Advantage Solutions Inc. (ADV) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Advantage Solutions first quarter 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Advantage Solutions 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。

Welcome to Advantage Solutions First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Dave Peacock, Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Growe, Chief Financial Officer, are on the call today. Dave and Chris will provide their prepared remarks, after which we will open the call for a Q&A session.

歡迎參加 Advantage Solutions 第一季財報電話會議。今日出席電話會議的有執行長 Dave Peacock 與財務長 Chris Growe。Dave 與 Chris 將先發表準備好的談話，之後我們將開放問答環節。

During this call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Actual outcomes and results could differ materially due to several factors, including those described more fully in the company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC.

在本次電話會議中，管理層可能會在聯邦證券法的意義下作出前瞻性陳述。由於多項因素，實際結果與表現可能出現重大差異，包括公司向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交之 Form 10-K 年報中更完整描述的因素。

All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by such factors. Our remarks today include certain non-GAAP financial measures, which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measure in our earnings release. As a reminder, unless otherwise stated, the financial results discussed today will be from continuing operations and revenues will exclude reimbursable expenses. And now I would like to turn the call over to Dave Peacock.

所有前瞻性陳述均在整體上受上述因素所限制。我們今天的談話包含若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，並已在我們的財報新聞稿中與最可比的 GAAP 指標進行調節。提醒各位，除非另有說明，今天討論的財務結果均來自持續經營業務，且營收將不包含可報銷費用。現在我把電話交給 Dave Peacock。

Thanks, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I want to first acknowledge our team for a solid start to the year. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am grateful for the resilience our people are showing in this uncertain time. Our first quarter was solid and ahead of our internal expectations, reflecting strong growth in Experiential Services, improvement in Retailer Services and continued headwinds affecting Branded Services.

謝謝接線員。各位早安，感謝各位加入我們。我首先要肯定我們的團隊在今年有一個穩健的開局。我們前方仍有許多工作要做，但在這個不確定的時期，我很感激同仁展現出的韌性。我們第一季表現穩健，且優於內部預期，反映出體驗式服務（Experiential Services）的強勁成長、零售商服務（Retailer Services）的改善，以及品牌服務（Branded Services）持續面臨的逆風。

In the first quarter, total company net revenues of $723 million were up 4% year-over-year and up 4.7% on a pro forma basis, excluding divestitures. Adjusted EBITDA of $68 million was up over 16% and up 22% on a pro forma basis, excluding divestitures, driven by strong incremental margins in Experiential Services and improved profitability in Retailer Services.

第一季公司合併淨營收為 7.23 億美元，年增 4%；若排除資產剝離，以備考（pro forma）基礎計算則成長 4.7%。調整後 EBITDA 為 6,800 萬美元，年增逾 16%；若排除資產剝離，以備考基礎計算則成長 22%，主要受惠於體驗式服務的強勁增量利潤率，以及零售商服務獲利能力的提升。

Our results reflect continued progress on the growth and productivity initiatives outlined last quarter, especially our centralized labor model, which is driving improved retail execution and profitability. Our technology investments also continue to enhance our workforce productivity and improve our ability to drive sales for clients. We are still in the early stages of realizing the benefits of these initiatives.

我們的成果反映出在上季所提出的成長與生產力計畫上持續取得進展，尤其是我們的集中化用工模式，正帶動零售執行力與獲利能力的提升。我們在科技方面的投資也持續提升人力生產力，並改善我們為客戶帶動銷售的能力。我們仍處於實現這些計畫效益的早期階段。

We recently launched the last phase of our SAP implementation, and we continue to advance the rollout of our human capital management system. First quarter cash flow was strong. We generated $74 million in adjusted unlevered free cash flow and ended the quarter with $144 million in cash after a meaningful debt paydown in March. While we remain focused on cash generation and productivity, we have increased our efforts to drive growth across our platform. Technology will enable this push.

我們近期已啟動 SAP 導入的最後階段，並持續推進人力資本管理系統的上線。第一季現金流表現強勁。我們創造了 7,400 萬美元的調整後無槓桿自由現金流，並在 3 月大幅償還債務後，季末現金為 1.44 億美元。在我們持續聚焦現金創造與生產力的同時，也加大力道推動平台整體成長。科技將使這項推進成為可能。

Faster insights to action using AI built on top of our data lake will enable us to better meet increasing demand for Experiential and other in-store services and drive demand for clients' brands through a better understanding of product level performance. In Experiential, Retailer Services, we are using AI tools integrated with legacy systems as well as process redesign to increase our hiring speed to better meet in-store labor needs.

透過建立在我們資料湖之上的 AI，將洞察更快速轉化為行動，讓我們能更好地滿足對體驗式及其他店內服務日益增加的需求，並藉由更深入理解產品層級表現來帶動客戶品牌需求。在體驗式與零售商服務方面，我們正使用與既有系統整合的 AI 工具，並配合流程再設計，以提升招募速度，更好地滿足店內用工需求。

Our Branded Services team continues to advance our analytic architecture, driving faster action, increasing the likelihood of accelerating brand performance and driving in-store brand merchandisers dynamically. We leveraged partnerships like our alliance with Instacart to help drive better retail pricing and assortment decisions on behalf of clients. We're collaborating to leverage proprietary data and an alert-based model to more effectively deploy retail reps to the highest yielding in-store opportunities.

我們的品牌服務團隊持續推進分析架構，促使更快速的行動，提高加速品牌表現的可能性，並以更動態的方式驅動店內品牌陳列人員的配置。我們運用與 Instacart 的策略聯盟等合作夥伴關係，協助客戶在零售定價與品類組合決策上做得更好。我們正合作運用專有數據與以警示為基礎的模型，更有效地將零售代表部署到產出最高的店內機會上。

Our retail pilot with Instacart is expanding and initial results have been positive. We're also expanding into new markets and services and see a meaningful opportunity to expand beyond grocery retail. We are in active discussions with several non-food retailers to perform similar services that we've been doing with grocers and in other food channels for years. While growth is our focus, we continue to pursue several productivity initiatives. First, our centralized labor model is improving service quality and supporting long-term margin expansion, particularly in Experiential Services.

