Carriage Services Inc (CSV) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Carriage Services Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Carriage Services 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Steve Metzger, President. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人，總裁史蒂夫·梅茨格 (Steve Metzger)。先生，請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter results. In addition to myself, on the call this morning from management are Carlos Quezada, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors; and John Enwright, Chief Financial Officer.

大家早安。感謝您加入我們討論第二季的業績。除了我自己之外，今天上午參加管理層電話會議的還有首席執行官兼董事會副主席卡洛斯·奎扎達 (Carlos Quezada) 和首席財務官約翰·恩賴特 (John Enwright)。

On the Carriage Services website, you can find our earnings press release, which was issued yesterday after the market closed. Our press release is intended to supplement our remarks this morning and include supplemental financial information, including the reconciliation of differences between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Today's call will begin with formal remarks from Carlos and John and will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

在 Carriage Services 網站上，您可以找到我們的收益新聞稿，該新聞稿於昨天市場收盤後發布。我們的新聞稿旨在補充我們今天上午的發言，並包括補充財務信息，包括 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標之間差異的調節。今天的電話會議將以卡洛斯和約翰的正式發言開始，然後是問答環節。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during this call, we'll make some forward-looking statements, including comments about our business, projections and plans. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties and only reflect our views as of today. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors identified in our earnings release as well as in our SEC filings, all of which can be found on our website.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，在這次電話會議中，我們將做出一些前瞻性的陳述，包括對我們的業務、預測和計劃的評論。前瞻性陳述本身涉及風險和不確定性，僅反映我們截至今天的觀點。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於我們在收益報告以及美國證券交易委員會文件中確定的因素，所有這些因素都可以在我們的網站上找到。

Thank you all for joining us this morning. And now I'd like to turn the call over to Carlos.

感謝大家今天上午參加我們的活動。現在我想把電話轉給卡洛斯。

Thank you, Steve, and welcome to everyone joining today's second quarter earnings call. As we move through 2025, I continue to be inspired by the dedication and purpose that drive our Carriage team. The results we're sharing today reflect that our strategy is working, but more importantly, they reflect the power of execution across every level of our organization. To every employee who wakes up each day committed to delivering premier experiences to families in need, thank you. Your impact is felt far and wide.

謝謝您，史蒂夫，歡迎大家參加今天的第二季財報電話會議。當我們邁入 2025 年時，我繼續受到我們運輸團隊的奉獻精神和目標的啟發。我們今天分享的結果反映了我們的策略正在發揮作用，但更重要的是，它們反映了我們組織各個層面的執行力。感謝每一位每天醒來致力於為有需要的家庭提供優質體驗的員工。您的影響力十分廣泛。

Today, I will walk you through our financial performance for the quarter, followed by updates on a couple of key initiatives. John will then provide more detail around our financial drivers, cash flow and updated guidance. Let's begin with the financial results.

今天，我將向大家介紹我們本季的財務業績，然後介紹幾個關鍵舉措的最新情況。然後，約翰將提供有關我們的財務驅動因素、現金流和最新指南的更多詳細資訊。讓我們從財務結果開始。

Total revenue for the second quarter was $102.1 million, essentially flat compared to the same quarter last year. Total Funeral operating revenue grew 1.4%, reaching $59.6 million, driven by a slight increase in costs of 0.5% for the quarter. Year-to-date, total Funeral operating revenue grew $3.9 million or 3.1%, while year-to-date volume increased by 1.5%.

第二季總營收為1.021億美元，與去年同期大致持平。殯葬總營業收入成長 1.4%，達到 5,960 萬美元，這得益於本季成本小幅上漲 0.5%。年初至今，殯葬總營業收入成長 390 萬美元，增幅 3.1%，而年初至今的銷量成長了 1.5%。

We feel encouraged to see this volume trend, especially after accounting for the divestitures of noncore assets. We are confident in a slight organic volume growth rate of 50 to 100 basis points for the remainder of the year and returning to a normalized volume rate of 1% to 2% in 2026.

我們很高興看到這種數量趨勢，特別是在考慮了非核心資產的剝離之後。我們有信心，今年剩餘時間內有機銷售成長率將達到 50 至 100 個基點，到 2026 年將恢復到 1% 至 2% 的正常銷售率。

Cemetery operating revenue was $33.5 million, a slight decrease of 0.6% from the same period last year. While modest, this variance is linked to timing differences in preneed sales against a strong second quarter last year, which were driven by more large sales in addition to the divestiture of two noncore cemeteries in the first quarter of this year.

墓園營業收入為3,350萬美元，較去年同期略降0.6%。雖然差異不大，但這種差異與預售銷售與去年第二季度強勁銷售的時間差異有關，而去年第二季度的強勁銷售是由於今年第一季大額銷售增加以及剝離了兩家非核心墓地所致。

Year-to-date, cemetery revenue is up 2.2%, which is below our year-over-year growth range of 10% to 20%. As mentioned on our previous call, the main reason was the availability of high-end inventory at some of our top cemeteries due to delays in new construction projects. We estimate that most projects will be completed this quarter, and we have a strategy and plan in place that we believe will help us achieve at least a 10% year-over-year growth rate for the remainder of the year.

今年迄今為止，墓地收入增長了 2.2%，低於我們 10% 至 20% 的同比增長範圍。正如我們上次電話會議中提到的，主要原因是由於新建築項目的延誤，我們的一些頂級墓地的高端庫存不足。我們預計大多數專案將在本季度完成，我們已經制定了策略和計劃，我們相信這將幫助我們在今年剩餘時間內實現至少 10% 的同比增長率。

We continue to see strong results in our financial revenue, which rose 18.8% to $8.2 million. This growth was primarily driven by an impressive 96.2% increase in preneed funeral commission income when compared to the same period last year, showcasing the continued strength of our insurance preneed strategy and the ongoing success of our sales teams in helping families plan their final wishes.

