Brown & Brown Inc (BRO) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Brown & Brown Inc fourth quarter earnings call. Today's call is being recorded. Please note that certain information discussed during this call, including information contained in the slide presentation posted in connection with this call and including answers given in response to your questions, may relate to future results and events or otherwise be forward-looking in nature. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, including those related to the company's anticipated financial results for the fourth quarter and are intended to fall within the Safe Harbor provisions of the securities laws.

早上好，歡迎參加布朗兄弟公司第四季財報電話會議。今天的通話將會被錄音。請注意，本次電話會議中討論的某些信息，包括與本次電話會議相關的幻燈片演示文稿中所包含的信息以及對您問題的回答，可能涉及未來的結果和事件，或者俱有前瞻性性質。此類聲明反映了我們目前對未來事件的看法，包括與公司第四季度預期財務業績相關的事件，並且旨在符合證券法的安全港條款。

Actual results or events in the future are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from those currently anticipated or desired, or referenced in any forward-looking statements made as a result of a number of factors. Such factors include the company's determination as it finalizes its financial results for the first quarter that its financial results differ from the current preliminary unaudited numbers set forth in the press release issued yesterday. Other factors that the company may not have currently identified or quantified and those risks and uncertainties identified from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

未來的實際結果或事件受多種風險和不確定性的影響，可能與目前預期或期望的結果，或任何前瞻性聲明中提及的結果有重大差異，這是由於多種因素造成的。這些因素包括公司在最終確定第一季財務業績時，認定其財務表現與昨天發布的新聞稿中公佈的當前未經審計的初步數據存在差異。公司目前可能尚未識別或量化的其他因素，以及公司不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中識別出的風險和不確定性。

Additional discussion of these and other factors affecting the company's business and prospects as well as additional information regarding forward-looking statements is contained in the slide presentation posted in connection with this call and in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

有關影響公司業務和前景的這些因素和其他因素的更多討論，以及有關前瞻性聲明的更多信息，請參閱與本次電話會議相關的幻燈片演示文稿以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。我們不承擔任何更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的意圖或義務，無論是因為出現新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。

In addition, there are certain non-GAAP financial measures used in this conference call. A reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure can be found in the company's earnings press release or in the investor presentation for this call on the company's website at bbrown.com by clicking on Investor Relations and then Calendar of Events.

此外，本次電話會議中使用了一些非GAAP財務指標。任何非GAAP財務指標與最可比較GAAP財務指標的調節表，都可以在公司盈利新聞稿或本次電話會議的投資者演示文稿中找到，方法是在公司網站 bbrown.com 上點擊“投資者關係”，然後點擊“活動日曆”。

With that said, I will now turn the call over to Powell Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer. You may now begin.

接下來，我將把電話交給總裁兼執行長鮑威爾·布朗。現在你可以開始了。

Thank you, Tanya. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our fourth quarter earnings call. Before we get into the results, I wanted to share that we lost a key member of our leadership team, an incredible individual and great friend. Last week, Rob Mathis, our Chief Legal Officer, passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rob's family. We'll miss his friendship, his leadership and his wit.

謝謝你，塔尼亞。各位早安，歡迎參加我們第四季財報電話會議。在公佈結果之前，我想先告訴大家，我們失去了一位重要的領導團隊成員，他是一位傑出的人才，也是一位好朋友。上週，我們的首席法務官羅伯馬蒂斯去世了。我們向羅布的家人致以最深切的慰問和祈禱。我們會懷念他的友誼、領導能力和他的智慧。

Now let's transition to our results. The fourth quarter capped off another year of strong top and bottom-line financial performance. For the full year, we grew our revenue by 23% through a combination of M&A, organic revenue growth and strong growth in our contingent commissions. We expanded our margins materially and grew our cash flow from operations by nearly 24%. This strong performance was in spite of softening CAT property rates and economies returning to more normal growth levels. Our performance was driven by our culture, teammates, diversification and disciplined leadership.

現在讓我們來看看結果。第四季為又一個強勁的營收和利潤年度畫上了圓滿的句號。全年來看，我們透過併購、內生收入成長以及佣金的強勁成長，實現了 23% 的營收成長。我們的利潤率大幅提高，經營活動產生的現金流量成長了近 24%。儘管巨災財產保險費率有所下降，經濟也恢復到較為正常的成長水平，但該股依然表現出色。我們的出色表現得益於我們的企業文化、團隊成員、多元化經營和嚴謹的領導。

In addition to the good financial results, we also completed the largest acquisition in our history, welcoming over 5,000 incredible teammates in Accession. We're very pleased with the integration efforts to date, and we'll touch on that more later. Lastly, we invested in talent and technology to help us deliver even better solutions for our customers. Indeed, it was a very eventful year that we're very proud of.

除了良好的財務表現外，我們還完成了公司歷史上最大的收購，在 Accession 迎來了 5000 多名優秀的團隊成員。我們對迄今為止的整合工作非常滿意，稍後我們會詳細介紹。最後，我們投資於人才和技術，以幫助我們為客戶提供更好的解決方案。的確，這是非常精彩的一年，我們為此感到非常自豪。

Before we get started, we wanted to share some comments related to Brown & Brown and also involve our industry in general. First and foremost, we believe in competition. That's what makes great companies, great leaders and great individuals. We also believe in integrity, honesty, loyalty and trust. However, when a start-up US broker conducts what appears to be a highly coordinated plan to lift entire teams from its competitors, taking information and customers in the process, it must be addressed.

在正式開始之前，我們想分享一些與 Brown & Brown 相關的看法，並希望大家也能對我們所在的產業發表一些看法。首先，我們相信競爭。這就是偉大公司、偉大領導者和偉大個人的特質。我們也秉持正直、誠實、忠誠和信任的原則。然而，當一家美國新創經紀公司實施看似高度協調的計劃，從競爭對手那裡挖走整個團隊，並在過程中竊取資訊和客戶時，就必須對此予以重視。

As of today, approximately 275 of our former teammates have joined this start-up, taking with them customers currently representing known annual revenues of $23 million. As we've done in the past, we will defend our rights in court and already have obtained an injunction. We stand behind our values, and we'll continue to stay customer-focused with the goal of achieving the best possible outcomes for our customers and our trading partners.

截至今日，我們約有 275 位前隊友加入了這家新創公司，他們帶來了目前已知年收入達 2,300 萬美元的客戶。就像我們過去所做的那樣，我們將在法庭上捍衛我們的權利，並且已經獲得了禁令。我們堅持我們的價值觀，並將繼續以客戶為中心，力求為我們的客戶和貿易夥伴取得最佳成果。

Now back to our results. I'll provide some high-level comments regarding our performance along with updates on the insurance market and the M&A landscape. Then Andy will discuss our financial performance in more detail. Lastly, I'll wrap up with some closing and forward-looking thoughts before we open it up to Q&A.

現在回到我們的結果。我將就我們的業績提供一些高層次的評論，並介紹保險市場和併購領域的最新情況。接下來，安迪將更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。最後，在進入問答環節之前，我將以一些總結性和展望性的想法作為結尾。

On slide 4, for the fourth quarter, we delivered revenues of $1.6 billion, growing 35.7% in total with organic revenue decreasing 2.8%, driven substantially by flood claims processing revenue we recognized in the fourth quarter of last year. Our adjusted EBITDAC margin remained flat at 32.9% and our adjusted earnings per share grew over 8% to $0.93. Both are very strong considering last year's flood claims processing revenue. On the M&A front, we remained active and completed 6 acquisitions with estimated annual revenue of $29 million.

在第 4 張投影片中，我們第四季的營收為 16 億美元，總成長 35.7%，其中有機收入下降 2.8%，這主要是由於我們在去年第四季確認的洪水索賠處理收入所致。經調整後的EBITDAC利潤率維持在32.9%不變，經調整後的每股盈餘成長超過8%至0.93美元。考慮到去年的洪水理賠處理收入，這兩項數據都非常強勁。在併購方面，我們保持活躍，完成了 6 項收購，預計年收入為 2,900 萬美元。

On slide 5, for the full year of '25, we delivered revenues of $5.9 billion, growing 23% in total and 2.8% organically. Our adjusted EBITDAC margin was approximately 36%, increasing 70 basis points. On an adjusted basis, our diluted net income per share grew over 10% to $4.26, and we generated nearly $1.5 billion of cash from operations. Lastly, we had a record year for M&A, adding approximately $1.8 billion of annual revenue from 43 acquisitions with the largest being Accession.

在第 5 張投影片中，2025 年全年，我們的營收為 59 億美元，總成長 23%，有機成長 2.8%。我們調整後的 EBITDAC 利潤率約為 36%，提高了 70 個基點。經過調整後，我們的稀釋後每股淨收益成長超過 10%，達到 4.26 美元，我們從經營活動中產生了近 15 億美元的現金。最後，我們在併購方面取得了創紀錄的一年，透過 43 項收購增加了約 18 億美元的年收入，其中最大的一筆收購是 Accession。

I'm on slide 6. From an economic standpoint, growth was relatively consistent compared to the last few quarters. We view this stability as positive. Our customers for the most part continue to hire at a modest pace and invest in their businesses as they see steady demand for their products and services. Not all industries are equal as some companies are hiring while others are holding steady, and we're not seeing any major workforce reductions impacting our diversified customer base.

我看到第6張投影片了。從經濟角度來看，與過去幾個季度相比，成長相對穩定。我們認為這種穩定性是正面的。我們的客戶大多繼續以適度的速度招募員工，並投資於他們的業務，因為他們看到對其產品和服務的穩定需求。並非所有行業都一樣，有些公司正在招聘，而有些公司則保持穩定，我們沒有看到任何大規模裁員影響到我們多元化的客戶群。

In general, our customers have a cautiously optimistic outlook. From a commercial insurance pricing standpoint, rates for most lines were fairly similar to the third quarter, but we did see some moderation across some lines. Casualty and CAT property remain the outliers on both ends of the spectrum.

整體而言，我們的客戶持謹慎樂觀的態度。從商業保險定價的角度來看，大多數險種的費率與第三季相當接近，但我們確實看到某些險種的費率有所緩和。意外險和巨災財產險仍然是這兩個極端中的例外。

Pricing for employee benefits increased slightly as compared to prior quarters with medical costs up 7% to 9% and pharmacy costs up over 10%. As we've mentioned in the past, we do not see any signs that this trend will slow. Our customers continue to be challenged to balance rising health care costs and the impact to their employees and their P&Ls.

