Eargo Inc (EAR) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Eargo, Inc. Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們的支持，歡迎來到 Eargo, Inc. 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。

I would now like to turn the call over to Nick Laudico, Chief Retail Officer. Please go ahead.

我現在想把電話轉給首席零售官 Nick Laudico。請繼續。

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Eargo Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call is being broadcast live. And the digital replay will be available on our IR website. Joining me on today's call are Christian Gormsen, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Adam Laponis, Chief Financial Officer.

大家下午好，歡迎來到 Eargo 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。提醒一下，這個電話正在現場直播。數字重播將在我們的 IR 網站上提供。與我一起參加今天電話會議的還有總裁兼首席執行官 Christian Gormsen；和首席財務官 Adam Laponis。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that some of the matters discussed in the conference call will contain forward-looking statements regarding future events as outlined in our press release today. We wish to caution you that such statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, are forward-looking in nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual events or results may differ materially.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，電話會議中討論的一些事項將包含有關我們今天的新聞稿中概述的未來事件的前瞻性陳述。我們謹提醒您，此類陳述基於管理層當前的預期和信念，具有前瞻性，受風險和不確定因素影響，實際事件或結果可能存在重大差異。

The factors that could cause actual results or events to differ include, but are not limited to, factors referenced in our press release today as well as our filings with the SEC.

可能導致實際結果或事件不同的因素包括但不限於我們今天的新聞稿以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中提到的因素。

Before turning the call over to Christian, I want to make note that we have posted a historical GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation table on our IR website in the Events & Presentations section.

在將電話轉給 Christian 之前，我想指出，我們已經在我們的 IR 網站上的“事件和演示”部分發布了歷史 GAAP 與非 GAAP 對賬表。

With that said, I will now turn the call over to Christian.

話雖如此，我現在將把電話轉給克里斯蒂安。

Thank you, Nick, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today.

謝謝尼克，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。

The fourth quarter marked the culmination of a pivotal year for Eargo. In 2022, we settled our DOJ investigation and cleared our SEC filing delinquency, recapitalized the business through a major financing, added Patient Square Capital as our major shareholder and made meaningful progress against our most important business priorities.

第四季度標誌著 Eargo 關鍵一年的高潮。 2022 年，我們解決了美國司法部的調查並清除了美國證券交易委員會的備案拖欠，通過重大融資對業務進行了資本重組，將 Patient Square Capital 添加為我們的主要股東，並在我們最重要的業務重點方面取得了有意義的進展。

Perhaps most impactful to the future of Eargo was the progress we made on our strategic evolution into a true omnichannel business. While we continue to see stable trends in sales to direct-to-consumer cash paid customers, retail has begun to diversify our gross shipments and leverage our existing media spend. And while still early stage, insurance remains a future opportunity. Lastly, we have retained top talent across the organization despite the challenges our organization has faced.

也許對 Eargo 的未來影響最大的是我們在戰略演變為真正的全渠道業務方面取得的進展。雖然我們繼續看到直接面向消費者的現金支付客戶的銷售趨勢穩定，但零售業已開始使我們的總出貨量多樣化並利用我們現有的媒體支出。雖然仍處於早期階段，但保險仍然是未來的機會。最後，儘管我們的組織面臨挑戰，但我們仍保留了整個組織的頂尖人才。

Given the circumstances, we think it's fair to say that Eargo has made incredible progress in 2022, and we're excited about the continued evolution of our business in 2023.

鑑於這種情況，我們認為可以公平地說 Eargo 在 2022 年取得了令人難以置信的進步，我們對我們業務在 2023 年的持續發展感到興奮。

Turning to operational results. The business momentum we reported in the third quarter carried into the fourth quarter. We established a nationwide physical retail presence through our partnership with Victra in connection with the OTC Final Rule being published in October, announced a strategic partnership with NationsBenefits. And in early 2023, commercially launched Eargo 7, our most innovative product yet.

轉向運營結果。我們在第三季度報告的業務勢頭延續到了第四季度。我們通過與 Victra 的合作建立了全國實體零售業務，並與 10 月份發布的 OTC 最終規則相關，並宣布與 NationsBenefits 建立戰略合作夥伴關係。 2023 年初，我們推出了 Eargo 7，這是我們迄今為止最具創新性的產品。

Fourth quarter 2022 net revenue was $12.9 million, up approximately 28% year-over-year and over 63% sequentially.

2022 年第四季度淨收入為 1290 萬美元，同比增長約 28%，環比增長超過 63%。

I'll now provide a brief update on our strategic initiatives and the path ahead through 2023, beginning with an update on our retail strategy, which is the top organizational priority in 2023. In order to provide some context, let me first briefly recap our 3 primary objectives in launching this retail channel.

我現在將簡要介紹我們的戰略舉措和到 2023 年的前進道路，首先是我們零售戰略的更新，這是 2023 年組織的首要任務。為了提供一些背景信息，讓我首先簡要回顧一下我們的啟動此零售渠道的 3 個主要目標。

First, leverage existing retail foot traffic and sales presence at a national sale to drive awareness and education of Eargo. Second, better target and qualify consumers through in-person conversation and the availability of an in-store hearing screener. And third, accelerate revenue growth while better defining our path to profitability.

首先，在全國銷售中利用現有的零售客流量和銷售存在來提高對 Eargo 的認識和教育。其次，通過面對面的交談和店內聽力篩查儀的可用性，更好地定位和篩選消費者。第三，加快收入增長，同時更好地確定我們的盈利路徑。

Moving to our partnership with Victra, one of America's largest wireless retailers. Early in the fourth quarter, we announced our expanded partnership, placing Eargo inventory in approximately 1,500 stores nationwide. As a reminder, this partnership enabled us to lead the 4 core elements of a world-class experience that we believe consumers desire when shopping in-person for hearing aids: one, education and proper merchandising; two, self-administered hearing screening; three, expert sales consultation; and four, outstanding post-purchase support.

轉向我們與美國最大的無線零售商之一 Victra 的合作夥伴關係。第四季度初，我們宣布擴大合作夥伴關係，在全國約 1,500 家商店投放 Eargo 庫存。提醒一下，這種夥伴關係使我們能夠引領世界級體驗的 4 個核心要素，我們相信消費者在親自購買助聽器時會渴望這些要素：第一，教育和適當的銷售；二、自行進行聽力篩查；三、專家銷售諮詢；第四，出色的售後支持。

The partnership remains in the early stages of scaling up, and we're not prepared to make comments on expected performance. However, we have been encouraged by what we have seen in the 5 months that Eargo has been available for purchase in Victra retail locations.

該合作夥伴關係仍處於擴大規模的早期階段，我們不准備對預期績效發表評論。然而，我們在 5 個月內看到的 Eargo 已經可以在 Victra 零售點購買，這讓我們感到鼓舞。

We continue to support our partner by training and educating their sales force on how to talk to consumers about hearing and, most importantly, the differentiators of Eargo. This process will continue in the first half of 2023 as we listen to customers, refine our approach and improve the customer experience.

我們繼續支持我們的合作夥伴，培訓和教育他們的銷售人員如何與消費者談論聽力，最重要的是，Eargo 的差異化因素。這一過程將在 2023 年上半年繼續，因為我們會傾聽客戶的意見，改進我們的方法並改善客戶體驗。

While our partnership remains at the very early stages, we believe premium partnership opportunities like this one are important to the scalability of Eargo's business and our path to both accelerated revenues and clearer line of sight to profitability. We thank our partners at Victra and look forward to providing you with further performance updates over time.

雖然我們的合作夥伴關係仍處於早期階段，但我們相信像這樣的優質合作夥伴關係機會對於 Eargo 業務的可擴展性以及我們實現加速收入和更清晰的盈利前景的途徑非常重要。我們感謝 Victra 的合作夥伴，並期待隨著時間的推移為您提供進一步的性能更新。

Turning now to insurance and benefits access. In mid-December, we announced a strategic partnership with NationsBenefits. Nations is a leading provider of supplemental benefits, flex cards and member engagement solutions for health plans. And this opportunity will allow health plan members served by Nations to use their planned benefits towards purchasing Eargo OTC hearing aids. By doing so, we believe this will create a pathway for individuals of hearing loss, lower barriers to care and offer oversight to ensure people have access to the right products for their individual needs, ultimately allowing more people to hear better.

現在轉向保險和福利獲取。 12 月中旬，我們宣布與 NationsBenefits 建立戰略合作夥伴關係。 Nations 是補充福利、彈性卡和健康計劃會員參與解決方案的領先供應商。這個機會將使國家服務的健康計劃成員能夠使用他們計劃的福利來購買 Eargo OTC 助聽器。通過這樣做，我們相信這將為聽力損失的個人創造一條途徑，降低護理障礙並提供監督以確保人們能夠獲得滿足其個人需求的正確產品，最終讓更多的人聽到更好的聲音。

While the original timing of the Nations' launch was expected to be January 2023, Nations has delayed launch of its OTC hearing aid offering generally, and we do not know when ultimately Nations will launch its offering. Nevertheless, we are excited to partner with an organization that shares our values on customer satisfaction and using technology to enhance the customer experience.

雖然 Nations 的最初推出時間預計是 2023 年 1 月，但 Nations 普遍推遲了其 OTC 助聽器產品的推出，我們不知道 Nations 最終何時推出其產品。儘管如此，我們很高興能與一家在客戶滿意度和使用技術來提升客戶體驗方面分享我們價值觀的組織合作。

In terms of broader insurance access, we're currently accepting both FEHB and non-FEHB insurance as a method of direct payment in certain limited circumstances. In particular, when this customer has undergone additional testing by an independent licensed health care provider to establish medical necessity with supporting clinical documentation, for example, when customers receive an in-person hearing evaluations. It remains early in this new process, and we do not expect to see any significant volume for insurance orders in 2023.

在更廣泛的保險範圍方面，我們目前接受 FEHB 和非 FEHB 保險作為在某些有限情況下的直接支付方式。特別是，當該客戶接受了獨立許可的醫療保健提供者的額外測試以通過支持性臨床文件確定醫療必要性時，例如，當客戶接受現場聽力評估時。這一新流程仍處於早期階段，我們預計 2023 年不會看到任何大量保險訂單。

Additionally, we have generally focused on enhancing our compliance and risk management operations, including to support insurance claims processing, and we intend to continue to do so.

此外，我們通常專注於加強我們的合規性和風險管理操作，包括支持保險索賠處理，我們打算繼續這樣做。

Turning now to Eargo 7. We were thrilled to announce the launch of Eargo 7, our seventh generation device, at CES in early January. With commercial launch in mid-February, Eargo 7 is now available for purchase online as well as in Victra locations across the country. Eargo 7 is the most revolutionary device we have developed to date, uniquely designed to offer an even better experience, hearing speech in noisy environments, widely perceived to be the most challenging situation for people with hearing loss.

現在轉向 Eargo 7。我們很高興地宣佈在 1 月初的 CES 上推出我們的第七代設備 Eargo 7。隨著 2 月中旬的商業發布，Eargo 7 現在可以在線購買，也可以在全國各地的 Victra 門店購買。 Eargo 7 是我們迄今為止開發的最具革命性的設備，其獨特的設計旨在提供更好的體驗，在嘈雜的環境中聆聽語音，這被廣泛認為是聽力損失人士最具挑戰性的環境。

This is achieved through Sound Adjust+ with Clarity Mode. This feature provides more sophisticated sound processing in loud environments by analyzing the soundscape as it changes and then automatically choosing whether to emphasize speech or reduce noise. No need to open the app or manually adjust anything. We're incredibly proud of this feature and believe it will have particular appeal in the new OTC landscape, offering advanced technology and high-touch post-purchase support at an affordable price without ever compromising quality or user experience.

這是通過帶有清晰度模式的 Sound Adjust+ 實現的。此功能通過分析音景的變化，然後自動選擇是強調語音還是降低噪音，在嘈雜的環境中提供更複雜的聲音處理。無需打開應用程序或手動調整任何內容。我們為這一功能感到無比自豪，並相信它將在新的 OTC 領域具有特別的吸引力，以實惠的價格提供先進的技術和高度接觸的售後支持，而不會影響質量或用戶體驗。

Importantly, following we received a 510(k) clearance on the FDA, Eargo 5, 6 and 7 can each be marketed as self-fitting hearing aids with the use of SoundMatch, via our mobile app. And each will be marketed OTC pursuant to the FDA's new OTC regulatory requirements. Meaningful innovation is a priority of Eargo, and this latest generation device reaffirms this commitment with new features that continue to put the customer at the heart of the hearing experience.

