Evercore Inc (EVR) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Evercore third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Katy Haber, Managing Director of Investor Relations and ESG at Evercore. Please go ahead.

早安，歡迎參加 Evercore 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）我現在將把電話轉給 Evercore 投資者關係和 ESG 董事總經理 Katy Haber。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning and thank you for joining us today for Evercore's third quarter 2024 financial results conference call. I'm Katy Haber, Evercore's Head of Investor Relations and ESG. Joining me on the call today is John Weinberg, our Chairman and CEO; and Tim LaLonde, our CFO. (Event Instructions)

謝謝你，接線生。早安，感謝您今天參加 Evercore 2024 年第三季財務業績電話會議。我是凱蒂·哈伯 (Katy Haber)，Evercore 投資者關係和 ESG 主管。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是我們的董事長兼執行長約翰溫伯格 (John Weinberg)。和我們的財務長 Tim LaLonde。（活動須知）

Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing Evercore's third quarter 2024 financial results. Our discussion of our results today is complementary to the press release which is available on our website at evercore.com. This conference call is being webcast live in the For Investors section of our website and an archive of it will be available for 30 days beginning approximately one hour after the conclusion of this call.

今天早些時候，我們發布了新聞稿，宣布了 Evercore 2024 年第三季的財務表現。我們今天對結果的討論是我們網站 Evercore.com 上發布的新聞稿的補充。本次電話會議將在我們網站的「投資者專區」部分進行網路直播，其存檔將在本次電話會議結束後約一小時後的 30 天內提供。

During the course of this conference call, we may make a number of forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements that we make are subject to various risks and uncertainty. And there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those indicated in these statements.

在本次電話會議期間，我們可能會做出一些前瞻性聲明。我們所做的任何前瞻性陳述都面臨各種風險和不確定性。有一些重要因素可能導致實際結果與這些陳述中指出的結果有重大差異。

These factors include but are not limited to those discussed in Evercore's filings and SEC including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. I want to remind you that the company assumes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.

這些因素包括但不限於 Evercore 的文件和 SEC 中討論的因素，包括我們的 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表季度報告以及 8-K 表當前報告。我想提醒您的是，本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

In our presentation today, unless otherwise indicated, we will be discussing adjusted financial measures which are non-GAAP measures that we believe are meaningful when evaluating the company's performance. For detailed disclosures on these measures and the GAAP reconciliations, you should refer to the financial data contained within our press choice which is posted on our website. We continue to believe that it is important to evaluate Evercore's performance on an annual basis.

在我們今天的演講中，除非另有說明，否則我們將討論調整後的財務指標，這些指標是我們認為在評估公司績效時有意義的非公認會計準則指標。有關這些措施和 GAAP 調節表的詳細揭露，您應該參閱我們網站上發布的新聞選擇中包含的財務資料。我們仍然認為，每年評估 Evercore 的表現非常重要。

As we have noted previously, our results, for any particular quarter, are influenced by the timing of transaction's closing.

正如我們之前指出的，任何特定季度的業績都會受到交易結束時間的影響。

I'll now turn the call over to John.

我現在將把電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Katy. And good morning, everyone. We're pleased to be doing this quarter's earnings call from our London headquarters.

謝謝你，凱蒂。大家早安。我們很高興在倫敦總部召開本季的財報電話會議。

We had a strong quarter as our revenues continued to build. The firm generated approximately $740 million in adjusted net revenues, up 28% versus the prior year period driven by continued improvement in both the macroeconomic environment and capital markets. The interest rate picture has begun to clarify as the Fed lowered rates for the first time since its rapid rate hikes began in early 2022.

隨著我們的營收持續成長，我們的季度業績表現強勁。在宏觀經濟環境和資本市場持續改善的推動下，該公司調整後淨收入約為 7.4 億美元，較上年同期成長 28%。隨著聯準會自 2022 年初開始快速升息以來首次降息，利率情況已開始明朗。

We believe we are in the midst of a recovery, albeit gradual, which will pave the way for a healthy multiyear cycle across the advisory and capital markets businesses industry wide. Although uncertainty persists particularly with respect to the upcoming US election and geopolitical tensions, broad market activity and our internal metrics continue to strengthen, further supporting our robust backlogs and positioning us for what we believe can be an active 2025.

我們相信，我們正處於復甦之中，儘管是漸進的，這將為整個行業的諮詢和資本市場業務的健康多年周期鋪平道路。儘管不確定性依然存在，特別是在即將到來的美國大選和地緣政治緊張局勢方面，但廣泛的市場活動和我們的內部指標繼續增強，進一步支持了我們強勁的積壓訂單，並為我們認為2025 年的活躍做好了準備。

As we have discussed throughout the year, we expect to see activity levels continue to gradually increase over the coming months and into next year. However, the exact timing of when that impacts financial results is hard to pinpoint as this uncertainty could impact the timing of transaction announcements and closings.

正如我們全年討論的那樣，我們預計未來幾個月和明年的活動水平將繼續逐漸增加。然而，很難確定影響財務表現的確切時間，因為這種不確定性可能會影響交易公告和交割的時間。

As the M&A market looks poised to return to more normalized levels, the investments we've made in our businesses have resulted in a stronger, more diversified firm, which positions us for growth over the medium to long term.

隨著併購市場有望恢復到更正常化的水平，我們對業務的投資使公司變得更加強大、更加多元化，這為我們的中長期成長奠定了基礎。

Turning to talent, 2024 has so far been another successful recruiting year. Year to date, eight investment banking Senior Managing Directors and one Senior Advisor have started at or have committed to join the firm. Three of these eight SMDs committed since our last earning call and will be joining either later this year or in early 2025.

談到人才，2024 年迄今又是個成功的招募年。今年迄今為止，已有八名投資銀行高級董事總經理和一名高級顧問已開始或已承諾加入該公司。自從我們上次財報電話會議以來，這 8 個 SMD 中有 3 個已承諾加入，並將於今年稍後或 2025 年初加入。

We have a strong pipeline for external recruits and we are continuing to add high-quality senior talent to our firm. Among the three newly committed SMDs, one will be building a new product group focused on structured finance while the other two will be joining our financial institutions and sponsor coverage teams, respectively.

我們擁有強大的外部招聘管道，並且正在繼續為我們的公司增加高素質的高級人才。在三個新承諾的 SMD 中，其中一個將建立一個專注於結構性融資的新產品組，而另外兩個將分別加入我們的金融機構和保薦人覆蓋團隊。

Additionally, our new senior leaders in France started last month and we are excited about increased levels of client activity and dialogues driving our expanded presence in Europe. In our equities business., we've added to the depth of our research coverage with a top-tier research analyst to lead coverage on the fintech and IT services sectors.

