美國水務 (AWK) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the American Water fourth quarter and year-end 2024 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Aaron Musgrave, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加美國水務公司 2024 年第四季和年終電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在記錄中。現在，我想將會議交給投資人關係副總裁 Aaron Musgrave。請繼續。

Thank you, Cindy. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's call. At the end of our prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions. Let me first go over some Safe Harbor language.

謝謝你，辛蒂。大家早安，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。在我們準備好的發言結束時，我們將開始回答您的問題。首先讓我介紹一下安全港語言。

Today, we will be making forward-looking statements that represent our expectations regarding our future performance or other future events. These statements are predictions based on our current expectations, estimates, and assumptions.

今天，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，代表我們對未來業績或其他未來事件的預期。這些陳述是基於我們目前的預期、估計和假設所做的預測。

However, since these statements deal with future events, they're subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results indicated or implied by such statements. Additional information regarding these risks, uncertainties and factors as well as a more detailed analysis of our financials and other important information is provided in the fourth quarter earnings release and in our 2024 Form 10-K each filed yesterday with the SEC.

然而，由於這些聲明涉及未來事件，因此它們受制於許多已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，這些因素可能導致實際結果與這些聲明所表明或暗示的結果有重大差異。有關這些風險、不確定性和因素的更多資​​訊以及對我們的財務狀況和其他重要資訊的更詳細分析，請參閱我們昨天向美國證券交易委員會提交的第四季度收益報告和 2024 年 10-K 表格。

And finally, all statements during this presentation related to earnings and earnings per share refer to diluted earnings and diluted earnings per share. Susan Hardwick, our CEO, will share a few opening remarks, followed by our President, John Griffith, who will share highlights of 2024 and comment on our affirmation of 2025 EPS guidance and longer-term targets.

最後，本演示中與收益和每股收益相關的所有陳述均指稀釋收益和稀釋每股收益。我們的執行長蘇珊·哈德威克 (Susan Hardwick) 將致開幕詞，隨後我們的總裁約翰·格里菲斯 (John Griffith) 將分享 2024 年的亮點並對我們對 2025 年每股收益指引和長期目標的肯定發表評論。

David Bowler, our Executive Vice President and CFO, will discuss our 2024 financial results, provide rate case updates, discuss our strong financial position heading into 2025, and review our EPS guidance drivers and five-year financing plan. Cheryl Norton, our Executive Vice President and COO, will then discuss our capital investment program, our acquisition outlook, and will conclude with comments on our compelling growth drivers.

我們的執行副總裁兼財務長 David Bowler 將討論我們的 2024 年財務業績，提供利率案例更新，討論我們邁向 2025 年的強勁財務狀況，並審查我們的每股收益指導驅動因素和五年融資計劃。我們的執行副總裁兼營運長 Cheryl Norton 將討論我們的資本投資計劃、我們的收購前景，並最後對我們引人注目的成長動力發表評論。

After our prepared remarks, we'll then close by answering your questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to American Water's CEO, Susan Hardwick.

在我們發表準備好的發言後，我們將回答您的問題。說完這些，我將把電話轉給美國水務公司執行長蘇珊哈德威克 (Susan Hardwick)。

Thanks, Aaron, and good morning, everyone. And let me start by making a few comments on the leadership news detailed in our earnings release last night. There, we announced my retirement as of May 14, 2025, which is the date of our Annual Shareholders Meeting. At that same time, John will become our CEO.

謝謝，Aaron，大家早安。首先，我想就昨晚發布的收益報告中詳述的領導新聞發表一些評論。我們宣布我將於 2025 年 5 月 14 日（也就是我們的年度股東大會日期）退休。同時，約翰將成為我們的執行長。

This is the next step in the succession plan we laid out in August of last year. The American Water Board is deeply committed to building a strong succession and development strategy at American Water as evidenced by this thoughtful plan.

這是我們去年八月制定的繼任計畫的下一步。美國水務局致力於在美國水務公司建立強大的繼任和發展策略，這一週到的計畫就證明了這一點。

This transition is just a part of that intentional effort to ensure we have the best leadership foundation for the long term throughout the entire organization. John working with Cheryl and rest of our talented and highly experienced leadership team will continue American Water's strong record of industry leadership and high performance.

這次轉變只是我們努力的一部分，旨在確保我們整個組織擁有長期最佳的領導基礎。約翰將與謝麗爾以及我們其他才華橫溢、經驗豐富的領導團隊成員一起，繼續保持美國水務公司在行業中的領先地位和優異的業績。

John has more than 25 years of industry knowledge and expertise and significant experience in leading high-performing teams, strategy, development, and execution. Most importantly, he has a deep understanding of our company's purpose and a strong commitment to our customers, employees, and shareholders.

John 擁有超過 25 年的行業知識和專業技能，以及領導高效團隊、策略、開發和執行方面的豐富經驗。最重要的是，他深刻地理解我們公司的宗旨，並對我們的客戶、員工和股東有著堅定的承諾。

I am very proud of the leadership team we have built at American Water, all of whom are committed to the mission of delivering safe, clean, and reliable service to those we have the privilege of serving. The success of this company reflects the cohesive leadership of this entire team.

我為美國水務公司建立的領導團隊感到非常自豪，他們都致力於為我們有幸服務的人們提供安全、清潔和可靠的服務。該公司的成功體現了整個團隊的凝聚力領導力。

I also want to thank all of the employees of American Water. I have been in the utility business for over 40 years now, and it is an absolute privilege to work with you. I'm thankful and humbled by the opportunity to spend the last six years in the water industry with each of you, providing water and wastewater services that improve customers' lives and make the community stronger is a true honor.

我還要感謝美國水務公司的所有員工。我從事公用事業行業已有 40 多年了，能夠與您共事是我的榮幸。我很感激並且很榮幸有機會與你們一起在水行業工作了六年，提供水和廢水處理服務，改善客戶的生活，使社區更加強大，這是一種真正的榮幸。

But before I go, I want to reiterate my belief that American Water continues to be the leader in all aspects of the water and wastewater utility industry in the United States. If you compare our plans to our actual results, you will see that we consistently executed exactly as we said we would, including our results in 2024 that were squarely in line with our plan.

但在離開之前，我想重申我的信念：美國水務公司將繼續在美國水和廢水公用事業行業的各個方面處於領先地位。如果將我們的計劃與實際結果進行比較，您會發現我們始終嚴格按照我們所說的執行，包括 2024 年的結果與我們的計劃完全一致。

This growing record of consistency continues to solidify the earned trust in our company from investors, analysts, and other key stakeholders. And with that, let me turn it over to John to cover 2024 highlights in our affirmed outlook. John.

這種不斷增長的一致性記錄繼續鞏固了投資者、分析師和其他主要利害關係人對我們公司的信任。接下來，讓我將主題交給約翰，讓他介紹我們確認的展望中的 2024 年亮點。約翰。

Thank you, Susan, and congratulations. While we still have you until May, let me say what a tremendous privilege it has been for all of us to have alongside you over the years. You have made a very significant contribution to American Water's success and the company is stronger because of your leadership.

謝謝你，蘇珊，恭喜你。雖然我們要到五月才能見到您，但請允許我說，這麼多年來能夠與您相伴，對於我們所有人來說是多麼大的榮幸。您為美國水務公司的成功做出了十分重大的貢獻，公司在您的領導下變得更加強大。

I am excited and honored to work alongside this team as CEO starting in May, and know we have a great future ahead of us as we continue to make communities stronger through the critical water and wastewater services we provide.

