ExlService Holdings, Inc. (EXLS) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the ExlService Holdings, Inc. first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Also, as a reminder, this conference is being recorded today. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time.

各位好，歡迎參加 ExlService Holdings, Inc. 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）另外提醒，本次會議將於今日錄音。如您有任何異議，請此刻中斷連線。

I will now turn the call over to Andrew Thut, Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets.

現在我將把電話交給投資人關係與資本市場主管 Andrew Thut。

Thanks, Jenny. Hello, and thank you for joining EXL's first quarter 2026 financial results conference call. On the call with me today are Rohit Kapoor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Maurizio Nicolelli, Chief Financial Officer. We hope you've had an opportunity to review the first quarter earnings press release we issued yesterday afternoon. We have also posted a slide deck and investor fact sheet on our Investor Relations website.

謝謝你，Jenny。各位好，感謝您參加 EXL 2026 年第一季財務業績電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有董事長兼執行長 Rohit Kapoor，以及財務長 Maurizio Nicolelli。希望各位已經有機會閱讀我們昨天下午發布的第一季財報新聞稿。我們也已在投資人關係網站上發布簡報資料與投資人資料表。

As a reminder, some of the matters we'll discuss this morning are forward-looking. Please keep in mind that these forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

提醒各位，我們今天上午將討論的部分事項屬於前瞻性陳述。請注意，這些前瞻性陳述受到已知與未知的風險與不確定性影響，可能導致實際結果與該等陳述所明示或暗示者有重大差異。

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in yesterday's press release and in EXL's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. EXL assumes no obligation to update the information presented on this conference call today.

此類風險與不確定性包括但不限於昨日新聞稿以及 EXL 不時向美國證券交易委員會提交之文件中所載之因素。EXL 不承擔更新今日電話會議所呈現資訊之任何義務。

During our call, we may reference certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide useful information for investors. Reconciliation of these measures to GAAP can be found in our press release, slide deck and investor section. With that, I'll turn the call over to Rohit. Rohit?

在本次電話會議中，我們可能會提及若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，我們認為這些指標可為投資人提供有用資訊。這些指標與 GAAP 之調節表可於我們的新聞稿、簡報資料及投資人專區中查閱。接下來我把電話交給 Rohit。Rohit？

Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. We entered 2026 with strong momentum. In the first quarter, EXL generated revenue of $570 million, up 14% year-over-year and adjusted earnings of $0.58 per share, an increase of 20% year-over-year. Our sustained double-digit growth demonstrates the strength of our competitive position as well as strong execution against our data and AI strategy.

謝謝你，Andrew，各位早安。我們以強勁動能進入 2026 年。第一季，EXL 創造營收 5.70 億美元，年增 14%；調整後每股盈餘為 0.58 美元，年增 20%。我們持續的雙位數成長展現了我們競爭地位的強韌性，以及在資料與 AI 策略上的強力執行。

EXL's recognized industry expertise and leadership in helping clients adopt AI throughout their enterprise is resonating strongly with the market and fueling our growth with new and existing clients. Demand is being driven by scaled deployments of AI inside core client workflows where EXL delivers measurable productivity, increased effectiveness and superior risk-based outcomes.

EXL 受到肯定的產業專業與在協助客戶於全企業導入 AI 的領導地位，正強烈引起市場共鳴，並推動我們在新舊客戶中的成長。需求主要來自於在客戶核心工作流程中大規模部署 AI；在這些場景中，EXL 能帶來可衡量的生產力提升、更高的效能，以及更優異的風險導向成果。

Underpinning this growth is a combination of capabilities that has taken over two decades to build. Helping our clients adopt AI in complex regulated industries requires more than technology. It requires deep familiarity with the operational workflows, regulatory frameworks and data ecosystems that define how our clients actually operate. This is where our unique combination of domain, data and AI expertise differentiates EXL and drives superior client outcomes.

支撐此成長的是一套歷經二十多年打造的能力組合。在複雜且受監管的產業中協助客戶導入 AI，不僅需要技術，更需要對營運工作流程、監管架構與資料生態系有深刻理解，這些因素決定了客戶實際如何運作。這正是我們獨特的領域、資料與 AI 專業結合之處，讓 EXL 脫穎而出並帶來更佳的客戶成果。

EXL's proprietary data assets, domain-specific AI models and orchestration capabilities allow us to embed intelligence directly into how work gets done, not as an overlay, but as an integrated part of the process. It is one of the key reasons our renewal rates remain high, and we continue to grow at market-leading rates.

EXL 的專有資料資產、特定領域 AI 模型與編排能力，使我們能將智慧直接嵌入工作完成的方式中——不是作為外加層，而是作為流程的整合部分。這也是我們續約率維持高檔、並持續以領先市場的速度成長的關鍵原因之一。

In addition to our segments, we also provide revenue information across two categories: data and AI-led and digital operations. Data and AI-led revenues grew 28% year-over-year in Q1 and now represents 60% of the company total. We are seeing strong momentum across our full portfolio of data and AI-led offerings as clients are stepping up the pace of AI adoption and need help with data for AI, design of their Agentic AI systems and reimagining business processes.

除依事業部門揭露外，我們也以兩大類別提供營收資訊：資料與 AI 驅動（data and AI-led）以及數位營運（digital operations）。第一季資料與 AI 驅動營收年增 28%，目前占公司總營收的 60%。隨著客戶加快 AI 導入步伐，並需要在 AI 所需資料、其 Agentic AI 系統設計，以及重新構想業務流程方面獲得協助，我們在完整的資料與 AI 驅動產品組合上正看到強勁動能。

Most of our clients across verticals need to improve the way that they capture, enrich and utilize their structured and unstructured data to drive AI outcomes. We are seeing strong market interest in our EXLdata.ai platform, which helps clients preserve domain-specific semantic context as they build new AI-ready data foundations.

我們多數跨垂直產業的客戶，都需要改善其擷取、豐富化並運用結構化與非結構化資料的方式，以推動 AI 成果。我們看到市場對 EXLdata.ai 平台有強烈興趣；該平台可協助客戶在建立新的 AI 就緒資料基礎時，保留特定領域的語意脈絡。

And we are continuing to leverage AI in solutions that we manage, which is both driving greater efficiencies and creating new value for clients by increasing precision and enabling improved outcomes. We are embedding AI both in our data and AI-led solutions as well as the operations that we manage for our clients.

我們也持續在所管理的解決方案中運用 AI，這不僅帶來更高效率，也透過提升精準度與促成更佳成果，為客戶創造新的價值。我們正將 AI 同時嵌入我們的資料與 AI 驅動解決方案，以及我們為客戶管理的營運之中。

This last point is important and worth stressing. When we successfully embed AI into an existing client workflow, the nature of that engagement changes. It becomes more intelligent, more IP-led and more value added. The revenue associated with it moves from our digital operations category into our data and AI-led category.

最後這點很重要，值得強調。當我們成功將 AI 嵌入既有的客戶工作流程時，合作型態就會改變：變得更智慧、更以 IP 驅動、也更具附加價值。與之相關的營收會從我們的數位營運類別，移轉至資料與 AI 驅動類別。

As I communicated to you last quarter, in order to provide greater transparency, we share our investor fact sheet with a total operations view, which combines digital operations and data and AI-led operations that have migrated into our data and AI-led category.

如我在上季向各位說明，為了提供更高透明度，我們在投資人資料表中分享「總營運」視角，將數位營運與已移轉至資料與 AI 驅動類別的資料與 AI 驅動營運合併呈現。

In Q1, total operations grew 10% year-over-year and remains a growth driver for our company's revenue. The reported digital operations revenue after that migration was down 2% year-on-year. This is by design. We expect this deliberate and planned shift to continue going forward. We saw strong performance across each of our four operating segments to start the year.

