Dycom Industries Inc (DY) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to Dycom Industries, Inc. Second Quarter Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker, Mr. Steven Nielsen. President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Dycom Industries, Inc. 第二季業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在我想將會議交給您的發言人史蒂文·尼爾森先生。總裁兼執行長。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for attending this conference call to review our second quarter fiscal 2024 results. Going to Slide 2. During this call, we will be referring to a slide presentation, which can be found on our website's Investor Center main page. Relevant slides will be identified by number throughout our presentation.

謝謝你，接線生。大家，早安。感謝您參加本次電話會議，回顧我們 2024 財年第二季的業績。前往投影片 2。在本次電話會議中，我們將參考投影片簡報，投影片簡報可以在我們網站的投資者中心主頁上找到。在整個簡報過程中，相關投影片將透過編號進行標識。

Today, we have on the call Drew DeFerrari, our Chief Financial Officer; and Ryan Urness, our General Counsel. Now I will turn the call over to Ryan Urness.

今天，我們請到了我們的財務長德魯·德法拉利 (Drew DeFerrari)；以及我們的總法律顧問 Ryan Urness。現在我將把電話轉給瑞安·厄內斯。

Thank you, Steve. All forward-looking statements made during this conference call are provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all comments reflecting our expectations, assumptions or beliefs about future events or performance that do not relate to historical periods.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。本次電話會議期間所做的所有前瞻性陳述均根據1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款提供。前瞻性陳述包括反映我們對未來事件或業績的預期、假設或信念的所有評論，這些評論不包括我們對未來事件或業績的預期、假設或信念。與歷史時期有關。

These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from current projections, including those risks described in our annual report on Form 10-K filed March 3, 2023, and together with our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are made solely as of the original broadcast date of this conference call, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Steve?

這些前瞻性陳述受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與當前預測有重大差異，包括我們於2023 年3 月3 日提交的10-K 表格年度報告以及我們向其他公司提交的其他文件中所描述的風險。美國證券交易委員會。前瞻性陳述僅在本次電話會議的原始廣播日期作出，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。史蒂夫？

Thanks, Ryan. Now moving to Slide 4 and a review of our second quarter results. As we review our results, please note that in our comments today and in the accompanying slides, we reference certain non-GAAP measures. We refer you to the quarterly report section of our website for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to their corresponding GAAP measures.

謝謝，瑞安。現在轉到投影片 4，回顧我們第二季的業績。當我們審查我們的結果時，請注意，在我們今天的評論和隨附的幻燈片中，我們引用了某些非公認會計原則措施。我們建議您參閱我們網站的季度報告部分，以了解這些非公認會計原則措施與其相應的公認會計原則措施的調節情況。

Now for the quarter. Revenue was $1.042 billion, an organic increase of 7.1%. As we deployed gigabit wireline networks, wireless/wireline converged networks and wireless networks, this quarter reflected an increase in demand from 4 of our top 5 customers.

現在是季度。營收為 10.42 億美元，有機成長 7.1%。隨著我們部署千兆有線網絡、無線/有線融合網絡和無線網絡，本季反映出我們前 5 位客戶中有 4 位的需求增加。

Gross margin was 20.3% of revenue and increased 234 basis points compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2023. General and administrative expenses were 8.1% of revenue, and all of these factors produced adjusted EBITDA of $130.8 million or 12.6% of revenue and earnings per share of $2.03 compared to $1.46 in the year ago quarter.

毛利率佔營收的20.3%，與2023 財年第二季相比增加了234 個基點。一般和管理費用佔營收的8.1%，所有這些因素產生的調整後EBITDA 為1.308 億美元，佔營收和利潤的12.6%。份額為 2.03 美元，而去年同期為 1.46 美元。

Liquidity was strong at $685.9 million. And last Friday, we acquired Bigham Cable Construction, a provider of telecommunications construction services in the Southeastern United States for a purchase price of $127 million. Bigham generated revenues of approximately $140 million over the last year and expands our ability to further address significant growth opportunities in rural broadband deployments.

流動性強勁，達 6.859 億美元。上週五，我們以 1.27 億美元的價格收購了美國東南部電信建設服務提供商 Bigham Cable Construction。 Bigham 去年創造了約 1.4 億美元的收入，增強了我們進一步抓住農村寬頻部署重大成長機會的能力。

And finally, as our most recent share repurchase authorization has expired, our Board has newly authorized $150 million in share repurchases. Now going to Slide 5. Today, major industry participants are constructing or upgrading significant wireline networks across broad sections of the country. These wireline networks are generally designed to provision gigabit network speeds to individual consumers and businesses either directly or wirelessly using 5G technologies.

最後，由於我們最近的股票回購授權已到期，我們的董事會新授權了 1.5 億美元的股票回購。現在轉到投影片 5。如今，主要產業參與者正在全國各地建造或升級重要的有線電視網。這些有線網路通常旨在使用 5G 技術直接或無線地為個人消費者和企業提供千兆網路速度。

Industry participants have stated their belief that a single high-capacity fiber network can most cost effectively deliver services to both consumers and businesses, enabling multiple revenue streams from a single investment. This view is increasing the appetite for fiber deployments, and we believe that the industry effort to deploy high capacity fiber networks continues to meaningfully broaden the set of opportunities for our industry.

產業參與者表示，他們相信單一的高容量光纖網路能夠以最具成本效益的方式向消費者和企業提供服務，從而透過單次投資實現多種收入來源。這種觀點正在增加對光纖部署的興趣，我們相信產業部署高容量光纖網路的努力將繼續有意義地擴大我們行業的機會。

Increasing access to high-capacity telecommunications continues to be crucial to society, especially for rural America. The infrastructure investment and Jobs Act includes over $40 billion for the construction of rural communications networks in unserved and underserved areas across the country. This represents an unprecedented level of support.

