高露潔 (CL) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to today’s Colgate-Palmolive second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. This call is being recorded and is being simulcast live at www.colgatepalmolive.com.

早安。歡迎參加今天的高露潔-棕欖 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。本次電話會議將被錄音，並於 www.colgatepalmolive.com 進行同步直播。

For opening remarks, I’d like to turn this call over to EVP Investor Relations, Claire Ross.

接下來進行開場致詞，我想把電話會議交給投資人關係執行副總裁 Claire Ross。

Good morning, welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings release conference call. This is Claire Ross, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations. Today’s conference call will include forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from these statements.

早安，歡迎參加我們 2026 年第二季財報發布電話會議。我是 Claire Ross，投資人關係執行副總裁。今天的電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。

Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties and are made on the basis of our views and assumptions at this time. Please refer to the earnings press release and our most recent filings with the SEC, including our 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings, all available on our website, for a discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements.

前瞻性陳述本質上涉及風險與不確定性，並係基於我們目前的觀點與假設而作出。請參閱財報新聞稿以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件，包括我們 2025 年 Form 10-K 年度報告及其後續 SEC 申報文件（均可於本公司網站取得），以了解可能導致實際結果與這些陳述存在重大差異的因素。

These remarks also include a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures, which exclude certain items from the reported results, including those identified in tables four, six, seven, eight, and nine on the second quarter earnings press release.

本次發言亦將討論非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，其自已報告結果中排除若干項目，包括第二季財報新聞稿中表四、表六、表七、表八與表九所列示之項目。

A full reconciliation to the corresponding GAAP financial measures and related definitions are included in the earnings press release. Joining me on the call this morning are Noel Wallace, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Stan Sutula, Chief Financial Officer, and John Faucher, EVP, M&A and Special Projects. Noel will provide you with his thoughts on our results and our 2026 outlook.

與相對應 GAAP 財務衡量指標的完整調節表及相關定義已包含於財報新聞稿中。今天早上與我一同參與電話會議的有：董事長、總裁兼執行長 Noel Wallace；財務長 Stan Sutula；以及併購與特別專案執行副總裁 John Faucher。Noel 將分享他對我們業績表現以及 2026 年展望的看法。

We will open it up for Q&A. Noel?

接著我們將開放問答。Noel？

Thanks, Claire, good morning, everyone. Before we begin today’s discussion, I wanted to pause and recognize someone who’s been a pillar to our investor team and to our company for quite some time. John Faucher will be retiring at the end of September, making today his 40th quarterly earnings call with the company and his 29th alongside me.

謝謝你，Claire，各位早安。在開始今天的討論之前，我想先停下來表揚一位長期以來一直是我們投資人團隊以及公司重要支柱的人。John Faucher 將於九月底退休，今天是他在公司參與的第 40 次季度財報電話會議，也是他與我一同參與的第 29 次。

John brought a rare combination of investor perspective, great business judgment, and strategic thinking, not only to our business and our earnings process, but to our M&A work, our board discussions, and broader shareholder engagement. He’s taught me a lot about value creation. He’s been a fantastic advisor to our leadership team and a dedicated partner to the entire analyst and investor community.

John 帶來了罕見的組合：投資人視角、卓越的商業判斷力與策略思維；不僅在我們的業務與財報流程上如此，也體現在我們的併購工作、董事會討論以及更廣泛的股東互動上。他教會我許多關於價值創造的事。他一直是我們領導團隊極佳的顧問，也是整個分析師與投資人社群的投入夥伴。

I know you know John, who has been a prolific quoter of pop culture, it’s only fitting for me to end with an infamous Han Solo quote from Star Wars. Thank you, John, and may the force be with you.

我知道各位都認識 John，他非常喜歡引用流行文化；因此我用《星際大戰》中韓·索羅的一句經典台詞作結再適合不過。謝謝你，John，願原力與你同在。

Thanks, Noel.

謝謝你，Noel。

With that, let’s get on to the quarter. We’re pleased to have delivered another quarter of strong top and bottom-line growth, particularly in the context of continued global volatility. Our strong results this quarter across our financial statements were broad-based, with organic sales growth in four of five divisions and three of our four categories.

那麼，我們進入本季表現。我們很高興在全球持續波動的背景下，仍交出另一季強勁的營收與獲利成長。本季我們在財務報表各項表現強勁且基礎廣泛：五個事業部中有四個實現有機銷售成長，四大品類中有三個實現有機銷售成長。

We delivered solid gross margin expansion before a modest tariff benefit. Base business EPS came in ahead of our expectations, even as we delivered a double-digit increase in advertising. Our balance sheet and cash flow performance through the second quarter is also very strong, with free cash flow up 18%, and we returned $1.4 billion to shareholders. The strength of our global operating model, combined with the strong execution on the ground, continues to drive our performance.

在小幅關稅利多之前，我們仍實現了穩健的毛利率擴張。基礎業務每股盈餘（EPS）高於我們預期，即便我們的廣告投入實現了兩位數成長。截至第二季，我們的資產負債表與現金流表現也非常強勁，自由現金流成長 18%，並向股東回饋 14 億美元。我們全球營運模式的優勢，加上第一線的強力執行，持續推動我們的表現。

As was the case last quarter, our sales growth was led by emerging markets, which were up mid-single digits, driven by India, Brazil, Mexico, and China. We also had strong contributions from our European markets as we continue to drive organic growth and market share gains through innovation and omni-demand generation.

如同上季，我們的銷售成長主要由新興市場帶動，新興市場成長中個位數，主要由印度、巴西、墨西哥與中國驅動。我們的歐洲市場也有強勁貢獻，透過創新與全通路需求生成（omni-demand generation），持續推動有機成長與市占提升。

Our Hill’s business was also a contributor to growth as it continues to outperform the category with premium science-led innovation. We will work to maintain this global momentum while driving improvement in the US, where we were not satisfied with our performance, as you saw in the commentary. Here are some of the actions we’re taking to change the trajectory of the US business in the second half. Continued scale-up of our 2026 and 2027 innovation.

我們的 Hill’s 業務同樣對成長有所貢獻，憑藉高端、以科學為導向的創新，持續優於該品類表現。我們將在維持全球動能的同時，推動美國市場的改善；如各位在評論中所見，我們對美國的表現並不滿意。以下是我們在下半年為改變美國業務走勢所採取的一些行動。持續擴大推進我們 2026 與 2027 年的創新。

We’re pleased with the performance of our recent innovation like Optic White Pro Series with ActivShine technology and our expansion of Fabuloso in new forms. We will continue to drive these new products with increased distribution and strong brand support. With heightened competition in many of our categories, we will take surgical actions by category and channel to drive market share improvement while still executing behind our revenue growth management playbook.

我們對近期創新的表現感到滿意，例如搭載 ActivShine 技術的 Optic White Pro Series，以及 Fabuloso 以新形式的擴展。我們將透過提高鋪貨與強化品牌支持，持續推動這些新產品。在多個品類競爭加劇的情況下，我們將依品類與通路採取精準行動，以推動市占改善，同時仍持續執行我們的營收成長管理（RGM）作戰手冊。

We’ve also planned for higher levels of brand support across our core businesses to drive both our equities and win at the point of purchase. On a global basis, we’ll continue to invest behind and scale our capabilities in areas like innovation, data, analytics, digital, and AI. This leaves us well-positioned to deliver perceivable superior products to accelerate category growth and drive market share improvement.

我們也已規劃在核心業務上提高品牌支持力度，以同時提升品牌資產並在購買點取勝。在全球層面，我們將持續投資並擴大在創新、數據、分析、數位與 AI 等領域的能力。這使我們處於有利位置，能提供消費者可感知的更優產品，以加速品類成長並推動市占改善。

We believe our efforts in revenue growth management, promo AI, and funding the growth give us the ability to invest in advertising to build our brands while driving profit and EPS growth, even in a period of significant cost inflation. We will also deliver against our strategic growth and productivity program as we build the right organizational structure to deliver against our 2030 strategy. We’ve executed a strong first half of the year. While there are still some uncertainties ahead, we are optimistic the strength of our global model will continue to deliver both in the short term and set us up for long-term success.

我們相信，在營收成長管理、促銷 AI，以及為成長提供資金等方面的努力，使我們即便在成本顯著通膨期間，仍有能力投資廣告以打造品牌，同時推動利潤與 EPS 成長。我們也將落實策略性成長與生產力計畫，建立合適的組織架構，以推進我們的 2030 策略。我們在上半年執行表現強勁。儘管前方仍有一些不確定性，我們仍樂觀認為全球模式的優勢將持續在短期帶來成果，並為長期成功奠定基礎。

With that, I’d be happy to take your questions.

那麼，我很樂意回答各位的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Dara Mohsenian, Morgan Stanley.

Dara Mohsenian，摩根士丹利。

Hey, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Dara.

早安，Dara。

First, best wishes to John. Thanks for all your help through the years and we'll miss you on these calls.

首先，祝福 John 一切順利。感謝你多年來的協助，我們會在這些電話會議上想念你。

Noel, I wanted to touch on the pet division. Clearly pretty soft category dynamics in the quarter, but obviously Hill’s is performing well from a share standpoint. Just any perspective around the category softness, do you think we’re sort of nearing a bottom? More importantly, how do you think the Hill’s business is positioned relative to that category softness, and can these share gains continue? Also, just if you look at pet organic sales growth, even adding back the private label discontinuations, it’s really pricing that drove the organic sales growth. Just any perspective on your ability to continue to realize pricing in pet.

Noel，我想談一下寵物事業部。本季該品類的景氣動能顯然偏弱，但很明顯 Hill’s 在市占表現上做得很好。想請教你對於品類疲弱的看法：你認為我們是否接近觸底？更重要的是，在這樣的品類疲弱之下，你認為 Hill’s 的業務相對定位如何？這些市占提升能否持續？另外，如果你看寵物業務的有機銷售成長，即便把自有品牌（private label）停產的影響加回去，推動有機銷售成長的主要仍是定價。也想請你談談在寵物品類持續實現定價的能力。

Last, sorry for the multi-parts, but I think it’s important to probably touch on Prime and the plans there and how significant that can be to your business as you think looking out over the next couple of years. Thanks.

最後，不好意思問題有好幾個部分，但我認為也很重要，可能需要談一下 Prime 以及相關計畫，並且從未來幾年的角度來看，這對你們業務可能有多重要。謝謝。

Thanks, Dara, for the question. Let me start broad-based. Another, we think, impressive quarter for Hill’s, and as you rightly call out, in a tough market environment, we delivered solid organic growth. If you look at it, ex private label at 4%, well above the category, which is more or less flat right now, particularly in the U.S., where we continue to grow at 4%. US a little softer than some of the emerging markets and global businesses. Private label, as you well know, had a 200 basis point negative impact to volume. Ex private label, volume was roughly flat in the quarter on a tough comp and a tough market. By and large, we’re very pleased. Why is that?

謝謝你，Dara，提出這個問題。我先從較宏觀的角度談起。我們認為，Hill’s 又交出了一個令人印象深刻的季度；正如你所指出的，在艱難的市場環境下，我們仍實現了穩健的有機成長。如果你看數據，扣除自有品牌後為 4%，明顯高於目前大致持平的品類表現，尤其在美國，我們仍維持 4% 的成長。美國相較於部分新興市場與全球業務略為疲弱一些。如你所知，自有品牌對銷量造成了 200 個基點的負面影響。扣除自有品牌後，在高基期與艱難市場下，本季銷量大致持平。整體而言，我們非常滿意。為什麼會這樣？

We grew in all segments across the business that we’re focused on, except for Science Diet dog, where we’ve talked about the migration to small pets and large pets certainly deteriorating in terms of their ownership. As a function of that, the dry dog food business down a little bit, but everything else up, particularly in the areas where we’ve been building momentum, cat, wet, and small paws.

我們在所聚焦的業務中，各個細分領域都成長，唯獨 Science Diet 狗用產品例外；我們先前談過，消費者轉向小型寵物，而大型寵物的飼養情況確實在惡化。因此，乾狗糧業務略有下滑，但其他品類都在成長，尤其是我們正在累積動能的領域：貓、濕糧，以及小型犬（small paws）。

The other impressive number in the quarter was our therapeutic business, which continues to grow very, very nicely, both from volume and pricing, which is helping to not only drive that strong gross margin acceleration, but the positive mix we had in the quarter as well. Margin performance, as I just mentioned, was good. Operating margin was up nicely as we continued to increase the advertising as a % of sales.

本季另一個亮眼數字是我們的處方／治療性（therapeutic）業務，無論在銷量或定價上都持續非常、非常強勁地成長；這不僅推動毛利率加速提升，也帶來本季正向的產品組合效益。如我剛提到的，毛利率表現不錯。隨著我們持續提高廣告費用占銷售額的比重，營業利益率也明顯上升。

Strong advertising levels once again in Hill’s, and we would further expect to do that in the back half of this year as we look to accelerate category growth. E-commerce, likewise, another growth driver. Strong businesses across some of the pure play retailers, and we did well on Prime Day. Overall, we think we’re executing against the right elements, particularly in the US.

Hill’s 的廣告投放水準再次維持強勁；而且我們預期在今年下半年會進一步加碼，以加速帶動品類成長。電商同樣是另一個成長動能。在一些純電商零售商（pure play retailers）上表現強勁，我們在 Prime Day 也做得很好。整體而言，我們認為我們正在執行正確的關鍵要素，尤其是在美國市場。

Our international business was up solid mid-single digits. Again, an area of opportunity as we continue to drive penetration and growth of the science-based premium segment of the market. Specifically on Prime, the Prime business continues to do very well in Australia. They were up very nicely in the quarter on top of a significant growth in the first quarter. We’re very pleased with the continued acceleration of that.

我們的國際業務以穩健的中個位數成長。這同樣是機會所在，因為我們持續推動以科學為基礎的高端（premium）市場滲透與成長。具體到 Prime，Prime 業務在澳洲持續表現非常好。在第一季大幅成長的基礎上，本季又有相當亮眼的增長。我們對其持續加速成長感到非常滿意。

I think more importantly, we’ve learned an immense amount about the Prime launch, particularly around the manufacturing process of delivering high quality, consistent fresh products, and that’s been very much built into the launch of the fresh that we’re rolling out, as you have heard right now in the US. It’s anchored against single proteins, so we believe there’s real science behind it. It’s clearly going to be professionally driven.

我認為更重要的是，我們從 Prime 的上市（launch）中學到了非常多，特別是在製造流程方面：如何交付高品質、穩定一致的新鮮產品；這些經驗也已充分融入我們目前在美國推進的新鮮產品上市計畫中，正如你現在所聽到的。它以單一蛋白（single proteins）為核心，因此我們相信其背後有真正的科學依據。而且它顯然會由專業端來驅動。

We’re focused on getting the profession to underscore the importance of the quality of these products and the efficacy values they bring. We’ve launched three single protein diets. We’re in the midst of rolling that out and phasing that out. It will be a very thoughtful launch. Again, as I’ve mentioned in previous conversations, we’re not looking to generate significant volume right now.

我們聚焦於讓專業人士強調這些產品的品質重要性，以及它們所帶來的功效價值。我們已推出三款單一蛋白配方。我們正在推進上市並分階段展開。這將會是一個非常審慎、周全的上市。同樣地，如我在先前的對話中提過，我們目前並不追求產生顯著的銷量。

We’re looking to really build the brand and underscore the science-driven nature of our product and the quality of our product. The manufacturing process is going very well. The rollout is going as we planned. We’ll have more to talk about that later in the year. Overall, market shares continue to grow. Certainly in the segments that we’re focused on, we had good market share performance.

我們真正想做的是建立品牌，並強調我們產品以科學驅動的本質與產品品質。製造流程進展非常順利。推廣／鋪貨（rollout）也如我們計畫般進行。今年稍晚我們會有更多內容可以分享。整體而言，市占率持續提升。當然，在我們聚焦的細分領域中，我們的市占表現良好。

In terms of the category, I do think the category’s bottomed out, but we shall see. As we see inflation in the US market, we’ll probably see the category continue to be under a bit of pressure. As we’ve said consistently, we have real growth opportunities in the segments that we’re going after where we’re under index.

就品類而言，我確實認為品類已觸底，但我們還要再觀察。隨著美國市場通膨持續，我們可能會看到品類仍承受一些壓力。如我們一再強調的，在我們正在攻佔、且目前滲透率低於品類平均（under index）的細分領域，我們有真正的成長機會。

Again, on wet, on cat, on small paws, and certainly the international businesses, we continue to go after markets where we think we can build the science-based credentials that deservingly of this product for the long-term health of the brand. In essence, a good quarter for us and some good growth opportunities as we move forward. Category will continue to be pressured, but the opportunities to grow the top line are there for us.

再次強調，在濕糧、貓用、小型犬（small paws），以及國際業務上，我們持續鎖定我們認為能建立科學背書的市場；這些背書也理應屬於這個產品，並有助於品牌長期健康發展。總之，這對我們而言是個不錯的季度，且隨著我們往前推進，也有一些良好的成長機會。品類仍將持續承壓，但我們仍有機會推動營收（top line）成長。

Peter Grom, UBS.

Peter Grom，瑞銀（UBS）。

Great. Thank you, everyone. Good morning. John, I also want to say thank you Sean, thank you. Maybe to keep with the pop culture references, I specifically want to thank you for never jamming me at the drive-through. Now to my real question. I was hoping to ask about gross margin. You noted in the prepared remarks some benefits from refunds in the quarter.

很好。謝謝各位。早安。John，我也想說謝謝你，Sean，謝謝。也許延續一下流行文化的梗，我特別想謝謝你從來沒有在得來速（drive-through）故意卡我。回到我真正的問題。我想請教毛利率。你在事先準備的發言中提到，本季有一些來自退款（refunds）的好處。

Even after backing that out, it was a pretty strong result. Maybe can you unpack how that came in relative to your expectations? What drove the strength? Then looking ahead, gross margin now expected to be flat for the year, can you maybe walk through the phasing a bit, just in the context of three, two, I would imagine, having peak inflation. Thanks.

即使把那部分扣除，結果仍相當強勁。你能否拆解一下，實際表現相對於你們原先預期如何？強勁的驅動因素是什麼？再往前看，目前預期全年毛利率持平；能否在第三季、第二季（我猜）通膨達到高峰的背景下，談談毛利率在年度內的節奏／分布（phasing）？謝謝。

Thanks, Peter. Let me start strategically in terms of how we’re thinking about gross profit and some of the decisions and focus areas. I’ll let Stan unpack a bit more of the details on it. Clearly, gross margin was strong in the quarter, up 100 basis points, and as you point out, up 90 basis points versus the previous quarter as well. We got a little bit, a modest benefit from refunds. The bulk of the growth definitely came through our core business and some of the initiatives that we’re taking around the world. Clearly, some inflationary pressures that we put into the P&L.

謝謝你，Peter。我先從策略面談談我們如何思考毛利，以及一些決策與聚焦領域。我會請 Stan 再補充更細的細節。很明顯，本季毛利率表現強勁，上升 100 個基點；如你所指出的，相較前一季也上升了 90 個基點。我們確實從退款中獲得了一點、幅度不大的好處。但成長的主要部分，確實來自我們的核心業務，以及我們在全球推動的一些措施。同時，我們也把一些通膨壓力反映在損益表（P&L）中。

We talked about getting those costs up front into the P&L on the first quarter call, and that’s really important as we look to manage the business to ensure that we’re proactively getting those costs into the income statement. Our teams on the ground are executing pricing and revenue growth management and using all of our tools to generate profit growth as we look to increase the advertising, as you saw in the quarter.

我們在第一季電話會議中談到，要把這些成本提前反映到損益表中；當我們要管理業務時，主動把這些成本納入損益表是非常重要的。我們在第一線的團隊正在執行定價與營收成長管理（revenue growth management），並運用我們所有工具來帶動獲利成長，同時也如你在本季看到的，我們正在提高廣告投放。

That clearly is happening. We’ll continue, obviously, to focus on the elements of our revenue growth management. Our Promo AI tools are being scaled around the world. We’re seeing benefits from that. We had strong funding to growth in the quarter, doubling down on that as we move forward. We don’t anticipate we’ll see any more refunds coming or very insignificant moving forward.

這些顯然正在發生。我們也會持續聚焦於營收成長管理的各項要素。我們的 Promo AI 工具正在全球擴大導入，我們正看到其帶來的效益。本季我們對成長的投入資金（funding to growth）表現強勁，未來也會加倍投入。我們不預期後續還會有更多退款進來，或即便有也將非常不顯著。

We’re focused on the core health of the gross margin line, and that’s really driven by mix funding the growth and the pricing that we have and the overall discipline that we’re seeing. It was great to see a little mix come through in the quarter as well. That is intentional. Looking at the growth opportunities we see around the world and our more focused category country combinations on where we’re seeing real benefits from that.

我們專注於毛利率這條線的核心健康狀況，而這主要是由產品組合為成長提供資金、我們所採取的定價，以及我們所看到的整體紀律所驅動。本季也很高興看到有一些產品組合的貢獻。這是刻意為之。放眼我們在全球看到的成長機會，以及我們更聚焦的「品類×國家」組合，因為我們在這些地方看到了實質效益。

Overall, strategically, the teams are executing well. The pricing is in the P&L. We’ll watch inflation carefully. As you saw in the prepared remarks, we expect cost of goods to peak in the back half of this year, as well as tariffs. We’re well ahead of that right now, and we’ll continue to manage as we move forward.

