EZCORP Inc (EZPW) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the EZCORP second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call may be recorded.

各位女士、先生，早安。歡迎參加 EZCORP 2026 會計年度第二季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 提醒各位，本次電話會議可能會被錄音。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to Sean Mansouri, the company's Investor Relations adviser with Elevate IR. Please go ahead, Sean.

現在我想把會議交給 Elevate IR 的公司投資人關係顧問 Sean Mansouri。Sean，請開始。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. During our prepared remarks, we will refer to slides, which are available for viewing or download from our website at investors.ezcorp.com.

謝謝，各位早安。在我們的事先準備發言中，我們將引用投影片；投影片可於我們網站 investors.ezcorp.com 線上瀏覽或下載。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call as well as the presentation slides contain certain forward-looking statements regarding the company's expected operating and financial performance for future periods. These statements are based on the company's current expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed due to a number of risks or other factors that are discussed in our annual, quarterly and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，本次電話會議以及簡報投影片包含若干前瞻性陳述，涉及公司對未來期間預期的營運與財務表現。這些陳述係基於公司目前的預期。由於多項風險或其他因素（已於我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的年度、季度及其他報告中討論），未來期間的實際結果可能與所表述者有重大差異。

As noted in our presentation materials and unless otherwise identified, results are presented on an adjusted basis to remove the effect of foreign currency fluctuations and other discrete items. Joining us on the call today are EZCORP's Chief Executive Officer, Lachie Given; and Tim Jugmans, Chief Financial Officer.

如我們的簡報資料所述，除非另有說明，結果係以調整後基礎呈列，以排除外幣匯率波動及其他一次性項目的影響。今天與會的有 EZCORP 執行長 Lachie Given，以及財務長 Tim Jugmans。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Lachie.

現在我想把電話會議交給 Lachie。

Thank you, Sean, and good morning, everyone. EZCORP delivered an exceptional second quarter with record revenue, all-time high PLO, and 76% growth in adjusted EBITDA. This was the largest year-over-year profit step-up in our recent history, and it was driven by disciplined execution across all segments, sustained customer demand, strong scrap revenue and margins, and the contribution from our first full quarter with Simple Management Group, or SMG.

謝謝你，Sean，各位早安。EZCORP 第二季表現卓越，創下營收新高、PLO 歷史新高，且調整後 EBITDA 成長 76%。這是我們近年來最大幅度的年對年獲利躍升，主要來自各業務區隔的紀律性執行、持續的客戶需求、強勁的報廢金屬（scrap）收入與毛利率，以及我們與 Simple Management Group（SMG）合作的第一個完整季度所帶來的貢獻。

Adjusted EBITDA grew to $76.9 million, meaningfully outpacing revenue growth of 42%, with EBITDA margin expanding 340 basis points to 18%, demonstrating the continued operating leverage inherent in our platform as we continue to scale. Diluted EPS also rose 76% to $0.58. Demand for our Pawn products continues to be very strong across all of the markets in which we operate.

調整後 EBITDA 成長至 7,690 萬美元，明顯超越 42% 的營收成長；EBITDA 利潤率擴張 340 個基點至 18%，顯示在我們持續擴張規模的同時，平台所具備的營運槓桿持續發揮。稀釋後每股盈餘亦上升 76% 至 0.58 美元。各市場對我們典當（Pawn）產品的需求仍然非常強勁。

Consumer credit conditions remain challenging, particularly for lower and middle-income households, as many traditional lenders continue to tighten underwriting standards. For consumers who need immediate, no-obligation access to cash, Pawn remains a fast, transparent and trusted solution.

消費者信貸環境仍具挑戰，特別是對中低收入家庭而言，因為許多傳統放款機構持續收緊授信審核標準。對於需要立即、且無義務取得現金的消費者而言，典當仍是快速、透明且值得信賴的解決方案。

At the same time, more consumers are seeking affordable, high-quality pre-owned goods, driven by value-conscious shopping and a focus on sustainability. Both sides of our business, pawn transactions and second-hand goods sales, supplemented by a very favorable gold market, are benefiting significantly from these trends.

同時，更多消費者在重視性價比的購物行為與永續理念的推動下，正在尋找價格可負擔且品質優良的二手商品。在非常有利的黃金市場加持下，我們的兩大業務面向——典當交易與二手商品銷售——都正顯著受惠於這些趨勢。

As I mentioned, core financial metrics were strong across the business. We saw continued momentum in PLO and PFC. Merchandise sales and margin, and a material increase in scrap. To give investors a clean read on underlying pawn performance, beginning this quarter, we are introducing core pawn revenue and core pawn gross profit, which excludes scrap.

如我所提及，核心財務指標在各業務面向皆表現強勁。我們看到 PLO 與 PFC 持續增長。商品銷售與毛利率提升，且報廢金屬（scrap）大幅增加。為了讓投資人更清楚掌握典當業務的基本面表現，自本季起，我們將引入「核心典當收入」與「核心典當毛利」，其定義為排除 scrap 的影響。

Our core pawn revenue grew 11% in the U.S. And 18% in Latin America on a constant currency basis. And on a same-store basis, core pawn gross profit grew 12%. Underscoring the durable, non-scrap strength of our underlying business. We ended the quarter with net earning assets of $613 million, up 30%, and a healthy PLO-to-inventory ratio of 1.3 times, reflecting disciplined lending and inventory management.

以固定匯率計算，我們在美國的核心典當收入成長 11%，拉丁美洲成長 18%。以同店基礎計算，核心典當毛利成長 12%。這凸顯我們基礎業務在非 scrap 項目上的持久強勁。本季末淨生息資產為 6.13 億美元，成長 30%；PLO 對庫存比率為健康的 1.3 倍，反映我們在放款與庫存管理上的紀律。

This was also our first consolidated quarter with SMG, with the transaction closing on January second. We are in the early stages of applying our operating playbook across the platform, and we are pleased with the integration progress to date. Also, during the quarter, on January 12th, we completed our previously announced acquisition of El Buffalo Pawn, adding 12 stores in Texas.

本季也是我們與 SMG 合併報表後的第一個季度，該交易於 1 月 2 日完成交割。我們正處於將營運作戰手冊套用至整個平台的早期階段，且對目前的整合進度感到滿意。此外，在本季期間的 1 月 12 日，我們完成先前公告的 El Buffalo Pawn 收購案，在德州新增 12 家門市。

Integration onto our platform is progressing well, and we're excited to deploy our operating principles and capital to unlock additional value in one of our largest domestic markets. Following the early January completions of SMG and El Buffalo, along with the continued de novo expansion across Latin America, we added 123 stores to our footprint during the quarter and ended the period operating 1,506 stores across 16 countries, supported by approximately 9,500 team members.

導入我們平台的整合作業進展順利；我們也很期待在美國最大的市場之一，運用我們的營運原則與資本配置來釋放更多價值。繼 1 月初完成 SMG 與 El Buffalo 交易，加上拉丁美洲持續的新設（de novo）展店，本季我們的版圖新增 123 家門市，期末於 16 個國家共營運 1,506 家門市，並由約 9,500 名團隊成員提供支援。

Subsequent to quarter end in April, we further strengthened our market-leading position in Guatemala with the acquisition of 32 additional stores. We are focused on capitalizing on the scale advantages of our expanded global platform and the significant runway ahead in both existing and new pawn markets.

在季後 4 月，我們透過收購另外 32 家門市，進一步強化在瓜地馬拉的市場領導地位。我們專注於運用擴大全球平台所帶來的規模優勢，以及在既有與新興典當市場中仍具可觀的成長空間。

Turning to slide 3, for those new to the story, the pawn business resonates strongly with customers because the transaction is fundamentally customer-friendly. Our loans are non-recourse, meaning customers have no obligation to repay. With our core pawn product. We don't check credit, require bank accounts, or verify employment, and we don't pursue collections or report to credit bureaus.

接著看投影片第 3 頁，對於剛接觸我們故事的朋友，典當業務之所以能與客戶產生強烈共鳴，是因為其交易本質上對客戶相當友善。我們的貸款為無追索權（non-recourse），也就是客戶沒有必須償還的義務。以我們的核心典當產品而言。我們不查信用、不要求銀行帳戶或就業證明，也不進行催收，亦不向信用機構通報。

These are small, short-term transactions, typically $200 to $220 in the U.S. And $70 to $140 in Latin America, with terms ranging from 30 to 90 days. That core value proposition. Together with offering great value for second-hand goods in an environmentally responsible way, where it's fun to come and shop in a pawn store, have been critical in driving consistent, outstanding operating and financial results for our shareholders.

