Copart Inc (CPRT) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day everyone, and welcome to the Copart Incorporated fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call. Just a reminder, today's conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Copart Incorporated 2025 財年第四季財報電話會議。提醒一下，今天的會議正在錄製中。

Before turning the call over to management, I will share Copart's Safe Harbor statement. The company's comments today include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including management's current views with respect to trends, opportunities, and uncertainties in the company's markets. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties.

在將電話轉給管理層之前，我將分享 Copart 的安全港聲明。該公司今天的評論包括聯邦證券法所定義的前瞻性陳述，包括管理層對公司市場趨勢、機會和不確定性的當前看法。這些前瞻性陳述涉及重大風險和不確定性。

For more detail on the risks associated with the company's business, we refer you to the section titled Risk Factors and the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2024, and each of the company's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statements are made as of today, and the company has no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

有關公司業務相關風險的更多詳細信息，請參閱“風險因素”部分以及公司截至 2024 年 7 月 31 日的 10-K 表年度報告，以及公司隨後的每個 10-Q 表季度報告。任何前瞻性陳述均截至今日作出，本公司沒有義務更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述。

I'll now turn the call over to the company's CEO, Jeff Liaw.

現在我將把電話轉給公司執行長 Jeff Liaw。

Thank you, Owen. Welcome, and thank you for joining us for our fiscal year 2025 call. We're pleased to announce the results of another record year for Copart across a number of dimensions, including units sold, revenue, and operating profits. For that, I wanted to extend our gratitude to our clients, our members, and our people who enable our success.

謝謝你，歐文。歡迎您，感謝您參加我們的 2025 財年電話會議。我們很高興地宣布，Copart 在銷售量、收入和營業利潤等多個方面再創歷史新高。為此，我想向我們的客戶、我們的會員以及使我們成功的員工表示感謝。

I'll begin today with some brief remarks on our insurance business and trends in the industry, followed by a discussion about Copart's auction liquidity before passing the call to Lea to discuss the results of our financial performance for the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year. We'll then take your questions.

今天，我將首先簡要介紹我們的保險業務和行業趨勢，然後討論一下 Copart 的拍賣流動性，然後將電話轉給 Lea，討論我們第四季度和整個財政年度的財務業績結果。然後我們會回答您的問題。

First, regarding our insurance business. For the full fiscal year 2025, Copart grew its global insurance volume by 4.5% and our US insurance volume by 4.2%. During the fourth quarter itself, global insurance volumes sold decreased by 1.9% and US insurance volumes declined by 2.1%.

首先，關於我們的保險業務。2025 財年全年，Copart 的全球保險量成長了 4.5%，美國保險量成長了 4.2%。光是第四季度，全球保險銷售量就下降了 1.9%，美國保險銷售量下降了 2.1%。

Year-over-year growth rates for the second half of our fiscal year were softer than in the first half for several reasons, including the ebbs and flows of business activity among individual auto insurance carriers themselves as they optimize for growth and profitability. We also note ebbs and flows of uninsured and underinsured motorist populations, the result of substantial increases in insurance premiums over the course of the past several years. As one specific citation, earned car years for the first calendar quarter of 2025 declined by 4.3% versus that same quarter in 2024 according to ISS, all while the vehicle car park grew at 1.3% for the same period.

我們財政年度下半年的年成長率低於上半年，原因有幾個，其中包括各個汽車保險公司在優化成長和獲利能力的過程中，業務活動的起伏。我們也注意到，由於過去幾年保險費大幅上漲，無保險和保險不足的駕駛者數量減少。具體來說，根據 ISS 的數據，2025 年第一季的汽車年保有量與 2024 年同期相比下降了 4.3%，而同期汽車停車位數量卻增加了 1.3%。

You might surmise that underinsurance is less relevant for vehicles that have encountered accidents severe enough to consider a total loss, but consider the scenario in which a policyholder has downgraded from collision coverage to liability only or has elected to forego insurance coverage altogether. Those vehicles may bypass the traditional insurance total loss funnel altogether.

您可能會推測，對於遭遇嚴重到足以考慮全損的事故的車輛來說，保險不足的問題不太重要，但請考慮一下投保人將碰撞險降級為僅責任險或選擇完全放棄保險的情況。這些車輛可能完全繞過傳統的保險全損管道。

Other industry sources such as CCC have observed what they describe as a cyclical disconnect between accident activity and insurance claims frequency as well. We also track other industry indicators such as traffic fatalities, some of which are published much more episodically, but which generally indicate that accident rates are declining, but that they're doing so at rates consistent with long-standing historical trends.

CCC 等其他行業消息人士也觀察到了他們所描述的事故活動和保險索賠頻率之間的週期性脫節。我們也追蹤其他行業指標，例如交通事故死亡人數，其中一些指標的發布頻率要低得多，但總體上表明事故率正在下降，而且下降速度與長期歷史趨勢一致。

We've talked in the past before about how accident frequency has declined virtually every year since Copart's inception and almost certainly for decades preceding that. These declines have generally occurred very gradually as new safety technologies such as anti-lock brakes in the 1970s and '80s penetrate the installed base with each vintage of newly manufactured vehicles.

我們之前曾討論過，自 Copart 成立以來，事故發生率幾乎每年都在下降，而且幾乎可以肯定，在此之前的幾十年裡，事故發生率一直呈下降趨勢。隨著 1970 年代和 1980 年代防鎖死煞車系統等新安全技術隨著新生產的車輛不斷普及，這些下降通常是逐漸發生的。

Over those same long-term horizons, however, total loss frequency has generally increased at a rate far exceeding the decline in accident frequency itself. And in fact, for the quarter, total loss frequency has continued its long-term upward trend consistent with again the entire history of our company. In the United States, total loss frequency for the second calendar quarter of 2025 was 22.2%, up from 21.5% in the same quarter in 2024.

然而，從同樣的長期來看，總損失頻率的成長速度通常遠遠超過事故頻率本身的下降速度。事實上，本季總損失頻率持續保持長期上升趨勢，與我們公司的整個歷史一致。在美國，2025 年第二季的總損失頻率為 22.2%，高於 2024 年同期的 21.5%。

As a tidbit for context, according to CCC's most recently published Crash Course report, calibrations occurred on 31% of DRP estimates in the first calendar quarter, up from 24% a year ago, an indication of further vehicle complexity, complexity of repairs, and repair costs for vehicles that enter the repair window.

作為背景訊息，根據 CCC 最近發布的速成課程報告，第一季 31% 的 DRP 估計值進行了校準，高於一年前的 24%，這表明車輛的複雜性、維修的複雜性以及進入維修期的車輛的維修成本進一步增加。

We've long noted the vehicle repairs become less attractive with the passing of time. As vehicle complexity increases, parts and labor costs increase as well. We've also talked at length about how total loss itself becomes more attractive as growing economies seek more and more US salvage vehicles to satisfy their demand for more mobility.

我們早就注意到，隨著時間的推移，車輛維修變得越來越沒有吸引力。隨著車輛複雜性的增加，零件和人力成本也隨之增加。我們也詳細討論了隨著發展中經濟體尋求越來越多的美國報廢車輛來滿足其對更多機動性的需求，全損本身如何變得更具吸引力。

On recent earnings calls, we've talked at great length about the importance of our differentiated service offerings, including our efforts to help insurance companies mitigate their advance charges, the decision support tools we provide to help them make calls quicker and better, as well as a range of titling and loan payoff services we offer to them. But we also know that above all else, the critical value we provide sellers at Copart is that our auction platform will find the highest and best use of every vehicle anywhere in the world.

在最近的財報電話會議上，我們詳細討論了差異化服務產品的重要性，包括我們幫助保險公司降低預付費用的努力、我們提供的幫助他們更快更好地撥打電話的決策支援工具，以及我們為他們提供的一系列產權和貸款償還服務。但我們也知道，最重要的是，我們為 Copart 的賣家提供的關鍵價值是，我們的拍賣平台將為世界各地的每輛汽車找到最高和最佳的用途。

I wanted to spent a few minutes today to underscore the importance of that auction liquidity and to describe why our liquidity is a distinct advantage for Copart. First, I would note that Copart's auction is uniquely digital. We have been exclusively an online auction platform since 2003, almost two decades before our competitors followed suit, and only when they were compelled to do so by the COVID-19 crisis.

