好市多 (COST) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Costco Wholesale Corporation Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加好市多批發公司第三季財報電話會議。 （操作說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄音。 （操作說明）

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker for today. Thank you. Please go ahead.

現在我將會議交給今天的發言人。謝謝。請開始吧。

Thank you, Erica, and good afternoon to everyone. This is Bob Nelson, Senior VP of Finance and Investor Relations here at Costco. Thank you for dialing in into today's conference call to review our third quarter fiscal year '22 operating results.

謝謝艾麗卡，大家下午好。我是好市多（Costco）財務和投資者關係高級副總裁鮑伯·尼爾森。感謝各位撥入今天的電話會議，共同回顧我們2022財年第三季的經營業績。

Before we begin, a couple of housekeeping items to take care of. First, as you now have surmised, Richard is not with us today. He is doing great and wishes he could be on the call. He is in Italy with his family on a rescheduled vacation that was canceled early in the pandemic. He wanted me to pass along his best to everyone. And in his absence, I will be filling in for him today.

在正式開始之前，有幾件事需要說明。首先，正如大家所料，理查德今天沒能和我們一起參加。他身體很好，也很想參加這次電話會議。他和家人正在義大利度假，這次旅行是疫情初期取消後重新安排的。他希望我能代他向大家問好。在他缺席的情況下，今天將由我來主持會議。

Secondly, and before we get into the details of today's earnings results, I need to read our safe harbor disclosure. Let's begin. 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 our 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.

其次，在深入探討今天的獲利結果之前，我需要先宣讀我們的安全港聲明。我們開始吧。本次討論將包含1995年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所界定的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際事件、結果和公司績效與此類陳述所指明的內容有重大差異。這些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，以及公司不時在公開聲明和提交給美國證券交易委員會（SEC）的報告中披露的其他風險。前瞻性陳述僅代表其發布之日的觀點，除法律要求外，本公司不承擔更新這些陳述的義務。

Okay. With that out of the way, let's get to it. In today's press release, we reported operating results for the third quarter of fiscal '22, the 12 weeks ended this past May 8. Net income for the quarter was $1.353 billion, $3.04 per diluted share. The reported $3.04 included a onetime $77 million pretax charge, $0.13 per diluted share, for incremental benefits awarded under the new employee agreement effective this past March 14. Last year's third quarter net income was $1.22 billion, $2.75 per diluted share, which included $57 million pretax or $0.09 per diluted share for costs incurred primarily from COVID-19 premium wages.

好的。言歸正傳，我們開始吧。在今天的新聞稿中，我們公佈了2022財年第三季（截至今年5月8日的12週）的營運表現。本季淨利為13.53億美元，每股攤薄收益3.04美元。報告的每股收益3.04美元包含一次性稅前支出7700萬美元，相當於每股攤薄收益0.13美元，這是根據今年3月14日生效的新員工協議發放的額外福利。去年同期淨利為12.2億美元，每股攤薄收益2.75美元，其中包括5700萬美元稅前支出，相當於每股攤薄收益0.09美元，這主要是由於新冠疫情期間的額外工資所致。

In terms of this year's $77 million pretax charge, this was in conjunction with our new employee agreement, again, effective this past March 14, and was primarily to adjust our benefit accrual to account for 1 additional day of vacation which is awarded to each employee immediately. The continuing impacts of the wage and benefit enhancements are reflected in SG&A and margin for this quarter and will be as well for subsequent quarters.

今年的7,700萬美元稅前費用與我們新的員工協議有關，該協議於今年3月14日生效，主要目的是調整福利計提，以反映每位員工立即獲得的額外一天假期。薪資和福利提升的持續影響已反映在本季度的銷售、管理及行政費用和利潤率中，並將持續影響後續季度。

Net income for the first 36 weeks of fiscal '22 was $3.98 billion, $8.94 per diluted share, and that compares to $3.34 billion or $7.51 per diluted share last year.

2022 財年前 36 週的淨收入為 39.8 億美元，每股攤薄收益為 8.94 美元，而去年同期為 33.4 億美元，每股攤薄收益為 7.51 美元。

Let's now review the metrics of our P&L, as always, starting with sales. Net sales for the third quarter increased 16.3% to $51.61 billion, and that compares to $44.38 billion reported last year in Q3. In terms of comparable sales for the third quarter, for the 12 weeks on a reported basis, the U.S. was better or up by 16.6%; Canada, better by 15.2%; Other International, up 5.7%; and total company, again, up 14.9%. Our e-com business in the third quarter reported better by 7.4% versus a year ago.

現在，我們照例回顧損益表中的各項指標，首先是銷售額。第三季淨銷售額成長16.3%，達到516.1億美元，去年同期為443.8億美元。就第三季同店銷售額而言（以報告期間計算，前12週），美國市場成長16.6%；加拿大市場成長15.2%；其他國際市場成長5.7%；公司整體銷售額再成長14.9%。第三季度，我們的電商業務年增7.4%。

For the 12 weeks, excluding the benefit of gas inflation and the headwinds of FX, the U.S. came in at up 10.7%; Canada better by 12.8%; Other International up $9.1 million; and on a total company basis, ex gas inflation and FX headwinds, better by 10.8%; and e-commerce just below 8% at 7.9% for the quarter.

過去 12 週，不計汽油通膨和匯率不利因素，美國成長 10.7%；加拿大成長 12.8%；其他國際業務成長 910 萬美元；公司整體成長 10.8%（不計汽油通膨和匯率不利因素）；電子商務季度成長略低於 8%，為 7.9%。

In terms of Q3 comp metrics, traffic or shopping frequency increased 6.8% worldwide and up 5.6% in the U.S. Our average transaction was up 7.6% worldwide and up 10.4% in the U.S. during the quarter. And foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar negatively impacted sales by just a little over 1%. And our gasoline price inflation positively impacted sales in the quarter just a little bit more than 5%.

從第三季同店銷售指標來看，全球客流量或購物頻率成長了6.8%，美國成長了5.6%。本季度，全球平均交易額成長了7.6%，美國平均交易額成長了10.4%。外幣兌美元匯率波動對銷售額產生了略高於1%的負面影響。而汽油價格上漲則對本季銷售額產生了略高於5%的正面影響。

The best-performing categories in Q3 were candy, sundries, tires, toys, jewelry, kiosks, home furnishings, apparel, bakery and deli. Underperforming departments were liquor, office, sporting goods and hardware, all of which were quite strong a year ago. In terms of other business sales, the best performers came in from gasoline, travel, food course and our business centers. So overall, our sales grew nicely in the quarter and, for the most part, were pretty broad-based.

第三季表現最佳的類別包括糖果、日用品、輪胎、玩具、珠寶、攤位、家居用品、服裝、烘焙食品和熟食。表現欠佳的部門包括酒類、辦公用品、體育用品和五金，而這些部門去年同期都表現強勁。在其他業務銷售方面，表現最佳的來自加油站、旅遊、餐飲和商務中心。因此，總體而言，本季我們的銷售額實現了良好的成長，大部分成長都相當均衡。

Moving down the income statement. Membership fee income reported in Q3 $984 million or 1.91 as a percentage of sales compared to last year's $901 million or 2.03 as a percentage of sales. That's up $83 million year-over-year or a 9.2% increase. And excluding headwinds from FX of about $10.6 million, membership was up 10.4% in the quarter.

接下來來看損益表。第三季會員費收入為9.84億美元，佔銷售額的1.91%，去年同期為9.01億美元，佔銷售額的2.03%。這比去年同期成長了8,300萬美元，增幅達9.2%。若不計入約1,060萬美元的匯率波動影響，本季會員人數成長了10.4%。

In terms of renewal rates, we hit all-time highs. At Q3 end, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.3%, up 0.3% from the 12 weeks earlier at Q2 end. And the worldwide rate came in at 90% for the first time in company history, and that's up 0.4% from what we reported at Q2 end. Renewal rates continue to benefit from the increased penetration of both auto renewals and more executive members and, in addition to that, higher first-year member renewal rates than what we have historically seen.

續費率方面，我們創下了歷史新高。第三季末，美國和加拿大地區的續費率達到92.3%，較第二季末的12週數據成長了0.3%。全球續費率更是創下公司歷史新高，首次達到90%，較第二季末的數據成長了0.4%。續費率的持續成長得益於自動續費滲透率的提高、高階主管會員數量的增加，以及高於歷史平均的首年會員續費率。

In terms of member counts, number of member households and cardholders at Q3 end, we ended Q3 with 64.4 million paid households and 116.6 million cardholders, both of those up over 6% compared to a year ago. At Q3 end, our paid executive memberships were 27.9 million, and that's an increase of just about 800,000 during the 12 weeks since Q2 end. Executive members now represent over 43% of our member base and over 71% of our worldwide sales.

截至第三季末，我們的付費會員家庭數、會員家庭數和持卡人數分別為6,440萬和1.166億，均較去年同期成長超過6%。第三季末，我們的付費高級會員人數為2,790萬，較第二季末的12週內增加了約80萬。高級會員目前占我們會員總數的43%以上，占我們全球銷售額的71%以上。

Now before I move on, I want to take just a minute and address the question that we've been getting a lot recently regarding the timing of the potential membership fee increase. Historically, we've raised fees every 5 to 6 years, with the last 3 increases coming, on average, at about the 5.5-year time frame and our last increase coming in June of 2017. As we approach this 5.5-year mark, there will be more discussions with Craig, Ron and the executive team. But for today, we have nothing more specific to report in terms of timing. In addition, given the current macro environment, the historically high inflation and the burden it's having on our members and all consumers in general, we think increasing our membership fee today ahead of our typical timing is not the right time. We will let you know, however, when that changes.