這些交易金額小、期限短；在美國通常為 200 至 220 美元，在拉丁美洲為 70 至 140 美元，期限介於 30 至 90 天。這項核心價值主張。再加上以對環境負責的方式提供高性價比的二手商品，讓到典當店購物成為一件有趣的事，這些因素對於為股東帶來一貫且出色的營運與財務成果至關重要。

With that, I'll turn it over to Tim to walk through the financial details. Tim?

接下來，我把時間交給 Tim，請他說明財務細節。Tim？

Thanks, Lockie. Turning to slide 5 to the consolidated financial highlights. We delivered an exceptional quarter of earnings performance. Adjusted EBITDA rose 76% to $76.9 million, with margins expanding 340 basis points to 18%. Diluted EPS improved 76% to $0.58. These results reflect the operating leverage of our platform at scale. Total revenues reached a record $434.9 million, up 42%.

謝謝，Lockie。接著看投影片第 5 頁的合併財務重點。我們交出一個獲利表現極為出色的季度。調整後 EBITDA 上升 76% 至 7,690 萬美元，利潤率擴張 340 個基點至 18%。稀釋後每股盈餘改善 76% 至 0.58 美元。這些結果反映我們平台在規模化下的營運槓桿效益。總營收達到創紀錄的 4.349 億美元，成長 42%。

Improvement was broad-based with meaningful contributions from PSC, merchandise sales, and a significant increase in scrap gross profit resulting from elevated gold prices. PLO increased 31% to $342.1 million, an all-time high fueled by sustained consumer demand, high average loan sizes across all drug fees, and the addition of an SMG. PSE revenues rose 27% to $147.3 million, supported by PLO growth and new stores.

改善來自多面向，PSC、商品銷售，以及因金價走高而帶動的 scrap 毛利大幅增加，皆有顯著貢獻。PLO 成長 31% 至 3.421 億美元，創歷史新高，主要受持續的消費者需求、各項費用下的平均放款金額維持高檔，以及納入 SMG 的影響所推動。PSE 收入上升 27% 至 1.473 億美元，受惠於 PLO 成長與新門市擴張。

On the retail side, merchandise sales climbed 22% to $207.2 million, with same-store sales up 7%. Merchandise margin expanded 210 basis points to 36%, reflecting improved pricing, execution, and product mix. Scrap margins also expanded significantly from 22% to 38% as we benefited from higher gold prices.

在零售端，商品銷售額成長22%至2.072億美元，同店銷售成長7%。商品毛利率擴大210個基點至36%，反映定價改善、執行力提升及產品組合優化。受惠於金價走高，廢料（scrap）毛利率亦大幅由22%擴大至38%。

Gross profit of $253.4 million improved 42%, supported by contributions across all three revenue streams. G&A rose 38% primarily due to high incentive compensation expenses associated with the SMG acquisition. With top and bottom line growth meaningfully outpacing operating expenses, we are demonstrating the scalability and operating leverage inherent in our platform.

毛利2.534億美元提升42%，來自三大收入來源的共同貢獻。一般及行政費用（G&A）上升38%，主要因與SMG收購相關的高額激勵性薪酬費用。在營收與獲利成長顯著快於營運費用之下，我們展現了平台內在的可擴展性與營運槓桿。

On slide 6, we have provided consolidated revenue and EBITDA bridges that depict the drivers of the growth this quarter. As Lachie mentioned, beginning of this quarter, we are disclosing core pawn revenue, which excludes scrub sales, and core pawn gross profit, which excludes scrub gross profit at both the consolidated and segment level.

在第6頁投影片中，我們提供了合併營收與EBITDA的橋接表，呈現本季成長的驅動因素。如Lachie所提，本季開始我們揭露核心典當（core pawn）營收（不含廢料銷售）以及核心典當毛利（不含廢料毛利），並同時於合併與分部層級揭露。

We think these give investors a cleaner read on underlying poor performance, which importantly highlights that our business is significantly improving even without the benefit of elevated gold prices. At the consolidated level, corn pawn revenue grew 24% and corn pawn gross profit grew 28% on a same-store basis.

我們認為這能讓投資人更清楚讀取基礎的典當業務表現；更重要的是，這凸顯即使沒有金價高檔的助益，我們的業務仍在顯著改善。在合併層級，同店基礎下核心典當營收成長24%，核心典當毛利成長28%。

Corn pawn revenues and gross profit grew 9% and 12%, respectively. Given the magnitude of the scrap tailwind this quarter, I want to address scrap attribution directly. Jewelry scrap sales nearly quadrupled year-over-year, driven by elevated gold prices and increased jewelry purchasing activity.

核心典當營收與毛利分別成長9%與12%。鑑於本季廢料帶來的順風幅度，我想直接說明廢料的歸因。珠寶廢料銷售額年增近四倍，主要由金價走高與珠寶收購活動增加所帶動。

Clearly, this is a major strength inherent in the operating model during times of elevated gold prices, where significantly higher cash flow can be redeployed into higher return activity, such as into growing earning assets, building more de novo stores, and executing on exciting acquisitions.

顯然，在金價高檔期間，這是營運模式內在的一大優勢：顯著增加的現金流可再部署至更高報酬的活動，例如擴大生息資產、增設更多新開（de novo）門市，以及執行令人振奮的併購。

Excluding scrap gross profit, consolidated EBITDA grew 17%, reflecting earnings improvement on top of the scrap tailwind. Same-store corn gross profit grew 12%, evidencing underlying strength of the business independent of scrap and additional stores.

扣除廢料毛利後，合併EBITDA成長17%，反映在廢料順風之外仍有獲利改善。同店核心典當毛利成長12%，顯示本業在不依賴廢料與新增門市的情況下仍具備內在強勁動能。

Moving to the U.S. Corn segment on slides 7 and 8. We ended the quarter with 559 stores across 19 states and an increase of 12 stores with the Alpha Flow acquisition completed in January. Total revenues increased $60.8 million, or 27%, to $282.2 million. Approximately two-thirds of this improvement is attributable to the highest scrap sales, which benefited from elevated gold prices and increased jewelry purchasing activity.

接著看第7與第8頁投影片的美國核心典當（U.S. Core）分部。本季末我們在19個州共有559家門市，並因1月完成Alpha Flow收購而增加12家門市。總營收增加6,080萬美元（或27%）至2.822億美元。其中約三分之二的改善可歸因於更高的廢料銷售，受惠於金價走高與珠寶收購活動增加。

Core pawn revenue grew 11% to $226.7 million, and core pawn gross profit grew 13%, reflecting both strong lending activity and genuine merchandise margin expansion. PLO expanded 16% to $230.5 million, with same-store PLO up 13%. Average loan size rose 16% to $240, primarily due to higher prices on jewelry.

核心典當營收成長11%至2.267億美元，核心典當毛利成長13%，反映放款活動強勁以及商品毛利率的實質擴張。PLO成長16%至2.305億美元，同店PLO成長13%。平均貸款金額上升16%至240美元，主要因珠寶價格較高。

Jewelry now represents 69% of U.S. PLO, up 460 basis points. Sequentially, PLO only dropped 4%, which is the lowest drop we have seen in many years. We can point to a combination of higher jewelry loans, lower-than-expected tax refunds and a rise in gas prices in March, leading to this result. PSC improved 13% to $98.8 million, generally in line with same-store PLO growth.

珠寶目前占美國PLO的69%，上升460個基點。按季來看，PLO僅下滑4%，為多年來最低的下滑幅度。我們認為這是多項因素共同造成：珠寶貸款增加、退稅金額低於預期，以及3月汽油價格上漲。PSC成長13%至9,880萬美元，大致與同店PLO成長一致。

On the retail side, merchandise sales climbed 9%, with same-store sales up 7%. Merchandise margin improved 170 basis points to 38%. Jewelry scrap gross profit rose approximately $19 million, reflecting our ability to efficiently monetize aged jewelry inventory in the current gold price environment.