我們的財務收入持續保持強勁成長，成長 18.8%，達到 820 萬美元。這一增長主要得益於與去年同期相比，預付喪葬費佣金收入大幅增長 96.2%，這表明我們的保險預付策略持續強勁，並且我們的銷售團隊在幫助家庭規劃最終願望方面取得了持續成功。

Turning to profitability. GAAP net income for the quarter was $11.7 million, up 85.7% from $6.3 million in the same quarter last year. GAAP diluted EPS came in at an impressive $0.74 compared to $0.40, an 85% increase when compared to the same period last year.

轉向盈利能力。本季 GAAP 淨收入為 1,170 萬美元，較去年同期的 630 萬美元成長 85.7%。以 GAAP 計算，每股收益為 0.74 美元，相比去年同期的 0.40 美元增加了 85%。

Adjusted consolidated EBITDA for the second quarter was $32.3 million, down 1% from the prior year period. The decline was driven by last year's adjusted expense of $5 million related to nonrecurring costs. However, our corporate overhead cost for the second quarter of this year came in at 12.2% of revenue, 80 basis points lower than our long-term range of 13% to 14% and 39% lower than the same quarter last year. This allowed for adjusted consolidated EBITDA margin to be 31.6%, a slight decrease of 30 basis points from the prior-year period. The modest decline in EBITDA margin is directly correlated to margin compression in both our Funeral and Cemetery segments.

第二季調整後綜合EBITDA為3,230萬美元，較去年同期下降1%。下降的原因是去年與非經常性成本相關的 500 萬美元調整支出。然而，今年第二季我們的企業管理費用佔營收的 12.2%，比我們長期預期的 13% 至 14% 低 80 個基點，比去年同期低 39%。這使得調整後的合併 EBITDA 利潤率為 31.6%，較去年同期略有下降 30 個基點。EBITDA 利潤率的適度下降與我們的殯葬和墓地部門的利潤率壓縮直接相關。

Funeral field EBITDA margin was 37%, down 250 basis points from 39.5% last year. Cemetery field EBITDA margin was 44.9%, down 480 basis points from 49.7% last year. While our revenue performance remains solid, this margin pressure reflects the ongoing impact of inflationary costs primarily related to SMB, planned investments in our systems, including our new ERP as well as the timing of unrecognized profits from undeveloped Cemetery sales in previous months. John will share more details regarding field margins.

殯葬領域 EBITDA 利潤率為 37%，較去年的 39.5% 下降 250 個基點。墓園 EBITDA 利潤率為 44.9%，較去年的 49.7% 下降 480 個基點。雖然我們的收入表現仍然穩健，但這種利潤壓力反映了通膨成本的持續影響，主要與 SMB、我們系統的計劃投資（包括我們的新 ERP）以及前幾個月未開發墓地銷售的未確認利潤的時間有關。約翰將分享有關現場邊緣的更多細節。

On the earnings front, adjusted diluted EPS for the second quarter was $0.74 per share, an increase of 17.5% compared to $0.63 per share in the prior-year quarter. Year-to-date, adjusted diluted EPS was $1.70 per share, a 23.2% increase over the first half of 2024 and a reflection of our commitment to the execution of our strategic objectives.

在收益方面，第二季調整後稀釋每股收益為每股 0.74 美元，較去年同期的每股 0.63 美元成長 17.5%。年初至今，調整後稀釋每股收益為 1.70 美元，比 2024 年上半年成長 23.2%，反映了我們對執行策略目標的承諾。

Looking ahead, we remain confident in our strategy and execution. After two years of disciplined capital management and more than $100 million paid to reduce our debt, we are pleased to share that we're back to growth mode, and we're under contract to acquire new businesses, which we anticipate will close this quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

展望未來，我們對我們的策略和執行力仍然充滿信心。經過兩年嚴格的資本管理和超過 1 億美元的債務削減，我們很高興地告訴大家，我們已恢復增長模式，並且已簽訂了收購新業務的合同，預計該合同將在本季度完成，但需獲得常規監管部門的批准。

Combined, these premier locations serve more than 2,600 families and generated more than $15 million in revenue last year. We are excited to return to our long-term strategy of adding shareholder value through high-quality acquisitions, and we look forward to providing more details once these transactions formally close in the coming weeks.

這些主要門市合計為超過 2,600 個家庭提供服務，去年創造了超過 1,500 萬美元的收入。我們很高興能夠回歸透過高品質收購增加股東價值的長期策略，並期待在未來幾週這些交易正式結束後提供更多細節。

With these new acquisitions and after accounting for the divestitures of certain noncore assets that closed in the first quarter and others expected to close in the third quarter of this year, we're updating our full year guidance. John will share our updated ranges later on this call.

考慮到這些新的收購以及今年第一季完成的某些非核心資產的剝離以及預計在第三季完成的其他資產的剝離，我們正在更新全年指引。約翰稍後將在本次電話會議中分享我們更新後的範圍。

We continue to monitor broader economic trends and indicators. And as we move forward with our strategic objectives, we will continue to track them closely. At the same time, we reaffirm our commitment to being prudent stewards of our capital while leaving room for upside value creation through high-quality and strategic acquisitions.

我們繼續監測更廣泛的經濟趨勢和指標。隨著我們逐步實現策略目標，我們將繼續密切追蹤這些目標。同時，我們重申我們致力於審慎管理我們的資本，同時透過高品質和策略​​性的收購為創造上行價值留出空間。

As a quick update, our earned core line continues to gain traction across our businesses, and we're in the final planning stages of rolling out our casket core line. Both initiatives are key steps in our broader strategy to streamline operations, elevate service consistency and deliver an enhanced experience to the families we serve.