在繼續之前，我想花一點時間回答一下最近大家經常問到的關於會員費可能會上漲的時間安排的問題。以往，我們每5到6年漲一次會費，最近三次漲費平均間隔約5.5年，最近一次漲費是在2017年6月。隨著5.5年期限的臨近，我們會和Craig、Ron以及管理團隊進行更多討論。但今天，關於漲費的具體時間安排，我們暫時沒有更具體的消息可以透露。此外，鑑於當前的宏觀經濟環境、歷史性的高通膨以及它對我們的會員和所有消費者的負擔，我們認為現在提前漲費並不合適。不過，如果情況有變，我們會及時通知大家。

Okay. Moving on along the P&L, let's take a look at gross margins. Our reported gross margins in the third quarter were lower year-over-year by 99 basis points, this year coming in at 10.19 as a percentage of sales, and that compares to last year's 11.18 that we reported a year ago. So the 99 basis points, down year-over-year and, excluding the negative impacts of gas inflation, we would have been down 53 basis points.

好的。接下來我們繼續分析損益表，看看毛利率。我們第三季的毛利率年減了99個基點，佔銷售額的10.19%，去年同期為11.18%。因此，毛利率較去年同期下降了99個基點。如果排除汽油價格上漲的負面影響，毛利率本應下降53個基點。

So if you would for me, and as normal, please jot down the following for our gross margin matrix and again, as usual, 2 columns: the first column being reported gross margin, the second column being gross margin without the impact of gas inflation. There are 6 rows: the first row being merchandise core; second, ancillary and other business; the third row, 2% rewards; followed by LIFO; other; and then total.

所以，請您像往常一樣，幫我記下以下毛利率矩陣的資訊。同樣，矩陣分為兩列：第一列是報告毛利率，第二列是剔除天然氣通膨影響後的毛利率。矩陣共有六行：第一行是核心商品；第二行是輔助業務和其他業務；第三行是2%的獎勵；之後依序是後進先出法（LIFO）、其他和總計。

So in terms of our core merchandise margins on a reported basis, they were down 87 basis points versus last year, down 46 basis points ex gas; ancillary and other, plus 6 reported and plus 18 ex gas; 2% rewards, plus 8 and plus 3; LIFO, minus 25 basis points on a reported basis and minus 27 ex gas inflation; and finally, other, minus 1 with and without gas; so again, in total, down 99 reported, down 53, excluding the impact of gas inflation.

因此，就我們核心商品利潤率而言，按報告基準計算，較去年下降了 87 個基點，剔除汽油影響後下降了 46 個基點；輔助和其他利潤率，按報告基準計算增加了 6 個基點，剔除汽油影響後增加了 18 個基點；2% 獎勵，按報告基準計算增加了 8 個基點後增加了汽油通膨利潤率，按報告基準計算下降了 25 個基點，剔除汽油通膨影響後下降了 27 個基點；最後，其他利潤率，無論是否包含汽油，均下降了 1 個基點；因此，總計，按報告基準計算下降了 99 個基點，剔除汽油通膨影響後下降了 53 個基點。

A little color, more color, on gross margins, starting with core merchandise. The core merchandise contribution to gross margin was lower by 46 basis points ex gas inflation in the quarter. Sales mix negatively impacted the core primarily from the lower sales penetration of total core sales relative to our gasoline sales, which were very strong in the quarter.

讓我們更詳細地分析毛利率，首先來看核心商品。本季，剔除汽油通膨因素後，核心商品對毛利率的貢獻下降了46個基點。銷售結構的變化對核心商品毛利率產生了負面影響，主要是由於核心商品銷售額佔總銷售額的比例低於汽油銷售額，而汽油銷售額在本季表現非常強勁。

In terms of the core margins on their own sales in Q3, our core-on-core margins were lower by 39 basis points, approximately 2/3 of this coming from fresh foods. Fresh experienced a very difficult compare versus last year when the extraordinary volumes produced lower D&D and higher labor productivity a year ago. Also contributing to the fresh decline this quarter were higher raw material costs and higher labor costs due to our new wages.

就第三季核心銷售利潤率而言，我們的核心利潤率下降了39個基點，其中約三分之二來自生鮮食品。與去年同期相比，生鮮食品的業績表現非常艱難，去年同期銷售量異常成長，導致分銷成本降低，勞動生產力提高。此外，本季生鮮食品利潤下滑的原因還包括原材料成本上漲以及由於新的工資標準而導致的勞動力成本上升。

Ancillary and other business gross margin, again, higher by 6 reported, higher by 18 basis points ex gas inflation. Gas, travel and business centers were better year-over-year, offset somewhat by e-com, pharmacy and optical; again, 2% rewards, higher by 8 reported, higher by 3 ex gas; LIFO, minus 25 and minus 27 ex gas, as we recorded $130 million charge in the quarter for LIFO; and other was minus 1 basis point, both with and ex gas inflation. This included items from both years.

輔助業務及其他業務毛利率再次成長，報告價值成長6個百分點，剔除汽油通膨因素後成長18個基點。汽油、旅遊和商務中心業務年增，但被電商、藥局和眼鏡業務的部分下滑所抵銷；獎勵業務毛利率再次成長2%，報告值成長8個百分點，剔除汽油通膨因素後成長3個百分點；後進先出法（ LIFO）毛利率為-25個百分點，剔除汽油通膨因素後為-27個百分點，因為本季我們提列了1.3億美元的LIFO費用；其他業務毛利率為-1個百分點，無論是否計入汽油通膨因素。以上數據包含了兩年的相關項目。

Last year, we had $14 million of COVID expenses, primarily premium wages within gross margin. This year, we had a onetime charge discussed at the beginning of the call, the $20 million of the $77 million of which related to gross margin. The net result of these 2 items, again, minus 1 basis point. And while we continue to mitigate the impact of price increases as best as we can, we remain comfortable in our ability to pass through higher costs while providing great value to our members.

去年，我們產生了1,400萬美元的新冠疫情相關支出，主要包括毛利內的加班工資。今年，我們在電話會議開始時討論了一項一次性費用，其中7700萬美元中的2000萬美元與毛利相關。這兩項費用的淨結果仍是毛利率下降1個基點。儘管我們仍在盡最大努力減輕價格上漲的影響，但我們仍然有信心在為會員提供卓越價值的同時，將更高的成本轉嫁給客戶。

Moving to SG&A. We showed good results. Our reported SG&A in the third quarter was lower or better year-over-year by 84 basis points, coming in at 8.62%, and that compares to last year's reported 9.46% SG&A figure. That's, again, 84 basis points lower or better and 44 basis points, excluding the impact of gas inflation. Again, if you jot down the following for our SG&A matrix, again, 2 columns, the first column being reported SG&A; the second column, SG&A ex the impacts of gas inflation. And we have 5 rows: the first row operations, second row central, third row stock compensation expense, fourth row other and then total is the fifth row.

接下來是銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A)。我們取得了不錯的成績。第三季報告的 SG&A 費用年減或降低 84 個基點，為 8.62%，而去年同期報告的 SG&A 費用為 9.46%。同樣，在年比下降或降低 84 個基點，剔除天然氣價格上漲的影響後，SG&A 費用下降了 44 個基點。我們的 SG&A 費用矩陣由兩列組成，第一列為報告的 SG&A 費用，第二列為剔除天然氣價格上漲影響後的 SG&A 費用。矩陣共有五行：第一行是營運費用，第二行是中心營運費用，第三行是股權激勵費用，第四行是其他費用，第五行是總計。

In terms of our operations on a reported basis, SG&A was better by 68 basis points and, ex the benefit of gas inflation, better by 35; central better by 15 reported, better by 10 ex gas; stock compensation better by 2 reported, better by 1 ex-gas; and other minus 1 and minus 2 ex gas. Again, all total, 84 basis points lower or better and 44 excluding the benefit of gas inflation.

就我們報告的營運情況而言，銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）改善了68個基點，剔除天然氣通膨帶來的影響後，改善了35個基點；中心營運費用報告改善了15個基點，剔除天然氣通膨帶來的影響後，改善了10個基點；股票薪酬報告改善了2個基點，剔除天然氣通膨帶來的影響後，改善了1個基點；其他費用報告分別降低了1個基點和降低了2個基點（剔除天然氣通膨帶來的影響後）。綜上所述，所有費用總計降低了84個基點或改善了84個基點，剔除天然氣通膨帶來的影響後，改善了44個基點。

In Q3 year-over-year, the core operations component of SG&A was better by 68, again, 35 ex gas. Keep in mind, this result includes the starting wage increase we instituted this past October as well as 8 weeks of the new wage and benefit increases just implemented during Q3 on October 14 of this year. Central was better by 15 and better by 10 without gas; stock comp plus 2, plus 1 without gas; and again, other minus 1 basis point, minus 2 without gas inflation.

第三季度，核心營運部分的銷售、一般及行政費用較去年同期下降68%，剔除天然氣成本後下降35%。請注意，這項結果包含了我們去年10月實施的初始薪資成長，以及今年10月14日剛在第三季實施的為期8週的新薪資和福利成長。中央業務部分較去年同期下降15%，剔除天然氣成本後下降10%；股票薪酬增加2%，剔除天然氣成本後增加1%；其他費用較去年同期下降1個基點，剔除天然氣成本後下降2個基點。

Similar to gross margin, this included items from both years. Last year, we had $44 million of COVID expenses. And this year, we had a onetime charge, again, discussed at the beginning of the call, $57 million of the $77 million, which related to SG&A. The net result of these 2 items, again, minus 1 reported, minus 2 ex gas inflation.

與毛利率類似，這部分也包含了兩年的項目。去年，我們有 4,400 萬美元的新冠疫情相關支出。今年，我們有一筆一次性費用，即 7700 萬美元中的 5700 萬美元（我們在電話會議開始時也討論過），這筆費用與銷售、管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 相關。這兩項費用的淨額，同樣是減去 1 項已通報項目，再減去 2 項剔除天然氣通膨因素後的淨額。

So all told, reported operating income in Q3 of this year increased 8%, coming in at $1.791 billion. Below the operating income line, interest expense was $35 million this year versus $40 million last year. And interest income and other for the quarter was higher by 44 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to favorable FX.