第一季，總營運年增 10%，仍是推動公司營收成長的動力。在完成該移轉後，所揭露的數位營運營收年減 2%。這是刻意為之。我們預期這項有意識且按計畫的轉移將在未來持續。年初至今，我們四個營運部門皆展現強勁表現。

Insurance grew 13% year-over-year, representing over one-third of our revenues. I'm particularly pleased to see it return to double-digit growth. Insurers are accelerating adoption of AI to improve underwriting, claims and customer experience. We are seeing strong deal activity across all market segments. Healthcare and Life Sciences grew 21% year-over-year, representing over a quater of our revenues.

保險業務年增 13%，占我們營收超過三分之一。我特別高興看到它回到雙位數成長。保險公司正加速採用 AI，以改善核保、理賠與客戶體驗。我們在各個市場區隔都看到強勁的交易活動。醫療保健與生命科學年增 21%，占我們營收超過四分之一。

Payers and providers are facing rising cost pressures, regulatory complexity and margin strain. They are turning to EXL to apply AI at scale to improve productivity and outcomes. Payment integrity continues to be a significant driver of growth, along with broad-based strength in analytics, AI services and solutions and operations.

支付方與提供方正面臨成本壓力上升、監管複雜度提高與利潤率承壓。他們轉向 EXL，以大規模應用 AI 來提升生產力與成果。支付完整性（payment integrity）仍是重要的成長驅動因素，同時分析、AI 服務與解決方案以及營運也呈現廣泛的強勁表現。

Banking, capital markets and diversified industries grew 8% year-over-year and represented 1/4 of revenue. The quarter saw very high deal activity, and we remain confident in continued progress as the year unfolds. International growth markets grew 13% year-over-year, reflecting successful AI-led expansions in new and existing clients.

銀行、資本市場與多元產業年增 8%，占營收四分之一。本季交易活動非常熱絡，隨著年度推進，我們對持續進展仍具信心。國際成長市場年增 13%，反映我們在新舊客戶中成功推動 AI 驅動的擴張。

International markets are an important driver of our long-term growth and global expansion strategy, and we continue to invest in talent and partnerships to expand our footprint. During the quarter, we hosted our annual AI in Action flagship event, bringing together senior business and technology leaders from across our client and partner ecosystem.

國際市場是我們長期成長與全球擴張策略的重要驅動力，我們持續投資人才與合作夥伴以擴大版圖。本季我們舉辦年度旗艦活動「AI in Action」，匯聚來自客戶與合作夥伴生態系的資深商務與科技領袖。

The focus this year was on what it takes to make Agentic AI real inside enterprise operations from building the right data foundations to orchestrating AI across complex workflows. The level of engagement and the participation reinforced what we are seeing in our pipeline. Enterprises are moving from AI curiosity to AI in production, and we are the partners who can help them execute.

今年的重點在於：要如何讓 Agentic AI 在企業營運中真正落地——從建立正確的資料基礎，到在複雜工作流程中編排 AI。與會互動程度與參與情況，強化了我們在管線中所看到的趨勢：企業正從對 AI 的好奇走向 AI 的正式上線（production），而我們正是能協助他們執行落地的合作夥伴。

We are also seeing co-innovation with our technology partners continuing to resonate and earn us industry recognition. EXL was recently named Advanced Technology Partner of the Year by NVIDIA, Best New Partner of the Year by Genesys and AI and Machine Learning Market Disruptor of the Year by AWS. These partnerships are not only enabling our differentiated solutions, they are becoming meaningful go-to-market and pipeline contributors.

我們也看到與科技合作夥伴的共同創新持續引起共鳴，並為我們贏得產業肯定。EXL 近期獲 NVIDIA 評選為「年度先進技術合作夥伴」、獲 Genesys 評選為「年度最佳新合作夥伴」，並獲 AWS 評選為「年度 AI 與機器學習市場顛覆者」。這些合作不僅促成我們差異化的解決方案，也正成為重要的市場推進（go-to-market）與業務管線貢獻來源。

In summary, EXL entered 2026 with strong momentum, and we have excellent visibility for the remainder of the year. Demand for our data and AI-led services and solutions remains robust, continuing the momentum we saw at the end of 2025. We continue to strengthen our competitive position through investments in capabilities, partnerships and talent.

總結而言，EXL 以強勁動能進入 2026 年，且對今年剩餘期間具備極佳能見度。市場對我們資料與 AI 驅動的服務與解決方案需求仍然強勁，延續了我們在 2025 年底所見的動能。我們也持續透過在能力、合作夥伴關係與人才上的投資，強化競爭地位。

Our portfolio is well balanced. Our pipeline is strong, and we have high renewal rates. More than 75% of our revenue is recurring or annuity-like, providing revenue stability and a great line of sight for the year. For full year 2026, we are increasing our revenue guidance to a range of $2.3 billion to $2.33 billion, representing 10% to 12% constant currency organic growth.

我們的產品組合相當均衡。我們的業務管線強勁，且續約率高。我們超過 75% 的營收為經常性或類年金型（annuity-like），提供營收穩定性，並讓我們對全年有良好的可視性。針對 2026 全年，我們將營收指引上調至 23.0 億至 23.3 億美元區間，代表以固定匯率計算的有機成長為 10% 至 12%。

We are also increasing our adjusted diluted EPS to $2.18 to $2.23, representing 12% to 14% year-over-year growth. As always, I want to thank our clients, partners and employees for their trust and commitment and to our shareholders for their continued support.

我們也將調整後稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）上調至 2.18 至 2.23 美元，代表年增 12% 至 14%。一如既往，我要感謝我們的客戶、合作夥伴與員工的信任與投入，也感謝股東持續的支持。

Before I hand it over to Maurizio, I'd like to remind you that we will be hosting our Investor and Analyst Day on May 13 in New York. We will share our multiyear growth framework, AI monetization model and client case studies that bring our AI strategy to life. For those of you looking to understand the EXL growth story, this is the event to attend. Please reach out to Andrew for details. I look forward to seeing you there.

在我把電話交給 Maurizio 之前，我想提醒各位，我們將於 5 月 13 日在紐約舉辦投資人與分析師日。我們將分享多年期成長架構、AI 變現模型，以及能讓我們 AI 策略具體呈現的客戶案例研究。對於想了解 EXL 成長故事的各位，這是必參加的活動。詳情請聯繫 Andrew。我期待在現場與各位相見。

I will now turn the call over to Maurizio to provide more details on our financial performance.

我現在把電話交給 Maurizio，請他提供更多關於我們財務表現的細節。

Thank you, Rohit, and thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. I will provide insights into our financial performance for the first quarter and our revised outlook for 2026. We delivered a strong first quarter with revenue of $570.4 million, up 13.8% year-over-year on a reported basis and 13.4% on a constant currency basis. Sequentially, we grew 5.1% on a constant currency basis. Adjusted EPS was $0.58, a year-over-year increase of 20.2%.

謝謝你，Rohit，也謝謝各位今天早上加入我們。我將就第一季的財務表現以及我們對 2026 年修訂後的展望提供一些觀點。我們第一季表現強勁，營收為 5.704 億美元，以報告基礎計年增 13.8%，以固定匯率基礎計年增 13.4%。以固定匯率基礎按季成長 5.1%。調整後 EPS 為 0.58 美元，年增 20.2%。

All revenue growth percentages mentioned hereafter are on a constant currency basis, unless otherwise stated. Now turning to segment revenue for the first quarter. The Insurance segment grew 12.6% year-over-year with revenue of $193.9 million. This growth was driven by expansion and higher volumes in existing client relationships and new wins.