此外，我們在法國的新高級領導人上個月就任，我們對客戶活動和對話水平的增加感到興奮，這推動了我們在歐洲擴大業務。在我們的股票業務中，我們聘請了一位頂尖研究分析師來領導金融科技和 IT 服務領域的研究，從而擴大了研究範圍的深度。

Now let me briefly turn to the quarter. Despite typical summer seasonality and a rise in equity market volatility in late summer, Evercore experienced strong activity in nearly all of its businesses in the third quarter. In strategic advisory, we advised on a number of notable and complex transactions including TIH on the $7.8 billion sale of its retail insurance broking division, McGriff Insurance Services, to Marsh McLennan; Avenue Capital Group and the Nuveen Asset Management on their $3.4 billion sale of minority equity interests in its Vistra Vision to Vistracorp; and CVC on acquisition of a significant ownership position in Epicor from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

現在讓我簡單談談本季。儘管典型的夏季季節性以及夏末股市波動加劇，Evercore 在第三季幾乎所有業務都表現強勁。在策略諮詢方面，我們為許多著名且複雜的交易提供了諮詢服務，包括 TIH 以 78 億美元將其零售保險經紀部門 McGriff Insurance Services 出售給 Marsh McLennan； Avenue Capital Group 和 Nuveen Asset Management 以 34 億美元的價格向 Vistracorp 出售其 Vistra Vision 少數股權；和 CVC 從 Clayton, Dubilier & Rice 收購 Epicor 的重要所有權。

These transactions are representative of some of the areas we've been investing in including financial services, software, energy transition, and capabilities that serve our sponsor clients.

這些交易代表了我們一直在投資的一些領域，包括金融服務、軟體、能源轉型以及為贊助商客戶提供服務的能力。

The European advisory team has gathered strength throughout the year with a strong third quarter. While we are continuing to see progress, the improvement in the European M&A market still lags in the US and uncertainty in the region remains. In line with trends we've seen in the second quarter, our financial sponsors business has continued to see internal dialogue levels build momentum. We believe that further interest rate cuts and continued pressure from LPs to return capital will stir sponsor related activity.

歐洲顧問團隊全年實力雄厚，第三季表現強勁。儘管我們繼續看到進展，但歐洲併購市場的改善仍然落後於美國，該地區的不確定性仍然存在。與我們在第二季度看到的趨勢一致，我們的財務贊助商業務繼續看到內部對話水平建立勢頭。我們認為，進一步降息和有限合夥人要求返還資本的持續壓力將刺激保薦人相關活動。

This is a critical driver to the broader M&A recovery. Our strategic defense business remains busy as global activist campaigns continue at historically high levels. The liability management and restructuring practice remains quite active. As such, we believe 2024 will be a strong year for this business. Liability management continues to be the primary driver of activity and we expect to see strong activity levels continue into 2025 even as the merger market recovers. Our industry-leading private capital advisory businesses delivered another quarter of strong performance with a robust pipeline as we approach the year end.

這是更廣泛的併購復甦的關鍵驅動力。隨著全球積極活動繼續保持歷史高水平，我們的戰略防禦業務仍然繁忙。負債管理和重組實踐仍然相當活躍。因此，我們相信 2024 年將是該業務強勁的一年。負債管理仍然是活動的主要驅動力，我們預計即使合併市場復甦，強勁的活動水準仍將持續到 2025 年。隨著年底的臨近，我們行業領先的私人資本諮詢業務憑藉強勁的管道，再創一個季度的強勁業績。

The continued success of this business has been in part to our longstanding relationships with GPs and LPs and the decline in cash back to LPs from the drop in sponsor-related portfolio company exits. While the fundraising market typically experiences a summer slowdown in the third quarter, our private funds group is in dialogue with several new funds and activity for this group continues to broaden. We expect fundraising activity to improve as M&A market levels continue to increase.

這項業務的持續成功部分歸功於我們與普通合夥人和有限合夥人的長期關係，以及贊助商相關投資組合公司退出減少導致有限合夥人現金回饋的減少。雖然籌款市場通常會在第三季經歷夏季放緩，但我們的私募基金集團正在與幾家新基金進行對話，並且該集團的活動繼續擴大。我們預計隨著併購市場水準的持續提高，融資活動將會改善。

The underwriting business ended the quarter on a strong note as issuance activity increased in September. In the quarter, we were lead-left bookrunner on Diamondback Energy's $2.6 billion follow-on offering, which was the third largest us follow on offering of the year and Evercore's largest lead-left book run deal to date. It is clear that our commitment to broadening our sector coverage and enhancing our role in transactions yielding results.

隨著 9 月發行活動的增加，承銷業務在本季末表現強勁。本季度，我們是 Diamondback Energy 26 億美元後續發行的牽頭左帳簿管理人，這是美國今年第三大後續發行，也是 Evercore 迄今為止最大的左牽頭簿記管理人。很明顯，我們致力於擴大我們的行業覆蓋範圍並增強我們在產生成果的交易中的作用。

Notably, we participated in the tech IPO research, and so far this year, having been a bookrunner in five of the eight US tech IPOs. We anticipate continued activity in the equity capital markets across the medium to longer term. However, in the short term, the upcoming US election coupled with normal seasonality may narrow windows of opportunity for issuers. We remain optimistic that the IPO market will be more active in 2025.

值得注意的是，我們參與了科技 IPO 的研究，今年到目前為止，我們已成為美國 8 起科技 IPO 中的 5 起的帳簿管理人。我們預計中長期內股權資本市場將持續活躍。然而，短期內，即將到來的美國大選加上正常的季節性可能會縮小發行人的機會之窗。我們仍然樂觀地認為 2025 年 IPO 市場將會更加活躍。

Our equities franchise experienced the strongest third quarter in nearly a decade. Importantly, this month marks the 10-year anniversary of the Evercore and ISI merger, and we are pleased with the reforms this business has achieved over the last decade, expanding Evercore's breadth and differentiating us from our peers. In wealth management, our assets under management reached $13.9 billion driven by strong market appreciation and client engagement.

我們的股票業務經歷了近十年來最強勁的第三季。重要的是，本月是 Evercore 和 ISI 合併 10 週年，我們對該業務在過去十年中實現的改革感到高興，這些改革擴大了 Evercore 的業務範圍，並使我們在同行中脫穎而出。在財富管理方面，由於強勁的市場升值和客戶參與度，我們的管理資產達到 139 億美元。

Before I turn it over to Tim to discuss the financial results, I want to wrap up with a few points.

在我將其交給蒂姆討論財務業績之前，我想總結幾點。

We continue to believe we are in a gradual recovery and we remain confident that both the market and our results will steadily improve as the market gains further clarity and confidence over the coming quarters. As we look to 2025 and beyond, we remain committed to the execution of our long-term strategic road map while carefully managing our expense base. As demonstrated by our recent hires this past quarter, we are committed to not only expanding our industry and geographic reach but also deepening and diversifying our product and coverage capabilities across adjacent areas.

我們仍然相信我們正在逐步復甦，並且我們仍然相信，隨著市場在未來幾季變得更加清晰和充滿信心，市場和我們的業績都將穩步改善。展望 2025 年及以後，我們仍然致力於執行我們的長期策略路線圖，同時仔細管理我們的費用基礎。正如我們上個季度最近招募的人員所證明的那樣，我們不僅致力於擴大我們的行業和地理覆蓋範圍，而且還致力於深化和多樣化我們在鄰近地區的產品和覆蓋能力。

We continue to enhance our client coverage breadth and depth, including investments in covering large-, mid-, and small-cap public and private companies as well as financial sponsors. We believe we are well positioned as the market recovers and are optimistic about Evercore's prospects in the years ahead.

我們不斷提高客戶覆蓋的廣度和深度，包括對大、中、小型上市公司和私人公司以及金融贊助商的投資。我們相信，隨著市場復甦，我們處於有利地位，並對 Evercore 未來幾年的前景持樂觀態度。

With that, let me turn it over to Tim.

接下來，讓我把它交給提姆。

Thank you, John.

謝謝你，約翰。

The third quarter financial results are consistent with the gradual recovery we have conveyed in recent earnings calls and are seeing in the markets and in our businesses. We continue to make strategic investments in our firm and are balancing that with attention to expense management with our focus on providing exceptional client service and building value for our shareholders. We remain committed to improving our expense ratios, recognizing that revenue growth also plays an important role in achieving that.

第三季的財務表現與我們在最近的財報電話會議中傳達的以及市場和業務的逐步復甦是一致的。我們繼續對公司進行策略性投資，並在專注於費用管理和專注於提供卓越的客戶服務和為股東創造價值之間取得平衡。我們仍然致力於提高費用率，並認識到收入成長在實現這一目標方面也發揮著重要作用。

We continue to expect gradual improvements in our margins over the near to medium term. With that, I will now discuss our third quarter financial results. For the third quarter of 2024, net revenues, operating income, and EPS on a GAAP basis were $734 million, $122 million, and $1.86 effectively.

我們繼續預期中短期內我們的利潤率將逐步改善。接下來，我將討論我們第三季的財務表現。2024 年第三季度，以 GAAP 計算的淨收入、營業收入和每股盈餘分別為 7.34 億美元、1.22 億美元和 1.86 美元。

My comments from here will focus on non-GAAP metrics, which we believe are useful in evaluating our results. Our standard GAAP reporting and a reconciliation of GAAP to adjusted results can be found in our press release which is on our website.

我在這裡的評論將重點放在非公認會計準則指標，我們認為這些指標對於評估我們的結果很有用。我們的標準 GAAP 報告以及 GAAP 與調整後結果的調整可以在我們網站上的新聞稿中找到。

Our third-quarter adjusted net revenues of $740 million increased 28% versus the third quarter of 2023. Third-quarter adjusted operating income of $135 million increased 63% versus the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.04 increased 57% versus the third quarter of last year. Our adjusted operating margin was 18.2% for the third quarter, up from 14.4% in the third quarter of last year, an improvement of approximately 385 basis points.

我們第三季調整後淨收入為 7.4 億美元，比 2023 年第三季成長 28%。第三季調整後營業收入為 1.35 億美元，較 2023 年第三季成長 63%。調整後每股收益為 2.04 美元，較去年第三季成長 57%。第三季調整後營業利潤率為 18.2%，高於去年第三季的 14.4%，提高了約 385 個基點。

Turning to the businesses. Third-quarter adjusted advisory fees of $593 million increased 27% year over year, reflecting further improvement in macroeconomic and market conditions. This is consistent with the number of advisory fees greater than $1 million, which rose by 30%.

轉向企業。第三季調整後諮詢費用為5.93億美元，年增27%，反映出宏觀經濟和市場狀況的進一步改善。這與 100 萬美元以上的諮詢費數量增加了 30% 一致。

Our third-quarter underwriting fees were $44 million, up 43% from a year ago, demonstrating improved diversification across sectors and active engagement in several large, high-profile follow-ons. Emissions and related revenue were $55 million in the third quarter, nearly our strongest third quarter to date in this business, was up 12% year over year, reflecting strong trading commissions and subscription fees.

我們第三季的承銷費用為 4,400 萬美元，比去年同期成長 43%，這表明跨行業的多元化有所改善，並積極參與了幾個大型、備受矚目的後續專案。第三季的排放量和相關收入為 5,500 萬美元，幾乎是該業務迄今為止最強勁的第三季度，年增 12%，反映出強勁的交易佣金和訂閱費。

Third-quarter adjusted asset management and administration fees of $21 million increased 14% year over year, primarily driven by our record AUM which benefited from market appreciation during the quarter.

第三季調整後的資產管理和行政費用為 2,100 萬美元，年成長 14%，這主要是由於我們創紀錄的 AUM 推動的，該規模受益於本季的市場升值。

Third-quarter adjusted other revenue, net, was approximately $26 million, which compares to $10 million a year ago. Approximately two-thirds of the other revenue was interest income and about one-third was a gain on our DCCP hedge.

第三季調整後的其他淨收入約為 2,600 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,000 萬美元。其他收入中約三分之二是利息收入，約三分之一是 DCCP 對沖收益。

Turning to expenses, the adjusted compensation ratio for the third quarter is 66% compared to 68% a year ago, a 200 basis point improvement. This quarter's ratio represents our best judgment of the accrual for this quarter, taking into consideration our view of full-year revenue and compensation expense when factoring in SMD hiring, head count levels, expected market levels of compensation at year end, and other relevant factors. Our third-quarter results were consistent with our expectations for the quarter. Thus, the compensation ratio remains stable relative to the prior two quarters.

費用方面，第三季調整後薪資率為66%，較去年同期的68%提高了200個基點。本季的比率代表了我們對本季度應計費用的最佳判斷，考慮到我們在考慮 SMD 招聘、員工人數水平、年底預期市場薪酬水平以及其他相關因素時對全年收入和薪酬支出的看法。我們第三季的業績與我們對該季度的預期一致。因此，薪酬比率相對於前兩個季度保持穩定。

As I mentioned at the outset, we are striving to make improvements in our comp ratio. However, we also continue to invest in building our firm and so improvements will occur across the near to medium term.

正如我在一開始提到的，我們正在努力提高薪酬比率。然而，我們也繼續投資建設我們的公司，因此在中短期內將會出現改進。

Next, non-compensation expenses in the quarter were $117 million, up 15% from a year ago. And the adjusted non-comp expense ratio for the quarter is 15.8% compared to 17.6% a year ago, an improvement of 180 basis points.

其次，該季度的非薪資支出為 1.17 億美元，比去年同期成長 15%。本季調整後的非公司費用率為 15.8%，較去年同期的 17.6% 提高了 180 個基點。

The non-compensation expense increased from a year ago, is primarily driven by three items: first, an increase in travel and related expenses as client related travel continues to normalize; second, professional fees which reflect higher recruiting and consulting fees as well as higher client related activity. Note that the reimbursement for certain clients' expenses is reflected in the revenue line. Third, communications and information services expenses related to technology expenses for existing and new platforms as well as increased rates and subscription costs related to higher headcount. Our non-comp expenses on a per-employee basis were up 9% versus the prior year but down nearly 8% from the prior quarter.

非補償費用較上年同期增加，主要由三個因素驅動：一是客戶相關差旅持續正常化，導致差旅及相關費用增加；其次，專業費用反映了更高的招募和諮詢費用以及更高的客戶相關活動。請注意，某些客戶費用的報銷反映在收入線中。第三，與現有和新平台的技術費用相關的通訊和資訊服務費用，以及與人員數量增加相關的費率和訂閱成本的增加。我們每名員工的非公司費用比上年增長 9%，但比上一季下降近 8%。

In the historical context, our non-comp expense per employee is up less than 6% compared to third quarter in 2019, a pre COVID year or a compound annual increase of about 1.1%. We have made improvements on our non-comp ratio over the last three consecutive quarters, and we expect to continue to do so into year end. Our adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 28.9% compared to 27.6% in the third quarter of last year.

在歷史背景下，與 2019 年第三季（新冠疫情爆發前的一年）相比，我們每位員工的非補償費用成長了不到 6%，複合年增長率約為 1.1%。在過去連續三個季度中，我們的不良率有所改善，我們預計將繼續這樣做到年底。我們本季調整後的稅率為 28.9%，去年第三季為 27.6%。

Turning to our balance sheet, as of September 30, our cash and investment securities totaled $1.8 billion, which is approximately $200 million higher than last year's level at this time. In the first nine months of the year, we returned a total of $529 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchases of 2.2 million shares at an average price of $189.69, of which approximately 400,000 shares were repurchased in the third quarter.

轉向我們的資產負債表，截至 9 月 30 日，我們的現金和投資證券總額為 18 億美元，比去年同期的水平高出約 2 億美元。今年前9個月，我們透過股利和以平均價格189.69美元回購220萬股股票的方式，向股東總共返還了5.29億美元，其中第三季回購了約40萬股。

In the first nine months of this year, we have returned more capital than we did throughout all of 2023, and we remain committed to our capital return philosophy. Our third-quarter adjusted diluted share count was 44.5 million up from 43.4 million in the prior quarter, an increase of 1.1 million shares.

今年前 9 個月，我們回饋的資本比 2023 年全年還要多，我們仍然致力於我們的資本回饋理念。第三季調整後稀釋後股票數量為 4,450 萬股，較上一季的 4,340 萬股增加 110 萬股。

The increase in our share count was largely due to the impact of our higher share price on unvested awards which are accounted for under the treasury stock method and the investing of previously issued awards offset by buybacks. It is important to note that from quarter to quarter, significant changes in our average share price can have a material impact on the adjusted diluted share count. This was apparent from the second quarter to the third quarter as our average share price increased 22% from $194.59 to $238.02.

我們股份數量的增加主要是由於我們股價上漲對按庫存股法核算的未歸屬獎勵的影響以及先前發行獎勵的投資被回購所抵消。值得注意的是，從一個季度到另一個季度，我們平均股價的重大變動可能會對調整後的稀釋股數產生重大影響。從第二季到第三季度，這一點很明顯，我們的平均股價從 194.59 美元上漲到 238.02 美元，上漲了 22%。

As we have stated before, while uncertainty in the economic and geopolitical environment remain, we believe we are in the midst of a gradual recovery and that internal and market indicators coupled with improvement in the macro backdrop position Evercore well for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.

正如我們之前所說，雖然經濟和地緣政治環境的不確定性仍然存在，但我們相信我們正處於逐步復甦之中，內部和市場指標加上宏觀背景的改善使Evercore 在2024 年剩餘時間及以後表現良好。

With that, we will now open the line for questions.

現在，我們將開通提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Brendan O'Brien, Wolf Research.

（操作員說明）Brendan O'Brien，Wolf Research。

Good morning, and thanks for taking my question. I guess, I just wanted to touch on the comp ratio. I understand there's a lot of factors in forming the comp decision in any given year and that you're still dealing with elevated deferrals and recruiting expense from prior years. But looking at the year-to-date results, your revenues are up around 22% but your comp ratio versus the full year '23 levels is only down about 150 bps, implying an incremental comp ratio of a little under 60% year to date.

早安，感謝您提出我的問題。我想，我只是想談談補償比率。我知道在任何一年中，制定薪資決策都會受到許多因素的影響，並且您仍在處理前幾年增加的延期和招聘費用。但從年初至今的結果來看，您的收入成長了約22%，但您的補償比率與23 年全年水準相比僅下降了約150 個基點，這意味著年初至今的增量補償比率略低於60% 。

So as we think about the trajectory of the comp ratio and the path to getting back below 60% from here, I was hoping you could help frame what the incremental comp margin should look like. Is that high 50%s level the right way to think about that gradual improvement? Or you have anything that you could help us think through that path would be great.

因此，當我們考慮補償比率的軌跡以及從這裡回到 60% 以下的路徑時，我希望您能幫助建立增量補償利潤應該是什麼樣子。50% 的高水準是考慮逐步改進的正確方法嗎？或者你有任何可以幫助我們思考這條路的東西，那就太好了。

Yeah. Thanks, Brendan. Look when we think about the comp ratio, what I've commented in previous quarterly calls and in the commentary on this earnings release is that improvement there is a gradual thing, which I've characterized as happening over the near to medium term. And so last year for the overall year, comp ratio of 67.6%. For this quarter a year ago, it was 68%. And so there's 160 basis point improvement year to date on the overall versus last year and 200 basis points versus the prior year. Also, I noted that we're balancing right, building the firm and we're building heading into what we think is an improving market.

是的。謝謝，布倫丹。看看當我們考慮補償比率時，我在之前的季度電話會議和對本次收益發布的評論中所評論的是，改善是一個漸進的過程，我將其描述為在近中期發生的事情。所以去年全年的比較率為 67.6%。一年前的這個季度，這一比例為 68%。因此，今年迄今為止，整體比去年提高了 160 個基點，與前一年相比提高了 200 個基點。此外，我還指出，我們正在正確平衡，建造公司，並且正在進入我們認為正在改善的市場。

And so we're balancing building the firm to create long-term shareholder value with achieving some improvement on our comp ratio. I also make the point that the competition for bankers remains intense and the associated cost of hiring new bankers and retaining existing bankers continues to be significant.

因此，我們正在平衡建設公司以創造長期股東價值與實現我們的薪酬比率的一些改善。我還指出，對銀行家的競爭仍然激烈，僱用新銀行家和留住現有銀行家的相關成本仍然很高。

And so when we take all that into consideration, I think, the right way to think about our comp ratio is something upon which we're hoping to make and striving to make a gradual improvement over time but not dropping down to the kinds of levels you cited in your question in the near term.

因此，當我們考慮到所有這些時，我認為，考慮我們的補償比率的正確方法是我們希望並努力隨著時間的推移逐步改進，但不會下降到某種水平您在近期的問題中提到了這一點。

Ryan Kenny, Morgan Stanley.

瑞恩‧肯尼，摩根士丹利。

Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question.

你好。早安.感謝您提出我的問題。

Can you give some color on the size of deals in the pipeline? Specifically, how willing are companies to look at large-cap M&A? Is there any uptick in appetite there? And are deal value is going to be naturally higher this cycle, given we've seen some substantial growth in global equity market cap and GDP over the last few years?

您能否透露一下正在醞釀中的交易規模？具體來說，企業關注大盤併購的意願如何？那裡的食慾有增加嗎？鑑於我們在過去幾年中看到全球股票市值和 GDP 的大幅增長，本週期的交易價值是否會自然更高？

We, in our pipeline, have deals of all shapes and sizes. The pipeline is quite robust right now. And so we really -- and the way we cover companies is really up and down the line. And so we do cover bigger companies and there's a lot of activity with respect to the overall merger market. And I think that you should expect that there will be some sizable deals. Clearly, some of the sizable deals will be impacted by the regulatory environment which is somewhat uncertain at this time.

我們正在醞釀各種形式和規模的交易。目前管道非常強勁。所以我們確實——我們報道公司的方式確實是上下線的。因此，我們確實涵蓋了更大的公司，整個合併市場有很多活動。我認為你應該預料到將會有一些規模較大的交易。顯然，一些規模較大的交易將受到目前監管環境的影響，而監管環境有些不確定。

But I think you can assume that the activity level will be high, that there will be activity up and down the size ranges and that there will be a substantial number of larger deals. And I think that's just part of how the market is going to recover. I don't think there's going to be a bias towards small deals coming first or large deals coming first. I think it's going to be overall that the market's going to lift by itself kind of across the board.

但我認為你可以假設活動水平會很高，活動規模會上下波動，並且會有大量較大的交易。我認為這只是市場復甦的一部分。我認為不會存在先有小額交易或先有大額交易的偏見。我認為總體而言，市場將會全面上漲。

One other statistic I might add to that is if you look at year-to-date transactions over $1 billion, the number is up 26%. And so the good news is we are seeing some returns certainly of $1 billion-plus transactions.

我可能要補充的另一項統計數據是，如果你看看今年迄今為止超過 10 億美元的交易，這個數字增加了 26%。因此，好消息是我們確實看到了超過 10 億美元的交易的一些回報。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

詹姆斯·亞羅，高盛。

Good morning, and thanks for taking my question. John, I was hoping you might be able to offer a bit of an update on the cadence of the advisory recovery. I ask in particular because at least [palogic] backlogs like your peers have come down a little bit in recent months. Do you -- what do you see this has driven by? And does this mean there is the potential for a less-than-normal fourth quarter uptick this year? And then maybe as a corollary, could you speak to election impacts if there are any right now?

早安，感謝您提出我的問題。約翰，我希望你能夠提供一些關於諮詢復甦節奏的最新資訊。我特別問這個問題是因為至少像你們的同行一樣的[palogic]積壓在最近幾個月有所下降。您認為這是由什麼驅動的？這是否意味著今年第四季的成長可能低於正常水平？那麼也許作為一個推論，您能否談談選舉影響（如果現在有的話）？

We think the recovery will be gradual. Having said that, our backlogs are robust. Engagement letters, conflict checks, and all the things that support the backlog are robust also. So we see that there's a real activity brewing inside the firm. I don't know when those will come through. But we're feeling that there's just a very, very healthy activity inside the firm. And we also think that whereas they may -- it may be gradual in terms of how they get booked, announced, and how they get executed and closed, we think that the activity levels are really at a quite a high level. And frankly, that's across the firm.

我們認為復甦將是漸進的。話雖如此，我們的積壓訂單依然強勁。訂婚信、衝突檢查以及所有支持積壓工作的東西也都很強大。所以我們看到公司內部正在醞釀一場真正的活動。我不知道這些什麼時候能通過。但我們覺得公司內部的活動非常非常健康。我們還認為，儘管它們在如何預訂、宣布、如何執行和關閉方面可能是漸進的，但我們認為活動水平確實處於相當高的水平。坦白說，這在整個公司都是如此。

If you look at (technical difficulty) industry groups and really the classic M&A activity, both in the US and in Europe, that's quite fulsome. But also really, virtually every business at the firm, we have very healthy backlogs and activity brewing. So from our standpoint, we are incredibly busy inside the firm. And we are optimistic over -- at how this is going to play out over the balance of the year and in the '25.

如果你看看（技術難度）產業群體以及美國和歐洲的經典併購活動，你會發現這是相當豐富的。但實際上，我們公司的幾乎每一項業務都有非常健康的積壓和正在醞釀的活動。因此，從我們的角度來看，我們公司內部非常忙碌。我們對今年剩餘時間和 25 年的情況將如何發展持樂觀態度。

Now, in terms of the election, we're not sure how really the impact of the election. We do know that in the medium term or short term, the election is going to actually be somewhat of an influence which will -- which may have people really hesitate to do anything until they see how both the election turns out and really where the market reacts with respect to the election. But we don't think in the medium term that the election is going to impact the merger activity.

