People Be Lyin
Factual definition
People Be Lyin is the diligence rule coined by Shayne Fitz-Coy in 2026: recalculate every number a seller hands you, because the ones that matter are the ones most worth overstating.
People Be Lyin in practice
A proposal describes itself as proprietary. Unless you originated it, it is not, and the alarm should go off.
How Shayne Fitz-Coy uses People Be Lyin
Charlie Munger has a very famous quote and he says earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is bullshit earnings, and whenever he sees it his alarm goes off. I want yours to go off as well.
Do the work and calculate it yourselves, because people be lying.
Terms Related to People Be Lyin
Quality of earnings (QofE) · Proprietary vs auctioned deal flow · Adjusted EBITDA · The Proprietary Alarm · All of the glossary