{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785", "docSlug": "5fadb686cc03", "documentTitle": "Twist Bioscience (TWST)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "activist-deck", "documentKindLabel": "Activist deck", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2022-11-15 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.2941177, "pageNumber": 192, "pageCount": 236, "prevPage": 191, "nextPage": 193, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "dense", "nDataPoints": 1, "notes": "The slide uses a Q&A transcript format to frame Twist's pricing as unsustainable and predatory.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "quote_block", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 0.95, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785/192", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-4b91788fc785#slide-192", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "Twist used “shocking” discounts of 75% to lure customers away from Danaher/IDT; “change in attitude” among customers toward Twist as they now return to Thermo, which allegedly used the phrase “Ponzi scheme” in internal discussions to describe Twist", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-0933-75bb-9bf3-f544283e1b78", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.55, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.35 }, "kind": "list", "text": "A: “I think there’s definitely a change in customer attitude happening. How quickly that happens, I don’t want to get wildly excited about it, but I think it’s happening.”\nQ: “How much lower were they on price to steal all of that business like NGS? What was the magnitude of the price disruption they caused?”\nA: “I had customers that left me for prices at 25% of what I was charging them.”\nQ: “So, they were offering a 75% discount?”\nA: “Seventy-five percent discount. That is correct. It was shocking.”\nQ: “It sounds similar to a Ponzi scheme. It’s like you’re basically giving away product. You’re buying market share. You burn money hand over fist to show growth. Then, the only way you can show more growth is by raising more money to give away more money to customers with these obscene prices.”\nA: “Yeah, I think that was the exact phrase that was used in internal discussions, yeah.”\nQ: “You guys used the phrase “Ponzi scheme,” or somebody mentioned it?”\nA: “Yeah...it was a word that was used. There was a remarkable amount of skepticism, which is why the response was patience. Let’s see how this plays out.”\nQ: “Did you hear that word more than once, just out of curiosity?”\nA: “Yeah, absolutely.”\nQ: “How is this sustainable?”\nA: “I don’t know. I didn’t buy Twist stock when they went public.” –IDT ex-regional sales manager, left recently", "attrs": null, "subkind": "bullet", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "74fc43ec-de15-4d2c-90c4-8e9fb8d77090", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.08, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.25 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "Twist used “shocking” discounts of 75% to lure customers aways from Danaher/IDT; “change in attitude” among customers toward Twist as they now return to Thermo, which allegedly used the phrase “Ponzi scheme” in internal discussions to describe Twist", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "3a18220e-2e2d-4469-ad0e-f2d2673e9230", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "“I think there’s definitely a change in customer attitude happening. How quickly that happens, I don’t want to get wildly excited about it, but I think it’s happening.” — IDT ex-regional sales manager", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-0933-75bb-9bf3-fa759c6d6bc5", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.02, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.95 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "2838ef9b-68b2-47b1-90da-85c29f171e67", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.08 }, "kind": "title", "text": "We note that this IDT research source competed head-to-head against Twist for years, and was forthright in acknowledging IDT’s initial share loss to Twist as it entered the market with “shocking” discount of 75%. However, he now observes that “there’s definitely a change in customer attitude happening” away from Twist – despite is radically lower prices.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "headline", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ac2bcc4a-62c5-4180-add4-e4667ec91c77", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [ { "name": "fraud-exposure", "slug": null, "matchId": "12f00c1c-4ee8-4191-89c5-b19c8d5efd38", "evidence": "The slide explicitly uses the term 'Ponzi scheme' to characterize the company's business model.", "confidence": 0.9 } ], "arcBeats": [], "loops": [], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }