Aramark (ARMK) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Aramark's Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Earnings Results Conference Call. My name is Kevin, and I'll be your operator for today's call. At this time, I'd like to inform you this conference is being recorded for rebroadcast. (Operator Instructions) We will open the conference call for questions at the conclusion of the company's remarks.

早安，歡迎參加 Aramark 2025 財年第三季收益業績電話會議。我叫凱文，我將擔任您今天通話的接線生。在此，我想告知各位，本次會議正在錄像，以便重播。（操作說明）公司發言結束後，我們將開放電話會議問答環節。

I will now turn the call over to Felise Kissell, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development. Ms. Kissell, please proceed.

現在我將把電話轉交給投資人關係和企業發展資深副總裁 Felise Kissell。基塞爾女士，請繼續。

Thank you, and welcome to Aramark's earnings conference call and webcast. This morning, we will be hearing from our CEO, John Zillmer; as well as CFO, Jim Tarangelo. As always, there are accompanying slides for this call that can be viewed through the webcast and are also available on the IR website for easy access. Our notice regarding forward-looking statements is included in our press release.

謝謝，歡迎參加 Aramark 的財報電話會議和網路直播。今天上午，我們將聽取執行長約翰·齊爾默和財務長吉姆·塔蘭傑洛的演講。與往常一樣，本次電話會議配有幻燈片，可透過網路直播查看，也可在投資者關係網站上輕鬆存取。我們的新聞稿中包含有關前瞻性聲明的通知。

During the call, we will be making comments that are forward-looking. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties and important factors, including those discussed in the Risk Factors, MD&A and other sections of our annual report on Form 10-K and SEC filings. We will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to US GAAP can be found in our press release and IR website. With that I will now turn the call over to John.

在通話過程中，我們將發表一些前瞻性的評論。由於各種風險、不確定性和重要因素，實際結果可能與明示或暗示的結果有重大差異，這些風險、不確定性和重要因素包括我們在 10-K 表格年度報告和美國證券交易委員會文件中「風險因素」、「管理層討論與分析」和其他章節中討論的因素。我們將討論一些非GAAP財務指標。這些項目與美國通用會計準則的核對錶可在我們的新聞稿和投資者關係網站上找到。接下來我會把電話交給約翰。

Thanks, Felise, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. This morning, Jim and I will review our third quarter performance, which reflected record revenue for any quarter in Global FSS history, along with record profitability in the third quarter resulting in adjusted EPS growth of nearly 30%. We will then turn to our expectations for the fiscal year with just one quarter to go.

謝謝費利斯，也謝謝今天所有到場的各位。今天上午，我和吉姆將回顧我們第三季度的業績，該季度收入創下 Global FSS 歷史上任何季度的紀錄，同時第三季度的盈利能力也創下紀錄，調整後的每股收益增長了近 30%。接下來，我們將展望本財年的預期，此時距離本財年結束後僅剩一個季度。

Since our last earnings call, we have achieved a number of significant milestones for the company, including, first, we were recently awarded one of the largest new client wins ever in terms of revenue, specifically within Sports & Entertainment, in addition to winning several other high-profile accounts. Second, we maintained our unprecedented client retention rate now exceeding 97% in both FSS US and International. And lastly, we continue to position ourselves to exit this fiscal year above our long-term revenue growth expectations.

自上次財報電話會議以來，公司取得了一系列重要的里程碑，其中包括，首先，我們最近贏得了有史以來收入最高的新客戶之一，尤其是在體育和娛樂領域，此外還贏得了其他幾個備受矚目的客戶。其次，我們在 FSS 美國和國際市場維持了前所未有的客戶留存率，目前均超過 97%。最後，我們繼續努力，爭取在本財年結束時實現高於長期收入成長預期的目標。

In the third quarter, Aramark's revenue grew to $4.6 billion, representing an increase of 6% with slight FX favourability. Organic revenue increased more than 5% driven by base business growth and contribution from new client wins. Notably, this was the last quarter where the prior year Facilities account exits affected revenue, as previously disclosed.

第三季度，Aramark 的營收成長至 46 億美元，增幅達 6%，這得益於匯率的輕微利好。受基礎業務成長和新客戶帶來的貢獻推動，有機收入成長超過 5%。值得注意的是，這是上一年設施帳戶退出影響收入的最後一個季度，正如先前披露的那樣。

Moving to the business segments. FSS US organic revenue increased to $3.2 billion or over 3% in the third quarter, led by strong performance in workplace experience and refreshments from higher participation rates, new client wins and additional micro market and vending services. Education, which benefited from additional volume and meal plans and a calendar shift within Collegiate Hospitality, Sports & Entertainment from higher per capita spending in Major League Baseball stadiums and sizable new business in Corrections.

接下來進入業務板塊部分。FSS 美國第三季度有機收入增長至 32 億美元，增幅超過 3%，這主要得益於工作場所體驗和茶點業務的強勁表現，包括更高的參與率、新客戶的獲勝以及額外的微型市場和自動售貨服務。教育產業受益於額外的業務量和餐飲計劃，以及大學飯店、體育和娛樂產業的日程安排調整，這得益於美國職棒大聯盟體育場館人均消費的增加和懲教部門的大量新業務。

This growth more than offset the Facilities exits and less activity at arenas, primarily from the timing of concerts. Revenue growth would have been more than 2% higher if not for these factors. The US segment is experiencing strong success from the team's strategic focus in driving vertical and cross line of business opportunities. By leveraging the synergies across our diverse portfolio, we've unlocked additional revenue growth.

這一增長足以抵消設施退出和體育館活動減少的影響，這主要是由於演唱會時間安排的原因。如果不是這些因素，收入成長幅度本應超過 2%。美國業務部門由於團隊採取策略重點，推動垂直和跨業務線的機會，取得了強勁的成功。透過發揮我們多元化產品組合的協同效應，我們實現了額外的收入成長。

A great example of this effort is the partnership between Collegiate Hospitality and Sports & Entertainment within Collegiate Sports. This upcoming college football season, we will be delivering exceptional food and beverage experiences now at 34 Division one stadiums, serving nearly 2 million fans during every home game weekend. Last week's announcement about our partnership with DAs as they move to Las Vegas is very exciting, taking ballpark foodservice to the next level and represents one of the largest wins in the company's history.

大學體育部內部的大學酒店管理部門與體育娛樂部門之間的合作就是這種努力的一個很好的例子。在即將到來的大學橄欖球賽季中，我們將在 34 個一級聯賽體育場提供卓越的餐飲體驗，在每個主場比賽週末為近 200 萬球迷提供服務。上週我們宣布與 DA 建立合作夥伴關係，他們即將進軍拉斯維加斯，這令人非常興奮，將棒球場餐飲服務提升到了一個新的水平，也是公司歷史上最大的勝利之一。

Our ability to have Will Guidara, the acclaimed restaurateur and author of Unreasonable Hospitality on our team is groundbreaking. Aramark will be taking minority ownership interest in the A's franchise, deepening the relationship and underscoring a shared commitment to innovation, hospitality and building an iconic fan destination in Las Vegas.

我們有幸邀請到著名餐飲企業家、暢銷書《非理性待客之道》的作者威爾·吉達拉加入我們的團隊，這具有開創性意義。Aramark 將持有 A's 球隊的少數股權，加深雙方關係，並強調雙方在創新、熱情待客以及在拉斯維加斯打造標誌性球迷目的地方面的共同承諾。

Our new sales pipeline remains robust across the business. Most recently, we were selected by Howard University, a leader among historically Black colleges and universities, to implement a transformative new campus vision called Howard University Hospitality. This collaboration marks a significant step in enhancing the campus experience through culinary innovation, cultural celebration and community empowerment and increases our growing HBCU presence as we now serve 15 of these historic academic institutions.

我們新的銷售管道在整個業務範圍內依然保持強勁勢頭。最近，我們被歷史悠久的黑人學院和大學中的佼佼者霍華德大學選中，實施一項名為「霍華德大學酒店管理」的變革性新校園願景。此次合作標誌著我們在透過烹飪創新、文化慶典和社區賦能來提升校園體驗方面邁出了重要一步，並擴大了我們在黑人學院和大學 (HBCU) 的影響力，我們現在為其中 15 所歷史悠久的學術機構提供服務。

Additional new business includes expanding our long-standing partnership with Citi in workplace experience, the Dorchester School District and Academy School District in Student Nutrition as well as Marquette University in Facilities. There is extraordinary momentum within FSS US, and we expect to capitalize on the many opportunities ahead.

其他新增業務包括擴大我們與花旗銀行在工作場所體驗方面的長期合作關係，與多切斯特學區和學院學區在學生營養方面的合作關係，以及與馬凱特大學在設施方面的合作關係。FSS US 目前發展勢頭強勁，我們期待抓住未來許多機會。

Once again, International delivered double-digit organic revenue growth, increasing 10% in the third quarter to $1.4 billion. Every geography experienced growth led by the UK, Chile, Canada and Spain driven by net new business and base business growth. Our team in the UK made Health & Safety history this quarter by becoming the first foodservice, and hospitality company to win the prestigious Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Sir George Earl Trophy, the Society's highest honour and a testament to our unwavering standards of excellence.

國際業務再次實現了兩位數的有機收入成長，第三季成長 10%，達到 14 億美元。所有地區都實現了成長，其中英國、智利、加拿大和西班牙的成長最為顯著，這主要得益於新增業務和基礎業務的成長。本季度，我們英國的團隊創造了健康與安全方面的歷史，成為第一家贏得享有盛譽的英國皇家事故預防協會喬治·伯爵爵士獎杯的餐飲服務和酒店公司，這是該協會的最高榮譽，也是對我們始終如一的卓越標準的證明。

Aramark UK also received the coveted Hotel & Catering Industry Sector Award, reflecting our strong leadership, innovative workforce and a relentless focus on continuous improvement across client locations. We recently concluded our international Chefs Cup in Shanghai, China. Which, after a year of in-country competition, recognized our global culinary talent and celebrated the winning chefs from each country. Our Aramark chefs from Chile took top honors.