簡要更新一下，我們獲得的核心產品線繼續在我們的業務中獲得關注，並且我們正處於推出棺材核心產品線的最後規劃階段。這兩項措施都是我們更廣泛策略的關鍵步驟，旨在簡化營運、提高服務一致性並為我們服務的家庭提供更好的體驗。

As shared before, we are confident the recently negotiated pricing tied to these core line strategies will drive meaningful margin expansion, but more importantly, the curated selections offer families thoughtful, high-quality options to personalize their loved ones' farewell, further advancing our commitment to creating premier experiences at every touch point with every family, every time.

正如之前所分享的，我們相信最近與這些核心產品線策略相關的協商定價將推動利潤率的大幅擴張，但更重要的是，精心挑選的產品為家庭提供了周到、高品質的選擇，以個性化他們所愛之人的告別，進一步推進了我們致力於在每次與每個家庭的每個接觸點創造頂級體驗的承諾。

Our Passion for Service program is set to become a cultural movement, igniting a passion for service delivery and wow moments across our organization. By certifying and celebrating team members who go above and beyond in elevated service delivery, we are creating a community of service champions driven by purpose and compassion. Passion for Service will transform how we connect with each other, our work and most importantly, with the families who trust us in their most vulnerable moments. We expect the results to be a higher standard of care, deeper team engagement and a powerful competitive edge that sets Carriage apart.

我們的「服務熱情」計畫將成為一場文化運動，激發整個組織對服務交付和驚喜時刻的熱情。透過認證和表彰在高級服務交付方面表現優異的團隊成員，我們正在創建一個由目標和同情心驅動的服務冠軍社區。服務的熱情將改變我們彼此之間、我們與工作之間以及最重要的是與那些在他們最脆弱的時刻信任我們的家人之間的聯繫。我們期望結果能帶來更高的護理標準、更深層的團隊參與度以及強大的競爭優勢，從而使 Carriage 脫穎而出。

In closing, we're pleased with our second quarter results, which reflect the strength of our business model and the focused execution of our teams. While we experienced some margin compression this quarter, our year-to-date results and momentum remains strong. We continue to invest in the future of Carriage with a clear focus on long-term value creation, cultural alignment and creating premier experiences for the families we serve. The last two years, we're focused on paying down our debt while laying the groundwork for exponential growth. Now our systems, processes and people are in place. And with our acquisition strategy back in place, Carriage is positioned well for the future and continue to create value for our employees, the family we serve and our shareholders.

最後，我們對第二季的業績感到滿意，這反映了我們商業模式的實力和團隊的專注執行力。儘管本季我們的利潤率有所壓縮，但今年迄今的業績和勢頭依然強勁。我們將繼續投資 Carriage 的未來，明確重點是創造長期價值、文化協調以及為我們服務的家庭創造一流的體驗。過去兩年，我們專注於償還債務，同時為指數級成長奠定基礎。現在我們的系統、流程和人員都已到位。隨著我們的收購策略重新實施，Carriage 已為未來做好了準備，並將繼續為我們的員工、我們服務的家庭和股東創造價值。

Thank you again for your continued trust and believe in Carriage. With that, I will now turn the call over to John.

再次感謝您一直以來的信任與對Carriage的信心。說完這些，我現在將電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Carlos, and good morning. The company reported strong second quarter results and a solid first half performance. The organization maintained a disciplined approach, resulting in a 17.5% increase in adjusted EPS for the second quarter of 2025. These results would not be possible if it weren't for the collective efforts of the field and support teams and their dedicated service to our families.

謝謝你，卡洛斯，早安。該公司公佈了強勁的第二季業績和穩健的上半年業績。該組織保持了嚴謹的態度，導致 2025 年第二季調整後每股收益成長了 17.5%。如果沒有現場和支援團隊的共同努力以及他們為我們家庭提供的專門服務，這些結果是不可能的。

As Carlos mentioned, EBITDA margins in the field faced some pressure in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 2024. Funeral margins decreased by 250 basis points year-over-year. Approximately half of the decline was due to expenses unlikely to recur, while the remaining half was attributed to inflationary increases, primarily salary expenses. Cemetery margins declined by 480 basis points compared to the prior year with the erosion being more broad-based.

正如卡洛斯所提到的，與 2024 年相比，2025 年第二季該領域的 EBITDA 利潤率面臨一些壓力。喪葬費利潤較去年同期下降了250個基點。大約一半的下降是由於不太可能再次發生的支出，而剩下的一半則歸因於通貨膨脹的增加，主要是工資支出。與前一年相比，墓園利潤率下降了 480 個基點，且下降範圍更為廣泛。

Salary and benefit expenses increased due to market adjustments for maintenance teams as well as recently filled positions. Variable expenses tied to revenues were higher in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 2024. General liability expenses increased year-over-year. And unrecognized revenue and profit for land under development also contributed to the variance. If those revenues had been fully recognized during the quarter, Cemetery margin would have improved by approximately 180 basis points.

由於維護團隊的市場調整以及最近填補的職位，工資和福利費用增加。2025 年第二季與收入相關的變動費用比 2024 年更高。一般責任費用較去年同期成長。未確認的土地開發收入及利潤也造成了差異。如果這些收入在本季得到充分確認，墓園利潤率將提高約 180 個基點。

Cash from operating activities for the quarter totaled $8.1 million, an increase of $2.2 million in the same period last year. The $5.9 million increase was mainly attributable to operational results. Adjusted free cash flow for the second quarter was $6.9 million compared to a cash outflow of $300,000 in 2024. The variance was driven by higher operational cash flow and lower capital expenditures in 2025.

本季經營活動現金總額為810萬美元，較去年同期增加220萬美元。590萬美元的成長主要歸因於營運績效。第二季調整後的自由現金流為 690 萬美元，而 2024 年的現金流為 30 萬美元。造成這一差異的原因是 2025 年營運現金流增加和資本支出減少。

Our leverage ratio was 4.2 times compared to 4.6 times at the end of the second quarter of 2024. The company paid $7 million toward outstanding debt during the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $24 million. As a result of our ongoing debt reduction, interest expense for the quarter was $1.3 million lower than the previous year with a year-to-date decrease of $2.7 million. At quarter end, $113 million was drawn on the credit facility.

