EverQuote Inc (EVER) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kayla and I will be your conference operator today. At this time. I would like to welcome everyone to the EverQuote Inc. Q3 2024 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise.

謝謝你的支持。我叫凱拉，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時。歡迎大家參加 EverQuote Inc. 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。所有線路均已靜音，以防止任何背景噪音。

After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question again. Press star and one I would now like to turn the call over to Brinlea Johnson of The Blueshirt Group. You may begin.

演講者發言後，將進行問答環節。如果您想在此期間提出問題，只需按電話鍵盤上的星號，然後再按數字 1 即可。如果您想再次撤回您的問題。新聞明星和一位我現在想將電話轉給 Blueshirt Group 的布林利·約翰遜 (Brinlea Johnson)。你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to EverQuote Inc third quarter, 2024 earnings call. We'll be discussing the results announced in our press release issued today after the market closed with me on the call this afternoon is Jayme Mendal EverQuote Inc Chief Executive Officer and Joseph Sanborn, Chief Financial Officer of EverQuote Inc.

謝謝。下午好，歡迎參加 EverQuote Inc 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天下午收盤後，我們將與 EverQuote Inc 執行長 Jayme Mendal 和財務長 Joseph Sanborn 一起參加電話會議，討論今天發布的新聞稿中宣布的結果。

During the call, we will make statements related to our business that may be considered for looking statements under the federal securities laws, including statements concerning our financial guidance for the fourth quarter of 2024. Our looking statements may be identified with words and phrases such as we expect. We believe we intend, we anticipate we plan may upcoming and similar words and phrases. These statements represent our views only as of today and should not be considered our views as of any subsequent date.

在電話會議期間，我們將做出與我們業務相關的聲明，這些聲明可能會被考慮根據聯邦證券法查找聲明，包括有關我們 2024 年第四季度財務指引的聲明。我們的外觀陳述可能會被識別為我們所期望的單字和短語。我們相信我們打算，我們預計我們計劃可能即將出現類似的單字和短語。這些陳述僅代表我們今天的觀點，不應被視為我們在任何後續日期的觀點。

We specifically disclaim any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements except as required by law, forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to defer materially from our expectations. For discussion of those risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SCC filings including our annual report on form 10-K and our quarterly reports on form 10-Q on file with the securities and stage commission and available on the investor relations section of our website.

我們特別聲明不承擔任何更新或修改這些前瞻性陳述的義務，除非法律要求，否則前瞻性陳述會受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與我們的預期存在重大偏差。用於討論這些風險和不確定性。請參閱我們向證券和舞台委員會備案的 SCC 文件，包括 10-K 表格中的年度報告和 10-Q 表格中的季度報告，這些報告可在我們網站的投資者關係部分查看。

Finally, in the course of today's call, we refer to certain Non-GAAP financial measures which we believe are helpful to investors. A reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP measures is included in a press release to be issued after the close of the market today, which is available on the investor relations section of our website. And with that, I'll turn it over to Jayme.

最後，在今天的電話會議中，我們提到了某些我們認為對投資者有幫助的非公認會計準則財務指標。今天收盤後發布的新聞稿中包含了 GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標的對賬，您可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分查看該新聞稿。有了這個，我會把它交給傑米。

Thank you, Brinlea, and thank you all for joining us today.

謝謝布林利，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。

EverQuote Inc had a very strong third quarter operating results once again exceeded the high end of our guidance range for revenue BMM and adjusted EBIDA. And we once again achieved record levels across all three of these financial metrics along with record net income.

EverQuote Inc 第三季的營運表現非常強勁，再次超出了我們營收 BMM 和調整後 EBIDA 指導範圍的上限。我們再次在所有這三個財務指標上實現了創紀錄的水平以及創紀錄的淨利潤。

Our continued focus on the P&C market is paying off as we benefit from industry recovery and strong execution. As Auto carrier underwriting profitability remained healthy. Carriers have continued to reactivate campaigns, restore budgets and reopen state footprints in our marketplace. Our team has partnered deeply with carriers to find creative ways to support their re entry into the marketplace, helping accelerate progress for several important carriers.

我們對財產險市場的持續關注正在獲得回報，因為我們受益於產業復甦和強大的執行力。由於汽車承保盈利能力保持健康。營運商繼續重新啟動行銷活動、恢復預算並在我們的市場中重新開放州足跡。我們的團隊與營運商深入合作，尋找創意的方法來支持他們重新進入市場，幫助幾家重要的營運商加快進展。

At the same time, we continue to grow our local agent distribution channel with double digit growth in this channel. It is approaching record high revenue levels into this strengthening carrier and agent demand. Our customer acquisition teams continue to optimize effectively, and we continue to benefit from our AI Powered Bidding Solutions.

同時，我們持續發展本地代理分銷管道，並以兩位數的速度成長。隨著航空公司和代理商需求的不斷增強，其收入水準正接近創紀錄的高水準。我們的客戶獲取團隊繼續有效優化，我們繼續受益於我們的人工智慧出價解決方案。

Additionally, we grew our home insurance vertical 30% year over year. As our results show, our team is executing very well in this new environment. Progress in our technology evolution continues as well as we advance toward more modernized and simplified platforms across all facets of the business. In Q3, we finished the transition to our new site platforms and completed a major release of our new agent platform.

此外，我們的家庭保險垂直市場年增了 30%。正如我們的結果所示，我們的團隊在這個新環境中執行得非常好。我們的技術不斷發展，我們在業務的各個方面都朝著更現代化和簡化的平台邁進。在第三季度，我們完成了向新網站平台的過渡，並完成了新代理平台的主要版本。

These advances have already impacted development speed and will significantly accelerate our ability to roll out new features moving forward. In Q4, we are focused on maintaining operational momentum planning for 2025 and starting to manage through our transition to 1 to 1 consent. As we noted in last quarter's call, we have been preparing to comply with the new FCC rule related to consent collected under the TCPA, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

這些進步已經影響了開發速度，並將顯著加快我們推出新功能的能力。在第四季度，我們的重點是維持 2025 年的營運動能規劃，並開始管理向 1 對 1 同意的過渡。正如我們在上季度的電話會議中指出的那樣，我們一直在準備遵守與根據 TCPA（《電話消費者保護法》）收集同意相關的新 FCC 規則。

We are in the process of implementing the appropriate measures and expect to complete the process by the time it goes into effect in January 2025. In closing, I'd like to thank the EverQuote Inc team for an exceptionally strong performance in Q3 with Auto insurance carriers and agents increasingly focused on restoring growth. We find ourselves well positioned.

我們正在實施適當的措施，預計在 2025 年 1 月生效前完成流程。最後，我要感謝 EverQuote Inc 團隊在第三季的異常強勁表現，汽車保險公司和代理商越來越注重恢復成長。我們發現自己處於有利位置。

We have sharpened our focus on the P&C market allowing us to go deeper in serving the needs of this segment. Our execution has been improving quarter after quarter and with increasingly streamlined technology platforms, we expect our rate of progress in terms of our ability to support providers growth needs to accelerate. Moving forward an exciting time for the EverQuote Inc business.

我們加強了對財產險市場的關注，使我們能夠更深入地滿足該細分市場的需求。我們的執行力逐季提高，隨著技術平台日益簡化，我們預計在支援供應商成長需求方面的進展速度將會加快。為 EverQuote Inc 業務邁進一個令人興奮的時刻。

I'll now turn the call over to Joseph to discuss our financial results.

我現在將電話轉給約瑟夫，討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Jayme and thank you all for joining. I will start by discussing our financial results for the third quarter of 2024 for providing an update on what we are currently seeing in the Auto insurance sector and our guidance for the fourth quarter.

謝謝 Jayme，也謝謝大家的加入。我將首先討論我們 2024 年第三季的財務業績，以提供我們目前在汽車保險行業看到的最新情況以及我們對第四季度的指導。

Our strong momentum that started in the beginning of the year continued into Q3 as we exceeded guidance across all three of our primary financial metrics total revenue, Variable Marketing Margin or Variable Marketing Margin and adjusted EBITA.

我們從年初開始的強勁勢頭一直持續到第三季度，我們的所有三個主要財務指標總收入、可變營銷利潤或可變營銷利潤和調整後的息稅折舊攤銷前利潤都超過了指導。

We produced a record level of revenue and net income as well as a record level of adjusted EBITA and operating cash flow. These impressive financial results were due to continued strong execution from our operating teams against an increasingly favorable Auto carrier landscape.

我們創造了創紀錄的收入和淨利潤水平，以及創紀錄的調整後息稅折舊攤提前利潤和經營現金流水平。這些令人印象深刻的財務表現歸功於我們的營運團隊在日益有利的汽車承運商環境下持續強勁的執行力。

Total revenues in the third quarter were $144.5 million. Up 163% from the prior year period, revenue growth was primarily driven by stronger enterprise carrier spend which increased over 40% sequentially and was up nearly eight times from the compo period last year, our agency operations which were considerably more resilient during the downturn grew 30% year over year revenue from our Auto Insurance vertical was $130 million in Q3. Up over 200% year over year revenue from our Home and Renters insurance vertical grew to $14.1 million in Q3, up 30% year over year, Variable Marketing Margin was $43.9 million for the third quarter. Up approximately 125% from the prior year period.

第三季總營收為 1.445 億美元。較上年同期成長163%，營收成長主要得益於企業營運商支出的強勁成長，該支出環比成長超過40%，較去年同期成長近8 倍，我們的代理商業務在經濟低迷時期更具彈性，因此成長第三季度，我們的汽車保險垂直產業收入為 1.3 億美元，年增 30%。第三季度，我們的家庭和租屋保險垂直市場收入年增超過 200%，達到 1,410 萬美元，年增 30%，第三季可變行銷利潤為 4,390 萬美元。較去年同期成長約 125%。

Variable Marketing Margin as a percentage of revenue in Q3 remained strong at 30.4% as we benefited from our traffic team's ability to more effectively navigate a dynamic advertising environment and the investments, we have made in our bidding technology platform as reflected in our guidance for Q4. We expect modest downward pressure on Variable Marketing Margin as a percentage of revenues turning to operating expenses and the bottom line, we continue to be disciplined in managing expenses and driving incremental efficiency across our operations, which is resulting in expanding operating leverage as we scale and drive top line growth.

第三季可變行銷利潤佔收入的百分比保持在30.4% 的強勁水平，因為我們受益於我們的流量團隊更有效地駕馭動態廣告環境的能力以及我們在競價技術平台上所做的投資，正如我們對第四季的指導所反映的那樣。我們預計可變行銷利潤率作為收入轉向營運支出和底線的百分比將面臨適度的下行壓力，我們將繼續嚴格管理支出並提高整個營運效率，這將導致隨著我們規模和規模的擴大，營運槓桿不斷擴大。

In the third quarter, we reported record net income of $11.6 million adjusted, but that was also a record of $18.8 million in Q3 up 45%. Sequentially, an improvement from a loss of $1.9 million in the prior year period adjusted EBITA does a percentage of revenues grew to 13% in the quarter as we continue to benefit from our strong operating leverage as higher Variable Marketing Margin flow through to adjusted EBITA we delivered operating cash flow of $23.6 million for the third quarter ending the period with no debt and cash and cash equivalents of $82.8 million. Up from $60.9 million at the end of the second quarter of 2024 cash operating expenses which excludes advertising spend and certain non-cash and other onetime charges were $25.1 million in Q3.

第三季度，我們報告調整後淨利潤為創紀錄的 1,160 萬美元，但第三季的淨收入也創下了 1,880 萬美元的紀錄，成長了 45%。隨後，由於我們繼續受益於我們強大的營運槓桿，隨著更高的可變行銷利潤流向調整後的EBITA，我們繼續受益於我們強大的營運槓桿，從去年同期調整後EBITA 的190 萬美元虧損有所改善，我們的收入百分比增長至13%。第三季的現金營運支出（不包括廣告支出以及某些非現金和其他一次性費用）為 2,510 萬美元，高於 2024 年第二季末的 6,090 萬美元。

This includes approximately 500,000 of expenses related to moving our operations in Cambridge and Belfast to new offices in each city, to better support in person, team collaboration and manage rent costs. As a result of changes in our real estate footprint, annualized rent expenses will fall by approximately 40% in 2025. Before turning to guidance, I want to provide an update on our current outlook for the Auto insurance industry.

這包括與將我們在劍橋和貝爾法斯特的業務轉移到每個城市的新辦事處有關的約 50 萬美元費用，以便更好地提供個人支援、團隊協作和管理租金成本。由於我們房地產佈局的變化，2025 年年化租金支出將下降約 40%。在轉向指導之前，我想先介紹一下我們目前對汽車保險業的展望。

As we have progressed through the first three quarters of the year, we have seen increasing indications that a more growth oriented mindset is firmly taking hold among carriers as they have gained increasing confidence in their underwriting profitability.

隨著今年前三個季度的進展，我們看到越來越多的跡象表明，隨著保險公司對其承保盈利能力的信心不斷增強，以增長為導向的心態正在牢牢佔據保險公司的心。

Recent hurricanes, Helene and Milton resulted in temporary pauses and carrier spend in southeastern portions of the US at the end of Q3 and early Q4 as carriers follow their customary practice of pausing customer acquisition in impacted areas just before and the initial days after a major storm carriers quickly resume spend in impacted areas, which gives us confidence that these hurricanes will not have a material lasting impact on our marketplace.

最近的颶風「海倫」和「米爾頓」導致第三季末和第四季初美國東南部地區的營運商支出暫時停止，因為營運商按照慣例，在大風暴之前和之後的最初幾天暫停受影響地區的客戶獲取業者很快就恢復了在受影響地區的支出，這讓我們相信這些颶風不會對我們的市場產生實質的持久影響。

Looking ahead to next year, we remain confident that cars will continue to expand their customer acquisition footprint in our marketplace as they gain rate adequacy in additional states.

展望明年，我們仍然相信，隨著汽車在其他州獲得充足的費率，汽車將繼續擴大其在我們市場上的客戶獲取足跡。

While the specific timing and magnitude of such incremental spend in 2025 is not yet clear. We believe that the greater level of stability that is taking hold in the industry will likely result in carriers becoming relatively more aggressive and seeking to protect and expand their market share after prioritizing profitability at the expense of growth during the downturn. As Jayme discussed, we've been preparing for the upcoming FCC changes that will take place in January 2025.

雖然2025年此類增量支出的具體時間和規模尚不清楚。我們認為，該行業的穩定性可能會導致營運商變得相對更加激進，並在經濟低迷期間以犧牲增長為代價優先考慮盈利能力後尋求保護和擴大其市場份額。正如 Jayme 所討論的，我們一直在為 2025 年 1 月即將發生的 FCC 變更做準備。

In the first half of next year, we expect the transition to 1 to 1 consent will create short term unpredictability and headwinds primarily with our third party agents as we recalibrate pricing to reflect what we believe will be the new normal with a lower volume of leads. Been monetizing at a higher level.

明年上半年，我們預計向1 對1 同意的過渡將帶來短期的不可預測性，並主要對我們的第三方代理商造成不利影響，因為我們將重新調整定價，以反映我們認為潛在客戶數量減少的新常態。貨幣化處於更高水準。

Over the past several quarters, we have demonstrated our ability to successfully execute through and quickly adapt to dynamic environments. And as such, we believe we will emerge from this regulatory shift as a stronger company with a better product offering for our customers. Turning to guidance for the fourth quarter, we expect revenue to be between $131million and $136 million representing 140% year to year growth at the midpoint.

在過去的幾個季度中，我們展示了我們成功執行並快速適應動態環境的能力。因此，我們相信，我們將從這項監管轉變中脫穎而出，成為一家更強大的公司，為客戶提供更好的產品。談到第四季的指導，我們預計營收將在 1.31 億美元至 1.36 億美元之間，相當於中位數年增 140%。

We expect the Variable Marketing Margin to be between $38million and $40 million representing 89% year over year growth at the midpoint. And we expected just to be between $14million and $16 million versus a loss of $900,000 in the prior year period.

我們預計可變行銷利潤將在 3,800 萬美元至 4,000 萬美元之間，相當於中點年增 89%。我們預計虧損額為 1,400 萬至 1,600 萬美元，而去年同期虧損為 90 萬美元。

For context, in our Q4 guidance, we expect incremental spend by select carriers in the period to generally offset our continued preparation for the upcoming FCC changes taking place in January on balance. We expect that seasonal sequential decline from Q3 to Q4 to be comparable to what we have experienced on average over the past five years in Auto vertical, consistent with our commentary in our August earnings call, our guidance for Q4 also reflects the just the but done margins moderating to be at or near Q2 levels.

就背景而言，在我們的第四季度指導中，我們預計特定運營商在此期間的增量支出總體上將抵消我們為 1 月份即將發生的 FCC 變化而持續做的準備。我們預計從第三季到第四季的季節性連續下降將與我們過去五年在汽車垂直領域的平均經驗相當，這與我們在8 月的財報電話會議中的評論一致，我們對第四季度的指導也反映了剛完成的情況利潤率放緩至或接近第二季度的水平。

In summary, during the third quarter, we continue to execute well, further build upon the strong performance we had in the first half of 2024 and capitalize on the steadily improving Auto carrier landscape.

總而言之，在第三季度，我們繼續保持良好的執行力，進一步鞏固我們在 2024 年上半年的強勁業績，並利用穩步改善的汽車承運商格局。

Our record results in the third quarter for revenue BMM adjusted EBITA and net income are evidence that our strategic focus on driving operational improvements, maintaining disciplined expense management, and emerging from the Auto insurance downturn as a stronger company is working.

我們第三季創紀錄的 BMM 調整後 EBITA 收入和淨利潤結果證明，我們的策略重點正在發揮作用，即推動營運改善、維持嚴格的費用管理以及擺脫汽車保險低迷，成為一家更強大的公司。

And I will now take your questions.

現在我將回答大家的問題。

At this time. I would now like to remind everyone in order to ask a question, press star. Then the number one on your telephone keypad.

此時。我現在想提醒大家，要問，請按star。然後是電話鍵盤上的數字 1。

Our first question comes to the line of Mayank Tanen with Needham and Company. Your line is open.

我們的第一個問題涉及 Mayank Tanen 與 Needham and Company 的關係。您的線路已開通。

Thank you. Good evening. Congrats Jayme and Joseph on the quarter. I wanted to just start with the, the, the new regulation. Could you just remind us how much of the business would be exposed to the impact? And is there any way to quantify what the impact would be? For example, if it went into effect this year, is there a way to maybe size, what the impact would have been? Just to give us a sense of how we can reflect that in our model going forward?

謝謝。晚安.恭喜 Jayme 和 Joseph 在本季度取得好成績。我想從新法規開始。您能否提醒我們有多少業務將受到影響？有什麼方法可以量化其影響嗎？例如，如果它今年生效，有沒有辦法確定規模，影響會是什麼？只是為了讓我們了解如何在未來的模型中反映這一點？

Sure. Thanks Mayank. So, I'll take the first part and then I'll let Joseph address the sort of how to think about it from a modeling standpoint. You know, so, so just as a reminder, the new rule that effectively requires 1 to 1 consent that gives the consumer a bit more control over how they get their quotes. And so, you know, on the one hand, the effect of that will be that some consumers will opt into fewer provider options, resulting in fewer leads being sold. And this specifically affects outreach that occurs telephonically. So that's mainly, you know, our, our agency business and the offline leads that, that we're selling, which is, you know, call it 25%, 30% of the business.

當然。謝謝瑪雅克。因此，我將討論第一部分，然後讓 Joseph 闡述如何從建模的角度思考它。您知道，所以，提醒一下，新規則實際上需要一對一的同意，這讓消費者對如何取得報價有更多的控制權。因此，您知道，一方面，其影響將是一些消費者會選擇更少的提供者選項，從而導致銷售的潛在客戶減少。這尤其影響透過電話進行的外展活動。所以這主要是我們的代理商業務和我們正在銷售的線下銷售線索，佔業務的 25%、30%。

But on the other hand, it's going to improve the quality of that product specifically, the performance of those leads for those agents because you have fewer agents reaching out to a consumer and that, you know, consumer will have opted in more explicitly. So net, you know, what, what will happen is the pricing will adjust, and agents will end up paying more for what is ultimately a better, a higher quality lead product.

但另一方面，這將提高產品的質量，特別是那些代理商的潛在客戶的績效，因為接觸消費者的代理商減少了，而且您知道，消費者會更明確地選擇加入。因此，淨而言之，你知道，將會發生的事情是定價將會調整，代理商最終將為最終更好、更高品質的主導產品支付更多費用。

So that's kind of how, how it affects us in terms of, you know, how that you should think about that from a modeling standpoint. I'll let Joseph address that.

這就是它如何影響我們，你知道，你應該如何從建模的角度來思考這個問題。我會讓約瑟夫來解決這個問題。

Piece to contextualize if you mind because the leads' about roughly 25% of the revenues, we've talked about in our last call continues to be around that percentage and it primarily affects our agents as Jayme mentioned. So when we think about this into the start of the year, there's a lot of puts and takes on it right now. And as we've talked about is there's some unpredictability in terms of exactly how we'll play out because it also depends upon how agents will respond to better performing the higher priced consumers being referred to.

如果您介意的話，請結合實際情況考慮，因為我們在上次電話會議中談到的銷售線索約佔收入的25%，仍然約為該百分比，正如Jayme 提到的，它主要影響我們的代理商。因此，當我們在今年年初考慮這個問題時，現在有很多調整和調整。正如我們所討論的，我們的具體實施方式存在一些不可預測性，因為這也取決於代理商如何應對所提到的更高價格消費者的更好表現。

So we think that will play out of the course of Q1 into Q2, the way we think about it. And from modeling perspective is a fairly, fairly, fairly simple right now is if you think about Q4 to Q1, you typically have a seasonal step up from Q4 to Q1 when you have budget resets it across the, the entire business. And that's a double digit type increase. If you look historically where we've been in terms of step up from Q4 to Q1, you would see what we see expected with this, with the impact of the FCC chain of a much more muted growth, step up from Q4 to Q1, we'll still see growth, but you'll see a more muted growth.

因此，我們認為這將在第一季到第二季的過程中發揮作用，就像我們思考的方式一樣。從建模的角度來看，現在相當非常簡單，如果您考慮第四季度到第一季度，當您在整個業務中重置預算時，通常會出現從第四季度到第一季的季節性步驟。這是兩位數的成長。如果你從歷史上看我們從第四季到第一季的進展情況，你會看到我們對此的預期，受 FCC 鏈的影響，成長更加緩慢，從第四季到第一季度，我們仍然會看到成長，但你會看到成長更加溫和。

And we expect, as you think through modeling Variable Marketing Margin margin will sort of work through a little bit in, in in first quarter. You may see some pressure as rates stabilized, but we think that will sort of normalize as you get into the middle of the year.

我們預計，正如您透過建模可變行銷利潤率所想到的那樣，利潤率將在第一季有所發揮。隨著利率穩定，您可能會看到一些壓力，但我們認為，隨著進入年中，這種情況將會正常化。

That's very helpful color. As my follow up question, I wanted to just go back to your comments. Jayme and Joseph around carriers opening up in new states, you know, how long does that continue? In other words, what I'm getting at is how long will that be a tail wind before you sort of are at a point where that's not the, the incremental driver, but really, it's more about just capturing more of the budget from your carrier partners.

這是非常有用的顏色。作為我的後續問題，我想回到您的評論。Jayme 和 Joseph 圍繞在新州開設的航空公司，你知道，這種情況會持續多久？換句話說，我的意思是，在你達到一個不是增量驅動力的點之前，這會是順風多久，但實際上，這更多的是從你的預算中獲取更多的預算。合作夥伴。

Yeah, thanks, Mayank. So we're pleased with the recovery thus far. It's been a strong recovery so far this year, that being said it's been driven, I would say mostly by a relatively limited number of carriers so far. And so if you take a step back and look at the market, what you've got is a Auto insurance industry that is increasingly healthy from an underwriting standpoint.

是的，謝謝，瑪雅克。因此，我們對迄今為止的復甦感到滿意。今年到目前為止，這是一個強勁的復甦，據說這是由迄今為止相對有限的營運商推動的。因此，如果你退後一步看看市場，你會發現從承保的角度來看，汽車保險業越來越健康。

So you're seeing mid 90s to low 90s combined ratios, you know, almost across the board, but you've got effectively all but one carrier kind of losing share and, and one carrier gaining a lot of shares. And so I think that the, the table is sort of set for, you know, the conditions right now are such that the carriers are profitable, they're losing share with one exception and they are talking more about and leaning more into growth as we turn the corner into next year.

因此，你會看到 90 年代中期到 90 年代低的綜合比率，你知道，幾乎全面，但實際上除了一家航空公司外，所有航空公司都在失去份額，而一家航空公司則獲得了大量份額。因此，我認為，目前的情況是，運營商是盈利的，他們正在失去份額，但有一個例外，他們正在更多地談論並更多地傾向於增長，因為我們即將迎來明年。

So our general point of view is, you know, we, we've started to see more carriers reenter the marketplace, more carriers expanding their footprint. And we would expect that to persist into next year.