今天我想花幾分鐘來強調拍賣流動性的重要性，並解釋為什麼我們的流動性對 Copart 來說是一個明顯的優勢。首先，我要指出的是，Copart 的拍賣是獨一無二的數位拍賣。自 2003 年以來，我們一直專注於線上拍賣平台，比我們的競爭對手早了近二十年，而且只是在 COVID-19 危機迫使他們這樣做的時候。

By extension, we are also uniquely global. We have some 300,000 paying registered members at Copart from virtually every non-sanctioned country around the world. The result of that is unmatched global breadth. International members account for approximately 40% of all vehicles sold at Copart's US auctions, comprising almost half of auction proceeds because international buyers generally purchase vehicles that are more valuable than those acquired by domestic buyers.

進一步說，我們也是獨一無二的全球性企業。Copart 擁有約 30 萬名付費註冊會員，幾乎來自世界各地所有未受制裁的國家。結果是無與倫比的全球廣度。國際會員佔 Copart 美國拍賣會上售出的所有車輛的約 40%，佔拍賣收益的近一半，因為國際買家購買的車輛通常比國內買家購買的車輛更有價值。

We invest heavily in marketing resources in product and the member experience more generally to ensure a deep pool of demand for the vehicles we auction on behalf of our sellers. As context, the top 10 individual buyers of vehicles at Copart collectively purchase a low single-digit percentage of all the vehicles we sell at US auctions. The nature of the vehicle wholesaler and rebuilder economy is a frequent disruptions, exits, and new business formations, and we invest in the resources to ensure that we continue to maintain a deep pool of demand for our vehicles.

我們在產品和會員體驗的行銷資源上投入了大量資金，以確保我們代表賣家拍賣的車輛擁有巨大的需求。作為背景，Copart 上排名前 10 位的車輛個人買家總共購買了我們在美國拍賣會上出售的所有車輛中的個位數百分比。汽車批發商和重建商經濟的本質是頻繁中斷、退出和新業務形成，我們投資資源以確保我們繼續保持對我們汽車的大量需求。

The fruits of our labor are visible in the selling prices we generate for our clients in the past quarter, in the past year, and frankly for the past 43 years as well. For the quarter specifically, we experienced ASP growth globally of 5.4% for all insurance vehicles sold, and for our US insurance clients growth of 5.7% for the fourth quarter versus a year ago. We know from public data and from public disclosures that our ASPs grew at a rate that eclipsed that of used vehicle value indices like the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index and grew at a rate more than fivefold that of service providers similar to ours.

我們的勞動成果體現在我們在過去一個季度、過去一年以及坦白說過去 43 年為客戶創造的銷售價格。具體來說，本季度，我們在全球範圍內銷售的所有保險工具的平均售價增長了 5.4%，而我們美國保險客戶第四季度的平均售價與去年同期相比增長了 5.7%。我們從公開數據和公開披露中得知，我們的平均銷售價格的增長速度超過了曼海姆二手車價值指數等二手車價值指數的增長速度，並且是與我們類似的服務提供商的五倍多。

I wanted to spend those few minutes to talk about auction liquidity as one of the critical propositions that we deliver to our sellers, frankly across both insurance as well as our non-insurance sellers as well. With that, I'll pass the call to Leah to talk about our fourth quarter and our full fiscal year.

我想花幾分鐘時間談談拍賣流動性，這是我們向賣家提供的關鍵主張之一，坦白說，這既適用於保險賣家，也適用於非保險賣家。說完這些，我將把電話轉給 Leah，讓她談談我們的第四季和整個財政年度。

Thank you, Jeff. I will begin with our 2025 sales trends. For fiscal year '25, global unit sales increased 4.8% and declined in the fourth quarter by 0.9%. Focusing on our US business, for fiscal year '25, unit growth was 4.1%, with fee units growing 4.1% and purchase units growing 4.7%. For the fourth quarter, unit sales declined 1.8%. This reflects fee units declining 1.2% and purchase units declining 16.7%.

謝謝你，傑夫。我將從我們的 2025 年銷售趨勢開始。25財年，全球銷量成長4.8%，第四季下降0.9%。專注於我們的美國業務，25 財年，單位成長率為 4.1%，其中費用單位成長 4.1%，購買單位成長 4.7%。第四季度，單位銷售額下降了 1.8%。這反映出費用單位下降了 1.2%，購買單位下降了 16.7%。

Over the past several months, in the US, we have transitioned a significant volume of low-value non-insurance units from our Copart direct channel, which are purchase units to our direct bichannel. This change has allowed Copart to more efficiently market lower ASP vehicles by directly connecting sellers and buyers and avoiding the unnecessary costs associated with transportation and storage at a Copart facility. As a result, they are not captured in our units sold metrics. Normalizing for this, US units declined 0.6% for the fourth quarter.

在過去的幾個月裡，在美國，我們已經將大量低價值非保險單位從我們的 Copart 直接管道（即購買單位）轉移到我們的直接雙通路。這項變更使得 Copart 能夠更有效地行銷價格較低的車輛，直接連接賣家和買家，並避免與在 Copart 設施運輸和儲存相關的不必要成本。因此，它們沒有被計入我們的銷售單位指標中。正常化後，美國第四季銷量下降了 0.6%。

Our global and US insurance volume grew 4.5% and 4.2%, respectively, for fiscal year '25 and decreased approximately 2% for the fourth quarter versus the prior-year period. For the fiscal year '25, our non-insurance unit volume increased 2.8% and decreased 2.1% in the fourth quarter. The fourth-quarter decline in non-insurance US volume was driven by our direct buy strategy, which resulted in Copart direct or cash for cars business line unit sales to decline 5.4% in FY25 and 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Normalizing for this, non-insurance unit volume continues to grow faster than our US insurance business.

25 財年，我們的全球和美國保險業務量分別成長了 4.5% 和 4.2%，而第四季的保險業務量與去年同期相比下降了約 2%。25 財年，我們的非保險單位數量增加了 2.8%，第四季則下降了 2.1%。第四季美國非保險業務銷售的下降是由我們的直接購買策略造成的，這導致 Copart 直接或現金汽車業務線單位銷售額在 2025 財年下降 5.4%，在第四季度下降 32.6%。正常情況下，非保險單位數量的成長速度持續快於我們的美國保險業務。

Blue Car, which services our bank, rental, and fleet partners, continued its strong trend with 15.3% growth in fiscal year '25 and growth of 2.8% in the fourth quarter. We continue to see double-digit growth in Blue Car across our bank and fleet partners. This was partially upset during the fourth quarter by certain rental partners who retained or repaired a greater number of vehicles than we had seen historically.

Blue Car 為我們的銀行、租賃和車隊合作夥伴提供服務，並持續保持強勁趨勢，25 財年成長 15.3%，第四季成長 2.8%。我們繼續看到 Blue Car 在我們的銀行和車隊合作夥伴中實現兩位數的成長。第四季度，某些租賃合作夥伴保留或修理的車輛數量比我們歷史上見過的要多，這在一定程度上擾亂了這一局面。

Dealer sales volume consisting of Copart dealer services and National Powersport Auctions increased 1.4% for the fiscal year '25 and 2.1% for the fourth quarter. Low value units, including charities and municipalities, increased 4.9% year over year and increased 1.2% for the fiscal year '25. Our International segment units sold grew 8.1% for fiscal year '25 and for the fourth quarter grew 3.3%.