除非另有說明，以下提及的所有營收成長百分比皆以固定匯率基礎計算。接著看第一季各事業部門營收。保險事業部門營收為 1.939 億美元，年增 12.6%。此成長主要來自既有客戶關係的擴張與更高的業務量，以及新案的取得。

Sequentially, Insurance grew 4.4%. The Insurance vertical, including revenue from international growth markets, grew 12.2% year-over-year with revenue of $226.1 million. The Healthcare and Life Sciences segment reported revenue of $151.9 million, representing growth of 21% year-over-year and 6.8% sequentially. The year-over-year growth was driven by higher volumes in our payment services business and expansion in existing client relationships with other health care services we provide.

按季來看，保險成長 4.4%。保險垂直領域（包含國際成長市場的營收）年增 12.2%，營收為 2.261 億美元。醫療保健與生命科學事業部門營收為 1.519 億美元，年增 21%，按季成長 6.8%。年增主要由我們支付服務業務的更高業務量，以及我們所提供之其他醫療服務在既有客戶關係中的擴張所帶動。

The Health Care and Life Sciences vertical, including revenue from international growth markets, grew 20.9% year-over-year with revenue of $152.1 million. In the Banking, Capital Markets and Diversified Industries segment, we reported revenue of $127.4 million, representing growth of 8.1% year-over-year and 4% sequentially. This growth was driven by new client wins and expansion of existing client relationships.

醫療保健與生命科學垂直領域（包含國際成長市場的營收）年增 20.9%，營收為 1.521 億美元。在銀行、資本市場與多元產業事業部門，我們營收為 1.274 億美元，年增 8.1%，按季成長 4%。此成長由新客戶得標以及既有客戶關係的擴張所帶動。

Banking, Capital Markets and Diversified Industries vertical, including revenue from International Growth Markets, grew 9.4% year-over-year with revenue of $192.2 million. In the International Growth Markets segment, we generated revenue of $97.1 million, up 10.9% year-over-year and 5.4% sequentially. This growth was driven by ramp-ups and higher volumes with existing clients and new wins across Banking, Capital Markets and Diversified Industries and Insurance.

銀行、資本市場與多元產業垂直領域（包含國際成長市場的營收）年增 9.4%，營收為 1.922 億美元。在國際成長市場事業部門，我們創造營收 9,710 萬美元，年增 10.9%，按季成長 5.4%。此成長由既有客戶的導入爬坡與更高業務量，以及在銀行、資本市場與多元產業與保險領域的新案取得所帶動。

SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue increased 20 basis points year-over-year to 20.4%, driven by investments in data and AI-led solutions. Our adjusted operating margin for the quarter was 20.5%, up 40 basis points year-over-year, driven primarily by improved gross margins. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 21.9%, down 40 basis points year-over-year, driven by higher profits in lower tax jurisdictions.

SG&A 費用占營收比重年增 20 個基點至 20.4%，主要因投資於資料與 AI 驅動的解決方案。本季調整後營業利益率為 20.5%，年增 40 個基點，主要由毛利率改善所帶動。本季有效稅率為 21.9%，年減 40 個基點，主要因較多獲利來自低稅負司法管轄區。

Our adjusted EPS for the quarter was $0.58, up 20.2% year-over-year on a reported basis. Our balance sheet remains strong. Our cash, including short- and long-term investments as of March 31 was $266 million, and our revolver debt was $417 million for a net debt position of $151 million.

本季調整後 EPS 為 0.58 美元，以報告基礎計年增 20.2%。我們的資產負債表仍然強健。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的現金（包含短期與長期投資）為 2.66 億美元，循環信貸（revolver）負債為 4.17 億美元，淨負債部位為 1.51 億美元。

During the quarter, we spent $13 million on capital expenditures and repurchased 4.4 million shares at an average price of $31 per share, totaling $136 million. This includes 3.35 million shares received upfront as part of the settlement of our previously announced $125 million accelerated share repurchase. We expect to receive the remaining shares in the second quarter.

本季我們資本支出 1,300 萬美元，並以每股平均 31 美元回購 440 萬股，合計 1.36 億美元。其中包含我們先前宣布之 1.25 億美元加速股票回購（ASR）結算的一部分，已預先收到 335 萬股。我們預期將於第二季收到其餘股份。

Now moving on to our outlook for 2026. While we remain cautious about the current macroeconomic climate and geopolitical uncertainties, we are increasing our guidance for the year based on our current growth momentum and our strong pipeline. We now anticipate 2026 revenue to be in the range of $2.3 billion to $2.33 billion. This represents year-over-year growth of 10% to 12% on a reported and constant currency basis.

接著談我們對 2026 年的展望。雖然我們對當前總體經濟環境與地緣政治不確定性仍保持審慎，但基於目前的成長動能與強勁的案源管線，我們上調全年指引。我們目前預期 2026 年營收將落在 23.0 億至 23.3 億美元區間。這代表以報告基礎與固定匯率基礎計算，年增 10% 至 12%。

This also represents an increase of $20 million at the midpoint, which includes a $2 million foreign exchange headwind from our previous guidance. We anticipate increased investments in data and AI capabilities and solutions for the rest of the year to expand our competitive advantage and continue to drive top-line revenue growth.

這也代表以中位數計增加 2,000 萬美元，其中包含相較先前指引有 200 萬美元的外匯逆風。我們預期今年剩餘期間將加大對資料與 AI 能力及解決方案的投資，以擴大競爭優勢並持續推動營收成長。

We expect a foreign exchange gain of approximately $2 million to $3 million, net interest expense of approximately $6 million to $8 million and our full year effective tax rate to be in the range of 21% to 22%. We expect capital expenditures to be in the range of $50 million to $55 million. We anticipate our adjusted EPS to be in the range of $2.18 to $2.23, representing year-over-year growth of 12% to 14%, up from our previous guidance of $2.14 to $2.19.

我們預期外匯收益約 200 萬至 300 萬美元，淨利息費用約 600 萬至 800 萬美元，全年有效稅率預期落在 21% 至 22% 區間。我們預期資本支出將落在 5,000 萬至 5,500 萬美元。我們預期調整後 EPS 將落在 2.18 至 2.23 美元區間，代表年增 12% 至 14%，高於先前指引的 2.14 至 2.19 美元。

To conclude, we had a strong start to the year, demonstrating our unique competitive position and participation in high-growth market segments. Despite the current geopolitical uncertainty, our leading indicators remain positive, and we have a highly adaptable and resilient business model, setting us up well for a solid 2026.

總結來說，我們今年開局強勁，展現了我們獨特的競爭地位以及在高成長市場區隔中的參與度。儘管目前地緣政治仍不確定，我們的領先指標依然正向，而我們具備高度可調適且具韌性的商業模式，讓我們在 2026 年有良好基礎交出穩健表現。

With that, Rohit and I would be happy to take your questions.

接下來，Rohit 和我很樂意回答各位的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Bryan Bergin, TD Cowen.

Bryan Bergin，TD Cowen。

Hi, good morning. Thank you. I wanted to ask here on the growth guide. So good to see the raise. Can you just dig in on the key assumptions for data and AI-led versus digital ops growth and maybe how your views on the industries may shape up? And then Maurizio, just despite the strong commentary here, it doesn't suggest any demand impact to you, but would you still say this feels like a prudent outlook for the balance of the year?

嗨，早安。謝謝。我想就成長指引提問。很高興看到上調。你能否深入說明一下資料與 AI 驅動相較於數位營運（digital ops）成長的關鍵假設，以及你們對各產業的看法可能會如何發展？另外 Maurizio，儘管你們的評論相當強勁，似乎並未顯示需求受到影響，但你是否仍會說，對今年剩餘期間而言這是一個審慎的展望？

Hi, Bryan, so our growth outlook, we've increased our guidance for the full year. As you all know, our first quarter is typically a strong quarter, and we had a great first quarter this time. What we've seen is that we've been able to kind of outperform our own expectations in the first quarter. We continue to see good pipeline and good demand for our services. And therefore, we've increased our guidance for the balance of the year.

