Core & Main Inc (CNM) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Core & Main Q1 2025 earnings call. My name is Alex, and I'll be coordinating the call today. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 2025 年第一季核心與主要收益電話會議。我叫亞歷克斯，今天我將負責協調這場電話會議。（操作員指示）

I'll now hand it over to Glenn Floyd, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將把它交給投資者關係總監 Glenn Floyd。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. This is Glenn Floyd, Director of Investor Relations for Core & Main. We are excited to have you join us this morning for our fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings call. I am joined today by Mark Witkowski, our Chief Executive Officer; and Robyn Bradbury, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。大家早安。我是 Core & Main 投資者關係總監 Glenn Floyd。我們很高興您今天上午參加我們的 2025 財年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的還有我們的執行長 Mark Witkowski 和財務長 Robyn Bradbury。

Mark will begin today's call with a brief business update. Robyn will then discuss our financial results and fiscal 2025 outlook, followed by a Q&A session. We will conclude the call with Mark's closing remarks.

馬克將在今天的電話會議上簡要介紹業務進展。然後，羅賓將討論我們的財務表現和 2025 財年展望，然後是問答環節。我們將以馬克的結束語結束本次通話。

Our press release, presentation, and the statements made during this call may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. Such risks and uncertainties include the factors set forth in our earnings press release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

我們的新聞稿、簡報以及本次電話會議中發表的聲明可能包含前瞻性陳述。這些聲明受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期和預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括我們的收益新聞稿和向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中列出的因素。

We will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are useful in assessing the operating results of our business. A reconciliation of these measures can be found in our earnings press release and in the appendix of our investor presentation.

我們也將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估我們業務的營運績效。在我們的收益新聞稿和投資者介紹的附錄中可以找到這些措施的對帳。

Thank you for your interest in Core & Main. I will now turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer, Mark Witkowski.

感謝您對 Core & Main 的關注。現在我將電話轉給執行長馬克‧維特科夫斯基 (Mark Witkowski)。

Thanks, Glenn. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. We are proud to deliver another quarter of strong performance at Core & Main, highlighted by first-quarter net sales of $1.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $224 million, both all-time highs for the first quarter.

謝謝，格倫。大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們。我們很榮幸能夠為 Core & Main 帶來另一個強勁的季度業績，其中第一季淨銷售額達 19 億美元，調整後息稅折舊攤銷前利潤 (EBITDA) 達 2.24 億美元，均創下第一季歷史新高。

Achieving these results in a dynamic, macroeconomic environment speaks to the resilience of our end markets, the strength of our business model, and most importantly, the commitment of our associates to advance reliable infrastructure with local service nationwide.

在動態的宏觀經濟環境中取得這些成果，證明了我們終端市場的韌性、我們商業模式的實力，最重要的是，證明了我們的員工致力於在全國範圍內透過本地服務推進可靠基礎設施建設的承諾。

Our strong local relationships, product and service breadth, and product expertise continues to differentiate us and enables long-term value for our customers and stakeholders. We are seeing steady growth in municipal construction activity. And funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act continues to generate new opportunities for growth in our end markets.

我們強大的本地關係、產品和服務廣度以及產品專業知識繼續使我們脫穎而出，並為我們的客戶和利害關係人帶來長期價值。我們看到市政建設活動穩定成長。《基礎設施投資和就業法案》提供的資金持續為我們的終端市場創造新的成長機會。

The pipeline of shovel-ready projects utilizing the funding, particularly water and wastewater treatment plants, transmission line replacements, and storm water management initiatives, is expanding, giving us confidence in our near- and long-term outlook for municipal construction.

利用這筆資金準備開工的項目正在不斷擴大，特別是水和廢水處理廠、輸電線路更換和雨水管理計劃，這使我們對市政建設的近期和長期前景充滿信心。

Residential lot development was resilient through the first quarter, and we were pleased with the activity we saw at the start of the year. We are beginning to see signs of softening in response to general economic conditions and affordability pressures.

第一季住宅地塊開發表現強勁，我們對年初看到的活動感到滿意。我們開始看到對總體經濟狀況和負擔能力壓力的反應減弱的跡象。

Specifically, we are hearing from some of our customers that developers are reducing footprints in an effort to manage their capital investments. Despite the short-term uncertainty surrounding residential development, the secular fundamentals underpinning the US housing market are strong. And we continue to expect builders to keep building homes and a release of pent-up demand, as interest rates moderate and affordability improves.

具體來說，我們從一些客戶那裡聽說，開發商正在減少足跡，以管理他們的資本投資。儘管短期內住宅開發存在不確定性，但美國房地產市場的長期基本面依然強勁。隨著利率趨於緩和以及負擔能力的提高，我們繼續預期建築商將繼續建造房屋並釋放被壓抑的需求。

Our diversified mix within the nonresidential end market provided stability despite shifting dynamics across project types. We continue to see strong sales volumes into data center construction and positive trends for institutional buildings, multifamily housing, and road and bridge projects.

儘管不同項目類型的動態不斷變化，但我們在非住宅終端市場的多元化組合提供了穩定性。我們繼續看到數據中心建設的銷售量強勁，以及機構建築、多戶住宅以及道路和橋樑項目的積極趨勢。

In contrast, activity remains softer for commercial buildings, manufacturing, and warehousing. That said, we're encouraged by the level of bidding activity across our nonresidential portfolio. And we believe our balanced exposure provides us an opportunity to outperform the broader market over time.

相較之下，商業建築、製造業和倉儲業的活動仍然疲軟。儘管如此，我們對非住宅投資組合的競標活動水準感到鼓舞。我們相信，我們均衡的投資策略將為我們提供一個機會，讓我們能夠隨著時間的推移超越大盤。

Market volume growth in the first quarter was supplemented by robust share gains from the execution of our product, customer, and geographic expansion initiatives to deliver mid-single-digit organic sales growth. We drove 10% growth in meters and growth well into the double digits in our treatment plant and fusible high-density polyethylene offerings. This level of execution illustrates our ability to make the right investments in talent, the power of our scale, and our role in accelerating the adoption of new products in the industry.

第一季市場銷售的成長得益於我們實施產品、客戶和地理擴張計畫所帶來的強勁份額成長，從而實現了中等個位數的有機銷售額成長。我們的米數成長了 10%，處理廠和可熔高密度聚乙烯產品的成長也達到了兩位數。這種執行程度表明了我們在人才方面進行正確投資的能力、我們的規模實力以及我們在加速行業採用新產品方面所發揮的作用。

We saw sequential improvement in gross margins in the first quarter, driven by disciplined pricing and solid execution in our private label and sourcing efforts. The consistency of our gross margin reflects the value we deliver to our customers, and it reinforces the strength of our differentiated value proposition.

由於嚴格的定價以及自有品牌和採購工作的穩健執行，我們第一季的毛利率環比提高。我們毛利率的一致性反映了我們為客戶提供的價值，並增強了我們差異化價值主張的力度。

While tariffs and trade restrictions between the US and other countries are at the top of everyone's mind, the direct impact on Core & Main supply chain to date has been minimal, as the majority of our products are domestically made.

儘管美國與其他國家之間的關稅和貿易限制是人們最關心的問題，但迄今為止，對核心和主要供應鏈的直接影響很小，因為我們的大部分產品都是國內生產的。

We are actively working with our suppliers to mitigate any supply chain disruption, and we have taken pricing actions to the extent necessary. The direct and indirect impacts of tariffs on the broader economy and on private construction specifically remain uncertain. And we are monitoring the environment closely.

我們正在積極與供應商合作，以減輕任何供應鏈中斷的影響，並且我們已在必要的範圍內採取了定價措施。關稅對整體經濟以及私人建築業的直接和間接影響仍不確定。我們正在密切監測環境。

We continue to execute on our capital priorities, deploying approximately $58 million during the first quarter between organic capital investments, share repurchases, and debt service. Investing in the growth of the business continues to be our highest priority for capital allocation.

我們繼續執行我們的資本優先事項，在第一季在有機資本投資、股票回購和債務償還之間部署了約 5,800 萬美元。投資業務成長仍然是我們資本配置的首要任務。

Our acquisition pipeline is healthy, and we continue to evaluate several opportunities of various sizes. We are also committed to returning capital to shareholders. And in the first quarter, we bought back nearly 837,000 shares of our stock at an attractive valuation.

我們的收購管道很健康，我們將繼續評估各種規模的幾個機會。我們也致力於向股東返還資本。第一季度，我們以頗具吸引力的估值回購了近 837,000 股股票。

Turning to page 6 of the presentation. I'll wrap up my prepared remarks with a discussion on the levers we have to drive growth and scale our capabilities over the long term. Each of our 370 branches strive to sell more products to more customers and generate more profit every day. We equip the field with data on their markets, their share of wallet, and their profitability. And they bring us new opportunities for organic growth.

翻到簡報的第 6 頁。我將以討論我們推動成長和長期擴大我們能力的槓桿來結束我準備好的發言。我們 370 個分店均致力於每天向更多客戶銷售更多產品並創造更多利潤。我們為該領域提供有關其市場、錢包份額和盈利能力的數據。它們為我們帶來了有機成長的新機會。

Our operating model generates organic share gains by focusing on local service, combined with a pay-for-performance culture that aligns with our business strategy. We have an ongoing process to collect and evaluate these ideas, culminating in our annual strategic plan.

我們的營運模式專注於本地服務，並結合符合我們業務策略的按績效付酬文化，從而實現有機份額成長。我們正在持續收集和評估這些想法，最終形成我們的年度策略計劃。

The strategic plan gives us clarity on which of the many great opportunities to pursue, whether they are organic, inorganic, or often a combination of both. We work to bring these opportunities to life as initiatives where we resource them for scale and we measure them with a focus on profitability.

戰略計劃讓我們清楚知道應該追求哪些重大機遇，無論它們是有機的、無機的，還是兩者的結合。我們致力於將這些機會轉化為現實，為擴大規模提供資源，並以獲利能力為重點來衡量這些機會。

Our product initiatives, including meters, fusible HDPE treatment plant, storm drainage, and geosynthetics, have allowed us to grow faster than the market historically. And we expect they will continue to help drive market share gains in the future. The 10-year growth of these initiatives has been impressive, averaging 13% annually. And they're delivering almost $2.5 billion in combined annual net sales today.

我們的產品計劃包括儀表、可熔 HDPE 處理廠、雨水排水和土工合成材料，使我們的歷史成長速度超過了市場。我們預計它們將在未來繼續幫助推動市場份額的成長。這些舉措的十年成長令人印象深刻，年均成長率達到 13%。如今，他們的年度淨銷售額總計已接近 25 億美元。

To compete effectively, having a strong physical presence and strong local relationships in every market we serve is critical. No one is better equipped to identify service gaps and local growth opportunities than our local teams.

為了有效競爭，在我們服務的每個市場中擁有強大的實體存在和牢固的本地關係至關重要。沒有人比我們的本地團隊更有能力發現服務差距和本地成長機會。

With our local expertise and our market intelligence, we have significantly expanded our footprint since becoming an independent company in 2017, through a series of greenfields and bolt-on acquisitions. Greenfields are a powerful way to expand geographically. And we are well positioned to do so given our talent pool, our scale, and the lessons learned from our past successes.

憑藉我們的本地專業知識和市場情報，自 2017 年成為獨立公司以來，我們透過一系列綠地投資和附加收購，顯著擴大了我們的業務範圍。綠地是地理擴張的有效途徑。憑藉我們的人才庫、我們的規模以及從過去的成功中學到的經驗教訓，我們完全有能力做到這一點。

They require minimal CapEx to open and operate. And each of the 20 greenfields we've opened since 2017 has generated positive operating income within the first two years. Together, they are now delivering nearly $300 million of annual net sales. And of course, none of this is possible without our people, which is why we continue to invest heavily in their growth and development.

它們的開業和營運只需要極少的資本支出。我們自 2017 年以來開設的 20 個綠地專案都在前兩年內實現了正營業收入。目前，他們的年淨銷售額總計近 3 億美元。當然，如果沒有我們的員工，這一切都不可能實現，因此我們繼續大力投資他們的成長和發展。

Our award-winning training program commercializes our go-to-market strategy, deepens industry expertise, and ensures our 600-plus field sales reps, who averaged 14 years of experience, are equipped to drive profitable growth. Our associates learn from the best of the best on the job in our national training center through in-house subject matter experts and with virtual and online learning academies.

我們屢獲殊榮的培訓計劃使我們的市場進入策略商業化，深化行業專業知識，並確保我們平均擁有 14 年經驗的 600 多名現場銷售代表有能力推動盈利增長。我們的員工在我們的國家培訓中心透過內部主題專家以及虛擬和線上學習學院向最優秀的在職人員學習。

Our learning team offers a wide range of sales, operations, product expertise, leadership, and safety training programs and courses. We also provide customized training and early career rotational programs for college graduates to develop as future leaders. We partner with our suppliers to enhance our knowledge base as new products and best practices are continually introduced in our industry.

我們的學習團隊提供廣泛的銷售、營運、產品專業知識、領導力和安全培訓計劃和課程。我們還為大學畢業生提供客製化培訓和早期職業輪調計劃，以培養他們成為未來的領導者。隨著我們行業不斷推出新產品和最佳實踐，我們與供應商合作以增強我們的知識庫。

Our comprehensive approach and dedication to developing industry leaders earned Core & Main the number 23 spot on Training Magazine's global APEX Awards list for excellence in employee training and development. Because strong local relationships are key to success in new markets, bolt-on acquisitions is often the fastest approach. And you can see that in our results.

我們採用的全面方法和對培養行業領導者的奉獻精神使 Core & Main 憑藉其在員工培訓和發展方面的卓越表現，在《培訓雜誌》全球 APEX 獎項榜單中名列第 23 位。由於強大的本地關係是新市場成功的關鍵，因此附加收購通常是最快的方法。您可以在我們的結果中看到這一點。

Since 2017, we've completed over 40 acquisitions, adding approximately 140 branches and $1.8 billion of annual net sales. And we aren't done. With only 19% share of a highly fragmented $39 billion addressable market, our long-term opportunities to grow and gain market share is significant.

自 2017 年以來，我們已完成 40 多次收購，增加了約 140 個分支機構，年淨銷售額達到 18 億美元。我們還沒完成。在高度分散的 390 億美元潛在市場中，我們僅佔有 19% 的份額，因此，我們的長期成長和獲得市場份額的機會十分巨大。

We've proven we can add substantial sales and profitability to our business through these initiatives. Then we add sustainable margin expansion to the mix through private label, sourcing optimization, pricing analytics and digitization. And that is an exciting formula for profitable growth.

我們已經證明，透過這些舉措，我們可以大幅增加業務銷售額和獲利能力。然後，我們透過自有品牌、採購優化、定價分析和數位化將可持續的利潤擴大添加到組合中。這是一個令人興奮的獲利成長公式。

Thank you, all, for your ongoing support and trust in our long-term vision. I look forward to what Core & Main will accomplish in the years ahead. And I'll now turn it over to Robyn to provide our financial update.

感謝大家對我們長期願景的持續支持與信任。我期待 Core & Main 在未來幾年所取得的成就。現在我將把時間交給 Robyn 來提供我們的財務更新。

Thank you, Mark. I want to start by thanking our teams for their hard work in delivering another record quarter. I'll begin on page 8, with some highlights from our first-quarter results.

謝謝你，馬克。首先，我要感謝我們的團隊為創造另一個創紀錄的季度所做的努力。我將從第 8 頁開始介紹我們第一季業績的一些亮點。

We grew net sales 10% to a first-quarter record of $1.9 billion. Organic sales were up mid-single digits, and acquisitions contributed the balance of growth in the quarter. Pricing improved sequentially from the prior quarter, resulting in a neutral impact to sales growth compared to the prior year.

我們的淨銷售額成長了 10%，達到第一季創紀錄的 19 億美元。有機銷售額成長了中等個位數，收購貢獻了本季的成長平衡。定價較上一季有所改善，與去年相比對銷售成長產生了中性影響。

Our end markets were slightly positive in total. And we believe we achieved considerable share gains from the execution of our product, customer, and geographic expansion initiatives. As mentioned on our last call, we estimate that approximately 85% of our sales are products that are domestically manufactured and distributed.

我們的終端市場整體略有積極。我們相信，透過實施產品、客戶和地理擴張計劃，我們獲得了可觀的市場份額成長。正如我們上次電話會議中提到的，我們估計大約 85% 的銷售額來自國內生產和分銷的產品。

For the balance of products that are imported by our suppliers or have imported components, there is usually a domestic alternative. While tariffs did not significantly impact our first-quarter results, we are starting to see some tariff-related cost increases from our suppliers. And we expect to pass through these costs as we have done historically.

對於我們的供應商進口或含有進口零件的剩餘產品，通常都有國內替代品。雖然關稅並未對我們的第一季業績產生重大影響，但我們開始看到供應商的一些與關稅相關的成本增加。我們期望像過去一樣轉嫁這些成本。

Gross margins in the first quarter finished at 26.7% compared to 26.6% last quarter and 26.9% in the prior year. The sequential improvement in gross margin was driven by pricing discipline and continued execution of our private label and sourcing initiatives while achieving share gains.

第一季毛利率為 26.7%，上一季為 26.6%，去年同期為 26.9%。毛利率的連續改善得益於定價紀律以及我們繼續執行自有品牌和採購計劃，同時實現了份額增長。

The year-over-year decline was expected and is due to a higher average cost of inventory this year compared to last year, partially offset by accretive acquisitions and the success of our initiatives. Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased 14% in the first quarter to $293 million. The increase in SG&A is primarily due to the impact of acquisitions and inflation.

年比下降是意料之中的，原因是今年的平均庫存成本高於去年，但增值收購和我們舉措的成功部分抵消了這一下降。第一季銷售、一般及行政開支增加 14% 至 2.93 億美元。銷售、一般及行政費用的增加主要是由於收購和通貨膨脹的影響。

Excluding the effect of acquisitions and equity-based compensation, SG&A expenses were up approximately 4%, reflecting underlying gains in productivity. Interest expense was $30 million compared with $34 million in the prior year. The decrease was primarily due to lower-average borrowings under our ABL credit facility and a decrease in rates on our variable rate debt.

排除收購和股權薪酬的影響，銷售、一般及行政費用上漲約 4%，反映出生產力的潛在提高。利息支出為 3,000 萬美元，而上年同期為 3,400 萬美元。下降的主要原因是我們的 ABL 信貸安排下的平均借款減少以及我們的浮動利率債務利率下降。

Provision for income taxes in the first quarter was $36 million compared with $33 million in the prior year. And our effective tax rates were 25.5% and 24.6%, respectively. Our effective tax rate this year reflects a more normalized ongoing rate. And the increase over the prior year was due to exchanges of partnership interest that increased the allocation of net income to Core & Main, Inc.

第一季所得稅準備金為 3,600 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,300 萬美元。我們的有效稅率分別為25.5%和24.6%。我們今年的有效稅率反映了更正常化的持續稅率。與前一年相比有所增長，是因為合作夥伴權益的交換增加了分配給 Core & Main, Inc. 的淨收入。

Diluted earnings per share increased approximately 6% to $0.52. The increase in diluted EPS was due to an increase in net income and lower share count, following the share repurchase transactions we completed throughout fiscal year 2024 and 2025. First-quarter adjusted EBITDA increased 3% to $224 million. Adjusted EBITDA margins declined 80 basis points to 11.7%, which was in line with our expectations.

稀釋每股收益成長約6%，至0.52美元。稀釋每股盈餘的成長是由於淨利增加，且在2024財年和2025財年完成股票回購交易後，股數減少。第一季調整後的 EBITDA 成長 3%，達到 2.24 億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率下降 80 個基點至 11.7%，符合我們的預期。

Moving to our balance sheet and cash flow, we ended the quarter with net debt of nearly $2.3 billion and net leverage of 2.4 times. Total liquidity was $1.1 billion, consisting primarily of availability under our ABL credit facility. We generated $77 million of operating cash flow. And we are pleased with this result in what has historically been a lower-cash-generation quarter for us.

談到我們的資產負債表和現金流，本季末我們的淨債務接近 23 億美元，淨槓桿率為 2.4 倍。總流動資金為 11 億美元，主要包括我們的 ABL 信貸安排下的可用資金。我們產生了 7,700 萬美元的經營現金流。我們對這一結果感到滿意，因為對我們來說，這是一個歷史上現金產生率較低的季度。

We continue to allocate our cash flow to priorities that we believe will result in growth or returns for shareholders. We deployed $39 million in the first quarter to repurchase 837,000 shares at an average price of $46.64 per share, finishing the quarter with $285 million remaining under our authorization.

我們將繼續將現金流分配給我們認為將為股東帶來成長或回報的優先事項。我們在第一季動用了 3,900 萬美元，以平均每股 46.64 美元的價格回購了 837,000 股股票，本季結束時，我們的授權金額仍為 2.85 億美元。

Investing in growth remains our top capital allocation priority, and our M&A pipeline is active. We are actively engaging with dozens of potential targets. And we are being prudent in our evaluation to ensure they are the right cultural and strategic fit.

投資成長仍然是我們資本配置的首要任務，我們的併購管道也很活躍。我們正在積極與數十個潛在目標接觸。我們在評估時非常謹慎，以確保它們符合我們的文化和策略。

Turning to our outlook, we are reaffirming our full-year guidance for net sales of $7.6 billion to $7.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $950 million to $1 billion. This reflects our continued expectation for adjusted EBITDA margins in the range of 12.5% to 12.8%. We have good visibility into demand through the next quarter and expect to finish the first half strong, supported by healthy project activity and backlogs.

談到我們的展望，我們重申全年淨銷售額為 76 億美元至 78 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 9.5 億美元至 10 億美元。這反映了我們對調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率在 12.5% 至 12.8% 範圍內的持續預期。我們對下一季的需求有充分的了解，並預計在健康的項目活動和積壓訂單的支持下，上半年將表現強勁。

That said, uncertainty associated with tariffs, inflation, and interest rates could impact customer sentiment and demand in the back half of the year. At a high level, we continue to expect our end markets to be roughly flat for the full year, stable in the near term, but with less clarity as we move into the second half.

也就是說，與關稅、通貨膨脹和利率相關的不確定性可能會影響下半年的客戶情緒和需求。從高層次來看，我們仍然預期我們的終端市場將在全年大致持平，短期內保持穩定，但進入下半年，情況將變得不那麼明朗。

We offer a strong value proposition to the industry. And we are on track to achieve the 2 to 4 points of above market volume growth we communicated last quarter by expanding our presence in underpenetrated geographies, driving product line expansion, and acquiring and developing new sales talent. Pricing improved sequentially, and we believe that the impact to sales growth for the full year will be neutral or better.

我們為產業提供了強大的價值主張。透過擴大我們在滲透率較低的地區的業務、推動產品線擴展以及獲取和培養新的銷售人才，我們有望實現上個季度傳達的高於市場銷量 2 至 4 個百分點的增長。定價環比改善，我們相信對全年銷售成長的影響將是中性或更好的。

We expect to improve gross margins for the full year through the execution of our private label, sourcing optimization, and pricing initiatives. And our first-quarter results support this trend.

我們希望透過實施自有品牌、採購優化和定價措施來提高全年毛利率。我們第一季的業績也支持這一趨勢。

While SG&A growth has been outpacing sales growth in recent quarters due to the impact of acquisitions, we have been pleased to see organic productivity gains and have commenced cost-out activities, and expect them to drive improvements through the end of the year. These productivity improvements, combined with our expectation for gross margin expansion, reinforce our confidence in achieving adjusted EBITDA margins in the 12.5% to 12.8% range for the year.

儘管由於收購的影響，最近幾季銷售、一般及行政費用的成長速度超過了銷售額的成長，但我們很高興看到有機生產力的提高，並已開始成本削減活動，預計它們將在年底前推動業績改善。這些生產力的提高，加上我們對毛利率擴大的預期，增強了我們對今年實現調整後 EBITDA 利潤率在 12.5% 至 12.8% 範圍內的信心。

In closing, I want to reiterate that our sector has strong fundamentals. And we have a proven strategy to continue strengthening Core & Main's leadership position. The long-term trend underlying our end markets are favorable. And our products and services play a critical role in advancing reliable infrastructure.

最後，我想重申，我們的產業有著強勁的基本面。我們擁有行之有效的策略來繼續加強 Core & Main 的領導地位。我們的終端市場的長期趨勢是有利的。我們的產品和服務在推進可靠基礎設施建設方面發揮關鍵作用。

We expect to outperform the market even as the broader economic environment evolves. Our business is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities for growth. And we remain committed to building on our track record of delivering value to shareholders.

即使更廣泛的經濟環境發生變化，我們也有望超越市場。我們的業務已做好充分準備，可以利用成長機會。我們將繼續致力於鞏固我們為股東創造價值的良好記錄。

With that, let's open it up for questions.

好了，讓我們開始提問吧。

(Operator Instructions) Matthew Bouley, Barclays.

（操作員指示） Matthew Bouley，巴克萊銀行。

Hey, good morning, Mark and Robyn. Thank you, guys, for taking the questions. Actually, I wanted to start on the SG&A side. So, Robyn, some helpful color there around how do you think about productivity there for the year.

嘿，早安，馬克和羅賓。謝謝大家回答這些問題。實際上，我想從銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 方面開始。那麼，羅賓，您如何看待今年的生產力呢？

I think you said it was up 4% ex-acquisitions and equity comp. So I just wanted to kind of drill in a little bit Q2, second half. Is the implication that you would start to see leverage on the SG&A rate as soon as Q2 here? And also curious if there was anything additional unusual that you might call out in that SG&A expense this quarter. Thank you.

我認為您說過扣除收購和股權補償後，其股價上漲了 4%。所以我只是想對第二季的下半部分進行一些深入的探討。這是否意味著您會在第二季開始看到銷售、一般和行政費用率的槓桿作用？並且也好奇您是否會指出本季銷售、一般及行政費用中還有其他異常情況。謝謝。

Yeah, hey, good morning, Matt. Thanks for the question. You're right. When we look at the quarter from an organic standpoint, excluding some one-time items or add-backs, we were productive for the quarter. So we gained some productivity there during the quarter.

是的，嘿，早上好，馬特。謝謝你的提問。你說得對。當我們從有機角度看待本季時，排除一些一次性項目或附加項目，本季我們的業績是富有成效的。因此，我們在本季獲得了一些生產力。

Our overall rate was improved sequentially from the fourth quarter. So in total, we're making some progress there on some of our SG&A initiatives. And as we get into the second quarter, expecting to see more organic improvement in rate from a year-over-year basis. And as we get into the total company, we'll anniversary some of those acquisitions.

我們的整體利率從第四季開始連續提高。總的來說，我們在一些銷售、一般和行政費用 (SG&A) 計劃方面取得了一些進展。隨著我們進入第二季度，我們預計利率將比去年同期出現更多有機改善。當我們進入整個公司時，我們將紀念其中一些收購。

We have been working on some of those M&A synergies. Those are on track. We're really pleased with the execution. But as we've noted before, it can take about 12 to 18 months to get some of those SG&A synergies on the M&A side. So as we go throughout the year, we're looking to see improved SG&A rate as we kind of go through each quarter on a year-over-year basis.

我們一直致力於實現一些併購綜效。一切進展順利。我們對執行效果非常滿意。但正如我們之前所指出的，在併購方面實現部分銷售、一般和行政費用協同效應可能需要大約 12 到 18 個月的時間。因此，隨著我們全年的推進，我們希望看到銷售、一般及行政費用率在每季同比都有所改善。

We've made some investments in growth. We've seen some inflation. We're working on offsetting some of those, but feel good with where we're at. We feel like we're making some good progress here and happy to see the gains and leverage on the organic side.

我們已對成長進行了一些投資。我們已經看到了一些通貨膨脹。我們正在努力抵消其中的一些影響，但對目前的狀況感到滿意。我們覺得我們在這裡取得了一些良好的進展，並很高興看到有機方面的收益和影響力。

Okay, got it. Thank you for that, Robyn. And then, yeah, just secondly, thinking about the top-line guide for the year. Obviously, as you pointed out in Q1, it seems like you had some fairly substantial share gains. I think I heard you say that your inflation outlook is maybe turning to a little bit more positive than it was.

好的，明白了。謝謝你，羅賓。然後，是的，其次，考慮一下今年的頂線指南。顯然，正如您在第一季指出的那樣，您的市場份額似乎獲得了相當大的成長。我想我聽到您說過，您的通膨前景可能比以前更加積極一些。

So just kind of given the starting point, given where we are here in the middle of Q2, just kind of wanted to get a sense on the level of conservatism you're building into the back half, especially given the comments you made around some uncertainty out there. So just kind of help us sort of put together the first half and second half from an end-market volume perspective. Thank you.

因此，考慮到起點，考慮到我們目前處於第二季度中期，只是想了解您在後半段建立的保守程度，特別是考慮到您對一些不確定性所發表的評論。因此，這只是幫助我們從終端市場銷售的角度來總結上半年和下半年的情況。謝謝。

Sure. Yeah, happy to. So if we look at the market for the full year, we're expecting the market to be roughly flat, stronger in the first half of the year and then down a little bit in the back half of the year from where we are today. And that just reflects a level of uncertainty given tariffs, higher interest rates, and affordability concerns and things like that.

當然。是的，很高興。因此，如果我們看一下全年市場，我們預計市場將大致持平，上半年將走強，下半年將比現在略有下降。這僅僅反映了關稅、利率上升、負擔能力問題等因素所造成的某種程度的不確定性。

Feel good -- really good about our bidding and backlog activity and what we're seeing. We feel like it's going to be a good second quarter. And then we'll see what happens in the back half with the macroeconomic environment.

感覺很好——對我們的競標和積壓活動以及我們所看到的感到非常滿意。我們預計第二季將會表現良好。然後我們再看看下半年宏觀經濟環境會發生什麼事。

From a pricing standpoint, pricing has improved sequentially from the fourth quarter. We were down slightly in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, we were roughly flat for pricing, and we're expecting pricing to be flat for the year at a minimum.

從定價角度來看，定價自第四季起已連續改善。我們在第四季略有下降。在第一季度，我們的定價基本上持平，我們預計全年的定價至少也會持平。

So seeing in the quarter, we saw some ins and outs on pricing in some product categories. But we're starting to anniversary some of the declines in the prior year and expect pricing to be roughly flat at worst for FY25 overall.

因此，從本季度來看，我們看到了某些產品類別的定價方面存在一些變化。但我們開始回顧上一年的一些下滑，並預計 2025 財年整體價格至少會大致持平。

All right. Well, thank you, Robyn. Good luck, guys.

好的。好吧，謝謝你，羅賓。祝大家好運。

Thanks, Matt.

謝謝，馬特。

David Manthey, Baird.

大衛‧曼西，貝爾德。

Yeah, thank you. Good morning, everyone. Just to follow on that pricing question, could you just discuss the situation with commodities versus finished goods? And I don't know if you said what it was in the quarter. Was pricing net zero, a little negative, and you expect that to improve through the remainder of the year? And has there been any change in your thinking over the past 90 days as it relates to pricing?

是的，謝謝。大家早安。繼續關於定價的問題，能否討論一下商品與成品的情況？我不知道您是否說過本季的情況如何。定價淨值為零，有點負面，您預計今年剩餘時間內這種情況會有所改善嗎？在過去 90 天裡，您對定價的想法有什麼改變嗎？

Yeah. So we have seen pricing kind of improve sequentially from a year-over-year basis. Like I said, in the fourth quarter, we were slightly down. In the first quarter here, we were basically flattish from a year-over-year perspective. From different product levels in the quarter, the steel has been improving.

是的。因此，我們看到價格與去年同期相比有所較上季改善。就像我說的，在第四季度，我們略微落後。與去年同期相比，第一季我們的業績基本持平。從本季不同產品層面來看，鋼材均有所回升。

We did see that kind of anniversary and hit flat as we got to the end of the quarter. So that was encouraging. And then PVC has been pretty stable over the last few months here. So have a good level of confidence for pricing to be flat as we go throughout the year based on some of those scenarios that we're seeing.

我們確實看到了這樣的周年紀念日，但到了季度末卻陷入停滯。這令人鼓舞。過去幾個月，PVC 價格一直相當穩定。因此，根據我們所看到的一些情況，我們有信心全年價格將保持平穩。

Like I said, we've seen some down year over year for the quarter, but some of those are starting to normalize. And we also have seen some inflation on other product categories and expect that to continue throughout the year. So flat to slightly up for the year as kind of the latest thinking there, Dave.

正如我所說的，我們看到本季的同比有所下降，但其中一些已經開始正常化。我們也看到其他產品類別也出現了通貨膨脹，預計這種情況將持續全年。所以，戴夫，這是我們最新的想法，今年的業績將持平或略有上升。

Got it. Thank you. And then as it relates to your comments on the first half versus second half, I think the extra week was in the fourth quarter last year. And you have -- am I correct in saying that you have one less week year to year in the fourth quarter this year?

知道了。謝謝。然後，關於您對上半年和下半年的評論，我認為額外的一周是在去年第四季。而且──我說得對嗎？今年第四季的營業額比去年同期少了一週。

But even weeks adjusted, looking at sort of organic growth, it looks like the comps are maybe just a little bit tougher in the back half. So -- but you're talking about the market being uncertain, and that's what you're signaling, right? Or should we read a little bit into the fact that maybe there's some unusual movement in your own financials relative to those year-to-year comps?

但即使經過數週的調整，從有機成長的角度來看，後半段的競爭可能還是會更加激烈一些。所以——但是您說的是市場不確定，這就是您所暗示的，對嗎？或者我們應該稍微了解一下這樣一個事實：相對於那些逐年增長的數據，您的財務狀況可能存在一些異常變動？

Yeah, great question. So you're right. We've got the 53rd week in the fourth quarter of this year or the lack thereof, I guess. That will be about a 2-point headwind for the year, given we'll have one less week, much higher impact on that quarter. So if you think about seasonality for this year, it's possible that the fourth quarter could be down on a year-over-year basis from total sales, just given that we have one less week in the quarter.

是的，很好的問題。所以你是對的。我想，我們已經進入今年第四季的第 53 週了，或者說還沒進入第 53 週。考慮到我們將少一周的時間，這對今年來說將是一個大約 2 個百分點的逆風，對該季度的影響要大得多。因此，如果考慮今年的季節性，那麼第四季度的總銷售額可能會比去年同期下降，因為本季少了一周。

The second quarter is shaping up good for us. We did have that wet weather in the prior year, so expecting to see some good performance in the second quarter. And then we had a little bit of recoup of that wet weather in the third quarter. So that will be just a little bit tougher comp if you're thinking about seasonality and how to model that out.

第二季對我們來說進展順利。去年我們確實遇到了潮濕的天氣，因此預計第二季度會有良好的表現。然後我們在第三季稍微恢復了潮濕天氣的影響。因此，如果您考慮季節性以及如何對其進行建模，那麼這將是一個更困難的比較。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

Thanks, Dave.

謝謝，戴夫。

Nigel Coe, Wolfe Research.

沃爾夫研究公司的奈傑爾·科伊。

Thanks. Good morning, guys. Just wanted to maybe just go back to your comments, Robyn, about the SG&A, the equity comp portion. Just -- maybe just touch on whether that was related to the CEO-CFO transition or if there's anything else driving that?

謝謝。大家早安。羅賓，我只是想回到你關於銷售、一般和行政費用（SG&A）、股權補償部分的評論。只是——也許只是談談這是否與 CEO-CFO 的過渡有關，或者是否有其他因素推動這一過渡？

And then just the kind of the follow-on to that question is the flat to 30 bps of EBITDA margin expansion. Are we still expecting that to be primarily gross margin driven with SG&A flat for the year?

然後對這個問題的後續問題是 EBITDA 利潤率擴張持平至 30 個基點。我們是否仍預期今年的銷售、一般及行政費用將主要由毛利率推動，而銷售、一般及行政費用則將持平？

Yeah. Nigel, I'll touch on the stock equity comp first. Not really a big impact there from anything executive comp-related. We did start to accrue that a little bit, but that really wasn't the impact. More of the impact on that was that we've now got three years of kind of post-IPO equity vested there. So what you're seeing now is a little bit more of a more normalized run rate going forward on the stock comp piece.

是的。奈傑爾，我先談談股票權益補償。與高階主管薪酬相關的任何事情實際上都不會產生太大的影響。我們確實開始累積了一點，但這並不是真正的影響。更大的影響是，我們現在已經獲得了三年的 IPO 後股權。因此，您現在看到的是股票補償部分未來更加正常化的運行率。

And then the full-year framework --

然後是全年框架--

Hey, Nigel --

嘿，奈傑爾--

Yeah, sorry, Mark.

是的，對不起，馬克。

Yeah. No, sorry. Hey, Nigel. Good morning. Yeah, I'd tell you on the EBITDA expansion on our expectations to continue to grow that. Obviously, we've had a lot of really good execution from a gross margin expansion standpoint, both with private label, a lot of the sourcing optimization we've been doing, and the pricing optimization work. So continue to believe that's going to be a good lever and multiple levers there for expansion.

是的。不，抱歉。嘿，奈傑爾。早安.是的，我會告訴你我們預計 EBITDA 將繼續成長。顯然，從毛利率擴張的角度來看，我們已經取得了許多非常好的執行成果，包括自有品牌、我們一直在進行的大量採購優化以及定價優化工作。因此，繼續相信這將是一個良好的槓桿，並且有多個槓桿可用於擴展。

We did expect going into this year that SG&A with some of the carryover from the acquisitions that we did that had much higher gross margin percentages, just given some of the product mixes there, also carried some higher SG&A with them that we've continued to optimize.

我們確實預計，進入今年，銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）會因我們進行的收購而結轉，這些收購具有更高的毛利率百分比，考慮到那裡的一些產品組合，也會帶來一些更高的銷售、一般及行政費用，我們會繼續進行優化。

So I do expect -- as Robyn mentioned earlier, we'll get some of that, and I would say starting very soon here in the second quarter and into the rest of the year, which will be another good lever for us for EBITDA expansion. But I would still wait more of it for the full year on the gross margin side.

所以我確實期望——正如羅賓之前提到的，我們會獲得一些收益，我想說很快就會從第二季度開始，並持續到今年剩餘時間，這將是我們擴大 EBITDA 的另一個良好槓桿。但從毛利率方面來看，我仍會等待全年的進一步成長。

That's great. And then just on the -- obviously, really good working capital performance in what's normally a very weak 1Q. Inventory did build, I think, mid-teens year over year. Even Q-over-Q was quite a step-up. So I'm wondering, was that intentional to kind of get ahead of some of the supplier price increases? Any thoughts there?

那太棒了。然後，顯然，在通常非常疲軟的第一季度，營運資本表現非常好。我認為庫存確實在逐年增加，增幅達到十幾歲。甚至 Q-over-Q 也有很大進步。所以我想知道，這是否是為了搶在部分供應商漲價之前故意這麼做的？有什麼想法嗎？

Yeah, Nigel. The inventory build is really twofold. I think, one, it represented the confidence in the volume that we saw here in the first half of the year, going into the second quarter.

是的，奈傑爾。庫存的建立實際上有兩個面向。我認為，首先，它代表了我們對今年上半年進入第二季的交易量的信心。

And then, yeah, just given some of the uncertainty around tariffs, we definitely took an opportunity to bring in some extra inventory to make sure, number one, that we had all that inventory available for our customers; and then, obviously, to mitigate against some potential increases that we're seeing just come into the market. So really twofold, I think, from an inventory build standpoint.

是的，考慮到關稅方面的一些不確定性，我們肯定會藉此機會引入一些額外的庫存，以確保第一，我們有足夠的庫存供客戶使用；然後，顯然，這也可以減輕我們看到的剛剛進入市場的某些潛在增長。所以，我認為，從庫存建造的角度來看，這其實有雙重意義。

That's great. Thanks, Mark.

那太棒了。謝謝，馬克。

Collin Verron, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的科林‧維隆 (Collin Verron)。

Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. I just wanted to talk about the residential construction market a little bit more. You called out the resiliency in the most recent quarter. But things are slowing down, it looks like.

早安.感謝您回答我的問題。我只是想再多談談住宅建築市場。您強調了最近一個季度的彈性。但看起來，事情正在放緩。

Can you put a little more color around that, what you think the slowdown looks like from a magnitude perspective as we move through the rest of the year and when that starts to hit your sales?

您能否更詳細地解釋一下，您認為在今年剩餘時間內，經濟放緩的幅度會有多大，以及何時會開始影響您的銷售？

Yeah, sure. Thanks for the question. From a residential perspective, recognize we do a lot of the lab development work there. And I'd say going into 2025, we weren't really expecting it to be a robust environment in 2025. But we definitely were pleased with the activity that we saw in the quarter.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問。從居住的角度來看，我們認識到我們在那裡做了很多實驗室開發工作。我想說，進入 2025 年，我們並沒有真正期望 2025 年的環境會變得強勁。但我們確實對本季的活動感到滿意。

I'd say it kind of came in more neutral to start the year, definitely some positivity in certain parts of the country that we're seeing some really good activity. As we kind of exited the first quarter and into the second quarter, we started to get a little bit more feedback from the field and certainly our customers that are doing a lot of development work that we're starting to see some of the bidding -- some of the jobs that are being awarded just scale down in size.

我想說，今年年初的情況比較中性，在該國某些地區肯定存在一些積極因素，我們看到了一些非常好的活動。隨著我們結束第一季並進入第二季度，我們開始從現場獲得更多回饋，當然，我們的客戶也正在做大量的開發工作，我們開始看到一些競標——一些被授予的工作規模正在縮小。

And that led us to believe we could start seeing a little bit of a headwind with residential. And that was part of our rationale as we thought about the guide for the rest of the year, just taking that from kind of a neutral but potentially down slightly as we work through 2025, just given all the information we're seeing in the field, plus some of the other uncertainty in the macro environment that, I think, has been well publicized in the media.

這讓我們相信，住宅領域可能會開始出現一些阻力。這是我們思考今年剩餘時間的指導時的部分理由，只是採取中性但可能隨著 2025 年的到來而略有下降的指導，考慮到我們在該領域看到的所有信息，再加上宏觀環境中的一些其他不確定性，我認為這些已經在媒體上得到了充分的宣傳。

So those are some of the factors there. I don't view it as really a significant driver for us, given it's only about 20% of the business, but something that we're really watching right now.

這些就是其中的一些因素。考慮到它只占我們業務的 20% 左右，我並不認為它對我們來說是一個真正重要的驅動力，但它是我們目前真正關注的事情。

Great. That's a really helpful color. And then just on the meter side, you guys called out 10% growth. Can you just talk about the level of growth you're expecting for that product category going forward? And how you're thinking about the volume versus mix equation there with the smart meter adoption by the industry?

偉大的。這確實是一種很有用的顏色。然後僅在儀表方面，你們就宣布了 10% 的成長。您能否談談您對該產品類別未來成長水準的預期？您如何看待產業採用智慧電錶的數量與組合關係？

Yeah. Our smart meter performance continues to be really strong. I would tell you the 10% growth in the quarter is also on top of a prior-year quarter, where we grew at 30%. So the two-year stack there has been really impressive.

是的。我們的智慧電錶性能持續強勁。我想告訴你，本季 10% 的成長率也高於去年同期 30% 的成長率。因此，兩年來的累積確實令人印象深刻。

We continue to win large significant meter contracts with the suppliers that we're partnered with from a meter standpoint. I'd say that is mostly volume gains as you think about the nature of meter contracts are generally a little longer term in nature. So really good just solid volume growth there. I do expect there'll probably be some price increases into that market based on what we're seeing with some of the tariff impacts.

從電錶的角度來看，我們繼續與合作的供應商贏得重要的電錶合約。我認為這主要是容量增長，因為考慮到計量合約的性質，一般來說合約期限都比較長。所以，銷量穩定成長，真的很好。根據我們看到的一些關稅影響，我確實預計該市場的價格可能會上漲。

But overall, we just continue to see a lot of great opportunity there. We've invested a lot of technical resources there to continue to drive the adoption in some of the larger metropolitan areas that are, I would say, are a little further behind just with their general adoption of smart meter technology. So very confident with how we're positioned there and expect we'll continue to take more share as we move forward.

但總體而言，我們仍然看到那裡有很多巨大的機會。我們在那裡投入了大量的技術資源，以繼續推動一些較大城市的智慧電錶技術的應用，我想說，這些城市在智慧電錶技術的普遍採用方面稍微落後一些。因此，我們對我們的定位非常有信心，並期望在未來繼續佔據更多的份額。

Great. Thank you for the color.

偉大的。謝謝你的顏色。

Brian Biros, Thompson Research Group.

布萊恩·比羅斯（Brian Biros），湯普森研究小組。

Hey, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions today. On the product breakout, I guess, this quarter has, I think, the best growth in storm drainage. It was 17% compared to the total company at about 10%. And that's kind of played out over the past few quarters here, where storm drainage outperformed company total.

嘿，早安。感謝您今天回答我的問題。就產品突破而言，我認為本季雨水排水領域的成長最好。與整個公司約 10% 的比例相比，這一比例為 17%。過去幾季的情況就是如此，雨水排放的表現超過了公司整體的表現。

I guess, can you just talk about what's driving that outperformance there for storm drainage specifically? Is that acquisition that's growing? Is that company initiatives? Is that certain project types that are seeing better growth in the market? Any color there would be helpful.

我想，您能否具體談談是什麼推動了雨水排放的優異表現？這次收購是否正在成長？這是公司舉措嗎？某些項目類型是否在市場上實現了更好的成長？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yeah. Thanks, Brian. For storm drainage, you're right. We've seen really good growth there. A portion of that has been M&A. A really good driver though of organic storm drainage growth for us has been specifically in the road and bridge area.

是的。謝謝，布萊恩。對於雨水排放，你是對的。我們看到那裡確實出現了良好的成長。其中一部分是併購。然而，對我們來說，有機雨水排放成長的一個真正好的驅動力是道路和橋樑領域。

We sell a lot of storm drainage product into that. Some of that has been kind of lifted by the infrastructure bill funding there. There's a good amount out there, spreading around related to that road and bridge and street work. So that's been a catalyst. We've been well positioned from the storm drainage standpoint.

我們向那裡銷售了許多雨水排水產品。其中部分原因是基礎設施法案的資助。那裡有大量與道路、橋樑和街道工程相關的資料。所以這是一個催化劑。從雨水排放的角度來看，我們已經準備好了。

One other catalyst would be just the kind of shift in product type. There are some areas that are now opening up and allowing more of the storm drainage product that we sell. And so there's more going through distribution on the storm drainage side versus, historically, some of that has been some other products like concrete that hasn't typically gone as much through distribution.

另一個催化劑就是產品類型的轉變。現在有些地區正在開放並允許銷售更多我們銷售的雨水排水產品。因此，在雨水排放方面，有更多的產品透過分銷管道進行銷售，而從歷史上看，混凝土等其他產品通常不會透過分銷管道進行銷售。

So a lot of good dynamics there and expect that to continue to be a good growth driver for us as we move forward.

因此，那裡有很多良好的動態，並期望這將繼續成為我們前進的良好成長動力。

And then maybe thinking much longer picture here, but can we maybe just talk about the 2028 targets that were set out in the prior Investor Day? I guess, I'm thinking mainly the margin target of 15% EBITDA margins.

然後也許在這裡思考更長遠的前景，但我們是否可以只談論在之前的投資者日制定的 2028 年目標？我想，我主要考慮的是 15% EBITDA 利潤率的目標。

I think now it looks like you maybe need like 70 basis points of margin expansion per year to hit that number versus I think it was kind of 40 to 50 per year at the time of the Investor Day and kind of the long-term annual value creation targets. So just trying to think, are there new levers or stronger levers to pull today to continue to progress to that 15% margin? Thank you.

我認為現在看起來你可能需要每年將利潤率擴大 70 個基點才能達到這個數字，而我認為在投資者日和長期年度價值創造目標時每年的利潤率大約是 40 到 50 個基點。所以試想一下，今天是否有新的槓桿或更強大的槓桿可以推動，以繼續實現 15% 的利潤率？謝謝。

Yeah, sure. Thanks for the question. As you think about the opportunity for us to expand EBITDA margin, the levers that we laid out during Investor Day, I'd say, continue. And I'd say we continue to execute on those. Obviously, a lot of progress made from a gross margin standpoint.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問。當您考慮我們擴大 EBITDA 利潤率的機會時，我想說，我們在投資者日期間提出的槓桿將繼續發揮作用。我想說我們會繼續執行這些目標。顯然，從毛利率的角度來看，已經取得了很大的進展。

And given some of the M&A that we've completed, really has provided, I'd say, even more opportunities for us to drive some more synergies and scale. I would say when we issued those targets during Investor Day, we also did expect -- and I think we're very clear that there were -- there was some margin normalization that we expected to have happen early in the cycle there.

考慮到我們已經完成的一些併購，我想說，這確實為我們提供了更多機會來實現更多的協同效應和規模。我想說，當我們在投資者日發布這些目標時，我們也確實預期——我認為我們非常清楚——我們預計在周期早期就會出現一定的利潤率正常化。

So not a surprise at all for us to know that we've got annual goals that are higher than that 30 to 50 that we laid out there. And I'm very confident, given the levers that we've laid out and we've continued to execute against that we can achieve those goals.

因此，當我們得知我們的年度目標高於我們設定的 30 到 50 個目標時，我們一點也不感到驚訝。我非常有信心，鑑於我們已經制定的措施以及我們將繼續執行的目標，我們能夠實現這些目標。

Great to hear. Thank you.

很高興聽到這個消息。謝謝。

Mike Dahl, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Mike Dahl。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. A follow-up on price and gross margin. I guess, if we're sitting here today -- and it sounds like commodities are basically back to roughly neutral. And you talked about some of the non-commodity price increases anecdotally.