與前幾季相比，員工福利價格略有上漲，其中醫療成本上漲 7% 至 9%，藥品成本上漲超過 10%。正如我們之前提到的，我們沒有看到任何跡象表明這種趨勢會放緩。我們的客戶不斷面臨挑戰，需要在不斷上漲的醫療保健成本及其對員工和損益表的影響之間取得平衡。

During strategic planning sessions with our customers, management of high-cost claimants, specialty pharmacy and population health remain the key areas of focus. Rates in the admitted P&C market moderated slightly as compared to last quarter and continue to be in the range of flat to up 5%. Workers' compensation rates remains flat to down 3%, but we're seeing a few states increasing rates.

在與客戶的策略規劃會議中，高成本索賠人的管理、專科藥局和人口健康仍然是重點關注的領域。與上一季相比，已獲批准的財產和意外傷害保險市場費率略有回落，並繼續保持在持平或上漲 5% 的範圍內。工傷賠償率基本上持平或下降 3%，但我們看到一些州正在提高賠償率。

For non-CAT property, overall rates were down 5% to up 5% depending on loss experience with the blended rates relatively flat for the quarter. For casualty lines, rates increased 3% to 6% for primary layers with excess layers increasing even more. For professional liability, rates remained similar to the last couple of quarters and were down 5% to up 5%.

對於非巨災財產險，整體費率根據損失經驗下降 5% 至上升 5%，而本季綜合費率相對持平。對於意外險，主險層的費率上漲了 3% 至 6%，超額險層的費率漲幅更大。專業責任險的費率與過去幾季基本持平，漲幅在 5% 到 5% 之間。

Shifting to the E&S property market. Rate changes for the fourth quarter were similar to the third quarter and were generally down 15% to 30%. We did see some incremental drop off at the end of the year, but not as much as we did in June. With the availability of capital and lower insured storm losses, if you have a -- you have a lot of firms looking to put capital to work. Therefore, the pricing environment and approach by carriers did not surprise us.

轉向東部和南部房地產市場。第四季利率變化與第三季類似，整體下降了 15% 至 30%。年底時我們確實看到銷量下降，但下降幅度不如六月那麼大。由於資金充足且風暴保險損失降低，如果您有資金，就會有很多公司希望將資金投入使用。因此，營運商的定價環境和策略並沒有讓我們感到驚訝。

From a customer perspective, they continue to manage their total insurance spend, both commercial as well as employee benefits. As a result, we're seeing some customers leverage, the lower rates enabling them to decrease their deductibles or increase their limits. In some cases, they're utilizing the savings to purchase incremental limits on other lines or they're just capturing the savings.

從客戶的角度來看，他們繼續管理其全部保險支出，包括商業保險和員工福利保險。因此，我們看到一些客戶利用較低的費率來降低自付額或提高保額上限。在某些情況下，他們會利用節省下來的錢來提高其他線路的限額，或者他們只是把省下來的錢存起來。

On slide 7, now let's transition to the performance of our two segments for the fourth quarter. Retail delivered organic growth of 1.1%. As a reminder, during our third quarter earnings call, we anticipated Q4 organic growth to be negatively impacted by multiyear policies written in the fourth quarter of '24. In addition, we had certain onetime adjustments to incentive commissions that were larger than anticipated. Lastly, we had certain project work that was delayed into 2026. In total, these items negatively impacted organic growth by 100 to 150 basis points.

現在，讓我們在第 7 張投影片中，來看看我們兩個業務部門在第四季的表現。零售業務實現了1.1%的有機成長。提醒一下，在第三季財報電話會議上，我們預計第四季度有機成長將受到 2024 年第四季簽發的多年期保單的負面影響。此外，我們對激勵佣金進行了一些一次性調整，調整幅度超乎預期。最後，我們有一些專案工作被推遲到 2026 年。總的來說，這些因素對有機成長產生了 100 至 150 個基點的負面影響。

For the full year, our team delivered 2.8% organic revenue growth, a good performance given the headwinds we have discussed related to incentive commissions and multiyear policies. We feel good about our capabilities and how our team is positioned, and therefore, we're expecting improved organic performance in 2026.

全年來看，我們的團隊實現了 2.8% 的有機收入成長，考慮到我們之前討論過的與激勵佣金和多年政策相關的不利因素，這是一個不錯的成績。我們對自己的能力和團隊的定位感到滿意，因此，我們預計 2026 年的自然成長表現將會有所提升。

For the quarter, organic revenue for Specialty Distribution segment decreased by 7.8%. As we discussed, the decline was primarily impacted by $28 million of flood claims processing revenue recognized in the fourth quarter of last year. In addition, the decrease in CAT property rates was slightly more than expected, and we saw some binding authority business move back into the admitted market. For the full year, we grew 2.8% organically, a good result considering a tough comparison for '24 and the continued decline in CAT property rates.

本季度，特種分銷部門的有機收入下降了 7.8%。正如我們討論的那樣，下降的主要原因是去年第四季度確認了 2800 萬美元的洪水索賠處理收入。此外，CAT財產保險費率的下降幅度略超預期，我們看到一些具有約束力的授權業務重新回到了認可的市場。全年來看，我們的有機成長率為 2.8%，考慮到 2024 年的基數較高以及 CAT 房地產利率持續下降，這是一個不錯的成績。

Now I'll turn it over to Andy to give you more details about our financial results.

現在我將把發言權交給安迪，讓他為大家詳細介紹我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Powell. Good morning, everyone. Before we get into the financial details, I want to talk about the impact on our earnings related to the acquisition of Accession. For the quarter, Accession's total revenue was approximately $405 million. This is below the guidance of $430 million to $450 million.

謝謝你，鮑威爾。各位早安。在深入探討財務細節之前，我想先談談收購 Accession 對我們收益的影響。本季度，Accession 的總營收約為 4.05 億美元。這低於先前預期的4.3億美元至4.5億美元。

As a result of refining our revenue recognition estimates by quarter, revenue, margins and adjusted earnings per share were impacted for the quarter. However, these revisions do not change our annual expectations for the business. From an adjusted earnings per share perspective, the impact of lower revenues versus our guidance was approximately $0.05 for the quarter. As it relates to the margin for the quarter, due to the phasing of revenue and profit, Accession's results decreased our margins by approximately 200 basis points for the total company.

由於我們按季度調整了收入確認估算，因此本季的收入、利潤率和調整後每股收益受到了影響。然而，這些調整併不會改變我們對公司年度業績的預期。從調整後的每股盈餘來看，營收低於預期對本季的影響約為 0.05 美元。就本季利潤率而言，由於收入和利潤的確認時間不同，Accession 的業績使公司整體利潤率下降了約 200 個基點。

Transitioning now to our consolidated results. As a reminder, when we refer to EBITDAC, EBITDAC margin, income before income taxes or diluted net income per share, we are referring to those measures on an adjusted basis. The reconciliations of our GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures can be found either in the appendix of this presentation or in the press release we issued yesterday. Now let's get into more detail regarding our financial performance for the quarter and the year.

現在過渡到我們的綜合業績報告。再次提醒，當我們提到 EBITDAC、EBITDAC 利潤率、所得稅前利潤或稀釋後每股淨利潤時，我們指的是這些指標的調整後版本。我們的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務指標的調整表可以在本次簡報的附錄或我們昨天發布的新聞稿中找到。現在讓我們更詳細地了解本季和本年度的財務表現。

On a consolidated basis, we delivered total revenues of $1.607 billion, growing 35.7% as compared to the fourth quarter 2024. Contingent commissions grew by an impressive $37 million, with $21 million coming from Accession. The underlying increase was driven by minimal storm claim activity and higher underwriting profitability.

合併後，我們的總營收為 16.07 億美元，比 2024 年第四季成長了 35.7%。或有佣金增長了驚人的 3700 萬美元，其中 2100 萬美元來自 Accession。根本增長是由風暴索賠活動極少和承保盈利能力提高所驅動的。

Income before income taxes increased by 23.1% and EBITDAC grew by 35.6%. Our EBITDAC margin was 32.9%, remaining flat versus the fourth quarter of the prior year. This was a good result considering the negative 200 basis point impact of Accession mentioned earlier and the prior year floods claim -- flood claim processing revenue. The strong underlying margin expansion was driven by significantly higher contingent commissions and lower claims within our captives, both due to the quiet storm season along with our continued disciplined management of our expenses.

所得稅前利潤成長了 23.1%，EBITDAC 成長了 35.6%。我們的 EBITDAC 利潤率為 32.9%，與上年第四季持平。考慮到前面提到的收購帶來的 200 個基點的負面影響以及上一年洪水索賠——洪水索賠處理收入，這是一個不錯的結果。強勁的基礎利潤率擴張得益於更高的或有佣金和更低的自保公司索賠，這既是因為風暴季節較為平靜，也是因為我們持續嚴格控制支出。

Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 21%, a decrease over the prior year rate of 24.9%. The lower tax rate was driven by the benefit from our international operations and certain end of the year adjustments. Diluted net income per share increased 8.1% to $0.93. Our weighted average shares outstanding increased by approximately 55 million to 339 million, primarily due to shares issued in connection with the acquisition of Accession. Lastly, our dividends paid per share increased by 10% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

本季實際稅率為 21%，比去年同期的 24.9% 下降。較低的稅率是由於我們的國際業務帶來的收益以及一些年末調整。稀釋後每股淨收益成長 8.1% 至 0.93 美元。我們的加權平均流通股數增加了約 5,500 萬股，達到 3.39 億股，這主要是由於收購 Accession 時發行的股份。最後，與 2024 年第四季相比，我們每股發放的股利增加了 10%。

We're moving over to slide number 9. The Retail segment grew total revenues by 44.4%. This growth was driven primarily by acquisition activity over the past year. Our EBITDAC margin decreased by 120 basis points to 26.6%, resulting from the quarterly phasing of revenue and profit associated with Accession. The Accession impact more than offset good underlying margin expansion driven by the leveraging of our expense base and certain onetime items.