我很高興也很榮幸能從五月開始以執行長的身份與這個團隊一起工作，並且知道我們擁有美好的未來，因為我們將繼續透過我們提供的關鍵供水和廢水處理服務讓社區變得更加強大。

Let's turn to slide 6. And I'll start by covering some highlights of last year. You can see here an abbreviated list of some of our key accomplishments for the year and David and Cheryl will add these in their remarks. As we announced yesterday, we delivered 2024 financial results right in line with our expectations.

我們翻到第 6 張投影片。首先我將介紹去年的一些亮點。您可以在這裡看到我們今年的一些主要成就的簡要列表，David 和 Cheryl 將在他們的評論中添加這些成就。正如我們昨天宣布的那樣，我們 2024 年的財務表現完全符合我們的預期。

Earnings were $5.39 per share for the year, which included $0.12 per share of favorable weather and $0.09 per share of incremental interest income from the HOS note. Our results reflect the clear execution of our plan in 2024, which delivered EPS growth of 8%-plus.

全年每股收益為 5.39 美元，其中包括每股 0.12 美元的有利天氣收入和每股 0.09 美元的 HOS 票據增量利息收入。我們的業績反映了我們 2024 年計畫的明確執行，實現了每股收益成長 8% 以上。

I'm proud of our regulatory and state teams for successfully completing several significant general rate cases this past year. These cases, which were driven by needed infrastructure investments, punctuate the focus we have on providing safe, clean, reliable, and affordable service to over 14 million people across our footprint.

我為我們的監管和國家團隊在過去一年中成功完成幾起重大的一般稅率案件感到自豪。這些案例由必要的基礎設施投資推動，凸顯了我們致力於為遍布全球的 1,400 多萬人提供安全、清潔、可靠且價格合理的服務。

And as you can see, we invested over $3 billion in 2024 to help achieve that mission. This included a solid year for acquisitions, which, at nearly 70,000 customer connections, met our 2% compounded annual growth target.

正如您所看到的，我們在 2024 年投資了超過 30 億美元來幫助實現這項使命。這一年，我們的收購表現強勁，客戶連線數達到近 70,000 個，實現了我們 2% 的年複合成長率目標。

Overall, I'm very proud of our company's ability to stay focused on serving our customers safely and reliably this past year. I believe that take away today for investors is that our strong execution in 2024, coupled with our low-risk top-tier capital growth plan, demonstrates American Water's ability to deliver on our long-term plan. I'm confident we will execute on our plans for 2025 and beyond, building on the momentum we have from 2020.

總的來說，我為我們公司在過去的一年裡能夠專注於為客戶提供安全可靠的服務感到非常自豪。我相信今天投資者可以得到的啟示是，我們在 2024 年的強勁執行力，加上我們低風險的頂級資本增長計劃，證明了美國水務公司有能力實現我們的長期計劃。我相信，我們將在 2020 年的基礎上繼續執行 2025 年及以後的計劃。

Turning to slide 7, we are affirming our 2025 earnings guidance of $5.65 to $5.75 per share. This represents our expectation of 8% EPS growth in 2025 compared to our weather-normalized 2024 EPS.

轉到第 7 頁，我們確認 2025 年每股收益預期為 5.65 美元至 5.75 美元。這表明，我們預計 2025 年每股盈餘將較 2024 年天氣標準化後的每股盈餘成長 8%。

The comments that we'll share today are an affirmation of the financial plan, long-term targets, and guidance we laid out last fall, highlighted by 7% to 9% EPS and dividend growth, and driven by 8% to 9% rate base growth.

我們今天分享的評論是對我們去年秋天制定的財務計劃、長期目標和指導的肯定，重點是 7% 至 9% 的每股收益和股息增長，以及 8% 至 9% 的利率基準增長。

We have a geographic footprint and resulting regulatory diversity that is rivaled by few. This, along with our capital plan that have decades of basic infrastructure renewal at its core drives the low-risk nature of our growth plans. Along with our affordability and sustainability leadership, I believe American Water offers a top-tier shareholder return opportunity and merits our position as a premium regulated utility.

我們的地理覆蓋範圍以及由此產生的監管多樣性無可比擬。這項舉措，加上我們以數十年基礎設施更新為核心的資本計劃，共同推動了我們成長計劃的低風險性質。我相信，除了我們的可負擔性和永續性領導地位之外，美國水務公司還提供了頂級的股東回報機會，並值得我們成為一家優質受監管公用事業公司。

In closing on slide 8, I want to emphasize that we expect to achieve consistent EPS growth well within the 7% to 9% range through 2029 and beyond. We have demonstrated during these last few years, and with our guidance for 2025, that our business plan is strong and compelling.

在第 8 張投影片結束時，我想強調的是，我們預計到 2029 年及以後，每股盈餘將持續成長 7% 至 9% 之間。我們在過去幾年中以及通過 2025 年的指導證明，我們的商業計劃是強大且引人注目的。

Our commitment to solving problems for our customers remains steadfast, including addressing aging infrastructure and water quality challenges. This foundation, coupled with the capital investment needs that lie ahead, uniquely positions American Water to achieve consistently strong earnings and dividend growth for me many years to come.

我們始終堅定不移地致力於為客戶解決問題，包括解決老化的基礎設施和水質挑戰。這個基礎，加上未來的資本投資需求，使美國水務公司在未來許多年裡能夠實現持續強勁的獲利和股息成長。

With that, I'll hand it over to David to cover our financial results, rate case updates, and balance sheet strength and further detail. David?

接下來，我將交給戴維來介紹我們的財務表現、利率案例更新、資產負債表實力和進一步的細節。戴維？

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone. Before I start it up, I'd like to also congratulate Susan on her upcoming retirement and John on his succession and to the CEO role. Susan, I echo John's comments on that being a pleasure to work with you over the years. You will certainly be missed by all of us here.

謝謝，約翰，大家早安。在我開始之前，我還想祝賀蘇珊即將退休，並祝賀約翰繼任並擔任執行長一職。蘇珊，我同意約翰的評論，多年來很高興與您共事。我們大家一定都會想念您的。

Now turning to slide 10, let me provide a few more details on 2024 results as compared to 2023. You'll also find details of fourth results in the appendix. Consolidated reported earnings were $5.39 per share in 2024, higher by $0.49 per share compared to 2023.

現在轉到第 10 張投影片，讓我提供一些與 2023 年相比 2024 年結果的更多細節。您還將在附錄中找到第四個結果的詳細資訊。2024 年綜合報告收益為每股 5.39 美元，比 2023 年每股高出 0.49 美元。

As John noted, earnings in 2024 benefited from an estimated $0.12 per share as a result of revenue from drier than normal weather experienced across our states, as compared to $0.13 per share of favorable weather in 2023. Excluding the impacts of weather, revenues were higher by $1.28 per share, primarily due to authorized rate increases from general rate cases and infrastructure surcharges to recover investment across our states.

正如約翰所指出的，由於我們各州經歷了比正常天氣更乾燥的天氣，2024 年的收益預計將從每股 0.12 美元中受益，而 2023 年的有利天氣則為每股 0.13 美元。排除天氣的影響，每股收入增加了 1.28 美元，這主要是由於授權提高一般費率和基礎設施附加費以收回我們各州的投資。

Revenues were also higher from closed water and wastewater acquisitions, organic customer growth, and increase from changes in customer demand. One additional item to note is that purchased water costs, which were higher by $0.08 per share year over year, have been netted against revenues as these costs are generally recovered on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

收入也因水和廢水處理業務的收購、客戶的有機成長以及客戶需求變化而增加。另外要注意的一點是，購買水的成本比去年同期高出了 0.08 美元/股，但已從收入中扣除，因為這些成本通常是以一美元對一美元的方式收回的。

And looking at operating cost, O&M was higher by $0.22 per share, driven primarily by employee-related costs and other increases to support growth in the business as we expected. Production costs related to fuel, power, and chemicals were also slightly higher compared to 2023.