Aramark UK 還獲得了令人夢寐以求的酒店餐飲業獎項，這體現了我們強大的領導力、創新的員工隊伍以及對客戶所在地持續改進的不懈追求。我們最近在中國上海成功舉辦了國際廚師盃大賽。經過一年的國內比賽，該獎項表彰了全球烹飪人才，並慶祝了每個國家的獲獎廚師。來自智利的 Aramark 廚師榮獲最高榮譽。

In the third quarter, Aramark Chile also hosted its annual Innovation Summit, featuring some of the industry's most innovative solutions, providers and thought leaders. Over 1,000 attendees across multiple industries experienced the latest innovation in hospitality within mining, health care and Facilities management, among others. More than 100 unique capabilities were presented this year, including nearly 50 technology-driven advancements focused on enhancing the client experience.

第三季度，Aramark Chile 也舉辦了年度創新高峰會，匯集了業界一些最具創新性的解決方案、供應商和思想領袖。來自多個行業的 1000 多名與會者體驗了包括採礦、醫療保健和設施管理在內的多個行業的最新酒店服務創新。今年展示了 100 多項獨特功能，其中包括近 50 項以技術驅動的進步，旨在提升客戶體驗。

Similar to the US, we continued our strong success in new business wins throughout the International portfolio, which included expanding our presence in Germany with the addition of Westpfalz Kliniken Healthcare in Healthcare, Samyook Seoul Medical Center in Korea and Valencia CF, a top football club in the Spanish La Liga League, with the team entering a new stadium, Nou Mestalla, with capacity now exceeding 70,000 fans. Our seasoned international team has been a competitive advantage through aligning strategic priorities, partnering across borders, thoughtfully building scale and implementing best practices.

與美國類似，我們在國際業務組合中繼續取得強勁的新業務增長，其中包括在德國擴大業務，新增了西普法爾茨醫療保健公司（Westpfalz Kliniken Healthcare）、在韓國新增了首爾三育醫療中心（Samyook Seoul Medical Center），以及在西班牙足球甲級聯賽中與頂級足球俱樂部瓦倫西亞俱樂部合作（Valencia） Mestalla），球場的容量現在超過 70,000 名球迷。我們經驗豐富的國際團隊透過協調戰略重點、開展跨國合作、精心建構規模和實施最佳實踐，成為了我們的競爭優勢。

Turning now to global supply chain. We're effectively managing the tariff environment and continue to believe our business model is well insulated from any heightened volatility. If there is a broader market change, we will implement sourcing alternatives where appropriate to benefit both our managed services business as well as GPO lines. Global inflation remains around 3% for us as we anticipated. We're focused on GPO expansion and are aggressively pursuing opportunities to build upon our double-digit growth.

接下來我們來談談全球供應鏈。我們正在有效地應對關稅環境，並繼續相信我們的商業模式能夠很好地抵禦任何加劇的波動。如果市場發生更廣泛的變化，我們將酌情實施採購替代方案，以使我們的管理服務業務和 GPO 業務線都受益。正如我們預期的那樣，全球通膨率仍維持在3%左右。我們專注於集團採購組織 (GPO) 的擴張，並積極尋求機會，以鞏固我們兩位數的成長。

This strategy includes investing in international geographies to increase our current print with multinational clients and others. We recently introduced additional AI-driven technology and supply chain with expanded contract intelligence capabilities. Beyond client spend insights and back office efficiency tools, we now have automated agents that power next-generation contract intelligence.

該策略包括投資國際市場，以增加我們目前與跨國客戶和其他客戶的合作。我們最近引入了更多由人工智慧驅動的技術和供應鏈，並擴展了合約智慧能力。除了客戶支出洞察和後台效率工具之外，我們現在還擁有能夠驅動下一代合約智慧的自動化代理商。

These agents enable our sourcing team to instantly synthesize supplier requests, compare them to contract terms, assess compliance and opportunities as well as generate responses within seconds, delivering unmatched efficiency and visibility across our global spend and sourcing processes. Our supply chain optimization strategies have driven significant incremental value for our clients and the company.

這些代理商使我們的採購團隊能夠立即匯總供應商請求，將其與合約條款進行比較，評估合規性和機會，並在幾秒鐘內生成回复，從而在我們全球支出和採購流程中提供無與倫比的效率和可見性。我們的供應鏈優化策略為我們的客戶和公司帶來了顯著的增量價值。

Lastly, we continue to advance our disciplined capital allocation strategies, which Jim will review in more detail, benefiting from a strong and flexible balance sheet designed to maximize shareholder returns. Our commitment remains focused on strategic investment in the business to drive and propel growth, ongoing debt repayment expecting to reach leverage around 3x by the end of this fiscal year and even lower thereafter, paying quarterly dividends and utilizing excess cash generation to opportunistically repurchase Aramark shares.

最後，我們將繼續推進我們嚴謹的資本配置策略，Jim 將對此進行更詳細的審查，我們將受益於強大而靈活的資產負債表，旨在最大限度地提高股東回報。我們仍致力於對業務進行策略性投資，以推動和促進成長，持續償還債務，預計到本財年末槓桿率將達到 3 倍左右，此後還會更低，支付季度股息，並利用多餘的現金流擇機回購 Aramark 股票。

In summary, I'm proud of what we've achieved at the company and firmly believe there is tremendous value-creating potential in the business going forward. I'll now turn the call over to Jim.

總而言之，我對公司的成就感到自豪，並堅信公司未來擁有巨大的價值創造潛力。現在我將把電話交給吉姆。

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone. As John mentioned, we had another record-breaking quarter, reflecting the commitment to our strategic priorities and focus on operational execution across the organization. We delivered strong growth in both revenue and profitability, reinforcing the power of our business model and our ability to consistently create value. We are well positioned to build upon this business momentum.

謝謝你，約翰，大家早安。正如約翰所提到的，我們迎來了一個破紀錄的季度，這反映了我們對策略重點的承諾以及對整個組織營運執行的重視。我們在收入和獲利能力方面均實現了強勁成長，鞏固了我們商業模式的優勢以及我們持續創造價值的能力。我們已做好充分準備，在此基礎上繼續發展壯大。

Regarding third quarter profit growth, operating income was $183 million, up 13% versus the prior year period. Adjusted operating income was $230 million, up 19% compared to the same period last year, and AOI margin increased 60 basis points. The strong profit growth and margin expansion resulted from higher revenue levels, expanded supply chain capabilities and disciplined above unit cost management.

第三季獲利成長方面，營業收入為 1.83 億美元，比上年同期成長 13%。調整後的營業收入為 2.3 億美元，比去年同期成長 19%，營業收入利潤率提高了 60 個基點。強勁的利潤成長和利潤率擴張得益於更高的收入水準、擴大的供應鏈能力和嚴格的單位成本管理。

Turning to the business segments. The US reported AOI growth of 16% with AOI margins increasing more than 60 basis points, compared to the same period last year. Profitability growth and margin expansion were driven by higher base business volume, effective above-unit cost management and supply chain efficiencies, including leveraging AI-driven technology for purchasing compliance and contract productivity.

接下來我們來看業務區。美國報告稱，AOI 成長了 16%，AOI 利潤率比去年同期成長了 60 多個基點。獲利能力成長和利潤率擴張得益於更高的基礎業務量、有效的單位以上成本管理和供應鏈效率，包括利用人工智慧驅動的技術來提高採購合規性和合約效率。

Profitability growth in the US was led by the Education and Business & Industry sectors. AOI growth in the US would have been even higher in the quarter, if not for some additional medical expenses. The International segment had AOI growth of 11% with margins up slightly year over year on a constant currency basis.

美國獲利成長主要由教育及商業及工業部門引領。如果不是因為一些額外的醫療支出，美國本季的AOI成長率還會更高。國際業務板塊的AOI成長了11%，以固定匯率計算，利潤率較去年同期略有上升。

AOI growth was a result of higher base business volume and strength in supply chain economics, which more than offset labor expenses from additional observed holidays in the quarter, including in China, and the prior year benefit from the Men's European Football Championships in Germany. International AOI growth was led by Chile and Canada.

AOI 成長是由於更高的基礎業務量和供應鏈經濟的強勁表現，這足以抵消本季額外假期（包括在中國的假期）帶來的勞動力成本，以及去年德國舉辦的歐洲男子足球錦標賽帶來的收益。國際AOI成長主要由智利和加拿大引領。

In addition to leveraging AI-driven technology and supply chain, we're also continuing to integrate AI across our core operations from dynamic menu planning to labor management, enhancing speed, accuracy and scalability. Developing these additional capabilities is unlocking productivity while enabling our teams to focus on client innovation and engagement. These efforts have delivered greater value to our clients as well as driving efficiency and profitability throughout the business.

除了利用人工智慧驅動的技術和供應鏈外，我們還在繼續將人工智慧融入我們的核心營運中，從動態菜單規劃到勞動力管理，從而提高速度、準確性和可擴展性。開發這些額外能力可以提高生產力，同時使我們的團隊能夠專注於客戶創新和互動。這些努力為我們的客戶帶來了更大的價值，同時也提高了整個業務的效率和獲利能力。

Turning to the remainder of the income statement. Interest expense was $86 million in the quarter and the adjusted tax rate was approximately 26%. Our quarterly performance resulted in GAAP EPS of $0.27 and adjusted EPS of $0.40, an increase of nearly 30% versus the prior year, demonstrating our focus on profitable growth and operational execution across the organization.

接下來來看損益表的其餘部分。本季利息支出為 8,600 萬美元，調整後的稅率約為 26%。本季業績顯示，GAAP每股收益為0.27美元，調整後每股收益為0.40美元，較上年同期增長近30%，這表明我們致力於在整個組織內實現盈利增長和運營執行。

With respect to cash flow, the company generated cash inflow from operations in the quarter, consistent with our normal seasonal business cadence. Net cash provided by operating activities in the third quarter was $77 million and free cash flow was a use of cash of $34 million. This performance reflected stronger net income as well as increased working capital and capital expenditures from growth in the business with CapEx still running at approximately 3% of revenue.