我們的槓桿率為 4.2 倍，而 2024 年第二季末為 4.6 倍。該公司本季償還了 700 萬美元的未償債務，使年初至今的總額達到 2,400 萬美元。由於我們持續削減債務，本季利息支出比前一年減少 130 萬美元，年初至今減少 270 萬美元。截至季末，信貸額度已提取 1.13 億美元。

Capital expenditures for the quarter totaled $2.8 million compared to $3.5 million in the same period last year. Of the $2.8 million, $1.1 million was allocated to maintenance capital and $1.7 million to growth capital. Overhead spending was $12.5 million or 12.2% compared to $20.4 million or 20% in the prior-year quarter. The previous year's figure included $5.1 million in nonrecurring expenses related to the strategic review and $800,000 in separation expenses.

本季資本支出總計 280 萬美元，而去年同期為 350 萬美元。在這 280 萬美元中，110 萬美元分配給維護資本，170 萬美元分配給成長資本。間接支出為 1,250 萬美元，佔 12.2%，而去年同期為 2,040 萬美元，佔 20%。去年的數字包括與策略評估相關的 510 萬美元的非經常性費用和 80 萬美元的分離費用。

Excluding these onetime expenses, prior-year overhead was 14.2% or 200 basis points higher than the second quarter of 2025. The main factors for the improvement in 2025 were reduced incentive compensation and the consolidation and management of award trips, which led to lower expenses than initially expected.

不包括這些一次性費用，去年的管理費用比 2025 年第二季高出 14.2% 或 200 個基點。2025年改善的主要因素是獎勵薪酬的減少以及獎勵旅行的合併和管理，導致費用低於最初的預期。

Moving on to our updated outlook. For the remainder of 2025, the outlook includes the impact of acquisitions and additional divestitures expected to close in the third quarter, which are not part of our initial guidance. Additionally, small adjustments in the back half of the year have been made to our original expectations to the Cemetery segment to reflect current trends, which should result in full year margins in this segment between 44.7% and 45%. Nevertheless, measures are being taken to address the shortfall of the first two quarters, and we expect to have a strong second half of the year.

繼續討論我們的最新展望。對於 2025 年剩餘時間的展望包括預計第三季完成的收購和額外資產剝離的影響，這些不屬於我們初步指引的一部分。此外，為了反映當前的趨勢，我們對下半年墓地業務的最初預期進行了小幅調整，預計該業務的全年利潤率將在 44.7% 至 45% 之間。儘管如此，我們正在採取措施解決前兩個季度的不足，我們預計今年下半年將會表現強勁。

The current outlook anticipates revenues in the range of $410 million to $420 million, adjusted consolidated EBITDA between $129 million to $134 million, adjusted diluted EPS of $3.15 to $3.35, overhead expenses ranging from 13% to 13.5%, adjusted free cash flow between $40 million and $50 million, leverage ratio ending between 4.1 and 4.2 times.

目前的預期是，收入預計在 4.1 億美元至 4.2 億美元之間，調整後的合併 EBITDA 預計在 1.29 億美元至 1.34 億美元之間，調整後的稀釋每股收益預計在 3.15 美元至 3.35 美元之間，管理費用預計在 13% 至 13.5% 之間預計萬美元之間，槓桿率預計在​​ 4.1 倍至 4.2 倍之間。

This concludes the prepared remarks. I will now turn it over to the operator to open it up for questions.

準備好的發言到此結束。現在我將把時間交給操作員來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Alex Paris, Barrington Research.

（操作員指示）Alex Paris，Barrington Research。

Congratulations on the quarter. I have a few questions for you. I guess I'll start with the exciting news on M&A. The businesses are under contract. Just the way the press release was written, is this more than one entity you're acquiring? Or is it an entity with multiple locations?

恭喜本季。我有幾個問題想問你。我想我將從併購方面的令人興奮的消息開始。這些企業都已簽訂了合約。從新聞稿的寫法來看，你們收購的是不是不只一個實體？或者它是一個具有多個位置的實體？

Alex, this is Steve. So yes to both. So it's multiple transactions and each one has multiple businesses.

亞歷克斯，這是史蒂夫。所以兩者都是。因此，它是多筆交易，每筆交易都有多項業務。

Okay. And then you expect it to close in Q3. Again, that will be the first closed acquisition since Greenlawn in the first quarter of 2023. The -- you say it had more than 15 -- I guess you can probably talk more about it after you close it, but it has more than $15 million in revenue. I'm curious as to pricing, what did pricing look like relative to recent acquisitions in the market?

好的。然後您預計它將在第三季完成。再次，這將是自 2023 年第一季度 Greenlawn 以來的首次完成收購。你說它有超過 15 萬美元的收入——我想你可以在結束後再談論更多，但它的收入超過 1500 萬美元。我對定價感到好奇，相對於市場上最近的收購，定價是什麼樣的？

Yes. So I'd say pricing is in line with kind of our philosophy on valuation. So generally speaking, without going into specifics, for a premium business where it's a competitive landscape, which is generally the type of business we're looking at, high single digits on the multiples is a fair estimate. And then there's specifics around the actual business. What's the potential for value creation? Does it have a cemetery, (inaudible) those type of details that will help you kind of fine-tune what that multiple will look like.

是的。所以我認為定價符合我們的估值理念。因此，一般來說，無需贅述具體細節，對於競爭激烈的高端業務（通常是我們關注的業務類型），高個位數的倍數是一個合理的估計。然後是關於實際業務的具體細節。創造價值的潛力有多大？它是否有墓地，（聽不清楚）這些細節將幫助您微調該墓地的外觀。

Got you. And at this point, you're not going to talk about the properties acquired, you'll do it after you close. Is that it?

明白了。此時，您不會談論所獲得的財產，您會在交易結束後再談論。就這樣嗎？

Correct. Yes, more details will come. We'll put a press release out once they close and share more about the markets and details of the businesses.