綜上所述，今年第三季報告的營業收入成長了8%，達到17.91億美元。營業收入項下，今年的利息支出為3,500萬美元，去年同期為4,000萬美元。此外，由於匯率有利，本季利息收入和其他收入年增了44個基點。

Overall, pretax income came in for the quarter at up 11%, coming in at $1.827 billion, and that compares to the $1.65 billion which we reported a year ago. In terms of income taxes, our tax rate in Q3 was 24.9%. That compares to 25.2% in Q3 last year. Overall, for the year, our effective tax rate is currently projected to be between 26% and 27%.

整體而言，本季稅前利潤成長11%，達到18.27億美元，去年同期為16.5億美元。所得稅方面，第三季稅率為24.9%，去年同期為25.2%。預計全年實際稅率將在26%至27%之間。

A few other items of note. Warehouse expansion, in Q3, we opened 1 net new warehouse plus 2 relocations. Q3 year-to-date, we have opened 17 warehouses, including 3 relocations, for a net of 14 new warehouses so far this fiscal year. For the remainder of the fiscal year and in Q4, we expect to open an additional 10 new warehouses, which will put us at 27 for the year, including 3 relocations and for a net of 24 net new warehouses for all of fiscal year '22. The 24 new warehouses by market are 14 in the U.S., 2 in Canada and 1 each in Korea, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Spain, France, China and our first opening in New Zealand which will occur in August of this year.

還有一些其他值得注意的事項。倉庫擴張方面，第三季我們淨增1個倉庫，並搬遷了2個現有倉庫。截至第三季末，本財年至今我們已開設17個倉庫（包括3個搬遷倉庫），淨增加14個倉庫。在本財年剩餘時間和第四季度，我們預計將再開設10個新倉庫，屆時全年倉庫總數將達到27個（包括3個搬遷倉庫），淨增加24個倉庫。這24個新倉庫依市場分佈如下：美國14個，加拿大2個，韓國、日本、澳洲、墨西哥、西班牙、法國、中國各1個，以及我們在紐西蘭的首個倉庫（將於今年8月開幕）。

In terms of the new openings this year, this is 4 fewer than what we projected in Q2. Two of the 4 were impacted by supply chain issues related to electrical equipment and the other 2 have been delayed due to third-party site development issues. All 4 of these buildings are now scheduled to open by the end of calendar November, this fall. Incidentally, there are 3 in the U.S. and 1 in Australia that were delayed. The 1 net new opening in Q3 was a business center located in San Marcos, California. And the first of the 10 scheduled to open in Q4 opened this past week in Riverton, Utah, bringing our worldwide total to 830 Costcos as of today and around the world.

今年新開幕的門市數量比第二季預期的少了4家。其中兩家受到與電氣設備相關的供應鏈問題影響，另外兩家則因第三方場地開發問題而延長。這四家門市目前都計劃在今年秋季，也就是11月底前開幕。值得一提的是，美國有3家店和澳洲有1家店的開幕時間有所延遲。第三季新增的1家店是位於加州聖馬科斯的商務中心。第四季計劃開業的10家門市中的第一家已於上週在猶他州里弗頓開業，截至目前，Costco在全球的門市總數已達到830家。

Regarding CapEx, the Q3 F '22 spend was approximately $854 million. Our full year CapEx spend is estimated for the year to be just shy of about $4 billion.

關於資本支出，2022財年第三季支出約8.54億美元。我們預計全年資本支出將略低於40億美元。

In terms of our e-com business, e-com sales in Q3, ex FX, increased 7.9%. This is on top of the 38% increase a year ago. Stronger departments in the quarter were special order, patio and garden, jewelry and home furnishings. Our largest e-com merchandise department, majors, which includes consumer electronics, appliances, TVs, was up a little bit better than mid-single digits on a very strong sales increase a year earlier. And Costco grocery, including our third-party delivery, 2-day dry, fresh and frozen, continues to grow up low double digits in the quarter.

就我們的電商業務而言，第三季電商銷售額（不計匯率影響）成長了7.9%，高於去年同期的38%。本季表現強勁的部門包括特訂商品、庭院及花園用品、珠寶和家居用品。我們最大的電商商品部門——大型商品部（涵蓋消費性電子產品、家電和電視）——的銷售額成長略高於個位數中段，而去年同期銷售額成長非常強勁。此外，Costco的生鮮食品部門（包括我們的第三方配送服務，提供2天送達的乾貨、新鮮食品和冷凍食品）在本季持續維持兩位數低段的成長。

An update on Costco Logistics. Costco Logistics continues to drive big and bulky sales for us. We averaged more than 58,000 stops a week in the third quarter. For the full year, we estimate total deliveries will be up 23% and will exceed 3 million. With logistics, we continue to transition from vendor drop ship to direct ship from our own inventory, particularly in big and bulky items. Overall, this lowers the cost of merchandise and improves delivery times and service levels for our members.

關於 Costco 物流的最新進展。 Costco 物流持續為我們帶來大件和笨重商品的銷售成長。第三季度，我們平均每週的配送次數超過 58,000 次。我們預計全年總配送量將成長 23%，超過 300 萬件。在物流方面，我們正持續從供應商代發貨過渡到從自有庫存直接發貨，尤其是在大件和笨重商品方面。整體而言，這降低了商品成本，並提高了配送速度和服務水平，從而惠及我們的會員。

Okay. Now a few comments regarding inflation. First of all, it continues. Pressures from higher commodity prices, higher wages, higher transportation costs and supply chain disruptions all still in play. For Q1, we estimated price inflation was in the 4.5% to 5% range. For Q2, we had estimated 6-ish, if you will. And for Q3, in talking to our merchants, estimated price inflation was in the 7-ish percent range. However, we did see inflation in fresh foods come in slightly lower in Q3 versus Q2 a year ago as we began cycling high meat prices. We believe our solid sales increases and relatively consistent margins show that we have continued to strike the right balance in passing on higher costs.

好的。現在談談通貨膨脹。首先，通貨膨脹仍在持續。大宗商品價格上漲、薪資上漲、運輸成本上升以及供應鏈中斷等壓力依然存在。我們估計第一季的價格通膨率在4.5%到5%之間。第二季度，我們估計在6%左右。而第三季度，在與我們的供應商溝通後，他們估計價格通膨率約為7%。不過，由於肉類價格開始回升，我們發現第三季生鮮食品的通膨率略低於去年同期第二季。我們相信，穩健的銷售成長和相對穩定的利潤率表明，我們在轉嫁成本方面繼續保持良好的平衡。

Switching over to inventory for a minute. Our total inventory in Q3 was up 26% year-over-year versus up 19% in Q2. A couple of high-level comments regarding inventory. A material component of the increase year-over-year is inflation rather than unit growth. We continue to expand and opened new locations, 20 new in the last 12 months. We are lapping some low stocks in certain departments as a result of last year's high demand. And we are purposely building inventory in our e-com business, primarily in big and bulky categories, as mentioned earlier in the call.

接下來我們簡單談談庫存狀況。第三季我們的總庫存年增26%，而第二季為19%。關於庫存，我想做幾點說明。庫存較去年同期成長的主要原因是通貨膨脹，而非銷售成長。我們持續擴張，並在過去12個月內開設了20家新店。由於去年需求旺盛，我們正逐步補充部分部門的低庫存。此外，如同先前在電話會議中所提到的，我們正在有意識地增加電商業務的庫存，主要集中在大件和體積較大的品類。

Food and sundries and fresh is in very good shape. Our weak supply is comparable year-over-year. Nonfood inventories are up in certain categories. This is in part a result of being light in certain departments last year, specifically, seasonal, lawn and garden, TVs, appliances and sporting goods. Otherwise, we are a little heavy in small appliances and domestics, primarily due to late-arriving merchandise this year. In addition, we have a few hundred million dollars of extra inventory in both late-arriving holiday merchandise from last season, which we're storing until this fall, and some buy-in merchandise to ensure proper inventory levels in the face of these ongoing supply chain issues.

食品、日用品和生鮮品供應狀況良好。我們的供應疲軟程度與去年同期基本持平。部分非食品類庫存增加。這部分是由於去年某些部門庫存不足，特別是季節性商品、園藝用品、電視、家電和體育用品。此外，小型家電和家用物品庫存略高，主要是因為今年部分商品到貨較晚。另外，我們還有數億美元的額外庫存，包括去年假日期間到貨較晚的商品（我們將儲存至今年秋季）以及為應對持續的供應鏈問題而採購的部分商品，以確保庫存水平充足。

Speaking with Craig, Ron and Claudine Adamo, our new Head of Merchandising, we feel good about our current inventory levels. The additional inventory we're carrying is in the right departments, and they feel good about our ability to move it.

與克雷格、羅恩以及我們新商品部主管克勞迪娜·阿達莫交談後，我們對目前的庫存水準感到滿意。新增庫存都擺放在適當的部門，他們也對我們的銷售能力充滿信心。

A quick update on China. Our first opening in China located in Minhang, Shanghai was closed for the last 6 weeks of the third quarter. That closure had a negative impact in the quarter of approximately $35 million in sales. As of May 18, we're happy to report that the building is back open but operating under restrictions on the number of people that can be in the building at one time, among other, cleaning and operating restrictions.

關於中國市場的最新消息：我們在上海閔行區的首家中國門市在第三季末關閉了六週，導致該季度銷售額損失約3,500萬美元。我們很高興地宣布，截至5月18日，該門市已重新開放，但目前仍需遵守一些限制措施，例如限制同一時間在店內的人數，以及執行清潔和營運方面的其他規定。

Our second building in Suzhou, which opened in this last December, has largely avoided the lockdowns and restrictions to this point. We're currently targeting an opening date of this December for our third Shanghai building in Pudong. The timing although will somewhat depend on the area remaining open for the next several months and not being more negatively impacted by lockdowns.