我們與 Instacart 的零售試點計畫正在擴大，初步結果令人鼓舞。我們也正擴展至新市場與新服務，並看到一個可觀的機會可延伸至雜貨零售以外的領域。我們正與多家非食品零售商積極洽談，提供與我們多年來為雜貨商及其他食品通路所提供的類似服務。在成長是我們重點的同時，我們也持續推動多項生產力計畫。首先，我們的集中化用工模式正在提升服務品質並支持長期利潤率擴張，特別是在體驗式服務方面。

We also see an opportunity to extend some of these capabilities into our Retailer Services segment as we execute product resets and store remodel work in approximately 80% of the US grocery channel. Second, we are in the final stages of our enterprise technology transformation.

我們也看到機會，將其中部分能力延伸至零售商服務事業部，因為我們正在美國雜貨通路約 80% 的門店執行商品重置（product resets）與門店改裝（store remodel）工作。第二，我們的企業級科技轉型已進入最後階段。

Our SAP and Oracle platforms have strengthened our data integrity, improved our reporting capability, reduced duplicative systems and are improving our ability to deliver insight-driven services while our Workday implementation will further improve our talent management. The heavy lifting of this transformation will be mostly complete by year-end.

我們的 SAP 與 Oracle 平台強化了資料完整性、提升了報表能力、減少重複系統，並正在改善我們提供以洞察驅動服務的能力；而 Workday 的導入將進一步提升我們的人才管理。這項轉型的主要艱鉅工作將在年底前大致完成。

Beginning in 2027, we expect to more fully realize the efficiency benefits of these investments. Finally, we are integrating AI across our operations. Today, AI-enabled staffing and scheduling tools are already improving our speed and labor utilization. We're leveraging AI to drive further efficiency across our businesses and expect it to play a large role in improving execution, forecasting and labor productivity. This includes a use case-based approach to AI tool selection and development and accelerating the fidelity and maturity of our data to ensure accuracy.

自 2027 年起，我們預期將更充分實現這些投資所帶來的效率效益。最後，我們正將 AI 整合至各項營運之中。目前，AI 賦能的人力配置與排班工具已在提升速度與人力使用效率方面帶來改善。我們正運用 AI 進一步推動各業務的效率提升，並預期其將在改善執行、預測與人力生產力方面扮演重要角色。這包括以使用案例為基礎的方法來選擇與開發 AI 工具，並加速提升我們資料的精準度與成熟度，以確保準確性。

I am proud of our execution in the quarter, controlling what we can amid ongoing consumer softness. Several enduring trends impacted our business and the consumer sector more broadly. Lower and middle-income consumers remain highly focused on value, while higher income consumers are shifting spending towards healthier options and also beginning to look for savings opportunities.

我為本季的執行表現感到自豪；在消費需求持續疲弱之際，我們專注於掌控可控事項。多項長期趨勢影響了我們的業務以及更廣泛的消費產業。中低收入消費者仍高度重視性價比，而高收入消費者正將支出轉向更健康的選項，同時也開始尋找節省開支的機會。

Rising gas prices are constraining consumer spending and have contributed to the lowest consumer sentiment since tracking began in 1952. We do not expect these dynamics to change in the near term, but we are adapting our business accordingly and helping our manufacturing clients and retailer customers also adjust their strategies.

油價上漲正在限制消費支出，並促成自 1952 年開始追蹤以來最低的消費者信心。我們不預期這些動態在短期內會改變，但我們正據此調整業務，並協助我們的製造業客戶與零售商客戶同步調整其策略。

Additionally, our exposure to the fast-turning consumer packaged goods sector provides less volatility in this environment compared to other sectors and our heavier focus on the food category, which represents the majority of Branded Services revenues, provides a degree of built-in resilience as consumption patterns in food tend to be relatively stable or shift more slowly over time.

此外，相較於其他產業，我們在快速周轉的民生消費品（CPG）領域的曝險，使我們在此環境下波動性較低；而我們更聚焦於食品品類（其占品牌服務營收的大多數），也提供一定程度的內建韌性，因為食品的消費型態通常相對穩定，或隨時間推移變化較慢。

Finally, as a scaled outsourced labor provider, we are well positioned to support clients as they seek greater efficiency and return on their investment at retail. Hiring remains competitive, but it is consistent with recent quarters, and we are investing in our workforce and training to support the durable demand growth we are seeing. As I stated at the outset of this call, our segment results were mixed. Experiential Services delivered very strong first quarter results.

最後，作為具規模的外包勞務供應商，我們具備良好條件在客戶於零售端追求更高效率與投資報酬時提供支援。招募仍具競爭性，但與近幾季一致；我們正投資於人力與訓練，以支撐我們所看到的持續性需求成長。如同我在本次電話會議一開始所提到的，我們各事業部的表現好壞參半。體驗式服務在第一季交出非常強勁的成績。

Events grew over 19% and execution rates improved on both an annual and sequential basis. As we build top line momentum, we are focused on increasing profitability by advancing the centralized labor model rollout, enhancing training and safety protocols and driving a favorable mix shift toward higher-margin events. Branded Services continues to navigate a challenging environment, resulting in some client turnover that we will continue to lap through the year.

活動量成長超過19%，且執行率在年度與季比基礎上均有所改善。在我們建立營收動能之際，我們專注於透過推進集中化用工模式（CLM）推廣、強化訓練與安全規範，以及推動組合轉向更高毛利的活動，以提升獲利能力。品牌服務（Branded Services）仍在艱困環境中前行，導致部分客戶流失；我們將在今年持續消化這些影響。

Our focus is on stabilizing the revenue base with strengthened client retention efforts, executive engagement and targeted growth opportunities with existing clients. We are already seeing progress with several existing clients have shifted retail account coverage to us earlier this year.