從營運成本來看，O&M 每股上漲 0.22 美元，主要由於員工相關成本和其他成長推動，以支持業務成長，正如我們預期的那樣。與 2023 年相比，與燃料、電力和化學品相關的生產成本也略高。

Next, general taxes, which are comprised of property and gross receipts taxes, were higher by $0.05 per share, with the increase in property taxes tied to the level of capital investment and higher gross receipts tax driven by higher revenue, primarily in New Jersey. Depreciation increased $0.31 per share and long-term financing costs increased $0.33 per share, both as expected in support of our investment growth.

其次，由財產稅和總收入稅組成的一般稅種每股上漲了 0.05 美元，其中財產稅的上漲與資本投資水準掛鉤，而總所得稅的上漲則是由收入增加推動的，主要是在新澤西州。折舊每股增加 0.31 美元，長期融資成本每股增加 0.33 美元，均符合預期，支持了我們的投資成長。

And finally, we had $0.09 per share of additional interest income from the February 2024 amendment of the note related to the sale of Home Owner Services. We will continue to break this out quarterly so investors can track the ongoing growth of American Water from our core regulated strategy without this additional interest income.

最後，我們從 2024 年 2 月與出售房主服務相關的票據修訂中獲得了每股 0.09 美元的額外利息收入。我們將繼續按季度公佈這一數據，以便投資者能夠在沒有額外利息收入的情況下，從我們的核心監管策略中追蹤美國水務的持續成長。

Turning to slide 11, we summarize the seven rate cases we successfully completed in 2024, five of which we covered on prior calls. In the fourth quarter, we received orders in Illinois and California, as well as an updated final order in Kentucky.

轉到投影片 11，我們總結了 2024 年成功完成的 7 個利率案例，其中 5 個我們在之前的電話會議中已經討論過。第四季度，我們收到了伊利諾伊州和加利福尼亞州的訂單，以及肯塔基州更新的最終訂單。

In December, the Illinois Commission approved an additional $105 million in annualized revenues effective January 1, 2025. This order includes an allowed return on equity of 9.84% and an equity layer of 49%, both of which were consistent with our last rate case in Illinois.

12 月，伊利諾州委員會批准從 2025 年 1 月 1 日起額外增加 1.05 億美元的年度收入。該命令包括 9.84% 的允許股本回報率和 49% 的股本層，這兩者都與我們上次在伊利諾伊州的利率案例一致。

We continue to believe that Illinois is a constructive environment for American Water and is supportive of the investment needed to continue to provide safe and reliable service for the benefit of our Illinois American Water customers.

我們始終相信，伊利諾伊州為美國水務公司提供了一個建設性的環境，並支持繼續為伊利諾伊州美國水務公司客戶提供安全可靠的服務所需的投資。

Switching over to California, also in December, the commission there approved and adopted a partial settlement agreement, providing incremental annualized revenues of $53 million over three years, beginning with rates retroactive to January 1, 2024. The commission's decision included a partial decoupling mechanism and approval of an important sales adjustment mechanism that allows annual updates and forecasts of water sales for rate making purposes.

同樣在12月，加州的委員會批准並通過了一項部分和解協議，在三年內提供每年5,300萬美元的增量收入，稅率追溯至2024年1月1日。委員會的決定包括部分脫鉤機制和批准一項重要的銷售調整機制，該機制允許每年更新和預測水銷售情況以用於制定費率。

While the decision didn't recognize the importance of a full decoupling mechanism and promoting affordable rates and conservation, we filed an application in December for rehearing with the commission and are exploring other avenues to ensure that customers can achieve the benefits associated with decoupling.

雖然該決定沒有認識到全面脫鉤機制和促進可負擔電價及節約的重要性，但我們已於 12 月向委員會提交了重新審理申請，並正在探索其他途徑，以確保客戶能夠獲得脫鉤帶來的好處。

Also in California, the commission granted the request for an additional one-year extension of the cost of capital filing to May 1, 2026, which will set the authorized cost of capital beginning January 1, 2027. Our authorized ROE in California will remain at 10.2% through December 31, 2026.

此外，在加州，委員會批准了將資本成本申報期限延長一年至 2026 年 5 月 1 日的請求，這將從 2027 年 1 月 1 日開始確定授權資本成本。截至 2026 年 12 月 31 日，我們在加州的授權 ROE 將維持在 10.2%。

And finally in Kentucky, the Public Service Commission approved a final order providing for $17 million of annualized increases in water revenues, which is higher by about $6 million from the initial order in May 2024. As a reminder, [apps] received in May, we filed a motion for clarification on their authorized amount of annualized revenues in this case. New rates provided in the final order are effective November 6.

最後在肯塔基州，公共服務委員會批准了一項最終命令，規定每年增加 1,700 萬美元的水費收入，比 2024 年 5 月的初始命令高出約 600 萬美元。提醒一下，[apps] 在 5 月收到了我們提交的動議，要求澄清他們在此案中授權的年收入金額。最終命令中規定的新費率將於 11 月 6 日生效。

Turning to slide 12, you can see we have general rate cases and progress in foreign jurisdictions. The most prominent rate case for us this year is in Missouri, where we are seeking recovery of $1.1 billion of capital investments. Hearings began at the end of this month and settlement discussions are underway ahead of race due at the end of March. We expect new rates to go into effect in the middle of 2025.

翻到第 12 張投影片，您可以看到我們有一般費率案例和外國司法管轄區的進展。對我們來說，今年最突出的利率案例發生在密蘇裡州，我們正在尋求收回 11 億美元的資本投資。聽證會於本月底開始，在三月底的比賽之前，和解談判正在進行中。我們預計新利率將於 2025 年中期生效。

Overall, the key parties in this case have filed similar positions as they did in our prior case two years ago, which was settled. As a reminder, in this case, the commission allows all parties to propose specific adjustments beyond December 31, 2024, and we have proposed to capture investments through May 2025.

整體而言，本案主要當事人提出的立場與我們兩年前的案件類似，該案件已解決。提醒一下，在這種情況下，委員會允許各方在 2024 年 12 月 31 日之後提出具體調整，而我們已提議在 2025 年 5 月之前捕獲投資。

Separately, we are continuing to work alongside an informal coalition of water and gas utility in Missouri on a legislated path for future test year and have supported the introduction of four separate bills and the current session related to that effort. The Missouri legislative session ends on May 16.

另外，我們將繼續與密蘇裡州水務和天然氣公用事業的非正式聯盟合作，為未來的測試年制定立法路徑，並支持提出四項單獨法案以及與此工作相關的當前會議。密蘇裡州立法會議將於 5 月 16 日結束。

Finally, in Virginia, the filed stipulation of settlement remains subject to commission review and approval, which we are waiting. One quick note at the bottom of the slides, we now provide a list of the dates. we filed our most recent general rate cases by state.

最後，在維吉尼亞州，已提交的和解協議仍需經過委員會的審查和批准，我們正在等待。請注意，在幻燈片底部，我們現在提供了日期清單。我們按州提交了最新的一般稅率案件。

As we've said in the past, we expect to file rate cases about every two years as supported by our ongoing investments to continue to provide safe, clean, and reliable water and wastewater services for the long-term benefit of our customers.

正如我們過去所說的那樣，我們希望每兩年左右提交一次費率案例，並透過持續投資來支持我們繼續提供安全、清潔和可靠的供水和廢水處理服務，為我們的客戶帶來長期利益。

Turning to slide 13. Let's review the strength of our balance sheet, credit metrics, and liquidity position as we began 2025. Our total debt-to-cap ratio at the end of the year, net of $96 million of cash on hand was 57%, which was well within our target of less than 60%. Investors can expect our company to continue to be focused on this target over the long term.