增加大容量電信的接觸對於社會仍然至關重要，特別是對於美國農村地區。基礎設施投資和就業法案包括超過 400 億美元用於在全國無服務和服務欠缺地區建立農村通訊網路。這代表了前所未有的支持水準。

In addition, substantially all states have commenced programs that will provide funding for telecommunications networks even prior to the initiation of funding under the Infrastructure Act. We are providing program management, planning, engineering and design, aerial, underground and wireless construction and fulfillment services for gigabit deployments. These services are being provided across the country in numerous geographic areas to multiple customers.

此外，幾乎所有州甚至在根據《基礎設施法》啟動資金之前就已經啟動了為電信網路提供資金的計畫。我們為千兆位元部署提供專案管理、規劃、工程和設計、空中、地下和無線建設和實施服務。這些服務正在全國範圍內的多個地理區域向多個客戶提供。

These deployments include networks consisting entirely of wired network elements and converged wireless/wireline multiuse networks. Fiber network deployment opportunities are increasing in rural America as new industry participants respond to emerging societal initiatives. We continue to provide integrated planning, engineering and design, procurement and construction and maintenance services to several industry participants.

這些部署包括完全由有線網路元件和融合無線/有線多用途網路組成的網路。隨著新的行業參與者響應新興的社會舉措，美國農村地區的光纖網路部署機會正在增加。我們持續為多家產業參與者提供綜合規劃、工程設計、採購、施工和維護服務。

Macroeconomic conditions, including those impacting the cost of capital, may influence the execution of some industry plans. In addition, the market for labor remains tight in many regions around the country. Automotive and equipment supply chains remain challenged, particularly for the large truck chassis required for specialty equipment, prices for capital equipment continue to increase.

宏觀經濟條件，包括影響資本成本的條件，可能會影響某些產業計畫的執行。此外，全國許多地區勞動市場依然緊張。汽車和設備供應鏈仍然面臨挑戰，特別是特種設備所需的大型卡車底盤，資本設備的價格持續上漲。

It remains to be seen how long these conditions may persist. We expect demand to continue to fluctuate amongst customers. For several customers, deployments are increasing into next year. For others, capital expenditures have been more heavily weighted towards the first half of this year. And accordingly, they appear to be managing budgets closely through the end of this year.

這些情況會持續多久還有待觀察。我們預計客戶的需求將持續波動。對一些客戶來說，明年的部署量將會增加。對其他公司來說，今年上半年資本支出的權重更大。因此，他們似乎在今年年底前密切管理預算。

We are encouraged by recent longer-term industry financings. These financings have expanded the pool of capital available to fund future industry growth. Within this context, we remain confident that our scale and financial strength position us well to deliver valuable service to our customers.

我們對最近的長期行業融資感到鼓舞。這些融資擴大了可用於資助未來產業成長的資本池。在此背景下，我們仍然相信我們的規模和財務實力使我們能夠為客戶提供有價值的服務。

Moving to Slide 6. During the quarter, revenue increased 7.1%. Our top 5 customers combined, produced 59.2% of revenue, decreasing 2.3% organically. Demand increased from 4 of our top 5 customers. All other customers increased 24.6% organically. AT&T was our largest customer at 16.7% of total revenue or $174.3 million.

轉到投影片 6。本季營收成長了 7.1%。我們的前 5 名客戶合計產生了 59.2% 的收入，有機下降了 2.3%。我們排名前 5 位的客戶中有 4 位的需求增加。所有其他客戶有機成長 24.6%。 AT&T 是我們最大的客戶，佔總收入的 16.7%，即 1.743 億美元。

Lumen was our second largest customer at 15.6% of revenue or $162.5 million. Lumen grew organically 56.5%, excluding operations sold to Brightspeed from the year ago period. This was our sixth consecutive quarter of organic growth with Lumen. Revenue from Comcast was $119.5 million or 11.5% of revenue. Comcast was Dycom's third largest customer and grew organically 6.9%. Verizon was our fourth largest customer at $104.9 million or 10.1% of revenue. Verizon grew 29.8% organically.

Lumen 是我們的第二大客戶，佔營收的 15.6%，即 1.625 億美元。 Lumen 有機成長 56.5%，不包括去年同期出售給 Brightspeed 的業務。這是我們與 Lumen 連續第六個季度實現有機成長。康卡斯特的收入為 1.195 億美元，佔收入的 11.5%。 Comcast 是 Dycom 的第三大客戶，有機成長 6.9%。 Verizon 是我們的第四大客戶，營收為 1.049 億美元，佔營收的 10.1%。 Verizon 有機成長 29.8%。

And finally, a customer who has requested their name not be disclosed, was our fifth largest customer at $55.3 million or 5.3% of revenue. This customer grew 68.6% organically. This is the 18th consecutive quarter where all of our other customers in aggregate, excluding the top 5 customers, have grown organically. It is the first quarter since our October 2014 quarter where our top 5 customers have represented less than 60% of total revenue, an encouraging sign of increasing customer breadth and opportunity.

最後，一位要求不透露姓名的客戶是我們的第五大客戶，收入為 5,530 萬美元，佔營收的 5.3%。該客戶有機增長了 68.6%。這是我們所有其他客戶（不包括前 5 名客戶）的整體連續第 18 個季度實現有機成長。這是自 2014 年 10 月季度以來第一個季度，我們的前 5 名客戶佔總收入的比例低於 60%，這是客戶廣度和機會不斷增加的令人鼓舞的跡象。

Of note, fiber construction revenue from electric utilities was $82.7 million in the quarter and grew organically 3.6%. We have extended our geographic reach and expanded our program management and network planning services. In fact, over the last several years, we believe we have meaningfully increased the longer-term value of our maintenance and operations business, a trend which we believe will parallel our deployment of gigabit wireline direct and wireless/wireline converged networks as those deployments dramatically increase the amount of outside plant network that must be extended and maintained.

