Priced like the old business, running like a new one: management is redirecting the call away from the metric investors
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2017 call → NOThe user wants me to analyze the earnings call transcript and determine if management is repeatedly redirecting attention away from the conventional yardstick and toward a different part of the business that is already earning, while indicating the record hasn't caught up. Let me analyze the transcript carefully. The company is Edgewell Personal Care Co. (NYSE: EPC), a consumer products company with segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care, and All Other. The conventional yardstick for this company would be overall organic net sales growth, or perhaps the core Wet Shave business (razors and blades). Let me look at what management says: 1. David Hatfield's opening: "we continued to operate in a very challenging environment, particularly in the U.S., where all of our categories declined in the quarter, and the heightened level of competitive intensity continued, particularly in the Wet Shave and the Feminine Care." 2. He mentions "we delivered strong adjusted operating profit growth of nearly 40%; adjusted EPS growth of 68%; good cash flow generation, and the share gains in Wet Shave and Sun Care." 3. He discusses the three strategic pillars: fundamentals/innovation, reconfiguring business against growth opportunities (e-retail, direct-to-consumer), and building organizational capabilities. 4. He mentions Wet Shave innovation, Sun Care innovation, and the launch of direct-to-consumer site schickhydro.com, Hydro Connect in China, etc. Now, let me check if management sets aside the conventional yardstick. The conventional yardstick here would be organic net sales growth or the core Wet Shave business. Looking at the call: - Management discusses organic net sales being down 0.6% - They discuss Wet Shave being flat, Sun and Skin Care growing, Feminine Care declining - They discuss the challenging U.S. environment Do they set aside the conventional yardstick? Let me look for that... David says: "we continued to operate in a very challenging environment, particularly in the U.S., where all of our categories declined in the quarter" - this is acknowledging weakness, not setting aside a yardstick.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Date | Call grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOAH | Noah Holdings Limited | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-30 | D |
| DUOT | Duos Technologies Group, Inc. | Q4 2023 | 2024-04-01 | F |
| OPAD | Offerpad Solutions Inc. | Q3 2023 | 2023-11-01 | C |
| SPT | Sprout Social, Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-08-04 | B+ |
| PRPH | ProPhase Labs, Inc. | Q1 2023 | 2023-05-11 | F |
| CALX | Calix, Inc. | Q1 2023 | 2023-04-20 | C+ |
| WD | Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-09 | C+ |
| LC | LendingClub Corporation | Q4 2021 | 2022-01-26 | A |
| CYBR | CyberArk Software Ltd. | Q3 2021 | 2021-11-04 | B+ |
| LPTH | LightPath Technologies, Inc. | Q4 2021 | 2021-09-09 | D |
| LOB | Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. | Q3 2018 | 2018-10-25 | C+ |
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