Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc (BFAM) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to Bright Horizons Family Solutions first-quarter 2025 earnings release conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Michael Flanagan, Vice President, Investor Relations for the Bright Horizon Family Solutions. Thank you. You may begin.

問候。歡迎參加 Bright Horizo​​ns Family Solutions 2025 年第一季財報發布電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。現在我很高興介紹 Bright Horizo​​n Family Solutions 投資者關係副總裁 Michael Flanagan。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Cherry, and welcome to Bright Horizon's first-quarter earnings call. Before we begin, please note that today's call is being webcast and a recording will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website, investors.brighthorizons.com.

謝謝你，Cherry，歡迎參加 Bright Horizo​​n 第一季財報電話會議。在我們開始之前，請注意，今天的電話會議正在進行網路直播，錄音可在我們網站 investors.brighthorizo​​ns.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

As a reminder to participants, any forward-looking statements made on this call, including those regarding future business, financial performance and outlook, are subject to the safe harbor statement included in our earnings release. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual operating and financial results to differ materially and should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements that are described and detailed in our earnings release, our 2024 Form 10-K and other SEC filings. Any forward-looking statements speaks only as of the date on which is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

提醒參與者，本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述，包括有關未來業務、財務績效和前景的陳述，均受我們收益報告中的安全港聲明的約束。前瞻性陳述本身涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際營運和財務結果存在重大差異，應與我們的收益報告、2024 年 10-K 表格和其他 SEC 文件中描述和詳細說明的警示性聲明一起考慮。任何前瞻性陳述僅代表其作出之日的觀點，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Today, we also refer to non-GAAP financial measures, which are detailed and reconciled to the GAAP counterparts in our earnings release which is available under the IR section of our website at investors.brighthorizons.com. Joining me on today's call are Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Kramer; and our Chief Financial Officer, Elizabeth Boland. Stephen will start by reviewing our results and provide an update on the business. Elizabeth will then follow with a more detailed review of the numbers before we open it up to your questions. So with that, let me turn the call over to Stephen.

今天，我們也參考了非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 財務指標，這些指標在我們的收益報告中進行了詳細說明，並與公認會計準則 (GAAP) 指標進行了協調。收益報告可在我們網站 investors.brighthorizo​​ns.com 的投資者關係 (IR) 部分查看。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有執行長 Stephen Kramer 和財務長 Elizabeth Boland。史蒂芬將首先回顧我們的業績並提供業務最新進展。在我們回答大家的問題之前，伊莉莎白將對這些數字進行更詳細的審查。因此，讓我將電話轉給史蒂芬。

Thanks, Mike, and good evening to everyone on the call. We are pleased to report a strong start to 2025 with revenue growth in line and earnings growth well ahead of our expectations. These results reflect the successful execution of our strategy across all segments. From growing enrollment and expanding our backup business to efficient service delivery, I am encouraged by our continued progress and remain confident in our ability to effectively serve the working families and employer clients that count on us each and every day.

謝謝，麥克，祝大家晚上好。我們很高興地報告，2025 年開局強勁，營收成長符合預期，獲利成長遠超我們的預期。這些結果反映了我們在所有領域策略的成功執行。從增加招生人數、擴大我們的備份業務到高效的服務交付，我們不斷取得的進步讓我備受鼓舞，並且我們仍然對我們有效地服務於每天依賴我們的工作家庭和雇主客戶的能力充滿信心。

So to get into some of the specifics. Revenue in the quarter increased 7% to $666 million and adjusted EPS grew 51% to $0.77 per share. At a segment level, our full service child care business grew 6% to $511 million and operating margins expanded 210 basis points to 6.5%. We added 6 centers in the first quarter, 4 of which were client-sponsored including centers for Royal Caribbean and Arthrex. Overall tuition increases averaged 4% to 5% and enrollment in centers opened more than 1 year, increased at a low single-digit rate with average occupancy percentage in the mid-60s, a sequential step-up from the fourth quarter.

因此，讓我們來了解一些具體細節。本季營收成長 7% 至 6.66 億美元，調整後每股收益成長 51% 至每股 0.77 美元。從細分市場來看，我們的全方位兒童照護業務成長 6%，達到 5.11 億美元，營業利潤率擴大 210 個基點，達到 6.5%。我們在第一季增加了 6 個中心，其中 4 個是由客戶贊助的，包括皇家加勒比和 Arthrex 的中心。整體學費平均上漲 4% 至 5%，開設一年以上的中心的入學人數以低個位數增長，平均入住率在 60% 左右，與第四季度相比有所上升。

In terms of enrollment trends in the US, we have continued to see encouraging enrollment dynamics in certain underperforming centers located in business districts where return to office policies have been gaining traction. At the same time, we have also seen a somewhat slower velocity in the pace of commitments across some other US markets as families consider longer-term spending decisions, including for child care in the context of ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. In response, we are sharpening our focus working to create urgency, improved follow-up and streamlining the path from try to enrollment, all while reinforcing the value and quality of our services.

就美國的入學趨勢而言，我們繼續看到某些位於商業區、表現不佳的中心令人鼓舞的入學動態，這些中心的重返辦公室政策已逐漸受到重視。同時，我們也看到，由於家庭在持續的宏觀經濟不確定性背景下考慮長期支出決策（包括兒童照護支出），美國其他一些市場的承諾速度有所放緩。作為回應，我們正在集中精力創造緊迫感，改善後續工作，簡化從嘗試到註冊的路徑，同時加強我們服務的價值和品質。

Even considering this current dynamic, we remain confident in the opportunity to drive continued margin improvement through enrollment growth and maintaining price to cost differential and operating discipline. Outside the US, the UK continues to demonstrate strong progress on enrollment and margin recovery. In addition to steady enrollment growth, we have made meaningful improvements in recruiting and staff retention. As a result, we continue to see a clear path to earnings breakeven in the UK 2025.

即使考慮到當前的動態，我們仍然相信有機會透過入學人數的成長以及維持價格成本差異和營運紀律來推動利潤率的持續提高。在美國以外，英國在入學率和利潤率恢復方面繼續表現出強勁進展。除了入學人數穩定成長之外，我們在招募和員工留任方面也取得了有意義的進展。因此，我們繼續看到英國 2025 年實現獲利收支平衡的明確路徑。

Let me now turn to Backup Care. Revenue increased 12% to $129 million, which was in line with our expectations. Traditional use remains strong across all network types in the first quarter. In addition, early reservations for school age programs during the peaks of our months are quite encouraging. Likewise, employers continue to prioritize family support benefits.

現在讓我來談談備份護理。營收成長 12% 至 1.29 億美元，符合我們的預期。第一季度，所有網路類型的傳統使用依然強勁。此外，在我們招生高峰期，學齡計畫的提前預訂也令人鼓舞。同樣，雇主繼續優先考慮家庭支持福利。

We started the year strong with 95% client retention and many new client launches, including the University of Michigan, Sherwin-Williams and LabCorp, among others. With our growing client base and increasing engagement among eligible employees, we remain on track to achieve our 2025 objectives.

我們今年開局表現強勁，客戶保留率達 95%，並有許多新客戶加入，包括密西根大學、宣偉和 LabCorp 等。隨著客戶群的不斷擴大以及合格員工參與度的不斷提高，我們仍有望實現 2025 年的目標。

Our education advisory business grew 8% this past quarter to $26 million, ahead of our expectations. We saw encouraging growth in participant engagement within our EdAssist service and College Code continued to deliver solid operating performance. We also added new clients to the portfolio, including Tower Health and Tiffany's. As we have shared over the last several quarters, this is a segment where we are investing with a long-term view, and we remain confident that these investments will drive meaningful value over time.

