxide, has made the world understand that a healthy blood flow is a healthy body. And we are the first company to come out with a nitric oxide product in the marketplace, it was laughed at initially and now it is copied." — Michael Johnson, Herbalife CEO, 11-28-07"

"“...in June 2015, after Skymoons Interactive and IQ's mobile game ‘Journey of the Flower’ was launched, Snail Digital received reports from players about the game. After conducting a comparison, its staff found numerous instances where the game ‘Journey of the Flower’ plagiarized content from ‘Taiji Panda.’” — Snail Digital"

""Stryker had a big inventory problem anyway, before COVID, where we were sitting on piles and piles of inventory in certain business segments. But then after COVID struck and it was very important that we saved cash flow and that we try not have too much inventory in the system." — Former Stryker Supply Chain Professional"

"You will also see in our compensation discussion and analysis in our annual circular that in 2018 management is now compensated on cash flow in addition to revenue and EBITDA. And that'll be a friendly reminder to everyone on the leadership team to pay attention to that. — Maxar CEO Lance Q4'17 Conference Call (Feb 2018)"

""Operating cash flows were also impacted by decreased inventory of $14.8 million resulting from continued inventory optimization efforts. These increases were offset by increased accounts and notes receivable of $67.6 million and prepaid expenses and other assets of $12.7 million during 2018" — Axon Financial Statements"

"The directors of [Superb Summit] are solely responsible for the preparation of the Discounted Future Cash Flows with the Valuation which the directors have adopted the Valuation prepared by the Valuer with those bases and assumptions stated in the Valuation with input from the Company and the Valuer. — Auditor's letter"

"“there was uncertainty around how much we were relying on additional receivable sales, and there was uncertainty about how much we would sell in receivables. That’s the biggest change that is leading to this [updated guidance] and flowing that through speaks to the majority of the change in our GPU line item.” — Garcia"

"If Val-gan can grow organically at a high single-digit rate as Valeant management projects, and management can invest the company’s free cash flow in new acquisition targets at historical rates of return, then we believe management can achieve its goal of 15%-20% annual EPS growth — Valeant Presentation April 22, 2014"

"to pursue multiyear upfront contracts with enterprise customers to help meet its fiscal year 2023 free cash flow goal. Upfront billings of enterprise customers in fiscal year 2023 substantially exceeded historical levels, helping the company to meet its lowered annual free cash flow target. — Autodesk (quoted in text)"

"On your second question, so about 21% of our revenue in Q4 was spent on inventory, on our IoT devices and on inventory. And so with a minus 3% free cash flow margin, our free cash flow margin sans dollars going out the door for inventory would have been positive 18%. — Samsara CFO Phillips, Q4 FY2023 Earnings Call"

""It feels very expensive to me. If you go through the three methodologies, valuing the cash flows, on a relative value basis and the third thing is what its worth on a price to book basis if you were to think about it as a financing company. In all three metrics, it's quite expensive." — Former Sunnova Executive"

"But essentially from 2014, 2015 and 2016 there was very little CapEx that was spent at DigitalGlobe to build satellites. And they took advantage of that and all the cash flow that was generated during this period and bought back about$300 million of stock. — Interim Maxar CFO (former MDA CFO) Anil Wirasekara"

"Each of these developments is unfortunate and places management’s full-year guidance at risk, in our view. The risk to earnings has obvious flow through implications to the company’s cash flow, which adds to concern given the company’s already challenged liquidity and balance sheet profile. — Goldman Sachs"

"The system is outdated and they need a lot of innovation on their workflows. That's the feedback we have gotten. But I would definitely recommend doing their due diligence and also speaking to the references, and I think that kind of sums it up. I tend to use this line quite a few times. — IQVIA executive"

"“We even have a challenge in R&D in recruiting scientific groups to use these new methods. It partially might be learning a new technology, which is a barrier, but it's also scientists get set in their ways. With flow cytometry, it's an old technology, but it works.” — Bristol Meyers Squibb employee #1"

"“We believe that the presentation of Adjusted Free Cash Flow is relevant and useful to investors because it provides a measure of cash available to pay the principal on our debt and pursue acquisitions of businesses or other strategic investments or uses of capital.” — GTT Q1 2019 SEC Form 10-Q, p. 40"

""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"

