好市多 (COST) 2021 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Q1 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Richard Galanti. Please go ahead.

感謝您的支持，歡迎參加第一季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謝謝。我現在想把會議交給你今天的演講者，理查德·加蘭蒂先生。請繼續。

Thank you, Cindy, and good afternoon to everyone.

謝謝你，Cindy，大家下午好。

I will start by stating that these discussions will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results and/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call as well as other risks identified from time to time in the company's public statements and reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law.

我將首先聲明，這些討論將包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際事件、結果和/或業績與所示內容大不相同通過這樣的陳述。風險和不確定性包括但不限於今天電話會議中概述的風險以及公司向 SEC 提交的公開聲明和報告中不時確定的其他風險。前瞻性陳述僅在作出之日起生效，公司不承諾更新這些陳述，除非法律要求。

In today's press release, we reported operating results for the first quarter of fiscal -- our fiscal year 2021, the 12 weeks ended November 22. Reported net income for the quarter came in at $1.166 billion or $2.62 per share compared to $844 million or $1.90 per diluted share last year. This year's first quarter included tax benefits of $145 million or $0.33 per share, $0.16 of which was due to the deductibility of the $10 per share special cash dividend to the extent received by the company's 401(k) plan participants and $0.17 related to stock-based compensation. Last year's first quarter included a $77 million or $0.17 per share tax benefit related to stock-based compensation as well. And this year's results also included the costs related to our COVID-19 premium wages of $212 million pretax or $0.35 per diluted share.

在今天的新聞稿中，我們報告了截至 11 月 22 日的 2021 財年第一季度的經營業績。該季度報告的淨收入為 11.66 億美元或每股 2.62 美元，而該季度的淨收入為 8.44 億美元或 1.90 美元去年每股攤薄收益。今年第一季度包括 1.45 億美元或每股 0.33 美元的稅收優惠，其中 0.16 美元是由於公司 401(k) 計劃參與者收到的每股 10 美元特別現金股息的可扣除性以及與股票相關的 0.17 美元基於補償。去年第一季度還包括與股票薪酬相關的 7700 萬美元或每股 0.17 美元的稅收優惠。今年的業績還包括與我們的 COVID-19 溢價工資相關的成本，即稅前 2.12 億美元或每股攤薄收益 0.35 美元。

Net sales for the quarter increased 16.9% to $42.35 billion, up from $36.24 billion last year in Q1. In terms of our first quarter comp sales metrics, for the -- on a reported basis, for the U.S., we reported a 14.6% figure. Excluding gas deflation and FX impacts, the 14.6% for the 12 weeks would have been 17.0% increase. Canada for the 12 weeks reported 16.2%; ex gas and FX, 16.8%. Other International reported 18.7%; ex gas and FX, 17.7%. So all told, for the total company, we reported 15.4% comp sales increase. And excluding gas deflation and FX, the 15.4% would be 17.1%. E-commerce on a reported basis for the 12 weeks was 86.4%; and excluding FX, 86.2%.

本季度淨銷售額增長 16.9% 至 423.5 億美元，高於去年第一季度的 362.4 億美元。就我們第一季度的綜合銷售指標而言，在報告的基礎上，對於美國，我們報告了 14.6% 的數字。排除天然氣通貨緊縮和外匯影響，12 週的 14.6% 將增長 17.0%。加拿大連續 12 週報告為 16.2%；不含天然氣和外匯，16.8%。其他國際報告 18.7%；不含天然氣和外匯，17.7%。總而言之，對於整個公司，我們報告了 15.4% 的複合銷售額增長。不包括天然氣通貨緊縮和外匯，15.4% 將是 17.1%。 12 週報告的電子商務為 86.4%；不包括外匯，86.2%。

In terms of Q1 comp sales metrics, traffic or shopping frequency increased 5.5% worldwide and plus 7.6% in the U.S. Our average transaction size was up for the company, 9.4% in the quarter year-over-year and up 6.5% in the U.S. These include the negative impacts from gas deflation and the positive impact from FX. Foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar positively impacted sales by about 30 basis points, and gasoline price deflation negatively impacted sales by approximately 200 basis points.

就第一季度的銷售指標而言，全球流量或購物頻率增加了 5.5%，在美國增加了 7.6%。我們公司的平均交易規模在本季度同比增長 9.4%，在美國增長 6.5%。其中包括天然氣通貨緊縮的負面影響和外彙的積極影響。相對於美元的外幣對銷售產生了約 30 個基點的積極影響，而汽油價格通縮對銷售產生了約 200 個基點的負面影響。

Now going down the income statement. Membership fee income came in at $860.9 million, up $57 million or 7.1%. Ex FX, it would have been up $54 million or 6.7%. During the quarter, we opened 8 new units.

現在把損益表往下看。會員費收入為 8.609 億美元，增長 5700 萬美元或 7.1%。 Ex FX 將上漲 5400 萬美元或 6.7%。在本季度，我們開設了 8 個新單位。

In terms of renewal rates, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate as of the end of Q1 '21 was 90.9%. That compares to a quarter ago of 91.0%. And worldwide, it was 88.4%, which was the same as it was a quarter ago. Now the U.S. and Canada's rate of 90.9% compared to the 91.0%, this 0.1% decline was primarily a result of what we believe to be the deferred renewals in Canada due to the pandemic. For example, traffic or frequency in our Canada warehouses in Q1 came in at a minus 1.3% compared to a plus 7.6% figure in the United States. By the way, the U.S. renewal rate was the same at both quarters' end.

在續訂率方面，截至 21 年第一季度末，我們的美國和加拿大續訂率為 90.9%。相比之下，一季度前為 91.0%。在全球範圍內，這一比例為 88.4%，與一個季度前相同。現在美國和加拿大的比率為 90.9%，而這一比率為 91.0%，這 0.1% 的下降主要是我們認為加拿大因大流行而推遲續約的結果。例如，第一季度我們加拿大倉庫的流量或頻率為負 1.3%，而美國為正 7.6%。順便說一句，美國的續訂率在兩個季度末是相同的。

In terms of number of members at Q1 end, total paid households at Q1 end was 59.1 million, up from 12 weeks earlier Q4 end of 58.1 million. And total cardholders at Q1 end was 107.1 million compared to 12 weeks earlier at 105.5 million. Also at first quarter end, paid executive memberships totaled 23.3 million, an increase of 642,000 during the fiscal first quarter.

就第一季度末的成員數量而言，第一季度末的付費家庭總數為 5910 萬，高於 12 週前第四季度末的 5810 萬。第一季度末持卡人總數為 1.071 億，而 12 週前為 1.055 億。同樣在第一季度末，付費高管會員總數為 2330 萬，比第一財季增加了 64.2 萬。

On to the gross margin line. Our reported gross margin in the first quarter was higher year-over-year by 50 basis points, coming in at 11.55% of sales compared to 11.05% a year ago. Excluding gas deflation, the point -- the 50 basis point increase would be 30 basis points.

到毛利率線。我們報告的第一季度毛利率同比增長 50 個基點，佔銷售額的 11.55%，而去年同期為 11.05%。不包括天然氣通貨緊縮，50 個基點的增幅將是 30 個基點。

If you jot down 2 columns of numbers here to shed a little light on the components of gross margin, on a reported basis in Q1 '21, the core merchandise margin year-over-year was up on a reported basis, 83 basis points, plus 83. Second column without gas deflation would have been plus 66 basis points. Ancillary businesses, minus 15 basis points reported and minus 20 ex gas deflation; 2% Reward, minus 6 basis points and minus 4; other, minus 12 and minus 12. And if you add up the 2 columns, on a reported basis, again, gross margin reported as a percent of sales year-over-year in the quarter was up 50 basis points on a reported basis and ex gas deflation up 30 basis points.

如果您在此處記下 2 列數字以稍微了解毛利率的組成部分，根據 21 年第一季度的報告，核心商品利潤率在報告的基礎上同比上升 83 個基點，加 83。沒有天然氣通縮的第二列將加 66 個基點。輔助業務，報告的負15個基點和負20的天然氣通貨緊縮； 2% 獎勵，負 6 個基點和負 4；其他，負 12 和負 12。如果您將 2 列加起來，在報告的基礎上，再次報告的毛利率在報告的基礎上作為銷售額的百分比在本季度同比增長 50 個基點，並且ex gas 通縮上升 30 個基點。

Now the core merchandise component of gross margin shows it was higher by 83 and up 66 ex gas deflation. Similar to last quarter, we had a sales shift from ancillary to core. This resulted in a higher contribution of our total gross margin dollars coming from the core operations versus last year. Looking at core merchandise categories in relation only to their own sales, core and core, if you will, margins year-over-year in the quarter were higher by 65 basis points. Fresh foods was again the biggest driver here. With strong sales in fresh, we benefited from efficiency gains in labor productivity and significantly lower product spoilage. Food and sundries, softlines and hardlines, the other 3 main core components, all had higher margins year-over-year in the quarter as well, but fresh foods was the driver.

現在毛利率的核心商品部分顯示它比天然氣通貨緊縮高出 83 和 66。與上個季度類似，我們的銷售從輔助轉向核心。與去年相比，這導致來自核心業務的總毛利率貢獻更高。如果您願意的話，只看與其自身銷售、核心和核心相關的核心商品類別，本季度的利潤率同比增長 65 個基點。新鮮食品再次成為這裡最大的推動力。憑藉強勁的生鮮銷售，我們受益於勞動生產率的提高和產品變質的顯著降低。食品和雜貨、軟線和硬線，其他 3 個主要核心組件，在本季度的利潤率也都高於去年同期，但生鮮食品是驅動力。

Ancillary and other businesses gross margins, as I showed you here, was lower on a reported basis by 15 basis points and minus 20 ex gas deflation, most of the impact coming from travel and, to a lesser extent, from gas, optical, hearing aids and food courts.

正如我在這裡向您展示的那樣，輔助業務和其他業務的毛利率在報告的基礎上降低了 15 個基點和負 20（不含天然氣通貨緊縮），大部分影響來自旅行，在較小程度上來自天然氣、光學、聽力艾滋病和美食廣場。

Costco Logistics, which is our name for the acquisition of Innovel that we did several months ago, impacted ancillary margins by minus 6 basis points, a slight relative improvement from the prior quarter year-over-year. 2% Reward, nothing surprising there. And the other, the minus 12 basis points, all of this was attributable to the cost of the COVID-19 of $53 million of the $212 million total amount previously mentioned. These are the direct costs for incremental wages allocated to our manufacturing, production and fulfillment operations. All told, even with the $53 million of COVID costs hitting the margin, Q4 year-over-year gross margin on a reported basis ex gas is still up 30 basis points year-over-year.

Costco Logistics 是我們幾個月前收購 Innovel 的名稱，它對輔助利潤率的影響為負 6 個基點，較上一季度同比略有改善。 2% 的獎勵，這不足為奇。另一個是負 12 個基點，所有這一切都歸因於前面提到的 2.12 億美元總額中的 5300 萬美元的 COVID-19 成本。這些是分配給我們的製造、生產和履行業務的增量工資的直接成本。總而言之，即使 5300 萬美元的 COVID 成本達到利潤率，第四季度報告的除天然氣外的毛利率仍同比增長 30 個基點。

Moving to SG&A. Our reported SG&A in the first quarter as a percent of sales was lower or better year-over-year by 15 basis points, coming in at 10.15% of sales compared to a year earlier -- first quarter of 10.30%. And ex gas deflation, the 15 basis improvement would be 32 basis points of improvement.

轉移到 SG&A。我們在第一季度報告的 SG&A 佔銷售額的百分比同比下降或上升 15 個基點，與去年同期相比佔銷售額的 10.15% - 第一季度為 10.30%。除天然氣通縮外，15 個基點的改善將是 32 個基點的改善。

Again, jotting down 2 columns of numbers, reported and without gas deflation. Core operations in Q1 on a reported basis was lower or better by 49 basis points so a plus 49; ex gas deflation, plus 62. Central, plus 1 and plus 3 basis points; stock compensation, plus 3 and plus 4 basis points; other, minus 38 and minus 37 basis points. And summing those 2 columns up, total reported SG&A year-over-year was better or lower -- or better, plus 15 basis points; and ex gas deflation, plus 32 basis points.

再次，記下 2 列數字，報告並沒有放氣。根據報告，第一季度的核心業務下降或上升了 49 個基點，因此增加了 49；除天然氣通貨緊縮外，加 62。中央加 1 和加 3 個基點；股票補償，加 3 和加 4 個基點；其他，負38和負37個基點。將這兩列加起來，總報告的 SG&A 同比或好或低——或更好，加上 15 個基點；除天然氣通縮外加 32 個基點。

Now SG&A in the core -- again, it shows, ex deflation, an improvement of 62 basis points. This excludes the COVID costs, which I'll talk about in a minute. There was significant -- just basic significant leverage with strong core merchandise sales increases.

現在 SG&A 是核心——它再次顯示，除通縮外，改善了 62 個基點。這不包括 COVID 成本，我稍後會談到。有顯著的——只是基本的顯著槓桿，核心商品銷售強勁增長。

In terms of other, the minus 38 or minus 37 basis point number ex deflation -- gas deflation, these were our incremental costs from the COVID-19, $159 million of the $212 million total number that we had mentioned earlier. The premium wages have been extended through January 3 at this time. Again, even including these $159 million of COVID-related premium pay expenses, SG&A year-over-year improved nicely.

就其他方面而言，除通貨緊縮 - 天然氣通貨緊縮外的負 38 或負 37 個基點，這些是我們從 COVID-19 中增加的成本，我們之前提到的 2.12 億美元總數中的 1.59 億美元。此時，保費工資已延長至 1 月 3 日。同樣，即使包括這 1.59 億美元的與 COVID 相關的保費支付費用，SG&A 同比也有很好的改善。

Next on the income statement is preopening expense, $22 million this year in the first quarter compared to $14 million a year earlier. We had 10 openings, 8 net of 2 relocations during the quarter; and 4 openings gross, 3 net of 1 relocation a year earlier. Last year's $14 million number did include a couple of million dollars related to preopening on our new poultry -- on our poultry complex, which was opened and went into business right before the beginning of Q1.

損益表上的下一個是開業前費用，今年第一季度為 2200 萬美元，而去年同期為 1400 萬美元。本季度我們有 10 個職位空缺，其中 8 個，其中 2 個搬遷；和 4 個總職位空缺，其中 3 個，扣除一年前的 1 個搬遷。去年 1400 萬美元的數字確實包括與我們的新家禽預開業有關的幾百萬美元——在我們的家禽綜合體上，該綜合體在第一季度開始之前就開業並開始營業。

All told, reported operating income for Q1 '21 increased 35%, coming in at $1.43 billion this year compared to $1.061 billion last year, and even a higher percent increase, of course. It would have been higher had not we had those -- the premium pay.

總而言之，報告的 21 年第一季度營業收入增長了 35%，今年為 14.3 億美元，而去年為 10.61 億美元，當然，增幅甚至更高。如果我們沒有那些 - 保費，它會更高。

Below the operating income line, interest expense was $39 million this year versus $38 million last year. Interest income and other for the quarter was lower by $6 million year-over-year. Interest income itself with net interest income and other was lower by $22 million year-over-year due in large part to lower interest rates, offset by FX and other, which was up -- which was higher or better by $16 million year-over-year. So overall, reported pretax income in Q1 '21 was up 34%, coming in at $1.42 billion this year compared to $1.058 billion a year earlier.

在營業收入線以下，今年的利息支出為 3900 萬美元，而去年為 3800 萬美元。本季度的利息收入和其他收入同比減少了 600 萬美元。利息收入本身與淨利息收入和其他收入同比下降 2200 萬美元，這在很大程度上是由於利率下降，但被外彙和其他方面的上升所抵消——同比增加或好於 1600 萬美元-年。因此，總體而言，21 年第一季度報告的稅前收入增長了 34%，今年為 14.2 億美元，而去年同期為 10.58 億美元。

In terms of income taxes, our tax rate in the first quarter of fiscal '21 was 16.8% compared to 19.1% in Q1 last year. Both years' tax rates benefited from the tax treatment of stock-based compensation, as mentioned earlier. This year's tax rate in the first quarter also benefited from the tax deductibility of the special dividend payable to company 401(k) participants, as discussed -- that portion payable to the 401(k) participants as discussed earlier in the call. This year's full -- this full year's -- fiscal year's effective tax rate, excluding these discrete items, is currently projected to be between 26% and 26.5%.

在所得稅方面，我們在 21 財年第一季度的稅率為 16.8%，而去年第一季度為 19.1%。如前所述，這兩年的稅率都受益於股票薪酬的稅收待遇。如前所述，今年第一季度的稅率還受益於應付給公司 401(k) 參與者的特別股息的稅收減免——如電話會議前面所討論的，該部分應付給 401(k) 參與者。不包括這些離散項目，今年的全部 - 本年度 - 財政年度的有效稅率目前預計在 26% 和 26.5% 之間。

In terms of warehouse expansion, as I mentioned in the first quarter of this fiscal year, we opened 8 net new units. Our plan for the year is somewhere in the 20 to 22 range. None in the second quarter and 6 or so -- 5 or 6 in Q3 and 7 or 8 in Q4. As of Q1 end, total warehouse square footage stood at 117 million square feet.

在倉庫擴張方面，正如我在本財年第一季度提到的那樣，我們淨開設了 8 個新單位。我們今年的計劃是在 20 到 22 之間。第二季度沒有，大約有 6 個——第三季度有 5 個或 6 個，第四季度有 7 個或 8 個。截至第一季度末，倉庫總面積為 1.17 億平方英尺。

In terms of capital expenditures, in the first quarter of '21, we spent approximately $893 million. Our full year CapEx spend for fiscal '21 is still estimated to be in the $3 billion to $3.2 billion range.

在資本支出方面，21 年第一季度，我們花費了大約 8.93 億美元。我們在 21 財年的全年資本支出估計仍在 30 億美元至 32 億美元之間。

In terms of e-commerce, overall, our e-commerce sales in Q1 ex FX increased at 86.2% year-over-year. A few of the stronger departments, food and sundries, housewares, pharmacy, OTC and health and beauty aids, small electrics and TVs and other electronics. Total online grocery grew at a very strong rate in Q1, nearly 300%. The comp numbers that I mentioned, the 86.2% figure follow our usual convention, which excludes these third-party same-day grocery program as they come in themselves and shop in our warehouses and then deliver to our members. If we include the third-party same-day in our e-commerce comps, the 86.2% result would have been just over 100%.

在電子商務方面，總體而言，我們在第一季度（不含外匯）的電子商務銷售額同比增長 86.2%。一些實力較強的部門，食品雜貨、家居用品、藥房、OTC和保健美容用品、小電器和電視等電子產品。第一季度在線食品雜貨總量以非常強勁的速度增長，接近 300%。我提到的 86.2% 的數字符合我們通常的慣例，其中不包括這些第三方當日雜貨計劃，因為他們自己進來並在我們的倉庫購物，然後交付給我們的會員。如果我們將第三方當日計入我們的電子商務組合中，則 86.2% 的結果將略高於 100%。

Innovel, now rebranded as Costco Logistics, continues to grow, and we continue to push more big and bulky items to the site. We've added -- in the past quarter, we added an in-cart scheduler this quarter, where members can select specific delivery dates for most big and bulky items; and made improvements to our call center with specifically trained agents as well. That continues to grow nicely.

現在更名為 Costco Logistics 的 Innovel 繼續發展壯大，我們繼續向該網站推送更多大件和笨重的物品。我們添加了——在上個季度，我們在本季度添加了一個購物車調度程序，會員可以在其中為大多數大件和大件物品選擇特定的交貨日期；並使用經過專門培訓的座席對我們的呼叫中心進行了改進。這繼續很好地增長。

And lastly, a couple of fun sports items just loaded 2 days ago. We have a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball for $64,000 and a Ty Cobb-autographed Louisville Slugger bat for $160,000. We've also recently sold a number of memberships for Wheels Up, a private jet service operator.

最後，兩天前剛剛加載的一些有趣的運動項目。我們有一個 Babe Ruth 親筆簽名的棒球，售價 64,000 美元，還有一個 Ty Cobb 親筆簽名的 Louisville Slugger 球棒，售價 160,000 美元。我們最近還出售了私人飛機服務運營商 Wheels Up 的一些會員資格。

Now turning to COVID and some of the issues and impacts surrounding it. From a sales perspective, similar to our strong sales results this past summer and our fiscal fourth quarter, we have continued to enjoy strong sales results during the first quarter of fiscal 2021. We continue to generate strong sales in food and sundries and health and beauty aids and fresh foods and the like. And we've also benefited from improved sales in products and items for the home. As people are spending less on air and travel and hotel and dining out, they seem to have redirected some of those dollars to categories like electronics, furniture and mattresses, exercise equipment, housewares, cookware, domestics, et cetera. And as mentioned earlier, sales in most of our ancillary businesses were lower year-over-year in the quarter, travel, gas, hearing aids and food courts.

現在轉向 COVID 以及圍繞它的一些問題和影響。從銷售的角度來看，與我們去年夏天和第四財季的強勁銷售業績相似，我們在 2021 財年第一季度繼續享有強勁的銷售業績。我們繼續在食品和雜貨以及健康和美容方面產生強勁的銷售助劑和生鮮食品等。我們還受益於家用產品和物品的銷售改善。隨著人們在機票、旅行、酒店和外出就餐上的花費減少，他們似乎將其中的一些資金重新分配到了電子產品、家具和床墊、健身器材、家庭用品、炊具、家居用品等類別上。如前所述，本季度我們大多數輔助業務的銷售額同比下降，包括旅遊、加油、助聽器和美食廣場。

From a supply chain perspective, a 40,000-foot view, if you will. Most factories are up and running at our suppliers, and in many cases, production capacity has been increased. However, even higher increases in demand of some products are still creating some supply issues. There are instances of 50%, 100% or even more sales increases of an item. And if we could procure more, we'd have even higher sales. Examples would include things like exercise equipment, certain major appliances, certain electronics items as well as certain housewares and small electric items.

從供應鏈的角度來看，40,000 英尺的視野，如果你願意的話。大多數工廠都在我們的供應商處正常運行，並且在許多情況下，生產能力得到了提高。然而，對某些產品的需求甚至更高的增長仍然會造成一些供應問題。有50%、100%甚至更多的商品銷售增長的情況。如果我們能採購更多，我們的銷售額就會更高。示例包括健身器材、某些主要電器、某些電子產品以及某些家庭用品和小型電子產品。

On the transportation front, there have been some container shortages at origin as well as some congestion at destination ports here in the states. The latter, typically 2 to 4 days, but a little longer in some cases. We're managing through it and expect relief not until March or so of 2021.

在運輸方面，各州的原產地集裝箱短缺，目的港也出現擁堵。後者，通常為 2 至 4 天，但在某些情況下會更長一些。我們正在通過它進行管理，預計要到 2021 年 3 月左右才能得到緩解。

As well in the past few weeks, there have been some challenges that you may have read about in the industry in terms of delayed delivery times of e-com item -- of items, just given the number of items being shipped now through third-party carriers. While this may reduce some sales if members are confident -- are not confident in timely holiday delivery, we, like others, I'm sure, have done a couple of things. We've adjusted our stated expected delivery times on our side and reminded people to shop early. And we -- in our case, we took several hundred nonfood items -- nonfood online items that are also in line and are providing same-day delivery through Instacart, including items like AirPods and [instapots] and laptops and many over-the-counter, health and beauty items as well as some other home essentials.

同樣在過去的幾周里，您可能已經在行業中讀到過一些挑戰，即電子商務項目的延遲交付時間 - 項目，只是考慮到現在通過第三方運送的項目數量 -黨的載體。如果會員有信心，這可能會減少一些銷售額——對及時的假期交付沒有信心，但我敢肯定，我們和其他人一樣，已經做了幾件事。我們已經調整了我們聲明的預期交貨時間，並提醒人們儘早購物。我們——在我們的例子中，我們購買了數百個非食品類商品——非食品類在線商品也在排隊，並通過 Instacart 提供當日送達，包括 AirPods 和 [instapots] 和筆記本電腦等商品以及許多非食品類商品。櫃檯、健康和美容用品以及其他一些家居必需品。

In terms of food and sundries, continued limits on some paper goods. Demand and sales went up as COVID began spiking again. Our toughest areas, nitrile gloves, surface cleaning wipes and sanitizing sprays. Also, in some cases, some paper goods. Overall, dairy items are in good shape as well as proteins and produce on the fresh side.

在食品和雜貨方面，繼續限制一些紙製品。隨著 COVID 再次開始飆升，需求和銷售額上升。我們最嚴苛的區域，丁腈手套，表面清潔濕巾和消毒噴霧。此外，在某些情況下，一些紙製品。總體而言，乳製品以及蛋白質和新鮮農產品都處於良好狀態。

In terms of our holiday merchandise planning and results. Halloween, we went into it a little more conservative in terms of costumes and Halloween-specific candy items. We came out of Halloween with pretty clean inventory levels. Christmas, as I think we mentioned on the last earnings call responding to a question, we went a little more basic in terms of needs and uses for the house. So very strong. We've gone into it with fundamental items for the home like housewares, TVs, electronics, even added items like barbecues and pressure washers and furniture items. A little less, we had cut back a little bit on seasonal items like holiday decorations and gift wrap and some of the candy and food gift baskets. In some instances, we've already sold through those inventories.

在我們的假日商品計劃和結果方面。萬聖節，我們在服裝和萬聖節專用糖果方面更加保守。我們帶著非常乾淨的庫存水平走出了萬聖節。聖誕節，正如我認為我們在上次財報電話會議上回答問題時提到的那樣，我們在房子的需求和用途方面變得更加基本。所以非常強大。我們已經將家居用品、電視、電子產品等基本物品納入其中，甚至添加了燒烤、高壓清洗機和家具等物品。少一點，我們減少了一些季節性物品，如節日裝飾品和禮品包裝，以及一些糖果和食品禮品籃。在某些情況下，我們已經通過這些庫存進行了銷售。

Our warehouses overall have remained open and are mostly back to regular hours with an additional hour on any mornings for seniors and persons with disabilities. Warehouses are still following social distancing and sanitation guidelines. And in some jurisdictions, we have to limit occupancy. Since May 4, as you may recall, we've required members and employees to the warehouses to wear masks. And since November 16, we've required face shields for those unable to wear a mask. Some of these initiatives, of course, will extend well into Q2 of the fiscal year.

我們的倉庫總體上保持開放，並且大部分都恢復正常工作時間，並在任何早上為老年人和殘疾人額外增加一小時。倉庫仍在遵守社交距離和衛生準則。在某些司法管轄區，我們必須限制入住。您可能還記得，自 5 月 4 日以來，我們已經要求會員和員工到倉庫戴口罩。自 11 月 16 日起，我們要求無法戴口罩的人佩戴面罩。當然，其中一些舉措將延續到本財年的第二季度。

Finally, in terms of upcoming press releases, we will announce our December sales results for the 5 weeks ending Sunday, January 3, on Wednesday, January 6 after market closes.

最後，就即將發布的新聞稿而言，我們將在市場收盤後於 1 月 6 日星期三公佈截至 1 月 3 日星期日的 5 週的 12 月銷售結果。

With that, I will open it up to questions and answers, and I'll turn it back to Cindy. Cindy?

有了這個，我將把它開放給問題和答案，然後我會把它轉回給 Cindy。辛迪？

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman from Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

Richard, I wanted to ask -- following on, you talked about some of the merchandising plans around Halloween and Christmas. You're going to begin to lap some pretty massive surges in growth when you get into the thick of '21. I know you don't guide, but you're probably planning inventory purchases. So I wanted to ask how you sort of manage with a pretty wide range of outcomes. And I don't know if you have any guideposts to thinking about some of the gains you're making in fresh food as far as the spoilage and the markdowns that don't seem to be happening. So how do you think -- how do you plan for lapping some of those as well?

理查德，我想問一下——接下來，你談到了萬聖節和聖誕節前後的一些銷售計劃。當你進入 21 年的最高峰時，你將開始經歷一些相當大的增長。我知道你不指導，但你可能正在計劃庫存採購。所以我想問你是如何管理相當廣泛的結果的。而且我不知道您是否有任何指南來思考您在新鮮食品中獲得的一些收益，就腐敗和似乎沒有發生的降價而言。那麼你怎麼想 - 你打算如何研磨其中的一些？

Well, I mean, there's a few different things and time periods that will be in question. If you recall, there was a big surge in frequency and sales results the last week in February and the first 2 or 3 weeks of March, when people were coming in and hoarding, in our view. And of course, we were running out of everything basic, from water to paper goods to cleaning supplies and things like that. And in some cases -- and then beyond that into April and May, there were some issues as there were some COVID spiking at many fresh plants -- protein plants, meat and poultry and the like.

嗯，我的意思是，有一些不同的事情和時間段會受到質疑。如果您還記得，我們認為，在 2 月的最後一周和 3 月的前 2 或 3 週，當人們進來並囤積時，頻率和銷售結果都出現了大幅增長。當然，我們基本的東西都用完了，從水到紙製品再到清潔用品等等。在某些情況下——然後到 4 月和 5 月，出現了一些問題，因為許多新鮮植物——蛋白質植物、肉類和家禽等——出現了一些新冠病毒。

And so it's hard to project completely. I think historic -- of late, we have tried to build a little extra inventory where we can, in some of those key things that aren't going to go out of style like paper goods and cleaning supplies. Although then -- and you hit the next rush of spiking and whatever extra inventory you had, it goes away pretty quickly.

所以很難完全投影。我認為具有歷史意義 - 最近，我們試圖在一些不會過時的關鍵物品（如紙製品和清潔用品）中建立一些額外的庫存。雖然那時 - 你遇到了下一個峰值以及你擁有的任何額外庫存，它很快就會消失。

Look, we'll continue to work around it. We work -- I think in some cases, it's a little easier in the sense that we have fewer suppliers to deal with, we have fewer items to deal with. Arguably in other cases, given our huge volumes, that creates its own challenges sometimes. I think the bigger challenge is going to be post May last year -- or this past year, June is when we saw kind of sales strength, not just in those key essential categories like fresh foods and foods and sundries and paper goods and health and beauty aids, but also on the nonfood side, items for the home, if you will, and those types of basic items and, again, people spending some of those dollars.

看，我們將繼續解決它。我們工作——我認為在某些情況下，我們需要處理的供應商更少，處理的項目更少，這會更容易一些。可以說，在其他情況下，鑑於我們的龐大數量，有時會產生自己的挑戰。我認為更大的挑戰將在去年 5 月之後——或者在過去的一年中，6 月是我們看到銷售強勁的時候，而不僅僅是那些關鍵的基本類別，如新鮮食品、食品、雜貨、紙製品和健康，美容輔助用品，還有非食品方面的東西，如果你願意的話，還有那些基本的物品，以及人們花費其中的一些錢。

Look, some things will improve and some things may be degraded a little bit. Some things that are degraded may take a while and not everything is going to happen. A light bulb is not going to go off 1 day and everything is going to get better from a food standpoint in terms of restaurants being opened.

看，有些事情會改善，有些事情可能會下降一點。一些退化的事情可能需要一段時間，並不是所有的事情都會發生。一個燈泡不會在 1 天之內熄滅，從食物的角度來看，就開張的餐館而言，一切都會變得更好。

So I think we're in it together, and we feel pretty good that we've got a good format to serve our members well, and we'll go from there.

所以我認為我們在一起，我們感覺很好，我們有一個很好的格式來很好地為我們的成員服務，我們將從那裡開始。

And as far as, I don't know, the events, I know you have road shows. I don't know how prevalent they've been. Your mailers. Are there things that you can change the cadence of, either to get more aggressive? Grocery, you've taken a huge amount of share this year. Is that an area you're going to lean into stronger? Just curious how you're thinking about the merchandise -- how the merchants are prepping for the upcoming year.

至於，我不知道，事件，我知道你有路演。我不知道它們流行到什麼程度。你的郵遞員。有沒有可以改變節奏的東西，或者變得更有侵略性？雜貨店，今年你分得很多。那是你要加強的領域嗎？只是好奇你對商品的看法——商家如何為即將到來的一年做準備。

Well, as it relates to promotional forms that we do like the MVM mailers or even online type of mailers, needless to say, some of those have been changed because some of the big ticket nonfood -- not big ticket, I'm sorry. Some of the big size items that are always in there, like paper goods, like cleaning supplies, in some cases, we've had eliminated some of those items from the mailer. We put other items in. In some cases, it's done fine. In some cases, it's a little bit less of a sales increase. But that's not just going forward. That's been in the last few months as well that we've changed those things.

好吧，因為它涉及到我們喜歡的 MVM 郵件甚至在線類型的郵件的促銷形式，不用說，其中一些已經改變，因為一些大票非食品 - 不是大票，我很抱歉。一些總是在那裡的大尺寸物品，比如紙製品，比如清潔用品，在某些情況下，我們已經從郵件中刪除了其中一些物品。我們把其他物品放進去。在某些情況下，它做得很好。在某些情況下，銷售額的增長會少一些。但這不僅僅是向前發展。在過去的幾個月裡，我們也改變了這些事情。

I think we've been pretty good at pivoting and adding new items. I think the examples of -- for Christmas, while we may have -- maybe we went a little too deep into cutting back, not that they were big cuts, but we're running out of some of those decorative things a week or 2 earlier than we would have liked to.

我認為我們非常擅長旋轉和添加新項目。我認為聖誕節的例子，雖然我們可能有 - 也許我們在削減方面有點太深了，不是說他們是大削減，但我們一兩個星期就用完了一些裝飾性的東西比我們希望的要早。

We also though have found success in lots of essential, basic fundamental items. I don't think this -- I think this is the first Christmas that we probably brought in barbecue grills and pressure washers to market. And they're doing well because people are buying gifts for the home.

不過，我們也在許多基本的基本項目上取得了成功。我不這麼認為——我認為這是我們可能將燒烤架和高壓清洗機推向市場的第一個聖誕節。他們做得很好，因為人們正在為家裡買禮物。

Ramp-up of [groceries].

[雜貨] 的增加。

And your next question comes from the line of Mr. Mike Baker of D.A. Davidson.

您的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Mike Baker 先生。戴維森。

I was a little curious on the holiday trends. 2 questions, really. One, by trying to advertise and get customers to spread out their sales and come in a little bit early, do you think there was any pull forward of holiday sales into November from December? And then a second part of the holiday question, I think you said that you're out of stock quickly in some of the seasonal items. Do you think you could have made -- been a little bit more aggressive on the seasonal stuff? How much do you think your sales could have been up if you had done that?

我對假期趨勢有點好奇。 2個問題，真的。第一，通過嘗試做廣告並讓客戶分散他們的銷售並提前一點進來，你認為假日銷售從 12 月到 11 月有任何拉動嗎？然後是假期問題的第二部分，我想你說你在一些季節性商品中很快就缺貨了。你認為你可以在季節性的東西上更激進一點嗎？如果你這樣做了，你認為你的銷售額會增加多少？

Yes. Well, first of all, talking to the buyers, they definitely feel that some of the merchandise and sales were pulled forward into November, not only from December but even the week of November. There's been articles out there about Thanksgiving and overall, not a Costco-specific, but just in general about what's going on online and what have you. And so certainly, some of that kind of got pushed forward.

是的。嗯，首先，與買家交談，他們肯定覺得一些商品和銷售被提前到了 11 月，不僅從 12 月開始，甚至從 11 月的那一周開始。那裡有關於感恩節和整體的文章，不是針對 Costco 的，而是關於網上發生的事情和你有什麼的一般性文章。因此，可以肯定的是，其中一些被推進了。

In terms of some decorative things, I mean, there are examples where instead of buying 10% more this year of a given item, we bought 10% or 20% less. So we still bought a lot. We -- it's not like we cut our order back by half. But in retrospect, we probably could have sold a little bit more. I don't have a dollar number. It's probably not that meaningful. For every negative, there's another positive. Needless to say, our comps overall have been very strong.

在一些裝飾性的東西方面，我的意思是，有一些例子，今年我們沒有多買 10%，而是少買了 10% 或 20%。所以我們還是買了很多。我們——這並不是說我們將訂單減少了一半。但回想起來，我們可能會賣得更多。我沒有美元號碼。這可能沒有那麼有意義。對於每一個負面因素，都有另一個積極因素。不用說，我們的陣容總體上非常強大。

Yes. That's fair. And if I could ask one more, I guess, unrelated question. The MFI, the 7.1% increase, that's better than it has been. A nice acceleration there. Any color as to where that acceleration came from, from what have been more in the 4%, 5% range in the last few quarters?

是的。這還算公平。如果我可以再問一個，我猜，不相關的問題。小額信貸機構，7.1% 的增長，比以前要好。那裡有一個不錯的加速。關於加速來自哪裡的任何顏色，在過去幾個季度的 4% 和 5% 範圍內更多的是什麼？

Well, I think -- in terms of shopping frequency?

嗯，我認為——就購物頻率而言？

No, membership fee income.

不，會員費收入。

No, the -- correct.

不，——正確的。

Oh, membership fee -- oh, I'm sorry. Okay. I didn't hear the first part of the question. Well, I think we opened a few more units than we did a year earlier. That -- without looking that deeply, that's probably most of it.

哦，會員費——哦，對不起。好的。我沒有聽到問題的第一部分。嗯，我想我們比一年前開了幾個單位。那——不用看那麼深，這可能就是大部分。

And your next question comes from Chuck Grom of Gordon Haskett.

您的下一個問題來自 Gordon Haskett 的 Chuck Grom。

Richard, when you look at your online offering, can you remind us where it stands in terms of total mix of business and also level of profitability relative to the store? And looking ahead, what categories you may start going into more?

理查德，當您查看您的在線產品時，您能否提醒我們它在總業務組合和相對於商店的盈利水平方面處於什麼位置？展望未來，您可能會開始更多地涉足哪些類別？

Well, I think in terms of -- in store, of course, in warehouse, we've got about 3,800 active items online. We typically have somewhere in the high single-digit thousands, I mean, call it, 9,000-plus. I'm sorry.

好吧，我認為就商店而言，當然，在倉庫中，我們有大約 3,800 件在線活動商品。我們通常有高個位數的數千，我的意思是，稱之為 9,000 多。對不起。

7%.

7%。

And in terms of percent of sales, it's about 7% of sales. Now we don't include in that number, as I mentioned, like the...

就銷售額的百分比而言，它約為銷售額的 7%。正如我所提到的，現在我們不包括在那個數字中，比如...

Third party.

第三者。

Third-party sales like the Instacart same-day fresh because they're employee or contracted employees coming in to Costco shopping just like any other customer coming to shop. So you can add a little bit more to that. But in terms of what we call online, it's about 7%. I think it was 6% in fiscal '20 for the entirety. And of course, it was halfway through the year when you saw e-com percentages increases jumped dramatically with the advent of COVID.

像 Instacart 這樣的第三方銷售當日新鮮，因為他們是進入 Costco 購物的員工或合同員工，就像任何其他來購物的顧客一樣。所以你可以添加更多。但就我們在網上所說的而言，大約是7%。我認為整個 20 財年的比例是 6%。當然，當你看到電子商務百分比隨著 COVID 的出現而急劇增加時，是在今年的中途。

And then just level of profitability?

然後只是盈利水平？

Overall, e-commerce is a little less profitable. You've got -- category-wise, it's profitable. You've got -- category-wise, you've got merchandise categories that don't include some of the highest gross margin components of our business like fresh, like apparel in a big way in terms of the penetration. You've got electronics, which is a lower-than-average margin business, both in-store and online and a much bigger percentage of penetration online. So those are examples. Certainly, the profitability of e-commerce has been helped with the types of comp sales increases we've had over the past year.

總體而言，電子商務的利潤略低。你有 - 就類別而言，它是有利可圖的。你有 - 就類別而言，你的商品類別不包括我們業務的一些最高毛利率組成部分，比如新鮮的，比如在滲透率方面很大的服裝。你有電子產品，這是一項低於平均利潤率的業務，無論是店內還是在線，在線滲透率都更高。所以這些都是例子。當然，電子商務的盈利能力得益於我們在過去一年中的銷售增長類型。

But also over this past year, there's some of the cost inefficiencies of growing it so fast, we -- in terms of fulfillment, as we are continually adding locations where it can be shipped out of and getting closer to the customer as this overall size of the business has grown a lot. Yes. And as I mentioned earlier, the investment in Innovel or call -- what's now we're calling Costco Logistics, that was, as we expected, a hit year-over-year to margin simply because we're -- it's being ramped up and upgrading.

但是在過去的一年裡，增長如此之快也存在一些成本效率低下，我們 - 在履行方面，因為我們不斷增加可以運出的地點，並以這種整體規模越來越接近客戶的業務增長了很多。是的。正如我之前提到的，對 Innovel 或電話的投資——現在我們稱之為 Costco 物流，正如我們所預期的那樣，利潤率同比受到打擊，僅僅是因為我們——它正在增加和升級。

Got you. And then just a follow-up on Mike's question. And I pardon my near-term orientation of it. But when you look at the comp in November and the falloff at the end of the month, albeit still strong, just when you look back, if there's any learnings on to why you think sales fell off. And I'm curious if the revenue trends have started to bounce back.

得到你。然後只是對邁克問題的跟進。我原諒我對它的近期定位。但是，當您查看 11 月份的比較和月底的下降時，儘管仍然很強勁，但當您回顧時，是否有任何關於您認為銷售下降的原因的教訓。我很好奇收入趨勢是否已經開始反彈。

I think it's -- I mean our best guess is it's complete pull forward. I mean the fact is people who have been marketing bigger ticket items and some of those types of holiday items earlier in November...

我認為這是 - 我的意思是我們最好的猜測是它完全向前推進。我的意思是，人們在 11 月初一直在推銷更大的門票商品和其中一些類型的假日商品……

Our Black Friday promotions, for the whole month.

我們整個月的黑色星期五促銷活動。

Yes. Bob here mentioned that our Black Friday promotions this year, more of those things we promoted earlier in the month.

是的。鮑勃在這裡提到我們今年的黑色星期五促銷活動，更多的是我們在本月早些時候促銷的那些東西。

Everybody.

大家。

And not just us but everybody else out there, too.

不僅是我們，還有其他所有人。

And your next question comes from Mr. Michael Lasser of UBS.

您的下一個問題來自瑞銀的邁克爾·拉塞爾先生。

Richard, you outlined some nice holiday gifts that some people on this call might be considering getting for loved ones this season. When you look at your sales compared to the rest of the consumable retail landscape, most others are seeing a deceleration in their comp where Costco has seen an acceleration in its comp. Why do you think that is? Is it simply because customers -- members are coming in to buy the discretionary goods and loading up their baskets with the consumable items?

理查德，你概述了一些不錯的節日禮物，本次電話會議上的一些人可能會考慮在本季為親人購買這些禮物。當您將您的銷售額與其他消費品零售環境進行比較時，大多數其他人的銷售額都在減速，而 Costco 的銷售額卻在加速。你認為這是為什麼？僅僅是因為顧客——會員進來購買非必需品並在他們的籃子裡裝滿消耗品嗎？

We definitely think that -- look, being essential and recognizing that people clearly are coming in to buy food and key cleaning items and health and beauty aids and the like, that gets you in the door. And certainly, in our view, given that money is being spent on other things in normal years, perhaps it's being spent more for things for the home, we have that as well. And I think that has helped us in that regard.

我們絕對認為——看，是必不可少的，並認識到人們顯然是來購買食品和關鍵清潔用品以及健康和美容輔助用品等，這會讓你進門。當然，在我們看來，鑑於正常年份錢都花在了其他事情上，也許更多的錢花在了家庭用品上，我們也有這種情況。我認為這在這方面對我們有所幫助。

Okay. So it really comes down to mix [that Costco puts off but not enough to really compare].

好的。所以它真的歸結為混合[Costco推遲但不足以真正比較]。

I'm bias. I'd like to think part of it is people feel hopefully at least relatively safe coming in to a big wide open box environment, where we've done, we think, a pretty good job of social distancing and other safety protocols.

我是偏見。我想部分原因是人們希望至少能相對安全地進入一個敞開的大盒子環境，我們認為，我們已經在社交距離和其他安全協議方面做得很好。

Okay. And the core, core gross margin increase, it seems like it's a function of just the strong sales, allowing Costco to be able to sell through better than it might otherwise has been able to. Is that right that we should -- it could have gone both ways if...

好的。而核心，核心毛利率的增長，似乎只是強勁銷售的一個功能，這使得 Costco 能夠比其他方式更好地銷售。我們應該這樣做對嗎？如果...

I think -- yes. I think most of it is strong sales, which shows its brightest colors with fresh food, where you've got 2 cost components that have improved dramatically: spoilage and labor productivity. So that has certainly helped. The -- I had one other thought on it, but I can't seem to [call to mind]. Sorry. Oh, less promotion.

我想是的。我認為其中大部分是強勁的銷售，它在新鮮食品中顯示出最鮮豔的色彩，其中有兩個成本要素得到了顯著改善：腐敗和勞動生產率。所以這肯定有幫助。 ——我對此有過另一種想法，但我似乎無法[回想起]。對不起。哦，少推銷。

The other, Michael, is I think you've all read about this from an industry perspective. There's been less promotional activities out there, while we were still giving great values on things, when you look at TVs in general, while prices have come down across the board just because they always do over time, and TVs keep getting -- seem to be getting better, bigger and less expensive, there's not the kind of promotional money being thrown at it by the manufacturers because they haven't had to. And so I think that too has had some impact.

另一個，邁克爾，我想你們都從行業的角度讀過這個。那裡的促銷活動較少，而我們仍然對事物給予很高的評價，當您總體上看電視時，而價格全面下降只是因為它們總是隨著時間的推移而下降，而且電視不斷得到 - 似乎變得更好，更大，更便宜，製造商不會因為他們沒有必要而投入那種促銷資金。所以我認為這也產生了一些影響。

And your next question comes from the line of Mr. Scot from RBC Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Scot 先生。

Scot Ciccarelli. So I believe some of the products you guys sell via your website or e-commerce are for members only, but not all of them, or it doesn't look like that from a labeling perspective. So assuming it's not just a labeling difference, how much of your e-commerce sales are coming from members?

斯科特·西卡雷利。所以我相信你們通過網站或電子商務銷售的一些產品僅供會員使用，但不是全部，或者從標籤的角度來看並不像那樣。因此，假設這不僅僅是標籤上的差異，那麼您的電子商務銷售額中有多少來自會員？

Virtually all. I believe part of the challenges is on some items -- as we work with our suppliers and ourselves as well, we want you to be able to have to sign in to see the prices.

幾乎所有。我相信部分挑戰在於某些商品——當我們與供應商以及我們自己合作時，我們希望您能夠必須登錄才能查看價格。

I got it. Okay. And then, Richard, what's the update today regarding how much of your e-commerce sales are being drop-shipped from vendors versus kind of delivered through Costco?

我知道了。好的。然後，Richard，關於您的電子商務銷售中有多少是從供應商直接發貨的，而不是通過 Costco 交付的，今天有什麼更新？

About 50-50.

大約 50-50。

About 50-50.

大約 50-50。

A little less.

少一點。

A little less than 50% is being...

不到50％正在...

Drop-shipped.

直接發貨。

Drop-shipped.

直接發貨。

And next question from Karen Short of Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的凱倫·肖特。

A couple of questions I wanted to ask. So first, just on COVID and wages. So the $212 million you called out obviously gave us a breakout on the impact on cost of goods versus SG&A. But that was a little higher than the number, I think, the $14 million per week that you've guided. So wondering if that's -- what the delta would have been because that would have gotten us to about $168 million. And then wondering if you can give a little color on what the -- like other cleaning component might be, would have been in this quarter and then how to think about it into next quarter because presumably, just like I asked last quarter, that January 3 date is probably not the end date, I would assume.

我想問幾個問題。所以首先，只是關於 COVID 和工資。因此，您提出的 2.12 億美元顯然讓我們對商品成本與 SG&A 的影響有所突破。但這比你指導的每週 1400 萬美元的數字略高。所以想知道這是否是 - 增量會是什麼，因為這將使我們達到約 1.68 億美元。然後想知道您是否可以就本季度的其他清潔組件可能會是什麼提供一點顏色，然後如何考慮到下個季度，因為大概就像我上個季度問的那樣，那一月3 日期可能不是結束日期，我想。

Well, we'll find out. But needless to say I can't comment on that. But a big chunk of the difference of $14 million or -- I may have rounded honestly down to $14 million, and now it's rounding up to whatever. But at the end of the day, there's more hours, the biggest delta, more cumulative hours. We have...

好吧，我們會找出答案的。但不用說我不能對此發表評論。但是 1400 萬美元的差額的很大一部分，或者——老實說，我可能已經四捨五入到 1400 萬美元，現在它正在四捨五入到任何值。但在一天結束時，會有更多的時間，最大的增量，更多的累積時間。我們有...

Okay. And then the cleaning component?

好的。然後是清潔組件？

Immaterial amount.

無形的數額。

That's relatively small.

這是相對較小的。

Okay. And then I'm wondering if you could give a little color on the expansion of the Instacart relationship. You obviously listed a couple of SKUs that you've added on to that with respect to the third party. Can you give color on what the markup is on nonfood items versus food and then give a breakdown on what that would be for members versus nonmembers on the markup?

好的。然後我想知道你是否可以對 Instacart 關係的擴展提供一點顏色。您顯然列出了一些您添加到其中的與第三方相關的 SKU。您能否對非食品項目與食品的標記進行區分，然後對標記上的成員與非成員的標記進行細分？

Well, I can't be that specific. We continue -- over the last 3 or 4 years, we've continued to work to lower the effective average markup across the board on items. There is some discretion, some can be a little lower than that and some can be a little higher, but there's an average, which includes both their markup plus whatever other fees that person is spending, whether it's a per delivery fee or per monthly fee to Instacart. As -- given some of the unique issues during the end of the year with the high demand for shipping and the capacity issues out there with the third-party shippers, we -- and given that Instacart is always coming in, we've added some items to the fray. In some cases, there is a maximum markup on those that don't -- that is, in many cases, smaller than that -- quite a bit smaller than that other -- that mid- to high-teen number percentage-wise.

好吧，我不能說得那麼具體。我們繼續——在過去的 3 或 4 年中，我們一直在努力降低項目的有效平均加價。有一些自由裁量權，有些可能比這低一點，有些可能高一點，但有一個平均值，包括他們的加價以及該人花費的任何其他費用，無論是每次送貨費還是每月費用到 Instacart。由於 - 考慮到今年年底對航運的高需求以及第三方托運人的運力問題的一些獨特問題，我們 - 並且考慮到 Instacart 總是進來，我們補充說一些項目的戰鬥。在某些情況下，那些沒有的人有一個最大的加價——也就是說，在許多情況下，比那個小——比另一個小得多——那個中高青少年的百分比。

Okay. And then just last question. In terms of the MFI, obviously, the -- I think January of '21 would be the new time line in terms of the tax deductibility in California. Is there any thoughts in terms of time line in terms of how you would think about an MFI or a membership fee increase? Because I think in the past, you've historically done that when you've actually seen counterintuitively traffic slowing, and it seems like you may be looking at slower traffic just based on tough compares as we get into parts of next year. So philosophically color on that.

好的。然後只是最後一個問題。顯然，就小額信貸機構而言，我認為 21 年 1 月將是加州減稅的新時間表。就您如何看待小額信貸機構或會員費增加而言，您是否有任何時間線方面的想法？因為我認為在過去，當您實際看到違反直覺的流量放緩時，您在歷史上已經這樣做了，而且當我們進入明年的部分時間時，您似乎只是根據艱難的比較來看待較慢的流量。所以哲學上的色彩。

Well, I mean, historically, as you know, for 35 years, we've effectively raised the basic fee $5 every roughly 5 years. When I say roughly, it could be 5, 5.5 years. And the executive membership has been raised to -- originally started at 100, now it's 110 to 120. The last time we did the increase was -- I believe, was in June-ish of '16. So 5 years...