我們的教育諮詢業務上個季度成長了 8%，達到 2,600 萬美元，超出了我們的預期。我們看到 EdAssist 服務中參與者參與度的令人鼓舞的成長，而 College Code 繼續提供穩健的營運績效。我們還在投資組合中增加了新客戶，包括 Tower Health 和 Tiffany’s。正如我們在過去幾季中所分享的，這是我們以長遠眼光投資的一個領域，我們仍然相信這些投資將隨著時間的推移帶來有意義的價值。

Before I wrap up, I want to share some highlights from our recent annual senior leadership forum, an event that brings together our top 100 leaders from across the globe to collaborate on longer-term growth strategies. A key area focus at this year's form continue to be our One Bright Horizon strategy, focused on extending the value and impact of our offerings at the client and user level. For

在結束之前，我想分享我們最近的年度高階領導力論壇的一些亮點，該論壇匯集了來自全球各地的 100 名頂尖領導者，共同製定長期成長策略。今年的重點領域仍然是我們的「一個光明的地平線」策略，重點是擴大我們的產品在客戶和用戶層面的價值和影響力。為了

our existing clients, we continue to develop initiatives to gain expanded adoption of our broad suite of services. In the first quarter, we drove several examples. Current backup client, Phillip 66 expanded their services to include EdAssist. Similarly, current college coach client Vertex and current full service client Aflac, both added back-up care to their portfolio. These results underscore the value of our increasingly integrated offering and the strength of our strategy to drive deeper, more enduring partnerships with the employers, families and learners we serve.

我們現有的客戶，我們將繼續制定計劃，以擴大我們廣泛的服務套件的採用。在第一季度，我們推動了幾個例子。目前的備用客戶 Phillip 66 擴展了他們的服務以包括 EdAssist。同樣，目前的大學教練客戶 Vertex 和目前的全方位服務客戶 Aflac 都在其投資組合中增加了後備護理。這些結果凸顯了我們日益整合的服務的價值，以及我們與所服務的雇主、家庭和學習者建立更深入、更持久的合作夥伴關係的策略的優勢。

So to close, I am proud of the team's execution in Q1 and their continued dedication to delivering outstanding education and care. We remain confident in our long-term strategy and are encouraged by the results we are delivering. We are raising our revenue growth guidance to a range of 6.5% to 8.5% and largely reflecting the recent changes in foreign exchange rates while reaffirming our adjusted EPS in the range of $3.95 to $4.15.

最後，我為團隊在第一季的表現以及他們持續致力於提供卓越的教育和護理而感到自豪。我們對我們的長期策略充滿信心，並對我們所取得的成果感到鼓舞。我們將營收成長預期上調至 6.5% 至 8.5%，這在很大程度上反映了近期外匯匯率的變化，同時重申調整後的每股盈餘在 3.95 美元至 4.15 美元之間。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Elizabeth, who will dive into the quarterly numbers and share more details around our outlook.

說完這些，我將把電話轉給伊麗莎白，她將深入了解季度數據並分享有關我們前景的更多細節。

Thank you, Stephen, and thanks to everyone for joining the call today. To recap the first quarter overall revenue increased 7% to $666 million, adjusted operating income of $62 million or 9.4% of revenue increased 56% and over Q1 of 2024, while adjusted EBITDA of $92 million or 13.9% of revenue increased 23% over the prior year. We ended the quarter with 1,023 centers with six additions and two closures in the first quarter.

謝謝你，史蒂芬，也謝謝大家今天參加電話會議。回顧第一季，總營收成長 7% 至 6.66 億美元，調整後的營業收入為 6,200 萬美元，佔營收的 9.4%，比 2024 年第一季成長 56%，而調整後的 EBITDA 為 9,200 萬美元，佔上年營收的 13.92%，比上年成長 13.92%。本季末，我們擁有 1,023 個中心，其中第一季新增 6 個，關閉 2 個。

To break this down a bit further, our full service revenue of $511 million was up 6% in Q1 on pricing increases and low single-digit enrollment growth. offset by just under 100 basis points of FX headwinds. Enrollment in our centers opened for more than one year increased low single digits across the portfolio. As Stephen mentioned, occupancy levels averaged in the mid-60s for Q1, coming up from the prior year as well as sequentially from last quarter, given the typical enrollment seasonality. In the center cohorts we have discussed on prior calls, we continue to see improvement across the center cohorts over the prior year period.

進一步細分，我們的全服務收入為 5.11 億美元，由於價格上漲和低個位數入學人數增長，第一季度增長了 6%，但被近 100 個基點的外匯逆風所抵消。我們中心開業一年多來，整個投資組合的入學人數都呈現個位數成長。正如史蒂芬所提到的，考慮到典型的入學季節性，第一季的平均入住率在 60% 左右，比去年同期有所上升，也比上一季有所下降。在先前的電話會議中我們討論過的中心隊列中，我們繼續看到整個中心隊列比去年同期有所改善。

Our top-performing cohort defined as above 70% occupancy improved from 44% of these centers in Q1 of '24 to 47% of centers in Q1 of 2025. As a reminder, this cohort continues to sustain strong average occupancy levels, in fact, above 80%, which inherently limits the additional enrollment expansion opportunity. Conversely, in our middle and bottom groups, defined as 40% to 70% enrolled and below 40% in both, respectively, the role has increased at a mid-single-digit rate in the first quarter.

我們表現最佳的群體定義為入住率超過 70%，從 2024 年第一季的 44% 提高到 2025 年第一季的 47%。需要提醒的是，這群人繼續保持強勁的平均入住率，實際上超過 80%，這本質上限制了額外招生擴張的機會。相反，在我們的中間和底部群體中，分別定義為入學率為 40% 至 70% 和入學率為 40% 以下，該職位在第一季度以中等個位數的速度增長。

In Q1, centers in the middle cohort now represent 40% of the toll of that portfolio and the bottom cohort represents 13% of the centers. Adjusted operating income of $33 million in the full service segment increased $12 million over the prior year and represents 6.5% of revenue in the quarter. Higher enrollment and improved operating leverage, notably in our UK and US operations helped drive the growth in earnings.

在第一季度，中間群體的中心現在佔該投資組合收費的 40%，而底層群體則佔中心的 13%。全方位服務部門調整後的營業收入為 3,300 萬美元，較上年增加 1,200 萬美元，佔本季營收的 6.5%。入學人數的增加和經營槓桿的提高（尤其是在英國和美國的業務）幫助推動了盈利的增長。

Turning to backup care. Revenue grew 12% in the first quarter to $129 million, with adjusted operating income at 21% of revenue or $26 million.

轉向備用護理。第一季營收成長 12% 至 1.29 億美元，調整後營業收入佔營收的 21% 或 2,600 萬美元。

Lastly, educational advisory revenue increased 8% to $26 million and delivered an operating margin of 10%. Operating margins were consistent with the prior year reflecting the ongoing investments that we are making in the product suite and customer experience. Turning to a couple of other items on the P&L. Interest expense decreased $3 million to $10 million in Q1 and largely due to lower overall borrowings and the incremental interest income that we earn on invested cash. The structural effective tax rate on adjusted net income was 27.5% and consistent with Q1 of '24.