所以我們的總體觀點是，我們已經開始看到更多的營運商重新進入市場，更多的營運商擴大其足跡。我們預計這種情況將持續到明年。

We also know that next year you've got it most likely, you know, one or more large states that could sort of really come back in a more meaningful way. California being the most notable one.

我們也知道，明年，一個或多個大州很可能會以更有意義的方式真正回歸。加州是其中最引人注目的一個。

So our expectation is that there will be some more recovery as we progress into next year. And that will come from more carriers, more geo geographical footprints. But I think the, you know, we're definitely more than halfway through the recovery at this point. It's hard to pin exactly where we are, but I, I would say sort of mid to, you know, mid to late innings.

因此，我們預計，隨著明年的進展，將會有更多的復甦。這將來自更多的運營商、更多的地理足跡。但我認為，你知道，目前我們的復甦肯定已經完成一半以上。很難準確地確定我們所處的位置，但我，我想說的是，你知道，中後期。

Great. I didn't ask that question very well, but that was a great color. Thank you so much, Jayme.

偉大的。我沒有很好地問這個問題，但那是一個很棒的顏色。非常感謝你，杰梅。

Okay.

好的。

And your next question comes from the line of C. Gregory Peters with Raymond James. Your line is open.

你的下一個問題來自 C. Gregory Peters 和 Raymond James。您的線路已開通。

Well, good afternoon, everyone. I guess my first question.

嗯，大家下午好。我猜我的第一個問題。

Can you, can you just take a step back and talk to us about the new bidding technology and the new agent platform? And, and from a technical perspective, I'm just curious how that interfaces with the existing agency management systems that so many of these agents have in place already.

您能不能退一步跟我們談談新的競價技術和新的代理平台？而且，從技術角度來看，我只是很好奇它如何與許多代理程式已經部署的現有代理管理系統互動。

Sure. So, you know, for some time now, Greg, we've been working to, to realign and, and sort of simplify our technology platforms to really support the future scale velocity of new feature development and you know, specific going deep into specific use cases within the P&C market as we really focus on going deeper here. And so we've rolled out a number of, you know, new or enhanced platforms over the last year that spans our site traffic, which is now all running through a new platform, our traffic bidding platform which effectively uses sort of AI bidding.

當然。所以，你知道，格雷格，一段時間以來，我們一直在努力重新調整和簡化我們的技術平台，以真正支持新功能開發的未來規模速度，你知道，具體深入到具體P&C 市場中的用例，因為我們真正專注於在這裡深入研究。因此，我們在去年推出了許多新的或增強的平台，涵蓋了我們的網站流量，現在所有這些平台都透過一個新平台運行，即我們的流量競價平台，該平台有效地使用了人工智慧競價。

So we have machine learning that that does the vast majority of our, our traffic bidding today. And then we have an agent platform which was just released where we had a big release of it to thousands of agents, which will really accelerate our ability to, to deliver new features to agents. So we're making good progress there and we're seeing the benefits of it with respect to how it interacts with agent management systems.

因此，我們現在有機器學習來完成我們絕大多數的流量競價。然後我們有一個剛發布的代理平台，我們向數千個代理商進行了大規模發布，這將真正加快我們向代理商提供新功能的能力。因此，我們在這方面取得了良好的進展，並且我們看到了它在與代理管理系統互動方式方面的好處。

You know, our agent platform today is primarily focused on the delivery of our referral product. So it's setting up campaigns to help them target you know, specific risk profiles and accept the lead delivery or, or live call delivery of those referrals. So we do integrate with a number of agency management systems or lead management systems out there. But our technology platform lives almost like one step up funnel from that, that being said, you know, part of the re platforming is setting the stage for us to continue to add more features to it and, you know, really develop richer relationships with those agents that begin to span more of their needs over time.

您知道，我們今天的代理平台主要專注於推薦產品的交付。因此，它正在進行活動，幫助他們針對您所了解的特定風險狀況，並接受潛在客戶交付或這些推薦的即時電話交付。因此，我們確實與許多代理管理系統或潛在客戶管理系統整合。但我們的技術平台幾乎就像一個階梯漏斗，話雖這麼說，你知道，重新平台化的一部分正在為我們繼續添加更多功能奠定基礎，並且，你知道，真正與客戶建立更豐富的關係隨著時間的推移，這些代理商開始滿足更多的需求。

Okay,

好的，

I answer your question.

我回答你的問題。

Yeah, that's, that's interesting detail and there's, there's some follow ups I have on that, but we can take that offline. The other, the other important question I wanted to ask is just given, given the success you've had this year. I'm intrigued by the cash build that you have on the balance sheet. And I'm just curious how management and, and the board are thinking about the cash bill because if we look forward, it seems like with the recovery in the Auto market, you're going to continue to accumulate cash. So, what are the uses of cash at this point as we think about the outlook?

是的，這是一個有趣的細節，我對此有一些後續行動，但我們可以將其離線。考慮到你們今年所取得的成功，我想問的另一個重要問題剛剛給出。我對資產負債表上的現金累積很感興趣。我只是好奇管理層和董事會如何考慮現金帳單，因為如果我們展望未來，隨著汽車市場的復甦，您將繼續累積現金。那麼，當我們考慮前景時，現金有什麼用途呢？

Sure. So, thanks for the question. So, we, we are pleased that we've been building casting. It reflects that over the past year we've taken the business from, you know, we really focused on how we drive, you know, not just suggest eta but cash flow and how and how that represents building value over time. So, it's been a big part of our strategy. So, thank you for noticing it. What I, what I would say in terms of because we think about cash. We do expect it to continue to build as well. We do not see cash needed to grow specifically to grow the business. You know, it's a cash flow positive business. We expect that to continue with nice conversion from adjusted but to free cash flow.

當然。所以，謝謝你的提問。所以，我們很高興我們一直在進行選角工作。這反映出，在過去的一年裡，我們真正關注的是我們如何推動業務，你知道，不僅僅是建議 eta，還有現金流，以及如何以及如何代表隨著時間的推移創造價值。因此，這是我們策略的重要組成部分。所以，感謝您注意到這一點。我會說什麼，因為我們考慮的是現金。我們確實希望它也能繼續建造。我們認為不需要專門用於發展業務的現金。你知道，這是一項現金流為正的業務。我們預計這種情況將持續下去，從調整後的現金流向自由現金流的良好轉變。

You know, I think if we look at potential uses for cash, you know, I think we will couple things we'll think about, you know, one is, is obviously maybe we might think about M&A as a potential way to accelerate our existing strategy. As we've mentioned to you this summer, we did our annual strategy review process and coming out of that, we, we have our five-year plan for how we're going to drive, you know, long term growth and profitability and ever EverQuote Inc. And it's very much focused on the P&C vertical, but we could see opportunities to, you know, augment things we're going to do organically with potentially organic activities that could accelerate it. And the way we think about it is, you know, the landscape is, has changed a lot in terms of, you know, the private and serekh market, many of them have had been challenged at, you know, raising additional rounds of capital and there's an opportunity for us potentially to accelerate things for us and bring on additional folks who want to be part of a winning team and what we're trying to do here at EverQuote Inc.

你知道，我認為如果我們考慮現金的潛在用途，你知道，我認為我們會考慮一些事情，你知道，一個是，顯然我們可能會認為併購是加速我們的發展的一種潛在方式。 。正如我們今年夏天向您提到的，我們進行了年度戰略審查流程，並製定了五年計劃，以推動長期增長和盈利能力，以及EverQuote Inc.，它非常專注於財產保險垂直領域，但我們可以看到機會，你知道，透過可能加速它的潛在有機活動來增強我們將要有機地做的事情。我們思考這個問題的方式是，你知道，在私人和 Serekh 市場方面，情況已經發生了很大變化，其中許多市場都受到了籌集額外資金的挑戰。成為獲勝團隊一部分的人，以及我們在EverQuote Inc. 正在努力做的事情。

So I think of course if we look at those opportunities, they'll be in the context of the same way, we look at things internally right now, which is how does it drive our core strategy of P&C? How does it focus on driving additional cash flow and EBITA and help our clients succeed and win?

所以我認為，當然，如果我們專注於這些機會，它們會以同樣的方式看待，我們現在在內部看待事情，這就是它如何推動我們的財產與意外傷害的核心策略？它如何專注於推動額外現金流和 EBITA 並幫助我們的客戶取得成功並獲勝？

So I think that's the primary and then beyond that, we'll, we'll think of other things that help continue to drive growth in the business overall.