值得注意的是，本季來自電力公司的光纖建設收入為 8,270 萬美元，有機成長 3.6%。我們擴大了我們的地理覆蓋範圍並擴大了我們的專案管理和網路規劃服務。事實上，在過去幾年中，我們相信我們已經有意義地增加了維護和運營業務的長期價值，我們相信這一趨勢將與我們部署千兆位元有線直連和無線/有線融合網路並行，因為這些部署將顯著提高增加必須擴展和維護的外部工廠網路的數量。

Now going to Slide 7. Backlog at the end of the second quarter was $6.207 billion versus $6.316 billion at the end of the April 2023 quarter, a decrease of $109 million. Of this backlog, approximately $3.523 billion is expected to be completed in the next 12 months. Backlog activity during the second quarter reflects solid performance as we booked new work and renewed existing work.

現在轉到投影片 7。第二季末的積壓訂單為 62.07 億美元，而 2023 年 4 月季度末的積壓訂單為 63.16 億美元，減少了 1.09 億美元。其中，約 35.23 億美元預計將在未來 12 個月內完成。第二季的積壓活動反映了我們的穩健表現，因為我們預訂了新工作並更新了現有工作。

We continue to anticipate substantial future opportunities across a broad array of our customers. During the quarter, we received from Frontier, a fiber construction agreement for California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Florida. For Brightspeed a fiber construction agreement for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina.

我們繼續預計我們廣大客戶未來將面臨大量機會。本季度，我們從 Frontier 收到了加州、德州、伊利諾州、密西根州、印第安納州、俄亥俄州、紐約州、康乃狄克州、賓州和佛羅裡達州的光纖建設協議。 Brightspeed 與賓夕法尼亞州、新澤西州、維吉尼亞州和北卡羅來納州簽訂了光纖建設協議。

From Charter, rural fiber construction agreements in Missouri and Florida. For Windstream, fiber construction agreements in Georgia. And from AT&T, a utility line locating agreement for Arkansas. Headcount was 15,147. Now I will turn the call over to Drew for his financial review and outlook.

根據憲章，密蘇裡州和佛羅裡達州的農村光纖建設協議。 Windstream 在喬治亞州簽訂了光纖建設協議。還有來自 AT&T 的阿肯色州公用事業線路定位協定。員工總數為 15,147 人。現在我將把電話轉給德魯，詢問他的財務審查和前景。

Thanks, Steve, and good morning, everyone. Going to Slide 8. Contract revenues were $1.042 billion and organic revenue increased 7.1%. Adjusted EBITDA was $130.8 million or 12.6% of revenue compared to $104.7 million or 10.8% of revenue. The adjusted EBITDA percentage increased 179 basis points compared to Q2 '23 from improved operating performance on the higher level of revenue in the quarter.

謝謝史蒂夫，大家早安。轉到幻燈片 8。合約收入為 10.42 億美元，有機收入增長 7.1%。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.308 億美元，佔營收的 12.6%，而調整後 EBITDA 為 1.047 億美元，佔營收的 10.8%。與 2023 年第二季相比，調整後的 EBITDA 百分比增加了 179 個基點，原因是該季度營收水準較高，經營業績有所改善。

Gross margin was 20.3% of revenue compared to 17.9% in Q2 '23. G&A expense was 8.1% of revenue compared to 7.5% in Q2 '23. Net income was $2.03 per share compared to $1.46 per share in Q2 last year. Increase in earnings reflects higher adjusted EBITDA, lower amortization and higher gains on asset sales, partially offset by higher depreciation, stock-based compensation, interest expense and taxes.

毛利率佔營收的 20.3%，而 23 年第二季為 17.9%。 G&A 費用佔營收的 8.1%，而 2023 年第二季為 7.5%。每股淨利潤為 2.03 美元，而去年第二季每股淨利潤為 1.46 美元。獲利的成長反映了調整後 EBITDA 的提高、攤銷的降低以及資產銷售收益的提高，但部分被折舊、股票薪酬、利息支出和稅收的增加所抵消。

Going to Slide 9. Our financial position and balance sheet remains strong. We ended Q2 with $500 million of senior notes, $323.75 million of term loan and no revolver borrowings. Cash and equivalents were $83.4 million and liquidity was strong at $685.9 million. Our capital allocation prioritizes organic growth followed by M&A and opportunistic share repurchases within the context of our historical range of net leverage.

轉到投影片 9。我們的財務狀況和資產負債表依然強勁。第二季末，我們有 5 億美元的優先票據、3.2375 億美元的定期貸款，沒有循環借款。現金及等價物為 8,340 萬美元，流動性強勁，為 6.859 億美元。我們的資本配置優先考慮有機成長，其次是在我們歷史淨槓桿範圍內的併購和機會性股票回購。

Last Friday, we acquired Bigham Cable Construction for a purchase price of $127 million. And this week, our Board of Directors approved a new $150 million authorization for share repurchases through February 2025. This authorization replaces the remaining amount from our prior authorization.

上週五，我們以 1.27 億美元的價格收購了 Bigham Cable Construction。本週，我們的董事會批准了一項新的 1.5 億美元授權，用於在 2025 年 2 月之前回購股票。該授權取代了我們先前授權的剩餘金額。

Going to Slide 10. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $56.3 million in Q2. Capital expenditures were $40 million, net of disposal proceeds, and gross CapEx was $51 million. The combined DSOs of accounts receivable and net contract assets was 111 days, an increase of 5 days sequentially.

前往投影片 10。第二季經營活動提供的現金流量為 5,630 萬美元。扣除處分收益後，資本支出為 4,000 萬美元，總資本支出為 5,100 萬美元。應收帳款和合約淨資產總計 DSO 為 111 天，比上一季增加 5 天。

Going to Slide 11. As we look ahead to the quarter ending October 28, 2023, we expect organic contract revenues to be in line with Q3 of last year. In addition, we expect approximately $30 million of acquired revenues from Bigham Cable construction in Q3 2024. We also expect non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA percentage of contract revenues to increase 50 to 100 basis points as compared to Q3 2023.