正確的。是的，我們會提供更多詳細資訊。一旦交易完成，我們將發布新聞稿並分享更多有關市場和業務的詳細資訊。

Great. And then on the subject of M&A, divestitures, in the first quarter, you received proceeds of close to $19 million. I think you still had a $6 million property left to sell. Did you sell that in Q2? I don't think so. Do you expect to sell it in Q3?

偉大的。然後關於併購、資產剝離的問題，在第一季度，您獲得了近 1900 萬美元的收益。我認為您還有價值 600 萬美元的房產要出售。你在第二季度賣掉了它嗎？我不這麼認為。您預計在第三季銷售它嗎？

Yes. So we have closed one divestiture in Q3. We have a couple of others pending, so more details to come there. I would say in terms of thinking about divestitures for us moving forward, they should tail off this year. The reality is we're not shopping businesses, but every now and then, we'll have some inbound interest. But I expect that to really tail off as we get back to focusing on acquisitions.

是的。因此，我們在第三季完成了一項資產剝離。我們還有其他一些事情懸而未決，因此將會提供更多詳細資訊。我想說，就我們未來剝離資產的考量而言，今年應該會逐漸減少。事實上，我們並不是購物企業，但時不時地，我們會有一些入站興趣。但我預計，隨著我們重新將注意力集中在收購上，這種情況將會逐漸減少。

So you didn't close -- you didn't close the divestiture in Q2, but you closed one in early Q3. Is that what I'm hearing?

所以你沒有在第二季完成資產剝離，但你在第三季初完成了資產剝離。這就是我所聽到的嗎？

Correct.

正確的。

Got you. And then did the press release suggest that there have been some other properties added to the target list for divestitures from the last time you gave --

明白了。那麼新聞稿是否暗示，自上次發布以來，已經有一些其他資產被添加到剝離目標名單中？--

Yes. We do have a couple of other properties under contract right now. So more details to come in the back half of the year. But I think we're, again, kind of wrapping up the focus on divestitures and pivoting back over to acquisitions now.

是的。目前我們確實還有其他幾處房產正在簽約。更多細節將於今年下半年公佈。但我認為，我們現在再次結束了對資產剝離的關注，並重新轉向收購。

And Alex, just to add to (inaudible) that, those businesses that make it to the divestiture list are businesses that are located in areas where the demographics are declining, where the trends are not in the right direction, where the business -- it's really not fitting of the business that Carriage portfolio is made of today. And then we're reusing that or deploying that capital for a different type of business that is more fitting of our current portfolio.

亞歷克斯，我再補充一點（聽不清楚），那些被列入剝離名單的企業，其所在地區的人口結構正在下降，發展趨勢沒有朝著正確的方向發展，這些地區的業務——實際上並不適合 Carriage 目前所從事的業務組合。然後，我們會重新利用這些資金，或將這些資金部署到更適合我們目前投資組合的不同類型的業務。

No, I mean, that makes sense. And it has a magnification on the portfolio effect. If you're acquiring premium properties and you're divesting properties that might be -- that are profitable generally, but just not in growth markets, it kind of turbocharged the contribution from the portfolio in my opinion.

不，我的意思是，這很有道理。且它對投資組合效應有放大作用。如果你收購了優質資產，並且剝離了那些通常可以獲利但不是在成長型市場中的資產，那麼在我看來，這會大大增強投資組合的貢獻。

And then last thing about -- for now, last thing on guidance. I'm just wondering if we can get a little bit more color and what assumptions are embedded in the guidance. You obviously raised guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS. If you look at the midpoint of the new revenue guide, it suggests an acceleration in the second half versus the first half. First of all, is that true? I want to make sure my math is correct. And then where would you think the greatest growth would be? Q3 or Q4? I would -- Q4 because the comp is a little easier year-over-year.

最後一件事——目前，最後一件事是關於指導。我只是想知道我們是否可以獲得更多詳細資訊以及指南中包含哪些假設。您顯然提高了收入、調整後 EBITDA 和調整後 EPS 的預期。如果你看一下新收入指南的中點，它顯示下半年的收入將比上半年加速成長。首先，這是真的嗎？我想確保我的數學是正確的。那麼您認為最大的成長會在哪裡？Q3 還是 Q4？我會——第四季度，因為年比情況稍微容易。

Alex, this is John. I would say when we look at guide, we took into consideration the acquisitions that are going to close in the third quarter as well as the divestitures that we didn't initially anticipate in our original guidance as well as incremental kind of performance in the back half of the year. To your question in regards to kind of where you would see kind of the benefit, the fourth quarter is likely where we see kind of the more impact to performance as compared to last year.

亞歷克斯，這是約翰。我想說，當我們查看指南時，我們考慮到了將在第三季度完成的收購以及我們最初指導中沒有預料到的資產剝離以及下半年的增量表現。對於您關於在何處看到好處的問題，與去年相比，第四季度的業績可能會受到更大的影響。

Great. And then Similarly, adjusted EBITDA at the midpoint of new guidance will be up 4% year-over-year. It was up -- it was actually down in the first half year-over-year. So it does suggest even more significant adjusted EBITDA growth in the second half of the year. And where is that leverage coming from? Funeral, Cemetery?

偉大的。同樣，新指引中點的調整後 EBITDA 將年增 4%。它是上升的——實際上，上半年與去年同期相比是下降的。因此，這確實表明下半年調整後的 EBITDA 成長將更加顯著。那麼這種影響力又從何而來？葬禮、墓園？

Yes. So it's going to be broad-based, right? At the end of the day, we're going to expect with incremental sales, right, we're going to see some additional EBITDA, just generally speaking, associated with that. The Cemetery margins also were a little bit challenged in the first half of the year, and we've taken that into consideration as we look at the back half. But from a plan perspective and a guidance perspective, we've taken -- we see some opportunity in the back half of the year with Cemetery margins as compared to last year.

