America's CAR-MART Inc (CRMT) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for holding, and welcome to America's Car-Mart's First Quarter Fiscal 2023 Conference Call. The topic of this call will be the earnings and operating results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.

大家，早安。感謝您的召開，歡迎參加美國 Car-Mart 2023 財年第一季度電話會議。本次電話會議的主題將是 2023 財年第一季度的收益和經營業績。

Before we begin, today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay for the next 12 months.

在我們開始之前，今天的通話將被錄音，並將在接下來的 12 個月內進行重播。

As a reminder, some of management's comments today may include forward-looking statements, which inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from their present view. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any forecast or estimate, nor does it undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements. For more information regarding forward-looking information, please see Part 1 of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022, and its current and quarterly reports furnished to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 8-K and 10-Q.

提醒一下，今天管理層的一些評論可能包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述固有地涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與他們目前的觀點存在重大差異。這些陳述是根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款作出的。公司不能保證任何預測或估計的準確性，也不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的任何義務。有關前瞻性信息的更多信息，請參閱公司截至 2022 年 4 月 30 日的財政年度的 10-K 表格年度報告的第 1 部分，以及提交給或提交給證券交易委員會的當前和季度報告表格 8-K 和 10-Q。

Participating on the call this morning are Jeff Williams, the company's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Vickie Judy, Chief Financial Officer. And now I'd like to turn the call over to the company's Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Williams.

今天上午參加電話會議的是公司總裁兼首席執行官 Jeff Williams；和首席財務官 Vickie Judy。現在我想把電話轉給公司的首席執行官傑夫威廉姆斯。

Well, hello, and thank you for joining us this morning, and thank you for your interest in America's Car-Mart.

嗯，你好，感謝您今天早上加入我們，感謝您對美國 Car-Mart 的興趣。

Unit volumes for the quarter were up 2.1% with revenues up 23%. Given the inflationary operating environment and the lack of product at lower price points, we're convinced that we're picking up solid market share and many potential customers are staying out of the market because of affordability concerns. Consumer demand for our offering is expected to remain high and increase moving forward.

本季度的單位銷量增長 2.1%，收入增長 23%。鑑於通貨膨脹的經營環境和低價產品的缺乏，我們相信我們正在獲得穩固的市場份額，許多潛在客戶由於對負擔能力的擔憂而遠離市場。預計消費者對我們產品的需求將保持高位並在未來增加。

We believe the challenging macro conditions will eventually improve and volume opportunities for us will only get more attractive. We will remain focused on the things we can control, the initiatives we have in place to allow us to be a much larger, more profitable company over time, so that when headwinds switch to tailwinds, we will be ready to leverage our infrastructure even more.

我們相信，充滿挑戰的宏觀環境最終會有所改善，我們的交易量機會只會變得更具吸引力。我們將繼續專注於我們可以控制的事情，我們已經採取的舉措讓我們隨著時間的推移成為一家規模更大、利潤更高的公司，這樣當逆風轉為順風時，我們將準備好充分利用我們的基礎設施.

We operate in the high touch, high friction segment of the market and consumers need a lot of support before, during and especially after the sale. Infrastructure to support a growing customer base is extremely important. We give our customers peace of mind by keeping them on the road. We have a long history of success through many different business and credit cycles, and we believe we do it better than anyone.

我們在市場的高接觸、高摩擦領域運營，消費者在售前、售中、尤其是售後需要大量支持。支持不斷增長的客戶群的基礎設施極為重要。我們讓我們的客戶安心，讓他們保持在路上。我們在許多不同的商業和信貸週期中擁有悠久的成功歷史，我們相信我們比任何人都做得更好。

Our customers are most certainly feeling the negative effects of the absence of stimulus, combined with high inflation, but the job market is strong and wages are increasing, and at the same time, car prices are leveling off some. We believe that wages will continue to increase at a healthy clip as we move forward.

