Question Bank › Where the money went

Where the money went

Where the money went: management itemizes the period's spending into named growth uses tied to business already live

Calls Tested
479
Answered YES
50
Hit Rate
10.4%
rare by design

ALLETE, Inc. (ALE) — this company's answers

NO on the Q4 2015 call 2016-02-18 B
The model's full reasoning — Q4 2015 call → NOThe question asks whether management gives investors a concrete accounting of where the period's money and effort went, itemizing specific growth-directed uses, and ties those uses to business that is already real (actual orders, customers, contracts, volumes, openings, or activity already arriving or committed). Let me review the transcript for such accounting. Key points from the call: - Thomson Hydro restoration completed ($90 million) - this is restoration of existing capacity, not growth - Mercury emissions reduction at Boswell Unit 4 - compliance project - Great Northern Transmission Line - construction expected to begin in 2017, completion 2020 - this is future, not yet real - 10 MW solar installation at Camp Ripley - construction expected to begin in May, producing by November - future - ALLETE Clean Energy acquired Chanarambie-Viking (97.5 MW) and Armenia Mountain (101 MW) - these are acquisitions, but the call doesn't itemize what was spent on them or tie to specific new revenue - Thunder Spirit completed - build-own-transfer for Montana-Dakota Utilities - this was completed at end of 2015, and the profit was $20.4 million or $0.42 per share - U.S. Water Services acquired - net income of $900,000 on revenue of $119.8 million The call discusses: - The $22.3 million impairment charge at ALLETE Properties (non-cash, legacy) - $4.8 million acquisition transaction fees - $20.4 million profit on construction and sale of wind facility The question is whether management itemizes specific growth-directed uses of money and ties them to already-real business. Looking at the call: - The wind facility sale (Thunder Spirit) is completed and profit recognized - that's real, but it's a completed transaction, not a ramp - The acquisitions of wind facilities are mentioned but not itemized in terms of spending - The Great Northern Transmission Line is future construction - The solar project is future The call does mention cost reduction efforts, workforce reductions (100 positions or 8%), and cost containment. The impairment charge is a one-time charge, not growth spending. The acquisition transaction fees are one-time. The call doesn't really itemize "here's what we spent money on this period for growth" in a way that ties to already-real business. The acquisitions are mentioned but not detailed in terms of what was spent and what revenue they're generating.

← Back to the full ALE analysis

Show the exact prompt the model was given
Using ONLY the supplied earnings call transcript and no outside information: On this call, does management give investors a CONCRETE ACCOUNTING OF WHERE THE PERIOD'S MONEY AND EFFORT WENT — voluntarily itemizing the specific growth-directed uses that consumed the company's spending, cash, or profitability this period (for example: feeding a ramp, building or opening capacity, hiring and training ahead of work, staging inventory or supply for committed deliveries, funding a launch or rollout, standing up a new team, site, or capability) — AND does management tie those named uses to business that is ALREADY REAL — actual orders, customers, contracts, volumes, openings, or activity already arriving or already committed now — so that the spending reads as the visible cost of growth already underway rather than as hope, waste, or defense? Answer YES when management's own words convey, in whatever form fits the business, ONE coherent posture: the call functions as an operator's ledger of the period, in which management names what the money was spent on, explains what each named use is for, and connects it to demand or activity that already exists — conveying, directly or plainly in substance, that the reported results carry the cost side of business whose revenue side is already in motion and still mostly ahead. The industry, the form of the spending, and the form of the live business may vary widely; one substantial named use or several smaller ones both count, so long as the itemization is management's own and the tie to already-real business comes through. Answer NO if elevated spending or weak profitability is attributed mainly to inflation, input costs, inefficiency, one-time charges, restructuring, or external conditions rather than to named growth uses. NO if the investment talk is generic ("we continue to invest in growth," "we are investing for the future") without management itemizing what the money actually went to. NO if the named uses are tied only to hoped-for demand, pipeline, market opportunity, or decisions not yet made rather than to business already arriving or committed. NO if the spending described is routine maintenance or the company's ordinary annual investment cadence with no sense that the period absorbed the cost of a step-up. NO if management is chiefly apologizing for the spending, promising to cut it, or defending a struggling core. NO if the accounting appears only in an analyst's question or model that management does not itself affirm. Use only the supplied transcript. Answer only YES or NO.

