Addus Homecare Corp (ADUS) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to Addus HomeCare's third-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加Addus HomeCare 2025年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Dru Anderson. Please go ahead.

現在我將把會議交給德魯安德森。請開始吧。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to the Addus HomeCare Corporation third-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today's call is being recorded. To the extent any non-GAAP financial measure is discussed in today's call, you will also find a reconciliation of that measure to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated according to GAAP by going to the company's website and reviewing yesterday's news release.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加Addus HomeCare Corporation 2025年第三季財報電話會議。本次電話會議正在錄音。如果本次電話會議中討論到任何非GAAP財務指標，您可以在公司網站查閱昨日發布的新聞稿，找到該指標與根據GAAP計算的最直接可比較財務指標的調節表。

This conference call may also contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements, among others, regarding Addus' expected quarterly and annual financial performance for 2025 or beyond. For this purpose, any statements made during this call that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.

本次電話會議可能包含1995年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所界定的前瞻性陳述，其中包括關於Addus公司2025年及以後季度和年度財務業績的預期陳述。因此，本次電話會議中任何非歷史事實的陳述均可視為前瞻性陳述。

Without limiting the foregoing, discussions of forecasts, estimates, targets, plans, beliefs, expectations and the like are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are hereby cautioned that these statements may be affected by important factors, among others, set forth in Addus' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its third quarter 2025 news release.

在不限制前述內容的前提下，有關預測、估計、目標、計劃、信念、預期等的討論旨在識別前瞻性陳述。特此提醒您，這些陳述可能受到諸多重要因素的影響，這些因素已在Addus向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件及其2025年第三季新聞稿中列明。

Consequently, actual operations and results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

因此，實際營運和結果可能與前瞻性陳述中所討論的結果有重大差異。本公司不承擔因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

I would now like to turn the call over to the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dirk Allison. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我將把電話交給公司董事長兼執行長德克·艾利森先生。請您發言，先生。

Thank you, Dru. Good morning, and welcome to our 2025 third quarter earnings call. With me today are Brian Poff, our Chief Financial Officer; and Heather Dixon, our President and Chief Operating Officer. As we do on each of our quarterly earnings calls, I will begin with a few overall comments, and then Brian will discuss the third quarter results in more detail. Following our comments, the three of us would be happy to respond to any questions.

謝謝，Dru。早安，歡迎參加我們2025年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有財務長Brian Poff先生，以及總裁兼營運長Heather Dixon女士。就像以往的季度財報電話會議一樣，我會先做一些整體介紹，然後Brian先生將更詳細地討論第三季的業績。介紹結束後，我們三位將樂於回答各位的提問。

As we announced yesterday afternoon, our total revenue for the third quarter of 2025 was $362.3 million, an increase of 25% as compared to $289.8 million for the third quarter of 2024. This revenue growth resulted in adjusted earnings per share of $1.56 as compared to adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2024 of $1.30, an increase of 20%. Our adjusted EBITDA was $45.1 million compared to $34.3 million for the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 31.6%.

正如我們昨天下午宣布的那樣，2025年第三季總營收為3.623億美元，較2024年第三季的2.898億美元成長25%。營收成長帶動調整後每股收益為1.56美元，而2024年第三季調整後每股收益為1.30美元，成長20%。調整後EBITDA為4,510萬美元，而2024年第三季為3,430萬美元，成長31.6%。

During the third quarter of 2025, we experienced strong operating cash flow at over $50 million for the quarter. As of September 30, 2025, we had cash on hand of approximately $102 million. We ended the third quarter with bank debt of $154 million, leaving us with net leverage of under 1-time adjusted EBITDA, allowing us the flexibility to continue to evaluate and pursue strategic acquisition opportunities.

2025年第三季度，我們實現了強勁的營運現金流，當季現金流超過5,000萬美元。截至2025年9月30日，我們持有現金約1.02億美元。第三季末，我們的銀行債務為1.54億美元，淨槓桿率低於調整後EBITDA的1倍，這使我們能夠靈活地繼續評估和尋求策略性收購機會。

As most of you know, Heather Dixon became our President and Chief Operating Officer on September 15, with our former President and COO, Brad Bickham, moving to the position of adviser to the CEO until his official retirement in March of 2026. I want to welcome Heather to our team and thank Brad for all he has done for Addus over the past nine years. This transition has been moving forward over the past several weeks as Heather and Brad have worked closely together to make this change as seamless as possible.

如大家所知，Heather Dixon 已於 9 月 15 日就任總裁兼營運長，而原總裁兼營運長 Brad Bickham 則轉任執行長顧問，直至 2026 年 3 月正式退休。我謹代表 Addus 歡迎 Heather 加入我們的團隊，並感謝 Brad 在過去九年中為 Addus 所做的一切。在過去幾周里，Heather 和 Brad 一直緊密合作，確保過渡盡可能順利進行。

I appreciate the efforts of both of them, along with the members of the operations team during this transition. While we will miss Brad, we are very excited to have Heather join us as part of our leadership team. As we mentioned on our last earnings call, both the states of Texas and Illinois have announced rate increases for our personal care services.

我非常感謝他們兩人以及營運團隊成員在此次過渡期間所付出的努力。雖然我們會想念布拉德，但我們非常高興希瑟加入我們的領導團隊。正如我們在上次財報電話會議上提到的，德州和伊利諾州都宣布提高我們個人護理服務的收費標準。

The Texas rate increase was effective on October 1 of this year. The Illinois rate increase will be effective January 1, 2026, subject to the standard federal approval process. We believe the Illinois and Texas rate increases as well as favorable reimbursement support from many of the states in which we operate is due to the recognition of the value that personal care services provide to both state Medicaid programs and managed care partners through a reduction in the overall cost of care.

德州的費率上調已於今年10月1日生效。伊利諾伊州的費率上調將於2026年1月1日生效，但需經過聯邦政府的標準批准流程。我們認為，伊利諾伊州和德克薩斯州的費率上調，以及我們運營所在州提供的優惠報銷支持，都源於對個人護理服務價值的認可，這些服務通過降低整體護理成本，為州醫療補助計劃和管理式醫療合作夥伴帶來了益處。

We continue to believe these, and other benefits associated with home-based care put us in a favorable position as changes to the funding and other aspects of various Medicaid programs are implemented as part of the OR. We continue to work through our legislative efforts in other states to help them understand the benefits for supporting these services with future rate increases.

我們仍然相信，居家照護的這些優勢以及其他相關益處，使我們在醫療補助計劃的資金和其他方面進行調整時處於有利地位，而這些調整正是職業復健計劃的一部分。我們將繼續透過在其他州的立法努力，幫助他們了解在未來的費率上漲中支持這些服務的益處。

On July 30 of this year, CMS finalized the fiscal year 2026 hospice wage index and payment rate update, resulting in a 2.6% increase effective on October 1 of this year. This increase reflects a 3.3% market back increase, reduced by 0.7% productivity adjustment. Based on our current geographic and acuity mix, we expect to realize a 3.1% increase in our hospice rates. We are appreciative of this increase as it helps offset a portion of the added costs associated with providing this critical service to patients and their families.

今年7月30日，美國醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心（CMS）最終確定了2026財年臨終關懷工資指數和支付標準更新方案，自今年10月1日起，支付標準上調2.6%。此次上調反映了3.3%的市場回溯成長，並扣除了0.7%的生產力調整。根據我們目前的地理分佈和患者病情嚴重程度，我們預計臨終關懷服務費用將上漲3.1%。我們對此次上調表示感謝，因為它有助於抵消為患者及其家屬提供這項關鍵服務所帶來的部分額外成本。

As for our home health, on June 30, CMS released the calendar year 2026 proposed home health payment rule. This proposed rule projects a 6.4% aggregate reduction in Medicare payments to the home health agencies in 2026 compared to 2025. As you would expect, there has been a great deal of advocacy put forth by the home health industry working with CMS to positively affect this potential rate reduction.

關於居家醫療保健服務，美國醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心（CMS）於6月30日發布了2026年居家醫療保健支付規則草案。該草案預計，2026年醫療保險支付給居家醫療保健機構的總額將比2025年減少6.4%。不出所料，居家醫療保健產業已積極與CMS合作，努力爭取對這一潛在的費率下調產生積極影響。

While we do not have a finalized home health rate for 2026, we are hopeful that these efforts will have a positive impact on the final rate, which we expect to be published in the next few weeks. During the third quarter of 2025, we continued to experience strong hiring performance, especially in our Personal Care segment. For the third quarter of this year, we achieved hires per business day of 113, which is an increase of 6.6% over the second quarter of this year.

雖然我們尚未確定2026年的最終居家醫療保健服務費率，但我們希望這些努力能夠對最終費率產生積極影響，預計最終費率將在未來幾週內公佈。 2025年第三季度，我們的招募業績持續強勁，尤其是在個人護理領域。今年第三季度，我們平均每個工作日招募113名員工，比今年第二季度成長了6.6%。

In addition to our strong hiring numbers, we saw our starts per business day improved to 86 for the third quarter. Clinical hiring remains consistent with what we have experienced over the last two years and has been mostly stable outside of a few more challenging urban markets. Now let me discuss our same-store revenue growth for the third quarter of 2025. For our personal care segment, our same-store revenue growth was 6.6% compared to the third quarter of 2024.