最後，教育諮詢收入成長 8%，達到 2,600 萬美元，營業利益率達 10%。營業利潤率與前一年一致，反映了我們在產品套件和客戶體驗方面的持續投資。轉向損益表中的其他幾個項目。第一季利息支出減少了 300 萬美元至 1000 萬美元，這主要是由於整體借款減少以及我們從投資現金中獲得的增量利息收入。調整後淨收入的結構性有效稅率為 27.5%，與 24 年第一季一致。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. We generated $86 million in cash from operations in the first quarter. We made fixed asset investments of $15 million and repurchased $20 million of stock in the quarter. We ended Q1 with $112 million in cash and reduced our leverage ratio to 1x net debt to adjusted EBITDA. Now I'll turn to our 2025 outlook.

轉向資產負債表和現金流。我們第一季的營運現金流為 8,600 萬美元。我們在本季進行了 1,500 萬美元的固定資產投資，並回購了價值 2,000 萬美元的股票。我們在第一季結束時擁有 1.12 億美元現金，並將槓桿率降低至 1 倍淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率。現在我將談談我們對 2025 年的展望。

In terms of the top line, we are modestly raising the midpoint of our reported revenue outlook by $15 million to a range of $2.865 billion to $2.915 billion. This updated revenue range reflects a roughly $30 million favorable change in FX as compared to our original guidance, partially offset by roughly $15 million which largely reflects our more conservative assumption around the pace of enrollments over the remainder of the year.

就營業收入而言，我們將報告的收入預期中位數小幅上調 1500 萬美元，至 28.65 億美元至 29.15 億美元之間。與我們最初的指導相比，這項更新的收入範圍反映了外匯方面約 3000 萬美元的有利變化，部分抵消了約 1500 萬美元，這在很大程度上反映了我們對今年剩餘時間入學速度的更保守的假設。

This results in a projected reported and constant currency revenue growth rate of 6.5% to 8.5%. Breaking that down a bit further at the segment level, in full service, we now expect revenue and -- sorry, reported and constant currency revenue for the year to grow in the range of 5% to 7%. In Backup Care, we now expect reported revenue to increase 12% to 14%, up 100 basis points from our prior outlook. And in net advisory, we continue to expect to grow in the low to mid-single digits. In terms of earnings, as Stephen previewed, we continue to expect 2025 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $3.95 to $4.15 a share.

預計報告的固定貨幣收入成長率為 6.5% 至 8.5%。進一步細分到各個細分領域，在全方位服務方面，我們現在預計全年收入和——抱歉，報告的和恆定貨幣收入將增長 5% 至 7%。在 Backup Care 方面，我們現在預計報告收入將成長 12% 至 14%，比我們先前的預測高出 100 個基點。在淨諮詢方面，我們預計將繼續保持低至中等個位數的成長。在收益方面，正如史蒂芬所預測的那樣，我們繼續預計 2025 年調整後的每股收益將在 3.95 美元至 4.15 美元之間。

As we look specifically to Q2, our outlook is for top line of $720 million to $730 million or growth in the range of 7.5% to 9% on a reported basis. This reflects roughly 100 basis points of tailwind from FX over the prior year. We expect full service to grow reported revenue 6% to 7%, and or 5% to 6% in constant currency. We also expect backup to grow 13% to 15% and an advisory to grow in the mid-single digits. In terms of earnings per share, we expect Q2 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.99 to $1.04.

具體來看第二季度，我們預計營收將達到 7.2 億美元至 7.3 億美元，或報告成長率介於 7.5% 至 9% 之間。這反映了外匯市場較上年約 100 個基點的順風。我們預計全方位服務的收入將成長 6% 至 7%，或以固定匯率計算成長 5% 至 6%。我們也預期備份將成長 13% 至 15%，而諮詢將成長中個位數。就每股盈餘而言，我們預計第二季調整後的每股盈餘將在 0.99 美元至 1.04 美元之間。

And so with that, Cherry, we are ready to go to Q&A.

因此，Cherry，我們準備進入問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Andrew Steinerman, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）摩根大通的安德魯·施泰納曼。

Focusing on the mid-60s utilization for full service in the first quarter. Could you just give us a sense of how you think that will go through the year? I know there's seasonality, particularly in the summer. And then also talk to us about your journey to eventually get back to pre-COVID levels.

重點關注第一季 60 年代中期全面服務的利用率。您能否告訴我們您認為今年的進展會如何？我知道有季節性，特別是在夏天。然後，請與我們談談您最終恢復到疫情之前水平的歷程。

Sure. Thanks, Andrew. So the reported enrollment utilization in the first quarter, we would expect it to step up a bit in the second quarter as we continue to sort of press the enrollment seasonality in Q2, so it would improve a bit in Q2 and then taper in the second half of the year, but averaging roughly in the same reported where we are in Q1 for the full year. So that mid-60s would be a trend up in Q2 and then tapering back into Q3 and relatively flat Q4.

當然。謝謝，安德魯。因此，我們預計第一季報告的入學利用率在第二季度會略有上升，因為我們繼續在第二季度施加壓力以應對入學季節性，因此它將在第二季度略有改善，然後在下半年逐漸減少，但全年平均水平與第一季度報告的水平大致相同。因此，60 年代中期將呈現上升趨勢，然後在第三季度逐漸回落，並在第四季度相對持平。

As it relates to continued progress to the sort of pre-COVID utilization levels, at this pace, we're talking a couple -- 2% to 3% or so of enrollment growth for the year. And so at that pace, I think we will have better insight next year as we continue to play out this year, but it would be at that pace, we'd be taking another couple of years to fully get back to a precoded overall 70% threshold. And I think that the components of that are both growing enrollments in the cohorts that we have and continuing to pair the underperformers that just are not ultimately recovering.

就其與 COVID 之前的利用率水平的持續進展而言，按照這個速度，我們談論的是今年入學人數的增長——2% 到 3% 左右。因此，按照這樣的速度，我認為明年隨著我們今年的繼續發展，我們將會有更好的洞察力，但按照這樣的速度，我們還需要幾年時間才能完全回到預編碼的總體 70％ 的閾值。我認為，這其中的要素包括，既要增加現有學生的入學人數，又要繼續匹配那些最終無法恢復的表現不佳的學生。

George Tong, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的喬治通 (George Tong)。

You talked about seeing a little bit of a slower velocity and commitments in some of your markets, given macro uncertainty. Can you talk a little bit more about that and whether some of those changes could be structural in nature or if they're purely cyclical?

您談到，鑑於宏觀不確定性，部分市場的發展速度和承諾有所放緩。您能否進一步談談這一點，以及其中一些變化是否是結構性的，還是純粹是週期性的？

Thanks for the question, George. So I think first, we would start that by saying, we think that those are more in line with cyclical. We don't see a structural change. At the end of the day, when we think about child care and families, working families think about child care, they really don't think about it in the sense of being a sort of discretionary item in the way that you might see vacations or other kinds of purchases. And so with that in mind, our existing families continue to persist really well within our centers. And so we're seeing good retention.

