美國水務 (AWK) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to American Water's second quarter 2025 earnings conference call. As a reminder, this call will be recorded and is also being webcast with an accompanying slide presentation through the company's Investor Relations website. The audio webcast archive will be available for one year on American Water's Investor Relations website.

早安，歡迎參加美國水務公司 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。提醒一下，本次電話會議將被錄音，並透過公司的投資者關係網站進行網路直播，並附帶幻燈片演示。音訊網路廣播檔案將在美國水務公司投資者關係網站上保存一年。

I would like now to introduce your host for today's call, Aaron Musgrave, Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Musgrave, you may begin.

現在我想介紹今天電話會議的主持人、投資者關係副總裁 Aaron Musgrave。馬斯格雷夫先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you, Alan. 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.

謝謝你，艾倫。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。

Let me first go over some safe harbor language. 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.

首先讓我介紹一下安全港語言。今天，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，代表我們對未來績效或其他未來事件的預期。這些陳述是基於我們目前的預期、估計和假設的預測。

However, since these statements deal with future events, they are 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.

然而，由於這些聲明涉及未來事件，因此它們受到許多已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，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。

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 second quarter earnings release and Form 10-Q, each filed yesterday with the SEC. And finally, all statements during this presentation related to earnings and earnings per share refer to diluted earnings and diluted earnings per share.

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，均在昨天向美國證券交易委員會提交的第二季度收益報告和 10-Q 表中提供。最後，本演示中所有與收益和每股收益相關的陳述均指稀釋收益和稀釋每股收益。

With that, I'll turn the call over to American Water's President and CEO, John Griffith.

說完這些，我將把電話轉給美國水務公司總裁兼執行長約翰·格里菲斯。

Thank you, Aaron, and good morning, everyone. Let's turn to Slide 5, and I'll start by covering some highlights of the second quarter and first half of the year.

謝謝你，亞倫，大家早安。讓我們翻到投影片 5，我將首先介紹第二季和上半年的一些亮點。

As we announced yesterday, we delivered solid financial results through the first half of 2025. Earnings were $1.48 per share for the second quarter compared to $1.42 for the same period last year. In the first six months of 2025, earnings were $2.53 per share compared to $2.37 per share in the same period of 2024.

正如我們昨天宣布的那樣，我們在 2025 年上半年取得了穩健的財務表現。第二季每股收益為 1.48 美元，去年同期為 1.42 美元。2025 年前六個月，每股收益為 2.53 美元，而 2024 年同期每股收益為 2.37 美元。

With this strength across the business, combined with our expectations for the rest of the year, we now expect to achieve the top half of our initial EPS guidance range for 2025, which we've narrowed to $5.70 to $5.75 per share. David will share more about our results and guidance a bit later.

憑藉整個業務的這種優勢，加上我們對今年剩餘時間的預期，我們現在預計將實現 2025 年每股收益初始指導範圍的上半部分，我們已將該範圍縮小至每股 5.70 美元至 5.75 美元。David 稍後會分享更多關於我們的成果和指導的資訊。

Moving on to some of our other key accomplishments so far in 2025. We invested $1.3 billion in capital projects year-to-date, again reflecting great work by our teams responsible for planning and completing these investments.

接下來介紹我們在 2025 年迄今為止的其他一些主要成就。今年迄今為止，我們已在資本項目上投資了 13 億美元，這再次反映了負責規劃和完成這些投資的團隊的出色工作。

We were also very pleased to announce several new acquisition agreements in the first half of the year, including the Nexus Water Group systems that will add nearly 47,000 customer connections, which we expect to close by August 2026.

我們也非常高興地宣布了今年上半年的幾項新的收購協議，其中包括 Nexus Water Group 系統，該系統將增加近 47,000 個客戶連接，我們預計將於 2026 年 8 月完成。

As Cheryl will discuss, we are continuing to build momentum with our business development platform, with 87,000 customer connections under agreement totaling over $500 million across our platform. And we continued our track record of regulatory execution in the first half of 2025, with new rates effective in several states and new cases filed to reflect investments in infrastructure for the benefit of our customers.