我們在蘇州的第二棟大樓於去年12月開業，至今為止基本上未受封鎖和限制措施的影響。我們目前計劃於今年12月在上海浦東開設第三棟大樓。不過，具體時間將在一定程度上取決於未來幾個月該地區是否保持開放，以及是否受到封鎖措施的進一步負面影響。

Four additional China buildings are currently underway and planned with opening dates in the next 2 years. These would be our first China openings outside of Shanghai. I believe of those 4, 1 is in fiscal '23 and 3 in fiscal '24.

目前，我們在中國還有四座新大樓正在興建中，計劃在未來兩年內陸續開幕。這將是我們除上海以外在中國開設的首批新大樓。據我所知，這四棟大樓中，一座將於2023財年開業，三座將於2024財年開業。

As a reminder, in terms of upcoming releases, we will announce our May sales results for the 4 weeks ending Sunday, May 29, this next week on Thursday, June 2, after market close. This is a day later than our traditional Wednesday release due to the Memorial Day holiday.

再次提醒各位，關於即將發布的數據，我們將於下週四（6月2日）股市收盤後公佈截至5月29日（週日）的四周銷售業績。由於陣亡將士紀念日假期，此次公佈時間比往常的周三晚一天。

Before wrapping up, a quick shout out to the 300,000 worldwide Costco employees around the globe and the excellent work and proactive effort they give each day to navigate during these most challenging environment. Our merchants and operators are the best in the business, and their hard work is reflected in our strong operating results.

最後，我要特別感謝全球30萬名Costco員工，感謝他們每天在如此充滿挑戰的環境下所付出的卓越工作和積極努力。我們的商品和服務人員都是業界最優秀的，他們的辛勤付出也反映在我們強勁的營運表現中。

Finally, I want to address some incorrect information floating around on social media and a few other media outlets claiming that we have increased the price of our $1.50 hotdog-and-soda combinations sold in our food courts. Let me just say the price, when we introduced the hot dog-soda combo in the mid-'80s, was $1.50. The price today is $1.50, and we have no plans to increase the price at this time.

最後，我想澄清一些在社群媒體和其他一些媒體上流傳的錯誤訊息，這些訊息聲稱我們已經提高了美食廣場出售的1.5美元熱狗汽水套餐的價格。我只想說，我們在80年代中期推出熱狗汽水套餐時，價格就是1.5美元。現在的價格仍然是1.5美元，而且我們目前沒有漲價的計劃。

With that, I will turn it back over to Erica and open it up for Q&A. Thank you.

接下來，我將把發言權交還給艾麗卡，讓她進行問答環節。謝謝。

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

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙古特曼。

On the core-on-core margin ex gas, it looks like underlying run rate got a little worse, which I don't think is a big surprise given what we're hearing out there. You mentioned in the core-on-core, the perishable year-over-year, is it transport? Or is it there's some markdowns on erratic inventory coming in? Can you talk a little bit about what's happening there?

剔除天然氣成本後，核心業務利潤率似乎略有下降，考慮到我們目前了解到的情況，這並不令人意外。您提到核心業務利潤率中易腐品年減，這是否與運輸有關？還是因為一些不穩定的庫存到貨而導致降價？能否詳細談談這方面的情況？

Yes. On the fresh side, we literally had no D&D last year and we had very high labor productivity because of the pounds that we were processing, if you will. So I think we've kept a lot of that leverage actually. We're way above pre-pandemic levels. It's just that was extraordinary last year. And I think we'll keep some of that. But it's not all that.

是的。就新鮮食材而言，我們去年幾乎沒有出現任何損耗，而且由於加工量龐大，我們的勞動生產力非常高。所以我認為我們實際上保留了很大一部分優勢。我們現在的產量遠高於疫情前的水準。只是去年的情況非常特別。我認為我們會保持一部分這樣的水平，但不會完全恢復到疫情前的水平。

And then a little bit of it is, like I said, raw material costs this year. I mean those eventually make their way into the price of our goods. But as you know, we're not the first one to go up when we have higher costs. I think just recently, it may have been after the end of the quarter, reluctantly, we took up the price of our muffins and our croissants, I think, $1 as the price of a lot of those raw materials have continued to escalate to 2x and 3x and 4x what they were last year. So that's essentially what's going on there.

就像我剛才說的，一部分原因是今年的原料成本上漲。我的意思是，這些成本最終都會反映在我們的產品價格上。但你也知道，成本上漲時，我們並不是第一個漲價的。我想就在最近，可能是在季度末之後，我們很不情願地將鬆餅和羊角麵包的價格提高了1美元，因為很多原材料的價格持續上漲，已經是去年的兩倍、三倍甚至四倍了。所以，這就是目前的情況。

Got it. Maybe my follow-up is anything happening on trip consolidation items per trip rising? I'm sure this is a question you're ready for.

明白了。我接下來想問的是，每次行程的合併項目數量是否有增加？我相信您已經準備好回答這個問題了。

Yes. Honestly, we're not seeing a lot of change in our throughput in the buildings. I mean we're seeing a lot of traffic. We're not seeing trade-downs really. We're seeing a little bit of shift in where people are spending their money. Last year, there was more stuff for the home. And this year, it's more sales in tickets and restaurants and travel and tires and gas and things of that nature. But we're still holding our own in areas like apparel and furniture and jewelry, TVs and appliances. All those departments are showing good, decent sales growth on top of pretty good numbers a year ago.

是的。說實話，我們門市的客流量並沒有太大變化。我的意思是，客流量依然很高。我們也沒有看到明顯的降級消費。我們確實發現人們的消費重心發生了一些轉移。去年，家居用品的銷售量更高。而今年，票務、餐飲、旅遊、輪胎、汽油以及類似類型的商品銷售量則有所成長。但我們在服裝、家具、珠寶、電視和家電等領域仍然保持著穩定的銷售動能。所有這些部門的銷售額都在去年相當不錯的基礎上實現了穩健成長。

I would say overall, there might be a very small amount in terms of the number of items in the basket this year. A little less than last year because there was more trip consolidation going on a year ago, I think, during COVID. But overall, I think we feel pretty good about what we're seeing and how our members are shopping.

總的來說，我認為今年購物籃裡的商品數量可能會非常少。比去年略少，因為去年受疫情影響，大家可能會更多合併購物行程。但總體而言，我們對目前的情況以及會員的購物方式都感到相當滿意。

Your next question comes from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

你的下一個問題來自 Chuck Grom 和 Gordon Haskett 的對話。

Okay. Good job, Bob, today. Just curious on Craig's view on balancing the desire to show value, particularly lately, as the macro backdrop continues to get more uncertain while also passing on some price increases. Like you articulated, inflation up anywhere between 5% to 7%. But we know, in some cases, the pressures are much higher. So just curious where Craig is on that balance.

好的。鮑勃，今天做得很好。我只是好奇克雷格對於如何在展現價值（尤其是在最近宏觀經濟情勢持續不明朗的情況下）的同時，又能將部分價格上漲轉嫁給消費者，有什麼看法。正如你所說，通貨膨脹率可能在5%到7%之間。但我們也知道，在某些情況下，壓力遠不止於此。所以，我想知道克雷格在這方面是如何權衡的。

Well, look, I think we always want to be the best value in the marketplace. And to the extent that we continue to show that, I think it's easier for us to pass on higher pricing or higher freight costs or raw material costs, assuming that we show that value in the marketplace. And that's what it's all about really. And I think we feel good about it. I mean our most recent shops, against who we watch most closely, have not changed. And we're every bit as competitive as we've been, notwithstanding the fact we have taken some prices up in certain areas, in food, in sundries and in fresh foods.

嗯，你看，我認為我們始終都想在市場上提供最具性價比的產品。如果我們能持續展現這一點，那麼即使價格上漲、運費上漲或原材料成本增加，我們也能更容易地將成本轉嫁給消費者，前提是我們能在市場上體現出這種價值。這才是關鍵所在。而且我們對此很有信心。我的意思是，我們最近幾家門市的定價，與我們密切關注的競爭對手相比，並沒有改變。儘管我們在某些​​領域，例如食品、日用品和生鮮食品方面提高了價格，但我們的競爭力仍然絲毫不減。

Okay. Great. And then on the core-on-core, you talked about 2/3 being fresh, just wondering if you could just give us some color on some of the discretionary categories.

好的，太好了。關於核心食材的對比，您提到三分之二是新鮮食材，我想請您詳細介紹一些可選食材類別的情況。

Well, I think that the balance was slightly more in non-foods than in foods in terms of the remaining 1/3 of the lower margins. I'm not sure I have the specifics right now on certain specific categories. I mean, again, it's not really a category, we're an item business, and so it's all about certain items where we might move or not move.

嗯，我認為在剩餘的三分之一低利潤率產品中，非食品類產品的比例略高於食品類產品。至於具體品類，我現在不太清楚。我的意思是，我們其實不是按品類劃分的，我們是按商品銷售的，所以一切都取決於哪些商品可能會賣出去，哪些不會賣出去。

Your next question comes from the line of Christopher Horvers with JPMorgan.

你的下一個問題來自摩根大通的克里斯多福霍弗斯。

This is Megan Alexander on for Chris. Maybe a follow-up to Simeon's question. Are you seeing any pressure from rising fuel and diesel with regards to transportation in that core-on-core? And if so, it seems like they accelerated pretty quickly at the end of April. Are you holding back any of the price increases on those costs, such that it's impacting core-on-core maybe more than normal?

這裡是梅根·亞歷山大，替克里斯發言。或許可以作為西蒙問題的補充。您是否感受到燃油和柴油價格上漲對核心營運造成壓力？如果是的話，似乎在四月底漲幅相當大。您是否抑制了這些成本的上漲，以至於對核心營運的影響可能比平常更大？

No, I don't believe so, Megan. I think overall, there's higher transportation costs across the whole supply chain whether it's ocean freight or trucking or the price of fuel, et cetera, et cetera. I think eventually, those costs make their way into your sale price. Again, it's not like anything else. We tend to drag a little bit compared to others, but I don't think there's a material change since the end of April in terms of how we're managing that.

