愛齊科技 (ALGN) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, welcome to the Align third-quarter, 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Shirley Stacy with Align Technology. You may begin.

大家好，歡迎參加 Align 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在將會議轉交給主持人，Align Technology 的雪莉史黛西 (Shirley Stacy)。你可以開始了。

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. I'm Shirley Stacy, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. Joining me for today's call is Joe Hogan, President and CEO; and John Morici, CFO. We issued third quarter 2024 financial results today via Business Wire, which is available on our website at investor.aligntech.com.

下午好，感謝您加入我們。我是雪莉‧史黛西，企業傳播與投資人關係副總裁。與我一起參加今天電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Joe Hogan；和財務長約翰·莫里奇。我們今天透過美國商業資訊發布了 2024 年第三季財務業績，該業績可在我們的網站 Investor.aligntech.com 上取得。

Today's conference call is being audio webcast and will be archived on our website for approximately 1 month. As a reminder, the information provided and discussed today will include forward-looking statements, including statements about Align's future events and product outlook.

今天的電話會議採用音訊網路直播，並將在我們的網站上存檔約 1 個月。提醒一下，今天提供和討論的資訊將包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關 Align 未來事件和產品前景的陳述。

These forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties that are described in more detail in our most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission available on our website and at sec.gov. Actual results may vary significantly and Align expressly assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

這些前瞻性陳述僅是預測，涉及風險和不確定性，這些風險和不確定性在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新定期報告中進行了更詳細的描述，該報告可在我們的網站和sec .gov 上獲取。實際結果可能會有很大差異，Align 明確表示不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

We posted historical financial statements with corresponding reconciliations, including our GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation, if applicable, and our third-quarter 2024 conference call slides on our website under quarterly results. Please refer to these files for more detailed information. With that, I'll turn the call over to Align Technology's President and CEO, Joe Hogan. Joe?

我們發布了歷史財務報表以及相應的調節表，包括我們的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 調節表（如果適用），以及我們網站上季度業績下的 2024 年第三季度電話會議幻燈片。請參閱這些文件以獲取更多詳細資訊。接下來，我會將電話轉給 Align Technology 的總裁兼執行長 Joe Hogan。喬？

Thanks Shirley. Good afternoon and thanks for joining us today on our call today. I'll provide an overview of our third quarter results and discuss a few highlights from our two operating segments, segments, systems and services and Clear Aligners. John will provide more detail on our Q3 financial performance and comment on views for the remainder of the year. Following that, I'll come back and summarize a few key points and open the call to questions.

謝謝雪莉。下午好，感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。我將概述我們第三季的業績，並討論我們兩個營運部門、部門、系統和服務以及透明對準器的一些亮點。約翰將提供有關我們第三季度財務業績的更多詳細信息，並對今年剩餘時間的觀點發表評論。接下來，我將回來總結幾個要點並開始提問。

Overall, Q3 '24 results were mixed and reflect strong system services year-over-year revenue growth as well as good clear aligner volume in Asia Pacific, EMEA, and Latin America regions, partially offset by declines in the United States. As recently reported by many analysts and third-party research firms, the underlying dental market in the United States remains sluggish and our doctor customers cite similar trends. Q3 revenues of $978 million increased 1.8% year over year, and clear aligner volumes of $617,000 were up 2.5% year over year.

整體而言，24 年第3 季的業績好壞參半，反映出系統服務年收入成長強勁，以及亞太地區、歐洲、中東和非洲和拉丁美洲地區良好的透明矯正器銷量，但部分被美國的下降所抵消。正如許多分析師和第三方研究公司最近報告的那樣，美國的基礎牙科市場仍然低迷，我們的醫生客戶也提到了類似的趨勢。第三季營收為 9.78 億美元，年增 1.8%，透明矯正器銷量為 61.7 萬美元，年增 2.5%。

Despite strong growth from systems and services revenues, a record 87,400 doctors submitters, a record of 236,000 teams starting treatment driven by record teen case starts in China and a record 25,000 of DSP Invisalign touch-up cases.

儘管系統和服務收入強勁增長，但仍有創紀錄的87,400 名醫生提交者、創紀錄的236,000 個團隊在中國創紀錄的青少年病例開始推動下開始治療，以及創紀錄的25,000 個DSP Invisalign 隱適美修補病例。

Total revenues for Q3 were slightly below our Q3 revenue outlook in part due to more pronounced seasonality for clear aligners than expected as well as continued weak consumer sentiment and a soft dental market, especially in the United States. Q3 '24 non-GAAP operating margin of 22.1% was better than expected and increased year over year compared to 21.8% in Q3 of '23.

第三季的總營收略低於我們的第三季營收預期，部分原因是透明矯正器的季節性比預期更加明顯，以及消費者信心持續疲軟和牙科市場疲軟，尤其是在美國。 2024 年第 3 季非 GAAP 營運利潤率為 22.1%，優於預期，與 23 年第 3 季的 21.8% 相比，年比有所成長。

For Clear Aligners, Q3 volumes were up year over year and down slightly sequentially. For Clear Aligners, Q3 volumes were up year over year and down slightly sequentially. Year over-year volumes were driven by strong growth in APAC, especially China, as well as growth from the EMEA and Latin American regions.

對於透明牙套來說，第三季銷量較去年同期成長，但較上季略有下降。對於透明牙套來說，第三季銷量較去年同期成長，但較上季略有下降。年比銷量的推動因素包括亞太地區（尤其是中國）的強勁成長，以及歐洲、中東和非洲（EMEA）和拉丁美洲地區的成長。

On a sequential basis, clear aligner volumes were down from Q2, reflecting more pronounced seasonality and soft dental markets in the US, offset somewhat by strength in APAC and Latin American regions. In the teen and growing kids segment, a record 236,000 teens and younger patients started treatment with Invisalign Clear Aligners during the third quarter and an increase of 9.1% sequentially and up 6.7% year over year, reflecting growth across regions, especially from Invisalign First in the APAC and EMEA regions.

環比來看，透明矯正器銷量較第二季度有所下降，反映出美國更明顯的季節性和軟牙科市場，但在一定程度上被亞太地區和拉丁美洲地區的強勁勢頭所抵消。在青少年和成長中的兒童細分市場，第三季有創紀錄的236,000 名青少年和年輕患者開始接受Invisalign 隱適美隱形矯正器治療，環比增長9.1%，同比增長6.7%，反映了各地區的成長，尤其是來自Invisalign First 的成長。

In Q3, the number of doctors submitting teen or younger patient case starts was up over 6% year over year, led by continued strength from doctors treating young kids, also known as growing patients. During the quarter, we continue to commercialize the Invisalign Palatal Expander, aligns first direct 3D printed orthodontic appliance. Q3 reflected steady momentum for doctors, submitters, and shipments in the United States and Canada.

第三季度，提交青少年或更年輕患者病例的醫生數量同比增長超過 6%，這主要得益於治療幼兒（也稱為成長期患者）的醫生的持續強勁。本季度，我們繼續將 Invisalign 隱適美腭擴張器商業化，對齊第一個直接 3D 列印的矯正器。第三季反映了美國和加拿大的醫生、提交者和出貨量的穩定動能。

We recently announced commercial availability in Singapore, and we're excited to extend the availability the transformative Invisalign Palatal Expander system to even more doctors in their patients and markets across the Asia Pacific region. We expect it to be available in other markets spending future applicable regulatory approvals.

我們最近宣佈在新加坡投入商用，我們很高興能夠將變革性的 Invisalign 隱適美腭擴張器系統的可用性擴展到亞太地區患者和市場中的更多醫生。我們預計它將在未來適用的監管部門批准後在其他市場推出。

Non case revenues include our Vivera Retainers, retention aligners ordered through our doctor subscription program, or DSP, clinical training and education, accessories and ecommerce. In Q3, non-case revenues were up year over year, primarily due to continued growth in retainers and the DSP program, including non-Invisalign patients getting retainers.

非病例收入包括我們的 Vivera 維持器、透過我們的醫生訂閱計畫訂購的維持對準器或 DSP、臨床培訓和教育、配件和電子商務。第三季度，非病例收入年增，主要是由於維持器和 DSP 項目的持續成長，包括非 Invisalign 隱適美患者獲得維持器。

DSP includes Invisalign touch-up cases up to 14 stages and is currently available in North America and certain countries in Europe. For Q3, total Invisalign DSP touch-up cases were up nearly 30% year over year to more than 25,000 cases.

DSP 包括多達 14 個階段的 Invisalign 隱適美修補盒，目前在北美和歐洲某些國家/地區銷售。第三季度，Invisalign 隱適美 DSP 修補案總數較去年同期成長近 30%，達到 25,000 多例。

Q3 24 clear aligner volume from DSO customers increased sequentially and year over year, reflecting growth across all regions. The DSO business in the United States continues to outpace our retail doctors driven by our largest DSO partners, Smile Docs, and Heartland Dental. We also had strong growth in iTero Scanner sales from DSOs investing in their member practices and end-to-end digital workflows.

24 年第 3 季度，DSO 客戶的透明矯正器銷售量環比和同比增長，反映了所有地區的成長。在我們最大的 DSO 合作夥伴 Smile Docs 和 Heartland Dental 的推動下，美國的 DSO 業務繼續超過我們的零售醫生。我們也透過 DSO 對其會員實踐和端到端數位工作流程進行投資，實現了 iTero 掃描器銷售的強勁成長。

Q3 was another strong quarter for our systems and services business and year-over-year revenue growth was up 15.6%, reflecting higher scanner ASPs and non-systems revenues driven by iTero Lumina, wand upgrades, increased scanner rentals and certified preowned or CPO leasing programs as well as increased services revenues partially offset by lower scanner volumes.

第三季度是我們系統和服務業務的另一個強勁季度，營收年增15.6%，反映了iTero Lumina、掃描器升級、掃描器租賃增加以及經認證的二手或CPO 租賃推動的掃描器平均售價和非系統收入的增加計劃以及服務收入的增加被掃描器數量的減少部分抵消。

On a sequential basis, Q3 systems and services revenues were down 2.9%, reflecting lower scanner ASPs and non-systems revenues, particularly offset by higher scanner volumes. The iTero Lumina's new multi-direct capture technology replaces the confocal imaging technology in earlier models and has a 3x wider field of capture and a 50% smaller and 45% lighter one, delivering faster scanning speed, higher accuracy, super visualization and a more comfortable scanning experience. Lumina is currently available with orthodontic workflows as new standalone scanner or as wand upgrade from the iTero Element 5D scanner.

以環比計算，第三季系統和服務收入下降了 2.9%，反映出掃描器平均售價和非系統收入下降，尤其是掃描器銷售增加所抵消。 iTero Lumina 的全新多重直接捕捉技術取代了早期型號中的共焦成像技術，捕捉視野擴大了3 倍，尺寸縮小了50%，重量減輕了45%，掃描速度更快、精度更高、可視化效果更佳、配戴更舒適。 Lumina 目前可作為新的獨立掃描器或 iTero Element 5D 掃描器的掃描棒升級版用於矯正工作流程。

Overall for Q3, we continue to be very pleased with the ongoing adoption of iTero Lumina scanner with Ortho workflow and response from customers. We currently expect to begin a limited market release for the restorative software on the iTero Lumina Scanner in Q1 '25, followed by full commercialization by the end of Q1.