正如 Cheryl 即將討論的那樣，我們正在繼續利用我們的業務開發平台來增強發展勢頭，目前我們平台上已與 87,000 個客戶建立協議，總額超過 5 億美元。2025 年上半年，我們繼續保持良好的監管執行記錄，在多個州實施了新的稅率，並提起了新的案件，以反映我們為客戶利益而對基礎設施的投資。

Which leads us to Slide 6, which describes the drivers of American Water's very competitive and sustainable shareholder return profile. We have a clear top-tier capital growth plan underpinned by decades of fundamental water and wastewater infrastructure renewal and water quality investment. This, combined with our strong regulatory and operational execution, results in a value proposition that we believe is unique in the utility sector.

這引出了第 6 張投影片，其中描述了美國水務公司極具競爭力和永續性的股東回報狀況的驅動因素。我們擁有明確的頂級資本增長計劃，以數十年的基礎水和廢水基礎設施更新和水質投資為基礎。結合我們強大的監管和營運執行力，我們形成了我們認為在公用事業領域獨一無二的價值主張。

We are again affirming our long-term targets for both earnings and dividend growth at 7% to 9%, driven by 8% to 9% rate base growth. We expect to consistently grow earnings and dividends at an industry-leading pace over the next five years and beyond.

我們再次確認，我們的長期獲利和股息成長率目標為 7% 至 9%，由 8% 至 9% 的利率基準成長推動。我們預計未來五年及以後獲利和股利將以業界領先的速度持續成長。

With that, I'll hand it over to David to cover our financial results, rate case updates and our 2025 outlook in further detail. David?

接下來，我將把主題交給 David，讓他更詳細地介紹我們的財務表現、利率案例更新以及 2025 年的展望。戴維？

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 8. I'll provide further insights on second quarter results. Consolidated earnings were $1.48 per share, up $0.06 per share versus the same period in 2024. Revenues were higher by $0.50 per share, driven by authorized rate increases to recover investment across our states. Revenues were also higher from recently completed water and wastewater acquisitions and organic customer growth.

謝謝，約翰，大家早安。翻到幻燈片 8。我將對第二季的業績提供進一步的見解。合併收益為每股 1.48 美元，比 2024 年同期每股增加 0.06 美元。每股收入增加了 0.50 美元，這得益於授權提高利率以恢復各州的投資。最近完成的水和廢水收購以及有機客戶成長也帶來了更高的收入。

Weather on the other hand, was unfavorable by an estimated $0.06 per share year-over-year. This was due to wet weather in 2025 across many states, resulting in an unfavorable $0.03 impact, combined with the $0.03 unfavorable weather variance from the warm and dry conditions experienced in the second quarter of 2024.

另一方面，天氣因素不利，年減約 0.06 美元/股。這是因為 2025 年許多州的天氣潮濕，造成了 0.03 美元的不利影響，再加上 2024 年第二季度經歷的溫暖乾燥條件造成的 0.03 美元的不利天氣差異。

And looking at operating costs, O&M was higher by $0.17 per share, driven primarily by employee-related expense, increased maintenance and technology costs as well as costs related to acquisitions completed in 2024, which we expected. Depreciation increased $0.10 per share and financing costs increased $0.08 per share, both as expected in support of our investment growth.

從營運成本來看，O&M 每股上漲 0.17 美元，主要原因是員工相關費用、維護和技術成本增加以及與 2024 年完成的收購相關的成本，這是我們預期的。折舊每股增加 0.10 美元，融資成本每股增加 0.08 美元，均符合預期，支持了我們的投資成長。

Turning to Slide 9. Year-to-date consolidated earnings were $2.53 per share, up $0.16 per share versus the same period in 2024. On a weather-normalized basis, EPS was up 9.4% year-to-date compared to the prior year. Many of the same drivers I described for the quarter apply to this period as well, including the unfavorable impact of weather.

翻到幻燈片 9。年初至今的綜合收益為每股 2.53 美元，比 2024 年同期每股成長 0.16 美元。以天氣標準化計算，今年迄今每股收益較上年同期成長 9.4%。我在本季描述的許多驅動因素也適用於這段時期，包括天氣的不利影響。

Revenues were higher by $0.94 per share and O&M was higher by $0.32 per share. Depreciation increased $0.21 per share and financing costs increased $0.18 per share, both as expected in support of our investment growth.