現在，就選舉而言，我們不確定選舉的影響到底有多大。我們確實知道，從中期或短期來看，選舉實際上會產生一定的影響，這可能會讓人們在看到選舉結果以及市場真正走向之前猶豫是否採取任何行動。但我們認為，從中期來看，選舉不會影響合併活動。

Clearly, the regulatory environment could depending on really how that really comes out of the election and which administration is in and which -- and when the administration is in, what they -- how they want to play the regulatory environment. But in the way we're planning for it and then the way we are thinking about it, it's not going to have a broad impact.

顯然，監管環境實際上可能取決於選舉結果如何、哪屆政府、哪屆政府——以及政府何時就任、他們想如何發揮監管環境的作用。但以我們的計劃方式和思考方式來看，它不會產生廣泛的影響。

The bigger deals could be impacted, if the regulatory environment remains restrictive. But in the middle market and beyond, those are much less impacted.

如果監管環境仍然受到限制，較大的交易可能會受到影響。但在中間市場及其他市場，這些受到的影響要小得多。

James, one other point I'd add on the backlog is just, of course, what's available to the outside world and to the research community is looking at transactions that are announced but not yet closed, merger transactions. Whereas of course, with the backlog we look at, we're looking at transactions that have been mandated, but in many cases, not yet announced.

詹姆斯，我要在積壓的訂單中添加的另一點是，當然，外界和研究界可以查看已宣布但尚未關閉的交易，即合併交易。當然，根據我們查看的積壓訂單，我們正在查看已授權的交易，但在許多情況下尚未宣布。

And the second point on the backlog is recall that a significant portion of our advisory business is also non-M&A, which does not get picked up in the backlog you'd be looking at.

積壓的第二點是，我們的顧問業務的很大一部分也是非併購的，這不會出現在您要查看的積壓中。

Thanks a lot.

多謝。

One more thing that I would just say is that in -- with respect to backlog, one of the things that is an important part of how the market really returns is the sponsor business. And there isn't a lot of backlog in the -- with respect to the sponsor business. But I would just tell you that the activity levels with sponsors right now is robust.

我要說的另一件事是，就積壓而言，市場真正回報的重要組成部分之一是贊助商業務。就贊助商業務而言，沒有太多積壓。但我只想告訴你，現在贊助商的活動水準很強勁。

Brennan Hawken, UBS.

布倫南霍肯，瑞銀集團。

Good morning and thank you for taking my question. This is Ben Rubin filling in for Brennan. In your prepared remarks, you sounded rather optimistic on restructuring momentum continuing into 2025. I was just hoping you could drill down on the restructuring performance during the third quarter and was activity last quarter in line with what you've been seeing here to date, and lastly, has the start of rate cuts in the US shifted client dialogues at all with respect to the need for say capitalizations or bespoke financing. Thank you.

早安，感謝您提出我的問題。我是本‧魯賓 (Ben Rubin) 接替布倫南 (Brennan)。在您準備好的演講中，您對 2025 年持續的重組勢頭表示相當樂觀。我只是希望您能深入了解第三季度的重組業績，上季度的活動是否與您迄今為止在這裡看到的情況一致，最後，美國降息的開始是否改變了客戶對話所有這些都與資本化或定制融資的需求有關。謝謝。

Sure. Thank you for the question. The restructuring business is actually very, very busy right now. Very active. And what we are seeing is no -- there's been no slowdown. In fact, I think we're at a very high level of capacity right now and really have been. The business is healthy. There's a lot going on.

當然。謝謝你的提問。現在重組業務實際上非常非常繁忙。非常活躍。我們看到的是，沒有任何放緩。事實上，我認為我們現在的能力水平非常高，而且確實如此。生意很健康。有很多事情發生。

As we've said in the past, the business of -- the restructuring business is really to very large extent about liability management. And we've been spending a lot of time with clients. Rates going down is not going to -- from our standpoint, it's going to slow down those advisory assignments and the execution of strategies that come out of that. And that's why when we said in our remarks that we don't think that a picking up merger environment nor a rate cut environment is going to slow down our restructuring business.

正如我們過去所說，重組業務在很大程度上實際上與負債管理有關。我們花了很多時間與客戶相處。利率下降不會——從我們的角度來看，它會減慢這些諮詢任務和由此產生的策略的執行速度。這就是為什麼我們在演講中表示，我們認為併購環境的改善或降息環境都不會減緩我們的重組業務。

From what we can see, the visibility that we have, we see that that business continuing to perform well into '25.

從我們所看到的、我們所擁有的可見度來看，我們看到該業務在 25 世紀繼續表現良好。

Jim Mitchell, Seaport Global.

吉姆·米切爾，海港全球公司。

Hey, good morning. Maybe just on the ECM business. There's been a lot of volatility in the environment, right? We had record levels in 2021. You had record revenues. It's been a challenge since then. Picked up this year. But you've invest -- underneath that, you've been investing pretty heavily to grow that business. So where do you think you are from a market share perspective and in the next up cycle where you think you can be, just trying to get a sense of the upside and growth as that business picks up, particularly on the IPO side? Thanks.

嘿，早安。也許只是在 ECM 業務上。環境有很大的波動，對嗎？2021 年我們的水準創歷史新高。您的收入創歷史新高。從那時起，這一直是一個挑戰。今年撿到的。但你已經投資了——在這之下，你已經投入了大量資金來發展這項業務。那麼，從市場份額的角度來看，您認為自己處於什麼位置，在下一個上升週期中，您認為自己可以達到什麼水平，只是試圖了解隨著業務回升，特別是在 IPO 方面的上行和增長？謝謝。

Thanks for the question. We see our equity capital markets business really gaining momentum. We have a goal of being inside the top 10. I think we're right around 11 right now. And we think that our activity is becoming much broader in terms of our reach. Several years ago, we were more of a biotech firm on the equity capital markets. That continues to be a strength of the firm, but we've broadened out quite a bit.

謝謝你的提問。我們看到我們的股權資本市場業務確實獲得了發展勢頭。我們的目標是進入前十名。我想我們現在就在 11 點左右。我們認為，就我們的影響力而言，我們的活動正在變得更加廣泛。幾年前，我們更像是股權資本市場上的生技公司。這仍然是公司的優勢，但我們已經擴大了很多範圍。

And if you look at the eight IPOs and tech deals over the last year, we've been in five of them as a bookrunner. And we are just expanding our reach. We are building our capital markets area and also our approach to covering clients with respect to equity. Throughout, we've added many sectors where we really are covering those companies. So we see that happening.

