AECOM (ACM) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to AECOM's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Will Gabrielski, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. You may begin.

感謝各位稍候。此刻，我想歡迎各位參加 AECOM 2026 會計年度第二季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）現在我想將電話交給財務與投資人關係資深副總裁 Will Gabrielski。請開始。

Thank you, operator. I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement on page 1 of today's presentation. Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

謝謝，接線員。我想請各位注意今天簡報第 1 頁的安全港聲明。今天的討論包含關於未來業務與財務預期的前瞻性陳述。由於各種風險與不確定性（包括我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交之定期報告中所述風險），實際結果可能與今日前瞻性陳述所預測者有重大差異。除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新前瞻性陳述之任何義務。

We use certain non-GAAP financial measures in our presentation. The appropriate GAAP reconciliations are incorporated into our materials, which are posted to our website. Growth rates are presented on a year-over-year basis, unless otherwise noted. Any reference to segment margins or segment adjusted operating margins will reflect the performance for the Americas and International segments.

我們在簡報中使用若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。相應的 GAAP 調節表已納入我們的資料中，並已張貼於我們的網站。除非另有說明，成長率以年對年為基礎呈現。任何對分部利潤率或分部調整後營業利潤率的提及，將反映美洲（Americas）與國際（International）分部的表現。

When discussing revenue and revenue growth, we will refer to net service revenue or NSR, which is defined as revenue excluding pass-through revenue. And as our growth rates are presented on a constant currency basis, unless otherwise noted.

在討論營收與營收成長時，我們將以淨服務營收（net service revenue，NSR）為準，其定義為扣除轉付營收（pass-through revenue）後的營收。此外，除非另有說明，我們的成長率以固定匯率（constant currency）基礎呈現。

Today's remarks will focus on continuing operations. On today's call, Troy Rudd, our Chief Executive Officer, will review our key accomplishments, our strategy and outlook for the business. Lara Poloni, our President, will discuss key operational successes and priorities; and Gaurav Kapoor, our Chief Financial and Operations Officer, will review our financial performance and outlook in greater detail. We will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

今天的談話將聚焦於持續營運業務。在今天的電話會議中，我們的執行長 Troy Rudd 將回顧主要成果、策略與業務展望。總裁 Lara Poloni 將討論關鍵營運成果與優先事項；而財務與營運長 Gaurav Kapoor 將更詳細地回顧財務表現與展望。我們將以問答環節作結。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Troy. Troy?

接下來，我將把電話交給 Troy。Troy？

Thank you, Will, and thank you all for joining us today. Our second quarter results demonstrate the strength and resilience of our teams and our focus on delivering the most iconic infrastructure projects around the world.

謝謝你，Will，也謝謝各位今天加入我們。我們第二季的結果展現了團隊的實力與韌性，以及我們專注於在全球交付最具代表性的基礎建設專案。

Before discussing our results, I want to highlight that we have once again been named the number one firm by ENR in the transportation, facilities and water markets. Our industry leadership, investments in our professionals and technical excellence, infrastructure domain expertise and strong client relationships are pivotal and our competitive advantage and the unparalleled value we deliver to our clients.

在討論業績之前，我想先強調，我們再次被 ENR 評選為交通、設施與水務市場的第一名公司。我們的產業領導地位、對專業人才的投資與技術卓越、在基礎建設領域的專業能力，以及與客戶的強健關係，都是我們競爭優勢的關鍵，並為客戶帶來無可比擬的價值。

Turning to our results. NSR, margins, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS reached new second quarter highs despite a dynamic market environment, and backlog increased 8% to a new record. The increase in NSR was driven by 8% growth in our Americas design business, which is our most profitable. The segment adjusted operating margin increased by 50 basis points to 16.5%, which is reflective of the high value we deliver to our clients, our focus on efficiency and the benefits of our strategy. Through these margins, we are investing in and beginning to realize the benefits from our strategic priorities, which include our proprietary AI and growing our advisory practice.

回到業績表現。儘管市場環境多變，NSR、利潤率、調整後 EBITDA 與調整後 EPS 仍創下第二季新高，而在手訂單（backlog）亦成長 8% 至歷史新高。NSR 的提升主要由美洲設計業務 8% 的成長所帶動，該業務亦是我們獲利能力最高的業務。分部調整後營業利潤率提升 50 個基點至 16.5%，反映我們為客戶提供的高價值、對效率的專注，以及策略帶來的效益。透過這些利潤率，我們正投入並開始實現策略優先事項的效益，包括我們的自有 AI 以及擴大顧問諮詢業務。

Backlog reached a new high in the quarter, which further enhances our visibility. This was driven by a design book-to-burn of 1.2 times. This performance reflects the combination of strong secular growth demand and robust funding in many of our markets as well as continued strong win rates. This is especially apparent across our largest pursuits, where our advantages are greatest, and our win rates are consistently highest.

本季在手訂單創新高，進一步提升我們的能見度。這主要由設計業務的接單/消化比（book-to-burn）達 1.2 倍所驅動。此表現反映多個市場中強勁的長期結構性成長需求與充沛資金支持的結合，以及我們持續維持的高得標率。這在我們最大型的投標案中尤為明顯，因為在這些案子上我們的優勢最為突出，得標率也一向最高。

Turning to our development and deployment of proprietary AI. We are delivering on all of our key internal milestones and investments expanded in the quarter as expected. Importantly, deployment of AI onto projects and client deliverables is growing rapidly as are the number of use cases identified by our teams.

接著談我們自有 AI 的開發與部署。我們在所有關鍵內部里程碑上均按計畫推進，且本季投資如預期擴大。更重要的是，AI 在專案與客戶交付成果上的部署正快速成長，我們團隊所識別的使用情境數量亦同步快速增加。

The best measure of how AI is benefiting AECOM is our largest wins. We were recently selected for a substantial recompete for a major energy client where our proprietary AI solution was a central element of the project proposal and our competitive edge. Notably, these contracts include specific mechanisms that allow us to capture value and deploy AI to deliver greater value to our clients.

衡量 AI 如何為 AECOM 帶來效益的最佳指標，是我們在最大型案源上的得標。我們近期在某大型能源客戶的一項重大續約競標中獲選，其中我們的自有 AI 解決方案是提案的核心要素，也是我們的競爭優勢。值得注意的是，這些合約包含特定機制，使我們能夠捕捉價值，並透過部署 AI 為客戶交付更高價值。

Turning to end markets. In the US, both of the demand and funding environments are strong. More than half of the IIJA funding remains to be spent, and that number is even greater for several of our largest clients and market sectors. An example of the positive benefit of this funding is the Brent Spence Bridge project in Ohio, where our strong performance on Phase 1 helped us win a sizable contract for Phase 2 during the second quarter.

接著談終端市場。在美國，需求與資金環境皆強勁。超過一半的《基礎建設投資與就業法案》（IIJA）資金仍待支出，而對於我們若干最大客戶與市場領域而言，未支出比例更高。此資金帶來正面效益的一個例子是俄亥俄州的 Brent Spence Bridge 專案，我們在第一階段的強勁表現，協助我們在第二季贏得第二階段的一筆可觀合約。

As we highlighted last quarter, investment in US national defense is also growing rapidly. Our pipeline with the Department of War, which is our single largest client, increased by 50%. The President's $1.5 trillion budget proposal points to accelerating defense spending in the key areas that we support. This includes significant increased facilities work, where we are a leading provider to the Army and Navy.