每股收入增加 0.94 美元，每股 O&M 增加 0.32 美元。折舊每股增加 0.21 美元，融資成本每股增加 0.18 美元，均符合預期，支持了我們的投資成長。

Turning to Slide 10. I'll cover the latest regulatory activity in our states. First, on completed cases. We received a final order from the Missouri Commission in May approving our settlement agreement which we discussed last quarter.

翻到幻燈片 10。我將報道我們各州的最新監管活動。第一，關於已結案的案件。我們在五月收到了密蘇裡州委員會的最終命令，批准了我們上個季度討論過的和解協議。

In Iowa, we received a final order from the commission approving an annualized revenue increase of $13 million based on an ROE of 9.6% and an equity layer of 52.57%, in line with the Iowa's approved capital structure in its previous rate case. As a reminder, interim rates were effective on May 11, 2024, in the amount of $5.1 million, and final rates will go into effect tomorrow on August 1.

在愛荷華州，我們收到了委員會的最終命令，批准以 9.6% 的 ROE 和 52.57% 的股權層級為基礎，將年度收入增加 1300 萬美元，這與愛荷華州在先前的利率案例中批准的資本結構一致。提醒一下，臨時費率於 2024 年 5 月 11 日生效，金額為 510 萬美元，最終費率將於明天 8 月 1 日生效。

In Hawaii, we received the final order last week from the commission approving an annualized revenue increase of $1.5 million based on an ROE of 9.75% and an equity layer just north of 52%. We expect new rates to go into effect in early August.

在夏威夷，我們上週收到了委員會的最終命令，批准在 9.75% 的 ROE 和略高於 52% 的股權層級基礎上，將年度收入增加 150 萬美元。我們預計新利率將於八月初生效。

Turning to active cases. You can see we have general rate cases in progress in three jurisdictions. On May 5, we filed a general rate case in West Virginia, reflecting $300 million in system investments covering the period March 2024 through February 2027.

轉向活躍案例。您可以看到我們在三個司法管轄區內都有正在審理的一般費率案件。5 月 5 日，我們在西維吉尼亞州提起了一項一般費率訴訟，涉及 2024 年 3 月至 2027 年 2 月期間 3 億美元的系統投資。

We are seeking $48 million of additional annual revenue which would be reflected in two steps, in March 2026 and March 2027, and we expect this case to be completed by the end of February 2026. Intervenor testimony is set for October and rebuttal testimony in November.

我們尋求每年增加 4,800 萬美元的收入，這將分兩步反映在 2026 年 3 月和 2027 年 3 月，我們預計此案將於 2026 年 2 月底完成。介入者證詞定於十月進行，反駁證詞定於十一月進行。

On May 16, we filed a general rate case in Kentucky reflecting $212 million in system investments covering February 2025 through December 2026. We are seeking $27 million of additional annual revenue, and we expect proposed rates to go into effect on an interim basis in December 2025. Intervenor testimony is set for August and rebuttal testimony in September.

5 月 16 日，我們在肯塔基州提起了一項一般費率訴訟，涉及 2025 年 2 月至 2026 年 12 月期間 2.12 億美元的系統投資。我們正在尋求每年增加 2700 萬美元的收入，並預計擬議的費率將於 2025 年 12 月臨時生效。介入方證詞定於 8 月進行，反駁方證詞定於 9 月進行。

And finally, on July 1, we filed a general rate case in California, reflecting system investments through 2028. We are seeking $63 million of additional annual revenue in 2027 compared to authorized 2025 revenue and a total increase in revenue over the 2027 to 2029 period of $111 million. If approved by the commission, the new rates would take effect on January 1, 2027, with subsequent increases expected in January 2028 and 2029.

最後，7 月 1 日，我們在加州提起了一般費率訴訟，反映了到 2028 年的系統投資。我們尋求在 2027 年的基礎上，使年度收入在 2025 年核准收入的基礎上增加 6,300 萬美元，並在 2027 年至 2029 年期間使總收入增加 1.11 億美元。如果獲得委員會批准，新稅率將於 2027 年 1 月 1 日生效，預計隨後將於 2028 年 1 月和 2029 年 1 月上調。

As a reminder, our request for a one year extension of our cost of capital filing to May 1, 2026, was approved earlier this year, which maintains our current authorized cost of capital through 2026, absent significant movements in interest rates.