翻到第 13 張投影片。讓我們回顧一下 2025 年伊始我們的資產負債表、信貸指標和流動性狀況。截至年底，我們的總負債與資本比率（扣除 9,600 萬美元現金）為 57%，遠低於我們設定的 60% 以下的目標。投資者可以期待我們公司將長期繼續專注於此目標。

We remain A-rated S&P with a stable outlook. And just last month, Moody's affirmed our solid Baa1 investment grade credit rating and stable outlook. Both agencies note our scale, strong regulatory and operational diversity across 14 states, low risk business, and our steady financial performance in their analysis.

我們維持標準普爾 A 級評級，展望穩定。就在上個月，穆迪確認了我們穩健的 Baa1 投資等級信用評等和穩定的展望。兩家機構在分析中都提到了我們的規模、遍布 14 個州的強大監管和營運多樣性、低風險業務以及穩定的財務表現。

They also note our trend of credit, supportive regulatory outcomes, and expected sustained FFO-to-debt ratios well within the current ratings thresholds. We are confident our business and financial profile, including and FFO-to-debt, will continue to support either our current or higher investment grade credit ratings.

他們還注意到我們的信貸趨勢、支持性監管結果以及預期持續的 FFO 與債務比率均在當前評級門檻之內。我們相信，我們的業務和財務狀況（包括營運現金流量與債務比率）將繼續支持我們當前或更高的投資級信用評級。

From this position and balance sheet strength let's turn to slide 14 for a review of our guidance and five-year financing plan. As John mentioned, we affirmed our 2025 EPS guidance, which again represents 8% annual growth.

從這個立場和資產負債表實力來看，我們轉到第 14 頁來回顧我們的指導和五年融資計畫。正如約翰所提到的，我們確認了 2025 年每股收益指引，這再次代表著 8% 的年增長率。

The backbone of the plan continues to be earning our allowed returns on capital we invest to serve our customers, while prudently managing operating costs so that we can deliver on our customer affordability target. It's really that simple.

該計劃的核心內容仍然是，我們為服務客戶而投資的資本將獲得允許的回報，同時審慎管理營運成本，以便我們能夠實現客戶承受能力的目標。真的就這麼簡單。

As a reminder, our 2025 guidance range includes $0.10 per share of incremental interest income for an amendment of the HOS note a year ago, which is on top of the interest income from the original note terms that we are replacing with earnings from the regulated business. As we've said in the past, repayment of the note is a component of our long-term financing plan as a source of funding for our growth.

提醒一下，我們的 2025 年指導範圍包括一年前對 HOS 票據進行修訂而產生的每股 0.10 美元的增量利息收入，這是在我們用受監管業務的收益替換的原始票據條款的利息收入之上的。正如我們過去所說，償還票據是我們長期融資計畫的一部分，也是我們成長的資金來源。

We are also affirming our financing plan shared last fall, now covering 2025 to 2029. As we've said previously, the plan includes an estimated total $2.5 billion of external equity issuances with no equity plan for 2025. The level and timing of that would have strong equity as tied very simply to our need to fund growth and maintain our strong financial position.

我們也確認了去年秋天分享的融資計劃，目前涵蓋2025年至2029年。正如我們之前所說，該計劃包括預計總額為 25 億美元的外部股票發行，但 2025 年沒有股票計劃。其水平和時機將具有強大的公平性，因為它與我們資助成長和維持強勁財務狀況的需求密切相關。

Based on our current projections of capital spending and cash flows, we currently expect to issue $1 billion of equity at some point in 2026 and $1.5 billion in 2029. The timing of future equity is subject to market conditions as well as the underlying assumptions around our projected CapEx and cash flows.

根據我們目前對資本支出和現金流的預測，我們目前預計將在 2026 年某個時候發行 10 億美元的股權，並在 2029 年發行 15 億美元的股權。未來股權的時間取決於市場條件以及我們預期的資本支出和現金流的基本假設。

Since we are already in alignment with our targets for debt-to-cap and dividend payout ratios, we have the flexibility to adjust these plans and respond to market conditions, if and when they change, for the benefit of our customers and investors alike. Overall, investors should expect equity financing to occur routinely as determined by our investment program rate case cycle and as appropriate to maintain our strong balance sheet and credit metrics.

由於我們已經達到了債務上限和股息支付率的目標，因此我們可以靈活地調整這些計劃並響應市場條件的變化，以造福我們的客戶和投資者。整體而言，投資者應預期股權融資將根據我們的投資計畫利率週期和適當情況定期進行，以維持我們強勁的資產負債表和信用指標。

Highlight, I'll wrap up by noting our financing plan for calendar year 2025 includes $1.5 billion to $2 billion of long-term debt financing. With that, I'll turn it over to Cheryl to talk more about our capital program, our recent acquisition activity, and a look at our key growth drivers. Cheryl?

重點是，最後我要指出的是，我們 2025 日曆年的融資計畫包括 15 億至 20 億美元的長期債務融資。接下來，我將讓 Cheryl 進一步介紹我們的資本計劃、我們最近的收購活動以及我們的主要成長動力。謝麗爾？

Thanks, David, and good morning, everyone. Let me start by echoing John and David's comments about Susan. Susan and I have worked closely together over the past six years, and I'm a better leader as a result of that time together. And American Water is definitely stronger because of our time here. I'm excited about John's leadership and in his new role, I know we're going to accomplish great things over the next years.

謝謝，大衛，大家早安。首先，我要重申約翰和大衛對蘇珊的評論。過去六年來，蘇珊和我密切合作，這段時間的合作讓我成為了更好的領導者。而美國水務公司無疑因為我們在這裡的時間而變得更強大。我對約翰的領導能力以及他在新職位上所表現出的卓越表現感到非常興奮，我知道我們將在未來幾年裡取得偉大的成就。

On slide 16, we have combined a few slides to show a more comprehensive view of our investment program that has always managed with an eye on customer affordability. I want to start by acknowledging that our teams have done a great job executing our capital investment plans these last few years.

在第 16 張投影片上，我們合併了幾張投影片，以更全面地展示我們的投資計劃，該計劃始終著眼於客戶的承受能力。首先我要承認，我們的團隊在過去幾年在執行資本投資計畫方面做得非常出色。

We have consistently met our capital deployment goal each year. And we've done it again in 2024 by investing $3.3 billion, which includes the acquisition investments that I'll speak about later. These investments, represented by hundreds of discrete projects, are crucial to continuing to deliver safe and clean water and support continued reliability of service to our customers.

我們每年都始終如一地實現資本部署目標。我們在 2024 年再次投資了 33 億美元，其中包括我稍後會談到的收購投資。這些投資由數百個獨立項目代表，對於繼續提供安全清潔的水以及支持持續可靠的客戶服務至關重要。

We expect these capital investments in infrastructure and in acquisitions to grow regulated rate base at a long-term rate of 8% to 9%. We believe the high degree of visibility to our capital investment plan, combined with a low risk nature of the plan, uniquely positions American Water in the utility sector and is fundamental to our investment thesis.

我們預計，這些對基礎設施和收購的資本投資將使監管利率基數長期成長 8% 至 9%。我們相信，我們的資本投資計劃具有高度的透明度，加上計劃的低風險性質，使美國水務公司在公用事業領域佔據獨特的地位，並對我們的投資理論至關重要。

We, of course, remain very focused on balancing customer affordability with the magnitude of the necessary system investments in our plan. Customer affordability as a key variable in our annual capital planning analysis. We believe that the average residential water bill across our footprint will continue to be at or below 1% of median household income throughout our 10-year plan.