轉到幻燈片 11。展望截至 2023 年 10 月 28 日的季度，我們預計有機合約收入將與去年第三季度持平。此外，我們預計2024 年第三季從Bigham 電纜建設獲得的收入約為3,000 萬美元。我們也預計，與2023 年第三季相比，非GAAP 調整後EBITDA 佔合約收入的百分比將增加50 至100個基點。

Additionally, we expect $6.1 million of total amortization expense, $13.3 million of net interest expense, a 26% effective income tax rate and 29.7 million diluted shares. Now I will turn the call back to Steve.

此外，我們預計總攤銷費用為 610 萬美元，淨利息費用為 1,330 萬美元，有效所得稅率為 26%，稀釋後股份為 2,970 萬股。現在我將把電話轉回給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Drew. Moving to Slide 12. This quarter, we experienced solid activity and capitalized on our significant strengths. First and foremost, we maintain significant customer presence throughout our markets. We are encouraged by the breadth in our business.

謝謝，德魯。轉向幻燈片 12。本季度，我們經歷了紮實的活動並充分利用了我們的重要優勢。首先也是最重要的是，我們在整個市場中保持著重要的客戶群。我們的業務範圍之廣令我們深受鼓舞。

Our extensive market presence has allowed us to be at the forefront of evolving industry opportunities. Telephone companies are deploying fiber-to-the-home to enable gigabit high-speed connections. Rural electric utilities are doing the same. Dramatically increased speeds for consumers are being provisioned and consumer data usage is growing, particularly upstream.

我們廣泛的市場影響力使我們能夠站在不斷變化的行業機會的最前線。電話公司正在部署光纖到戶以實現千兆位元高速連線。農村電力公司也在做同樣的事情。消費者的配置速度顯著提高，消費者資料的使用量也在成長，尤其是上游資料。

Wireless construction activity in support of newly available spectrum bands continues this year. Federal and state support for rural deployments of communications networks is dramatically increasing in scale and duration. Cable operators are increasing fiber deployments in rural America, capacity expansion projects are underway.

支援新可用頻段的無線建設活動今年仍在繼續。聯邦和州對農村通訊網路部署的支援在規模和持續時間上都在急劇增加。有線電視業者正在增加美國農村地區的光纖部署，擴容計畫正在進行中。

Customers are consolidating supply chains, creating opportunities for market share growth and increasing the long-term value of our maintenance and operations business. As our nation and industry navigate economic uncertainty, we remain encouraged that a substantial number of our customers are committed to multiyear capital spending initiatives.

客戶正在整合供應鏈，為市場份額成長創造機會，並提高我們維護和營運業務的長期價值。當我們的國家和產業應對經濟不確定性時，我們仍然感到鼓舞的是，我們的大量客戶致力於多年的資本支出計劃。

We are confident in our strategies, the prospects for our company, the capabilities of our dedicated employees and the experience of our management team. Before we take questions, I want to welcome our new employees at Bigham Cable Construction. We look forward to growing together. Now operator, we will open the call for questions.

我們對我們的策略、公司的前景、我們敬業的員工的能力以及我們的管理團隊的經驗充滿信心。在我們回答問題之前，我想對 Bigham Cable Construction 的新員工表示歡迎。我們期待共同成長。現在接線員，我們將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) And that will come from the line of Adam Thalhimer with Thompson & Davis.

（操作員說明）這將來自 Adam Thalhimer 與 Thompson & Davis 的血統。

Congrats on the good quarter and the acquisition. Steve or Drew, from the customers that are going to be a touch weaker in the back half of this year, when do you think activity picks back up? Is it possible in your fiscal Q4?

恭喜良好的季度業績和收購。史蒂夫或德魯，從今年下半年將稍弱的客戶來看，您認為活動何時會回升？您的第四財季有可能實現嗎？

Yes, Adam, I think we've seen other environments where people that had strong first halves. They closely manage their budget going into the end of the year. And then as I look forward to more normalized activity in the following year, there's certainly a possibility that, that activity could pick up. We've seen that before.

是的，亞當，我想我們已經看到過其他環境，人們在上半場表現得很出色。他們嚴格管理預算直至年底。然後，當我期待明年的活動會更加正常化時，這種活動肯定有可能回升。我們以前見過這樣的情況。

And then for Bigham, can you comment on -- do they have a specific top customer? Are there any large contracts that you're picking up? And maybe you can comment on the acquisition process?

對於 Bigham，您能否評論一下——他們是否有特定的頂級客戶？您正在簽訂任何大型合約嗎？也許您可以評論一下收購過程？

Yes. They have historically had a long successful relationship with Charter in the Southeast. They also work for a number of electric co-ops. So we think it's a good expansion of the business that we do with Charter. We've obviously done lots of work in the Southeast. There was not a process. These are folks that we've known for a long time and respected. And so it just made sense for both of us to get together when we did.

是的。歷史上，他們與東南部的查特公司有著長期成功的關係。他們也為許多電力合作社工作。因此，我們認為這是我們與 Charter 合作的業務的良好擴展。顯然我們在東南部做了很多工作。沒有一個過程。這些人是我們認識很久並尊敬的人。因此，當我們這樣做時，我們倆聚在一起就很有意義。

(Operator Instructions) And that will come from the line of Brent Thielman with D.A. Davidson.

（操作員說明）這將來自 Brent Thielman 和 D.A. 的線路。戴維森。

Great quarter. Steve, any additional color just on the strong improvement in margins almost 200 basis points over last year. I guess just asking especially in consideration that kind of some of the slower demand you saw from a few larger customers.

很棒的季度。史蒂夫，任何額外的顏色都只是關於利潤率比去年大幅提高近 200 個基點。我想只是特別考慮到您從一些大客戶那裡看到的一些較慢的需求。

Yes. I think we are pleased with the margin performance. We've actually, over the last [6] consecutive quarters, both gross and EBITDA margins have increased year-over-year. If you look at the guidance, we expect that to continue for the October quarter. I think there are a number of things that are -- have been helpful. I mean, clearly, we've had lots of organic growth.

