Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Albertsons Companies third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call, and thank you for standing by. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded. The call will last approximately one hour.

歡迎參加艾伯森公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議，感謝您的支持。（操作員說明）此通話正在錄音。通話將持續約一小時。

I would like to hand the call over to Melissa Plaisance, SVP, Investor Relations, Treasury, and Risk Management. Please go ahead.

我想將電話轉交給投資者關係、財務和風險管理高級副總裁梅麗莎·普萊桑斯 (Melissa Plaisance)。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for the Albertsons Companies third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. With me today from the company are Vivek Sankaran, our CEO; and Sharon McCollam, our President and CFO.

早安，感謝您參加艾伯森公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的還有我們公司的執行長 Vivek Sankaran；以及我們的總裁兼財務長 Sharon McCollam。

Today, Vivek will provide an update on what we have been working on since the merger was announced and give you an early view of our strategic priorities going forward. Then, Sharon will provide an overview of our third-quarter 2024 financial results and fiscal 2024 outlook before handing it back over to Vivek for some closing remarks. After management comments, we will conduct a Q&A session.

今天，Vivek 將介紹自宣布合併以來我們一直在進行的工作的最新情況，並讓您初步了解我們未來的策略重點。然後，Sharon 將概述我們的 2024 年第三季財務業績和 2024 財年展望，然後將其交還給 Vivek 進行一些結束語。管理層提出意見後，我們將進行問答環節。

I'd like to remind you that management may make statements during this call that are or could include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not limited to historical facts but contain information about future operating or financial performance.

我想提醒您，管理層可能會在本次電話會議期間發表聲明，這些聲明屬於或可能包含聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性聲明。前瞻性陳述不僅限於歷史事實，還包含有關未來營運或財務表現的資訊。

Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to be materially different from those anticipated. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are and will be contained from time to time in our SEC filings, including our Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K.

前瞻性陳述是基於我們目前的預期和假設，涉及可能導致實際結果或事件與預期有重大差異的風險和不確定性。有關可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異的因素的其他資訊現在和將來都會包含在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中，包括我們的 10-Q、10-K 和 8-K 表格。

Any forward-looking statement we make today are only as of today's date, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any such statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

我們今天所做的任何前瞻性聲明僅截至今天，我們不承擔因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新或修改任何此類聲明的義務。

Please keep in mind that included in the financial statements and management's prepared remarks are certain non-GAAP measures, and historical financial information includes a record conciliation of net income to adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA.

請記住，財務報表和管理層準備的評論中包含某些非公認會計準則衡量標準，歷史財務資訊包括淨利潤與調整後淨利潤和調整後 EBITDA 的創紀錄的調節。

And with that, I'll hand the call over to Vivek.

然後，我會將電話轉交給 Vivek。

Thanks, Melissa. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. First, let me say how wonderful it is to be back hosting all of you on today's call.

謝謝，梅麗莎。大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們。首先，我要說的是，能夠再次主持今天的電話會議真是太好了。

While we are disappointed that the merger was terminated, we never stopped investing in our business while driving our Customers for Life strategy. I'd like to use my time with you today to provide an update on what we have been working on since the merger was announced and give you an early view of our strategic priorities moving forward.

儘管我們對合併的終止感到失望，但我們在推動「客戶終身」策略的同時從未停止對業務的投資。我想利用今天與您在一起的時間，介紹自宣布合併以來我們一直在開展的工作的最新情況，並讓您初步了解我們前進的戰略重點。

Over the last two years, we have continued to drive and evolve four priorities: one, driving customer growth and engagement through digital connection; two, enhancing the customer value proposition; three, modernizing capabilities through technology; and four, driving transformational productivity.

過去兩年，我們持續推動和發展四個優先事項：一是透過數位連結推動客戶成長和參與；二、提升顧客價值主張；三、透過科技實現能力現代化；第四，推動生產力轉型。

To engage customers, we have continued to invest in growth through four digital platforms. These platforms are designed to drive increased sales, more deeply engage our most loyal customers, increase customer lifetime value, and generate digital space and robust data for the Albertsons Media Collective.

為了吸引客戶，我們持續透過四個數位平台投資成長。這些平台旨在推動銷售成長，更深入地吸引我們最忠實的客戶，提高客戶終身價值，並為艾伯森媒體集團產生數位空間和可靠的數據。

The first of these platforms is e-commerce. We run our e-commerce business out of our stores. So our inventory is close to our customers, and we can offer full access to our merchandise assortment. Our investments in e-commerce have driven sales penetration to over 7% of grocery revenue with our top-performing market over 9%.

第一個平台是電子商務。我們在商店之外經營電子商務業務。因此，我們的庫存靠近客戶，並且可以提供對我們的商品品種的全面訪問。我們對電子商務的投資已將雜貨收入的銷售滲透率提高到 7% 以上，其中表現最好的市場超過 9%。

This growth, which is higher in our first-party versus our third-party business, has been driven by the development of new capabilities in our fully integrated mobile app and improvements in quality, speed, and convenience of DriveUp & Go and in-home delivery. While we have grown this business significantly and faster than the market, it is still underpenetrated compared to industry benchmarks and is one of our biggest growth customer acquisition and customer retention opportunities.

這一成長在我們的第一方業務中高於第三方業務，是由我們完全整合的行動應用程式中新功能的開發以及 DriveUp & Go 和家用的品質、速度和便利性的改進所推動的送貨。雖然我們的這項業務的成長速度顯著且快於市場，但與行業基準相比，它的滲透率仍然較低，並且是我們最大的客戶獲取和客戶保留成長機會之一。

To capture these opportunities, we are rolling out a store-based five-star certification program to ensure we are delivering a consistent and elevated level of customer service as well as a series of targeted marketing initiatives to grow sales and penetration.

為了抓住這些機會，我們正在推出基於商店的五星級認證計劃，以確保我們提供一致且高水平的客戶服務，並採取一系列有針對性的營銷舉措來增加銷售額和滲透率。

The second of these digital growth platforms is loyalty. Our loyalty program is integrated into our mobile app and is a key engagement tool for our business. It is the entry point for digital and personalized marketing and a primary contributor of data to our retail media collective.

第二個數位成長平台是忠誠度。我們的忠誠度計劃已整合到我們的行動應用程式中，是我們業務的關鍵參與工具。它是數位和個人化行銷的切入點，也是我們零售媒體集體數據的主要貢獻者。

In April of 2024, we launched a simplified and enriched program to make it easier for our customers to earn points and redeem coupons, fuel, and grocery rewards. For the first time, it also allows customers to simply redeem points for dollars off their grocery bill.

2024 年 4 月，我們推出了一項簡化且豐富的計劃，讓我們的客戶更輕鬆地賺取積分並兌換優惠券、燃油和雜貨獎勵。它還首次允許客戶簡單地將積分兌換成雜貨帳單上的美元。

Since the launch, we have seen more frequent engagement, higher retention, and increased customer spend. Going forward, we expect to continue to see increased adoption, and we will leverage strategic partnerships to provide our members with even more ways to get rewarded.

自推出以來，我們看到了更頻繁的參與、更高的保留率以及客戶支出的增加。展望未來，我們期望繼續看到更多的採用，並且我們將利用策略合作夥伴關係為我們的會員提供更多獲得獎勵的方式。

The third of these digital platforms is pharmacy and health. Our investments in pharmacy have driven sales penetration to over 11% of total annual revenue. This penetration has been driven by industry-leading core script growth including GLP-1s, excellence in immunization, and best-in-class service.

第三個數位平台是製藥和健康。我們對藥品的投資已將銷售額滲透到年總收入的 11% 以上。這種滲透是由業界領先的核心腳本成長（包括 GLP-1）、卓越的免疫接種和一流的服務所推動的。

It has also been driven by the integration of pharmacy offerings into our mobile app through the launch of Sincerely Health. Sincerely Health is a high-engagement, value-added wellness and rewards platform with over 1 million lives. Although the pharmacy business is financially dilutive, cross shoppers between grocery and pharmacy are exceptionally valuable customers, spending three times more and engaging across all service offerings.

透過推出Sincerely Health，將藥局產品整合到我們的行動應用程式中也推動了這一趨勢。Sincerely Health 是一個高參與度、增值的健康和獎勵平台，擁有超過 100 萬人的生命。儘管藥房業務在財務上是稀釋性的，但雜貨店和藥房之間的交叉購物者是非常有價值的客戶，他們的支出是其三倍，並且參與所有服務產品。

Going forward, we see Sincerely Health growing as a top loyalty driver and a catalyst for introducing immunization and pharmacist-administered treatment. We also expect to capitalize on continued script and immunization growth from traditional pharmacy store closures.

展望未來，我們認為Sincerely Health 將成長為忠誠度最高的推動者以及引入免疫接種和藥劑師管理治療的催化劑。我們也期望利用傳統藥局關閉帶來的藥物和免疫接種的持續成長。

The fourth of these digital platforms is integration of the mobile app for use in our stores, which is supported by the excellence in store-level execution. When our customers are in our stores, we want them to engage with us digitally. To enable this, we launched an in-store, geo-located mobile feature that delivers real-time coupons, help shoppers locate products and plan meals, and assist customers with their shopping lists.

第四個數位平台是整合在我們商店中使用的行動應用程序，這得到了卓越的商店級執行的支援。當顧客來到我們的商店時，我們希望他們能夠透過數位方式與我們互動。為了實現這一目標，我們推出了店內地理定位行動功能，可提供即時優惠券，幫助購物者找到產品和規劃膳食，並協助顧客制定購物清單。

By the end of 2024, we expect over 8 million of our customers to have used this in-store feature. Going forward, we expect to see continued increases in customer utilization of this future and are planning to launch additional capabilities to drive even deeper engagement over time.

到 2024 年底，我們預計將有超過 800 萬名客戶使用此店內功能。展望未來，我們預計未來客戶的使用率將持續增加，並計劃推出更多功能，以隨著時間的推移推動更深入的參與。

All these platforms working together are generating eyeballs, digital inventory, and data with Albertsons Media Collective, or AMC, which we brought in-house in fiscal '22. Since then, we have invested significantly in building industry-leading technologies to deliver an easy-to-use, dynamic, and transparent measurement platform, which is improving endemic and non-endemic brand reach.