就現金流而言，公司本季透過經營活動產生了現金流入，與我們正常的季節性業務節奏一致。第三季經營活動產生的淨現金為 7,700 萬美元，自由現金流為 3,400 萬美元。這一業績反映了淨收入的增強，以及業務成長帶來的營運資金和資本支出的增加，資本支出仍佔收入的約 3%。

As always, we expect to generate a significant cash inflow in the fourth quarter, primarily from our Collegiate Hospitality and Sports & Entertainment businesses. During the third quarter, Aramark proactively repaid approximately $62 million of Term Loan B due in June 2030, and repurchased approximately $31 million of its common stock. Since the authorization of the company's share repurchase program in November 2024, Aramark has repurchased nearly $4 million of its shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $140 million. We will continue to proactively enhance our capital structure, focusing on optimal returns for shareholders. At quarter end, the company had over $1.4 billion in cash availability.

與往年一樣，我們預計第四季將產生大量現金流入，主要來自我們的大學飯店服務和體育娛樂業務。第三季度，Aramark 主動償還了約 6,200 萬美元將於 2030 年 6 月到期的 B 類定期貸款，並回購了約 3,100 萬美元的普通股。自 2024 年 11 月公司股票回購計畫獲得批准以來，Aramark 已回購了近 400 萬美元的股票，總購買價格約為 1.4 億美元。我們將持續積極優化資本結構，致力於為股東實現最佳回報。截至季末，該公司擁有超過14億美元的可用現金。

And finally, let me wrap up with our performance expectations for the remainder of fiscal '25. We are seeing very strong business momentum from our prominent new client wins, to expanding base business volume, to client retention rates exceeding 97% across both FSS US and International. The sales pipeline continues to be broad-based and first-time outsourcing remains elevated. Revenue performance in the fourth quarter is expected to benefit from this acceleration with ongoing base business expansion and net new business across all sectors in the FSS US segment and every geography in the FSS International segment.

最後，讓我總結一下我們對 2025 財年剩餘時間的業績預期。從贏得重要新客戶、擴大基礎業務量，到 FSS 美國和國際客戶留存率都超過 97%，我們看到了非常強勁的業務發展動能。銷售管道依然廣泛，首次外包業務量仍居高不下。預計第四季度營收表現將受益於此加速成長，FSS 美國業務板塊所有產業以及 FSS 國際業務部門所有地區的持續基礎業務擴張和淨新增業務。

Additionally, we are pleased with the continued expansion of our profitability and the consistent execution of our key operating levers, including supply chain capabilities, operational cost management and the majority of new business. As John mentioned, we are effectively managing the current tariff environment. With our extensive capabilities and diversified portfolio, we remain confident in our ability to effectively navigate the broader marketplace.

此外，我們對獲利能力的持續提升以及關鍵營運槓桿的持續有效運用感到滿意，包括供應鏈能力、營運成本管理以及大部分新業務。正如約翰所說，我們正在有效地應對當前的關稅環境。憑藉我們強大的實力和多元化的產品組合，我們對有效駕馭更廣闊的市場充滿信心。

With that, we continue to anticipate our previously stated financial performance outlook for fiscal '25 based on the expected timing of commencing operations from new business, including certain large clients. As you know, our fourth quarter contains an extra week or a 53rd week.

基於預期新業務（包括某些大客戶）的開始營運時間，我們繼續預期我們先前對 2025 財年的財務表現展望。如您所知，我們的第四季多出一周，也就是第 53 週。

In summary, we're pleased with our performance this quarter, delivering strong results, securing major business wins and maintaining exceptional client retention rates across our portfolio. These achievements reflect the strength of our operating model and the dedication of our team. With continued discipline and focus, we remain highly confident in our ability to deliver long-term value for our shareholders.

總而言之，我們對本季的業績感到滿意，取得了強勁的業績，贏得了重要的業務，並在我們的所有業務組合中保持了出色的客戶留存率。這些成就體現了我們營運模式的優勢和我們團隊的奉獻精神。只要我們繼續保持自律和專注，我們對為股東創造長期價值的能力仍然充滿信心。

Thank you for your time this morning. Over to John.

感謝您今天上午抽出時間。接下來交給約翰。

I'm immensely grateful for our employees across the globe who are creating our accelerated business momentum heading into the fourth quarter and beyond. Thank you, everybody, for your participation. And operator, we'll now open the line for questions.

我非常感謝我們遍布全球的員工，他們為我們進入第四季度及以後的業務發展創造了加速成長的勢頭。謝謝大家的參與。接線員，我們現在開通提問熱線。

(Operating Instructions) Ian Zaffino, Oppenheimer.

（操作說明）伊恩·扎菲諾，奧本海默。

Hi, great thank you very much. Thanks for all the color. So I like to ask you guys -- great jump in all the new business wins. Maybe, John, can you give us a perspective on kind of the revenue acceleration expected in the fourth quarter? Maybe help us understand the sequencing of all these big wins that have been awarded and expect to achieve. Any other kind of flow or color you could give us would be helpful. Thank you.

您好，非常感謝。感謝你們帶來的繽紛色彩。所以我想問大家——新業務的拓展進展非常順利。約翰，或許你可以談談你對第四季營收成長預期的看法？或許可以幫助我們理解所有這些已經獲得和預期將要獲得的重大勝利的先後順序。如果您能提供其他類型的流水線或顏色信息，我們將不勝感激。謝謝。

Sure, you bet. Jim and I will both comment on this. First off, we're off to a very strong start to the fourth quarter. We're very comfortable with the implied ramp that's projected in the guidance. So let us just reiterate, that we have a very strong belief in our ability to hit the guidance as we've projected, and we feel like we're in a very good position after the start of the fourth quarter.

當然，你說的沒錯。我和吉姆都會對此發表評論。首先，我們第四節開局非常強勁。我們對業績指引中預測的隱含成長速度非常滿意。所以，我們再次重申，我們非常有信心能夠實現我們預測的業績目標，而且我們感覺在第四季度開始之後，我們處於非常有利的位置。

So there are a number of new contract wins that will be coming online. School districts obviously begin operation in August and in September. The collegiate operations that we've sold this year begin operations in August and September contribute significantly to the year over year variance and growth trajectory. So I would say we're very comfortable given what we see in the business, what we've been able to achieve with the run rate in terms of new account sales and net new business and with the high retention rate.

因此，將有一系列新合約陸續生效。學區顯然是在八月和九月開始運作。我們今年出售的大學體育業務在 8 月和 9 月開始運營，對同比變化和成長軌跡做出了重大貢獻。所以，鑑於我們在業務方面所看到的狀況，以及我們在新客戶銷售和淨新增業務方面的成長速度和高客戶留存率，我認為我們非常滿意。

Coupled along with normal pricing activity, we are very comfortable with the implied ramp that we've described.

結合正常的定價活動，我們對所描述的隱含成長趨勢非常有信心。

Yeah, John, I'll just echo that sentiment. And again, obviously, the sort of 5.5% organic in the third quarter is prior to the 2% lapping of the Facilities exit and then, on top of that, all the items John just mentioned. In addition, if you think about the Major League Baseball outlook, we have a number of teams that are -- the playoff hunt performing very well. So we're expecting continued solid performance with respect to our sports business and base business acceleration as well.

是的，約翰，我完全同意你的看法。顯然，第三季 5.5% 的有機成長率是在設施退出導致的 2% 成長率之前，而且除此之外，還有約翰剛才提到的所有項目。此外，如果你考慮美國職棒大聯盟的前景，我們有很多球隊在季後賽爭奪戰中表現得非常出色。因此，我們預期體育業務將持續保持穩健成長，基礎業務也將加速發展。

Okay. And then if I could just ask one more question. Just on the events business, what exactly happened? Were there cancellations? Did things just get pushed into the following quarter and then we expect a bigger quarter coming up because of events being pushed out?

好的。如果我能再問一個問題的話。單就活動企劃業務而言，究竟發生了什麼事？有取消預訂嗎？是不是有些事情被推遲到了下一個季度，然後我們預期下一個季度業績會更好，因為這些事件被推遲了？

Or is this a sort of lost business? And how much actually did events -- how much of a headwind was that of the 2%, right? Because I know you're combining Facilities exits with events. So I was just wondering if you could disaggregate that for us, too.

或者說，這是一種虧損的生意？那麼，事件究竟造成了多大的影響──那2%的阻力究竟有多大？因為我知道你們將設施出口與事件結合起來了。所以我想問您是否也能幫我們把這些數據分解。

Sure. There are a couple of areas that were affected, particularly in the arena business, a lower level of concert activity that was not projected and renovations in one of our Facilities, particularly the Verizon Center, which was down for renovations and wasn't able to get booked and scheduled during that time period. We actually expected it to come up a little bit faster than it did. And then last year, you may remember we had the DNC at the -- in Chicago.

當然。有幾個領域受到了影響，特別是體育館業務，演唱會活動水平低於預期，以及我們的一處設施（特別是 Verizon 中心）的翻新工程，該中心因翻新而關閉，在那段時間無法進行預訂和安排。我們原本以為它會更快。你可能還記得，去年我們在芝加哥舉行了民主黨全國代表大會。

And so our Allstate Arena had significant operations last year that didn't repeat this year. So it was just a little bit of a drag, not something that we would think was as significant but -- in the long term and really not pushing it out to the next quarter. It's really just business that didn't -- that we anticipated would occur but did not.

因此，我們的 Allstate 體育館去年開展了許多今年沒有再次開展的重要業務。所以這只是稍微拖累了一下，我們並不認為這會造成多麼重大的影響，但從長遠來看，我們真的不會把它推遲到下一個季度。這實際上只是一些未實現的商業目標——我們預期會發生但最終並未實現的目標。

Leo Carrington, Citi.

Leo Carrington，花旗集團。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. So may have first ask on the A's contracts. Some press outlets reported that you could be making an equity investment. If so, do you see co-investment as potentially increasingly a norm with these types of deals? And is that investment reflected in the contract duration or sort of other attributes of the quality of that deal?

早安.謝謝您回答我的問題。所以可能首先要問A隊的合約狀況。一些媒體報導稱，你可能正在進行股權投資。如果是這樣，您認為共同投資是否會在這類交易中逐漸成為一種常態？那麼，這項投資是否反映在合約期限或其他衡量交易品質的指標上？

And then secondly, I noticed you're looking at an acquisition in the UK of [Entier] catering. Can you outline the appeal of this and potential scale? And more broadly, as you are now deleveraging and buying back shares, is M&A becoming increasingly a focus for you in terms of capital allocation? Thank you.