所以我認為這是首要的，除此之外，我們會考慮其他有助於繼續推動整體業務成長的事情。

That answer makes sense. Thanks again for your time.

這個答案很有道理。再次感謝您抽出時間。

Thank you, Greg.

謝謝你，格雷格。

And your next question comes from the line of Jason Kreyer with Craig Hallum. Your line is open.

你的下一個問題來自 Jason Kreyer 和 Craig Hallum 的對話。您的線路已開通。

Oh, great. Thank you. Nice work guys. So just wanted to ask about BMM We've seen that, just come under a little bit of pressure over the last couple of quarters, wonder if you could give some perspective on where you think that trends going forward and then what do you think would need to happen in the market to see that figure start to expand?

哦，太好了。謝謝。幹得好，夥計們。所以只是想問 BMM 我們已經看到了這一點，在過去的幾個季度中受到了一點壓力，想知道您是否可以就您認為未來的趨勢給出一些看法，然後您認為會怎樣市場需要發生什麼才能看到這個數字開始擴大？

So, thank you, Jason for the question. So I think in terms of the BMM Mars, I think one of the things that we highlight and we highlighted in our prepared remarks is, you know, how it is, how does resulted for us in Q3. I think we put a, you know, as we talked about, you know, since the start of the year we expect as we went to a more normalized environment that we would have BMM margin come down from where they were at their heights of late last year, early this year. Reflecting as we got to a more normalized environment with carriers looking to grow their business. And as that has continued, you know, we expected some downward pressure on BMM margin.

所以，謝謝傑森提出的問題。因此，我認為就 BMM 火星而言，我認為我們在準備好的發言中強調的一件事是，你知道，它是怎樣的，我們在第三季的結果如何。我認為，正如我們所討論的，自今年年初以來，我們預計，隨著我們進入一個更加正常化的環境，我們的 BMM 利潤率將從最近的最高水平下降去年，今年年初。反思我們進入了一個更規範化的環境，營運商希望發展業務。隨著這種情況的持續，我們預計 BMM 利潤率將面臨一些下行壓力。

You know what we were able to do in the course of Q3 is, is really through the two things. I think the effect of our teams really adapting very nicely on the traffic side to the environment coupled with our bidding technology, we're able to maintain a very strong Variable Marketing Margin margin, you know, very, very close to where we were in Q2, you know, and that I think speaks to this, the investments we've made in the data and the technology that are really starting to pay off for us.

你知道我們在第三季能夠做的事情，實際上是透過這兩件事。我認為我們的團隊在流量方面確實很好地適應了環境，再加上我們的出價技術，我們能夠保持非常強大的可變營銷利潤率，你知道，非常非常接近我們所處的位置第二季度，我認為這說明了我們在數據和技術方面所做的投資真正開始為我們帶來回報。

And we think that will be sustainable over time. You know, as we've talked about with the FCC changes coming up, we think there'll be some, you know, modest pressure. We reflect that in our guide for Q4 reflects some downward pressure. But very modest, we expect there'll be some in the start of the year as well as we go through these changes. We think we'll normalize and you know, around these levels as we get into the middle of next year and through the FCC change. And we think that is, is really a level that is, you know, be sustainable over time for us.

我們認為隨著時間的推移，這將是可持續的。你知道，正如我們所討論的 FCC 即將發生的變化，我們認為將會有一些，你知道的，適度的壓力。我們在第四季度的指南中反映了一些下行壓力。但非常溫和，我們預計在今年年初會出現一些變化，同時我們也會經歷這些變化。我們認為，當我們進入明年年中並透過 FCC 變更時，我們將在這些水平附近實現正常化。我們認為，這確實是一個隨著時間的推移對我們來說可持續的水平。

Again, I think the other thing I'd probably highlight to you too is that as we think about, you know, BMM margin for us, we look at it in the context of the efficiency of our traffic operations. And ultimately, you know, we think it's important that we're not just driving revenue board driving margins. So we have, we have a sustainable financial model over time.

再說一次，我想我可能還要向你們強調的另一件事是，當我們考慮我們的 BMM 利潤時，我們會在交通運營效率的背景下看待它。最終，你知道，我們認為重要的是我們不僅僅是推動收入委員會推動利潤率。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們擁有了可持續的財務模式。

That's super helpful. Just on that, the FCC, the TCPA change. I'm assuming you've done some testing in the market. Just curious if there's any details you can provide on what you've learned in testing that that is framing your opinion on what's going to happen come that January change over.

這非常有幫助。就在這一點上，FCC、TCPA 發生了變化。我假設您已經在市場上進行了一些測試。只是好奇您是否可以提供有關您在測試中學到的知識的任何詳細信息，這些細節可以幫助您對一月份的更改所發生的情況形成看法。

Yeah, we've been doing testing on it. You know, for quite some time now, we've tested many, many variants of, you know, different treatments that would, that would be compliant. And I think the, you know, what, what we've come to appreciate is, as I said earlier, I think by giving consumers a bit more control. And then, you know what you, what happens is you'll end up with slightly fewer consumers opting in to, you know, various provider options.

是的，我們一直在對其進行測試。你知道，在相當長的一段時間裡，我們已經測試了很多很多不同的治療方法，這些方法都是合規的。我認為，正如我之前所說，我們逐漸欣賞的是，我認為透過給予消費者更多的控制權。然後，你知道，會發生什麼，最終選擇各種提供者選項的消費者會稍微減少。

And then the results of that will be fewer leads sold. But the encouraging bit is that those consumers who do opt in convert at significantly higher levels. And so, you know, we, we do expect lead volume to come down a bit, but we also are going to reflect the improved performance, the improved quality in the form of higher pricing. And I think the net of it will be a better product for our customers because they will have, you know, they will, they will be converting those leads at a higher rate and a better experience for, for consumers. In that it sort of eliminates some of the unwanted outreach for those consumers who otherwise would have opted out if given the option.

其結果將是銷售線索減少。但令人鼓舞的是，那些選擇購買的消費者的轉換率明顯較高。因此，您知道，我們確實預計鉛銷售會略有下降，但我們也將以更高的定價形式反映性能的提高和品質的提高。我認為對於我們的客戶來說，它的網路將是一個更好的產品，因為他們將以更高的速度轉換這些潛在客戶，並為消費者提供更好的體驗。這在某種程度上消除了那些消費者不必要的接觸，否則如果有選擇的話他們會選擇退出。

So, we feel confident in our plan, we've been working closely with carriers, with agents with other partners to adapt. We're in the process of executing our transition plan right now. It's all in flight and you know, we look forward to, to getting through it and coming out in a better place on the other side.

因此，我們對我們的計劃充滿信心，我們一直在與營運商、代理商以及其他合作夥伴密切合作以進行調整。我們現在正在執行我們的過渡計劃。一切都在進行中，你知道，我們期待度過難關，並在另一邊出現在一個更好的地方。

And maybe I can just add on Jason to the end of the other piece that add on which if you think about the FCC changes, we, we, I know you came out with a note on this as well. You know, I guess our view on it is that this is a change that is a challenge for the industry broadly. We have been putting a lot of effort into it from early on and we think as Jayme said, we're not going to come out stronger from this.

也許我可以在另一篇文章的末尾添加 Jason 的內容，如果你考慮到 FCC 的變化，我們，我們，我知道你也對此做出了說明。你知道，我想我們對此的看法是，這是一個對整個產業來說是一個挑戰的變化。我們從一開始就投入了大量的努力，我們認為正如 Jayme 所說，我們不會因此而變得更強大。

We think we're actually coming in a better position strategically and many and others will not. And so we feel very good about, you know, what we've been doing and positioning us for this change and the silver lining is will come out and I think a better spot, it will be better for our customers as well as consumers as well as ourselves.

我們認為我們實際上在戰略上處於更好的位置，而許多人和其他人則不會。因此，我們對我們一直在做的事情以及為這一變化所做的定位感到非常滿意，一線希望將會出現，我認為一個更好的地方，這對我們的客戶和消費者來說都會更好以及我們自己。

All right, appreciate all the thoughts. Thank, thanks, Jayme. Thanks Joseph.

好吧，欣賞所有的想法。謝謝，謝謝，杰梅。謝謝約瑟夫。

Thanks Jason

謝謝傑森

And your next question comes the line of Jed Kelly with Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. Your line is Open.