所有這些平台協同工作，與 Albertsons Media Collective (AMC) 一起產生眼球、數位庫存和數據，我們在 22 財年將其引入內部。從那時起，我們投入了大量資金來建立業界領先的技術，以提供易於使用、動態且透明的衡量平台，從而提高流行和非流行品牌的影響力。

We've also improved our ability to define shopper audiences, run targeted media campaigns, enhance product offerings, and achieve parity in campaign measurement. With these capabilities, while on a small base, AMC is currently growing faster than the market. Looking forward, we will continue to invest in delivering consistent omni-execution for brand campaigns across our digital and physical assets.

我們也提升了定義購物者受眾、進行有針對性的媒體活動、增強產品供應以及在活動衡量方面實現平等的能力。憑藉這些能力，儘管 AMC 的基礎規模較小，但目前的成長速度快於市場。展望未來，我們將繼續投資，為我們的數位和實體資產的品牌活動提供一致的全方位執行。

In addition, we expect to build new partnerships that add even more eyeballs, digital inventory and capabilities to our platform. AMC continues to be one of the largest opportunities we have to fuel reinvestment into our business.

此外，我們希望建立新的合作夥伴關係，為我們的平台增加更多的關注、數位庫存和功能。AMC 仍然是我們推動業務再投資的最大機會之一。

I'll now discuss our initiatives to enhance the customer value proposition, which includes not only price, but also the ease of the value-added services we provide to customers, both in-store and online. To date, loyalty memberships, digitally engaged customers, omnichannel households, and transaction counts are all growing because our Customers for Life strategy places the customer at the center of everything we do.

我現在將討論我們提高客戶價值主張的舉措，其中不僅包括價格，還包括我們為客戶提供的店內和線上加值服務的便利性。到目前為止，忠誠會員資格、數位參與客戶、全通路家庭和交易數量都在增長，因為我們的終身客戶策略將客戶置於我們所做一切的中心。

So as our customers' needs for value evolve due to inflationary pressures, so are our strategies to address these needs. These strategies to drive better value for customers, in addition to increasing total category growth, include working with our vendor partners to strategically invest in price in certain categories and markets and increasing own brands penetration.

因此，隨著我們的客戶對價值的需求因通膨壓力而變化，我們滿足這些需求的策略也在改變。這些策略旨在為客戶帶來更好的價值，除了增加總品類成長外，還包括與我們的供應商合作夥伴合作，對某些品類和市場的價格進行策略性投資，並提高自有品牌的滲透率。

To deliver this, we will source products that customers trust and need at a better value to drive profitable unit growth and increase share of wallet from existing customers. In own brands, we will also offer products at an attractive entry price point so that customers always have an accessible alternative and more prominently feature existing own brands offerings.

為了實現這一目標，我們將以更高的價值採購客戶信任和需要的產品，以推動獲利單位的成長並增加現有客戶的錢包份額。在自有品牌中，我們還將提供具有吸引力的入門價格點的產品，以便客戶始終有一個可用的替代品，並更突出地突出現有的自有品牌產品。

Our third priority is the modernization of our capabilities to technology. Our north star has been to use technology in everything we do. Over the last few years, we have invested strategically to make technology the key enabler of all major future growth and productivity initiatives.

我們的第三個優先事項是技術能力的現代化。我們的北極星一直在我們所做的一切事情中使用科技。在過去幾年中，我們進行了策略性投資，使技術成為所有主要未來成長和生產力計劃的關鍵推動力。

These investments include migration to the cloud, the launch of our end-to-end e-commerce capabilities, the digitization of pharmacy and health, state-of-the-art tools for pricing and promotion, the enablement of self-checkout, productivity tools to manage replenishment shrink and labor, new supply chain systems, and an industry-leading retail media platform.

這些投資包括遷移到雲端、推出我們的端到端電子商務功能、藥房和健康的數位化、最先進的定價和促銷工具、自助結帳的實現、生產力管理補貨縮減和勞動力的工具、新的供應鏈系統以及業界領先的零售媒體平台。

These investments have created long-term capabilities that will continue to allow us to accelerate the transformation of our operating model going forward. They also position us well to take advantage of the evolution of AI and machine learning to elevate our core business processes.

這些投資創造了長期能力，將繼續使我們能夠加速未來營運模式的轉型。它們還使我們能夠充分利用人工智慧和機器學習的發展來提升我們的核心業務流程。

The final priority is driving transformational productivity. We have continued to develop our productivity engine designed to systematically improve the efficiency of our business and improve costs.

最後的優先事項是推動生產力轉型。我們不斷開發生產力引擎，旨在系統化地提高業務效率並降低成本。

Over the next three years, we plan to deliver $1.5 billion in savings to invest in our customer value proposition and growth initiatives, as well as to offset inflationary headwinds. To achieve this, we are leveraging our recent investments in technology and the latest innovations and business best practices to build industry-leading capabilities and reduce costs.

在未來三年內，我們計劃節省 15 億美元，用於投資我們的客戶價值主張和成長計劃，並抵消通貨膨脹的不利影響。為了實現這一目標，我們正在利用最近的技術投資以及最新的創新和業務最佳實踐來建立行業領先的能力並降低成本。

The first of these initiatives is leveraging our consolidated scale to buy goods for resale. The next is transforming our ways of working, including rebalancing our onshore and offshore activities.

第一個舉措是利用我們的合併規模購買商品進行轉售。接下來是改變我們的工作方式，包括重新平衡我們的在岸和離岸活動。

In our supply chain, we are continuing to make significant progress on automation and the rollout of our new warehouse management system or WMS. By the end of 2025, we expect 30% of our distribution volume to be automated and our WMS to be fully implemented company-wide. These supply chain initiatives improve in-stock conditions, differentiate our fresh quality, lower our cost to serve, and improve our end-to-end data analytics capabilities.

在我們的供應鏈中，我們在自動化和推出新的倉庫管理系統（WMS）方面繼續取得重大進展。到 2025 年底，我們預計 30% 的配送量將實現自動化，並且我們的 WMS 將在全公司範圍內全面實施。這些供應鏈措施改善了庫存狀況，使我們的新鮮品質脫穎而出，降低了服務成本，並提高了我們的端到端數據分析能力。

And finally, in store operations, we are leveraging a more robust technology platform to drive enhanced efficiency, improved customer experience, and deeper associate engagement. For example, we've implemented AI technologies that provide a prompt for misscan, which is reducing inventory shrinkage and improving the customer and associate experience. We're also expanding the utilization of technology in our produce departments, which is driving increased sales, reduced inventory shrinkage, improved quality, and enhanced labor productivity.

最後，在商店營運中，我們正在利用更強大的技術平台來提高效率、改善客戶體驗和加深員工參與度。例如，我們實施了人工智慧技術，可以提示掃描錯誤，從而減少庫存損耗並改善客戶和員工的體驗。我們也在生產部門擴大技術的利用，這推動了銷售量的增加、庫存的減少、品質的提高和勞動生產力的提高。

I will now hand it over to Sharon for an overview of our third quarter and an update on our 2024 financial outlook.

我現在將其交給 Sharon，概述我們第三季度的情況以及 2024 年財務展望的最新情況。

Thank you, Vivek, and good morning, everyone. It's great to be here with you today. We are pleased with our third-quarter results and the operational benefits we are seeing from the investments we have made in our business.

謝謝你，Vivek，大家早安。很高興今天能和大家在一起。我們對第三季的業績以及我們從業務投資中看到的營運效益感到滿意。

We are a stronger company today than premerger, and the initiatives that have driven these results affirm our confidence in our future. We delivered solid operating and financial performance during the quarter across all key metrics in an environment where the consumer remains cautious.

今天，我們是一家比合併前更強大的公司，推動這些成果的舉措證實了我們對未來的信心。在消費者保持謹慎的環境下，我們在本季的所有關鍵指標上都實現了穩健的營運和財務表現。

The financial highlights of the quarter included an identical sales increase of 2%, a digital sales increase of 23%, adjusted EBITDA of $1.065 billion, and adjusted EPS of $0.71 per share. Loyalty members increased 15% to 44.3 million, and we increased our quarterly dividend by 25% to $0.15 per share.

本季的財務亮點包括銷售額年增 2%、數位銷售額成長 23%、調整後 EBITDA 為 10.65 億美元、調整後每股收益 0.71 美元。忠誠會員增加了 15%，達到 4,430 萬，我們的季度股息增加了 25%，達到每股 0.15 美元。

I'll now provide additional color on the financial details that drove these results. The ID sales increase of 2% was primarily driven by a 13% increase in pharmacy and a 23% increase in digital sales. The digital sales increase was primarily driven by strong growth in first-party sales, fueled by continued innovation in our digital offerings and improved service levels.

現在，我將提供有關推動這些結果的財務細節的更多資訊。ID 銷售額成長 2% 主要是由藥局銷售額成長 13% 和數位銷售額成長 23% 推動的。數位銷售的成長主要是由第一方銷售的強勁成長所推動的，而這得益於我們數位產品的持續創新和服務水準的提高。

Our Q3 '24 gross margin was 27.9%. Excluding fuel and LIFO expense, the gross margin decreased by 27 basis points compared to Q3 last year. Strong growth in pharmacy sales, which carries an overall lower gross margin rate, and increases in picking and delivery costs related to the continued growth in our digital sales drove this decrease but was partially offset by the benefits from our productivity initiatives.

我們 24 年第三季的毛利率為 27.9%。扣除燃料和後進先出費用後，毛利率比去年第三季下降了27個基點。藥品銷售的強勁成長（整體毛利率較低）以及與數位銷售持續成長相關的揀選和交付成本的增加推動了這一下降，但部分被我們生產力計劃帶來的好處所抵消。

Our selling and administrative expense rate was 25.1% this quarter. Excluding fuel, the SG&A rate increased 6 basis points compared to last year. This increase was primarily driven by merger-related costs and an increase in occupancy-related expenses, including third-party store security services, partially offset by the leveraging of employee costs and benefits from our productivity initiatives.