我們現在來看第9張投影片。零售業務總收入成長了 44.4%。這項成長主要由過去一年的收購活動所推動。由於與 Accession 相關的收入和利潤按季度分期結算，我們的 EBITDAC 利潤率下降了 120 個基點，至 26.6%。收購帶來的影響超過了透過調整費用基礎和某些一次性項目帶來的良好基礎利潤率成長。

We're on slide number 10. Specialty Distribution grew total revenues by 27% driven by the acquisition of Accession and a substantial increase in contingent commissions. The higher contingents were driven by acquisition activity, certain end of the year adjustments and growth due to our favorable underwriting performance. Generally, our contingent commissions will increase when there are low loss ratios and strong underwriting profitability.

我們現在講到第10張投影片了。受收購 Accession 和佣金大幅成長的推動，Specialty Distribution 的總收入成長了 27%。較高的或有事項主要受收購活動、年末調整以及我們良好的承保業績所帶來的成長所驅動。一般來說，當賠付率低且承保獲利能力強時，我們的佣金也會增加。

Traditionally, when there is a strong underwriting profitability, it has the long-term effect of decreasing rates over time. This inverse correlation for contingent commissions helps put stability in our long-term revenue growth, margins and cash flow generation as contingents are a core part of our business model.

傳統上，當承保盈利能力強勁時，從長遠來看，這會導致費率下降。這種與佣金成反比的關係有助於穩定我們的長期收入成長、利潤率和現金流，因為佣金是我們商業模式的核心部分。

Our EBITDAC margin decreased by 60 basis points to 41.3% due to the lower flood claims processing revenue and the impact of Accession having a lower overall margin as compared to our existing Specialty Distribution segment. These impacts more than offset the increase in margins driven by higher contingent commissions, lower claims in our captives and the disciplined management of our expenses.

由於洪水索賠處理收入減少，以及與我們現有的專業分銷部門相比，Accession 的整體利潤率較低，我們的 EBITDAC 利潤率下降了 60 個基點，至 41.3%。這些影響超過了因更高的佣金、自保公司索賠減少以及嚴格的費用管理而帶來的利潤率成長。

We're over on slide number 11. This slide presents our results for both years. Our EBITDAC grew by 25.6% and our margin increased 70 basis points to 35.9%. We view this as a very strong result given that coming into the year, we are anticipating margins to be flat due to lower contingent commissions, the difficult comparison to 2024 driven by the flood claims revenue and the seasonality of Accession's profitability, which negatively impacted the full year margin by approximately 80 basis points.

我們現在講到第11張投影片了。這張投影片展示了我們這兩年的成果。我們的 EBITDAC 成長了 25.6%，利潤率提高了 70 個基點，達到 35.9%。鑑於年初我們預計利潤率將持平，原因是或有佣金減少、與 2024 年相比，洪水索賠收入較高，以及 Accession 盈利能力的季節性波動，這些因素對全年利潤率產生了約 80 個基點的負面影響，我們認為這是一個非常強勁的結果。

We're very pleased with the strong underlying performance. This performance was driven by significant growth in our contingent commissions, higher profitability in our captives, increased interest income and the disciplined management of our expenses, while still investing in our teammates and capabilities. Net income before income taxes increased 21.8% and net income per share was $4.26, growing 10.9%. Overall, it was another good year of strong top and bottom-line performance.

我們對強勁的基礎業績非常滿意。這一業績得益於我們佣金的大幅增長、自保公司盈利能力的提高、利息收入的增加以及對支出的嚴格管理，同時我們還在投資於我們的團隊成員和能力。稅前淨利成長 21.8%，每股淨利為 4.26 美元，成長 10.9%。整體而言，今年營收和利潤都表現強勁，又是一個不錯的年份。

We have a few other comments. From a cash perspective, we generated $1.450 billion of cash flow from operations, growing 23.5% over the prior year. This is in comparison to 23% revenue growth. Our full year ratio of cash flow from operations as a percentage of total revenues remained strong and increased to 24.6%, a reflection of our margins and disciplined working capital management.

我們還有一些其他意見。從現金流的角度來看，我們從經營活動中產生了 14.5 億美元的現金流，比前一年增長了 23.5%。相比之下，營收成長率為 23%。我們全年經營活動現金流佔總收入的百分比保持強勁，並成長至 24.6%，這反映了我們的利潤率和嚴格的營運資本管理。

In addition, during the quarter, we paid $100 million on our revolving credit facility and bought back $100 million of shares of our common stock as we continue to deploy our capital in a balanced manner. Before we wrap up, we want to provide guidance on a few items.

此外，本季我們償還了 1 億美元的循環信貸額度，並回購了 1 億美元的普通股，我們將繼續以平衡的方式部署資本。在結束之前，我們想就幾個方面提供一些指導。

Now that we have a better view on the seasonality of revenues and profit for Accession, both are substantially equally weighted between the first and second half of the year. For the second half, revenue and profit are more heavily weighted towards the third quarter. Lastly, due to the high margins in the first quarter for the legacy Brown & Brown business, we anticipate Accession will have a modest negative impact on our adjusted margins in Q1.

現在我們對 Accession 的收入和利潤的季節性有了更清晰的了解，這兩項收入和利潤在每年的上半年和下半年的佔比基本相等。下半年，營收和利潤較集中在第三季。最後，由於原 Brown & Brown 業務在第一季的利潤率較高，我們預計 Accession 將對我們第一季的調整後利潤率產生輕微的負面影響。

From a synergy perspective, as Powell described earlier, we're very pleased with the progress made on our integration activities over the last few months. We continue to anticipate integration efforts will be completed by the end of 2028, so we have only just begun our journey. The team has made great progress in a short period of time, and we expect EBITDA synergies of approximately $30 million to $40 million in 2026.

從協同效應的角度來看，正如鮑威爾之前所描述的那樣，我們對過去幾個月在整合活動方面取得的進展感到非常滿意。我們仍然預計整合工作將在 2028 年底完成，所以我們才剛開始這段旅程。該團隊在短時間內取得了巨大進步，我們預計到 2026 年 EBITDA 協同效應將達到約 3,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元。

Regarding contingents, as we mentioned, they are a core part of our business and have a recurring nature and represented over $250 million of revenue last year. They will fluctuate quarterly with changes in our organic growth and underwriting profitability, so it's better to assess them on an annual basis.

關於或有事項，正如我們所提到的，它們是我們業務的核心部分，具有經常性，去年帶來了超過 2.5 億美元的收入。它們會隨著我們有機成長和承保獲利能力的變化而按季度波動，因此最好按年度進行評估。

For next year, we anticipate contingents for Specialty Distribution will be down approximately $15 million due to certain onetime adjustments in 2025 and ultimately subject to storm claim activity. For Specialty Distribution, we anticipate organic growth to be somewhat flat in the first quarter due to flood claims processing revenue in the first quarter of last year and continued CAT property rate decreases.

預計明年特種分銷的應急資金將減少約 1500 萬美元，這是由於 2025 年的一些一次性調整，並最終取決於風暴索賠活動。對於特種分銷業務，我們預計第一季的有機成長將略顯平緩，這是由於去年第一季洪水索賠處理收入以及巨災財產保險費率的持續下降所致。

As it relates to 2026 organic revenue outlook for the Retail segment, we'd anticipate modest improvement over the 2.8% we delivered in 2025. As a reminder, we think about our Retail business as a mid- to low single-digit organic growth business in a normal pricing environment and a stable economy. Our team continues to work hard to grow net new business, and we feel really good about our prospects for 2026. As it relates to organic revenue growth, depending on the materiality of revenues taken by the start-up broker, we will quantify the impact in our commentary and may adjust our organic growth calculation in order to give a better representation of our underlying performance of the business.

就 2026 年零售業務的有機收入前景而言，我們預計會比 2025 年實現的 2.8% 略有改善。需要提醒的是，我們認為在正常的定價環境和穩定的經濟條件下，我們的零售業務屬於個位數中低水準的有機成長業務。我們的團隊繼續努力拓展新業務，我們對 2026 年的前景感到非常樂觀。關於有機收入成長，我們將根據新創經紀商所取得的收入的重要性，在評論中量化其影響，並可能調整我們的有機成長計算方法，以便更好地反映我們業務的實際表現。

From a margin perspective, as we look into 2026, we are projecting lower investment income due to the income generated in 2025 by the cash held for the acquisition of Accession as well as lower interest rates. This will have a downward impact on our total margins in 2026, while the underlying business is projected to achieve relatively flat margins. We view this projection as a great outcome and a reflection of the strength of our operating model, our teammates and our performance-based culture.

從利潤率的角度來看，展望 2026 年，我們預計投資收益會下降，這是因為 2025 年持有的用於收購 Accession 的現金所產生的收入，以及利率下降所致。這將對我們 2026 年的總利潤率產生下行影響，而基礎業務的利潤率預計將保持相對穩定。我們認為這項預測結果非常出色，反映了我們營運模式、團隊成員和績效導向文化的優勢。

As we've discussed in the past, our long-term adjusted EBITDAC margin target range is between 30% and 35%. As a result of our changing business mix over the years, the addition of Accession, along with our combined synergies, increased contingents, utilization of technology and our continued focus on our balanced profitable growth, which is enabled by our unique decentralized sales and service model, we are increasing our long-term margin target range to 32% to 37%.

正如我們過去討論過的，我們的長期調整後 EBITDAC 利潤率目標範圍在 30% 到 35% 之間。由於多年來業務組合的變化，加上收購 Accession，以及我們合併後的協同效應、增加的應急人員、技術的利用，以及我們持續專注於平衡盈利增長（這得益於我們獨特的去中心化銷售和服務模式），我們將長期利潤率目標範圍提高到 32% 至 37%。

As we always have, we will continue to invest in our teammates and our businesses, which may result in the margins increasing or decreasing. But over time, the ultimate goal is to drive long-term growth and value. Lastly, from a tax perspective, we anticipate our effective tax rate will be in the range of 24% to 25% in 2026.

我們將一如既往地繼續投資於我們的團隊成員和業務，這可能會導致利潤率上升或下降。但從長遠來看，最終目標是推動長期成長和價值。最後，從稅收角度來看，我們預計到 2026 年，我們的實際稅率將在 24% 到 25% 之間。

With that, let me turn it back over to Powell for closing comments.

接下來，我將把發言權交還給鮑威爾，請他作總結發言。

Thanks, Andy, and good summary of our results. As we head into 2026, we continue to believe economic growth will be relatively stable, which we view as positive. Assuming interest rates continue to decrease in 2026, this should provide additional economic stimulus for many companies as well as individuals. As we've said in the past, we believe diversification of customers, geography and lines of coverage are very powerful as it creates stability in our revenues, margins, cash flow and earnings per share. Overall, we feel that the economies in which we operate should be generally stable, barring something unusual happening.