如同我們上季所強調，美國國防投資也在快速成長。我們與戰爭部（Department of War）（我們單一最大客戶）的案源管線增加了 50%。總統提出的 1.5 兆美元預算提案顯示，在我們所支援的關鍵領域，國防支出將加速成長。其中包括設施工程的大幅增加，而我們是陸軍與海軍的領先供應商之一。

In Canada, NSR growth continues to be strong and broad-based across all market sectors. We maintained a leading position in this market, and recent national and provincial funding pronouncements underpin our confidence that this growth will continue.

在加拿大，NSR 成長持續強勁，且在所有市場領域均呈現廣泛成長。我們維持在該市場的領先地位，近期聯邦與省級的資金政策宣示，也支撐我們對此成長可望延續的信心。

Turning to the International segment. In the UK, growth turned positive with continued strength in water and energy, led by accelerated activity on AMP8 and Great Grid project. However, partially offsetting this strength is ongoing weakness in the transportation market. Longer term, there is an undeniable need for transportation investment.

接著談國際分部。在英國，成長轉為正向，水務與能源持續強勁，主要由 AMP8 與 Great Grid 專案活動加速所帶動。然而，交通運輸市場的持續疲弱在一定程度上抵銷了上述強勢。長期而言，交通運輸投資的需求無可否認。

In Australia, trends have improved and our backlog reached a new multiyear high. This includes a notable set of wins to support the $3 billion AUKUS partnership and other defense investments. In addition to defense, we also have a growing pipeline of transportation work, which bodes well for 2027 and beyond.

在澳洲，趨勢已改善，我們的在手訂單達到新的多年高點。其中包括一系列重要得標，以支援 30 億美元的 AUKUS 夥伴關係及其他國防投資。除國防外，我們在交通運輸工程方面的案源管線也在擴大，這對 2027 年及之後的表現是正面訊號。

Finishing in the Middle East. Despite the near-term uncertainty, we continue to win work at a higher rate, including strong wins after the quarter ended. In addition, an estimated $40 billion to $50 billion of spending is likely to be needed to repair, fortify and expand the US military infrastructure in the region, which presents another growth opportunity for us.

最後談中東。儘管短期存在不確定性，我們仍以更高的得標率持續贏得業務，包括在季末後取得的強勁得標。此外，估計需要 400 億至 500 億美元的支出，用於修復、加固並擴建該地區的美軍基礎設施，這也為我們帶來另一項成長機會。

Turning to our outlook for the remainder of the year. We are increasing our full year profit guidance for the second time this year. This guidance increase reflects our strong year-to-date financial performance, record backlog position, strong funding across our core markets and execution of our strategic initiatives. At the same time, our guidance is capturing uncertainties related to the Middle East as the ongoing conflict continues to have an unclear resolution timeline.

接著談我們對今年剩餘期間的展望。我們今年第二次上調全年獲利指引。此次上調反映我們年初至今強勁的財務表現、創紀錄的在手訂單水位、核心市場的強勁資金支持，以及策略性計畫的執行。同時，我們的指引亦納入與中東相關的不確定性，因為持續中的衝突仍缺乏明確的解決時間表。

At the midpoints of our updated guidance ranges, we expect adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS to increase by 7% and 14% from the prior year. Taken together, we continue to deliver consistently strong performance, with a record backlog and pipeline, and are confident in delivering on our increased guidance for the year and our long-term strategic and financial objectives.

以更新後指引區間的中位數計算，我們預期調整後 EBITDA 與調整後 EPS 將較去年分別成長 7% 與 14%。綜合而言，我們持續交付穩健且一致的表現，並擁有創紀錄的在手訂單與案源管線；我們對於達成今年上調後的指引，以及長期策略與財務目標，充滿信心。

With that, I will turn the call over to Lara.

接下來，我將把電話交給 Lara。

Thanks, Troy. Our teams continue to differentiate in the marketplace by leading with technical excellence, strong collaboration across market sectors and disciplines and focus on delivering unrivaled value to clients. These attributes are key drivers of our record performance. I'd like to highlight a few trends where this is most apparent.

謝謝，Troy。我們的團隊持續在市場上展現差異化優勢：以技術卓越為先、跨市場領域與專業的高度協作，以及專注於為客戶交付無可匹敵的價值。這些特質是我們創紀錄表現的關鍵驅動因素。我想強調幾個最能體現這點的趨勢。

First, our clients are investing record amounts in AI infrastructure. Our expertise extends from the conceptual phase of an asset through its ultimate delivery, including environment permitting, site selection and due diligence, stakeholder engagement as well as design, project and program management. Our high-tech business is one of our fastest growing, especially in the US. Of note, during the quarter, we expanded our relationship with a key hyperscaler that positions us for accelerating growth, and we see several similar opportunities across this market.

第一，我們的客戶正以創紀錄的金額投資於 AI 基礎設施。我們的專業能力涵蓋資產從概念階段到最終交付的全流程，包括環境許可、選址與盡職調查、利害關係人溝通，以及設計、專案與計畫管理。我們的高科技業務是成長最快的業務之一，尤其在美國。值得一提的是，本季我們擴大了與一家關鍵超大規模雲端業者（hyperscaler）的合作關係，使我們具備加速成長的有利位置；我們也在此市場看到數個類似機會。

Second, power demand continues to increase. We work across the entire power generation stack, and we have taken a leading position in emerging areas as well. One area we'd like to highlight is nuclear fusion, where we expect to deliver nine figures of NSR in the coming years. This includes our ongoing work in the US with Type One Energy and TPA as well as our selection during the second quarter to deliver design and technical services for the UK Step nuclear fusion program.

第二，電力需求持續增加。我們涵蓋整個發電價值鏈，並在新興領域也取得領先地位。我們想特別強調的一個領域是核融合，我們預期在未來幾年可實現數億位數（九位數）的 NSR。這包括我們在美國與 Type One Energy 與 TPA 的持續合作，以及我們在第二季獲選為英國 Step 核融合計畫提供設計與技術服務。

These two programs are amongst the most advanced fusion programs in the world, and our decades-long leadership across the energy sector played an essential role in our positioning.

這兩項計畫是全球最先進的核融合計畫之一，而我們在能源產業數十年的領導地位，對於我們能夠取得目前的定位發揮了關鍵作用。

The third trend I'd like to highlight is our incredibly high success rate on recompetes, which is a great indicator of the strength of our technical expertise and high client satisfaction. Our win rate on recompetes is in excess of 90%. And increasingly, we are securing an even greater share of the client spend on these recompetes, which aligns with our focus on expanding our addressable share of the market.

我想強調的第三個趨勢，是我們在續標（recompete）上的成功率極高，這是我們技術專業實力與客戶高度滿意度的絕佳指標。我們在續標上的得標率超過 90%。而且，我們也愈來愈能在這些續標案中取得更高的客戶支出占比，這與我們聚焦於擴大可觸及市場份額的策略一致。

In the environment sector, two marquee recompetes for global energy companies over the past several months told this story well. On one of these wins, our scope is substantially greater than the prior contract. This outcome not only reflects our strong performance on the last contract, but also the value we are poised to deliver in the future through our strategic investments, including AI. On the other win, we stood out against the competition because of our technical expertise and scale.