其次，我注意到您正在考慮收購英國的 [Entier] 餐飲公司。您能否概述一下這項技術的吸引力及其潛在規模？更廣泛地說，隨著你們目前去槓桿化和回購股票，併購是否正日益成為你們資本配置的重點？謝謝。

I'll start with that, yes, that last question with respect to Entier. This is a relatively small bolt-on acquisition on our offshore oil remote services capabilities in the UK. On M&A overall, this year, we are a little bit elevated compared to the prior few years. I mean, recall we executed the Quantum acquisition, which is a proactive deal we had targeted for many years in the GPO space, one of the larger remaining independent GPOs in Europe.

是的，我就先回答最後一個關於 Entier 的問題吧。這是對我們在英國海上石油遠程服務能力的相對較小的補充收購。今年整體併購活動比前幾年略有增加。我的意思是，回想一下我們完成的對 Quantum 的收購，這是我們在 GPO 領域多年來一直積極尋求的交易，Quantum 是歐洲現存較大的獨立 GPO 之一。

So -- and again, while that deal comes with it, it is the largest in terms of the consideration for our -- the M&A spend come to relatively low revenue. So if you sort of exclude Quantum, I think that we're back basically the normal track of $150 million to maybe $200 million of M&A spend per year, consistent with where we were in prior years. You want to comment on the other question?

所以——而且再說一遍，雖然這筆交易伴隨著一些問題，但就我們的對價而言，這是最大的——併購支出帶來的收入相對較低。所以，如果把 Quantum 排除在外，我認為我們基本上又回到了每年 1.5 億美元到 2 億美元的併購支出正常軌道上，這與我們前幾年的水平一致。你想對另一個問題發表評論嗎？

Yeah. And I would just add to that, that we don't expect M&A to be a more significant part of our approach to growing the business. Our primary approach is organic growth. But we do opportunistically look at opportunities when they present themselves in certain segments to either bolt on additional capabilities or increase scale in countries where we're already operating. So I wouldn't look at M&A as being a more significant part of our capital strategy going forward.

是的。我還要補充一點，我們並不認為併購會成為我們業務成長策略中更重要的組成部分。我們主要的發展方式是自然成長。但是，當某些領域出現機會時，我們會抓住機會，在我們已經經營的國家/地區增加額外的能力或擴大規模。因此，我不認為併購是我們未來資本策略中更重要的組成部分。

It should be relatively consistent, with respect to Entier, as Jim said, a relatively small bolt-on, not material to the company in any meaningful way, obviously, brought some additional scale in the North Sea. And we remain committed to getting that deal closed. We'll work through the Phase 2 process. And if remedies are needed, we'll figure that out. But again, even if we weren't able to close the transaction, it's not material to the company's operating results or strategy in the long term.

就 Entier 而言，情況應該相對一致，正如 Jim 所說，這是一個相對較小的附加項目，顯然對公司而言沒有任何實質性的影響，但它確實在北海帶來了一些額外的規模。我們仍然致力於完成這筆交易。我們將完成第二階段流程。如果需要補救措施，我們會想辦法解決。但即便我們未能完成交易，從長遠來看，這對公司的經營績效或策略也不重要。

With respect to the A's yes, we did make them a small investment in equity in the team. That's not our preferred approach, but it's something the team felt strongly about and we were willing to do given the unique nature of the stadium and the build in Las Vegas. And so we did make that decision to move forward with all equity investment.

關於奧克蘭運動家隊，是的，我們確實對他們進行了一筆小額股權投資。雖然這不是我們首選的方法，但團隊對此深有感觸，考慮到拉斯維加斯體育場的特殊性質和建設條件，我們也願意這樣做。因此，我們決定繼續推進全部股權投資。

As you know, we've had equity investments in other teams before, the Red Sox being one of them that was probably most significant, the San Antonio Spurs, Pittsburgh Penguins at one time. So it's not unusual for us to make investments and ultimately monetize those later. We've always done extraordinarily well when we've monetized those investments in the future. Our contract is not tied to that equity investment, and we have flexibility with it. So again, not our normal practice but one we were pleased to do because we really believe in this partnership with the A's and in the future of that Las Vegas opportunity.

如您所知，我們之前也曾對其他球隊進行股權投資，其中最重要的可能是紅襪隊，還有聖安東尼奧馬刺隊，以及匹茲堡企鵝隊。所以，我們進行投資並在之後最​​終實現盈利並不罕見。我們以往的投資在未來變現時，總是能取得非常好的收益。我們的合約與該項股權投資無關，我們在這方面有一定的彈性。所以，這雖然不是我們通常的做法，但我們很高興這樣做，因為我們真心相信與奧克蘭運動家隊的合作關係，以及拉斯維加斯的未來機會。

Shlomo Rosenbaum, Stifel.

Shlomo Rosenbaum，Stifel。

Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. John, can you just comment a little bit about how the selling season played out in the Education segment? Because we should be pretty much done over there. Was it better than expected, as expected? How should we think about the education revenue growth going forward based on what you're seeing over there.

您好，早安。謝謝您回答我的問題。約翰，你能否簡單談談教育板塊的銷售季狀況？因為我們那邊的工作應該差不多完成了。是否比預期更好，正如預期的那樣？根據你們那邊的情況，我們該如何看待未來教育收入的成長？

And then I'll just throw in my second question right now. Just retention has been very high. And could you just talk, is that the proactiveness that you guys are doing in terms of servicing the customer? Are you having to be more competitive on your pricing in order to achieve this retention? Is it some kind of combination? Maybe you could talk about that as well.

那我現在就拋出我的第二個問題。淨留存率一直非常高。您能談談嗎？這就是你們在客戶服務方面所採取的積極主動的態度嗎？為了提高客戶留存率，您是否需要在價格方面更具競爭力？這是某種組合嗎？或許你也可以談談這個。

Sure. I think Jim and I will both comment on those. First of all, the education selling season is still underway, believe it or not. We still have contracts, we're working to sign and close with anticipated openings a little bit later this year. So we feel very good about the results.

當然。我想我和吉姆都會對此發表評論。首先，不管你信不信，教育類產品的銷售旺季仍在進行中。我們還有一些合同，正在努力簽署和完成，預計將於今年晚些時候開業。所以我們對結果非常滿意。

Obviously, I feel very strongly about Howard University. We'll be making an announcement soon about another significant win and Loyola Marymount and many, many others. So the teams had a very good selling season in the higher education sector. And in K-12, they've had a very successful net new business year as well. So we feel very good about the overall growth to both segments of the Education business, and both had very strong retention rates as well. So overall, very good net new business results for education.

顯然，我對霍華德大學有著非常深厚的感情。我們很快就會宣布另一項重大勝利，那就是與洛約拉馬利蒙特大學以及其他許多大學的合作。因此，各團隊在高等教育領域的銷售表現非常出色。在K-12教育領域，他們的新增業務也取得了非常成功的一年。因此，我們對教育業務兩個細分市場的整體成長都非常滿意，而且這兩個細分市場的客戶留存率也都非常高。整體而言，教育領域的新增業務淨成果非常出色。

With respect to retention, it is an absolute everyday focus of the company. We're all engaged in it, proactive retention of our existing clients, so working together with our customers to improve services, to create great value and to continue to build partnerships and relationships that allow us to operate that business for a long time to come. We don't use pricing as a lever. We don't use investment as a lever to retain business. We do it on the basis of our performance and on the basis of our relationships with our customers, and we're proud of what we've been able to achieve.

在員工留任方面，這是公司每天工作的首要任務。我們都積極主動地留住現有客戶，與客戶攜手合作，改進服務，創造巨大價值，並繼續建立合作夥伴關係，使我們能夠長期經營這項業務。我們不會把價格當作槓桿。我們不會以投資作為留住客戶的手段。我們憑藉自身的業績和與客戶的關係來取得成功，我們為所取得的成就感到自豪。

It is part and parcel. Net new business is part and parcel to the incentive compensation structure in our company. So all of our people from the operators in the field all the way to senior leadership are incented to do a great job on net new, which implies retention in the equation. So it's a focus. And we feel very good about the results, but we're always striving to do better.

這是不可分割的一部分。淨新增業務量是我們公司激勵薪酬制度的重要組成部分。因此，從第一線操作人員到高階領導，我們所有員工都受到激勵，努力在新客戶開發方面取得優異成績，這也意味著留住人才也至關重要。所以這是我們關注的重點。我們對結果非常滿意，但我們始終努力做得更好。

Andrew Steinerman, JPMorgan

摩根大通的安德魯·斯坦納曼

Yeah, hi guys, This is [Alex Hess] on for Andrew. Just wanted to dive in a little bit more to the implied fourth quarter organic revenue acceleration which, even if you stream out the extra week, it still looks like it's something like up 9% year on year, at the low end of the guide. And how you -- what sort of gives you confidence? And sort of I'm asking you guys to be as specific as possible as it is with respect to the base business, new business and retention drivers of the fourth quarter growth rate.

大家好，我是[Alex Hess]，代我為Andrew報道。我想更深入地探討一下隱含的第四季度有機收入加速成長，即使剔除額外一周的數據，看起來仍然比去年同期增長了大約 9%，處於指導方針的下限。什麼能讓你充滿自信？我希望你們盡可能具體地說明第四季成長率的基礎業務、新業務和客戶留存驅動因素。

Clearly, we just exited a quarter where you guys were doing a bit stronger at the start of the quarter. I think you guys had said up 6% in April, then you guys ended up for the quarter and there was some sort of unrealized or unexpected items during the quarter. So just trying to see like what sort of visibility you have and sort of -- any sort of specificity you can give us around the -- what gives you such a convention in the revenue guide that you guys have out today?

顯然，我們剛剛結束了一個季度，而你們在這個季度初的表現要強勁一些。我認為你們在四月曾表示成長了 6%，但最終你們公佈的季度業績中出現了一些未實現或意想不到的項目。所以，我只是想了解一下你們的可見度如何，以及——你們能否具體說明一下——是什麼讓你們在今天發布的收入指南中採用這種慣例？

Yes, Alex, l'll start again in terms of just some of the -- in the math, right, we're running about 5.5% organic in the third quarter. Adding two, you get to about 7.5% sort of as your starting point. As John mentioned earlier, July was the strongest print we had in terms of growth. We saw a significant acceleration in the US business.