不，我不這麼認為，梅根。我認為總體而言，整個供應鏈的運輸成本都在上漲，無論是海運、陸運或燃料價格等等。我認為最終這些成本都會反映到你的售價上。再說一遍，情況和其他公司不一樣。與其他公司相比，我們的進度確實會稍慢一些，但我認為自四月底以來，我們在應對這種情況方面並沒有發生實質性的變化。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe just a quick follow-up on LIFO. Since price increases have continued, it seems, does that pressure continue to accelerate going forward? And then do we ever kind of get that back as we lap? Or does it depend on what the cost environment looks like?

明白了。好的。這很有幫助。那麼，關於後進先出法（LIFO），或許可以再快速問一下。既然價格上漲似乎仍在繼續，這種壓力是否會繼續加劇？我們最終能否在成本循環中收回成本？還是說取決於成本環境的改變？

Yes. Well, certainly, it can't be predicted and tell you exactly where it's going. We've obviously seen more inflation as the years progressed. If we stay at this level, there will continue to be some impacts to our P&L. If we start to see deflation, if we were in an inflationary environment next year, yes, we would get some of that back. But we've got a ways to go, I think. I think everybody thinks we're still in a cycle of more inflation versus it stopping.

是的。當然，通膨無法預測，也無法準確告訴你它未來的走向。隨著時間的推移，我們顯然看到了通膨加劇。如果通膨水準持續居高不下，我們的損益表將持續受到影響。如果明年出現通貨緊縮，或是我們身處通膨環境，那麼我們或許能夠挽回一些損失。但我認為，我們還有很長的路要走。我認為大家都認為我們仍然處於通膨加劇而非停止的周期中。

Now to be fair, this is the first time when we get into Q4 that we'll actually start cycling some at the beginning of this last year. And I think we had a small LIFO charge in Q4 a year ago. So I'm not predicting but we saw a little bit of decline in our fresh food inflation in this past quarter. Will we see some of it in other areas as we enter Q4? Maybe. But that could be offset by higher costs in other areas in the supply chain. And then, of course, that higher level of inflation started hitting us in Q1 and Q2 at the beginning of this year. So I really can't predict where it's going to go. But assuming we get more inflation, we'll have more LIFO charges. To the extent that reverses at some point, we'll get some credits.

公平地說，這是我們首次在進入第四季度時，開始對去年年初的某些項目進行週期性調整。而且我認為，去年第四季我們也產生了一筆小額的後進先出（LIFO）費用。所以我不能妄下斷言，但我們上個季度確實看到生鮮食品通膨略有下降。進入第四季後，其他領域是否也會出現類似的下降？也許會。但這可能會被供應鏈其他環節成本的增加所抵銷。當然，今年年初的第一季和第二季度，高通膨已經開始對我們造成影響。所以我真的無法預測通膨的走向。但假設通膨持續上升，我們就會產生更多的後進先出費用。如果通膨在某個時候出現逆轉，我們就能獲得一些利益。

Your next question comes from the line of Scot Ciccarelli with Truist Securities.

你的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

Bob, so I guess more of a business strategy question, if you will. You guys had some pretty good SG&A leverage which helped offset the merch margin compression that you saw. I guess the question is, would you have tried to pass on more price increases to protect your gross margin if you didn't think you'd have as much SG&A leverage as you were able to generate?

鮑勃，所以，我想這更像是商業策略方面的問題。你們的銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）控制得相當不錯，這有助於抵銷商品利潤率的下降。我想問的是，如果你們沒有現在這麼大的SG&A控制優勢，你們還會為了保護毛利率而嘗試進一步提價嗎？

That's a hard one to answer. Look, we would never raise prices if we could get SG&A leverage in every single quarter from now until eternity. I mean our goal would be to lower prices indefinitely and lower SG&A. It's all a balancing act. Sure. The same can be said on gross margins. I mean everybody's read what's going on out there in the industry. Our sales in gas were very strong. Our gross margins were strong. And to the extent we're able to lever that into other areas of the business by holding prices, that's what we do. That's retail.

這個問題很難回答。你看，如果我們能從現在到永遠每季​​都有效控制銷售、管理及行政費用，我們絕對不會漲價。我的意思是，我們的目標是無限期地降低價格和銷售、管理及行政費用。這完全是一種平衡。當然，毛利率也是如此。大家都看到了產業現狀。我們的汽油銷售非常強勁，毛利率也很高。只要我們能夠透過維持價格來將這些優勢轉化為其他業務領域的成長，我們就會這麼做。這就是零售業的運作方式。

Your next question comes from the line of John Heinbockel with Guggenheim.

你的下一個問題源自於約翰‧海因博克爾與古根漢的淵源。

Bob, I guess we're in uncharted territory here with inflation in recent times. To what degree do you guys -- and I don't think you do much of this -- test where you're going to take pricing up in certain places, see what the consumer reaction is and then go more broadly? And have you seen, item by item, any elasticity where you'd say, okay, we're either not going to roll out the price increase or roll it back?

鮑勃，我想我們現在正處於通貨膨脹的未知領域。你們（我覺得你們在這方面做得不多）會在多大程度上測試某些商品的價格上漲，觀察消費者的反應，然後再決定是否擴大漲價範圍？你們有沒有逐一觀察價格彈性，從而決定是否取消漲價或撤回漲價？

Yes. John, honestly, we don't really test markets or we won't take a market like Seattle and test, taking our price up beyond our comfort level. It all comes down to value proposition. And if we feel like we can take a price up and pass on some of the costs that we're incurring in our goods, and the value proposition is still there, we'll go there. We're not testing all these items across the space. I mean it is unprecedented times. I will tell you that because of our limited SKU counts and the small number of SKUs that each buyer actually manages, they have a pretty good understanding of where their competitive situation is in the marketplace and they have a pretty good feel about what kind of business they can do at what price. And I think that helps us in terms of managing that.

是的。約翰，說實話，我們不會真的去測試市場，也不會像在西雅圖那樣，把價格抬高到超出我們舒適圈的範圍。一切都取決於價值主張。如果我們覺得可以漲價，把一些成本轉嫁給消費者，而且價值主張依然存在，我們就會這麼做。我們不會對所有產品進行全面測試。我的意思是，現在是非常時期。我可以告訴你，由於我們的SKU數量有限，而且每個採購員實際管理的SKU數量也不多，他們對自身在市場上的競爭狀況非常了解，也很清楚在什麼價格下能做成什麼樣的生意。我認為這有助於我們進行管理。

Okay. And then maybe secondly, gas gallons, right, so what has that been up? And I guess, historically, right, higher gas prices have translated into share gains for you. Are you starting to see that accelerate and drive some incremental traffic to clubs?

好的。其次，汽油銷量怎麼樣？我猜，從歷史數據來看，汽油價格上漲通常會帶來市場佔有率的成長。您是否開始看到這種成長加速，並為俱樂部帶來更多客流量？

Well, that's a good question. Obviously, our value proposition in the marketplace is best-in-class and it's actually accelerated versus where it was a year ago. I think the industry demand in gallons for gas is in the 1% to 2% range. And what I can tell you is we are much better than that, in the high teens and in the low 20s in terms of where we've been trending.

嗯，問得好。顯然，我們在市場上的價值主張是業內最佳的，而且與一年前相比，成長速度實際上更快。我認為汽油業的需求量（以加侖計）在1%到2%之間。我可以告訴你的是，我們的表現遠遠超出這個水平，根據我們的發展趨勢，我們的成長率在10%到20%之間。

I will say we're certainly getting a lot of shops in the building when people buy gas. But given the extraordinarily high level, we're also getting a lot more members come by and top off their tank just because the value proposition, in some cases, is over $1 a gallon. And those members will come by and buy 5 or 6 gallons and then be on their way. So it's difficult to measure because of just the huge amount of volume we're getting through our stations right now.

我想說的是，人們加油的時候，我們店裡確實會迎來很多顧客。但由於客流量異常高，也有很多會員來加滿油箱，因為在某些情況下，每加侖汽油的價格超過1美元。這些會員通常會加5到6加侖，然後就開車走了。所以，由於我們加油站目前的客流量實在太大，很難準確衡量具體情況。

Your next question comes from the line of Karen Short with Barclays.

你的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Karen Short。

So 2 questions. Bob, obviously, you addressed the membership component that everyone has on their mind. But I guess what I'm curious to hear from you is I think you've wavered in one direction and another direction based on the last 4 months. And so I'm curious to hear why you are kind of steadfast now that you would not raise membership fee, not that I necessarily think you should, but obviously, you've taken that stance. So that's my first question.

所以我有兩個問題。鮑勃，顯然你已經談到了大家都很關心的會員問題。但我更想聽聽你的看法，因為我覺得你在過去四個月態度搖擺不定。所以我很好奇，為什麼你現在如此堅定地表示不會提高會員費——當然，我並不認為你應該漲價，但顯然你已經採取了這種立場。這是我的第一個問題。

Well, I don't think we've really wavered. I think once we get a year out or 1.5 years out from that 5.5-year cycle, we, frankly, just start to get a lot of questions about it. And the commentary in the prepared remarks is really more about just saying, at this time, we don't think it's right for us. We're not saying that we're not going to do it. We're just saying it's not right for us right now. And I think that's the same answer we had 3 months ago when we talked about it on the second quarter call. So I don't think anything's really changed other than we're just not at the 5.5-year cycle yet. Does that make sense?