整體而言，在策略上，各團隊執行得很好。定價已反映在損益表中。我們會密切關注通膨。如同你在事先準備的發言中所看到的，我們預期今年下半年商品成本以及關稅都將達到高峰。我們目前在這方面已大幅領先，我們也會在往前推進時持續管理。

With that, let me have Stan break it out a bit more for you.

接下來，我請Stan為你再更詳細拆解一下。

Yeah, thanks, Nils. Let me unpack that a little bit more. First, we are very pleased with the margin performance here in Q2, and it was multifaceted with good RGM, good productivity, the pricing, the mix, a very strong performance here by the teams. We have our eyes wide open, and as we said in our first quarter call, we look to make sure our teams understand where we see material prices going so they can anticipate that in their pricing, their RGM actions for the rest of the year. On material prices, they’re slightly below our expectations as the higher raw material costs were partially offset by the benefits of the tariff refunds in the quarter. As you look at the back half of the year, Q3 is essentially largely locked in, pretty much in line with where we previously guided.

好的，謝謝你，Nils。我再把這部分多拆解一點。首先，我們對第二季的毛利率表現非常滿意，這是多面向的成果：良好的RGM（營收成長管理）、良好的生產力、定價、產品組合，以及團隊非常強的執行表現。我們保持高度警覺；正如我們在第一季電話會議所說，我們會確保團隊了解我們對原物料價格走勢的判斷，讓他們能在今年剩餘期間於定價與RGM行動中預先反映。就原物料價格而言，略低於我們的預期，因為較高的原物料成本在本季部分被關稅退稅的效益所抵銷。展望下半年，第三季基本上大致已鎖定，與我們先前給出的指引大致一致。

Q4 might be a little bit lower than our previous assumptions, given oil more in the $90 range. We’re still seeing impacts related to uncertainty about the war. As we look at the back half, we have easier compares on a year-on-year basis. We’ve increased our gross margin guidance to roughly flat for the year. We do have to keep in mind that we do expect the higher raw materials and tariffs will be higher in the second half of the year than they were in second quarter. The reason for the raise is our execution here on margin and the components that go around that. We’re confident on the year to be flattish up from down.

第四季可能會比我們先前的假設略低一些，因為油價更接近每桶90美元的區間。我們仍看到與戰爭不確定性相關的影響。就下半年而言，以年對年比較來看，基期會更有利。我們已將全年毛利率指引上調至約略持平。但我們也必須記住，我們確實預期下半年較高的原物料與關稅成本會高於第二季。上調的原因在於我們在毛利率上的執行，以及圍繞其周邊的各項構成要素。我們對全年表現有信心，將從先前的下滑轉為大致持平略升。

Lauren Lieberman with Barclays.

Barclays的Lauren Lieberman。

Great. Thanks so much. Good morning. Just wanted to talk a little bit about the balance between volume and price mix, particularly as we look into the second half. There’s been a lot of strength from some other consumer companies, particularly in emerging markets. I know you had strong, in particular, Brazil and India this quarter. Just curious about how you’re thinking about volumes and acceleration or lack thereof in the second half. Thanks.

很好。非常感謝。早安。我想談談銷量與價格/組合之間的平衡，特別是展望下半年。一些其他消費品公司表現很強，尤其是在新興市場。我知道你們本季在巴西和印度表現特別強勁。想請教你們如何看待下半年銷量的走勢，以及是否會加速或不加速。謝謝。

Good morning, Lauren. Thank you. The back half, at least as we see it right now, we got a lot of pricing in the first half. We anticipate we’ll be a little bit more volume driven in the back half of this year as we see the continued focus on the momentum we have, particularly internationally in some of our big markets, particularly around the premium side of the business as well. We see opportunities on the volume more or less in the back half. We’re not anticipating the categories will inflect any differently in the back half right now. We’ve assumed more or less sustained based on what we’ve seen in June and the early parts of July. Pretty consistent.

早安，Lauren。謝謝你。就下半年而言，至少以我們目前的觀察，上半年我們做了很多定價。我們預期今年下半年會更偏向由銷量帶動，因為我們看到我們既有動能仍持續，特別是在海外一些大型市場，以及在業務的高端（premium）領域。下半年在銷量方面我們或多或少看到一些機會。我們目前不預期各品類在下半年會出現不同的拐點變化。根據我們在6月以及7月初看到的情況，我們的假設大致是維持。相當一致。

Our focus will be on getting the new products executed, driving brand penetration, delivering a balanced pricing volume, slightly more towards volume in the back half as we move around the world, that will be pretty consistent market by market.

我們的重點會放在把新產品落地執行、提升品牌滲透率，並交付一個平衡的「定價×銷量」組合；下半年會稍微更偏向銷量。隨著我們在全球各市場推進，這將會在各市場之間保持相當一致。

Robert Ottenstein, Evercore ISI.

Evercore ISI的Robert Ottenstein。

Great. Thank you very much. The commentary on China continues to sound a little bit more positive. I’d love to, if you could do a bit of a dive on the Chinese market, which is always changing, the competitive dynamics there, changes in how the Chinese are shopping, which we’re picking up as we look at the beauty sector in particular. Just an update on the turnaround for Darlie and how you’re going to be able to keep up momentum for Colgate at the same time. Thank you.

很好。非常感謝。關於中國的評論聽起來持續更正面一些。我很希望你們能更深入談談中國市場——它一直在變化——當地的競爭動態、中國消費者購物方式的改變；我們在觀察美妝產業時尤其有感。也請更新一下Darlie的扭轉進展，以及你們如何同時維持Colgate的動能。謝謝。

Good morning, Ira, and thanks for the question. You’re absolutely right. China is such a fascinating market. I think I maybe alluded to in the first quarter, we’ve had all of our operating heads in China in the last six months, to learn from some of the incredible innovation going on in that market. Particularly around go-to-market, whether it’s social media platforms, whether it’s business to consumer platforms. It’s just fascinating to get everyone inserted there. While I think China’s way ahead of the rest of the world, and some of it will apply, some of it won’t, it certainly promotes a significant amount of innovative thinking from our teams, and I think a real benefit to how we want to execute in other areas around the world.

早安，Ira，謝謝你的提問。你說得完全正確。中國是一個非常迷人的市場。我想我在第一季可能也提到過，過去六個月我們讓所有營運主管都到中國，去學習那個市場正在發生的一些令人驚豔的創新。特別是在市場進入（go-to-market）方面，不論是社群媒體平台，或是B2C（企業對消費者）平台。讓大家深入其中真的非常有意思。我認為中國在很多方面都領先世界其他地區；其中有些做法適用、有些不一定適用，但它確實促使我們的團隊產生大量創新思維，並且我認為這對我們想在全球其他地區的執行方式帶來很大的助益。

That being said, our businesses continue to do well, particularly our Colgate China business now consistently delivering mid-single digit performance, good volume performance in the quarter, particularly out of our CP China business. Despite a significant amount of disruption in that market in terms of new platforms, declines in brick and mortar, shifts to e-commerce, as a result, and some very aggressive competitive environments as well.

話雖如此，我們的業務仍持續表現良好，特別是我們的高露潔中國業務，目前穩定交出中個位數的表現；本季銷量表現也不錯，尤其來自我們的CP China業務。儘管該市場在新平台崛起、實體通路下滑、轉向電商等方面出現大量擾動，並因此帶來一些非常激烈的競爭環境。

Overall, very solid performance. We continue to invest behind the China business, both from the Colgate and the Darlie side in terms of marketing. A lot of unique innovation going into that market. We’ve rolled out some of that in the world. The Optic White Purple is a perfect example of taking an innovation that was developed in China with a social-first model and then rolling that around the world. We’ve seen very nice incremental shared growth as a result of that.

整體而言，表現非常穩健。我們持續加大對中國業務的投資，無論是高露潔或Darlie端，在行銷方面都是如此。有許多獨特的創新投入到該市場。我們也已將其中一些推向全球。Optic White Purple就是一個完美例子：把在中國以「社群優先（social-first）」模式開發的創新，然後推廣到全球各地。因此我們看到相當不錯的增量市占成長。

The other important aspect I’ll mention is the digital talent that we’re getting out of China. Some of the best in the world that we’re exporting into other markets as we speak. Hawley & Hazel was up, as you mentioned, up low single digits organic growth, another quarter of good volume growth, mainly driven from the B2C area and some good innovation at dual chamber continues to do well.

我還要提到的另一個重要面向，是我們從中國獲得的數位人才。其中一些是世界頂尖的人才，我們正在把他們輸出到其他市場。如你所提，Hawley & Hazel呈現成長，有機成長為低個位數；又是一個銷量成長表現不錯的季度，主要由B2C領域帶動，而雙腔（dual chamber）方面的一些良好創新也持續表現出色。

We’re not out of the woods on Hawley & Hazel yet. We still have a lot of work to do, but some exciting plans in the next six to nine months around the brand and around how we’re structuring innovation and technology there, and ultimately how we’re going to continue to capitalize on the shift towards online, which the Darlie business needs to capitalize on quite quickly.

我們在 Hawley & Hazel 方面還沒有完全脫離困境。我們仍有很多工作要做，但在未來六到九個月內，圍繞該品牌以及我們如何在那裡建構創新與科技、並最終如何持續把握轉向線上的趨勢（Darlie 業務需要相當快速地把握）方面，有一些令人振奮的計畫。

As I mentioned, Greater China was up mid-single digits, which was terrific to see. We’re stepping up our innovation and our go-to-market strategies there and executing quite well. My sense is still a challenged category, though. The categories are basically brick and mortar down, e-commerce offsetting some of that. In general, we would assume the market’s probably down 1%-2% in total.

如我先前提到，大中華區成長了中個位數百分比，看到這點非常令人振奮。我們正在加強當地的創新與上市（go-to-market）策略，且執行得相當不錯。不過我的感受是，這仍是一個具挑戰性的品類。整體來看，線下實體通路下滑，電商在一定程度上抵消了部分影響。一般而言，我們會假設整體市場總量大概下滑 1%–2%。

We’re executing well, obviously consuming above those numbers. It’s a tough market. We’re going to continue to be very thoughtful on how much we put into China, given some of the ROI that we’re seeing in some of the new platforms that are emerging. By and large, executing top line and delivering some good gross margin, and we see the profitability coming behind that. More to come, Ira. We’ll keep you up to date as we learn more.

我們的執行表現良好，顯然消費端表現高於上述數字。這是一個艱難的市場。鑑於我們在一些新興平台上看到的投資報酬率（ROI），我們會持續非常審慎地評估在中國投入的力度。整體而言，我們在推動營收（top line）並交出不錯的毛利率，我們也看到獲利能力將隨之而來。Ira，後續還會有更多更新。隨著我們掌握更多資訊，我們會持續向你更新。

Chris Carey, Wells Fargo Securities.

Chris Carey，Wells Fargo Securities。

Hi. Good morning, everybody.

嗨。各位早安。

Hi, Chris. Good morning, Chris.