嗨，Bryan，關於我們的成長展望，我們已上調全年指引。各位都知道，我們第一季通常是強勁的一季，而這次第一季也表現非常好。我們看到的是，我們在第一季能夠某種程度上超越自身預期。我們持續看到良好的案源管線，以及對我們服務的良好需求。因此，我們上調了今年剩餘期間的指引。

The data and AI-led part of our business is actually resonating very nicely in the marketplace. It now represents 60% of our total portfolio, and it's growing up very nicely. Even for digital operations, as we've shared with you, our total operations is actually growing quite nicely as well, and we continue to see demand out there.

我們業務中資料與 AI 驅動的部分在市場上確實引起非常好的共鳴。它現在占我們整體產品組合的 60%，而且成長表現相當不錯。即便是數位營運，如同我們先前與各位分享的，我們整體營運業務也成長得相當好，我們仍持續看到市場需求。

If you talk about industries, typically, we continue to see good momentum in insurance, in banking and in health care. Some of the industries where we see a little bit of softness is on retail and on communication. But a majority of our portfolio is really made up of banking, financial services, insurance and health care, and those are all very, very strong pipelines and demand for us.

若談到產業面，通常我們在保險、銀行與醫療保健持續看到良好動能。有些產業我們看到些許疲軟，例如零售與通訊。不過我們的產品組合大多由銀行、金融服務、保險與醫療保健構成，而這些領域對我們而言都有非常、非常強勁的案源管線與需求。

We don't really provide a breakup, Bryan, as you know, between data and AI-led and digital operations. But it would be fair to say that our digital operations will grow slightly below the company average, and our data and AI-led piece will be powering the growth of the overall company.

如你所知，Bryan，我們並不會在資料與 AI 驅動與數位營運之間提供拆分。不過可以合理地說，我們的數位營運成長會略低於公司平均，而資料與 AI 驅動的部分將成為帶動整體公司成長的主要動力。

I'll pass it on to Maurizio to talk about the prudent guidance that we've given.

我把問題交給 Maurizio，請他談談我們所給出的審慎指引。

Yeah. Thank you, Rohit. And Bryan, as Rohit talked about, we're seeing very good momentum coming into the calendar year. So Q1 is normally a strong quarter for us to really start out the year, and we saw that again this year. And we continue to see that momentum going into the rest of the year.

好的。謝謝你，Rohit。Bryan，如 Rohit 所說，我們在進入這個曆年時看到非常好的動能。因此第一季通常是我們啟動全年表現的一個強勁季度，而今年我們也再次看到這點。我們也持續看到這股動能延續到今年剩餘期間。

One thing to highlight is we did raise our guidance at the midpoint by $20 million more than our beat in the first quarter, and that does include a $2 million FX headwind from the last time we gave guidance. And then lastly, our guidance is going to take -- is going to be a bit prudent and take into the account what's happening in the current macro environment and also the geopolitical uncertainties that are out there.

有一點要強調的是，我們在中位數上把指引上調了 2,000 萬美元，這比我們第一季超預期（beat）的幅度還多，而且其中包含上次提供指引時所反映的 200 萬美元外匯逆風。最後，我們的指引會——會相對審慎，並把目前總體環境的變化以及外部的地緣政治不確定性納入考量。

And we have three more quarters remaining for the rest of the year. So look, we have very good momentum going into the second quarter and the rest of the year. And our guide is we've increased it, and we're still early in the year, and we'll continue to revisit our guide as we go forward. But the big positive here is that it's -- we've got very positive momentum going into the rest of the year from Q1.

而且今年還剩下三個季度。所以你看，我們進入第二季以及今年剩餘期間的動能非常好。我們已經上調指引，但現在仍在年初，我們會在往後持續檢視並更新指引。不過這裡最大的正面因素是——我們從第一季延續到今年剩餘期間的動能非常正向。

Okay. That's helpful. That's clear. Maybe on margins. So it looks like you outperformed there as well. Can you just comment any change in the expectation on adjusted op margin for the year? And just is it investment timing, any cadence expectations just to help?

好的。這很有幫助。很清楚。也許談一下利潤率。看起來你們在那裡也表現優於預期。你能否評論一下今年調整後營業利潤率（adjusted op margin）的預期是否有任何變化？另外，是否與投資時點有關、節奏上有任何預期，能否也協助說明？

Yeah, Sure. So you saw our adjusted operating margin come in at 20.5% in Q1, and that's up 40 basis points from Q1 of last year. We always see Q1 being a very strong quarter, both on revenue and profitability. And that sets us up very well for the rest of the year in terms of investing to continue to drive double-digit growth for the rest of the year and also going into 2027.

好的，當然。所以你看到我們第一季的調整後營業利潤率為 20.5%，較去年第一季提高 40 個基點。我們一向看到第一季在營收與獲利能力上都非常強勁。這也讓我們在今年剩餘時間能夠更好地進行投資，以持續推動今年其餘時間的雙位數成長，並延續到 2027 年。

So you will see us, as you saw last year, start to make additional investments, particularly into our data and AI capabilities during the rest of the year. And our AOPM forecast for the rest of the year will be similar to what we have talked about in that mid-19% range.

因此你會看到我們——就像去年一樣——在今年剩餘時間開始進行額外投資，特別是投入在我們的資料與 AI 能力上。而我們對今年其餘時間的 AOPM 預測，將與我們先前談到的相近，約在 19% 中段的區間。

All right. Great. Thank you.

好的。非常好。謝謝。

David Koning, Baird.

David Koning，Baird。

Yeah, hey, guys, thanks. Great job again. I guess one question. We kind of hear your clients, just all the companies in the environment right now are really looking for AI savings. Do you get some of them pushing you on price a little bit just saying, Hey, we need to find ways to save to show our CEO, our Board, et cetera that we're saving money. Do you see that as a price headwind at all or more of a demand tailwind?

是的，嗨，各位，謝謝。再次做得很棒。我想問一個問題。我們聽到你們的客戶——其實現在環境裡的所有公司——都非常在意 AI 帶來的節省。會不會有一些客戶在價格上對你們施壓一點，說「嘿，我們需要找到省錢的方法，好向 CEO、董事會等等證明我們在省成本」。你們有看到這成為價格上的逆風嗎？還是反而是需求上的順風？

Yeah. Dave. So let me just kind of provide a little bit of context around what we are seeing around the adoption of AI. number 1, I think what we are seeing is our clients are switching over from AI pilots and AI POCs to AI in production. So that's a big change, and that started out early in this year. And frankly, that's playing to our strengths and the value that we can add to these relationships.

是的，Dave。讓我先提供一些我們在 AI 採用方面所看到的背景。第一，我們看到客戶正從 AI 試點（pilots）與 AI 概念驗證（POCs）轉向 AI 上線到正式生產環境（production）。這是一個很大的改變，而且在今年年初就開始了。坦白說，這正好發揮我們的強項，以及我們能為這些合作關係帶來的價值。

The second thing that we are seeing is as clients think about AI in production, they are quite willing to open up access to their technology systems, to their databases and allow us to be able to make changes to the end-to-end workflow. As you know, the application of AI has to be driven in conjunction with the transformation of the workflow, and we are in the best position to be able to drive that.

第二，我們看到的是，當客戶思考把 AI 放到生產環境時，他們相當願意開放其技術系統與資料庫的存取權，並允許我們對端到端的工作流程進行變更。如你所知，AI 的應用必須與工作流程的轉型同步推動，而我們正處於最有利的位置來推動這件事。

And the third piece is the commercial model is also changing. And what we are seeing is as clients come to us with the adoption of AI to be implemented and enabled, the commercial model is changing much more towards a fixed fee and a milestone-based payment and an outcome-based model. So that is something which allows us to be able to manage the pricing and the margins and be able to add value to the customer relationship.