嗯，我的意思是，從歷史上看，如你所知，35 年來，我們實際上每大約 5 年提高 5 美元的基本費用。如果我粗略地說，可能是 5 年、5.5 年。行政成員已經提高到——最初從 100 人開始，現在從 110 人增加到 120 人。我們最後一次增加是——我相信是在 16 年的 6 月左右。所以5年...

'17.

'17.

That was June of '16.

那是 16 年 6 月。

['17. It'd be 4 years.]

['17.這將是4年。]

Are you sure?

你確定嗎？

[I can check that].

[我可以檢查一下]。

We'll check on that. But if you -- it was June of one of the years, either '16 or '17. But it will be 5 years from then that we might look. You mentioned that we've done it when things are -- sales have been stronger and when sales have been weaker, when the economies took a hit or whatever else. We look at it somewhat independently of that. We look at it and we feel, have we improved the value of the membership by more than that $5 or respective $5 or $10? And I'm not suggesting we might wait or not, but time will tell. Historically, we've always felt very good about when we've done it, and certainly the value proposition has been enhanced much -- at a much greater multiple than the $5 or $10.

我們會檢查的。但如果你——那是一年中的六月，要么是 16 年，要么是 17 年。但從那時起我們可能會看到 5 年。你提到我們已經做到了，當事情發生時——銷售強勁，銷售疲軟，經濟受到打擊或其他任何情況。我們在某種程度上獨立於它來看待它。我們看著它，我們覺得，我們是否將會員價值提高了超過 5 美元或相應的 5 美元或 10 美元？我並不是說我們可以等或不等，但時間會證明一切。從歷史上看，當我們完成它時，我們總是感覺非常好，而且價值主張肯定得到了很大的提升——比 5 美元或 10 美元的倍數要大得多。

The next question is from Oliver Chen of Cowen.

下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Oliver Chen。

Richard, regarding what's ahead with vaccinations, do you see a role that your pharmacy will play in that? And also in this dynamic environment, how are you thinking about managing inventory versus sales as we look forward to hopefully a pathway to vaccination, et cetera?

理查德，關於疫苗的未來，您認為您的藥房將在其中發揮作用嗎？同樣在這個動態的環境中，您如何考慮管理庫存與銷售，因為我們期待著一條通往疫苗接種等的途徑？

I believe there -- we, in the country, are currently in the first phase of the vaccination process. We are not participating in that, but I believe Phase 2, which will be just a short period down the road, our pharmacies will also be part of the many pharmacies throughout the country that are going to be providing the service of vaccinations for that.

我相信那裡——我們在這個國家，目前正處於疫苗接種過程的第一階段。我們沒有參與其中，但我相信第 2 階段，這將只是一段很短的時間，我們的藥房也將成為全國許多將為此提供疫苗接種服務的藥房的一部分。

We are in Phase 1...

我們處於第一階段...

We are in Phase 1 in the state of Alaska only currently. But I think throughout the country, we plan to be in Phase 2, which will be the big push after this first initial round. And in terms of managing inventories, while space is not infinite, certainly, the cost of carrying a little extra inventory isn't very expensive right now given the very low interest rates. But at the end of the day, as I mentioned a little earlier, we -- I think we plan positively in terms of how our sales have been. And to the extent that -- in the example of those seasonal items, we came down a little bit but not a lot. And I think we'll continue to do that kind of planning. A lot of times, on items that are short, but there's certainly no risk of having -- the only risk of having some extra paper towels for a few weeks is the risk of having them. There's not any obsolescence or markdown risk on it. We always tried in times when there's more of that available, we'll build up a few extra weeks of supply. But overall, I don't see a big change in our inventory turns or payables ratios.

我們目前僅在阿拉斯加州處於第一階段。但我認為在全國范圍內，我們計劃進入第二階段，這將是第一輪首輪之後的重大推動。在庫存管理方面，雖然空間不是無限的，但鑑於利率非常低，現在攜帶一點額外庫存的成本當然不是很貴。但歸根結底，正如我之前提到的，我們 - 我認為我們在銷售情況方面做出了積極的計劃。在某種程度上——在那些季節性商品的例子中，我們下降了一點，但不是很多。我認為我們將繼續進行這種規劃。很多時候，在短的物品上，但肯定沒有風險 - 幾週內有一些額外的紙巾的唯一風險是擁有它們的風險。它沒有任何過時或降價風險。我們總是在有更多可用的時候嘗試，我們將增加幾週的供應。但總的來說，我認為我們的庫存周轉率或應付賬款比率沒有太大變化。

Okay. And e-commerce...

好的。還有電子商務...

They're dictated more by comp sales than anything. When we were enjoying a -- pre-COVID, a 6% to 8% comp sales number, inventories as a percent of -- payables as a percent of inventories was whatever the number was. When we saw the big increase in comps, you saw the payables as a percent of inventories going up.

他們更多地受comp銷售支配。當我們享受 - 在 COVID 之前，6% 到 8% 的比較銷售數字時，庫存佔庫存的百分比 - 應付賬款佔庫存的百分比是任何數字。當我們看到補償大幅增加時，您看到應付賬款佔庫存的百分比上升。

Got it. That's very helpful. And on the topic of e-commerce, as we think about longer-term growth rates as well as new customer acquisition that you're seeing an engagement online, what are some of the major catalysts for innovation going forward that you'll implement or that you're looking to implement? And then how do you think growth rates may evolve as hopefully reopenings occur eventually?

知道了。這很有幫助。關於電子商務的話題，當我們考慮長期增長率以及您在網上看到的新客戶獲取時，您將實施或實施的一些主要創新催化劑是什麼？您要實施的？然後你認為隨著重新開放最終會發生，增長率會如何變化？

Well, look, we, as much as anybody, want things to get back to normal from a business standpoint but also most importantly from a personal standpoint. And over the next couple of years, God willing, starting with this process of vaccinations and vaccines and hopefully a big chunk of this progress through by the beginning of -- during the summer, people will get out more, will be going back to restaurants and the like. And will that have an impact on our food sales? Of course, it will. Some of this positive will be sticky. Some of the new members will be sticky. And we'll go from there. I think that there are lots of attributes to value and customer loyalty.

好吧，看，我們和任何人一樣，希望從商業角度來看事情恢復正常，但最重要的是從個人角度來看。在接下來的幾年裡，上帝保佑，從疫苗接種和疫苗的這個過程開始，並希望在夏天開始時，這一進展的很大一部分——在夏天，人們會更多地出去，會回到餐館之類的。這會對我們的食品銷售產生影響嗎？當然，它會的。其中一些積極因素會很粘。一些新成員會很粘人。我們將從那裡開始。我認為價值和客戶忠誠度有很多屬性。

Certainly, the best prices on great quality merchandise that the member trusts, in our view, is the biggest attribute, and that's where we start from. We -- e-commerce is certainly -- and the acquisition of Innovel in terms of big ticket items and having a great service at a great value for those items, we think, helps us. But ultimately, we still want our members to come into the warehouse. When they come in, they see the items, and they're more likely to buy some of those items. And certainly, driving them in with great value and great quality is what we're all about.

當然，在我們看來，會員信任的優質商品的最優惠價格是最大的屬性，這就是我們的起點。我們 - 電子商務當然是 - 我們認為，收購 Innovel 在大件商品方面以及為這些商品提供物超所值的優質服務對我們有所幫助。但最終，我們仍然希望我們的成員進入倉庫。當他們進來時，他們會看到這些物品，並且他們更有可能購買其中一些物品。當然，以高價值和高品質推動它們是我們的全部目標。

That's helpful. And last on that logistics, Costco Logistics part. What should we know about as we model that going forward in terms of the margin headwinds and the dimensions around the size of that business relative to total?

這很有幫助。最後是物流，好市多物流部分。當我們根據利潤逆風和該業務規模相對於總規模的維度對未來進行建模時，我們應該知道什麼？

Well, the only 2 data points we've given you is in Q4, year-over-year, it was about, I think, an 8 basis point margin hit. In Q1, which we just reported for this new fiscal year, it was a 6 basis point margin hit. As guessing games go, assume that there'll be constant improvement in that over the next several quarters so that it won't be a negative. Now mind you, that doesn't include any benefit we get from increased sales of those items and the margin associated with that. But when we bought this thing, we knew that it would be dilutive from an earnings standpoint for certainly the first year and perhaps into the second year, hopefully, on a decreasing basis. And certainly, the first 2 quarters would indicate a little of that. But at the end of the day, we think it -- those companies that have had their own infrastructure to be able to do last-mile delivery and installations, it's a positive. Certainly, the home improvement companies have done that, the retailers, and it works out for us, and we're excited about what we can do with it.

好吧，我們給你的唯一 2 個數據點是在第四季度，與去年同期相比，我認為這大約是 8 個基點的保證金。在我們剛剛報告的新財年第一季度，利潤率下降了 6 個基點。隨著猜謎遊戲的進行，假設在接下來的幾個季度中會不斷改進，以免產生負面影響。現在請注意，這不包括我們從這些商品的銷售增加和與之相關的利潤中獲得的任何好處。但是當我們買了這個東西時，我們知道從收益的角度來看它肯定會稀釋第一年，也許到第二年，希望在減少的基礎上。當然，前兩個季度會表明這一點。但歸根結底，我們認為——那些擁有自己的基礎設施能夠進行最後一英里交付和安裝的公司，這是積極的。當然，家居裝修公司和零售商都這樣做了，這對我們來說很有效，我們對我們能用它做些什麼感到興奮。

Your next question, from Edward Kelly of Wells Fargo.

您的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Edward Kelly。

Richard, you mentioned freight. I was hoping you could provide just a little bit more color on the headwind. And then you talked about an improvement maybe coming in March. Any more color behind that?

理查德，你提到了貨運。我希望你能在逆風中提供更多的顏色。然後你談到可能會在三月份出現改進。後面還有顏色嗎？

Not really. Before each call, I'll sit down with the head of merchandising and some of the other senior people in merchandising and just get the color on their departments and what's going on. And it was -- by the way, comment that with things coming from Asia, as an example, there's -- or in general, there's container shortages. And so it may take a few extra days to get things on to a ship or the ship may go sailing not full in some cases. The same thing is on some of the big ports in the United States like on the West Coast, particularly, they were -- they mentioned 2 to 4 days of delay. Again, 2 days to 4 days is not a lot. But when you're moving inventory fast, you want to have it -- once it's -- you ordered it, you want it built and put on the ship and get here and on to our floor. So it's not a big deal. It's -- and the comment was, I said, when will it improve? And he said probably not until February, March. So just -- that's what I threw out. Not any more impactful than that.