我們的重點是透過強化客戶留存工作、管理層參與以及針對既有客戶的成長機會，來穩定營收基礎。我們已看到進展，今年稍早已有數家既有客戶將零售帳戶覆蓋工作轉由我們承接。

New business development remains active with a disciplined focus on higher-quality opportunities. While still under pressure, we believe the business will move towards stabilization as the initiatives take hold. Retailer Services delivered a solid quarter of positive revenue and EBITDA growth despite a timing-related benefit in the quarter.

新業務開發仍然活躍，並以嚴謹紀律聚焦於更高品質的機會。儘管仍承受壓力，我們相信隨著各項措施落地，業務將朝向穩定。零售商服務（Retailer Services）在本季即使受惠於與時點相關的因素，仍交出營收與EBITDA雙雙成長的穩健表現。

We are encouraged by improving activity, pricing and the more moderate impact of channel mix shifts. Pipeline momentum is strong, and we are converting our pipeline of new customers and new service offerings, which should continue to support growth in this segment.

我們對活動量、定價改善以及通路組合轉移影響趨於溫和感到鼓舞。商機管線動能強勁，我們正將新客戶與新服務方案的管線轉化為實際成果，預期將持續支撐本分部成長。

We have seen strong conversion in our retail merchandising business in particular. Finally, we remain focused on revenue and cost alignment and improving execution discipline. Cash generation remains a core strength of our business. Strong cash flow performance continued in the quarter, supported by disciplined working capital management, though the timing of some new system implementations contributed to a slight sequential increase in DSOs. We expect DSOs to be elevated in the near term before improving later in the year.

我們特別在零售陳列（retail merchandising）業務上看到強勁的轉換成效。最後，我們仍專注於營收與成本對齊並提升執行紀律。現金創造能力仍是我們業務的核心優勢。本季強勁的現金流表現延續，受惠於嚴謹的營運資金管理；不過，部分新系統導入的時點使DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）較前一季小幅上升。我們預期短期內DSO將維持偏高，並在今年稍晚改善。

Our capital spending is on pace with our full year expectation, and we paid down roughly $130 million of debt in the quarter. Overall, enhanced liquidity is supporting our operations and strategic flexibility. While we are pleased with our results, we are maintaining a prudent outlook reflecting the continued uncertainty that I mentioned earlier.

我們的資本支出進度符合全年預期，本季亦償還約1.30億美元的債務。整體而言，流動性提升正支撐我們的營運與策略彈性。儘管我們對成果感到滿意，但我們仍維持審慎展望，以反映我先前提到的持續不確定性。

We expect strength in Experiential Services and improved growth performance in Retailer Services and progress toward achieving stabilization in Branded Services throughout the year. We are reiterating our full year guidance of flat to low single-digit revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA that is flat to down mid-single digits as our revenue growth is weighted towards lower-margin businesses in our portfolio.

我們預期體驗式服務（Experiential Services）將維持強勁表現，零售商服務的成長表現將改善，且品牌服務將在全年逐步朝向穩定。我們重申全年指引：營收持平至低個位數成長；調整後EBITDA持平至中個位數下滑，因為我們的營收成長較偏向投資組合中毛利較低的業務。

Adjusted unlevered free cash flow of $250 million to $275 million and net free cash flow conversion of 25% of adjusted EBITDA, excluding the incremental costs related to the recent debt refinancing. We are encouraged by our progress and remain focused on executing our strategy and driving long-term profitable growth. I'll now turn it over to Chris for more detail on our financial performance.

調整後無槓桿自由現金流為2.50億至2.75億美元，且淨自由現金流轉換率為調整後EBITDA的25%，不含近期債務再融資所帶來的增量成本。我們對進展感到鼓舞，並將持續專注於執行策略與推動長期獲利成長。接下來我把時間交給Chris，請他更詳細說明我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Dave, and welcome to everyone joining us today. I will review our first quarter performance by segment, discuss our cash flow and capital structure and provide additional detail on our outlook. As noted last quarter, we recently divested a small business, an equity stake and a portion of our European joint venture that collectively accounted for approximately $20 million in revenues and over $10 million of EBITDA in 2025.

謝謝你，Dave，也歡迎今天加入我們的各位。我將按分部回顧第一季表現，討論現金流與資本結構，並提供展望的更多細節。如同上季所提，我們近期已處分一項小型業務、一筆股權投資，以及我們歐洲合資企業的一部分；這些合計在2025年約貢獻2,000萬美元營收與超過1,000萬美元EBITDA。

As a result of these divestitures, first quarter net revenues and EBITDA were adjusted down by approximately $5 million and $3 million, respectively. These businesses were all contained within our Branded Services segment, and we will call this out for comparability in our discussion of the quarter.

由於這些處分，第一季淨營收與EBITDA分別下調約500萬美元與300萬美元。這些業務皆隸屬於我們的品牌服務分部；在本季討論中，為了可比性，我們會特別說明。

Starting with Branded Services. In the first quarter, we generated $226 million of revenues and $21 million of adjusted EBITDA, down 12% and 25% year-over-year, respectively. As noted, on a pro forma basis, excluding divestitures, revenue was down 10% and EBITDA was down 17%. This segment remains under pressure due to a challenging macro environment, select client losses and an unfavorable mix shift. While we maintain cost discipline in this segment, we are not able to fully offset these impacts.

先從品牌服務開始。第一季我們創造2.26億美元營收與2,100萬美元調整後EBITDA，分別年減12%與25%。如前所述，若以備考（pro forma）基礎、排除處分影響，營收年減10%，EBITDA年減17%。由於宏觀環境具挑戰性、部分客戶流失以及不利的組合轉移，本分部仍承受壓力。雖然我們在本分部維持成本紀律，但仍無法完全抵銷上述影響。

That said, we are taking targeted actions to improve performance, including expanding our customer footprint, accelerating cross-sell across our existing client base, leaning into newer, higher-value services and converting a solid pipeline of opportunities. We are also leveraging technology to drive greater efficiency and enhance ROI for our clients.