第三個部分是商業模式也在改變。我們看到的是，當客戶找我們導入並啟用 AI 採用時，商業模式正更多轉向固定費用（fixed fee）、里程碑式付款（milestone-based payment）以及以成果為基礎的模式（outcome-based model）。這讓我們能夠管理定價與利潤率，同時為客戶關係創造價值。

So the negotiation and the conversations are much more about providing our clients with deterministic benefits associated with AI adoption and for us to be able to do it in a way that allows us to be able to earn a respectable margin associated with that. We are not really seeing clients come to us just asking for price reduction. The price reduction is alongside the transformation and alongside with the value creation for them.

因此，談判與對話更多是在於為客戶提供與 AI 採用相關的可確定（deterministic）的效益，同時讓我們能以一種可取得合理利潤率的方式來交付。我們並沒有真的看到客戶只是來要求降價。降價是伴隨著轉型、也伴隨著為他們創造價值一起發生的。

Yeah, thank you for that. And just one follow-up. In the International segment, I know you called out a little uncertainty with the conflict. 17% of revenue, it actually accelerated pretty nicely in the quarter. Would you expect to see a little deceleration there? Maybe describe kind of what the impacts you think can happen?

是的，謝謝你的說明。再追問一個。在國際事業部（International segment），我知道你們提到衝突帶來一些不確定性。該部分占營收 17%，而且本季其實加速得不錯。你們是否預期那裡會稍微減速？能否描述一下你們認為可能會有哪些影響？

Yeah, So Dave, firstly, our international growth market is highly underpenetrated. So frankly, the opportunity set out there is enormous. Second, we have very little and very limited exposure to the Middle East. Most of our revenue from clients really comes in from UK from Europe, from Australia and New Zealand. And we are seeing healthy adoption of AI in these geographies.

是的，Dave。首先，我們的國際成長市場滲透率仍然很低，所以坦白說，那裡的機會集合非常龐大。第二，我們在中東的曝險非常少、非常有限。我們來自客戶的營收主要來自英國、歐洲、澳洲與紐西蘭。而我們在這些地區看到 AI 的採用相當健康。

Our goal will be to continue to drive a greater and a faster adoption of our services in the international growth markets. So we are not really seeing any direct impact due to the conflict as such. There may be some downstream second degree or third degree kind of impacts associated with that with our clients. But frankly, it's actually very fertile ground for us in the international growth markets.

我們的目標是持續推動國際成長市場更大、更快地採用我們的服務。因此就衝突本身而言，我們並沒有看到任何直接影響。可能會有一些與客戶相關的下游、第二層或第三層的間接影響。但坦白說，國際成長市場對我們而言其實是非常肥沃的土壤。

So we're going to continue to invest in that space by adding on more talent, bringing on more capabilities. And we think we should be able to grow our international growth markets business quite nicely, and it should grow at the same level or if not higher than the company average growth rate.

所以我們會持續在這個領域投資，增加更多人才、導入更多能力。我們認為國際成長市場業務應該能夠相當不錯地成長，而且其成長率應可與公司平均成長率相當，甚至更高。

Great. Thank you, guys. Good job.

很好。謝謝各位。做得很好。

Maggie Nolan, William Blair.

Maggie Nolan，William Blair。

Hi, thank you. I'm curious if you can share any perspective on net revenue retention at some of your largest accounts to kind of help us get at the question of volume versus some of this work migration between types of offerings?

嗨，謝謝。我想了解你們是否能分享一些關於最大型客戶的淨營收留存率（net revenue retention）的觀點，幫助我們釐清「量的變化」與「不同服務類型之間工作移轉」之間的問題？

Yeah, hi, Maggie, that's a great question and something that we've been paying our close attention to. So like I said earlier, one of the things which is happening with our more mature clients is as they ask us to help them adopt AI into their enterprise workflows, what we are able to do is to actually work on much larger pieces of operations for them as compared to the past and also work on a lot of work associated with building the right kind of data foundation and new service lines, which we would not have kind of engaged with them on previously.

是的，嗨，Maggie，這是個很好的問題，也是我們一直密切關注的事情。就像我先前提到的，我們較成熟的客戶正在發生的一件事是：當他們要求我們協助把 AI 導入其企業工作流程時，相較於過去，我們實際上能為他們承接更大範圍的營運工作，同時也能投入許多與建立正確的資料基礎與新服務線相關的工作，而這些在以前我們可能不會與他們合作。

So frankly, the landscape at which we are operating, that's expanding. Our TAM is expanding, and it's becoming a much bigger playing field for us. And at the same time, we are able to deploy AI and eliminate and reduce the amount of manual effort that's required to be able to do some of these processes and pass on this productivity benefit to our clients.

所以坦白說，我們所處的作業版圖正在擴大。我們的 TAM（可服務市場總量）正在擴大，對我們而言變成更大的競技場。同時，我們也能部署 AI，消除並降低完成部分流程所需的人工投入，並把這些生產力效益回饋給客戶。

So if you talk about net revenue retention, actually, it still is a growth story for us because on a net basis, we are seeing a much wider landscape to play in, and we are seeing the revenue size and the size of the operation actually increase despite providing them with a benefit associated with the manual work -- manual portion of the work that was being done previously.

因此如果談到淨營收留存率，對我們而言其實仍是一個成長故事，因為從淨額角度來看，我們看到可發揮的版圖更廣；而且即便我們為他們提供了與人工工作——也就是先前由人工完成的那部分工作——相關的效益，營收規模與營運規模仍然在增加。

Thank you. And then I noticed in the prepared remarks a little bit of an emphasis on partnerships. And I'm wondering, if there's anything you can share with us to give us a sense of how that's progressing, like what the partner source pipeline looks like or co-selling metrics? And then any sort of variance in things like the deal cycle when you have partnership involvement?

謝謝。接著我注意到你們在事先準備的講稿中稍微強調了合作夥伴關係。我想請問你們是否能分享一些進展，讓我們了解目前推進到什麼程度，例如合作夥伴來源的管線（pipeline）長什麼樣、或共同銷售（co-selling）的指標？另外，在有合作夥伴參與時，像是交易週期（deal cycle）是否會有任何差異？

Sure. So we've been actually very pleased with the progression of our partner relationships. And as you saw, our partners are recognizing our effort, and they are recognizing our differentiated capabilities as compared to some of the other players that they might be dealing with.

當然。我們其實對合作夥伴關係的進展非常滿意。正如你所看到的，我們的合作夥伴正在肯定我們的努力，也在肯定我們相較於他們可能合作的其他業者所具備的差異化能力。

The one unique thing about EXL is that we come at the transformation and the adoption of AI from a process and a workflow and a knowledge of our clients' business and operations lens. And our partners are finding that to be a unique value proposition because that knowledge of the domain, that ability to apply contextual understanding of our clients' business alongside with the technologies that our partners are providing, that's creating a huge amount of value uplift for our clients.

EXL 有一個獨特之處：我們從流程、工作流程，以及對客戶業務與營運的理解這個視角，來推動轉型與 AI 採用。我們的合作夥伴認為這是一個獨特的價值主張，因為這種領域知識、以及將對客戶業務的情境化理解，與合作夥伴所提供的技術結合起來的能力，正在為客戶創造非常大的價值提升。

So frankly, these partnerships are resonating. The motion is becoming a lot easier and smoother in terms of our go-to-market strategies and our partners are recognizing us and giving us these awards as compared to other players. The go-to-market is actually the more exciting part because now when we go in and we interact with clients, we are able to take our partners there. And our partners are also bringing us in into deals which they are participating in. So frankly, the activity and the deal flow has increased substantially. And I think that's something which we would foresee going into the future as well.