包括 Copart 經銷商服務和 National Powersport Auctions 在內的經銷商銷售額在 25 財年增長了 1.4%，在第四季度增長了 2.1%。包括慈善機構和市政當局在內的低價值單位年增 4.9%，25 財年成長 1.2%。我們國際部門的銷售單位在 25 財年成長了 8.1%，第四季成長了 3.3%。

Fee units increased 9.8% for the full fiscal year and 3.6% for the quarter. Purchase units declined 1.8% for the full year and increased 1.9% for the quarter. Fee unit growth continues to benefit from the shift of insurance units, primarily in Germany, transitioning from purchase contracts to consignment.

整個財年費用單位成長了 9.8%，本季費用單位成長了 3.6%。全年購買量下降 1.8%，本季購買量成長 1.9%。費用單位的成長繼續受益於保險單位的轉變，主要是在德國，從購買合約轉向寄售。

Turning to Purple Wave, their GTV grew 9.4% for the fiscal year 2025. And while we are observing an industry-wide trend across the heavy equipment and agricultural sectors of sellers taking a cautious wait-and-see approach due to uncertainties in the broader macroenvironment, Purple Wave's overall GTV continues to significantly outpace the industry from a growth perspective.

談到 Purple Wave，他們的 GTV 在 2025 財年成長了 9.4%。儘管我們觀察到重型設備和農業領域的整個行業趨勢是賣家由於更廣泛的宏觀環境的不確定性而採取謹慎的觀望態度，但從成長角度來看，Purple Wave 的整體 GTV 繼續顯著超過行業。

Our global ASPs increased by 5.6% in the fourth quarter and 2.4% for the full year. Our global inventory decreased 13.1% from a year-ago period.

我們的全球平均銷售價格在第四季度上漲了 5.6%，全年上漲了 2.4%。我們的全球庫存比去年同期減少了 13.1%。

Overall, inventory levels in the US decreased 14.8% year over year. There are three main drivers of the US inventory decline. First, we saw low double-digit declines in assignments; second, faster cycle times overall for vehicles sold; and three, the reduction in overall aged inventory. Over the past several years, we have observed that trends in assignment volumes have proven to be a more accurate predictor of future unit sales than static inventory levels.

整體而言，美國庫存水準年減14.8%。美國庫存下降主要有三個驅動因素。首先，我們看到任務量出現了兩位數的低幅下降；其次，車輛銷售的整體週期時間縮短了；第三，整體老舊庫存減少了。在過去幾年中，我們觀察到，任務量趨勢比靜態庫存水準更能準確預測未來的單位銷售量。

Our inventory business ended the quarter compared to prior year with inventory levels decreasing 3.9%, which is primarily due to the sale of several CAT units in the Middle East. International assignments grew just over 1% for the quarter.

與去年同期相比，本季末我們的庫存業務庫存水準下降了 3.9%，這主要是由於在中東銷售了幾台 CAT 設備。本季國際任務成長略高於 1%。

Turning to our financial performance, global revenue increased to $1.13 billion for the quarter and $4.65 billion for fiscal year '25, reflecting a 5.2% and 9.7% growth, respectively. Global service revenue increased $63.1 million or 7% from the same period last year, and increased approximately $407.7 million and 11.4% for the full fiscal year, due primarily to increased volumes and overall higher revenue per unit.

談到我們的財務業績，本季全球營收增至 11.3 億美元，25 財年全球營收增至 46.5 億美元，分別成長 5.2% 和 9.7%。全球服務收入較去年同期增加 6,310 萬美元，增幅 7%，全年增加約 4.077 億美元，增幅 11.4%，主要由於銷量增加和單位總收入增加。

Our US service revenue grew by 6.2% for the quarter and 10.4% for the year. And international service revenue grew by 13% for the fourth quarter and 18.9% for the year. Global purchase vehicle sales for the fourth quarter decreased $7 million or 4%, and increased $2.5 million or about 0.4% for the fiscal year. Global purchase vehicle gross profit increased by 53.3% in the fourth quarter and 33.7% for the fiscal year.

我們的美國服務收入本季成長了 6.2%，全年成長了 10.4%。第四季國際服務收入成長13%，全年成長18.9%。第四季全球購買汽車銷售額下降 700 萬美元，降幅 4%，而本財年銷售額成長 250 萬美元，增幅約 0.4%。環球購車第四季毛利年增53.3%，全年毛利年增33.7%。

In the US, purchase vehicle revenue was up $4.1 million or 4.2%. However, purchase vehicle gross profit decreased $1 million or about 14.2% in the quarter. And for the fiscal year, US purchase vehicle revenue increased $64.9 million or 19.2%; and purchase vehicle gross profit remained largely flat. Year to date, our US purchased unit margins were 6.3%, a decrease of about 113 basis points compared to FY24.

在美國，購買車輛收入增加了 410 萬美元，即 4.2%。然而，本季購買車輛毛利下降了 100 萬美元，約 14.2%。本財年，美國採購車輛收入增加了 6,490 萬美元，增幅為 19.2%；購買車輛毛利基本持平。年初至今，我們在美國採購的單位利潤率為 6.3%，與 24 財年相比下降了約 113 個基點。

Internationally, purchase vehicle revenue decreased by $11.1 million or 14.2%; and gross profit increased by $8.5 million or 127.5% in the fourth quarter. And for the full year, purchase vehicle revenue decreased $62.4 million or 18.5%; and purchase vehicle gross profit increased $18.7 million or 60%. The reduction in international purchase vehicle revenue, accompanied by an increasing gross margin, continues to be driven by an increase in German units being consigned, which were previously subject to a purchase contract, as well as stronger purchase unit margins in the UK.

國際方面，第四季採購車輛收入減少1,110萬美元，降幅14.2%；毛利增加850萬美元，增幅127.5%。全年來看，採購車輛收入減少 6,240 萬美元，降幅 18.5%；採購車輛毛利增加 1,870 萬美元，增幅 60%。國際採購車輛收入的減少伴隨著毛利率的上升，這繼續受到德國寄售車輛數量的增加（以前需要簽訂採購合約）以及英國採購單位利潤率的提高所推動。

Global facility-related costs, which include facility operations, depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, increased $14.4 million or 3.2% in the fourth quarter, and $234.2 million or 13.7% for the full fiscal year. In the US, facility-related costs increased $13 million or 3.4% for the fourth quarter. And facility-related costs per unit increased 5.4% from the prior-year period. This increase in per unit cost reflects our ongoing investments and expanded operational capacity to support our continued growth.

全球設施相關成本（包括設施營運、折舊、攤提和股票薪酬）在第四季度增加了 1,440 萬美元，即 3.2%，全年增加了 2.342 億美元，即 13.7%。在美國，第四季設施相關成本增加了 1,300 萬美元，即 3.4%。每單位設施相關成本較去年同期增加 5.4%。單位成本的增加反映了我們持續的投資和擴大的營運能力，以支持我們的持續成長。

For the full fiscal year, US-related costs increased $205.5 million, or 14.3%; and facility-related costs per unit increased 9.7%. For the quarter, international facility-related costs were up $1.4 million, an increase of 1.9% or a decrease of 1.4% on a per unit basis. And for the full fiscal year, international facility costs increased $28.8 million, an increase of 10.7% or 2.4% on a per unit basis.

整個財年，美國相關成本增加了 2.055 億美元，即 14.3%；單位設施相關成本增加了 9.7%。本季度，國際設施相關成本增加了 140 萬美元，成長了 1.9%，以單位計算則減少了 1.4%。在整個財政年度，國際設施成本增加了 2,880 萬美元，成長了 10.7%，即單位成本增加了 2.4%。

During the quarter, global gross profit was $509.7 million, an increase of $56.2 million or 12.4%; and our gross margin percentage was 45.3% in the quarter. For the fiscal year, global gross profit was $2.1 billion, an increase of $192.4 million or 10.1%; and our gross margin percentage was 45.2%.