我們的客戶肯定會感受到缺乏刺激措施以及高通脹的負面影響，但就業市場強勁，工資正在上漲，同時汽車價格也在趨於平穩。我們相信，隨著我們前進，工資將繼續以健康的速度增長。

Also specifically, gasoline prices are down materially in the areas we serve and food costs are expected to moderate some. As always, we will support each customer one at a time in the best way possible to ensure that we keep them on the road. That's what we do. That's America's Car-Mart.

特別是，在我們服務的地區，汽油價格大幅下降，預計食品成本將有所放緩。與往常一樣，我們將以盡可能最好的方式一次為每位客戶提供支持，以確保我們讓他們繼續前進。這就是我們所做的。那是美國的Car-Mart。

I'll now turn it over to Vickie to go over some numbers. Vickie?

我現在將把它交給 Vickie 來複習一些數字。維姬？

Good morning. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you all for being with us this morning.

早上好。謝謝你，傑夫。謝謝大家今天早上和我們在一起。

A 2% sales volume increase, a 20% increase in the retail sales price and 32% increase in interest income drove a 23% revenue increase over the prior year quarter. Our per store productivity was flat compared to last year at 33.6 units. This demonstrates the demand for our product even in a tough environment with high overall inflation, high vehicle prices and a softening demand in the overall market. Our gross profit dollars per unit increased by 12% over the prior year and up slightly from the sequential quarter.

銷量增長 2%，零售價格增長 20%，利息收入增長 32%，推動收入比去年同期增長 23%。與去年相比，我們每家商店的生產力持平，為 33.6 台。這表明即使在總體通貨膨脹率高、車輛價格高和整體市場需求疲軟的嚴峻環境下，對我們產品的需求也是如此。我們的每單位毛利潤美元比去年同期增長了 12%，並且比上一季度略有上升。

The gross profit percentage was 35.7%, down from the sequential quarter at 36.5%. This decrease primarily resulted from the increase in the average selling price, coupled with the inflationary pressures and increased costs for repair parts, transportation fees, fuel costs and other cost of sale expenses and lower options on wholesale.

毛利率為 35.7%，低於上一季度的 36.5%。這一下降主要是由於平均售價增加，加上通貨膨脹壓力和維修零件成本、運輸費、燃料成本和其他銷售成本增加以及批發選擇減少所致。

For the current quarter, net charge-offs as a percentage of average finance receivables was 5.6% and in line with our prior 5-year average and compared to 4.3% in the prior year quarter. For a historical comparison pre-pandemic, net charge-offs were 5.4% for the quarter ended 7/31/'19 and our 10-year average for first quarter is at 6%. The primary driver of the increased charge-offs was an increased frequency of losses, coupled with a slight increase in the relative severity of losses.

在本季度，淨沖銷占平均應收融資款的百分比為 5.6%，與我們之前 5 年的平均值一致，而去年同期為 4.3%。對於大流行前的歷史比較，截至 2019 年 7 月 31 日的季度的淨沖銷率為 5.4%，而我們第一季度的 10 年平均值為 6%。沖銷增加的主要驅動因素是損失頻率增加，同時損失的相對嚴重程度略有增加。

Our quality of customer does continue to improve, and we remain confident that our customers need the dependable transportation and reliable service that we offer, and that coupled with the investments we're making, we believe we'll be able to continue to perform well in a more normalized credit environment.

我們的客戶質量確實在不斷提高，我們仍然相信我們的客戶需要我們提供的可靠運輸和可靠服務，再加上我們正在進行的投資，我們相信我們將能夠繼續表現良好在更加規範的信貸環境中。

Our recovery rates were essentially flat at approximately 30%. Our accounts 30-plus past due was at 3.6% compared to 3.3% in the prior year quarter and in line with historical quarter's pre-pandemic, 3.8% at 7/31/'19. Our total collections were up over 13% to $148 million, and total collections per active customer per month were up 6% to $516. It is important to note that as our receivables balance grows, a significant portion of the provision expenses related to the allowance reserve on the larger portfolio balance. This was an increase of $19 million for the quarter to a total allowance of $266 million at July 31.