當然，我們仍然非常注重在客戶的承受能力和我們的計畫所需的系統投資規模之間取得平衡。客戶承受能力是我們年度資本規劃分析的關鍵變數。我們相信，在我們的十年計劃中，我們所覆蓋範圍內的平均居民水費將繼續保持在家庭收入中位數的 1% 或以下。

The pie chart on the bottom right side of the page shows the breakdown of our capital spend by purpose over the next decade. While the majority of our capital is dedicated to basic replacement of aging pipes, we are also focused on fortifying our systems through resilient spending and making investments in water quality projects to allow our systems to continue to meet our own high standards of compliance.

頁面右下方的圓餅圖顯示了未來十年我們按用途劃分的資本支出明細。雖然我們的大部分資金都用於老化管道的基本更換，但我們也專注於透過彈性支出和對水質項目的投資來強化我們的系統，以使我們的系統能夠繼續滿足我們自己的高合規標準。

Turning to slide 17, I'm proud to report that we had a solid a year of investment and regulated acquisitions, successfully closing on 13 systems totaling $417 million, which added nearly 70,000 new customers. Looking ahead, we continue to be well-positioned for strong growth through acquisitions across many states with over 24,000 customer connections under agreement as of the beginning of the year.

翻到第 17 張投影片，我很自豪地報告，我們度過了堅實的投資和受監管收購的一年，成功完成了 13 個系統的交易，總額達到 4.17 億美元，增加了近 70,000 名新客戶。展望未來，我們將繼續透過在許多州進行的收購實現強勁成長，截至今年年初，我們已與超過 24,000 個客戶建立了協議連接。

We've added significant business development capability over the last few years across our footprint, and we're confident these investments in additional resources and enhanced processes will help us meet our compounded annual growth rate target of 2% for customers added through acquisitions. Overall, we expect to continue to invest about $300 million to $400 million on average each year in acquisitions, a small but important part of our over $3 billion capital plan.

過去幾年來，我們在整個業務範圍內增強了業務開發能力，我們相信，這些對額外資源和增強流程的投資將幫助我們實現透過收購增加的客戶 2% 的複合年增長率目標。總體而言，我們預計每年將繼續平均投資約 3 億至 4 億美元用於收購，這是我們超過 30 億美元資本計畫的一小部分，但卻很重要。

We expect growth through acquisitions will become more consistent on an annual basis over time, but will remain lumpier than our organic CapEx as timelines for details can shift throughout the closing process. If and when that happens, we have the flexibility to reallocate and easily replace these acquisition dollars with various other projects to meet system needs, such as additional replacement of aging pipe.

我們預計，隨著時間的推移，透過收購實現的成長在年度基礎上將變得更加穩定，但仍將比我們的有機資本支出更加不穩定，因為細節的時間表可能會在整個收尾過程中發生變化。如果發生這種情況，我們可以靈活地重新分配並輕鬆地用其他各種項目替換這些收購資金以滿足系統需求，例如額外更換老化管道。

To close, on slide 18, today you've heard a recap of our long-term strategy, which should sound very consistent. Beyond our words, though, I believe we have a proven track record of executing on our plans, including achieving our EPS guidance year after year. I fully expect 2025 to be another successful year, demonstrating this execution.

最後，在第 18 張投影片上，今天大家已經聽到了我們長期策略的回顧，這聽起來應該非常一致。除了口頭承諾之外，我相信我們在執行計劃方面有著良好的記錄，包括年復一年地實現我們的每股盈餘預期。我完全相信 2025 年將是另一個成功的一年，證明我們的執行力。

Slide 18 is a compilation of the predictable and steady growth drivers for American Water that differentiate our growth trajectory from other utilities and enable us to stand out as a premium utility. We replaced approximately 400 miles of pipe in 2024. This replacement effort reflects our commitment to reliable service with the work prioritized by need.

幻燈片 18 匯總了美國水務公司可預測且穩定的成長動力，這些動力使我們的成長軌跡有別於其他公用事業公司，並使我們成為一家優質公用事業公司。我們在 2024 年更換了大約 400 英里的管道。此次替換工作反映了我們對可靠服務的承諾，並根據需要確定工作的優先順序。

The prioritization is balanced by affordability and cost of material labor, permitting, restoration, and an annual increase in the actual amount of miles of pipe we have had acquired via acquisitions. Our mission to provide safe, clean, reliable, and affordable services to the customers we are privileged to serve is the foundation for all we do.

優先順序透過材料勞動力、許可、修復的可負擔性和成本以及我們透過收購獲得的實際管道英里數的年度增加來平衡。我們的使命是為我們有幸服務的客戶提供安全、清潔、可靠和實惠的服務，這是我們所有工作的基礎。

As our team has said, we're confident we can fulfill this mission and provide a fair return to our investors. American Water has been doing this work for decades, but there's much left to be done and we may must have urgency in our work.

正如我們的團隊所說，我們有信心完成這項使命，並為我們的投資者帶來公平的回報。美國水務公司幾十年來一直從事這項工作，但仍有許多工作要做，我們必須迫切地開展工作。

As we've witnessed in West Virginia, for example, our teams provided assistance to six different municipal systems in January alone that were dealing with service disruptions due to extreme weather and the inability to keep up with leaks. In one of those towns, a local elementary school was without water service for more than two weeks until we provided a 7,000 gallon tanker to supply water directly to the school.

例如，正如我們在西維吉尼亞州看到的那樣，僅在一月份，我們的團隊就向六個不同的市政系統提供了援助，這些系統正在應對由於極端天氣和無法跟上洩漏而導致的服務中斷。在其中一個城鎮，當地一所小學停水超過兩週，直到我們提供一輛 7,000 加侖的油罐車直接向學校供水。

We will continue to do this critical work and execute on our regulatory, operational, and financial plan, which we believe will drive the superior returns our investors expect. With that, I'll turn it back over to our operator to begin Q&A and take any questions you may have.

我們將繼續進行這項關鍵工作，並執行我們的監管、營運和財務計劃，我們相信這將推動投資者獲得期望的優異回報。說完這些，我將把電話轉回給我們的接線員，開始問答並回答你們可能提出的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Durgesh Chopra, Evercore ISI.

（操作員指示） Durgesh Chopra，Evercore ISI。

Hey, and good morning, Susan, all the best. And John, congrats. So two questions: one, a lot of news flow information coming out of DC, a lot of executive order, I was just curious if anything has changed from your perspective on your strategy to attack the cost PFAS. You have like $1 billion in the capital plan. And I know you announced the contract, maybe -- anything has changed on the ground?

嘿，早安，蘇珊，祝一切順利。約翰，恭喜你。所以有兩個問題：第一，華盛頓特區傳出了很多新聞流信息，有很多行政命令，我只是好奇從你的角度來看，攻擊 PFAS 成本的策略是否發生了任何變化。你的資本計畫中有 10 億美元。我知道您已經宣布了合同，也許——實際情況有什麼變化嗎？

Hey, Durgesh, this is Cheryl. Thanks so much for the question. We haven't made any changes to our plans at all. We haven't seen anything coming out of DC that makes us think that we're not going to need to invest the capital that we've talked about in the past.

嘿，Durgesh，我是 Cheryl。非常感謝您提問。我們根本沒有對計劃做任何改變。我們還沒有看到華盛頓特區出現任何費用讓我們認為我們不需要投資我們過去談到的資本。

We want to make sure that we're meeting all the regulatory requirements and also just providing clean, safe water according to our standard. So we've made no changes at all to our capital plans related to PFAS or anything else.

我們希望確保滿足所有監管要求，並根據我們的標準提供清潔、安全的水。因此，我們對與 PFAS 或其他任何相關的資本計劃沒有做出任何改變。

Yeah. Perfect. Thanks, Cheryl. And then just one housekeeping question, as we think about the 7% to 9% EPS growth rate for our models, should we be including the $0.10, the remarketing of the loans here as our base or should we be excluding that? See if you're going to go with the base including that $0.10 or should we just be separating that out and to think of them as a one-time earnings?