"Yeah, whatever, this is an expensive piece of machine. What does it do? They haven't built anything new. It's built of flow cytometry and some optofluidics, which already exist, and they just married the two, and now they're claiming that they can do something fancy. — Takeda ex-lead scientist"

"ISS continues to have concerns with the Compensation Committee's decision to approve bonus payments at 110 percent of target when the company failed to achieve the minimum performance goals for operating income before depreciation and amortization and free cash flow. — RiskMetrics Group (ISS)"

""The Company reclassified prior year comparative figures in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows to conform to the current year's presentation....This change in presentation did not have an impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results." — Amcor 10-Q Note 1"

"“When the costs to manufacture the assets are greater than (predominant to) the estimated value transferred from Leasing equipment into inventory, the related cash receipt has been recorded as an inflow in net cash (used in) provided by operating activities.” — FTAI Q3 2024 10-Q"

"CEO: "What makes WSP so unique in its ability to convert consistently higher net income into free cash flow." CFO: "Cash management will continue to be a focus, and we expect that our free cash flow will annually exceed our net earnings." — CEO and CFO, Analyst Day, March '22"

"Cash flows from operating activities increased $43.0 million in the first 13 weeks of 2018 compared to the first 13 weeks of 2017. Higher profits, lower inventories and lower management incentive payouts accounted for the increase in cash provided. — Weis Markets MD&A"

"DLO's prospectus claims its "direct connections with merchants serve as a strong competitive advantage and barrier to entry for competing providers, and makes incremental volume that flows through [its] platform highly margin accretive." — DLO F-1, May 5, 2021, p.82"

"“..there will be times when CLR may outspend its internally generated cash flow. However, so long as it is earning the returns on investment in the incremental barrel produced by these borrowings... this should be of minor concern.” — Moody's March 2012"

""Because we're such an important part of how our users get work done and we're mission critical to so many business workflows, our churn rates have remained very stable, in the mid-teens, since our IPO." — Ajay Vashee – Chief Financial Officer, Dropbox"

"This ion induced damage limits the collector lifetime. It is necessary to reduce the velocity of the ions to minimize ion induced damage. Argon gas at high flow rate is injected in the path of the ions. The argon atoms collide with the fast-moving ions"

"“...we didn’t need the primary capital, we obviously did the convertible note earlier in the year really to fund some of our very, disciplined M&A efforts, and we are generating pretty healthy levels of free cash flow...” — CEO Aaron Levie, April 2021"

"..there will be times when CLR may outspend its internally generated cash flow. However, so long as it is earning the returns on investment in the incremental barrel produced by these borrowings... this should be of minor concern. — Moody's March 2012"

"And while BlackRock and Vanguard still make up the bulk of all ETF assets, an unprecedented 45% of the new money flowing into the industry this year has gone to issuers outside of the big two, Bloomberg Intelligence data show. — Bloomberg Intelligence"

""If there is one way to sum up our past and future success...what it really comes down to [is] the Buffalo Wild Wings fan experience. All other value creation opportunities flow from brand strength" — James Schmidt, Chief Operating Officer, 8/16/16"

"Free cash flow conversions, 125% in 2015, average for the last five years, 119%; so just stellar result. We did dip our toe in the water in 2015 on AR factoring, so that isn't 125%. If we take that out, we're still at 119%. — CFO Q4'2015 Conf Call"

"“it was a pretty complex device, so many malfunctions...kinks so the fluids and the gas were not able to flow properly...between 5-7% of the time, they lose the organ because of a failure.” — Former employee in medical safety and clinical affairs"

"FCF was $113M in Q1. This was comprised of cash flow from operations of approximately $165M, less $52M in net capex and other, of which $13M related to the multi-year development of our new campus in Israel. — Tamar Rapaport-Dagim, CFO, Amdocs"

"The cohorts that grew the most in 2021 were the 2018 and 2020 vintages. And these cohorts came with a lower take rate, mainly driven by the business mix of higher payouts and local to local payment flows. — DLocal 4Q21 Earnings Conference Call"

"I'd like the room to have wine, French champagne, flowers (tulips and roses). Additionally, would it be possible to prepare gift baskerts for the girls so when they arrive they'll be happy? Also please add condoms and lubricants to each room."

"That's exactly right. You'd have six months of basically no cash flow or whatever, right? It's funny. Yeah. Yes. It's going to take us in a tangent, but it's not worth the time, but yeah. Yes, that is exactly right. — Former Senior Executive"