本季，全球毛利為 5.097 億美元，增加 5,620 萬美元，增幅 12.4%；本季毛利率為 45.3%。本財年，全球毛利為 21 億美元，增加 1.924 億美元，增幅 10.1%；毛利率為 45.2%。

In the US, our gross profit was $440.3 million, an increase of 8.4% for the quarter and an increase of 7% for the full fiscal year. Gross margin was 47.5% for the quarter and for the full year. Our international gross profit was $69.5 million, an increase of 47.1% for the quarter and was $268 million for fiscal year '25, an increase of 36.7%. And gross margin was 34.9% in the quarter and 33.9% for the year.

在美國，我們的毛利為 4.403 億美元，本季成長 8.4%，全年成長 7%。本季和全年的毛利率為47.5%。我們的國際毛利為 6,950 萬美元，本季成長 47.1%，25 財年為 2.68 億美元，成長 36.7%。本季毛利率為 34.9%，全年毛利率為 33.9%。

Turning to general and administrative expenses. Spend in the quarter was $97.1 million, reflecting an increase of $3.1 million year over year. For the year, spend was $402.9 million, an increase of $67.7 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP operating income increased by 14.8% to $412.6 million, and for the fiscal year, GAAP operating income increased by 8% to $1.7 billion.

談到一般和行政費用。本季支出為 9,710 萬美元，年增 310 萬美元。全年支出為 4.029 億美元，增加了 6,770 萬美元。第四季 GAAP 營業收入成長 14.8% 至 4.126 億美元，本財年 GAAP 營業收入成長 8% 至 17 億美元。

Finally, fourth-quarter GAAP net income attributable to Copart, Inc., increased by 22.9% to $396.4 million, or $0.41 per diluted common share. During the quarter, we benefited from an increase of $6.4 million from interest income as we have actively invested our cash into treasury securities. For the quarter, our tax rate was 17.4%, which reflects the impact of increased tax credits and a reduction in state tax expense. For the fiscal year, GAAP net income attributable to Copart, Inc., increased by 13.9% to $1.55 billion or $1.59 per diluted common share.

最後，第四季歸屬於 Copart, Inc. 的 GAAP 淨收入成長 22.9%，達到 3.964 億美元，即每股稀釋普通股 0.41 美元。本季度，由於我們積極將現金投資於國庫證券，我們的利息收入增加了 640 萬美元。本季度，我們的稅率為 17.4%，這反映了稅收抵免增加和州稅支出減少的影響。本財年，歸屬於 Copart, Inc. 的 GAAP 淨收入成長 13.9%，達到 15.5 億美元，即每股稀釋普通股 1.59 美元。

Turning to our capital structure. As of the end of July, we had $6 billion of liquidity, which is comprised of $4.8 billion in cash and held-to-maturity securities and our capacity under our revolving credit facility.

轉向我們的資本結構。截至 7 月底，我們擁有 60 億美元的流動資金，其中包括 48 億美元現金和持有至到期證券以及我們的循環信貸額度。

With that, Jeff and I would be happy to take some questions.

有了這些，傑夫和我很樂意回答一些問題。

(Operator Instructions) Bob Labick, CJS Securities.

（操作員指示）Bob Labick，CJS Securities。

Congratulations on another strong year and thanks for taking our questions. So I want to start talking about AI a little bit, technology advancements in general and not just a bucket hold to AI. At Copart and for the industry and your partners and participants in the industry, how is advanced technologies and AI changing the industry? Is it like earlier decisions on total losses, faster cycle times, et cetera? And how is that impacting your business model now?

恭喜您又取得了豐碩的一年，並感謝您回答我們的問題。所以我想開始談論人工智慧，談論一般的技術進步，而不僅僅是人工智慧。在 Copart 以及對於產業以及產業中的合作夥伴和參與者來說，先進技術和人工智慧如何改變產業？這是否類似於先前關於總損失、更快的周期時間等的決定？這對您現在的商業模式有何影響？

And then the follow-up is -- because I know you guys are always looking well ahead -- how do those changes impact the industry in 5 to 10 years?

然後接下來的問題是——因為我知道你們總是展望未來——這些變化將如何影響 5 到 10 年內的產業？

Yeah. Great question, Bob. And of course, a potential multiple-day conference to dive deeper into all the different arenas in which we are deploying advanced artificial intelligence and where we could as well.

是的。鮑勃，問得好。當然，我們也可能召開為期多天的會議，深入探討我們正在部署先進人工智慧的各個領域以及我們可以在哪裡部署先進人工智慧。

I think you described the general parameters very well that, in short, it is widely deployed inside Copart today, including for some of the decision support reasons you described, which is that we equip many of our sellers with tools to allow them to make instantaneous total loss decisions informed by literally millions of similar vehicles we've sold over the years. Those decision support tools are very much empowered by current generation large language model technologies.

我認為您對一般參數的描述非常好，簡而言之，它如今在 Copart 內部得到了廣泛部署，包括您描述的一些決策支援原因，即我們為許多賣家配備了工具，使他們能夠根據我們多年來銷售的數百萬輛類似車輛的情況，做出即時的全損決策。這些決策支援工具在很大程度上得益於當前一代大型語言模型技術。

Beyond that, certainly in the obvious arenas, such as customer support and also in agent support here at Copart, so even the folks who still are interacting day to day with members and buyers are equipped with better information with LLM behind the scenes and on and on. So I think, yeah, we are still, like many companies, in the early stages but have many different arenas in which we have that technology deployed today.

除此之外，當然在顯而易見的領域，例如客戶支援以及 Copart 的代理支持，因此，即使是那些仍然每天與會員和買家互動的人，也可以透過 LLM 在幕後等處獲得更好的資訊。所以我認為，是的，我們和許多公司一樣，仍處於早期階段，但目前我們已經在許多不同的領域部署了該技術。

We also have it at the auction level, as I think about the products and the vehicles that we're recommending to our buyers, we are -- search results, et cetera, all of these different domains are informed by AI as it stands now. And no doubt that as the tools themselves improve and as our deployments become still more sophisticated, that it will enhance the business as it is. It will make us radically more efficient in delivering the services we deliver today, and no doubt it will unlock future opportunities as well.

我們在拍賣層面也有它，當我想到我們向買家推薦的產品和車輛時，我們是 - 搜尋結果等等，所有這些不同的領域都是由人工智慧告知的。毫無疑問，隨著工具本身的改進和我們的部署變得更加複雜，它將增強業務。它將使我們今天提供的服務更加高效，毫無疑問它也將釋放未來的機會。

But I think it's fair to say it is both allowing us to do what we do more efficiently, compressing cycle times for our clients, compressing cycle times for us. You heard Leah describe that phenomenon when it comes to inventory. One of the reasons that inventory contracts is that our title express offering for which we are providing this service and procuring the original titles on behalf of our insurance clients and doing so for more and more clients with each passing quarter, that is we're yielding better cycle times there in part because when we do the work, it's enabled by our tech stack, our LLM deployments in ways that are more efficient than the insurance carriers before they transfer that responsibility over to us.

但我認為可以公平地說，它既使我們能夠更有效率地完成工作，又為我們的客戶壓縮了週期時間，也為我們壓縮了週期時間。當談到庫存時，您聽到 Leah 描述這種現象。庫存合約的原因之一是，我們提供的產權快遞服務代表我們的保險客戶採購原始產權，並且每個季度為越來越多的客戶提供此類服務，也就是說，我們在那裡獲得了更好的周期時間，部分原因是當我們開展工作時，我們的技術堆疊和 LLM 部署比保險公司在將責任轉移給我們之前更有效率。

So great question, and no doubt that answer will evolve over the quarters and years to come.

這個問題問得真好，毫無疑問答案將會在未來幾季和幾年逐漸演變。

Okay. Yeah, super. And then just kind of sticking with thinking ahead in that regard in technology. Obviously, EVs have been in the fleet for a while, but they're still a very small percentage. I was wondering if you could maybe comment on the total loss frequency of EVs now and how that might progress or how you see that kind of progressing and impacting total loss frequency over the next 5, 10 years.