謝謝安迪，你對我們的結果總結得很好。展望 2026 年，我們仍然相信經濟成長將相對穩定，我們認為這是一個正面的訊號。假設2026年利率持續下降，這將為許多公司和個人提供額外的經濟刺激。正如我們過去所說，我們相信客戶、地理和業務範圍的多元化非常有效，因為它能為我們的收入、利潤率、現金流和每股盈餘帶來穩定性。總體而言，我們認為我們開展業務的經濟體應該會保持穩定，除非發生一些不尋常的事情。

From a pricing standpoint, we expect admitted rates to be fairly similar to what we experienced in the fourth quarter or might moderate slightly. We believe casualty rates will continue to increase, which are the largest segment of the market and that admitted property will continue to be competitively priced.

從定價角度來看，我們預計准入費率將與第四季度的情況相當，或者可能會略有緩和。我們認為意外保險保費將持續上漲，因為意外險是市場中最大的部分，而已承保財產險的保費將繼續保持競爭力。

For the E&S space, we anticipate pricing will be very similar to the fourth quarter, with casualty lines being the most challenging to place. Due to the lack of meaningful insured losses from hurricanes last year and the amount of available capital, we believe CAT property rates will decline modestly from the levels in the fourth quarter.

對於 E&S 領域，我們預計定價將與第四季度非常相似，其中意外險的定價最具挑戰性。由於去年颶風造成的重大保險損失不多，且可用資金充足，我們認為巨災財產保險費率將從第四季的水平略有下降。

On the M&A front, our pipeline looks good, and we expect to remain active in 2026. For us, it comes down to finding businesses and leaders that fit culturally and then it needs to make sense financially.

在併購方面，我們的專案儲備看起來不錯，我們預計在 2026 年仍將保持活躍。對我們來說，關鍵在於找到文化契合的企業和領導者，其次才是財務上是否合理。

From an session integration standpoint, things are coming together well, and I'm very pleased with the progress. The teams are leveraging the best of both in order to win more new business, and we're bringing offices together where it makes sense. We have a lot to get done in 2026, but I feel confident that we have the right team focused on the key value drivers. I'm extremely pleased with how the teams are collaborating together.

從會話整合角度來看，一切進展順利，我對目前的進展感到非常滿意。各團隊正在充分利用雙方的優勢來贏得更多新業務，我們也在合理的情況下將辦公室合併在一起。2026 年我們有很多事情要做，但我相信我們擁有一支專注於關鍵價值驅動因素的優秀團隊。我對各團隊的合作方式非常滿意。

On balance sheet and -- our balance sheet and cash flow remain very strong, which enables us to continue to delever, invest in our teams and acquire more businesses. We'll continue our disciplined approach of capital allocation, investing the capital like it's our own and striving to create long-term shareholder value.

從資產負債表來看——我們的資產負債表和現金流依然非常強勁，這使我們能夠繼續降低槓桿率，投資於我們的團隊，並收購更多企業。我們將繼續採取嚴謹的資本配置方式，像對待自己的資金一樣投資資本，並努力創造長期的股東價值。

2025 was another great year for Brown & Brown. We grew the top and bottom line significantly. We added to our capabilities, invested in innovation, data and analytics, and most importantly, added over 6,000 new teammates. While the markets might have some volatility, we believe our operating model provides stability as well as industry-leading margins and cash flow.

2025年對Brown & Brown來說又是個碩果累累的一年。我們的營收和利潤都實現了顯著成長。我們增強了自身能力，投資於創新、數據和分析，最重要的是，我們新增了 6,000 多名團隊成員。儘管市場可能會出現一些波動，但我們相信我們的營運模式能夠提供穩定性，以及領先業界的利潤率和現金流。

I'm proud of how our team is focused on our customers and creating innovative solutions for them. We look forward to 2026 being another good year for our company, which will enable us to deliver solid top and bottom-line results that will drive shareholder value as we continue to march towards our intermediate goal of $8 billion and beyond.

我為我們團隊以客戶為中心，並為他們創造創新解決方案而感到自豪。我們期待 2026 年對公司而言又是豐收的一年，這將使我們能夠實現穩健的營收和利潤，從而提升股東價值，同時我們將繼續朝著 80 億美元及以上的中期目標邁進。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Tanya to open up the lines for Q&A.

接下來，我將把發言權交還給塔妮亞，讓她開放問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Gregory Peters, Raymond James.

（操作說明）Gregory Peters，Raymond James。

Hi. Good morning, everyone. So I guess happy new year to you all. I guess I only have one question. So I'd like to focus on all your comments regarding the 275 former teammates that left for the competitor and the $23 million of revenue that is going with them. I guess there's a lot of questions you can ask, but I'd like to focus just on -- have you changed your strategy about retaining your producers? And more importantly, can you talk about -- and I know you're not going to talk about ongoing litigation, but can you talk about, generally speaking, your legal defenses around your customers and your company IP?

你好。各位早安。所以，我想祝大家新年快樂。我只有一個問題。所以我想重點談談你們對 275 名前隊友跳槽到競爭對手以及隨之而來的 2300 萬美元收入的所有評論。我想你可以問很多問題，但我只想關注——你們在留住製作人方面是否改變了策略？更重要的是，您能否談談—我知道您不會談論正在進行的訴訟，但您能否一般地談談您針對客戶和公司智慧財產權的法律辯護？

Okay. Good morning. So first off, what I want you to know is the way we pay our teammates and specifically producers is a mix between cash compensation and equity based on performance. And we believe that that has worked really well over a period of time and continues to work well. So as it relates to, is there something unusual or different going on or we're changing something, no, that's not the case on both fronts. I think this is a highly unusual instance, just like it was with the other large broker firms that were affected.

好的。早安.首先，我想讓大家知道的是，我們支付給團隊成員，特別是製作人員的薪酬方式是現金補償和基於績效的股權相結合。我們相信，這種做法在一段時間內效果非常好，並且將繼續有效。所以，就目前的情況而言，是否有不尋常或不同的情況發生，或者我們正在改變什麼，不，這兩方面都不是這種情況。我認為這是一個非常不尋常的案例，就像其他受影響的大型經紀公司的情況一樣。

As it relates to the second part of the question...

至於問題的第二部分…

Legal defense.

法律辯護。

Yes. In the industry, as you know, Greg, typically, there are -- and it might be slightly different in certain states. But generally, there are nonpiracy and nonsolicitation agreements. And those typically have a 2-year period on customers and a 2-year period on hiring teammates. It also has a component on intellectual property, which is in perpetuity. And so obviously, we can't talk about legal actions or anything that's in the legal system at the present time. But as we said in our comments earlier, there's currently some -- you can read all of it out there, let's put it that way. That's where I'd leave it.

是的。格雷格，你知道，在這個行業裡，通常情況下會有——在某些州可能會略有不同。但通常情況下，會有禁止盜版和禁止招攬協議。這些協議通常對客戶有 2 年的期限，對招募團隊成員也有 2 年的期限。它還包含有關知識產權的部分，該部分具有永久性。所以很顯然，我們現在不能談論法律訴訟或任何正在法律體系中的事情。但正如我們之前在評論中所說，目前有一些——你可以在網路上找到所有這些內容，這麼說吧。我就說到這裡吧。

Jimmy Bhullar, JPMorgan.

吉米·布拉爾，摩根大通。

Good morning. First, just had a question on your comments around the sort of shift of business from E&S to standard. Are you seeing that in specific lines? Or is it more prevalent? And what are your expectations for that -- for the move of exposures from the E&S market to standard over the next year or so?

早安.首先，我有個問題想問您關於業務從 E&S 轉變為標準的評論。你是在特定行中看到這種情況的嗎？或者這種情況更為普遍？那麼，您對未來一年左右從超額收益市場轉移到標準市場的風險敞口有何預期？

So Jimmy, as you may know, there are accounts that I'm going to call them tweeners; and tweeners, depending on the market cycle, either are in E&S or in standard. And typically, they look or lean a little bit more towards the E&S market. And many times, you see this in the smaller accounts. They're not small but smaller accounts, and those accounts might be up to $50,000 or more in premium. But typically, when the market starts to change in property, in particular, you see standard markets will come back in and except some of those.

所以吉米，你可能知道，有些帳戶我稱之為「中間帳戶」；而中間帳戶，根據市場週期，要麼屬於 E&S 帳戶，要麼屬於標準帳戶。而且通常情況下，他們會更傾向於環境和社會市場。而且這種情況經常出現在小帳戶中。這些帳戶雖然不大，但金額較小，保費可能高達 5 萬美元或更多。但通常情況下，當房地產市場開始改變時，你會看到標準的市場會重新出現，並接受其中一些。

So again, I believe that where we saw this that we're referencing is in our binding authority business and in the Specialty Distribution. And it's too early to draw a conclusion. I don't believe one quarter is a trend. However, we've seen this movie before. So I do think that there may be some continued movement from E&S to admitted, particularly in the smaller binding authority business.

所以，我認為我們在這裡提到的情況，是在我們的授權業務和專業分銷領域。現在下結論還為時過早。我不認為一個季度就能代表一種趨勢。然而，我們以前看過類似的電影。所以我認為，E&S 向認可的轉變可能會持續下去，尤其是在規模較小的約束授權業務領域。

Okay. Thanks. And just on your comment around...

好的。謝謝。就你剛才的評論而言…

Hey, Jimmy. Jimmy, just one second before you move to the next question. Just one of the things just to keep in mind is that while accounts can, in fact, migrate from the E&S back into admitted, we continue to believe that there's going to be more insured assets though moving into the E&S space versus moving back into the admitted. So it's always kind of talked about back and forth. But if you can just look at the trend over the last 10, 15, 20 years, there's more and more moving into E&S because they want the flexibility of pricing and terms.

嘿，吉米。吉米，在你進入下一個問題之前，請先稍等片刻。需要記住的一點是，雖然帳戶實際上可以從 E&S 帳戶遷移回已確認帳戶，但我們仍然認為，會有更多受保資產轉移到 E&S 帳戶，而不是遷移回已確認帳戶。所以這個問題總是被重複提及。但如果你看看過去 10 年、15 年、20 年的趨勢，你會發現越來越多的人轉向 E&S，因為他們想要價格和條款的彈性。

Yeah. And so there's the secular component, obviously, but I think cyclically, there's just been a lot more business than normal that's moved into E&S the last several years. So maybe some of that goes back into standard, right, in the short term at least?