除了強勁的招募業績外，第三季我們每個營業日的開班量也提升至 86 人次。臨床招聘情況與過去兩年基本保持一致，除少數幾個競爭較激烈的城市市場外，整體情況較為穩定。接下來，我將介紹我們 2025 年第三季的同店營收成長。就個人護理業務而言，與 2024 年第三季相比，我們的同店收入成長了 6.6%。

During the third quarter of 2025, we also saw personal care same-store hours increase by 2.4% compared to the same period in 2024. We also experienced incremental improvement in our percentage of authorized hours served. On a sequential basis, personal care same-store billable census was up slightly as we continue to see the impact of Medicaid redeterminations in Illinois near its end. In Illinois, our personal care admissions have started to exceed our discharges, which we expect should lead to census growth by the end of the fourth quarter of this year.

2025年第三季度，我們的個人護理同店營業時間較2024年同期成長了2.4%。同時，我們的授權服務時長佔比也略有提升。由於伊利諾州醫療補助計畫重新評估的影響已接近尾聲，個人照護同店可計費入住人數較上季略有成長。在伊利諾州，我們的個人照護入院人數已開始超過出院人數，我們預計這將推動入住人數在今年第四季末實現成長。

As we have stated over the past several quarters, we expect volume growth to comprise a greater percentage of our personal care same-store revenue growth going forward. Turning to our clinical operations. Our hospice same-store revenue increased 19% when compared to the third quarter of 2024.

正如我們過去幾季所聲明的，我們預計未來個人護理同店收入成長中，銷售成長所佔比例將更大。再來看我們的臨床營運。與2024年第三季相比，我們的臨終關懷同店營收成長了19%。

Our same-store average daily census increased to 3,872 for the third quarter, up from 3,534 for the same period last year, an increase of 9.5%. Our third quarter 2025 same-store admissions were up 6.5% year-over-year. For the third quarter of 2025, our hospice median length of stay was 30 days, up two days sequentially.

第三季度，本院同店日均入住人數增至3,872人次，高於去年同期的3,534人次，增幅達9.5%。 2025年第三季度，本院同店入院人數較去年同期增加6.5%。 2025年第三季度，本院臨終關懷中心的平均住院時間為30天，較上季增加兩天。

During the third quarter, we saw an improvement in our Medicare cap cushion as a result of our balanced admissions growth, which resulted in no additional cap liability being accrued during the quarter. We have been very pleased by the continuing growth in our hospice segment over the past several quarters as a result of our operational improvements. While our home health same-store revenue decreased 2.8% when compared to the same quarter of 2024, we have seen year-over-year admissions level out.

第三季度，由於入院人數平衡成長，我們的聯邦醫療保險（Medicare）上限緩衝有所改善，因此本季未產生額外的上限負債。過去幾個季度，我們臨終關懷業務持續成長，這得益於我們營運的改進，我們對此感到非常滿意。雖然與2024年同期相比，我們的家庭醫療保健同店收入下降了2.8%，但我們看到入院人數較去年同期趨於穩定。

I also want to point out that over 25% of our hospice admissions in New Mexico and Tennessee are currently coming from our Addus home health operation, which overlap in these two markets. We are pleased to see more patients receiving the benefit of the full continuum of post-acute care and anticipate a similar dynamic to develop in Illinois, where we also have both home health and hospice operations and we will continue to evaluate opportunities in other markets.

我還想指出，目前我們在新墨西哥州和田納西州超過25%的臨終關懷入院患者來自我們的Addus家庭健康服務機構，這兩個機構在這兩個市場的業務有所重疊。我們很高興看到越來越多的患者能夠受益於完整的康復後護理服務，並預計在伊利諾伊州也會出現類似的趨勢，因為我們在伊利諾伊州也同時開展家庭健康和臨終關懷業務。我們將繼續評估其他市場的機會。

In our earnings release yesterday, we announced that on October 1, we closed on our acquisition of the personal care operations of Del Cielo Home Care Services, which operates in the South Texas market, including Corpus Christi, increasing our personal care density in this area of Texas. This transaction continues our acquisition and development strategy of enhancing our geographic coverage and density in Texas. Our team is excited about this acquisition, and I want to officially welcome the Del Cielo Home Care team to the Addus family.

在昨天的財報中，我們宣布已於10月1日完成對Del Cielo Home Care Services個人護理業務的收購。 Del Cielo Home Care Services主要在德州南部市場運營，包括科珀斯克里斯蒂市。此次收購將提升我們在德州該地區的個人護理服務覆蓋率。此次交易延續了我們擴大在德州地理覆蓋範圍和提升服務密度的收購和發展策略。我們的團隊對此收購感到非常興奮，我謹代表Addus正式歡迎Del Cielo Home Care團隊加入Addus大家庭。

Going forward, our development team will continue to focus on both clinical and nonclinical acquisition opportunities to increase both the density and geographic coverage to our current states. While the proposed home health rule will most likely continue to delay any meaningful home health opportunities, we will be evaluating smaller clinical transactions along with personal care service transactions that fit our strategy.

展望未來，我們的開發團隊將繼續專注於臨床和非臨床領域的收購機會，以提高我們在現有州的業務密度和地理覆蓋範圍。雖然擬議的家庭醫療保健法規很可能會繼續延緩任何有意義的家庭醫療保健收購機會，但我們將評估符合我們策略的小型臨床交易以及個人護理服務交易。

Before I turn the call over to Brian, I want to thank the Addus team for the care they are providing to our elderly and disabled consumers and patients. We all have come to understand that the overwhelming majority of clients and patients want to receive care at home, which continues to remain one of the safest and most cost-effective places to receive this care.

在將電話轉給布萊恩之前，我想感謝Addus團隊為我們的老年人和殘疾客戶及患者提供的悉心照料。我們都逐漸意識到，絕大多數客戶和患者都希望在家中接受護理，而居家護理仍然是最安全、最經濟有效的護理場所之一。

We believe the heightened awareness of the value of home-based care which we are seeing is favorable for our industry and will continue to be a growth opportunity for our company. We understand and appreciate that our operations and growth are dependent on both our dedicated caregivers and other employees who work so incredibly hard providing outstanding care and support to our clients, patients and their families.

我們相信，人們對居家照護價值的日益重視，對我們所在的行業來說是利好消息，並將繼續為公司帶來發展機會。我們深知，公司的營運和發展離不開我們敬業的護理人員和其他員工的辛勤付出，他們為我們的客戶、患者及其家人提供卓越的護理和支援。

With that, let me turn the call over to Brian.

那麼，我把電話交給布萊恩吧。

Thank you, Dirk, and good morning, everyone. The third quarter marked another strong financial and operating performance for Addus in 2025, as we continue to deliver consistent organic growth and benefit from our recent acquisitions. Our results were highlighted by 25% top line revenue growth and a 31.6% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared with the third quarter last year.

謝謝Dirk，大家早安。 Addus在2025年第三季持續保持強勁的財務和營運業績，我們持續實現穩定的內生成長，並受益於近期的收購。與去年同期相比，我們的營收成長了25%，調整後EBITDA成長了31.6%，業績表現特別突出。

Our personal care services segment was a key driver of our business with a solid 6.6% organic revenue growth rate over the same period last year, including a 2.4% increase in hours per business day. This growth trend has consistently tracked well above our normal expected range of 3% to 5% over the past several quarters, supported by strong hiring trends and favorable rate support for personal care services in some of our larger markets.

我們的個人護理服務部門是公司業務的關鍵驅動力，與去年同期相比實現了6.6%的穩健有機收入增長，其中包括每日營業時長增長2.4%。在過去幾季中，這一成長趨勢一直遠高於我們3%至5%的預期範圍，這得益於強勁的招聘趨勢以及部分主要市場對個人護理服務的有利定價。

This includes a statewide reimbursement increase in Illinois, our largest market, which was effective January 1, 2025, and a recent 9.9% rate increase in Texas that was effective on September 1, 2025. With Texas now being our second largest personal care market, this increase will have a positive impact on our business going forward, adding approximately $17.7 million in annualized revenue, with margins consistent with existing Texas personal care business of just over 20%.

這包括伊利諾伊州（我們最大的市場）的全州報銷額度提高（自 2025 年 1 月 1 日起生效），以及德克薩斯州最近 9.9% 的費率上調（自 2025 年 9 月 1 日起生效）。由於德州現在是我們第二大個人護理市場，此次費率上調將對我們未來的業務產生積極影響，預計每年將增加約 1,770 萬美元的收入，利潤率與德州現有個人護理業務的 20% 以上基本一致。

State of Illinois, which represents our largest PCS market, has also announced an additional 3.9% increase, which is set to be effective January 1, 2026, subject to customary federal approvals and will add approximately $17.5 million in annualized revenue for Addus, with margins consistent in the low 20% range.

伊利諾州是我們最大的 PCS 市場，該州也宣布將額外增加 3.9% 的補貼，該補貼將於 2026 年 1 月 1 日生效，但需獲得聯邦政府的批准，這將為 Addus 增加約 1750 萬美元的年化收入，利潤率保持在 20% 左右。

Our personal care results also include the Gentiva Personal Care operations, our largest acquisition to date, which we completed on December 2, 2024, and 2 months of operations for Helping Hands Home Care Services acquired on August 1, 2025. We continue to see steady improvement in our hospice business in the third quarter with strong 19% year-over-year organic revenue growth, driven by increases in admissions, average daily census, patient days and revenue per patient day.

