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  "documentTitle": "PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. (PWSC)",
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  "authorName": "Spruce Point Capital Management",
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  "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller",
  "presentationDate": "2024-04-17 00:00:00",
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  "notes": "The slide uses a waterfall-style bridge table to highlight accounting adjustments that inflate EBITDA.",
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      "kind": "callout",
      "text": "Account for 100% of reported Adj. EBITDA growth",
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      "text": "Includes real cash development costs of $30.4M (2023) and $9.7M (2020) as we pointed out earlier",
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      "text": "Adj. EBITDA: 71%",
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      "text": "We also highlight how the majority of the Company's reported 71% increase in Adj. EBITDA since 2020 has come from non-earnings growth. Operating income has grown by just 8% since 2020, despite a series of major acquisitions and several strong years of reported organic growth. Growth in Adj. EBITDA has come entirely from growth in amortization costs (much of which are real cash development costs being capitalized) as well as growth in stock-based compensation.",
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      "text": "Source: PowerSchool FY22 and FY23 10-K",
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      "text": "PWSC's Adjusted EBITDA Bridge",
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      "text": "PowerSchool's Reported Adj. EBITDA Growth Has Been Very Low Quality",
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