是的，Alex，我再從一些方面重新開始——從數學角度來說，對吧，我們第三季的自然成長率約為 5.5%。加上兩個，大約是 7.5%，這算是你的起點。正如約翰之前提到的，7 月是我們成長最強勁的月份。我們看到美國業務出現了顯著加速成長。

On top of that math, we have rolling out a number of large accounts, including Howard University in the Education sector, Everton over in the sports in the UK. We have elevated retention rates that are running higher than what we would have planned for the business. We've seen the base business pick up already, particularly in the sports business, as I mentioned, a number of teams -- handful of teams that are in playoff contention with good revenue trends and good attendance trends on top of that.

除了這些數學數據之外，我們還推出了一些大型客戶，包括教育領域的霍華德大學，以及英國體育界的埃弗頓足球俱樂部。我們擁有遠高於預期目標的客戶留存率。我們已經看到基礎業務有所回升，尤其是在體育業務方面，正如我所提到的，一些球隊——少數幾支球隊——不僅有良好的收入趨勢，而且上座率也呈上升趨勢，這些球隊都具備季後賽競爭力。

So I think we have a pretty good line of sight to the path, and those are the key factors driving it.

所以我覺得我們已經很清楚未來的發展方向，而這些正是推動發展的關鍵因素。

Yeah, I would just add, as I said, we're off to a very strong start after July. That gives us a high degree of confidence in achieving that ramp that you just described at the rates that you described. So as Jim said, very high retention rates. Keep in mind that retention in parts of our business like K-12 and higher education is felt most in August and September. Those accounts that we did not lose impact our results more effectively in those months in the new business -- the net new business comes on. So very high retention rate is most impactful in August and September in those lines of business.

是的，我還要補充一點，正如我所說，7 月之後我們的開局非常強勁。這讓我們有很高的信心，能夠以您剛才所描述的速度實現您剛才所描述的成長目標。正如吉姆所說，客戶留存率非常高。請記住，在我們業務的某些部分，例如 K-12 和高等教育，學生留存率在 8 月和 9 月最為明顯。那些我們沒有失去的客戶，在接下來的幾個月裡，透過新增業務（淨新增業務）更有效地影響了我們的業績。因此，在這些業務領域，極高的客戶留存率在八月和九月的影響最大。

Then you have pricing that gets layered in the K-12 and higher education sector in the fourth quarter as the new terms begin and you have pricing that accelerates in the Corrections business as well. So all of those individual discrete elements add up to the trajectory that we've described and give us a very high degree of confidence in our ability to hit the numbers that we've outlined.

然後，隨著新學期的開始，K-12 和高等教育領域的定價在第四季度會分層，而懲教業務的定價也會加速上漲。因此，所有這些獨立的因素加起來就形成了我們所描述的軌跡，使我們對實現我們所概述的數字的能力充滿信心。

Got it. And just to clarify, because the fourth quarter implies such a wide range of outcomes both sort of an implied revenue growth step up and margins, can you maybe give us a little bit of color on how you guys are how -- July was and how you guys think the margin might progress in 4Q?

知道了。為了澄清一下，因為第四季度意味著各種各樣的結果，包括潛在的收入增長和利潤率，您能否給我們介紹一下你們對7月份情況的看法，以及你們認為第四季度的利潤率可能會如何發展？

Well, I think we've given the full year guidance. I think that's where we're going to leave it. We have a strong belief in our ability to hit that full year guidance. And so I don't think I would add more color on the margin or profit side at this point, only to say that, again, we've reiterated guidance, we believe in it, and we're off to a strong start in July.

嗯，我想我們已經給了全年的業績指引。我想我們就先說到這裡吧。我們非常有信心實現全年業績目標。因此，我認為目前無需在利潤率或利潤方面做更多評論，只想再次重申，我們重申了業績指引，我們相信這一指引，並且我們在7月份取得了強勁的開局。

Toni Kaplan, Morgan Stanley.

東尼卡普蘭，摩根士丹利。

Thanks so much. First, I wanted to ask about where you stand with the universities and their sports teams. I know there's a really big opportunity for cross-sell across those different pieces of sort of a similar customer base. So I wanted to see if you've been making any progress there or how that stands right now.

非常感謝。首先，我想問你對各大學及其運動隊伍的看法。我知道，對於擁有相似客戶群的不同群體來說，交叉銷售的機會非常大。所以我想看看你那邊有沒有什麼進展，或者現在情況如何。

Yeah, as I mentioned in my comments, we will be operating at 31 Division,1 school this year and obviously in a lot of D2 and D3 schools as well from an athletic perspective. So it's a very strong business for us. We've established leadership that's focused on that business, and we've got a great partnership between Collegiate Hospitality and our sports business to really bring the right talent and execution to bear against those initiatives. As you can guess, some of those Division 1 schools produce more revenues on a game day basis than some of our pro teams do.

是的，正如我在評論中提到的，今年我們將與 31 所一級院校合作，從體育角度來看，顯然也會與許多二級和三級院校合作。所以這對我們來說是一項非常強勁的業務。我們已經建立了專注於該業務的領導團隊，並且我們在大學酒店管理部門和我們的體育業務部門之間建立了良好的合作關係，從而真正為這些舉措帶來合適的人才和執行力。正如你所料，一些一級聯盟學校在比賽日創造的收入比我們的一些職業球隊還要多。

So it's a significant focus for us. Moving forward, we expect to continue to grow that segment, and we clearly are the leader in it now, and we'll be continuing to build it.

所以這是我們重點關注的問題。展望未來，我們預計該領域將繼續成長，目前我們顯然是該領域的領導者，我們將繼續成長。

Thanks. And then wanted to ask about the recent Fenway Park strike. I think there was part of the situation where employees were concerned about the automation advancements in the park impacting their compensation. And I was wondering, just broadly, would you expect to be -- this to be a continued issue across sports in particular, or some business lines, where if you do have sort of more efficiency from automation but it does sort of impact the labor, especially I think there's a little bit more unionized labor with the sports segment, should this potentially be a labor disruption issue going forward in some cases and how to deal with that?

謝謝。然後他又想問最近芬威球場罷工的情況。我認為，部分原因是員工擔心園區自動化程度的提升會影響他們的薪資。我想問的是，總的來說，您是否認為這會成為體育界，特別是某些商業領域的持續性問題？如果自動化提高了效率，但同時也對勞動力產生了影響，尤其是我認為體育界的工會化程度更高，這是否可能在某些情況下引發勞工糾紛？我們又該如何應對？

Yeah, That's a great question, Tony. First of all, I would say that historically, as we've implemented new systems and new technologies across the Sports & Entertainment business, that we see it as a way to enhance customer service and customer throughput. We don't see it as a labor reduction strategy. What we want to do is improve the fan experience so they're not waiting in line while the game is going on.

是的，托尼，你問得好。首先，我想說，從歷史角度來看，隨著我們在體育娛樂產業實施新系統和新技術，我們將其視為提高客戶服務和客戶吞吐量的一種方式。我們不認為這是一種裁員策略。我們想做的是改善球迷體驗，讓他們在比賽進行時不必排隊等候。

We want them to get to the stands and to be able to transact and be back in their seats to see the action, if you will. And that's what the teams want to have happen, and that's what we would like to have happened. And frankly, it's what the fans want.

我們希望他們能夠到看台上完成交易，然後回到座位上觀看比賽。而這正是各隊希望看到的，也是我們希望看到的。坦白說，這也是粉絲們想要的。

So as I said, we don't see it as a labor reduction strategy. People -- we haven't reduced significant numbers of employees as a result of deploying technology throughout sports. And so I really don't believe that is a significant issue facing us going forward. I think we'll work very carefully to resolve the concerns of the workforce at Fenway. We're actively engaged in good faith negotiations, and we'll find a way through as we have many times before.

正如我所說，我們並不認為這是一種裁員策略。人員方面－由於在運動界推廣技術，我們並沒有大幅減少員工人數。因此，我真的不認為這是我們未來面臨的重大問題。我認為我們會非常謹慎地解決芬威球場員工的擔憂。我們正在積極進行真誠的談判，我們會像以前多次一樣找到解決方案。

And -- but we are fully prepared to operate in the face of what could be a labor action. So our commitment is to be there to service the fans and the team, and we'll do that. But I think the technology implementation is, as I said, not designed to reduce labor, but designed to enhance the fan experience. And if you've been to Fenway, you know that, that is a park that is aged. It's difficult to move around. All we want to do is get the fans back in their seats a little bit faster and let them enjoy the game.

但是——我們已做好充分準備，以應對可能發生的勞工行動。因此，我們的承諾是竭誠為球迷和球隊服務，我們一定會做到這一點。但我認為，如我所說，這項技術的應用並不是為了減少勞動力，而是為了提升粉絲體驗。如果你去過芬威球場，你就會知道，那是一座很老的球場。行動很不方便。我們只想讓球迷盡快回到座位上，讓他們好好享受比賽。

Neil Tyler, Rothschild & Co and Redburn.

尼爾泰勒、羅斯柴爾德公司和雷德伯恩。

Yeah, thank you. Good morning, John, Jim, two from me, please. Firstly, when we think -- I mean, you obviously made some confident comments around retention and your net new medium term. Is there anything preventing us from thinking about that -- those comments around net new as the sort of blueprint, if you like, for the in-year contribution in FY26? I'm not asking you to give us revenue guidance for FY26. But in terms of the sort of timing of how that lands, so is there anything that would prevent that from being the case?

是啊，謝謝。早安，約翰，吉姆，請給我兩份。首先，當我們思考——我的意思是，你顯然對留存率和你的淨新中期目標做出了一些充滿信心的評論。有什麼能阻止我們思考這一點嗎——那些關於淨新增的評論，如果你願意的話，可以將其視為 2026 財年年度貢獻的藍圖？我並不是要求你們提供 2026 財年的收入預期。但就其落地時間而言，有沒有什麼因素會阻止這種情況發生呢？

And then secondly, around this year's guidance, you've obviously added those comments around commencement of contracts and the sort of dependency on those. But equally, you've expressed confidence in the momentum you're enjoying in the fourth quarter. So is the, I suppose, sort of caveat, if you want to call it that, around the commencement of contracts really just the -- I suppose, the influence that's preventing or that leads you to potentially not be able to narrow the range at this stage? Thank you.

