Evercore Inc (EVR) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Evercore fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings conference call. Today's call is scheduled to last about one hour, including remarks by Evercore management and the question and answer session. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，歡迎參加 Evercore 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議。今天的電話會議預計持續約一小時，包括 Evercore 管理層的演講和問答環節。（操作員指令）

I will now turn to Katy Haber, Managing Director of Investor Relations and ESG Evercore. Please go ahead.

現在我請 ESG Evercore 投資者關係董事總經理 Katy Haber 發言。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for Evercore's fourth quarter and full year 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.

謝謝您，接線生。早安，感謝您今天參加 Evercore 第四季和 2024 年全年財務業績電話會議。我是 Evercore 投資者關係和 ESG 主管 Katy Haber。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有我們的董事長兼執行長約翰溫伯格 (John Weinberg)；以及我們的財務長 Tim LaLonde。

After our prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing Evercore's fourth quarter and full year 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.

在我們發表準備好的發言後，我們將開始提問。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了 Evercore 第四季和 2024 年全年財務表現。我們今天對結果的討論是新聞稿的補充，新聞稿可在我們的網站 evercore.com 上查閱。本次電話會議將在我們網站的投資者專區進行網路直播，會議檔案將在電話會議結束後約一小時起保留 30 天。

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 uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those indicated in these statements.

在本次電話會議過程中，我們可能會做出一些前瞻性陳述。我們所做的任何前瞻性陳述都受各種風險和不確定性的影響，並且存在可能導致實際結果與這些陳述所示的結果有重大差異的重要因素。

These factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Evercore's filings with the 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 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的因素，包括我們的 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表季度報告和 8-K 表當前報告。我想提醒您，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.

在我們今天的演示中，除非另有說明，我們將討論調整後的財務指標，這些是非 GAAP 指標，我們認為這些指標在評估公司業績時很有意義。

For detailed disclosures on these measures and the GAAP reconciliations, you should refer to the financial data contained within our press release, which is posted on our website. We continue to believe that it is important to evaluate Evercore's performance on an annual basis. As we've noted previously, our results for any particular quarter are influenced by the timing of transaction closings.

有關這些指標和 GAAP 對帳的詳細揭露，您應該參考我們網站上發布的新聞稿中包含的財務資料。我們仍然認為，每年評估 Evercore 的表現非常重要。正如我們之前所指出的，任何特定季度的業績都會受到交易結束時間的影響。

I will now turn the call over to John.

現在我將電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Katy, and good morning everyone. 2024 marked a year of significant improvement across both the macroeconomic landscape and the broader capital markets. We saw strength across all of our businesses and as a result, 2024 was Evercore's second best year ever for revenue with firm-wide adjusted net revenues of just over $3 billion.

謝謝你，凱蒂，大家早安。 2024 年是宏觀經濟格局和更廣泛的資本市場顯著改善的一年。我們看到所有業務都表現強勁，因此 2024 年是 Evercore 有史以來收入第二好的一年，全公司調整後淨收入略高於 30 億美元。

In the year, we also advised on three of the seven largest global M&A deals and continued to gain market share in terms of advisory fees. We have continued to intensively cover our clients while broadening our coverage across the entire platform.

本年度，我們也為全球七大併購交易中的三宗提供諮詢服務，並在諮詢費方面繼續提升市場份額。我們繼續深入地覆蓋我們的客戶，同時擴大我們在整個平台的覆蓋範圍。

Over the past several years, we have meaningfully invested in the business and we continue to broaden and deepen our products and capabilities. This has contributed to a significant diversification in our total revenue base.

過去幾年來，我們對業務進行了大量的投資，並不斷拓寬和深化我們的產品和能力。這促進了我們總收入基礎的顯著多樣化。

On average, over the past five years and in 2024, more than 40% of our total revenues were from non-M&A sources. We are pleased with the progress we've made in the past year. As we enter 2025, we are optimistic.

平均而言，在過去五年和 2024 年，我們總收入的 40% 以上來自非併購來源。我們對過去一年所取得的進展感到非常高興。邁入2025年，我們充滿樂觀。

Market trends continue to improve with increased CEO confidence levels, healthy sponsor dialogue activity, continued financing availability and overall a strong macroeconomic backdrop. Our robust backlogs continue to strengthen, positioning us for what we believe will be a healthy environment in our advisory and capital markets businesses.

隨著執行長信心水準的提高、贊助商對話活動的健康、融資的持續可用性以及整體宏觀經濟背景的強勁，市場趨勢繼續改善。我們的強勁積壓訂單持續加強，這為我們的諮詢和資本市場業務創造了健康的環境。

While some geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties persist. We anticipate the deal-making environment will continue to gradually improve throughout the year, building on the momentum of the past 12 months.

同時，一些地緣政治和宏觀經濟不確定性仍然存在。我們預計，在過去 12 個月的良好勢頭的基礎上，全年交易環境將繼續逐步改善。

So far this year, we were a lead financial adviser to Calpine on its sale to Constellation Energy for $29.1 billion, the largest announced deal to date. These activity levels reflect our strong client relationships, ongoing coverage efforts and building client dialogues.

今年迄今為止，我們擔任 Calpine 的財務顧問，協助以 291 億美元的價格出售給 Constellation Energy，這是迄今為止宣布的最大交易。這些活動水準反映了我們牢固的客戶關係、持續的覆蓋努力和建立客戶對話。

Shifting to talent, 2024 was another successful recruiting year for Evercore, marking our second largest class of investment banking Senior Managing Director, new hires. For the year, nine investment banking SMDs and one senior adviser have started or committed to join the firm.

在人才方面，2024 年是 Evercore 又一個成功的招募年，標誌著我們第二大投資銀行資深董事總經理新進員工隊伍。今年，已有 9 位投資銀行高級管理總監和 1 位高級顧問加入或承諾加入該公司。

Since our last earnings call, one SMD committed to join our health care coverage team and will be starting later this year. We have a strong pipeline of external recruits, and we are continuing to add and promote high-quality senior talent to our firm.

自從我們上次財報電話會議以來，一位 SMD 承諾加入我們的醫療保險團隊，並將於今年稍後開始工作。我們擁有強大的外部招募管道，我們正在繼續為公司增添和提拔高素質的高級人才。

We're excited to begin 2025 with 11 newly promoted SMDs in our global investment banking business across sectors and capabilities. Over the past three years, we've recruited nearly 30 SMDs and senior advisers externally and promoted more than 30 SMDs internally for a total of approximately 60 new senior bankers on our platform.