是的。我認為我們對利潤表現感到滿意。實際上，在過去 [6] 個連續季度中，毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率均較去年同期成長。如果您查看指導，我們預計十月份季度將持續這種情況。我認為有很多事情是有幫助的。我的意思是，顯然，我們已經實現了許多有機成長。

We've always talked about having good distribution across top customers, but we've also had great growth out of the top 5. So that's been helpful. We talked about some headwinds that have abated over the last, call it, 2 to 3 quarters. So that's also been helpful. And I just think that in general, the industry is in a very healthy place, but always -- we could always do better. We're working hard to improve them, but we are pleased with our progress.

我們一直在談論在頂級客戶中擁有良好的分佈，但我們在前 5 名客戶中也取得了巨大的成長。所以這很有幫助。我們討論了過去兩到三個季度中已經減弱的一些不利因素。所以這也很有幫助。我只是認為，總的來說，這個行業處於一個非常健康的狀態，但我們總是可以做得更好。我們正在努力改進它們，但我們對我們的進展感到滿意。

Okay. And I guess, stepping back, Steve, I mean, you've been able to more than compensate for some of these customers who sort of moderated plans in the short run with the ramp-up among other customers. You've always said there will be some variations in spending patterns on kind of on a short-term basis. But I guess does this environment today with sort of multiple new and legacy participants spending money. Does it increase your conviction? This is sort of a sustainable trend for you, especially as we see a few of your larger customers kind of take a pause here.

好的。我想，退一步，史蒂夫，我的意思是，你已經能夠補償其中一些客戶，他們在短期內隨著其他客戶的增加而調整了計劃。您總是說短期內支出模式會出現一些變化。但我想今天的環境確實有多個新舊參與者花錢。它會增加你的信念嗎？這對您來說是一種可持續的趨勢，特別是當我們看到您的一些大客戶在這裡暫停時。

Yes. I think, Brent, it's helpful to keep in mind that if you look at over the last 2 years, we've had just short of $1 billion of organic growth. So -- and you don't do that just on 1 or 2 customers. So it's been a broad book of business that's increased. I do think that that's been helpful to the business. It is a broad a growth pattern as I think that I've ever seen or at least maybe not since the late 1990s, a long time ago.

是的。布倫特，我認為，如果你看看過去兩年，請記住，我們的有機成長只有不到 10 億美元，這是有幫助的。所以——你不能只對一兩個客戶這樣做。所以這是一本不斷增加的廣泛的商業書籍。我確實認為這對業務很有幫助。這是一種廣泛的成長模式，我想我曾經見過，或者至少自 20 世紀 90 年代末以來，很久以前就沒有見過。

And I do think that the drivers supporting that growth are really both private capital for which there's been some new capital raises as well as the public capital that's already in the industry, and we expect to see a lot more in the next couple of years.

我確實認為，支持這種成長的驅動力實際上既包括一些新融資的私人資本，也包括該行業已經存在的公共資本，我們預計在未來幾年會看到更多。

Okay. And just last on the Bigham acquisition, congrats on that. It's now the trailing 12-month revenue of $140 million, is that appropriate to consider going forward? Is there any reason to believe it'd be lower?

好的。最後對 Bigham 的收購表示祝賀。現在過去 12 個月的收入為 1.4 億美元，考慮繼續下去是否合適？有理由相信它會更低嗎？

Sure. They've had a nice period of growth. We expect that to continue. We're going to work hard together. We think one of the synergies of the deal is that we'll be able to help them with acquiring more capital equipment to support their growth.

當然。他們度過了一段美好的成長時期。我們預計這種情況會持續下去。我們要一起努力。我們認為該交易的協同效應之一是我們將能夠幫助他們獲得更多資本設備以支持他們的成長。

So I think they'll grow nicely. We're not going to give you a forward forecast on one business unit, but typically, we acquire things that have been growing and that we expect to continue to grow and put us in position to benefit nicely from big trends in the industry. And I think Bigham help us do that.

所以我想他們會成長得很好。我們不會為您提供某個業務部門的前瞻性預測，但通常情況下，我們收購的業務一直在成長，我們預計將繼續成長，並使我們能夠從行業的大趨勢中受益匪淺。我認為比格姆幫助我們做到了這一點。

One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Sean Eastman with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。這將來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Sean Eastman。

Steve, I wanted to come back to your comment about the longer-term industry financings that were secured. I assume you're referring to the fiber securitization announced by one of your large customers earlier this month. But I just wanted to make sure we understand what you're communicating there, what the significance of that is. And just come away with the right takeaway.

史蒂夫，我想回到您對已獲得的長期行業融資的評論。我想您指的是本月早些時候您的一位大客戶宣布的光纖證券化。但我只是想確保我們理解您在那裡傳達的內容以及其意義是什麼。然後帶著正確的外賣離開。

Sure. So Sean, clearly, there was one of our very significant customers that was able to go out and raise a significant amount of additional capital to fund their fiber program. And they were able to do that with a couple of the tranches that were investment-grade rating. But I think it's probably bigger than that. So not only did that customer access the the ABS market, but so did a number of others that we work for, some that are smaller, but trying to grow more rapidly.

當然。因此，肖恩顯然是我們非常重要的客戶之一，他能夠籌集大量額外資金來資助他們的光纖計劃。他們能夠透過一些投資級評級來做到這一點。但我認為它可能比這個更大。因此，不僅該客戶進入了 ABS 市場，我們工作的許多其他客戶也進入了 ABS 市場，其中一些規模較小，但試圖更快地成長。

And I think any time that a growth industry can gain access to investment-grade capital for a portion of its future financing needs. That's a good thing for that industry. I was involved in the tower industry 20 years ago when it began to transition from high-yield financing to CMBS. And I think if you look back on that industry, that was a milestone that supported its hugely successful growth (inaudible) percent. So I think anytime that you see investment-grade capital meeting a growth opportunity as it does here with fiber infrastructure. That's a good thing.