您的下一個問題是 Jed Kelly 與奧本海默公司 (Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.) 的線路。

Hey, great, thanks. Thanks for taking my questions.

嘿，太好了，謝謝。感謝您回答我的問題。

Just two. If I may, it looks like you know, your guidance implies. I'm not going to ask about the BMM margins. I'm going to ask you about keep it up as a percentage of Variable Marketing Margin looks like you're going to exit that, that this year is going to be 35% to 36% and you're talking about in a lower rent expense next year. Can you just kind of give us some guardrails when we think about your even the margins on beating them? Like how we should be thinking about that?

只有兩個。如果可以的話，看起來你知道，你的指導意味著。我不會詢問 BMM 利潤率。我要問你關於保持可變行銷利潤率的問題，看起來你要退出這個比例，今年將是 35% 到 36%，而且你正在談論較低的租金明年的費用。當我們考慮到你擊敗他們的優勢時，你能給我們一些護欄嗎？就像我們應該如何思考這個問題？

My second question is just around the four. You've got kind of applies. You know, there is a quarter over quarter revenue decline. However, when I've looked on how the business is historically performed in up cycles, it's usually revenues usually expand or, or increase quarter over quarter, we just need to talk about some of the thinking there. Thank you?

我的第二個問題就是圍繞這四個問題。你有一些申請。您知道，收入逐季度下降。然而，當我研究業務在上升週期中的歷史表現時，通常收入通常會擴大，或逐季增加，我們只需要談談其中的一些想法。謝謝你？

Sure. So maybe I think the second one just sort of sort of seasonality is.

當然。所以也許我認為第二個只是某種季節性。

So I think if you look at our business first on seasonality, you have to look at, given we had the health business since we divested health tend to be a very strong Q4 performer and second quarter was Q1. So you got to sort of isolate that business from our financials. When the, when we look at this, we look at really the Auto business and going back over the past, you know, half dozen years, what does it look like? Q3 to Q4?

因此，我認為，如果您首先考慮我們的業務季節性，那麼您必須考慮一下，因為我們擁有健康業務，因為我們剝離的健康業務往往在第四季度表現非常強勁，而第二季度是第一季度。所以你必須將該業務與我們的財務狀況分開。當我們審視這個問題時，我們真正審視的是汽車產業，並回顧過去，你知道，六年前，它是什麼樣子的？Q3到Q4？

And there's been a sequential down, you know, 7%, 8% you can do it five years, six years on average, I will acknowledge that there's pretty wide range. There's been quarters, there's been years when it's been up, double digits have been years when actually been down even more material than it's been up in prior years. So averages, but by their nature are have some limitations given some of the volatility we had in our business overall.

連續下降，你知道，平均五年、六年可以下降 7%、8%，我承認下降幅度相當大。有幾個季度，有幾年，它一直在上升，在兩位數的年份裡，實際上下降的材料比前幾年的上升還要多。因此，考慮到我們整體業務的一些波動性，平均數本質上來說有一些限制。

That being said it is, it is certainly something we look at within an EverQuote Inc The other thing I'd, I'd point out is I've talked about seasonal trends in general in the business is what's true in Q4 has been true, you know, pretty broadly for in the industry, which is agents tend to on the agent side of our business. We have agents taking holidays. And so you have vacation time which impacts the agent business on the carrier spend side.

話雖這麼說，這肯定是我們在 EverQuote Inc. 內部關注的事情。 ，在行業中相當廣泛，代理商傾向於代理我們的業務。我們有代理人休假。因此，您有休假時間，這會影響運營商支出方面的代理業務。

Generally speaking of carriers who are, you know, relative pull back, relatively speaking on spend in the period because they don't compete against the holidays and they don't want to compete against, you know, e-commerce and retail and retail. And so those are the things that factor into it is we've put it all in the mix and we thought about those in the context of everything we're seeing in the business. We do believe there'll be some carriers that we see coming from Q3 into Q4. It will select car is actually, you know, incremental spend in Q4 for us.

一般來說，營運商在這段時期的支出相對減少，因為他們不會與假期競爭，也不想與電子商務和零售競爭。因此，這些都是影響因素，我們將所有這些都放在一起，並在我們在業務中看到的所有內容的背景下考慮了這些因素。我們確實相信從第三季到第四季將會出現一些營運商。您知道，它將選擇汽車實際上是我們第四季度的增量支出。

And we're, but we, that'll also be offset by what we're seeing on some of the preparation we're doing for FCC and some of the, some of the cut over to 1 to 1 that we expect to happen in the latter part of the quarter in advance of the official change in January.

我們，但是我們，這也將被我們正在為 FCC 所做的一些準備工作以及我們預計將發生的一些 1 比 1 削減所抵消在一月份正式變更之前的季度後半段。

That's in the seasonality piece. The next piece that's saying BMM margin, I think Variable Marketing Margin, you know, even to adjust, even just the E but our margins to Variable Marketing Margin. It's an interesting way to look at the business. I guess when I tend to look at it, I look at, look at it slightly differently, which is, I think about as we think about the EBIDA margins. You know, though, we just to give some context, right. We're at 5.5% to 6% pre downturn. We're 8.5% in Q1. So, we have record level in Q1.

這是季節性部分。下一篇說的是 BMM 利潤，我認為可變行銷利潤，你知道，甚至要調整，即使只是 E，但我們的利潤是可變行銷利潤。這是一種看待業務的有趣方式。我想當我傾向於看待它時，我會以稍微不同的方式看待它，也就是說，我會像我們思考 EBIDA 利潤率一樣思考它。不過你知道，我們只是為了提供一些背景信息，對吧。經濟衰退前的成長率為 5.5% 至 6%。第一季的成長率為 8.5%。因此，我們在第一季達到了創紀錄的水平。

We saw that continue into Q2. We had 11%. What we said at the time is that, hey, 11, double digit, even down margins, we're really pleased with, it reflects the operating leverage we built into the model and as we've had, you know, rapid car spend come on, it went to the bottom line before we started making investment. So, and we, and as we progress into, as we progressed in the period, we made comments multiple times saying that we were really a pull for some of the margins we expect in 2025 into, you know, Q2 and now Q3.

我們看到這種情況持續到第二季​​。我們有 11%。我們當時所說的是，嘿，11，兩位數，甚至利潤率下降，我們真的很高興，它反映了我們在模型中內置的運營槓桿，正如我們所擁有的，你知道，快速的汽車支出來吧，在我們開始投資之前它就已經達到底線了。因此，隨著我們在此期間的進展，我們多次發表評論說，我們確實拉動了我們預計 2025 年第二季和現在第三季的一些利潤。

And so what we see in Q4 really is that if you have seasonality coming down, you see those, the margins returning to, you know, to what we saw in Q2, that, that 11% is shown is what is implied for Q4 as we look to next year. That's, that is the, that is what we've sort of said for next year going forward. I think the first part of the year is we'll still have to work through exactly how it'll play out as we think through how 1 to 1 consent impacts the business in the first part of the year.

因此，我們在第四季度看到的確實是，如果季節性下降，您會看到這些，利潤率回到我們在第二季度看到的水平，即顯示的11％ 是第四季度的隱含值我們展望明年。這就是我們所說的明年的情況。我認為今年上半年我們仍然需要研究具體的結果，因為我們會考慮一對一的同意如何影響今年上半年的業務。

And I, and we'll work that through and then over time you'll see us be very disciplined about adding incremental backs. But what? But we will make incremental investments to position the business for long term. And again, it's done with that same view that we've been doing is, you know, as we make investments, it's very much what is the Roy? And how do we have clear conviction that it's going to drive value for us, and you know, 2026 and beyond?

我，我們會解決這個問題，然後隨著時間的推移，你會看到我們在增加增量備份方面非常自律。但什麼？但我們將進行增量投資，以實現業務的長期定位。再說一遍，我們一直在做同樣的觀點，你知道，當我們進行投資時，羅伊是什麼？我們如何明確地相信它將在 2026 年及以後為我們帶來價值？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you, Jed.

謝謝你，傑德。

And your next question comes from the line of Ralph Schackart with William Blair & Company Your line is open.

您的下一個問題來自 Ralph Schackart 與 William Blair & Company 的專線 您的專線已開通。

Good afternoon. Thanks. Take question, two questions, please. Maybe just returning back to the FCC change that's coming. Beginning of next year, Jayme perhaps gives some perspective, have the, has the feedback that you've been receiving and sort of the actions that the agents and the customers are taking is sort of in line with your expectations.