重要的是，在我們獲得 FDA 的 510(k) 許可後，Eargo 5、6 和 7 都可以通過我們的移動應用程序使用 SoundMatch 作為自適配助聽器進行銷售。根據 FDA 新的非處方藥監管要求，每一種都將以非處方藥的形式上市。有意義的創新是 Eargo 的首要任務，這款最新一代設備通過新功能重申了這一承諾，繼續將客戶置於聽覺體驗的核心位置。

Let me now turn it over to Adam for a more detailed summary of our fourth quarter financial results.

現在讓我將其轉交給亞當，以更詳細地總結我們第四季度的財務業績。

Thanks, Christian. I will provide financial comparisons for the fourth quarter of 2022 sequentially versus the third quarter of 2022 given the difficult full fiscal year-over-year comparison as a result of the impacts of the DOJ investigation had on our 2021 financial results.

謝謝，克里斯蒂安。鑑於司法部調查對我們 2021 年財務業績的影響，很難進行全面的財年同比比較，我將按順序提供 2022 年第四季度與 2022 年第三季度的財務比較。

As Christian mentioned, we began reaccepting insurance as a method of direct payment in a limited capacity, but we do not expect a significant volume of insurance orders at this time. We are also seeking clarity on a planned requirement post the OTC rule.

正如克里斯蒂安所說，我們開始以有限的能力重新接受保險作為直接支付的一種方式，但我們預計目前不會有大量的保險訂單。我們也在尋求明確 OTC 規則後的計劃要求。

Fourth quarter 2022 net revenue was $12.9 million, up approximately 63.3% sequentially. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in gross systems shipped. Fourth quarter 2022 gross systems shipped were 8,863, up 71.9% sequentially. The increase was driven by a wholesale inventory purchase by Victra to have Eargos available for purchase in their approximately 1,500 locations nationwide and sequential growth in systems shipped to our traditional cash pay direct-to-consumer customers. The fourth quarter 2022 return accrual rate was 34.9%, up 2.6 percentage points sequentially.

2022 年第四季度淨收入為 1290 萬美元，環比增長約 63.3%。增長的主要原因是總出貨系統的增加。 2022 年第四季度系統總出貨量為 8,863，環比增長 71.9%。這一增長的推動因素是 Victra 批發庫存採購，以便在全國約 1,500 個地點購買 Eargos，以及運送給我們傳統現金支付直接面向消費者客戶的系統的連續增長。 2022 年第四季度的應計回報率為 34.9%，環比上升 2.6 個百分點。

Moving to non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating expenses. Our discussion of financial metrics in the gross margin line and below will be on a non-GAAP basis, which excludes stock-based compensation expenses. Please refer to our GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation included in today's earnings release and the historical GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation table on our IR website in the Events & Presentations section.

轉向非 GAAP 毛利率和非 GAAP 運營費用。我們對毛利率線及以下財務指標的討論將基於非公認會計原則，不包括基於股票的補償費用。請參閱今天的收益發布中包含的我們的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 對賬以及我們 IR 網站上事件和演示部分的歷史 GAAP 與非 GAAP 對賬表。

Fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 47.9% compared to 24.5% in the third quarter of 2022. The sequential gross margin increase was primarily due to higher gross shipment volume on a similar fixed cost base. Fourth quarter non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses were $14.9 million or 115.3% of net revenues compared to $10.6 million or 134.5% of net revenues in the third quarter of 2022. The decrease in sales and marketing as a percentage of net revenues was due to the higher net revenues.

第四季度非美國通用會計準則毛利率為 47.9%，而 2022 年第三季度為 24.5%。毛利率環比增長主要是由於在類似固定成本基礎上的總出貨量增加。第四季度非美國通用會計準則銷售和營銷費用為 1,490 萬美元，占淨收入的 115.3%，而 2022 年第三季度為 1,060 萬美元，占淨收入的 134.5%。銷售和營銷費用占淨收入的百分比下降是由於淨收入越高。

Non-GAAP research and development expenses were $4.2 million or 32.7% of net revenues compared to $4.3 million or 53.8% of net revenues in the third quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses were $8.6 million or 66.4% of net revenues compared to $10.0 million or 126.8% of net revenues in the third quarter of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to a net reduction in professional fees.

