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Masimo Q2 Fiscal 2024 Results Show Healthcare Rebound, But Audio Declines Double-Digits

August 8, 2024 by Ted 2 Comments

Cover slide to Masimo earnings presentation

CEO Has a New Option for Offing Sound United

On Wednesday, Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 and the company’s Healthcare division showed solid signs of regaining traction as it continues to power out of the post-COVID doldrums of the last eighteen months to two years. Investors cheered the results by driving up shares of the company’s stock by more than 11%. However, the Non-Healthcare division (Sound United) continues to be troubled with revenues declining 13% in the quarter.

See more on the results for Masimo

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Revised Politan Proxy Material Offers a Surprising Masimo Tidbit

August 7, 2024 by Ted 1 Comment

Chancery Court Declines to Force an Earlier Stockholders Meeting

New proxy material produced and distributed to stockholders this week by Politan Capital Management – an activist investor in Masimo Corp (Nasdaq: MASI) – mostly contains information that was already known. The activist investor, as well as Masimo itself, must provide new proxy materials and voting forms as all previous votes were invalidated as a result of a rescheduling of the 2024 Annual Stockholders Meeting to September 19th (originally was to be July 25th).

But Politan included a few pages of updated background information which, among those items I’ve already written about, did include one fascinating or tantalizing bit of new information.

See more on the updated Politan proxy & its new Masimo tidbit

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Lutron Loses Appeal in J Geiger Lawsuit But Gets Penalty Reduction

August 2, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

The judge hearing Lutron Electronics’ appeal of its loss to GeigTech East Bay (part of J. Geiger shades) in a patent infringement case has delivered her decision and it is sure to please neither side. Earlier this year a jury declared Lutron a willful infringer of a GeigTech patent and awarded it an eye-popping $34.6 million. Lutron appealed asking for a new trial, which was denied, but the Judge cut the award to $3.8 million, agreeing that it was “grossly excessive.”

So what happens now? Read on to see…

See more on this ruling of Lutron’s appeal of Geigtech’s trial win

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Voxx Fiscal 2024 Annual Shareholders Meeting – More Restructuring, Disposal of Brands Ahead

July 25, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

On Tuesday, Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX) held its annual shareholders meeting, closing out a tough Fiscal 2024 with declining sales (down 12.2%) and deepening net losses (up over 53%). Sounding a little defensive, Ari M. Shalam, the company’s Co-Vice Chairman of the Board and son of company founder John J. Shalam, promised investors more restructuring and said the company will shed assets, including some of its previous brand acquisitions, to generate cash to lower debt and prepare the company for healthier growth ahead.

See more on the remarkable Voxx Annual Shareholders Meeting

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With Week 3 of Strike About to Begin, Samsung Management Says, Let’s Talk

July 22, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

*NSEU leaders say worker participation has only increased as strike enters third week [Click to enlarge]*

As I’ve been reporting, Samsung’s largest union, the 30,000+ member strong National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), has launched a strike against one of the largest employers in all of South Korea. This is not a common occurrence anywhere in Asia, and it is the first major strike Samsung has ever experienced.

Now, after two weeks of continuous work stoppage, Samsung management finally indicated to the union that it was interested in restarting the negotiations – a big win for union leaders.

See more on the first-ever union-directed work stoppage at Samsung

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Savant Names Bryce Judd as CRO for Installed Smart Home & Power Biz

July 18, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

Savant Systems, Inc. today announced that it has named Bryce Judd as its Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) for the professionally installed smart home solutions and Savant Power business units. You may recognize that name as Bryce was head of sales for Control4 from 2016-2020.

Learn more about Bryce Judd at Savant

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Politan Returns Fire; Files Countersuit Against Masimo & Directors in Delaware

July 18, 2024 by Ted 2 Comments

Politan investor presentation cover slide — *Cover slide to Politan’s investor presentation*

Claims Company is Violating Its Own Bylaws & Delaware Law

On Tuesday, I told you that Joe Kiani and Masimo Directors filed a lawsuit against Politan Capital Management and Quentin Koffey, asking the courts to force Poltian to correct what it claims are material misrepresentations in Politan’s proxy materials provided to Masimo stockholders. Late Wednesday, Politan returned fire, filing its own countersuit – but in a much more strategic way…

See more on Politan countersuing Masimo

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Parasound VP of Sales Larry Bennett Leaves Company as It Enters New Phase

July 17, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

Larry Bennett, Former VP of Sales at Parasound

Several sources have reported that Parasound Vice President of Sales Larry Bennett has left the company. Bennett was one of the first people brought in when new owner David Sheriff purchased the company from retiring founder Richard Schram and has been at his side during a challenging transition period. I reached out to both Larry Bennett and CEO David Sheriff, finally connecting with Sheriff late Wednesday afternoon, to learn more about this unexpected news.

Learn more about Larry Bennett leaving Parasound

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Samsung Strike Suddenly Gets Serious

July 17, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

The main union at Samsung, the NSEU, held a strike at a production facility — *A union-staged event in front of a Samsung facility in the rain. Look past the signs to get a sense of the thousands of union members who participated in the strike [Click to enlarge]*

The relationship between Samsung and its largest union is rapidly deteriorating and suddenly, a strike called by the union initially more for show than impact, has turned very serious. That means that as the union progresses its tactics, the impact on production is likely to quickly reach the point that it will be felt by the company and all of its customers.

See more on the escalating strike at Samsung

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On the Defensive, Kiani & Masimo’s Claws Come Out; Postpones Annual Meeting & Sues Politan

July 16, 2024 by Ted Leave a Comment

Company Chooses to Delay Annual Stockholders Meeting & Set New Record Date

Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: Masi) announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in California against Politan Capital Management and CIO Quentin Koffey, asking the court for an injunction to force Politan “to correct material misstatements and omissions”…in its “proxy materials.” It also says it has set a new date for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, with a new record date, “to ensure that the vote of the Company’s stockholders is fair and fully informed.” That move is clearly in reaction to evidence uncovered by Politan of a legal but ethically questionable move called “empty voting” in an apparent attempt by an individual who is a friend of Joe Kiani to swing the vote in management’s favor – a move that Politan says would disenfranchise investors who voted.

See the latest outburst of filings and accusations between Masimo & Politan

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News

Masimo Q2 Fiscal 2024 Results Show Healthcare Rebound, But Audio Declines Double-Digits