本季我們的銷售和管理費用率為 25.1%。不包括燃料在內，SG&A 比率比去年增加了 6 個基點。這一增長主要是由合併相關成本和占用相關費用（包括第三方商店安全服務）的增加所推動的，但部分被員工成本和我們生產力計劃帶來的好處所抵消。

Interest expense decreased $7 million to $109 million during Q3 '24. This reduction was primarily driven by lower outstanding debt.

24 年第三季利息支出減少 700 萬美元至 1.09 億美元。這一減少主要是由於未償債務減少所致。

Income tax expense in the third quarter was $14.5 million, a 3.5% effective tax rate compared to 20.8% effective tax rate in Q3 last year. This decrease was primarily driven by the recognition of an $81 million discrete state income tax benefit related to audit settlement. Excluding this discrete benefit, the effective income tax rate would have been approximately 23%.

第三季所得稅費用為 1,450 萬美元，有效稅率為 3.5%，而去年第三季的有效稅率為 20.8%。這一下降主要是由於確認了與審計結算相關的 8,100 萬美元離散州所得稅優惠。排除這項離散福利，實際所得稅稅率約為 23%。

And as mentioned in the highlights, Q3 '24 adjusted EBITDA was $1.065 billion compared to $1.107 billion last year, and adjusted EPS was $0.71 per diluted share compared to $0.79 in Q3 '23.

如摘要中所提到的，24 年第 3 季調整後的 EBITDA 為 10.65 億美元，而去年為 11.07 億美元，調整後每股攤薄每股收益為 0.71 美元，而 23 年第 3 季為 0.79 美元。

Turning now to the third quarter balance sheet and cash flow. Capital expenditures of $494 million were driven primarily by investments in the modernization of our store fleet and our digital and technology platforms.

現在轉向第三季的資產負債表和現金流。4.94 億美元的資本支出主要來自對我們門市現代化以及數位和科技平台的投資。

We also returned approximately $70 million to our shareholders through common stock dividends. Net debt leverage at the end of the third quarter was 1.9 times, and the balance sheet remains strong.

我們也透過普通股股息向股東返還約 7,000 萬美元。第三季末淨負債槓桿比率為1.9倍，資產負債表依然強勁。

I'd now like to discuss our 2024 outlook. As we look forward to the balance of fiscal '24, we do so with continued confidence in our Customers for Life strategy and our operational execution. We are engaging customers in our digital platforms, driving traffic to our stores, and leveraging the investments we have made to drive efficiency in our operations.

我現在想討論一下我們的 2024 年展望。當我們期待 24 財年的平衡時，我們對「終身客戶」策略和營運執行充滿信心。我們正在數位平台上吸引客戶，增加商店的流量，並利用我們所做的投資來提高營運效率。

So with that as our backdrop and our Q3 results behind us, ID sales are now expected in the range of 1.8% to 2% versus 1.8% to 2.2% and adjusted EBITDA in the increased range of $3.95 billion to $3.99 billion versus $3.90 billion to $3.98 billion. This increase in adjusted EBITDA is driven by the ongoing benefits of increased productivity.

因此，以此背景和第三季業績為背景，ID 銷售額目前預計在1.8% 至2% 之間，而調整後的EBITDA 則在39.5 億美元至39.9 億美元之間，而調整後的EBITDA則在39.5 億美元至39.9 億美元之間，而調整後的EBITDA 則為39.0 億美元至39.9 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 的成長是由生產力提高帶來的持續效益所推動的。

We are also increasing our adjusted EPS range to $2.25 to $2.31 per diluted share to reflect the corresponding increase in adjusted EBITDA. Additionally, due to the $81 million discrete state income tax benefit recognized this year in the third quarter, we expect our full-year tax rate to be in the range of 15% to 16%. Our capital expenditures remain in the range of $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion.

我們還將調整後每股攤薄每股收益範圍提高至 2.25 美元至 2.31 美元，以反映調整後 EBITDA 的相應成長。此外，由於今年第三季確認了 8,100 萬美元的離散州所得稅優惠，我們預計全年稅率將在 15% 至 16% 之間。我們的資本支出維持在 18 億美元至 19 億美元之間。

Before I hand it back to Vivek for some closing comments, I would like to spend a minute on how we are thinking about capital allocation over the longer term. First and foremost, we will continue investing in our business to drive long-term sustainable growth.

在我將其交還給 Vivek 進行總結評論之前，我想花一點時間談談我們如何考慮長期資本配置。首先，我們將繼續投資我們的業務，以推動長期永續成長。

We also plan to maintain our quarterly dividend and seek to grow it over time, as demonstrated by the 25% increase that we declared this morning. And finally, we plan to opportunistically return excess cash to shareholders by repurchasing shares under our recently announced $2 billion share repurchase authorization.

我們還計劃維持季度股息，並尋求隨著時間的推移而增加股息，正如我們今天早上宣布的 25% 的增長所證明的那樣。最後，我們計劃根據最近宣布的 20 億美元股票回購授權，透過回購股票，機會性地將多餘現金回饋給股東。

Our balance sheet is strong, and it provides flexibility as we drive our business forward and seek to generate long-term sustainable shareholder value. Consistent with our previous cadence, we will provide our outlook for fiscal '25 in our fourth-quarter conference call in April.

我們的資產負債表穩健，為我們推動業務發展並尋求創造長期可持續的股東價值提供了靈活性。與我們先前的節奏一致，我們將在 4 月的第四季電話會議上提供 25 財年的展望。

I will now turn the call back over to Vivek for closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給維韋克進行總結發言。

Thank you, Sharon. As we look forward, we start this next chapter in strong financial condition with a track record of positive business performance.

謝謝你，莎倫。展望未來，我們將以強勁的財務狀況和良好的業務業績記錄開啟新的篇章。

Over the last two years, we have invested heavily in our core business, developed new sources of revenue, and strengthened our capabilities through the rollout of new technologies. We have retained our best talent and even added and strengthened talent in critical positions.

過去兩年，我們對核心業務進行了大量投資，開發了新的收入來源，並透過推出新技術增強了我們的能力。我們留住了最優秀的人才，甚至增加和加強了關鍵職位的人才。

Our Customers for Life strategy is working. We have added loyalty members, digitally engaged customers, omnichannel households, and increased transaction counts.

我們的「終身客戶」策略正在發揮作用。我們增加了忠誠會員、數位參與客戶、全通路家庭，並增加了交易數量。

Our stores are operating more effectively and efficiently as our new technologies take hold, and we are proactively managing our costs. Our productivity programs, both old and new, are creating fuel for investments and are an offset to inflationary headwinds.

隨著新技術的應用，我們的商店營運更加有效和高效，並且我們正在積極管理成本。我們的生產力計劃，無論是舊的還是新的，都在為投資創造動力，並抵消通貨膨脹的阻力。

We believe all of this puts us in a strong position to continue to transform the business and adapt to an ever-changing consumer landscape. We also know that we must elevate our performance to compete with the very best in our industry. We are energized by that challenge and see a path to doing so.

我們相信，所有這些都使我們處於有利地位，可以繼續進行業務轉型並適應不斷變化的消費者格局。我們也知道，我們必須提高我們的績效才能與業界中最優秀的企業競爭。我們因這項挑戰而充滿活力，並看到了實現這一目標的途徑。

We are confident in our ability to execute against these opportunities. We will share more of our long-term plans at the end of the fiscal year.

我們對抓住這些機會的能力充滿信心。我們將在本財年結束時分享更多我們的長期計劃。

I would like to thank our 285,000 associates for their loyalty and dedication to our customers and communities. We are so proud of the difference they make.

我要感謝我們 285,000 名員工對我們的客戶和社區的忠誠和奉獻。我們為他們所帶來的改變感到非常自豪。

In December, we published our latest Recipe for Change report and highlighted the role that our associates play in fighting food insecurity and helping reduce the impact of our operations on the environment. They are the ones who make all of this possible, and I want to applaud them for their hard work and dedication.

12 月，我們發布了最新的「變革秘訣」報告，並強調了我們的員工在應對糧食不安全和幫助減少我們的營運對環境的影響方面所發揮的作用。他們使這一切成為可能，我要為他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神鼓掌。

We will now take your questions.

我們現在將回答您的問題。

(Operator instructions) Ken Goldman, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Ken Goldman，摩根大通。

I wanted to ask about guidance and the adjustments that were made, particularly on the top line. It's great to see, of course, EPS and EBITDA, the outlook, coming up. Could you talk a little bit about the decision to maybe trim the top line or the top end, rather, of IDs ex fuel, what you're seeing as the fourth quarter started, and any specifics around that?

我想詢問指導和所做的調整，特別是在營收方面。當然，很高興看到 EPS 和 EBITDA 以及前景即將出現。您能否談談削減ID（不含燃料）的頂線或高端的決定，您在第四季度開始時所看到的情況以及與此相關的任何細節？

Good morning, Ken. It's Vivek here. Ken, December has been a little wonky in that our four-week market share performance improved very materially in December. But what we're seeing, it looks like as the data is coming in, the food and beverage sector overall sequentially slowed down in December. And it's tough to get back a Christmas holiday. So we're just reflecting that slowdown which we experienced, too.

早安，肯。我是維韋克。Ken，12 月有點不穩定，因為 12 月我們為期 4 週的市佔率表現有了很大改善。但我們看到，隨著數據的公佈，食品和飲料行業 12 月整體成長放緩。想要回去過聖誕假期也很困難。因此，我們只是反映了我們也經歷過的經濟放緩。

Do you believe it's more of a macro -- I know you're not promising this, but just based on your data -- more of a macro than a company-specific pressure point?

你是否認為這更像是一個宏觀——我知道你並沒有承諾這一點，但只是基於你的數據——更多的是一個宏觀而不是公司特定的壓力點？

That is correct because the data we're seeing is food and beverage sector slowed down broadly. And there's -- I'd recognize, too, that the calendar was different, Ken, right? We had a shorter window. And so -- and it is an important holiday, so it's really hard to recover it. So we just wanted to be cautious about that.

這是正確的，因為我們看到的數據顯示食品和飲料行業普遍放緩。還有──我也承認日曆是不同的，肯，對吧？我們的窗口期較短。所以——這是一個重要的節日，所以很難恢復它。所以我們只是想對此保持謹慎。

And then quick follow-up. Of the $1.5 billion you're talking about in terms of efficiencies, do you have any kind of rough idea at this time how much of that will be reinvested versus drop to the bottom line?