在零售端，商品銷售額成長9%，同店銷售成長7%。商品毛利率提升170個基點至38%。珠寶廢料毛利約增加1,900萬美元，反映我們能在目前金價環境下有效變現較久庫存的珠寶。

Inventory increased 20% to $188.2 million, fueled by PLO expansion and layaways, while turnover remained steady at 2.3 times. Aged general merchandise decreased 95 basis points to 2.3% of total GM inventory, or $0.9 million, reflecting disciplined inventory management. Segment EBITDA improved 57% to $80.9 million, with margin expanding 540 basis points to 29%, supported by robust gross profit performance and same-store expenses up just 6%.

庫存增加20%至1.882億美元，主要由PLO擴張與分期預留（layaways）帶動，而周轉率維持在2.3倍。逾齡一般商品占一般商品（GM）總庫存比重下降95個基點至2.3%（約900萬美元），反映嚴謹的庫存管理。分部EBITDA提升57%至8,090萬美元，利潤率擴大540個基點至29%，受惠於強勁的毛利表現且同店費用僅上升6%。

Turning to Latin America on slide 9 and 10, we ended the quarter with 840 stores across four countries. During the period, we opened four de novo stores, two in Guatemala, one in Mexico, and one in Honduras. Total revenues rose $16.5 million, or 19% to $101.4 million, with another very strong quarter for Latin America, with the majority of EBITDA growth driven by core pawn performance rather than scrap.

接著看第9與第10頁投影片的拉丁美洲分部，本季末我們在四個國家共有840家門市。期間我們新開4家de novo門市，其中瓜地馬拉2家、墨西哥1家、宏都拉斯1家。總營收增加1,650萬美元（或19%）至1.014億美元；拉丁美洲再度繳出非常強勁的一季，且EBITDA成長主要由核心典當表現驅動，而非廢料。

Core pawn revenue grew 18% to $95.6 million and core pawn gross profit grew 25%, reflecting PLO growth, new store contributions and 410 basis points expansion in merchandise margin. PLO expanded 27% to $79 million with same-store PLO up 15%. GAAP average loan size improved 23% to $107. Largely reflecting higher jewelry prices. Jewelry now represents 48% of Latin American PLO, up 860 basis points.

核心典當營收成長18%至9,560萬美元，核心典當毛利成長25%，反映PLO成長、新門市貢獻，以及商品毛利率擴大410個基點。PLO成長27%至7,900萬美元，同店PLO成長15%。依GAAP計算的平均貸款金額提升23%至107美元。主要反映珠寶價格較高。珠寶目前占拉丁美洲PLO的48%，上升860個基點。

CBO growth up 1% to $42 million, supported by same-store PLO gains and contributions from new stores. Merchandise sales went 17%, with same-store sales up 8%. Merchandise margin improved 410 basis points to 34%, reflecting disciplined pricing execution and product mix. Inventory finished at $56.2 million, with inventory of 3.2 times. Age general merchandise declined to below 1% of total GM inventory, reflecting strong inventory discipline across the region.

CBO成長1%至4,200萬美元，受同店PLO提升與新門市貢獻支持。商品銷售成長17%，同店銷售成長8%。商品毛利率提升410個基點至34%，反映嚴謹的定價執行與產品組合。期末庫存為5,620萬美元，庫存周轉率為3.2倍。逾齡一般商品降至一般商品（GM）總庫存的1%以下，反映全區域強勁的庫存紀律。

Segment EBITDA improved 24% to $19.6 million, with margin expanding 70 basis points to 19%, despite a 19% increase in same-store expenses driven primarily by labor costs. As we noted last quarter, Mexico's January minimum wage increase of approximately 13% is now flowing through our Latin American run rate on top of prior-year increases.

分部EBITDA提升24%至1,960萬美元，利潤率擴大70個基點至19%，儘管同店費用增加19%，主要由人力成本帶動。如同我們上季所提，墨西哥1月最低工資約上調13%，目前已在拉丁美洲的營運費用水準中反映，且是在前一年調升的基礎之上。

Turning to SMG on slide 11, as Lachie mentioned, the SMG transaction closed on January second and contributed approximately 89 of the 90 days in the quarter. Because there are no comparable prior year comparisons, we are presenting absolute figures only, and we do so for the next several quarters until a clean year-over-year comparison is available.

接著看第11頁投影片的SMG。如Lachie所提，SMG交易於1月2日完成，並在本季90天中貢獻約89天。由於沒有可比的去年同期數據，我們僅提供絕對金額，並將在接下來數季持續如此，直到能取得乾淨的年對年比較。

PLO for SMG was $32.6 million at quarter end, contributing $51.3 million of revenue, comprised of $14.4 million of PSC, $17.8 million of merchandise sales and $19.1 million of jewelry scrap sales. Core pawn revenue was $32.2 million with core pawn gross profit of $20.3 million. Segment EBITDA was $9.5 million at a margin of 18.5%.

SMG期末PLO為3,260萬美元，貢獻營收5,130萬美元，其中包含PSC 1,440萬美元、商品銷售1,780萬美元，以及珠寶廢料銷售1,910萬美元。核心典當營收為3,220萬美元，核心典當毛利為2,030萬美元。分部EBITDA為950萬美元，利潤率為18.5%。

As disclosed in our 10-Q, we own approximately 87.7% of Founders 1, which in turn owns approximately 85.1% of SMG, giving us an effective 74.6% ownership. Segment stall counter finished at 107 across 12 countries with two de novo openings in the quarter. From a balance sheet perspective, we remain highly liquid, with no short or medium-term debt maturities, ending the quarter with $354.2 million in unrestricted cash.

如我們在 10-Q 中所揭露，我們持有 Founders 1 約 87.7% 的股權，而 Founders 1 進而持有 SMG 約 85.1% 的股權，使我們的有效持股比例為 74.6%。本季在 12 個國家之分部門市櫃檯數量期末為 107 家，並有兩家 de novo 新開店。從資產負債表角度來看，我們仍維持高度流動性，短期或中期皆無到期債務，本季末持有 3.542 億美元不受限制現金。

During the quarter, under the $50 million share repurchase program authorized by our Board in November 2025, we repurchased approximately 156,000 shares of our Class A common stock for $4 million. We'll continue to balance organic growth investment, disciplined M&A, and opportunistic capital return shareholders within the framework of a fiscally conservative balance sheet. Looking ahead, we remain focused on expanding P&O, improving industry efficiency, and scaling operational best practices across all geographies.

本季期間，依據董事會於 2025 年 11 月核准的 5,000 萬美元庫藏股回購計畫，我們以 400 萬美元回購約 156,000 股 A 類普通股。我們將在財務保守的資產負債表架構下，持續在有機成長投資、審慎的併購（M&A）以及把握時機的資本回饋股東之間取得平衡。展望未來，我們仍專注於擴大 P&O、提升產業效率，並在所有地區擴大推行營運最佳實務。

With respect to scrap, we're not in the business of predicting gold prices, but we can say gold is only marginally up since the beginning of calendar 2026. If gold continues to stabilize, we would expect scrap and scrap gross profit margins to begin to normalize towards historical levels next quarter. On expenses, we remain disciplined. That said, we do expect a sequential increase through the year as we continue integrating recent acquisitions and building de novos and scale operational best practices across all jobs.

就廢料（scrap）而言，我們不從事預測金價的業務，但我們可以說，自 2026 年曆年開始以來，金價僅小幅上漲。若金價持續趨於穩定，我們預期下季廢料及廢料毛利率將開始朝歷史水準正常化。在費用方面，我們仍維持紀律。不過，隨著我們持續整合近期收購案、建置 de novo 新店，並在所有職能擴大推行營運最佳實務，我們確實預期全年費用將呈現逐季增加。

Our M&A Carplan remains active in both the U.S. And Latin America, and we continue to approach each opportunity with rigorous financial discipline. At 1,506 stores across 16 countries and a strong balance sheet, we are well-positioned to capitalize on further consolidation opportunities.

我們的併購（M&A）Carplan 在美國與拉丁美洲皆持續活躍，我們也持續以嚴謹的財務紀律評估每一個機會。憑藉遍布 16 個國家的 1,506 家門市以及強健的資產負債表，我們已具備良好條件把握進一步整併的機會。

Now, I'd like to turn it back to Lachie for his closing remarks.