即便如此，我們正採取有針對性的行動以改善表現，包括擴大客戶覆蓋範圍、加速在既有客戶群中的交叉銷售、加大投入較新且更高價值的服務，以及轉化一條穩健的商機管線。我們也運用科技提升效率，並為客戶提高投資報酬率（ROI）。

While near-term conditions remain challenging, we believe the business will move toward a more stable baseline as the year progresses. In Experiential Services, we generated $270 million of revenue and $26 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 22% and 116% year-over-year, respectively, driven by higher event volumes, strong execution and an easier comparison to the prior year period. We saw growth from both existing clients and new retail partners launching programs, reflecting continued strong demand.

雖然短期環境仍具挑戰，我們相信隨著年度推進，業務將朝向更穩定的基準水準。在體驗式服務方面，我們創造2.70億美元營收與2,600萬美元調整後EBITDA，分別年增22%與116%，主要受更高的活動量、強勁的執行力，以及相較去年同期較容易的比較基期所帶動。我們看到既有客戶與新零售合作夥伴啟動方案皆帶來成長，反映需求持續強勁。

Operationally, we benefited from improved alignment between demand and labor availability, supporting higher event execution rates and increased volumes as well as price optimization, partially offset by higher variable labor and wage costs.

在營運面，我們受惠於需求與勞動力供給之間的匹配度提升，支撐更高的活動執行率與增加的活動量，並進行價格最佳化；但部分被較高的變動人力與薪資成本所抵銷。

We remain focused on converting strong demand into sustained margin improvement through better labor utilization and mix, supported by our CLM initiatives as well as onboarding and retention improvements. The CLM initiative is already benefiting execution in Experiential Services. Our hiring initiatives accelerated in the first quarter with a significant increase in net hires. Retention remained consistent with the prior year, positioning us well to support strong execution in Q2.

我們仍專注於透過更佳的人力運用與組合，將強勁需求轉化為可持續的毛利改善，並由CLM計畫以及招募導入與留任改善所支撐。CLM計畫已在體驗式服務的執行面帶來效益。第一季我們的招募措施加速推進，淨新增聘用人數大幅增加。留任率與去年持平，使我們具備良好條件以支撐第二季（Q2）的強勁執行。

In addition to supporting growth, we're seeing improved efficiencies in our hiring processes, reflected in a meaningful reduction in cost per hire during the first quarter. We continue to hire to support growth, including frontline associates, event managers and shift supervisors. We are investing in our teammates in 2026 to elevate service levels for our customers.

除了支撐成長外，我們也看到招募流程效率提升，反映在第一季每次聘用成本顯著下降。我們將持續招募以支撐成長，包括第一線同仁、活動經理與輪班主管。我們在2026年將投資於團隊成員，以提升對客戶的服務水準。

As a result, in Experiential Services, we expect strong revenue growth for the year with adjusted EBITDA growth broadly in line with the revenue growth due to these investments. In Retailer Services, we generated $227 million of revenues and $21 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 4% and 14% year-over-year, respectively.

因此，在體驗式服務方面，我們預期全年營收將強勁成長；由於上述投資，調整後EBITDA成長將大致與營收成長一致。在零售商服務方面，我們創造2.27億美元營收與2,100萬美元調整後EBITDA，分別年增4%與14%。

Performance was supported by new business wins, pricing, the continued ramp of key client programs and project timing. We are pleased that the Retailer Services segment returned to adjusted EBITDA growth during the quarter. In the first quarter, we lapped a client loss from the prior year period, while the timing of certain project work also provided a benefit.

表現受惠於新業務得標、定價、主要客戶方案持續放量，以及專案時點因素。我們很高興零售商服務分部在本季恢復調整後EBITDA成長。第一季我們已消化去年同期一位客戶流失的影響，同時部分專案工作的時點也帶來助益。

We also saw a reduced impact from channel mix shift, resulting in a lower drag on growth in the quarter. Additionally, we expect the combination of new projects, new service lines and new clients onboarded during the first quarter to support overall growth in 2026 with year-over-year comparison factors affecting the quarterly cadence.

我們也看到通路組合轉移的影響降低，使本季對成長的拖累減輕。此外，我們預期第一季導入的新專案、新服務線與新客戶的組合，將在 2026 年支撐整體成長，而年對年比較基期因素將影響各季的節奏。

Our focus remains on execution, staffing alignment and operational discipline to convert pipeline strength into more consistent earnings. We are encouraged by the current pipeline momentum. First quarter shared service costs were lower year-over-year, reflecting reduced labor and professional services spend. We expect shared services costs to be stable in 2026 versus the prior year, even as we continue investing in growth and transformation with operating efficiencies helping to fund those investments.

我們的重點仍在於執行、用工配置一致性與營運紀律，以將強勁的案源動能轉化為更穩定的獲利。我們對目前案源的動能感到鼓舞。第一季共享服務成本較去年同期降低，反映人力與專業服務支出減少。我們預期 2026 年共享服務成本相較前一年將維持穩定，即使我們持續投資於成長與轉型，營運效率也將有助於為這些投資提供資金。

Moving to the balance sheet and liquidity. We ended the quarter with $144 million in cash, down from the fourth quarter as we utilize our strong cash position to reduce debt, but up from $121 million in the prior year period, reflecting disciplined capital management. As mentioned on our last earnings call, we completed an extension of our debt maturities to 2030 during the first quarter, improving our liquidity profile and overall financial flexibility.

接著談資產負債表與流動性。本季季末現金為 1.44 億美元，較第四季下降，因我們運用強勁的現金部位來降低負債；但較去年同期的 1.21 億美元增加，反映嚴謹的資本管理。如同我們在上次財報電話會議提到的，我們在第一季完成將債務到期日延長至 2030 年，改善流動性結構與整體財務彈性。

We also now have a largely fixed and hedged rate structure. At quarter end, our net leverage ratio was 4.2x adjusted EBITDA, down from 4.4 times at the end of the fourth quarter, and we expect to end the year around this level. We are executing against a clear plan to further reduce leverage and achieve our long-term target of 3.5 times or below. Turning to cash flow and working capital. Cash generation remains a core strength of the business, and we continue to prioritize it through disciplined cost management, lower restructuring costs and a focus on working capital improvements.