總體而言，第三季度，我們對 iTero Lumina 掃描器與 Ortho 工作流程的持續採用以及客戶的回饋感到非常滿意。目前，我們預計將於 25 年第一季開始在 iTero Lumina 掃描器上進行有限的市場發布，然後在第一季末實現全面商業化。

Today, we announced new iTero Scanner products, innovations to further enhance digital dentistry workflows and integrated treatment options in oral health, restored in esthetic treatment and general dentistry. Align oral health care suite with new comparison tools that aid in multimodality assessments in personalized oral health records and reports. It is wide outcome simulator, Pro and multiple treatment simulation to drive chair side patient education about treatment options and iTero design suite with intuitive design capabilities for in-practice 3D printing, now commercially available in selected markets.

今天，我們發布了新的 iTero 掃描儀產品、創新技術，以進一步增強數位牙科工作流程以及口腔健康、美容治療和一般牙科修復的綜合治療方案。將口腔保健套件與新的比較工具結合，幫助在個人化口腔健康記錄和報告中進行多模式評估。它是廣泛的結果模擬器、Pro 和多種治療模擬，可推動椅邊患者有關治療方案的教育，iTero 設計套件具有用於實踐 3D 列印的直覺設計功能，現已在選定的市場上市。

We believe the iTero Intraoral Scanner innovations introduced today enable doctors to present a variety of treatment options to their patients, supporting care side education and communications. That helps deliver a great patient experience and supports patients in making more informed choices about their dental treatment and consultation with our doctors.

我們相信，今天推出的 iTero 口內掃描儀創新使醫生能夠向患者提供多種治療選擇，以支持護理方面的教育和溝通。這有助於提供良好的患者體驗，並支持患者就牙科治療和向我們的醫生諮詢做出更明智的選擇。

We're also pleased to share that Invisalign Japan was recently awarded the Golden Design Award for 2024 for the iTero Lumina Intraoral Scanner making this the second time we received this prestigious award in the past two years. The good design award is globally known and recognized by domestic and international designers and is the only comprehensive evaluation and recommendation system of design in Japan.

我們也很高興告訴大家，Invisalign Japan 的 iTero Lumina 口腔內掃描儀最近榮獲 2024 年金設計獎，這是我們在過去兩年中第二次獲得這項殊榮。 Good Design Awards享譽全球，受到國內外設計師的認可，是日本唯一的設計綜合評估與推薦系統。

The award designation increases the recognition and reliability of awarded works of companies, promotes problem-solving through design and focuses on the significance of design to people and society. Before I turn the call over to John, I want to comment on the employment actions we announced today resulting from a global reorganization and restructuring.

該獎項的設立提高了公司獲獎作品的認可度和可靠性，促進透過設計解決問題，並強調設計對人類和社會的意義。在我把電話轉給約翰之前，我想對我們今天宣布的全球重組和重組所導致的就業行動發表評論。

As part of the Align's 2025 annual operating plan process, we identified positions to be eliminated or transferred to other locations. These are difficult actions, and valuable employees will leave the company. As part of this restructuring, Raj Pudipeddi position as EVP and MD Americas and Chief Marketing Officer, has been eliminated, and we will leave -- and he will leave in the fourth quarter.

作為 Align 2025 年度營運計畫流程的一部分，我們確定了要取消或轉移到其他地點的職位。這些都是困難的行動，有價值的員工將會離開公司。作為重組的一部分，拉吉·普迪佩迪（Raj Pudipeddi）美洲區執行副總裁兼董事總經理以及首席營銷官的職位已被取消，我們將離開，他將在第四季度離開。

We thank Raj for his contributions to Align over the past five-plus years in leading our marketing and product innovation management as well as overseeing the APAC and Americas regions, we wish Raj well. I'm pleased to welcome Frank Quinn back to Align. He's a well-established leader with a customer focus and a proven track record in orthodontics and digital dentistry. Frank's deep experience, understanding and insights into what digital means for our doctor customers is key, and he's excited to be rejoining Align. With that, I'll now turn the call over to John.

我們感謝 Raj 在過去五年多的時間裡為 Align 做出的貢獻，領導我們的行銷和產品創新管理以及監督亞太地區和美洲地區，我們祝福 Raj 一切順利。我很高興歡迎 Frank Quinn 回到 Align。他是一位知名的領導者，以客戶為中心，在矯正和數位牙科領域擁有良好的業績記錄。 Frank 對數位化對我們的醫生客戶意味著什麼有著豐富的經驗、理解和見解，這一點至關重要，他很高興能夠重新加入 Align。這樣，我現在會把電話轉給約翰。

Thanks, Joe. Now for our Q3 financial results. Total revenues for the third quarter were $977.9 million, down 4.9% from the prior quarter and up 1.8% from the corresponding quarter a year ago. On a constant currency basis, Q3 '24 revenues were not significantly impacted by foreign exchange sequentially and were unfavorably impacted by approximately $14.6 million year over year or approximately 1.5%.

謝謝，喬。現在是我們第三季的財務業績。第三季總營收為 9.779 億美元，季減 4.9%，年增 1.8%。以固定匯率計算，24 年第 3 季的營收並未連續受到外匯的重大影響，但年比受到了約 1,460 萬美元的不利影響，約 1.5%。

For Clear Aligners, Q3 '24 revenues of $786.8 million were down 5.4% sequentially, primarily from lower volume, higher discounts product mix shift to lower-priced products and geographic mix, partially offset by lower net revenue deferrals.

對於Clear Aligners，24 年第3 季的營收為7.868 億美元，季減5.4%，主要是因為銷售量減少、折扣較高的產品組合轉向價格較低的產品和地理組合，部分被淨收入遞延減少所抵消。

Q3 clear aligner revenues were not significantly impacted by foreign exchange sequentially. Q3 '24 Clear Aligners per case shipment of $1,275 was lowered by $20 on a sequential basis due to higher discounts product and geographic mix, partially offset by lower net revenue deferrals.

第三季透明矯正器收入並未連續受到外匯的顯著影響。 24 年第 3 季度，由於產品折扣和地理組合較高，每箱透明牙套出貨量為 1,275 美元，環比下降了 20 美元，但淨收入遞延減少部分抵消了這一影響。

On a year-over-year basis, Q3 clear aligner revenues were down 1%, primarily from lower ASPs, reflecting the impact from unfavorable foreign exchange of $11.7 million or approximately 1.5%, a 20% price reduction in the UK to offset a 2024 ruling by the UK tax authorities in Q1 of '24 that requires a 20% VAT be applied to clear aligner sales in the UK, product mix shift to lower-priced products, geographic mix and higher discounts. This decrease was partially offset by lower net deferrals and price increases, along with higher volumes and higher non-case revenues.

與去年同期相比，第三季透明矯正器收入下降了1%，主要是由於平均售價下降，反映出不利外匯的影響，約為1,170 萬美元，即約1.5%，英國降價20%，以抵銷2024 年的價格下降英國稅務機關在2024 年第一季所做的裁決，要求對英國境內的矯正器銷售、產品結構向低價產品的轉變、地域組合和更高的折扣徵收20% 的增值稅。這一下降被淨延期和價格上漲的減少以及銷售和非案例收入的增加部分抵消。

Q3, '24 clear aligner per case shipment of $1,275 was down $45 on a year-over-year basis due to unfavorable foreign exchange of $18, impact of UK VAT of $12, product and geographic mix, higher discounts and partially offset by lower net revenue deferrals and price increases.

第三季度，'24 透明矯正器每箱出貨量為1,275 美元，年減45 美元，原因是18 美元的不利匯率、12 美元的英國增值稅的影響、產品和地理組合、較高的折扣和較低的淨值部分抵消收入遞延和價格上漲。

Our Invisalign Comprehensive Three and Three product is available in North America, EMEA and in certain markets across APAC. We are pleased with the continued adoption of the Invisalign Comprehensive Three and Three product and anticipate adoption will continue.

我們的 Invisalign 綜合三號和三號產品在北美、歐洲、中東和非洲以及亞太地區的某些市場有售。我們對隱適美綜合三號和三號產品的持續採用感到高興，並預計將繼續採用。

Comprehensive Three and Three provides doctors the flexibility they want while allowing us to recognize more revenue upfront, with deferred revenue being recognized over a shorter period compared to our traditional Invisalign Comprehensive product, which in turn allows us to benefit from a more favorable gross margin.

綜合三號和三號為醫生提供了他們想要的靈活性，同時使我們能夠預先確認更多收入，與我們傳統的隱適美綜合產品相比，遞延收入在更短的時間內確認，這反過來又使我們能夠從更有利的毛利率中受益。

Clear aligner deferred revenues on the balance sheet decreased $6.2 million or 0.5% sequentially and decreased $25.8 million or 2% year over year and will be recognized as additional aligners are shipped under each sales contract. Q3 '24 systems and services revenue of $191 million were down 2.9% sequentially primarily due to lower ASP and decreased non-system revenues mostly related to fewer upgrades, partially offset by higher scanner volumes.

資產負債表上的透明矯正器遞延收入比上一季減少 620 萬美元或 0.5%，年減 2,580 萬美元或 2%，並將在每份銷售合約下出貨額外的矯正器時予以確認。 24 年第 3 季系統和服務收入為 1.91 億美元，環比下降 2.9%，這主要是由於平均售價下降以及非系統收入減少（主要與升級減少有關），部分被掃描儀數量增加所抵消。

Q3 '24 systems and services revenue were up 15.6% year-over-year, primarily due to higher ASPs and increased non-system revenues, mostly related to upgrades in our leasing rental programs and higher services revenue, partially offset by lower scanner volumes.

24 年第三季系統和服務收入年增15.6%，主要是由於平均售價上升和非系統收入增加，這主要與我們的租賃計劃升級和服務收入增加有關，但部分被掃描器銷量下降所抵消。

Q3 '24 systems and services revenues impact by foreign exchange was approximately flat sequentially. On a year-over-year basis, systems and services revenues were unfavorably impacted by foreign exchange of approximately $2.9 million or approximately 1.5%.

24 年第三季系統和服務收入受外匯影響的影響與上一季基本持平。與去年同期相比，系統和服務收入受到外匯的不利影響約 290 萬美元，約 1.5%。

The systems and services deferred revenues on the balance sheet was down $1.5 million or 0.7% sequentially and down $40.6 million or 15.4% and year over year, primarily due to the recognition of services revenue, which are recognized ratably over the service period.

資產負債表上的系統和服務遞延收入環比下降 150 萬美元或 0.7%，年減 4,060 萬美元或 15.4%，這主要是由於服務收入的確認，這些收入在服務期間按比例確認。

The decline in deferred revenues, both sequentially and year over year primarily reflects the shorter duration of service contracts applicable to initial scanner purchases. Moving on to gross margin, third quarter overall gross margin was 69.7%, down 0.5 points sequentially and up 0.7 points year over year. Overall gross margin was not significantly impacted by foreign exchange sequentially and was unfavorably impacted by approximately 0.4 points on a year-over-year basis.