現在，我想把時間交回給 Lachie，請他做結語。

Thanks, Tim. Q2 was an exceptionally strong quarter for EZCORP, with record P&O. Record revenue, and meaningful margin expansion in both pawn segments. Year-over-year EBITDA growth of 76% was the highest in our recent history. It was also a fantastic quarter for M&A, where we bought SMG, one of the largest pawn chains in the North American region, and an exciting 12-store chain in Texas. Post-quarter end, we bought 32 more stores in Guatemala, where we are expanding our clear market leadership.

謝謝，Tim。第二季對 EZCORP 而言是極為強勁的一季，P&O 創下新高。營收創新高，且兩個典當分部的利潤率皆顯著擴張。年對年 EBITDA 成長 76%，為我們近期歷史最高。這一季的併購也非常出色，我們收購了 SMG——北美地區最大的典當連鎖之一——以及德州一家令人振奮的 12 店連鎖。在季後，我們又在瓜地馬拉收購了 32 家門市，進一步擴大我們清晰的市場領導地位。

Importantly, we are producing these results with a conservative, highly liquid balance sheet and a strong, stable and tenured team. Our focus for the balance of the fiscal year is straightforward: to continue to execute against the operating priorities we have outlined with rigorous discipline to integrate recent exciting acquisitions onto our platform. And continue to deepen the core pawn unit economics that makes this business compound significantly over time.

重要的是，我們是在保守、流動性極高的資產負債表，以及一支強大、穩定且資深的團隊支持下，達成這些成果。本財政年度剩餘期間的重點很明確：以嚴謹紀律持續落實我們已提出的營運優先事項，將近期令人振奮的收購案整合至我們的平台。並持續深化典當核心單位經濟（unit economics），使這項業務能隨時間顯著複利成長。

I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our approximately 9,500 team members across all of our markets. Your dedication to our mission, being the first and best choice of our customers' short-term cash needs and quality pre-owned goods, is the foundation of these clearly outstanding results. Guided by our core values of people, pawn and passion, we remain confident in our ability to scale with discipline, invest with purpose, and deliver sustained long-term value for our shareholders.

我想向我們在各市場約 9,500 位團隊成員致上誠摯的感謝。各位對我們使命的投入——成為客戶短期現金需求與優質二手商品的第一且最佳選擇——是這些卓越成果的基礎。在「人、典當與熱情」的核心價值引導下，我們仍對自身以紀律擴張、以目的投資，並為股東創造可持續的長期價值充滿信心。

And with that, operator, we'll open the line for questions.

接下來，接線員，我們開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Brian McNamara, Canaccord Genuity.

(接線員指示) Brian McNamara，Canaccord Genuity。

Congrats on the impressive results. Thanks for taking the questions. So how would you get -- How would you guys characterize the tax refund season relative to your expectations going into the quarter? Obviously, loan paydowns appear very small relative to historical standards. And what's driving that? Is it the higher prices at the pump? Is it just obviously the low-income consumer feeling the, incremental pressures elsewhere? How would you kind of characterize the state of your tried and true low-income consumer?

恭喜取得令人印象深刻的成果。謝謝讓我提問。那麼，你們會如何描述本季退稅季相較於你們在季初的預期？顯然，貸款償還（paydowns）相較於歷史水準看起來非常小。是什麼在驅動這個現象？是加油站油價較高嗎？還是低收入消費者顯然在其他方面承受了額外壓力？你們會如何描述你們一向熟悉、且經驗證的低收入消費者目前的狀況？

I think you're on the right track there, but Tim, you want to take this one versus our expectations. But from a macro perspective, Brian, I think you're bang on. I think it's, alternative lenders are tightening credit. I think the gas pump has been, really challenging in recent weeks, and I think, those two things have certainly impacted the number, but Tim, do you want to add anything to that?

我認為你的方向是對的，不過 Tim，你要不要就「相較於我們的預期」這部分來回答？但從總體角度來看，Brian，我覺得你說得非常準確。我認為替代型放款機構正在收緊授信。我認為最近幾週油價確實非常具挑戰性，而我想這兩件事確實影響了數字；但 Tim，你要不要再補充？

Yeah, definitely. At the end of last quarter, we did talk about the fact that we did think that there would be slightly higher tax refunds in dollars going out, but it wouldn't affect our customers that much. Also, we did see that the average. Tax refund was slightly higher than last year, but lower than estimates that had been provided in the market. So definitely was more muted than we thought.

是的，確實。在上季末，我們確實提到我們認為退稅發放金額（以美元計）會略高一些，但對我們的客戶影響不會太大。另外，我們也看到平均退稅金額略高於去年，但低於市場上先前提供的估計值。所以確實比我們想的更為溫和。

But on top of that, you did have an increase in the gold price through the quarter. So the average loan size that was being taken, especially on the jewelry side through the quarter was. Larger than we expected as well. And then Locky, as Locky said, he had these gas prices at the end of the March, which drove a lot of people to our stores to ask for extra cash.

除此之外，本季金價也有所上升。因此，本季平均借款金額，特別是在珠寶品類方面，也比我們預期更大。然後如 Locky 所說，3 月底油價上漲，促使許多人到我們門市尋求額外現金。

Lock, you mentioned applying your playbook to SMG. What are the areas of low-hanging fruit to improve store productivity and profitability in those stores? And how much did SMG add to EBITDA in the quarter? I know EBITDA was up big, like 76%, just trying to figure out what that is organically.

Lock，你提到把你們的作戰手冊（playbook）套用到 SMG。在那些門市中，有哪些「低垂的果實」可以用來提升門市生產力與獲利能力？另外，SMG 本季對 EBITDA 的貢獻是多少？我知道 EBITDA 大增，例如 76%，只是想釐清其中有多少是有機成長。

Yeah, I think it's the numbers, it's Tim while I talk, I think the numbers in the deck, what it contributed. But look, it's, SMG is a well-run business. We just bring, I think, through various groups, particularly Blair's operations groups. I think, I just added expertise to what they're doing. I think we've got, really strong lending practices. We're using a lot of AI now around our pricing and around our LTVs and lending grids. I think our sales programs are really strong.

是的，我想簡報裡有數字，Tim 會在我說的同時把它找出來，看看它的貢獻。不過你看，SMG 是一家經營良好的企業。我們只是透過各個團隊，特別是 Blair 的營運團隊，帶來我認為是對他們現有作法的額外專業能力。我認為我們有非常強的放款實務。我們現在在定價、以及 LTV 與放款格線（lending grids）方面大量運用 AI。我認為我們的銷售方案也非常強。

I think if you start there in Blair's group, I think we can make some real meaningful difference there. I think starting with people, compensation, recognition, career path, all of this stuff that we've been doing for the last three, four, five years that I think has been so critical in driving earnings. I think, you start there on the operation side and then we bring, Tim's financial function, which I think just elevates.

我認為如果從 Blair 的團隊著手，我們可以在那裡帶來非常實質的改變。我認為先從「人」開始——薪酬、表揚、職涯路徑——這些都是我們過去三、四、五年一直在做、且我認為對推動獲利至關重要的事情。我認為先從營運端著手，接著我們再導入 Tim 的財務職能，我認為這會進一步提升。

The ability to help our store managers and help our district managers with better financial analysis, just because, we're bigger, we're better funded, more expertise. So I think, look, it's a well-run business. We've always said that, but I think EZ just brings this added element where I think, over the next 12 months, we should be able to drive some meaningful impact.

能夠協助我們的門市經理，以及協助我們的區域經理做更好的財務分析，原因就在於我們規模更大、資金更充裕、專業能力更強。所以我認為，你看，這是一門經營良好的生意。我們一直都這麼說，但我認為 EZ 只是帶來了額外的加分要素；我想在接下來 12 個月內，我們應該能夠帶動一些具實質意義的影響。

Definitely, the scale that EZ brings just has a lot of people that. SMG folk can go talk to and ask questions. And so that scale just brings a lot more to a smaller organization. The number there on the SMG for the quarter EBITDA was $9.5 million for the SMG segment. SMG did have some corporate costs that go into our G&A, which totaled $3.9 million.