提醒一下，我們要求將資本成本申報期限延長一年至 2026 年 5 月 1 日，該請求已於今年早些時候獲得批准，如果利率沒有發生重大變動，我們將維持目前的授權資本成本直至 2026 年。

Another piece of our filing is decoupling. We currently have partial decoupling in California, but again, are requesting full decoupling to promote affordable rates and conservation. On a similar front, on the legislative side, a decoupling bill related to water utilities has passed out of the California Senate and is currently awaiting action in the California Assembly Appropriations Committee.

我們提交的另一項文件是脫鉤。目前，我們在加州已經實現了部分脫鉤，但我們再次要求完全脫鉤，以促進可負擔的費率和節約。類似地，在立法方面，一項與水務設施相關的脫鉤法案已在加州參議院通過，目前正在等待加州議會撥款委員會採取行動。

On Slide 11, as John mentioned, yesterday, we announced that we are narrowing our 2025 EPS guidance to the top half of the range we first disclosed last October. The 2025 EPS guidance range is now $5.70 to $5.75 from $5.65 to $5.75 previously on a weather- normalized basis. We are seeing strength in the business across several regulated states so far in 2025, including solid customer usage.

正如約翰昨天在第 11 張幻燈片上提到的那樣，我們宣布將 2025 年每股收益預期縮小至去年 10 月首次披露的範圍的上半部分。2025 年每股收益預測範圍現為 5.70 美元至 5.75 美元，此前為基於天氣標準化的 5.65 美元至 5.75 美元。到 2025 年為止，我們看到該業務在多個受監管州表現強勁，包括穩定的客戶使用率。

Coupled with the fact that we will continue to have revenue increases year-over-year in several states through Q3, we expect the second half of 2025 to deliver financial results to achieve this narrow guidance range.

再加上到第三季度我們在幾個州的收入將繼續同比增長，我們預計 2025 年下半年的財務業績將實現這一狹窄的指導範圍。

This puts us on track to deliver 8.6% EPS growth in 2025 at the midpoint of the narrowed guidance range. I'm confident in our team's ability to execute on our financial and operating plans, including delivering cost-effective financing while maintaining our balance sheet strength and credit profile.

這使我們預計在 2025 年實現 8.6% 的每股收益成長，達到縮小後的指導範圍的中點。我相信我們的團隊有能力執行我們的財務和營運計劃，包括提供具有成本效益的融資，同時保持我們的資產負債表實力和信用狀況。

Our total debt-to-capital ratio as of the end of the quarter, net of $94 million of cash on hand was 58%, which was within our target of less than 60%. As a reminder, our 2025 financing plan still includes another long-term debt issuance of roughly $1 billion to be completed in the second half of 2025.

截至本季末，我們的總負債資本比率（扣除 9,400 萬美元現金）為 58%，符合我們低於 60% 的目標。提醒一下，我們的 2025 年融資計畫仍包括另一筆約 10 億美元的長期債務發行，將於 2025 年下半年完成。

And finally, on Slide 12, I want to reemphasize that we continue to expect to achieve consistent EPS growth within the 7% to 9% range through 2029 and beyond. We believe our industry-leading EPS and dividend growth, coupled with our affordability position and sustainability leadership, will continue to be highly valued and rewarded by investors. We believe these aspects of our business and our position as the largest and most geographically diverse water and wastewater utility in the country distinguishes us from all other utilities.

最後，在第 12 張投影片上，我想再次強調，我們預計到 2029 年及以後，每股盈餘將繼續保持 7% 至 9% 的持續成長。我們相信，我們領先業界的每股盈餘和股息成長，加上我們的可負擔性地位和永續性領導地位，將繼續受到投資者的高度重視和回報。我們相信，我們業務的這些方面以及我們作為全國最大、地理分佈最廣泛的供水和污水處理公用事業公司的地位使我們有別於所有其他公用事業公司。

With that, I'll turn it over to Cheryl to talk more about our capital program and our recent acquisition activity.

接下來，我將把話題交給 Cheryl，讓她進一步談談我們的資本計畫和最近的收購活動。

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. On Slide 14, our capital program delivered $1.3 billion of investments in the first half of the year. This result keeps us on pace to hit our goal of approximately $3.3 billion of capital investment in 2025.