遞延收入連續和同比下降主要反映了適用於初始掃描器購買的服務合約期限較短。毛利率方面，第三季整體毛利率為69.7%，季減0.5個百分點，較去年同期上升0.7個百分點。整體毛利率並未連續受到匯率的顯著影響，但較去年同期受到約 0.4 個百分點的不利影響。

clear aligner gross margin for the third quarter was 70.3%, down 0.5 points sequentially, due primarily to lower ASPs and higher mix of additional aligners, partially offset by lower manufacturing spend. Clear aligner gross margin for the third quarter was down 0.5 points year over year due -- primarily due to lower ASPs, partially offset by lower manufacturing spend.

第三季透明矯正器的毛利率為 70.3%，比上一季下降 0.5 個百分點，這主要是由於平均售價下降和附加矯正器組合增加所致，但部分被製造支出的減少所抵消。第三季透明矯正器毛利率年減 0.5 個百分點，主要是由於平均售價下降，但部分被製造支出下降所抵銷。

On a constant currency basis, clear aligner gross margin was unfavorably impacted by foreign exchange by 0.4 points year over year. Systems and services gross margin for the third quarter was 67.5%, down 0.7 points sequentially due primarily to mix, partially offset by lower manufacturing spend and freight costs.

以固定匯率計算，透明矯正器的毛利率受到匯率的不利影響，較去年同期下降了0.4個百分點。第三季系統和服務毛利率為 67.5%，比上一季下降 0.7 個百分點，這主要是由於混合因素造成的，但部分被製造支出和貨運成本的下降所抵消。

Systems and services gross margin for the third quarter was up 6.5 points year over year due primarily to higher ASPs, partially offset by higher service and freight costs. On a constant currency basis, systems and services gross margin was unfavorably impacted by foreign exchange by 0.5 points year-over-year.

第三季系統和服務毛利率年增 6.5 個百分點，主要是由於平均售價較高，但部分被較高的服務和貨運成本所抵銷。以固定匯率計算，系統和服務毛利率受到匯率的不利影響，較去年同期下降了 0.5 個百分點。

Q3 operating expenses were $519.5 million, down 9.7% sequentially and up 4.6% year over year. On a sequential basis, operating expenses were down $56.1 million due primarily to nonrecurring legal settlements, advertising and marketing and employee compensation. Year over year, operating expenses increased by $22.7 million, primarily due to employee compensation.

第三季營運支出為 5.195 億美元，季減 9.7%，年增 4.6%。營運費用較上季下降 5,610 萬美元，主要原因是非經常性法律和解、廣告和行銷以及員工薪資。營運費用年增 2,270 萬美元，主要是因為員工薪酬。

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangibles related to certain acquisitions, restructuring, legal settlements and other charges operating expenses were $472.7 million, down 5.4% sequentially and up 3.1% year over year.

以非公認會計準則計算，不包括股票薪酬，與某些收購、重組、法律和解和其他費用相關的無形資產攤銷營運費用為 4.727 億美元，環比下降 5.4%，年增 3.1%。

Our third quarter operating income of $162.3 million resulted in an operating margin of 16.6%, up 2.3 points sequentially and down 0.7 points year over year. Operating margin was favorably impacted from foreign exchange of approximately 0.1 point sequentially and unfavorably impacted by 0.8 points year over year.

第三季營業收入為 1.623 億美元，營業利潤率為 16.6%，較上季上升 2.3 個百分點，較去年同期下降 0.7 個百分點。營業利潤率連續受到外匯影響約 0.1 個百分點，較去年同期受到 0.8 個百分點的不利影響。

On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes stock-based compensation, amortization of intangibles related to certain acquisitions, restructuring, legal settlements and other charges, operating margin for the third quarter was 22.1%, down 0.2 points sequentially and up 0.3 points year over year.

以非公認會計準則計算，不包括股票薪酬、與某些收購、重組、法律和解相關的無形資產攤銷和其他費用，第三季營業利潤率為22.1%，環比下降0.2 個百分點，較去年同期上升0.3個百分點年。

Interest and other income and expense net for the third quarter was an income of $3.6 million, primarily due to foreign exchange compared to an expense of $3.2 million in Q2 of '24 and an expense of $4.2 million in Q3 of '23. The GAAP effective tax rate in the third quarter was 30.1% compared to 32.9% in the second quarter and 25.1% in the third quarter of the prior year.

第三季的利息和其他收入和支出淨額為 360 萬美元，主要來自外匯，而 2024 年第二季的支出為 320 萬美元，23 年第三季的支出為 420 萬美元。第三季 GAAP 有效稅率為 30.1%，第二季為 32.9%，上年度第三季為 25.1%。

The third quarter GAAP effective tax rate was lower than the second quarter effective tax rate, primarily due to adjustments related to tax return filings, partially offset by a small increase in uncertain tax position reserves. The third quarter GAAP effective tax rate was higher in the third quarter, than the third quarter effective tax rate in the prior year, primarily due to recognizing a onetime benefit related to the application of tax guidance issued during the third quarter of the prior year.

第三季公認會計原則有效稅率低於第二季有效稅率，主要是由於與報稅表備案相關的調整，部分被不確定稅務狀況準備金的小幅增加所抵銷。第三季 GAAP 有效稅率高於上一年第三季有效稅率，主要是由於認識到與應用上一年第三季發布的稅務指導相關的一次性收益。

Our non-GAAP effective tax rate in the third quarter was 20%, which reflects our long-term projected tax rate. The third quarter net income per diluted share was $1.55, up sequentially $0.27 and down $0.03 compared to the prior year. Our EPS was favorably impacted primarily due to foreign exchange by $0.03 on a sequential basis and unfavorably impacted by $0.08 on a year-over-year basis.

我們第三季的非公認會計原則有效稅率為 20%，這反映了我們的長期預期稅率。第三季攤薄後每股淨利潤為 1.55 美元，比上一季成長 0.27 美元，比上年同期下降 0.03 美元。我們的每股盈餘受到外匯影響，季減 0.03 美元，年減 0.08 美元。

On a non-GAAP basis, net income per diluted share was $2.35 for the third quarter, down $0.06 sequentially and up $0.21 year over year. Moving on to the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $1.419 billion, up sequentially $280.5 million and down $197.1 million year-over-year. Of our $1.419 billion balance, $285 million was held in the US and $756.5 million was held by our international entities.

以非公認會計準則計算，第三季攤薄後每股淨利為 2.35 美元，季減 0.06 美元，年增 0.21 美元。轉向資產負債表，截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，現金和現金等價物為 14.19 億美元，比上一季增加 2.805 億美元，年減 1.971 億美元。在我們 14.19 億美元的餘額中，2.85 億美元由美國持有，7.565 億美元由我們的國際實體持有。

We have $500 million available for repurchase of our common stock under our January 2023 repurchase program. Beginning in Q4 2024 and continued into Q1 '25 we expect to repurchase up to $275 million of our common stock through either a combination of open market repurchases, or an accelerated stock repurchase agreement.

根據 2023 年 1 月的回購計劃，我們有 5 億美元可用於回購普通股。從 2024 年第四季開始一直持續到 25 年第一季度，我們預計將透過公開市場回購或加速股票回購協議的組合回購最多 2.75 億美元的普通股。

Q3 accounts receivable balance was $1.106 billion, down sequentially. Our overall day sales outstanding was 93 days up approximately four days sequentially and up approximately eight days as compared to Q3 last year. Cash flow from operations for the third quarter was $263.7 million. Capital expenditures for the third quarter were $29.8 million, primarily related to investments in our manufacturing capacity and facilities. Free cash flow, defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures amounted to $233.9 million.

第三季應收帳款餘額為11.06億美元，季減。我們的總日銷售額為 93 天，比上一季增加了約 4 天，與去年第三季相比增加了約 8 天。第三季營運現金流為 2.637 億美元。第三季的資本支出為 2,980 萬美元，主要與我們的製造能力和設施的投資有關。自由現金流（定義為營運現金流減去資本支出）為 2.339 億美元。

Turning to our 2024 outlook. Assuming no circumstances occur beyond our control, including foreign exchange, we expect the following business outlook for the fourth quarter. We expect Q4 '24 worldwide revenues to be in the range of $995 million to $1.015 billion. We expect Q4 '24 clear aligner volume and ASPs to be slightly up sequentially.

轉向我們的 2024 年展望。假設沒有發生我們無法控制的情況（包括外匯），我們預期第四季的業務前景如下。我們預計 24 年第 4 季全球營收將在 9.95 億美元至 10.15 億美元之間。我們預計 24 年第 4 季透明矯正器銷售量和平均售價將略有上升。

We expect Q4 '24 systems and services revenues to be up sequentially consistent with typical Q4 seasonality. We expect Q4 '24 GAAP operating margin to be slightly lower than 14% primarily due to restructuring charges related to severance for impacted employees. We estimate these restructuring charges will impact Q4 '24 GAAP operating margin by approximately 3 points.

我們預計 24 年第 4 季系統和服務收入將持續成長，與典型的第 4 季季節性相符。我們預計 24 年第 4 季 GAAP 營業利潤率將略低於 14%，這主要是由於與受影響員工的遣散費相關的重組費用。我們估計這些重組費用將影響 24 年第 4 季 GAAP 營業利潤率約 3 個百分點。

We anticipate Q4 '24 non-GAAP operating margin to be slightly up sequentially. For fiscal 2024, we expect investments in capital expenditures to be above $100 million. Capital expenditures primarily relate to building construction and improvements as well as manufacturing capacity in support of continued expansion.

我們預計 24 年第 4 季非 GAAP 營運利潤率將環比小幅上升。 2024 財年，我們預期資本支出投資將超過 1 億美元。資本支出主要涉及建築建設和改進以及支持持續擴張的製造能力。

As we have said many times, we continually evaluate and evolve our business model to provide doctors with the best tools and resources that they need to help them treat their patients while managing our operations responsibly. Today's restructuring action is designed to adjust our business to more closely align with the existing business environment.

正如我們多次所說的，我們不斷評估和發展我們的業務模式，為醫生提供他們所需的最佳工具和資源，幫助他們治療患者，同時負責任地管理我們的營運。現今的重組行動旨在調整我們的業務，使其更緊密地適應現有的商業環境。

We expect the restructuring actions we announced today will give us margin accretion for full year in 2025 even as we scale up our next-generation direct 3D printing fabrication manufacturing. With that, I'll turn it back over to Joe for final comments. Joe?

我們預計今天宣布的重組行動將為我們帶來 2025 年全年的利潤成長，即使我們擴大了下一代直接 3D 列印製造的規模。這樣，我會將其轉回給喬以徵求最終意見。喬？

Thanks, John. In closing for Q3, I was pleased to report another strong systems and services quarter, and I'm excited about our next-generation Lumina Scanner and this continued positive impact on our customers' digital workflow, with Ortho software today and restorative software expected to be released in Q1 of next year.

謝謝，約翰。在第三季度結束時，我很高興地報告又一個強勁的系統和服務季度，我對我們的下一代Lumina 掃描儀及其對客戶數位工作流程的持續積極影響感到興奮，今天的Ortho 軟體和恢復軟體預計將將於明年第一季發布。

Q3 was also strong for our Invisalign clear aligner business in the Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America regions. For those markets are our fastest-growing regions and helped to balance outperformance in other geographies. We understand that operating environment is more challenging, and we are adapting and driving our growth strategy despite continued weak consumer demand trends. especially in the United States in a sluggish dental market.