並不真地。每次打電話之前，我都會與銷售主管和其他一些銷售高級人員坐下來，了解他們部門的情況以及正在發生的事情。順便說一下，評論說，以來自亞洲的東西為例，有 - 或者總的來說，存在集裝箱短缺。因此，在某些情況下，將物品裝上船可能需要額外的幾天時間，否則船可能會因未滿載而航行。美國的一些大港口也有同樣的情況，比如西海岸，特別是，他們提到了 2 到 4 天的延誤。同樣，2 天到 4 天也不算多。但是，當您快速移動庫存時，您希望擁有它——一旦它——您訂購了它，您希望它建造並放在船上，然後到達我們的樓層。所以這沒什麼大不了的。它是——我說，評論是，它什麼時候會改善？他說可能要到二月，三月。所以只是 - 這就是我扔掉的。沒有比這更有影響力的了。

Okay. And then I just had a question on e-com and just digital strategy generally. Any updated thoughts on buy online, pick up at store? I mean it has essentially kind of become a standard offering across the industry, and we've obviously accelerated a lot of digital adoption. Just curious as to whether you're rethinking that at all.

好的。然後我剛問了一個關於電子商務和數字戰略的問題。關於在線購買，在商店取貨的任何更新想法？我的意思是它基本上已經成為整個行業的標準產品，我們顯然加速了很多數字化的採用。只是好奇你是否正在重新考慮這一點。

We're not rethinking it. We continue to look at it and scratch our heads a little bit. But at this juncture, we don't have any current plan to do so.

我們不會重新考慮它。我們繼續看它，有點撓頭。但在這個時刻，我們目前沒有任何這樣做的計劃。

Okay. And then just lastly for you. Fuel, I think, gross profit per gallon this quarter was probably up quite a bit. I mean I look at the OPIS data, it looks like maybe double. Is that about right? And then what did gallons sold do this quarter?

好的。最後是給你的。燃料，我認為，本季度每加侖的毛利潤可能會上升很多。我的意思是我查看了 OPIS 數據，它看起來可能是兩倍。這對嗎？那麼本季度售出的加侖數做了什麼？

We don't -- gallons sold were down, not down as much as they had been in its trough a few months ago. And you're right on margins. Not a double, I can't give you any quantitative number there. But in terms of -- margins were up year-over-year as a percent, and gallons were down year-over-year.

我們沒有 - 銷售的加侖數下降了，不像幾個月前的低谷那樣下降。你是對的。不是雙重的，我不能給你任何數量的數字。但就 - 利潤率同比增長百分比，加侖同比下降。

And your next question, from Chris Horvers of JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Chris Horvers。

So I wanted to follow up on the holiday pull-forward question. I was curious what the merchants are thinking about how the season progresses, particularly as we get close to Christmas, some retailers think that given the earlier cutoff time to get the gifts in time for Christmas that there could be a big brick-and-mortar surge. I think other retailers are saying that, no, it just started like with Prime Day. And it's just been a pull forward, so don't expect anything out of the -- anything unusual close to Christmas. So curious what your merchants are thinking.

所以我想跟進假期前瞻問題。我很好奇商家對這個季節的進展有何看法，特別是在我們臨近聖誕節時，一些零售商認為，鑑於聖誕節前的截止時間較早，因此可能會有很大的實體店湧。我認為其他零售商會說，不，它只是從 Prime Day 開始。這只是一個進步，所以不要指望聖誕節附近會有什麼不尋常的事情。很好奇你的商家在想什麼。

Well, merchants are feeling pretty, I would say, aggressive with a small A. They feel that, again, some of it was pulled forward, but there's still -- and again, running out of some gift wrapping paper 2 weeks before you wanted to is not the end of the world. But every sale is a sale that we want. In the same token, bringing in fundamental items that if you end up having a few extra SKUs or a few extra quantity of certain SKUs the day after Christmas is not going to kill you because it's not stuff that's seasonal that has to be marked down in a big way. So I think that we're going into it recognizing that our sales overall, particularly brick-and-mortar, have done well, that we're basing our assumptions of what we're going to do even over the next 2 weeks positive relative to this -- recognizing that there could be some pull forward and there could be some because of the dates got a little longer on shipping. But at the end of the day, we think that -- we agree with you, that could help the in-store experience, and we'll see.

好吧，我會說，商家感覺很漂亮，對小 A 很有攻擊性。他們覺得，再一次，其中一些被向前拉了，但仍然 - 再一次，在你想要的 2 週前用完一些禮品包裝紙to 不是世界末日。但每次銷售都是我們想要的銷售。同樣，如果您在聖誕節後的第二天最終擁有一些額外的 SKU 或一些額外數量的某些 SKU，那麼引入基本商品也不會殺死您，因為它不是季節性商品，因此必須降價一個很大的方式。因此，我認為我們會認識到我們的整體銷售，尤其是實體店的銷售情況良好，我們的假設基礎是我們將在接下來的 2 週內做些什麼對此 - 認識到可能會有一些進步，並且可能會有一些，因為運輸日期有點長。但歸根結底，我們認為——我們同意你的觀點，這可能有助於提升店內體驗，我們拭目以待。

Got it. And then in terms of the -- you called out travel, in gross margin, as a big impact there. Is there something around the accounting of that? You haven't called it out prior, maybe it was just because it's relative to other things in the ancillary business. But is there an accounting thing? Is there seasonality to that? And would we expect that to sort of get worse for some reason?

知道了。然後就 - 你說旅行，毛利率，在那裡有很大的影響。有什麼關於會計的嗎？你之前沒有說出來，也許只是因為它與輔助業務中的其他事情有關。但是有會計的東西嗎？有季節性嗎？我們是否會期望由於某種原因會變得更糟？

Well, what the accounts make you do, just like in the 10-K, you got to rank them in order of dollars. So in the case of travel, first of all, it's a very high gross margin business. To the extent that we're simply acting as a broker like our car rentals, there's sales -- and no cost of sales equals gross margin or very little cost of sales. Only when we curate an item and take ownership of it, if you will, like 100 cruise ship weeks or whatever, I'm making this example up, where you sell $100,000 of something and make a few thousand dollars or $5,000 of margin, that's a 5%. But you have big chunks of that business that are 80-plus percent margin. So it's a business that started to show a little bit of life as the summer -- we entered summer. But with the spiking of COVID in the last several weeks, that has dissipated quite a bit. And even some of the life that occurred in the summer were bookings out as -- for Christmas, some of those are being canceled as you would expect them to be. So it's -- that's just -- it's the rank order of them, which one hit harder a little bit.

好吧，賬戶讓你做什麼，就像在 10-K 中一樣，你必須按照美元的順序對它們進行排名。因此，就旅行而言，首先，這是一項毛利率非常高的業務。在某種程度上，我們只是像我們的汽車租賃一樣充當經紀人，所以有銷售——沒有銷售成本等於毛利率或銷售成本很低。只有當我們策劃一件物品並擁有它時，如果你願意，比如 100 艘遊輪週或其他什麼，我正在編造這個例子，你賣出 100,000 美元的東西並賺取幾千美元或 5,000 美元的利潤，那就是5%。但是你有很大一部分業務是 80% 以上的利潤。因此，隨著夏天的到來，這項業務開始展現出一點活力——我們進入了夏天。但是隨著過去幾週 COVID 的激增，這種情況已經消退了很多。甚至在夏天發生的一些生活也被預訂了——聖誕節，其中一些被取消了，正如你所期望的那樣。所以它是 - 這只是 - 這是他們的排名順序，其中一個更重一點。

Got it. And then the last question is on price gaps relative to peers and club and grocery, how are you -- what do you -- have they widened? Where do you see them now? I think if you go back to this '09 time frame where you sort of lapped peak food-at-home inflation and you lapped some food-at-home wallet gains, you seem to get more aggressive on price. So just want to get your thoughts on where you see the price gaps now and how you're thinking about that into '21.

知道了。最後一個問題是相對於同齡人、俱樂部和雜貨店的價格差距，你是怎麼 - 你怎麼 - 他們擴大了？你現在在哪裡看到他們？我認為，如果您回到 09 年的時間框架，在該時間範圍內，您已經經歷了家庭食品通脹的峰值，並且您獲得了一些家庭食品錢包收益，您似乎在價格上變得更加激進。因此，只想讓您對現在看到的價格差距以及您在 21 年如何看待這一點的想法有所了解。

Well, I mean, when we look at our comp shops compared to other warehouse clubs as well as comp shops specifically on certain items and other traditional retail formats, we feel very good about our competitive moat, if you will. And we don't think that's an issue at all for us right now. But we're the ones that keep pushing the limits further.

好吧，我的意思是，當我們將我們的商品店與其他倉庫俱樂部以及專門針對某些商品和其他傳統零售形式的商品店進行比較時，如果您願意的話，我們對我們的競爭護城河感覺非常好。我們現在認為這對我們來說根本不是問題。但我們是不斷突破極限的人。

And next question, from Robert Moskow of Credit Suisse.

下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的羅伯特莫斯科。

Richard, you mentioned that manufacturers, I guess, for packaged goods, they're not promoting as much, not giving as many discounts as usual because they don't have to. At any point, do you think that could flip the other way? And if so, what would drive it? Is it availability of supply or maybe a more intense competitive environment?

理查德，你提到製造商，我猜，對於包裝好的商品，他們沒有像往常一樣進行促銷，沒有像往常一樣提供那麼多的折扣，因為他們沒有必要這樣做。在任何時候，你認為這會反過來嗎？如果是這樣，什麼會驅動它？是供應的可用性還是更激烈的競爭環境？

Gosh, when I find out, I'll let you know. I mean what's happened, of course, with everything -- you mean the strength -- both the strength in electronics items, TVs, AirPods and everything else in between, and laptops and -- the demand for those things is enormous. And in some cases, some shortages of supplies in general, even if capacity has gone up, it could go up a lot more. So it's hard to say.

天哪，等我知道了，我會告訴你的。我的意思是，當然，一切都發生了——你的意思是力量——電子產品、電視、AirPods 以及介於兩者之間的所有其他東西，以及筆記本電腦的力量——對這些東西的需求是巨大的。在某些情況下，總體上會出現一些供應短缺，即使產能增加了，也可能會增加很多。所以很難說。

Okay. I was thinking more on the lines of packaged food. We've heard some categories putting promotions back in. Do you have any insight into that?

好的。我在考慮更多關於包裝食品的路線。我們聽說一些類別重新加入了促銷活動。您對此有什麼見解嗎？

Okay. I don't. I'm sorry.