好的。是的，太棒了。然後就堅持在技術方面具有前瞻性思維。顯然，電動車已經出現在汽車市場一段時間了，但它們所佔的比例仍然很小。我想知道您是否可以評論一下現在電動車的總損失頻率以及這種趨勢將如何發展，或者您如何看待這種趨勢以及在未來 5 年到 10 年內對總損失頻率的影響。

Sure. I think you're right to observe that it still remains early. I think the degree to which it is early varies by country as well. So in places like the United Kingdom, we had a greater EV penetration than we have, for example, in the US or in Canada or in Brazil.

當然。我認為你的觀察是正確的，現在還為時過早。我認為，不同國家的早期程度也有所不同。因此，在英國等地，我們的電動車普及率比美國、加拿大或巴西等地更高。

The one element of your question that's a little bit hard to parse is that EVs are not otherwise identical to internal combustion engine vehicles where they tend to be very different in nature as well. So it's rarely the case that I'm talking about a car that's exactly the same as its brother or sister vehicle but simply with a combustion engine driving the drivetrain itself.

您的問題中有一個部分有點難以解析，那就是電動車與內燃機汽車並不完全相同，它們的性質也有很大不同。因此，我很少談論與其兄弟或姊妹車輛完全相同的汽車，只是它本身由內燃機驅動。

In broad strokes, the returns on EVs are very strong. They total, if anything, more easily. But I think that's in part because of all the technology that tends to come with it, right? So I don't know that it's the battery necessarily or the drivetrain, but electric vehicles tend to have next-gen sensors on the perimeter of the vehicle, tend to have the adaptive headlights, rear cameras, lane departure sensors, et cetera, that make the car pretty easily total because of any kind of damage on the perimeter often requires advanced calibrations and reprogramming and so forth.

整體而言，電動車的回報率非常高。如果有的話，它們加起來就更容易了。但我認為這在某種程度上是因為它往往伴隨著各種技術，對嗎？所以我不知道這是否一定是電池或動力傳動系統的問題，但電動車往往在車輛週邊配備下一代感測器，往往配備自適應大燈、後置攝影機、車道偏離感測器等，這使得汽車很容易報廢，因為週邊的任何損壞通常都需要進行高級校準和重新編程等。

So, so far, the indications seem favorable in that regard when it comes to electric vehicle and total loss frequency, selling prices, and so forth.

因此，到目前為止，電動車和總損失頻率、銷售價格等方面的跡像似乎都是有利的。

John Healy, Northcoast Research.

約翰希利 (John Healy)，Northcoast Research。

Jeff, I wanted to just ask priority-wise for the new fiscal year as you roll into that. I know you guys gave us a ton of color on the quarter and the like, but was just hoping you could maybe identify, I don't know, whether it's one or two kind of key things, either from an operations or a presence in the market standpoint. There might be some sort of operational milestones that we might look to or you and Leah are putting your time and effort kind of away from just the quarter-to-quarter trends. Thanks.

傑夫，我只是想問一下新財政年度的優先事項。我知道你們已經為我們提供了有關本季度的大量信息，但我只是希望你們能夠指出一兩件關鍵的事情，無論是從運營角度還是從市場存在的角度。我們可能會關注某種營運里程碑，或者您和 Leah 所花的時間和精力可能不僅限於季度趨勢。謝謝。

Yeah. Fair enough, John, and appreciate your questions. Tough to pin down one or two for obvious reasons. But in broad strokes, we talked about auction liquidity today and how essential it is for everything else that we do.

是的。很好，約翰，感謝您的提問。由於顯而易見的原因，很難確定一兩個。但總的來說，我們今天討論了拍賣流動性以及它對我們所做的一切的重要性。

Auction liquidity enables us to serve our incumbent insurance clients better. It allows us to win in the marketplace with insurance carriers and allows us to win among sellers beyond insurance companies as well. So we continue to invest in auction liquidity broadly speaking, and that literally can mean recruiting and retaining members. It can mean reducing friction in the member experience itself, making it easier to discover products to bid on to purchase them, to physically retreat them or have them delivered to you to finance them, to obtain warranties, and so forth. It's all about reducing the friction of being a participant at a Copart auction.

拍賣流動性使我們能夠更好地為現有保險客戶提供服務。它使我們能夠在與保險公司的市場中獲勝，也使我們能夠在保險公司以外的賣家中獲勝。因此，從廣義上講，我們將繼續投資於拍賣流動性，這實際上意味著招募和留住會員。這意味著減少會員體驗本身的摩擦，更容易發現產品並進行競標購買，物理退回產品或將其交付給您進行融資，獲得保固等等。這一切都是為了減少參加 Copart 拍賣的摩擦。

So that's a broad brush answer, but we know that if we deliver on that particular dimension, the rest of it falls into place, right, meaning the vehicles, we will continue to earn the right to sell them. If we continue to generate excellent selling prices and improved still growing selling prices on behalf of our clients, the rest of it takes care of itself.

這是一個廣泛的答案，但我們知道，如果我們在這個特定的維度上實現目標，那麼其餘的一切都會水到渠成，對吧，也就是車輛，我們將繼續獲得銷售它們的權利。如果我們繼續為客戶創造優良的銷售價格，並不斷提高和提高銷售價格，那麼其餘的一切都會迎刃而解。

And so I mentioned in passing the more client orientation among the non-insurance sellers as well. We talked about that on prior calls that it's an interesting dynamic there in which we view as very synergistic, earning the right to sell more rental cars, more finance repossessioned vehicles, corporate fleets and the like, is not at all at odds with our core legacy insurance business. It's very much synergistic in the sense that the more cars we sell for insurance companies, the more they look like drivable cars that are from rental car companies and vice versa. So it is about enhancing that mutual liquidity and enhancing the depth of our auction platform, which in turn brings the buyers.

因此，我順便提到非保險銷售商也更加重視客戶導向。我們在之前的電話會議上談到了這一點，這是一個有趣的動態，我們認為它具有很強的協同作用，獲得銷售更多租賃汽車、更多融資收回車輛、企業車隊等的權利，這與我們的核心傳統保險業務完全不相符。從某種意義上說，它具有很強的協同作用，我們向保險公司銷售的汽車越多，它們看起來就越像來自租車公司的可駕駛汽車，反之亦然。因此，這是為了增強相互流動性並增強我們的拍賣平台的深度，從而吸引買家。

So those are broad stroke answers. As you might imagine, when you then slice the business up into its different component parts and we start talking about what it means to do business in the UK or in Germany or in Brazil, Canada, US, we have different and more specific priorities, including Purple Wave and NPA, et cetera. But in the broadest strokes, those are the big priorities, frankly, for this fiscal year and for every fiscal year, right? It's fundamentally auction liquidity, service to our insurance clients, and driving outstanding selling prices for our clients.

這些都是大致的答案。正如您可能想像的那樣，當您將業務劃分為不同的組成部分，並開始討論在英國、德國、巴西、加拿大、美國開展業務意味著什麼時，我們有不同的、更具體的優先事項，包括 Purple Wave 和 NPA 等等。但從最廣泛的角度來看，坦白說，這些是本財年以及每個財年的首要任務，對嗎？從根本上來說，它是拍賣流動性、為我們的保險客戶提供服務，並為我們的客戶帶來出色的銷售價格。

Great. That's helpful. And then just a follow-up for me. The cash is at record levels for you, guys. I think Leah mentioned, what, $4.8 billion in cash. Obviously, I imagine you'll be making investments into your auction liquidity, as you mentioned. But any thoughts with rates probably coming down and that cash being at the levels that it is, if you could just kind of go over for us your appetite for capital returns, what and when or how you view M&A? What sort of things we might see kind of in the next 24 months or so?