確實，EZ 帶來的規模意味著有很多人。SMG 的同仁可以去交流、提問。因此，這樣的規模能為較小的組織帶來更多資源。本季 SMG 的 EBITDA 數字為 950 萬美元（SMG 部門）。SMG 也有一些會計入我們 G&A 的公司層級成本，合計為 390 萬美元。

Great. And then last one for me before I pass it on. Gold's off its recent high is a decent amount here. Can you remind us in the market your approach to pricing your gold loan book, any risk involved there if we have a more of a significant sell off here?

很好。然後在我把問題交出去之前，最後一個問題。黃金價格從近期高點回落了不少。能否提醒我們，你們在市場上對黃金放款組合的定價方式是什麼？如果這裡出現更顯著的拋售，是否會有任何相關風險？

Give me second. Yeah, we we run pretty conservatively. We're not. Changing the price that we lend on a daily basis. So we're looking at more of an average view. As I said on the call, the gold price really hasn't moved that much. If you look at the beginning of January, we're at the four, five, four, six kind of range. We're at the four, six kind of four, seven kind of range right now. So not much movement if you're looking at the more, if you're taking out all the big ups and downs through the last couple of months.

給我一秒。是的，我們的操作相當保守。我們不會。每天去調整放款的定價。所以我們看的比較像是平均的視角。如我在電話會議上所說，金價其實沒有那麼大的變動。如果你看 1 月初，大概在 4、5、4、6 這樣的區間。我們現在大概在 4、6 到 4、7 這樣的區間。所以如果你用更長期的角度、把過去幾個月的大幅上下波動剔除，其實變動不大。

And so from our point of view, gold is rather stable and how we've been lending is rather stable at the moment.

因此從我們的角度來看，黃金相當穩定，而我們目前的放款方式也相當穩定。

Helpful.

很有幫助。

Thank you very much for that. I would say that, retail price of gold doesn't also, it doesn't move in line with the gold, with the scrap. Price of gold. So that's obviously gone up. You go to an average jewelry store now, you'll see that is quite elevated, which means that people coming to our stores to buy second-hand jewelry are getting amazing deals. So definitely Mother's Day coming up, definitely come to our store.

非常感謝。我會說，黃金的零售價格也不會，並不會跟黃金、跟回收料（scrap）的。金價同步變動。所以那部分顯然是上升了。你現在去一般的珠寶店，你會看到價格相當高，這代表來我們店裡買二手珠寶的客人能拿到非常划算的價格。所以母親節快到了，務必來我們店裡。

John Hecht, Jefferies.

John Hecht，Jefferies。

Morning, guys, and thanks very much for the Mother's Day reminder. The first question I have is, I mean, obviously, business is very buoyant right now, but I'm wondering, like, can you assess, like, customer, is there anything, like, at the customer level, loan sizes are moving up, I know that's partly in tandem with gold. But it seemed like in the U.S. There was also a bigger shift to jewelry-based lending. Any kind of just characteristics you can tell us about subtle changes in customer behavior, new customer activity, and things like that?

早安，各位，也非常感謝母親節的提醒。我的第一個問題是，我是說，顯然目前業務非常強勁，但我想知道，你們能否評估一下，例如在客戶層面，有沒有什麼變化？例如貸款金額在上升，我知道這部分與金價同步有關。但看起來在美國也有更大的轉向以珠寶為抵押的放款。你們能否談談客戶行為的細微變化、新客戶活動等特徵？

Yeah, thanks for the question, John. Look, I think we are building a marketing capability at the moment, not a big spend, but a really dedicated, targeted marketing effort, mainly digitally. To attract, re-attract existing customers, target new customers. And, we've had a pretty targeted approach on increasing our jewelry business across all that we do. So I think, it's been quite deliberate. We're really targeting that customer and targeting that vertical. I think on the, various categories, I just truly believe that.

好的，謝謝你的問題，John。你看，我們目前正在建立行銷能力，投入不算大，但會做非常專注、精準的行銷推廣，主要在數位端。用來吸引、重新吸引既有客戶，並鎖定新客戶。而且，我們在提升珠寶業務方面採取了相當聚焦的策略，涵蓋我們所有業務。所以我認為，這是相當刻意為之的。我們確實在鎖定那類客戶與那個垂直領域。我想在各個品類上，我確實相信。

Customers, more and more customers are keen to buy secondhand because I think it's value for money. I think markets are getting tougher out there and as we build much better presented, better staffed, fun places to shop, I think we're seeing, I think we're building a much more attractive business for this customer.

客戶，越來越多客戶願意買二手，我想是因為物有所值。我認為外部市場正變得更艱難，而當我們打造出陳列更好、員工配置更完善、購物更有趣的門市環境時，我想我們看到的是，我們正在為這類客戶建立一個更具吸引力的生意。

So, look --I think it's across all that we're doing. Certainly jewelry is leading the charge. I think customers are getting much more excited, but clearly because of the gold price and what they can do. But this is quite a deliberate effort of marketing programs to bring people into our stores to look at jewelry.

所以，你看——我認為這反映在我們所做的一切上。當然，珠寶是領頭羊。我想客戶變得更興奮，顯然也因為金價以及他們能做的事情。但這確實是相當刻意的行銷方案，目的是把人帶進我們的門市來看珠寶。

I would add as well, the average loan size is up. Obviously, that's related to the gold price, but it's up because demand for that amount of money is up. And so that's definitely a reflection of the things costing more. And gas prices are definitely one that's very easy to see. But, the average loan size reflects what people are asking for to borrow to deal with short-term needs. And that is, that's up.

我也補充一下，平均貸款金額在上升。顯然這與金價有關，但也因為對那筆金額的需求增加了。因此這確實反映出各項成本都在上升。而油價絕對是最容易看見的一項。不過，平均貸款金額反映的是人們為了應付短期需求而想借的金額。而那個數字，確實上升了。

That's helpful. And then maybe just a related follow-on is you talked about digital marketing campaigns and so forth. You guys have prioritized, call it, technological investments, broadly speaking, over the past several years, some loyalty programs and so forth. Maybe can you just give us an update. On, call it adoption and any responses that or call it impacts you can see from those investments.

很有幫助。接著可能是一個相關的追問：你提到數位行銷活動等等。過去幾年你們優先投入所謂的科技投資，廣義來說，也包括一些會員忠誠計畫等等。能否請你們更新一下。例如採用率，以及你們從這些投資中看到的回應或影響？

Yeah, look, it's a good question. I think on the loyalty side, we've done the really heavy lift over the last few years and got 75% of our customers onto the program. Most importantly, our teams love it. It gives them the ability to re-engage their customer all the time to talk about their points, balance, come back in, come and buy this. So I think on the rewards program, it's really led by our teams who really, find it to be a strong differentiator in the local neighborhoods in which they work.

是的，你看，這是個好問題。在忠誠計畫方面，我們過去幾年做了非常大量的建置工作，已經讓 75% 的客戶加入該計畫。最重要的是，我們的團隊很喜歡它。它讓他們能夠隨時重新與客戶互動，談點數、餘額，邀請客戶回來、回來買這個。所以我認為在獎勵計畫上，主要是由我們的團隊推動；他們真的覺得這是在其工作所在的在地社區中一個很強的差異化因素。

On the digital initiative side, look, we've got a bunch going. We're still testing, we're piloting. I'm convinced that online just has to be a bigger channel, particularly in the luxury segment. But we're pretty early in that. We're still pretty early in that journey. But for example, SEO, SEM, all up big, store near me, SEO is performing really well. So we just think it's.

在數位推動方面，你看，我們有很多項目在進行。我們仍在測試、試點。我相信線上必須成為更大的通路，特別是在奢侈品領域。但我們在這方面還很早期。我們在這段旅程中仍然相當早期。但例如 SEO、SEM 都大幅成長，「附近的門市（store near me）」這類 SEO 表現非常好。所以我們只是認為這是。

It all starts with customer service in the stores, of course, but we're trying to supplement that with better digital initiatives that, for example, we've got all of our inventory now online across the whole of the U.S. You can get an online quote across all of the U.S. For a product now. We need to improve those products. They're still pretty early, but I think, they can potentially drive some real customer traffic and some revenue, in the next 12 months or so. So I would say pleased with our progress. But it's still early.