我們很高興在 2025 年伊始，全球投資銀行業務中跨行業、跨能力的新晉升的 SMD 達到 11 個。在過去三年中，我們從外部招募了近 30 名 SMD 和高級顧問，並從內部提拔了 30 多名 SMD，總共在我們的平台上新增了約 60 名高階銀行家。

Attracting and developing the highest quality talent has always been a core priority for us, and we believe this remains one of the most vital aspects for future growth and our competitive positioning.

吸引和培養最優秀的人才一直是我們的核心重點，我們相信這仍然是未來成長和競爭定位的最重要方面之一。

Now let me briefly discuss the key highlights from the quarter and year. Overall, Evercore had its strongest quarter for revenue since the fourth quarter of 2021 and experienced a continuation of the momentum that we've been building throughout the year.

現在讓我簡要討論本季和本年度的主要亮點。總體而言，Evercore 的收入創下了 2021 年第四季以來的最高水平，並且延續了我們全年一直在建立的勢頭。

In strategic advisory, we continue to observe a strengthening environment, and we've advised on a number of notable and complex transactions, including Summit Materials on its sale to Quikrete for $11.5 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery on its new corporate structure, highlighting extensive collaboration across several teams throughout the firm.

在策略諮詢方面，我們繼續觀察到不斷加強的環境，並且我們就許多值得注意且複雜的交易提供了諮詢，包括為 Summit Materials 以 115 億美元的價格出售給 Quikrete 提供諮詢。華納兄弟探索其新的公司結構，強調公司內多個團隊之間的廣泛合作。

Vivendi on the partial demerger of Canal+ and Louis Hachette and spin-off of Havas representing a notable deal for our newly established team in Paris.

維旺迪 (Vivendi) 就 Canal+ 與路易·阿歇特 (Louis Hachette) 的部分合併以及 Havas 的分拆達成協議，這對於我們在巴黎新成立的球隊來說是一項重大交易。

The European advisory business continued to see momentum build in the fourth quarter and finished the year with a strong backlog for 2025. There are some signs that market trends and sentiment in Europe are improving. However, they lag those in the United States.

歐洲諮詢業務在第四季度繼續保持強勁勢頭，並以 2025 年的強勁訂單積壓結束了這一年。有一些跡象顯示歐洲的市場趨勢和情緒正在改善。然而，他們落後於美國。

While industry-wide sponsor activity continues to gradually build our financial sponsors team experienced increasing levels of client dialogues into year-end and so far this year. Whether related to M&A, continuation funds, equity underwriting, liability management or private capital markets, we believe we are well positioned to serve our sponsor clients as activity levels continue to build in 2025.

在全行業贊助商活動繼續逐步建立的同時，我們的金融贊助商團隊在年底以及今年迄今經歷了越來越多的客戶對話。無論是與併購、延續基金、股票承銷、負債管理或私募資本市場相關，我們相信，隨著 2025 年活動水準的持續提升，我們有能力為我們的贊助商客戶提供服務。

We continue to invest in our financial sponsors team, and we're excited for what this expanded group will accomplish over time. Our strategic defense and shareholder advisory business had a strong finish to the year, having advised on some of the largest activist defenses in 2024. Global activist campaigns remain elevated, and we expect these heightened activity levels to continue.

我們將繼續對我們的財務贊助商團隊進行投資，並且我們對這個擴大的團隊隨著時間的推移將取得的成就感到興奮。我們的策略防禦和股東諮詢業務在今年取得了強勁的成績，並為 2024 年一些最大的激進防禦項目提供了諮詢。全球激進主義運動仍在高漲，我們預計這種高漲的活動水準將持續下去。

Liability management and restructuring had an exceptional year with liability management among sponsor clients continuing to be a primary driver of activity. We believe our firm's extensive expertise and integrated approach to advising clients will drive continued success.

負債管理和重組業務度過了出色的一年，其中發起客戶中的負債管理繼續成為活動的主要驅動力。我們相信，我們公司的豐富專業知識和為客戶提供諮詢的綜合方法將推動我們持續取得成功。

Our industry-leading private capital advisory and private funds group, both achieved record years. In PCA, we observed strong performance across both GP and LP businesses. Driven by record volumes, we are starting 2025 with a strong pipeline. Additionally, our structured capital solutions business is building in momentum as we head into 2025.

我們產業領先的私募資本諮詢和私募基金集團均創下了歷史新高。在PCA中，我們觀察到GP和LP業務均表現強勁。在創紀錄產量的推動下，我們將以強大的產品線開啟 2025 年。此外，隨著我們邁入 2025 年，我們的結構化資本解決方案業務正在蓬勃發展。

In PFG, the fundraising environment has improved marginally, and we expect similar trends to continue as sponsor and broader M&A activity increases. Activity for this group continues to broaden as we add new clients. The underwriting business had a stronger year as equity issuance activity bounced back in 2024, particularly among follow-on.

在 PFG，籌資環境略有改善，我們預計隨著發起人和更廣泛的併購活動的增加，類似的趨勢將繼續下去。隨著我們增加新的客戶，該群體的活動範圍不斷擴大。由於股票發行活動在 2024 年反彈，尤其是後續發行，承銷業務今年表現更強勁。

We continue to elevate our role and increase our share of deal economics. Diversifying our ECM sector exposure beyond health care has been one of our primary strategic objectives in recent years. In 2024, over 50% of our underwriting revenue came from other sectors with significant contribution from energy, tech and financials. We were a bookrunner on nearly all of our ECM transactions in the year and we were pleased to be less lead on six of them reflecting continued progress.

我們繼續提升我們的角色並增加我們在交易經濟中的份額。近年來，將我們的 ECM 領域投資多元化到醫療保健以外一直是我們的主要策略目標之一。2024年，我們核保收入的50%以上來自其他產業，其中能源、科技和金融貢獻較大。去年，我們幾乎在所有 ECM 交易中都擔任了帳簿管理人，但我們很高興看到其中六筆交易的主導地位有所降低，這反映出我們不斷取得進展。

Notably, we were left lead bookrunner on Diamondback Energy's $2.6 billion follow-on which was the largest E&P follow-on in history. We and the market anticipate 2025 will be a stronger year for ECM industry-wide, particularly the IPO market.