如果你看看去年的八起首次公開募股和科技交易，你會發現我們作為帳簿管理人參與了其中的五起交易。我們只是在擴大我們的影響力。我們正在建立我們的資本市場領域以及我們在股權方面涵蓋客戶的方法。在整個過程中，我們添加了許多我們真正涵蓋這些公司的部門。所以我們看到這種情況正在發生。

We think our momentum is going to be good. We think that the market is going to be picking up. We think the IPO market will pick up and we think that our capabilities and our value add to clients is just growing. And so over time, we're optimistic about that business. We really like the people we have applying to that business. And I think that from our perspective, it is a real potential growth area for us and we plan that that will be the case.

我們認為我們的勢頭將會很好。我們認為市場將會回升。我們認為 IPO 市場將會回暖，我們的能力和為客戶帶來的價值正在不斷增長。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們對該業務持樂觀態度。我們非常喜歡我們申請該業務的人員。我認為從我們的角度來看，這對我們來說是一個真正的潛在成長領域，我們計劃如此。

Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

Devin Ryan，公民 JMP。

Thanks. Good morning, John. Good morning, Tim. Question on private capital advisory. Clearly been a great growth story for Evercore. You have a tremendous business there. And it seems like it's operating at a very high level right now, even with sluggish M&A.

謝謝。早安，約翰。早安，提姆。關於民間資本諮詢的問題。對 Evercore 來說，這顯然是一個很棒的成長故事。你們在那裡有龐大的生意。儘管併購活動低迷，但目前它的營運水準似乎非常高。

So let me just get a little bit of a sense around how you're thinking about the growth profile of this business from here and the capacity to do more with the current group versus needing to add more talent to drive revenue growth. Just something to trying to understand is this still an up into the right story or would you be pleased with holding the line on the level of contribution right now? Thanks.

因此，讓我稍微了解一下您如何看待該業務的成長概況，以及與當前團隊一起做更多事情的能力，而不是需要增加更多人才來推動收入成長。只是需要嘗試了解這是否仍然是一個正確的故事，或者您是否願意現在保持貢獻水平？謝謝。

We think it's up to the right. It's a business that is doing very well and strengthening. And as you know, we have a whole complex of advisory businesses for sponsors, whether it's a private capital advisory business that we call, whether it's a private funds group which raises funds for them, whether it's really assisting and advising GPs in terms of stakes, whether it's doing the M&A side of sponsors.

我們認為這是正確的。這是一項發展非常良好且正在不斷成長的業務。如你所知，我們為贊助商提供了一整套諮詢業務，無論是我們所說的私人資本諮詢業務，還是為他們籌集資金的私募基金集團，是否真的是在股權方面為普通合夥人提供協助和建議，無論是贊助商的併購方面。

And really, we think we're in a build. And one of the things that we've talked about on this call that, I think, is really important is we've really, really bridged these businesses and we are finding real synergy from the strength of each of these businesses and really how we can provide service to the sponsors. We think that that what we're providing sponsors now is a real comprehensive advisory approach which we think is really helping and it's giving us more access in many different respects. So we're feeling good.

事實上，我們認為我們正在構建中。我認為，我們在這次電話會議上討論的非常重要的一件事是，我們確實非常確實地在這些業務之間建立了橋樑，並且我們正在從這些業務的每一項實力以及我們如何真正發揮作用中找到真正的協同作用。我們認為，我們現在為贊助商提供的是真正全面的諮詢方法，我們認為這種方法確實有幫助，並且讓我們在許多不同方面有更多的機會。所以我們感覺很好。

In terms of the specific PCA business, it's obviously performing very well. The products that they provide, whether it's the continuity funds, which has obviously, over the last three or four years, been very successful, that continues at a very high level. And the pace and the number of transactions in the backlogs are very strong there. But also the LP state business which has filled dramatically. And really all the other products that really are around that ecosystem really continue to build. So that business is continuing to not just perform but to grow.

就具體的PCA業務而言，顯然表現非常出色。他們提供的產品，無論是連續性基金，在過去的三、四年顯然都非常成功，並且持續保持在很高的水平。那裡積壓的交易速度和數量都非常強勁。而且 LP 國營業務也已大幅飽和。實際上，圍繞該生態系統的所有其他產品確實在繼續構建。因此，該業務不僅繼續表現，而且不斷成長。

Aidan Hall, KBW.

艾丹·霍爾，KBW。

Great. Thanks for taking my question. John, I heard in your prepared remarks, comments about sponsor activity. At the same time, it feels like this is kind of another quarter where activity hasn't really come to fruition at the same velocity that was initially expected. So I'm just curious if you can provide us with the latest that you're hearing from your sponsor clients and what is really holding up this pent up demand that we continue to hear about.

偉大的。感謝您提出我的問題。約翰，我在您準備好的演講中聽到了有關贊助商活動的評論。同時，感覺這又是一個季度，活動並未以最初預期的速度真正有成果。因此，我很好奇您能否向我們提供您從贊助商客戶那裡聽到的最新消息，以及到底是什麼阻礙了我們不斷聽到的這種被壓抑的需求。

Absolutely. Obviously, we're thinking about this a lot because we believe that sponsors business and the pickup in that market will actually fuel quite a bit, the merger market recovery. We think that the business on the sponsor side is gathering steam. Now, some of the evidence of that is not really apparent at this moment, but really, what we are seeing is that activity levels have increased, but certainly, off a very low base.

絕對地。顯然，我們對此進行了很多思考，因為我們相信贊助商業務和該市場的回升實際上將極大地推動合併市場的復甦。我們認為贊助商方面的業務正在蓬勃發展。現在，目前一些證據並不明顯，但實際上，我們看到的是活動水平有所增加，但可以肯定的是，基數非常低。

There is real pressure to get this business going for the sponsors. They've got a lot of dry powder and that dry powder needs to go to work. LPs have been putting a lot of pressure on sponsors to really start to let them recirculate capital. And as a result, there is a lot of incentive for the sponsors to do deals.

贊助商確實面臨著推動這項業務的壓力。他們有很多乾粉，這些乾粉需要發揮作用。有限合夥人一直在向贊助商施加很大壓力，要求他們真正開始讓他們進行資本再循環。因此，贊助商有很大的動機進行交易。

From our own in dialogues, we see that the spread between buyers and sellers starting to narrow. The activity levels inside our firm are very high. We have a tremendous number of real dialogues going on with sponsors. We have a large number of bake-offs that we have in the hopper that we are in the process of executing on right now. If that bake off level is any indication, there's a real pickup in really how this is going to play out. But these activities really won't translate until into '25 but we see that the activity levels have clearly picked up.

從我們自己的對話中，我們看到買家和賣家之間的價差開始縮小。我們公司內部的活動水準非常高。我們與贊助商進行了大量的真實對話。我們現在正在料斗中進行大量烘烤。如果烘烤水平有任何跡象的話，那就是這將如何發揮真正的作用。但這些活動其實要到 25 年才會轉化，但我們看到活動水準已經明顯回升。

Mike Brown, Wells Fargo.