我們目前也擁有以固定利率為主並已避險的利率結構。季末淨槓桿比率為調整後 EBITDA 的 4.2 倍，低於第四季季末的 4.4 倍，我們預期年底將大致維持在此水準。我們正依循明確計畫進一步降低槓桿，並達成長期目標：3.5 倍或以下。接著談現金流與營運資金。現金創造能力仍是本業的核心優勢，我們持續透過嚴謹的成本管理、較低的重整成本，以及聚焦營運資金改善來優先強化此能力。

DSO increased slightly in the first quarter and is expected to remain elevated over the next few months, primarily due to the temporary impact of ongoing systems implementations and upgrades, including the final phase of our SAP implementation, which is going live this week. We expect disciplined management of DSO as the year progresses. While it will remain elevated midyear, we expect year-end levels to be below the prior year, supporting strong full year cash flow generation.

第一季 DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）小幅上升，預期未來幾個月仍將維持偏高，主要因持續進行系統導入與升級的短期影響，包括我們 SAP 導入的最後階段將於本週上線。我們預期隨著年度推進，將以嚴謹方式管理 DSO。雖然年中仍會偏高，但我們預期年底水準將低於去年，支撐全年強勁的現金流創造。

Adjusted unlevered free cash flow was $74 million in the quarter with a conversion rate of 110%. Restructuring costs were lower in the first quarter, and we continue to expect full year restructuring costs to be approximately half of the prior year level.

本季調整後無槓桿自由現金流為 7,400 萬美元，轉換率為 110%。第一季重整成本較低，我們仍預期全年重整成本約為去年水準的一半。

Finally, turning to our outlook. We are encouraged by our first quarter results; we are maintaining a prudent outlook in light of ongoing macro uncertainty and unfavorable margin mix shift resulting from strong growth in lower-margin business segments. Additionally, a portion of the outperformance in the quarter reflects timing-related benefits that may normalize over the balance of the year.

最後談我們的展望。我們對第一季結果感到鼓舞；鑑於總體環境不確定性仍在，以及低毛利業務板塊強勁成長所導致的不利毛利組合轉移，我們維持審慎展望。此外，本季部分超預期表現反映時點性利多，可能在今年剩餘期間回歸常態。

As Dave mentioned, we are reiterating our prior 2026 guidance, including flat to low single-digit revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA flat to down mid-single digits, adjusted unlevered free cash flow of $250 million to $275 million and net free cash flow conversion of approximately 25% of adjusted EBITDA, excluding incremental costs related to our debt extension. From a cadence perspective, we now expect the first half to represent in the low 40% range of full year adjusted EBITDA.

如 Dave 所提，我們重申先前的 2026 年指引，包括營收持平至低個位數成長、調整後 EBITDA 持平至中個位數下滑、調整後無槓桿自由現金流 2.5 億至 2.75 億美元，以及淨自由現金流轉換率約為調整後 EBITDA 的 25%，不含與債務展期相關的增量成本。就節奏而言，我們目前預期上半年將占全年調整後 EBITDA 的低 40% 區間。

Key factors influencing our outlook include labor and benefit costs, mix dynamics and our ability to convert pipeline into revenue, particularly within Branded Services. Overall, we remain focused on execution, cost discipline and positioning the business for consistent and sustainable performance. Thank you for your time. I will now turn it back over to Dave.

影響我們展望的關鍵因素包括人力與福利成本、組合動態，以及我們將案源轉化為營收的能力，特別是在 Branded Services。整體而言，我們仍聚焦於執行、成本紀律，並為業務建立一致且可持續的表現定位。感謝各位撥冗。我現在把時間交回給 Dave。

Thanks, Chris. The first quarter reflected solid progress against our strategic priorities with strong performance in Experiential Services, improving results in Retailer Services and disciplined execution across the business. Looking ahead, we believe our growth and productivity initiatives, including our centralized labor model, technology transformation and AI investments position us well to navigate the current environment.

謝謝，Chris。第一季在我們的策略優先事項上取得紮實進展：Experiential Services 表現強勁、Retailer Services 的結果改善，且全公司維持有紀律的執行。展望未來，我們相信成長與生產力計畫（包括集中化用工模式、科技轉型與 AI 投資）使我們具備良好條件以因應當前環境。

At the same time, we are building on this momentum while taking the necessary actions to stabilize Branded Services. We remain focused on executing our strategy and generating strong cash flow over time as we position advantage for long-term profitable growth.

同時，我們在延續這股動能的同時，也採取必要行動以穩定 Branded Services。我們仍專注於落實策略，並隨時間推進產生強勁現金流，同時建立優勢以實現長期、具獲利性的成長。

I want to thank everybody for joining, and we look forward to connecting with this group next quarter.

感謝各位參與，我們期待在下個季度再次與各位交流。

Thank you. we'll now begin the Q&A session. (Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Greg Parrish with Morgan Stanley.

謝謝。我們現在開始問答環節。（接線員指示）第一個問題來自 Morgan Stanley 的 Greg Parrish。

Dave, you mentioned opportunity to expand beyond grocery retail. I think you said you're in active discussions with a few nonfood retailers. Can you give us maybe some flavor there? I mean, what verticals are we talking about? And then, I mean, I guess, what was different about these markets historically?

Dave，你提到有機會擴展到雜貨零售以外。我想你說你正與幾家非食品零售商積極洽談。能否請你分享一些細節？我的意思是，指的是哪些垂直領域？另外，這些市場在過去歷史上有什麼不同？

And then why are you able to attack them today? And then I mean, do you think this might be a contributor going into 2027?

以及為什麼你們今天能夠切入？再者，你認為這可能會在 2027 年成為一項貢獻來源嗎？

Yes. Thanks for the question. So I'd say, one, if you think about our business over the last several years, it evolved, right? I mean we acquired Daymon, which significantly changed our business in 2018, integrated that business and then COVID hit. And that had a lot of impacts on our business from the Experiential business all the kind of drying up and the grocery headquarter business really taking off.