然後快速跟進。在您談到的 15 億美元的效率方面，您目前是否大致了解其中有多少將用於再投資而不是下降到底線？

Ken, we haven't provided an outlook on that, and we'll be providing an outlook on 2025 in our fourth-quarter conference call in April.

Ken，我們尚未提供對此的展望，我們將在 4 月的第四季電話會議上提供 2025 年的展望。

John Heinbockel, Guggenheim Partners.

約翰·海因博克爾，古根漢合夥人。

Vivek, I wanted to start with -- when you think about all the new customers, right, that you've picked up over the last two years, how do you size or think about wallet share, right? Because they come on the system, their wallet share is not as high as households that have been around a while.

Vivek，我想首先——當你考慮過去兩年中你所獲得的所有新客戶時，你如何衡量或考慮錢包份額，對嗎？因為他們加入了該系統，所以他們的錢包份額並不像已經存在了一段時間的家庭那麼高。

How big is that opportunity? And how long does that take to move them up to where your more mature households are?

這個機會有多大？將他們轉移到更成熟的家庭需要多長時間？

Great question. I think that's why we talk about the four different platforms that we have. And what we'd see is that when they engage in any one of those platforms, you might see, let's say, a 2x or 3x. When they engage in a second or third platform, that number goes up, right, maybe even 4x, 5x.

很好的問題。我認為這就是我們談論我們擁有的四個不同平台的原因。我們看到的是，當他們參與其中任何一個平台時，你可能會看到，比如說，2 倍或 3 倍。當他們參與第二或第三個平台時，這個數字就會上升，對，甚至可能是 4 倍、5 倍。

And our challenge then is, first, to get them engaged on any one of those platforms and then to get them on multiple platforms. And what we do know is that in each of these, there's a certain ramp-up curve, right?

我們面臨的挑戰是，首先讓他們參與其中任何一個平台，然後讓他們參與多個平台。我們所知道的是，每一個都有一定的上升曲線，對嗎？

And I'm not going to give you the specifics of how -- what those ramps are, but we work very deliberately on these ramps. And that's why we're excited. And we start with that notion of engaging people on these platforms because that drives share of wallet.

我不會向你們詳細說明這些坡道是什麼，但我們在這些坡道上非常謹慎地工作。這就是我們感到興奮的原因。我們從讓人們參與這些平台的想法開始，因為這會增加錢包份額。

What we need to do is to get more people into that, but also make sure that we maintain the base. And that's some of the things that we're doing that we talked about, correcting the value proposition and so on so that we also maintain the pace by getting them into these platforms. We'll -- and that's going to be part of the planning that we bring, John, as we come back at the end of the fiscal.

我們需要做的是讓更多的人參與其中，但也要確保我們維持基礎。這就是我們談到的我們正在做的一些事情，糾正價值主張等等，以便我們也透過讓他們進入這些平台來保持步伐。約翰，這將是我們在本財年結束時提出的計劃的一部分。

Maybe just a follow-up to that, right? So if you think about food volumes, right? I think if we take pharmacy and inflation out -- and this is not just for you; I think it's for others. Food volumes are still in negative territory. When do you think that flips to positive?

也許只是後續行動，對嗎？所以如果你考慮一下食物的數量，對嗎？我認為，如果我們把藥品和通貨膨脹排除在外——這不僅適合你，也適合你。我認為這是給別人的。糧食產量仍處於負值區域。您認為這種情況什麼時候會轉為正面？

And then in your secular algo of 2% plus, what do you think the food volumes are? Is it half that? Is it 1% or is it less? Or where does that shake out?

然後，按照 2% 以上的長期演算法，您認為食物量是多少？是一半嗎？是1%還是更少？或者它在哪裡動搖了？

Typically, John, we've thought of that as one -- maybe think of inflation as about a 1% to 1.25%. That's how we plan it. Think about 50 bps of food volume growth. That's the long-term algorithm is how we think about, and then there are some share gains that come with it.

約翰，我們通常認為通貨膨脹率約為 1% 至 1.25%。我們就是這樣計劃的。考慮食品量成長 50 個基點。這就是我們思考的長期演算法，然後隨之而來的是一些份額收益。

And the share gains come by doing the things that I talked about addressing your last question. But 50 bps would be kind of what would be typical food volumes in our country. It's hard to predict when we're going to get back to that. I think we're all trying to search for that answer.

股票收益是透過做我在解決你的最後一個問題時談到的事情來實現的。但 50 個基點是我國典型的糧食產量。很難預測我們什麼時候會回到那個狀態。我想我們都在努力尋找這個答案。

Edward Kelly, Wells Fargo.

愛德華凱利，富國銀行。

I wanted to start with just a question around investment. I mean, it's good to hear the sizable productivity initiatives. I think there's been a little bit of concern that Albertsons might require more significant upfront investment coming out of deal break.

我想從一個有關投資的問題開始。我的意思是，很高興聽到大規模的生產力計劃。我認為有人擔心艾伯森可能需要因交易破裂而需要更多的前期投資。

The press release suggests that productivity pays for investment. But I'm just curious about the timing of that as we think about next year. Because I think investors are maybe a little bit of concerned around there being some near-term pressure and maybe some mismatch of productivity and investment. Could you just maybe provide a little bit more color around how you're thinking about all of that?

新聞稿表明，生產力可以為投資帶來回報。但我只是好奇我們明年考慮的時間安排。因為我認為投資人可能有點擔心短期壓力以及生產力和投資的不匹配。您能否就您如何看待這一切提供更多的資訊？

Yeah. Ed, consistent with the previous cadence that we've had, we're going to provide our outlook for fiscal '25 in April, and we'll be able to talk more about that. We're looking at the cadence of the productivity along with the investments, and we will have a lot to share in April.

是的。Ed，與我們之前的節奏一致，我們將在 4 月提供 25 財年的展望，我們將能夠對此進行更多討論。我們正在關註生產力和投資的節奏，我們將在四月分享很多內容。

Obviously, there's -- we need to see where we are at the end of the year, et cetera. So we're going to stay with that cadence at this point.

顯然，我們需要看看年底我們的情況等等。所以我們現在將保持這種節奏。

And Ed, I'll just reinforce, though, that what investors should not be concerned about is that the investments that we've made in the company in building capabilities and ensuring that our assets are at their best, right? So we've done that.

艾德，不過，我要強調的是，投資人不應該擔心的是我們在公司中進行的投資，用於建立能力並確保我們的資產處於最佳狀態，對吧？所以我們已經做到了。

You've -- we've talked to you about all the technologies that we've put in there. We never talked to any of those. In fact, in those investments, we just became more and more productive. We're getting more for every capital dollar we're putting in.

我們已經與您討論了我們在那裡投入的所有技術。我們從未與其中任何人交談過。事實上，透過這些投資，我們的生產力變得越來越高。我們投入的每一塊錢都會得到更多。

And then maybe just a follow-up. I mean you have a lot of opportunity, whether it's the media, all of the cost saves, including central buying, private label, et cetera. How quickly do you think you can ramp those initiatives whereas they become a more meaningful contributor to the P&L?

然後也許只是後續行動。我的意思是你有很多機會，無論是媒體，還是所有的成本節省，包括集中購買、自有品牌等等。您認為您能以多快的速度推進這些舉措，同時讓它們成為損益表更有意義的貢獻者？

They're all different, and they'll go at different rates. So as an example, when we think about -- we talked about offshoring, onshoring. There are elements of that that can go quickly only because it's -- we are late to that game. There's -- what's exciting is you go there, and you see these companies that have established great capability.

它們都是不同的，並且會以不同的速度進行。舉個例子，當我們思考時，我們談到了離岸外包、在岸外包。其中有些元素可能會很快消失，只是因為我們遲到了。令人興奮的是你去那裡，你會看到這些公司已經建立了強大的能力。

So there's aspects of it that will move quickly. And then there are aspects -- so some have put that in the we can move faster bucket. In buying, there's aspects of what we can buy that we can move quickly. Some of those, we want to move with caution because we also know companies who have done it and got it wrong.

因此，它的某些方面將會迅速發展。還有一些方面——所以有些人把它放在“我們可以更快地行動”的桶中。在購買時，我們可以快速行動購買的某些方面。對於其中一些，我們希望謹慎行事，因為我們也知道有些公司曾經這樣做過，但也犯了錯。

And so we want to make sure we move with caution. But I think you'll see -- if I was to simplify it, I think you'll see a steady drumbeat of productivity coming from all of these things over the time frame that Sharon pointed out, three-year time frame.

因此，我們要確保謹慎行事。但我想你會看到——如果我要簡化它，我想你會看到在莎倫指出的三年時間範圍內，所有這些事情都帶來了生產力的穩定增長。

Rupesh Parikh, Oppenheimer.

魯佩什·帕里克，奧本海默。

So going back to your earlier commentary about the industry slowed in December, just any thoughts in terms of what could be driving that slowdown.

因此，回到您之前對 12 月該行業放緩的評論，請談談對可能導致該行業放緩的因素的任何想法。

Rupesh, honestly, I don't know. The only thing that is different about December is that we had a much shorter window between the holidays, right? And that is a material -- especially in an environment where the consumer is being so cautious, consumers being price sensitive. Now I think we'll all know more as data comes out, but that's the only thing I can think of that could have contributed to it.

魯佩什，老實說，我不知道。12 月唯一不同的是假期之間的時間間隔要短得多，對吧？這是一種材料——尤其是在消費者如此謹慎、對價格敏感的環境下。現在，我認為隨著數據的出現，我們都會了解更多，但這是我能想到的唯一可能對此做出貢獻的事情。

Great. And then maybe my follow-up question. So Sharon, just on the just on the gross margin line. So we did see sequential improvement on gross margins, Q3 decline versus Q2. Just curious how you're thinking about it for Q4.

偉大的。然後也許是我的後續問題。所以沙龍，就在毛利率線上。因此，我們確實看到毛利率連續改善，第三季與第二季相比有所下降。只是好奇你對第四季的想法如何。

We haven't provided an outlook for Q4, but we are going to have the same drivers in the margin. We do expect growth in pharmacy sales, and we absolutely expect to see the continued momentum in our e-commerce business.