偉大的。這很有幫助。然後只是對我的後續行動。各位，你們的現金已經達到了創紀錄的水平。我認為利亞提到了 48 億美元現金。顯然，我想您會對拍賣流動性進行投資，正如您所提到的。但是，考慮到利率可能會下降，現金處於目前的水平，您是否可以向我們介紹您對資本回報的興趣，以及您對併購的看法、時間或方式？在接下來的 24 個月左右我們可能會看到什麼樣的事情？

Sure. I think we wouldn't project precise timelines as to when we would do XYZ. What I'd tell you is that, over the long haul, say, over the course of the past 10 years or so, we have consistently returned cash to shareholders via buybacks. In some cases, we've done broader structured tenders. In other cases, we've executed open market purchases and such. And that will long term also be the mechanism likely by which we return cash to shareholders.

當然。我認為我們不會制定何時完成 XYZ 的精確時間表。我想告訴你的是，從長遠來看，比如說在過去 10 年左右的時間裡，我們一直透過回購向股東返還現金。在某些情況下，我們進行了更廣泛的結構化招標。在其他情況下，我們執行了公開市場購買等。長遠來看，這也可能是向股東返還現金的機制。

On your question about M&A, we are always scouring the world for opportunities that help to enhance our service proposition. I think I've mentioned before that we have a two-pronged approach to any M&A activity.

關於您提到的併購問題，我們一直在世界各地尋找有助於提升我們服務主張的機會。我想我之前提到過，我們對任何併購活動都採取雙管齊下的方法。

One is the investments on a standalone basis, it's self compelling, meaning it's John, Leah and I -- you, and Leah and I were sitting here in the room, would we be willing to write our own personal checks in support of a given investment if we were to hold it as a private company? And then the second question is, does it enhance fundamentally what Copart is and what we do, right? And/or can we enhance what they do by virtue of Copart's capabilities?

一是獨立投資，它具有自我說服力，這意味著約翰、利亞和我——你、利亞和我坐在這個房間裡，如果我們將某項投資作為一家私人公司持有，我們是否願意寫出自己的個人支票來支持它？第二個問題是，它是否從根本上增強了 Copart 的本質和我們所做的事情，對嗎？或者我們能否利用 Copart 的能力來增強他們的工作？

You'll note that I didn't say in the rubric there that we have the capital for the available cash. That's neither here nor there. I think we know that for the vast majority of companies we would ever entertain acquiring, we could easily finance it either with the balance sheet or by taking on debt to do so.

您會注意到，我並沒有在標題中說我們擁有可用現金的資本。這既不是這裡也不是那裡。我想我們知道，對於我們考慮收​​購的絕大多數公司，我們可以輕鬆地透過資產負債表或承擔債務來融資。

So the cash doesn't per se inform an M&A strategy. Could some of it be used someday for an acquisition? Certainly yes. You've heard about a couple over the course of the past 10 years in the company in its history has executed M&A initiatives in the UK, here in North America as well, that have been very productive and ultimately have enhanced our longer-term service offering.

因此，現金本身並不能引導併購策略。其中一部分將來有一天會被用來進行收購嗎？當然是的。您可能聽說過，在過去 10 年中，公司在英國和北美實施了幾項併購計劃，這些計劃非常富有成效，並最終增強了我們的長期服務水準。

So ultimately, the answer is share buybacks without a precise timeframe, that's when we would do so. But the cash doesn't cause us to change our behavior either on M&A or on operating expenses, right? It just is we recognize it belongs to our shareholders and we'll treat it accordingly.

所以最終的答案是股票回購，沒有明確的時間表，我們會在那時這樣做。但現金不會導致我們改變在併購或營運費用方面的行為，對嗎？我們只是認識到它屬於我們的股東，並且我們會相應地對待它。

Chris Bottiglieri, BNP Paribas.

克里斯‧波蒂列裡 (Chris Bottiglieri)，法國巴黎銀行。

Two for me. The first one was can you go over the low double-digit decline in assignments number? I want to make sure I had that right. But like relatedly, do you have a sense where that number was ex-CAT to give us like a like-for-like for the strength of underlying business?

對我來說是兩個。第一個問題是，您能否回顧一下作業數量兩位數的低位下降趨勢？我想確保我有這個權利。但與此相關的是，您是否知道這個數字是否是扣除巨災因素後的數字，以便為我們提供與基礎業務實力相當的同類數據？

Chris, I didn't hear what you said. What decline?

克里斯，我沒聽見你說了什麼。什麼衰退？

I think you said the assignments declined low-double digits. I'm not sure I heard that right. There's a lot of numbers you gave.

我認為您說過作業數量下降了兩位數以下。我不確定我是否聽對了。您給了很多數字。

Okay. Yeah. So CAT really didn't play into that given the fact that there were not assignments in the prior -- there weren't a material number of assignments in either period from CAT.

好的。是的。因此，由於之前沒有作業，CAT 實際上並沒有發揮作用——CAT 的兩個時期都沒有大量的作業。

Got you, okay. All right. And then second question was there was a pretty spicy comment, but you had mentioned that you grew your ASPs five times faster than similar service provider. Can you just kind of elaborate there what you're seeing, how you guys measure that?

明白了，好的。好的。第二個問題是，有一個相當尖銳的評論，但您曾提到，您的 ASP 成長速度比同類服務提供者快五倍。您能否詳細說明一下您所看到的以及您如何衡量的？

And more importantly, your ARPU and GPUs are significantly higher than your closest peer. I would imagine on a like-for-like basis, you guys generate higher returns to your insurers. Just curious to what extent you've studied that, you've [data] on that, and what your insurers tell you in that regard.

更重要的是，您的 ARPU 和 GPU 明顯高於最接近的同行。我可以想像，在同等基礎上，你們會為保險公司帶來更高的回報。我只是好奇您對此進行了多大程度的研究，您對此有何數據，以及您的保險公司在這方面告訴了您什麼。

Yeah. Leah, you want to talk about that?

是的。莉亞，你想談談這個嗎？

Yeah. Maybe just to clarify, Chris, the assignment decline was low single digit, not low double digits. I just want to make sure you heard that correctly.

是的。克里斯，也許只是為了澄清一下，作業數量的下降幅度是低個位數，而不是低兩位數。我只是想確保你聽得正確。

I did not. Thank you.

我沒有。謝謝。

Okay. And then do you want to speak?

好的。那你想說話嗎？

Yeah. On the returns at auction, yes, we do believe we generate superior auction returns here at Copart. There are, of course, other service providers like us, some of whom may disclose their results and their ASP changes year over year as well.

是的。關於拍賣回報，是的，我們確實相信我們在 Copart 獲得了卓越的拍賣回報。當然，還有其他像我們這樣的服務提供者，其中一些可能也會逐年揭露他們的業績和平均銷售價格的變化。

So we understand our number. We haven't seen anything close to the, I think, 5.7% that we generated an increase in insurance returns this fourth quarter versus a year ago for the same fourth quarter. We haven't seen anything approaching that.

所以我們了解我們的數字。我認為，與去年同期相比，今年第四季的保險收益增幅還沒有達到 5.7%。我們還沒有看到任何接近這一水平的事情。

Bret Jordan, Jefferies.

布雷特·喬丹，傑富瑞。

One long-term question, sort of keeping with that what does technology impact. Do you have any thoughts on what you're seeing around autonomous vehicles? Obviously, it's pretty much in its infancy, but as far as crash rates and what urban autonomous driving might do to some of those regional crash volumes. And a quick follow-up, too.

一個長期問題是，科技會產生什麼影響。您對自動駕駛汽車的現況有何看法？顯然，它還處於起步階段，但就事故率以及城市自動駕駛對某些區域事故量的影響而言。並且快速跟進。

Hey, Bret. And you mean simply a true autonomous, Waymo vehicles and the --

嘿，布雷特。你的意思是真正的自動駕駛，Waymo 車輛和--

Yeah, exactly. Like a Waymo, obviously, the few that we have out there, are they crashing at a lower rate than an Uber driver in the same market might be?

是的，確實如此。就像 Waymo 一樣，顯然，我們現有的少數幾家公司，他們的撞車率是否比同一市場的 Uber 司機更低？

Right. At this point, I think our information is not better than yours. So we'll read what Waymo themselves will publish on the matter. And as you and others know, their activity still remains in fairly constrained geo-fenced areas under specific conditions.