非美國通用會計準則研發費用為 420 萬美元，占淨收入的 32.7%，而 2022 年第三季度為 430 萬美元，占淨收入的 53.8%。非美國通用會計準則一般和行政費用為 860 萬美元，占淨收入的 66.4%到 2022 年第三季度達到 1000 萬美元或淨收入的 126.8%。減少的主要原因是專業費用的淨減少。

Non-GAAP net operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $21.5 million compared to non-GAAP net operating loss of $23.0 million for the third quarter of 2022 and compared to $33.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

2022 年第四季度非美國通用會計準則淨營業虧損為 2150 萬美元，而 2022 年第三季度非美國通用會計準則淨營業虧損為 2300 萬美元，2021 年第四季度為 3330 萬美元。

Moving to the balance sheet. In late November, we closed our previously announced rights offering of up to 18.75 million shares of common stock to existing stockholders, representing a major step forward for the company. Through the offering, we have raised gross proceeds from subscription of approximately $29.3 million. In addition to these gross proceeds from subscriptions, we also received an additional investment of approximately $5.5 million from Patient Square.

轉到資產負債表。 11 月下旬，我們完成了之前宣布的向現有股東發行最多 1,875 萬股普通股的配股，這是公司向前邁出的重要一步。通過此次發行，我們從認購中籌集的總收益約為 2930 萬美元。除了這些來自訂閱的總收益外，我們還從 Patient Square 獲得了大約 550 萬美元的額外投資。

After deducting related costs and expenses, we are pleased to have raised the total net proceeds of approximately $32.9 million between the 2 transactions, which we plan to use to further fund our omnichannel growth strategy. We thank Patient Square for their support and commitment to our long-term success and look forward to their continued partnership.

扣除相關成本和費用後，我們很高興在兩筆交易中籌集了約 3290 萬美元的淨收益，我們計劃將其用於進一步資助我們的全渠道增長戰略。我們感謝 Patient Square 對我們長期成功的支持和承諾，並期待他們繼續合作。

Following the rights offering and to end the year, we had cash and cash equivalents of $101.2 million as of December 31, 2022, with no debt on the balance sheet. This compares to $110.5 million of cash and cash equivalents and $15.3 million of term debt as of December 31, 2021.

配股後到年底，截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和現金等價物為 1.012 億美元，資產負債表上沒有債務。相比之下，截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日，現金和現金等價物為 1.105 億美元，定期債務為 1530 萬美元。

Our previous guidance for the fourth quarter of 2022 was a quarterly cash burn of approximately $20 million to $25 million. Our operating cash burn was $20.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. And our overall cash balance increased by $13.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the rights offering and Patient Square investment.

我們之前對 2022 年第四季度的指導是季度現金消耗約為 2000 萬至 2500 萬美元。 2022 年第四季度，我們的運營現金消耗為 2040 萬美元。2022 年第四季度，我們的整體現金餘額增加了 1320 萬美元，這主要是受配股和 Patient Square 投資的推動。

I will now turn it back to Christian for closing commentary.

我現在將把它轉回克里斯蒂安進行結束評論。

Thanks, Adam. We're pleased to conclude 2022 and are proud of what the organization has achieved during a challenging year. We now look forward to 2023 and the opportunities to transform our business through executing our omnichannel strategy. We believe our progress in 2022 puts us at a sound operational platform for this execution.

謝謝，亞當。我們很高興結束 2022 年，並為本組織在充滿挑戰的一年中取得的成就感到自豪。現在，我們期待 2023 年的到來以及通過執行我們的全渠道戰略來實現業務轉型的機會。我們相信，我們在 2022 年取得的進展將使我們處於執行此操作的良好運營平台上。

We continue to focus on our 4 most important business priorities this year: one, refining and expanding our retail strategy; two, accessing insurance coverage for Eargo hearing aids, including continuing dialogue with individual FEHB payers and other third-party payers regarding insurance coverage of Eargo hearing aids; three, optimizing our cash pay business; and four, continuing to invest in innovation. Of course, all of this is supported by our culture of compliance and accountability as we continue to refine our program and maintain the utmost compliance across the business.