我們尚未提供第四季度的前景，但我們的利潤率將有相同的驅動因素。我們確實預計藥品銷售將會成長，並且我們絕對希望看到我們的電子商務業務保持持續成長的勢頭。

So both of those are going to create the same mix shift impact. And when you look at what those were offset by, it was productivity. Our productivity engine continues to run well. So I think that when you look at it, it's going to be similar.

因此，這兩者都會產生相同的混合轉變影響。當你看看這些被什麼抵消時，那就是生產力。我們的生產力引擎持續運作良好。所以我認為當你看它時，它會很相似。

The other area that we're seeing benefit is shrink, and we will continue to put initiatives forward. We've invested technology. We already -- we talked to you guys about that when we saw you a couple of weeks ago, and we expect that technology to pay dividends as it learns -- its AI technology and some of our self-checkout -- and it continues to learn.

我們看到的另一個受益領域是收縮，我們將繼續提出倡議。我們投資了技術。幾週前我們見到你們時，我們已經和你們討論過這個問題，我們希望這項技術能夠在學習過程中帶來紅利——它的人工智慧技術和我們的一些自助結帳——而且它將繼續學習。

Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley.

西蒙古特曼，摩根士丹利。

So in the last couple of years since we spoke, I wanted to hear about market share through your lens. You have better market-level information than we do. And specifically, excluding pharmacy, curious what your assessment is. Where do you stand?

因此，自從我們交談以來的過去幾年裡，我想透過您的視角了解市場份額。您比我們擁有更好的市場資訊。具體來說，不包括藥房，很好奇您的評估是什麼。你站在哪裡？

Obviously, Vivek, you made the comment that you're aspiring to get stronger. I don't know if that's a market share comment or just an overall growth level. But can you assess where you are, especially where you landed through the third quarter?

顯然，維韋克，你說過你渴望變得更強。我不知道這是市場份額評論還是整體增長水平。但你能評估一下你現在的處境嗎，尤其是第三季你的處境如何？

When we think about market share, I'll tell you two things that are very, very clear to us. We have a mass retailer and a club retailer that are growing much faster than us. And no matter what anybody thinks, they are real competitors to us, okay?

當我們考慮市場佔有率時，我會告訴你兩件我們非常非常清楚的事情。我們有一家大型零售商和一傢俱樂部零售商，它們的成長速度比我們快得多。不管別人怎麼想，他們都是我們真正的競爭對手，好嗎？

And we know that to win in the marketplace, we've got to compete with them. And until we compete with them, we can feel comfortable about market share in certain segments of our retail, but we've got to get to better performance to gain market share overall.

我們知道，要在市場上獲勝，我們必須與他們競爭。在我們與他們競爭之前，我們可以對零售某些領域的市場份額感到滿意，但我們必須獲得更好的業績才能獲得整體市場份額。

And that's what I was reflecting on the notion of getting stronger is that we've got to accelerate our growth rates to compete with the very, very best in the industry, Simeon.

這就是我對變得更強的想法的反思，我們必須加快我們的成長率，才能與業界中最優秀的西蒙競爭。

My follow-up, I want to talk about the volume growth. And Vivek, you mentioned, we're not sure when we'll get there.

我的後續行動，我想談談銷量成長。Vivek，你提到，我們不確定什麼時候能到達那裡。

And I guess, across the chain, you have information on pharmacy, especially GLP-1. Do you think there is a direct correlation between the GLP-1 usage and then unit consumption? Is that part of the ingredients right now?

我想，在整個鏈條中，您都有有關藥房的信息，尤其是 GLP-1。您認為 GLP-1 使用量與單位消耗量之間是否有直接相關性？這是現在成分的一部分嗎？

That could be, Simeon. It's just hard to -- the amount of growth we're seeing in GLP-1 and I think that you're seeing across the industry, it's hard for me having been in food and beverage now for 15-plus years to completely ignore that because of the amount of reduction in calories that it has.

可能是這樣，西蒙。我們在 GLP-1 中看到的成長量是很難的，我認為你在整個行業中都看到了這一點，對我來說，在食品和飲料行業工作了 15 多年，很難完全忽視這一點因為它的卡路里含量減少了。

And I always think about if 10% of the people eat 10% less, going back to an earlier question, instead of 50 bps of volume, that's 100 bps of negative volume, right? So it's hard for -- I can't conclude that it is a problem, but we are certainly looking at it.

我總是在想，如果 10% 的人少吃 10%，回到之前的問題，不是 50 個基點的交易量，而是 100 個基點的負交易量，對吧？所以這很難——我不能斷定這是一個問題，但我們確實正在研究它。

Mark Carden, UBS.

馬克卡登，瑞銀集團。

So to start, another follow-up on pharmacy. Just when you look at that business overall, how much of it do you think is being driven in terms of the growth by sales capture from competitor closures versus your own initiatives?

首先，對藥房進行另一個後續行動。當您從整體上審視該業務時，您認為其中有多少是由競爭對手關閉帶來的銷售成長與您自己的舉措所推動的？

And then you talked about GLP-1 being a positive. Just how its contribution trended relative to what you've seen in recent quarters.

然後您談到 GLP-1 是正面的。與您最近幾季所看到的相比，其貢獻趨勢如何。

Yeah, so I think it's a combination of both. One, during the two years of COVID, we spent a lot of energy getting our pharmacy -- entire pharmacy platform on our phone, so on the app. We made it really easy for people to schedule. They get constant updates.

是的，所以我認為這是兩者的結合。第一，在新冠肺炎疫情的兩年裡，我們花了很多精力在手機上建立我們的藥房——整個藥房平台，所以在應用程式上。我們讓人們可以輕鬆安排日程。他們不斷得到更新。

We've launched this notion of -- this application called Sincerely Health where you get into the world of pharmacy and it gives you so much more to navigate. So we want to make you stickier in the world of pharmacy, and you're stickier on our app.

我們推出了這個概念——這個名為“Sincerely Health”的應用程序，您可以在其中進入藥房世界，它為您提供了更多的導航。因此，我們希望讓您在藥房世界中更具黏性，並且您對我們的應用程式也更有黏性。

So we've done a lot of things. Our execution in our stores is better. Our NPS is better. So we've done a lot of things to elevate the experience.

所以我們做了很多事。我們商店的執行力更好。我們的 NPS 更好。因此，我們做了很多事情來提升體驗。

In addition, we're seeing a lot of competitive closures. So it's a combination of both that is getting customers into us.

此外，我們還看到許多競爭性關閉。因此，正是兩者的結合吸引了客戶。

By the way, it's new customers to the franchise, but also a lot of customers who are just shopping grocery with us now engaging funds. So we have both of those.

順便說一句，這是特許經營的新客戶，但也有很多剛剛與我們一起購買雜貨的客戶現在正在投入資金。所以我們兩者都有。

With respect to GLP-1, the GLP-1 contributions are negative. So it's not -- I mean, they're just growing. But again, the GLP-1 customer is an important customer, right? We -- over time, we imagine those economics will change, but it is negative.

對於 GLP-1，GLP-1 貢獻為負。所以這不是——我的意思是，它們只是在成長。但話又說回來，GLP-1 客戶是重要客戶，對吧？隨著時間的推移，我們想像這些經濟狀況將會發生變化，但這是負面的。

Great. And then just looking -- when looking at your overall core grocery comp, are you seeing any shifts in performance by income cohort?

偉大的。然後看看——當你審視你的整體核心雜貨競爭時，你是否發現收入群體的表現有任何變化？

Not a whole lot. We serve a lot of different segments. We're not seeing anything material from a change in the income cohorts.

不是很多。我們服務於許多不同的細分市場。我們沒有看到收入群體發生任何重大變化。

I think what we are seeing is that customers in a cautious environment tend to shop more retailers. And so we're seeing that across the board. And so I think the monies are getting distributed differently from a year ago or two years ago.

我認為我們看到的是，在謹慎的環境下，消費者傾向於購買更多零售商的產品。所以我們全面看到了這一點。所以我認為這些錢的分配方式與一年前或兩年前不同。

Leah Jordan, Goldman Sachs.

利亞·喬丹，高盛。

First, just if you could comment on how you view your store footprint today. I know you have opened some new stores and done remodels this year. But what other opportunities do you see for further optimization here?

首先，您能否評論一下您今天如何看待您的商店足跡。我知道你們今年開了一些新店並進行了改造。但您認為這裡還有哪些進一步優化的機會？

As we look forward, Leah, we think two things. I'll talk first about the opportunity. We have opened several stores this year, and we have had some exceptionally strong store openings.

利亞，當我們展望未來時，我們想到兩件事。我先談談機會。今年我們新開了幾家店，其中一些店的開幕情況特別好。

And we are -- have increased our data analytics capability in real estate. And we are really being able to identify markets where we work well and can drive a great experience for our customers. So there's some opening opportunities in markets. I don't want to speak to which markets because it's very competitive, of course.

我們增強了房地產數據分析能力。我們確實能夠識別我們運作良好的市場，並能為我們的客戶帶來良好的體驗。因此，市場存在一些開放機會。我不想談哪些市場，因為當然競爭非常激烈。

On the other side of it, over the last several years from a rationalization of our footprint, I'm talking about general hygiene of the real estate portfolio. We have been unable, in some ways, to really do that during the merger period. So we will start seeing that.

另一方面，在過去幾年中，從我們足跡的合理化來看，我正在談論房地產投資組合的整體衛生狀況。在某些方面，我們在合併期間無法真正做到這一點。所以我們將開始看到這一點。

You'll see some more store openings. What we don't want is that read into an indication of some problem, but there could be more closures over the next couple of years than you've seen previously just because of hygiene.

您將看到更多商店開業。我們不希望這種情況被解讀為存在某些問題，但未來幾年，僅僅因為衛生問題，關閉的數量可能會比您之前看到的還要多。

Okay. Great. That's helpful color. And I think for my follow-up, I just wanted to go back and dig into retail media a bit more.

好的。偉大的。這是有用的顏色。我認為對於我的後續行動，我只是想回去進一步深入研究零售媒體。

Just if you could provide more detail on the opportunity you see there, and just how you view your competitive position in the marketplace, recognizing some peers are a little bit further along. And then just also more detail on how the -- when you think this could be a meaningful driver to profitability.