正確的。在這一點上，我認為我們的訊息並不比你們的訊息更好。因此，我們將閱讀 Waymo 自己就此事發表的內容。正如您和其他人所知，他們的活動在特定條件下仍然局限於相當受限的地理圍欄區域內。

It's very difficult to measure. And they, as far as I understand it, are generally speaking, not insured by the same large national insurers that would ordinarily consign volume through Copart. So we wouldn't have first-hand visibility into the vehicle volume that is being totaled, so to speak. So I think at this point, a de minimis effect on auction activity cohort.

這很難衡量。據我了解，他們一般不由那些通常透過 Copart 進行托運的大型全國性保險公司承保。因此，我們無法直接了解總計的車輛數量。因此我認為目前對拍賣活動群體的影響微乎其微。

Okay. I just want to say long term, if that's a population that might not crash or may crash more. And I guess, short-term cyclical question. You've talked about consumer bias to maybe underinsure drop comprehensive. And obviously, insurance companies change around market share. Do you see any near-term either insurance company behavior changes that might change who's winning or losing share and/or any bias for consumers to add insurance back more recently?

好的。我只是想說，從長遠來看，人口可能不會崩潰，或者可能會進一步崩潰。我想，這是一個短期週期性問題。您談到了消費者偏見可能導致保險不足而降低綜合保險。顯然，保險公司的市佔率會發生變化。您是否認為近期保險公司的行為會改變，從而可能改變誰的市場份額獲勝或失去，以及/或消費者最近是否會傾向於重新購買保險？

To the second half of your question, I would say when we look at the relative relationship historically versus earned car years in comparison to the car park, we see ebbs and flows, meaning in the United States, sometimes earned car years will grow at a rate that meaningfully outpaces the car park, suggesting that folks are signing up for insurance more than they did before. We've also seen periods like now, when earned car years are declining relative to the car park, which suggests they're pulling back either on deductibles on collision coverage and comprehensive in favor of liability only or foregoing it altogether. So it, over our history, appears to be a cyclical phenomenon, not a secular one.

對於你問題的後半部分，我想說，當我們從歷史上看汽車使用年限與停車場的相對關係時，我們會看到起伏，這意味著在美國，有時汽車使用年限的增長速度會遠遠超過停車場的增長速度，這表明人們比以前更多地購買保險。我們也看到像現在這樣的時期，汽車的使用年限相對於停車場來說在減少，這表明他們要么減少碰撞險和綜合險的免賠額，而只支持責任險，要么完全放棄責任險。因此，縱觀我們的歷史，這似乎是一種週期性現象，而不是長期現象。

Jeff Lick, Stephens.

傑夫利克、史蒂芬斯。

Congrats on the nice quarter. I was wondering if you could just elaborate, as we get into 1Q, last year was a fairly robust hurricane season, how that will kind of manifest itself if it's not that this year, both in terms of units, and then also profitability, just kind of the gives and takes there. And I had a quick follow-up.

恭喜本季取得良好業績。我想知道您是否可以詳細說明一下，當我們進入第一季時，去年是一個相當強勁的颶風季節，如果今年不是這樣，那麼無論是在單位方面，還是在盈利能力方面，這種情況將如何體現出來，這只是其中的一種付出和收穫。我進行了快速跟進。

Yeah. The storm season, of course, difficult to prognosticate. I'd say when we were looking at forecasts in March, April, May, June, and planning our business accordingly, I think we expected a very busy storm season. It seems that weather patterns are growing more acute or weather volatility more acute over time.

是的。當然，風暴季節很難預測。我想說，當我們查看三月、四月、五月、六月的天氣預報並據此規劃我們的業務時，我認為我們預計會有一個非常繁忙的風暴季節。似乎隨著時間的推移，天氣模式變得越來越惡劣，天氣波動也變得越來越劇烈。

To date, that hasn't manifested itself, knock on wood, because we have not yet experienced any meaningful storm. The precise economic impact of any given storm, very difficult to predict in advance.

到目前為止，這種情況還沒有出現，因為我們還沒有經歷任何有意義的風暴。任何特定風暴的確切經濟影響都很難提前預測。

If you're talking about the last go around, I think in the majority of cases on a truly fully loaded basis over a long horizon, the catastrophic events are surely not per se profitable for Copart. It's a service offering we provide for insurance industry. They know that we are the backstop.

如果您談論的是最後一次，我認為在大多數情況下，從長遠來看，災難性事件本身肯定不會為 Copart 帶來利潤。這是我們為保險業提供的服務。他們知道我們是他們的後盾。

So we are the insurance provider, so to speak, for the insurance industry themselves, and we've been over backwards and acquire land that sits idle for years until the major storm arrives, and we have own trucks and employee drivers to make sure that we have the flexible capacity to address their needs at that time.

因此，可以說，我們是保險業本身的保險提供者，我們一直在努力獲取閒置多年的土地，直到大風暴來臨，我們有自己的卡車和員工司機，以確保我們擁有靈活的能力來滿足他們當時的需求。

So precisely, year-over-year quarters, we don't tend to provide forward guidance. There's no doubt that it accounted for meaningful activity a year ago, both in the form of cost. I think to some extent in the form of revenue, though, that tends to lag the sale of the vehicles and the recognition of the revenue tends to lag. So some of that would happen in the first quarter. Much of it also would have happened in subsequent quarters as well.

因此，確切地說，與去年同期相比，我們往往不會提供前瞻性指引。毫無疑問，它在一年前就體現出了有意義的活動，無論是以成本的形式。但我認為，從收入形式上來說，這在某種程度上往往會落後於車輛的銷售，而收入的確認往往會落後。因此其中一些情況將在第一季發生。其中大部分也將在隨後的幾個季度發生。

And then just a quick follow-up on the insurance situation. As you look at the combined ratios now, they're actually below kind of pre-COVID levels and you're seeing, obviously, progressive continuing to take share. I'm just curious, now that you have insurance companies that are kind of back to normal or better-than-average profitability, do you foresee a -- would you think that there'd be a little more price competition and that might have the effect of normalizing the insurance situation as rates could conceivably come down?

然後快速跟進一下保險狀況。現在，當您查看綜合比率時，它們實際上低於 COVID 之前的水平，並且您顯然會看到市場份額繼續逐步上升。我只是好奇，現在保險公司的盈利能力已經恢復正常或高於平均水平，您是否預見到——您是否認為價格競爭會更加激烈，這可能會使保險狀況正常化，因為費率可能會下降？

That's certainly a better question posed to them, of course. What we tell you over the long haul is that that does ebb and flow. So I think your observation is fair that the combined ratio is now after a lot of pressure on them over the past few years has now ameliorated somewhat. I think by virtue of both rate increases, as you know, the insurance regulations are such that the carriers can't always pass through rates when they want to and that activity often happens on a lag basis.

當然，這無疑是向他們提出的一個更好的問題。從長遠來看，我們可以告訴你，這種情況確實會起伏不定。所以我認為你的觀察是公平的，在過去幾年承受了很大的壓力之後，綜合比率現在已經有所改善。我認為，由於兩次費率上調，正如你所知，保險法規使得承運人無法隨時按照自己的意願提高費率，而且這種活動通常會滯後發生。

So they've realized that benefit now. We are seeing anecdotally more aggressive behavior on the part of some insurance carriers. It's always the [attention] they're managing growth and profitability. And that's a dynamic equation for sure.

所以他們現在已經意識到了這項好處。我們看到一些保險公司的行為變得更加激進。他們始終關注的是成長和獲利能力的管理。這確實是一個動態方程式。

I think your observations about some specific carriers have definitely been true. I think we do expect to see competitive response in the industry in a dynamic industry as it always has been.

我認為您對某些特定運營商的觀察肯定是正確的。我認為，我們確實希望看到這個行業像往常一樣充滿活力，並出現競爭反應。

(Operator Instructions) Jash Patwa, JPMorgan Chase & Company.