麥克布朗，富國銀行。

Hi, good morning. Wanted to dive into Europe a little bit here. So hires in the advisory business, this quarter, were focused on Europe with two ads in Paris. Can you just give us an update on how large that franchise is now by MD headcount?

嗨，早安。想在這裡深入了解歐洲。因此，本季諮詢業務的招募主要集中在歐洲，在巴黎發布了兩則廣告。您能否向我們介紹一下以總經理人數計算該特許經營目前有多大規模的最新情況？

Are you still expecting to invest in and grow there? Where are you focused on investing next? And then, understanding that the recovery there, like we've lagged the US, I guess, what I would be interested to hear about though is how it could progress, where are you seeing some good activity near term and how could that trend over time?

您還期待在那裡投資和發展嗎？接下來您將重點投資哪裡？然後，了解那裡的復甦，就像我們落後於美國一樣，我想，我有興趣聽到的是它會如何進展，你在哪裡看到近期一些良好的活動以及這種趨勢如何結束時間？

Thank you. Sure. What we've always said is that Europe is a very important strategic investment for us and we are -- we have every intention of continuing to evolve and grow that business. I'm very pleased with the progress we're having. In Paris, we hired three very strong players and a senior adviser as well as two senior managing directors. We've added -- in the telecom side, we've added regionally in addition to Paris and Spain. We're systematically looking for high-quality talent and we are recruiting in that talent and bringing it in.

謝謝。當然。我們一直說的是，歐洲對我們來說是一項非常重要的策略投資，我們完全有意願繼續發展和發展這項業務。我對我們所取得的進展感到非常滿意。在巴黎，我們聘請了三名非常強大的球員和一名高級顧問以及兩名高級董事總經理。我們增加了——在電信方面，除了巴黎和西班牙之外，我們還增加了地區性的服務。我們正在有系統地尋找高素質人才，我們正在招募並引進這些人才。

We believe that we've got real momentum in that business. We're winning really strong assignments as you saw in the third quarter. The European business has been good and increasing. And I think that what you will see from us is a continued significant investment in Europe. We won't do it in big, huge numbers. We're going to do it as we always have, on a one-by-one basis. But we have a very healthy backlog of high quality people we're talking to.

我們相信我們在該業務中擁有真正的動力。正如您在第三季度看到的那樣，我們正在贏得非常強大的任務。歐洲業務一直良好且不斷成長。我認為您將從我們身上看到的是對歐洲的持續重大投資。我們不會大量這樣做。我們將像往常一樣，一一進行。但與我們交談的高素質人才數量非常充足。

We have a number of sectors that we continue to focus on. We're bringing some of our really high-quality products in increasingly into Europe. So we see Europe as a very significant upside to the firm and we feel really good about where they're going, their energy level, their commitment. The way we're approaching the business is all very, very positive from our standpoint.

我們有許多我們繼續關注的領域。我們正在將一些真正高品質的產品越來越多地引入歐洲。因此，我們認為歐洲對公司來說是一個非常重要的優勢，我們對他們的發展方向、他們的精力水平和他們的承諾感到非常滿意。從我們的角度來看，我們處理業務的方式非常非常積極。

So, Europe is a, I would say. a bright spot for us and one that's going to continue to get our focus.

所以，我想說，歐洲是一個。這對我們來說是一個亮點，也是我們將繼續關注的亮點。

Aidan Hall, KBW.

艾丹·霍爾，KBW。

Great. Thanks for the follow-up. Tim, maybe just one on the comp ratio. If I just look at the recognized RSU and deferred cash comp year to date, it's down as a percent of revenue, it's down a couple of percentage points which would almost largely attribute all of the comp leverage year to date versus 2023. So I'm curious to hear how you're thinking about leverage in base salaries and bonuses in '24 versus '23 and the 66% for the year -- the best estimate for the year. What is kind of your expectation right now for the fourth quarter that's embedded in that? Thanks.

偉大的。感謝您的跟進。提姆，也許只是一個關於補償比率的問題。如果我只看今年迄今為止公認的 RSU 和遞延現金補償，它佔收入的百分比下降了，下降了幾個百分點，這幾乎主要歸因於今年迄今為止的所有補償槓桿與 2023 年相比。因此，我很想知道您如何看待 24 年與 23 年基本工資和獎金的槓桿率以及今年的 66%（今年的最佳估計）。您現在對第四季的預期是什麼？謝謝。

Right. Thanks, Aidan, for the follow-up. I think the right way to think about this is the comp ratio itself has a significant number of components to it and some of the components have comp leverage and others less so. And so yeah, but there are significant areas within that comp ratio that would include, for example, as you cited the base and benefits, right. That doesn't go up when revenues goes up. You've got a corporate staff which tends to not go up as much.

正確的。謝謝艾丹的跟進。我認為思考這個問題的正確方法是補償比率本身有大量的組成部分，其中一些組成部分具有補償槓桿作用，而另一些則較少。是的，但是該補償比率中有一些重要的領域，例如，正如您所引用的基礎和福利，對吧。當收入增加時，這個數字不會增加。你的公司員工往往不會升那麼多。

I would say that on average in the industry, non-partner bonuses go up during periods of high revenue but not as much generally as partners who tend to have more volatility in their compensation and so on. So there are areas of compensation level. And then those -- in addition to that, there are things like partner hiring. And we've invested very heavily in that last year. We've invested heavily in it this year.

我想說的是，在該行業中，平均而言，非合作夥伴的獎金在高收入時期會有所上升，但總體上不如合作夥伴那麼高，因為合作夥伴的薪酬往往會出現更大的波動等。因此存在補償水準的領域。除此之外，還有合作夥伴招募之類的事情。去年我們在這方面投入了大量資金。今年我們在這方面投入了大量資金。

And what we're focused on is increasing EPS and increasing cash flow per share and building overall value. If the objective were to simply minimize the comp ratio, that would be very easy. We would just stop hiring and stop growing tomorrow and you'd see lots of expansion. And so what we're really focused on here is making some investment in the company so that we can build the firm and build and create value in the long run and in the medium term.

我們關注的是增加每股收益和增加每股現金流以及建立整體價值。如果目標只是最小化補償比率，那將非常容易。明天我們就會停止招募並停止成長，你會看到大量的擴張。因此，我們真正關注的是對公司進行一些投資，以便我們能夠建立公司，並在長期和中期建立和創造價值。

And there are no further questions at this time. With that, this will conclude today's Evercore's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.

目前沒有其他問題。Evercore 今天的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。