值得注意的是，我們是 Diamondback Energy 26 億美元後續發行的牽頭帳簿管理人，這是史上最大的 E&P 後續發行。我們和市場預計 2025 年將是整個 ECM 產業，尤其是 IPO 市場更強勁的一年。

Our equities franchise had its best year since 2016 with broad-based strength across our research and execution products. For the third consecutive year, our research team was recognized as the number one firm on a weighted basis by Extel formerly known as institutional investor.

我們的股票特許經營業務經歷了 2016 年以來最好的一年，我們的研究和執行產品都表現出色。我們的研究團隊連續第三年被 Extel（前身為機構投資者）評為加權第一公司。

Additionally, we had the most number one ranked analysts on Wall Street for the second year in a row. This is an extraordinary achievement and we are very proud of our team.

此外，我們連續第二年擁有華爾街排名第一的分析師數量。這是一個非凡的成就，我們為我們的團隊感到非常自豪。

Lastly, in wealth management, we ended the year with record revenues and assets under management of $13.9 billion. Our client engagement levels remain strong, and we are focused on supporting our clients through all market conditions.

最後，在財富管理方面，我們以創紀錄的 139 億美元的收入和資產管理規模結束了這個財政年度。我們的客戶參與度依然很高，我們專注於在任何市場條件下為客戶提供支援。

Before I turn it over to Tim to discuss the financial results, I want to wrap up with a few points. Looking ahead, we are optimistic for both the market and our business. We believe we are still in the early stages of recovery and expect it to gradually build throughout 2025 and beyond.

在我將主題轉交給提姆討論財務結果之前，我想先總結幾點。展望未來，我們對市場和業務都充滿樂觀。我們相信，我們仍處於復甦的早期階段，並預計復甦將在 2025 年及以後逐步建立。

We have an exceptionally strong team of senior bankers in the industry with 144 investment banking Senior Managing Directors, which does not include our most recent promotion class and it's over 25% more SMDs than in the end of 2021.

我們擁有一支業內實力超群的高級銀行家團隊，擁有 144 名投資銀行高級董事總經理，其中不包括我們最近晉升的人員，而且比 2021 年底增加了 25% 以上。

We believe we are better positioned today than at any time in our history for what lies ahead. We remain committed to executing our growth strategy with a focus on continuing to improve our expense margins and enhance shareholder value over time.

我們相信，我們今天比歷史上任何時候都更有能力應對未來。我們將繼續致力於執行我們的成長策略，重點是繼續提高我們的費用利潤率並不斷提高股東價值。

With that, let me turn it over to Tim.

說完這些，讓我把話題交給提姆。

Thank you, John. Our fourth quarter and full year financial results reflect the building momentum we experienced in 2024, with net revenues higher each quarter both sequentially and year over year. As the market environment continues on its path to recovery, we remain committed to strategically investing in our growth and balancing that with responsible expense management and medium to long term value creation for our shareholders.

謝謝你，約翰。我們的第四季和全年財務表現反映了我們在 2024 年經歷的成長勢頭，每個季度的淨收入都比上個季度和上年同期有所增長。隨著市場環境持續復甦，我們將繼續致力於策略性地投資於我們的成長，並在負責任的費用管理和為股東創造中長期價值之間取得平衡。

In 2024, we made meaningful progress on our adjusted comp and non-comp expense ratios, improving them by 190 basis points and more than 90 basis points, respectively. This has resulted in a 280 basis point improvement in our adjusted operating margin versus 2023.

2024 年，我們在調整後的營業收入和非營業收入費用率方面取得了重大進展，分別提高了 190 個基點和 90 個以上基點。這使得我們的調整後營業利潤率較 2023 年提高了 280 個基點。

As I have discussed throughout the past year, we are focused on making further improvement on our margins, and we expect this to occur gradually over the near to medium term.

正如我在過去一年中討論的那樣，我們專注於進一步提高利潤率，並預計這將在近期至中期內逐步實現。

With that, I will now discuss our fourth quarter and full year financial results. For the fourth quarter of 2024, net revenues, operating income and EPS on a GAAP basis were $975 million, $213 million and $3.30 per share, respectively.

現在我將討論我們的第四季和全年財務表現。2024 年第四季，根據 GAAP 計算的淨收入、營業收入和每股盈餘分別為 9.75 億美元、2.13 億美元和每股 3.30 美元。

For the full year, net revenues, operating income and EPS on a GAAP basis were $3 billion, $527 million and $9.08 per share, respectively. My comments from here will focus on non-GAAP metrics, which we believe are useful when 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.

全年淨營收、營業利潤和每股盈餘（GAAP）分別為 30 億美元、5.27 億美元和 9.08 美元。我在這裡的評論將集中在非 GAAP 指標上，我們認為這些指標在評估我們的結果時很有用。我們的標準 GAAP 報告以及 GAAP 與調整後結果的對帳可在我們網站上的新聞稿中找到。

Fourth quarter adjusted net revenues of $981 million increased 24% versus the fourth quarter of 2023. On a full year basis, adjusted net revenues of $3 billion increased 23% compared to last year. Fourth quarter adjusted operating income of $218 million increased 76% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

第四季調整後淨收入為 9.81 億美元，較 2023 年第四季成長 24%。全年調整後淨收入為 30 億美元，較去年同期成長 23%。第四季調整後營業收入為 2.18 億美元，較 2023 年第四季成長 76%。

Adjusted earnings per share of $3.41 increased 69% versus the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, adjusted operating income of $557 million increased 45% and adjusted earnings per share of $9.42 and increased 46% versus the full year 2023.

調整後每股收益為 3.41 美元，較去年第四季成長 69%。全年調整後營業收入為 5.57 億美元，成長 45%，調整後每股收益為 9.42 美元，較 2023 年全年成長 46%。

Our adjusted operating margin was 22.2% for the fourth quarter up 650 basis points versus the fourth quarter of 2023. And the full year adjusted operating margin was 18.6%. And as I mentioned earlier, up 280 basis points versus the 2023 full year result.

我們第四季的調整後營業利潤率為 22.2%，較 2023 年第四季上升 650 個基點。全年調整後營業利益率為18.6%。正如我之前提到的，與 2023 年全年業績相比，上漲了 280 個基點。

Turning to the businesses, fourth quarter adjusted advisory fees of $850 million increased 29% year over year, representing our second strongest quarter on record. Adjusted advisory fees were $2.4 billion for the full year, up 24% compared to 2023 and our strongest year behind 2021.