今年我們繼續專注於我們最重要的 4 個業務重點：一是完善和擴展我們的零售戰略；第二，獲得 Eargo 助聽器的保險範圍，包括與個別 FEHB 付款人和其他第三方付款人就 Eargo 助聽器的保險範圍繼續對話；三、優化現金支付業務；第四，持續投資於創新。當然，所有這一切都得到了我們的合規和問責文化的支持，因為我們將繼續完善我們的計劃並在整個企業中保持最大的合規性。

Before closing, I would like to thank our team at Eargo for their unwavering dedication to improving hearing [sound]. This organization remains motivated, incentivized and energized to achieve our objectives. And without them, none of this progress would be possible. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this market remains large and underpenetrated. And we believe our recent business progress and product innovation puts Eargo in a position to capitalize on this opportunity.

在結束之前，我要感謝我們 Eargo 的團隊，感謝他們堅定不移地致力於改善聽力[聲音]。該組織仍然充滿動力、激勵和活力，以實現我們的目標。沒有他們，這些進步是不可能的。我們還有很多工作要做，但這個市場仍然很大，而且滲透率低。我們相信我們最近的業務進展和產品創新使 Eargo 能夠利用這個機會。

I will now turn the call over to the operator for Q&A.

我現在將把電話轉給接線員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) We do have a question from the line of Margaret Kaczor from William Blair.

（操作員說明）我們確實有來自威廉·布萊爾的瑪格麗特·卡佐爾的問題。

I wanted to start, I guess, to -- with follow up on the Victra sales. Obviously, it's great to see their commitment to try to take this as a wholesale purchase. But can you give us a sense, I guess, around repeat purchases by Victra either in Q4 and Q1, either units or percentages, just to get a sense of sell-in versus sell-through?

我想，我想開始——跟進 Victra 的銷售情況。顯然，很高興看到他們承諾嘗試將其作為批發採購。但我想，你能給我們一個感覺嗎，關於 Victra 在第四季度和第一季度的重複購買，無論是單位還是百分比，只是為了了解銷售與銷售？

Margaret, again, good to hear and thanks for the feedback. We're off to what we believe. It's early days in terms of retail. And getting the commitment on their end to be present in all 1,500 locations has been significant. We're not giving specific guidance. Adam, I don't know if we can provide more nuance here, specifically to how we're looking at it. But overall, we're pretty excited about this partnership and the collaboration that we're seeing from Victra.

瑪格麗特，再次，很高興聽到並感謝您的反饋。我們相信我們的信念。就零售而言，現在還處於早期階段。並且讓他們最終承諾在所有 1,500 個地點出現是非常重要的。我們沒有給出具體的指導。亞當，我不知道我們是否可以在這裡提供更多細微差別，特別是我們如何看待它。但總的來說，我們對這種夥伴關係以及我們從 Victra 看到的合作感到非常興奮。

Margaret, this is Adam. Thank you for the question. We aren't giving specific guidance or breakdown of the elements of the Victra. But as Christian mentioned, we did provide initial stocking order that covered unit needs to the 1,500 locations. And we did start to see sell-through in Q4, but it was very early days in that partnership as it was only started during mid-quarter.

瑪格麗特，這是亞當。感謝你的提問。我們不提供具體指導或 Victra 元素的分解。但正如 Christian 提到的那樣，我們確實向 1,500 個地點提供了覆蓋單位需要的初始庫存訂單。我們確實在第四季度開始看到銷售情況，但這種合作夥伴關係還處於早期階段，因為它是在季度中期才開始的。

Okay. That's helpful. And I have one follow-up. So I'm going to stick a few follow-ups in one. But how are you guys thinking about this partnership maybe extending into other partnerships? Second sub-bullet, how -- as you think about this wholesale sale, were you able to recognize cash from it?

好的。這很有幫助。我有一個後續行動。所以我打算把幾個後續行動合二為一。但是你們如何看待這種夥伴關係可能擴展到其他夥伴關係？第二個子項目符號，當您考慮這次批發銷售時，您如何能夠從中識別出現金？

And then the real kind of follow-up, I guess, would be, as we think about the core D2C underlying franchise, how is demand there, especially with Eargo 7 and then kind of maybe offset, if it is at all, by recent inflation growth?

