Starboard Value · activist-deck
Starboard Value | Activist Presentation Deck | 96 slides
96 pages · 3 arc beats · 0 loops
Starboard Value | Activist Presentation Deck | 96 slides
Starboard Value · 2012-05 arc beats above · slides in the middle · loops below · scroll → 0 LOOPS
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Deck intelligence map
3 coverage by narrative range · generated from this deck JSON
Narrative range 22 total
Metadata
Components
Metrics
Tools
Frameworks
Beats
Loops
Problem (Identify pain) 6 slides 100% 6/6 slides 100% 6/6 slides · 33 hits — 0/6 slides
66.7% 4/6 slides 50% 3/6 slides 100% 6/6 slides — 0/6 slides
Agitate (Make it worse) 10 slides 100% 10/10 slides 100% 10/10 slides · 54 hits — 0/10 slides
— 0/10 slides
70% 7/10 slides 100% 10/10 slides — 0/10 slides
Solution (Provide relief) 6 slides 100% 6/6 slides 100% 6/6 slides · 30 hits — 0/6 slides
— 0/6 slides
66.7% 4/6 slides 100% 6/6 slides — 0/6 slides
Slide inventory
96 every slide · same image gating as the playbook
05
This is a classic activist investor 'case for change' slide.diagnose_problem
Open slide detailBeat · Problem (Identify pain)
07
Includes footnotes detailing peer group composition and calculation methodology.expose_gap
Open slide detailBeat · Problem (Identify pain)
08
The slide highlights the disparity between revenue decline and expense reduction, leading to significant EBITDA and FCF erosion.diagnose_problem
Open slide detailBeat · Problem (Identify pain)
09
The slide uses a dual-chart layout to demonstrate the inverse relationship between rising operating expenses and falling EBITDA margins.compare_peers
Open slide detailBeat · Problem (Identify pain)
10
The slide uses a red arrow to visually emphasize the downward trend.diagnose_problem
Open slide detailBeat · Problem (Identify pain)
11
Includes a quote from CFO Arthur Minson regarding the growth strategy.quantify_opportunity
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
12
Uses a before-after-framing style to contrast management's narrative with actual performance.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
13
Uses a dual-chart layout to contrast investment spend vs. enterprise value decline.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
14
The slide uses a red box to highlight the specific Display segments (Free Premium Content and Patch) that are driving the losses.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
15
The chart uses a downward-sloping arrow to emphasize the negative trend in losses.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
16
Uses CEO quotes to frame the 'status quo' as stubbornness.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
17
This is a transition or thesis-setting slide in an activist deck.frame_problem
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
18
The slide uses red bars to highlight AOL's specific metrics within the competitive set.compare_peers
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
19
Uses a waterfall-style bar chart to show revenue vs EBITDA losses over three years.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
20
Uses a comparison table to contrast a profitable peer with the target company's loss-making segments.compare_peers
Open slide detailBeat · Agitate (Make it worse)
21
Uses CNET as a precedent for profitability in display-heavy business models.compare_peers
22
The slide uses a red circle annotation to emphasize the $1.1B expense figure.compare_peers
24
Uses a before-after framework to highlight the negative impact of AOL's management strategy.expose_contradiction
25
Uses a waterfall chart to demonstrate capital inefficiency in AOL's acquisition strategy.expose_contradiction
26
This is a transition or thesis slide used to set the stage for a critique of the Patch business.frame_problem
27
The slide uses screenshots to demonstrate the product's geographic reach and local content focus.establish_context
28
The slide uses a table to compare 'Display - Free Premium Content' against 'Display - Patch' to isolate the negative impact of the Patch acquisition.expose_contradiction
29
The slide uses a quote from a former employee to validate the activist's thesis.name_villain
30
Includes a testimonial/quote from a former employee to support the argument.diagnose_problem
31
Uses a series of quotes from earnings calls to highlight the discrepancy between guidance and actual spend.expose_contradiction
32
Uses a waterfall-style chart to show revenue vs EBITDA losses.expose_contradiction
35
Includes a screenshot of Google AdWords interface showing specific Patch placements.expose_contradiction
36
Uses a quote as a primary evidence point to support the contradiction argument.expose_contradiction
37
Uses a 100% stacked bar chart to show 0% positive response from a small sample size of 11 advertisers.expose_contradiction
40
The slide uses a 'Target Case' P&L table to demonstrate structural unprofitability.name_villain
42