是的。所以它將具有廣泛的基礎，對嗎？最終，我們預計銷售額將會增加，一般來說，我們將看到一些額外的 EBITDA。墓地利潤在上半年也面臨一些挑戰，我們在展望下半年時已經考慮到了這一點。但從計劃角度和指導角度來看，我們已經看到了——與去年相比，今年下半年墓地利潤率存在一些機會。

Great. And then can I ask just three simple questions. You had given sort of a D&A target, a stock-based compensation target in the first quarter press release. I didn't see it in the second quarter press release. Shall I assume they're the same D&A of approximately $25 million and stock-based compensation of around $8.5 million?

偉大的。然後我可以問三個簡單的問題嗎？您在第一季的新聞稿中給出了 D&A 目標，即基於股票的薪酬目標。我在第二季的新聞稿中沒有看到它。我是否可以假設它們的折舊攤銷前利潤 (D&A) 和股票薪酬 (Schwarzman 薪酬) 都相同，均為約 2500 萬美元，約 850 萬美元？

Yes. Those haven't changed.

是的。這些都沒有改變。

All right. And then last question, and I'll let somebody else ask. Tax rate for the full year, what's a good number to use? I think the last time you talked about 28% to 30%.

好的。最後一個問題，我會讓其他人來問。全年稅率，使用多少比較適合？我認為上次你談到的是 28% 到 30%。

Yes. So it has come down. So if you think about the full year, probably between 27% to 27.5% is a good number to use.

是的。所以它已經下降了。因此，如果考慮全年，27% 到 27.5% 之間可能是一個不錯的數字。

Liam Burke, B. Riley Securities.

Liam Burke，B. Riley 證券。

Carlos, you highlighted the overhead coming down and significantly down year-over-year. But how long can that go? I mean it's sort of an impressive -- it is a very impressive drop.

卡洛斯，您強調了管理費用的下降，而且比去年同期大幅下降。但這能持續多久呢？我的意思是，這是一個令人印象深刻的——這是一個非常令人印象深刻的下降。

Liam, over the last couple of years, we have worked really hard in creating a foundation for growth, right? We couldn't really go back to acquisitions after Greenlawn. We focus on paying down our debt. But part of that was really to working hard in systems, process and people, especially here at the Houston Support Center. And we have been able to add positions we never had before with new departments and also reengineer and restructure some of what we had from a serviceability perspective and financial analysis perspective as well.

利亞姆，在過去幾年裡，我們一直非常努力地為成長奠定基礎，對嗎？在 Greenlawn 之後，我們真的無法再進行收購了。我們專注於償還債務。但其中一部分實際上是在系統、流程和人員方面努力工作，特別是在休士頓支援中心。並且，我們能夠在新的部門中增加以前從未有過的職位，同時也能從可服務性和財務分析的角度對現有的一些部門進行重新設計和重組。

I think we're pretty much where we should be. I think the overhead right now is quite stable. We might add one more position probably before the end of the year, potentially two, but I don't -- they're not highly paid positions. And I do think that along with the revenue growth we're projecting, we should be right under the 13% we have as a long-term range of -- or number of percentage to revenue on overhead costs here at the office. We do feel though that as we continue to grow through acquisitions, starting with these new acquisitions in the third quarter, that we will not need to add cost to the overhead for the short-term future.

我認為我們已經達到了我們應該達到的水平。我認為目前的開銷相當穩定。我們可能會在年底前增加一個職位，也可能是兩個，但我認為——這些職位的薪水都不是很高。我確實認為，隨著我們預期的收入成長，我們的辦公室間接成本佔收入的長期百分比應該低於 13%。我們確實感覺到，隨著我們繼續透過收購實現成長，從第三季的這些新收購開始，我們將不需要在短期內增加管理費用。

The only thing I would add to that was when you look at your model, we guided towards 13% to 13.5% from an overhead range perspective. So we did bring that down from 13% to 14%. And as you think about -- and as Carlos just said, as you think about long term, roughly, that's probably the right range for us to be at.

我唯一要補充的是，當您查看您的模型時，從開銷範圍的角度來看，我們指導的範圍是 13% 到 13.5%。所以我們確實將其從 13% 降至 14%。正如你所想的——正如卡洛斯剛才所說，從長遠來看，粗略地說，這可能是我們應該處於的正確範圍。

Great. John, you mentioned that on the funeral home, looking at year-over-year profitability that half -- the incremental expense that held back margins was nonrecurring. Is that the Trinity program?

偉大的。約翰，你提到殯儀館的情況，從年比獲利能力來看，有一半——阻礙利潤率的增量費用是非經常性的。這就是三位一體計畫嗎？

No, there were some benefits that we received last year in our numbers that ultimately didn't recur. So that impact as well as we had a catch-up entry for certain expense that was kind of multiyears. So as you take those two expenses out, we don't expect that to happen again. So ultimately, the impact was really more associated with just inflationary expense and salary and benefits within that channel or within that segment of business, which was really the driver of margin compression there.

不，我們去年獲得的一些收益最終沒有再次出現。因此，這種影響以及我們對某些多年的費用進行了追趕。因此，當你扣除這兩項費用後，我們預計不會再發生這種情況。因此，最終的影響實際上更多地與該通路或該業務部門內的通膨費用以及工資和福利有關，而這才是導致利潤率壓縮的真正原因。

George Kelly, Roth Capital Partners.

喬治凱利（George Kelly），羅斯資本合夥公司。

Maybe to start, I'll just follow up on one of the previous questions, just trying to better understand your revenue guide and the change versus prior. Could you break -- so if the midpoint of your revenue guide grew $10 million, could you just break down between sort of what changed on the organic business and then divestitures -- the newly added divestitures and acquisitions. Can you just give us a more detailed breakdown of how that $10 million breaks out?