第三季我們在亞太地區、歐洲、中東和非洲和拉丁美洲地區的 Invisalign 隱形矯正器業務也表現強勁。因為這些市場是我們成長最快的地區，有助於平衡其他地區的優異表現。我們知道經營環境更具挑戰性，儘管消費者需求趨勢持續疲軟，我們仍在調整和推動我們的成長策略。尤其是在牙科市場低迷的美國。

In the face of inflation, high interest rates, less patient traffic and longer conversion cycles, especially for adult patients, orthodontists and dentists are facing challenges in practice growth and profitability that impacts the way many of them approach orthodontic treatment. It is more important than ever that we differentiate our products and services and become the best partner for our customers by creating solutions that drive more patients to their practices, accelerates treatment conversion and improves their experience and bottom line.

面對通貨膨脹、高利率、患者流量減少和轉換週期延長（尤其是對於成年患者），正畸醫生和牙醫在實踐增長和盈利能力方面面臨著挑戰​​，這影響了他們中的許多人進行正畸治療的方式。比以往任何時候都更重要的是，我們要透過創建解決方案來推動更多患者接受治療、加速治療轉換並改善他們的體驗和利潤，從而使我們的產品和服務脫穎而出，成為客戶的最佳合作夥伴。

As the innovation leader in digital dentistry technology, it's our job to ensure we have the organizational structure, focus, and rigor to help doctors realize the full potential of this opportunity by doing more to engage our doctor customers and support their practice growth and to help consumers and potential patients connect with these practices to get to smile that they love.

作為數位牙科技術的創新領導者，我們的工作是確保我們擁有組織結構、重點和嚴謹性，透過採取更多措施吸引我們的醫生客戶並支持他們的實踐發展，並幫助醫生充分發揮這一機會的潛力。

We continue to evaluate and evolve our business to provide doctors with the best tools and resources they deserve. Align is the leader in digital orthodontics, and we are committed to supporting doctor customers and the future of digital innovation. We're committed to supporting doctor customers and the future of the digital innovation and are excited the next wave of growth drivers that we believe will revolutionize the orthodontic industry in scanning software and direct 3D printing.

我們不斷評估和發展我們的業務，為醫生提供他們應得的最佳工具和資源。 Align 是數位矯正領域的領導者，我們致力於支持醫師客戶和數位化創新的未來。我們致力於支持醫生客戶和數位創新的未來，並對下一波成長動力感到興奮，我們相信這將在掃描軟體和直接 3D 列印方面徹底改變矯正產業。

We're in the midst of several key technology developments that are critical for the business. We will take the needed actions to get us through this, while at the same time investing in the key areas that we know will transform our industry and our business. The restructuring actions we announced today focused on ROI investments and activities that drive revenue and enable margin expansion while making room for investments in critical future technologies, including scaling our direct 3D printing operations.

我們正在進行多項對業務至關重要的關鍵技術開發。我們將採取必要的行動來度過這一難關，同時投資於我們知道將改變我們的行業和業務的關鍵領域。我們今天宣布的重組行動專注於 ROI 投資和活動，這些投資和活動可推動收入並實現利潤擴張，同時為未來關鍵技術的投資騰出空間，包括擴大我們的直接 3D 列印業務。

With that, I thank you for your time today. I look forward to updating you on our continued progress over the coming quarters. Now I'll turn the call back over to the operator for questions. Operator?

在此，我感謝您今天抽出時間。我期待向您通報我們在未來幾季的持續進展。現在我將把電話轉回給接線員詢問問題。操作員？

(Operator instructions) Brandon Vasquez, William Blair.

（操作員說明）布蘭登·巴斯克斯、威廉·布萊爾。

Hey, everyone. Thanks for taking the question. I wanted to start on a little bit just the macro backdrop. Last year, the year-over-year comp also had a little bit of weakness in the September period, if I remember, in 2023. So things are a little bit worse now.

嘿，大家。感謝您提出問題。我想從宏觀背景開始。去年，如果我沒記錯的話，2023 年 9 月的同比比較也有一點疲軟。

I'm just curious if you can talk about did things get worse from last year, which was already a little weak. And in case that doesn't make sense. The crux of the question is essentially just talk to us about where macro is going into year-end? Is it stable? I think you guys have used that phrase before. Is it worsening? Just any thoughts you guys are seeing on end markets?

我只是好奇你能否談談去年的情況是否變得更糟，去年已經有點弱了。萬一這沒有意義。問題的關鍵本質上只是跟我們談談年底宏觀經濟將走向何方？穩定嗎？我想你們以前用過這個短語。情況是否正在惡化？你們對終端市場有什麼想法嗎？

Yeah, Brandon, it's Joe. I'd say, first of all, third quarter is always a tough quarter because of the discontinuities we have with Europe shutting down and different countries being on vacation at different times.

是的，布蘭登，是喬。我想說，首先，第三季度始終是一個艱難的季度，因為歐洲停擺和不同國家在不同時間度假帶來的不連續性。

So I wouldn't say that the third quarter this year was worse in some way than the third quarter last year. I'd just say that it was the kind of seasonality in the difficult market. What we try to call out, as you could see, is that United States market seems to be one of the most affected and it's really one of our largest markets, too. And so that's been a challenge in that sense also. John, do you want to add anything?

所以我不會說今年第三季在某種程度上比去年第三季更糟。我只想說，這是困難市場的季節性。正如您所看到的，我們試圖指出的是，美國市場似乎是受影響最嚴重的市場之一，而且它實際上也是我們最大的市場之一。從這個意義上來說，這也是一個挑戰。約翰，你想補充什麼嗎？

That's great.

那太棒了。

Okay. And then as my follow-up, just quickly, as we look towards 2025, right, and if we just assume end markets are stable, right, let's say things remain stable. How should we think about what the top line on this business could do and what the P&L could look like in a year where things are stable, right?

好的。然後，作為我的後續行動，很快，當我們展望 2025 年時，對吧，如果我們假設終端市場穩定，對吧，我們可以說一切都保持穩定。我們應該如何思考在情況穩定的一年中這項業務的營收和損益表會是什麼樣子，對嗎？

You guys are somewhat macro hindered right now. So is it a continuation of what we're seeing in '24? Are there reasons to get a little bit more excited and accelerate the business? Any expectations around that would be helpful.

你們現在在宏觀上受到了一些阻礙。那麼這是我們在 24 年所看到的情況的延續嗎？是否有理由變得更加興奮並加速業務發展？對此的任何期望都會有所幫助。

Yeah, Joe, again. I'd just say we'd like to see some increased consumer confidence, obviously, in the United States and just an economy that feels better to consumers. We feel that this is more of an external issue than it is an internal issue. When you look at a line overall in our growth rates, particularly in the United States. And so any kind of increase in economic activity and increase in consumer confidence, we think would be really positive for our customers and then for Align in turn.

是的，喬，又來了。我只是想說，我們希望看到美國消費者信心明顯增強，並且經濟讓消費者感覺更好。我們認為這更多的是一個外部問題，而不是一個內部問題。當你觀察我們的整體成長率時，尤其是在美國。因此，我們認為任何經濟活動的增加和消費者信心的增強都會對我們的客戶以及 Align 產生真正的正面影響。

Thanks Brandon. Next question, please.

謝謝布蘭登。請下一個問題。

Jon Block, Stifel.

喬恩·布洛克，斯蒂菲爾。

Good afternoon, Joe. Joe, maybe just to start with you, sort of picks up on that last question. Anything to call out with the different results in the US versus international? In other words, I think I've got this right, but cases up 2.5% globally. But as you mentioned, down in the US

下午好，喬。喬，也許只是從你開始，回答最後一個問題。美國與國際的結果有何不同？換句話說，我認為我的說法是對的，但全球病例數增加了 2.5%。但正如你所提到的，在美國

So -- is it just the consumer? Is there anything to focus on from a go-to-market strategy? Do we have to think about incremental competition that might be more acute in the US versus OUS? Just would love your thoughts on that dynamic.

那麼——僅僅是消費者嗎？進入市場策略有什麼需要關注的嗎？我們是否必須考慮美國可能比海外國家更激烈的增量競爭？只是想知道你對這種動態的想法。

Yeah, Jon, it's a good question. I'd say, no, it's mainly external when I look at it. I don't think there's been any dramatic changes from a competitive standpoint in the marketplace. I look at our Ortho channel and our dental channels, they're both challenged in the sense of patient throughput and their ability to close.

是的，喬恩，這是個好問題。我會說，不，當我看它時，它主要是外部的。我認為從市場競爭的角度來看沒有任何巨大的變化。我觀察了我們的 Ortho 通道和牙科通道，它們在患者吞吐量和閉合能力方面都面臨挑戰。

I was just talking to some of our largest DSOs this morning and the comparison is similar. This is -- and these are -- the close rates at our customers are more difficult too. It's customers come in, we know they want treatment, but they're not really confident in the sense of their ability to pay for it or wanting to pay for it right now in the economic situation.

今天早上我剛剛與我們一些最大的 DSO 進行了交談，比較結果是相似的。這——這些——我們客戶的成交率也更加困難。顧客進來了，我們知道他們想要治療，但他們對自己支付治療費用的能力或在目前的經濟形勢下想要支付治療的能力並沒有真正的信心。

So I wouldn't call out anything externally from a competitive standpoint or whatever. This is more what we feel is the external economics and consumer confidence issue in the United States. But we see, Jon, the same thing in Europe. But Europe has been a little better and a little different because all those countries have different situations. But it's more pronounced in the United States because it's so large and so uniform in that sense.

因此，我不會從競爭的角度或其他角度對外部提出任何要求。這更多是我們感受到的美國外部經濟和消費者信心問題。但喬恩，我們在歐洲也看到了同樣的情況。但歐洲好一點，也有一點不同，因為所有這些國家都有不同的情況。但這種情況在美國更為明顯，因為從這個意義上來說，它太大了，也太統一了。

Got it. Okay. Thanks. Got it. Okay. And then second question will be sort of a famous two parter. But John, just to start, I want to be crystal clear. You guys are committing to overall op margin expansion in '25, if that's correct, it will be somewhat muted by the direct 3D printing fabrication initiative. Maybe if you can verify that and then any thoughts on the top line. That would just be first question or call it part A.

知道了。好的。謝謝。知道了。好的。然後第二個問題將是一個著名的雙人問題。但是約翰，首先我想說得非常清楚。你們承諾在 25 年擴大整體營運利潤，如果這是正確的，那麼直接 3D 列印製造計劃將在一定程度上削弱這一影響。也許如果你能驗證這一點，然後再看看上面的任何想法。這只是第一個問題，或稱為 A 部分。

I was going to give the op margin. The op margin, yes, we made the restructuring actions giving us room so that we can get the year-over-year margin accretion while still investing in all the things that we've talked about with Direct Fab and 5-minute ClinCheck and Lumina and so on. So we're going to continue making those investments the restructuring gives us some room to show that margin accretion.