我認為，成長型產業任何時候都可以獲得投資等級資本來滿足其未來的部分融資需求。這對該行業來說是一件好事。 20年前我就涉足鐵塔產業，當時鐵塔產業開始從高收益融資轉型為CMBS。我認為，如果你回顧這個行業，這是一個里程碑，支持了其巨大成功的成長（聽不清楚）百分比。因此，我認為任何時候你都會看到投資級資本遇到成長機會，就像光纖基礎設施一樣。這是好事。

Okay. Very helpful. And then coming back to the margins, the guidance for revenue implies kind of flat sequential organic revenues from 2Q to 3Q, while the margin expansion guidance seems to imply a pretty meaningful sequential downtick in margins from 2Q to 3Q. So I just want to understand why that makes sense? Is there something in the mix of business? Was there something in 2Q that perhaps wasn't sustainable? Any comment there would be helpful.

好的。很有幫助。然後回到利潤率，收入指引意味著從第二季到第三季有機收入將持平，而利潤擴張指引似乎意味著從第二季到第三季利潤率出現相當有意義的連續下降。所以我只是想了解為什麼這是有道理的？業務組合中有什麼東西嗎？第二季是否有一些不可持續的事情？任何評論都會有幫助。

Sure. I think, Sean, what we would point you to is that clearly, we've had some moderation in some customers. And so we're a little bit under absorbed on G&A. I think is, at least in our model, those margins are in line and a little bit of pressure on the G&A line, given that it's -- our belief is that this is kind of a second half moderation and that things normalize going into next year, we're making some adjustments, but we're not going to do anything short term that impacts our ability to manage the business for growth long term.

當然。我認為，肖恩，我們要向您指出的是，顯然我們對某些客戶進行了一定的節制。所以我們對一般行政費用的關注有點不夠。我認為，至少在我們的模型中，這些利潤率是一致的，並且對一般行政費用線有一點壓力，因為我們相信這是下半年的緩和，並且接下來的情況會正常化今年，我們正在做出一些調整，但短期內我們不會做任何影響我們管理業務以實現長期成長的能力的事情。

Okay. Again, very helpful. One last one, Steve. I mean clearly guiding to a moderation in revenue versus what we've seen over the past year or so. Perhaps one benefit of that would be the cash flow unwind. Is that a fair expectation that in the back half, we should see good cash flowing out of the business? Any thoughts there would be also a good perspective.

好的。再次，非常有幫助。最後一件事，史蒂夫。我的意思是，與過去一年左右的情況相比，明確引導收入適度成長。也許這樣做的好處之一就是現金流的放鬆。在下半年，我們應該看到業務有良好的現金流出，這是一個公平的期望嗎？任何想法都會有一個好的視角。

I think directionally, Sean, you're there. I mean that's what we've historically seen in our business. I just want to step back and provide perhaps some context on this moderation. Any time we've grown, call it, just less than $1 billion over a 2-year period. And the industry has grown with us. This isn't just us, this is lots of folks. That kind of surge in activity typically has some consolidation that comes and we've been through this before. And as we consolidate, we generate cash.

我有方向性地思考，肖恩，你就在那裡。我的意思是，這就是我們在業務中歷史上看到的情況。我只是想退後一步，提供一些有關這種適度的背景。只要我們在兩年內成長，就可以稱之為不到 10 億美元。這個行業與我們一起成長。這不僅僅是我們，還有很多人。這種活動的激增通常會帶來一些整合，我們以前也經歷過這種情況。當我們整合時，我們會產生現金。

We invest that cash to increase our future growth when the business gets better. We've got a number of customers that are growing pretty substantially this year and into next year. And we're going to use that cash to make the business bigger and better as this consolidation unwinds, which we don't think it's going to take very long for that to do.

當業務好轉時，我們將這些現金投入以增加未來的成長。我們的許多客戶今年和明年都會大幅成長。隨著整合的展開，我們將利用這些現金使業務變得更大更好，我們認為這不會花費很長時間。

One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Frank Louthan with Raymond James.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。這將來自弗蘭克·勞森（Frank Louthan）和雷蒙德·詹姆斯（Raymond James）的血統。

Just on the Bigham deal, just curious when that closes and if you can give us an idea of the margin profile? I would assume you can improve that a little bit, but how is that relative to where you are? And then secondly, what are customers telling you about their BEAD plans, some of the funding coming in next year? Are they already lining that up? And was that some of the strategic rationale for Bigham to expand a little bit more in rural areas?

就比格姆交易而言，只是好奇交易何時結束，您是否能給我們了解一下利潤狀況？我認為你可以稍微改進一下，但這與你現在的情況有什麼關係呢？其次，客戶向您介紹了他們的 BEAD 計劃以及明年的部分資金？他們已經在排隊了嗎？這是比格姆在農村進一步擴張的戰略理由嗎？

Yes, Frank, so with respect to close, that was a signed and closed deal. So we closed on last Friday. So that's -- it's done. With respect to the margins, I think they've been at our margins are a little bit better. And so we think it's on the margin line before all the purchase accounting issues that we think it's accretive to what we're doing. And once again, we're going to help invest in that business so that we can both grow at topline and bottom. On BEAD, Frank, I think that's a great question. Just with respect to Bigham, if you look at the 5 state area that they focus on, those 5 states have received something like, call it, $6 billion of BEAD funding.

是的，弗蘭克，所以就結束而言，這是一項已簽署並結束的交易。所以我們上週五關門了。所以這就是——完成了。就利潤率而言，我認為他們的利潤率比我們好一點。因此，我們認為，在所有採購會計問題之前，我們認為這對我們正在做的事情有所增加。我們將再次幫助投資該業務，以便我們能夠實現營收和營收的成長。關於 BEAD，弗蘭克，我認為這是一個很好的問題。就 Bigham 而言，如果你看看他們關注的 5 個州，你會發現這 5 個州已經收到了 60 億美元的 BEAD 資金。

So certainly, that's going to be helpful. We also have lots of other resources in that area, too. I think the way we're thinking about BEAD is we're encouraged that at least some industry analysts have about 40% of the [12 million] [VDSL] that are actually in ILEC footprint. So I think we'll see some good opportunities with the ILECs. And then with respect to others that have expressed some pretty active planning. So I think there's lots of planning going on. It's kind of amazing, Frank. I looked this morning, there's 19 states that received $1 billion or more of allocation. So lots of capital coming to the market -- coming to the industry over the next couple of years.