Uses a screenshot of AOL.com to demonstrate that a generic online retailer (VON VONNI) advertises on the platform, suggesting Patch's ad revenue is not necessarexpose_contradiction
43
The slide uses a hub-and-spoke diagram to link a central ad source to multiple local news sites.expose_contradiction
44
Uses a series of bulleted arguments to dismantle management's claims regarding revenue and profitability.name_villain
46
Includes a specific callout to the $300M loss figure and a table comparing Display vs Display+Search performance.expose_contradiction
47
Uses a hub-and-spoke diagram to visualize traffic flow to AOL.com.expose_contradiction
48
Uses a simple flow diagram to illustrate the lack of connection between Patch and AOL search traffic.preempt_rebuttal
49
The slide uses a bar chart to contrast engagement metrics, directly challenging the company's stated strategic rationale.expose_contradiction
50
The slide uses a rhetorical question to challenge the assumption that content ownership is a prerequisite for search utility.preempt_rebuttal
51
Uses the ceo-quote-contradiction framework to undermine management's narrative.expose_contradiction
52
The slide uses a red box to highlight the negative EBITDA and margins of the Display segments.expose_contradiction
54
Uses an 'Independent Peer Group' to contrast with AOL's existing peer group.compare_peers
55
Uses authority-citation to validate the activist's claims against the target company.expose_contradiction
56
Includes a screenshot of an ISS Proxy Alert report from 2010.expose_contradiction
57
Includes a visual excerpt of the original Glass Lewis proxy paper with a red circle highlighting the 'Poor' rating.cite_precedent
58
Highlights the risk of 'cherry-picking' larger peers to inflate compensation.compare_peers
59
The slide uses a scatter plot with a broken axis to show the outlier status of the peer group compared to the guidelines.expose_contradiction
60
The slide uses red boxes to highlight 'NO' entries, visually emphasizing the failure to meet guidelines.expose_gap
61
The slide uses red circles to highlight the 'Multiple of AOL' for market cap, emphasizing the extreme disparity.expose_contradiction
62
Uses direct quotes from a proxy paper to establish a precedent for peer group scrutiny.cite_precedent
63
The chart uses a broken axis for the Y-axis (Revenue) and X-axis (Market Cap) to accommodate outliers like Microsoft and Google.compare_peers
64
The slide highlights that AOL's peer group selection is biased towards larger companies, failing standard proxy advisor guidelines.compare_peers
66
The slide uses a table to contrast AOL's metrics with a peer group mean/median, highlighting that the new group is more representative.compare_peers
67
The chart uses a blue dashed box to highlight the target range for peer selection.compare_peers
68
The slide uses a green border to highlight the 'Independent Peer Group' row as the compliant option.compare_peers
69
Uses a red box to highlight the misalignment of AOL's performance metrics vs. compensation.compare_peers
70
The slide uses a red dashed line to indicate the peer group median of 1.0%.compare_peers
71
The slide uses a red box to highlight the discrepancy between AOL's performance and executive compensation.expose_contradiction
72
The slide uses a specific 'Independent Peer Group' to expose the discrepancy in AOL's compensation benchmarking.compare_peers
73
The slide uses bolding to emphasize the lack of disclosure ('not disclosed').expose_contradiction
76
The slide uses a strong 'villain' framing by contrasting the nominees' objective financial evaluation against Mr. Armstrong's 'emotional and personal connectionstate_demand
Open slide detailBeat · Solution (Provide relief)
78
The slide uses a hierarchical list structure to frame the activist's diagnostic approach.diagnose_problem
Open slide detailBeat · Solution (Provide relief)
79
Includes annotations on the line chart marking specific events related to Starboard's involvement.illustrate_case
Open slide detailBeat · Solution (Provide relief)
80
Uses a 'before-after' style logic to frame the company's actions as forced by the activist.expose_contradiction
Open slide detailBeat · Solution (Provide relief)
81
The slide uses a 4-column table to contrast Starboard's original suggestions against AOL's past and present statements, concluding with Starboard's ongoing concexpose_contradiction
82
The slide uses a red box to highlight the poor performance of 'Display - Free Premium Content' and 'Display - Patch'.expose_contradiction
84
The slide uses a hub-and-spoke diagram to visualize conflicts of interest.expose_contradiction
85
The slide uses the 'independent' label in quotes to cast doubt on their alignment with shareholders.expose_contradiction
86
Includes screenshots of ISS and Glass Lewis reports as evidence of negative ratings and recommendations.expose_contradiction
87
Includes specific quotes from ISS and Glass Lewis reports from 2009 and 2010.expose_contradiction
88
The slide uses a 'villain' framing by questioning the competence and independence of specific board members.introduce_nominees