Spending like a bigger company on purpose: current results carry the cost of an expansion aimed at demand management say
The model's full reasoning — Q2 2023 call → NOWe need to determine if management acknowledges that current results are weighed down by an expansion already undertaken, and justifies it with demand already real. Let's examine the transcript. Key points: Management discusses various projects. They mention the Nederland NGL export expansion, Frac 8, Bear plant, Gulf Run, etc. They also mention costs. But do they say current results are being weighed down by these expansions? They mention "increased operating expenses" in midstream, but that's due to lower prices. They mention "timing of recognition of gains on hedged NGL inventory" as a negative impact. They don't explicitly say that expansion costs are depressing current results. They talk about growth capital expenditures, but that's not necessarily a drag on EBITDA. They mention "we continue to target a 3% to 5% annual distribution growth rate, while balancing our leverage reduction, increasing equity returns and maintaining sufficient cash flow to invest and our incredible backlog of growth opportunities." That doesn't say current results are weighed down. They do mention "we now expect our 2023 adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $13.1 billion to $13.4 billion" and "our guidance does not assume the same upside benefits from pricing and spreads that we experienced in 2022." That's about commodity prices, not expansion costs. They talk about the Lake Charles LNG project, but that's not yet FID, and they are seeking new authorization. They mention HOAs, but that's not already executing. They mention "we FID-ed an expansion to our NGL export capacity at Nederland" and "This project is expected to be in service in mid-2025" - so it's not yet in service, but it's FID'd. They don't say it's weighing on current results. They mention "we expect frac 8 to be mechanically complete in the next couple of weeks" - that's about to be completed, not yet. They mention "we placed our 200 million cubic foot per day Grey Wolf processing plant into service in December of 2022. And in June, we placed the Bear plant into service" - these are already in service, but they don't say they are weighing on results. They say "We saw record throughput" and "strong volume growth was more than offset by significantly lower natural gas and natural gas liquids prices" - so the offset is due to prices, not expansion costs.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Date | Call grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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SIBN · Q3 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management acknowledge that the company's CURRENT reported results are being visibly weighed down by the cost of an expansion the company has ALREADY undertaken — spending, hirin...YES Management explicitly describes the expansion as already underway and costing the company now: investments in sales force (85 territory managers + 72 specialists), new products (iFuse-TORQ, iFuse-Bedrock Granite), instrument trays, inventory, and R&D that are driving higher depreciation, freight, and product costs 84% gross margin (down low-single digits from these factors). Anshul confirms “we’ve made a substantial amount of investment whether it’s in TORQ trays or Granite trays or TORQ implants” and “this is going to lead to elevated depreciation,” while Laura notes the build supports “strong new product demand.
FLYW · Q1 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management acknowledge that the company's CURRENT reported results are being visibly weighed down by the cost of an expansion the company has ALREADY undertaken, AND justify carr...YES The transcript shows management explicitly linking the current EBITDA decline to the hiring expansion already completed ("increased the number of FlyMates by over 50% during the past year" and "added over 100 new FlyMates within the sales, marketing and product functions"), while framing the spending as a deliberate, ongoing 2022 investment plan that is already delivering observable results through record client adds (130), pipeline growth, and strong ARR signings.
EVGO · Q2 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management acknowledge that the company's CURRENT reported results are being visibly weighed down by the cost of an expansion the company has ALREADY undertaken, AND justify carr...YES Management describes concrete expansion already underway—170 stalls placed in Q2, total stalls at 2,397 with 460 under construction, pipeline at 3,669, CapEx jumped to $44 million to accelerate deployment, and G&A ramping personnel to support growth—while directly tying the resulting negative adjusted EBITDA of -$19.8 million to that deliberate build-out.