是的。謝謝你的提問。我會說，第一，如果你回顧我們過去幾年的業務，它確實在演變。我們在 2018 年收購了 Daymon，這大幅改變了我們的業務；整合該業務後，COVID 又爆發。這對我們的業務造成許多影響：Experiential 業務幾乎全面乾涸，而雜貨總部端的業務則大幅起飛。

And then you have been the reverse of that. So I think we were so focused on managing through a lot of uncertainty and change that we didn't have the time to really focus on these other retailers, number one.

接著又出現相反的情況。因此我認為，我們當時非常專注於在大量不確定性與變動中管理營運，以致於沒有時間真正聚焦在其他零售商上，這是第一點。

Number two, I think you're seeing what we've now known as a business that was really began and focused on grocery retail to kind of lift our eyes up and see that a lot of the same impacts are affecting other retailers. We've had business with other but we feel there's opportunity to do more. If you think about what they deal with as far as labor shortages and the augmented labor that we provide for episodic tasks in store is one example.

第二點，我認為你看到的是：我們這個原本起家並聚焦於雜貨零售的業務，如今開始抬頭看見，許多相同的影響也正在衝擊其他零售商。我們與其他零售商一直有合作，但我們認為仍有機會做得更多。例如，若你想想他們在勞動力短缺方面面臨的問題，我們在門市針對階段性任務所提供的增補人力，就是一個例子。

And Supply Chain as a Service within our branded segment has an opportunity to help retailers with either slower-moving items or what we kind of call limited time specials, what have you. So it's very early process, and we're having good dialogue and probably a much higher level of willingness to explore opportunities, but it will take some time because we're cultivating those relationships as we speak.

而在我們品牌業務板塊中的「Supply Chain as a Service（供應鏈即服務）」也有機會協助零售商處理較慢周轉的品項，或我們所稱的限時特賣等。所以目前仍在非常早期的階段，我們的對話進展良好，且對方願意探索機會的程度可能高出許多；但這需要一些時間，因為我們正同步培養這些合作關係。

Can I add to that, Greg, that just one consideration here would be that this is actually occurring across each of the segments. So Dave talked about Supply Chain as a Service, which is something we have in our Branded Services segment, but we're seeing this opportunity in Retailer and Experiential as well to move beyond the typical grocery store client and customer that we have across our business.

我可以補充一下嗎，Greg，這裡有一個考量是，這其實正在各個業務分部同時發生。所以 Dave 談到「供應鏈即服務」（Supply Chain as a Service），這是在我們的品牌服務（Branded Services）分部裡的業務，但我們也在零售商（Retailer）與體驗式（Experiential）分部看到同樣的機會，能夠超越我們在整體業務中典型的雜貨店客戶與消費者。

Yes. Okay. That's very helpful. And then maybe as a follow-up, I just want to dive into Experiential a little bit. You had great growth there for years and maybe slowed a little bit and then now you've just sort of exploded here.

是的。好的。這非常有幫助。接著也許作為追問，我想再深入談一下體驗式（Experiential）。你們那邊多年來成長很強，可能稍微放緩了一點，然後現在又在這裡突然大幅爆發。

Maybe just help us unpack this. I mean is a lot of it -- all that HR system work you did last year? Is it that? A lot of the work that you do is just one big Retailer. So is this -- are you just doing more work in store than you used to?

也許請幫我們拆解一下。我的意思是，其中很大一部分——是你們去年做的那些人資系統（HR system）工作嗎？是那個嗎？你們做的很多工作其實就是服務一個大型零售商（Retailer）。所以這是不是——你們現在在門市端做的工作比以前更多了？

And then we're going at a 20% clip here. So how do we think about the rest of the year in Experiential?

而且我們現在是以 20% 的速度在跑。那我們該如何看待今年剩下時間體驗式（Experiential）的表現？

Well, I'd say a couple of things. And let's go back because I think sometimes because we do these quarterly, we forget maybe what happened a year ago. In the first quarter last year, we talked pretty openly that we had some issues on just the hiring side, right, and supplying labor to our business. And that had a little more of a profound impact on the Experiential segment. So we are lapping that, which contributed to the kind of significant lift you saw this quarter.

嗯，我想可以從幾個面向來說。我們先回頭看一下，因為我覺得有時候我們每季都在談，可能會忘了去年發生了什麼。去年第一季，我們相當坦率地談到在招募端有一些問題，對吧，也就是為我們的業務提供勞動力方面。而那對體驗式（Experiential）分部的影響更為顯著一些。所以我們現在是在「跨越」那個比較基期（lapping that），這也促成了你這一季看到的顯著拉升。

And then obviously, as we're able to supply labor as we were able -- as we did this quarter, you just get better fixed cost coverage that improves your margins. And I would argue our labor readiness has improved, meaning both the caliber training and just readiness of the labor force that comes in is better because of a lot of the initiatives that our workforce operations team has embarked upon a year ago.

然後很明顯地，當我們能夠供應勞動力——就像我們這一季做到的那樣——你就會有更好的固定成本吸收，進而改善毛利率。而且我會主張，我們的勞動力就緒度（labor readiness）已經提升了，意思是無論是訓練的品質水準，或是進場勞動力的整體準備度都更好，這要歸功於我們的人力營運團隊在一年前啟動的許多措施。

So that is built to sustain a pretty robust growth rate for the Experiential segment, our Retailer segment where we've got our SAS division that does resets and remodels and then even within our branded segment where you've got our branded merchandising. It's an important part of our business and one that there's increasing demand for. So I really think it's those things.

因此，這些作法足以支撐體驗式（Experiential）分部相當強勁的成長率；也支撐我們的零售商（Retailer）分部——那裡有我們的 SAS 事業部，負責重置（resets）與翻新（remodels）——甚至也支撐品牌分部內的品牌陳列（branded merchandising）。這是我們業務中很重要的一部分，而且市場對它的需求正在增加。所以我真的認為主要就是這些因素。

It's a lot of initiatives around training, hiring, get -- shortening the time in which people from when they're hired to when they actually start is another thing that we've been focused on. And what that does is leads to higher retention rates because you have to remember when you hire an hourly worker, they really need the job right away typically. And when it gets started right away. So we've been focused on that as well as improving the employee experience.