是的。因此，顯然存在世俗因素，但我認為從週期上看，過去幾年裡，湧入 E&S 領域的企業數量比往常要多得多。所以，或許其中一些會在短期內回歸標準，對吧？

Yeah, it can probably somewhat. You'll see it on the fringes.

是的，可能有點兒。你會在邊緣地帶看到它。

And then on your comment around Howden, is like they're being pretty aggressive, and other brokers have sued them as well for similar issues. Is competition picked up in general even outside of that? Or is Howden really a one-off and you're not seeing other companies being more proactive in either poaching or paying people more to add producers?

至於你提到的 Howden 公司，他們似乎採取了相當激進的策略，其他經紀商也因為類似問題起訴了他們。即使在其他情況下，競爭也會普遍加劇嗎？或者說，霍頓公司真的只是個例，而其他公司沒有更積極地挖角或支付更多費用來增加生產者？

So the answer is the start-up firm is one of many that are aggressively looking to hire people. The question is how they're doing it. And so again, as I said earlier, we're all for competition. And when we hire people from other firms, we ask them to abide by the contracts, whatever those contracts are that they have. And so there's a difference in opinion with that particular start-up here in the States. And there are others. There are others in the United States that think that way as well. But that's the story. Thank you.

所以答案是，這家新創公司只是眾多積極招募員工的公司之一。問題是他們是如何做到的。所以，正如我之前所說，我們都非常支持競爭。當我們從其他公司招募員工時，我們會要求他們遵守合同，無論這些合約的內容是什麼。所以，對於這家位於美國的新創公司，有不同的看法。還有其他人。美國也有其他人持這種觀點。但故事就是這樣。謝謝。

Rob Cox, Goldman Sachs.

羅布·考克斯，高盛。

Thanks. Good morning. I just wanted to ask about in the presentation, your commentary on casualty pricing. It sounds like you guys are still talking about it as, of course, seeing strong increases, but it looked like the range you provided, 3% to 6% fell a good bit from the 5% to 10% last quarter. So I just was curious to see what's driving that deceleration in casualty pricing increases and if you had any additional color to provide there?

謝謝。早安.我只是想問一下您在演講中對意外傷害保險定價的評論。聽起來你們仍然認為成長勢頭強勁，但你們給出的 3% 到 6% 的範圍似乎比上一季的 5% 到 10% 大幅下降。所以我很好奇是什麼原因導致意外險保費上漲速度放緩，您是否還有其他見解可以分享？

Sure. So once again, in a market that is changing, just a broadly -- broad statement, I believe that you're going to continue to see more competitive pricing across the board. So what you're seeing, at least in primary business is a slight moderation of those rate increases.

當然。所以，在不斷變化的市場中，我再說一遍，總的來說，我認為你會看到各個環節的價格競爭更加激烈。所以，至少在主要業務領域，你看到的是這些利率上漲幅度略有放緩。

Remember, the biggest pressure in that area is on the excess. That has not changed because of the way the court system is -- views accidents and things like that. So I don't -- Rob, I think it's a normal course of the market. I don't think there's some structural change that's happened or some carrier has figured out how to make so much money in casualty. That's not what I'm trying to say. But I'm just giving you what we're seeing in the quarter in terms of rate impact.

記住，該領域最大的壓力來自過剩部分。由於法院系統看待事故等問題的方式，這種情況並沒有改變。所以我不這麼認為——羅布，我認為這是市場的正常趨勢。我不認為發生了什麼結構性變化，或者哪個保險公司找到了在意外傷害保險領域賺取巨額利潤的方法。我不是那個意思。但我只是想向你們介紹一下本季我們看到的利率影響情況。

And Rob, with our commentary, don't read anything into that that we're saying we expect casualty rates to go negative. So don't read anything into the trend or whatever. It's just kind of how the pricing was for the quarter. It can move around.

羅布，請不要從我們的評論中解讀出任何我們預期傷亡率會變成負值的意思。所以不要對這種趨勢或其他任何事情過度解讀。本季的定價就是這樣。它可以四處移動。

Okay. So as you look forward, you would think -- I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you think like relatively similar on casualty pricing going forward?

好的。展望未來，您可能會想—我不想替您說話，但您認為未來的意外傷害保險定價會相對穩定嗎？

We think at least based on what we see, that would be the state or the case. I don't know if there's something we're not aware of or can't see right now. But based on what we see at the present time, yes.

至少根據我們所看到的，我們認為情況就是這樣。我不知道是不是有什麼我們不知道或現在看不到的東西。但就目前來看，是的。

Tracy Benguigui, Wolfe Research.

Tracy Benguigui，Wolfe Research。

Thank you. Good morning. I appreciate hearing your comments on contingent commissions. Can you talk about which accident years are used in that formula? I'm trying to get a sense if you're still benefiting from those harder market years.

謝謝。早安.感謝您對按結果計酬的看法。你能說說這個公式中使用的是哪些事故年份嗎？我想了解一下，你是否仍然從那些市場低迷的年份中受益。

Hi. Good morning, Tracy. It's Andy here. So a number of our calculations generally because there is -- a lot of these are around property less on the casualty side. Normally, it's kind of shorter term in nature. Generally, it's over a 12-month horizon, but you might see that it could have a rolling 2- or 3-year inside the calculation. But in general, it's normally over kind of a 12-month horizon.

你好。早安，特蕾西。我是安迪。因此，我們的許多計算通常都是圍繞著財產而非意外事故進行的。通常來說，它的性質比較短期。一般來說，計算週期為 12 個月，但您可能會發現，計算中可能包含滾動 2 年或 3 年的資料。但一般來說，通常是在大約 12 個月的時間範圍內。

And then what we -- in our commentary is, you'll see kind of movements around by quarter as we're doing ultimate true-ups to calculations back and forth and why we kind of look at them on a total basis in there. We suggest, again, you look at it kind of differently between Specialty Distribution versus Retail. The Retail is, honestly, it's a pretty consistent number as a percentage of revenue. SD will, in fact, move around by quarters, but it's an important part of our business.

然後，在我們的評論中，你會看到各個季度的趨勢，因為我們正在進行最終的調整計算，以及為什麼我們要從整體上看待它們。我們再次建議您，從不同的角度看待專業分銷和零售。坦白說，零售額佔總收入的比例一直相當穩定。SD 實際上會按季度變動，但它是我們業務的重要組成部分。

Thanks. And then just going back to the comments about those 275 producers that were approached by a competitor. Can you just walk us through the cadence of the reduction of those $23 million of revenues? Was it mostly in employee benefits so that we could see that in the fourth quarter in '26? And is it fair to assume there was no impact this quarter?

謝謝。然後，讓我們回到之前關於那 275 位被競爭對手接觸的生產商的評論。能否簡單介紹一下這 2,300 萬美元收入減少的具體過程？主要是員工福利方面嗎？這樣我們就能在 2026 年第四季看到這一點了？那麼，假設本季沒有受到影響是否合理呢？

Yeah, Tracy, on those. So it was a mix of business that was more heavily weighted towards employee benefits. So you probably see more of the impact probably early in the year.

是的，特蕾西，關於那些。所以，這是一家業務多元化的公司，但更著重於員工福利。所以你可能在年初就能看到更多影響。

And it's not 275 producers...

而且也不是275家生產商…

Right.

正確的。

It's 275 people. A small portion of that group were producers. The vast majority of them were in nonproduction roles.

共有275人。其中一小部分人是生產者。他們中的絕大多數都從事非生產性工作。

Mike Zaremski, BMO.

Mike Zaremski，BMO。

Great. Good morning. Maybe just a question on the profit margin commentary. Andy, you said underlying margins is expected to be flattish. Just to clarify the definition of underlying, does that include contingency and exclude investment income? And it sounds like the -- which is a good flattish outcome is the result of the Accession synergies waterfalling in '26, if you think that's the right read.

偉大的。早安.或許可以問一個關於利潤率的問題。安迪，你說過預計基本利潤率將保持穩定。為了澄清「基礎資產」的定義，它是否包括或有資產但不包括投資收益？聽起來，這（一個相對平穩的結果）是 2026 年加入聯邦後協同效應逐步顯現的結果，如果你認為這種解讀是正確的的話。

Good morning, Mike. Yeah, I think that's -- so what we are saying is if you isolate the impact of lower investment income next year, we would say the remainder of the business will be flat. And yeah, we do view that as a really strong performance next year, considering the different puts and takes that we have and having contingents down inside of there. So that would be a really good year for us.

早上好，麥克。是的，我認為——所以我們想說的是，如果排除明年投資收益下降的影響，我們會說業務的其他部分將保持穩定。是的，考慮到我們擁有的各種資源和資源，以及我們在內部的人員配置，我們認為明年這將是一個非常強勁的表現。所以那對我們來說將會是非常棒的一年。

Okay. Great. And my follow-up might just be a quick yes or no, but because Tracy just asked for a clarification, but I just want to make sure that the $23 million of lost revs, that's -- that's all we're going to see from the lost employees for the most part. There's not -- it doesn't build up over time to a much larger number. I just wanted to -- just make sure because there's a $23 million divided by 275 employees, it's a fairly not immaterial, but small number. Thanks.

好的。偉大的。我的後續回應可能只是簡單的“是”或“否”，但因為特蕾西剛才要求澄清，所以我只想確認一下，損失的 2300 萬美元收入，基本上就是我們從離職員工那裡得到的全部損失。不會——它不會隨著時間的推移而累積成一個很大的數字。我只是想確認一下，因為 2300 萬美元要除以 275 名員工，雖然數額不大，但也不是微不足道。謝謝。

So let's make sure we clarify that, Mike. Number one, that is the amount that they have taken at the present time. So what I'm saying is when something like this happens, which we haven't had before, they can impact retention going forward, some of that may be legally -- I'm not going to say prevent it but run a foul with legal matters or whatever the case may be. But the answer is, at the present time, it is $23 million.

所以，麥克，我們得把這件事弄清楚。第一，這是他們目前已經拿走的金額。所以我的意思是，當發生類似這樣的事情時（我們以前從未遇到過），它們可能會影響未來的客戶留存率，其中一些可能涉及法律問題——我不是說要阻止它，但可能會觸犯法律問題或其他任何情況。但就目前而言，答案是 2300 萬美元。

And yes, relatively speaking, at the present time, it is a big number in a regular sense. But as it relates to the overall organization, it is a small number. And your statement is correct, but we don't know what has been said to existing customers, and that will bear itself out in the next year or so.