早安.感謝您回答我的問題。跟踪價格和毛利率。我想，如果我們今天坐在這裡——聽起來大宗商品基本上已經回到大致中性水平。您還以軼事形式談到了一些非商品價格上漲的情況。

Can you just help ballpark kind of breadth and magnitude of the price increases that you're seeing your vendors put into the market and kind of timing of those? Because it seems like if commodities are flat and you're seeing some cost increases that that really we should be in more solidly inflationary territory for yourselves as we go through the year.

您能否大致估算一下供應商在市場上漲價的幅度和幅度，以及漲價的時間？因為看起來，如果大宗商品價格持平，而成本卻有所上漲，那麼我們在今年實際上應該處於更穩固的通膨區間。

So that's the first part. And then maybe just tie it to the sequential cadence in gross margin since you have the inventory position. But then there's moving pieces around some of these dynamics in terms of implementation and timing of price. Any dialing in you can help us with on sequential gross margin would help.

這是第一部分。然後，也許只需將其與毛利率的連續節奏聯繫起來，因為你有庫存狀況。但在實施和價格時機方面，這些動態因素仍存在一些變動。如果您能撥打任何電話幫助我們了解連續毛利率，那將會很有幫助。

Yeah, sure, Mike. I'd just say, generally, as we think about pricing and then the outlook, obviously, there's still a lot of uncertainty on the tariff side. While I don't expect that will be a major driver for us, and it should be kind of neutral to positive, it's obviously been volatile and something we're going to watch as we go forward.

是的，當然，麥克。我只是想說，一般來說，當我們考慮定價和前景時，顯然，關稅方面仍然存在許多不確定性。雖然我不認為這會成為我們的主要驅動力，而且它應該是中性到積極的，但它顯然一直很不穩定，我們會在未來關注它。

I'd say, yeah, we're pleased with the sequential stability of the commodities. We still do have a headwind with PVC on a year-over-year basis. But we have been pleased with how that stabilized as we go forward. And I do expect, just given some of the discussion with the -- given some of the information that we've received from suppliers related to potential cost increases, that we've got an opportunity to get some inventory in like we have to be able to mitigate some of those cost increases.

我想說，是的，我們對商品的連續穩定性感到滿意。與去年同期相比，PVC 市場仍面臨阻力。但隨著我們不斷前進，我們對這種狀況的穩定感到高興。我確實希望，根據我們從供應商收到的一些有關潛在成本增加的信息，我們有機會獲得一些庫存，以便能夠減輕其中的一些成本增加。

And then we've really worked really hard with our suppliers and our customers to make sure that everybody it's very transparent and clear where they're going to see potential price increases as we go forward. So we're, I'd say, watching that closely.

然後，我們真的非常努力地與我們的供應商和客戶合作，以確保每個人都非常透明和清楚地知道未來哪裡會出現潛在的價格上漲。所以我想說，我們正在密切關注這一點。

We believe neutral is kind of the right frame of mind. And we've tried to indicate that it could be positive if it keeps kind of trending in this direction as we go through the full year and expect that we'll be able to get cost increases past along such that gross margins are either held neutral or -- given some of the inventory investments that we could get a benefit out of that as we move throughout the year.

我們相信中立是一種正確的心態。我們試圖表明，如果這一趨勢在全年保持下去，並預計我們能夠控製成本成長，使毛利率保持中性，或者考慮到一些庫存投資，我們可以在全年從中獲益，那麼這可能是積極的。

Okay, got it. Thanks for that color, Mark. And then just as a follow-on, you spent some time talking about greenfields in the opening remarks. And the idea isn't new that that's the lever. But it sounded like maybe that could be something that's of increasing focus to you as you've taken on the role.

好的，明白了。謝謝你的顏色，馬克。然後作為後續，您在開場白中花了一些時間談論綠地。這就是槓桿，這個想法並不新鮮。但聽起來，當你擔任這個角色時，這也許會變成你越來越關注的事情。

20 greenfields over the past seven, eight years, I think compared to some other distribution platforms across building products is still relatively modest. Maybe just help us understand what your vision is, specifically on kind of the greenfield strategy and whether you could be leaning in on that.

我認為，與其他一些產品建構分銷平台相比，過去七、八年我們建立了 20 個新基地，規模還是相對較小的。也許只是幫助我們了解您的願景是什麼，特別是關於綠地策略，以及您是否可以依賴它。

Yeah, sure, Mike. What I would tell you on greenfield is just our general growth strategy is to have both levers. And it's to look at M&A and also having the opportunity to do greenfields in selected markets, if that's a better opportunity for growth.

是的，當然，麥克。關於綠地，我想告訴你的是，我們的整體成長策略是同時採用這兩種槓桿。並且，如果這是一個更好的成長機會，那麼它也會考慮併購，並有機會在選定的市場中進行綠地投資。

And if you go back to 2017 when we became a standalone company, obviously, we've had some really strong M&A growth. We've added a lot of locations. We've integrated a lot of locations, and we've been able to complete greenfields during that time.

如果回顧 2017 年我們成為獨立公司時的情況，顯然我們的併購業務成長非常強勁。我們添加了很多地點。我們已經整合了許多地點，並且在此期間我們能夠完成綠地開發。

I would tell you that there is definitely an emphasis on continuing to expand our business through greenfield locations. While that annual average that you referenced may not sound like a lot, I can tell you that over the next year, I'd expect us to be opening somewhere between 5 and 10 new greenfields throughout 2025, just based on what we've got in the pipeline right now.

我想告訴你，我們肯定會強調透過新建地點繼續擴大我們的業務。雖然您提到的年平均值聽起來可能不是很多，但我可以告訴您，根據我們目前的情況，我預計在接下來的一年裡，我們將在 2025 年開設 5 到 10 個新的綠地。

So I'm very confident that given our focus in that area and evaluating whether M&A is the right strategy or greenfields, that we're going to continue to make really good progress there and really excited about what's in our pipeline there.

因此，我非常有信心，鑑於我們在該領域的重點，並評估併購或綠地是否是正確的策略，我們將繼續在那裡取得良好的進展，並對我們在那裡的計劃感到非常興奮。

That's great. Thank you.

那太棒了。謝謝。

Anthony Pettinari, Citi.

花旗銀行的安東尼‧佩蒂納裡 (Anthony Pettinari)。

Good morning. For your municipal government customers, is it possible to kind of generalize, as you talk with them, how they're feeling about kind of the upcoming fiscal year and spending on your projects?

早安.對於您的市政府客戶，在與他們交談時，是否可以概括一下他們對即將到來的財政年度和專案支出的感受？

There's been kind of an effort by the administration to maybe peel back some funding for IRA or maybe some other programs that maybe could put some pressure on munis. But maybe there are parts of the current budget that could be more stimulus.

政府可能已經做出了一些努力來削減 IRA 或其他一些可能對市政債券造成壓力的項目的資金。但目前預算中的某些部分或許可以起到更多的刺激作用。

I'm just wondering if you could talk about kind of the current policy environment and how your muni customers are kind of thinking about the coming year.

我只是想知道您是否可以談談當前的政策環境以及您的市政債券客戶對來年的看法。

Hey, thanks, Anthony, for the question. There's 50,000 municipalities in the US, so it's very fragmented. And we do spend some time with their annual budgets going through that. I would say funding for the municipalities is healthy. They've got multiple avenues that they can get funding for their projects.

嘿，安東尼，謝謝你提出這個問題。美國有 50,000 個市鎮，因此非常分散。我們確實花了一些時間來研究他們的年度預算。我想說，市政當局的資金是健康的。他們有多種途徑為他們的專案獲得資金。

The IIJA is starting to flow more. There's more of that flowing down to the municipalities today than there has been in the past. There's state-level funding that's happening. There's some multibillion-dollar funding going out there at the state level for municipalities to gain funding to do some of these projects.

IIJA 開始更流通。如今，流向市政當局的資金比過去更多。目前正在進行國家級資助。州一級已經撥出數十億美元的資金，用於資助市政當局進行其中一些項目。

And then at the local level, what we're seeing, though, is the majority of the spend that municipalities use for their water infrastructure is on their local revenue streams from the utility rates that they charge to their customers. So across the board, we feel like there's ample funding there for their projects for several years to come.

然後在地方層面，我們看到的是，市政當局用於水利基礎設施的大部分支出來自向客戶收取的公用事業費等地方收入。因此，總體而言，我們認為未來幾年他們的計畫將獲得充足的資金。

Obviously, the water infrastructure is at age and in need of repair. But I feel like there's a lot of runway there for them to continue to work on projects. So as we look at the guide and we look at the uncertainty in the back half of the year, municipality is not really in that bucket. Our municipal end market is pretty steady and stable and resilient from that standpoint.