嗯，我覺得我們並沒有真正動搖過。我認為，一旦我們距離5.5年的周期還有一年或一年半的時間，坦白說，我們就會開始收到很多相關的問題。而我們在準備好的發言稿中所做的解釋，更多的是在說，目前我們認為這並不適合我們。我們並不是說我們以後不會做，我們只是說現在對我們來說還不合適。我認為這和我們三個月前在第二季財報電話會議上的回答是一樣的。所以，除了我們還沒有達到5.5年的周期之外，我認為沒有什麼真正的改變。這樣說你明白嗎？

Yes, that makes sense. And then you made 2 comments, I think you said that you were a little heavy in small appliance and holiday inventory but you feel good about your ability to clear the inventory. So I just wanted to clarify what exactly you mean on that in terms of preparing potentially for a slowdown with the consumer and/or if you're thinking or if you're not thinking there is and where are you at on that broadly.

是的，這很有道理。然後您又說了兩點，我記得您提到小家電和節日庫存有點多，但您覺得清理庫存的能力不錯。所以我想確認一下，您說的「庫存積壓」具體是指什麼，例如您是否考慮過消費者需求可能放緩的情況，或者您是否認為會出現這種情況，以及您對此的看法。

Well, I can't tell you whether I think there's going to be more pullback in a month or 2 months or 3 months. I mean, again, we feel really good about our ability to drive traffic and drive our members in and, frankly, the ability to drive the top line. When I spoke to Ron yesterday about this, look, he thinks that we got a couple of extra weeks of supply in a couple of areas and he thinks we can move through the inventory without really a lot of heartburn or problem. On the seasonal stuff, a lot of that is just Christmas stuff that came in late. We've got it in deep freeze and we're going to put it out this fall. And we're probably going to put it out at pretty good values because the price of all that stuff has gone up. So we feel pretty good about being able to move that.

嗯，我無法預測一個月、兩個月還是三個月後會出現進一步的回檔。我的意思是，我們仍然對自身的引流能力、會員轉換率以及提升營收的能力充滿信心。昨天我和羅恩談過這件事，他認為我們在某些​​方面獲得了額外幾週的庫存，應該能夠順利消化掉這些庫存，不會遇到太多問題。至於季節性商品，很多都是聖誕節的存貨，只是到貨晚了。我們已經把它們冷凍起來，準備在秋季上架。而且我們可能會以相當優惠的價格出售，因為這些商品的價格都上漲了。所以我們對銷售這些商品很有信心。

And then the other comment I made is just more inventory that we think makes sense to have, like masks and things like that, of where if there's some kind of hiccup in COVID, we're well prepared. So I don't want to say strategic but it's a little bit more inventory than we might typically carry in a kind of non-environment like we're in now.

我之前提到的另一點是，我們增加了一些庫存，例如口罩之類的，我們認為這樣做是合理的，這樣如果新冠疫情出現任何突發情況，我們都能做好充分準備。所以，我不想說這是策略性的，但我們的庫存量確實比在目前這種非疫情環境下通常會儲備的要多一些。

Okay. Sorry, just to sneak one last one in. In terms of the fuel, obviously, that's a huge draw for you to your stores. Is there any update on the conversion into the store during your open hours in terms of people filling up the tanks and then actually going into the store conversion? Because I think that's historically been 70-ish percent during open hours.

好的。不好意思，最後再問一個問題。關於燃油，顯然這對你們的門市來說是一個很大的吸引力。在你們的營業時間內，顧客加完油後進店購物的比例有什麼更新嗎？因為我記得以往這個比例在營業時間內大概有70%左右。

No, no, no. That number has been like 50%. I'm not sure where 70% came from. That number has come down slightly and again, because of what I mentioned earlier, we have a lot more members coming by and topping off their tank. But the overall number of shops from people buying gas is probably up. It's just the percentage is down because we have way more people going through the stations. So the penetration is down a little bit, but the number of relative shops is up probably.

不，不，不。那個數字一直都在50%左右。我不知道70%是怎麼來的。這個數字已經略有下降，而且正如我之前提到的，現在來加油的會員多了不少。但實際上，因為來加油的人變多了，所以加油的顧客總數可能增加了。只是因為來加油的人變多了，所以這個百分比下降了。因此，加油的滲透率略有下降，但相關的加油次數可能增加了。

Okay. I thought it was 70% during open hours and 50% overall but maybe I was wrong.

好的。我以為營業時間是70%，整體是50%，但也許我錯了。

Yes.

是的。

Your next question comes from the line of Edward Kelly with Wells Fargo.

你的下一個問題來自愛德華凱利在富國銀行的那段時期。

I was hoping if maybe you could share some thoughts on the outlook for the gross margin in fiscal Q4. As we sort of think about some of the pieces, year-over-year, the core compare came off easier but it's not really on a 2-year basis. It seems like you're probably still going to have LIFO. I don't think fuel margins are off to a very good start at all, but maybe that's just because gas prices are rising and, obviously, it's a long quarter. I'm just kind of curious as to the expectation that we should have around the current quarter.

我希望您能分享一下對第四財季毛利率前景的看法。我們仔細分析了一些數據，與去年同期相比來看，核心業務的年比數據相對容易一些，但這畢竟不是基於兩年的數據。看來你們可能還是會採用後進先出法（LIFO）。我認為燃油利潤率的開局並不理想，但這或許是因為油價上漲，而且第四財季時間較長。我只是好奇我們對本季的預期應該如何。

Yes. Ed, I wish I could be more transparent about what our budgets are and everything, but we really don't guide in terms of where gross margins are going to be. I think it continues to be a challenging environment. I think we feel good about our ability to pass through certain costs. In other areas, we don't feel as good about it, and we want to hold prices. So I can't tell you where exactly it's going to be. I think if I had to, it will look much like what you're looking at this quarter. Maybe a little less, maybe a little more. But other than that, we don't guide.

是的。艾德，我真希望我能更透明地說明我們的預算和其他所有情況，但我們確實無法預測毛利率。我認為目前的市場環境依然充滿挑戰。我們對自身轉嫁某些成本的能力充滿信心。但在其他方面，我們則信心不足，我們希望維持物價穩定。所以我無法準確預測毛利率。如果非要預測的話，我想大概會和你們這季看到的差不多。或許會略低一些，或許會略高一些。但除此之外，我們不做任何預測。

Yes. Okay. That's helpful. All right. Well, the other thing that I wanted to ask about, and you kind of touched on it, is just how you're navigating product cost inflation and pass through the customers. And I know historically, you would lag competition. I think maybe the length of that lag has maybe been reduced to some extent. I don't know if that's true, so just sort of color there. And then what have you been able to do from a vendor standpoint? Because you don't sell a lot of SKUs, right, so you do have some real scale advantage within those products. So I'm just kind of curious as to how those negotiations are going as well.

是的，好的，這很有幫助。好的。我還想問一下，您剛才也稍微提到了，那就是您是如何應對產品成本上漲並轉嫁給客戶的。我知道過去您在這方面會落後於競爭對手。我想現在這種落後的程度可能會縮短。我不知道是不是這樣，所以想了解一下。另外，從供應商的角度來看，您採取了哪些措施？因為您的產品種類不多，所以您在這些產品方面確實擁有規模優勢。因此，我很好奇您與供應商的談判進展如何。

Well, look, like we've always said, our first goal is to mitigate any price increase. And our first goal is to partner with our vendor and figure out if there's a way to mitigate it for both of us. And that's the strategy. It's certainly more difficult times because there's more pressures coming from different areas. It's not just raw material cost, it's labor. There's more factors involved in it. But look, as you alluded to, we do a lot of volume in a relatively small number of the SKUs. We're very important to our suppliers in terms of the volume we do in some of these, and so they work with us. And I think at the end of the day, again, it's about showing the best value proposition in every item that we have on the shelf.

嗯，就像我們一直說的，我們的首要目標是盡可能降低物價上漲的影響。我們的首要目標是與供應商合作，找到對雙方都有利的降價方案。這就是我們的策略。當然，現在的情況更加艱難，因為來自各方面的壓力都更大。不只是原料成本，還有勞動成本。影響因素很多。但是，正如你所提到的，我們雖然只有少數幾個SKU，但銷量卻很大。就某些產品的銷售而言，我們對供應商來說非常重要，所以他們會與我們合作。我認為歸根究底，關鍵還是要確保我們貨架上的每一件商品都具有最佳的價值。

And to the extent we're able to pass on some of those costs, and we still show great value in that item, then that's great. In some instances, maybe we're not able to do that as effectively. But overall, I feel pretty good about our merchants being able to navigate through this. We've had a lot to navigate through the last couple of quarters and I think I feel good about our ability to continue to do it as we look out into Q4 and then into the next fiscal year.

如果我們能夠將部分成本轉嫁給消費者，並且仍然能保證產品具有很高的價值，那就太好了。在某些情況下，我們可能無法有效地做到這一點。但總的來說，我對我們商家應對這些挑戰的能力很有信心。過去幾季我們面臨了很多挑戰，但我相信我們有能力繼續應對第四季度以及下一個財年的挑戰。

Your next question comes from the line of Peter Benedict with Baird.

你的下一個問題來自彼得·本尼迪克特和​​貝爾德的系列文章。

Bob, nice job. A question on private label, Kirkland penetration, just maybe where that sits relative to maybe a year ago. And are you seeing any particular areas where you're getting stronger traction or growth rates are picking up there? Just curious how the consumer is behaving around private label.

鮑勃，幹得漂亮！關於自有品牌，我有個問題，Kirkland 的市場滲透率怎麼樣？跟一年前相比如何？有沒有哪些地區的市場表現較強勁，或成長率較高？我只是好奇消費者對自有品牌的態度。

Yes. We actually took a look at that. And we were up a little bit in terms of penetration, probably 30 or 40 basis points, so we're still doing a lot of business there. But again, as I mentioned earlier, when I was talking about the consumer, we're not seeing, I don't think, a lot of trade-down or trade-out from branded into our private label. So we continue to grow it but I think in a way that makes sense for our business. And our consumers really aren't changing how they're shopping with us. I think we're up 0.4, I think, somewhere around the 26 and change number in terms of penetration on a global basis.