謝謝你，大衛，大家早安。在第 14 張投影片上，我們的資本計畫在上半年實現了 13 億美元的投資。這一結果使我們預計將實現 2025 年約 33 億美元資本投資的目標。

Our low-risk annual capital plan is made up of hundreds of individual projects, which our teams do a really great job of executing. As a reminder, the nature of the program also gives us the ability to flex up or flex down our organic CapEx spending annually in order to achieve our overall planned capital spend, including acquisitions. We continue to expect these capital investments in infrastructure and in acquisitions will grow regulated rate base at a long-term rate of 8% to 9%.

我們的低風險年度資本計畫由數百個單獨的項目組成，我們的團隊在執行這些項目方面做得非常出色。提醒一下，該計劃的性質也使我們能夠每年增加或減少有機資本支出，以實現包括收購在內的總體計劃資本支出。我們繼續預計，這些對基礎設施和收購的資本投資將使管制利率基數長期成長 8% 至 9%。

Turning to Slide 15. We continue to be well positioned for growth through acquisitions across many states with about 87,000 customer connections under agreement from deals totaling $535 million. In May, we were pleased to announce an agreement with the Nexus Water Group subsidiary to purchase multiple water and wastewater systems located in eight states for $315 million. This acquisition will add nearly 47,000 customer connections and approximately $200 million to rate base.

翻到第 15 張投影片。我們透過在許多州進行的收購繼續保持良好的成長勢頭，目前已透過總額為 5.35 億美元的交易與約 87,000 個客戶建立了聯繫。5 月份，我們很高興地宣布與 Nexus Water Group 子公司達成協議，以 3.15 億美元的價格購買位於八個州的多個供水和廢水處理系統。此次收購將增加近 47,000 個客戶連接，並為費率基礎增加約 2 億美元。

Through this transaction, we will grow in eight of our existing regulated states, supporting our long-term growth target of 2% for customer additions. As with other acquisitions, we'll be able to leverage our scale and size to deliver safe, clean, reliable and affordable water and wastewater services to these new customers. We also believe this expansion will help lead to more growth since it will expand some of our in-state geographies. We expect closing will take place by or before August 2026.

透過此交易，我們將在現有的八個受監管州實現成長，支持我們實現客戶增加 2% 的長期成長目標。與其他收購一樣，我們將能夠利用我們的規模和規模為這些新客戶提供安全、清潔、可靠和實惠的水和廢水處理服務。我們也相信，由於此次擴張將擴大我們的部分州內業務範圍，因此將有助於進一步的成長。我們預計交易將於 2026 年 8 月或之前完成。

In addition to the Nexus systems, we currently have 20 acquisitions in seven states under agreement for $220 million that would add about 40,000 customer connections. This represents significant progress on the business development front, including in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Importantly, we've seen renewed activity in Pennsylvania, including four systems closed so far this year and an additional eight systems under agreement.

除了 Nexus 系統之外，我們目前還在七個州達成了 20 項收購協議，總價值 2.2 億美元，將增加約 4 萬個客戶連線。這代表著西維吉尼亞州和賓州等地商業發展取得了重大進展。重要的是，我們看到賓州重新恢復了活動，包括今年迄今關閉的四個系統和根據協議關閉的另外八個系統。

The most recent acquisitions announced were the Pittston wastewater system and the Indian Creek Valley Water Authority, where we plan to utilize fair market value under the new guidelines set by the commission. We have negotiated purchase prices that we believe will result in approval by our regulators of transactions at full cost recovery.

最近宣布的收購是皮茨頓污水處理系統和印第安溪谷水務局，我們計劃根據委員會制定的新準則採用公平市場價值。我們已經協商了購買價格，我們相信我們的監管機構將批准以全額成本回收的方式進行交易。

We remain confident in our acquisition pipeline, and we are continuing to invest in regulated acquisition opportunities across our footprint. In all of our states, the acquisition opportunities are driven by the need for system consolidation, infrastructure upgrades, regulatory compliance and operational enhancements.

我們對我們的收購管道仍然充滿信心，並且我們將繼續在我們的業務範圍內投資受監管的收購機會。在我們所有的州，收購機會都是由系統整合、基礎設施升級、法規遵循和營運增強的需求所驅動的。

With that, I'll turn it back over to our operator to begin Q&A and take any questions you may have.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給我們的接線生，開始問答環節並回答您可能提出的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Richard Sunderland from JPMorgan.