這包含很多圍繞訓練、招募的措施——以及縮短人員從錄用到實際上工的時間，這也是我們一直在聚焦的另一件事。而這樣做會帶來更高的留任率，因為你要記得，當你雇用一位時薪員工時，他們通常是需要立刻開始工作。而當能夠立刻上工時，所以我們也在這方面著力，同時也在改善員工體驗。

Greg, I'll just add a couple of points on to Dave's perspective there. Dave mentioned the easier comparison, but we had really strong two-year growth as well in that business. And we've been tracking at, call it, that 30-plus percent incremental margin, and you saw about that same level this quarter.

Greg，我再補充幾點來延伸 Dave 的觀點。Dave 提到比較基期較容易，但我們那項業務在兩年期的成長也非常強勁。而且我們一直在追蹤大約 30% 以上的增量利潤率（incremental margin），你這一季也看到大致相同的水準。

And when you have nearly 20%, call it, 19.5% execution -- I'm sorry, demand growth and then you have execution accelerate sequentially, those are the things that lead to not just the growth overall, but in the strong margin performance as well. I also want to note, though, that we've seen an expansion with -- we've added some new customers there.

當你有接近 20%——大約 19.5%——的執行——抱歉，是需求成長，然後你的執行力又連續季度加速（sequentially），這些因素不只帶來整體成長，也帶來強勁的利潤率表現。我也想指出，我們也看到業務擴張——我們新增了一些新客戶。

So it goes beyond just the core business. We've actually had some new customers come in as well, which I think is just an encouraging sign for the continuation. But we -- just one final comment. We said in the release -- I'm sorry, I think in the script would be that we do expect solid revenue growth there this year. We expect EBITDA to be mostly in line with the revenue growth.

所以這不只是核心業務的成長。我們確實也有一些新客戶加入，我認為這對於後續延續性是一個令人鼓舞的訊號。不過我們——最後再補充一句。我們在新聞稿裡——抱歉，我想是在講稿裡——提到我們確實預期今年那邊會有穩健的營收成長。我們預期 EBITDA 大致會與營收成長同步。

So this is an area that we're investing in. We see the opportunity for very strong incremental returns on that investment. So just be aware that as the year goes on, we want to try to invest back here as well to support the growth going forward.

所以這是一個我們正在投資的領域。我們看到這些投資有機會帶來非常強勁的增量報酬。因此請留意，隨著年度推進，我們也希望在這裡把部分成果再投入回去，以支持未來的成長。

Yes, okay, very helpful. Thank you, guys. Congrats on the quarter.

是的，好的，非常有幫助。謝謝各位。恭喜這一季的表現。

Luke Morison, Canaccord.

Luke Morison，Canaccord。

Hey guys, good to hear you from you next quarter.

嗨各位，很高興下個季度再聽到你們的聲音。

Thank you.

謝謝。

So maybe we can just start on some of the -- just double-clicking on some of the efficiency benefits you're seeing from the SAP and the Oracle and the Workday implementation. It sounds like we're finally at the point where that's starting to really bear fruit and be more fully realized.

那也許我們可以先從一些——更深入追問一下你們從 SAP、Oracle 與 Workday 導入所看到的一些效率效益開始。聽起來我們終於到了那個開始真正開花結果、並且更完整實現效益的階段。

Maybe you can just speak to sort of like the timing and the cadence of how that's going to flow into the model. I know you said we're going to see most of it in 2027, but maybe just frame like when we can expect to see that and then also just the magnitude of that? Like are we talking tens of basis points of margin uplift?

也許你可以談談，這些效益導入模型的時間點與節奏大概會是怎樣。我知道你說大部分會在 2027 年看到，但也許請你框架一下我們何時可以開始看到，以及幅度大概會是多少？例如我們談的是毛利率提升幾十個基點（tens of basis points）嗎？

Are we talking hundreds? Just help us think through that.

還是說是幾百個基點（hundreds）？請幫我們理清一下。

Yes. I think this is Chris Growe, obviously, and I'll have Dave, I'm sure, follow my comments here. But this is -- so we talk about this transformation phase for the company largely being completed by the end of this year. And just to be sure, and we said this in our script, we are going live with another instance of SAP today. So it will be our last kind of major business going on to SAP.

是的。我想這是 Chris Growe，顯然，然後我相信 Dave 會在我之後補充。不過這是——我們談到公司的這個轉型階段（transformation phase）大致會在今年年底前完成。而且為了確認清楚——我們也在講稿裡提到——我們今天會再上線另一個 SAP 實例（instance）。所以這將會是我們最後一個主要業務切換到 SAP。

And there's always going to be refinements and work to that going forward. But I want to just give you a perspective that we're not done yet. We still are investing. There still are some -- a heavy amount of work from our teams to get this over the line, but we've really been in a good place on that. Oracle is in place and then Workday goes in place next year.

而未來一定還會有持續的優化與相關工作。但我想給你一個觀點：我們還沒有完全結束。我們仍在投資。我們的團隊仍然有——相當大量的工作要把這件事推到終點，但我們在這方面確實已經處於一個不錯的狀態。Oracle 已經就位，而 Workday 會在明年就位。

So I just want to be sure I level set us on kind of where we are today. And I think therefore, we made a comment that '27 is when a lot of the efficiencies occur. The groundwork for all that's happening right now. So meaning that we're not -- there's not just the systems being in place, but all the work to now really harness the value of these systems. There is AI built into these systems.

所以我只是想確認一下，我們對於目前所處的位置有一致的認知。因此，我想我們曾提到，很多效率的實現會在 2027 年出現。這些都是現在正在發生的一切的基礎工作。也就是說，不只是把系統建置到位，還包括到目前為止為了真正發揮這些系統價值所做的所有工作。這些系統內建了 AI。

There's efficiencies that come from having all of our -- I'll call it the better data integrity across our business. We're really utilizing the data lake. I know that's a word you've heard us talk about. But in reality, that's going to lead to significant efficiency and again, integrity in the way we manage the data. I think the key you're going to see here is efficiency across the business and the performance of -- in the value of the margin of the business, no doubt, and I'm not going to quantify that for you, but that should be beneficial, especially in '27.