謝謝你的提問，喬治。因此我認為，首先，我們要說的是，我們認為這些更符合週期性。我們沒有看到結構性變化。歸根結底，當我們考慮兒童保育和家庭時，工作家庭會考慮兒童保育，但他們不會真的把它看作是一種可自由支配的項目，就像度假或其他類型的購買一樣。考慮到這一點，我們現有的家庭繼續在我們的中心很好地生存下來。因此，我們看到了良好的保留率。

And it's really on the new family side that in certain pockets here in the US. We are seeing some families choose to push out their start dates, perhaps some taking a little bit longer to commit. But overall, as we suggested in the guidance, it's really around the edges. We're still seeing enrollment growth. It's really just not as at the velocity that we had originally thought.

在美國某些地區，這種情況確實發生在新家庭。我們看到一些家庭選擇推遲入學日期，也許有些家庭需要更長的時間來做出承諾。但總體而言，正如我們在指南中所建議的那樣，它確實處於邊緣狀態。我們仍然看到入學人數在增加。它的速度確實不像我們原先想像的那樣。

Got it. That's helpful. And then as a follow-up, in your bad cohort of enrollment are so those with less than 40% occupancy, are you taking any initiatives that are different from before in addressing those lower occupancy rates? Or is it the similar playbook to earlier quarters?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後作為後續問題，在您的不良入學群體中，入住率低於 40%，您是否採取了與以前不同的措施來解決這些較低的入住率問題？或者這是與前幾季類似的劇本？

Yes. I mean we are still approaching it in the same way, George. So we continue to be very disciplined about looking at centers, trying to think about their lease end dates thinking about other actions that we can take. But ultimately, we continue to try to improve. And as we shared in the prepared remarks this quarter and last quarter, that discipline is starting to pay off, especially in places that were returned to office dependent.

是的。我的意思是我們仍然以同樣的方式處理這個問題，喬治。因此，我們繼續非常嚴格地審視中心，試圖思考它們的租約結束日期，思考我們可以採取的其他行動。但最終，我們會繼續努力改進。正如我們在本季和上個季度的準備好的發言中分享的那樣，這種紀律開始產生效果，特別是在那些恢復辦公室依賴的地方。

And so again, those would have been potentially actions that we could have taken last year decided to take a more patient approach. And as those centers have started to come back, I think, again, it sort of reaffirms that we're making really good decisions in terms of making that bottom cohort work and once they can't ultimately pairing those over time.

所以，這些本來可能是我們去年可能採取的行動，而我們決定採取更有耐心的態度。隨著這些中心開始恢復，我認為這再次證明了我們在讓底層群體發揮作用以及最終無法隨著時間的推移將它們配對方面做出了非常好的決定。

Manav Patnaik, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的馬納夫·帕特奈克（Manav Patnaik）。

This is Princy Thomas on for Manav. Saw that the full center margins were roughly 7% in 1Q. I wanted to just ask you what the sustainability around that looks like? And what are your segment margin expectations for 2Q?

這是 Princey Thomas 代替 Manav 上場。發現第一季整個中心的利潤率約為 7%。我只是想問您一下，這方面的永續性是什麼樣的？您對第二季的分部利潤率有何預期？

Yes. Thanks, Princy. So we were about 6.5% in the quarter and up just over 200 basis points from the first quarter of last year. So pleased with that progress. I think that the view as we look out for the rest of the year is that with the contribution, particularly from our UK business to the first quarter, the improvement there was measurable. We're also starting to comp against more challenging -- they're not challenging. The UK had a good improvement last year and in -- over the course of the year.

是的。謝謝，Princy。因此，本季我們的成長率約為 6.5%，比去年第一季成長了 200 多個基點。我對這項進展感到非常高興。我認為，展望今年剩餘時間，我們認為，憑藉英國業務對第一季的貢獻，那裡的改善是可以衡量的。我們也開始與更具挑戰性的對手競爭——他們並不具有挑戰性。英國去年和今年都取得了良好的進步。

And so we're just lapping some of that effect. So we would expect the overall for the year that we'd be up maybe 125 basis points for 2025 in total. So that 10-or-so basis points in Q1 would taper some as we lap some of those effects from last year and also just with the slightly pull back expectation around enrollment 50 basis points or so.

所以我們只是疊加了一些這種影響。因此，我們預計到 2025 年全年整體利率可能會上漲 125 個基點。因此，隨著我們逐漸消化去年的一些影響，入學人數預期略有回落（約 50 個基點），第一季的 10 個基點左右的增幅將會減少。

Got it. And could you just help us quantify how much of a drag the UK was in Q1? I know that you mentioned that you see a clear breakeven point for this year. And also, what is your net new center openings outlook?

知道了。您能否幫我們量化一下英國在第一季造成的拖累有多大？我知道您提到您看到了今年的明確損益平衡點。另外，您對新中心淨開幕前景有何看法？

Sure. So a couple of questions in there. So the UK, as we are trying to convey a couple of positive things and also temper that with the fact that the UK is not at the same level of performance yet as the US. So there is a headwind there in the neighborhood of 100 basis points or so on the full service margins coming from the UK business, even though it's contributing. We do see a pathway to a breaking even this year, and that will be certainly a good threshold, but we will continue to make progress then in 2026 on and beyond that.

當然。這裡有幾個問題。因此，對英國來說，我們正試圖傳達一些正面的事情，同時也要考慮到英國的表現尚未達到美國相同的水準。因此，儘管英國業務有所貢獻，但其全方位服務利潤率仍面臨約 100 個基點的阻力。我們確實看到了今年實現收支平衡的道路，這當然是一個很好的門檻，但我們將在 2026 年及以後繼續取得進展。

And so overall, the UK is contributing to the improvement but is still a headwind to the overall report margin performance. As it relates to openings, we are still looking at net plus/minus neutral openings. So call it, 25 center openings and plus/minus 25 closures for the year. And so we would expect the unit growth to be neutral, even though when a new center opens, the timing of that and the timing of the closings can have not an exact revenue offset for those two components.

因此，總體而言，英國正在為改善做出貢獻，但仍對整體報告利潤率表現構成阻力。就開局而言，我們仍在關注淨正/負中性開局。可以這麼說，一年中開設 25 個中心，關閉 25 個。因此，我們預計單位成長將保持中性，即使新中心開業和關閉的時間可能不會對這兩個部分產生確切的收入抵消。

Stephanie Moore, Jefferies.

史蒂芬妮摩爾，傑富瑞集團。

Good afternoon. Thank you. I want to -- first is just a follow-up question and maybe I just misheard, so was the original assumption kind of low single digits, so call it 2% to 3% enrollment growth for the year? And then what is the new underlying assumption?

午安.謝謝。我想——首先只是一個後續問題，也許我只是聽錯了，那麼最初的假設是那種低個位數，那麼今年的入學人數增長率是 2% 到 3% 嗎？那麼新的基本假設是什麼呢？

The original assumption was about 2.5% to 3.5%, and now we've drawn that back to 2% to 3%, so about 50 basis points of trim on that.

最初的假設是 2.5% 到 3.5% 左右，現在我們將其調回至 2% 到 3%，因此在此基礎上下調了約 50 個基點。

Okay. Great. No, I appreciate it. And kind of as you noted, where you're starting to see a bit of a macro uncertainty driving maybe some driving a reduction in that kind of new enrollment. Is there -- you kind of called out that you would be kind of sharpening our pencils and kind of doubling down on how to address that. Could you kind of remind us what the playbook would be in a slightly weaker macro environment to continue to drive healthy enrollment growth?