是的。完美的。謝謝，謝麗爾。然後只有一個基本問題，當我們考慮我們模型的 7％ 到 9％ 的每股收益增長率時，我們是否應該將這裡的 0.10 美元（貸款再營銷）作為我們的基礎，還是應該將其排除在外？看看您是否要將那 0.10 美元作為基數，或者我們應該將其分離出來並將其視為一次性收入？

Hey, Durgesh this is David. Yeah, you should be separating that out and excluding it from the base. And that we tried to indicate that in our presentation here.

嘿，Durgesh，我是大衛。是的，您應該將其分離出來並將其從基礎中排除。我們試圖在我們的演示中表明這一點。

Got it. I also wanted to confirm that. Thank you, David. Thanks, guys, appreciate the time.

知道了。我也想確認一下這一點。謝謝你，大衛。謝謝大家，謝謝您的時間。

Paul Zimbardo, Jefferies.

保羅‧津巴多 (Paul Zimbardo)，傑富瑞 (Jefferies)。

Hi, good morning. And congratulations, John. Susan I hope you have a fruitful retirement.

嗨，早安。恭喜你，約翰。蘇珊，我希望你退休後能過著充實的生活。

Thanks, Paul.

謝謝，保羅。

Of course, the first question I had was on the acquisition slide, just the callout box on the right when you talk about significant business development capabilities added across our footprint and just some of the color you gave there. Could you describe like if this is something new? Where you've been adding capabilities? You make the references to multiple states, some of the mid-size states. If you could just elaborate on what you're alluding to there.

當然，我的第一個問題是關於收購的幻燈片，當您談到在我們的業務範圍內增加的重要業務發展能力時，右邊的標註框以及您在那裡給出的一些顏色。你能描述一下這是否是新事物嗎？您在哪裡新增了功能？您提到了多個州，其中包括一些中等規模的州。如果你可以詳細說明一下你指的是什麼的話。

Sure, Paul. This is Cheryl. And we have added some staffing in our RBD group just to have more boots on the ground, do more origination work in general. But we've also really ramped up our corporate support teams so that we are driving consistency through our integration processes, our due diligence processes.

當然，保羅。這是謝麗爾。我們在 RBD 團隊中增加了一些員工，以便有更多的人員投入到實地工作，整體來說可以做更多的發起工作。但我們也確實加強了我們的企業支援團隊，以便我們透過整合流程和盡職調查流程來推動一致性。

And we really have just taken the whole entire organization and taken a look at what's working really well and how do we build on that? So that's why we're starting to see more growth across our entire footprint because we're not just focused in one or two states. We are we are truly focused all across our upfront on growth, and we're seeing the fruits of that.

我們確實只是讓整個組織都看看哪些做法真正有效，以及我們該如何在此基礎上繼續發展？這就是為什麼我們開始看到整個業務範圍取得更多成長，因為我們不僅僅關註一兩個州。我們真正專注於前期的成長，並且看到了成果。

Okay. I understand. And then following on Durgesh's question in slightly different direction, just going through the 10-K, I noticed some were changing like some of the references to ESG, diversity removed in the [10-K]. Just is there any fundamental changes in the company's approach to hiring and otherwise? Or is that just changing some language?

好的。我明白。然後，從稍微不同的角度回答 Durgesh 的問題，只需瀏覽 10-K，我注意到有些內容髮生了變化，例如一些關於 ESG 和多樣性的引用被刪除了[10-K]。公司的招募方式和其他方面是否有根本性的改變？或者這只是改變一些語言？

Paul, it's John here. It's the latter. We're not changing our strategy at all. For us, ESG is a very a business-driven proposition. Everything we do is to drive the results that we expect to achieve.

保羅，我是約翰。是後者。我們根本沒有改變我們的策略。對我們來說，ESG 是一個非常受業務驅動的主張。我們所做的一切都是為了實現我們期望實現的結果。

Okay. Understood. Thank you both again and congratulations.

好的。明白了。再次感謝你們並恭喜你們。

Thanks, Paul.

謝謝，保羅。

Gregg Orrill, UBS.

瑞銀的格雷格·奧裡爾（Gregg Orrill）。

Yes. Thank you. Congratulations, Susan and John.

是的。謝謝。祝賀蘇珊和約翰。

Thanks, Greg.

謝謝，格雷格。

Just in terms of the procurement, could you comment on if there's been any disruptions there, how things are going? And then I have another question. Thank you.

就採購而言，您能否評論一下那裡是否有任何中斷，情況如何？我還有一個問題。謝謝。

Greg, procurement of what, please?

格雷格，請問採購什麼？

Capital to procurement for large capital projects, pipe replacement, are there any disruptions there that you're seeing?

對於大型資本項目的資本採購、管道更換，您是否發現其中有任何中斷？

Yeah, no, Greg, we have a very robust supply chain organization that sits both here at corporate, but also is embedded into our states. And we've just done a really great job of being able to procure at all of the supplies, the necessary supplies we need for all the capital investments that we're making, including all the PFAS work.

是的，格雷格，我們有一個非常強大的供應鏈組織，它不僅位於公司，也嵌入我們的州。我們非常出色地採購了所有物資，包括我們所有資本投資（包括所有 PFAS 工作）所需的必要物資。

We announced earlier that we had signed a contract with Calgon Carbon to make sure that we can obtain all the vessels and the necessary carbon and the regeneration of the carbon long term. So we feel like we're in a really good spot in that space and also with all the materials for all of our projects across the footprint.

我們先前宣布，我們已經與卡爾岡炭素公司簽署了合同，以確保我們能夠長期獲得所有容器和必要的炭以及炭的再生。因此，我們覺得我們在該領域處於非常有利的位置，並且擁有覆蓋整個足跡的所有項目所需的所有材料。

Okay. Great. And then in terms of usage per customer, are you seeing any changes there strengthening through your customer classes?

好的。偉大的。那麼，就每個客戶的使用情況而言，您是否看到透過客戶類別加強了任何變化？

Yeah, Greg, what we've seen related to declining use, we had talked about that for a very long time. We are starting to see that plateau just a bit. But we do still have a bit of declining use across our footprint.

是的，格雷格，我們看到的與使用率下降有關的問題，我們已經討論了很長時間了。我們開始看到一點點平穩期。但我們的足跡確實仍在減少。

It's just has to do with fixtures and people being a little more aware and the conservation space, but nothing that we're concerned of about in either direction. We have plenty of capacity in almost all of our locations and we're not seeing any declines that are troubling to us.

這只與固定裝置和人們的意識增強以及保護空間有關，但我們對任何一個方向都不必擔心。我們幾乎所有的辦公地點都擁有充足的產能，我們並沒有看到令我們擔憂的產能下降現象。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Jonathan Reeder, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的喬納森·里德。

Hey, good morning, team. Congrats, Susan, John on the formal transition announcements made today.

嘿，早安，各位團隊。祝賀蘇珊、約翰今天正式宣布過渡。

Thanks, Jonathan.

謝謝，喬納森。

Enjoy the retirement, Susan.

享受退休生活吧，蘇珊。

Plan on it, you. Thank you.

你也計劃一下吧。謝謝。

No, I think we all want to get to that position, Susan. (laughter) Well-deserved.

不，我想我們都想達到那個位置，蘇珊。（笑聲） 當之無愧。

But I think Paul already asked my question on the M&A pipeline, but I've got another regarding the upcoming rate case in Missouri, it sounds like things are on track in that Missouri rate case. Do you expect to reach a settlement prior to the started hearings?