談到業務，第四季度調整後的諮詢費為 8.5 億美元，年增 29%，這是我們有史以來第二強勁的季度。全年調整後的諮詢費為 24 億美元，較 2023 年成長 24%，是繼 2021 年後最強勁的一年。

By our estimates, we increased our market share again this year and further closed the gap between us and the largest investment banks. Our fourth quarter underwriting fees were $26 million, up 38% from a year ago. For the full year, underwriting revenues were $157 million, up 41% versus last year, reflecting improved market conditions and the investments we have made in this business.

我們估計，今年我們的市佔率再次增加，並進一步縮小了與最大投資銀行之間的差距。我們第四季的承銷費用為 2,600 萬美元，比去年同期成長了 38%。全年承保收入為 1.57 億美元，較去年同期成長 41%，這反映了市場條件的改善和我們對該業務的投資。

Commissions and related revenue of $58 million in the fourth quarter was up 4% year over year. For the full year, commissions and related revenue of $214 million were up 6% compared to 2023. Representing our best result since 2016.

第四季佣金和相關收入為 5,800 萬美元，年增 4%。全年佣金和相關收入為 2.14 億美元，較 2023 年成長 6%。這是我們自 2016 年以來取得的最佳成績。

Fourth quarter and full year adjusted asset management and administration fees of $22 million and $85 million respectively, both increased 16% versus the prior year period. Fourth quarter adjusted other revenue net was approximately $24 million, which compares to $37 million a year ago.

第四季及全年調整後的資產管理及行政費用分別為 2,200 萬美元及 8,500 萬美元，均較去年同期成長 16%。第四季調整後的其他收入淨額約為 2,400 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,700 萬美元。

For the full year, adjusted other revenue net was $105 million compared to $98 million last year. Approximately 70% of the other revenue in 2024 was interest income and about 30% was a gain on our DCCP hedge.

全年調整後的其他淨收入額為 1.05 億美元，去年同期為 9,800 萬美元。2024 年其他收入中約 70% 為利息收入，約 30% 為我們的 DCCP 對沖收益。

Turning to expenses. The adjusted compensation ratio for the fourth quarter was 65.2% and 560 basis points below last year's fourth quarter. Our full year adjusted compensation ratio was 65.7% and 190 basis points lower than in 2023.

談到費用。第四季調整後的薪資比率為65.2%，比去年第四季下降560個基點。我們全年調整後的薪資比率為 65.7%，比 2023 年低 190 個基點。

We are pleased with the improvement we made in 2024, but not satisfied and we are working hard to make additional progress over the near to medium term. However, as we remain focused on investing in the growth of our firm, progress will continue to be gradual.

我們對 2024 年的進步感到滿意，但並不滿足，我們正在努力在近期至中期內取得進一步進展。然而，由於我們仍然專注於投資公司的發展，進展將繼續是漸進的。

As a reminder, each of the past two years were years of significant investment in building out our SMD ranks with top quality talent. And we are balancing strategic investment in our business with expense management with the objective of providing first rate advice and execution to our clients, while maximizing overall value creation for our shareholders.

提醒一下，過去兩年我們每年都投入大量資金，用頂尖人才打造我們的 SMD 團隊。我們在業務策略投資與費用管理之間取得平衡，目的是為客戶提供一流的建議和執行，同時最大限度地為股東創造整體價值。

Shifting to non-compensation expenses. Fourth quarter and full year expenses were $123 million and $471 million, respectively, both up 16% from the relevant prior year period. The increases in our full year non-compensation expenses were primarily driven by revenue and activity related costs.

轉向非補償費用。第四季和全年支出分別為 1.23 億美元和 4.71 億美元，均比去年同期成長 16%。我們全年非薪酬支出的增加主要是因為收入和活動相關成本。

First, an increase in professional fees related to higher client-related expenses and search and placement fees. The combination of revenues up 23% and strong SMD hiring contributed to this. Second, travel and travel-related expenses were up 23% year over year, and the number of trips up 19%. This is also correlated with stronger business and higher revenue levels.

首先，與客戶相關費用以及搜尋和安置費用增加有關的專業費用增加。營收成長 23% 和 SMD 招聘強勁推動了這一成長。二是旅行及旅行相關費用年增23%，旅行次數增加19%。這也與更強勁的業務和更高的收入水平相關。

As a reminder, the recovery of client reimbursable expenses is reflected in the revenue line and is not netted against non-comp expenses. On a per employee basis, our fourth quarter non-comp expenses are about 7% higher than the year ago fourth quarter and only about 1% higher than they were in the fourth quarter of 2019, the pre-COVID year. We have improved our non-comp ratio consistently each quarter this year, ending with a full year adjusted ratio of 15.7%. This compares favorably to our pre-COVID non-comp expense ratio levels, consistent with our commentary earlier this year.

提醒一下，客戶可報銷費用的回收反映在收入線中，並且不會抵消非補償費用。以每位員工計算，我們第四季的非薪資支出比去年同期高出約 7%，僅比 2019 年（即新冠疫情之前）第四季高出約 1%。我們今年每季持續改善虧損比率，全年調整後比率為 15.7%。這與我們 COVID 之前的非公司費用率水準相比更為有利，與我們今年稍早的評論一致。

Our adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 27.3%, down from 28.9% last quarter and up from 25.3% in the fourth quarter of last year. The full year adjusted tax rate was 21.8% versus 23.4% last year, largely due to tax benefits related to the appreciation in the share price upon vesting of RSU grants.

我們本季的調整後稅率為 27.3%，低於上一季的 28.9%，但高於去年第四季的 25.3%。全年調整後的稅率為 21.8%，而去年為 23.4%，主要歸因於 RSU 授予歸屬時股價升值帶來的稅收優惠。

Turning to our balance sheet. As of December 31, our cash and investment securities totaled $2.4 billion, which is about $350 million higher than last year's levels at year-end. In 2024, we returned a total of $591 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchases of 2.3 million shares at an average price of $193.40.

轉向我們的資產負債表。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和投資證券總額為 24 億美元，比去年年底的水平高出約 3.5 億美元。2024 年，我們透過股息和以平均價格 193.40 美元回購 230 萬股股票向股東返還了總計 5.91 億美元。

Our fourth quarter diluted share count increased a little over 1% from the third quarter to $45 million. For the full year, our share count is up 1.3 million shares versus the year prior, primarily due to the impact of our higher share price on unvested awards which are accounted for under the treasury stock method.