當然，一切都從門市的客戶服務開始，但我們正試圖以更好的數位化措施來補強；例如，我們現在已將全美的所有庫存都上線。你可以在全美範圍內針對某項產品取得線上報價。我們需要把這些產品做得更好。它們仍處於相當早期的階段，但我認為，在未來約12個月左右，它們有潛力帶來實質的客流與一些營收。所以我會說，我對我們的進展感到滿意。但仍然還早。

But, we're trying to meet our customers anywhere they are, whether it's in the street, in the store, online, on the phone, on the text, because, they choose where they want to see us, and I think EZCORP needs to be in all of those places. So it's been a pretty deliberate strategy over the last year or two, and I think the next 12 months is going to hopefully produce some real benefit.

不過，我們正努力在客戶所在的任何地方與他們接觸，不論是在街上、在店裡、在線上、在電話上、在簡訊上，因為他們會選擇想在哪裡看到我們，而我認為EZCORP需要出現在所有這些地方。因此，過去一兩年這一直是相當有意識的策略，我希望接下來12個月能帶來一些實質效益。

Vincent Caintic, BTIG.

Vincent Caintic，BTIG。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions and congratulations on the results. I did want to go back to talking about the sensitivity to gold prices. It's just been the biggest investor question I've been getting last night and this morning. So I do appreciate the core pond metrics you provided. So when you think about gold prices, I guess, first, how much of an impact is it having not just on jewelry, scrap sales and margins, but also when we think about the core pond balance growth and then the retail margin expansion?

嗨，早安。謝謝讓我提問，也恭喜這次的業績表現。我想回到談談對金價的敏感度。這是我昨晚和今天早上收到最多投資人詢問的問題。所以我很感謝你們提供的核心典當（core pawn）指標。那麼當你們看待金價時，我想先問，金價不僅對珠寶、廢料（scrap）銷售與毛利率有多大影響；同時在核心典當餘額成長，以及零售毛利率擴張方面，又有什麼影響？

And then if I maybe kind of take the other side of it, if maybe we can talk about how sensitive earnings are to say if gold prices were to normalize from here.

另外，如果我從另一個角度問，能否談談若金價從目前水準回歸正常，你們的獲利對此會有多敏感？

Thanks, David. I think it goes back to the other question earlier here where the average loan size is going up. But it's because of demand for cash. It's not because gold is going up that people need more money. And so they need more money and they're using gold to get that. And so I think those two things need to be separated out to understand this business.

謝謝你，David。我想這要回到前面那個問題：平均貸款金額正在上升。但那是因為現金需求。不是因為金價上漲所以人們需要更多錢。而是他們需要更多錢，並用黃金來取得那筆錢。所以我認為，必須把這兩件事分開來理解這門生意。

If a customer doesn't need the extra money, they don't just try and get the maximum loan amount, right? The customer is trying to get a certain amount of money by bringing goods to the store, and we provide them cash to deal with their short-term needs. They are not trying to maximize the loan they get. They want to solve their problem of cash. And so I think if you separate those two things out. It changes how you see the business.

如果客戶不需要額外的錢，他們不會只是想拿到最高的可貸金額，對吧？客戶是帶著物品到店裡，想取得某個特定金額的現金，而我們提供現金來滿足他們的短期需求。他們並不是想把可貸金額最大化。他們是想解決現金問題。所以我認為，如果你把這兩件事分開來看，你看待這門生意的方式就會改變。

And so I just, yes, it is gold that is driving it. So if gold prices drop, then instead of bringing the one item they're bringing in now, they start bringing in two items, which is what they used to do when gold wasn't up this far. And so I think that the business, from a core-born perspective, is well protected.

所以我只是想說，是的，確實是金價在推動這件事。因此如果金價下跌，那麼客戶就不會只帶現在這一件物品來，而是會開始帶兩件物品來——這也是過去在金價沒有漲到這麼高時他們常做的事。所以我認為，從核心典當的角度來看，這門生意的防護性相當好。

Okay, that's very helpful. Thank you for that. And then separately, if we could talk about acquisition and other store growth opportunities. So first, congratulations on closing the SMG deal this past quarter. Sounds like there's a lot of opportunity there. Could you talk about how you see the pipeline for other acquisitions that might be out there in different geographies and then also how you're thinking about de novo store growth in your geographies?

好的，這非常有幫助。謝謝你的說明。另外，我們能否談談併購以及其他門市成長機會。首先，恭喜你們在本季完成SMG交易。聽起來那裡有很多機會。你能否談談你們如何看待其他可能出現在不同地理區域的併購案來源（pipeline），以及你們在既有地區對新開店（de novo）成長的想法？

Thanks, Vince. Yeah, look, SMG is obviously a big transaction. I think it's the biggest pawn transaction we've ever done. So I've certainly got the US team focused on integration there because it's big, it's exciting, we can make a meaningful difference.

謝謝，Vince。是的，你看，SMG顯然是一筆大型交易。我認為這是我們做過最大的典當業交易。所以我當然讓美國團隊把重心放在整合上，因為它規模大、令人振奮，而且我們能帶來有意義的改變。

And so I think, that was the most attractive deal to do in the North American market. We've now done it. But as the easy part's the deal. We've now got to make it really hum. So I think when you're thinking about M&A and new acquisitions and denovos, right for now, I think the core objective is to make these couple of very large acquisitions that we've just done, whether it's SMG, whether it's the one in Laredo, El Buffalo, whether it's Muffley in Guatemala, which is another 32 stores, I'm really getting the teams to focus on integrating those to extract as much value and benefit.

因此我認為，那是北美市場最具吸引力的一筆交易。我們現在已經完成了。但容易的部分是把交易做成。接下來我們得讓它真正順暢運轉、發揮效益。所以當你在思考併購與新收購案以及新開店（de novo）時，就目前而言，我認為核心目標是把我們剛完成的這幾筆非常大型的收購——不論是SMG、拉雷多（Laredo）的那一筆El Buffalo、或是瓜地馬拉的Muffley（另外32家店）——我正在讓團隊專注於整合，盡可能萃取最大價值與效益。

From those acquisitions as we can, we were to build these teams, build a culture and maximize earnings. So I think that's kind of priority one. In terms of new stuff, there's absolutely plenty of deals, plenty of stuff to do out there. I think in the U.S., as I've said in the last couple of quarters outside of SMG, it's -- It's probably onesies and twosies, the odds three and four if you're lucky, and then maybe something bigger comes up now and then.

從這些收購中，我們要建立團隊、建立文化並把獲利最大化。所以我認為這是第一優先。至於新的機會，外面絕對有很多交易、很多事情可以做。我想在美國，如同我過去幾季所說，除了SMG之外，可能就是一兩家、運氣好是三四家，然後偶爾才會出現更大的案子。

But I think it's really a market where we've just got to continue with the small acquisitions and make sure we're doing them well and efficiently. And then in Latin America, there is, it's an enormous opportunity, whether it's M&A or De Novo. I think both are enormous opportunities. Mexico still. Has many areas that we could build new stores in. I think the customer demand is insatiable down there.

但我認為這真的是一個我們必須持續進行小型收購、並確保做得好且有效率的市場。而在拉丁美洲，不論是併購或新開店（De Novo），都是巨大的機會。我認為兩者都是非常龐大的機會。墨西哥仍然如此。還有很多地區我們可以新開門市。我認為那裡的客戶需求幾乎是無止盡的。

Because of the lack of access to traditional credit, it's really our challenge is how do we staff these stores in a really strong way. So we're working through AI models to be able to lift our capability there, to be able to train people much faster, more efficiently, in a deeper way. So I think we've got some strategies around de novos that we're going to employ to further.

由於缺乏取得傳統信貸的管道，我們真正的挑戰是：如何以非常強的方式為這些門市配置人力。因此我們正在運用AI模型來提升我們的能力，讓我們能更快、更有效率、也更深入地訓練人員。所以我認為，我們在新開店方面有一些策略，接下來會進一步推動。

To really quicken the pace of those, I think not right now, I think let us get through this current year on the pretty traditional cadence that we've been doing for de novos, but certainly for next year, I'm going to be pushing our teams to see if we can really accelerate that de novo business because truly they are our our team has gotten much better at this. Both from a site acquisition or site leasing perspective, right through to our operating culture, our people, our training, that's become a really important part of our growth engine, and I think we can accelerate it.