我們的個人護理業務表現還包括迄今為止最大的收購——Gentiva Personal Care 的營運情況（已於 2024 年 12 月 2 日完成），以及於 2025 年 8 月 1 日收購的 Helping Hands Home Care Services 兩個月的營運情況。第三季度，我們的臨終關懷業務持續穩定改善，有機收入年增 19%，這主要得益於入院人數、日均床位數、住院天數和每日人均收入的成長。

Hospice care accounted for 19% of our revenue for the third quarter. Going forward, the 2026 Medicare hospice reimbursement rate update was effective October 1, which will increase our rates by approximately 3.1% based on our current geographic mix. Our home health services represent our smallest segment, accounting for 4.9% of third quarter revenue.

臨終關懷服務占我們第三季營收的19%。展望未來，2026年聯邦醫療保險臨終關懷報銷費率更新已於10月1日生效，根據我們目前的地域分佈，這將使我們的費率提高約3.1%。家庭健康服務是我們最小的業務板塊，僅佔第三季營收的4.9%。

We continue to look for ways to support and expand the service line, including via acquisitions, as it is part of our strategy to offer all 3 levels of home-based care in select markets. In addition to the consistent organic growth we have achieved in 2025, we have benefited from our recently acquired operations. The Gentiva acquisition completed in December 2024, added approximately $280 million in annualized revenues and significantly expanded our market coverage.

我們持續尋求各種途徑來支持和拓展服務範圍，包括透過收購，因為在特定市場提供所有三個層級的居家照護服務是我們策略的一部分。除了2025年實現的持續內生成長外，我們還受惠於近期收購的業務。 2024年12月完成的Gentiva收購案，為我們帶來了約2.8億美元的年化收入，並大幅擴大了我們的市場覆蓋範圍。

In August this year, we acquired Helping Hands Home Care Service, a provider of personal care, home health and hospice services in Western Pennsylvania with annualized revenue of approximately $16.7 million. And yesterday, as Dirk noted, we announced the acquisition of the personal care assets of Del Cielo Home Care Services located in South Texas, adding approximately $12.7 million in annualized revenue and further expanding our market presence in Texas.

今年8月，我們收購了位於賓州西部、提供個人護理、家庭健康和臨終關懷服務的Helping Hands Home Care Service，該公司年收入約1,670萬美元。正如Dirk所指出的，昨天我們宣布收購了位於德克薩斯州南部的Del Cielo Home Care Services的個人護理資產，此次收購將為我們帶來約1270萬美元的年收入，並進一步擴大我們在德克薩斯州的市場份額。

We continue to source and evaluate additional similar acquisitions as well as opportunities to add new personal care markets where we can enter at scale, as we believe having geographic coverage and density provides us with a competitive advantage. With our size and expanding scale and the support of a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to continue to execute our acquisition strategy.

我們持續尋找並評估其他類似的收購目標，以及拓展新的個人護理市場的機會，以便大規模進入這些市場。我們相信，地域覆蓋和密度優勢能夠賦予我們競爭優勢。憑藉我們不斷擴大的規模和穩健的資產負債表，我們完全有能力繼續執行我們的收購策略。

As Dirk noted, total net service revenues for the third quarter were $362.3 million. The revenue breakdown is as follows: personal care revenues were $275.8 million or 76.1% of revenue. Hospice care revenues were $68.9 million or 19% of revenue. Home health revenues were $17.6 million or 4.9% of revenue.

正如德克所指出的，第三季總淨服務收入為3.623億美元。收入構成如下：個人照護收入為2.758億美元，佔總收入的76.1%；臨終關懷收入為6,890萬美元，佔總收入的19%；家庭健康服務收入為1,760萬美元，佔總收入的4.9%。

Other financial results for the third quarter of 2025 include the following: Our gross margin percentage was 32.2%, an increase from 31.8% for the third quarter of 2024. This was a slight decrease sequentially from 32.6% in the second quarter of 2025, primarily as a result of one extra holiday during the quarter.

2025 年第三季的其他財務表現包括：毛利率為 32.2%，高於 2024 年第三季的 31.8%。與 2025 年第二季的 32.6% 相比略有下降，主要是由於該季度多了一個假日。

Looking ahead, we expect normal seasonality in the fourth quarter of 2025 with the hospice reimbursement update to benefit our gross margin percentage by approximately 40 basis points and a sequential benefit of approximately 20 basis points from lower unemployment taxes. G&A expense was 21.9% of revenue compared with 21.7% of revenue for the third quarter a year ago and lower sequentially from 22.1% in the second quarter of 2025.

展望未來，我們預計2025年第四季將出現正常的季節性波動，臨終關懷報銷政策的更新將使我們的毛利率提高約40個基點，而失業稅的降低也將帶來約20個基點的環比增長。一般及行政費用佔營收的21.9%，去年同期為21.7%，季減低於2025年第二季的22.1%。

Adjusted G&A expenses for the third quarter of 2025 were 19.8%, a decrease from 20% in the comparable prior year quarter and a decrease sequentially from 20% in the second quarter of 2025. The company's adjusted EBITDA increased 31.6% to $45.1 million compared with $34.3 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.5% compared with 11.8% for the third quarter of 2024.

2025年第三季調整後一般及行政費用為19.8%，較上年同期的20%有所下降，較2025年第二季的20%也有所下降。公司調整後EBITDA年增31.6%至4,510萬美元，而上年同期為3,430萬美元。調整後EBITDA利潤率為12.5%，而2024年第三季為11.8%。

Adjusted net income per diluted share was $1.56 compared with $1.30 for the third quarter of 2024. The adjusted per share results for the third quarter of 2025 exclude the following: Acquisition expenses of $0.08, noncash stock-based compensation expense of $0.18 and restructuring and other nonrecurring costs of $0.06. The adjusted per share results for the third quarter of 2024 exclude the following: Acquisition expenses of $0.08 and noncash stock-based compensation expense of $0.12.

經調整後的每股攤薄淨收益為1.56美元，而2024年第三季為1.30美元。 2025年第三季的經調整每股盈餘不包括以下項目：收購費用0.08美元、非現金股權激勵費用0.18美元以及重組及其他非經常性成本0.06美元。 2024年第三季的經調整每股盈餘不包括以下項目：收購費用0.08美元和非現金股權激勵費用0.12美元。

Our tax rate for the third quarter of 2025 was 24.7%, in the range we anticipated. For calendar 2025, we expect our tax rate to remain in the mid-20% range. DSOs were 35 days at the end of the third quarter of 2025 compared with 37.7 days at the end of the second quarter of 2025. We have continued to experience consistent cash collections from the majority of our payers.

2025年第三季度，我們的稅率為24.7%，符合預期。預計2025年全年稅率將維持在20%左右。 2025年第三季末的應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）為35天，而2025年第二季末為37.7天。我們大部分付款方的現金回收情況依然穩定。

Our DSOs for the Illinois Department of Aging for the third quarter were 32.5 days compared with 38.8 days at the end of the second quarter 2025. Our net cash flow from operations was $51.3 million for the third quarter of 2025 and $92.7 million year-to-date. As of September 30, 2025, the company had cash of $101.9 million with capacity and availability under our revolving credit facility of $650 million and $487.7 million, respectively.

2025年第三季度，我們為伊利諾州老齡事務部提供的應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）為32.5天，而2025年第二季末為38.8天。 2025年第三季度，我們經營活動產生的淨現金流為5,130萬美元，年初至今為9,270萬美元。截至2025年9月30日，公司現金餘額為1.019億美元，循環信貸額度下可用額度為6.5億美元，可用額度為4.877億美元。

Total bank debt was $154.3 million at the end of the quarter, a reduction of $18.7 million from the end of the second quarter and net of the acquisition of Helping Hands on August 1. We continue to have a capital structure that supports our ability to invest in our business and pursue strategic growth initiatives, including acquisitions.

截至本季末，銀行債務總額為 1.543 億美元，較第二季末減少了 1,870 萬美元，扣除了 8 月 1 日對 Helping Hands 的收購。我們繼續保持良好的資本結構，這有利於我們投資業務並推行策略成長計劃，包括收購。

As mentioned, we will continue to selectively pursue acquisitions that complement our organic growth and align with our strategy. At the same time, we will maintain our disciplined capital allocation strategy and continue to diligently manage our net leverage ratio through ongoing debt reduction.

如前所述，我們將繼續選擇性地進行收購，以補充我們的內生成長並符合我們的策略。同時，我們將繼續堅持審慎的資本配置策略，並透過持續降低債務來切實控制淨槓桿率。

This concludes our prepared comments this morning, and thank you for being with us. I'll now ask the operator to please open the line for your questions.

今天早上的演講到此結束，感謝各位的收聽。現在請接線員開通線路，回答大家的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Matthew Gillmor, KeyBanc.

Matthew Gillmor，KeyBanc。

Hey, good morning, everyone. I wanted to ask about the same-store volume growth on the personal care side. Dirk had mentioned the improvement in the penetration of hours. And I think within that, you've talked about the benefit you're seeing from the caregiver app rollout in Illinois.