我們第四季的攤薄股份數量較第三季增長了 1% 多一點，達到 4,500 萬美元。就全年而言，我們的股票數量比上年增加了 130 萬股，這主要歸因於我們較高的股價對按照庫存股法核算的未歸屬獎勵的影響。

We remain committed to repurchasing shares to offset dilution from our RSU year-end bonus grants. And in fact, in each of the past four years, we have repurchased a number of shares greater than that, and we would expect to do so again in 2025.

我們仍致力於回購股票，以抵消 RSU 年終獎金授予帶來的稀釋。事實上，在過去四年中，我們每年回購的股票數量都遠超這個數字，我們預計 2025 年還會再次回購。

We are pleased with our performance in 2024, and we believe we are well positioned to continue delivering strong results in the coming year and beyond. We expect this to be supported by an improving market environment and investments we have made in our business, which we believe will benefit our clients, our shareholders and our firm.

我們對 2024 年的表現感到滿意，並相信我們有能力在來年及以後繼續取得強勁的業績。我們預計，不斷改善的市場環境和我們在業務上所做的投資將支持這一點，我們相信這將使我們的客戶、股東和公司受益。

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

現在，我們將開始回答大家的提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Mike Brown, Wells Fargo Securities.

富國證券的麥克布朗。

Okay, great. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. So Tim, I wanted to maybe start a question on the comp ratio. So as you noted, you delivered almost 200 basis points of comp ratio improvement in 2024. You referenced an expectation for gradual improvement in the margins.

好的，太好了。早安.感謝您回答我的問題。所以提姆，我想問一個關於補償比率的問題。正如您所說，您在 2024 年實現了近 200 個基點的複合比率改善。您提到了對利潤率逐步改善的期望。

I wanted to ask what's -- as you enter today, what's your expectation for that improvement in 2025 would kind of that level a 200 basis point level be what you would consider a gradual improvement? Or if the revenue environment is strong, could it actually be better than that? Thank you.

我想問的是——今天，您對 2025 年的改善有何預期？或者，如果收入環境強勁，情況實際上會更好嗎？謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks for your question, Mike. Yeah. And as you did point out, we -- last year, we were at 67.6%. This year, of course is 65.7% a 190 basis point improvement. I would characterize that as a meaningful improvement.

是的。謝謝你的提問，麥克。是的。正如您所指出的，去年我們的比例為 67.6%。今年當然是 65.7%，提升了 190 個基點。我認為這是一個有意義的進步。

As we've mentioned in the past, we've talked about gradual improvement as our business continues to build. And we think that was a reflection of kind of the commentary we have provided and the results we were expecting.

正如我們過去提到的那樣，我們談論的是隨著業務的不斷發展而逐步改進。我們認為這反映了我們提供的評論和我們預期的結果。

And I would say for 2025, so we don't give guidance, I would say we're striving hard to achieve meaningful improvement again this year. And as the year progresses, we'll have better visibility on that.

我想說的是，對於 2025 年，我們不提供指導，我想說的是，我們正在努力爭取今年再次實現有意義的進步。隨著時間的推移，我們對此會有更好的了解。

Thank you, John.

謝謝你，約翰。

Brennan Hawken, UBS.

瑞銀的布倫南‧霍肯 (Brennan Hawken)。

Good morning, John. Good morning, Tim. Thanks for taking my question. So appreciate the color, Tim, on the comp ratio right there and it sounds like you're striving to put up a similar level of leverage as you did in 2024.

早安，約翰。早安，提姆。感謝您回答我的問題。所以，提姆，請欣賞這裡的補償比率，聽起來你正在努力實現與 2024 年類似的槓桿水平。

I know that there's all sorts of different factors that come into play and recruiting and retention of talent can be a big one. Can you talk about what your expectations are for recruiting in the coming year. And last quarter, you spoke to the need to step up retention efforts and how that impacted the comp expense. Could you give us a little texture around what kind of impact we saw there and what we should expect in 2025?

我知道有各種各樣的因素都會發揮作用，其中招募和留住人才是其中一個重要因素。能談談對來年的招募有何期望嗎？上個季度，您談到了加強保留力度的必要性以及這對補償費用的影響。您能否向我們簡單介紹一下我們在那裡看到了什麼樣的影響以及我們對 2025 年應該期待什麼？

Yeah, sure. And thanks for the question, Brennan. Look, I think -- and by the way, again, I'd like to start with a little historical context, which is I think we've been pleased with the results of our recruiting effort over these last couple of years, particularly in a competitive environment for talent. I think that we're working just as hard at it this year that we're still on plan and on pace to try to continue to work hard to build the business.

是的，當然。謝謝你的提問，布倫南。順便說一下，我想先從一些歷史背景開始，我認為我們對過去幾年的招募工作結果感到滿意，特別是在人才競爭激烈的環境中。我認為，我們今年的工作同樣努力，我們仍按照計劃和步伐努力發展業務。

We have a pipeline of candidates, but not unlike M&A transactions until you actually get it across the line, they're simply prospects. But we are in a number of discussions and working hard at it. And I think it does, of course, impact the compensation line.

我們擁有一群候選人，但與併購交易不同，在真正獲得候選人資格之前，他們只是潛在候選人而已。但我們正在進行大量討論並努力實現這一目標。我認為這當然會影響薪酬線。

And what we're trying to do, and I've kind of said this in the past, is not trying to -- we're being careful not to sub-optimize, which is we are not focused on any single ratio but instead on value creation. And it's -- I think you could probably run the numbers about what the market is for hiring talent.

而我們正在嘗試做的，我過去也說過，並不是試圖——我們小心不要進行次優化，也就是說，我們不關注任何單一的比例，而是關注價值創造。而且——我想你可以計算一下人才招募市場的狀況。

You've seen what our results have been over the past two or three years. And then from there, you can extrapolate what the math is. But it does have an impact, but we're trying to balance the higher in and the costs associated with that hiring with the benefit of building our business and achieving improved growth. Go ahead, Tim.

大家已經看到了我們過去兩三年所取得的成果。然後從那裡，你可以推論出數學是什麼。但它確實有影響，但我們正在努力平衡與招聘相關的更高成本與業務建設和實現更快增長的好處。繼續吧，提姆。

Brendan, what I would want to communicate is that our commitment to recruiting remains very robust. And we are going to continue to look for the highest quality people and continue to aggressively recruit them. I think that the recruiting environment remains very competitive.