Companies that answered YES

TickerCompanyCallDateCall grade
ASO Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. Q1 2024 2024-06-11 C+
WRBY Warby Parker Inc. Q1 2024 2024-05-09 A
AES The AES Corporation Q1 2024 2024-05-03 C+
GIII G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. Q4 2024 2024-03-14 C
KOPN Kopin Corporation Q4 2023 2024-03-14 C+
PUMP ProPetro Holding Corp. Q4 2023 2024-02-21 C+
HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc. Q1 2024 2024-01-30 C
FSBC Five Star Bancorp Q3 2023 2023-10-31 B
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Q3 2023 2023-10-27 B+
OXM Oxford Industries, Inc. Q2 2023 2023-08-31 C
PTLO Portillo's Inc. Q2 2023 2023-08-05 B
ET Energy Transfer LP Q2 2023 2023-08-02 C+
CDE Coeur Mining, Inc. Q1 2023 2023-05-11 C+
CARS Cars.com Inc. Q1 2023 2023-05-06 B
M Macy's, Inc. Q4 2022 2023-03-02 D
CEIX CONSOL Energy Inc. Q4 2022 2023-02-07 B
SOL ReneSola Ltd Q3 2022 2022-12-01 C+
CIG Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais Q3 2022 2022-11-16 C+
SIBN SI-BONE, Inc. Q3 2022 2022-11-07 C+
SYY Sysco Corporation Q1 2023 2022-11-01 C+
CHE Chemed Corporation Q3 2022 2022-11-01 B+
TMCI Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-08-13 B+
CRL Charles River Laboratories International Q2 2022 2022-08-03 C
IT Gartner, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-08-02 A
SGRY Surgery Partners, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-08-02 B+
SYM Symbotic Inc. Q3 2022 2022-08-01 B+
CME CME Group Inc. Q2 2022 2022-07-27 B
OGI OrganiGram Holdings Inc. Q3 2022 2022-07-14 B+
KFY Korn Ferry Q4 2022 2022-06-22 B
FLYW Flywire Corporation Q1 2022 2022-05-14 B+
HLIO Helios Technologies, Inc. Q1 2022 2022-05-10 C
CCRN Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. Q1 2022 2022-05-04 B
FLUX Flux Power Holdings, Inc. Q2 2022 2022-02-10 D
GTES Gates Industrial Corporation plc Q4 2021 2022-02-07 C+
GFS GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. Q3 2021 2021-11-30 A
KTB Kontoor Brands, Inc. Q3 2021 2021-11-04 A
FFWM First Foundation Inc. Q3 2021 2021-10-26 B
EHTH eHealth, Inc. Q2 2021 2021-07-29 F
IRT Independence Realty Trust, Inc. Q2 2018 2018-08-02 B
FSS Federal Signal Corporation Q1 2018 2018-05-12 A
ATI Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Q1 2018 2018-04-24 B
BCE BCE Inc. Q2 2017 2017-08-05 B+
FLEX Flex Ltd. Q1 2018 2017-07-28 F
DAN Dana Incorporated Q1 2017 2017-05-02 B
PSX Phillips 66 Q4 2016 2017-02-03 C+
TGI Triumph Group, Inc. Q2 2017 2016-11-03 C+
CHDN Churchill Downs Incorporated Q2 2016 2016-08-04 C+
LBTYK Liberty Global's Q1 2016 2016-05-10 C+
GOGO Gogo Inc. Q1 2016 2016-05-06 C+
SON Sonoco Products Company Q4 2015 2016-02-11 B

How the model reasoned

AES · Q1 2024 → YESThe question is: Does management give a concrete accounting of where the period's money and effort went, itemizing specific growth-directed uses tied to already real business? YES Management itemizes the period’s spending in two places. - Utilities: “our Q1 investment was up nearly 100% from last year, as a result of the new rate structures and investing to improve system resilience and customer experience.” - Renewables: “we have also added almost 600 meg awatts of new projects to our operating portfolio” and “we remain fully on track to add a total of 3.6 gigawatts of new capacity this year” with “92% of the major equipment already on site” for 2024 projects. Both uses are explicitly tied to already-signed backlog ( 12.7 GW signed contracts, 1.
GTES · Q4 2021 → YESThe question is: Does management give a concrete accounting of where the period's money and effort went, itemizing specific growth-directed uses tied to already real business? YES The transcript shows management itemizing specific growth-directed uses—targeted incremental capacity investments, material science, and innovation—explicitly tied to already-real business: record backlog, book-to-build above 1, strong order rates, and committed wins (e.g., Gogoro, EV platform). These are framed as 2021 spending that consumed profitability and cash flow in Q4, directly supporting demand already arriving rather than future hope. While some operational headwinds (COVID, materials) are noted, the capacity investments are presented as the visible cost of growth underway.
DAN · Q1 2017 → YESThe question is about whether management gives a concrete accounting of where the period's money and effort went, specifically for growth-directed uses tied to already real business. YES Management itemizes concrete uses of the period’s cash and effort: higher capital spending to convert the $175 million backlog (Super Duty, Toyota HiLux, Jeep Wrangler readiness), the $25 million trade-payable settlement tied to the USM acquisition that is already supplying Dana, the Brevini integration costs 8 % organic growth plus aftermarket recovery, and the start-up costs of the new Toledo facility and Hungary gear plant that are supporting committed customer programs already in motion.

More from the question bank

Deliveries running ahead of the moneyRepeat customers are now the ones asking forRelationships widening on the customers' iniStretched by business that already arrivedThe streak is aliveEngine explained, runway namedAll questions →
Not investment advice. Artul.ai publishes AI-generated earnings-call quality grades and expected-volatility estimates — never buy or sell recommendations. We tested over 1,600 predictive hypotheses against 165,000 transcripts; the honest result, including what failed, is documented in our methodology.