所以坦白說，這些合作關係正在產生共鳴。在我們的市場進入策略（go-to-market strategies）方面，推進動作變得更容易、更順暢；而且相較於其他業者，我們的合作夥伴也在肯定我們並頒給我們這些獎項。Go-to-market 其實是更令人興奮的部分，因為現在當我們進去與客戶互動時，我們能把合作夥伴一起帶進去；同時，合作夥伴也會在他們參與的案子中把我們帶進去。因此，整體活動量與案源（deal flow）都大幅增加。我認為這也是我們對未來的預期。

Thank you. Congratulations.

謝謝。恭喜。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Surinder Thind, Jefferies LLC.

Surinder Thind，Jefferies LLC。

Rohit, can you help me understand the step down in the digital ops segment as we kind of take a look forward. Over the past couple of years, that was a high single-digit grower. I think the expectation is more muted. Is the idea here that, that correlates with the advancement in Agentic and bottle capabilities? And should we expect to maybe a year or TWO from now, see a further step down in that segment as the models further advance? And then ultimately, does all of it get recaptured in the data and AI-led segment?

Rohit，你能幫我理解一下，往前看時數位營運（digital ops）部門成長率下台階（step down）的原因嗎？過去幾年那是高個位數成長，我想市場預期現在更為溫和。這裡的想法是否是：它與 Agentic 以及 bot 能力的進展相關？而且我們是否應該預期在一到兩年後，隨著模型進一步進展，該部門還會再出現一次下台階？最後，這些是否都會在資料與 AI 驅動的部門中被重新捕捉回來？

Yes, Surinder. So let me try and go through this in a step-by-step basis. Firstly, if you take a look at total operations, that continues to grow and that continues to expand. And in the first quarter, total operations grew 10% year-on-year.

是的，Surinder。所以讓我嘗試以循序漸進的方式說明。首先，如果你看一下整體營運（total operations），它持續成長並持續擴張。而在第一季，整體營運年增了10%。

Within total operations, you could split it up into two buckets. One is digital operations and the other is data and AI-led operations. As the adoption of AI increases, we are going to see there being a bigger shift towards data and AI-led operations. And frankly, that is a very good thing from our perspective because as the operations shift towards data and AI-led -- we are putting in more IP, more proprietary assets of EXL and creating more value for our clients as such. And that business becomes much stickier, much bigger in size, and we control the outcome end-to-end.

在整體營運之內，你可以把它分成兩個部分。一個是數位營運（digital operations），另一個是以資料與AI驅動的營運（data and AI-led operations）。隨著AI採用率提高，我們將會看到更大的轉移朝向以資料與AI驅動的營運。坦白說，從我們的角度來看，這是一件非常好的事，因為當營運轉向以資料與AI驅動時——我們投入更多IP、更多EXL的專有資產，從而為客戶創造更多價值。因此，這項業務會變得更具黏著度、規模更大，而且我們能端到端掌控成果。

So going forward for the remainder of this year, digital operations will likely continue to have the same kind of deceleration of growth that has happened in the first quarter. But the shift towards data and AI-led operations, that's the critical piece. And that's something that is positioning the company to be a future-forward company for our clients.

因此，展望今年剩餘時間，數位營運很可能會延續第一季所出現的那種成長減速。但轉向以資料與AI驅動的營運，才是關鍵所在。而這也正在把公司定位成為面向未來、能為客戶提供前瞻能力的公司。

And that's something which other clients are looking at, our prospects are looking at, and they're engaging with us in an even more determined manner. And that's why we're seeing our pipeline being extremely full and the level of activity is very high, and we feel very confident about continuing to grow our overall business in this double-digit kind of a range going forward.

這也是其他客戶在關注的、我們的潛在客戶在關注的，他們也以更堅定的方式與我們互動。這就是為什麼我們看到銷售管線（pipeline）非常充實、活動量非常高，我們也對未來持續以這種兩位數區間的速度成長整體業務感到非常有信心。

And then turning to headcount. You continue to see a strong uptick there. Is that how we should expect the model to evolve over the next couple of years where there's a spread between revenues and headcount? Or should that spread expand in the coming years when we think about getting to a more revenue per headcount model? -- to build out your IP?

接著談到人力。你們的人數持續明顯上升。我們是否應該預期未來幾年模型會這樣演進，也就是營收與人力之間存在差距？或者當我們思考要走向更高的人均營收（revenue per headcount）模型——以建立你們的IP——這個差距在未來幾年會擴大？

Yeah. So if you take a look at Q1, our revenues have increased by 14%, and our headcount has increased by about 11%. If you take a look at previous quarters and previous years, typically, that's been the trend where the headcount increase is lower than the revenue increase. And we would expect that to continue on our business model as such.

是的。所以如果你看第一季，我們營收成長了14%，而人力約成長了11%。如果你看前幾季和前幾年，通常趨勢都是人力增幅低於營收增幅。我們也預期這會在我們的商業模式中持續。

Now going forward, it depends upon the type of service mix that we are providing to our clients and the kind of activities that we are undertaking. As we move from digital operations to data and AI-led operations, that is definitely going to result in a lower headcount addition and a much higher revenue uptake. But if we get into newer service lines, there, it will depend upon what the dynamics of those new service lines are and the revenue per headcount will be determined by the characteristics of that particular service line.

接下來要看的是我們提供給客戶的服務組合類型，以及我們正在進行的活動類型。當我們從數位營運轉向以資料與AI驅動的營運，這肯定會帶來較低的人力新增，以及更高的營收提升。但如果我們進入新的服務線，那就要看那些新服務線的動態為何；人均營收將由該特定服務線的特性所決定。

So I think on a steady-state basis, as this transition takes place, you would expect the delta between the revenue headcount and the revenue headcount to be 3% or so, which is what the case is right now. But as we go forward, that can shift one way or the other.

所以我認為在穩態（steady-state）情況下，隨著這個轉型發生，你會預期營收增幅與人力增幅之間的差距大約是3%左右，這也正是目前的情況。但往後推進，這個差距可能會往任一方向變動。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Abbey Hochreiner, JPMorgan.

Abbey Hochreiner，摩根大通（JPMorgan）。

Hi, thanks for taking my question. It's Abbey on for Puneet. I was wondering if you could talk about the specific drivers on such strong traction in AI and data services you provide to operations management clients. Was it in any way related to AI model evolution or just clients embracing AI with new budgets?

嗨，謝謝讓我提問。我是Abbey，代Puneet提問。我想請你談談，你們提供給營運管理客戶的AI與資料服務為何能有如此強勁的動能，具體驅動因素是什麼？這是否在某種程度上與AI模型的演進有關，還是只是客戶在新的預算下更積極擁抱AI？

Yeah, sure. So our data and AI-led portion of our business has multiple elements within that, right? It's got our data management business. It's got our analytical model and services and solutions business. It's got our payment integrity business as part of that. It's got our data and AI-led operations.

好的，當然。我們業務中以資料與AI驅動的那一部分，裡面其實包含多個要素，對吧？包括我們的資料管理業務；包括我們的分析模型與服務及解決方案業務；也包括我們的支付完整性（payment integrity）業務；還包括我們的資料與AI驅動營運。

So frankly, we are seeing broad-based traction and growth across all of these different service lines that we have in that category. I would say that the data management part is foundational, and that's something which we are seeing, frankly, a huge amount of demand in. And the challenge for us is actually being able to hire talent quick enough to be able to fulfill that demand.

坦白說，我們在這個類別下的各條不同服務線都看到廣泛的動能與成長。我會說資料管理部分是基礎性的，而我們確實看到非常大量的需求。對我們而言的挑戰其實是能否足夠快地招募人才，以滿足這些需求。

In other areas, we are seeing a pivot take place. So we are seeing some of our analytical services switch over to AI services. And that's a very strong pivot that's being made associated with that service line. We are also seeing a very sharp increase in the data and AI-led operations. And that conversion, when it's moving into production, that's something which is actually driving a faster growth rate of our data and AI-led category.

