Why does the classification of items 'above' versus 'below' the EBITDA line matter so much in QoE, and where do disputes arise?

EBITDA is the headline value driver — the multiple is applied to it — so whether a cost sits above the line (reducing EBITDA) or is excluded as below-the-line or non-operating directly moves price. Disputes cluster around items management wants below the line: recurring 'restructuring', bad-debt write-offs, foreign-exchange losses, gains on asset disposals, and capitalized costs that arguably belong in opex. The discipline is substance and recurrence — a cost that recurs every year, or is integral to running the business, belongs in EBITDA regardless of how it's labelled. I test consistency over time, look for reclassifications between periods that conveniently lift recent EBITDA, and challenge add-backs that lack evidence. Each reclassification at, say, an 8x multiple is worth eight times its annual amount in price, which is why it's contested.