是的，相對而言，就目前而言，這確實是一個很大的數字。但就整個組織而言，這只是一個小數字。您的說法是正確的，但我們不知道對現有客戶說了些什麼，這在未來一年左右的時間裡就會見分曉。

Mike, that's why in our commentary, we said depending upon the materiality on a quarterly basis, we may call it out just to help give an idea of how the underlying business is performing. But this will take a number of quarters to ultimately play itself through. And again, it's not that it's all one business.

麥克，這就是為什麼我們在評論中說，根據季度重要性，我們可能會特別指出這一點，以幫助大家了解公司基本面的經營狀況。但這需要幾個季度的時間才能最終塵埃落定。而且，這並非指所有業務都屬於同一範疇。

Elyse Greenspan, Wells Fargo.

伊莉絲‧格林斯潘，富國銀行。

Thanks. Good morning. My first question was on the Retail organic. I think you guys said within the guidance, right, that there should be some modest improvement from the 2.8% that you guys saw in '25. Does that, I guess, adjust out the impact of the Howden departures? Because I think you said you may or may not adjust it out? Or does that account -- would that be leaving in the $23 million impact and you might adjust out if it's larger?

謝謝。早安.我的第一個問題是關於零售有機產品的。我認為你們在指導意見中說過，對吧，應該會比 2025 年的 2.8% 略有改善。這樣是否就能抵銷豪登離職的影響呢？因為我記得你說過你可能會調整，也可能不會？或者，這樣做是否意味著要考慮 2300 萬美元的影響，如果影響更大，則需要調整？

That adjusts that out.

這樣就能消除這種影響。

Okay. Got it. Thank you. And then in terms of the fourth quarter, what was the impact of the government shutdown on both Retail and Specialty Distribution? And would you expect -- are you expecting any impact in Q1 or in '26?

好的。知道了。謝謝。那麼，就第四季而言，政府停擺對零售和專業分銷分別產生了什麼影響？那麼，您預計—您預計第一季或 2026 年會有任何影響嗎？

Good morning, Elyse. No, nothing material. Obviously, when -- especially you'll see it kind of in our flood business when you have these shutdowns. But I guess, sorry to say we're fairly adept at knowing how to manage through these since our government seems to have this as a recurring challenge at times. And so our team is really good about getting ahead of upcoming renewals, et cetera. But normally, if you have any delays, they kind of get caught up over 30, 60 days. So nothing major.

早安，伊莉絲。不，沒有任何實質的東西。顯然，尤其是在我們洪水災害頻繁的產業，停工停產時，這種情況會更加明顯。但我想，很遺憾地說，我們相當擅長應對這些問題，因為我們的政府似乎時不時就會面臨這樣的挑戰。因此，我們的團隊非常擅長提前做好續約等相關事宜。但通常情況下，如果出現任何延誤，他們會在 30 到 60 天內解決。所以沒什麼大事。

Yaron Kinar, Mizuho.

Yaron Kinar，瑞穗銀行。

Thank you. Good morning. So my first question is on the Specialty Distribution organic. So I think even when we adjust for the flood revenues, organic EBITDA decreased by low single digits. You called out the greater-than-expected pressure from property CAT pricing, some binding authority business moving back to the admitted market. I assume both of those will be headwinds that remain in '26. So what offset drivers do you have that would still get the segment back up to positive organic growth in '26?

謝謝。早安.所以我的第一個問題是關於專業分銷有機產品的。所以我覺得，即使考慮到洪水帶來的收入，有機 EBITDA 也下降了幾個位數。您指出，財產巨災定價帶來的壓力超出了預期，一些具有約束力的授權業務正在回歸到已確認的市場。我估計這兩方面都將是2026年仍然存在的不利因素。那麼，您認為有哪些抵銷因素能夠使該細分市場在 2026 年恢復正的自然成長？

Good morning, Yaron. So I think in our commentary, we highlighted a couple of things. One, we think that the organic will be challenged in the first quarter with the flood claims that we recognized in Q1 of last year. And then with the CAT property pricing is, it will probably still be a little bit challenged in the second quarter. Then as we start looking into the back end of the year, we start getting the benefit of the organic growth of the Specialty Distribution businesses that have joined us from a session.

早上好，亞倫。所以我覺得在我們的評論中，我們重點強調了兩點。第一，我們認為有機產品在第一季將面臨挑戰，因為我們在去年第一季確認了洪水索賠。而考慮到CAT物業定價，第二季可能仍會面臨一些挑戰。然後，當我們開始展望年底時，我們開始受益於透過會議加入我們的專業分銷業務的自然成長。

And again, remember that those businesses have very, very little CAT inside of them. There's quite a bit of casualty plus other specialty lines inside. And then obviously, there's less CAT property placed in the third quarter, and then we'll see what the fourth quarter looks like. But we feel good about the business and the outlook, probably a little bit modest in the first part of the year. But then if everything continues on with trend, it will pick up some momentum in the back end of the year.

再次提醒大家，這些企業內部幾乎沒有CAT（貓）元素。裡面有很多傷亡事故相關產品以及其他特殊產品。很顯然，第三季CAT資產的部署量會減少，然後我們再看看第四季的情況如何。但我們對業務和前景感到樂觀，雖然今年上半年可能略顯保守。但如果一切繼續保持目前的趨勢，那麼在年底前將會獲得一些成長勢頭。

Okay. And you've given us a flavor of what kind of steady-state organic should be or has been in Retail over the years in kind of the low to mid-single-digit range. I realize that it may be a bit more challenging to offer that for Specialty Distribution, but nonetheless, I'll give it a shot.

好的。您已經讓我們體會到，多年來零售業的穩定有機成長率應該或已經達到怎樣的水平，大致在個位數的低到中等範圍內。我知道要為專業經銷商提供這種服務可能會更具挑戰性，但無論如何，我都會嘗試一下。

Sorry, you broke up at the end, Yaron. Can you repeat the end of the question, please?

對不起，亞倫，你們最後分手了。請您重複問題的結尾部分好嗎？

Yeah, I'd just like to see if there's a steady-state organic level that you'd expect from the Specialty Distribution segment, kind of the equivalent of the low to single digits you've offered for Retail.

是的，我只是想看看專業分銷領域是否存在一個穩定的有機成長水平，類似於您之前提到的零售領域較低的個位數成長率。

I think when we look at that business, because you've got the E&S component to it as well as there's still admitted inside of there, it's generally going to grow faster than Retail, not all the time, and you're going to have kind of different periods. But we would normally think about that being a slightly faster-growing business than our Retail.

我認為，當我們審視這個行業時，因為它既包含環境和社會因素，又包含已承認的因素，所以它通常會比零售業增長得更快，雖然並非一直如此，而且會經歷不同的時期。但我們通常會認為，這方面的業務成長速度比我們的零售業務快一些。

Mark Hughes, Truist.

馬克·休斯，Truist。

Thank you. Good morning. The procedure when you lose a teammates that going back to the Howden issue, how quickly would they change, say, the broker of record and so the business would shift immediately? I think, Powell, you had alluded to you didn't know kind of what conversations they might have had with other clients maybe positioning themselves for the renewal. But what's the usual cadence where you learn about how much has shifted over just so we can think about what that $23 million might end up being as it progresses throughout the year?

謝謝。早安.當失去一名隊友時，流程是怎麼樣的？回到 Howden 的問題，他們會以多快的速度更換記錄經紀人，從而使業務立即發生轉變？鮑威爾，我想你曾暗示過，你不知道他們可能與其他客戶進行了哪些對話，或許是為了續約做準備。但是，通常情況下，我們會以怎樣的節奏了解到有多少資金發生了轉移，以便我們思考隨著這一年的推進，這 2300 萬美元最終可能會變成什麼樣子？

Well, Mark, there's two parts. So as you know, people do business with people that they like and they trust. And depending on how this story is presented, sometimes, and we've run into this already, they were said -- they were told one thing and then the customer determines that maybe it happened a little differently. And so having said that, there -- in our experience or hearing what the scenario is here, we have seen a group of accounts, which is the $23 million in question, that move right away. And we believe that those discussions occurred with them either before the departure or right around that time. We don't know exactly, and that will bear itself out.

馬克，這分為兩部分。如你所知，人們總是和自己喜歡和信任的人做生意。而且，根據故事的呈現方式，有時（我們已經遇到過這種情況），他們被告知一件事，然後客戶認定事情可能略有不同。因此，根據我們的經驗或對目前情況的了解，我們看到有一批帳戶（即涉及的 2300 萬美元）立即採取了行動。我們相信，這些討論是在他們離開之前或前後進行的。我們還不清楚，結果會證明一切。

But having said that, there are other people that when presented with the scenario, they may end up thinking that they need to review their program, their placement. Sometimes they would go to an RFP, not all, but I'm saying some. And some of that may be honest and honorable and some of that may have something else embedded in it, and we just don't know. And so we think about how do you deliver better customer outcomes.

但話雖如此，也有一些人在遇到這種情況時，可能會認為他們需要重新審視自己的課程或實習安排。有時他們會發布招標公告，雖然不是全部，但我說的是有些。其中一些可能是真誠而光榮的，而另一些可能則摻雜著其他東西，我們不得而知。因此，我們思考如何為客戶帶來更好的結果。

And I have been hard-pressed to determine at the present time how the start-up presents better customer outcomes to those insureds. So ultimately, that will pan itself out. But we don't have a way -- it would be purely speculative, Mark, and we're not going to do that on what that number could ultimately be. But what I'm saying is we are rehiring teammates in the affective areas. We are engaging capabilities across the platform to continue or to show these customers the -- how we can bring -- have the best customer outcomes. And I'm very pleased with the engagement of our team across the entire organization.

目前，我一直很難確定這家新創公司如何為投保人帶來更好的客戶結果。所以最終一切都會水落石出。但我們沒有辦法——這純粹是猜測，馬克，我們不會去猜測最終的數字會是多少。但我的意思是，我們正在重新聘用受影響地區的團隊成員。我們正在調動整個平台的能力，以繼續或向這些客戶展示——我們如何才能帶來——最佳的客戶成果。我對我們團隊在整個組織中的參與度感到非常滿意。

Appreciate that. And then, Powell, I think you had said you anticipate CAT property rates might decline modestly from 4Q levels. Do you think the market has pretty close to bottoming?