嗨，Chris。早安，Chris。

It’s great to see a little bit higher range for earnings this morning. I’m curious, though, why not raise the lower end of the organic sales growth guidance range? You’re running 2% to 6% organic sales year-to-date. The lower end of the range would imply flattish for the back half of the year. You’ve got easier compares going into calendar Q3. Is that just a bit of conservatism in the outlook? Is that some uncertainty on North America?

今天早上看到盈餘指引區間略為上調，令人欣慰。不過我好奇的是，為什麼不提高有機銷售成長指引區間的下緣？你們年初至今的有機銷售成長是 2% 到 6%。若以區間下緣推算，意味著下半年大致持平。進入曆年第三季（Q3）比較基期也更容易。這只是展望上稍微保守嗎？還是因為北美存在一些不確定性？

We’re hearing about retailer boycotts and certain retailers in Europe. I’m not sure, but it just struck me, given your year-to-date run rates. I’d love a bit more perspective on just how you’re thinking about different ranges and some of the different upside and downside scenarios perhaps you’re considering into the back half of the year. Thanks.

我們也聽到有關零售商抵制，以及歐洲某些零售商的情況。我不確定，但考量你們年初至今的運行速度（run rate），這點讓我有此感受。我希望能多了解你們如何看待不同的指引區間，以及你們對下半年可能考量的各種上行與下行情境。謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks, Chris. Clearly a solid quarter, as you point out, from a top-line standpoint. I think underscores the resilience of our model and the fact that our strategy is working around the world. The global footprint that we have and the category combinations that we compete in. That being said, you’ve alluded to just a few of the uncertainties in the world that we live in today. Clearly, the various wars, the impact on consumer confidence, the huge ups and downs we’re seeing in the categories. We obviously talked about the significant drop in the North America categories in May. They did come back in June, but still below historical numbers. We’re seeing a lot of volatility.

是的。謝謝你，Chris。如你所指出，從營收端來看，這一季表現確實穩健。我認為這凸顯了我們商業模式的韌性，以及我們的策略在全球各地都奏效。也包括我們的全球布局，以及我們所競爭的品類組合。話雖如此，你也提到我們當前所處世界中的幾項不確定性。顯然，各種戰爭、對消費者信心的影響，以及我們在各品類看到的巨大起伏。我們也談到北美品類在 5 月出現顯著下滑。6 月確實回升，但仍低於歷史水準。我們看到很大的波動性。

Despite the fact that we’re executing above the market growth around the world, we didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves at this point relative to where the top-line is. Clearly, we’re shooting for higher numbers, as you say. That is clearly what we’re hoping to achieve.

儘管我們在全球的執行表現都高於市場成長，但就目前營收端的情況而言，我們不想在此時過度超前。如你所說，我們顯然是以更高的數字為目標。那也確實是我們希望達成的。

There’s a lot of volatility in the market, a lot of consumer uncertainty as we measure it, particularly coming out of the higher gasoline prices at the pump. We’re going to be prudent and thoughtful there. As we see things improve, as we move through the back half of the year, we’ll come back and look at that again. Right now, we felt it was a prudent place to land it.

市場波動很大，從我們的衡量來看，消費者不確定性也很高，尤其是在加油站油價上漲之後。我們會保持審慎與周全。隨著情況改善、我們進入下半年，我們會再回頭檢視。目前我們認為把指引落在這個位置是審慎的。

Andrea Teixeira, JPMorgan.

Andrea Teixeira，JPMorgan。

Thank you. Good morning, and congrats again, John, and thank you for everything. I think we go back 26 years? Good to see everything you’ve done for the community. Just as we go back now, you just mentioned to Chris’ question, the environment in the US. I just want to kind of double-click in your comments on the prepared remarks. You said June getting better.

謝謝。早安，也再次恭喜你，John，並感謝你所做的一切。我想我們認識有 26 年了？很高興看到你為社群所做的一切。回到你剛才對 Chris 問題的回答，你提到美國的環境。我想針對你在事先準備的發言中的評論再深入一點。你說 6 月有所改善。

You highlighted, obviously, more innovation, and you always have been disciplined from a pricing perspective. Is there anything you can say about the price points or how competitive you are in the entry-level pricing? How comfortable you are on that perspective, and how comfortable you are in terms of your stats for the second half? Thank you.

你也強調了更多創新，而且你們在定價方面一向很有紀律。你能否談談價格帶，或你們在入門級定價上的競爭力如何？你對這一點的舒適度如何，以及你對下半年相關數據（stats）的把握程度如何？謝謝。

Yeah. Thank you, good morning. I think your question is specific to the U.S., if that’s the case, that’s how I’ll answer it. If not, let me know, I can talk about it more on a global basis. Clearly, we’re all, particularly the North America group, disappointed with the second quarter. On top of the category softness we saw in May that I talked about, we called that out at Deutsche Bank. We’ve seen heightened competitive activity, we’ve seen, obviously, in parallel, some inventory reductions from key retailers come through in the quarter as well. We think the softness in May, as I just alluded to, was really the peak gasoline prices, particularly in the US, the commensurate impact on consumer confidence and people being very careful.

好的。謝謝，早安。我理解你的問題是針對美國；如果是這樣，我會以此來回答。如果不是，請告訴我，我也可以從全球角度多談一些。顯然，我們所有人，尤其是北美團隊，對第二季感到失望。除了我剛才提到、我們在 5 月看到的品類疲弱之外，我們在德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）的場合也點出了這點。我們看到競爭活動升溫；同時，本季也出現一些主要零售商的去庫存（inventory reductions）。我們認為 5 月的疲弱，如我剛才所提，是因為油價在高點，特別是在美國，對消費者信心造成相應影響，使得人們非常謹慎。

The categories, as I mentioned, did rebound in June, we’ve seen more or less that consistent in July as well, still below historical numbers. We need to be mindful of that, certainly not where they were in May, which it bodes well. Further impacting the shipment numbers in North America were the inventory reductions we talked about, with shipping consumption more or less at one, with shipments down three. There’s some noise in those numbers.

如我所提，這些品類在 6 月反彈，我們在 7 月也看到大致一致的情況，但仍低於歷史水準。我們需要留意這點；當然，至少不像 5 月那樣，這是個正面訊號。此外，北美出貨數字也受到我們提到的去庫存影響：消費端大致為 1，而出貨下滑 3。這些數字中存在一些雜訊。

We’re not as focused on the inventory reductions as we are being very deliberate about the actions that we need to take on the things that we control. I think we’ve got a good line of sight of what actions that we need to take to continue to stabilize the market shares moving forward. Let me talk about a couple of those for you.

相較於去庫存本身，我們更關注的是，對於我們可控的事項，我們需要採取哪些行動，並且非常有意識地推進。我認為我們對於需要採取哪些行動、以在未來持續穩定市占率，有相當清晰的掌握。我為你談其中幾點。

We’re going to step up support to accelerate, particularly premium innovation in the toothpaste category, quite frankly, across some of our other categories as well. You saw the recent launch of Optic White, we’re going to continue to focus on that. We’ve launched some extensions in Fabuloso, more of that to come. We will continue to step up our 2026 and 2027 innovation grids, particularly on the premium side.

我們將加大支援力度以加速推進，特別是牙膏品類的高端創新，坦白說，也會涵蓋我們其他一些品類。你們看到近期推出的 Optic White，我們將持續聚焦於此。我們在 Fabuloso 推出了一些延伸產品，後續還會有更多。我們將持續加強 2026 與 2027 年的創新規劃，尤其是在高端領域。

Specific to your question on price gaps, we did identify some very select price gaps in certain retailers and certain categories against some of our competition. We will address that, be very prudent and thoughtful on how we do that. We can’t be uncompetitive in terms of pricing and promotion, we want to be sure that we’re not leading that further down.

針對你關於價差的問題，我們確實在某些零售商與某些品類中，發現了相對於部分競爭對手的一些非常有限的價差。我們會加以處理，並且在如何處理上保持非常審慎、周全。在定價與促銷方面我們不能缺乏競爭力，我們也希望確保不會進一步帶頭把價格與促銷推向更不利的方向。

We’re going to be very thoughtful on how we go after some of those channel opportunities. As I also mentioned, we’re going to step up our spending in the back half of this year. Not competitive in some of the categories in terms of advertising support, we’ll accelerate that, and that’s obviously built into our guidance as well. Clearly the things that we can control, we’re going after. We’re going to be very intentional. We recognize that the numbers aren’t where they need to be. It won’t be a linear improvement, but we’ll see certainly sequential improvement as we move through the back half of the year.

我們會非常審慎地思考，如何把握其中一些通路機會。如我先前也提到的，我們將在今年下半年加大支出。在某些品類的廣告支援方面我們競爭力不足，我們會加速補強，而這也已明確納入我們的指引之中。很清楚地，對於我們能掌控的事情，我們都會積極推進。我們會非常有目的性地行動。我們認知到目前的數字尚未達到應有水準。改善不會是線性的，但隨著我們進入下半年，肯定會看到逐季改善。

Filippo Falorni, Citi.

Filippo Falorni，花旗。

Hi. Good morning, everyone. I also want to say thank you to John for all the help through the years. Lots of luck to you. I wanted to ask about Latin America. That business continues to do very well for you both on volume and pricing growth. I’m just curious, from a volume standpoint, what is driving the market share gains, if you can expand a bit there, both in Mexico and Brazil? Then as you think about the back half of the year, how sustainable this consistent performance is, especially as you lap the Colgate Total reformulation last year. Thank you.

嗨。各位早安。我也想對 John 多年來的協助表示感謝。祝你一切順利。我想問拉丁美洲的情況。你們那邊的業務在銷量與定價成長方面都持續表現非常好。我只是好奇，從銷量角度來看，若你能多談一些，市占率提升的驅動因素是什麼，尤其在墨西哥與巴西？另外，當你們看下半年時，這種穩定表現的可持續性如何，特別是去年你們經歷了 Colgate Total 配方改版的比較基期？謝謝。

Thank you, Filippo. Good morning to you. As you mentioned, a good quarter for LatAm, another good quarter with up more or less 5%, what’s pleasing is the balance between both pricing and volume. In pricing up 2.8% and volume 2.6%. Volume, as you mentioned, bounced back, it bounced back quite frankly in the last three quarters. Obviously, a slightly easier comp, but the good news is the volume’s coming back. Part of that’s certainly driven by getting the Total issue we had behind us as we continue to rebuild the Total share, and that’s coming back nicely. A strong innovation platform that we had across all of our core businesses, particularly in Brazil and in Mexico.

謝謝你，Filippo。也向你道早安。如你所提到的，拉丁美洲本季表現不錯，又是一個不錯的季度，成長大約 5%；令人欣慰的是定價與銷量之間的平衡。定價成長 2.8%，銷量成長 2.6%。如你所說，銷量已反彈，坦白說在過去三個季度都在反彈。顯然比較基期稍微容易一些，但好消息是銷量正在回升。其中一部分當然是因為我們已把先前遇到的 Total 問題拋在腦後，並持續重建 Total 的市占，而目前回升得相當不錯。我們在所有核心業務上都有強勁的創新平台，尤其是在巴西與墨西哥。

You saw the Brazil and Mexico numbers, I think that we alluded to, with Brazil up high single digits and Mexico up mid-single digits, and oral care in general across Latin America up high mid-single digits. A good execution against a tougher market environment where categories still are running more or less mid-single digits, but not back to where some of the historical growth numbers were.