是的，我們確實研究過這個問題。我們的滲透率略有上升，大概上升了30到40個基點，所以我們的業務仍然很活躍。但是，正如我之前提到的，在談到消費者時，我認為並沒有出現從品牌產品轉向我們自有品牌的現象。所以我們繼續保持成長，我認為這符合我們業務的合理發展方向。而我們的消費者並沒有改變他們的購物習慣。我認為，就全球範圍而言，我們的滲透率上升了0.4個百分點，大概在26個百分點左右。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then I think you mentioned the higher year 1 renewal rate. So I'm just curious maybe how long you've been seeing that. Is that a U.S. dynamic? Is it an international dynamic? Is it happening everywhere? Or maybe frame the numbers a little bit just to how much better it's been.

明白了。好的，這很有幫助。然後我想您提到了第一年續約率較高。所以我很好奇，您觀察到這種情況有多久了？這是美國特有的現象嗎？還是國際普遍現象？或者，您能否稍微具體說明一下，續約率究竟提高了多少？

Yes, sure. We have historically been, depending on the country and the area, somewhere in the kind of high 50s to maybe 60, low 60s. And those numbers now are, depending on the country, in the high 60s to low 70s. So we've gradually seen, over the last 2 years since the pandemic started, about a 10% bump in our first year members, if you will, which we view as very favorable because we obviously signed up a lot of new members that hadn't tried us. Before the pandemic, they tried us, had a good experience, and we're seeing better retention rates out of those members.

是的，當然。過去，根據國家和地區的不同，我們的會員人數通常在50%到60%之間，甚至可能更低。而現在，根據不同國家的情況，這個數字已經上升到60%到70%之間。所以，自從疫情爆發以來的兩年裡，我們第一年的會員人數逐漸增長了約10%，我們認為這是一個非常可喜的增長，因為我們顯然吸引了許多之前從未嘗試過我們服務的新會員。在疫情爆發前，他們嘗試過我們的服務，體驗良好，因此我們看到這些會員的留存率也更高了。

Yes. Well, certainly better than it going to the opposite direction. So good job.

是的。當然，總比往反方向發展好。幹得好。

Thanks, Peter.

謝謝你，彼得。

Your next question comes from the line of Paul Lejuez with Citi.

你的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Paul Lejuez。

This is Brandon Cheatham on for Paul. I just wanted to ask about supply chain bottlenecks. Any particular categories that have improved, any that have gotten worse? I think some of your competitors have mentioned general merch and furniture as some categories that have been challenging. Just wondering if you all are seeing that as well.

這裡是布蘭登·奇瑟姆，代替保羅發言。我想問一下供應鏈瓶頸的問題。哪些品類的情況有改善，哪些品類的情況惡化？我記得你們的一些競爭對手提到百貨和家具類別比較難處理。想問你們是否也遇到了同樣的問題。

Yes. I'm sitting here with Ron and he's indicating to me that we're pretty much, across the board, improving everywhere slightly from where we were. It's not really in any one particular category. I think part of that is there's 40 or 50 ships in L.A. now instead of 100 or 120 and the fact that we've been able to utilize our own ships to kind of help get product over here. I think it's just improved a little bit across the board in everything that we're purchasing.

是的。我和榮恩坐在一起，他告訴我，我們各方面都比以前略有進步。這並非體現在某個特定領域。我認為部分原因是，現在洛杉磯只有40到50艘船，而不是之前的100到120艘，而且我們能夠利用自己的船隻來運輸產品。我認為，我們採購的所有東西都略有改善。

And I think in the past, you've mentioned that if you did have shortages, you would be able to kind of switch out a vendor or utilize an existing vendor for new product. Has that kind of slowed because the supply chain has improved?

我記得您之前提到過，如果出現缺貨情況，您可以更換供應商，或利用現有供應商提供新產品。隨著供應鏈的改善，這種情況是否減少？

Well, look, we certainly are able to pivot more easily because we have less category business and more item business. So to the extent we're having difficulty in a particular item or have a hard time showing value in a particular item, we are able to pivot over into something else and put it in the warehouse. I think that's just part of our DNA, what we do here every day, whether it's in the environment where we're operating in now or in a normal environment. So I think it's just a competitive advantage based on the structure of our business.

嗯，你看，我們之所以能夠更輕鬆地調整策略，是因為我們的業務重心是單品而非品類。所以，如果我們在某個單品上遇到困難，或是難以展現某個單品的價值，我們就能迅速轉向其他產品，並將其入庫。我認為這已經融入了我們的企業基因，是我們每天都在做的事情，無論是在當前的經營環境下，還是在正常的經營環境下。所以，我認為這是一種基於我們業務結構的競爭優勢。

Your next question comes from the line of Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer.

你的下一個問題來自魯佩什·帕里克和奧本海默的對話。

This is actually Erica Eiler on for Rupesh. So I guess, first, you touched on gas prices and driving traffic to clubs. I was just curious, given the gas price dynamic out there right now, do you think that's driving more memberships at all to clubs as perhaps consumers seek out more value in this environment?

這裡是 Erica Eiler 代表 Rupesh 連線。首先，您提到了油價上漲對俱樂部客流量的影響。我很好奇，鑑於目前的油價走勢，您認為這是否會促使更多人加入俱樂部，因為消費者或許會在這種環境下尋求更高的性價比？

Sure. Sure, yes. Sure. I mean absolutely. I think every member that signs up has a different reason, but sure, absolutely, particularly given the extreme value proposition in gas right now.

當然。當然，沒錯。當然。我的意思是絕對沒問題。我認為每個會員註冊的理由都不一樣，但當然，絕對沒問題，尤其考慮到目前汽油價格的極高性價比。

Okay. And then just shifting gears kind of back to discretionary. You touched on seeing consumers spend in other categories, which is what we're hearing from everyone out there right now. I'm just curious, based on what you're seeing to date, has anything surprised you in terms of the shift by category that you're seeing right now that perhaps you hadn't planned for?

好的。接下來我們再回到非必需消費品的話題。您剛才提到消費者會在其他品類上消費，這也是我們現在普遍聽到的。我很好奇，根據您目前觀察到的情況，在各個品類的消費變化方面，有沒有哪些是您之前沒有預料到的？

Not really. I mean in some of the areas I mentioned, like sporting goods, well, all the gyms are opening up again. And within sporting goods, it's really exercise equipment that we sold a lot a year ago. And this year, people are back at the gyms. Office is down a little bit. And again, people were setting up home offices and working from home a year ago. So it's no surprise to us that, that department is a little bit softer than a year ago. So not really. I think the categories that we're seeing be a little bit softer than we expect are categories that we expected to be soft. It's not a big surprise.

其實不然。我的意思是，在我提到的一些領域，例如體育用品，健身房都重新開放了。而運動用品裡，健身器材是我們去年銷售量很大的產品。今年，人們又都回到健身房了。辦公用品的銷售量略有下降。畢竟，一年前人們就開始在家工作了。所以，這個部門的銷售量比去年略低，這並不讓我們感到驚訝。所以，我認為銷售量略低於預期的品類，正是我們預料到會疲軟的品類。這並不令人意外。

Your next question comes from the line of Kelly Bania with BMO Capital.

你的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital 的 Kelly Bania。

Well done, Bob. Just another question. As you think about that 7% inflation that you mentioned, can you maybe give us a little color on how that looks on the food and consumables side versus the discretionary side of the business? And as well, is there any difference in your ability or willingness to pass on some of the inflation on either side of the aisle there?

幹得好，鮑伯。還有一個問題。你剛才提到7%的通貨膨脹率，能否具體說說這對食品和日用品以及非必需品產業的影響？另外，你認為兩黨在將部分通膨轉嫁給消費者方面的能力或意願有何不同？

I would say we're certainly seeing higher inflation in certain non-food areas, although mix is bringing that down. You're going to sell fewer, say, I'm making this up, but patio sets that are up, say, 10%, then you are, say, a piece of apparel that might be up less so, it's going to be less of an impact on a smaller-priced item. I think overall, the inflation that we're seeing is relatively the same. Again, we're an item business. So we're certainly seeing it higher than that in some items and lower than that in other areas of the business.

我認為，在某些非食品領域，通膨確實更高，儘管商品組合的變化在一定程度上拉低了通膨水準。比如說，如果戶外家具套裝的價格上漲了10%，那麼它的銷量肯定會下降；而如果是服裝之類的單品，漲幅可能就小一些，所以價格較低的商品受到的影響也較小。我認為總體而言，我們看到的通膨水準相對穩定。當然，我們是商品銷售企業，所以某些商品的通膨率肯定高於平均水平，而其他商品的通膨率則低於平均水平。

And I think, again, I need to keep using this term, but it's all about the value proposition. And our willingness to take pricing along or take pricing up depends on what our position is in the marketplace. And to the extent we continue to show great value, it's a little easier to do that.

我覺得我需要再次強調這個概念，關鍵在於價值主張。我們是否願意降低價格或提高價格，取決於我們在市場中的定位。如果我們能持續展現出巨大的價值，那麼做到這一點就更容易一些。

Okay. And maybe just to follow up in terms of just big ticket in general, can you just maybe talk about how that's trending? And do you think about maybe planning big ticket just a little bit more conservatively? Or just help us understand the internal thought process about just big ticket in the current environment.

好的。關於大宗商品，能否進一步談談目前的趨勢？您是否考慮過在規劃大宗商品時採取更保守的做法？或者能否幫助我們了解在當前環境下，貴公司內部對大宗商品的考量過程？

Yes. Well, again, not to keep using this term, but we're an item business. And I think we're seeing great strength in furniture right now. We're seeing great strength in patio. We didn't have as good inventory supplies a year ago. We have more inventory now, and so we're able to move that product. Things like exercise equipment isn't as selling as much. Barbecues, for example, everybody bought a barbecue last year because everybody was home and cooking from home. Certain items like that are not selling as well this year. I think the good thing for us is we're so broad-based in terms of the merchandise that we sell that we don't really, I guess, look at it as big ticket.