（操作員指示）Jash Patwa，摩根大通公司。

Jeff, maybe just taking a 30,000-foot view of the salvage auction industry in the US, could you give us a deeper sense of the current market structure, particularly in terms of Copart share with the larger insurance carriers and where you see incremental share growth opportunities over the next couple of years? It seems like Copart is already working with most of the top 10 carriers who collectively represent 75% of the market. And the number 10 carrier has less than 3% share.

傑夫，也許只是從 30,000 英尺的高度來觀察美國的殘骸拍賣行業，您能否讓我們更深入地了解當前的市場結構，特別是 Copart 與大型保險公司的份額，以及您認為未來幾年份額增長機會在哪裡？看起來 Copart 已經與佔據 75% 市場份額的前十大運營商中的大多數運營商建立了合作關係。而排名第十的航空公司的市佔率還不到3%。

So I'd just be interested to your perspective on where there's still opportunity with the larger accounts. Or if incremental share growth will be more about winning contracts with the long tail of smaller carriers. Thanks. And I have a follow-up.

因此，我只是想知道您認為大額帳戶還有哪些機會。或者，增量份額的成長是否更多是為了贏得與小型業者的長尾合約。謝謝。我還有一個後續問題。

Yeah. Appreciate the question. We view our opportunity and our threats much more expansively than that, right? So in terms of the clients we serve, yes, they are insurance carriers. And yes, there are banks and rental car companies and dealers and individuals, right?

是的。感謝你的提問。我們對我們的機會和威脅的看法比這更廣泛，對嗎？因此，就我們服務的客戶而言，是的，他們是保險公司。是的，有銀行、汽車租賃公司、經銷商和個人，對嗎？

If we sell X cars, the actual number of auction-mediated vehicles that are sold in the United States per year is multiples of that. It's 5x or more of the volume that we sell per year. And that, frankly, remains true even for the specific sellers that you described that there are always options they can consider. And even an insurance carrier can sell their cars through other intermediaries, they can have more of them repaired, right?

如果我們銷售 X 輛汽車，那麼美國每年透過拍賣銷售的汽車的實際數量就是這個數字的倍數。這是我們每年銷售量的5倍或更多。坦白說，即使對於您所描述的特定賣家來說，他們也總是有可以考慮的選擇。甚至保險公司也可以透過其他中介機構出售他們的汽車，他們可以修理更多的汽車，對嗎？

So in many respects, we compete with the repair shops. The higher the returns we generate, the more we can win the rights to resolve that claim versus the repair industry. And the lower the returns we generate, the more we lose head-to-head, against the repair shops as well.

因此，在很多方面，我們都與修理店競爭。我們產生的回報越高，我們就越能贏得針對維修業解決索賠的權利。我們獲得的回報越低，我們在與修理店的競爭中失敗的幾率就越大。

So there are a number of competitive threats that we face on any given day. I think we still have a lot of conviction that if we deliver excellent auction returns and deliver excellent service, I think you know what that means, that means expediting cycle times were treating cars very quickly from where they sit, especially when they accrue storage. It means interacting with policyholders very effectively, in particular, on the title procurement, title express side of the house, so that we can resolve plans amicably with their customers who otherwise may churn if experiencing a tough claims resolution process.

因此，我們每天都會面臨許多競爭威脅。我認為我們仍然堅信，如果我們提供出色的拍賣回報並提供優質的服務，我想你知道這意味著什麼，這意味著加快週期時間，從汽車所在位置快速處理汽車，特別是當它們累積存儲時。這意味著與保單持有人進行非常有效的互動，特別是在產權採購、產權快遞方面，以便我們能夠與他們的客戶友好地解決計劃，否則，如果遇到艱難的索賠解決過程，這些客戶可能會流失。

So anyway, the long-winded answer to your question, but we view much more expansive than that. We have many fold opportunities to win, many fold opportunities to lose. That's our job to do.

無論如何，對於您的問題，這是一個冗長的回答，但我們的看法比這更廣泛。我們有很多獲勝的機會，也有很多失敗的機會。這就是我們的工作。

That's helpful. And then just maybe a question on Copart wholesale. I noticed the recent announcement about combining the select auctions and the bank repo auctions. Could you walk us through the strategy behind this move and maybe share your perspective on what the next phase of evolution for the wholesale platform might look like? Thank you.

這很有幫助。然後也許還有一個關於 Copart 批發的問題。我注意到最近有關合併精選拍賣和銀行回購拍賣的公告。您能否向我們介紹一下這項舉措背後的策略，並分享您對批發平台下一階段發展的看法？謝謝。

Sure. I think you're describing a very specific tactical experiment, which we undertake across our platform all the time in terms of the right way to separate segregate the volume in ways that are responsive to the right buyers at the right time. So it's not speaking necessarily of a broader strategy, except to say that, in general, we think shared liquidity is a good thing, right? The fact that Copart has X registered paying members who will buy cars, we want to expose them to the right product.

當然。我認為您描述的是一個非常具體的戰術實驗，我們一直在整個平台上進行這項實驗，以正確的方式分離交易量，以便在正確的時間響應正確的買家。因此，這並不一定意味著更廣泛的策略，只是說，總的來說，我們認為共享流動性是一件好事，對嗎？事實上，Copart 有 X 名註冊付費會員，他們會購買汽車，我們希望向他們展示合適的產品。

And so always the question we ask is how do we expose the right buyers to the right product. And that can be text, e-mail. It can be search results. It can be notifications in app and it frankly can be also the architecture by which these auctions themselves are organized, whether it's select or rental or otherwise.

因此，我們總是問的問題是如何向合適的買家展示合適的產品。這可以是文字、電子郵件。它可以是搜尋結果。它可以是應用程式中的通知，坦白說，它也可以是組織這些拍賣本身的架構，無論是選擇、租賃還是其他。

So those are all the levers that we're pulling on an ongoing basis. So you shouldn't be surprised that that sticks. You shouldn't be surprised that that changes over time as well. The point of it is the objective is clear, generate the very best returns by matching the right buyers to the right cars. And as we head down that path, you expect to see lots of dials turned back and forth. I think we're in a good spot, but I think there's still room to create still more value for ourselves and for our sellers.

這些都是我們持續努力的槓桿。因此你不應該對此感到驚訝。您不應該對此感到驚訝，因為隨著時間的推移，情況也會改變。其目的很明確，即透過將合適的買家與合適的汽車配對來產生最佳回報。當我們沿著這條路前進時，你會看到很多錶盤來回轉動。我認為我們處於一個很好的位置，但我認為我們仍有空間為我們自己和我們的賣家創造更多的價值。

Got it. If I could just sneak one more in. Leah, I'm not sure if this came up before, but could you give us some more color about the PP&E sale in the quarter and whether we should incorporate any implications from a revenue or expense standpoint moving forward?

知道了。如果我能再偷偷溜進去一個就好了。利亞，我不確定這個問題之前是否出現過，但您能否向我們詳細介紹本季的 PP&E 銷售情況，以及我們是否應該從收入或支出的角度考慮其中的影響？

No, it was a small equipment sale related to some excess construction equipment that we held. So no, there was a slight gain in the quarter. You see that in other income and expense below EBITDA, below operating income. And so that is nonrecurring, but that wasn't really material to the overall quarter.

不，這只是與我們持有的一些多餘建築設備有關的小型設備銷售。所以不，本季略有成長。您會看到其他收入和支出低於 EBITDA，低於營業收入。因此，這是非經常性的，但對整個季度來說並不重要。

Thank you. We reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Jeff Liaw for any further closing comments.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。我想將發言權交還給 Jeff Liaw，請他發表進一步的結論。

Oh, thank you, everybody. We'll talk to you for the first quarter.

噢，謝謝大家。我們將就第一季與您進行討論。

Thank you. That does conclude today's teleconference and webcast. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議和網路直播到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，享受美好的一天。我們感謝您今天的參與。