我打算給予營運保證金。營運利潤率，是的，我們進行了重組行動，為我們提供了空間，以便我們能夠獲得同比利潤增長，同時仍然投資於我們與 Direct Fab、5 分鐘 ClinCheck 和 Lumina 討論過的所有內容等等。因此，我們將繼續進行這些投資，重組為我們提供了一些空間來顯示利潤率的成長。

Okay. And again, the other part of that question was any thoughts on the top line if you're committing to the OM expansion, what does that mean from a top line perspective? And the second one, Joe, just -- if I can pivot and if you can talk to some of the initiatives out there. In other words, it seems like cost goes off to a slow start for our checks.

好的。再說一遍，這個問題的另一部分是，如果您致力於 OM 擴展，那麼對頂線有什麼想法，從頂線的角度來看這意味著什麼？第二個，喬，如果我可以調整方向，如果你可以談談那裡的一些倡議。換句話說，我們的支票的成本似乎開始緩慢下降。

Do you need to be in the store and then more recently, we picked up on a new financing initiative? It seems like you're rolling out at sort of guarantees the case approval. Denial has had been a problem. Where are you with that initiative? And when do you expect it to have a more sort of prominent impact on the overall P&L.

您是否需要在商店裡，然後最近我們採取了新的融資計劃？看起來你正在推出某種保證案件批准的服務。否認一直是個問題。你的倡議在哪裡？您預計它什麼時候會對整體損益產生更顯著的影響？

Yes. And Jon, just kind of just frame your question. The first one, like Costco. We've had some success in Costco, but it's nothing that's material for the business right now. But I think you have to look at that as we do internally. It's a brand strategy. We have the number one brand in the world. We're looking at different areas of how we can leverage that brand to try to encourage consumers more in this sense of entertaining Invisalign treatment.

是的。喬恩，只是提出你的問題。第一個，比如Costco。我們在 Costco 取得了一些成功，但這對目前的業務來說還沒有什麼實質的意義。但我認為你必須像我們內部那樣看待這一點。這是一個品牌策略。我們擁有世界第一品牌。我們正在研究如何利用品牌的不同領域來鼓勵消費者更多地享受 Invisalign 隱適美療程帶來的娛樂性。

As far as financing, we know that customers right now are challenged in the sense that they do want a treatment from an orthodontic standpoint, but they're really challenged from a financial standpoint. And John and the team are doing all they can -- and also our DSO, big DSO partners are doing what we can to offer the type of financing that would give consumers more confidence to move forward.

就融資而言，我們知道客戶現在面臨挑戰，因為他們確實想要從矯正的角度進行治療，但從財務的角度來看，他們確實面臨挑戰。約翰和他的團隊正在竭盡全力，我們的 DSO、大型 DSO 合作夥伴也在竭盡全力提供融資類型，讓消費者更有信心繼續前進。

And on overall revenue, Jon, we'll give more of an update as we get closer into 2025. But as we've said and as we've made the adjustments, we're committed to driving growth, investing where we can find that growth, balancing our investments on some of the new technologies that we have that we know will transform this business. So that's all at stake now and things that we're mindful of, but we'll give more of an update on 2025 as we close.

關於整體收入，喬恩，隨著 2025 年的臨近，我們將提供更多更新。這種成長，平衡我們對一些新技術的投資，我們知道這些新技術將改變這項業務。因此，現在這一切都處於危險之中，也是我們需要注意的事情，但我們將在 2025 年結束時提供更多更新。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Elizabeth Anderson, Evercore ISI.

伊麗莎白·安德森，Evercore ISI。

Hi guys. Hi. I'm also going to try my hand at a two parter as well. Since that's the [same]. One, I mean, as you talk about the restructuring, as or Frank coming back to the organization, I think you hinted at it a little bit. I know it's a little bit early. So your sort of high-level quality of thoughts would be fine on this too like.

嗨，大家好。你好。我也打算嘗試兩人合作。因為那是[相同]。一，我的意思是，當你談論重組時，或者弗蘭克回到組織時，我認為你暗示了一點。我知道現在有點早了。所以你高水平的思想品質在這方面也很好。

What do you mean when you're -- what are you sort of -- what is he going to sort of drive or what do you -- is there sort of like an inflection that you're thinking about how he operates the business differently? And sort of as a corollary to that, I think you talked about getting closer to the consumer. If you could talk maybe about that portion of it?

你是什​​麼意思，當你——你是什麼樣的——他會採取什麼樣的驅動力，或者你會做什麼——你正在考慮他如何以不同的方式經營業務，這是什麼意思？作為這一點的必然結果，我認為您談到如何更加貼近消費者。您能談談那部分嗎？

And then secondarily, it was nice to hear the positive commentary about China. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about that market and sort of how you're thinking about consumer outlook for that market as well. Thank you.

其次，很高興聽到有關中國的正面評論。因此，我很想了解更多有關該市場的信息，以及您如何看待該市場的消費者前景。謝謝。

Elizabeth, it's Joe. On Frank coming back, Frank was -- had been in the business from 2013. I think he left us in 2022 for another type of venture. Look, this business is about -- it's about three things. One is relationships. This is not a transactional business. This is one where you want to have good relationships and good trust with doctors and Frank really brings that from a leadership standpoint.

伊莉莎白，是喬。弗蘭克回來後，弗蘭克從 2013 年就開始從事這個行業。聽著，這個生意是關於——它是關於三件事。一是關係。這不是交易業務。這是一個你希望與醫生建立良好關係和良好信任的地方，弗蘭克確實從領導的角度帶來了這一點。

Secondly, as you would need a good understanding of the technology and the types of programs that can help to drive growth. Frank is really an expert in that area. He's shown that over the years. When you look at our DSO program today, it's been really effective. Frank has happened to put that together back when I first arrived, back in 2015, 2016 and really made that happen.

其次，因為您需要充分了解有助於推動成長的技術和計劃類型。弗蘭克確實是該領域的專家。多年來他已經證明了這一點。當您今天看到我們的 DSO 計劃時，您會發現它非常有效。早在 2015 年、2016 年我剛來的時候，弗蘭克就碰巧把這些整合在一起，並真正實現了這個目標。

Thirdly is you need someone with scope in the sense it understands the industry, understands the competition, knows what really makes doctors make decisions in orthodontists and how they make decisions versus the general practitioners. Frank has all that. And he's a trusted commodity within the business. So we're excited to have them back.

第三，你需要一個有視野的人，因為他了解這個行業，了解競爭，知道是什麼真正讓醫生在正畸醫生中做出決定，以及他們如何相對於全科醫生做出決定。弗蘭克擁有這一切。他是業界值得信賴的商品。所以我們很高興他們回來了。

And then the last part of your question, Elizabeth on China. We're pleased with China results. Sold to more doctors, pleased with the utilization. It's a great team season for us in China. We saw good adoption of various products, including Invisalign First and others where we saw good utilization there. So China, for us, from a team standpoint, especially played out really well for us.

然後是你問題的最後一部分，伊莉莎白關於中國的問題。我們對中國的結果感到滿意。賣給更多的醫生，對使用很滿意。對於我們在中國的球隊來說，這是一個偉大的賽季。我們看到了各種產品的良好採用，包括 Invisalign First 和其他我們看到良好利用率的產品。因此，對我們來說，從團隊的角度來看，中國隊的表現尤其出色。

All right. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

Jason Bednar, Piper Sandler.

傑森·貝德納，派珀·桑德勒。

Good afternoon. I'm going to come back and follow up on one of John's questions. I know a lot of us have been trying to estimate the margin upside or the margin impact from 3D printing over time, just given the cost benefits you can realize from the initiative.

午安.我將回來跟進約翰的一個問題。我知道我們很多人一直在嘗試估計 3D 列印隨著時間的推移帶來的利潤成長或利潤影響，只是考慮到您可以從該計劃中實現的成本效益。

But the comment today here with the restructuring offsetting some of the -- maybe some of the investments you're making, it would seem like that this initiative may be dilutive to gross margins in '25. So maybe just help us bridge the thinking that you're making in these comments today reconcile some of those comments and if you can, quantify kind of the puts and takes.

但今天的評論是，重組抵消了一些——也許是你正在進行的一些投資，看來這一舉措可能會稀釋 25 年的毛利率。因此，也許只是幫助我們彌合您今天在這些評論中提出的想法，協調其中一些評論，如果可以的話，量化看跌和看跌的類型。

Yes. I'll take my best at this. So overall, we were talking of margin. We think that the restructuring that we're making is going to be up margin accretive on a year-over-year basis despite all the investments. You're right from a gross margin standpoint.

是的。我會盡力做到這一點。總的來說，我們談論的是保證金。我們認為，儘管進行了所有投資，但我們正在進行的重組將比去年同期增加利潤。從毛利率的角度來看，你是對的。

As we scale things, the direct fab printing, while it gives us a lot of capability and a lot of benefits for our doctors, there is a higher cost initially until we start to scale that. But we're committed to that op margin accretion on a year-over-year basis for next year despite that.

當我們擴大規模時，直接晶圓廠列印雖然為我們提供了很多能力並為我們的醫生帶來了很多好處，但在我們開始擴大規模之前，最初的成本會更高。但儘管如此，我們仍致力於明年的營運利潤率較去年同期成長。

And then as we have new products that come and we know the doctors are going to love what we're bringing to market, that will scale up. And as that scales up, then that really drives the overall productivity that we will see on the gross margin side, primarily from the materials and the less material that we need to go into the product.

然後，隨著我們推出新產品，並且我們知道醫生會喜歡我們推向市場的產品，我們的產品規模就會擴大。隨著規模的擴大，這確實會推動我們在毛利率方面看到的整體生產力，主要來自材料以及我們需要用於產品的更少材料。

All right. Understood. I guess maybe one follow-up to there and then another separate follow-up. But just any timeline on when we might see the gross margin benefits or expansion off of historical norms once that 3D printing does scale?

好的。明白了。我想也許是對那裡的一個後續行動，然後是另一個單獨的後續行動。但是，一旦 3D 列印規模化，我們什麼時候才能看到毛利率收益或超出歷史標準的擴張？

And then just with the teen season, maybe now mostly complete. I guess what's your assessment of that part of the market, Joe, inside the US, outside the US. The data we see has been a bit more mixed between kind of the clear aligner and bracket and wire part of the markets in the past several months. Your business has grown decently in the past 1.5 years.

然後就到了青少年賽季，也許現在已經基本完成了。喬，我想您對美國境內和境外這部分市場的評估如何。在過去的幾個月裡，我們看到的市場數據在透明矯正器、支架和鋼絲部分之間更加複雜。在過去的 1.5 年裡，您的業務發展良好。

So just -- do you have better visibility in this part of the market? I'm just trying to understand this again in the context of the broader comments you're making on the US a little bit softer?

那麼，您在這部分市場有更好的知名度嗎？我只是想在您對美國發表的更廣泛的評論中再次理解這一點？

So Jason, this is John. I'll take the first part of your question on gross margin. Look, we've talked about it being like a two- to three-year journey to be able to help scale this up. I can say this. We're very pleased with the progress that we're making around resin and being able to scale that and get it at the right cost. So that's good progress there.