是的。嗯，我不想老是重複這個詞，但我們是一家商品公司。我認為目前家具和庭院用品的銷售情況非常強烈。一年前我們的庫存並不充足，現在庫存更充足，所以這些產品更容易銷售。像健身器材之類的產品銷售就沒那麼好了。例如烤肉爐，去年幾乎人人都買烤肉爐，因為大家都待在家裡煮飯。但今年這類商品的銷售量就沒那麼好了。我認為對我們來說有利的一點是，我們銷售的商品種類非常廣泛，所以我們並不把這些商品看作是高價商品。

Appliances is another example. Appliances are very strong this year. Now again, we had a little bit of a supply constraint last year, more issues with chips. That's getting better, it's not solved, but we're in better stock this year. And we're certainly selling more appliances than we did a year ago, and those are the biggest of ticket items. My guys are saying travel, not really a big ticket, but an experience. And with everybody pent up for 2 years and not traveling, yes, that business has taken off like mad. So there's a lot of discussion and talk about a recession coming, but if you look in our buildings and if you've been on an airplane lately, you'd never notice it.

家電是另一個例子。今年家電銷售非常強勁。去年我們確實遇到了一些供應限制，晶片方面的問題比較多。情況正在好轉，雖然還沒有完全解決，但今年的庫存比去年要充足得多。而且，我們今年的家電銷售量肯定比去年同期高，家電也是單價最高的商品。我的同事說，旅遊雖然不算是大宗消費，但能帶來獨特的體驗。由於大家被困在家中兩年，很少旅行，所以旅遊業務確實發展迅速。現在很多人都在討論經濟衰退即將到來，但如果你看看我們的辦公大樓，或是最近坐過飛機，你根本感覺不到經濟衰退的影響。

Your next question comes from the line of Laura Champine with Loop Capital.

你的下一個問題來自 Loop Capital 的 Laura Champine。

Can you talk specifically about what you're seeing in renewal rates in China? I know that at first, you had such great member growth there, but I'm interested in how well you've retained those customers just given what they've been through over the past few years.

能否具體談談您在中國市場的續訂率情況？我知道你們最初在中國的會員成長非常迅猛，但我很想知道，考慮到過去幾年他們所經歷的一切，你們是如何留住這些客戶的。

Yes. Laura, I don't have those in front of me, actually. If you want to ping me off-line, we can maybe give you a little bit more color. I do know that they're slightly lower than we've seen in some markets because we signed up so many members in those first 2 warehouses. And so I know the retention rates are a little bit lower as a percentage. But part of that is when we opened our first building there, it was the only building, and now that we have 2 buildings with a third coming on the Shanghai market. It's going to change the dynamics a little bit.

是的，蘿拉，我手邊其實沒有這些數據。如果你想私下聯絡我，我們可以提供更詳細的資訊。我知道，由於我們在前兩個倉庫招攬了太多會員，所以會員留存率比我們在其他一些市場看到的略低。我知道留存率的百分比略低。但部分原因是，我們最初在那裡開設第一棟大樓時，它是唯一一棟大樓，而現在我們在上海市場已經有了兩棟樓，第三棟也即將開業。這將稍微改變市場格局。

Got it. And then just a detail on that onetime charge, did you add a vacation day just basically because Juneteenth was made a holiday? Or is there something else going on there?

明白了。還有，關於那筆一次性費用，你是不是因為六月節是假日就額外加了一天假期？還是另有其他原因？

No, it was just for each and every employee to use as they fit. It's essentially an additional floating holiday that each employee can use for a specific day that's important to them.

不，這只是給每位員工根據自身情況靈活安排的。它本質上是一個額外的彈性假期，每位員工都可以選擇對自己來說重要的日子來休假。

Why don't we take 1 or 2 more, and then David, Josh and myself will be available for some off-line questions.

我們不妨再選一兩個，然後大衛、喬希和我就可以回答一些線下問題了。

And your next question comes from the line of Greg Melich with Evercore ISI.

你的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Melich。

Bob, can you give us a little more insight into the ancillary business' margin going up? Is that travel coming back? What's clearly driving that?

鮑勃，你能更詳細地解釋一下輔助業務利潤率上升的原因嗎？是旅遊業復甦了嗎？究竟是什麼因素推動了這項成長？

Well, certainly, gas was the biggest driver in there. And I think we mentioned that travel was also one of the beneficiaries.

當然，汽油是其中最大的驅動因素。而且我想我們也提到過，旅遊業也是受益者之一。

And so penny profit in gas, we should accept that, that was actually up year-over-year.

因此，我們應該接受汽油每便士的利潤實際上是同比增長的事實。

Yes. It was up year-over-year. But keep in mind, the price of gas was up 40% year-over-year.

是的，同比上漲了。但請記住，汽油價格年增了40%。

The margin, yes.

是的，利潤空間。

Yes, yes.

是的，是的。

Got it. And then housekeeping on the day vacation, the charge, the $77 million, is that an accrual for the year? Or is that now in the base and we should see that each of the next 4 quarters?

明白了。那麼關於休假期間的家事服務費用，也就是7700萬美元，是計入年度應計項目嗎？還是已經計入基數，我們會在接下來的四個季度中看到這部分費用？

It's both. The $77 million was essentially, again, on the books, the cost of that vacation for each employee at that time, on March 14, if you will. And then the ongoing cost of that is in our regular SG&A in benefit cost each quarter, correct. And those costs for Q3, or I should say the 8 weeks in Q3, were just in the regular SG&A numbers.

兩者兼具。 7700萬美元基本上是帳面上列出的每位員工在3月14日休假的費用。而後續的持續成本則計入了我們每季的常規銷售、管理及行政費用中的福利支出，沒錯。第三季的這部分成本，或者更準確地說，是第三季的8週成本，都包含在常規的銷售、管理及行政費用中。

Got it. So presumably that was 8 weeks of Q3, and we can just look at the weekly and sort of use that running forward.

明白了。所以這大概是第三季的8週數據，我們可以看看每週的數據，然後以此為基礎進行後續的預測。

Well, we didn't give you what it was by week. That's what it was for the year.

我們沒有按週列出具體數字，這是全年的數字。

Oh, that's what it was, so the $77 million was for the year.

哦，原來如此，所以那7700萬美元是全年的開支。

Correct. There were additional costs in the quarter relating to the 8 weeks for that benefit.

沒錯。本季因該項福利的8週而產生了額外費用。

Your next question comes from the line of Stephanie Wissink with Jefferies.

你的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Stephanie Wissink。

It's Blake on for Steph. I wanted to see if you could give any color on new member growth. I know you talked about gas was a benefit to attracting members and you didn't see a lot of trade-down for existing members, but if you could talk about maybe any new members joining the club for savings on food or non-food specifically.

布萊克代替史蒂芬發言。我想請你談談新會員成長的情況。我知道你之前提到加油優惠是吸引新會員的一大優勢，而且你也沒看到很多現有會員降級，但如果你能具體說說新會員加入俱樂部的原因，比如是否是為了節省食品或其他方面的開支，那就太好了。

Well, we don't really ask each member when they sign up why they're signing up. I'm hoping that there's a different value proposition for each and every member that entices them to be a member and sign up.

其實我們不會在每位會員註冊時詢問他們註冊的原因。我希望每位會員都能找到不同的價值主張，從而吸引他們成為會員並註冊。

The one thing I can add on to that is we are getting more strength in terms of the number of members that sign up digitally, and that's really grown throughout the pandemic and become a bigger percentage of our growth as well. And I think some of that has to do with some of our online offerings, particularly in, say, grocery. If you don't live within 10 or 15 miles of a club, but in the pandemic, you tried this. You lived a little bit further away, you had a good experience, you signed up digitally and you stayed digitally and you might use this half digitally and half in the warehouse. So I think it's a different reason for everybody, really. It just depends on your preferences.

我還可以補充一點，那就是我們線上註冊會員的數量正在大幅增長，尤其是在疫情期間，線上註冊會員的數量更是顯著增長，占我們整體增長的比例也越來越高。我認為這部分原因在於我們提供的一些線上服務，特別是像食品雜貨這樣的產品。如果你住的地方離家有10到15英里遠，但在疫情期間嘗試了線上購物，即使你住得稍微遠一些，體驗也不錯，於是你在線註冊，並且一直保持線上購物，可能一半時間在線購物，一半時間去實體店購物。所以我覺得每個人的原因都不一樣，完全取決於你的個人偏好。

Okay. And then lastly, on renewal rate, that was strong in the quarter, just wondering how that was versus your expectations; and also the MFI growth versus your expectations as well.

好的。最後，關於續貸率，本季續貸率表現強勁，我想知道這與您的預期相比如何；還有，小額信貸機構的成長與您的預期相比如何？

Okay. I didn't know, but I think it was pretty much in line with what our expectations were. I mean when you kind of take a look at what's driving that, we continue to convert more base members to the executive member program who tend to renew at a higher rate and have more loyalty with us. That's contributing to that. We see that every week. So we know that's going to help the renewal rates. And of course, the first-year renewal rates, they are improving. We know that's going to help the number as well in signing up more members. So all that, I think, is contributing to those improved metrics, if you will.

好的。我之前並不知道，但我覺得這基本上符合我們的預期。我的意思是，仔細分析背後的驅動因素，我們會發現我們持續將更多基礎會員轉化為高級會員，而高級會員的續費率往往更高，忠誠度也更高。這確實有助於提升續費率。我們每週都能看到這種情況。所以我們知道這會提高續費率。當然，第一年的續費率也在提高。我們知道這也有助於吸引更多新會員。所以我認為，所有這些因素都促成了這些指標的提升。

Okay. If there's no more questions, we'll call it a wrap. I appreciate everybody dialing in today. And again, David and Josh and myself are available if you guys have any follow-ups. Have a good day.

好的。如果沒有其他問題，我們就結束今天的討論。感謝大家今天撥入。再次提醒，如果你們還有任何後續問題，David、Josh 和我隨時都在。祝大家今天愉快。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以斷開連線了。