但我認為保羅已經問過我關於併購管道的問題了，但我還有另一個關於密蘇裡州即將發生的利率案件的問題，聽起來密蘇裡州利率案件的進展順利。您是否希望在聽證會開始前達成和解？

Yes, Jonathan. It's John. That's certainly been our experience, and we'll see how it plays out. But that would be our expectation.

是的，喬納森。是約翰。這確實是我們的經驗，我們將看看結果會如何。但這正是我們的期望。

Okay. Great. And then, on customer growth, obviously, electric, and to some degree, gas has been experiencing an uptick in customer growth usage from a resurgence. And manufacturing demand, obviously, AI data center-related, stuff like that.

好的。偉大的。然後，在客戶成長方面，顯然，電力和某種程度的天然氣在復甦過程中經歷了客戶成長使用量的上升。顯然還有製造業需求、人工智慧資料中心相關的東西等等。

Is any of that starting to trickle into your service territory where this economic development is promoting more customer growth than you've seen historically? And maybe taking a little pressure off either the cadence of rate cases or, at least the degree of rate relief that you need to request?

這些是否開始滲透到你們的服務領域？或許可以減輕一些利率案件節奏的壓力，或至少減輕您需要要求的利率減免的程度？

Jonathan, I'd say your term trickle in is appropriate. As we think about AI, data centers, generally speaking, they're more power hungry than they are water hungry. But we are seeing economic development opportunities, which may come in the form of additional pipe to get to locations. Things like that in the same way that an electric utility might need to build out some transmission for a renewable project.

喬納森，我認為你所說的「涓滴效應」這個術語很恰當。當我們思考人工智慧、資料中心時，一般來說，它們耗電比耗水更多。但我們看到了經濟發展的機會，這種機會可能以增加管道到達目的地的形式出現。類似的事情就像電力公司可能需要為再生能源專案建造一些輸電線路一樣。

But I'd say for us, it's relatively early days and we're not expecting to see the massive increases and demand in water. Generally speaking, water as an industry is in a position of excess capacity so we expect to be a little bit of infrastructure build. But then that's, I'd say, how we think about it.

但我想說，對我們來說，現在還為時過早，我們預計水的需求不會大幅增加。總體來說，水務行業處於產能過剩的狀態，因此我們預計會進行一些基礎設施建設。但我想說，這就是我們的想法。

Great. Thanks. No, Congrats on a solid update today. Appreciate the time.

偉大的。謝謝。不，恭喜你今天獲得了可靠的更新。珍惜時間。

Thanks, Jonathan.

謝謝，喬納森。

Angie Storozynski, Seaport.

安吉·斯托羅津斯基，海港。

Thank you. And then Susan, John, what a transition. Congratulations to Susan. Definitely the end of an era.

謝謝。然後是蘇珊、約翰，真是偉大的轉變。祝賀蘇珊。這確實是一個時代的終結。

Thank you, Angie, I appreciate that. Thank you.

謝謝你，安吉，我很感激。謝謝。

Now on the financing. So you just consider maybe using hybrids instead of traditional equity if only because the water sector has sharply derated. I'm sure that's probably more dilutive to the original plan from an equity perspective. And again, is there a way to manage that dilution going forward?

現在談談融資。因此，您可能只是考慮使用混合金融而不是傳統金融，因為水務業已經大幅貶值。我確信從公平角度來看這可能對原計劃產生更大的稀釋作用。那麼，未來有沒有辦法控制這種稀釋呢？

Yeah, hey, Angie, this is David. We certainly look at all products, but we just don't see these the hybrids being cost-effective for us and they are more deliberative and just straight equity-based on how we trade.

是的，嘿，安吉，這是大衛。我們當然會考慮所有產品，但我們並不認為這些混合產品對我們來說具有成本效益，而且它們更具審慎性，並且僅基於我們的交易方式。

Okay. And then it bounced the lumpiness of the M&A and an ability to basically manage the earnings impact with what some other organic CapEx system. Is this just -- well, also because you have so many growth opportunities that, again, you can smooth out earnings trajectory? Or are you trying to say that the [musical] M&A is less of an earnings driver overall given, again, on plenty of organic growth?

好的。然後，它反彈了併購的不平衡性以及透過其他一些有機資本支出系統基本上管理收益影響的能力。這是否只是——嗯，也因為你擁有如此多的成長機會，所以你能夠平滑獲利軌跡？或者您是想說，鑑於大量的有機增長，[音樂] 併購總體上對盈利的推動作用較小？

Yeah, that's a great question, Angie. Those deals are lumpy because there are so many things that can slow down the closing process. So we can plan for a certain number of deals in a given year, and they may spill over into the next year. So on an annual basis, there is some lumpiness there.

是的，安吉，這個問題問得真好。這些交易之所以不順利，是因為有太多因素會拖慢成交流程。因此，我們可以在某一年規劃一定數量的交易，這些交易可能會延續到下一年。因此，從年度來看，存在一些不均勻之處。

We do target that 2% of the customer growth. But if we see that some of these deals are going to get pushed out, we've got plenty of capital projects in the wings that we can bring in to ensure that we spend that $3.3 billion, or whatever our target is for a given year, to absolutely smooth out that EPS growth.

我們的目標確實是實現 2% 的客戶成長。但如果我們發現其中一些交易將被推遲，我們還有很多現有的資本項目可以引入，以確保我們花費 33 億美元（或任何特定年份的目標），以絕對平滑每股收益成長。

But it's really important that we're adding the customers because adding customers helps us with that affordability story. It helps us bring our costs out amongst more customers. So we're going to continue to push on that acquisition piece.

但增加客戶確實非常重要，因為增加客戶有助於我們實現可負擔目標。它幫助我們將成本分攤給更多的客戶。因此，我們將繼續推動這項收購。

In some years, it will be more than 2%. Some years, it might be less than 2%. But when we make that commitment to our capital spend, we're going to do -- we have the flexibility to do what we need to make sure that we get that capital spend.

有些年份，這一比例會超過2%。有些年份，這一比例可能低於2%。但是，當我們對資本支出做出承諾時，我們將會——我們有靈活性去做我們需要做的事情，以確保我們獲得資本支出。

And Angie, just to follow on Cheryl's' comments, to be clear, the need is very much there in terms of target systems, right? And as we've talked about a little bit in the past, the list of reasons why a target company, a municipality would so is getting longer and not shorter, right?

安吉，我只是想接著謝麗爾的評論說清楚，就目標系統而言，我們非常需要它，對嗎？正如我們過去談到的，目標公司、市政當局這樣做的原因清單越來越長而不是越來越短，對嗎？

There continues to be deferred capital investment, deferred maintenance, increasing regulatory need for clean water and delivery. So the fundamentals haven't changed. And if anything, we see a broadening opportunity base.

資本投資和維護持續推遲，清潔水及輸送的監管需求不斷增加。因此基本面沒有改變。如果有的話，我們看到機會基礎正在擴大。

And a lot of what we've been spending our time on is broadening out the opportunity set across our system, which takes a little bit of time, but we feel very good about in terms of the progress that we're making.

我們花了大量時間來拓展整個系統的機會，這需要一點時間，但我們對所取得的進展感到非常滿意。

Okay. And then lastly on California that you mentioned that the you're looking at ways to, if I understood correctly, to basically retain the previous whole decoupling, right? So how does that impact the commission's decision? So are we talking about a legal challenge? I mean, again, I'm just wondering what is the option.

好的。最後關於加州，您提到，如果我理解正確的話，您正在尋找方法，基本上保留之前的整個脫鉤狀態，對嗎？那麼這對委員會的決定有何影響？那我們談的是法律挑戰嗎？我的意思是，我只是想知道有什麼選擇。

That's correct, Angie, it is. We have filed the motion for rehearing for that.