其次，關於今年的指導意見，您顯然補充了關於合約生效以及對合約的依賴性的評論。但同樣地，你也對第四季所取得的良好動能充滿信心。所以，我猜想，關於合約生效的某種限制（如果你願意這麼稱呼的話），是否真的只是——我猜想，阻止或導致你在這個階段可能無法縮小範圍的影響因素？謝謝。

Yeah, I think that's a good point, and Jim can comment on this as well. I think we do have a range of outcomes, and the range is a little bit wider than normal as a result of anticipated activity in potential new account start-ups that could drive us to higher levels of the range. And that could also impact the AOI range as we open those new accounts and experience the opening costs associated with them. So as I said, we're confident in the range, and that's why we've reiterated the guidance.

是的，我覺得你說得很有道理，吉姆也可以就此發表一下看法。我認為我們確實存在一系列結果，而且由於預期潛在的新帳戶啟動活動可能會將我們推向更高的範圍，因此該範圍比正常情況要寬一些。隨著我們開設新帳戶並承擔相關的開戶成本，這也可能影響 AOI 範圍。正如我所說，我們對這個範圍很有信心，所以我們重申了指導。

There are a few puts and takes with respect to the revenue side and there's a few puts and takes potentially on the AOI side depending upon the speed and rapidity of new openings, some of which could be very impactful in the long term. So some big opportunities in the pipeline that we're hoping to close here in the fourth quarter. And so it's an exciting time. We feel very good about our prospects, and we feel very good about delivering the guidance as we've talked about.

收入方面有一些利弊，AOI 方面也可能有一些利弊，這取決於新店開業的速度和積極性，其中一些利弊在長期內可能會產生非常大的影響。所以，我們有一些正在籌備中的大項目，希望能在第四季完成。所以這是一個令人興奮的時刻。我們對自己的發展前景感到非常樂觀，也對能夠按照我們之前所說的提供指導感到非常樂觀。

Yeah, I'd just add in terms of the -- you talked about the sort of multiyear targets run rate headed into fiscal '26. We're not going to give a guide for '26. But absolutely, I think the -- we're positioned for this really high net new potentially [on pay] for record net new for the company and some of the larger wins we've had more weighted towards the second half of the year. And as John mentioned, there's a couple of large ones outstanding that we hope to close over the next couple of weeks. And if things go as expected, we could be positioned to certainly be at the higher end of that multiyear growth rates.

是的，我只想補充一點——你談到了進入 2026 財年後的多年目標運行率。我們不會提供 2026 年的指南。但絕對，我認為——我們已經做好準備，預計將實現公司有史以來最高的淨新增收入（按薪酬計算），而且我們取得的一些較大訂單更多地集中在下半年。正如約翰所提到的，還有幾筆大交易尚未完成，我們希望在接下來的幾週內完成。如果一切如預期進行，我們絕對能夠躋身多年成長率的較高水準。

And as we said, exiting the year at the higher end of that range.

正如我們所說，年底業績將達到該區間的較高水準。

Karl Green, RBC Capital.

卡爾‧格林，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Yeah, thanks very much. Good morning, gentlemen. My first question is just about the fact that you called out the profitability improvements in Education and B&I in the US. Could you just remind me how the profitability in those divisions is tracking versus fiscal '19 before all of the lockdowns? And then notwithstanding the drag from new openings in the short term, what you think the potential in those divisions is from here, please.

是的，非常感謝。早安，先生們。我的第一個問題是關於您提到的美國教育和商業與工業領域的盈利能力改善。能否提醒我一下，這些部門的獲利能力與 2019 財年（疫情封鎖前）相比如何？然後，撇開短期內新業務拓展帶來的拖累不談，您認為這些部門的潛力如何？

And then the second question, much more straightforwardly, perhaps I missed it. Could you just indicate what the per cap spending increases were in the US in Sports & Leisure? Thank you.

至於第二個問題，這個問題就簡單明了許多，也許我錯過了。能否具體說明一下美國體育休閒產業的人均支出成長？謝謝。

Sure. I'll take the per cap question first. Per capita is in Major League Baseball are running ahead of our expectation. What drives revenues and sports is attendance and per capita spending. Per capita spending, very strong.

當然。我先回答人均問題。人均而言，美國職棒大聯盟的表現超出了我們的預期。推動體育賽事收入成長的因素是觀眾人數和人均消費。人均支出非常強勁。

Attendance in those teams that are performing well, very good, meeting expectations. We do have a couple of teams that are struggling in terms of their records. Obviously, their attendance is impacted. But on balance, the portfolio performing very well. So I feel good about the consumer, their level of spending, and the per capita spending continues to support very strong results. So with respect to the margins in that business from '19, I think they're actually outperforming. But Jim will comment on that.

那些表現良好、非常出色、達到預期目標的團隊的出勤率。我們確實有幾支球隊的戰績不太理想。顯然，他們的出勤率受到了影響。但總體而言，該投資組合表現非常出色。因此，我對消費者、他們的消費水平以及人均消費感到滿意，這些都繼續支撐著非常強勁的業績。所以就 2019 年該業務的利潤率而言，我認為他們實際上表現優異。但吉姆會對此發表評論。

Yeah. In terms of the question on education, I think at this point, compared to '19, both K-12 and higher ed, the revenues are significantly above where we were in '19. On margins, overall, I think in the US, we're approaching -- we were in '19 as we've talked about. We've had to make significant investment in terms of net new and focusing the organization on growth. We've made significant investment in technology and cyber, some of the costs that have sort of affected the US business. But we're on track toward being on or exceeding the fiscal '19 base.

是的。就教育問題而言，我認為目前與 2019 年相比，無論是 K-12 教育還是高等教育，收入都顯著高於 2019 年的水平。就利潤率而言，我認為在美國，我們總體上正在接近——正如我們之前討論過的，我們在 2019 年就接近了。我們必須進行大量投資，包括新增資金和將組織重心放在成長上。我們在技術和網路安全方面進行了大量投資，其中一些成本對美國業務產生了一定影響。但我們有望達到或超過 2019 財年的水準。

Jaafar Mestari, BNP Paribas

法國巴黎銀行 Jaafar Mestari

Hi, good morning. I've got two, if that's all right. So just again on this full year '25 guidance and the implied range for Q4, just trying again. You're reiterating, -- does that mean, yes, probably towards the midpoint? Or if the full range of outcome still really on the table? I mean, the low end of 9% looks pretty much guaranteed with that bridge you've discussed. But at the top end, 16% organic revenue growth in Q4, that's ex accounting. What's the scenario where you deliver that? Is that more signings and immediate opening of anything extra you find from here?

您好，早安。我有兩個，可以嗎？所以，關於2025年全年業績指引和第四季的隱含區間，我再試一次。你重申一下，——那是不是意味著，是的，可能接近中點？或者說，所有可能的結果是否仍然存在？我的意思是，有了你提到的那座橋，9%的最低收益率看起來基本上可以保證了。但就高端數據而言，第四季有機收入成長了 16%，這是不計會計因素的數據。在什麼情況下你會這樣做？除此之外，還有更多簽約和立即開業的消息嗎？

And just related to that, to help us believe in that very big acceleration you've given some useful ad hoc update on retention, 97% year to date. Just curious if you have something equivalent in terms of signings, so something along the lines of the sort of $1.4 billion of full year '24, where are you year to date would be very useful.

另外，為了幫助我們相信這一巨大的加速成長，您還提供了關於用戶留存率的一些有用的臨時更新，今年迄今的留存率為 97%。我只是好奇你們在簽約方面是否有類似的數據，例如2024年全年簽約額達到14億美元，那麼你們今年迄今為止的簽約額是多少呢？這將非常有用。

Yeah, Look, I'll start. And again, I know we're relatively late in the year. What's unusual here is there are a few large accounts, particularly in Healthcare and Corrections, some very sizable accounts that we're -- if we're able to convert and we're feeling pretty good about those accounts. They would start up in fiscal '25.

好，我先來。我知道現在已經是今年的尾聲了。這裡不尋常的是，有一些大客戶，尤其是在醫療保健和懲教領域，一些非常大的客戶，如果我們能夠轉換這些客戶，我們對這些客戶感覺相當不錯。它們將於 2025 財年開始營運。

So that's one variable we've talked about. If you think about -- I mentioned a few times now, the base business within sports, it's quite a range, right? When you have a number of teams, five or six teams that we have that are in playoff pursuit, that could lead to significant range and outcome on revenues as well.

這是我們已經討論過的變數。如果你仔細想想——我之前已經提到過幾次了——體育行業的基礎業務範圍相當廣泛，對吧？當有五、六支球隊都在爭奪季後賽席位時，這也會對收入產生很大的影響。

John mentioned the pricing actions going into place and executing those. And then again, the retention rates, typically, if we plan at [95 or 96], and 1 point of retention is a point of growth, right? So the outlook there remains pretty favourable as well. I think we've -- in terms of rebid activity and visibility and retention for the full year, we feel we're in a good spot.

約翰提到了即將實施和執行的價格調整措施。此外，如果我們打算將使用者留存率設定為 [95 或 96]，那麼 1 個百分點的留存率就意味著 1 個百分點的成長，對嗎？所以那裡的前景依然相當樂觀。我認為就全年的重新競標活動、知名度和客戶留存率而言，我們目前的情況良好。

Yeah, And I would just reiterate that given where we are today, given our understanding of the business, what is potentially to come, that the range of outcomes is pretty wide. And we understand that. And we believe there is an opportunity to get to the high end of the ranges based on the visibility that we have if certain circumstances occur, most of which we can't talk about because we're in active negotiations with clients and potential customers.

是的，我還要重申，鑑於我們目前的處境，鑑於我們對業務的了解，以及未來可能發生的事情，結果的範圍相當廣泛。我們明白這一點。我們相信，根據我們目前掌握的信息，如果某些情況發生，我們有機會達到高端水平，但大多數情況我們無法透露，因為我們正在與客戶和潛在客戶積極談判。

And so I'm -- yeah. We're confident. We've said it as many times as we can and repeat it ourselves as long as we can to go ahead and hopefully convey that confidence. We're strong believers. We're all the lion's shareholders here. We all want the same outcome.