布倫丹，我想表達的是，我們對招募的承諾仍然非常堅定。我們將繼續尋找最優秀的人才，並繼續積極招募他們。我認為招募環境仍然競爭非常激烈。

And I think that what we will continue to do is continue to add those high-quality people with the intention of really continuing to drive our growth. As you may know, I think we said this, but we've been ramping quite a bit.

我認為，我們將繼續做的是繼續增加那些高素質人才，以真正繼續推動我們的成長。正如你們可能知道的，我想我們說過這個，但我們已經加大了力度。

We have 30 Senior Managing Directors ramping right now. We've brought in 60 new people and also promotes over the last three years. And so we have quite a bit of people coming in and really getting up to speed.

我們目前有 30 位資深董事總經理正在加緊工作。過去三年來，我們引進了 60 位新員工，同時也提拔了員工。因此，我們有相當多的人加入並真正跟上步伐。

But I would say that that's going to continue. The big difference I think, is that I think the environment is very competitive. And I can't really give you a good sense as to how that will play out in terms of numbers. But I think you can anticipate we're going to be we're going to be performing at about the same level.

但我想說，這種情況將會持續下去。我認為最大的不同是，環境競爭非常激烈。而我無法真正從數字角度告訴你這將會產生怎樣的影響。但我想你可以預料到我們的表現將會保持大致相同的水平。

Yeah. And given the activity is going to pick up, I can't imagine it will get easier to recruit. So thanks for taking my question.

是的。鑑於活動將會增多，我無法想像招募會變得更容易。感謝您回答我的問題。

Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

德文·瑞安（Devin Ryan），公民 JMP。

Thanks. Good morning, John. Good morning, Tim. A question just on the M&A backdrop and specifically larger deals, obviously, Evercore advised on, I think, three of the top seven transactions in 2024. So I'm just curious if you're seeing any shift in the market around the largest deals post-election relative to maybe smaller deals, just given the changes at the FTC and expected changes in regulation.

謝謝。早安，約翰。早安，提姆。僅就併購背景以及特別是大型交易而言的一個問題，顯然，我認為 Evercore 為 2024 年七大交易中的三項提供了諮詢。因此，我只是好奇，考慮到聯邦貿易委員會的變化和預期的監管變化，您是否看到選舉後市場上最大的交易相對於較小的交易發生了任何變化。

And just how that's kind of evolving within Evercore's pipeline specifically? Or whether there's other factors that are may be driving that as well? Thanks.

那麼它在 Evercore 的管道內具體是如何發展的呢？或者是否還有其他因素可能導致這現象？謝謝。

Sure, Devin. We see continuing robust activity at the Board level and with management teams. I think that what we've said is that our backlog continues to strengthen. And I think that the large deals are a big part of the backlog. So I would -- I really believe that the environment is probably going to trend toward getting better.

當然，德文。我們看到董事會和管理團隊的活動持續活躍。我認為，我們所說的是我們的積壓工作繼續增加。我認為大型交易是積壓訂單的重要組成部分。所以我真的相信環境可能會趨於好轉。

But clearly, we're all watching. It's too early to really predict. But I think most people would say, and I think we would agree with that there will be a loosening up of some of the regulatory overlay and that there'll be more of a possibility.

但顯然，我們都在關注。現在預測還為時過早。但我認為大多數人會說，而且我認為我們也會同意，一些監管限制將會放鬆，而且可能性會更大。

And I think that the clients that we're dealing with would really say the same thing. My own personal experiences that management teams are very much looking at doing things and that really across the Board, whether it's big strategics or whether it's sponsors leadership teams are really looking at building the activity level. So I think we remain very optimistic and believe there could be very much a build through the balance of the year.

我認為，我們打交道的客戶也會這麼說。根據我的個人經歷，管理團隊非常專注於做事，實際上整個董事會，無論是重大策略還是贊助商的領導團隊，都在關注活動水準的提升。因此我認為我們仍然非常樂觀，並相信今年餘下時間我們的業績可能會有很大增長。

Excellent. Thank you.

出色的。謝謝。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅 (James Yaro)。

Good morning and thanks for taking my question. I have a high-level one and then a related more nuanced question. John, maybe you could just speak to how much of an acceleration you're seeing in M&A today? Relative to the start of 2024 and perhaps which areas you're seeing activity improve most?

早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。我有一個高層次的問題，然後是一個相關的更細緻入微的問題。約翰，也許你可以談談目前併購交易的加速程度有多大？相對於 2024 年初，您可能看到哪些領域的活動改善最多？

And then zooming in, advisory results in the quarter evidenced the momentum you spoke about in your prepared remarks, I just wanted to confirm whether there might be any or not any meaningful pull forward in M&A that contributed to the results this quarter?

然後放大來看，本季的諮詢結果證明了您在準備好的發言中提到的勢頭，我只是想確認是否有任何有意義的併購推動力促成了本季度的業績？

Sure. In terms of pull forward, not a particularly large amount. I mean, we don't usually comment on pull forward. But generally speaking, this was really not out of the ordinary. In fact, I'd say it was on the smaller side.

當然。就向前拉而言，量不是特別大。我的意思是，我們通常不會對前拉發表評論。但總體來說，這確實沒有什麼不尋常的。事實上，我想說它比較小。

But let me just get to the acceleration. What we found is that really across the Board, our businesses are really very active. And whereas I did -- I would say that January didn't have a high volume of announcements coming out really on any side, whether it was the equity side or the merger side, we -- the activity level remains very robust for us.

但我先來談談加速度。我們發現，我們的業務總體上非常活躍。然而，我想說的是，一月份無論從哪方面來看，無論是股權方面還是合併方面，都沒有發布大量公告，但我們的活動水平仍然非常強勁。

And I don't think it's really slowing down. And I don't think that would change our view that we've articulated, which is that we see a continued build throughout the balance of this year.

我不認為它真的會放緩。我認為這不會改變我們已經表達的觀點，即我們看到今年全年經濟將繼續成長。

And it's really -- for our business, it's across the Board. I think that virtually every one of our businesses is doing quite well now. And so I don't really -- I wouldn't really say that there is a specific business, which is doing better.

對我們的業務而言，這確實是全方位的。我認為現在我們幾乎每一項業務都運作得很好。因此，我實際上並不認為——我不會說有哪個特定的業務表現更好。

In terms of sectors, there is just a lot of activity throughout the sectors, whether it's on the technology side or the health care side or whether it's in general industrials, we're seeing activity across the Board. So I don't think I'd make a distinction at this point.