在環境領域，過去幾個月我們為全球能源公司拿下的兩個指標性續標案，很好地說明了這一點。其中一個案子，我們的服務範圍相較於前一份合約大幅擴大。這個結果不僅反映我們在上一份合約中的強勁表現，也反映我們透過包含 AI 在內的策略性投資，未來可望交付的價值。在另一個案子中，我們憑藉技術專業與規模優勢，在競爭中脫穎而出。

Finally, our Advisory business is on track to double its NSR within three years, consistent with our prior expectations. Importantly, by bringing infrastructure-led expertise to our clients, we are differentiated versus traditional consulting peers, and we are consistently beating these firms across the globe for our clients’ most critical assignments.

最後，我們的顧問（Advisory）業務正按計畫在三年內將其 NSR 翻倍，符合我們先前的預期。重要的是，透過為客戶帶來以基礎設施為主導的專業能力，我們相較於傳統顧問同業具備差異化優勢，並且在全球各地客戶最關鍵的任務上，我們持續擊敗這些公司。

As always, I am extremely proud of our professionals who are energized by our investments to enhance capabilities, better serve our clients and increase the value we can deliver to our stakeholders and communities. The result is sustained strong performance across the business and clear visibility for future growth.

一如既往，我對我們的專業團隊感到無比自豪；他們因我們提升能力的投資而備受鼓舞，能更好地服務客戶，並提高我們為利害關係人與社區所能交付的價值。其結果是全公司持續強勁的表現，以及對未來成長的清晰能見度。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Gaur.

接下來，我把電話交給 Gaur。

Thanks, Lara. As demonstrated by our second quarter results and increased full year guidance, the business is outperforming our expectations contemplated in our initial guidance. There are a few trends that I would like to highlight within our performance.

謝謝你，Lara。從我們第二季的業績以及上調的全年指引可以看出，公司的表現優於我們在初始指引中所預期的水準。我想就我們的表現強調幾個趨勢。

First, we continue to deliver on all key metrics. I should note, this quarter included an approximate 100 basis points headwind to NSR due to the impacts from the conflict in the Middle East. And as a reminder, revenue is disproportionately impacted given the substantial consolidated joint venture work we have in the region, but the impact to profit is much smaller as demonstrated by our strong earnings growth.

第一，我們持續在所有關鍵指標上交出成果。我也要說明，本季因中東衝突的影響，NSR 約受到 100 個基點的不利因素影響。並提醒一下，由於我們在該地區有大量合併報表的合資企業工作，營收受到的影響相對更大；但對獲利的影響小得多，這也從我們強勁的盈餘成長中得到印證。

Second, strong margin outperformance remains a hallmark of our business. Building on our consistent industry-leading profitability, our segment adjusted operating margin increased by 50 basis points year-over-year. We continue to unlock capacity to invest in our strategic priorities, and we are on track with our full year margin expansion goals.

第二，毛利率（利潤率）顯著優於預期仍是我們業務的標誌。在我們一貫的業界領先獲利能力基礎上，我們的分部調整後營業利益率年增 50 個基點。我們持續釋放投資策略優先事項的能力，並且正按計畫達成全年利潤率擴張目標。

Finally, our backlog and pipeline are at a record high, including growth in both the Americas and International segments. In fact, our pipeline has increased by double digits for three consecutive quarters, which provides for long-term visibility. Both our backlog and our pipeline underpin our expectation for strong NSR growth in the second half of the year and beyond.

最後，我們的在手訂單（backlog）與商機管線（pipeline）均創下歷史新高，且美洲與國際兩個分部皆呈現成長。事實上，我們的商機管線已連續三個季度以雙位數成長，提供了長期能見度。我們的在手訂單與商機管線共同支撐我們對今年下半年及之後 NSR 強勁成長的預期。

Turning to Americas. NSR in the design business increased by 8% as we continue to execute our strong backlog position and capitalize on favorable market trends. The adjusted operating margin increased by 60 basis points to 20%, contributing to 10% operating income growth, which reflects a continued focus on driving operating efficiencies across the business and the high return on investments we are making to extend our advantages.

接著看美洲分部。設計業務的 NSR 成長 8%，我們持續執行強勁的在手訂單部位並掌握有利的市場趨勢。調整後營業利益率提升 60 個基點至 20%，帶動營業利益成長 10%，反映我們持續聚焦於推動全業務的營運效率，以及我們為延伸優勢所進行投資的高報酬。

Turning to the International segment. NSR increased by 2% and declined by 3% on a constant currency basis. Growth in the UK and Australia was offset by declines in the Middle East and Asia. Our adjusted operating margin remained consistent with the prior year at 11%, and our operating income increased by 2%.

再看國際分部。NSR 成長 2%，以固定匯率計則下降 3%。英國與澳洲的成長被中東與亞洲的下滑所抵銷。我們的調整後營業利益率維持與去年一致的 11%，營業利益成長 2%。

Our backlog in the International segment increased by 25% to a new record and our pipeline of opportunities remain near an all-time high as well. This is consistent with our expectation that international growth will improve in the coming quarters.

國際分部的在手訂單成長 25% 至新的歷史高點，而我們的商機管線也仍接近歷史最高水準。這與我們預期國際成長將在未來幾季改善一致。

Turning to cash flow and capital allocation. We returned $155 million of capital to shareholders in the second quarter through repurchases and dividends. Underlying cash flow in the second quarter was consistent with our expectations, but was offset by delayed payment timing in the Middle East business as well as longer-than-anticipated claim resolution on certain projects. Importantly, collection in the Middle East has already recovered in the third quarter, and we have demonstrated track record of delivering strong free cash flow.

接著談現金流與資本配置。我們在第二季透過庫藏股回購與股利，向股東返還 1.55 億美元資本。第二季的基礎現金流符合我們預期，但受到中東業務付款時點延後，以及部分專案索賠（claim）解決時間較預期更長的影響而被抵銷。重要的是，中東的收款在第三季已經回升，而且我們也已證明具備交付強勁自由現金流的長期紀錄。

As a result, we are reaffirming our free cash flow guidance for this year as well as our long-term 100% plus free cash flow conversion target. We remain committed to our returns-focused capital allocation policy, which includes returning substantially all available cash flow to shareholders through repurchases and dividends.

因此，我們重申今年的自由現金流指引，以及長期「100% 以上」的自由現金流轉換率目標。我們仍致力於以報酬為核心的資本配置政策，其中包括透過回購與股利，將幾乎所有可用現金流返還給股東。

Concluding with our raised guidance, we now expect to grow adjusted EPS and EBITDA by 14% and 7%, respectively, at the midpoint of the ranges. As a reminder, our fourth quarter growth rate will be impacted by fewer workdays than prior year, which is accounted for in our reaffirmed guidance for 4% to 6% NSR growth for the year. Excluding this impact, we continue to expect 6% to 8% NSR growth for the year.

最後就我們上調後的指引而言，我們目前預期在區間中點，調整後 EPS 與 EBITDA 將分別成長 14% 與 7%。提醒一下，我們第四季的成長率將受到工作天數少於去年同期的影響；這已反映在我們重申的全年 NSR 成長 4% 至 6% 指引中。若排除此影響，我們仍預期全年 NSR 成長 6% 至 8%。

With that, operator, we are ready for questions.

以上，接線員，我們準備開始回答問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Andy Kaplowitz, Citigroup.

花旗集團（Citigroup）的 Andy Kaplowitz。

Hey, good morning, everyone.

各位早安。

Good morning, Andy.