你們看到巴西與墨西哥的數字，我想我們也有提到，巴西成長高個位數、墨西哥成長中個位數；而拉丁美洲整體口腔護理成長約高個位數到中高個位數。在更艱難的市場環境下仍能良好執行；各品類目前大致仍以中個位數速度成長，但尚未回到過去一些歷史成長水準。

We feel like we’re gaining penetration and certainly rebuilding the premium side of the business where we lost a little bit on Colgate Total. From a category standpoint, all three of our categories were up, had strong growth, as I mentioned, in oral care, but we were up low to mid in personal and home care, behind some of the big relaunches on our core businesses in that region. Pleasingly, it’s pretty broad-based.

我們覺得我們正在提升滲透率，並且確實在重建高端業務面，因為我們在 Colgate Total 上曾流失了一些份額。從品類角度來看，我們三大品類都成長；如我提到的，口腔護理成長強勁；而在個人與家居護理方面，我們也有低到中個位數的成長，主要受惠於該區域核心業務的一些大型重新上市（relaunch）。令人欣慰的是，成長相當廣泛。

As I alluded to earlier, the shares on Colgate Total are coming back, and those have improved sequentially, particularly in Brazil. We’re starting to see that as we comp against some of the issues we had last year in some of the other markets. FX was a bit of a tailwind, but still very volatile. With some of the political and economic uncertainties in the region, we won’t expect to get the FX tailwind in the second half that we had in the first half. We’ll be managing pricing and inflation very carefully with our revenue growth management.

如我先前提到的，Colgate Total 的市占正在回升，而且呈現逐期改善，尤其是在巴西。當我們與去年在其他一些市場遇到的問題進行比較時，也開始看到這一點。匯率（FX）帶來了一些順風，但仍然非常波動。鑑於該區域的政治與經濟不確定性，我們不預期下半年還能像上半年那樣享有匯率順風。我們將透過營收成長管理（revenue growth management）非常謹慎地管理定價與通膨。

Kaumil Gajrawala, Jefferies.

Kaumil Gajrawala，Jefferies。

Thank you, everybody. John, also congratulations. If you decide you get bored and want to give Wall Street another whirl, Jefferies is always hiring.

謝謝各位。John，也恭喜你。如果你決定覺得無聊、想再回華爾街闖一闖，Jefferies 一直都在招人。

I’ll consider that, Kaumil.

我會考慮的，Kaumil。

Yeah, I think I already know the outcome of that consideration. A couple of things just to understand this inventory thing. Is it a shipping below consumption? Is that a one and done? Is it something that snaps back later, it could be a tailwind into the back half? On Hill’s, particularly Hill’s and the rollout of Prime, how do you manage the message on the value to veterinarians of fresh, while also the core of the message of what the Hill’s business is, which is selling to them the idea of the benefits of Hill’s, which is dry? Just curious how you balance that messaging.

是的，我想我大概已經知道你考慮後的結果了。有幾點想了解一下這個庫存的事情。這是出貨量低於終端消費量（shipping below consumption）嗎？這是一次性的嗎？還是之後會回補，可能在下半年形成順風？另外關於 Hill’s，特別是 Hill’s 以及 Prime 的鋪貨推廣，你們如何在向獸醫傳達「鮮食（fresh）」的價值的同時，也維持 Hill’s 業務核心訊息——也就是向他們傳達 Hill’s 的好處，而 Hill’s 的核心產品其實是乾糧？只是好奇你們如何平衡這些訊息。

Sure. Yeah, thanks for the question. Let me talk with inventory first. Then I’ll come back on Fresh. Clearly, as the market softened in May, retailers took note of that, as you would expect, probably adjusted inventories, thinking we need to manage possibly to a lower baseline relative to where the consumer was. Whether that comes back or not, I think we always need to bear in mind that our retailers are looking to manage their business with the least amount of inventory possible. Our focus is how do we drive consumption, how do we drive the top line faster as we move forward, that’s what we’re going to be laser-focused on.

當然。是的，謝謝你的問題。我先談庫存。然後我再回到鮮食（Fresh）。很明顯地，當 5 月市場走弱時，零售商注意到了這點，這也符合預期；他們可能調整了庫存，認為需要相對於消費者需求水準，管理到一個更低的基準。至於是否會回補，我認為我們必須一直記住，零售商希望以盡可能少的庫存來經營他們的業務。我們的重點是如何帶動消費、如何在未來推動營收更快成長，這將是我們高度聚焦的方向。

Getting the execution of our new products, getting the promotion gaps that we have addressed, but do it thoughtfully, making sure that we have the investment in the back half of the P&L to generate sequential improvement as we move, compare the second half versus the first half. We will see what the retailers do. We have not built that into our numbers, that the retailers will then load up with inventory once again.

把新產品的執行做好，把我們存在的促銷落差補上，但要以周全的方式進行，確保在損益表（P&L）下半年有足夠投資，以便在我們推進時帶來逐期改善，並讓下半年相較上半年呈現改善。我們會觀察零售商怎麼做。我們並未在我們的數字中假設零售商之後會再次大量補庫存。

We anticipate that things will continue to be choppy, we need to focus on the things that we can control. Your question on the Fresh launch, which is quite interesting. As we have said consistently, we are not going to get into emerging segments unless we can bring the brand platform to life. The brand platform for Hill’s is science-driven nutrition.

我們預期情況仍會持續顛簸，我們需要專注在我們能掌控的事情上。你關於鮮食（Fresh）上市的問題很有意思。如我們一貫所說，除非我們能把品牌平台具體落地，否則我們不會進入新興細分市場。Hill’s 的品牌平台是以科學為基礎的營養（science-driven nutrition）。

We have spent a lot of time looking, as we made the acquisition of Prime, to find a brand that was science first. Clearly, the single protein idea and the rationale behind that single protein is that it promotes healthy digestion, radiant coats, and overall improvements in health, is clearly integrated into the launch. We are going to the profession with a fresh alternative that consumers are asking for, the profession’s looking for a science-based, efficacy-based product that they can trust and recommend, and that’s exactly how we plan to build the demand for the product is through the profession. We’ll be very thoughtful and methodical on how we do this.

我們在收購 Prime 的過程中花了很多時間尋找一個以科學為先的品牌。很明顯，單一蛋白的概念以及其背後的理據——能促進健康消化、讓毛髮更有光澤，並全面改善健康——已清楚地融入這次上市之中。我們將以一個消費者正在尋求的全新替代方案面向專業人士；專業端正在尋找一款以科學為基礎、以功效為基礎、他們可以信賴並推薦的產品，而我們計畫正是透過專業端來建立對該產品的需求。我們會非常審慎且有條不紊地推進這件事。

We want it, to your point, to build on the Hill’s brand name and ensure that science continues to be at the forefront and efficacy continues to be on how it delivers against pet owners’ needs. That will be the focus. We think it fits very nicely as another extension into our Hill’s business. Yes, we have a big dry business, but as I mentioned earlier, one of the fastest growing parts of our business is the wet portfolio, we bring great science into all of our offerings.

如你所說，我們希望在希爾思（Hill’s）的品牌名聲之上再接再厲，並確保科學持續站在最前線，功效也持續聚焦於如何滿足寵物主人的需求。這將是重點。我們認為這非常適合作為希爾思業務的另一項延伸。是的，我們的乾糧業務規模很大，但如我先前提到的，我們業務中成長最快的部分之一是濕糧產品組合；我們把卓越的科學帶入所有產品供應之中。

Kevin Grundy, BNP Paribas.

Kevin Grundy，法國巴黎銀行（BNP Paribas）。

Hey, good morning, everyone. John, of course, all the best. It’s been a pleasure. Well, question for you on advertising marketing levels and overall satisfaction. The spend, as you know, is still near historical levels as a percent of sales, that is, going back more than 20 years for the company. On the one hand, encouraging to see such high levels of brand support. On the other hand, maybe a more cynical push, maybe cost of business is moving higher, ROI, perhaps not quite where you want it to be if we look at organic sales and the fact that’s up 2% to 3%. I would love your opinion on where you see it now. One, your overall level of satisfaction with the ROI on the spend.

各位早安。John，當然，祝你一切順利。很榮幸。我想請教你關於廣告行銷投入水準以及整體滿意度的問題。如你所知，這項支出占銷售額的比例仍接近歷史水準，也就是回溯公司超過 20 年的水準。一方面，很高興看到品牌支持力度如此之高。另一方面，若更偏保守地看，或許是經營成本在上升；若我們看有機銷售成長只有 2% 到 3%，投資報酬率（ROI）可能未必達到你想要的水準。我很想聽聽你目前的看法。第一，你對這筆支出之 ROI 的整體滿意度如何？

Do you view this level of 1% to 4% of sales, is that the right level for the business going forward? Thank you.

你是否認為占銷售額 1% 到 4% 的這個水準，是未來這項業務合適的投入水準？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks. First of all, really pleased in the flexibility we have in the P&L, our ability to be very focused on driving long-term health of our brands, that clearly underscores and supports the fact that we want to continue to increase advertising level. The advertising market and media market, in general, has become far more sophisticated, at the same time, far more complicated with the various outlets and ways to spend your money.

好的，謝謝。首先，我們對損益表（P&L）上的彈性非常滿意；我們能夠非常聚焦於推動品牌的長期健康，這也清楚地凸顯並支持我們希望持續提高廣告投入水準。整體而言，廣告市場與媒體市場變得更加成熟，但同時也因為各種管道與花錢方式而變得更複雜。

The good news is, with all of our data and digital work that we’ve been doing over the last two or three years, we’re getting much better at measuring ROI and effectiveness of that spend. Certainly, we’re seeing the ROIs, particularly as we move more and more into digital. Certainly, as we move more and more into social and getting clear reads on that, the ROIs look very, very good for us.

好消息是，透過過去兩到三年我們在數據與數位方面所做的工作，我們在衡量 ROI 與支出效益上做得更好。尤其是當我們愈來愈多轉向數位時，我們確實看到 ROI 表現。同樣地，當我們愈來愈多投入社群並能清楚讀取成效時，對我們而言 ROI 看起來非常、非常好。

We’re pleased that we’re getting what we want. That most important measurement is obviously long-term brand health, which clearly the analysis that we do across our brands in our big core markets suggest that our brands are very, very strong and continue to strengthen. As we position some of those brands into different areas, that requires more advertising that we believe is necessary for the long-term health of the business, and we’ll continue to invest behind building those brands.