也許首先，我只是想跟進之前的一個問題，只是想更好地了解您的收入指南以及與之前相比的變化。您能否細分一下——如果您的收入指南中點增長了 1000 萬美元，您能否細分一下有機業務的變化以及隨後的資產剝離——新增加的資產剝離和收購。您能否向我們詳細解釋一下這 1000 萬美元的用途？

Yes. So if you think about -- and again, these are going to be broad numbers. If you think about just the acquisitions and the comment around $15 million of acquisition revenue, if you just take -- think about the last 1/3 of the year, that would equate to roughly about $5 million. Obviously, it might be a little bit more weighted than that. So call that -- call it about half of the increase associated with the guide increase and then -- which is offset a little bit by the divestitures, but not terribly significantly. And the rest would be associated with the core business or the organic business.

是的。所以如果你考慮一下——再說一次，這些都是大致的數字。如果您只考慮收購和約 1500 萬美元的收購收入，如果您只考慮 - 想想今年最後的 1/3，那就相當於大約 500 萬美元。顯然，它的權重可能會比這更大。因此，我們可以稱其為——與指導性成長相關的成長的一半左右——這被資產剝離所抵消了一點，但並不是非常顯著。其餘部分將與核心業務或有機業務相關。

The fourth quarter was a tough quarter for us last year as compared to kind of a normal quarter. So we've taken that back into consideration and looking at a normal fourth quarter as we look at the businesses. So that's both in Funeral as well as Cemetery.

與正常季度相比，去年第四季對我們來說是一個艱難的季度。因此，我們在審視業務時重新考慮了這一點，並展望了正常的第四季度。所以這既適用於葬禮，也適用於墓地。

Okay. Okay. That's helpful. And then second question for me on your Cemetery expectations for the back half. I think in your prepared remarks, you said you expect to get back to 10%-plus growth. Maybe that was just preneed, but what is -- what's the plan to get back there? Is it really just all about inventory? Or is there anything else that's worth flagging?

好的。好的。這很有幫助。第二個問題是關於您對後半部墓地的期望。我想您在準備好的演講中說過，您預計經濟成長將恢復到 10% 以上。也許這只是預先需要的，但是——回到那裡的計劃是什麼？這真的只是跟庫存有關嗎？或是還有什麼值得標記的嗎？

So George, what has happened is we got some delays on permits in some very high-end, high-volume businesses that we own, Cemetery specifically. And when you look at our year-to-date and quarter -- for the second quarter, our contract count versus last year, contract volume is higher on preneed cemetery sales than last year. But these are the single sales, right? So low average sales, your bread and butter sales, which we always want to do. It's just the lack of higher-end sales because of the lack of inventory that were not able to be sold [pretty well] for the second quarter and really the first half of this year.

喬治，目前發生的情況是，我們擁有的一些非常高端、大宗的業務，特別是墓地業務，許可證發放出現了一些延誤。當您查看我們今年迄今和第二季度的數據時，與去年相比，我們的合約數量、預售墓地銷售的合約量高於去年。但這些都是單筆銷售，對嗎？平均銷售額如此之低，而這正是您的主要收入來源，也是我們一直想要實現的。只是由於庫存不足，導致今年第二季乃至上半年的銷售情況不佳，導致高端產品銷售不足。

We do expect those projects to be finalized and able to sell within the third quarter and then fourth quarter should allow us to then catch up to some of that growth we're expecting for the year. That's really it because the sales force are working really well. They're delivering the numbers with honestly just single sales, and that's pretty hard to do, and I'm very proud of their work on being able to achieve that without having those $150,000 to $250,000 sales, which imagine that makes up probably about 50 contracts. So great, great job, and I do expect to be back on track by Q3.

我們確實希望這些項目能夠在第三季度內完成並出售，然後第四季度應該可以讓我們趕上我們預期的今年的一些增長。確實如此，因為銷售人員的工作表現非常出色。他們確實只透過單筆銷售就實現了這些數字，這是相當困難的，我為他們能夠在沒有 15 萬到 25 萬美元銷售額的情況下實現這一目標感到非常自豪，想像一下這大概需要 50 份合約。太棒了，幹得好，我確實希望到第三季能回到正軌。

Okay. Okay. Great. And then last question for me is just back to M&A. Can you talk about beyond these transactions that you've talked about and expect to close in 3Q, what does the pipeline look like behind these transactions? And should we anticipate that in -- I don't know if maybe Q4 is too early, but in 2026, there will be continued stuff that you're seeing that you like that you're working towards? Or just -- I guess, what's the kind of frequency that you hope to execute on more M&A?

好的。好的。偉大的。我的最後一個問題還是回到併購問題。除了您談到的這些預計在第三季完成的交易之外，您能否談談這些交易背後的管道是什麼樣的？我們是否應該預期——我不知道第四季是否為時過早，但在 2026 年，您會繼續看到您喜歡並正在努力實現的事情？或者只是——我想，您希望以什麼樣的頻率執行更多的併購？

George, yes, so the pipeline is strong right now for us. We're currently in several conversations with owners of premium businesses that we're excited about. With that said, the real benefit for us is we're in a position to be selective. So there are some opportunities where we've had to walk away just because the valuation we couldn't all agree on. And at the end of the day, what we're trying to do is continue to build a portfolio that we believe pound for pound is the highest quality group of assets in the industry.

喬治，是的，所以現在我們的頻道很強大。我們目前正在與幾位我們感到興奮的優質企業主進行對話。話雖如此，對我們來說真正的好處是我們可以進行選擇。因此，我們不得不放棄一些機會，因為我們無法就估值達成一致。最終，我們試圖做的是繼續建立一個我們認為是業內最高品質的資產組合。

So we'll continue to be active with M&A throughout this year. I can't give you timing in terms of when the announcement will be. And then certainly, through '26 and moving forward, I want to get to a regular cadence on acquisitions while we continue to balance our leverage, which has been the goal going back to two years ago.