好的。偉大的。不，我很感激。正如您所說，您開始看到一些宏觀不確定性，這可能會導致新入學人數減少。您是否曾說過，您會加強解決這個問題。您能否提醒我們，在宏觀環境略弱的情況下，應該採取什麼策略才能繼續推動健康的入學人數成長？

Sure. So I mean I think that a healthy macro environment as well as less healthy. I think our playbook is quite similar, actually. We really are looking first and foremost to make sure that we're able to differentiate the quality of Bright Horizons experience for a child and family as compared to other options in the community or at the work site.

當然。所以我的意思是，我認為宏觀環境既有健康的，也有不太健康的。事實上，我認為我們的劇本非常相似。我們首先要確保的是，與社區或工作場所的其他選擇相比，我們能夠為兒童和家庭提供差異化的 Bright Horizo​​ns 體驗品質。

So first and foremost, making sure that we're able to articulate the value and then making sure that, that experience from initial inquiry all the way down through the start date is a flawless one. And so making sure that each step of the way, that family feels well accommodated. It's having their questions answered and making sure that we're really focusing on making sure they have a great experience while they're in the pipeline for enrollment, all the way through ensuring that we continue to retain families because of that great experience that they're having.

因此，首先，我們要確保能夠清楚地表達價值，然後確保從最初的詢問一直到開始日期的體驗都是完美的。因此，我們要確保每一步都讓家人感到舒適自在。我們會解答他們的問題，確保他們在入學期間擁有良好的體驗，並確保他們因為擁有的良好體驗而繼續留住這些家庭。

So again, in all kinds of environments, our playbook is the same. And we feel like we continue to refine that over time, but ultimately, that's the focus.

所以，在各種環境下，我們的劇本都是一樣的。我們覺得我們會隨著時間的推移不斷完善這一點，但最終，這是重點。

And is there anything in terms of a discounting or promotional schedule that might be pulled out in this environment to also kind of attract customers? I don't know if that's any kind of what that could be, but anything from a discounting or promotional standpoint that we could see as well in this environment.

在這種環境下，是否可以推出折扣或促銷計劃來吸引顧客？我不知道這是否是可能的，但從折扣或促銷的角度來看，在這種環境下我們也可以看到任何情況。

Absolutely. So we tend not to do sort of broad scale promotions at retail sold. That said, as we shared in the prepared remarks, we are spending a lot of time and effort thinking about how we can cross-pollinate across our services. and really taking this one Bright Horizons approach down to the user level. And so you might see, for example, if you were an employee of one of our clients, you might see special incentives to help you to move from, let's say, being a backup customer to becoming a full service customer.

絕對地。因此，我們傾向於不在零售店進行大規模促銷。話雖如此，正如我們在準備好的發言中分享的那樣，我們花費了大量的時間和精力來思考如何在我們的服務之間進行交叉融合，並真正將這種「光明視野」方法推廣到用戶層面。例如，如果您是我們某個客戶的員工，您可能會看到特殊的激勵措施，以協助您從備用客戶轉變為全方位服務客戶。

So that, I think, is something that we are doing and testing in order to really try to effectuate that strategy at the consumer level. and bring value to our clients and at the same time, making sure that we are getting the maximum value from those who we serve.

所以，我認為，我們正在做和測試一些事情，以便真正嘗試在消費者層面實施這項策略，並為我們的客戶帶來價值，同時確保我們從服務對像中獲得最大價值。

Toni Kaplan, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的東尼卡普蘭。

Stephen, I was wondering if you could help us out with maybe what you're seeing as the rationale for the slower enrollment trends within the industry. And it's not just that [B Summit], it seems to be more industry wide. Do you think that there is a pricing element to it like you've gone through a couple of years of above-trend pricing and now like some consumers might be being priced out. Just wanted to understand if you think that's reasonable or if you think there are other factors that really don't have anything to do pricing.

史蒂芬，我想知道您是否可以幫助我們了解您所看到的行業內招生趨勢放緩的原因。而且這不僅僅是 [B 峰會]，它似乎影響了整個產業。您是否認為這其中有定價因素？就像您經歷了幾年高於趨勢的定價，而現在一些消費者可能被價格所淹沒。只是想了解您是否認為這是合理的，或者您是否認為其他因素與定價無關。

Sure. So I mean, look, pricing is something that we always are focused on and want to make sure that families are seeing value for money, and I'm sure that everyone within the sector is looking to accomplish that regardless of sort of the quality level at which they sit. What I would say is that, again, there is a little bit of an after effect right from COVID, where there are certain families, especially with older children, who had never invested in child care because they ultimately were at home. They were staying at home with their children and ultimately didn't have that experience nor did they have that cost as part of their sort of fan budget.

當然。所以我的意思是，定價是我們始終關注的重點，我們希望確保家庭能夠物有所值，而且我相信該行業內的每個人都希望實現這一點，無論他們的品質水平如何。我想說的是，新冠疫情確實帶來了一些後遺症，有些家庭，尤其是有大孩子的家庭，從來沒有投資過兒童保育，因為他們最終都待在家裡。他們和孩子待在家裡，最終沒有這樣的經歷，也沒有將這筆費用作為粉絲預算的一部分。

I think in addition to that, as we think about where we are and looking forward, there are families that may feel uncertainty in their own sort of job situation, in which case if they haven't started in formal care, they may want to feel more secure before they ultimately step up and start making that investment. But look, I think the best indicator is what we're seeing on the existing family side with really good retention.

我認為除此之外，當我們思考我們現在所處的位置並展望未來時，有些家庭可能會對自己的工作狀況感到不確定，在這種情況下，如果他們還沒有開始接受正規的護理，他們可能希望在最終加緊並開始進行投資之前感到更安全。但我認為最好的指標是我們在現有家庭方面看到的非常好的保留率。

So it's not like people who are involved in our care are making different decisions than they've made in the past. Those folks who understand the value of what we're delivering, continue to have both parents employed continue to persist that care. And so it's really trying to adjudicate what's happening for new families as opposed to for those families that are -- have already made that selection and have already gotten involved with the Bright Horizons experience.

因此，參與我們照護的人們所做的決定與過去並沒有什麼不同。那些理解我們所提供服務的價值的人，會繼續讓父母雙方都有工作，並繼續堅持這種照顧。因此，它實際上是在嘗試判斷新家庭的情況，而不是那些已經做出選擇並參與「光明視野」體驗的家庭的情況。

Makes sense. And then, Elizabeth, really good margins on the back of care side this quarter as well. I know the question was asked already on full service sustainability, but I wanted to ask your thoughts on sort of the real drivers for why the 1Q margins were so good and backup care, they tend to usually be the low point in 1Q and any timing elements or things like that? Because I did notice you didn't raise the guide for the year, maybe that's uncertainty, but just wanted to get thoughts there.

有道理。然後，伊麗莎白，本季護理方面的利潤率也非常好。我知道已經有人問過有關全方位服務可持續性的問題，但我想問一下您對第一季度利潤率如此之高的真正驅動因素的看法，以及備用護理通常是第一季度的最低點，以及任何時間因素或類似因素？因為我確實注意到你沒有提出年度指南，也許這是不確定的，但我只是想在那裡得到一些想法。

Yes. I think our -- thanks for the question. The performance in the quarter is really down to the mix of the type of use we're providing and what we can deliver in central care versus other components. And so we have had good cost management, good pricing on the provider network that we have. And so we've been able to sustain a little bit better margin performance in Q1.