早安，Andy。

So your backlog growth has obviously been relatively strong. But I think in order to get to your organic revenue growth range for the year, you'll need a pickup in burn rates to get to your guidance. What needs to happen to see that? Are you counting on a quick ending to the Middle East? Or do you see the Americas work ramping up faster in the second half?

你們的在手訂單成長顯然相當強勁。但我認為，若要達到你們今年的有機營收成長區間，你們需要提高在手訂單的消化率（burn rate）才能符合指引。要看到這種情況需要發生什麼事？你們是指望中東情勢很快結束嗎？還是你們看到美洲的工作在下半年更快加速？

Yeah what? Gaur will take that one, Andy.

嗯，這題由 Gaur 來回答，Andy。

Hey, Andy, thanks for the question. So you're right, our backlog growth has been really strong. In fact, when you look at our international trailing 12 months, it's 1.4 times book-to-burn that we have delivered. But at the same time, there have been geopolitical issues that have impacted the first half as we've already discussed last quarter and on our prepared remarks here.

嗨，Andy，謝謝你的提問。你說得沒錯，我們的在手訂單成長確實非常強勁。事實上，若看我們國際業務過去 12 個月的表現，我們交出的 book-to-burn 為 1.4 倍。但同時，正如我們上季以及今天準備稿中已討論的，地緣政治問題確實影響了上半年。

But as we go into the second half of the year, given the strong backlog growth that we have had, the book-to-burn I just mentioned, we do expect growth to inflect to support growth we're already seeing in our design business in the first half of the year, which has grown at over 7% in the first half.

不過，進入下半年，鑑於我們強勁的在手訂單成長，以及我剛提到的 book-to-burn，我們確實預期成長將出現拐點（inflect），以支撐我們在上半年設計業務已經看到的成長；該業務上半年成長超過 7%。

So in the Americas design, just to note, has grown in spite of the government shutdown in Q1 and it also impacted Q2, but we saw a recovery of wins and bookings in our federal clients, which were impacted by the shutdown in the second quarter. So we expect that to provide good tailwind to us as we go into the second half of the year, and feel good about our guidance we have put forth.

另外補充一下，美洲設計業務是在第一季政府關門的情況下仍然成長，而政府關門也影響了第二季；但我們看到聯邦客戶在第二季的得標與接單（bookings）出現回升，先前這些客戶受到關門影響。因此，我們預期這將在下半年為我們帶來良好順風，也對我們提出的指引感到有信心。

And Andy, I'll add just a little bit to that is when we started the year, we anticipated growth ramping up in the second half of the year, and that was built into our plans. Obviously, during the second quarter, we did see growth as we expected in the UK business and in the Am's business, and we had expected growth to be in the Middle East business, which, obviously, for reasons that everyone is discussing, it didn't happen.

Andy，我再補充一點：在年初時，我們就預期成長會在下半年加速，並已納入我們的規劃中。顯然，在第二季，我們如預期看到英國業務與美洲業務的成長；而我們原本也預期中東業務會成長，但很明顯，基於大家都在討論的原因，這並未發生。

What we did see though in the quarter, again, is actually very significant, the backlog growth in the Middle East. And even post quarter, we had some very significant awards that we continue to add to that backlog in the Middle East. So we do expect the Middle East to grow quite significantly. The part that is difficult for us to forecast is sort of exactly the pace that it's going to grow in the third quarter. But nevertheless, with the backlog in that business, we do have a very good line of sight or visibility to growth in the Middle East.

不過，我們在本季看到的其實非常顯著，就是中東的在手訂單成長。而且在季後，我們也持續在中東拿到一些非常重要的得標，進一步增加該地區的在手訂單。因此，我們確實預期中東將相當顯著地成長。對我們而言較難預測的是第三季成長的確切速度。但無論如何，憑藉該業務的在手訂單，我們對中東的成長具有非常良好的視線範圍或能見度。

Very helpful. And then, Troy, I want to double click on the marquee wins you're talking about that you -- AI contributed to and how the mechanics are working. For instance, if you are successful in delivering for the client, what exactly does that mean? Is it like your man hours or revenue are lower than the project in a similar size project without AI? And what is the potential profitability of this type of project versus a similar project without AI? I think more color would be helpful.

非常有幫助。接著，Troy，我想針對你提到那些由 AI 促成的重大勝利（marquee wins）再深入追問一下，以及其運作機制。舉例來說，如果你們成功為客戶交付，這到底具體代表什麼？是指你們投入的人力工時或收入，相較於沒有使用 AI、規模相近的專案更低嗎？另外，這類使用 AI 的專案，相較於未使用 AI 的類似專案，其潛在獲利能力如何？我覺得如果能提供更多細節會更有幫助。

Okay. Sure. Well, again, I'll just -- I think I pointed out in the prepared remarks, one of our wins, but I'll actually say that we've had two wins that I'd report on, and the aggregate value of those wins is almost $1 billion, one of which came after the end of the quarter, so it's not currently in our backlog.

好的。當然。嗯，再次說明——我想我在事先準備的發言中提到過我們其中一個得標案，但我其實要說的是，我們有兩個得標案可以對外報告，兩者合計價值接近 10 億美元，其中一個是在季度結束後才拿下的，所以目前尚未反映在我們的在手訂單（backlog）中。

But what we would expect to see in the commercial model that we've agreed is that revenue will continue to grow on those projects. But as we deliver using AI, we have a mechanism where we effectively will share the benefit from doing that.

但我們預期，在我們已同意的商業模式下，這些專案的收入將會持續成長。同時，當我們運用 AI 進行交付時，我們有一套機制，讓我們能夠有效地分享因為這樣做所帶來的效益。

And so there's a pretty large upside to that project. I'm not -- just again, because I'm talking about some client contracts in particular, I'm not going to share the ranges, but I will say that there is certainly an opportunity for us to share meaningfully in that upside.

因此，該專案有相當大的上行空間。我不會——再次強調，因為我是在談某些特定客戶合約——我不會分享具體區間，但我可以說，我們確實有機會在那個上行空間中以有意義的方式分得一部分。

And then the other thing that we're experiencing, and I think this is the most important message through this is, these are two large projects and two large wins during the year. And so what we also see -- is we also see an improving win rate in the conversations on these large types of programs and projects. So I would think about it this way in terms of revenue. It's not necessarily that we're going to see more revenue from these particular contracts. We will see improved margins on those contracts.

另外，我們正在經歷的另一件事，而且我認為這是最重要的訊息是：這是兩個大型專案、也是今年兩個大型得標案。因此我們也看到——在這類大型計畫與專案的洽談中，我們的得標率正在提升。所以就收入而言，我會這樣看：不一定是我們會從這些特定合約看到更多收入；我們會看到的是這些合約的利潤率提升。

But what we are seeing is an improved revenue opportunity as a result of the competitive -- effectively competitive advantages that we've created and so I'm going to pass to Gaur for give you some more color.

但我們看到的是，由於我們建立的競爭——也就是競爭優勢——帶來了更好的收入機會。因此我會把話交給 Gaur，請他再補充一些細節。

Yeah, Andy, on a little bit more color on some of the contracts that Troy is talking about. Now clearly, we can't go into the details of them. But just to give you an overview, each one of these is a multiyear contract. And for -- specifically on Scottish Water that we did give you a lot of detail in Q1. Recall, we virtually had -- practically no exposure to this client.