所以，我是——是的。我們很有信心。我們已經盡可能地說過，並且會盡可能地重複，希望能傳達出這種信心。我們是堅定的信徒。我們都是這家公司的股東。我們都想要一樣的結果。

And so we're confident in the ramp. We're confident in the guidance, and that's about all the detail we can give you.

因此，我們對這個坡道很有信心。我們對指導意見很有信心，而我們所能提供的細節就只有這些了。

That makes sense. (technical difficulty) And apologies for labouring the point, but just to triple check, is there any suggestion, for example, that if you were to land at the top end of the organic revenue range, then we would need to assume immediately the bottom end of the profit growth range because of mobilization costs? Or is that not what you're saying? It's open-ended on both sides?

這很有道理。（技術難題）很抱歉我反覆強調這一點，但為了再次確認，例如，是否有任何跡象表明，如果您的有機收入達到範圍的上限，那麼由於啟動成本，我們是否需要立即假設利潤增長範圍的下限？或者，你的意思並非如此？雙方都持開放態度嗎？

They're linked. But no, I don't think I would characterize it that way.

它們之間存在著聯繫。但是，不，我不認為我會那樣描述它。

Faiza Alwy, Deutsche Bank.

Faiza Alwy，德意志銀行。

Yeah, hi, thank you. Good morning. I see that you've had some really nice acceleration in the B&I segment this quarter. And I know you mentioned new business, higher participation rates and micro market lending services. So curious if you could help disaggregate some of that for us and sort of how sustainable that acceleration is. You've also talked about sort of proactive approach to leveraging the strategic value and business timing. So maybe give us a bit more color in terms of what you're doing there.

是啊，你好，謝謝。早安.我注意到本季你們在B&I領域取得了非常好的成長。我知道您提到了新業務、更高的參與率和小額市場貸款服務。我很想知道您是否可以幫我們分析其中的一些因素，以及這種加速發展的可持續性。您也談到了利用策略價值和業務時機的積極主動的方法。所以，能不能再詳細說說你​​在那裡具體在做什麼？

The business -- yes, the B&I segment has performed really well throughout the year. And I think it printed 13% growth in Q1, Q2, ramped up a little bit to 17% in Q3. It's as you know, that sector includes both corporate with B&I and refreshment services. Both businesses are generating very solid new business, I think, record levels for both groups, elevated retention rates for both groups as well. The acceleration really from continuing to rolling out new accounts, particularly in the refreshment services business.

業務方面－是的，B&I 業務部門全年表現都非常出色。我認為它在第一季和第二季實現了 13% 的成長，第三季略微上升至 17%。如您所知，該行業既包括企業餐飲服務，也包括企業外送服務。我認為，這兩個業務部門都創造了非常穩健的新業務成長，兩個部門都達到了創紀錄的水平，而且兩個部門的客戶留存率也都很高。真正的加速來自於不斷拓展新客戶，尤其是在餐飲服務業。

They've been particularly effective within B&I, the partnerships, the branding they've done. We have a LifeWorks brand, the partnership with Boulud in New York, additional catering activities. Participation rates continue to remain elevated, particularly in an environment where some high street pricing is elevated. Two third of our accounts are subsidized, which I think is resulting in folks eating more in their corporate cafe. So all those factors, I think, are driving the strong performance that you're seeing in that sector.

他們在商業和工業領域，尤其是在合作關係和品牌推廣方面，取得了顯著成效。我們擁有 LifeWorks 品牌，與紐約的 Boulud 建立了合作關係，並開展了其他餐飲業務。參與率持續保持在高位，尤其是在一些商業街商品價格偏高的情況下。我們三分之二的帳戶都享有補貼，我認為這導致人們在公司食堂吃得更多了。我認為，所有這些因素共同推動了該行業目前的強勁表現。

Great, thank you. And then just a follow-up on margins and the point that you raised around opening costs for new business. Maybe give us a bit more perspective or any quantification that you can. Sort of is there a rule of thumb just how margins typically will ramp for new business, your years one, two, three? Just trying to get a sense of -- just level set on expectations for margin next year.

太好了，謝謝。然後，我想就利潤率以及您提出的關於新業務開辦成本的問題做個後續說明。或許您可以提供更詳細的分析或量化數據。有沒有什麼經驗法則可以大致預測新業務的利潤率通常會如何成長，例如第一年、第二年、第三年？我只是想了解一下——對明年利潤率的預期要保持平衡。

Yeah, sure. So again, really good margin progression this year, right? First quarter, 40 basis points, Q2, 30 basis points and 60 basis points this quarter. So again, the ramp-up of large accounts, we've always talked about. Typically, margins are flat in that first year and then they progress to our steady-state margin over the course of three years.

當然可以。所以今年的利潤率成長確實非常可觀，對吧？第一季 40 個基點，第二季 30 個基點，本季 60 個基點。所以，我們一直在討論如何增加大客戶。通常情況下，第一年的利潤率保持平穩，然後在三年內逐步達到我們的穩定利潤率。

So occasionally, you have a significant amount of new business ramping up in a quarter. It could have a sort of a temporary drag on margins. But again, not a bad problem to have. And the other factor that we're monitoring with respect to margins, if we do have a record year with net new, and that's 40% of our compensation. So the incentive comp may be a little higher than a typical year.

所以偶爾會出現一個季度內新業務量大幅成長的情況。這可能會暫時對利潤率造成一定程度的拖累。但話說回來，這也不是壞事。另一個與利潤率相關的因素是，如果我們今年的淨新增業務創下歷史新高，那麼利潤率將占我們薪資的 40%。因此，激勵獎金可能會比往年略高一些。

Again, not a bad problem to have, sort of rewarding folks for the great work that they've done.

再說一遍，這不算壞事，算是對那些有傑出貢獻的人的一種獎勵。

Jasper Bibb, Truist Securities.

Jasper Bibb，Truist Securities。

Hey, good morning, everyone. Hoping you could talk about competitive dynamics in education, clearly bullish here on the pipeline of opportunities. Got some new wins picking up in the fourth quarter. Conversely, one of your large competitors have actually talked about growth issues in their own US education business. So just curious if you've seen any changes in the market which might be driving what looks like market share gains for your own business.

嘿，大家早安。希望您能談談教育領域的競爭動態，顯然您對未來的發展機會非常看好。第四節比賽中取得了一些新的勝利。相反，你們的一家大型競爭對手實際上已經談到了他們在美國教育業務的成長問題。所以，我只是好奇您是否觀察到市場發生了任何變化，這些變化可能推動了貴公司市場份額的成長。

Yeah. I think, first of all, I think our performance speaks for itself. We've been able to grow that business very effectively over time. It's -- we have particular strength in the higher education sector and our portfolio is unmatched. We've got very strong relationships and continue to retain that business at a very high level.

是的。首先，我認為我們的表現本身就說明了一切。隨著時間的推移，我們已經能夠非常有效地發展這項業務。我們尤其在高等教育領域擁有強大的實力，我們的投資組合無與倫比。我們與客戶建立了非常牢固的關係，並持續保持著很高的業務水平。

And yes, some of our competitors have struggled more in the education sector than we have. I think it's primarily a result of leadership and focus and performance, ultimately. That's what drives customers to make decisions and drive retention. So I would characterize us as just having a great leadership team doing a terrific job in the business. And I wouldn't comment on the reasons that they're not performing as well.

沒錯，我們的一些競爭對手在教育領域遇到的困難比我們更大。我認為這最終主要取決於領導力、專注力和績效。這就是促使客戶做出購買決定並提高客戶留存率的因素。所以我認為我們公司擁有一支優秀的領導團隊，他們在業務上做得非常好。至於他們表現不佳的原因，我不予置評。

And then maybe this is a little bit repetitive but just hoping you could maybe talk about the run rate in the '26 again. I mean it sounds like with one of the drivers of the sequential step-up in the fourth quarter being some of those new education wins starting late in the quarter, that September should be better than July, I imagine.

然後，也許這有點重複，但我只是希望您能再談談 2026 年的跑動率。我的意思是，聽起來第四季環比成長的驅動因素之一是本季末開始的一些新的教育項目，因此我想9月份的情況應該會比7月份好。

I guess, is that fair? And then can you talk about what's driving your confidence? And I think it's an 8%-plus run rate organic growth into '26.

我想，這樣公平嗎？那麼，您能否談談是什麼讓您充滿自信？我認為到 2026 年，有機成長率將超過 8%。

Yeah. I would say, in general, and Jim can comment here as well, September is always one of our strongest months because it is the opening season for the K-12 and higher education new wins. So it does tend to drive -- our revenues tend to be the highest. And it's also the time when Major League Baseball attendance is at its peak, particularly for those teams that are in the playoff hunt. So September is always an exciting time at Aramark for lots of different reasons.

是的。總的來說，我認為（吉姆也可以在這裡發表評論），九月總是我們業績最好的月份之一，因為這是 K-12 和高等教育新客戶簽約的開端。所以它確實往往會帶來收益——我們的收入往往最高。同時，這也是美國職棒大聯盟上座率最高的時期，尤其是對於那些正在爭取季後賽席位的球隊而言。因此，由於各種原因，九月對 Aramark 來說總是令人興奮的。

And -- but yes, I would anticipate that September's growth rate would be higher than July is in general, but that's kind of the normal step function that exists in the business.

是的，我預期 9 月份的成長率通常會高於 7 月份，但這在商業領域是一種正常的階梯函數。

Yeah, I think that's right. And again, as sort of John mentioned earlier, that's a great thing about when you have high retention in education, both K-12 and higher ed, and you have a successful year of new, that primarily hits in August and September. So a key reason for why we expect some elevation or acceleration there.

是的，我覺得沒錯。正如約翰之前提到的那樣，教育領域（包括 K-12 和高等教育）的高留存率是一件好事，而且新學年也會取得成功，這主要體現在八月和九月。所以，這就是我們預期那裡會出現海拔升高或加速度的關鍵原因。

And again, as I mentioned earlier, the sports season, when you have a number of good teams performing in attendance and base business is looking good, that really hits August and September as well. So I think some of the key drivers of the acceleration we expect toward the end of the year and again position us into the high end of the multiyear targets that we have established for the organization.