我們很滿意我們達到了想要的效果。最重要的衡量指標顯然是長期品牌健康度；我們在核心大市場對各品牌所做的分析清楚顯示，我們的品牌非常強勁，且持續增強。當我們把部分品牌定位到不同領域時，會需要更多我們認為對業務長期健康必要的廣告投入；我們也會持續投資以打造這些品牌。

Some of the category sluggishness that we’ve seen as well, we need to make sure that as a leader in the categories in which we compete, we’re driving excitement and value into the categories. A lot of our science-driven innovation requires us to spend and explain some of the great innovation that we’re bringing to the market.

我們也看到某些品類的成長偏疲弱；作為我們所競爭品類的領導者，我們必須確保能為品類注入熱度與價值。我們許多以科學驅動的創新，需要我們投入資源並說明我們帶到市場上的一些卓越創新。

Yes, we’ll assess that as we move forward based on where categories evolve. Right now, it’s about building brands, particularly in a market where you have a little bit of disintermediation in media, and ensuring that we have great analytics to measure the ROI, and we’re pleased with both of those right now and anticipate that we’ll continue to see that in the model moving forward, as you’ve seen over the last couple of years.

是的，隨著品類演變，我們會持續評估。目前重點在於打造品牌，特別是在媒體出現一定程度去中介化（disintermediation）的市場環境下，同時確保我們有很好的分析能力來衡量 ROI；就這兩點而言，我們目前都很滿意，並預期未來模型也會持續呈現這樣的狀況，正如你在過去幾年所看到的。

Peter Galbo, Bank of America.

Peter Galbo，美國銀行（Bank of America）。

Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks for the question, and thanks again to John for the help. Noel, maybe as a follow-up to Filippo’s question, I think emerging markets, organic sales are running, call it 6%, up through the first quarter. Just your level of confidence even potentially that emerging market total performance could accelerate. I know you already touched on Brazil and some of the nuance there, but maybe also just the commentary on India up double digit in the quarter. I think there’s, again, a discrete kind of lap in 3Q you can just remind us of, and any thoughts there would be very helpful. Thanks very much.

各位早安。謝謝讓我提問，也再次感謝 John 的協助。Noel，或許接續 Filippo 的問題，我認為新興市場的有機銷售在第一季為止大約是 6% 的成長。想請教你對新興市場整體表現是否有信心，甚至是否可能加速。我知道你已提到巴西以及其中一些細節，但也想聽聽你對印度本季雙位數成長的看法。我想第三季還有一個比較明確的基期因素（lap），你能否再提醒我們一下，以及你對此的想法；任何補充都會很有幫助。非常感謝。

Yeah, thanks. Clearly, the strength of our global footprint, particularly in emerging markets, we’re going to be largely the contributor to category growth. Category growth, at least in some of our big emerging markets, is running roughly mid-single digits. It’s slowed a little bit from historical numbers. Our focus is to continue to bring great value.

好的，謝謝。很明顯，我們全球佈局的優勢，特別是在新興市場，將在很大程度上成為品類成長的貢獻者。至少在我們一些大型新興市場中，品類成長大約在中個位數。相較於歷史水準，確實放緩了一些。我們的重點是持續帶來很好的價值。

One of the things that we do a little bit differently in emerging markets is while we continue to have real opportunities on the premium, there are some core markets we’re building penetration and creating good value for people to come into the category is very, very important, whether that’s in toothpaste, whether that’s in cleaners, whether that’s in body wash or any other categories, making sure that we have price points that attract both the bottom end of the market as well as the premium side of the market.

我們在新興市場做法稍有不同的一點是：在我們持續把握高端（premium）機會的同時，在一些核心市場，提升滲透率並創造讓人們進入該品類的良好價值也非常、非常重要；不論是牙膏、清潔用品、沐浴乳或其他任何品類，我們都要確保有能同時吸引市場低端以及高端的價格帶。

In markets where we have significant shares, like a Brazil, clearly, we want to drive more premiumization in those where per capita consumption is high. I don’t necessarily expect the categories to inflect that much more positive in the back half, and the reason why is while there’s the uncertainty of oil prices and consumer confidence kind of lingering on the top, consumers will still be very thoughtful in terms of their purchases. Yeah, we’ll see better growth in emerging markets, until we get some of this volatility behind us, I don’t really fully expect the categories to rebound. We need to accelerate the innovation, that’s what we’re doing. We’re making sure we’re stepping up.

在我們市占率很高的市場，例如巴西，且人均消費量高的情況下，我們顯然希望推動更高端化。我不一定預期下半年品類會出現更明顯的正向轉折；原因是，油價與消費者信心的不確定性仍在上方盤旋，消費者在購買上仍會非常審慎。是的，在我們把這些波動拋在身後之前，新興市場會看到較好的成長，但我並不完全預期品類會反彈。我們需要加速創新，這正是我們在做的。我們也確保自己正在加大力度。

I talked about leveraging some of the China know-how from sending our teams to understand how we’re doing things there to accelerate some of the excitement that we bring to some of our big emerging markets overall. On the India business, yeah, a really strong quarter for us, which is great. It was balanced both from an indirect trade as well as a modern trade.

我也談到過，我們會運用中國的相關經驗，派團隊去了解我們在那裡如何運作，以加速我們在整體一些大型新興市場帶來的熱度。至於印度業務，是的，這一季對我們來說非常強勁，這很好。成長在間接通路與現代通路兩方面都相當均衡。

We’re seeing a lot of our focus on premiumization in that market. While it’s still a small part of the market, long term, we see that as a real growth opportunity for the category and for the brand. We have stepped up our focus on the premium side of the business in the modern trade, and we’re also getting our price pack architectures in the right place and making sure that we have what we need to compete in the indirect trade.

我們看到在該市場，我們的重點很大一部分放在高端化（premiumization）上。雖然目前這仍只占市場的一小部分，但從長期來看，我們認為這對該品類以及品牌而言是真正的成長機會。我們已在現代通路中加大對業務高端端的投入，同時也在把價格／包裝組合架構（price pack architectures）調整到合適的位置，並確保我們具備在間接通路中競爭所需的一切。

I think you’re probably referring to the GST issue last year. That is working its way through. To pricing on pack, which is obviously slightly lower than it was historically, and we should see that obviously translate into some better consumption. You’re not going to see massive spikes as a result of that. I think you’ll see a very gradual change as more and more consumers come into the category. A good market for us, and we’re encouraged. We need to continue to stay very focused on our strategy there. The team’s doing a great job executing, and we have real long-term growth opportunities, particularly on the premium side of the business.

我想你大概是在指去年的 GST 議題。那件事正在逐步消化中。反映到單包裝的定價上，顯然會比過去歷史水準略低一些，而我們也應該會看到這明顯轉化為更好的消費表現。你不會因為這件事就看到巨大的尖峰。我認為你會看到非常漸進的變化，因為會有越來越多消費者進入這個品類。這對我們而言是一個不錯的市場，我們也受到鼓舞。我們需要持續非常專注於那裡的策略。團隊在執行上做得非常好，而我們也有真正的長期成長機會，特別是在業務的高端端。

Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs.

Bonnie Herzog，高盛。

All right. Thank you, and congratulations from me, too, on your retirement, John. You’re definitely gonna be missed. I just had a quick question on your organic sales growth guidance. With half of the year behind us and the first half tracking closer to the midpoint of the range, how should we think about the cadence of growth for the rest of the year? Is it reasonable to assume an acceleration as headwinds related to the private label pet food exit goes away and you lap challenges in Latin America? Any other puts and takes to keep in mind as we think about growth in Q3 and Q4, I guess, especially in context of pressure trends in the US. Thanks.

好的。謝謝你，也再次恭喜你退休，John。你肯定會讓大家很想念。我有個關於你們有機銷售成長（organic sales growth）指引的簡短問題。今年已經過了一半，而上半年走勢更接近區間中點，我們應該如何看待今年剩餘時間的成長節奏？是否可以合理假設，隨著退出自有品牌寵物食品（private label pet food）的相關逆風消退，以及你們在拉丁美洲的挑戰進入可比基期（lap），成長會加速？在思考第三季與第四季的成長時，還有哪些此消彼長的因素需要留意？我想特別是在美國壓力趨勢的背景下。謝謝。

Thanks, Bonnie. Listen, clearly, from a consumer standpoint, still a lot of uncertainty. I think what’s somewhat unusual right now is the volatility that we’re seeing from month to month in category growth numbers. It’s a little bit more difficult to predict, okay, the categories will inflect, and as a result, we’ll see stronger growth in the back half. That being said, we do exit private label. If we get some of these wars behind us, we’ll see a little bit of tailwind from that. Clearly, we’re expecting to see some marginal improvements in North America as we move through the back half of this year. That should help, and the strength that we have in emerging markets should help.

謝謝你，Bonnie。聽著，從消費者角度來看，顯然仍有很多不確定性。我認為目前有點不尋常的是，我們看到品類成長數據在每個月之間的波動性。這讓預測變得更困難：哪些品類會出現拐點，進而讓我們在下半年看到更強的成長。話雖如此，我們確實會退出自有品牌。如果我們能把其中一些「戰爭」拋在腦後，我們會從中得到一些順風。很明顯地，隨著今年下半年推進，我們預期北美會出現一些邊際改善。這會有所幫助，而我們在新興市場的強勁表現也會有所幫助。

We’re not gonna get too specific on where we see organic coming in, but clearly, we still have some headwinds that we’re faced with, but we also have some tailwinds on some of the things that we’re moving out of. We shall see. That’s built into the guidance that we have right now in terms of earnings per share. We’ll come back and look at the organic as we move through the third quarter.

我們不會對有機成長落點講得太具體，但很明顯地，我們仍面臨一些逆風，同時也會因為我們正在退出的一些事項而有一些順風。我們再看看。這些都已反映在我們目前的每股盈餘（EPS）指引之中。我們會在第三季推進過程中，再回頭檢視有機成長。

Rob Moskow, TD Cowen.

Rob Moskow，TD Cowen。

Hey, thanks for the question. I was kind of hoping that there could be just a little more color on why there’s such a gap between the tracking data that we’re seeing in retail sales from the providers and reported results. This quarter, it’s inventory deloading, but in prior quarters, there’s been a big gap as well. Is there something going on in unmeasured channels that you think is not being reflected as well as it should be by these aggregators? Is there something systemic that’s not being captured, either in e-commerce or in club channels? Maybe this is better offline, but it’s not just this quarter, but it’s several quarters.