午安.謝謝。提問，請提兩個問題。也許只是回到即將到來的 FCC 變更。明年年初，Jayme 可能會給予一些觀點，了解您收到的回饋，以及代理商和客戶正在採取的行動是否符合您的期望。

Is there been any, I guess major shifts versus what your thesis was going in? That's the first question, second track questions for Joseph more philosophical. I know you talked about some pull through and a huge step up margins in 2024. But, you know, given the return to growth and the leaner cost structure that you've implemented philosophically, how are you thinking about you know, expanding margins versus reinvesting in the business? Thank you both.

我想與您的論文內容相比，是否有任何重大變化？這是第一個問題，約瑟夫的第二個問題更具哲學性。我知道您談到了 2024 年的一些突破和利潤率的大幅提升。但是，你知道，考慮到成長的回報和你從哲學上實施的更精簡的成本結構，你如何看待擴大利潤與對業務進行再投資？謝謝你們倆。

So, with respect to how the customer engagement has gone relative to our expectations. I would say it's been, we've been, it's been very much in line with our, with our hopes which may be exceeded expectations. And that effectively all the carriers and agents, you know, with whom we've been interacting have been very receptive of the data that we've been sharing and the actions that we plan to take. You got to remember all these carriers are and agents are moving back into very much like a growth mindset. So they're willing to do work with us to do what, what is needed to support our ability to continue to help them grow.

因此，就客戶參與度相對於我們的期望而言。我想說，這一直是，我們一直是，這非常符合我們的希望，我們的希望可能會超出預期。實際上，您知道，與我們互動的所有承運商和代理商都非常願意接受我們一直在共享的數據以及我們計劃採取的行動。你必須記住，所有這些運營商和代理商正在重新回歸成長型思維模式。因此，他們願意與我們合作，做一些需要做的事情，以支持我們繼續幫助他們成長的能力。

And so there's been a lot of data sharing with the large carriers that are most effective. They've, you know, we share data from some of the testing we've been doing to help them understand the performance improvement, which is the basis for pricing changes that we plan to roll through.

因此，與最有效的大型營運商共享了大量數據。他們，你知道，我們分享了我們一直在進行的一些測試的數據，以幫助他們了解性能改進，這是我們計劃推出的定價變化的基礎。

You know, upon reviewing that data, I think they're, they're more than willing to, to sort of support, you know, our, our the changes that we hope to implement and more broadly, I think we've seen carriers more open minded to supporting a broad, a broader range of things we can do, whether it's new services, new products, things like that to support their growth in the future. So overall, I would say that the process is somewhat exceeded our expectations, but we've received very little in the way of push back if that's what you're asking about.

你知道，在審查這些數據後，我認為他們非常願意提供某種支持，你知道，我們希望實施的變革，更廣泛地說，我認為我們已經看到了運營商以更加開放的態度來支持我們可以做的更廣泛、更廣泛的事情，無論是新服務、新產品，還是諸如此類的事情來支持他們未來的成長。總的來說，我想說這個過程在某種程度上超出了我們的預期，但如果這是您所問的問題，我們幾乎沒有收到任何反擊。

So maybe turning to the margin philosophy, I guess, may give you maybe at the highest level, which is we, our philosophy is continues to be work we're doing expand growth and profitability and over time having growing profitability. Now we see our, our long term growth averaging 20 plus percent, the top line and you see a just down margins getting to 20 plus percent as well. I think what you will see right, as we look to next year, I think one of the things we're cognizant of is that we've had a lot of margin expansion in a very short period of time.

因此，我想，也許轉向利潤哲學可能會給你帶來最高的水平，這就是我們，我們的哲學是繼續我們正在做的工作，擴大增長和盈利能力，並隨著時間的推移，盈利能力不斷增長。現在，我們看到我們的長期成長率平均為 20% 以上，收入也略有下降，利潤率也達到了 20% 以上。我認為你會看到的，當我們展望明年時，我認為我們認識到的一件事是我們在很短的時間內實現了大幅的利潤率擴張。

And so, it's we certainly will be very disciplined, any incremental OpEx. We, we do make next year and be driven by how we're going to drive return in 2026 and beyond. But I've had a lot of, we've had an awful lot of margin expansion in one year, had you known 1300% through, you know, getting to Q3 and we're at zero before we're negative. And, and now we're saying we're continued at that 11% level in Q4 forward. So, I'd say over time, we see that growing, how much happens next year again, how much margin we can have this year,

因此，我們肯定會非常嚴格地對待任何增量營運支出。我們明年確實會有所作為，並以如何推動 2026 年及以後的回報為動力。但我已經經歷了很多，我們在一年內經歷了非常多的利潤率擴張，如果你知道 1300％，你知道，進入第三季度，在我們出現負值之前我們的利潤率為零。現在我們說第四季我們將繼續保持 11% 的水平。所以，我想說，隨著時間的推移，我們看到成長，明年會發生多少，今年我們可以有多少利潤，

I think is an open question, Ralph and I think part of the reason we're being somewhat hedging on it is we think we're still trying to think through the exact implications for the modeling of, of FCC in the first part of the year and how that plays out, you know, as we look to Q1 for expenses, we'll have, you know, typical step up in Q1 as we normally do at the start of the year. You know, as we think beyond that, we will certainly be disciplined and adding incremental expenses, but we do expect to be making investments to drive growth in future periods and over time going to that 20%.

我認為這是一個懸而未決的問題，拉爾夫和我認為我們在某種程度上對沖它的部分原因是我們認為我們仍在嘗試思考第一部分中 FCC 建模的確切含義。第一季的支出時，我們將在第一季看到典型的進步，就像我們通常在年初所做的那樣。你知道，正如我們所認為的那樣，我們肯定會遵守紀律並增加增量支出，但我們確實希望進行投資以推動未來一段時間的成長，並隨著時間的推移達到 20%。

Okay, great. Thank Joseph. Thank you. I appreciate it.

好的，太好了。謝謝約瑟夫。謝謝。我很感激。

Thank you, Ralph.

謝謝你，拉爾夫。

And your next question comes from the line of Cory Carpenter with JP Morgan. Your line is open.

你的下一個問題來自摩根大通的科里卡彭特 (Cory Carpenter)。您的線路已開通。

Thanks, and good afternoon. Why don't you go back to the agency channel of 30% year over year this quarter? Jayme, could you just expand on what you're seeing in that channel? Is the recovery similar to the direct carrier channel where it's driven by maybe a small number of large carriers or just expand a bit on what you're seeing there.

謝謝，下午好。為什麼本季不回到年增30%的代理商通路？Jayme，您能詳細介紹一下您在該頻道中看到的內容嗎？復甦是否類似於直接運營商管道，它可能是由少數大型運營商推動的，或者只是在您所看到的基礎上進行了一些擴展。

And then, Joseph, I know you've been asked a few times. I mean, Omar tried but just on the four Q outlook is there, you know, just trying to think about how big of an impact the CC changes are having maybe a different way of asking, it would, would Auto revenue in four Q be flat or even sequentially without the FCC impact. Thank you.

然後，約瑟夫，我知道你已經被問過幾次了。我的意思是，奧馬爾嘗試過，但只是在第四季度的前景上，你知道，只是想思考一下CC 的變化有多大的影響，也許可以用不同的方式來問，第四季度的汽車收入會是多少？謝謝。

Thanks Corey. So with respect to the agent channel, you know, the the agent business is, is performing very well. You know, it's approaching record high revenue levels. What we are seeing is the captive carriers who were, you know, a bit slower to kind of respond and work through the hard market cycle are, are beginning to sort of feel better about their underwriting profitability and beginning to encourage growth among their agent base through changes in, in underwriting through increases in in marketing support, which you know, flows directly to us.

謝謝科里。所以就代理商通路而言，你知道，代理業務表現得非常好。你知道，它正在接近創紀錄的高收入水平。我們看到的是，那些在艱難的市場週期中反應和工作速度稍慢的自保承運商，現在開始對自己的承保盈利能力感覺更好，並開始鼓勵其代理商群體的增長通過承保方面的變化，透過增加行銷支持，你知道，這些都直接流向我們。

So we're seeing these carriers really begin to push the agents for growth again, which is, you know, it just help begin to, to drive more recovery among the agent base. That being said, the, the sort of rate of change with agents is always a bit slower than the rate of change with direct carriers just because you have this sort of large, you know, distribution channel that is slower to move slower on the way down is slower on the way up. But I think what we're seeing now is that the, the sort of recovery is here for the agents and it's, and it's been building of late, and we would expect that to continue into next year.