是的。我認為我們的—感謝您的提問。本季度的業績實際上取決於我們提供的使用類型的組合以及我們在中央護理和其他組成部分中所能提供的服務。因此，我們對現有的提供者網路擁有良好的成本管理和良好的定價。因此，我們能夠在第一季保持更好的利潤率表現。

Nothing unusual in the quarter. For the full year, I think the view there is as we look at the mix of where use will come as we get into the high sea of use, we do have a variety of partners in our network. And so we're looking at a mix that's very similar to how we have been able to perform in the past.

本季沒有出現任何異常情況。對於全年而言，我認為，當我們進入使用高峰期時，我們會考慮各種使用情況，我們的網路中確實有各種各樣的合作夥伴。因此，我們正在考慮與我們過去的表現非常相似的組合。

So that's why we've, I think, sustained the margins in a similar range to where we've been able to keep them in the last couple of years. It's very much a use driven business, and we want to have choice, and we want to have the matching of the services across both the US and the UK where we're providing care. And so it's quite a complex algorithm.

所以我認為這就是為什麼我們能夠將利潤率維持在與過去幾年類似的範圍內。這是一項以使用為導向的業務，我們希望擁有選擇，並且我們希望在我們提供醫療服務的美國和英國之間提供相匹配的服務。所以這是一個相當複雜的演算法。

Jeff Mueller, Baird.

傑夫·穆勒，貝爾德。

As Toni mentioned, you're not the only one in the industry seeing a slower intake right now. But from the experience in your data, does the weakness appear noticeably more pronounced at employer sponsors that are maybe being more directly impacted by tariff and trade war risk or federal government agency layoffs? Or does it just look fairly broad across industries and geographies.

正如東尼所提到的，你並不是目前業界唯一一個看到攝取量放緩的人。但從你們的數據經驗來看，雇主擔保機構的弱點是否更加明顯，而這些機構可能更直接受到關稅和貿易戰風險或聯邦政府機構裁員的影響？或者它只是看起來在各個行業和地區都相當廣泛。

Yes. Jeff, we are not seeing that at our client supported centers in particular. So I would say, first and foremost, no, we're not seeing a degradation from the perspective of our client centers. So I would say that when we think about where that is, ultimately, in the lower and middle cohort, right, we continue to grow at a mid-single-digit rate. And it's actually the highest enrolled the above 70%. And we're, again, one of the facets of that is those are in our world, structurally full, right?

是的。傑夫，我們在客戶支援中心沒有看到這種情況。因此我想說，首先，從我們的客戶中心的角度來看，我們並沒有看到任何退化。所以我想說，當我們考慮最終的中低收入群體時，我們將繼續以中等個位數的速度成長。最高入學率實際上達到了70%以上。再次強調，其中一個面向是，它們在我們的世界中是結構完整的，對嗎？

Once you get past 80% occupied, we think of those as relatively full. And therefore, it's really the cycling of the those who are leaving and then trying to have sort of an equal amount of backfill, but it's obviously more difficult to create that perfect match in timing at a more full center. And so some of the friction that happens in the more full centers is part of the algorithm here. But in terms of clients and bars and things like that, that is certainly not what the data is showing us.

一旦佔用率超過 80％，我們就認為這些房間相對滿了。因此，這實際上就是那些離開的人的循環，然後試圖獲得等量的補充，但顯然，在更完整的中心及時創造完美的匹配更加困難。因此，在更完整的中心發生的一些摩擦是這裡演算法的一部分。但就客戶、酒吧等而言，數據顯然沒有向我們展示這一點。

Okay. And then the I guess, earnings growth well ahead of guidance on in-line revenue yet largely holding the full year adjusted for FX. Was there any specific timing factor that drove that upside in Q1? Or is there something that specifically doesn't repeat? Or is it just a hold for, I guess, the macro uncertainty or the full service enrollment intake trends or something like that?

好的。然後我猜，獲利成長將遠遠超出預期，收入也將符合預期，但全年獲利將基本保持穩定，並根據外匯進行了調整。是否有任何特定的時間因素推動了第一季的上漲？或是有什麼特別不重複的事情？或者我猜這只是因為宏觀不確定性或全方位服務招生趨勢或類似因素而導致的？

Well, the way I'd characterize it, Jeff, is not that the performance doesn't hold. But as an example, much of the close to half the performance, outperformance came from better than we had expected performance in our whole service business in the UK and that is coming from solid enrollment, continued good both cost management, labor management and effective protocols on recruiting retention there. And we're now getting to a place where we're lapping the effect in the UK had introduced expanded funding to parents as of April 1 of last year.

好吧，傑夫，我對此的看法並不是說性能不持久。但舉例來說，接近一半的業績、優異表現大部分來自於我們在英國的整個服務業務表現優於預期，而這來自於穩定的招生、持續良好的成本管理、勞動力管理以及有效的招聘保留協議。現在，我們正逐步實現英國自去年 4 月 1 日起擴大對家長資助政策的效果。

And so that contributed to some of the enrollment velocity. So enrollment is very strong. It's been strong in the last few quarters, and it will continue to be solid through the rest of the year, but not quite as a velocity as we saw in Q1 in the last couple of quarters. So that's beginning to make itself through the comparisons. And I think from an overall performance standpoint, we just have stronger performance in the first half than the second half.

這對入學速度有一定的貢獻。因此入學人數非常多。過去幾個季度，其表現一直很強勁，今年剩餘時間仍將保持穩健，但速度不如過去幾季第一季那麼快。因此，透過比較，這一點就開始顯現出來。我認為從整體表現的角度來看，我們上半年的表現比下半年更好。

It will be lapping the strong the rest of the overall performance in the UK. So that's -- it's not worse performance as much as it is just where we will be comping and what we're growing off of in terms of the base.

它將超越英國其他地區的整體表現。所以，這並不是更糟糕的表現，而只是我們將在哪裡競爭以及我們在基礎上如何成長的問題。

The rest of the backup, I think I mentioned before, we've had really solid usage and effective cost management, service delivery and a good portion of that use in our own network and being able to manage those components, and it was somewhat favorable to our outlook. So those were the drivers there. I think the forward view is certainly reflective of what I just said in the wanting to take into account that the environment is certainly still settling and uncertainty from a macroeconomic standpoint. And in backup in particular, we have a disproportionate amount of the business that comes over the course of the late spring and summer period, and that is still to be delivered.

我想我之前提到過，其餘的備份我們有非常穩定的使用和有效的成本管理、服務交付，其中很大一部分在我們自己的網路中使用，並且能夠管理這些元件，這對我們的前景有些有利。這些都是那裡的司機。我認為前瞻性的觀點肯定反映了我剛才所說的，即從宏觀經濟的角度來看，環境肯定仍在穩定和不確定。特別是在備份方面，我們在春末和夏季期間有大量業務需要交付，而且這些業務仍有待交付。

Josh Chan, UBS.

瑞銀的 Josh Chan。

Stephen, Elizabeth. So on Backup Care, you gave a very strong guidance for the second quarter for Backup Care. Just wondering what you saw in terms of Q1 usage that kind of gives you that conviction of that strong growth in the second quarter.