好的，Andy，我再就 Troy 提到的部分合約補充一些說明。當然，我們無法深入談細節。但先給你一個概覽：每一個都是多年期合約。至於——特別是我們在第一季已提供很多細節的 Scottish Water 合約，請回想一下，我們過去幾乎——實際上幾乎沒有與這位客戶的業務往來。

And now we're part of the largest contract, water contract that has ever been let out by that client in Europe, UK geography for us. And in fact, in -- from what we can tell in the water discipline, it is the largest contract that was let out.

而現在，我們成為該客戶在歐洲、英國地區（對我們而言是 UK 地理區域）所釋出的史上最大水務合約的一部分。事實上，就我們所了解，在水務專業領域中，這也是所釋出的最大合約。

And the second one that happened subsequent to the quarter also follows a very similar pattern, where we didn't have exposure to the client currently, and what we have won, again on a multiyear basis, is a multiple of what we currently deliver on an NSR basis.

而第二個在季度之後發生的案子也呈現非常類似的模式：我們當時同樣沒有與該客戶的既有業務往來，而我們這次贏得的——同樣是多年期——其規模是我們目前以 NSR（淨服務收入）口徑所交付金額的數倍。

So the question that you're specifically asking, how is it impacting manhours revenue, that's a very good direct result of what we're seeing when you bring technology that drives efficiency. Our clients are asking for more because the demand for our services far exceed sometimes the funding that has historically been in place.

所以你具體問到它如何影響人力工時與收入，這是一個很好的問題，也正是我們在導入能提升效率的技術後所看到的直接結果。我們的客戶會要求更多，因為對我們服務的需求有時遠遠超過歷史上既有的資金規模。

And specifically on that contract too, KPIs, where the more efficient we are in delivering, it's a pain share gain -- a pain share -- there's actually no gain share, I should say, pain share mechanism on that contract, which will allow us to share with the client that did not exist before that KPI on the gain share.

而且特別是在那份合約中也有 KPI：我們交付越有效率，就會有一個 pain share gain——pain share——我應該說，實際上沒有 gain share；該合約有 pain share 機制，讓我們能與客戶分攤（分享）這部分影響；在此之前，KPI 中並不存在那種 gain share 的安排。

Appreciate the color, guys. Yes.

感謝補充說明，各位。是的。

Thanks, Andy.

謝謝你，Andy。

Andy Wittmann, Baird.

Andy Wittmann，Baird。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions this morning. I just wanted to dig into your comment about the Middle East. I think you mentioned there was 100 basis points NSR hit from the delays that you saw there. But you said that the profits weren't hit as large as the revenue. Is that because it's like a consolidated joint venture and it reduced your NCI? I noticed your NCI guidance was lowered for the year by about 5 million. Is that the delta that you would say between like the -- what would be the expected profit and the actual profit hit to you?

很好。謝謝今天早上回答我的問題。我想深入了解你們對中東的評論。我記得你提到那邊的延遲造成 NSR 受到 100 個基點的衝擊。但你也說獲利受到的影響沒有收入那麼大。這是因為它像是合併報表的合資企業，因而降低了你們的 NCI（非控制權益）嗎？我注意到你們今年的 NCI 指引下修了大約 500 萬美元。你會說這就是差額嗎——也就是介於預期獲利與實際對你們造成的獲利衝擊之間的差距？

Yeah, morning, Andy, you're spot on. It's exactly what you have articulated. Middle East is the one region where we have significant NCI. Regulatorily, you're required to have local partners in Saudi Arabia, in UAE. So the margin impact isn't as equals whatever your NSR miss is.

是的，早安，Andy，你說得很準，完全如你所描述。中東是我們擁有顯著 NCI 的唯一區域。依監管規定，在沙烏地阿拉伯與阿聯酋，你必須有當地合作夥伴。因此，利潤率的影響不會等同於你的 NSR 未達（miss）的幅度。

And that's why even though there was some margin impact into the business, the rest of the business, as Troy mentioned and Lara mentioned in her prepared remarks, with UK Australia, US performing very well. The whole company operationally delivering better than we had expected. It was able to cover that small miss on the bottom line.

所以即使該業務確實受到一些利潤率影響，但如 Troy 提到、Lara 也在她的事先準備發言中提到，英國、澳洲、美國表現非常好。整體公司在營運交付上優於我們原先預期，因此得以彌補底線上那個小幅缺口。

Okay, Great. And then I guess kind of related to that, you were talking about the impacts to your cash flow. It sounds like some of the delays you saw in the quarter from Middle East have been resolved after the quarter, and that's good. But as I looked at kind of your claims balance over the last four or five quarters, it has been kind of going up sequentially each quarter by a decent amount, and it sounds like that might continue.

好的，很好。接著我想這也算相關：你們談到對現金流的影響。聽起來你們在本季於中東看到的一些延遲，在季後已經解決了，這是好事。但我看你們過去四、五個季度的索賠（claims）餘額，每一季都以相當幅度逐季上升，而且聽起來可能還會持續。

So I'm just wondering if you could just give some detail on that? And if you're continuing to maintain the $400 million free cash flow guidance, I'm just wondering if there's an offset somewhere else in the business because of that item specifically?

所以我想請你們能否就此提供一些細節？另外，如果你們仍維持 4 億美元自由現金流指引，我想知道是否在業務的其他地方有某種抵消，特別是針對這個項目？

Sure. Andy, if I miss anything, please let me know, and I'll revert back to it. Specific to full year guidance, we have full confidence that we will be delivering on our guidance for the current year, similar to what we have done over the last nine years.

當然。Andy，如果我漏掉任何部分，請告訴我，我再回來補充。就全年指引而言，我們完全有信心能達成今年的指引，就像過去九年我們所做到的一樣。

And I'll take the last part of your question first, which is what are the offsets? Over the last nine years, we've looked at what the drivers are on how we deliver on our cash so consistently, and there's no consistent drivers. When you have multiple geopolitical and geographic issues that you navigate around clients, we deliver anywhere between 35,000 to 50,000 contracts during the year, it gives you a lot of different paths to deliver on your cash, and the current year will be the same.

我先回答你問題的最後一部分，也就是有哪些抵消因素。過去九年，我們一直在檢視我們能如此穩定交付現金的驅動因素是什麼，而並沒有一個固定一致的驅動因素。當你需要在多種地緣政治與地理區域問題中、圍繞客戶需求去因應，而且我們一年會交付約 35,000 到 50,000 份合約時，你就會有很多不同的路徑來達成現金交付；今年也會是同樣的情況。

Specific to Middle East, you're again spot on. In April and continuing into May, our Middle East business is back to the normal cadence we expect, on cash receipts, including some advanced payments, which again gives us confidence that some of the large wins that we've had are now setting up to be -- we're going to be working on these projects in the second half of the year based on these advanced payments coming through.

就中東而言，你又說得很準。在四月並延續到五月，我們的中東業務在現金收款節奏上已回到我們預期的正常步調，其中也包含一些預收款（advanced payments）。這也再次讓我們有信心：我們拿下的一些大型得標案現在正在鋪陳——基於這些預收款到位，我們將在下半年開始在這些專案上展開工作。

And last, specific to the claim amounts that you raised, yes, these are projects we bid in fiscal year 2019 and 2020, two projects. And for two clients that have very strong creditworthiness. And specific to the claims, in our view, we have a clear right to these claims. In fact, what we've seen is four of the claims have individual claims for these two clients have gone through the resolution process. And we've been successful on each one of them.