摩根大通的理查桑德蘭。

How are you thinking about Pennsylvania stakeholder relationships and engagements in advance of the next rate case application in the state? Have you been seasoning the timing of an application? And are you seeing recognition of that?

在該州下一次費率案例申請之前，您如何考慮賓州利害關係人的關係和參與？您是否一直在調整申請的時機？您是否看到了對此的認可？

Rich, it's Cheryl. Thanks for the question. We really appreciate it. Yes, we've been doing a whole lot of work in that stakeholder space. First and foremost, we continue to provide really great customer service across the state. And so we know that, that is the ultimate way for us to keep our customers happy. That's what they expect.

里奇，我是謝麗爾。謝謝你的提問。我們非常感激。是的，我們在利害關係人領域做了大量工作。首先，我們將繼續在全州範圍內提供真正優質的客戶服務。所以我們知道，這是讓客戶滿意的最終方法。這正是他們所期望的。

But also, we have created a stakeholder plan where we continue to reach out and build relationships across all of our stakeholder groups. And we feel like we're in a really good spot in Pennsylvania. We are continuing to plan for our rate filing just as you would normally expect and as we've talked about in the past.

而且，我們也制定了利害關係人計劃，我們將繼續與所有利害關係人群體接觸並建立關係。我們覺得賓州的地理位置非常好。我們將繼續規劃我們的費率申報，正如您通常所期望的以及我們過去所討論的那樣。

Got it. That's helpful color there. And then on the financing side, I know you've been clear on sort of strategy for the equity with [blocks]. Curious if you would explore a forward issuance to take care of the '26 equity needs, seeing a lot of peers in the space get ahead of equity.

知道了。那是有用的顏色。在融資方面，我知道你已經明確了股權的策略[塊]。好奇您是否會探索遠期發行以滿足 26 年的股權需求，看到該領域的許多同行都領先於股權。

Rich, this is David. Thanks for that question. Obviously, we keep, I mean, all options on the table and are always evaluating the or the options that we have to issue, but our plan is to take proceeds in 2026 and issue the equity in '26.

里奇，這是大衛。謝謝你的提問。顯然，我的意思是，我們保留了所有選項，並且始終在評估我們必須發行的選項，但我們的計劃是在 2026 年獲取收益並在 2026 年發行股票。

Angie Storozynski from Seaport.

來自海港的安吉·斯托羅辛斯基。

So, I wanted to ask about the Nexus acquisition. Anything you guys can provide as a basis for the earnings power of this asset and how it compares to municipal M&A that you would typically pursue? And what does it say about the availability of larger municipal targets that you guys are going after a private set of assets?

所以，我想問一下有關 Nexus 收購的問題。你們能提供什麼依據來衡量該資產的盈利能力，以及它與你們通常進行的市政併購相比如何？那麼，你們追逐私人資產是否表示有更大的市政目標可用呢？

Thanks, Angie, I'll take a stab at that question. We see the Nexus acquisition, it was a great opportunity for us to get a group of customers in states that we already provide service to, but it does help us to expand our footprint in those states.

謝謝，安吉，我會嘗試回答這個問題。我們看到 Nexus 的收購對我們來說是一個很好的機會，讓我們能夠在我們已經提供服務的州獲得一群客戶，但它確實有助於我們擴大在這些州的影響力。

We don't see it being a lot different than most of our acquisitions. We're going to go through the same processes to bring these customers online. We've already started outreach with employees and communities so that we can get to know them and they can get to know us a little bit as we go through the process, which is just typical for what we would do in any acquisition type of scenario. So we don't see this as being any kind of an indication.

我們認為它與我們的大多數收購沒有太大不同。我們將透過相同的流程讓這些客戶上網。我們已經開始與員工和社區進行接觸，以便我們能夠了解他們，並且他們也可以在我們進行整個過程的過程中對我們有所了解，這在任何收購類型的情況下我們都會採取的典型做法。所以我們並不認為這是一種跡象。

Regarding municipal deals, those municipal deals are still out there. We're still pursuing them, and we're still getting lots of interest across our footprint. So we think that it's just another step in rightsizing the organizations across the US And this consolidation piece

至於市政交易，那些市政交易仍然存在。我們仍在追求它們，我們的足跡仍受到廣泛關注。因此，我們認為這只是美國各地組織精簡的又一步，而這項合併

that we've been pushing on and seeing all across the footprint is going to continue, and that will happen in various ways. So we're excited about this deal, but it certainly has not taken our eye off the ball on the municipal systems.