沒錯，安吉，確實如此。我們已經就此提出重審動議。

Okay. Thank you. Congrats again. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。再次恭喜。謝謝。

Anthony Crowdell, Mizuho.

瑞穗的安東尼·克勞德爾 (Anthony Crowdell)。

Hi, Susan and John, great news for both. I wanted to just follow up a little on Angie's question. Just a quick one, on the equity financing, it's very clear you guys state in '26 and then also on '29, do you time that with CapEx needs or thoughts of maybe not an annual program versus a block. Just curious the pluses and minuses on the approach here.

嗨，蘇珊和約翰，這對他們倆來說都是好消息。我想稍微跟進一下安吉的問題。我只想快速問一下，關於股權融資，你們明確表示在 26 年和 29 年，你們是否將其與資本支出需求同步，或者考慮可能不是一個年度計劃，而是一個區塊。只是好奇這種方法的優缺點。

Yeah, I would say we time it when we have a need for our -- to maintain our strong balance sheet and we are not going to issue too early and we're not going to issue late. We're going to issue when we need the financing or the funding.

是的，我想說我們會在需要的時候進行調整——以保持我們強勁的資產負債表，我們不會過早發行，也不會過早發行。當我們需要融資或資金時，我們就會發放。

Great. That's all I had. Thanks so much.

偉大的。這就是我所擁有的一切。非常感謝。

Richard Sunderland, J.P. Morgan.

摩根大通的理查桑德蘭。

Hey, good morning and congrats as well to Susan and John. Great news to hear. Just one quick cleanup from me, I think you hit this with Durgesh earlier, but just thinking through the growth going forward. Is the 7.9% growth, is that based on 2025 guidance less that $0.10 of incremental interest income? Is at the right way to think about the base for 7% to 9%?

嘿，早上好，也祝賀蘇珊和約翰。聽到這個好消息真是太好了。我只想快速清理一下，我認為你之前和 Durgesh 一起解決了這個問題，但只是考慮未來的成長。7.9% 的成長率是否基於 2025 年的指導，增量利息收入是否低於 0.10 美元？如何思考 7% 到 9% 的基數？

That is right, Rich. And I think we've got that in David's slides. And just as a reminder, when we set our 7% to 9%, that goes back to when we put up a note in place originally, which was a $720 million note at a 7% interest rate.

沒錯，里奇。我認為我們已經在 David 的幻燈片中看到了這一點。提醒一下，當我們將利率設定為 7% 至 9% 時，這可以追溯到我們最初發行的一張票據，當時的票據價值為 7.2 億美元，利率為 7%。

And then we amended the note about a year ago and early 2024, increasing interest rate to 10%. And we also collected on an earn out payment of $75 million that was rolled into the note.

然後我們在大約一年前和 2024 年初修改了票據，將利率提高到 10%。我們還收取了計入票據的 7,500 萬美元的獲利付款。

So as we think about note repayment, we're only trying to make up the 7% interest. And to do that, we'll able to have proceeds of $795 million, not $720 million, which is why you won't see a divot in earnings as we're moving forward.

因此，當我們考慮償還票據時，我們僅試圖彌補 7% 的利息。為了實現這一目標，我們將能夠獲得 7.95 億美元的收益，而不是 7.2 億美元，這就是為什麼在我們前進的過程中您不會看到收益下降的原因。

So yes, you've got it correct, Rich. And as a reminder for the group, the note, the final termination date of the notice, December 2026, but the owner of the business has the right to call the note as early as December of this year. And so we'll see how the timing of repayment works out. But one way or another were very prepared for the timing, and we won't see any impact to earnings.

是的，你說對了，Rich。並提醒集團，該票據的最終終止通知日期為2026年12月，但企業主有權最早於今年12月贖回該票據。因此我們將看看償還時間如何。但無論如何，我們都對時機做好了準備，我們不會看到對收益產生任何影響。

Great. Thanks for running through that. And then on the Missouri legislation, and I know there are a couple of different bills out there. There's also been some actions around SB 4 and some language changed there to pull in more broader utility efforts.

偉大的。感謝您的幫助。然後關於密蘇裡州的立法，我知道目前有幾項不同的法案。圍繞 SB 4 也採取了一些行動並對一些語言進行了更改，以吸引更廣泛的實用努力。

Can you just talk through a little bit of what's been going on recently in the legislature? I think there were some action on SB 4 yesterday. Just give us an update on how you see that playing out?

您能否簡單談一下最近立法機關發生的事情？我認為昨天 SB 4 上有一些動作。請向我們介紹一下您對此事的看法？

Yeah, sure Rich, this is Cheryl. In Missouri, we have been working for quite some time to try to improve the regulatory environment there. They have, historically, when I was President there, historically had a historical test year, which makes it really challenging when you're talking about regulatory lag.

是的，當然可以，Rich，這是 Cheryl。在密蘇裡州，我們已經努力了相當長一段時間來改善那裡的監管環境。從歷史上看，當我擔任總統的時候，他們有過一個歷史性的考驗年，當你談到監管落後時，這確實很有挑戰性。

And so we have been working hard with the other utilities, as well as talking with the commission, with the Chair of the Commission to say, what are ways that we can improve this environment for us from a regulatory lag perspective?

因此，我們一直在與其他公用事業公司努力合作，並與委員會、委員會主席進行交談，討論從監管滯後的角度來看，我們可以採取哪些方式來改善這種環境？

And so as these bills got submitted early on, they were separated. Now, they've been -- several of them have been joined together and we are very focused on the future test year aspect of this legislation. And will continue to work together with the other utilities, the Chair of the Commission, and all of the allies that we can bring to the table to ensure that we improve that regulatory environment.

因此，這些法案在早期提交時就被分開了。現在，他們已經 - 其中幾個已經聯合起來，我們非常關注這項立法的未來測試年方面。並將繼續與其他公用事業公司、委員會主席以及我們可以邀請的所有盟友合作，以確保改善監管環境。

Great. Thank you for your time today.

偉大的。感謝您今天抽出時間。

Gregg Orrill, UBS

瑞銀集團（UBS）的 Gregg Orrill

Yeah. Thank you. One follow-up, please. Just the what were the result of the non-utility business for the year and some context on where you're taking that part of the company?

是的。謝謝。請再說一次後續問題。那麼，今年非公用事業業務的業績如何？

Yeah, Greg, we don't disclose that level of detail. Probably it's in the other business segment.

是的，格雷格，我們不會透露那麼詳細的程度。很可能是在其他業務領域。

Yeah, I can talk to what we have in mind in the future for that other part of the organization [fuel]. It's essentially our military services group, and we're still really excited about that part of our business, and we think it's a great mission.

是的，我可以談談我們對該組織其他部分未來的想法[燃料]。它本質上是我們的軍事服務集團，我們仍然對這部分業務感到非常興奮，我們認為這是一項偉大的使命。

It aligns very well with our regulated businesses, and we're excited about the relationships we have and all the existing bases. And we'll continue to encourage the different arms of the military to move forward with utility privatization.

它與我們受監管的業務非常契合，我們對我們現有的關係和所有現有基礎感到非常興奮。我們將繼續鼓勵軍隊各部門推進公用事業私有化。

We do expect to see some movement there. We just don't know exactly what's coming or the timing of that. But our team is poised and ready to bid on any of the projects that make sense for us in the future.

我們確實希望看到那裡出現一些動靜。我們只是不知道究竟會發生什麼，或是什麼時候會發生。但我們的團隊已經做好準備，競標未來對我們有意義的任何項目。

Thanks.

謝謝。

The Q&A session and the conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

問答環節和會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。