大家好，早安。我想問一下個人護理用品同店銷售額成長的情況。 Dirk 提到了營業時間的提升。我想，您也談到了在伊利諾伊州推廣護理師應用程式所帶來的益處。

Can you give us a sense for sort of how much more opportunity there is within Illinois? And then I believe you're rolling that out to New Mexico. And any update in terms of how that's gone and the penetration or the opportunity that would be with New Mexico?

您能否大致介紹一下伊利諾州還有多少發展機會？我相信你們正在將這項計劃推廣到新墨西哥州。關於新墨西哥州的進展以及市場滲透率或發展機會，您有什麼最新進展嗎？

Matt, this is Brian. I'll talk a little bit about just the penetration and Heather can talk a little bit about the schedule for the rollout in additional markets. But I think Illinois, a pretty mature market for us. We have seen some uptick there in our fill rate. I think in our view, going to New Mexico and Texas next.

馬特，我是布萊恩。我先簡單談談市場滲透率，希瑟可以談談在其他市場推出產品的計畫。伊利諾伊州對我們來說是一個相當成熟的市場，我們的訂單滿足率已經有所提升。我們預計接下來會進軍新墨西哥州和德克薩斯州。

Their fill rate traditionally has been a little bit lower. So I think in our view, a little bit more of an opportunity, a little more headroom there to see some improvement. We saw some total improvement consolidated this quarter from last quarter. I'll let Heather talk a little bit about the rollout coming in New Mexico and Texas on the caregiver app.

他們的訂單完成率歷來略低。所以，我們認為，這方面還有更大的提昇空間，也更有機會看到一些改進。本季整體數據較上季有所提升。接下來，我請Heather介紹一下護理人員應用程式在新墨西哥州和德克薩斯州的推廣情況。

Sure. Matt, it's Heather here. That rollout is going very well. We're seeing the caregivers really driving some utilization in a nice way in Illinois, where we have rolled it out. As Brian mentioned, next, we'll go to New Mexico, and then we'll follow in Texas, where we think we have a little more headroom to see some improvements.

當然。馬特，我是希瑟。推廣工作進展非常順利。在伊利諾伊州，我們已經率先推廣了這項服務，看到護理人員積極推動了服務的使用。正如布萊恩所提到的，接下來我們將前往新墨西哥州，然後是德克薩斯州，我們認為在德克薩斯州還有更大的提升空間。

That app is really giving caregivers the ability to use the app to gain information that they will find useful to themselves personally, such as their pay expectations, et cetera, but also to just be more efficient. As an example, they can see what the capacity is for their clients. They can actually reschedule a visit directly in the app without visiting or even calling the office. So we're seeing that really drive some of the utilization in a positive way.

這款應用程式確實讓護理人員能夠利用它來獲取對他們個人有用的信息，例如他們的薪資預期等等，同時也能提高工作效率。舉例來說，他們可以查看客戶的預約情況。他們甚至可以直接在應用程式內重新安排預約，而無需親自前往或致電辦公室。因此，我們看到這確實有效地提高了應用程式的使用率。

If I go back to how you started your question, the growth that we're seeing on a same-store basis in revenue and PCS, that was partially due to the rate increases that we talked about in the script, but also just notably an uptick in the billable hours, which we also mentioned in the script. That's coming in at a very nice rate, and that's partially the focus on hiring and also the fill rate consistency. But we're seeing, of that 6.6% same-store revenue growth, over one-third of that is actually coming from the hours, the billable hours increases.

回到您最初的問題，我們看到同店收入和客單價的增長，部分原因是我們在腳本中提到的價格上漲，但更重要的是計費工時顯著增加，這一點我們也在腳本中提到過。計費工時的成長速度非常可觀，這部分得益於我們重視招募以及穩定的訂單滿足率。但我們看到，在6.6%的同店收入成長中，超過三分之一實際上是由計費工時增加所帶來的。

That's great. And then Brian, I was just going to follow up on the cash flow. It was particularly strong in the quarter, and it seems like the Illinois Department of Aging DSOs continue to decline. Is that just normal fluctuation? Or is there any effort on their part to pay in a more timely way?

太好了。布萊恩，我正想跟進現金流狀況。本季現金流表現尤為強勁，伊利諾州老齡事務部的應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）似乎持續下降。這只是正常的波動嗎？還是他們正在採取措施，加快付款速度？

No. I think traditionally, you're always going to see a little up and down just based on timing, nothing specific with them. I think what we like to see this quarter, Q1 and Q2 probably had a little bit of a headwind from working cap in both of those quarters. We saw that revert in Q3. I think where we sit today, year-to-date, we have, I think, net a little over $5 million benefit from working cap changes. So pretty consistent, but it's all just timing related, nothing specific.

不。我認為通常情況下，業績總是會有一些波動，這主要取決於時機，與具體情況無關。我們本季（第一季和第二季）的業績可能都受到了營運資本變動的一定影響。這種情況在第三季有所改善。我認為，就目前而言，今年迄今為止，我們從營運資本變動中獲得了略高於500萬美元的淨收益。所以業績相當穩定，但這完全取決於時機，與具體情況無關。

Got it. Thank you and welcome to Heather as well.

明白了。謝謝，也歡迎Heather加入。

Ben Hendrix, RBC Capital.

本‧亨德里克斯，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Thank you very much and welcome, Heather. Just wanted to follow up on that prior line of questioning in terms of the organic momentum you're seeing. How are you thinking about, especially in light of the strong Texas rate increase and what you're seeing in Illinois, the hiring trend into 2026? Is this strong volume growth that we saw kind of how we should think about a jumping off point for organic growth in 2026?

非常感謝，歡迎你，Heather。我想就你之前提到的自然成長勢頭問題再補充一點。考慮到德州大幅上漲的利率以及你在伊利諾州看到的情況，你如何看待2026年的招募趨勢？我們目前看到的強勁成長是否預示著2026年自然成長的起點？

Yes, Ben, this is Brian. I can jump in. I think what we're seeing really on the hiring front, Dirk mentioned, 113 hires per business day, the highest mark we've seen all year. So I think we've gotten some good momentum on that side. The labor market continues to be pretty consistent. I think to your point exactly, when you get almost 10% rate increase in Texas, margins are going to be pretty consistent. So the caregivers are going to get some increases there.

是的，本，我是布萊恩。我可以插一句。我認為，正如德克所提到的，我們在招聘方面確實看到了一些積極變化，平均每個工作日新增113名員工，這是我們今年以來看到的最高紀錄。所以我覺得我們在這方面取得了不錯的進展。勞動市場依然相當穩定。我完全同意你的觀點，當德州的薪資漲幅接近10%時，利潤率自然會保持穩定。因此，護理人員的收入也會有所成長。

Well we've seen that in the past in other markets where caregivers are -- with the ability to pay more that traditionally has benefited hiring on the other side of that. So I would anticipate seeing something similar in Texas, which is a big market for us. I think it kind of plays all back into our overall thesis. If the rates are there where we can hire more caregivers, that's always going to help us on the organic volume side.

我們過去在其他市場也看到類似的情況，護理人員有能力支付更高的薪酬，這通常有利於我們招募更多護理人員。所以我預計在德州也會出現類似的情況，德州對我們來說是一個重要的市場。我認為這與我們的整體策略相符。如果護理人員的薪資水準允許我們招募更多護理人員，這始終有助於我們實現業務量自然成長。

So I think we feel like we're in a good spot here toward the end of '25, headed into '26, have some good momentum on that side. We've been talking about it for a bit. We really are targeting trying to keep above that kind of 2% year-over-year volume growth. We've kind of been at it or just below it early this year, seeing 2.4% this quarter was really nice, and we hope to keep that momentum going into '26.

所以我覺得，在2025年底到2026年這段時間裡，我們處境不錯，發展勢頭良好。我們之前也討論過這個問題。我們的目標是維持2%以上的年銷售成長率。今年年初，我們的成長率基本上達到或略低於這個目標，本季2.4%的成長率非常可觀，我們希望將這種成長動能延續到2026年。

Great. And just a follow-up also on your commentary about the complementary home health and hospice assets in specific markets. Obviously, a lot of uncertainty in home health, but solid rate update in hospice. How is that kind of changing your appetite right now? What would you expect in the near term in terms of how you're going to allocate capital to those markets where you're looking for that three legs of the stool?

好的。關於您之前提到的特定市場中家庭醫療保健和臨終關懷資產的互補性，我還想補充一點。顯然，家庭醫療保健領域存在著許多不確定性，但在臨終關懷領域的費率更新相當穩健。這會如何影響您目前的投資策略？您預計近期將如何把資金配置到您正在尋找的這三大支柱資產所在的市場？

Yes. We are always interested in home health in overlap markets where we can put them together with personal care and hospice. I think you see what we're seeing in New Mexico and Tennessee is validation of the strategy, which we believe where home health plays for this company. As we look to increase our home health segment, we will be careful. Obviously, the rate discussion that's out there now has kind of lowered the temperature for anybody to be able to do anything of size in home health.