史蒂芬，伊麗莎白。因此，關於 Backup Care，您對 Backup Care 第二季度給出了非常強勁的指導。只是想知道您從第一季的使用情況中看到了什麼，這讓您確信第二季會出現強勁成長。

So we look to estimate we've got a very wide client base. We look to estimate where the use patterns will be for the year and the way that use persists through the year-end cycle, many of our clients do cycle into a new calendar year arrangement. So we see -- sometimes we see use signing in the same way for those users. So the fact that we have good insight into those who are repeat users, those who are unique users and a variety of use cases that we're seeing taking up is one indicator.

因此我們估計我們擁有非常廣泛的客戶群。我們期望估計全年的使用模式以及使用方式在年底週期的持續情況，我們的許多客戶確實會進入新的日曆年安排。所以我們看到——有時我們會看到那些用戶以相同的方式使用簽名。因此，我們對重複用戶、唯一用戶以及我們看到的各種用例有深入的了解，這是一個指標。

And then as we look to the summer bookings, we do have with the camp programs that we operate both for our own account with Steve & Kate Camps also through our third-party providers. We have insight into early bookings for summer camp, which is solid as well. So that's some of the components that give us the sort of conviction on us continuing to be strong and at the upper end, it allowed us to step that guidance up slightly for the year.

然後，當我們查看夏季預訂時，我們確實有一些營地計劃，這些計劃是我們自己與史蒂夫和凱特營地合作運營的，也透過我們的第三方供應商運營。我們了解夏令營的早期預訂情況，這也是可靠的。因此，這些因素讓我們堅信我們將繼續保持強勁勢頭，並讓我們能夠略微提高今年的業績預期。

Excellent. That's good to hear. And on the full service enrollment dynamic that you talked about, you mentioned mainly a slower decision-making process. But I'm wondering if you're seeing prospective visits also decline because, I guess, if the macro is the concern, you may expect to see that phenomenon as well.

出色的。聽到這個消息真好。關於您談到的全方位服務註冊動態，您主要提到了較慢的決策過程。但我想知道您是否看到潛在訪問量也在下降，因為我想，如果關注的是宏觀因素，您可能也會看到這種現象。

Yes. So we actually -- the metric that we watch really carefully, Josh, is actual visits, right? So it's one thing to make an inquiry. It's another thing to schedule a visit. But where the rubber generally meets the road for us is when a family actually comes and visits.

是的。所以實際上，喬希，我們非常仔細觀察的指標是實際訪問量，對嗎？因此進行詢問是一回事。安排一次訪問是另一回事。但對我們來說，最關鍵的時刻往往是當一個家庭真正來拜訪的時候。

And at that statistic, again, we are looking reasonably strong as it relates to that forward look. So when we think about where in the pipe, we're really focused on making sure that we're getting real precision. It's getting people not only to get to yes, which is confirming their interest, but it also is ensuring that they start.

從這項統計數據來看，我們再次發現它與前瞻性相關，並且前景相當樂觀。因此，當我們考慮管道中的位置時，我們真正關注的是確保獲得真正的精確度。它不僅能讓人們回答“是”，確認他們的興趣，還能確保他們開始行動。

And so we have seen some families make the decision to delay that start date. And so we're working really hard to make sure that we continue to keep those start dates as close to their original anticipation as possible. But again, back to your point, I would say that visits for us is a really critical metric that we watch and feel good about where that's coming in.

因此，我們看到一些家庭決定推遲入學日期。因此，我們正在努力確保這些開始日期盡可能接近最初的預期。但是，回到你的觀點，我想說，對我們來說，訪問量是一個非常關鍵的指標，我們會關注它，並對它的進展感到滿意。

(Operator Instructions) Faiza Alwy, Deutsche Bank.

（操作員指示）德意志銀行的 Faiza Alwy。

Yes. I wanted to ask a bit more about the One Bright Horizon strategy that you mentioned. And I think that some of your clients that were full service client had also added on to the backup program. So curious if you could help us with just the long-term opportunity here. And maybe how many of your clients are full service clients where they don't have a backup arrangement with you? So could you just ran that opportunity for us?

是的。我想進一步詢問一下您提到的「一個光明地平線」策略。我認為您的一些全方位服務客戶也已添加了備份程式。我很好奇您是否能幫助我們獲得這個長期機會。也許您的客戶中有多少是全方位服務客戶，他們沒有與您達成備份協議？那麼你能為我們提供這個機會嗎？

Sure. So if we think about our full client base, we enjoy partnership with more than 1,400 employer clients, and only 1/3 of those clients buy more than one service. And for those that buy more than one, they typically are buying two.

當然。因此，如果我們考慮我們的整個客戶群，我們與 1,400 多家雇主客戶建立了合作夥伴關係，而其中只有 1/3 的客戶購買了多項服務。對於那些購買多個的人來說，他們通常會購買兩個。

And so as we think about One Bright Horizons, we're really trying to, first and foremost, educate our client base around the opportunities to invest in more than one service. And then at the same time, we're trying to find ways to make a much more seamless experience between our different service lines to allow both employers to see the benefit of buying from a single provider, and then at the same time, make it much easier for an end user to work seamlessly across our different services.

因此，當我們考慮 One Bright Horizo​​ns 時，我們實際上首先要嘗試的是讓我們的客戶群了解投資多種服務的機會。同時，我們正在嘗試尋找方法，使我們的不同服務線之間實現更加無縫的體驗，以便兩個雇主都能看到從單一供應商處購買的好處，同時，使最終用戶能夠更輕鬆地在我們的不同服務之間無縫工作。

And so ultimately, we see great opportunity in moving our client base to add more services, and then at the same time, working with what we know about the end users to have them cross pollinate across services as well. So again, we really look at One BH as an opportunity to really go in multiple directions not just our child care center clients to become backup clients, but our backup clients become college coach clients, our college coach clients become (inaudible) clients, et cetera, and likewise, have our US multinational clients become clients of ours in the UK. So it's both across services and across geographies that we are focused.

因此，最終，我們看到了巨大的機遇，即讓我們的客戶群增加更多的服務，同時，利用我們對最終用戶的了解，讓他們也能在各個服務之間進行交叉授粉。因此，我們再次將 One BH 視為一個真正向多個方向發展的機會，不僅我們的兒童保育中心客戶可以成為備用客戶，而且我們的備用客戶可以成為大學教練客戶，我們的大學教練客戶可以成為（聽不清楚）客戶等等，同樣，我們的美國跨國客戶也可以成為我們在英國的客戶。因此，我們的重點是跨服務和跨地域。

And then just a follow-up on the guidance, just around just line of questioning. You did beat the guy quite significantly in terms of EPS. And I just want to ask again, like is the maintenance of the guide just out of an abundance of caution? Or is there something that you're seeing in the business? Because you do also have more of a favorable FX environment now than you did a couple of months ago. So just help us a little bit more with just your approach to guidance.

然後只是對指導進行跟進，只是圍繞提問進行。從每股盈餘 (EPS) 來看，你確實大大擊敗了那個傢伙。我只是想再問一次，維護指南是否只是出於謹慎？或者您在業務中看到了什麼？因為與幾個月前相比，現在的外匯環境更有利。因此，請您透過指導的方式為我們提供更多幫助。

Yes. So I mean, I can start. I think just hitting the FX question, initially, I think the key thing to consider, it does have a lot of impact on the top line because of the elements of where we are operating, particularly in the UK. But as we've mentioned that business is it's not contributing in a significant way so that the movement in the FX is not really contributing. It's at the margin a little bit, but it's not really contributing to upside even as we're revising the top line because of the movement. So I just wanted to maybe put that out first.