只要您能提供更多有關您在那裡看到的機會的詳細信息，以及您如何看待自己在市場中的競爭地位，認識到一些同行會走得更遠。然後，當您認為這可能是盈利能力的有意義的驅動力時，還需要更多詳細資訊。

The retail media business, we took it in-house in '22. We've spent a lot of energy building the technology platform to do that. We are growing. We're going fast from a smaller base, though. So we do think it will become very material in the next three-year horizon.

零售媒體業務，我們在 22 年將其納入內部。為此，我們花費了大量精力建立技術平台。我們正在成長。不過，我們的基礎較小，進展很快。因此，我們確實認為它將在未來三年內變得非常重要。

And the fact that we are starting later, it doesn't mean we cannot build a great business. It's because we still have our customers. In many of our markets, we do have a strong presence. And our ability to provide our customers, our -- the clients, if I can call it, who are spending the money on a 360 solution, executing in stores, and executing digitally, I think, will make a difference.

事實上，我們起步較晚，但這並不意味著我們無法建立一個偉大的企業。這是因為我們還有我們的客戶。在我們的許多市場中，我們確實擁有強大的影響力。我認為，我們為客戶（如果我可以這麼稱呼的話）花錢購買 360 度解決方案、在商店執行並以數位方式執行的客戶提供服務的能力將會產生影響。

So we're excited about it. We've got everything we need, and now we're just focused on building the business in the sense, selling the business rather than just building the platform to do the business.

所以我們對此感到興奮。我們已經擁有了所需的一切，現在我們只是專注於建立業務，銷售業務，而不僅僅是建立平台來開展業務。

And when you look at the prepared remarks, what we've been working on, what we've been building, and where we're seeing success, it's within the growth in those four digital platforms. That is what was necessary in order to create the robust inventory we need for the Albertsons Media Collective.

當你看看準備好的發言稿、我們一直在做的事情、我們一直在建立的東西以及我們在哪裡看到的成功時，你會發現這都在這四個數位平台的成長中。這就是為艾伯森媒體集團創建所需的強大庫存所必需的。

And we have invested heavily in those over the last several years, especially in the last two years. So we are now prepared to step up and to really be able to start capturing our fair share of that market.

過去幾年，特別是過去兩年，我們在這些方面投入了大量資金。因此，我們現在準備採取行動，真正能夠開始佔領該市場的公平份額。

Robby Ohmes, Bank of America.

羅比·歐姆斯，美國銀行。

Maybe for you, Sharon. Can you give us some color on what the FIFO gross margin, ex pharmacy and digital, what you saw this quarter, and how -- what's the outlook for that? Just to give us some help with what's just going on in your core FIFO gross margin.

也許適合你，莎倫。您能否為我們介紹一下 FIFO 毛利率（前藥房和數位業務）的情況，您本季的情況以及前景如何？只是為了向我們提供有關您的核心 FIFO 毛利率的最新情況的一些幫助。

Robby, I just talked about the fact that what has been driving -- and this has actually been consistent. In our gross margin, the mixed shift that we've seen into pharmacy sales, which is going to carry a very mix shift impact to the margin, it's dilutive, of course.

羅比，我剛剛談到了一個事實，即一直在推動的因素 - 這實際上是一致的。在我們的毛利率中，我們看到藥品銷售出現了混合轉變，這將對利潤率產生非常混合的影響，當然，它是稀釋性的。

And then the increase in e-commerce, I mean, we are running, this quarter, 23%. And we've been in the 20% ranges all year. So we expect that to continue to stay robust. So that's going to mix shift the margin negatively.

然後電子商務的成長，我的意思是，本季我們成長了 23%。我們全年都處於 20% 的範圍內。因此，我們預計這種情況將繼續保持強勁。因此，這將使利潤率產生負面影響。

And then we do expect to continue to drive productivity initiatives into the gross margin. So I think those dynamics are going to continue, and you should expect those to continue into 2025, which we actually see as a huge positive.

然後，我們確實希望繼續將生產力措施推向毛利率。所以我認為這些動態將會持續下去，你應該預期這些動態會持續到 2025 年，我們實際上認為這是一個巨大的正面因素。

These are areas that drive outsized customer lifetime value and feed AMC. So that's why we will continue to be very excited about both of those.

這些領域可以推動龐大的客戶終身價值並為 AMC 提供服務。這就是為什麼我們將繼續對這兩者感到非常興奮。

And Sharon, just ex the mix shift pressure from pharmacy and digital, are you seeing any kind of pressures competitive-wise or anything going on in the -- just sort of the core gross margins?

莎倫，剛剛談到來自製藥和數位領域的混合壓力，您是否看到任何競爭方面的壓力或核心毛利率方面發生的任何事情？

I think we continue to invest in price. So as we do that -- but we have other opportunities in productivity. It also includes shrink and other things.

我認為我們會繼續在價格上進行投資。因此，當我們這樣做時，我們還有其他提高生產力的機會。它還包括收縮和其他東西。

So we believe that we have been doing a very good job of balancing that. But over time, there could be margin pressure, and that's why it is imperative that we drive this productivity engine that we just shared with you today. And we gave you that $1.5 billion target.

因此，我們相信我們在平衡這一點方面做得非常好。但隨著時間的推移，可能會出現利潤壓力，這就是為什麼我們必須推動我們今天剛與您分享的生產力引擎。我們給了你們 15 億美元的目標。

But nothing abnormal. Nothing abnormal, Robby.

但並沒有什麼異常。沒有什麼異常，羅比。

Scott Mushkin, R5 Capital.

斯科特·穆甚金，R5 Capital。

Welcome back. And I know you have some stores down there in Southern California, so our thoughts are with those associates down there.

歡迎回來。我知道你們在南加州有一些商店，所以我們的想法與那裡的同事同在。

Thank you, Scott.

謝謝你，斯科特。

I wanted to touch on something around pricing. Obviously, this topic comes up with a lot of people. But my thought, and I want to get your take on this, is that there are examples out there in the marketplace where there is a price gap between mass merchants, a decent one, yet they're gaining share.

我想談談定價方面的問題。顯然，這個話題引起了很多人的注意。但我的想法是，我想聽聽大家對此的看法，市場上有一些例子，大型商家之間存在價格差距，這是一個不錯的價格差距，但他們的份額卻在增加。

And so how do you balance, as you think about investing, the store experience, enhancing merchandise versus just reducing prices?

那麼，當您考慮投資、商店體驗、增強商品和僅僅降低價格時，您如何平衡？

You're right. It's not new, right, this conversation on pricing. So I just want to make sure I give you some context on it, though.

你說得對。關於定價的對話並不新鮮，對吧。所以我只是想確保向您提供一些相關背景資訊。

50 million households shopped us in the last 12 months. And we're growing transactions. We're increasing engagement across all our platforms. So net-net, customers are seeing value in what we offer for the prices that we charge. And that's been there before, and it still continues.

過去 12 個月內，有 5,000 萬個家庭在我們的網站上購物。我們正在增加交易。我們正在提高所有平台的參與度。因此，客戶看到了我們所提供的價格的價值。這種情況以前就存在過，而且現在仍在繼續。

Well, I think though we do recognize. We absolutely recognize that customers are feeling pressure. They're cautious. They're shopping more outlets. There's a couple of retailers that you know that are doing very well. They are strong in pricing.

好吧，我想雖然我們確實認識。我們絕對認識到客戶感受到了壓力。他們很謹慎。他們正在更多的商店購物。您知道有幾家零售商做得很好。他們的定價能力很強。

And so the way we think about this is we don't have a macro problem, but we do know that there are going to be -- there are markets and there are some categories where we need to get sharp, and we will do that. And we'll do that as we go forward.

因此，我們思考這個問題的方式是，我們沒有宏觀問題，但我們確實知道將會出現——有一些市場，有一些類別我們需要變得敏銳，我們會這樣做。我們將在前進的過程中這樣做。

But we're also doing that, recognizing that there's productivity that we need to drive. We need to generate the fuel to do that. And a lot of things that we talked about in the opening statements, you'll see, are intended to generate that productivity so that we can get sharper where we need to.

但我們也在這樣做，並意識到我們需要提高生產力。我們需要產生燃料才能做到這一點。您會看到，我們在開場白中討論的很多事情都是為了提高生產力，以便我們能夠在需要的地方變得更加敏銳。

But our philosophy has always been finding ways to add value. And we've talked about all those. And you can go to our stores and the level of service that we provide, the products that we provide, are all about adding value that a customer may not be able to get elsewhere.

但我們的理念始終是尋找增加價值的方法。我們已經討論過所有這些。您可以去我們的商店，我們提供的服務水準、我們提供的產品都是為了增加客戶在其他地方可能無法獲得的價值。

That's great, Vivek. And then a follow-up question on this is when you think about the store experience, maybe the overall experience in CapEx. How do you think about your store fleet and what you might need to invest in?

太棒了，維維克。接下來的一個問題是，當你考慮商店體驗時，也許是資本支出的整體體驗。您如何看待您的商店團隊以及您可能需要投資的內容？

And I know obviously, Walmart is investing a lot in their store fleet. And probably, some of their market share gains are attributed to that. How do you think about the overall experience and the investment vis-a-vis CapEx?

我顯然知道，沃爾瑪正在對其商店隊伍進行大量投資。他們的一些市場份額增長可能歸因於這一點。您如何看待整體體驗和投資相對於資本支出的看法？

Scott, in the last couple of years, we've become -- when Sharon talked about the data and the analytics behind our investments, it's not just in new stores but also in remodels. We have a very deep understanding now on, when we put a dollar to a store, how much of that is purely for maintenance versus how much of that is for driving growth.

史考特，在過去的幾年裡，當莎倫談到我們投資背後的數據和分析時，我們不僅在新店，而且在改造方面。現在我們有了非常深刻的認識，當我們向一家商店投入一美元時，其中有多少是純粹用於維護，又有多少是用於推動成長。

And when we think about driving growth, these are investments that are following initiatives. And whether that is driving more -- creating more e-commerce capacity in the store or driving more -- a better experience in ready meals, but these are all investments that are going behind growth initiatives.