在其他領域，我們看到正在發生轉向。因此，我們看到部分分析服務正在切換到AI服務。這是一個與該服務線相關、非常強勁的轉向。我們也看到資料與AI驅動營運出現非常明顯的增加。而當這種轉換進入正式生產（production）時，實際上正在推動我們資料與AI驅動類別更快的成長率。

So we are very pleased with the fact that we've got multiple service lines in that category. And each of these service lines has got a tremendous amount of headroom, and they're all growing very nicely, and it's very broad-based. So it's not one particular service line that's driving that growth. It's actually multiple service lines driving growth. And that's what gives us confidence in terms of the sustainability and the durability of our business in terms of our business growth.

所以我們對於在該類別中擁有多條服務線這件事感到非常滿意。而且每一條服務線都有非常大的成長空間（headroom），它們都成長得很好，而且是非常廣泛的成長。因此，並不是某一條特定服務線在驅動成長，而是多條服務線共同驅動成長。這也讓我們對業務成長的可持續性與韌性更有信心。

Got it. It seems very broad-based. And maybe as my follow-up, so our checks are showing that AI-driven automation of business processes from 50% to 80% is 10x harder than going from 0 to 50%. So could you touch on what you're seeing in your clients in embracing this next milestone? And is there any progress within the quarter?

了解。看起來確實很廣泛。作為追問，我們的調查顯示，以AI驅動將業務流程自動化從50%提升到80%，比從0提升到50%要難10倍。你能談談你在客戶端看到他們如何擁抱這個下一個里程碑嗎？以及本季是否有任何進展？

I'm sorry, the 50% to 80% refers to what metric?

不好意思，這裡的50%到80%是指哪一個衡量指標？

AI-driven automation of business processes.

以AI驅動的業務流程自動化。

Right. So what our sense is when clients want to adopt AI into their operations, it's not just simply taking an LLM model and pasting it on top of that operation. There's a whole series of work that needs to be undertaken. #1, the data foundation has to be correct and the ability to use structured and unstructured data and make that be readily usable, that's a key foundational step.

了解。所以我們的看法是，當客戶想把AI導入其營運時，並不是單純把一個LLM模型貼到那個營運之上就可以了。需要完成一整套工作。第一，資料基礎必須正確，並且要能使用結構化與非結構化資料，讓它們能夠隨時可用、易於使用，這是關鍵的基礎步驟。

Secondly, the application of the LLM or the AI model, that needs to be iterated upon and refined as we go forward. Third, there's a very big piece associated with the knowledge and understanding of context. And therefore, bringing together all of the policies and rules and regulations and how a particular transaction needs to be processed, that knowledge needs to be clearly kind of defined with the use and the application of the AI model.

第二，LLM或AI模型的應用需要在往後持續迭代與精煉。第三，有一個非常大的部分與知識以及情境理解相關。因此，需要把所有政策、規則與法規，以及某一筆交易應如何被處理等內容整合起來；在使用與應用AI模型時，這些知識需要被清楚地定義。

And finally, the semantic layer, which is the key for creating value for any enterprise AI adoption. That needs to be combined using both probabilistic elements of an LLM, but also combining it with deterministic elements, particularly for regulated industries. So bringing together all of these things and then putting together guardrails, putting together security, putting together a number of elements associated with token economics, this is all very, very complex.

最後是語意層（semantic layer），這是任何企業採用AI以創造價值的關鍵。它需要結合LLM的機率性（probabilistic）要素，同時也要結合確定性（deterministic）要素，特別是在受監管的產業。因此，把所有這些要素整合起來，並建立護欄（guardrails）、建立安全機制、再加上與token經濟學相關的多項要素，這一切都非常、非常複雜。

And I think we are in a fortunate position that we have done this several times over, and we can deliver the business outcomes to our clients and our clients trust our ability to execute, and that's what's driving the growth there.

我認為我們很幸運，因為我們已經多次做過這些事情；我們能為客戶交付業務成果，客戶也信任我們的執行能力，而這正是推動那部分成長的原因。

David Grossman, Stifel.

David Grossman，Stifel。

Good morning. Thank you. So I think, Rohit, you had mentioned in an earlier question that the NRR is above 100%. We can clearly see that in the numbers. So perhaps you could help us understand how that number has trended over the past couple of years as well as perhaps compare and contrast that with what the IT service companies are seeing who are struggling and kind of what's making you different there as well as maybe talk about the backlog and just how far out you can see that dynamic continuing.

早安，謝謝。我想Rohit，你在先前的問題中提到NRR高於100%。我們從數字上也能清楚看到。也許你可以幫我們理解，這個數字在過去幾年是如何走勢的；並且或許能與那些正面臨困境的IT服務公司做一些比較對照，說明你們有何不同；另外也談談在手訂單（backlog），以及你們能看到這種動態會持續到多遠。

Yes, David. So the NRR for us is actually quite strong and positive. And I think the big reason is that with the adoption of AI clients are actually getting more comfortable outsourcing more work and outsourcing more end-to-end process journeys. In the past, they were just comfortable outsourcing tasks and pieces of it. But now they're quite comfortable actually allowing a partner like EXL to manage that journey end-to-end. And the reason for that is that's the only way to transform the journey, to take control of the data assets, to be able to deploy AI across the workflow and to be able to be held accountable for the outcome.

是的，David。對我們而言，NRR其實相當強勁且為正。我認為主要原因是，隨著AI的採用，客戶其實更願意把更多工作外包，並外包更多端到端的流程旅程（end-to-end process journeys）。過去他們只願意外包一些任務或其中的一部分。但現在他們相當願意讓像EXL這樣的夥伴端到端管理整段旅程。原因在於，這是轉型該旅程的唯一方式：掌控資料資產、能在整個工作流程中部署AI，並且能對結果負責。

So frankly, the business model change with AI is allowing this to be a very, very favorable sort of a shift that is taking place as compared to previously. Previously, with the adoption of any other technology, whether it was some of the -- some of the bots that were being put into place, it always used to be about whether more work can be outsourced. But now it is the full end-to-end life cycle that can be outsourced. So actually, it's a lot better in this AI adoption wave.

坦白說，AI 帶來的商業模式變革，讓這次轉變相較於以往變得非常、非常有利。過去在採用任何其他技術時，不管是導入某些——某些機器人，焦點總是在於是否能把更多工作外包出去。但現在可以外包的是完整的端到端生命週期。所以實際上，在這波 AI 採用浪潮中，情況要好得多。

And how long, Rohit, does it take to go from kind of the beginning to more of a steady state?

那麼 Rohit，從一開始到比較穩定的狀態，大概需要多久？

It takes a while, David. I think what we are seeing is the setting up the data foundation that itself takes a fair amount of time because most of our clients do not have very mature data estates and putting that in place does take a lot of heavy lifting. And then iterating on the model and making sure that it's working along with the contextual pieces of our clients' business, that's also something which requires a fair amount of effort, a fair amount of complexity and a fair amount of time.

David，這需要一段時間。我認為我們看到的是，先建立資料基礎本身就要花相當多時間，因為我們多數客戶的資料資產成熟度並不高，而把這些建置到位確實需要大量的投入。接著是反覆迭代模型並確保它能結合客戶業務的情境要素正常運作，這同樣需要相當多的努力、相當高的複雜度，以及相當多的時間。

And also, the last thing I would tell you is this is not a once-and-done piece. This is -- once you do implement AI into the workflow, you have to constantly maintain upkeep and there is a managed service portion to it that needs to be in place because these models will drift over a period of time and you need to apply new context to these models, and that needs to be done on an ongoing basis.