傑森，這是約翰。我將回答你關於毛利率問題的第一部分。看，我們已經討論過，這就像一個兩到三年的旅程，能夠幫助擴大規模。我可以這麼說。我們對樹脂方面的進展感到非常滿意，並且能夠擴大規模並以適當的成本獲得它。所以這是一個很好的進展。

As well as on the equipment side, we're making good progress around being able to scale up the actual manufacturing of this. But in terms of when you scale this and get it to a larger extent, it's really two to three years. But you will see some new products that we have on the direct fab showing up next year and in doctors' hands to give them those capabilities.

除了設備方面，我們在擴大實際製造規模方面也取得了良好進展。但當你擴大規模並達到更大程度時，實際上需要兩到三年的時間。但你會看到我們明年在直接晶圓廠上擁有的一些新產品將出現在醫生手中，從而賦予他們這些能力。

Just on the teen market. I mean, when you look at the international teen market, obviously, we had really good success in Asia in the quarter. We have really a terrific portfolio when you think about our Invisalign First product now have Invisalign Palatal Expander. With that also is what we call mandibular advancement with occlusal blocks, which are used for Class II, is usually for patients between 10 and 11 years old.

就在青少年市場。我的意思是，當你看看國際青少年市場時，顯然，我們本季在亞洲取得了非常好的成功。當您想到我們的 Invisalign First 產品現在擁有 Invisalign 腭擴張器時，我們確實擁有出色的產品組合。這也是我們所說的咬合塊下顎前移，用於 II 類，通常適用於 10 至 11 歲的患者。

So when you look at those pre-teenage, we have a really good portfolio to line up in that sense. So I think you're seeing that come through with our sales overall. When you reflect back on the United States, obviously, our orthodontic customers are really challenged and 80% on an average, 75% of what they do are teens. And some of the close rates on teens, just talking to some of the DSOs and different doctors that we have on the orthodontic side, the close rates are even tougher on the teen segment than what it's been in the past, too.

因此，當你觀察那些青春期前的孩子時，我們有一個非常好的投資組合可以在這個意義上排列。所以我認為您已經看到了我們整體銷售的情況。回想美國，很明顯，我們的矯正客戶確實面臨挑戰，平均 80%、75% 的客戶都是青少年。青少年的一些接近率，只要與我們在正畸方面的一些 DSO 和不同醫生交談，青少年群體的接近率甚至比過去更嚴格。

And so times like this where they're press for traffic and they're press for margin, they will reflect back to wires and brackets to support the profitability of their practice. We know that. We understand it. It's our job to communicate to consumers and to orthodontists what their benefits are, particularly this early treatment and what we can do.

因此，在這樣的時期，當他們面臨流量壓力和利潤壓力時，他們會反思電線和支架以支持其業務的獲利能力。我們知道這一點。我們明白。我們的工作是向消費者和正牙醫生傳達他們的好處，特別是這種早期治療以及我們可以做些什麼。

And so this is a doctor-to-doctor situation. But again, it's an external environment where consumers are concerned with their pocketbooks right now, and they're reluctant to make decisions and close at times. And obviously, the orthodontists are responding from an individual practice standpoint accordingly.

所以這是一個醫生對醫生的情況。但同樣，這是一個外部環境，消費者現在關心他們的錢包，他們有時不願意做出決定並關閉。顯然，正畸醫師是從個人實踐的角度做出相應的回應。

All right. Very helpful. Thank you.

好的。非常有幫助。謝謝。

David Saxon, Needham & Company.

大衛‧撒克遜，李約瑟公司。

Great. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. I'd like to start on iTero actually. I'd love to get some color around how we should think about iTero growth with the ongoing Lumina rollout, particularly literally with the restorative workflow coming out early next year, but then in the context of interest rates remaining high and then lapping comps from the initial ortho launch.

偉大的。午安.感謝您回答我的問題。實際上我想從 iTero 開始。我很想了解一下，隨著 Lumina 的不斷推出，我們應該如何看待 iTero 的成長，特別是明年初推出的恢復性工作流程，但隨後在利率居高不下的背景下，然後從初始正交發射。

Yeah, David, I think you have to start with, and I think I get to just to your question, there's a lot of pressure on capital equipment sales in the marketplace, given of what we're talking about with customers being challenged in that way.

是的，大衛，我認為你必須先回答你的問題，考慮到我們正在談論的客戶在這方面面臨的挑戰，市場上的資本設備銷售面臨很大的壓力。

I think what you have to do with the Lumina and think about it, it's truly a brand-new platform. It's not an iteration of old technology like the next phase of our older technology. It's something that's really new and its captured doctors' attention.

我認為你必須對 Lumina 做什麼並思考一下，它確實是一個全新的平台。它不像我們舊技術的下一個階段是舊技術的迭代。這是一種非常新穎的東西，引起了醫生的注意。

And I think it's -- the size of our sales and how well we've done, particularly in the traditional third quarter, that's a little bit slower, I think it surprised a lot of people. So I think this is a testimony to the technology that we've brought forward and the uniqueness of that technology why we to be able to have those kinds of sales at this point in time.

我認為，我們的銷售規模以及我們的表現，特別是在傳統的第三季度，速度有點慢，我認為這讓很多人感到驚訝。因此，我認為這證明了我們所提出的技術以及該技術的獨特性，為什麼我們能夠在此時進行此類銷售。

We're excited about the restorative coming on in the first quarter. The team is making good progress on that. So overall, it's just a great foundation to grow from them. What's wonderful about that platform, too, is we'll iterate from that platform going forward in different areas that will really help us to diversify the product line and target certain applications in the future.

我們對第一季的恢復感到興奮。該團隊正在這方面取得良好進展。總的來說，這為他們的成長奠定了良好的基礎。該平台的美妙之處還在於，我們將從該平台在不同領域進行迭代，這將真正幫助我們實現產品線多樣化並在未來瞄準某些應用程式。

And two things that really have helped iTero and kind of go through this, especially with the new product and so on. It's really given us a lot of opportunity on other products that we sell within the iTero kind of family. So all the way from CPOs that we have certified preowned all the way to the 5G. We actually sold a lot of 5 Ds this past quarter. So that really helps us.

有兩件事真正幫助了 iTero 並且經歷了這一切，特別是新產品等。這確實為我們在 iTero 系列中銷售的其他產品提供了許多機會。因此，從我們已認證的二手 CPO 一直到 5G。上個季度我們實際上售出了很多 5 D。所以這確實對我們有幫助。

And then the added part in a tougher economy, we're giving a lot more flexibility to doctors to kind of sell the way that they want to buy. Some don't want to purchase outright because of the economic conditions and so on.

然後，在經濟狀況更加嚴峻的情況下，我們為醫生提供了更大的靈活性，讓他們可以按照他們想要的購買方式進行銷售。有些人因為經濟條件等原因不想直接購買。

So we see a lot more leasing or in other places, we see more rental. And for us, that's a great trade. It will get that recurring revenue off of those different selling options, but then it's great when a doctor uses iTero because we know they'll use more Invisalign.

因此，我們看到更多的租賃，或在其他地方，我們看到更多的租賃。對我們來說，這是一筆很棒的交易。它將從這些不同的銷售選項中獲得經常性收入，但是當醫生使用 iTero 時就很好了，因為我們知道他們會使用更多的 Invisalign 隱適美。

Great. And then on the US side, on the clear aligners, can you give more color on kind of where that weakness is actually coming from? Is it the ortho channel? Or is it GPs? And then anywhere specifically from a portfolio perspective? Thanks so much.

偉大的。然後在美國方面，在透明矯正器方面，您能否提供更多資訊來說明這種弱點實際上來自何處？是正交通道嗎？還是全科醫生？那麼具體從投資組合的角度來看呢？非常感謝。

Yes. I mean it's almost equal in both. We see pressure on the ortho side. I mean if you look at any kind of industrial data right now as far as patients entering the dental industry right now, the GP space, it's challenged overall. So we see pressure on both of those areas. For the same reasons we talked about before.

是的。我的意思是兩者幾乎相等。我們看到鄰側有壓力。我的意思是，如果你看一下現在任何類型的工業數據，就目前進入牙科行業、全科醫生領域的患者而言，它總體上面臨著挑戰​​。因此，我們看到這兩個領域都面臨壓力。出於與我們之前討論過的相同原因。

Yeah, thanks David. Next question, please.

是的，謝謝大衛。請下一個問題。

Jeff Johnson, Baird.

傑夫·約翰遜，貝爾德。

Let me ask one high-level question and then maybe just a modeling question for John. But from a high level, your R&D was down 4% year-over-year this quarter. You're making the headcount reductions. CapEx at $100 million is well below even the last couple of years, closer to [$250 million] those years.

讓我問一個高階問題，然後可能只是約翰的一個建模問題。但從高水準來看，本季你們的研發年減了 4%。你正在裁員。 1 億美元的資本支出遠低於過去幾年的水平，接近那些年的[2.5 億美元]。

You are talking about increasing the buyback, margin improvement next year. All of these comments kind of just point to a more mature company, and that's not a that's not a critique at all. I think that's where we all know you are and see where you are.

你正在談論明年增加回購、提高利潤率。所有這些評論都只是指向一家更成熟的公司，這根本不是批評。我想我們都知道你在哪裡，也知道你在哪裡。

So I guess my question is, how does this change your management style, your management objectives over the next few years? Obviously, you came into this business really pushing the top line but is there an evolution that's having to go on with how you lead this company and led this organization as well?

所以我想我的問題是，這將如何改變您的管理風格以及未來幾年的管理目標？顯然，您進入這個行業確實推動了營收成長，但是您領導這家公司和這個組織的方式是否必須繼續發展？

Jeff, I think it's a really good question. I'd say we're responding to the times here. Don't make it a reflection on what the opportunity of the company is at all. We're so underpenetrated, not just in the United States or North America or whatever, but all over the world. And there's hundreds of millions of people that need to have their team straight and the only way you could ever do that in a broad sense is with digital orthodontics.

傑夫，我認為這是一個非常好的問題。我想說我們正在回應這裡的時代。根本不要讓它反映公司的機會是什麼。我們的滲透率非常低，不僅在美國或北美或其他地方，而且在全世界都是如此。有數億人需要整頓他們的團隊，從廣義上講，唯一能做到這一點的方法就是數位化矯正。

So don't miss that point, Jeff. We are going through a spell right now and what you see with the R&D down and CapEx and different things like that, CapEx is we're not putting on any more manufacturing right now. We have enough manufacturing, and we're still bringing up our Poland plant, right?

所以不要錯過這一點，傑夫。我們現在正在經歷一段時期，你會看到研發下降和資本支出以及類似的事情，資本支出是我們現在不再進行任何製造。我們有足夠的製造能力，而且我們仍在建造波蘭工廠，對吧？

We're being responsible from a business leadership standpoint, for our shareholders in this specific situation, but at the same time, Jeff, we are putting a lot of money into 3D printing, 5-minute ClinCheck, next phases of Lumina, all these things will really enter into just another growth cycle when this market starts to come back with brand new tech. This is the technology of the future, if you really want to play in digital orthodontics. So what we're doing is funding that being responsible to our shareholders but not losing our enthusiasm on what we think are opportunities in the future.