當我們考慮推動成長時，這些投資都是遵循舉措的。無論這是否會推動更多——在商店中創造更多的電子商務能力，還是推動更多——更好的即食體驗，但這些都是成長計劃背後的投資。

And that's how we are deploying our capital. So -- and every single investment in a store is reviewed that way, which is why we've become more effective and efficient in deploying our capital.

這就是我們部署資本的方式。因此，對商店的每項投資都會以這種方式進行審查，這就是為什麼我們在部署資本方面變得更加有效和有效率。

And Scott, if you look back on the history of CapEx in the company, we have invested more money in the last three to four years in capital than we had in our history. And even though we were in a merger situation, it had no impact on our CapEx related to what was in our strategic plans related to our fleet of stores.

史考特，如果你回顧公司資本支出的歷史，你會發現我們在過去三到四年的資本投資比我們歷史上的資本還要多。即使我們處於合併情況，它對我們與我們的商店群相關的戰略計劃中的資本支出沒有影響。

So we continue through the merger to invest capital in the remodel of our stores. So moving forward, we expect to do the same. And there has been a consistent strategy, as Vivek described, to continue to maintain our stores and invest in that deferred maintenance.

所以我們繼續透過合併來投入資金來改造我們的商店。因此，展望未來，我們期望做同樣的事情。正如維韋克所描述的，我們有一個一致的策略，即繼續維護我們的商店並投資於延期維護。

Michael Montani, Evercore ISI.

邁克爾·蒙塔尼，Evercore ISI。

Great. Okay. Just wanted to unpack, I guess, two elements, if I could. One was on the ROIC front. I just wanted to think about how we should be looking at that moving forward and how important store rationalization could be to that one.

偉大的。好的。我想，如果可以的話，我只是想解開兩個元素。其中之一是在ROIC 方面。我只是想思考我們應該如何看待這項發展，以及商店合理化對此有何重要意義。

And then secondly, I guess, was around the buyback side. And Sharon, what would you think about for free cash flow this year? What's sustainable free cash flow? And then is that really how we should think about the pacing against the $2 billion authorization?

其次，我想是回購方面。莎倫，您對今年的自由現金流有何看法？什麼是永續的自由現金流？那我們真的應該如何考慮 20 億美元授權的節奏嗎？

Yeah. So I would say this. We're going to give our 2025 outlook in April, and we're going to talk a lot more about that. We did provide a long-term algorithm. We said we're going to grow about 2%. We -- and we expected our adjusted EBITDA to grow slightly faster than that.

是的。所以我會這麼說。我們將在 4 月給予 2025 年的展望，我們將對此進行更多討論。我們確實提供了一個長期演算法。我們說過我們將成長約 2%。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 成長速度將略快於該數字。

We gave you the CapEx numbers, $1.8 billion, $1.9 billion. So as we look at that and you model that, we see it very consistent in the past. So we'll give you more outlook, Michael, in April.

我們向您提供了資本支出數字：18 億美元、19 億美元。因此，當我們觀察這一點並對其進行建模時，我們發現它在過去非常一致。因此，邁克爾，我們將在四月為您提供更多展望。

On the buyback side, we do expect to opportunistically buy shares, and we are not doing an ASR as we shared with all of you when we met with you a couple of weeks ago. So -- but we do intend opportunistically to be buying shares back with excess cash.

在回購方面，我們確實希望機會主義地購買股票，而且我們不會像幾週前與大家見面時與大家分享的那樣進行 ASR。所以，但我們確實打算趁機用多餘的現金回購股票。

Joe Feldman, Telsey Advisory Group.

喬·費爾德曼，特爾西諮詢小組。

I wanted to dig a little bit more with the productivity improvement effort. The $1.5 billion in cost reduction that you guys are targeting, are there like big buckets where you see opportunity? Or is it just lots of small things that you just can do more efficiently and it adds up to $1.5 billion?

我想透過提高生產力的努力進行更多挖掘。你們的目標是削減 15 億美元的成本，你們是否看到了巨大的機會？或者只是很多你可以更有效地完成的小事情，加起來就達到 15 億美元？

Joe, it's both. So we've -- if you just look back at our history over the last five years or so, we've always delivered -- we've delivered productivity. In fact, we've delivered more than we've told you all about it, right? So -- that productivity engine continues.

喬，兩者都是。所以，如果你回顧我們過去五年左右的歷史，我們一直在交付——我們已經交付了生產力。事實上，我們已經交付的比我們告訴你們的還要多，對吧？所以——生產力引擎仍在繼續。

And that -- the nature of that productivity is to find pennies everywhere. And we're really good at that, and we now have the governance around it. And it's become part of the fabric of the company.

而那種生產力的本質就是到處都能找到便士。我們真的很擅長這一點，而且我們現在已經有了圍繞它的治理。它已經成為公司結構的一部分。

We're adding new things, though. So when we talk about new productivity, we talk about G&A. We talked about buying better. Those are new tranches of productivity that we're adding, and that will all be part of this $1.5 billion.

不過，我們正在添加新東西。因此，當我們談論新生產力時，我們談論的是一般行政費用。我們討論了買更好的東西。這些是我們正在增加的新的生產力部分，它們都將成為這 15 億美元的一部分。

So it's a little bit of both, Joe. And they are very, very targeted and material places that we're looking at, as you can imagine. These are huge line items.

所以兩者都有一點，喬。正如你可以想像的那樣，它們是我們正在尋找的非常非常有針對性和物質性的地方。這些都是巨大的訂單項目。

And I think what's important is that we have been working on these productivity initiatives now for two years. In other words, we're not starting. This $1.5 billion is identified. We know what we're going after.

我認為重要的是我們兩年來一直致力於這些生產力計劃。換句話說，我們還沒有開始。這 15 億美元已確定。我們知道我們要追求什麼。

We've got plan in place to do it. We didn't just come and lay out a plan today. So it is very well underway. And you guys, even by our next call, will see some of these things unfolding.

我們已經制定了計劃來做到這一點。我們今天不僅僅是來制定計劃的。所以一切進展順利。你們，甚至在我們下一次通話時，也會看到其中一些事情正在發生。

That's great. And actually -- and Vivek, you did touch on -- with the buying differences that you're doing. Can you share a little bit more color on that? I think it feels like you're going to be centralizing the buying a little bit more. Maybe you could explain that process.

那太棒了。實際上，Vivek，你確實談到了你正在做的購買差異。能分享更多的顏色嗎？我認為你會更加集中購買。也許你可以解釋一下這個過程。

Joe, the way I'd frame it is I think we're going to be leveraging our scale more. And we're going to be leveraging our scale more and doing more for our suppliers so that they can get the kind of growth that I think they can get with us, all right?

喬，我認為我們將更多地利用我們的規模。我們將更多地利用我們的規模，為我們的供應商做更多的事情，以便他們能夠獲得我認為他們可以與我們一起獲得的成長，好嗎？

So I think of it less as -- the word is as centralizing. I don't want people to walk away with that because I think that creates mental models that are not productive, but we can find ways to leverage scale with data, technology, and better decision mix.

所以我認為這個詞不太像集中化。我不希望人們放棄這一點，因為我認為這會創建效率低下的思維模型，但我們可以找到透過數據、技術和更好的決策組合來利用規模的方法。

Bill Kirk, Roth.

比爾柯克、羅斯.

In the deal divestiture process, there were over 60 potential bidders interested in some of your stores. Have conversations with those bidders continued, particularly considering comments made in court about possibly closing stores or exiting markets?

在交易剝離過程中，有超過 60 個潛在競標者對您的一些商店感興趣。與這些競標者的對話是否仍在繼續，特別是考慮到法庭上關於可能關閉商店或退出市場的評論？

Bill, we are maniacally focused on operating our business. We've got so much opportunity in front of us that we see and we're excited about. And so that's where our focus is.

比爾，我們瘋狂地專注於經營我們的業務。我們面前有這麼多的機會，我們對此感到興奮。這就是我們的重點。

What Sharon mentioned earlier about store closures are related to much more about the catching up to the normal course of business, let me put it that way, right, because we haven't been able to do the same pace over the last couple of years. But that's what we're focused on. We are not at this time having conversations with others.

莎倫之前提到的關於關閉商店的事情更多地與趕上正常業務進程有關，讓我這麼說，對吧，因為我們在過去幾年中未能做到同樣的速度。但這就是我們關注的重點。我們目前沒有與其他人交談。

Okay. And then as a follow-up, Mark asked earlier about performance among different income cohorts. Maybe you could give us some detail on how the different food product categories are performing, like fresh versus frozen or packaged versus fresh, things like that?

好的。作為後續行動，馬克早些時候詢問了不同收入群體的表現。也許您可以向我們提供一些有關不同食品類別的表現的詳細信息，例如新鮮與冷凍或包裝與新鮮之類的事情？

Yeah, we are -- we have a bigger assortment of fresh. That's what we lead with. So that's always -- our value proposition for our customer begins with not just the breadth of the fresh assortment, but the value that we add to our fresh assortment.

是的，我們有更多的新鮮產品。這就是我們的主導。因此，我們對顧客的價值主張不僅始於新鮮品種的廣度，也始於我們為新鮮品種添加的價值。

So when I say ready meals, if you walk into our stores, you'll know exactly what I'm saying. You'll see us providing customers that kind of convenience. So that's become destinations for us.

因此，當我說即食食品時，如果您走進我們的商店，您就會確切地知道我在說什麼。您會看到我們為客戶提供這種便利。所以這就成為了我們的目的地。

So we always start with that, and that's where we tend to lead. And the work we always have to do is do more work in the center store, if that helps, Bill. That's how we think about our proposition.

所以我們總是以此為起點，這就是我們傾向引領的方向。我們始終要做的工作就是在中心商店做更多的工作，如果這有幫助的話，比爾。這就是我們思考我們的提議的方式。

And Bill, I'd only add to what Vivek said is that this question about other buyers, transactions, things like that, it's critical to just say this. It's obvious, but we'll say it.

比爾，我只想補充維韋克所說的是，關於其他買家、交易等問題，重要的是要說這一點。這是顯而易見的，但我們會說出來。

Our job is to create long-term value for our shareholders. And if that means that a strategic transaction comes to the doorstep, we, of course, will consider and look at those things.