正如我之前提到的，體育賽季期間，許多優秀的球隊上座率很高，基礎業務也表現良好，這在八月和九月也會起到很大的推動作用。所以我認為，推動我們預計在年底前實現加速成長的一些關鍵因素，將再次使我們達到為組織設定的多年目標的高端水平。

Andrew Wittman, Baird.

安德魯威特曼，貝爾德。

Great. Thanks for taking my question. Talk about the As being a large contract. Is that kind of the large contract that you referenced? I just want to be clear on this one because I'm not mistaken, that new stadium hasn't slated to open until 2028. And I wanted to make sure that investors thought worth thinking about that when contributing with the right timing

偉大的。謝謝您回答我的問題。談A級合同，這是一份大合約。這就是你提到的那種大合約嗎？我只是想把這件事說清楚，因為我沒記錯的話，那座新球場要到 2028 年才會開放。我希望確保投資者在選擇合適的投資時機時，能夠考慮到這一點。

Yeah, thanks, Andrew. Yeah, absolutely. That won't open until 2028, and it is a very large win, one that one that we're very proud of, but won't impact and is not included in our fourth quarter projections or next year's projections, but it is an exciting win for us. So thanks for clarifying that.

謝謝你，安德魯。是的，絕對的。該專案要到 2028 年才會啟動，這是一項非常大的勝利，我們為此感到非常自豪，但這不會影響我們的第四季度預測或明年的預測，也沒有納入其中，不過這對我們來說是一項令人興奮的勝利。謝謝你的澄清。

Okay. I just want to make sure on that one. And then I guess there was a comment on medical expenses in your US segment. Just mentioning that, that margins would have been higher. I don't know, Jim, if you want to put any meat on that bone for us. But just for context, I thought it might be helpful.

好的。我只是想確認一下。然後，我猜你們在美國那部分節目中提到了醫療費用問題。順便提一下，利潤率本來會更高。吉姆，我不知道你是否願意為我們補充一些細節。但為了提供一些背景信息，我覺得這可能有所幫助。

Yeah. No problem. Medical costs were about sort of $15 million higher in the quarter is what I was referencing. And really two factors driving that, just an unusual number of high-cost claims in the quarter, as well as prescription drug costs with some of the GLP-1 drugs being up a little bit as well. So it's something we are monitoring closely. It's one of the things, as we said, a range of outcomes for the full year. So it's something we noted that was a moderate drag on margin in the third quarter.

是的。沒問題。我指的是，該季度的醫療費用增加了約 1500 萬美元。造成這種情況的原因主要有兩個：一是本季度高額索賠數量異常多，二是處方藥價格上漲，其中一些 GLP-1 藥物的價格也略有上漲。所以我們正在密切關注此事。正如我們所說，這是全年可能出現的各種結果之一。因此，我們注意到，這在第三季對利潤率造成了一定程度的拖累。

Yeah. And I'll just add a little bit of color commentary on the GLP-1s. Obviously, that is a benefit we provide our employees. There are long-term benefits to having your employees get healthier over time. And so as they use the opportunity to take advantage of that benefit.

是的。我再補充一點 GLP-1 的色彩評論。顯然，這是我們為員工提供的福利之一。讓員工隨著時間的推移變得更健康，會帶來長遠的好處。因此，他們會利用這個機會來享受這種好處。

Hopefully, that leads to longer-term better health and better outcomes and lower health care costs. But the prescription costs early on when they're taking that medication are fairly high. And we're looking at ways to try to mitigate that over time. But yes, the medical claims costs can be a little bit lumpy. Typically, we don't have that kind of impact on a quarter to quarter basis.

希望這能帶來更長期的健康狀況改善、更好的治療效果和更低的醫療成本。但是，在他們服用這種藥物的早期階段，處方費用相當高。我們正在研究如何隨著時間的推移來緩解這種情況。但沒錯，醫療理賠費用可能會有些波動。通常情況下，我們不會受到季度間這種程度的影響。

But in this particular quarter, we did have a couple of large claims come through. And as you know, we're self-insured. So that was the impact.

但就本季而言，我們確實收到了幾筆數額較大的索賠。如您所知，我們是自保的。這就是它的影響。

Harold Antor, Jefferies.

哈羅德·安托，傑富瑞集團。

This is Harold Antor on for Stephanie Moore. So I guess just two quick ones for me. One, just on Avendra, I guess, could you give us an update on what's the spend there, client receptiveness to you guys being able to provide the service, and then just with the margins look like in that business and how you expect to contribute in 2026.

這裡是哈羅德·安托爾，替史蒂芬妮·摩爾為您報道。那我就簡單回答兩個問題吧。一、就 Avendra 而言，我想請您介紹一下該業務的支出情況、客戶對貴公司提供的服務的接受度，以及該業務的利潤情況，並說明您預計在 2026 年將如何做出貢獻。

And then just on my second one is, I know you have some co-pilot and some hospitality IQ, and some other AI-driven initiatives that has assisted in the supply chain improvement. So if you could just discuss anything you're doing on the AI front on the supply chain. Both of those would be helpful. Thank you.

然後，我的第二個問題是，我知道你們有一些副駕駛和一些酒店業智商，以及一些其他人工智慧驅動的舉措，這些都有助於供應鏈的改進。所以，如果您能談談您在供應鏈人工智慧方面所做的任何工作就太好了。這兩種方法都很有幫助。謝謝。

Yeah, you bet. First of all, on Avendra, we continue to grow the spend in that business. And currently we're, call it, somewhere between $21 million and $22 billion of spend under management, which includes all of our contract catering spend as well as our third-party spend that we manage for companies like Marriott and others. So very proud of the growth in that business. They've had very good results year over year in terms of net new business and improving profitability throughout the year, contributing to our earnings potential and improved profits as well.

當然。首先，在 Avendra 方面，我們繼續增加在該業務上的支出。目前，我們管理的支出金額大約在 2,100 萬美元到 220 億美元之間，其中包括我們所有的合約餐飲支出以及我們為萬豪酒店等公司管理的第三方支出。為公司所取得的成長感到非常自豪。他們在新增業務和全年獲利能力提升方面都取得了非常好的業績，這也有助於提高我們的獲利潛力和利潤。

So the margins in that business, as you know, are very strong, depending on whether it's a third party or whether it's contributing to our discount structure and our negotiated cost structure, a very big contributor to our profitability as a company. and they've had very good results this year.

如您所知，這項業務的利潤率非常高，這取決於它是第三方業務，還是參與了我們的折扣結構和協商成本結構，這對我們公司的盈利能力貢獻巨大。而且他們今年的業績非常好。

Jim, do you have any other comments?

吉姆，你還有其他要補充的嗎？

You asked about, I think, AI and supply chain. We continue to elevate our capabilities with respect to AI. We've talked previously about leveraging AI to aggregate our spend. One of the tools we've recently introduced is actually a tool that can literally read and interpret correspondence from our suppliers. As an example, if a supplier is trying to implement a price increase.

我想，你問的是人工智慧和供應鏈的問題。我們在人工智慧領域不斷提升自身能力。我們之前討論過利用人工智慧來匯總我們的支出。我們最近推出的一款工具實際上可以讀取和解讀供應商寄來的信件。例如，如果供應商試圖實施價格上漲。

It will scan that letter, interpret it and then literally find the contract and read the contract and determine whether that supplier is eligible for a price increase or not and then generate the correspondence. So you can think about the efficiency that's gained when you're managing thousands and thousands of contracts over thousands of profit centres. So just an example of some of the efficiencies we're seeing with our supply chain and AI capabilities.

它會掃描這封信，解讀信的內容，然後找到合約並閱讀合同，確定該供應商是否有資格提價，然後產生相應的信函。所以你可以想想，當你管理成千上萬個利潤中心的成千上萬份合約時，效率會提高多少。這只是我們在供應鏈和人工智慧能力方面所看到的一些效率提升的一個例子。

Josh Chan, UBS.

瑞銀集團的 Josh Chan。

Hi, good morning. Thanks to my question. Just a quick one, I guess, on Q3. I think you had previously given the April growth rate, and the quarter came in where it is. So I guess, did something slowdown in May or June? Or how would you characterize that? Or is that normal fluctuation?

您好，早安。感謝我的提問。關於第三季度，我只想簡單問一下。我認為你之前已經給了四月份的成長率，而本季的成長率就是現在這個水準。所以我想，是不是五月或六月的時候業務有所放緩？或者你會如何描述這種情況？還是這是正常的波動？

Yeah, no, I think we anticipate a little higher level of activity in the arena business. April came in at the 6% level, and we had a slightly lower level of activity in the arenas over the course of the last couple of months, primarily related, as I said, to the renovations at Verizon Center and a couple of other arenas. So not a significant change in the trajectory of our expectation for the full year.

是的，我認為我們預計體育館業務的活動水平會略有提高。四月份的佔比為 6%，過去幾個月裡，體育館的活動水平略有下降，正如我所說，這主要與 Verizon 中心和其他幾個體育館的翻新工程有關。因此，我們對全年的預期軌跡沒有重大變化。

The other -- I think during the fire side, we talked about 6% run rate. The other -- yeah, we didn't go as deep into the playoffs in the NBA as anticipated as well on top of the lighter contract activity.

另一個——我想在爐邊談話時，我們談到了 6% 的運行率。另外——是的，除了合約活動較少之外，我們在NBA季後賽中也沒有像預期那樣走得更遠。

I'll now turn the call back to Mr. Zillmer for any closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給齊爾默先生，請他作總結發言。

Terrific. Well, thanks again, everybody, for your interest and participation this morning. Again, we feel very good about the third quarter results. I want to thank the Aramark team for their extraordinary performance and keep pushing for those high retention rates and the net new business. We have a great fourth quarter in front of us, and we look forward to talking to you when it's complete. Thank you, take care.

了不起。再次感謝大家今天早上的關注與參與。我們再次表示，我們對第三季的業績非常滿意。我要感謝 Aramark 團隊的出色表現，並希望他們繼續努力，維持高客戶留存率和新增業務量。我們面前還有精彩的第四季度，期待季度結束後與您交流。謝謝，請多保重。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的演講到此結束。現在您可以斷開連接，祝您度過美好的一天。