是的。我們一直對居家醫療保健在重疊市場領域很感興趣，我們可以將居家醫療保健與個人護理和臨終關懷結合在一起。我認為，我們在新墨西哥州和田納西州看到的市場狀況驗證了我們的策略，我們相信居家醫療保健對公司至關重要。隨著我們尋求擴大居家醫療保健業務，我們會謹慎行事。顯然，目前關於價格的討論降低了居家醫療保健領域大規模擴張的門檻。

So we'll continue to monitor that. But again, remember, home health for us is truly an add-on to our personal care and hospice business. And so strategically, just like we've done in this past year, if we find companies that have home health in a market where we have these other two services, we're not opposed to going ahead and pull the trigger.

所以我們會繼續關注這一情況。但再次強調，對我們而言，居家照護其實是我們個人照護和臨終關懷業務的補充。因此，從策略角度來看，就像我們去年所做的那樣，如果我們發現某個市場中也有提供居家護理服務的公司，而我們恰好也提供這兩項服務，那麼我們並不反對立即採取行動。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Brian Tanquilut, Jefferies.

Brian Tanquilut，傑富瑞集團。

Hey, good morning, guys, and congrats, again, on the quarter. Maybe, Brian, as I think about 2026 -- I know we're obviously not giving guidance, but as I think about your ability to drive margins, I think we can build the building blocks to EBITDA on revenue. But how are you thinking about the margin opportunity as we think about next year?

嘿，各位早安，再次祝賀你們本季業績出色。布萊恩，我想到2026年——我知道我們目前不打算給出業績指引，但考慮到你們提升利潤率的能力，我認為我們可以逐步實現營收和EBITDA的雙贏。那麼，在展望明年時，你如何看待利潤率提升的機會呢？

Yes, I think the main thing to keep in mind as we continue to grow top line and we're continuing to see that kind of consistent growth, particularly in PCS and hospice, we should get some additional leverage on G&A. I think that's been our model all along. We're not going to grow those cost bases at the same rate.

是的，我認為隨著營收持續成長，尤其是在個人護理服務和臨終關懷領域，我們應該能夠更好地控制一般及行政費用。我認為這正是我們一直以來的模式。我們不會以同樣的速度成長這些成本。

So thinking about just bottom-line margin year-over-year, we would expect to see some benefit from that in '26, everything else being the same. I think, obviously, what we do in the mix and M&A can play into that as well. If we're a little more active on the clinical side, there's a little higher margin profile. But business as it is, I think it's more leverage on G&A costs with top line growth.

所以，如果只考慮同比淨利潤率，在其他條件不變的情況下，我們預期2026年會有所成長。當然，我認為我們在業務組合和併購方面的舉措也會對此產生影響。如果我們更積極地拓展臨床業務，利潤率也會更高。但就目前而言，我認為營收成長更依賴對一般及行政成本的槓桿作用。

Got it. And then setting aside the fact that we're still waiting for this home health rule, we'll see when it is. But how are we thinking or how are you guys thinking about the home nursing business within your book? I know there are some moving pieces there. So just curious what efforts are being put into place to drive inflection there?

明白了。先不說我們還在等待這項居家照護法規出台，到時候再說吧。但你們是如何看待居家照護產業的呢？我知道這方面有很多變數。所以，我很好奇目前有哪些措施正在推動這方面的改變？

Yes. I'd say, we talked about a little bit, I think, in the last couple of calls, Brian, where we have really kind of three key markets in our home health business, New Mexico, Illinois, Tennessee, all through acquisition. We've done a lot of things over the last, I'd say, nine months or so to really kind of get processes standardized, really trying to get the profitability level straight. I think still on the growth side, we have not kind of seen that take off, I think, particularly in Tennessee. We've got some new leadership in there to really try to kind of get that thing moving in the right direction.

是的。布萊恩，我想我們最近幾次通話中也稍微談到了一點，我們家庭醫療保健業務主要集中在三個關鍵市場：新墨西哥州、伊利諾伊州和田納西州，這些都是透過收購實現的。在過去的九個月左右，我們做了很多工作，力求流程標準化，並努力提高獲利能力。但我認為，在成長方面，我們還沒有看到明顯的突破，尤其是在田納西州。我們引進了一些新的領導階層，希望能推動業務朝著正確的方向發展。

So outside of the rate, we'd like to see that business start to perform a little bit better. We're looking for, probably at a higher level, some leadership to come in and help with that as well. Heather can jump in on that here in a sec. But I think a focus of ours, but really to Dirk's point, a real benefit for us there, not necessarily the operations of that business per se, but the benefit that it provides indirectly into hospice. It's something you don't see on a segment level in the results of home health, but they're definitely benefiting in the hospice area. But I'll let Heather talk a little bit about that as well.

所以，除了利率之外，我們希望看到這項業務的業績有所改善。我們正在尋找更高層級的領導者來協助解決這個問題。 Heather 稍後可以就此發表一下看法。但我認為，正如 Dirk 所說，我們關注的重點在於，這項業務的真正益處並非在於其營運本身，而是它間接為臨終關懷帶來的益處。這種益處在家庭醫療保健的表現中並不明顯，但在臨終關懷領域卻顯而易見。不過，我還是讓 Heather 也來談談這方面吧。

Yes, I'll pick up on that. We're working on several initiatives within that business, and we're seeing admission volumes stabilize on a same-store basis. But what we're seeing is a decline, sorry, in recertifications, which is attributable to what Brian is referencing. So I'll talk about that for a minute. That's the bridging program that we've put in place to make sure that patients are receiving care in the right setting and the right level of care.

是的，我會跟進這一點。我們正在該業務領域推進幾項舉措，並且看到入院人數在同店基礎上趨於穩定。但是，我們發現重新認證的數量有所下降，抱歉，這與布萊恩提到的情況有關。所以我會簡單談談這一點。我們設立了過渡性項目，旨在確保患者在合適的醫療機構獲得合適的護理等級。

And that's been in place for a while in New Mexico, and then we rolled it out, as Brian mentioned, within the last 12 months in Tennessee, and we're seeing it really start to take off there. And what we're seeing is an uptick in our admissions from a hospice perspective in those markets from these referrals.

這項措施在新墨西哥州已經實施了一段時間，正如布萊恩所提到的，我們在過去12個月將其推廣到田納西州，我們看到它在那裡真正開始奏效。我們看到，由於這些轉診，我們在這些市場接受臨終關懷的患者人數增加。

And in fact, as we mentioned earlier, in New Mexico and Tennessee, over 25% of our hospice admissions come from the home health segment and from this program. So we see this as a real benefit in having the three levels of service in the markets that we serve and particularly between home health and hospice, where home health is just really a complementary line of service to the other businesses.

事實上，正如我們之前提到的，在新墨西哥州和田納西州，超過25%的臨終關懷入院患者來自家庭醫療保健部門和這個計畫。因此，我們認為在我們服務的市場中提供三級服務是一項真正的優勢，尤其是在家庭醫療保健和臨終關懷之間，家庭醫療保健實際上是對其他業務的一種補充服務。

Awesome, thank you.

太棒了，謝謝。

Joanna Gajuk, Bank of America.

Joanna Gajuk，美國銀行。

Hi, good morning. Thanks so much for taking the question. So maybe first, couple of, I guess, numbers and clarifications. On your comments about fourth quarter gross margins, right, sounds like it implies maybe high 32% or so for gross margin. And then if we assume G&A, call it, below 21%, I guess it implies adjusted EBITDA above 13% or so in Q4. Is that the right way to think about numbers?

您好，早安。非常感謝您回答我的問題。首先，我想問幾個數字，也想澄清一下。關於您提到的第四季毛利率，聽起來好像毛利率在32%左右。然後，如果我們假設一般及行政費用低於21%，那麼調整後的EBITDA在第四季應該是13%以上。我的理解對嗎？

Yes, Joanna, I think that's fair. I think if you look at the seasonality of our business and our company, Q4 is always the high watermark for margins for us, and I would expect that to be the case. We've been solidly in the 12s all year. But Q4, based on what we see right now, expectation of being 13% over for that quarter, I think, is definitely reasonable.

是的，喬安娜，我覺得很合理。考慮到我們公司和業務的季節性特點，第四季度通常是我們利潤率最高的季度，我預計今年也會如此。我們全年的利潤率都穩定在12%以上。但根據我們目前的情況來看，預計第四季的利潤率將比預期高出13%，我認為這絕對是合理的。

Okay, thank you, and I guess you answered the other question around the margins for next year. So if you grow high single digits or low double digits revenue, right, it's going to be G&A leverage. So growing from, call it, 12.5% or so for this year, adjusted EBITDA, that should be kind of our thinking about next year, right, growing from that level?

好的，謝謝。我想您已經回答了關於明年利潤率的另一個問題。如果營收成長達到個位數高點或兩位數低位，那麼管理費用槓桿率就會降低。假設今年的調整後 EBITDA 成長率在 12.5% 左右，那麼我們應該以此為目標來考慮明年的成長，對嗎？

Yes. I think that's fair. I think back to my earlier comment, I think top line growth is always going to get us some additional leverage on G&A. So everything else being equal. Obviously, everything can change at any time as we all know, but everything else being equal, that should be the case.