因此，我們今年將繼續積極開展併購活動。我無法告訴你何時會宣布這一消息。當然，從現在到 2026 年以及未來，我希望在收購方面保持規律的節奏，同時繼續平衡我們的槓桿率，這也是我們兩年前的目標。

(Operator Instructions) Scott Schneeberger, Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）Scott Schneeberger，Oppenheimer。

I just wanted to ask, you had in second quarter last year, strong growth in average revenue per Funeral contracts. And again, this year, you had nice growth as well. Could you just speak to what's behind that and the sustainability of that attractive growth?

我只是想問一下，去年第二季度，你們每份殯葬合約的平均收入強勁成長。而且，今年你們也取得了不錯的成長。您能否談談這背後的原因以及這種有吸引力的成長的可持續性？

Scott, thank you for your question. It's really coming from two fronts. At the end of last year, we started with what we call the strategic pricing reviews. And what that is on a quarterly basis, the Director of Operations for that business and our analysts here at the Houston Support Center, they come together with the managing partner to evaluate with a very specific set of metrics that look at volume trends for five years. They look at average cremation rates, burial rates, they look at competition pricing, their pricing, what was the last time they increased price, service charge, all these different things. And then after the meeting, they decide based on their trends if they want to increase the price. Of course, they look at cost, margins and things of that nature.

斯科特，謝謝你的提問。它實際上來自兩個方面。去年年底，我們開始了所謂的策略定價評估。每個季度，該業務的營運總監和我們休士頓支援中心的分析師都會與執行合夥人一起，使用一套非常具體的指標來評估五年內的交易量趨勢。他們會查看平均火葬率、土葬率，也會查看競爭對手的定價、他們的定價、他們上次漲價是什麼時候、服務費是多少，以及所有這些不同的東西。然後會議結束後，他們根據趨勢決定是否要提高價格。當然，他們會考慮成本、利潤以及諸如此類的事情。

And so that has worked really, really well because it's not a push down price strategy. It's really making the managing partner aware of what's going on in their market, going on in their business and what strategy they can use to price to make up for any inflationary cost they have seen, for salaries that may have been increasing or perhaps volume trends are going down, and we need to think actually the opposite and increase price, if that's the case or increase price if the volume trends continue to be spiking up. That's one side.

所以這個策略確實非常有效，因為它不是壓低價格的策略。這實際上讓管理合夥人意識到他們的市場正在發生什麼，他們的業務正在發生什麼，以及他們可以採用什麼策略來定價以彌補他們所看到的任何通貨膨脹成本，對於可能已經增加的工資或者可能的數量趨勢正在下降，我們需要實際上思考相反的事情並提高價格，如果是這種情況，或者如果數量趨勢繼續飆升，則提高價格趨勢繼續飆升，則提高價格趨勢。這是一方面。

The other side has been our cremation conversion strategy, which basically emphasizes an educational process with the family. We created this, brochures if you will, where a family can sit down and be more educated about [cremation] so that most likely than not, they can walk away from the funeral home with something more other than just a cremation. That could be just an upgraded urn, could be a visitation, could be a viewing, could be an ID, could be a full-blown funeral service, could be a live cremation. And that has worked really, really well. And so that's helping.

另一方面是我們的火葬轉換策略，該策略主要強調對家人的教育過程。我們製作了這個小冊子，如果你願意的話，可以讓家人坐下來更多地了解[火葬]，這樣他們離開殯儀館時得到的不僅僅是火葬。這可能只是升級版的骨灰盒，可能是一次探望，可能是瞻仰，可能是身分證明，可能是一場完整的葬禮，也可能是一場現場火化。而這項措施確實非常有效。這很有幫助。

And I'll add one more, Scott, if you don't mind, and that is our earned core line strategy. So the margins are expanding a little bit and the price has not decreased from our earned core line that we launched at the beginning of Q1 this year. That's helping also on our average revenue per contract on the cremation side. And so I truly believe those are the three things that are helping us drive price in the funeral home side.

史考特，如果你不介意的話，我再補充一點，那就是我們的核心線策略。因此，利潤率略有擴大，而價格與我們今年第一季初推出的核心產品線相比並沒有下降。這也有助於提高我們火葬方面每份合約的平均收入。因此，我堅信這三件事有助於我們提高殯儀館的價格。

Great. Appreciate that color. And John, for you, my follow-up. The -- any -- have you had a chance to look at the July 4 federal tax act? Might you see some benefit going forward in free cash flow and cash taxes from anything in the bill at Carriage?

偉大的。欣賞那種顏色。約翰，請關注我後續事宜。您有機會看過 7 月 4 日的聯邦稅法案嗎？您是否認為 Carriage 法案中的任何內容會為未來的自由現金流和現金稅收帶來一些好處？

Yes. So we looked at it. Right now, our expectation is probably around about a $5 million to $6 million benefit associated with cash taxes in 2025. And as we look through the remainder of kind of the bill time frame, we'll see small incremental benefits associated with cash taxes.

是的。所以我們看了看。目前，我們預期 2025 年現金稅帶來的收益將大約在 500 萬至 600 萬美元之間。當我們回顧法案剩餘的時間表時，我們會看到與現金稅相關的小幅增量收益。

This does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back to Carlos for closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。現在我想請卡洛斯作最後發言。

Thank you all for joining us today. As we reflect on a strong second quarter, it's clear that our transformation is delivering results, but we're just getting started. The foundation we have built is unlocking new opportunities for sustainable growth, operational excellence and long-term value creation. We're confident in the upside that lies ahead, and we remain focused on executing with discipline, innovation and a passion for service. Thank you for your continued support and belief in our vision. Have a great day.

感謝大家今天的參與。當我們回顧強勁的第二季度時，很顯然我們的轉型正在取得成果，但我們才剛開始。我們所建立的基礎正在為永續成長、卓越營運和長期價值創造帶來新的機會。我們對未來充滿信心，並將繼續專注於以紀律、創新和服務熱情執行。感謝您對我們願景的持續支持與信任。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。