從業務領導的角度來看，在這種特定情況下，我們對股東負責，但與此同時，傑夫，我們在 3D 列印、5 分鐘 ClinCheck、Lumina 的下一階段，所有這些方面投入了大量資金當這個市場開始帶著全新的技術回歸時，事情將真正進入另一個成長週期。如果您真的想嘗試數位化正畸，這就是未來的技術。因此，我們所做的就是為我們的股東負責提供資金，但不會失去對我們認為未來機會的熱情。

Yes. No, that's all fair. You are holding the sell-side event or at least an investor event a week from Saturday. Would that be a time to evaluate, though that LRP, that 20% to 30% intermediate longer-term top line growth expectation?

是的。不，這都是公平的。從週六開始，您將每週舉辦一次賣方活動或至少一場投資者活動。那是否是評估 LRP 20% 至 30% 中期長期營收成長預期的時候？

You know, I think until we get a better read on what the economy is going to do, Jeff, I think that 20% to 30% represents how we feel that market could grow in the future. Well, we have to have the right economic conditions, particularly in the biggest markets in the world, like the United States that we participate in.

你知道，我認為在我們更了解經濟走勢之前，傑夫，我認為 20% 到 30% 代表了我們對市場未來成長的看法。嗯，我們必須擁有合適的經濟條件，特別是在世界上最大的市場，例如我們參與的美國。

Okay. And John, one modeling question. Just when I listen to the ASPs, I think the quick math on that is sounds like between the VAT issue that should anniversary at the start of next year. Just remind me if I've got the timing on that, correct. But should anniversary started next year.

好的。約翰，一個建模問題。就在我聽到 ASP 時，我認為快速計算一下，這聽起來像是明年年初應該週年紀念的增值稅問題。請提醒我是否有時間，正確的。但周年紀念日應該從明年開始。

Currency headwinds should be -- we'll see what the US dollar does post-election year, but should be reasonably moderating from here. So I think ex currency and ex VAT, you had about 1.1% down ASP year over year. One is that math, correct? And two, is that about what we should be thinking about as we head kind of into '25 on VAT and hopefully, FX normalizes a bit?

貨幣逆風應該是－我們將看到美元在大選後的走勢，但從現在開始應該會合理緩和。因此，我認為，扣除貨幣和增值稅後，平均售價比去年同期下降了約 1.1%。一是數學，對嗎？第二，當我們進入 25 世紀增值稅並希望外匯能夠稍微正常化時，這是我們應該考慮的問題嗎？

You're right about Jeff, the FX, hopefully normalize. It's hard to predict. VAT does anniversary at the beginning of next year. And what we've said in the past that ASPs would be flat to slightly down. So your percentage you're talking about is in that range.

你對外匯傑夫的看法是對的，希望能夠正常化。很難預測。明年年初，增值稅將迎來週年紀念。我們過去曾說過，平均售價將持平或略有下降。所以你所說的百分比就在這個範圍內。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Kevin Caliendo, UBS.

凱文‧卡里恩多，瑞銀集團。

Hi, Kevin.

嗨，凱文。

Thanks. This is maybe a little bit off, but just wondering if you guys have ever done this analysis in terms of thinking about the Venn diagram between people purchasing GLP-1s and people going and getting Invisalign treatment because the cost for adults anyway, might be close.

謝謝。這可能有點不對勁，但只是想知道你們是否曾經做過這種分析，考慮過購買GLP-1 的人和接受Invisalign 隱適美治療的人之間的維恩圖，因為無論如何，成人的費用可能很接近。

And I'm just wondering if there's any -- if you guys have seen any correlation to maybe that's part of the weakness in the adult market, has the shortages have an GLP-1s have come down or people may be investing $5,000 that way as opposed to into Clear Aligners. Have you guys done that analysis or seen anything?

我只是想知道是否有任何相關性——如果你們看到這可能是成人市場疲軟的一部分，GLP-1 的短缺是否已經下降，或者人們可能會以這種方式投資 5,000 美元，反對使用透明牙套。你們有做過分析或看過什麼嗎？

I can't say that we've been we've overly quantified it, Kevin, we hear that a lot. There's a lot of medical device companies that kind of talk about that, that might be corollaries in the sense of what you're seeing with the GLP marketplace overall.

我不能說我們已經過度量化了，凱文，我們常常聽到這樣的說法。有很多醫療器材公司都在談論這一點，這可能是您在整個 GLP 市場中所看到的情況的推論。

I can't say that it's not a factor because it's obviously a high expense and something that's kind of on an annual basis in line with what it would cost to do in Invisalign treatment. But I haven't wanted to lean into that as one of the drivers here. I think it's just overwhelmed by an economy right now where consumers don't have a lot of money in their pocket or confidence about what it's going to be in the future.

我不能說這不是一個因素，因為這顯然是一筆很高的費用，而且每年的費用與 Invisalign 隱適美療程的費用是一致的。但作為這裡的司機之一，我不想陷入這個問題。我認為，現在的經濟已經讓消費者不堪重負，消費者口袋裡沒有很多錢，對未來也沒有信心。

And GLP might play a role, and it might not. I think also you can look around the world also in some of the markets, like Continental Europe that's not necessarily as affected by it as maybe United States is. And I can't see I've seen that piece too. So there's an old saying that correlation doesn't mean causation, right? And so I would stay with that right now.

GLP 可能會發揮作用，也可能不會。我認為你也可以看看世界各地的一些市場，例如歐洲大陸，它不一定像美國那樣受到影響。我看不出我也看過那篇文章。所以有句老話說，相關性不代表因果性，對嗎？所以我現在會堅持下去。

Fair enough. That's helpful. And just -- I know you don't want to talk about '25, but let's just think about the fourth quarter and sort of what you're implying for your guide in exiting the year at sort of a midpoint of like 5%.

很公平。這很有幫助。我知道你不想談論 25 年，但讓我們想想第四季度，以及你對今年結束時 5% 左右的中點的指導的暗示。

Should we just sort of take that as a starting point adjust for whatever we think the economy might do, that might impact the adult side of the marketplace more and then think about Lumina as an add-on to that. I mean, is that sort of how you're thinking about the business.

如果我們以此為起點，根據我們認為的經濟可能發生的變化進行調整，這可能會對市場的成人市場產生更多影響，然後將 Lumina 視為其附加產品。我的意思是，這就是你對業務的看法。

Yes. I think we'll obviously give more as we get closer to this in -- but I think, look, you come out of the year that probably a good starting point to be able to build off of that and say, look, what do you think is going to happen to the economy? We're going to know more maybe about interest rates and election and other things will kind of come about, and we'll have a better view of that.

是的。我認為，隨著我們越來越接近這個目標，我們顯然會付出更多——但我認為，你看，今年可能是一個很好的起點，能夠在此基礎上繼續努力，然後說，看，做什麼你認為經濟會發生什麼事？我們可能會更了解利率和選舉，以及其他一些事情將會發生，我們對此會有更好的看法。

But I think it's a good starting point as you think about next year, you're going to add in some of the things that we've talked about with Lumina restorative and other things and then build off of that. But we'll give more details as we get closer, obviously.

但我認為這是一個很好的起點，當你考慮明年時，你將添加我們在 Lumina 恢復劑和其他方面討論過的一些內容，然後在此基礎上進行構建。但顯然，隨著時間的推移，我們會提供更多細節。

Appreciate it guys. Thank you.

很欣賞你們。謝謝。

Michael Cherny, Leerink Partners.

邁克爾·切爾尼，Leerink Partners。

Hi, good afternoon. Maybe just one following up on a question earlier on some of the 3D printing work in the fab related products that you're going to be pushing out. As you think about the potential for introduction to those products, how are you thinking -- given that this is a bit of obviously different manufacturing approach that you've taken before about what the rollout will look like?

嗨，下午好。也許只是對您即將推出的晶圓廠相關產品中的一些 3D 列印工作的早期問題進行跟進。當您考慮推出這些產品的潛力時，您是如何思考的——考慮到這與您之前針對推出產品所採取的製造方法有一點明顯不同？

Will it look any different in terms of the types of beta customers that you're going to be pursuing? How should we think about tracking tracks that the right word, but making sure that you're hitting on the right customer experience, the right overlap, the right introduction process as you get what obviously could be a very scalable set of products, set of new opportunities out to market?

就您要追求的測試版客戶類型而言，它看起來會有什麼不同嗎？我們應該如何考慮追蹤正確的字詞，但要確保您獲得正確的客戶體驗、正確的重疊、正確的介紹流程，因為您得到的顯然是一組非常可擴展的產品、一組產品市場新機會？

Michael, it's Joe. Just taking your question is, as you think about it, when you think of what we do today, when you back in form, obviously, you lose a huge amount of opportunity to differentiate the geometry of that particular product and how it can help a doctor. The one sector of our business that would -- I think will appreciate this, the most will be the orthodontic community that do a lot of class Is, difficult cases, young teams, and we'll be able to produce products that are more and more tailored to consumers in that specific condition than what we could do today.

邁克爾，是喬。只是回答你的問題，當你思考它時，當你想到我們今天所做的事情時，當你回到狀態時，顯然，你失去了大量的機會來區分該特定產品的幾何形狀以及它如何幫助醫生。我們業務的一個部門--我認為會欣賞這一點，最重要的是正畸社區，他們會做很多課程，困難的病例，年輕的團隊，我們將能夠生產更多和更多的產品比我們今天能做的更適合特定條件下的消費者。

And so we would offer the product that way. And we think it would be very appealing to them. Secondly, from a general dentistry standpoint, it's a big part of our marketplace too. There's a lot that we can do to help them with this product line also.

所以我們會以這種方式提供產品。我們認為這對他們來說非常有吸引力。其次，從一般牙科的角度來看，它也是我們市場的重要組成部分。我們還可以做很多事情來幫助他們開發這個產品線。

So I hope I'm answering your question, but the design freedom that we have here in the end and we have to prove it, when you can use relatively different thicknesses, you can do different configurations for different kinds of clinical issues that a patient might have, we expect to have more predictability in the sense of how fast you can move those teeth and more certainly and how long those cases will take.

所以我希望我能回答你的問題，但是我們最終擁有的設計自由度，我們必須證明這一點，當你可以使用相對不同的厚度時，你可以針對患者的不同類型的臨床問題進行不同的配置可能有，我們希望能夠更好地預測你移動這些牙齒的速度，以及更確定的情況以及這些病例需要多長時間。

And I think doctors are going to appreciate that. But I think as we're certain of that, patients will appreciate that, too, and we certainly would communicate that to patients.

我認為醫生會感激這一點。但我認為，既然我們確信這一點，患者也會欣賞這一點，我們當然會向患者傳達這一點。

No, that certainly does -- and then maybe just one quick question. I promise it's not an attempt to go at '25 guidance specifically. But obviously, the -- you mentioned numerous times in the UK at that's impacting ASPs internationally, this year. Is there any outliers or onetime dynamics that we should be thinking about or contemplating relative to next year something that like the UK at or anything else that could factor into the modeling that's not normal?

不，確實如此——也許只是一個簡短的問題。我保證這不是專門針對 '25 指導的嘗試。但顯然，您在英國多次提到今年對國際平均售價的影響。是否有任何異常值或一次性動態值得我們考慮或考慮明年的情況，例如英國或其他任何可能影響建模的不正常因素？

Michael. This is John. Nothing that we would say is not normal. I mean the nice thing about the anniversary of the UK bad is it does anniversary. Obviously, we're doing things to try to work with the government there to explain and ideally not half of that on our products because it affects what goes to doctors and how much they pay and then passing it on to potential patients. But there's nothing like that, that we would see on the horizon as that type of impact.