效率也來自於我們在整個業務中——我稱之為更好的資料完整性。我們正在真正運用資料湖。我知道這是你們聽過我們談論的詞。但實際上，這將帶來顯著的效率，並再次提升我們管理資料方式的完整性。我認為你們在這裡會看到的關鍵是全公司範圍的效率，以及——毫無疑問——業務利潤率價值的提升；我不會為你量化，但這應該會帶來好處，尤其是在 2027 年。

And then we also talked about, for example, DSO. So like our cash flow benefits coming from this should be quite significant as well. So I think that's the way I would look at it. Again, I can't give you a number necessarily, but look at that to be more of a '27 opportunity, and it goes beyond just the margin performance, but also the cash flow.

然後我們也談到，例如 DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）。因此，這帶來的現金流效益也應該相當可觀。所以我認為我會用這樣的方式來看待。同樣地，我不一定能給你一個數字，但把它視為更偏向 2027 年的機會，而且不僅僅是利潤率表現，還包括現金流。

Yes. And I'm going to pile on. We're really excited about what Workday can mean to our business. I mean when you've got almost 70,000 folks and 70 million labor hours, I've seen in a smaller setting when I worked at the regional grocer, what Workday can do as far as employee experience, employee engagement and just ease of operation and actually enhancement around training. I mean you can't underemphasize how important training is to delivering a superior both client experience, but customer experience for our clients.

是的。我也補充一下。我們對 Workday 能為我們的業務帶來的意義感到非常興奮。我的意思是，當你有將近 70,000 名員工與 7,000 萬個工時時，我在較小規模的環境（我在一家區域性雜貨零售商工作時）就看過 Workday 在員工體驗、員工投入度、營運便利性，以及在培訓方面的提升所能帶來的效果。我的意思是，你再怎麼強調培訓對於提供卓越的——不僅是客戶體驗，還有我們客戶之客戶的消費者體驗——的重要性都不為過。

But right now, we're seeing a lot of benefits, as Chris said, with the data lake and cloud migration that we went through that's enabling us to leverage machine learning and AI, and I know that's a buzz term right now, but a little more profoundly in our business. And some of the cases are in our workforce operations where it's helping us streamline the hiring process, and we're working on projects right now that are breaking down the process for that time between when you're hired and when you start with us. And a lot of companies have gone through this.

但目前，我們正如 Chris 所說，從資料湖與我們完成的雲端遷移中看到許多效益，這使我們能夠運用機器學習與 AI；我知道這現在是個流行詞，但在我們的業務中其實更具深遠意義。其中一些案例在我們的人力營運上，它正在幫助我們精簡招募流程；我們目前正在進行一些專案，拆解並縮短從錄用到實際到職之間的時間。很多公司都經歷過這個。

They're in the high-volume labor businesses. But it's exciting to see because when you think about large language models, this type of volume of data and then the positive impact it can have with employee experience retention, hopefully lowering hiring costs over time.

他們屬於高人力需求的產業。但看到這點令人振奮，因為當你想到大型語言模型、這種規模的資料量，以及它對員工體驗與留任可能帶來的正面影響，並希望能隨時間降低招募成本。

We're seeing some of the seeds of that, but we're excited about where that can go in the future.

我們已經看到一些初步的成果，但我們也對未來可能發展到的方向感到興奮。

Yes. Super helpful. And then maybe just a follow-up, double-clicking on Pulse and Instacart. Those continue to be highlighted. They continue to be topics of conversation.

是的。非常有幫助。接著也許再追問一下，深入談談 Pulse 和 Instacart。這些仍然被重點提及。也仍然是討論的話題。

Maybe just help us think about like at this point, are you seeing them being cited in new business wins? Are they generating meaningful revenue or value for customers at this stage? Are they still kind of in the investment or ramping phase? Just help us think through that.

也許請幫我們思考一下：在這個時間點，你們是否看到它們在新業務得標中被引用？在現階段，它們是否正在為客戶帶來有意義的營收或價值？還是仍然處於投資或爬坡階段？請幫我們梳理一下。

Yes, it's more in the ramping phase. We -- our partnership with Instacart, and we'll acknowledge them for a great first quarter we saw today, is early stages, and we've expanded our pilot. The pilot has been successful in what we were trying to accomplish as it relates to a more kind of real-time signal-based processes in our merchandising businesses. And the data efficacy that we get and that transference of data between the 2 companies has been very successful. So we're bullish on what that can mean.

是的，更多是在爬坡階段。我們——我們與 Instacart 的合作夥伴關係（也要肯定他們今天公布的第一季表現很出色）仍在早期階段，而且我們已擴大了試點。就我們在商品銷售（merchandising）業務中希望達成的、更偏向即時訊號驅動流程而言，這個試點是成功的。我們取得的資料效能，以及兩家公司之間的資料傳遞，都非常成功。因此我們對其意義持樂觀態度。

And I think we are able to provide value to each other and to the benefit of our clients and customers. So early days, and we're not sharing details because the pilot, I could say, is so early, but as it expands, and we are finding a lot of client interest and willingness to join us in the journey of testing these new capabilities. But I think you'll see more of the benefits of that in 2027.

而且我認為我們能夠彼此提供價值，並讓我們的客戶與消費者受益。所以目前仍是早期階段，我們不分享細節，因為試點可以說還非常早；但隨著它擴大，我們看到許多客戶的興趣，以及願意與我們一起踏上測試這些新能力的旅程。但我認為你們會在 2027 年看到更多這方面的效益。

Excellent. Thank you.

太好了。謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Dave Peacock for closing comments.

目前沒有進一步的問題。我現在把電話交回給 Dave Peacock 作結語。

Thank you. We appreciate everybody joining the call. We look forward to our second quarter call later this summer, and have a good day. Appreciate it.

謝謝。感謝各位參與本次電話會議。我們期待在今年夏末稍後舉行第二季電話會議，祝各位有美好的一天。感謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以掛斷電話線。感謝您的參與。