從業界來看，各行業的活動都非常活躍，無論是在技術方面、醫療保健方面，還是在一般工業領域，我們都能看到各行業的活動。因此我認為我現在不會做出區分。

That's very helpful. Thanks, John.

這非常有幫助。謝謝，約翰。

Brendan O’Brien, Wolfe Research.

奧布萊恩（Brendan O’Brien），沃爾夫研究公司（Wolfe Research）。

Good morning and thanks for taking my question. I appreciate the point you made earlier on the 60 SMDs that you've added in the past three years. And that feels like to me that at least this means that there's a higher percentage of your current SMD base ramping today than at any point in your recent history, which would suggest significant embedded growth potential within the firm.

早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。我很欣賞您之前提到的過去三年增加的 60 個 SMD。我覺得這至少意味著您目前的 SMD 基礎的成長百分比比近期歷史上的任何時候都要高，這表明公司內部具有巨大的成長潛力。

However, despite that, your productivity is actually not that far off your long-term average. So I just was hoping you could give some context around how the percentage of your ramping SMDs today compares to your long-term average and whether with this level of new joiners you still think you can get back to or up to around a $20 million productivity level in the near to intermediate term?

然而，儘管如此，你的生產力實際上與長期平均水平相差並不大。所以我只是希望您能夠提供一些背景信息，例如目前您公司 SMD 產量增長的百分比與長期平均水平相比如何，以及在這種新員工加入的情況下，您是否仍然認為您可以在近期或中期內恢復或達到約 2,000 萬美元的生產力水平？

Well, I would just say that first, to start with, we do have a large number of people ramping. So much of that, the ramp has to do with the market and the opportunity that the market affords us. I'm very pleased with the new people we've added.

嗯，我首先要說的是，我們確實有大量的人在加緊努力。在很大程度上，成長與市場以及市場為我們提供的機會有關。我對於我們新增的員工感到非常高興。

In fact, there are some really interesting and exciting transactions in-house that have been generated by that group. And so I'm quite confident that, that group is going to really start to drive productivity. And I think that really on all measures, the business is just getting more and more active and higher quality.

事實上，該集團內部已經產生了一些非常有趣和令人興奮的交易。因此我非常有信心，團隊將真正開始提高生產力。我認為，從各方面來看，業務都變得越來越活躍，品質也越來越高。

The productivity is really a function as much of the level of revenue because really, the more active the market becomes the more our people can generate. At this point, we're in the high-teens now. And through the cycle, we've been able to get up into the 20s. And I don't really see that, that there's that I would bear from that.

生產力其實與收入水準有關，因為市場越活躍，我們的人民就能創造更多收入。目前，我們已經處於十幾歲的水平。透過這個週期，我們已經能夠達到 20 多歲了。而我真的不認為我會承受這樣的結果。

I believe that that's where we could go. And I think that we actually have people in place that as the market recovers and announcements start to come in, that we're going to be driving more revenue.

我相信這就是我們可以去的地方。我認為，我們實際上已經安排好了人員，隨著市場復甦和公告開始發布，我們將創造更多的收入。

Yeah, I'd say look, I would agree with that. I think that if you think about this market recovery, and we've talked about the gradual build, but we think we're still in the relatively earlier stages of that build. And I think that, that would auger well for what we hope will be continued improvement in the productivity ratio.

是的，我會說看，我同意這一點。我認為，如果你考慮這個市場復甦，我們已經討論過逐步建設，但我們認為我們仍處於建設的相對較早的階段。我認為，這將是一個很好的兆頭，我們希望生產力能繼續提高。

Thank you for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

Aidan Hall, KBW.

艾丹·霍爾（Aidan Hall），KBW。

Great. Thank you. Good morning, John, Tim, Katy, hope everyone's well. Just wanted to ask on the private capital advisory business. Obviously, Evercore is a market leader in the space, seeing really strong results, both in PCA and PFG.

偉大的。謝謝。早安，約翰、提姆、凱蒂，希望大家都很好。只是想問一下私募資本諮詢業務。顯然，Evercore 是該領域的市場領導者，在 PCA 和 PFG 方面都取得了非常強勁的業績。

But there's increasing competition from the success of the secondaries market and broader industry volumes. There's been some announcements of larger banks moving in with more targeted efforts in this area of advisory. Just curious how you think about your competitive advantage in the space and ability to defend that market share?

但隨著二級市場的成功和產業規模的擴大，競爭也日益激烈。一些大型銀行已宣布將在這一諮詢領域開展更有針對性的措施。只是好奇您如何看待自己在該領域的競爭優勢以及捍衛市場份額的能力？

Well, last year, we had record years in both of our private capital advisory businesses. And I think we are very optimistic really about each one of those businesses going forward. In terms of market position, we are competing very effectively for new business and clients.

嗯，去年，我們的私募資本諮詢業務都創下了歷史新高。我認為，我們對每項業務的未來發展都非常樂觀。就市場地位而言，我們正在非常有效地爭取新業務和客戶。

And I think each of the business leaders in those business units really have a great deal of optimism in terms of how they're going to continue to build the business. As you may have seen that in terms of the continuation fund activity level, it's quite high right now.

我認為這些業務部門的每位業務領導者對於如何繼續發展業務都抱持著非常樂觀的態度。您可能已經看到，就延續基金活動水平而言，目前它相當高。

And I think that we're adding -- continuing to add new products. In the PCA area, whether that's structured capital solutions or whether it's collateralized fund obligations. And then in PFG, what you're really seeing is that the aperture is opening, and we're getting we're bringing in more business to actually raise money for different funds.

我認為我們正在增加——繼續增加新產品。在 PCA 領域，無論是結構化資本解決方案還是抵押基金債務。然後在 PFG，您真正看到的是光圈正在打開，我們正在引入更多業務來為不同的基金籌集資金。

And so our activity level in the private funds group is building. So I would say, yes, it's getting very -- it's getting more competitive it's very competitive. But right now, we're competing very well, and our business leaders feel really good about our market position.

因此，我們私募基金集團的活動水準正在不斷提高。所以我想說，是的，競爭越來越激烈，競爭非常激烈。但目前，我們的競爭力很強，我們的業務領導對我們的市場地位感到非常滿意。

Right. Now, I would just say that -- reiterate that last year was a record year for us. This year is starting strong, and we're pleased with what we see in the pipeline. And that we believe we're in the midst of a secular growth trend in this area. And so notwithstanding the increased levels of competition, we still feel pretty good about the outlook.