好的。我不。對不起。

And next question, [from Greg Melich of] Evercore ISI.

下一個問題，來自 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Melich。

It's Greg Melich. I think that was me. So I have really 2 questions. One, was there any grocery inflation showing up? And we see CPI for grocery picking up, and there's less promotion. What are you guys seeing there?

是格雷格·梅利奇。我想那是我。所以我真的有兩個問題。一，是否出現了雜貨通脹？我們看到食品雜貨的 CPI 回升，促銷活動減少。你們在那裡看到了什麼？

Very, very, very little.

非常非常非常少。

3 verys.

3非常。

So there's something but it's nothing like 4% or 5%, some of those other numbers we see out there?

所以有一些東西，但它不像 4% 或 5%，我們在那裡看到的其他一些數字？

Oh, it's not even 1%. It's very, very, very little. 3 verys.

哦，這甚至不是1％。非常非常非常少。 3非常。

Triple verys.

三重非常。

On cash, so the special dividend, congratulations on keeping the special and getting it done. You should be back a little under $10 billion of cash. What's the right number that you want to run the business with, either still during COVID or even on the other side of it?

現金，所以特別股息，祝賀你保持特別並完成它。你應該拿回不到 100 億美元的現金。無論是在 COVID 期間，還是在疫情的另一端，您想要經營業務的正確號碼是多少？

Well, keep in mind, there's a chunk of it that is weekend debit and credit card receivables that could be $1 billion or $1.5 billion. There's upwards of just under $1 billion that is related to insurance captives and the like. There's a $2 billion to $3 billion that overseas, in different countries, which for whatever reasons, it's the last money you want to bring back because of whatever withholding or other taxes related to it. So at the end of the day, someone asked the question, after we announced the $10 dividend, we could have done more. The answer is we could have, but why rush? I mean right now, we still don't know what's going to happen with COVID and what may happen next year in the economy. And so we'll probably have a little more cash than normal than pre-COVID, if you will, but that's okay, too.

好吧，請記住，其中很大一部分是周末借記卡和信用卡應收賬款，可能是 10 億美元或 15 億美元。與保險自保等相關的金額略低於 10 億美元。有 20 億到 30 億美元在海外，在不同的國家，無論出於何種原因，這是你想要帶回的最後一筆錢，因為與它相關的任何預扣稅或其他稅收。所以在一天結束時，有人問了這個問題，在我們宣布 10 美元的股息之後，我們本可以做得更多。答案是我們可以擁有，但為什麼要著急呢？我的意思是現在，我們仍然不知道 COVID 會發生什麼，以及明年經濟會發生什麼。因此，如果您願意的話，我們可能會比正常情況下擁有比 COVID 之前更多的現金，但這也沒關係。

And then last, could you just -- where are average wage rates today to sort of level set where the -- we know the COVID top up, thanks for that, helping us there. But where are we now before all that?

最後，你能不能——今天的平均工資水平在哪裡——我們知道 COVID 最高水平，謝謝你，幫助我們。但在這一切之前，我們現在在哪裡？

You mean the average U.S. hourly wage?

你是說美國的平均時薪嗎？

Yes.

是的。

I think we're in the -- well, ex the $2, we're at the -- we're either right above or just approaching $24 average in the U.S.

我認為我們處於 - 好吧，例如 2 美元，我們處於 - 我們要么正好高於或接近美國平均 24 美元。

Approaching $24 in the U.S. And so the --- and the changes for the base rates going up, that was -- you did that -- that was completed when?

在美國接近 24 美元所以——以及基本利率上升的變化，那是——你這樣做了——什麼時候完成的？

The -- in March, I believe, last year.

我相信，去年三月。

March, last March.

三月，去年三月。

Last March, beginning of March.

去年三月，三月初。

March '19. March of 2019.

19 年 3 月。 2019 年 3 月。

March of 2019. I believe it was near the beginning of March, whatever that Monday start for that weekly pay period was -- or biweekly pay period. And that was $2 across the board.

2019 年 3 月。我相信它是在 3 月初附近，無論星期一開始的每週支付期是 - 或雙週支付期。那是2美元。

Right. And the COVID stuff was on top of it.

正確的。而COVID的東西是最重要的。

Excuse me?

打擾一下？

The COVID was on top of the actual wage rate.

COVID高於實際工資率。

Yes.

是的。

And next question, from Rupesh Parikh of Oppenheimer.

下一個問題來自奧本海默的 Rupesh Parikh。

So I wanted to ask, Richard, just some of the countries where you have lower COVID infections, china, Australia seems to be normalizing now, has purchasing behavior in those markets return back to where it was maybe pre pandemic? I'm guessing Australia is probably a better read than China.

所以我想問一下，Richard，中國、澳大利亞等一些 COVID 感染率較低的國家現在似乎正在正常化，這些市場的購買行為是否回到了大流行前的水平？我猜澳大利亞可能比中國更適合閱讀。

They're both strong.

他們倆都很強大。

They're -- both, they're stronger comps.

他們是 - 兩者，他們是更強大的組合。

From a category perspective, have you seen the category shift to, I guess, maybe where they were pre pandemic, if you look at the mix?

從品類的角度來看，如果您看一下組合，我猜您是否看到品類轉移到大流行之前的地方？

Well, I don't have that detail in front of me, unfortunately. And when I look at comps by country in local currencies, in most countries, we're back to normal, if not a little better.

好吧，不幸的是，我沒有擺在我面前的那個細節。當我以當地貨幣按國家/地區查看補償時，在大多數國家/地區，我們已經恢復正常，如果不是好一點的話。

Okay. Okay. Great. And then just in the U.S., just given we've seen spikes in infections, and California has had more restrictions recently put in place. Just curious if you can just comment on anything you're seeing more recently just in terms of changes in consumer behavior, traffic to your stores?

好的。好的。偉大的。然後就在美國，鑑於我們已經看到感染人數激增，而加利福尼亞最近實施了更多限制措施。只是好奇您是否可以僅就消費者行為的變化、商店流量的變化來評論您最近看到的任何事情？

The only thing that I've noted is when it first started a few weeks ago or when the California -- everybody was waiting for California -- in California, everybody was waiting to hear what the new restrictions was going to be in terms of lockdowns, there was a spike in shopping, and people were coming in. So we had particular strength over a couple of week period when more spiking was occurring.

我唯一注意到的是幾週前它剛開始的時候，或者當加利福尼亞州——每個人都在等待加利福尼亞州——在加利福尼亞州，每個人都在等待聽到關於封鎖的新限制將是什麼，購物量激增，人們進來了。因此，在出現更多高峰的幾週內，我們有特別的力量。

Your next question, from Kelly Bania of BMO Capital.

您的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital 的 Kelly Bania。

Great. Richard, just wanted to go back to the buy online and pick up at store question. I know you've said for several quarters now you continue to scratch your head, but it does seem like a lever that maybe you could pull 1 day that's already been pulled by pretty much everybody else in retail. But I guess just given the massive growth that you've seen with Instacart and your third-party partners there, there just does clearly seem to be a segment of your membership base that's willing to pay a premium or that markup for that service. So I'm just curious if you've thought about even a markup type structure for pickup or even like a higher price point membership for a pickup type service?

偉大的。理查德，只是想回到在線購買並在商店取貨的問題。我知道你已經說了好幾個季度了，現在你繼續摸不著頭腦，但這似乎是一個槓桿，也許你可以拉動 1 天，而零售業幾乎所有其他人都已經拉動了它。但我想，鑑於您在 Instacart 和您的第三方合作夥伴那裡看到的巨大增長，您的會員群中似乎確實有一部分願意為該服務支付溢價或加價。所以我很好奇你是否考慮過為取件提供標記類型的結構，或者甚至為取件類型的服務提供更高價位的會員資格？

As it relates to general conversations about it, those are topics that are discussed. One of the challenges right now is that a lot of the buy online and pick up in store traditional retail promotions are the same prices which you can come in and buy it for. So somebody is paying for the picking it up and storing it and waiting for you to pick it up. I think that will shake out to over time as people -- as companies -- somebody has to pay for it, either the company or the customer. I'm not trying to be cute. We're just -- we're looking at all those things, but we haven't made any decisions to go forth with it.

由於它與有關它的一般對話有關，因此這些是討論的主題。目前面臨的挑戰之一是，許多在線購買和店內提貨的傳統零售促銷價格與您可以進來購買的價格相同。所以有人付錢把它撿起來存放起來，等著你去撿。我認為隨著時間的推移，隨著人們——作為公司——有人必須為此付費，無論是公司還是客戶，這種情況都會發生變化。我不是想變得可愛。我們只是 - 我們正在研究所有這些事情，但我們還沒有做出任何決定繼續進行下去。

Okay. And just maybe a quick follow-up. You mentioned the 7% e-com penetration from a sales perspective. But just curious if you could share just a percent of your maybe membership households that are engaged with Costco from a digital e-commerce perspective.

好的。也許只是一個快速的跟進。您從銷售的角度提到了 7% 的電子商務滲透率。但只是好奇你是否可以從數字電子商務的角度分享你可能參與 Costco 的會員家庭的百分比。

We don't give out that information yet. As you might expect, it's growing.

我們還沒有給出這些信息。正如您所料，它正在增長。

And your last question, from Steph Wissink of Jefferies.

最後一個問題，來自 Jefferies 的 Steph Wissink。

I just want to follow up on Rupesh's earlier question but ask it a slightly different way, which is looking at your cohort of new members that have joined really from kind of the third quarter of last year. Any performance distinctions or category mix distinctions that might give you encouragement that those members might be a bit more sticky going forward or might be a bit longer lifetime value customers for you into the future?

我只是想跟進 Rupesh 之前的問題，但用一種稍微不同的方式提出問題，即查看從去年第三季度開始真正加入的新成員隊列。任何性能差異或類別組合差異可能會給您帶來鼓勵，即這些成員在未來可能會更具粘性，或者可能會成為您未來更長的終身價值客戶？

We don't have a lot of that information yet. Recognizing that some of them signed up because of COVID and because we can deliver through, start through fresh and -- or we can serve them online. But there's not a lot to go on yet.

我們還沒有很多這樣的信息。認識到他們中的一些人是因為 COVID 而註冊的，因為我們可以通過交付，從新鮮開始，或者我們可以在線為他們提供服務。但目前還沒有很多事情要做。

Well, thank you, everyone. Hopefully, you have a happy and healthy holiday season and on to a better 2021. Have a good day.

嗯，謝謝大家。希望您度過一個快樂健康的假期，迎接更美好的 2021 年。祝您有美好的一天。