然後真正的後續行動，我想，當我們考慮核心 D2C 基礎特許經營權時，那裡的需求如何，尤其是 Eargo 7，然後可能會抵消，如果有的話，最近通脹增長？

Yes. No, thank you. That was an elegant way of asking one question, Margaret. But no surprise. Let me cover the first part and then hand off to Adam when it comes to the cash. But how we're thinking and I think how we've described the Victra partnership is -- OTC is very new for the whole industry. And it's like how much support, what kind of experience are you building. Our view on the Victra partnership and the reason why we emphasized it so much in this call is we believe that this is creating the close to optimal user experience.

是的。不，謝謝。瑪格麗特，這是一種優雅的提問方式。但不足為奇。讓我介紹第一部分，然後在涉及現金時交給亞當。但我們的想法以及我認為我們對 Victra 合作夥伴關係的描述是——場外交易對整個行業來說都是全新的。這就像有多少支持，你在建立什麼樣的體驗。我們對 Victra 合作夥伴關係的看法以及我們在本次電話會議中如此強調它的原因是我們相信這正在創造接近最佳的用戶體驗。

So we're very thrilled with the level of commitment we're seeing and also the level of experience that we can build in store in terms of actively talking about hearing loss and supporting prospective customers and experiencing like either hearing screening, simulation, having that kind of experience, which to our understanding, is not what you see in a lot of other over-the-counter experiences.

因此，我們對我們所看到的承諾水平以及我們在積極談論聽力損失和支持潛在客戶以及聽力篩查、模擬等體驗方面可以在店內建立的體驗水平感到非常興奮。根據我們的理解，這種體驗與您在許多其他非處方體驗中看到的不同。

So what we are clearly focused on here is continue to work with Victra to build out this as a case of how over-the-counter can be done. We are in discussions with other retailers because, clearly, this is something that is getting a lot of interest. But ideally, we're at the point where we can use Victra as a case example of how to really bring customers into the category in a way where we're meeting the customer where they already are, which is the whole point. So I guess your assumption is pretty correct on that one.

因此，我們在這裡明確關注的是繼續與 Victra 合作，將其構建為一個如何在櫃檯交易的案例。我們正在與其他零售商進行討論，因為很明顯，這引起了很多人的興趣。但理想情況下，我們可以使用 Victra 作為案例，說明如何以一種我們在客戶已經存在的地方會見客戶的方式真正將客戶帶入該類別，這就是重點。所以我想你的假設是非常正確的。

Adam, did you want to comment on the cash and...

亞當，你想對現金和...發表評論嗎？

It's a standard distribution agreement, Margaret, with standard terms against it. We did collect cash in Q4 from the initial shipment, but we are in an ongoing partnership with Victra, and we'll continue to provide updates as things progress here in Q1 and beyond.

這是一個標準的分銷協議，瑪格麗特，有反對它的標準條款。我們確實在第四季度從最初的發貨中收取了現金，但我們與 Victra 保持著持續的合作關係，隨著第一季度及以後的進展，我們將繼續提供更新。

And then finally, on the core D2C, as we also mentioned, we had a solid Q4 also versus Q2 and Q3, which, frankly, we've also historically been seeing good momentum in Q4, especially for the D2C business and the holiday season. And that's part of delivering the numbers that we did that we had a strong Q4.

最後，正如我們也提到的，在核心 D2C 方面，我們在第四季度也比第二季度和第三季度表現強勁，坦率地說，從歷史上看，我們在第四季度也看到了良好的勢頭，尤其是對於 D2C 業務和假期.這是提供我們所做的數字的一部分，我們有一個強大的第四季度。

Again, we're not really commenting on the new year, but I think it's fair to say that we have not really seen any strong indicators that the economy as such and all the worries about inflation, interest, cash, you name it, had impacted our business.

再一次，我們並不是真的在評論新年，但我認為可以公平地說，我們還沒有真正看到任何強有力的指標表明經濟本身以及對通貨膨脹、利率、現金等所有問題的擔憂，已經影響了我們的業務。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你們，女士們，先生們。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。