因此，我們看到這些業者確實開始推動代理商再次成長，這只是幫助開始推動代理商群體的更多復甦。話雖這麼說，代理商的變化速度總是比直接承運人的變化速度慢一點，因為你有這種大型的分銷管道，在運輸過程中移動速度較慢下降的過程中上升的速度較慢。但我認為我們現在看到的是，代理商已經出現了這種復甦，而且最近一直在逐漸恢復，我們預計這種情況將持續到明年。

So that's encouraging. I think, you know, we continue to view our leadership position with these local agents as a, as an important part of our long term competitive, competitive position. And that, you know, taken together with advances in our agent technology platform, make us very excited about some, making some real progress with agents next year.

所以這是令人鼓舞的。我認為，您知道，我們繼續將我們在這些當地代理商中的領導地位視為我們長期競爭地位的重要組成部分。你知道，再加上我們代理技術平台的進步，讓我們非常興奮，明年我們將在代理商方面取得一些真正的進展。

And with your, your regards to your question on Q4, I'll look if it was not for FCC changes, would we be closer to flat Q3 to Q4? And I, I guess I give you this call, which is, I think you, I still think we would probably seasonally down, but it'd be closer, I think would be closer to flat. I think it's a reasonable assumption. As we, as we think through Q4. So, you know, to give you some more specific answer, I think closer to flat, I'm not sure quite right to say it'd be flat Q3 to Q4.

關於您對第四季度問題的問候，我會看看如果不是 FCC 的變化，我們是否會更接近第三季至第四季的持平？我想我會給你這個電話，我認為你仍然認為我們可能會季節性下降，但會更接近，我認為會更接近持平。我認為這是一個合理的假設。正如我們，正如我們對第四季的思考。所以，你知道，為了給你一些更具體的答案，我認為接近持平，我不確定說第三季到第四季持平是正確的。

As we said in our prepared remarks, there are select carriers that are increasing, spend going into Q3, but we didn't say our prepared marks. There are some carriers. If you've made clear, they'll seasonally pull back in Q4 and they've been explicit in that to us. So, there is both of those aspects.

正如我們在準備好的演講中所說，有一些特定的運營商正在增加第三季度的支出，但我們沒有說我們準備好的分數。有一些載體。如果你已經明確表示，他們將在第四季季節性回撤，他們已經向我們明確表示了這一點。所以，有這兩個面向。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you for the question.

謝謝你的提問。

And your final question comes from the line of Zach Cummins with B Riley Securities. Your line is open.

你的最後一個問題來自 B Riley Securities 的 Zach Cummins。您的線路已開通。

Yeah. Hi. Thanks.

是的。你好。謝謝。

For taking my questions. Appreciate it. Just two for me. First Jayme I was curious of maybe the feedback you've been getting. from the broader set of carriers and, and their intentions around potentially ramping up, spend going into next year.

回答我的問題。欣賞它。對我來說只有兩個。首先，Jayme，我對你收到的回饋感到好奇。來自更廣泛的運營商，以及他們可能增加明年支出的意圖。

And then my second question is just within the home and renters vertical. I'm nice to see the strong growth again this quarter. Just, just curious what's, what's driving the solid performance in, in that vertical and, and expectations we should be assuming moving forward.

我的第二個問題是在家庭和租屋者垂直領域內。我很高興看到本季再次強勁成長。只是，只是好奇是什麼，是什麼推動了垂直領域的穩健表現，以及我們應該假設向前發展的期望。

Sure, yes. So, on the broader Auto recovery, you know, the there's what we hear from directly from carriers and then there's kind of what, what we see as leading indicators. And I think we've established a pretty good understanding of how, you know, their underwriting profitability today translates into their appetite for growth tomorrow.

當然，是的。因此，在更廣泛的汽車復甦方面，我們直接從運營商那裡聽到了一些信息，然後還有一些我們認為的領先指標。我認為我們已經很好地理解了他們今天的承保盈利能力如何轉化為他們明天的成長慾望。

And so I'm taking the, the first piece now, you know, I I'll just reiterate underwriting profitability looks healthy, broadly speaking, within Auto, probably by broadly speaking, I mean, across carriers, you know, mid to low 90s or better combined ratios. Now within that, there's obviously some nuanced state to state. But, but, you know, you're starting to see a pretty healthy underwriting environment and Auto insurance. And sure enough, you know, as that's been materializing, we're starting to see more and more carriers leaning in expanding their footprint, increasing their budgets.

所以我現在要講的是第一部分，你知道，我只是重申一下，從廣義上講，在汽車行業，承保盈利能力看起來很健康，可能從廣義上講，我的意思是，跨運營商，你知道，中低水準90 年代或更好的組合比率。其中，顯然有一些微妙的狀態需要說明。但是，但是，你知道，你開始看到一個相當健康的承保環境和汽車保險。果然，您知道，隨著這一點的實現，我們開始看到越來越多的運營商傾向於擴大其覆蓋範圍，增加預算。

And that's been part of the build, you know, that we've seen so far this year now in terms of what we're hearing specifically from them. I think I'd struggle to, to identify a single carrier who's not focused on growing next year. So, I think that the, the, you know, the barring any changes to underwriting profitability, it's shaping up to be a year where the table is set for increased competition in the marketplace, right?

你知道，這是我們今年迄今為止所看到的構建的一部分，從我們從他們那裡聽到的具體情況來看。我想我很難找出一家不專注於明年成長的營運商。所以，我認為，除非承保獲利能力發生任何變化，否則今年市場競爭將加劇，對嗎？

You've got this dynamic, as I mentioned earlier where one carrier is growing, kind of all the other carriers are shrinking. And that's not a sustainable place for them to be. So, you know, the direct feedback kind of jives with some of the higher level market data we're watching and I think it's, you know, it it does shape up to be a year where you see a lot of demand come back into the market from carriers.

正如我之前提到的，一家營運商正在成長，而所有其他營運商都在萎縮，這是一種動態。這對他們來說不是一個可持續發展的地方。所以，你知道，直接回饋與我們正在觀察的一些更高級別的市場數據非常吻合，我認為，你知道，這確實會成為你看到大量需求回歸的一年。

So that's the bit on Auto with respect to home. You know, I mean, we, we started talking about restoring greater focus a bit more resourcing on home, must have been last year at this point. And, you know, we started to just see the benefits of that. Most recently, you know, the growth that we're seeing is driven, it's fairly balanced, it's both growth in traffic and growth in in monetization. And the combination of those two things has allowed us to sustain a very healthy growth rate in home.

這就是關於汽車與家庭的關係。你知道，我的意思是，我們，我們開始談論恢復更多的關注，為家庭提供更多的資源，一定是去年的這個時候。而且，你知道，我們開始看到這樣做的好處。最近，您知道，我們看到的成長是驅動的，相當平衡，既是流量的成長，也是貨幣化的成長。這兩件事的結合使我們能夠在國內保持非常健康的成長速度。

Now, that's in the backdrop of a homeowner's market which is still dealing with elevated cat losses that we have these, these hurricanes. But under the under the hood, you're seeing underlying combined ratios improving in home as well. So, I think the combination of better execution in home and an improving market dynamic should set it up pretty well going into next year as well.

現在，這是在房主市場的背景下，該市場仍在應對颶風造成的貓損失增加。但在幕後，您會看到家庭的潛在綜合比率也在改善。因此，我認為，國內更好的執行力和不斷改善的市場動態相結合，也應該能夠很好地進入明年。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And there are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to management.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在想將電話轉回給管理階層。

All right. Well, thanks all for joining us today. Just to reiterate, you know, we delivered an exceptional third quarter surpassed our expectations and it's been a strong year-to-date forever. EverQuote Inc. We're pleased with the team's continued execution and now is Auto insurance carriers and agents restore focus on growth.

好的。好的，感謝大家今天加入我們。重申一下，您知道，我們第三季的表現超出了我們的預期，而且今年迄今為止一直表現強勁。EverQuote Inc. 我們對團隊的持續執行力感到滿意，現在汽車保險公司和代理商恢復了對成長的關注。

We feel very well positioned as a leader in the market and the sole pure play P&C focused marketplace. So, we look forward to continuing to make progress and, and keeping you updated on our progress as we go.

我們感覺自己作為市場領導者和唯一專注於財產與意外險的市場處於非常有利的地位。因此，我們期待繼續取得進展，並隨時向您通報我們的進展。

Thanks for your time.

感謝您抽出時間。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。