我們的回收率基本持平，約為 30%。我們的逾期 30 多個賬戶為 3.6%，而去年同期為 3.3%，與歷史季度大流行前的 3.8% 一致，截至 2019 年 7 月 31 日。我們的總收款增長了 13% 以上，達到 1.48 億美元，每個活躍客戶每月的總收款增長了 6%，達到 516 美元。值得注意的是，隨著我們的應收賬款餘額的增長，很大一部分撥備費用與較大投資組合餘額的撥備儲備有關。本季度增加了 1900 萬美元，至 7 月 31 日的總津貼為 2.66 億美元。

Our finance receivable principal balance grew by $84 million during the quarter and $295 million over the last 12 months. Our deferred revenue on our balance sheet from our ancillary products is at $100 million and has increased by $34 million during the last 12 months. The average originating contract term for the quarter was 43 months compared to 39.4 for the prior year quarter, and up from 42.1 months sequentially.

本季度我們的應收融資本金餘額增加了 8400 萬美元，過去 12 個月增加了 2.95 億美元。我們資產負債表上來自輔助產品的遞延收入為 1 億美元，在過去 12 個月中增加了 3400 萬美元。本季度的平均原始合同期限為 43 個月，而去年同期為 39.4 個月，高於上一季度的 42.1 個月。

The average selling price was up $3,050 with a 3.6-month increase in the term compared to the prior year first quarter. Of the selling price increase, approximately 10% is related to the enhanced service contracts that we fully rolled out in early 2021.

與去年第一季度相比，平均售價上漲了 3,050 美元，增長了 3.6 個月。在售價上漲中，約 10% 與我們在 2021 年初全面推出的增強型服務合同有關。

We work hard to keep the term as short as possible while maintaining the payment affordable for the customer. A weighted average contract term for the entire portfolio including modifications was at 44 months compared to 38.7 for the prior year quarter. And the weighted average age of the portfolio increased 10% from approximately 8.2 months to 9 months.

我們努力使期限盡可能短，同時保持客戶負擔得起的付款。包括修改在內的整個投資組合的加權平均合同期限為 44 個月，而去年同期為 38.7 個月。投資組合的加權平均年齡從大約 8.2 個月增加到 9 個月，增加了 10%。

We have several initiatives in process and a challenging labor and inflationary environment. We continue to adjust our business to more of a sales company that can collect well, while enhancing our digital and our technology in order to serve a larger number of customers over time. We are committed to doing this in an efficient and effective manner so that these additional costs are leveraged with increases in productivity and sales volumes over time.

我們正在製定多項舉措，以及充滿挑戰的勞動力和通貨膨脹環境。我們繼續將我們的業務調整為更多可以收集良好的銷售公司，同時增強我們的數字和技術，以便隨著時間的推移為更多的客戶提供服務。我們致力於以高效和有效的方式做到這一點，以便隨著時間的推移提高生產力和銷量，從而利用這些額外成本。

Our SG&A spend increased $4.4 million over the prior year quarter and increased $2.3 million over the sequential quarter. $1.2 million of the sequential increase related to the annual first quarter stock option grants. We had nice leveraging at 14.4% of sales versus 15.7% in the prior year quarter. The majority of the increased investment is in payroll and related benefits and increased collection costs. We have a long history of leveraging our SG&A spend, and that's going to be part of our commitment moving forward as well.

我們的 SG&A 支出比去年同期增加了 440 萬美元，比上一季度增加了 230 萬美元。與第一季度年度股票期權授予相關的連續增長中的 120 萬美元。我們很好地利用了銷售額的 14.4%，而去年同期為 15.7%。大部分增加的投資用於工資和相關福利以及增加的收款成本。我們在利用 SG&A 支出方面有著悠久的歷史，這也將成為我們前進承諾的一部分。

At quarter end, our revolving debt was approximately $189 million. We had $4.4 million in cash and approximately $125 million in additional availability under our revolving credit facilities based on our current borrowing base of receivables and inventory. Our securitized nonrecourse notes payable was $323 million, with $37 million in restricted cash related to those notes. We completed the securitization at the end of April, which is at a fixed rate. Our revolver interest has been impacted by recent Fed rate increases up to 2% since our year-end. And as discussed, we expect to be doing another securitization in the third or fourth quarter of our fiscal year.