是的，我覺得這樣說很合理。回想我之前的評論，我認為營收成長總能讓我們在一般及行政費用方面擁有更大的優勢。當然，在其他條件相同的情況下，情況應該是如此。當然，我們都知道，一切都可能隨時改變，但在其他條件相同的情況下，情況應該是如此。

Okay. And my question on the topic of rate updates from your key states, [that you did great in] Texas and Illinois. And on your last call, you alluded to the idea that there's an expectation that New Mexico, Pennsylvania might have some rate increase. It doesn't seem like Pennsylvania is in a position to increase rates, right? So is there a risk to a rate cut in that state in particular? And any other states that you're on the lookout for? And maybe give us a little bit update on New Mexico.

好的。關於您重點關注的幾個州（例如德克薩斯州和伊利諾伊州）的利率更新，我有一個問題。您上次通話時提到，預計新墨西哥州和賓州的利率可能會上漲。賓州似乎沒有提價的可能，對嗎？那麼，該州是否有降息的風險？您還關注哪些其他州？能否也為我們介紹一下新墨西哥州的最新情況？

Yes. I think New Mexico, when they get into their budget cycle for next fiscal year, which is still early, we're not in that range yet, I think we're hopeful that with their consideration of a rate increase this year, that will be something that they'll consider next year. And obviously, we'll be working with the industry on advocacy for that in the next cycle.

是的。我認為新墨西哥州在製定下一財年預算時（現在還早，我們還沒到那個階段），我們希望他們今年考慮提高費率後，明年也會考慮這個問題。顯然，我們會在下一個預算週期與業界合作，爭取解決這個問題。

I think on Pennsylvania specifically, yes, I think they had considered a rate increase this past year. I think with everything going on there, I think our most recent intelligence from what's going on in their budget or inability to get a budget would probably put us in a position of thinking we'll probably be flat again. I don't think we're anticipating a rate cut, but probably not as optimistic as we were about a rate increase in Pennsylvania in this next budget.

就賓州而言，是的，我認為他們去年確實考慮過提高利率。鑑於當地目前的情況，根據我們最新的情報，從他們預算的進展（或預算遲遲未能通過）來看，我們估計利率很可能會再次維持不變。我們預計利率不會下調，但可能不像之前那麼樂觀地認為賓州會在下一份預算案中提高利率。

And any other states that we should be looking out for in terms of any major increases or, I guess, potential for cuts?

還有哪些州需要我們關注，看看是否有大幅成長或削減的可能？

No, nothing that we're aware of at this point. I think usually, a lot of those states when they get into session, it's going to be probably more early '26, early the springtime, but nothing that we are aware of that would be worth mentioning at this point, no.

不，目前我們還不知道任何相關消息。我認為通常情況下，很多州開會的時間可能會在2026年初，也就是春季初期，但目前我們還沒有發現任何值得一提的事情。

Great thank you so much.

太好了，非常感謝。

A.J. Rice, UBS.

A.J. Rice，瑞銀集團。

Thanks. Hi everybody, and welcome aboard, Heather. Maybe just to think broadly about the acquisition and deal pipeline. I know that's an important part, obviously, of your ongoing inorganic growth strategy. Can you just update us on what you're seeing competitively across the main buckets, how pricing is evolving? And what does the pipeline look like, whether it's pretty deep or a lot of things are just on hold right now?

謝謝。大家好，歡迎Heather加入。或許我們可以先從宏觀角度談談收購和交易管道。我知道這顯然是你們持續推動的非內生成長策略的重要組成部分。能否請您介紹一下主要收購領域的競爭情況，價格走勢如何？以及目前的交易管道狀況如何，是進展順利還是許多專案都處於擱置狀態？

Yes, A.J., I think I'd characterize it that we haven't seen probably a lot of shift from where we have been probably over the last, I'd say, 1.5 years or so. Most of the things that we're looking at or are in our pipeline today are probably on the smaller side, similar to Del Cielo we just closed, Helping Hands that we closed last quarter, in markets that we're in, providing some density, low multiples. PCS on the small end are still going to be -- could be as low as 4 times and 5 times. Even larger size could be maybe 7 times, maybe 8 times. That really hasn't moved much.

是的，A.J.，我認為我們可以這樣描述：在過去一年半左右的時間裡，我們可能並沒有看到太大的變化。我們目前正在關注或籌備的大部分項目規模都比較小，類似於我們剛完成的Del Cielo項目，以及上個季度完成的Helping Hands項目，這些項目都位於我們所在的市場，旨在提供一定的密度，並降低估值倍數。小型PCS專案的估值倍數仍可能低至4倍或5倍。即使是規模較大的項目，估值倍數可能在7倍或8倍左右。這方面並沒有太大的變化。

I think on the clinical side, there's been a couple of large -- very large hospice organizations that traded this year for very high multiples. It seemed like there maybe was a little bit of moderation coming in, but still probably mid-teen type expectations, so still a little pricey on that end. We would always be interested in hospice, but probably at a little lower price point. And then home health, as Dirk kind of mentioned earlier, there is some benefit to us and how that feeds into or works with personal care and hospice.

我認為在臨床方面，今年有幾家規模非常大的臨終關懷機構估值倍數很高。雖然現在似乎有所回落，但預期估值可能仍然在十幾倍左右，所以這方面的估值仍然偏高。我們一直對臨終關懷感興趣，但希望價格能再低一些。至於家庭護理，正如德克之前提到的，它對我們來說也有一定的價值，可以與個人護理和臨終關懷相結合。

So if there's opportunities on the home health side, it's going to be probably on the smaller side for us in markets that we're in kind of overlapping. Those are things we'd be interested in, but those tend to still be a little on the inexpensive side. So if they're smaller, it could be upper single digits, maybe it presses closer to 10-plus times if it's more sizable.

所以，如果家庭醫療保健領域有機會，對我們來說，這些機會可能規模較小，而且會集中在我們業務重疊的市場。我們對這些領域很感興趣，但這些領域的投資成本通常仍然很低。如果規模較小，投資報酬率可能在個位數，如果規模較大，則可能接近10倍甚至更高。

But obviously, we'll always work into our performance on any home health deal, what might be going on with rates. We're very cognizant of that as well. I think what we're hearing from folks externally thinking about '26, there could be some things that might be on the larger side that might be available. Some of those might be interesting to us. So early conversations, nothing really to report, but we're hopeful maybe there's a little more opportunity for us to do some larger chunkier things next year.

但很顯然，我們會把費率波動納入所有居家醫療服務的績效考量。我們對此也十分關注。我認為，我們從一些外部人士那裡了解到，2026年可能會有一些規模較大的項目出現。其中一些項目可能對我們來說很有吸引力。所以目前只是初步洽談，沒有什麼確切的消息可以透露，但我們希望明年能有更多機會開展一些規模更大的項目。

Okay. And I know you've been asked a couple of times about home health. But if, say, we get the rate noticed and it gives clarity as to sort of the trajectory, is that enough, do you think to maybe step up the pace in home health a bit? Or do we need some time for everything to settle out, assuming we get some kind of a rate action, either the 6.4% is proposed or maybe they happen or something like that. Does it take some time for the market to sort itself out? Or do you think people will react pretty quickly and you might be able to step up the activity in home health there?

好的。我知道您已經被問過幾次關於居家護理的問題了。但是，比如說，如果我們能注意到費率調整，並且它能讓我們更清楚地了解費率走勢，這是否就足夠了？您是否認為應該加快居家照護領域的腳步？或者我們需要一些時間來讓一切穩定下來，假設我們最終採取某種費率調整措施，例如提議調整費率6.4%，或最終實施調整等等。市場需要一些時間來自行調整嗎？或者您認為人們會很快做出反應，屆時我們就可以加快居家護理領域的發展步伐了？

Well, I think getting this year's rate finalized will certainly take one of the issues that's on the table as far as doing much in the home health industry. The problem you're going to have, A.J., is that unless they come out with a fix for the potential clawback, which is, what, 400 basis points of this year's potential rate reduction, if they do away with that, are they going to send a signal that, that is passed and won't come back up again?

我認為，今年費率的最終確定無疑將解決家庭醫療保健產業面臨的一大難題。 A.J.，你面臨的問題是，除非他們能找到解決辦法來應對潛在的費率回扣——也就是今年潛在降價幅度的400個基點——否則，如果他們取消了回扣，是否就等於發出一個信號，表明這項政策已經通過，不會再有任何回扣了？

As long as that overhang is still out there on any potential clawback, I think it's going to continue to keep the acquisition in the home health market a little moderated in the future.

只要潛在的追回風險仍然存在，我認為未來家庭醫療保健市場的收購活動仍會受到一定程度的抑制。

Okay, all right, thanks so much.

好的，非常感謝。

Jared Haase, William Blair.

賈里德·哈斯，威廉·布萊爾。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking all the questions. I wanted to ask another one on your comments about the value of having overlapping operations and New Mexico and Tennessee and the impact that has on referrals between home health and hospice.

嗨，早安。感謝您回答所有問題。我還想問一個關於您之前提到的在新墨西哥州和田納西州開展業務重疊的價值，以及這對家庭醫療保健和臨終關懷之間的轉診產生的影響的問題。

So I'm curious, when you look at the data, do you actually see a meaningful difference when you have the overlap there, do you actually see a meaningful difference in either, patient satisfaction, quality of care, anything to that effect, when you kind of have that density of service offerings in a particular market?