嗨，謝謝讓我提問。我有點希望能更具體說明一下，為什麼我們從零售銷售追蹤數據供應商看到的數據，和你們公布的結果之間會有這麼大的落差。這一季是庫存去化（inventory deloading），但在前幾季也同樣存在很大的落差。是否有一些事情發生在未被衡量的通路（unmeasured channels），而你們認為這些彙總機構（aggregators）沒有如應有地反映出來？是否有某些系統性因素沒有被捕捉到，不論是在電商或會員制賣場（club）通路？也許這更適合線下再聊，但這不只是這一季，而是好幾季都是如此。

We’ll leave it to Claire and John maybe to take you through some more detail and maybe get more in the weeds, because we’ve been in the weeds on this, as you can imagine. The fundamental blocks of that are the inventory destocking that we’ve seen in tracked channels, right? That’s where you see the discrepancy. Untracked channels as well, there’s been obviously a little bit of change in terms of how they manage things. We’ve talked about increased couponing and increased promotion as a result of that filtering through. There’s a multitude of different things. Clearly, the biggest driver there is the inventory depletion that we’ve had. Now, bear in mind, let’s recognize we lost some share as well in the quarter.

我們先交由 Claire 和 John 也許帶你看更多細節，並且更深入一些，因為如你所想，我們在這件事上已經鑽得很深了。其中最根本的因素，是我們在可追蹤通路（tracked channels）看到的庫存去化（inventory destocking），對吧？差異就出現在這裡。在未追蹤通路（untracked channels）方面，他們在管理方式上顯然也有一些變化。我們談過因為這些因素傳導下來，折價券（couponing）與促銷（promotion）都有所增加。原因有很多種。很明顯地，最大的驅動因素是我們所經歷的庫存消化（inventory depletion）。另外請記住，我們在本季也流失了一些市占。

While the consumption’s been good, we’ve lost a little bit of share that is certainly translated in the untracked channels that’s caused a little bit of slippage in the shipments as well. We need to focus on getting that back, and that’s what we’re going to concentrate on. Whether the trade decides to reload, we shall see. My sense is there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty in the North American business, and I wouldn’t expect to see major swings either way at this point.

雖然終端消費（consumption）表現不錯，但我們流失了一點市占，而這確實反映在未追蹤通路上，也導致出貨（shipments）出現一些下滑。我們需要專注把它拿回來，這就是我們要集中火力的地方。至於通路端是否會決定回補庫存（reload），我們再看看。我的感覺是北美業務仍存在相當多不確定性，因此在這個時間點，我不預期會看到任何一方出現大幅波動。

Michael Lavery, Piper Sandler.

Michael Lavery，Piper Sandler。

Thank you. I’ll echo the thanks to John as well. Just want to come back to Hill’s and see if we can get a little bit more color on some of the fresh launch. I think you characterized it as not as much focused on volume, but some more of a branding initially. Maybe elaborate on kind of how you’re thinking about that. How broad of a launch is this? Is this just a test, or is it kind of full speed ahead? Is it any new channel exposure, or what’s the competitive positioning maybe like on price point? Can you just bring to life a little bit some of how you’re going to market there?

謝謝。我也同樣要向 John 表達感謝。我想回到 Hill’s，看看我們是否能就你們的新鮮（fresh）新品上市多給一些說明。我記得你把它描述為一開始不那麼著重於量（volume），而是更偏向品牌建立。能否更詳細談談你們是如何思考這件事的？這次上市的範圍有多廣？這只是測試，還是會全速推進？是否會帶來任何新的通路曝光？或者在價格帶（price point）上的競爭定位大概是什麼樣子？你能否更具體地描述一下你們將如何在那裡推向市場（go-to-market）？

Sure, yeah. Once again, everything we do on the Hill’s brand is focused on respecting the model that we have, which is demand created through the vet, science-driven first and foremost, and ensuring that the pet owner understands the differentiation that we bring to the pet and to the food, hence why we charge a premium price for it. That model is extraordinarily important for us to build the credentials and the science first and the professional backing.

當然，可以。再一次，我們在 Hill’s 品牌上所做的一切，都聚焦於尊重我們既有的模式：需求由獸醫端帶動、以科學為首要驅動，並確保飼主理解我們為寵物與食品帶來的差異化，因此我們才會對其收取溢價（premium）價格。這個模式對我們建立資歷與科學背書、以及專業端支持而言，極其重要。

As you look at basic demand models where we typically put products on the shelf and promote through aggressive advertising and media. This brand will have a very slow and thoughtful build to it. We want to ensure we get the professional backing behind it. The manufacturing process is obviously more complicated. We want to ensure we deliver the absolute best quality product on a consistent basis.

如果你看一般的需求模式，我們通常是把產品上架，並透過強勢的廣告與媒體投放來推廣。但這個品牌會以非常緩慢且審慎的方式來建立。我們希望確保背後有專業端的支持。製造流程顯然也更複雜。我們希望確保能在一致的基礎上，交付絕對最優質的產品。

We are using our normal channels, the professional channel, as well as pet specialty and the neighborhood vet stores that we’ve historically always sold our product through, and that’ll roll out through the balance of this year. It’s not a one ship to all retailers. The manufacturing process will allow us to phase that in through the balance of this year.

我們正透過我們一貫的通路——專業通路，以及寵物專門店與社區獸醫店——這些一直以來都是我們銷售產品的主要管道，並且將在今年剩餘時間內逐步推進鋪貨。這不是一次性出貨給所有零售商。製造流程將使我們能在今年剩餘時間內分階段導入。

Olivia Tong, Raymond James.

Olivia Tong，Raymond James。

Great. Thanks. Good morning, and congrats on your retirement, John, and hopefully you can give your passport a little bit of a rest. I was wondering if you guys could compare and contrast the turnaround in Asia Pacific with what you may need to do in the US. I realize these are two very different markets, but it’s been a very nice volume recovery in Asia this year after a pretty difficult 2025, which, to your earlier comment, sounds like you think it’s sustainable. Are there learnings from that recovery that you can deploy in North America as you look at driving a change in the arc there? Thanks so much.

很好。謝謝。早安，也恭喜你退休，John，希望你能讓護照稍微休息一下。我想請教你們能否比較並對照亞太地區的扭轉表現，與你們在美國可能需要採取的作法。我知道這是兩個非常不同的市場，但在經歷相當艱難的2025年之後，今年亞洲的銷量回升非常亮眼；依你先前的評論，聽起來你認為這是可持續的。這次復甦有哪些經驗可以運用到北美，協助你們推動那邊的趨勢轉變？非常感謝。

Thanks, Olivia, we’ve had that very same conversation quite a bit in terms of some of the learnings that we’ve had in Asia about rebuilding the go-to-market model, rebuilding our focus behind our big core businesses and brand building, accelerating our investment posture in some of the momentum areas that we see in the market, I think most importantly, stepping up innovation on the premium side of the business, particularly in the online channel, which has been such a pronounced change in the Asian market over the last four or five years.

謝謝你，Olivia。我們其實也多次討論過這個問題，談到我們在亞洲學到的一些經驗：重建市場進入（go-to-market）模式、重新聚焦在我們的大型核心業務與品牌建設、在我們看到市場動能的領域加速投資姿態；我認為最重要的是，在業務的高端（premium）端加大創新力道，特別是在線上通路——過去四、五年這在亞洲市場是一個非常顯著的變化。

I think a lot of similarities relative to North America. Getting our go-to-market, going after the channel category combinations where we see real growth opportunities, making sure that the core businesses are strong, and most importantly, really stepping up our innovation cycle and the resources I talked about in the first quarter.

我認為這與北美有很多相似之處。把我們的市場進入策略做好，鎖定我們看到真正成長機會的通路與品類組合，確保核心業務穩健；最重要的是，真正加快我們的創新週期，以及我在第一季提到的資源投入。

I think I mentioned about putting more resources on innovation, that is underway as we speak, and we’ll start to see the benefits of that as we move through to 2026 and to 2027. Innovation, increased brand support, being much more surgical on making sure that our price pack architectures and promotion and coupons are competitive without chasing the bottom on that.

我想我提過要在創新上投入更多資源，這件事正在進行中，我們將在邁向2026年與2027年的過程中開始看到其效益。創新、增加品牌支持，以及更精準地確保我們的價格/規格架構（price pack architectures）、促銷與折價券具備競爭力，同時不去一味追逐最低價。

We’ll let the competitors perhaps take some promotional share because we just don’t think that’s long-term the way we want to drive that business. We have some exciting innovation coming on the business, particularly the premium side of the business, and that’s where we need to focus. We clearly are under-indexed on the premium side.

我們會讓競爭對手去拿一些促銷份額，因為我們不認為那是我們長期想用來推動這門業務的方式。我們在業務上，特別是高端端，將推出一些令人振奮的創新，而那正是我們需要聚焦的地方。我們在高端端的布局顯然不足（under-indexed）。

Similar to what we saw in Asia, to your point, the online business sells at a two to three index on an ASP per basis in Asia, particularly in China versus the brick and mortar. We have real opportunity to do the same here, and that’s what we’re going to be focused on with the portfolio of products that we have.

就像你提到我們在亞洲看到的情況一樣，亞洲的線上業務在平均售價（ASP）上相對於線下實體通路大約是2到3倍的指數水準，尤其是在中國。我們在這裡也有很大的機會做到同樣的事，而這將是我們接下來會聚焦的方向，並以我們現有的產品組合來推動。

Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

Steve Powers，德意志銀行。

Thanks and good morning, and thanks from me as well, John Faucher. I appreciate all your help. Hey, Noel, I guess, I want to focus on Europe because we haven’t spoken about that, and I think it’s fair to say that many CPG companies continue to describe Europe as a difficult operating environment, and yet it’s been one of your more consistent performers, I’d say, in the market where you seem to be extending some of your advantages versus peers.

謝謝，早安；我也要向John Faucher致謝。非常感謝你一直以來的協助。Noel，我想把焦點放在歐洲，因為我們還沒談到這一塊。我想可以說，許多民生消費品（CPG）公司仍把歐洲形容為艱難的營運環境，但歐洲卻一直是你們表現較為穩健的區域之一；我會說，在這個市場中，你們似乎正在相對同業擴大一些優勢。

I guess, just in that context, perspective on your outlook and the expectations for Europe, I guess also similar to Olivia Tong’s question, whether there are lessons you can take from what’s been accomplished in the European region relative to improvements you’re now targeting in North America. Thank you.

在這樣的背景下，想請你談談你們對歐洲的展望與預期；另外也呼應Olivia Tong的問題，是否有一些你們在歐洲區域所達成的成果與經驗，可以用在你們目前鎖定要改善的北美市場上。謝謝。

Good morning, Steve. Thanks. A lot, quite frankly, in terms of what we’re seeing there, which I think I’ve described quite a few times, but let me reprise that because it’s really important to our strategy. Globally, at least in our big core businesses, we are under indexed on the premium side of the market. We took a significant strategic shift in the European market three or four years ago, which was to focus on the entire portfolio of toothpaste that we have and really leverage the brands where they are strong and where the momentum is in the market. Clearly, the elmex brand, as you saw in some of the slides that we shared with the earnings release, continues to deliver, and that’s at a super premium price to the market.