當然，這會很有幫助。我們在該領域也有很多其他資源。我認為我們考慮 BEAD 的方式是，至少有一些行業分析師擁有大約 40% 的 [1200 萬] [VDSL] 實際上屬於 ILEC 足跡，這讓我們感到鼓舞。所以我認為我們會在 ILEC 中看到一些很好的機會。然後是其他人表達了一些非常積極的計劃。所以我認為有很多計劃正在進行中。這有點令人驚奇，弗蘭克。我今天早上看到，有 19 個州獲得了 10 億美元或更多的撥款。未來幾年，大量資本將湧入市場——湧入該行​​業。

One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Alex Rygiel with B. Riley Securities.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。這將來自 Alex Rygiel 和 B. Riley Securities 的家族。

Steve, it looks like capital allocation priorities change to be as M&A as this quarter appears to have moved ahead of share repurchases. Can you touch upon that a bit?

史蒂夫，資本配置的優先順序似乎變成了併購，因為本季似乎已經提前進行了股票回購。你能談談這一點嗎？

Yes. I think, Alex, we've always had an opportunistic approach to M&A. This wasn't a deal that we found in the last 3 weeks and closed. We've been working on this for a while. We're always looking forward to have an opportunity to buy well-run family businesses. This is a business that just celebrated its 46th anniversary. So it fits a profile that we've been successful with in the past. So I think irrespective of where we were on share repurchases or organic growth.

是的。我認為，亞歷克斯，我們一直採取機會主義的併購方式。這不是我們在過去三週內發現並完成的交易。我們已經為此努力了一段時間。我們一直期待有機會收購經營良好的家族企業。這是一家剛慶祝成立 46 週年的企業。因此它符合我們過去取得成功的特質。因此，我認為無論我們在股票回購或有機成長方面處於什麼位置。

This is a deal that when it presented itself, we were very interested in completing. I think we're going to be opportunistic on where we go with the cash flow that we have. We've always tried to increase the intrinsic capability to grow when there are periods of time where growth moderates a little bit. And I think if you think about after this deal, we'll still be nicely below net leverage of 2x. So we've still got plenty of room to grow given the strength of the balance sheet and the available liquidity that we have.

當這筆交易出現時，我們非常有興趣完成。我認為我們將利用我們擁有的現金流來投機取巧。當成長放緩的時候，我們總是試著增強內在的成長能力。我認為，如果你考慮這筆交易之後，我們的淨槓桿率仍將遠低於 2 倍。因此，鑑於資產負債表的實力和我們擁有的可用流動性，我們仍然有很大的成長空間。

And then specifically to Bigham, I'm assuming they are bringing in a backlog here. Any chance you could quantify that? And then as it relates to the macro M&A, can you address purchase multiples today relative to a number of years ago and how they might be -- might have changed?

然後特別是比格姆，我假設他們在這裡帶來了積壓的訂單。你有機會量化這一點嗎？然後，由於涉及宏觀併購，您能否談談今天相對於幾年前的購買倍數以及它們可能會發生怎樣的變化？

Yes. I think what we can say is we're working through the details. Certainly, they do have plenty of backlog. We're working through the details right now, and we'll have those backlog results included in our October quarter. This deal was certainly within our historical range. Clearly, as interest rates have gone up, we factor that into our valuation, but we feel really good that this is a deal that was good for us and good for the sellers.

是的。我認為我們可以說的是我們正在研究細節。當然，他們確實有大量積壓。我們現在正在研究細節，我們將把這些積壓結果納入十月的季度。這筆交易當然在我們的歷史範圍內。顯然，隨著利率上升，我們將其納入我們的估值中，但我們感覺非常好，因為這是一筆對我們和賣家都有好處的交易。

One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Eric Luebchow with Wells Fargo.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。這將來自富國銀行的 Eric Luebchow 家族。

Great. Thanks for the question, Steve. So just wondering if you could provide any more color like you did last quarter? So two of the customers you talked about that declined pretty substantially on a sequential basis. If you strip them out, it looks like all your other customers grew over 15% sequentially. So any kind of way to disaggregate your guide for Q3 between those two customers that are moderating spend and some of the other customers that continue to grow pretty nicely.

偉大的。謝謝你的提問，史蒂夫。所以只是想知道你們是否可以像上個季度那樣提供更多的顏色？因此，您談到的兩個客戶連續大幅下降。如果剔除這些客戶，您的所有其他客戶似乎都連續成長了 15% 以上。因此，可以透過任何方式將第三季的指南分為這兩個正在減少支出的客戶和其他一些繼續良好成長的客戶。

Yes. I think at a high level, Eric, what we can say is that the adjustment that we saw sequentially is is moderating, certainly and that the growth rates as we go into October for everybody else continues, but the course off of a bigger base. Growth at the at the rates that we're seeing requires hard work by everybody, and we're working hard to do better if we can, but there's certainly lots of opportunity.

是的。我認為，埃里克，從高水平來看，我們可以說的是，我們連續看到的調整當然正在放緩，而且進入10 月份時，其他所有人的增長率仍在繼續，但基數更大。以我們所看到的速度成長需要每個人的努力工作，如果可以的話，我們正在努力做得更好，但肯定有很多機會。

Okay. I appreciate that. A couple of the equipment manufacturers recently cited some demand slowdown for wireline and wireless equipment. So maybe based on what you see, do you think this is largely just an inventory digestion issue with lead times on a lot of equipment coming down a lot versus last year? Or does it have any read that you can see in terms of demand in the next few quarters in your business?