正確的。現在，我只想重申一下，去年對我們來說是創紀錄的一年。今年的開局強勁，我們對目前看到的情況感到滿意。我們相信，我們正處於該領域的長期成長趨勢之中。因此，儘管競爭加劇，我們仍然對前景感到樂觀。

Appreciate the color. Thanks for taking my question.

感謝色彩。感謝您回答我的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Ryan Kenny, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的瑞安肯尼。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. So I just wanted to dig in on the pace of activity build in '25 in both M&A and equity capital markets. You mentioned January announcements were a bit weaker for the industry and you used the word gradual.

嗨，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。所以我只是想深入了解 25 年併購和股權資本市場的活動速度。您提到 1 月的行業公告有些疲軟，並且使用了「漸進」這個詞。

So really want to understand whether recent market volatility around tariffs and AI development had any impact on the first quarter? Any risks we should keep in mind as we think about that pace of build through 2025.

那麼，您真的想了解最近圍繞關稅和人工智慧發展的市場波動是否對第一季產生了影響嗎？當我們考慮 2025 年的建設速度時，我們應該牢記任何風險。

Recognizing that January has been a little bit slower. We continue to think there's going to be a gradual build. And I don't think we're really coming off that. We don't, at this point, see the tariffs are impacting the activity level of dialogues and really preparing for doing things. We see it both in the strategic as well as financial sponsors.

體認到一月稍微慢了一點。我們仍然認為這將是一個逐步建設的過程。我不認為我們真的會擺脫這個困境。就目前情況來看，我們並未看到關稅對對話的活躍程度和真正的行動準備產生影響。我們從策略贊助商和財務贊助商那裡都看到了這一點。

So we see activity levels continuing to build. And the dialogue on deals is very relevant right now. In the equity capital markets space, the same thing, we see a build. And we see that as the balance of the year goes forward, we think it's going to continue to improve that market is going to continue to improve.

因此我們看到活動水準持續上升。目前，關於交易的對話非常重要。在股權資本市場領域，我們也看到了同樣的情況。我們看到，隨著今年餘下的時期繼續推進，我們認為市場將繼續改善。

So I think generally, we don't think there's any disruption at this point, and we think it's really going to continue on the pace that we've anticipated.

因此我認為總體而言，我們認為目前不會出現任何中斷，而且我們認為它確實會以我們預期的速度繼續發展。

Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

德文·瑞安（Devin Ryan），公民 JMP。

Great, thanks. Just a question on capital. So you obviously built $350 million of cash year over year. I appreciate still need to pay bonuses and so that will bring cash back down. But if we make some assumptions there, it would still seem like there was some excess capital build over the course of the year.

太好了，謝謝。我只想問一下關於資本的問題。所以你顯然逐年累積了 3.5 億美元的現金。我知道仍然需要支付獎金，這樣現金就會減少。但如果我們做一些假設，那麼看起來今年似乎仍然有一些過剩資本累積。

So I'm just kind of curious whether there would be any reason why you'd want to hold kind of a higher proportion of cash as you grow or -- does that reflect maybe some of the uncertainty from '24, maybe it's just timing.

所以我只是有點好奇，隨著你的成長，你是否希望持有更高比例的現金，或者這是否反映了 24 年的一些不確定性，也許只是時機問題。

So just love to get a sense on kind of how you're thinking about the excess capital position and kind of where you're entering 2025 because it would seem like it's up over '24.

所以我很想了解你是如何看待過剩資本狀況的，以及你將如何進入 2025 年，因為它似乎比 24 年有所上升。

Yeah. Sure, Devin. Look, we do think there's been a healthy build of cash. I'd kind of point out last year, we've turned $591 million of capital to our shareholders. Through $147 million of -- or $144 million of dividends and $447 million in the form of share repurchases over the last four years.

是的。當然，德文。看，我們確實認為現金已經健康累積。我想指出的是，去年我們已向股東轉移了 5.91 億美元的資本。透過過去四年中的 1.47 億美元（或 1.44 億美元的股息）和 4.47 億美元的股票回購形式。

We've repurchased a number of shares in each case greater than the number of RSUs granted during the comp period. And we certainly would expect that, that will be the case again this year and that we would expect to repurchase a number of shares greater than which would, of course, be a use of some of that cash build out.

在每種情況下，我們回購的股票數量都大於補償期間授予的 RSU 數量。我們當然預計，今年的情況仍將如此，我們預計將回購一定數量的股票，當然將用於部分現金累積。

Got it. Okay. All right. Thank you.

知道了。好的。好的。謝謝。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅 (James Yaro)。

Oh thanks for taking the follow-up. Just on restructuring, that appears to have been quite strong across the industry this quarter. I would love to get your perspective on whether that was the case for you. But then as you think about the outlook for restructuring, how do you think about the ability for that business to stay at these elevated levels or even potentially grow from here?

哦，謝謝您的跟進。僅就重組而言，本季整個產業的重組似乎都相當強勁。我很想聽聽你的看法，看看你的情況是否如此。但是當您考慮重組的前景時，您如何看待該業務能否維持在這些較高水平甚至可能從此增長？

Well, our last year, we had a very strong year in restructuring. I think it was our second best year ever, and we continue to see activity level in that space to be very strong. And frankly, the business has changed a little bit and that it's not really just bankruptcies and restructuring companies. There's a lot of liability management that plays into it.

嗯，去年是我們的重組非常強勁的一年。我認為這是我們有史以來第二好的一年，而且我們繼續看到該領域的活動水平非常強勁。坦白說，業務已經發生了一些變化，而且實際上不僅僅是破產和重組公司。其中涉及很多責任管理。

And we've really structured ourselves so that we're talking to more clients about more critical aspects of their capital structure than ever before. So we see that the activity levels kind of stay up for quite some time. I can't guarantee that it's always going to be at these levels, which are very healthy.

我們已經進行了真正的結構調整，以便與更多的客戶討論其資本結構中比以往更關鍵的方面。因此我們看到活動量會維持相當長一段時間。我不能保證它會一直保持這些非常健康的水平。

But there's no question that I think what we're able to do the service we're able to provide is more relevant and more expansive than it's been before. And our people are really marketing it that way.

但毫無疑問，我認為我們能夠提供的服務比以前更有意義、更具拓展性。我們的員工也確實以這種方式進行行銷。

Appreciate the color. Thanks, John.

感謝色彩。謝謝，約翰。

Thank you. And this concludes today's Evercore fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的 Evercore 2024 年第四季和全年財報電話會議就到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。