謝謝。鮑威爾，我想你曾說過，你預計 CAT 房地產利率可能會從第四季的水平略有下降。你認為市場已經接近底部了嗎？

I don't -- I'm not going to say that, Mark, and let me tell you why. You have this really unique dynamic because you have all these issues with convective storms and fires and all this other stuff. And yet when the wind doesn't blow in Florida, as an example, you have this great pressure on rates. And as you know, it's a little bit like a pendulum and the pendulum usually swings too far one way and too far the other way.

我不會——我不會那樣說，馬克，讓我告訴你為什麼。這裡的情況非常獨特，因為這裡有對流風暴、火災以及其他各種各樣的問題。然而，例如在佛羅裡達州，當風不吹的時候，利率就會面臨巨大的壓力。如你所知，這有點像鐘擺，而鐘擺通常會向一邊擺動過頭，也會向另一邊擺動過頭。

Well, the rates, quite honestly, we would all agree, probably were too high, and we don't control the pricing, the carriers do. But then all of a sudden, when it becomes profitable again, and it looks really good, it brings everybody back in. So I believe that we're going to continue to have some pretty significant competition on those rates in the near to intermediate term. And I would typically say that really exists down between now and May or June, and then you get into hurricane season. So I would tend to say that I think it's still going to be quite competitive between now and then.

說實話，我們都同意，這些費率可能太高了，而且我們無法控制定價，定價權在航空公司手中。但突然之間，當它再次盈利，而且看起來非常好時，它就把所有人都吸引回來了。所以我認為，在中短期內，這些利率方面仍將存在相當激烈的競爭。我通常會說，這種情況通常從現在持續到五月或六月，然後就進入颶風季節了。所以我認為，從現在到那時，競爭仍然會相當激烈。

Josh Shanker, Bank of America.

喬許‧尚克爾，美國銀行。

Thank you for (inaudible) in here. Good morning, everybody. Obviously, you were very proud and have a good view of the long-term success for your business, but someone much smarter than me said that the hard market is an elevator, and the soft market is an escalator. When you're looking at the dynamics of the market and you have a view of what the long-term growth rate of this industry is, do you believe we're entering into an extended period of suboptimal growth?

謝謝您（聽不清楚）在這裡。大家早安。顯然，你對自己的企業非常自豪，並且對企業的長期成功有著美好的願景，但一位比我聰明得多的人說，硬市場就像電梯，軟市場就像自動扶梯。當你觀察市場動態，並對該產業的長期成長率有所了解時，你是否認為我們正在進入一個成長緩慢的時期？

Well, I think that we are entering a more normal historically growth rate in the industry. And so I don't -- I wouldn't say it the way you just said it, Josh. I also think it's very interesting, the weight that people place on organic growth versus other important metrics like cash flow and margins. And so I have this -- and Andy and I have this healthy debate where we discuss with our team, the more and more of the changes that occur in GAAP, the further it moves away from real cash. Doesn't mean that it's wrong. I mean, that's the SEC's deal and they figure it out and everybody, but -- or the generally accepted accounting principles.

我認為，我們正在進入一個更接近歷史正常水準的產業成長階段。所以，我不會——我不會像你剛才那樣說，喬希。我也覺得很有意思，人們對有機成長的重視程度，與其他重要指標（如現金流量和利潤率）相比，存在著很大的差異。因此，我和安迪就此展開了一場有益的辯論，我們和團隊討論，GAAP 的變化越多，它就越偏離真正的現金流。但這並不意味著它是錯的。我的意思是，那是美國證券交易委員會的事情，他們會想辦法解決，但──或者說是普遍接受的會計原則。

But what I would say is we think about it is how do we grow our business; how do we do that profitably? How do we reward those teammates, all of our teammates enable them to create wealth over a long period of time for helping us grow the business, and then how do we translate those revenues and earnings into cash, as you saw at 24.6% for the year and then use that to either buy businesses, hire more teammates, acquire our stock or something else that -- those are the three that come right to mind. So I believe it's -- this is exactly, Josh, what Andy and I have been saying for the last 12 months, which was more of a return to the normal growth rates historically seen in the brokerage space.

但我想說的是，我們應該思考的是如何發展業務；如何才能獲利地發展業務？我們如何獎勵這些團隊成員？我們所有的團隊成員都幫助我們發展業務，使他們能夠在很長一段時間內創造財富。然後，我們如何將這些收入和利潤轉化為現金（正如你所看到的，今年的成長率為 24.6%），然後用這些錢來收購企業、僱用更多團隊成員、收購我們的股票或其他用途——這三點是我首先想到的。所以我相信——喬希，這正是安迪和我過去 12 個月一直在說的，那就是經紀業務的成長速度將回歸到歷史上正常的水平。

Yes. Hey, Josh. The other thing it's -- again, it's interesting to us, I think, the way in which people write about the market. If you think about the retail space and just think about our business for a second, the large majority of what we place there is admitted markets, right? And those rates, they had to come down from where they were during kind of that '22, '23, '24 period just because of inflation and everything else.

是的。嘿，喬許。還有一點——我覺得——人們描述市場的方式也很有趣。如果你想想零售領域，再想想我們的業務，我們擺在那裡的絕大部分商品都是經過市場認可的，對吧？由於通貨膨脹和其他各種原因，這些利率不得不從 2022 年、2023 年、2024 年期間的水平下降。

They've kind of leveled back out. They're kind of normal again. And so we don't see anything else unusual. So we don't see like this significant like softening market maybe that people are writing about. That's not what we're seeing in the rates on the admitted side actually feels fairly stable and the economy feels pretty good to us right now.

它們現在基本上趨於穩定了。他們現在基本上恢復正常了。因此，我們沒有發現其他異常情況。所以，我們並沒有看到像人們所說的那樣出現明顯的市場疲軟。但我們目前看到的並非如此，從已確認的利率來看，實際上利率相當穩定，而且我們感覺目前的經濟狀況相當不錯。

Even though the headlines may potentially indicate something else, that's not actually what we see. The place where you see more of the volatility is over in the E&S space. But it seems nobody talks about casualty continues to just keep going up, though. And casualty is a really large part of the marketplace. And so look, we feel good about the backdrop.

儘管新聞標題可能暗示著其他情況，但這並非我們所看到的實際情況。波動性較大的領域是勘探與社會領域。但似乎沒有人談論傷亡人數持續上升的問題。意外傷害保險在市場中佔了非常大的份額。所以你看，我們對背景很滿意。

The numbers can move around again for anybody by quarter. But when we think about our business and heading into 2026, we feel really good about our ability to continue to capture market share and grow net new business. And that's kind of the key performance metrics that we focus on in -- across the entire organization. So we don't hear that -- we don't hold that -- maybe that potential dire view that you kind of put out there. That's not our perspective on the market.

每個季度，每個人的數字都可能再次波動。但展望 2026 年，我們對自身業務充滿信心，相信能夠繼續擴大市場份額並實現淨新增業務成長。這就是我們在整個組織中重點關注的關鍵績效指標。所以我們沒有聽到——我們也不持有——你提出的那種潛在的悲觀觀點。那不是我們對市場的看法。

Well, I don't know if it's dire, but I just want to follow-up on one thing that Powell said about that investors don't focus enough on cash flow, and I agree that's true. But do you believe that over the next 3-year period that Brown & Brown's business can outgrow the organic pace of the rest of the industry? Are you in a position -- or it just doesn't matter, cash flow will be the guiding factor for how we operate our business.

我不知道情況是否很糟糕，但我只想就鮑威爾所說的投資者對現金流關注不足這一點補充一點，我同意這是事實。但您是否認為在未來三年內，Brown & Brown 的業務成長速度能夠超過業內其他企業的自然成長速度？您是否具備這樣的條件——或者說，這都無關緊要，現金流將是我們經營業務的指導因素。

Josh, we don't think that's actually the right question, if you don't mind me coming back at this one because the organic is only one part of the equation. One of the things that we've been saying for an extended period of time is you have to also look at contingent as part of our business model in total. Otherwise, you get kind of a false understanding of how the business is performing.

Josh，我們覺得這不是正確的問題，如果你不介意我再回到這個問題上來的話，因為有機物只是等式的一部分。我們一直以來都在強調的一點是，你必須把意外事件也視為我們整體商業模式的一部分。否則，你就會對企業的經營狀況產生錯誤的理解。

Look at last year, we grew the top line, total revenues 23%. We grew our cash by 24%. The organic sure didn't grow that level, right? So you have to put contingents inside. Maybe look -- maybe our business is just different than everybody else. But when you think about Brown & Brown, you have to put the contingents inside of it because you're going to have scenarios where the organic will be down and the contingents will be up, right? And the contingents are very profitable for us ultimately because these businesses should really be valued off of cash, not organic.

看看去年，我們的營收成長了23%，總收入成長了23%。我們的現金成長了24%。有機產品肯定沒達到那種水平，對吧？所以你必須在裡面加入應急人員。或許你看——或許我們的產業與其他公司截然不同。但是，當你考慮 Brown & Brown 時，你必須把各種因素考慮進去，因為總是會有自然成長率下降而成長率上升的情況，對吧？最終，這些或有業務對我們來說非常有利可圖，因為這些業務的價值應該真正以現金價值來衡量，而不是以有機成長價值來衡量。

And the question is, how can you grow your cash over time? We grew at 24% last year to $1.450 billion. That's an incredible year. And just look back to the last 10 years at how we've grown our cash, right? And it's a combination of our acquisitions, organic and contingents.

問題是，如何才能讓你的現金隨著時間的推移而增值？去年我們成長了24%，達到14.5億美元。那真是不可思議的一年。回顧過去 10 年，看看我們的現金是如何成長的，對吧？這是我們透過收購、自身發展和偶然因素共同實現的。

Andrew Andersen, Jefferies.

Andrew Andersen，傑富瑞集團。

Good morning. Into '26 and recognizing the lost headcount, is there a scenario where you actually have a margin benefit as you're not incurring the comp and ben costs, but you are keeping the revenues? Are you thinking about that in underlying margin guidance?