好的。我很感激。一些設備製造商最近表示有線和無線設備的需求放緩。因此，也許根據您所看到的情況，您是否認為這在很大程度上只是庫存消化問題，許多設備的交貨時間與去年相比大幅下降？或者它是否有任何您可以看到的關於您業務未來幾個季度的需求的資訊？

Well, certainly, and we're no expert in that business, but we've been around it. But clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, there was a lot of ordering when supply chains got challenged, and they're working through that inventory. That's why we're pleased that we're in the services business where we [don't] have to work through those kind of issues. As you can tell, if you look at the details when you get time to run through the information we provided. We've got a number of customers that are still growing strongly. And it's just a question of some rotation. We've seen that before, a little bit of consolidation, but we feel good about being optimistic for next year.

嗯，當然，我們不是這方面的專家，但我們一直在解決這個問題。但顯然，事後看來，當供應鏈受到挑戰時，有大量訂單，而且他們正在處理庫存。這就是為什麼我們很高興我們從事服務業務，而我們不需要解決此類問題。如您所見，如果您有時間瀏覽我們提供的信息，請查看詳細資訊。我們有許多客戶仍在強勁成長。這只是一些輪換的問題。我們之前已經看到過這種情況，有一點整合，但我們對明年持樂觀態度。

Perfect. And then just one last one for me, Steve. A few of the tower companies talked about wireless activity slowing pretty materially in the second quarter. One of your competitors did as well. I know it's a small piece of your business, but your top customer, you do a decent amount of workforce. So maybe you could provide any commentary at all in terms of your what you're doing on the wireless side, if you did see a slowdown there, consistent with what we heard from other industry participants.

完美的。然後是我的最後一件事，史蒂夫。一些鐵塔公司表示，第二季無線活動大幅放緩。你的一位競爭對手也這麼做了。我知道這只是您業務的一小部分，但您的最大客戶，您提供了大量的勞動力。因此，如果您確實看到無線方面的放緩（與我們從其他行業參與者那裡聽到的情況一致），也許您可以就您在無線方面所做的事情提供任何評論。

Sure, Eric. Total wireless revenue was about 4.2%, 4.3% of total revenue. So it certainly was off somewhat. I think it's pretty generally acknowledged that carriers have done a great job of efficiently deploying the mid-band spectrum that they have. And so that's affected activity. Again, in the near term, we think over the long term, there are great opportunities in wireless. But again, they've done a great job of getting this out there quickly. And what's good for their business is ultimately always good for our business.

當然，埃里克。無線總收入約4.2%，佔總收入的4.3%。所以它肯定有點不對勁。我認為，人們普遍認為營運商在有效部署他們擁有的中頻頻譜方面做得很好。所以這會影響活動。同樣，從短期來看，我們認為從長遠來看，無線領域存在著巨大的機會。但同樣，他們在快速實現這一點方面做得非常出色。對他們的業務有利的事情最終也對我們的業務有利。

(Operator Instructions) One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Alan Mitrani with Sylvan Lake Asset Management.

（操作員說明）請稍等一下我們的下一個問題。這將來自 Alan Mitrani 與 Sylvan Lake Asset Management 的團隊。

Just a couple. Was Bigham a subcontractor for you guys at all or no?

只是一對。比格姆到底是你們的分包商還是不是？

No, no, they're direct to customers.

不，不，他們直接面對客戶。

Okay, good. Also, normally, you're guiding to, I guess, down revenues in the next quarter, excluding Bigham, to add in you say flat. Normally, I just want to look ahead to your fiscal fourth quarter. I know you don't give guidance 2 quarters out, but normally, that's the odd weather quarter, the holiday quarter, and revenues are typically down around 12% to 13% depending on the year, of course. Do you think we'll normally use this base -- this third quarter base, which is already against your regular seasonality given the slowdown as that quarter to then decline from there 12% to 13%? Just give us some direction, if you can, looking ahead.

好的。另外，我想，通常情況下，你會指導下個季度的收入下降，不包括比格姆，加上你所說的持平。通常情況下，我只想展望第四財季的情況。我知道你們不會給出 2 個季度的指導，但通常情況下，這是天氣奇怪的季度、假日季度，當然，收入通常會下降 12% 到 13% 左右，具體取決於年份。您認為我們通常會使用這個基數嗎——這個第三季基數，考慮到該季度經濟放緩，然後從 12% 下降到 13%，這個基數已經與您的常規季節性相悖了？如果可以的話，請給我們一些方向，展望未來。

I mean, Alan, we're not giving the second quarter out guidance. I think what we would say is just to reiterate what you did is, it's a quarter that can be -- that is always influenced by daylight hours, holidays and can be impacted by weather. We have some customers that we see some opportunities adjusting for seasonality with their activity picking up into that quarter, but it's too early for us to provide guidance at this point.

我的意思是，艾倫，我們不會給出第二季的指導。我想我們想說的只是重申你所做的，這是一個季度，它總是受到白天、假期的影響，並且可能受到天氣的影響。我們看到一些客戶有機會根據季節性進行調整，他們的活動在該季度有所回升，但目前我們提供指導還為時過早。

And in a way, Alan, I mean, thinking about it that way, I know it's important to the Street. But when we look ahead over the next couple of years, there's $40 billion of public capital on top of $20 billion, $30 billion, $40 billion of capital that's already working its way through the system. And so we feel pretty good at the outlook for next year.

在某種程度上，艾倫，我的意思是，從這個角度思考，我知道這對華爾街很重要。但當我們展望未來幾年時，除了已經在系統中運行的 200 億美元、300 億美元、400 億美元資本之外，還有 400 億美元的公共資本。因此，我們對明年的前景感到非常樂觀。

I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Steven Nielsen for any closing remarks.

目前我在隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。我現在想將電話轉回給史蒂文·尼爾森先生，請他發表結束語。

Well, we thank everybody for their time and attention, and we look forward to speaking to you again on our third quarter earnings call, the week of Thanksgiving. Thank you.

好吧，我們感謝大家的時間和關注，我們期待在感恩節這一周的第三季財報電話會議上再次與您交談。謝謝。

Thank you all for participating. This concludes today's program. You may now disconnect.

感謝大家的參與。今天的節目到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。