另外，最後我想說的是，這不是一次性完成的事情。也就是——一旦你把 AI 導入工作流程，就必須持續維護與保養，並需要建立相應的託管服務部分，因為這些模型會隨時間產生漂移，你需要把新的情境加入到模型中，而這必須持續進行。

So frankly, it's a fairly complex piece of work that needs to be done to deliver the outcome. And then to maintain it and to upkeep it, there is an ongoing piece of work that needs to be there as such.

所以坦白說，為了交付成果，這是一項相當複雜的工作。然後為了維持與保養，還需要持續性的工作投入。

So can the NRR stay above one when you go into the maintenance mode?

那麼當你進入維護模式時，NRR 還能維持在 1 以上嗎？

I don't know. We'll have to see how that progresses. It's certainly -- one of the things which we are seeing is as we deploy AI into the workflow, our clients are now starting to offer newer feature sets to their customers in their offerings. They're also willing to offer newer service lines. So frankly, there's more being added to the existing piece of work. And if that continues, yes, I think the NRR will continue to remain above one.

我不知道。我們得看看後續發展。當然——我們看到的一件事是，當我們把 AI 部署到工作流程中，客戶現在開始在其產品／服務中，向他們的客戶提供更新的功能組合。他們也願意提供新的服務線。坦白說，現有工作內容上會新增更多東西。如果這種情況持續下去，是的，我認為 NRR 會繼續維持在 1 以上。

Great. And just one quick one on margins. I know you're guiding Maurizio to flattish margins year-over-year, or at least that's what it would appear in the mid-19 range. And that's despite kind of what looks like favorable mix shift. So is there some dynamic when you migrate from kind of a person-based billing model to more of an outcomes-based model on a short-term basis where there are just some transition costs when you're going through that? Or is there something else going on that would drive kind of result in flattish margins on such strong revenue growth?

很好。再快速問一個關於毛利率的問題。我知道你給 Maurizio 的指引是年對年毛利率大致持平，至少看起來是在 19% 中段的區間。而這還是在看起來產品組合轉變有利的情況下。所以，當你從以人頭計費的模式轉向以成果為基礎的模式時，短期內是否會有一些轉換成本、在過渡期間產生？還是有其他因素，會在營收強勁成長下，導致毛利率大致持平？

Yeah, David, we had a very good quarter just overall on profitability. And so you continue to see kind of that uptick in gross margins overall. If you look at the second quarter -- second quarter of last year, we were at 37.7% this quarter, we're at 38.9%. So you're seeing -- and each quarter since then just continues to rise.

是的，David，我們這一季整體獲利表現非常好。所以你會持續看到整體毛利率的上升。如果你看去年第二季——去年第二季我們是 37.7%，這一季是 38.9%。所以你看到——而且從那之後每一季都持續上升。

What you're seeing is just us being able to drive profitability there. But the offset there is continued investment. If you look at our investment line and you look at the level of investment we're making, it's exponentially higher than revenue growth overall. And so we're going to have to -- we need to continue to invest, particularly in R&D now going forward as we develop more and more AI capabilities now going forward.

你看到的是我們能夠推動那邊的獲利能力。但相對應的抵銷因素是持續投資。如果你看我們的投資項目，以及我們的投資水準，它相較於整體營收成長是呈指數級更高。因此我們將不得不——我們需要持續投資，特別是未來在研發方面，因為我們要持續開發越來越多的 AI 能力。

So that's what really leads us back to a mid-19% range overall in margins. And if you just look at our just overall guidance, we still are driving EPS slightly higher than overall revenue, which is one of our stated goals.

所以這就是為什麼我們的整體毛利率回到 19% 中段區間。如果你只看我們整體指引，我們仍然讓 EPS 的成長略高於整體營收，這也是我們既定的目標之一。

Got it. All right, guys. Thanks very much.

了解。好，各位，非常感謝。

Vincent Colicchio, Barrington Research.

Vincent Colicchio，Barrington Research。

Yeah, Rohit, you had mentioned the commercial model has changed, and it often incorporates on an outcome-based pricing on AI deals. I'm curious what portion of new AI deals involve outcome-based pricing?

是的，Rohit，你提到商業模式已經改變，而且在 AI 專案中常常會納入以成果為基礎的定價。我想了解，新 AI 專案中有多少比例採用成果導向定價？

Yeah, so look, I think that's an area where we are seeing some of the AI deals have outcome-based pricing models, particularly those where the clients are allowing us to transform their end-to-end processes. That's where they're holding us accountable for the outcomes and the pricing model is switching over to that.

是的，所以你看，我認為這是一個我們看到部分 AI 專案採用成果導向定價模式的領域，特別是那些客戶允許我們改造其端到端流程的專案。這時他們會以成果來要求我們負責，而定價模式也會轉向那樣。

Keep in mind that the adoption of AI is gradual and then that's a shift that's happening over a period of time. There are portions of our business which are already outcome-based. So the payment integrity work that we do is completely outcome-based driven. So that's -- as that business continues to grow and use a lot more AI in its service line, that portion continues to increase.

請記住，AI 的採用是逐步的，而這種轉變會在一段時間內發生。我們業務中有些部分本來就已經是成果導向。因此我們所做的付款完整性（payment integrity）工作完全是以成果驅動的。所以——隨著該業務持續成長，並在其服務線中使用更多 AI，那一部分的占比就會持續提高。

Anytime we are adopting more AI into the workflow, that's something which is kind of kicking in. But the biggest barrier to this is clients don't have good metrics associated with how to define that outcome and how to be able to attribute the responsibility for the outcome. So some of this tends to be a portion of it being on a fixed fee basis. And then over and above that, there is some sharing of the gain of productivity that we can provide to our clients. And that model is something that works well for -- particularly for newer clients that are kind of going into this and wanting to see the benefit of that outcome.

只要我們在工作流程中導入更多 AI，這種情況就會開始發生。但最大的障礙在於，客戶沒有良好的衡量指標來界定成果，以及無法清楚歸因成果責任。因此其中一部分往往會採固定費用制。除此之外，我們也會與客戶分享我們能提供的生產力提升所帶來的收益。這種模式運作得很好——特別是對於較新的客戶，他們正要開始導入並希望看到成果帶來的效益。

And could you update us on your -- how the robustness of your acquisition pipeline and where your priorities may lie?

另外，你能更新一下你們的——併購案源管線的強度如何，以及你們的優先事項可能會落在哪裡嗎？

Yes. So look, I think in this environment, we are seeing a fairly strong pipeline of assets. We want to be very careful in terms of the choice of these assets and make sure that these are something which will further our ambitions in terms of being able to be the AI strategic partner of choice for our enterprise clients.

可以。所以你看，我認為在這樣的環境下，我們看到相當強勁的資產管線。我們希望在資產選擇上非常謹慎，並確保這些標的能進一步推動我們的企圖心，也就是成為企業客戶首選的 AI 策略合作夥伴。

There are capability sets within the AI enablement work stream that we want to kind of add to. And so we've consciously picked and chosen the areas, where we'd like to kind of add more capability, and we're looking at acquisitions on a fairly active and a fairly regular basis. But as you know, the acquisitions are, I guess, only when you consummate an acquisition, can you really be sure about doing an acquisition.

在 AI 賦能（enablement）工作流中，有一些能力組合是我們希望補強的。因此我們有意識地挑選我們想要增加能力的領域，並且相當積極、也相當定期地評估併購。不過如你所知，我想，只有在你完成一筆併購之後，你才能真正確定你做成了一筆併購。

And so we hope that we'd be able to kind of close an acquisition soon, but we can't really comment on the timing of that as of now.

因此我們希望能在不久的將來完成一筆併購，但目前無法就時間點做出評論。

Thank you for all that nice quarter.

謝謝你們帶來這麼好的季度表現。

Thank you, Vincent.

謝謝你，Vincent。

We have no further questions at this time. This concludes our call. Thank you, and have a good day.

目前沒有其他問題。本次電話會議到此結束。謝謝，祝各位有美好的一天。