以真正加快步伐；我認為不是現在，先讓我們用目前相對傳統的節奏把今年走完，但到了明年，我會推動團隊看看能否真正加速新開店業務，因為確實我們的團隊在這方面已經做得更好了。不論是從選址取得或租賃的角度，一直到我們的營運文化、人才與訓練，這已成為我們成長引擎中非常重要的一部分，我認為我們可以加速。

So that's, hopefully my team's listening and we're about to come into budget time and that's what I'm going to be pushing. But I think that is, it's a great call out that you've made. It's a really strong opportunity. On the acquisition front, absolutely, it hasn't changed. There's still many big independently owned chains in Mexico and Latin America.

所以，希望我的團隊有在聽，我們即將進入預算編列期，這就是我會推動的方向。但我認為你提出的這點提醒非常到位。這是一個非常強的機會。在併購方面，完全沒變。墨西哥與拉丁美洲仍有許多大型、由獨立業主經營的連鎖體系。

That at the right price or if they, we can come together on a transaction, we'd love to do them. But I think we've shown now after about five years of doing this as the leadership team, we're nearly five years, we're only going to do it in a disciplined way. We're going to buy these.

只要價格合適，或是我們能在交易條件上達成共識，我們很樂意進行。但我想我們在作為領導團隊推動這件事約五年之後——差不多快五年了——已經證明我們只會以紀律性的方式來做。我們會買下這些。

With our shareholders front of mind that we've got to build returns. We're not just docked on maps people. We're trying to buy good stores that we think we can improve. And I think there's plenty of those out there. So that's my long-winded way of saying integration right now is a big focus, but de novo and acquisition pipeline is absolutely a big strength that we've got for our growth engine going forward.

我們會把股東利益放在首位，因為我們必須創造報酬。我們不是只是在地圖上插旗的人。我們想買的是我們認為能改善的好店。而我認為外面有很多這樣的標的。所以我長話短說：目前整合是很大的重點，但新開店（de novo）與併購管線，絕對是我們未來成長引擎的一大強項。

Kyle Joseph, Stephens.

Kyle Joseph，Stephens。

Congrats on a good quarter. And yeah, appreciate the disclosure on Pawn and you guys breaking breaking that out for us. I just wanted to touch on on LatAm. Looks like you guys have been seeing really strong. Retail trends there, both in terms of margins, and then it looks like, PLO is up well ahead of inventory growth this year. Just kind of comment, anything you guys are seeing specifically, down south versus what you're seeing in the U.S.?

恭喜這一季表現不錯。也很感謝你們對 Pawn 的揭露，並把它拆分出來讓我們看。我想稍微談一下拉丁美洲。看起來你們那邊的零售趨勢非常強勁。不論是毛利率方面，而且看起來今年 PLO 的成長遠遠領先於庫存成長。能否請你們評論一下：你們在南邊看到的情況，和在美國看到的有什麼特別不同嗎？

Well, thanks, Piolet. I think it starts with the people. I think we're building, Blair particularly is building an outstanding culture across Latin America. The leadership group down there is very tenured and just outstanding operators. And I think with the playbook that he, that Blair designed in the US, we're now two plus years into that down in Latin America and you can see the results are just absolutely fantastic.

嗯，謝謝，Piolet。我認為一切從人開始。我認為我們正在建立——尤其是 Blair——在整個拉丁美洲建立一個卓越的文化。那邊的領導團隊資歷很深，而且都是非常出色的營運者。而且我認為，Blair 在美國設計的那套作戰手冊，我們在拉丁美洲推行也已經兩年多了，你可以看到成果真的非常驚人。

So I think it's, I think it is the culture training, our jewelry focus, we were. We were pretty light in our jewelry business in Latin America two years ago, but with a strategy and then an execution culture of how to build that business, I think that's been part of the big change down there.

所以我認為，這是文化、訓練，以及我們對珠寶的聚焦。兩年前我們在拉丁美洲的珠寶業務其實相對薄弱，但透過策略，以及一種如何把這門生意做起來的執行文化，我認為這是那邊重大轉變的一部分。

So look, I think is it different to the U.S.? Yes, but a lot of the techniques that we used in the U.S. To drive such significant earnings momentum, we're using down there. And what I'd say to you is it's, they are now coming to fruition. I still think there is a huge amount of opportunity down there. I was down there last week in stores and, every store you walk into, whether it's a good one, bad one, you just see the opportunity. So look, I think. It is incredibly pleasing to see how well that business is doing.

所以你看，這跟美國不一樣嗎？是的，但我們在美國用來推動如此顯著獲利動能的許多方法，也正在那邊使用。而我想跟你說的是：這些做法現在正在開花結果。我仍然認為那邊有非常巨大的機會。我上週才在那邊走訪門市，每一家店你走進去，不管是好店、差店，你都能看到機會。所以你看，我認為。看到那個業務做得這麼好，真的令人非常欣慰。

Even without Scrap, you can see that Tim said in his comments, we served almost 30% EBITDA growth, something like that, which is absolutely phenomenal. So, we're very proud of the team down there and what we're doing.

即使不含 Scrap，你也可以看到 Tim 在他的評論中提到，我們實現了接近 30% 的 EBITDA 成長，大概是那樣，這真的非常驚人。所以，我們對那邊的團隊以及我們正在做的事情感到非常自豪。

Andrew Scutt, Roth Capital Partners.

Andrew Scutt，Roth Capital Partners。

Thanks for taking my questions, and congrats on the strong results. Most of my questions have been answered here, so a quick one on a smaller part of your business. But you guys have been building out Max Pawn, kind of your luxury pawn side of the business. You guys added a store recently? In Miami, can you just kind of talk about kind of the long-term plans with Max Pawn and the luxury pawn opportunity?

謝謝讓我提問，也恭喜你們的強勁成果。我大部分的問題都已經在這裡得到回答，所以我問一個關於你們業務中較小部分的快問。你們一直在擴展 Max Pawn，也就是你們奢侈品典當這一塊。你們最近新增了一家門市？在邁阿密；能否談談 Max Pawn 的長期規劃，以及奢侈品典當的機會？

Yes, thank you, Andrew. Yeah, so I think about luxury in two buckets. One is the Max Pawn business. So as you said, that's four stores, we've got three in Vegas, and a new one in Miami. The focus in that business is just to maximize the potential of those four stores. Miami's our first breakout from Vegas. So I think it's a really important one to make this concept work. But Vegas business is doing very well, exactly as we had hoped for it.

是的，謝謝你，Andrew。我把奢侈品分成兩個面向來看。第一個是 Max Pawn 業務。如你所說，目前是四家店，我們在拉斯維加斯有三家，邁阿密新開一家。這個業務的重點就是把這四家店的潛力最大化。邁阿密是我們第一次走出拉斯維加斯。所以我認為這非常重要，必須讓這個概念成功。不過拉斯維加斯的業務表現非常好，完全符合我們的期待。

But Miami's very early. And so our focus is to make that work so that we can see if that's happened, then we can then we can expand across the US. So we're excited by that business. But what we're also doing is we're feeding significantly more luxury across the store base.

但邁阿密還非常早期。因此我們的重點是先把它做起來；如果我們看到它成功了，那我們就可以在全美擴張。所以我們對這個業務感到興奮。但我們同時也在整個門市體系導入更多奢侈品。

We made a store in Austin, we called it Easy Pawn Luxe, and we kind of, not the full max pawn experience, but an elevated pawn broking experience. And the results have just been fantastic. We're only, I think, about a month into it. But with that elevated luxe product, experience, brand, I think luxury is a pretty exciting potential growth opportunity. It's still small, but, it is opening up much different new customer segments, and particularly in stores that are in areas that are gentrifying.

我們在奧斯汀打造了一家店，稱為 Easy Pawn Luxe；我們做的是一種——不是完整的 Max Pawn 體驗——但更高端的典當體驗。而成果非常出色。我們目前大概才進行一個月左右。但透過這種升級的 Luxe 產品、體驗與品牌，我認為奢侈品是一個相當令人興奮的潛在成長機會。它目前仍然很小，但它正在開啟非常不同的新客群，特別是在那些正在高級化（gentrifying）的區域門市。

I think could potentially be a really interesting growth driver. So think about Lux just in two ways. It's Maxporn itself as well as Lux in the rest of the Uziporn business.