在季度末，我們的循環債務約為 1.89 億美元。根據我們當前的應收賬款和庫存借款基礎，我們在循環信貸額度下擁有 440 萬美元的現金和大約 1.25 億美元的額外可用性。我們的證券化無追索權應付票據為 3.23 億美元，其中與這些票據相關的限制性現金為 3700 萬美元。我們在 4 月底完成了證券化，證券化是固定利率的。自年底以來，美聯儲最近加息高達 2%，影響了我們的左輪手槍利息。正如所討論的，我們預計將在本財年的第三或第四季度進行另一次證券化。

Our total debt, net of cash to finance receivables ratio was 39.7%. About 2.5% of the debt increase for the quarter relates to inventory increases. As mentioned in the press release, we had some inefficiencies, primarily related to supply chain issues and reconditioning time, parts and shop delays, all while trying to keep the dealership stock with the appropriate mix and quantity of ready units. We will be focusing on operational improvements and efficiencies as the market improves.

我們的總債務（扣除現金與應收款項的比率）為 39.7%。本季度約 2.5% 的債務增加與庫存增加有關。正如新聞稿中所提到的，我們有一些效率低下，主要與供應鏈問題和修復時間、零件和車間延誤有關，同時努力保持經銷商庫存與適當的組合和數量的現成單位。隨著市場的改善，我們將專注於運營改進和效率。

Our solid balance sheet, our strong operating history and our access to the securitization market should provide us with the appropriate access to capital moving forward. As we fund a growing receivable base with higher retail sales prices and longer terms, the business requires a higher debt level. However, our cash-on-cash returns are still very attractive and growing our AR and our customer base is the best use of our capital. During the quarter, we grew finance receivables by $84 million. We increased inventory by $30 million. We repurchased $5 million of our common stock and funded $8 million in capital expenditures.

我們穩健的資產負債表、強大的經營歷史和我們進入證券化市場的渠道應該為我們提供適當的未來資金渠道。隨著我們以更高的零售價格和更長的期限為不斷增長的應收賬款基礎提供資金，該業務需要更高的債務水平。然而，我們的現金回報仍然非常有吸引力，增加我們的 AR 和客戶群是我們資本的最佳用途。在本季度，我們的財務應收賬款增加了 8400 萬美元。我們增加了 3000 萬美元的庫存。我們回購了 500 萬美元的普通股，並為資本支出提供了 800 萬美元的資金。

Thank you, and I'll let Jeff close this out.

謝謝，我會讓傑夫結束這件事。

Okay. Thank you, Vickie. This business we are in is hard, but we've never been more optimistic about our potential. Last year at this time, consumers had received the largest and the last of the stimulus checks. The advance child care tax credits were in the market, enhanced unemployment benefits were still out there in consumers' hands and all of that stimulus is now gone, and we're looking at a 9% inflation. Supply is tight. We think it will ease, but there's been massive changes in our industry that have happened at speeds never seen before. However, we are seeing some leveling off of prices. Our customer lives paycheck to paycheck and affordability is more of a challenge than ever right now.

好的。謝謝你，維姬。我們從事的這項業務很艱難，但我們對自己的潛力從未如此樂觀。去年這個時候，消費者收到了最大和最後的刺激檢查。市場上有預付的兒童保育稅收抵免，增強的失業救濟金仍然在消費者手中，所有這些刺激措施現在都消失了，我們看到的是 9% 的通脹率。供應緊張。我們認為這會有所緩解，但我們的行業發生了巨大的變化，並且以前所未有的速度發生。然而，我們看到價格有所趨於平穩。我們的客戶以薪水為生，而負擔能力現在比以往任何時候都更具挑戰。

With all that said, we believe that we're the best at what we do, and we have a long proven track record of working with our customers. We're beginning to see better customers come down into our market from above. This customer we serve absolutely positively needs personal transportation. While there are certainly other available options, we believe our basic transportation option is clearly the best and will again show itself to be just that over time.