是的。所以我的意思是，我可以開始了。我認為，首先談到外匯問題，我認為需要考慮的關鍵問題是，由於我們營運所在地的因素，特別是在英國，它確實對收入產生了很大的影響。但正如我們所提到的，業務並沒有做出顯著的貢獻，因此外匯的變動並沒有真正的貢獻。雖然這有一點邊緣性，但並沒有真正對盈利產生貢獻，即使我們因為這一變動而修改了營收。所以我只是想先把它提出來。

As it relates to the rest of the earnings, I think the view is -- our view is that we have an environment where the business has become more seasonal, cyclical, particularly in the backup business that we have ambitious goals for that business to deliver over the course of December. We started off the year with some good momentum, but it is smallest contributing quarter and backup for the full year; and therefore, a lot of road to get done to deliver on that performance. And so maintaining a reasonable posture against that so that we can perform against it in an environment that is -- we're not seeing many changes with clients, but certainly client conversations can occur at any time of the year. And if there are questions or concerns, we'd want to be able to pivot and adjust to those.

至於其餘收益，我認為我們的觀點是——我們的觀點是，我們的業務環境變得更加季節性和週期性，特別是在備份業務方面，我們對該業務在 12 月期間實現的目標很雄心勃勃。我們今年開局勢頭良好，但這是貢獻最小的一個季度，也是全年的後備；因此，要實現這一業績，還有很多工作要做。因此，我們要保持合理的姿態，以便我們能夠在這樣的環境中表現出色——我們沒有看到客戶發生太多變化，但客戶對話肯定會在一年中的任何時候發生。如果有問題或擔憂，我們希望能夠及時調整。

So I think that the enrollment cycle is also one that we've said we've tapered that a little bit. And it has a modest effect on where the earnings would contribute there. But the positive performance in backup offsets that performance in full service, and that's what leads us to a pretty consistent view on what we would guide to for the rest of the year.

所以我認為招生週期也是我們已經稍微縮短了的週期。且它對收益貢獻的影響很小。但備份方面的正面表現抵消了全面服務方面的表現，這使我們對今年剩餘時間的指導意見形成了相當一致的看法。

Jeff Silber, BMO Capital Markets.

傑夫·西爾伯（Jeff Silber），BMO 資本市場。

I wanted to focus on the cost side question, specifically on the labor environment. Can you talk about what you're seeing there in terms of your ability to find staff and wage inflation trends, et cetera?

我想重點關注成本方面的問題，特別是勞動環境。您能否談談您在尋找員工和薪資上漲趨勢等方面所看到的情況？

Sure. Happy to, Jeff. So I think that we are in quite a different place than we have been over the last several years. We feel good about where we are in terms of wage relative to the market and then relative to other options that teachers within our classrooms might otherwise choose. So we feel good about where our wages are.

當然。很高興，傑夫。所以我認為我們現在的處境與過去幾年相比有很大不同。相對於市場水平，以及相對於我們班上教師可能選擇的其他選擇，我們對自己的薪資水平感到滿意。因此，我們對自己的薪資狀況感到滿意。

We feel wage inflation continues to persist at the rates that we talk about and are well prepared to continue to be sort of a 1% ahead of that as it relates to tuitions. And then finally, in terms of actual ability to attract staff, I would say that the combination of being able to retain at least as well as we were in 2019 is a great accomplishment for us to be at. And so we feel good about our retention. And therefore, the pressure on recruiting is quite a bit less than it has been because, again, as we have fewer people leaving, the need to add staff also is diminished. So overall, feel like we are in a good spot as it relates to being able to attract and retain staff and feel good about where our wages are relative to the market.

我們認為薪資通膨將繼續以我們談論的速度持續下去，並且我們做好了準備，在學費方面，薪資通膨將繼續高出 1%。最後，就實際吸引員工的能力而言，我想說，能夠至少與 2019 年一樣好地留住員工，這對我們來說是一個巨大的成就。因此，我們對我們的保留感到滿意。因此，招募的壓力比以前小了許多，因為隨著離職人員的減少，增加員工的需求也減少了。因此，總體而言，我們感覺自己處於一個很好的位置，因為它能夠吸引和留住員工，並且對我們的薪資相對於市場的水平感到滿意。

All right. Great. And if I could shift gears to capital allocation. I noted that you accelerated some of your debt pay down and continue to buy back stock. I think you're at the lowest leverage ratios that we've seen in a while. Can you just talk about your capital allocation philosophy? Why specifically could you make those two moves? What you're looking to do going forward?

好的。偉大的。如果我可以轉向資本配置。我注意到您加快了部分債務的償還速度並繼續回購股票。我認為你們的槓桿率是我們一段時間以來看到的最低的。能談談您的資本配置概念嗎？為什麼具體能做出這兩步驟呢？您下一步打算做什麼？

Sure. Thanks, Jeff. We have been active in our repurchase program in our last couple of quarters, and so we see that as an opportunity for us to deploy some capital return to shareholders in a way that is both measurable and also flexible for us. And measurable, meaning it's a meaningful return but also one that we can be flexible about when we see opportunities on the near- or longer-term horizon for alternative investments.

當然。謝謝，傑夫。在過去的幾個季度中，我們一直積極推行回購計劃，因此我們認為這是一個機會，讓我們能夠以可衡量且靈活的方式向股東提供一些資本回報。而且是可衡量的，這意味著它不僅是一種有意義的回報，而且當我們看到短期或長期另類投資的機會時，我們也可以靈活地對待它。

Our first priority is to invest in the business. And that can be in M&A, and it can be in new centers, it can be in other businesses. In the other businesses besides centers is what I mean in terms of technology and driving customer acquisition, et cetera. So those investments can take many forms, and we are investing in the business and growing. But we all have a long arc of that vision, and we generate a lot of cash.

我們的首要任務是投資業務。這可以是併購，可以是新中心，也可以是其他業務。除了中心之外的其他業務，我指的是技術和推動客戶獲取等方面的業務。因此，這些投資可以採取多種形式，我們正在投資業務並實現成長。但我們都對這個願景有著長遠的規劃，我們也創造了大量的現金。

So we are trying to maintain both the flexible posture on our debt. We have balancing out the cost of interest and the ability to access the credit markets. We were able to do some additional things in the market to give us the flexibility that we need. And upsizing the revolver gives us a bit more capacity. It gives us -- with the pay down, we have all the access to debt that we need.

因此，我們正努力保持對債務的彈性態度。我們已經平衡了利息成本和進入信用市場的能力。我們能夠在市場上做一些額外的事情來給予我們所需的靈活性。而增大左輪手槍的尺寸可以讓我們有更大的容量。它讓我們——透過償​​還貸款，我們就能獲得所需的全部債務。

So I think our view is that we will continue to be opportunistic in the share repurchase program. We have an authorization available to us and support from the Board on that. And we will also continue to look first and foremost at growth investments that we can make, and that's where we see the best opportunity going forward.

因此我認為我們的觀點是，我們將繼續在股票回購計劃中抓住機會。我們已獲得授權並獲得董事會的支持。我們也將繼續首先關注我們可以進行的成長投資，這就是我們認為未來最好的機會。

Excellent. Well, thank you very much for joining the call. I really appreciate the continued interest and support.

出色的。好吧，非常感謝您參加電話會議。我非常感謝大家一直以來的關注與支持。

Thanks, everybody.

謝謝大家。

Thank you. This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路了，感謝您的參與。