我認為這可能會是一個非常有趣的成長驅動因素。所以把 Luxe 想成兩種方式：一是 Maxporn 本身，二是 Uziporn 其餘業務中的 Luxe。

Sounds really interesting, and thanks for taking my questions, and congrats again on the results.

聽起來非常有意思，謝謝你回答我的問題，也再次恭喜你們的成果。

(Operator Instructions) Raj Sharma, Texas Capital.

(接線員指示) Raj Sharma，Texas Capital。

You've addressed quite a few of the questions, but again, the big question is, what do you think PLO growth would be? If gold prices were to plateau, and I think you've talked quite a lot about it. Maybe you cannot. Maybe it's hard to kind of delineate that. But just given your performance is stellar across all fronts, and once SMG anniversaries, where do you think the same-store trends would be? Can you give a sense, are these great results, organic trends and acceleration, is that to be expected? So what should we assume going forward once the SMG anniversaries?

你已經回答了不少問題，但最大的問題仍是：如果金價進入盤整，你認為 PLO 成長會是多少？我想你已經談了很多。也許你無法。也許很難把它清楚區分出來。但鑑於你們在各方面的表現都非常亮眼，而且一旦 SMG 進入同店比較的周年期，你認為同店趨勢會是什麼樣子？你能否給個概念：這些優異結果是有機趨勢與加速所帶來的、是可預期的嗎？所以在 SMG 進入周年期之後，我們往前看應該怎麼假設？

Thanks, Raj. Look, we obviously don't guide, but if you exclude Scrap, our intention is clearly to keep building these metrics, whether it's PLO, PSC, sales, terms. We are in this business to keep growing these metrics. This has been probably the best quarter that I've ever seen at EZCORP, so I understand your point that things are firing at the moment, but, we believe that even in the existing organic same-store business, our job is to continue to drive these results. We're going to add a bunch of De Novo stores to that, we're going to add a bunch of acquisitions to that, but, we think that.

謝謝你，Raj。你看，我們顯然不提供指引，但如果你把廢料（Scrap）排除在外，我們的意圖很明確，就是持續把這些指標做上去，不論是 PLO、PSC、銷售、條件。我們做這門生意就是要持續成長這些指標。這可能是我在 EZCORP 看過最好的季度，所以我理解你說目前各項表現都在發力，但我們相信，即使在既有的同店有機業務中，我們的工作仍是持續推動這些成果。我們會再新增一批 De Novo 新店，也會再做一批併購，但我們認為就是這樣。

Without guiding here, we think that this business is capable of much more. And so we're, we still believe that it's trading very cheaply with the growth, with the liquidity on our balance sheet, with the tenured team, with the no real net debt. It is, potentially, it is a, it's an enormous opportunity for shareholders and for investors, I think. And we're looking forward to continuing these growth initiatives.

在不提供指引的前提下，我們認為這門生意還有更大的潛力。因此我們仍然相信，考量到成長性、資產負債表上的流動性、資深的團隊，以及幾乎沒有淨負債，目前的交易估值非常便宜。我認為，這對股東與投資人而言，可能是一個巨大的機會。我們也期待持續推進這些成長計畫。

I would call out two numbers on the same-store stuff that we produced in the quarter. So loans for the U.S. Were 13% up on a same-store basis. And in Latin America, PLO was up 15% on a same-store basis. So it gives you an idea of what we're producing today. And PLO is the leading indicator of how the business is going to perform.

我想點出本季同店表現的兩個數字。美國的放款在同店基礎上成長 13%。而在拉丁美洲，PLO 在同店基礎上成長 15%。這讓你了解我們目前的產出狀況。而 PLO 是衡量業務表現的領先指標。

Obviously, the business is doing incredibly well. Just on how are you prioritizing, you're building up significant incremental capital. How are you prioritizing? Should we expect more de novo, between de novo stores, LATAM, M&A, and shareholder returns?

顯然，業務表現非常出色。就資本配置而言，你們正在累積相當可觀的增量資本。你們如何排定優先順序？在 De Novo 開店、拉丁美洲（LATAM）、併購（M&A）以及股東回饋之間，我們是否應該預期會有更多動作？

Yeah, look, I think it's all of those things around investing in the business. I think, you start with your earning assets. If we're building PLO and inventory, that takes, significant capital across 1,500 stores.

是的，你看，我認為就是上述所有面向，圍繞著對業務的投資。我想你要先從收益性資產開始。如果我們要擴大 PLO 和庫存，這在 1,500 家門市的規模下需要相當可觀的資本。

There's then there's de novos, as you mentioned. I think there's plenty of really interesting acquisitions to do out there. Plus, we just like to be liquid and conservative. It's a it's a dangerous world out there at the moment. And I think companies that are highly liquid with low debt, it's certainly where I'd like to have my money. So, I think it's a mix of putting those investing into the business. I think with respect to shareholder returns, yeah, we've got the buyback program.

接著如你所說，還有 De Novo 新店。我認為外面有很多非常有意思的併購標的可做。另外，我們也喜歡保持高流動性並採取保守策略。目前外部環境很危險。我認為高流動性、低負債的公司，確實是我更願意把錢放進去的地方。所以我認為這是一個組合：把資本投入到業務投資上。至於股東回饋，是的，我們有回購計畫。

And you saw we bought $4 million worth during the quarter. So, that's active. We believe the stock is, as I said, very cheap, and that represents a good return on capital for shareholders. But I think, as I've always said, our priority is scale, and I think the market is seeing that -- We are very serious about that, and we have very executable M&A and de novo opportunities that we're putting our capital to. And I think that that is the way to drive the best shareholder returns. And I think we've got more ahead.

你也看到我們在本季回購了 400 萬美元。所以這是正在進行的。我們相信這檔股票，如我所說，非常便宜，對股東而言代表良好的資本報酬。但我想，正如我一直說的，我們的優先事項是規模，而我認為市場也看到了——我們對此非常認真，而且我們有非常可執行的併購與 De Novo 機會，正在把資本投入其中。我認為這才是推動最佳股東報酬的方式。而且我認為後面還有更多。

Got it. Thank you. And just lastly, the store expenses growth. Decelerated in Latin, despite, I believe, wage inflation there, is that how sustainable is that trend?

了解。謝謝。最後一點，門市費用的成長。在拉丁美洲增速放緩，儘管我相信那邊有薪資通膨，這個趨勢的可持續性如何？

So the the on those costs, they were still up in Latin America 19% on a same store basis. So still up, that's 13, 13% minimum wage increases in Mexico driving a lot of that. But it's also, you see the performance, the amount of transit, the amount that's going through those stores actually requires a few more people. So that's driving some of that as well.

就那些成本而言，在拉丁美洲同店基礎上仍然成長 19%。所以仍在上升，其中很大一部分是墨西哥最低工資上調 13% 所帶動。但同時，你也看到業績表現，門市的人流量、以及實際經由門市處理的量，確實需要多一些人手。所以這也推升了部分成本。

Great. I landed there again. Thank you. Congratulations. Fantastic results and. Thank you. I'll take your call offline.

很好。我又回到那個點了。謝謝。恭喜。非常出色的成果，而且。謝謝。我會在會後再跟你私下通話。

Thank you. I'll talk to you in a bit.

謝謝。我等一下再跟你聊。

I am showing no further questions at this time, I would now like to turn it back to Laki for closing remarks.

目前我這邊顯示沒有其他問題，我現在想把時間交回給 Laki 做結語。

Thank you, operator. And look, thanks, everyone, for joining. We've said that this has been an enormous quarter for us, so I'm very thankful to our teams. The business is. On almost all metrics operating at a very high level, and we're very pleased with the M&A during the quarter. So we'll speak to a bunch of you in the next couple of days, but thank you for joining, and thank you to all of our shareholders for your support. Thanks.

謝謝你，接線員。也謝謝各位的參與。我們說過，這對我們而言是一個非常重大的季度，所以我非常感謝我們的團隊。業務表現是。幾乎在所有指標上都運作在非常高的水準，我們也對本季的併購（M&A）非常滿意。接下來幾天我們會和其中不少人再聊，但謝謝各位參與，也謝謝所有股東的支持。謝謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝各位參與今天的電話會議。本次議程到此結束。您現在可以掛線。