Bought the ticket, hasn't taken the ride: the company has already paid for its next stage and is now waiting to be paid
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2018 call → NOWe need to determine if management describes a situation where the company has already spent or committed resources for a stage of business that has not yet been paid back, with the return still outstanding and treated as a matter of time. Looking at the transcript: Peter Reed discusses Avanti Communications. He says: "We’ve had a number of positive developments from the company over the past six months since Kyle Whitehill joined the company as its new CEO. Despite the long sales cycle in the telecom space, Kyle has signed three large potentially highly profitable and long-term new contracts. We believe that each of these contracts would be amongst the largest in the company’s history. First, in June, Avanti singed a $10 million two-year contract with Viasat for its HYLAS 4 satellite. Next, in August 2018, Avanti signed a seven-year Master Distribution Agreement for HYLAS 4 with COMSAT, providing Avanti access to the U.S. government. Lastly, in September, Avanti announced its seven-year, wholesale capacity lease agreement for $84 million with a major player in the satellite space. With these contract wins in place, we would expect to see significant revenue growth from Avanti going forward. That, coupled with its largely fixed operating costs could ultimately translate into significant and recurring cash flow." This is about Avanti, which is a portfolio company, not Great Elm itself. The question asks about "the company" - likely Great Elm Capital Corp. But the transcript is about Great Elm's investments. The question: "does management make clear that THE COMPANY HAS ALREADY PAID, IN CASH OR REAL RESOURCES, FOR A STAGE OF BUSINESS IT HAS NOT YET BEEN PAID BACK FOR" - this could refer to Great Elm's own operations or its investments? The context: Great Elm is an investment company. They deploy capital into investments. They have made investments and expect returns. But the specific situation described is about Avanti's contracts. Avanti is a portfolio company. Great Elm has invested in Avanti. The spending is by Avanti, not by Great Elm. The question asks about "the company" - likely Great Elm. But the transcript is about Great Elm's portfolio. The management is discussing Avanti's progress. They have signed contracts, but revenue is expected to come later.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| CEIX | CONSOL Energy Inc. | Q4 2022 | 2023-02-07 | B |
| FLL | Full House Resorts, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-07 | B |
| MEC | Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-05 | B+ |
| XHR | Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-05 | A |
| SYM | Symbotic Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-08-01 | B+ |
| OGI | OrganiGram Holdings Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-07-14 | B+ |
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| PRIM | Primoris Services Corporation | Q2 2018 | 2018-08-11 | C+ |
| KIM | Kimco Realty Corporation | Q2 2018 | 2018-07-26 | B+ |
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| RCL | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | Q1 2016 | 2016-04-29 | C+ |
PRIM · Q2 2018 → YESThe question is about whether management describes having already spent money or resources for a larger operation, but the revenue from that hasn't arrived yet. YES The transcript shows management describing the Willbros acquisition as a completed outlay: closed June 1, $165 million total paid ($38.4 million cash for shares + $123.2 million debt settlement + $3.1 million fees), net cash $111 million, funded by revolver, then refinanced 220 million term loan. This is treated as already done, not planned. The return is still largely outstanding: only one month of Willbros operations reported ($61 million revenue, $6.8 million gross profit, $2.9 million operating income in June), merger-related expenses $7.
PSX · Q4 2016 → YESThe question is about whether management describes having already spent money or resources for a larger operation, but the returns haven't come yet, and they expect them soon as a matter of time. YES Management describes the U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project as already substantially paid for: capital spending is “reduced following the completion of the project” and “down significantly” compared with last year, with roughly $1 billion of CapEx no longer available for distribution.
TGI · Q2 2017 → YESThe question is about whether management describes having already spent money or resources for a larger operation that hasn't paid back yet. YES The transcript shows management describing a clear situation matching all three criteria. On slide 13, they report "$126 million" of year-to-date investments in development programs as a completed cash outflow ("used $126 million"), with incremental customer financing providing $100 million offset.