早安，Steve。謝謝。坦白說，我們在那裡看到很多值得一提的事情；我過去也講過不少次，但我再重申一次，因為這對我們的策略非常重要。在全球範圍內，至少在我們的大型核心業務中，我們在市場的高端（premium）端布局不足（under-indexed）。三到四年前，我們在歐洲市場做了一個重大的策略轉向：聚焦我們整個牙膏產品組合，並真正運用那些在市場上具備優勢、且動能強勁的品牌。很明顯地，正如你在我們隨財報發布所分享的投影片中看到的，elmex品牌持續交出成績，而且其定價相對市場屬於超高端（super premium）。

The super premium side of the category, at least in toothpaste, is the growing part of the market. We’re under indexed there across the world. We’ve been severely under indexed there in North America, that will be the focus. Europe, we’ve been able to obviously leverage our portfolio both on the Colgate side as well as the elmex and meridol side to go after the super premium side, and we’ll continue to focus on that in Europe. It’s been a great market for us. I give the team a lot of credit for, obviously with a very challenging retail environment, they’ve brought great innovation to our retail partners across all of our categories, which have allowed the categories to remain somewhat robust given the historical numbers that we’ve seen there. We’re still getting volume growth, pricing growth as well.

至少在牙膏品類中，超高端區隔是市場成長的部分。我們在全球對這一塊的布局不足（under-indexed）。在北美我們在這一塊更是嚴重不足，而這將會是我們的重點。在歐洲，我們顯然能夠運用我們的產品組合——不論是Colgate端，或是elmex與meridol端——去攻佔超高端區隔，我們也會持續在歐洲聚焦這一點。歐洲對我們來說一直是個很好的市場。我非常肯定團隊的表現：在非常具挑戰的零售環境下，他們在我們所有品類上都為零售合作夥伴帶來很好的創新，讓各品類在考量我們過去看到的歷史數據下仍能維持相對穩健。我們仍然取得銷量成長，也有價格成長。

Overall, I attribute it to the strong innovation that we’ve executed on the premium side of the business. A good quarter, as you said, despite about a 1% headwind from the Middle East. Coming through, that would have been on top if we hadn’t had that. Overall, Europe continues to execute well. The emergence of the African region into Europe, outside of the Middle East, continues to perform quite well as well.

整體而言，我把這歸因於我們在業務高端端所執行的強勁創新。如你所說，這是一個不錯的季度，儘管中東帶來約1%的逆風。如果沒有那個因素，表現本來會更突出。整體來看，歐洲持續執行得很好。非洲區域併入歐洲（不含中東）的部分，也持續表現相當不錯。

Overall, we’re starting to see opportunities to manage that portfolio more synergistically across Europe and Africa, and we hope that we’ll see some benefit of that flowing through in gross profit longer term and how we drive efficiency and standardization of our portfolio as well. A good business of innovation, premium, and good execution and running through the operating margin line as well has been one of the pillars of success of that division.

整體而言，我們開始看到機會，能在歐洲與非洲之間以更具協同效應的方式來管理該產品組合；我們希望長期能在毛利上看到一些效益，並在提升效率以及推動產品組合標準化方面也能有所進展。創新、高端化、良好執行，以及同時貫穿到營業利益率（operating margin）表現，一直是該事業部成功的支柱之一。

Edward Lewis, Rothschild.

Edward Lewis，Rothschild。

Yeah. Thanks very much. Echo the thanks to John. I’ll miss discussing Premier League football, or I should probably say soccer, with you.

是的。非常感謝。我也同樣要感謝John。我會想念和你討論英超足球——或者我應該說「soccer」——的時光。

Well, hopefully Spurs are going to have a much better campaign this year, Edward.

Edward，希望熱刺今年能有好得多的賽季表現。

Back-to-back 17th finishes, perhaps. Yes, we’ll see. Anyway, Noel, a lot of discussion on AI and the opportunities you saw there at CAGNY, lots of detail. You’ve clearly been very much sort of the vanguard, I think, in the industry of talking about that. We’ve seen some comments this year around, and in the quarter here, around Promo AI and the benefits you’re seeing. Can you just update us on the developments there around sort of all the AI initiatives and how that might support the improvement in growth in the second half of the year you’re hoping to see in the US?

也許會連續第 17 名，背靠背。是的，我們再看看。不管怎樣，Noel，在 CAGNY 上你談到很多關於 AI 以及你在那裡看到的機會，細節也很多。我認為你顯然一直站在業界討論這件事的前沿。我們今年也看到一些評論，以及本季在這裡，談到 Promo AI 以及你所看到的效益。你能否就那邊所有 AI 計畫的進展做個更新，以及這些計畫如何支持你希望在美國於下半年看到的成長改善？

Yeah, happy to do that. In fact, we just had our entire senior team vibe coding this week which has been a fascinating experiment and something that we’re pushing quickly. Let me start with that. We’ve obviously spent a considerable amount of time and effort over the last three years training and developing our organization around AI. We launched the internal AI hub, and a lot of AI models to ensure our people can access it securely, first and foremost, but more importantly, build confidence with their own AI capabilities.

好的，很樂意。事實上，我們本週剛讓整個高階團隊進行 vibe coding，這是一個非常有意思的實驗，也是我們正在快速推進的事情。我先從這個開始。很明顯，過去三年我們投入了相當多的時間與精力，圍繞 AI 來訓練與發展我們的組織。我們推出了內部 AI 中樞，以及許多 AI 模型，首先確保員工能安全地存取；但更重要的是，建立他們對自身 AI 能力的信心。

We trained and upskilled a significant part of our workforce. I think at the VP level, we’re at about 70% in advanced artificial intelligence training. Clearly asking people to use large language models across their work to drive enhanced productivity, and we’re seeing it pretty consistently across the board.

我們訓練並提升了相當大一部分員工的技能。我想在副總裁（VP）層級，我們約有 70% 完成了進階人工智慧訓練。我們也明確要求大家在工作中使用大型語言模型，以提升生產力，而我們幾乎在各個面向都持續看到這樣的成效。

I think the other extension of that is getting our data in the right place. We’ve invested quite aggressively over the last couple of years to ensure that we can enable all of our data to move agentically quickly. We’re building data products that are used across our analytics teams and the tools that we have, and now putting agents on top of that that can connect with it.

我認為另一個延伸重點是把我們的資料放在正確的位置。過去幾年我們相當積極地投資，確保能讓所有資料以代理式（agentic）的方式快速流動。我們正在打造資料產品，供我們的分析團隊以及現有工具跨部門使用，現在也在其上方部署代理（agents）來進行連結。

That will be an exciting development as we move forward. Data is not something that we like to tout, but clearly an area of opportunity as you integrate that into your organization way of working and getting people to use agentic tools to mine that data and hopefully have conversations to optimize how we want to execute against some of the learnings.

隨著我們往前推進，這會是一項令人振奮的發展。資料並不是我們喜歡大肆宣傳的事情，但當你把它整合進組織的工作方式，並讓大家使用代理式工具去挖掘資料、進而展開對話，以最佳化我們如何把一些學到的洞見落地執行時，這顯然是一個機會領域。

Speaking of agentic, we’re obviously very excited about some of the opportunities that we see in that. We’re redesigning some of our manual processes that are quite complex today with agents embedded into those, to take work out, to take time, and get faster at what we do. We’re spending our time really on the high-value process changes that we need to execute across the company.

說到代理式（agentic），我們對其中一些機會當然非常興奮。我們正在重新設計一些目前相當複雜的人工流程，把代理嵌入其中，以減少工作量、節省時間，並加快我們的作業速度。我們把時間真正花在公司範圍內需要推動的高價值流程變革上。

We’re also focused on omni-demand generation. We talked about innovation, incorporating AI and discovery into our innovation process, both from a marketing standpoint as well as an R&D standpoint. On omni-demand generation, you’ve heard me talk a lot about that. That is central to how we’re thinking about behaving as a company and organizing our teams.

我們也聚焦在全通路需求生成（omni-demand generation）。我們談過創新，把 AI 與探索（discovery）納入我們的創新流程，無論是從行銷角度或研發（R&D）角度。在全通路需求生成方面，你也聽我談過很多。這是我們思考公司如何運作、以及如何組織團隊的核心。

AI will be pivotal in transforming all of our marketing processes in that regard with content creation and factories that we can generate content in one part of the world and immediately utilize it in other parts of the world. We’re going to focus on that. Agentic commerce, we’ve had some discussions on that. Not a significant part of the business yet of that.

在這方面，AI 將在內容創作與內容工廠上扮演關鍵角色，讓我們能在世界某一處生成內容，並立即在世界其他地方使用。我們會聚焦在這一點。至於代理式商務（agentic commerce），我們也有一些討論。目前它還不是業務中很重要的一部分。

We’re obviously staying very close to it. We’ll manage that, but we want to ensure that we’re at least appearing in geo searches, and our teams are focused on doing that. A lot going on in the company around AI, exciting. In the back half of the year, I think we’ll continue to unveil some of the exciting things that we’re seeing from it in terms of how we’re scaling it.

我們當然會非常密切地關注它。我們會管理好這件事，但我們希望至少能出現在地理位置搜尋（geo searches）中，而我們的團隊也正專注於做到這點。公司在 AI 方面有很多事情在進行，令人振奮。在今年下半年，我想我們會持續揭露一些我們看到的令人興奮的成果，尤其是在我們如何擴大規模（scaling）方面。

We’ve obviously moved from pilots into scale as we speak, and I think over time, we’ll start to hopefully leverage some of the learnings that we’re getting and some of the benefits that we’re seeing from productivity and ultimate top-line growth and bottom-line growth for the company.

很明顯，我們目前正從試點（pilots）走向規模化。

This concludes the Q&A portion of our call. I will now return the call to Noel Wallace, Colgate’s Chairman, President, and CEO, for any closing remarks.

本次電話會議的問答環節到此結束。我現在把電話交回給高露潔（Colgate）董事長、總裁兼執行長 Noel Wallace，請他做結語。

Great. Well, thanks everyone for listening to us this morning and your continued interest in the company. I hope you share our confidence that we have the right plans in place to continue to drive hopefully superior returns in what remains is, we’ve talked about it, a quite volatile operating environment. I think it speaks to the resilience of our model. More importantly, I want to thank the 34,000 Colgate people around the world who make us who we are. Their commitment, their agility, and importantly, their passion for serving our consumers and our customers is what brings our strategy to life every day and gives us the confidence in the road ahead for us. Thanks, everyone, and enjoy your summer.

很好。感謝各位今天早上收聽，也感謝各位持續關注本公司。我希望你們能與我們一樣有信心：我們已制定正確的計畫，能在我們一直談到的、仍然相當波動的營運環境中，持續推動並期望帶來更優異的報酬。我認為這也反映了我們商業模式的韌性。更重要的是，我要感謝全球 34,000 名高露潔同仁，成就了今天的我們。他們的投入、敏捷性，以及最重要的、服務消費者與客戶的熱情，讓我們的策略每天都能落地，也讓我們對未來道路充滿信心。謝謝各位，祝大家夏日愉快。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s call. You may now disconnect.

本次會議到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。您現在可以掛線。