所以我很好奇，當你查看數據時，當服務重疊時，你是否真的看到有意義的差異？當特定市場中服務產品密度較高時，你是否真的看到病人滿意度、照護品質或類似方面有有意義的差異？

Jared, this is Heather. We do -- we see a couple of benefits that are coming from that referral ability from home health to hospice. The first, it's better for the patient and for the family to be in the right setting of care and to be receiving the right level of care. So we see that benefit that comes through. We also see continuity of care from those two different settings of care from home health to hospice.

賈里德，我是希瑟。我們確實看到，從家庭護理轉診到臨終關懷能帶來一些好處。首先，對患者及其家人來說，在合適的護理環境中接受合適的護理等級是更好的選擇。所以我們看到了這種好處。我們也看到，從居家照護到安寧療護這兩種不同的照護模式能夠確保照護的連續性。

So what we're seeing from the patients and from their families, of course, once they're in hospice has been positively influencing some of the decisions that we're making as we see those hospice admissions that are really supporting -- or being supported by home health.

所以，我們從病人及其家屬那裡了解到的情況，當然，一旦他們進入臨終關懷階段，就對我們正在做出的一些決定產生了積極的影響，因為我們看到那些臨終關懷入院的患者確實得到了家庭健康的支持——或者說，他們得到了家庭健康的支持。

Got it. That's helpful. And then I just wanted to follow up as well on the comments around clinical labor. And it sounds like that's been stable for at least a few quarters now. I think you mentioned outside of a few challenging urban markets, though. Just wanted to understand that a little bit better.

明白了，這很有幫助。另外，我還想就臨床產科的評論補充一點。聽起來這方面的情況至少在過去幾季都比較穩定。不過，您好像提到過一些比較困難的城市市場以外的情況。我只是想更深入地了解一下。

So what specifically is sort of challenging in some of those markets? Is that largely just a function of kind of the broader reimbursement environment makes it harder to compete on wages in certain areas or something else we should be thinking about?

那麼，在某些市場中，具體有哪些挑戰呢？這主要是由於更廣泛的報銷環境導致某些地區的工資競爭更加困難，還是還有其他我們應該考慮的因素？

No, I think it's really largely just related to some of the larger urban markets. And more specifically on the skilled side, we're seeing better opportunities for hiring than what we have seen in the past. But as pockets are arising out there or continue to be managed through, it's very limited to those skilled hires, I would say, and then the urban market.

不，我認為這主要與一些較大的城市市場有關。更具體地說，在技術人才方面，我們看到的招募機會比以往更好。但隨著一些地區出現或持續短缺，我認為，這種招募機會仍然非常有限，僅限於技術人才和城市市場。

Okay. Got it. I guess maybe just a point of clarification then. If we did get some sort of meaningful relief on the reimbursement rate in the home health space, do you feel like the labor market is such that you would be able to kind of attract the folks that you need to return to more consistent organic growth there?

好的，明白了。那我再確認一下。如果我們在家庭醫療保健領域的報銷率方面獲得一些實質的緩解，您認為目前的勞動市場狀況是否足以吸引所需的人才，從而實現更穩定的自然成長？

Yes.

是的。

Perfect. Okay, great to hear. Thank you.

太好了。好的，很高興聽到這個消息。謝謝。

Raj Kumar, Stephens.

Raj Kumar，史蒂芬斯。

Hi, good morning. Maybe just kind of focusing on hospice. I know the company has kind of talked about making key investments in the team over the past few quarters. And maybe just kind of want to break down what they've been able to identify, clearly strong results organically this year.

您好，早安。我想重點談談臨終關懷方面。我知道該公司在過去幾個季度一直在談論對該團隊進行重點投資。我想詳細了解他們今年的顯著成果，尤其是那些自然成長帶來的強勁業績。

And have they been able to reconcile all what they've identified in 2025? Or should we expect a kind of multiyear opportunity in terms of being able to display kind of above targeted same-store revenue growth for that segment?

他們是否能夠在 2025 年實現所有已確定的目標？或者我們應該期待在未來幾年內，該細分市場能夠實現高於預期目標的同店營收成長？

Well, maybe I'll start with some of the initiatives that we have that are driving the results, and then Brian can talk about sort of how we think that will develop from a future perspective. But you're right, we're seeing very nice volume growth in that hospice segment. And I think there are a few things that I would point to. The first is just a focus on better execution. That includes a focus on our onboarding and training efforts across the board but specifically related to the utilization of community liaisons.

嗯，或許我可以先談談我們正在推行的一些舉措，正是這些舉措促成了目前的成果，然後布萊恩可以談談我們對未來發展的展望。你說得對，我們在臨終關懷領域的業務量成長非常可觀。我想重點指出幾點。首先是注重提升執行力。這包括全面加強新進員工入職和培訓工作，尤其是在社區聯絡員的運用方面。

We've mentioned that we've made some leadership changes there, and we've invested in a sales function that is focused on structured sales efforts and developing local market strategies for business development, including a better utilization of those community liaisons.

我們之前提到過，我們已經對那裡的領導層進行了一些調整，並且我們投資了一個銷售部門，該部門專注於結構化的銷售工作和製定本地市場業務發展策略，包括更好地利用社區聯絡員。

We've mentioned we're seeing success from that bridge program that we put in place to drive the right referrals from home health into hospice, and we've talked about that, that that's really been something positive that we're seeing. And so we do see a lot of positive momentum in that hospice business that we've seen through the quarter. We've seen that building and that we would expect to continue.

我們之前提到過，我們設立的銜接計畫取得了成功，該計畫旨在引導家庭照護患者順利轉診至臨終關懷機構。我們也討論過，這確實是個正面的成果。因此，我們在本季度看到了臨終關懷業務的良好發展勢頭。我們看到業務不斷成長，並且預計這種成長勢頭將會持續下去。

Yes. And Raj, I think, obviously, 19% organic growth is probably not something we would expect to have into perpetuity. But I think we've said for a long time, everything else being equal, we would expect our hospice business to have an opportunity to grow in the kind of mid to at least upper single-digit range.

是的。拉傑，我認為，很顯然，19%的有機成長率我們不可能一直保持下去。但我們一直以來都認為，在其他條件不變的情況下，我們預期臨終關懷業務有機會達到中等至至少較高的個位數成長率。

So I think all the changes that we've made, I think the comps that we're seeing over the last year is probably driving some of the percentage increase. But as we get settled into a nice trend, I think that upper single-digit range is probably still fair. So our business, we're going to get the benefit of a little over 3% on rate. So if you think about what that leaves for ADC growth, I think we feel pretty comfortable that we could continue in that range.

所以我認為，我們所做的所有改變，以及過去一年來我們看到的同店銷售數據，可能都推動了部分百分比的成長。但隨著我們逐漸形成良好的成長趨勢，我認為接近兩位數的成長幅度仍然比較合理。因此，我們的業務將受益於略高於3%的費率成長。考慮到這為ADC成長留下的空間，我認為我們有信心能夠繼續保持在這個範圍內的成長。

Got it. And then maybe just on home health, kind of fee-for-service mix trended kind of lower sequentially and year-over-year. I know there's been progression on the margin front with that business as you kind of case to optimize the whole book. But trying to get a better picture of kind of how margins did trend in this quarter given the mix shift dynamics. And there was kind of higher MA mix. So maybe trying to gauge also if there's any incremental case rate or episodic reimbursement wins on the MA side in the quarter.

明白了。然後，就家庭醫療保健而言，按服務收費的比例環比和同比都有所下降。我知道隨著整體業務的優化，該業務的利潤率有所提高。但我想更清楚地了解本季利潤率在業務結構變化的情況下是如何變化的。此外，醫療保險優勢計劃 (MA) 的比例有所上升。因此，我也想評估本季 MA 方面是否有新增病例或單次報銷方面的成長。

Yes. I think we continue to make a little headway on just getting better rates and working with MA plans and moving to more episodic. That's really our focus, not necessarily Medicare fee-for-service versus MA, but really episodic versus non-episodic. And I think we've made some progress there. I think in this quarter's numbers, you're seeing a little bit of impact.

是的。我認為我們在爭取更優惠的費率、與醫療保險優勢計劃 (MA) 合作以及轉向更按次計費的模式方面持續取得了一些進展。這才是我們真正的關注點，並非醫療保險按服務收費與 MA 計劃之間的區別，而是按次計費與非按次計費模式之間的區別。我認為我們在這方面取得了一些進展。我認為從本季度的數據中，您可以看到一些成效。

It's small, but Helping Hands was largely MA's a little bit of home health business up there. And I think in Tennessee, we've got contract changes that we've gotten done down there that have helped kind of shift a little bit of that business in that Tennessee market. But nothing, I think, on a high level that I would flag out as being material overall.

雖然規模不大，但「援助之手」基本上是馬薩諸塞州一家小型家庭醫療保健公司。我認為在田納西州，我們完成的一些合約變更確實在一定程度上推動了該州市場業務的轉移。但總的來說，我認為沒有什麼實質的改變。

Got it. Thank you.

明白了，謝謝。

Constantine Davides, Citizens.

康斯坦丁·達維德斯，公民。

Just a quick one on Del Cielo. Their website says they also offer other levels of service. So I just wanted to confirm that the only thing you're getting is just the pure personal care business.

關於Del Cielo，我簡單問一下。他們的網站上說他們也提供其他級別的服務。所以我只是想確認一下，你選擇的服務是不是只限於純粹的個人護理業務。

That is correct. We only purchased the personal care assets of that business.