最後，針對你提到的索賠金額，是的，這些是我們在 2019 與 2020 財政年度投標的專案，兩個專案，且對應兩位信用狀況非常強的客戶。就索賠而言，我們認為我們對這些索賠擁有明確的權利。事實上，我們看到針對這兩位客戶的索賠中，有四項個別索賠已走完解決流程，而且我們每一項都成功。

But it's just been very slow and dragged out on the resolution process. That is what has surprised us as to how long the process has taken. And occasionally, we come across these type of issues. And you'll see on our results that we have delivered over multiple years, we have a very good history of recovering our balance sheet position, and we feel confident on these two as well.

只是整個解決流程非常緩慢、被拖得很長。讓我們意外的是流程耗時之久。我們偶爾會遇到這類問題。而從你們看到我們多年來的業績結果，我們在回收資產負債表部位方面有非常良好的歷史紀錄，我們對這兩項也同樣有信心。

Jamie Cook, Truist Securities.

Jamie Cook，Truist Securities。

Hi, good morning. Thank you for the question. I guess this is my first question. Gaur, can you help remind us how much you're investing sort of in AI and how that's impacting margins this year? And I guess the EBITDA conversion relative to sales is still, I don't know, mid-single digit at best. I'm just wondering whether -- when we could start to see the EBITDA or the operating leverage of the business start to accelerate more as you get past some of this investment?

嗨，早安。謝謝讓我提問。我想這是我的第一個問題。Gaur，你能否幫我們回顧一下你們在 AI 方面大概投資了多少，以及這對今年的利潤率造成了什麼影響？另外，我想 EBITDA 相對於銷售額的轉換率仍然——我不確定——充其量也就是中個位數。我想了解的是，當你們度過這一波投資之後，我們何時能開始看到 EBITDA 或公司營運槓桿的加速提升？

And then I guess my second question is, as you are talking to your clients about your AI capabilities and what you can deliver, does it change your addressable market at all and that some customers are more willing to try AI or new technology or think about doing the business differently versus some that are still sort of legacy in an old school way? I'm just wondering if that changes your addressable market at all? Thank you.

然後我想我的第二個問題是，當你們與客戶談論你們的 AI 能力以及你們能交付的內容時，這是否會改變你們的可服務市場（addressable market）？也就是說，有些客戶更願意嘗試 AI 或新技術，或思考以不同方式經營業務；而另一些客戶仍然比較偏傳統、老派。我想知道這是否會改變你們的可服務市場？謝謝。

Hi, Jamie, thanks for the questions. I'll take the first one specific on AI leverage and margin EBITDA conversion. For the current -- for the first half of the year, we've delivered good strong margins, a little bit above our expectations of what we had laid out earlier in the year. If you recall, we had said 20 basis points to 30 basis points, and we've been doing better than that. And it's a combination of a few key things.

嗨，Jamie，謝謝你的提問。我先回答第一個，聚焦在 AI 槓桿、利潤率與 EBITDA 轉換。就今年目前——上半年而言，我們交出了相當強勁的利潤率，略高於我們年初所提出的預期。如果你還記得，我們當時說的是 20 個基點到 30 個基點，而我們的表現優於此。這是幾個關鍵因素共同作用的結果。

First is our Americas business organically is very robust and driving incremental margins. Second is throughout -- our organization has a very strong operating culture of delivering -- continuing to deliver better every single quarter.

第一，我們美洲業務的內生成長非常強勁，帶動了增量利潤率。第二，整體而言——我們組織有非常強的營運文化，持續在每一季都交出更好的表現。

But third, as you specifically asked about on AI leverage, in the first quarter, you would recall, we had only ramped up approximately $5 million of spend. Our expectation was 60 bps to 70 bps is what we will spend in FY26. And in fact, in Q2, we ramped up that spend to that full scale.

第三，針對你特別問到的 AI 槓桿：你會記得在第一季，我們只把支出拉升到大約 500 萬美元。我們的預期是在 FY26 會投入 60 到 70 個基點。事實上，在第二季，我們已把這項支出拉升到完整規模。

We spent $13 million on our AI road map, equates to about 66 bps. So the margin increase that you're seeing where we delivered 16.5% operating margin in the first half of the year versus 16.1% in last year. There is that incremental investment coming through.

我們在 AI 路線圖上投入了 1,300 萬美元，約等於 66 個基點。因此，你看到的利潤率提升——我們上半年交出 16.5% 的營業利益率，相較去年同期的 16.1%——其中就包含了這筆額外投資的影響。

As we move forward, we have a lot of confidence that, given what we're already seeing in the early results, not only from the growth standpoint that Troy has already spoken to earlier on some of the Q&A., but if you take a step back with the 66 bps of AI investment we're making in our margins in Q2, our Americas margins continue to grow over prior year and just a little bit better quarter-over-quarter as well because of some of these tools that we have already developed -- deployed -- internally developed and deployed internally are driving benefits.

往後看，我們非常有信心。基於我們已在早期結果中看到的情況，不僅是在成長面向——Troy 先前在部分問答中已談到——而且如果你退一步看，在第二季我們利潤率中承擔了 66 個基點的 AI 投資，我們美洲的利潤率仍持續高於去年，且季對季也略有改善，因為我們已經開發並部署的一些工具——內部開發並在內部部署——正在帶來效益。

And it's much more clear when you look at our International business. International business is not having same robust growth we're seeing in the Americas business, but the margins still help because they're being supported by these tools we've developed, which is being a force multiplier for our workforce and being able to deliver more efficiently. So we expect that to continue.

而在國際業務上，這點更為明顯。國際業務沒有像美洲業務那樣強勁的成長，但利潤率仍然受惠，因為這些我們開發的工具在支撐它們，成為我們人力的「倍增器」，讓我們能更有效率地交付。因此我們預期這種趨勢會持續。

And as you -- consistent with our guidance, as we look forward to FY27 and beyond, halfway through the year, we're very confident as to the guidance, the margin progression and the conversion that you talked about we had put forward, we'll be delivering.

並且如同我們的指引所述，展望 FY27 及之後，在年度過半之際，我們對於先前提出的指引、利潤率的推進，以及你提到的轉換率目標，都非常有信心能夠達成。

And Jamie, to answer your second question. First is our clients, when they have large complex projects, they are looking for a few things. They're looking for an improvement in the value we're delivering, and that can be in different ways, either through improving the speed at which you deliver, reducing the cost.

Jamie，回答你的第二個問題。首先，客戶在面對大型且複雜的專案時，他們會尋找幾件事。他們希望我們交付的價值能提升，而這可以透過不同方式達成，例如提升交付速度、降低成本。

But more importantly, providing more certainty around very complex outcomes that we deliver for our clients. And so they embrace innovation, and what we're finding in our conversations as we work through this is that they're willing to embrace the innovation that we're providing.

但更重要的是，針對我們為客戶交付的高度複雜成果，提供更高的確定性。因此他們樂於接受創新；而我們在對話中發現，他們願意擁抱我們所提供的創新。

And so those conversations are not -- they're really not that difficult. And in addressing your second question, does this change our addressable market? The answer is it does. And what this does is it allows us to actually have a way of entering some markets that we hadn't previously participated in a meaningful way in the past. And an example of that would be health care. We haven't participated meaningfully in health care design around the world.