早安.進入 2026 年，考慮到人員減少，是否存在這樣一種情況：由於無需承擔薪酬福利成本，但收入卻得以保留，從而實際上獲得了利潤增長？您是否在考慮基本面利潤率指引時也考慮到了這一點？

I think that what I want you to understand is we are rehiring teammates that display the characteristics that we look for to deliver very creative solutions to our customers. So some of those people are being hired in those markets effective. Some may be hired elsewhere. But in the near term, technically, that could be the case, but we don't believe that it's going to have a significant impact or a material impact because we are hiring people back. So I think the question is the right question, but I don't want you to go away and say there's some hidden bonus in here. It's -- we believe it's immaterial.

我想讓你們明白的是，我們正在重新招募那些具備我們所尋找的特質的團隊成員，以便為客戶提供極具創意的解決方案。因此，部分人員確實在這些市場中找到了工作。有些人可能會被其他地方聘用。但從技術上講，短期內可能會出現這種情況，但我們認為這不會產生重大影響或實質影響，因為我們正在重新招募員工。所以我認為這個問題問得好，但我不想讓你走開後說這裡面有什麼隱藏的獎勵。我們認為這無關緊要。

Okay. And traditionally, I thought of you all is not really doing team lifts, but if there's an effort to replace these folks' kind of quickly, is that strategy kind of contemplated here?

好的。傳統上，我認為你們所有人並不真正進行團隊協作，但如果要努力快速替換這些人，這種策略是否在這裡被考慮過？

No, we don't think really that way. We think about hiring good people and bringing them on to the team. And so I don't like to use the term never or always, but that has not really been our thought process.

不，我們並不是那樣想的。我們考慮招募優秀人才，並將他們納入團隊。因此，我不喜歡使用「從不」或「總是」這樣的詞，但這確實不是我們當時的思考方式。

Andy, keep in mind our comment earlier because I think maybe some people have believed that it was whatever, 200, 250, 275, those were all producers. That represents teammates across the board. So that's service, account executives, et cetera.

安迪，請記住我們之前的評論，因為我認為可能有些人認為不管是 200、250、275，那些都是生產者。這代表了所有隊友。以上就是服務、客戶經理等等方面的內容。

We'll take one more question. Is that what we're going to do?

我們再回答最後一個問題。我們就打算這麼做嗎？

We'll run it. We got a few more in the queue.

我們會運行它。隊伍裡又多了幾個人。

We've got few more in the queue. Okay, go ahead.

還有一些訂單在排隊。好的，請繼續。

Alex Scott, Barclays.

亞歷克斯·斯科特，巴克萊銀行。

Thanks for taking (inaudible) I wanted to ask about the incentive commissions. And I guess we've seen some of the national carriers who are trying to be a little more disciplined in the face of more competition beginning to have lower premium growth numbers. And so I just wanted to understand if we should expect any impact from, maybe volume-based incentive commissions being impacted by that?

謝謝你抽出時間（聽不清楚），我想問關於激勵佣金的問題。我想我們已經看到一些國家級航空公司為了應對日益激烈的競爭，開始採取更自律的策略，它們的保費增長速度也開始放緩。所以我想了解一下，我們是否應該預期這會對基於交易量的激勵佣金產生任何影響？

And Alex, is that just an overall comment on the market? Or is it related to something specific when you asked that?

亞歷克斯，你這番話只是對市場的整體評價嗎？或者你問這個問題是跟某個具體的事情有關嗎？

Yeah, I'll try to be more clear. We're seeing some national carriers have very low premium growth numbers at this point because of competition. And I'm trying to understand if in 2026, your incentive commissions could be negatively impacted by that.

好的，我會盡量說得更清楚。由於競爭激烈，我們看到一些全國性航空公司目前的保費成長率非常低。我想了解一下，到 2026 年，您的激勵佣金是否會受到負面影響。

Always a potential for that. I think you saw some of that actually in 2025, Alex, that we called out in the third and fourth quarter because the carriers are always moving around different measurement targets that could be on persistence or on growth. So yes, those are some of the dynamics going on.

始終存在這種可能性。Alex，我認為你在 2025 年實際上已經看到了一些這樣的例子，我們在第三季度和第四季度都提到過，因為運營商一直在調整不同的衡量目標，這些目標可能是關於續保率或增長。是的，這些就是其中的一些動態。

Okay. But is there anything embedded in sort of what you commented on your retail organic that include that? Or is that something that could be incremental? To help me understand.

好的。但是，在你之前評論過的零售有機產品中，是否包含任何與此相關的內容？或者這可以是一個漸進的過程？為了幫助我理解。

That includes our commentary unless we get something unusual throwing out that we don't know about.

這包括我們的評論，除非我們收到一些我們不知道的異常情況。

Okay. And then I wanted to see if we could circle back on Accession and just see if you would be willing to provide any commentary around how that performed in 4Q and its contribution to revenue. And I know we probably should care and look at more cash flow. But for Accession in particular, just thinking through the different pieces of guidance you've given in the past, I wanted to understand how the growth is going there.

好的。然後我想看看我們是否可以再回到 Accession 的話題，看看您是否願意就其在第四季度的表現及其對收入的貢獻提供一些評論。我知道我們或許應該更重視現金流。但就 Accession 而言，仔細思考您過去提供的各種指導，我想了解它的發展。

Yeah, I would say, good for the businesses. So we're very pleased with the performance of the businesses inside there. We're extremely, extremely pleased with how all our new teammates are leaning in, which is wonderful to see in there.

是的，我認為這對企業來說是件好事。因此，我們對其中各企業的業績非常滿意。我們非常非常高興看到所有新隊友都積極融入團隊，這真是太好了。

The item on the growth in the quarter when we called out the 405 versus the 430 versus 450. Again, that was just an estimate we had going into the quarter. We had to refine revenue recognition. But nothing changes full year how we think about the business. Everything is going really well and coming along with integration. So we're extremely pleased.

關於本季成長的那項內容，我們提到了 405、430 和 450 這幾個數字。再次聲明，這只是我們本季初的一個預估。我們必須改進收入確認方式。但一年到頭，我們對業務的看法都不會改變。一切進展順利，整合工作也正在進行中。我們非常高興。

Meyer Shields, Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods.

Meyer Shields、Keefe、Bruyette 和 Woods。

Great. Thank you so much for fitting me in. Two quick questions. First, Andy, the $15 million of adjustment-related contingents, is that a fourth quarter issue? Is that where we should expect the drop-off?

偉大的。非常感謝您抽空幫我。兩個問題，簡單問一下。首先，安迪，那1500萬美元的調整相關或有事項，是第四季的問題嗎？我們應該預期數據會從那裡開始下降嗎？

No, we'll probably see that more kind of spread between the third and fourth quarters of next year, Meyer.

不，我們可能會在明年第三季和第四季之間看到這種更大的波動，梅耶爾。

Okay. That's helpful. And second, just to clarify, I know you said that the Retail segment should have organic growth better than the 2.8%. Is that comment also applicable to Specialty Distribution?

好的。那很有幫助。其次，為了澄清一下，我知道您說過零售業務的有機成長率應該高於 2.8%。這則評論也適用於特種分銷嗎？

We would expect that the organic growth also would improve for Specialty Distribution during the year, yes.

是的，我們預計今年專業分銷業務的有機成長也會有所改善。

Brian Meredith, UBS.

Brian Meredith，瑞銀集團。

Thanks for fitting me in. Two questions here. The first one, you called out multiyear policies as a headwind in retail growth again this quarter. Maybe you can quantify that, and is that going to continue to be a headwind in 2026?

謝謝你安排我過來。這裡有兩個問題。第一點，您在本季再次指出多年期政策是零售業成長的阻力。或許你可以量化一下，這種情況在 2026 年是否還會繼續構成不利因素？

Good morning, Brian. Yeah, we wouldn't quantify that level of granularity. I think we included that in our commentary about the 100 to 150 basis points in addition to incentives and some other projects. Those are always kind of moving around by quarters. Remember, if there's a headwind this year, remember, they come up for renewal next year.

早安，布萊恩。是的，我們不會量化這種細粒度的程度。我認為我們在關於 100 到 150 個基點的調整以及激勵措施和其他一些項目的評論中已經包含了這一點。它們總是按季度輪換。記住，如果今年遇到逆風，記住，它們明年就要續簽了。

Got you. Okay. And then second question, Powell, this is more for you. If I think about going back and when we transition into these soft cycles, I found that historically, you do get these talent wars, and this is obviously a little unusual what's going on with Howden. But as I think about here going forward, is that a correct characterization? And maybe is there likely to be maybe potential pressure on margins, not only Brown & Brown for the industry is perhaps SMB has got to grow at a faster rate than organic revenue growth given just the talent war going on right now to try to sustain growth?

抓到你了。好的。第二個問題，鮑威爾，這個問題主要是問你的。如果我回顧過去，當我們進入這些溫和的周期時，我發現從歷史上看，確實會出現人才爭奪戰，而霍登目前的情況顯然有點不尋常。但展望未來，我認為這樣的描述是否準確呢？或許利潤率可能會面臨潛在壓力，不僅是 Brown & Brown，整個行業，鑑於目前正在進行的人才爭奪戰，中小企業或許必須以比有機收入增長更快的速度增長才能維持增長？

That's possible. I mean, I'm not trying to be flippant, but yes, your thought process is fair on that. That could impact the industry, yes.

有可能。我的意思是，我不是想輕率地批評你，但你的想法確實有道理。是的，這可能會對行業產生影響。

Hey, Brian. Just the other thing, this industry has always been competitive, though. I mean, it's been competitive for many decades. And so I think to our earlier comments, it's why we're very thoughtful about our compensation plans, both on cash and equity and how that creates long-term wealth for our teammates. And we continue to invest across the entire organization. But I don't think that like all of a sudden, like competition just showed up in the last six months. It's been here for decades.

嘿，布萊恩。另外，這個行業一直競爭激烈。我的意思是，這種競爭已經持續了幾十年。所以我覺得，正如我們之前所說，這就是為什麼我們在製定薪酬計劃時非常謹慎，無論是現金還是股權，都力求為我們的團隊成員創造長期財富。我們將繼續在整個組織範圍內進行投資。但我認為競爭並不是突然之間，在過去的六個月才出現的。它在這裡已經幾十年了。

And I would now like to turn the conference back to Powell for closing remarks.

現在我謹將會議交還給鮑威爾，請他作閉幕致詞。

All right. Thank you all very much, and we look forward to talking to you after Q1. Have a nice day.

好的。非常感謝各位，我們期待在第一季結束後與大家繼續交流。祝你今天過得愉快。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。