沒錯。我們只收購了那家公司的個人照護資產。

Great. And then just a follow-up on this 25% figure, New Mexico and Tennessee in terms of impacting growth in hospice. You've obviously got a PC footprint that's multiples bigger than what you have in home health. And I was just wondering if you could articulate some of the benefits of being in personal care as it pertains to maybe the growth algorithm in both home health and hospice.

好的。關於25%這個數字，我想再補充一點，新墨西哥州和田納西州對臨終關懷產業成長的影響如何？顯然，你們的個人護理業務規模比家庭護理業務大得多。我想請您闡述一下，從事個人護理業務有哪些優勢，以及這些優勢如何促進家庭護理和臨終關懷行業的成長。

Yes. Thanks. That's a great question. It's part of our overall strategy that we've been following for a number of years now. We believe that everything starts with personal care. That is something that we have stated before and we will continue to state. The problem with getting a bridge program today as strong as we see from home health to hospice from personal care up to other levels of care is the EMR in which we operate today.

是的，謝謝。這是一個很好的問題。這是我們多年來一直奉行的整體策略的一部分。我們相信一切都始於個人照護。這一點我們之前說過，以後也會繼續強調。如今，要像我們看到的那樣，從家庭護理到臨終關懷，從個人護理到其他護理層級，建立一個完善的銜接體系，最大的問題在於我們目前使用的電子病歷系統。

So if you look at today, we've got Homecare Homebase in the home health and the hospice. So everything can be done from an electronic standpoint where we can use systems to kind of look at our patient base and recommend levels of care and changes that may need to happen in the future.

所以，看看現在，我們在家庭護理和臨終關懷領域都有了Homecare Homebase系統。因此，所有工作都可以從電子化的角度完成，我們可以利用這些系統來分析我們的患者群體，並推薦護理等級以及未來可能需要的調整。

The problem we have today with personal care is it's on a different system. So everything from a bridge process is much more manual. And so that is why three or so years ago, we started working with Homecare Homebase to develop a strong personal care system that we could put in place and then use going forward to have one EMR, so that we could start a bridge program all the way through our levels of care.

我們目前在個人護理方面面臨的問題是，它採用的是不同的系統。因此，從銜接流程到最終交付，所有環節都需要手動操作。正因如此，大約三年前，我們開始與 Homecare Homebase 合作，開發一套強大的個人護理系統，以便我們能夠先部署該系統，然後將其應用於未來的統一電子病歷系統，從而使我們能夠開展貫穿所有護理級別的銜接項目。

We are early in that transition. We are still working with Homecare Homebase. There are still some things we need to finalize. I think today, we have five small states that are using that today, and we're learning from that. But the whole plan going forward is to get this on one system, so that then you will start to see the same sort -- in our minds, the same sort of bridge results that we currently get between home health and hospice, you can then start with personal care. So that, again, kind of encapsulates our entire strategy that we've been applying for the last four or five years.

我們正處於轉型初期。我們仍在與Homecare Homebase合作。還有一些細節要敲定。目前，大約有五個小州在使用該系統，我們也正在從中學習。但我們未來的計劃是將所有服務整合到一個系統中，這樣一來，您就能看到類似的效果——在我們看來，就像目前家庭護理和臨終關懷之間建立的橋樑一樣——然後就可以從個人護理入手。這再次概括了我們過去四、五年來一直實施的整個策略。

Christian Borgmeyer, TD Cowen. (Operator Instructions)

Christian Borgmeyer，TD Cowen。 （操作說明）

Hi, good morning. I had a question about the hospice side. Revenue per patient day was really strong in the quarter, and you also cited an improvement in the Medicare cap cushion. I was curious if this was a tailwind to revenue per PD in the quarter? If there may be a similar dynamic in 4Q? And then just curious what sort of clinical dynamic drives this Medicare cap liability.

您好，早安。我有一個關於臨終關懷方面的問題。本季每位患者每日的收入非常強勁，您也提到醫療保險上限緩衝有所改善。我想知道這是否會對本季每位患者每日的收入產生正面影響？第四季是否也會有類似的趨勢？另外，我還想了解一下，哪些臨床因素會影響醫療保險上限的支出。

Yes. I think -- this is Brian. On the Medicare cap side, Dirk mentioned we had no liability this quarter. We actually took a little bit of a charge in Q2. So I think sequentially, you saw a benefit of that flow through the revenue per patient day. I think the other thing that impacted this quarter, I think just on a year-over-year basis, we did see some positive effect from the good old implicit price concession or revenue adjustment or whatever you want to call it.

是的。我想——我是布萊恩。關於醫療保險上限方面，德克提到我們本季沒有負債。實際上，我們在第二季提了一些費用。所以我認為，從季度環比來看，每位患者每日的收入確實受益於此。我認為影響本季的另一個因素，就同比而言，我們確實看到了來自價格調整或收入調整（或你想怎麼稱呼都行）的一些積極影響。

But we had some positive experience in collecting some older aged AR, and I think that benefited a little bit in this quarter, but nothing that was, I think, overly material. I think just going forward, just talking about cap, I think we feel like we're in a pretty good position. I think we've had a lot of focus in a couple of locations where we had that issue creeping in.

但我們在催收一些較老的應收帳款方面取得了一些積極成果，我認為這在本季度起到了一定的作用，但影響並不顯著。展望未來，就資本而言，我們覺得目前處境相當不錯。我們已經重點關注了幾個出現類似問題的地區。

We have done a lot there to make progress on our referral mix, and balancing that out is a highlight for us. So I think if you look at us historically, we've always had probably one or two locations every year that might slip a little bit into cap. It's nothing new for us. It's something that we manage kind of day-to-day, but I think we feel pretty good where we are coming out of Q3 into Q4 that we're in a good spot.

我們在改善轉診組合方面做了很多工作，而平衡各方面的績效對我們來說是一大亮點。所以，我認為，回顧我們的歷史，每年可能總會有一、兩個地方的業績略微超出上限。這對我們來說並不新鮮。我們每天都在處理這個問題，但我認為，從第三季度到第四季度，我們目前的狀況相當不錯。

Okay, got it. Thank you.

好的，明白了。謝謝。

Andrew Mok, Barclays.

Andrew Mok，巴克萊銀行。

This is [Jeffrey Song] on for Andrew. Medicaid payers have been under a lot of pressure recently. Can you help us understand the nature of the dialogue between payers and providers in the home health space in recent months?

這裡是傑弗裡·宋，他正在替安德魯提問。最近，醫療補助計劃的支付方承受著很大的壓力。您能否幫我們了解一下近幾個月來，家庭醫療保健領域的支付方和提供者之間的對話情況？

Yes. If I understand your question and what you're trying to get to, I do think the OBRA out there has put some pressure on states with their Medicaid programs. They're having to look at how do we take the dollars we're continuing to receive from the Feds and apply that effectively to our Medicaid program.

是的。如果我理解你的問題和你想表達的意思，我認為現行的《綜合預算協調法案》（OBRA）確實給各州的醫療補助計劃帶來了一些壓力。他們必須考慮如何有效地利用聯邦政府持續撥付的資金來維持醫療補助計劃的正常運作。

And I think that's where that puts Addus squarely in an important seat in that discussion, because if you think of our service, when people are qualified for first care services, they also would be qualified for nursing home services if we cannot keep them in their home with the amount of hours that the states are giving us.

我認為，正因如此，Addus 在這場討論中佔據了重要的地位，因為如果你考慮一下我們的服務，當人們符合初級護理服務的資格時，如果我們無法按照各州規定的時間讓他們留在家裡，他們也符合療養院服務的資格。

So we have demonstrated to a number of states and a number of our managed care partners through value-based care contracts that by following certain protocols, keeping them in the house, we're able to reduce various aspects of other costs related to those patients that would be covered by Medicaid, whether that's emergency room visits, whether that's readmits to the hospital, or quite frankly, SNF, where people would end up in 24-hour SNF care, which is much more expensive to the state.

因此，我們已經透過基於價值的醫療合約向許多州和我們的許多醫療管理合作夥伴證明，透過遵循某些協議，讓患者待在家中，我們可以減少與這些患者相關的其他各種成本，這些成本原本應由醫療補助計劃支付，無論是急診室就診、再次入院，還是坦率地說，是全專業護理機構（SNF），因為人們會接受護理機構全天候昂貴的州。

So it's our job as an industry, it's our job as Addus to continue to work with the states to show them the value proposition of if they are looking where to put their dollars for the Medicaid program to be the most effective to make sure that they put it into the personal care business, which is going to save them money overall.

因此，作為一個行業，作為 Addus，我們的職責是繼續與各州合作，向他們展示個人護理行業的價值主張。如果他們正在尋找最有效的醫療補助計劃資金投入方向，那麼就應該確保他們把錢投入到個人護理行業，這將為他們節省整體資金。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference over to Dirk Allison for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。現在我把會議交給德克·艾利森先生，請他作總結發言。

Thank you, operator. I want to thank each of you for taking the time to join us on our earnings call today, and I hope you all have a great week.

謝謝接線生。感謝各位今天抽空參加我們的財報電話會議，祝大家一週愉快。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議已結束。感謝您參加今天的報告。您可以斷開連線了。