> Then, people just sort of adopted EBITDA as shorthand for “FCF from operations” Very true. > then companies like Allbirds took advantage of that to do whate

> Then, people just sort of adopted EBITDA as shorthand for “FCF from operations” Very true. > then companies like Allbirds took advantage of that to do whatever they want with it. Here's an insider secret - everyone manipulates Adj. EBITDA (not just "Allbirds like companies"). It's part of the game of business sellers, which is why buy-side auditing is so important to get right. This is more or less why public security analysts exist - to keep pressure on proper reporting from the company. If WeWork actually went public every analyst worth a salt would basically throw out their "Community Adjusted EBITDA" and the term would be rendered meaningless.