儘管如此，我們相信我們在我們所做的事情上是最好的，並且我們在與客戶合作方面有著長期的良好記錄。我們開始看到更好的客戶從上面進入我們的市場。我們服務的這個客戶絕對需要個人交通工具。雖然肯定有其他可用的選擇，但我們相信我們的基本交通選擇顯然是最好的，並且隨著時間的推移將再次證明自己就是這樣。

We have an enormous market share acquisition opportunity. We believe the competition is being disrupted far worse than we are, and we intend to capitalize. We have significant upside from gaining market share in areas that we already serve. We average 629 customers per dealership, and we believe that should be 1,000 or more over time. The current used car price environment is not affordable for all. This does not mean that it cannot persist for longer, but the prices of vehicles are disconnected from the economic reality of a section of the population and we believe this situation will gradually rectify itself over time.

我們擁有巨大的市場份額收購機會。我們認為競爭受到的干擾比我們嚴重得多，我們打算利用這一點。在我們已經服務的領域獲得市場份額，我們有很大的優勢。我們平均每個經銷商有 629 名客戶，我們相信隨著時間的推移應該會達到 1,000 名或更多。當前的二手車價格環境並非所有人都能負擔得起。這並不意味著它不能持續更長時間，而是車輛價格與部分人口的經濟現實脫節，我們相信這種情況會隨著時間的推移逐漸得到糾正。

We have the scale, the customer base, the industry expertise and the balance sheet to play some offense in tough markets like this. We're making significant investments doing what we think we need to do, to be a far larger player that can better serve our customers at a high level. We are currently supporting almost 97,000 customers, most living paycheck to paycheck, and we will keep them on the road and work with them through life's challenges including pandemics, recession, inflationary periods and other disruptions just like we have for 41 years.

我們擁有規模、客戶群、行業專業知識和資產負債表，可以在這樣的艱難市場中發揮一些作用。我們正在做我們認為需要做的事情進行重大投資，成為一個更大的參與者，可以更好地為我們的客戶提供高水平的服務。我們目前為近 97,000 名客戶提供支持，其中大部分是靠薪水維持生計的，我們將讓他們繼續前行，並與他們一起度過生活中的挑戰，包括流行病、衰退、通貨膨脹時期和其他中斷，就像我們 41 年來一樣。

We have an obligation to serve more customers. And in 3, 5 and 10 years, more people will need us, and we will be ready. I'm proud of our associates and the incredible work we do every day to support our customers and to support each other.

我們有義務為更多的客戶服務。在 3 年、5 年和 10 年後，會有更多的人需要我們，我們會做好準備。我為我們的員工以及我們每天為支持客戶和相互支持所做的出色工作而感到自豪。

We will now open it up for questions. Operator?

我們現在將打開它以供提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) First question comes from the line of John Rowan from Janney.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Janney 的 John Rowan。

You guys said in the opening comments that some of the charge-off was both frequency and severity. Is the severity more a function of higher duration, lower down payments? Or is it a function of car prices leveling off?

你們在開場評論中說，一些沖銷既是頻率也是嚴重的。嚴重程度是否更多地取決於更高的持續時間、更低的首付？還是汽車價格趨於平穩？

The severity just relates to the higher balances that the customers have at the time of charge-offs. So as that average selling price and the average amount financed has increased over the recent quarters, that's where the severity comes into play.

嚴重程度僅與客戶在沖銷時的較高餘額有關。因此，由於最近幾個季度的平均售價和平均融資金額有所增加，這就是嚴重性發揮作用的地方。

Okay. And then you said, obviously, you're teeing up a new ABS. Can you just give us what the marginal cost of debt is now on the revolver versus where you think this ABS will price?

好的。然後你說，很明顯，你正在開發一個新的 ABS。你能告訴我們現在左輪手槍的邊際債務成本是多少，而你認為這個 ABS 的定價是多少？

Yes. Currently, it's about 2 percentage points difference.

是的。目前，相差約2個百分點。

So it's 200 basis points lower?

所以它降低了200個基點？

Yes.