我們一直在努力，並且看到整個足跡將繼續下去，並將以各種方式實現。因此，我們對這筆交易感到非常興奮，但它當然並沒有讓我們忽視市政系統。

And it's not going to have diminished profitability because of the goodwill that is being paid and then just a different treatment of privately-owned asset acquisitions?

而且，由於支付了商譽，並且對私有資產收購採取了不同的處理方式，獲利能力不會下降嗎？

No, I don't think that it's going to have a negative impact at all. I think it's going to be again, we'll just roll them right in and we'll just keep moving forward, and I don't see a negative impact at all.

不，我認為這根本不會產生負面影響。我認為情況會再次如此，我們只需將它們捲入其中並繼續前進，我根本不會看到任何負面影響。

Okay. Okay, that's all I have.

好的。好的，這就是我所知道的全部。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Jonathan Reeder of Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的喬納森·里德。

Hey, good morning team Congrats on a solid update. I wanted to start first, I guess, piggybacking off of Angie there and say, congrats on the Nexus deal as well as a resumption of some Pennsylvania fair market value deals.

嘿，早安，團隊，恭喜您取得堅實的更新。我想先從安吉那裡搭便車開始說，祝賀 Nexus 交易以及賓州一些公平市場價值交易的恢復。

Cheryl, could you just kind of talk a little bit more on the landscape in Pennsylvania on the fair market value front? Were these deals that are kind of already in the pipeline just waiting to get done once the PUC finalized the revisions to the rules? Or is this just kind of more the tip of the iceberg of the backlog of deals that are kind of waiting to come, and we should expect to see a lot more Pennsylvania fair market value activity in the quarters ahead?

謝麗爾，您能否再多談談賓州公平市場價值的情況？這些交易是否已經在籌備中，只等公共事業委員會完成規則修訂後才能完成？或者這只是等待到來的積壓交易的冰山一角，我們應該預計在未來幾季會看到更多賓州的公平市場價值活動？

Yes. Jonathan, thanks for the question. These deals are all long lead time deals. So we've been working on all these deals for quite some time. Nothing happens overnight in the acquisition space. But I would say these deals have just gone through the natural progression. I don't think they were necessarily waiting in the wings for these rules to get finalized or anything like that. I think the timing is what it is just based on the conversations that we've been having.

是的。喬納森，謝謝你的提問。這些交易都是長期交易。我們已經為這些交易工作了相當長一段時間。在收購領域，沒有什麼事情是一夜之間發生的。但我想說這些交易只是經歷了自然進程。我認為他們不一定在等待這些規則最終確定或諸如此類的事情。我認為時機正是根據我們一直以來的對話而定的。

And we look at each deal to determine, does it make sense to do a fair market value deal or does it make sense to do a more traditional type of deal. And we've had a mixture of those. When you talk about all the deals that are happening in Pennsylvania, they're not all fair market value deals. Do we expect more to come to the table? Absolutely.

我們會仔細審查每筆交易，以確定進行公平市場價值交易是否合理，還是進行更傳統類型的交易是否合理。我們已將其中幾種情況混合在一起。當你談論賓州發生的所有交易時，它們並非都是公平市場價值交易。我們是否期待有更多成果出現？絕對地。

And we'll continue to manage through those deals. We were glad when the commission gave us guidelines that we can follow along so that it makes that process of getting a deal closed smoother, and hopefully, faster. And so we're going to follow those guidelines with our fair market value deals so that we can really push all these deals forward, whether they're fair market value or not.

我們將繼續透過這些交易進行管理。我們很高興委員會為我們提供了可以遵循的指導方針，這使得達成交易的過程更加順利，並且希望更快。因此，我們將在公平市場價值交易中遵循這些準則，以便我們能夠真正推動所有這些交易，無論它們是否具有公平市場價值。

But yes, we think there's still a lot more deals. There's a lot of consolidation that needs to happen out there.