麥可.這是約翰。我們所說的一切都不是正常的。我的意思是英國週年紀念日的好處是它確實週年紀念日。顯然，我們正在努力與當地政府合作解釋，最好不是我們產品的一半，因為這會影響醫生的收入以及他們支付的費用，然後將其轉嫁給潛在的患者。但我們不會在地平線上看到這樣的影響。

Thanks Michael. Next question please.

謝謝邁克爾。請下一個問題。

Erin Wright, Morgan Stanley.

艾琳·賴特，摩根士丹利。

Great. Thanks. Can you speak a little bit more on just the nature of the restructuring outside of the executive change today, I guess, the time line, scope, magnitude and anything that you can give us in terms of quantifying that benefit from a profit perspective into 2025 and what that translates into just broadly speaking, but also just how this kind of came about in terms of what's on the table?

偉大的。謝謝。您能多談談今天高階主管變動之外的重組的性質嗎？著什麼，而且就桌面上的內容而言，這種情況是如何發生的？

What were your changes that you were thinking about in terms of the business outlook or backdrop that really changed in your view since it's been a sluggish kind of consumer backdrop for some time. now, I guess, what else has changed?

您在商業前景或背景方面考慮的變化是什麼，這些變化在您看來確實發生了變化，因為一段時間以來消費者背景一直低迷。現在，我想，還有什麼改變了？

Yeah, Erin, I could try to give you kind of an overview of where things are at. Just as part of a normal AOP process, you're always evaluating where you're going to make investments, where are you going to fund it? How are you going to fund it? and so on. So this is part of our process that we go through where we're planning out, where we're going to end up for the year and what does it mean for next year and how do we grow and do all the things that we want to talk through. This type of restructuring.

是的，艾琳，我可以嘗試向您提供有關情況的概述。就像正常 AOP 流程的一部分一樣，您總是會評估要在哪裡進行投資，以及在哪裡提供資金？你打算如何資助它？等等。因此，這是我們流程的一部分，我們會經歷我們的計劃、今年的目標、明年的目標以及我們如何成長和做所有我們想要的事情來談談。這種類型的重組。

This is about 2x of what we did last year. Last year, we did about 350 or so, just over 300. This is close to 700 people. There's some restructuring charges. We talked about that this year. But really, what it does and what -- I go back to what Joe was talking about, we want to be focused in on what we can drive as our business, what we can do from a growth platform standpoint, whether it's the direct fab, 5-minute ClinCheck, Lumina restorative.

這大約是我們去年所做的兩倍。去年我們做了大約350人左右，剛好超過300人。有一些重組費用。我們今年討論過這個。但實際上，它的作用是什麼——我回到喬所說的，我們希望專注於我們可以推動我們的業務，從增長平台的角度來看我們可以做什麼，無論是直接晶圓廠, 5分鐘ClinCheck, Lumina 修復劑。

We want to fund those but we've got to also show some margin accretion. And we want to be margin accretive on a year-over-year basis. So we can fund what we need to fund to really be driving our business and we'll fund it based on some of these changes here, but it really set us up for a position to be able to show that margin accretion next year.

我們想為這些提供資金，但我們也必須顯示出一些利潤成長。我們希望利潤率逐年增加。因此，我們可以為我們需要的資金提供資金，以真正推動我們的業務，我們將根據其中的一些變化提供資金，但這確實為我們奠定了一個能夠在明年展示利潤成長的地位。

Okay. Great. And then as we head into the fourth quarter, I guess, does your guidance assume a continuation of the same in terms of the sluggish environment in the US? Or does it have any sort of changes across other regions that you anticipate either continued acceleration or deterioration across other kind of markets or geographies here?

好的。偉大的。然後，當我們進入第四季時，我想，您的指導是否假設美國經濟低迷的環境會繼續出現同樣的情況？或者其他地區是否發生了任何類型的變化，您預計這裡其他類型的市場或地區會持續加速或惡化？

Yes, Erin. It just kind of assumes what we've seen. Like as we pointed out, US, North America, not great. We kind of assume the same. Other places, we actually saw good improvement in parts of Asia Latin America, Middle East, other places, and we continue to invest and expect to grow in those areas. So like any forecast, you take the best information you have at the time, you try to translate to what that's going to mean for the upcoming quarter, and that's what we did for fourth quarter

是的，艾琳。它只是假設了我們所看到的。就像我們指出的那樣，美國、北美，情況不太好。我們也有同樣的假設。在其他地方，我們實際上看到了亞洲部分地區、拉丁美洲、中東和其他地方的良好改善，我們繼續投資並期望在這些地區實現成長。因此，與任何預測一樣，您採用當時擁有的最佳信息，嘗試將其轉化為對下一個季度的含義，這就是我們在第四季度所做的

Thanks Erin. Next question please.

謝謝艾琳。請下一個問題。

Michael Ryskin, Bank of America.

麥可‧萊斯金，美國銀行。

Thanks guys. Just a couple of clean up follow-up questions. One, I think just kind of following up on what Aaron touched there and John, you touched on this as well. Two years in a row now. And again, part of that is just natural attrition, natural cleanup of the business.

謝謝你們。只是幾個清理後續問題。第一，我認為只是跟進亞倫所觸及的內容，而約翰，你也觸及了這一點。現在已經連續兩年了。再說一遍，其中一部分只是業務的自然消耗和自然清理。

But should we expect this to be sort of the normal going forward in terms of the restructuring, you guys famously kind of held off on that for a while. I think very famously during COVID, you actually reinvested, and you refused to cut when others were cutting. So just think -- help us think in terms of how we should factor that in going forward.

但是，如果我們期望這在重組方面是一種正常的進展，眾所周知，你們會推遲一段時間。我認為在新冠疫情期間，你實際上進行了再投資，並且在其他人削減開支時你拒絕削減開支。因此，請思考一下，幫助我們思考在未來的發展中應該如何考慮這個因素。

And comparing this time with COVID as a stretch overall, when we didn't lay anybody off to on COVID, our expectation was that, that wouldn't last as long as it did. But fortunately, that was a decision to pay off well cause the market came back so strongly. Right now, we're looking at just a sustained economic malaise, I would call it, in the United States, and we're responding accordingly.

將這次與新冠疫情作為一個整體進行比較，當我們沒有因為新冠疫情而解僱任何人時，我們的預期是，這種情況不會持續那麼久。但幸運的是，這個決定得到了良好的回報，因為市場反彈得如此強勁。目前，我們所面臨的只是美國持續​​的經濟不景氣，我稱之為，我們正在做出相應的反應。

We haven't lost our enthusiasm and our belief in how this business can grow in this market potential of this business. What you're seeing in the restructuring is we're responding to external pressures that we see in being responsible from a business standpoint and being sure that we fund these key three technologies that we know will lead into the future from an overall digital orthodontics standpoint.

我們並沒有失去對這項業務如何在該業務的市場潛力中發展的熱情和信念。您在重組中看到的是，我們正在應對外部壓力，我們從業務角度負責任地看待這些壓力，並確保我們為這三項關鍵技術提供資金，我們知道從整體數位正畸的角度來看，這些技術將引領未來。

And that's the key point of it. Now it's being able to make space and have the budget to be able to fund these key technologies because we know that's going to drive the future and it's doing things that we know no one else can do. No other company can do what we're trying to do with this.

這就是它的關鍵點。現在它能夠騰出空間並擁有預算來為這些關鍵技術提供資金，因為我們知道這將推動未來，並且它正在做我們知道其他人無法做到的事情。沒有其他公司可以做到我們正在嘗試做的事情。

So it's really important for us now to keep that focus through these budget changes and so on. It's what companies do to be able to push the future and do it in a responsible way where we could show margin accretion. We know we always talk about levers that we could pull or not pull. This is a part of it, and it just comes about on a more annual basis as you assess the current environment.

因此，現在對我們來說，透過這些預算變化等來保持這一重點非常重要。公司所做的就是能夠推動未來，並以負責任的方式做到這一點，這樣我們就可以展示利潤成長。我們知道我們總是談論我們可以拉動或不能拉動的槓桿。這是其中的一部分，當您評估當前環境時，它會每年發生一次。

Okay. And then a quick cleanup, if I could, on the ASPs. You talked about it earlier, I think in the Q&A, you touched on some of the factors that impacted you in the quarter and your thoughts about next year. But just on 4Q, I think you guided up ASP sequentially. And you've had some of these mix dynamics, some of the discounting and FX for a number of quarters in a row. What are you seeing so far through October that's giving you confidence that you'll be able to reverse that? Because I think some of those headwinds don't fade until next year?

好的。然後，如果可以的話，對 ASP 進行快速清理。您之前談過，我認為在問答中，您談到了本季影響您的一些因素以及您對明年的想法。但就在第四季度，我認為您按順序引導了 ASP。您已經連續幾個季度經歷了一些混合動態、一些折扣和外匯。十月份到目前為止，您看到了什麼讓您有信心扭轉這個局面？因為我認為其中一些阻力要到明年才會消失？

Well, I think part of really all our advantage programs kind of go from -- they ended at the end of June and then they reset as you come into that second half. So third quarter kind of took the advantage changes, so that shows up in discounts. So I don't expect that to continue.

嗯，我認為我們所有的優勢計劃的一部分實際上都是從六月底結束的，然後當你進入下半年時它們會重置。所以第三季有點利用了變化，所以這體現在折扣上。所以我預計這種情況不會持續下去。

And then where you do have the benefit and in our case, where Europe becomes a bigger part of our business in the fourth quarter and China and some of the other businesses become less, that's good from a mix standpoint.

然後，如果你確實受益，就我們而言，歐洲在第四季度成為我們業務的更大組成部分，而中國和其他一些業務的份額則減少，從混合的角度來看，這是件好事。

We have a higher ASP in Europe and a lower ASP in China. So whereas that mix hurt us from a country standpoint, in the lower ASP in the third quarter, we actually get the benefit on that in the fourth quarter based on seasonality.

我們在歐洲的平均售價較高，在中國的平均售價較低。因此，儘管從國家/地區的角度來看，這種組合對我們造成了傷害，但在第三季度的平均售價較低的情況下，我們實際上在第四季度根據季節性因素獲得了收益。

Okay, that's helpful. Thanks.

好的，這很有幫助。謝謝。

Thank you, Michael.

謝謝你，麥可。

Thank you. And we have reached the end of our Q&A session. I'll now turn the call back over to Shirley Stacy for closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。現在我將把電話轉回給雪莉·史黛西（Shirley Stacy）做總結發言。

Great. Thank you, operator, and thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call today. We look forward to speaking to you at upcoming financial conferences and for those of you who will see at the Invisalign Ortho Summit in Las Vegas next week. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact Investor Relations, and have a great day.

偉大的。謝謝接線員，也謝謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。我們期待在即將舉行的金融會議上與您以及下週在拉斯維加斯舉行的 Invisalign 隱適美矯正器高峰會上見面的人們進行交流。如果您有任何其他問題，請隨時聯繫投資者關係部，並祝您有美好的一天。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束，此時您可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。