因此，這些對話並不——其實並不困難。至於你第二個問題：這是否改變我們的可服務市場？答案是會。它讓我們能夠以一種方式切入一些過去我們未曾以有意義規模參與的市場。舉例來說就是醫療保健。我們過去在全球的醫療保健設計領域，並沒有以有意義的方式參與。

And so we're effectively, again, building tools that support our professionals in their conversation with customers that reduce time, the uncertainty associated with the complexity and cost. And so that allows us to more easily enter new markets. And a good example of that is the health care market

因此我們實際上再次是在打造工具，來支援我們的專業人員與客戶對話，降低時間成本、降低與複雜性相關的不確定性與成本。這使我們能更容易進入新市場。醫療保健市場就是一個很好的例子。

Adam Bubes, Goldman Sachs.

Adam Bubes，Goldman Sachs。

Hi, good morning. I was just wondering if you could talk about the construction management revenue growth and book-to-bill trends in the quarter? How are you thinking about the outlook for growth in that business over the next 12 months?

嗨，早安。我想請問你能否談談本季施工管理（construction management）的營收成長與接單出貨比（book-to-bill）趨勢？你如何看待未來 12 個月該業務的成長展望？

Hey, Adam, this is Gaur. I'll take that question. On CM business is very much impacted by large projects, specifically timing. Just to be a little bit more detailed on what I mean by that. Is generally, when we first contract into these projects, we work on a T&M agency basis for the first few months, where we help the client out with the design and other factors, procuring subcontractors on -- according to their preference.

嗨，Adam，我是 Gaur，我來回答。施工管理（CM）業務很大程度會受到大型專案影響，特別是時點。更具體地說，一般我們剛簽下這些專案時，前幾個月會以按工時與材料（T&M）的代理（agency）模式運作，我們協助客戶進行設計及其他事項，並依照客戶偏好採購分包商。

And then we enter into a GMP contract with them. Usually it could be anywhere between 10 to 20 months after we have provided that agency work to them. When the design is practically complete, and we have a lot of certainty, all the work has been subcontracted through practically, and that's when you see good book to burn and NSR flow through for that CM business.

接著我們會與他們進入 GMP（最高保證價格）合約。通常在我們提供上述代理服務後約 10 到 20 個月才會發生。當設計幾乎完成、我們有很高的確定性，且幾乎所有工作都已完成分包時，你就會看到該 CM 業務有良好的 book-to-burn，以及 NSR 的認列流入。

So where we are right now is we've got some large projects that have been completed, including the JPMorgan Tower in New York and the like. And we're in process of some of these new projects that have come on, including some of the sports wins and convention centers that we've discussed in the past couple of quarters, we're performing that agency work right now. And my expectations -- so that will continue for the next six months.

所以就我們目前的狀況而言，我們有一些大型專案已經完工，包括紐約的摩根大通大樓（JPMorgan Tower）等。同時，我們正在推進一些新進來的專案，包括我們在過去幾季討論過的一些體育場館得標案與會展中心案；我們目前正在執行那段代理服務工作。我預期——因此接下來六個月會持續如此。

And my expectation is in FY27, especially starting in Q2 and beyond, we're really going to start seeing a good ramp up in that revenue burn. So to drive that, my expectation is in Q3, Q4, you'll start seeing a good NSR book-to-burn being contributed by our CM business that we really haven't seen because of the nature of how these projects flow through.

我的預期是到了 FY27，特別是從第二季開始及之後，我們將真正開始看到營收消化（revenue burn）的良好爬升。為了推動這點，我預期在第三季、第四季，你會開始看到由我們 CM 業務貢獻的良好 NSR book-to-burn，而由於這類專案的流轉方式特性，我們之前並沒有看到這樣的表現。

Got it. And then separately, it's been six months -- over six months in from scaling your AI tools and your AI acquisition. Can you just talk about if visibility has improved on your ability to hit your margin expansion target? And if you have any updated thoughts on the cadence of margin expansion in '27, and '28?

了解。那另外一個問題：距離你們擴大 AI 工具規模以及 AI 併購已經六個月——超過六個月了。你能否談談你們對達成利潤率擴張目標的能見度是否有所提升？以及你對於 2027 年與 2028 年利潤率擴張節奏是否有任何更新的看法？

So we really sort of started this in earnest about, as you said, six months ago. And if you sort of think about this in chunks, so the first three months relate to integration and really ramping up a team and then taking what we have been already working and effectively moving that across our entire population of professionals. So that's started. And we have the majority of our people having access to certain kinds of AI models and tools that help them in their work.

我們確實大約如你所說，是在六個月前開始認真推動。如果把它分段來看，前 3 個月主要是整合、真正把團隊擴編起來，並把我們原本已在進行的工作有效地推廣到整個專業人員族群。這已經開始了。我們大多數員工都已能使用某些類型的 AI 模型與工具，來協助他們的工作。

And at the same time, and we mentioned this in our prepared comments, we've been working on actually building out, what I'll call it, the model pipeline. And so that's going on in earnest as well. What we are seeing is that we've been investing in building the team and building the AI tools that our professionals will deploy. But we're also now seeing again the benefit of those tools be deployed.

同時，我們也在——我們在事先準備的講稿中提到——著手建立我所稱的「模型管線」（model pipeline）。這也正在積極進行中。我們看到的是：我們一直在投資於建立團隊、打造我們專業人員將會部署的 AI 工具；但我們現在也再次看到，這些工具開始被部署並帶來效益。

And so we see that ramping up. All that being said, what we have experienced is where we experienced an increase in our confidence, in our path to ultimately improve margins over the next three years. And so even as we look forward to next year, I'd say that we have increased confidence in our ability to deliver on the margin expectations for next year as well.

因此我們看到這正在加速推進。綜合以上所述，我們的體驗是，我們對於在未來三年最終改善利潤率的路徑之信心有所提升。因此，即使展望明年，我會說我們對於達成明年利潤率預期的能力也更有信心。

Great. Thanks so much.

很好。非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research Partners.

Michael Dudas，Vertical Research Partners。

Good morning, gentlemen, Laura. Good morning.

早安，各位先生、Laura。早安。

Good morning, Mike.

早安，Mike。

Troy, you called out in your prepared remarks, pretty good potential in your US federal business. Maybe you can remind us what that position is? And what areas do you think that could contribute to the pipelines of 50%? What can we maybe think about and look forward to see that ex you get converted into backlog and revenues over the next 6 to 12 months, assuming again the vagaries of government budgeting process in Washington, D.C.

Troy，你在事先準備的發言中提到，你們在美國聯邦業務方面有相當不錯的潛力。也許你可以提醒我們目前的布局是什麼？以及你認為哪些領域可能對管線成長 50% 有所貢獻？在未來 6 到 12 個月內，假設仍需考量華盛頓特區政府預算流程的不確定性，我們可以如何思考並期待看到這些（例如）轉化為在手訂單與營收？

Yeah, certainly. Well, first, I'll just say that I think about defense in terms of our global client set. And obviously, within that global client set, the largest is the US government or the Department of War here. And so in aggregate, all those defense clients represent about 10% of our portfolio, and the Department of War represents a five or a little bit, maybe slightly higher than that.

是的，當然。首先我想說，我是以我們的全球客戶組合來看待國防業務。顯然，在這個全球客戶組合中，最大的就是美國政府，或是這裡的戰爭部（Department of War）。因此整體而言，所有這些國防客戶約占我們投資組合的 10%，而戰爭部約占 5% 或略高一些，可能稍微高於此。

But what we have seen in that pipeline, certainly here in the US and around the world, we've seen that pipeline increase by about 50%. So that's, for us, even as you said, putting aside that's kind of the vagaries of funding, there's no question that with the pipeline increasing like that, there will be funding that will certainly match some or all of that.