但是是的，我們認為還有很多交易。那裡需要進行大量的整合。

Jonathan, it's John here. I'll just add to Cheryl's comments, and Cheryl's spot on there in terms of the Pennsylvania landscape. We really are seeing additional contribution from across our entire platform as well.

喬納森，我是約翰。我只是想補充 Cheryl 的評論，以及 Cheryl 對賓州風景的看法。我們確實也看到了整個平台的額外貢獻。

So Pennsylvania remains healthy, but those same dynamics that drive Pennsylvania in terms of the need for investment, economies of scale, which leads to the regionalization, those all apply across our platform, and we're really we spent the last couple of years organizing to be able to move on those dynamics broadly across our states.

因此，賓州仍然保持著健康的狀態，但推動賓州發展的動力同樣來自於投資需求、規模經濟以及區域化，這些都適用於我們的平台，而且我們在過去幾年中一直在組織工作，以便能夠在我們各州廣泛地推動這些動力。

Awesome. That's great to hear the momentum as broad. One other question I had was on your reference to the bill of the decoupling bill in California. Can you kind of expand a little bit more what exactly that says or maybe what's the goals of the bill? Because I

驚人的。很高興聽到如此廣泛的勢頭。我還有一個問題是關於您提到的加州脫鉤法案。您能否更詳細地解釋一下該法案的具體內容或其目標是什麼？因為我

believe the legislature in previous year kind of passed the decoupling bill, but it didn't require the commission to adopt decoupling. Does this bill require them to approve decoupling full decoupling for the California water utilities?

我相信立法機構去年已經通過了脫鉤法案，但並沒有要求委員會採取脫鉤政策。該法案是否要求他們批准對加州水務公司進行全面脫鉤？

Yeah, Jonathan, this bill was designed to try to close that gap for us. So we're hopeful that it continues to make its way through and that the governor signs off on it, and we're hoping to have a decision over the next few months.

是的，喬納森，這項法案旨在幫助我們縮小這一差距。因此，我們希望該法案能夠繼續獲得通過，並得到州長的批准，我們希望在未來幾個月內做出決定。

Okay. But at this point, it still needs to pass both chambers before you then go to the governor, is that correct?

好的。但目前，它仍然需要通過兩院的審核才能提交給州長，對嗎？

Yeah, well, it's Jonathan, this is David. It's passed out of the appropriations committee. Now it's going to go to the full legislature. And then once it passes there, it goes to the governor's desk.

是的，我是喬納森，這是大衛。該法案已由撥款委員會通過。現在該法案將提交至全體立法機構審議。一旦通過那裡，它就會送到州長的辦公桌上。

Excellent. And again, congrats on a good update.

出色的。再次恭喜您取得如此好的更新。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Paul Zimbardo of Jefferies.

傑富瑞的保羅‧津巴多 (Paul Zimbardo)。

Hi good morning team, thank you. I just had one quick one here comprehensive before. Just on the strength in the 2025 pushing up the guidance towards the top end. I know you attributed to some stronger usage and just outperformance across the footprint. Is there anything else in particular that kind of drove that strength? And if we should think about that, those drivers, whatever they may be contributing in 2026 plus?

大家好，早安，謝謝大家。我之前只是在這裡快速綜合了一下。僅憑 2025 年的實力就將指導推向最高水準。我知道您將其歸因於更強大的使用率和在整個足跡中的優異表現。還有什麼特別的因素推動了這種力量嗎？如果我們考慮一下，這些驅動因素在 2026 年以後會做出什麼貢獻？

Paul, this is David. No, I mean, what we disclosed in the call here was really the primary driver. We've just seen strong usage. We saw that last year, a continuation of that, and that's the main driver.

保羅，這是大衛。不，我的意思是，我們在電話會議中披露的內容確實是主要驅動因素。我們剛剛看到了強勁的使用率。我們去年就看到了這種情況的延續，這是主要驅動力。

Yes and Paul, just to add to that. It's a lot of consistent regulatory execution and the strength of our diversified platform geographically as well as from a regulatory perspective.

是的，保羅，我只是想補充一下。這是我們一致遵守監管規定以及從地理和監管角度來看的多元化平台的優勢。

Okay, understood. No, thanks very much. Have a good one.

好的，明白了。不，非常感謝。祝你一切順利。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. Our presentation is now finished. You may now disconnect.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我們的演示現已結束。您現在可以斷開連線。