顯然，水利基礎設施已經老化，需要修復。但我覺得他們還有很大空間可以繼續進行專案。因此，當我們查看指南並查看下半年的不確定性時，市政當局實際上並不在其中。從這個角度來看，我們的市政終端市場相當穩定、有彈性。

Got it, got it. That's very helpful. And then just following up on the question on greenfields and kind of organic versus inorganic. On the M&A side, are you seeing increased competition for deals?

明白了，明白了。這非常有幫助。然後繼續討論有關綠地和有機與無機的問題。在併購方面，您是否看到交易競爭加劇？

There seems to be a lot of interest in building products, distribution, consolidation. I don't know if water works is niche enough that you're not seeing a different kind of competitive environment for deals versus a few years ago. Or just wonder if you can kind of characterize the M&A market right now.

人們似乎對產品製造、分銷和整合很感興趣。我不知道水廠是否足夠小眾，以至於你沒有看到與幾年前不同的交易競爭環境。或者只是想知道您是否可以描述一下當前的併購市場。

Yeah, sure. Thanks for the question. I would tell you no real changes from a competitive standpoint on the M&A side. I would tell you, generally, it can just be a little lumpier given when sellers are ready to sell businesses in our industry. It is a little bit more of a niche industry, I would say.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問。我想告訴你，從併購方面的競爭角度來看，並沒有真正的改變。我想告訴你，一般來說，當賣家準備出售我們行業的業務時，情況可能會稍微複雜一些。我想說，這更像是利基產業。

We've got a lot of really strong relationships across the water work space and continue to be viewed as the acquirer of choice there, just given those long-standing relationships. And I think the value we've been able to demonstrate when we do these acquisitions and really making a good home for the associates and really helping them find new opportunities for growth and helping us create value.

我們在水務工作領域擁有許多非常牢固的關係，由於這些長期的關係，我們繼續被視為該領域的首選收購者。我認為，我們在進行這些收購時能夠展現的價值，真正為員工創造了一個良好的家園，真正幫助他們找到新的成長機會，並幫助我們創造價值。

So that continues to be a strong lever for us. I would tell you our pipeline, as Robyn mentioned on the call, is very healthy. We've got various deals that we're looking at various stages and sizes right now, and continue to expect that we'll continue to deliver on our growth strategy from an M&A standpoint.

所以這對我們來說仍然是一個強大的槓桿。我想告訴你，正如羅賓在電話中提到的那樣，我們的管道非常健康。我們目前正在考慮各種處於不同階段和規模的交易，並繼續期望從併購的角度繼續實現我們的成長策略。

Okay, that's very helpful. I'll turn it over.

好的，這非常有幫助。我把它翻過來。

Andrew Obin, Bank of America.

美國銀行的安德魯‧奧賓。

Hi, this is David Ridley-Lane for Andrew. Given some public commentary from your competitors, how is your own employee retention trended over the last 12 months? To put it bluntly, have you seen an uptick in poaching of your field sales representatives?

大家好，我是 Andrew 的 David Ridley-Lane。鑑於您的競爭對手的一些公開評論，您自己員工的留任率在過去 12 個月內呈現怎樣的趨勢？說穿了，您是否發現挖走您的現場銷售代表的現象增加？

Thanks, David, for the question. I would tell you, our retention of our associates remains extremely high. I would say it's -- I would be confident in saying it's the best in the industry. We have always been in a position to retain our people. And from, I'd say, a poaching standpoint, you can see that from time to time in the industry. It can come up.

謝謝 David 提出這個問題。我想告訴你，我們的員工留任率仍然非常高。我可以自信地說它是業內最好的。我們始終有能力留住我們的人才。我想說，從挖角的角度來看，你會時不時地在這個行業中看到這種情況。它可以出現。

I would say we generally view that as a positive for us because we are generally able to take advantage of those situations and markets where that's happening in the industry. I wouldn't say it's any heavier, lighter, than what we've ever seen historically. And feel really good with the retention of our team and what we're delivering on an overall basis, and continue to expect that to be the case as we go forward.

我想說，我們總體上認為這對我們來說是積極的，因為我們通常能夠利用行業中正在發生這種情況的情況和市場。我不會說它比我們歷史上見過的任何東西都重或輕。對我們團隊的保留以及我們整體上所提供的服務感到非常滿意，並繼續期待這種情況在我們前進的過程中繼續保持下去。

Great. And then on the new cost-out initiatives that you announced on this earnings call, any rough quantification that you could give us in terms of how much you would expect to be realizing in the fiscal year? Just roughly.

偉大的。然後，關於您在本次收益電話會議上宣布的新的成本削減計劃，您能否粗略地量化一下，預計本財年將實現多少成本削減？只是粗略地。

David, I would tell you that we've got a kind of a lot of things going on there on the SG&A side. We are continuing to make investments in areas that have good opportunity for growth, making sure that those resources that we are adding are focused on the areas of growth.

大衛，我想告訴你，我們在銷售、一般和行政費用方面有很多事情要做。我們將繼續在具有良好成長機會的領域進行投資，確保我們增加的資源集中在成長領域。

If there are areas that maybe are a little bit underperforming, we can make shifts. And we've done some of those things to make sure those resources are aligned to the best areas of opportunity. But I would say not anything substantial at this point.

如果某些領域可能表現不佳，我們可以做出改變。我們已經採取了一些措施來確保這些資源能夠用在最佳機會領域。但目前我還不能說出任何實質的東西。

We've been more focused on scaling some of the recent M&A that we've gotten and getting synergies that way on the SG&A front. And then just making sure our resources are appropriately deployed to the areas that get us the most opportunity. And those have been kind of the biggest areas of focus for us so far.

我們更加重視擴大我們最近進行的一些併購，並在銷售、一般和行政費用方面獲得協同效應。然後確保我們的資源能適當地部署到能為我們帶來最多機會的領域。到目前為止，這些一直是我們關注的重點領域。

Sorry, did I mishear that? I mean, when you were talking about the guidance and the guidance commentary, you said SG&A, some cost-out initiatives started, right? I'm just --

抱歉，我聽錯了嗎？我的意思是，當您談論指導和指導評論時，您說銷售、一般和行政費用，一些成本削減舉措已經開始，對嗎？我只是--

Yeah. We do have a little bit in underperforming areas. We do have a little bit of cost-out that we did. But that's part of my comments of aligning the resources to the areas of best opportunity.

是的。我們在表現不佳的領域確實存在一些問題。我們確實做了一些成本支出。但這是我關於將資源分配到最佳機會領域的評論的一部分。

Okay, okay. Thank you.

好的，好的。謝謝。

Thank you. At this time, we currently have no further questions. So I'll hand back to Mark Witkowski for any further remarks.

謝謝。目前，我們沒有其他問題。因此，我將把發言權交還給馬克‧維特科夫斯基 (Mark Witkowski)，請他發表進一步的評論。

Thank you, all, again for joining us today. It was a pleasure to have you on the call. I'd like to close by thanking our associates for continuing to provide exceptional service to our customers. We delivered another quarter of record performance, driven by resilient demand, above-market growth, stable pricing, and sequential gross margin expansion.

再次感謝大家今天加入我們。很高興您能接聽電話。最後，我要感謝我們的同事繼續為客戶提供卓越的服務。在強勁的需求、高於市場的成長、穩定的價格和連續的毛利率擴大的推動下，我們又一個季度取得了創紀錄的業績。

Our local relationships, diverse offerings, and investments in talent and new capabilities continue to differentiate Core & Main and drive market share gains. We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the long-term secular drivers of water infrastructure investment, including aging systems, population growth, and increasing regulatory demands.

我們的本地關係、多樣化的產品以及對人才和新能力的投資繼續使 Core & Main 脫穎而出並推動市場份額的成長。我們擁有獨特的優勢，可以利用水基礎設施投資的長期驅動力，包括老化的系統、人口成長和日益增長的監管要求。

Our scale, local expertise, and proven growth strategy enable us to deliver critical solutions that support the modernization and resilience of water systems nationwide. Thank you for your interest in Core & Main. Operator, that concludes our call.

我們的規模、本地專業知識和成熟的成長策略使我們能夠提供支援全國水系統現代化和彈性的關鍵解決方案。感謝您對 Core & Main 的關注。接線員，我們的通話到此結束。

Thank you, all, for joining today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開線路了。