但我們在該管線中看到的情況是，無論是在美國或全球其他地區，該管線已增加約 50%。因此對我們而言，即使如你所說先不談資金撥付的各種不確定性，毫無疑問，隨著管線如此增加，將會有資金來匹配其中部分或全部。

And so I think that with what's happening in the world, it is certainly supporting a larger investment in defense. And again, through our long-term relationships with these clients in the US in the UK in Australia and Canada, we see a lot of opportunity for our defense business growing.

因此我認為，隨著世界局勢的發展，確實正在支持更大規模的國防投資。而且再次強調，透過我們與這些客戶在美國、英國、澳洲與加拿大的長期合作關係，我們看到國防業務成長有很多機會。

I appreciate that. And maybe touch on you discussed about the relationship -- the new relationship with the hyperscaler, and you touched on your -- on the power opportunities. As you assess what the demand for AECOM services in the next couple of years, six months to a few years in this cycle, do you think you'll get more opportunities with the hyperscaler customer side? Or is it more on the power, distro T&D power work? Or is it going to be a combination of both that's going to significantly inflect part?

我很感謝這些說明。也想請你談談你提到的與超大規模雲端業者（hyperscaler）的新合作關係，以及你提到的電力相關機會。當你評估未來幾年、從未來六個月到幾年這個週期內對 AECOM 服務的需求時，你認為會在 hyperscaler 客戶端獲得更多機會？還是更多會在電力、配電、輸電與配電（T&D）電力工程？或是兩者的組合，將會顯著帶來成長拐點？

Again, I think as I say, what we're experiencing is we're actually experiencing an opportunity in all three of those markets. And so it is certainly -- hyperscaler is an important part of that, but there certainly just as a significant amount of spending within that supply chain to ultimately support increased compute capacity.

再次強調，我認為如我所說，我們實際上在這三個市場都看到了機會。因此 hyperscaler 當然是其中重要的一部分，但在該供應鏈中也同樣存在大量支出，最終用以支援運算能力的提升。

And so it really is across our entire portfolio, but the big places we see it is obviously investment in data centers. And that's all encompassing, from the environmental process all the way through the completion of that. Energy and transmission are an important part of that as well.

因此這確實涵蓋我們整個投資組合，但我們看到的主要領域顯然是資料中心投資。這是全方位的，從環評流程一直到最終完工。能源與輸電也是其中重要的一環。

So we're seeing that it's a broad opportunity for us to sort of fit the broad client offering that we have, which within our business, there's no one piece that's dominating one or the other.

所以我們看到這對我們而言是一個廣泛的機會，能夠契合我們所提供的廣泛客戶服務；在我們的業務中，沒有任何單一部分在兩者之間占據絕對主導。

Thank you, Troy.

謝謝你，Troy。

I appreciate it.

感謝。

Lauren Sullivan, UBS.

Lauren Sullivan，瑞銀（UBS）。

Hi, thanks for taking my question. My question is, what do you have embedded in guidance for the pace of ramp for those recent wins in the Middle East that started a little bit slower than you were expecting?

嗨，謝謝讓我提問。我的問題是，你們在指引中對中東近期得標案的爬坡速度納入了什麼假設？這些案子一開始的進展比你們預期稍慢。

Yeah, I'll let Gaur take that question.

好的，我讓 Gaur 來回答這個問題。

Hey, Lauren, I'll take that. Specific to the growth in the Middle East, which has contracted in the first half of the year, we're expecting the second half of the year, we're going to start seeing the growth to support the guidance we have of 4% to 6%, excluding the workday impact; and including the workday impact, 6% to 8% growth. And I can let Lara speak more to the specific opportunities that we have been successful at, and we continue to win even subsequent to the quarter.

嗨，Lauren，我來回答。就中東地區的成長而言，上半年是收縮的；我們預期下半年將開始看到成長，以支撐我們所給出的 4% 到 6% 指引（不含 Workday 影響）；若包含 Workday 影響，則為 6% 到 8% 的成長。我也可以請 Lara 更進一步說明我們已成功取得的具體機會，以及即使在本季之後我們仍持續得標的情況。

Yeah, thanks. Lauren. I mean just a bit more color. We -- so far, year-to-date, we've 100% of what we call our enterprise critical pursuits across our Middle East business and in addition to those recent wins and confidence about the growing pipeline of transportation work, for example, in the UAE, I think we're well positioned in terms of the pivot that's happening in Saudi Arabia at the moment, where there's going to be continued investment in sports and entertainment.

好的，謝謝，Lauren。我再補充一些背景。我們——截至目前，今年以來，我們在中東業務中所稱的企業關鍵型投標（enterprise critical pursuits）達成了 100% 的勝率；除了近期得標之外，對於例如阿聯酋（UAE）交通運輸工程管線的成長，我們也很有信心。我認為就目前沙烏地阿拉伯正在發生的轉向而言，我們的布局也相當到位，因為在那裡將會持續投資於體育與娛樂。

And we have an existing position with many of those clients, and there's a very substantial portfolio and pipeline of work, for example, associated with that and some of the downtown mixed-use development in Riyadh. When we look across the whole Middle East portfolio, I think long term, we're positive about continued growth.

而我們在許多這類客戶中已具備既有基礎，且有非常可觀的專案組合與工作管線，例如與此相關的案子，以及利雅德（Riyadh）市中心部分複合式開發（mixed-use development）。當我們檢視整個中東投資組合時，我認為長期而言，我們對持續成長持正面看法。

Got it. Makes sense. And for my follow-up, how do you see your AI investments evolving over the next few years? Like will anything change about the type of the magnitude of these investments?

了解，很合理。那我的追問是，你們如何看待未來幾年 AI 投資的演進？例如這些投資的類型或規模會有任何改變嗎？

I mean, so no, the answer is sort of thinking about this financially in terms of sort of the team and what we've built out, you can think about that as sort of being relatively static over time. But what we are starting to see and we will see this will continue to grow as obviously, an improvement in the overall profitability of the business and certainly in our margins.

我的意思是，不會。若從財務角度來看，關於團隊以及我們已建置的能力，你可以把它視為隨時間推移相對穩定。但我們開始看到、而且將會持續看到的是，整體業務獲利能力的提升，當然也包括我們的利潤率改善。

So if you look forward, the way you'll be able to sort of get a sense of are we performing or getting a significant return on those investments, you're just going to see a margin uplift certainly over the next year and beyond that.

因此往前看，你判斷我們是否在這些投資上取得顯著回報的方式，就是你將會看到利潤率上升，確實會在明年以及之後逐步體現。

Got it. Thanks.

了解，謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Troy Rudd for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在把電話交回給 Troy Rudd 作結語。

Great. Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining the call today. And I want to make sure that I thank all of the AECOM professionals and employees that have done an outstanding job this quarter, delivering in, what I'll say, has been a turbulent environment. Thank you, and thank you, everyone.

很好。謝謝接線員，也謝謝各位今天參與電話會議。我也想特別感謝所有 AECOM 的專業人員與員工，本季在我所說的動盪環境中，仍表現出色、交付成果。謝謝，也謝謝各位。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you both for joining. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。