我們的工作是為股東創造長期價值。如果這意味著戰略交易即將到來，我們當然會考慮並審視這些事情。

Vivek described it as we're more reactive than proactive at this point in time. But of course, just because this -- we had a protracted merger and it ended up terminating, it has not left any sense within our Board or our company that this is not a value-creating strategy. But it's going to be reactive versus proactive.

Vivek 表示，目前我們的反應性多於主動性。但當然，僅僅因為我們進行了一場曠日持久的合併並最終終止，我們的董事會或公司並沒有意識到這不是一個創造價值的策略。但這將是被動的而不是主動的。

Kelly Bania, BMO Capital Markets.

Kelly Bania，BMO 資本市場。

Appreciate the disclosures on e-commerce. I think if I heard it correctly, there was a comment that the 1P component of your e-commerce is bigger than 3P, but maybe correct me if I'm wrong there.

感謝有關電子商務的披露。我想如果我沒聽錯的話，有評論說你們電子商務的 1P 部分比 3P 更大，但如果我錯了，也許可以糾正我。

But was curious just how you think about balancing that 1P growth versus 3P along with the margin implications of those two components of e-commerce, and particularly as you think about the Albertsons Media Collective opportunity within those different areas of e-commerce.

但我很好奇您如何考慮平衡 1P 成長與 3P 成長以及電子商務這兩個組成部分的利潤影響，特別是當您考慮艾伯森媒體集團在電子商務這些不同領域內的機會時。

Yes, you're right. The 1P is bigger than our 3P, and it's growing faster than our 3P. And we like that because of exactly what you said. That gets us digital engagement, and that gets us inventory to do the AMC and such.

是的，你說得對。1P比我們的3P更大，而且它的成長比我們的3P更快。我們喜歡這一點正是因為你所說的。這讓我們參與數位化活動，也讓我們擁有庫存來進行 AMC 等。

But it also gives us the data on the customer, right? And we -- it gives us a chance to connect them to all the other platforms. So I always tell people, if you want to know what our business is, open our app. And you'll see our entire business laid out on the app, and we want them to navigate all the pieces in the app and get engaged.

但它也為我們提供了客戶的數據，對吧？而我們——它讓我們有機會將它們連接到所有其他平台。所以我總是告訴人們，如果你想知道我們的業務是什麼，請打開我們的應用程式。您將在應用程式上看到我們的整個業務，我們希望他們能夠導航應用程式中的所有部分並參與其中。

From -- and by the way, from an economic standpoint, we've become better and better and better at our first party, both the cost of operating it, but importantly, at the speed that we deliver it. We think speed matters.

順便說一句，從經濟的角度來看，我們在第一方方面已經變得越來越好，無論是營運成本，但重要的是我們交付的速度。我們認為速度很重要。

And we've maniacally focused at the speed at which the customer gets their products, and we've become really good at that. So we like the 1P business a lot, Kelly, for all these reasons.

我們非常關注客戶獲得產品的速度，我們已經非常擅長這一點。因此，出於所有這些原因，我們非常喜歡 1P 業務，凱利。

And Kelly, I would just add that what is most important to us is serving our customer where, when, and how they want to be served. Thus, the 3P business is important because there are customers who choose that. And we support both, but 1P is by far the fastest-growing piece of our business. And that is due to the investments we made in those four digital platforms.

凱利，我想補充一點，對我們來說最重要的是在客戶希望的地點、時間和方式為他們提供服務。因此，3P業務很重要，因為有客戶選擇它。我們兩者都支持，但 1P 是迄今為止我們成長最快的業務。這是由於我們在這四個數位平台上進行的投資。

Well said, yeah.

說得好，是啊。

And just a follow-up on that. Is that 1P largely a pickup? And how long should we think about the gross margin pressure associated with the picking and the labor associated with that? How long should we expect that gross margin pressure to continue?

這只是後續行動。1P主要是皮卡嗎？我們應該多長時間考慮與採摘和勞動力相關的毛利率壓力？我們預計毛利率壓力會持續多久？

Yeah. The mix shift, we expect our digital business to grow substantially. We reported -- Vivek, in his prepared remarks, he shared with you today that our e-commerce business is up to 7% of our total grocery sales, and we expect that to continue to grow. It's underpenetrated if you look at the total grocery market.

是的。透過混合轉變，我們預計我們的數位業務將大幅成長。我們報道稱，Vivek 今天在他準備好的演講中與大家分享，我們的電子商務業務占我們食品雜貨總銷售額的 7%，我們預計這一比例將繼續增長。如果你看看整個雜貨市場，它的滲透率還不夠。

So I expect that to continue in the foreseeable future. And when you look at the value that the data creates for the media collective, we want that to be the case.

所以我預計這種情況在可預見的未來將會持續下去。當你看到數據為媒體集體創造的價值時，我們希望情況確實如此。

And that's where the customer is going, too.

這也是客戶要去的地方。

Chuck Cerankosky, Northcoast Research.

查克·塞蘭科斯基，北海岸研究中心。

First off, the 23% tax rate ex the state tax benefit. Is that the number that is being used in the guidance and that we should think about for next year at 23% tax rate?

首先，23% 的稅率不含國家稅收優惠。這是指南中使用的數字，也是我們明年應該考慮的 23% 稅率的數字嗎？

Yeah. You can use the math -- you can do the math, Chuck. That's a good range. Tax is always a little bit volatile, but that sounds good.

是的。你可以使用數學——你可以做數學，查克。這是一個很好的範圍。稅收總是有點波動，但這聽起來不錯。

And then focusing on the automation of the distribution centers, how many are automated at this point? And what are you -- what number are you looking at to do over the next two years?

然後關注配送中心的自動化，目前有多少是自動化的？您打算在未來兩年內做什麼？

Chuck, we have, I think, three that are done, three -- two or three openings very early this year. We are excited about continuing to drive that. We have approval from the Board, a set of capital that's associated with it.

查克，我想，我們已經完成了三個，三個——今年早些時候有兩個或三個空缺。我們很高興能夠繼續推動這一趨勢。我們得到了董事會的批准，以及與之相關的一系列資本。

The team is getting better at it. And we think it's a very important driver of both performance and productivity for us. So we're going to continue to roll it out.

團隊在這方面做得越來越好。我們認為這對我們來說是性能和生產力的非常重要的驅動力。所以我們將繼續推出它。

Jacob Aiken-Phillips, Melius Research.

雅各布·艾肯·菲利普斯，Melius 研究中心。

So I just wanted to see if you had any more color on changes in the consumer. I understand December was wonky, but you provided a little detail on like income level. But maybe any more on that and then on like regional variations or changes since 2Q?

所以我只是想看看您是否對消費者的變化有更多的了解。我知道 12 月很不穩定，但您提供了有關收入水平的一些詳細資訊。但也許還有更多關於這一點以及自第二季度以來的區域差異或變化？

Not a whole lot more. I think we just need to see how the next few weeks play out, whether December was a December thing or if it is something longer than that. So I don't have any more color on that.

不多了。我認為我們只需要看看接下來的幾週會如何發展，無論十二月是十二月還是更長。所以我對此沒有更多的色彩。

The consumer, I think, is not behaving any differently from a macro standpoint from what they were a few months ago in that I think consumers are, as I said, more cautious. They are price sensitive. We know that they're shopping more stores now than before they went into the pandemic.

我認為，從宏觀角度來看，消費者的行為與幾個月前沒有任何不同，因為正如我所說，消費者更加謹慎。他們對價格敏感。我們知道，他們現在比疫情爆發之前去的商店還要多。

So -- and that changes the dynamic of how we all compete for share of wallet. But -- and again, we are not seeing anything dramatically different between, at least in our business, from a change between the different segments that we serve.

所以——這改變了我們爭奪錢包份額的方式。但是，我們再次強調，至少在我們的業務中，我們所服務的不同細分市場之間的變化並沒有看到任何顯著的差異。

And we're -- we focus on a few. We think -- we try to make things really easy for consumers. We try to win with the fresh assortment that we have with consumers. We try to make it easy for them to engage on all of our different platforms. When they do that, we gain share of wallet; and that's what we're focused on.

我們專注於其中的一些。我們認為──我們努力讓消費者的事情變得真正簡單。我們努力以新鮮的品種贏得消費者的青睞。我們努力讓他們輕鬆參與我們所有不同的平台。當他們這樣做時，我們就獲得了錢包份額；這就是我們關注的重點。

And then -- the guidance implies a wide range for 4Q for comps, EBITDA, and EPS. Could you give some puts and takes on what would make you hit the upper end versus the lower end of that?

然後，該指引暗示第四季度的比較、息稅折舊攤銷前利潤 (EBITDA) 和每股盈餘 (EPS) 的範圍很廣。您能否給予一些看跌期權和接受期權，看看哪些因素會讓您達到上限，哪些因素會導致您達到下限？

Yes. There are several big things that happened in the -- in our fourth quarter. Remember, our fourth quarter starts in December. But we will go into the ball games, which is a big grocery time, and which teams end up in the ball and in your markets and those sorts of things.

是的。第四季發生了幾件大事。請記住，我們的第四季從 12 月開始。但我們會討論球賽，這是一個重要的雜貨時間，以及哪些球隊最終進入球賽、進入你的市場以及諸如此類的事情。

We also have Valentine's Day during that time. Those are very important holidays for us. We -- so those are some of the things that drive variance in the outcomes.

那段時間我們也過情人節。這些對我們來說是非常重要的假期。我們——所以這些是導致結果差異的一些因素。

As we saw during Christmas, there's some mix shifts. There's timing shifts again this year, timing between Super Bowl and Valentine's Day, et cetera. So those are the things that happened during the quarter that create variability.

正如我們在聖誕節期間看到的那樣，存在一些混合變化。今年的時間再次發生變化，超級盃和情人節之間的時間等等。這些就是本季發生的導致變化的事情。

That does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I would now like to hand the call back over to Melissa Plaisance for closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。現在我想將電話轉回給梅麗莎·普萊桑斯（Melissa Plaisance）進行總結發言。

Thanks, everyone, for participating today. And we look forward to talking with you in follow-ups. Take care.

謝謝大家今天的參與。我們期待與您進行後續交流。小心。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路。享受你一天剩下的時間。