是的。

Our next question comes from the line of Vincent Caintic from Stephens.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stephens 的 Vincent Caintic。

Just first a broad overview question, and I know there's a lot of changes going on in the macro right now. But as you're looking at this past quarter, I'm just wondering if you think that have things stabilized in the business such that this is a good quarter for us to be forecasting off of or is there something else that you think you should be thinking about this year or in the near future that we should be anticipating about and modeling that going forward?

首先是一個廣泛的概述問題，我知道現在宏觀發生了很多變化。但是，當您查看過去的這個季度時，我只是想知道您是否認為業務已經穩定，這對於我們來說是一個可以預測的好季度，或者您認為應該做些什麼正在考慮今年或不久的將來我們應該預測和建模的未來？

Well, we feel like, again, car prices are leveling off and wages are going up. So we feel good about both of those components of the look forward. We are going to serve customers at a very high level and keep them in their cars and on the road. So we're optimistic looking forward and anticipate that results are going to be solid as we look forward. And again, we do expect wages to continue to pick up and be strong and the labor market will be strong, and the leveling off of car prices, putting our customers in better cars for better prices moving forward. The timing of that is a little unknown, but we do expect over time to see some good benefits and some improvements as we go forward.

好吧，我們再次感覺到，汽車價格趨於平穩，工資正在上漲。因此，我們對展望的這兩個組成部分感覺良好。我們將以非常高的水平為客戶提供服務，並將他們留在汽車和路上。因此，我們對未來持樂觀態度，並預計我們期待的結果將是穩固的。再一次，我們確實預計工資將繼續回升並保持強勁，勞動力市場將強勁，汽車價格趨於平穩，讓我們的客戶購買更好的汽車，從而獲得更好的價格。時間有點未知，但我們確實希望隨著時間的推移會看到一些好的好處和一些改進。

Okay, understood. For the loans that you're originating today, I know you were talking about kind of the averages of the -- like average term and the sales price and so forth. But I guess for what you're originating today, could you talk about what are the terms of the new loans you're seeing where you're comfortable taking churn? And then also, where are you comfortable taking the average selling price?

好的，明白了。對於您今天發起的貸款，我知道您在談論平均期限和銷售價格等的平均值。但我想對於你今天的起源，你能談談你看到的新貸款的條款是什麼，你願意接受流失嗎？然後，你覺得平均售價在哪裡？

Yes. I mean we are -- again, we're seeing some prices level off. We are intentionally looking for a less expensive product. It's a little tough to find right now. So a little of this is out of our control, but we are laser-focused on putting a better product and a less expensive product out there for the shortest term that we can. We like to put our customers in equity positions, keep them in good positions and keep that term as short as we can and at the same time, not lose good customers, and make sure that payment is affordable.

是的。我的意思是我們 - 再次，我們看到一些價格趨於平穩。我們有意尋找更便宜的產品。現在有點難找。因此，其中有一部分是我們無法控制的，但我們專注於在最短的時間內推出更好的產品和更便宜的產品。我們喜歡讓我們的客戶處於股權位置，讓他們處於良好的位置，並儘可能縮短期限，同時不失去良好的客戶，並確保付款是負擔得起的。

So we are focused on taking advantage of some market opportunities with prices leveling off, and we'd love to see that sales price level off and that term level off at the same time. And really, as we look forward, we can see some opportunities down the road for some term reductions even as prices move more in line over time.

因此，我們專注於利用價格趨於平穩的一些市場機會，我們希望看到銷售價格趨於平穩，同時該期限趨於平穩。事實上，正如我們所期待的那樣，我們可以看到一些期限減少的機會，即使價格隨著時間的推移更加一致。

Okay. And last 1 for me. The SG&A expenses, I understand you're making more investments in the business and it's up about, I think, 11% year-over-year. Where do you feel comfortable taking SG&A? I guess, what should we be thinking about that on a go forward basis?

好的。最後1個給我。 SG&A 費用，我知道您正在對該業務進行更多投資，而且我認為它同比增長了 11%。你覺得在哪裡接受 SG&A？我想，我們應該在前進的基礎上考慮什麼？

Yes. Again, we are still investing. Jeff mentioned the wages going up. So when they're going up for our customers, they're also putting some pressure on wages for our associates as well. And as you know, in this high-touch business, our associates and the service they provide to our customers are very important. So to Jeff's point, we are going to continue to leverage this as we move forward. We've always been very focused on efficiencies and frugal with our expenditures just like our customers have to be. So we'll continue to look to leverage that. Again, it's hard sometimes on a quarter-over-quarter basis. The largest part of our investments have been made, but there will continue to be some as we move forward.

是的。同樣，我們仍在投資。傑夫提到工資上漲。因此，當他們為我們的客戶提高工資時，他們也對我們員工的工資施加了一些壓力。如您所知，在這項高接觸業務中，我們的員工及其為客戶提供的服務非常重要。因此，就 Jeff 而言，我們將在前進的過程中繼續利用這一點。就像我們的客戶一樣，我們一直非常關注效率和節儉的支出。因此，我們將繼續尋求利用這一點。同樣，有時很難按季度計算。我們已經進行了大部分投資，但隨著我們的前進，還會繼續進行一些投資。

Okay. Great. And sorry, Vickie, 1 more. Just quickly, the ongoing interest expense, what's the right quarterly expense to be forecasted going forward?

好的。偉大的。抱歉，Vickie，還有 1 個。很快，持續的利息支出，未來預測的正確季度支出是多少？

Yes. Well, a lot of that will depend on, of course, what the Fed does coming up over the next few quarters. I mean, I think there are still expectations that there will be perhaps even 3 more rate increases this year, as we look forward to the securitization market and what the benchmarks and the spreads are doing in that market. I mean I think there's expectations that, that will increase as well.

是的。當然，這在很大程度上取決於美聯儲在接下來的幾個季度裡會做什麼。我的意思是，我認為仍然預計今年可能還會有 3 次加息，因為我們期待證券化市場以及基準和利差在該市場的表現。我的意思是，我認為人們的期望也會增加。

So I would expect that there will continue to be some increases in interest expense as we move forward here just based on the market. And then as I mentioned too, in the environment we're in now and that's growing market share, growing finance receivables, that results in higher debt balances as well.

因此，我預計隨著我們僅根據市場向前推進，利息費用將繼續增加。然後正如我所提到的，在我們現在所處的環境中，市場份額不斷增長，金融應收賬款不斷增長，這也導致了更高的債務餘額。

(Operator Instructions) I'm not showing any further questions in the queue at this moment.

（操作員說明）我現在沒有在隊列中顯示任何其他問題。

Okay. Thank you. Once again, thanks, everybody, for listening in. We've been in business for over 41 years. We've gone through a number of cycles, credit cycles. And when we do see some disruption, we always come out the other end in better shape. And we expect, once again, as we set our company up to handle more customers and handle more growth and be more productive and leverage SG&A, when these headwinds we're seeing now do switch, we're going to be in a great spot to take advantage of what our company does and what we do so well.

好的。謝謝你。再次感謝大家的聆聽。我們已經開展業務超過 41 年。我們經歷了許多周期，信貸週期。當我們確實看到一些干擾時，我們總是以更好的狀態出現在另一端。我們再次預計，當我們建立公司以處理更多客戶、處理更多增長、提高生產力並利用 SG&A 時，當我們現在看到的這些逆風確實發生轉變時，我們將處於一個很好的位置充分利用我們公司所做的事情以及我們做得很好的事情。

So we appreciate everybody. Thanks to all of our associates for their dedication and hard work to what we do. We're very proud of our company. We're very proud of where we're at, and we're extremely excited about our future and our place in the world. So thank you, and have a good day.

所以我們感謝大家。感謝我們所有的員工對我們所做的工作的奉獻和辛勤工作。我們為我們的公司感到非常自豪。我們為我們所處的位置感到非常自豪，我們對我們的未來和我們在世界上的地位感到非常興奮。所以謝謝你，祝你有美好的一天。