Fair Isaac Corp (FICO) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fair Isaac Corporation Quarterly Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) This conference is being recorded Thursday, January 26, 2023. And now I'd like to turn the conference over to Steve Weber. Please go ahead.

問候，感謝您的支持。歡迎來到 Fair Isaac Corporation 季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）本次會議將於 2023 年 1 月 26 日星期四錄製。現在我想將會議轉交給史蒂夫·韋伯。請繼續。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining FICO's first quarter earnings call. I'm Steve Weber, Interim CFO, and I'm joined today by our CEO, Will Lansing. Today, we issued a press release that describes financial results compared to the prior year. On this call, management will also discuss results in comparison to the prior quarter in order to facilitate understanding of the run rate of our business.

下午好，感謝您參加 FICO 第一季度財報電話會議。我是臨時首席財務官史蒂夫韋伯，今天我們的首席執行官威爾蘭辛也加入了我的行列。今天，我們發布了一份新聞稿，描述了與上一年相比的財務結果。在這次電話會議上，管理層還將討論與上一季度相比的結果，以便於了解我們業務的運行率。

Certain statements made in this presentation may be characterized as forward-looking under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements involve many uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》，本演示文稿中的某些陳述可能具有前瞻性。這些陳述涉及許多不確定因素，可能導致實際結果大相徑庭。

Information concerning these uncertainties is contained in the company's filings with the SEC, in particular, in the risk factors and forward-looking statements portions of such filings. Copies are available from the SEC, from the FICO website or from our Investor Relations team.

有關這些不確定性的信息包含在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中，特別是在此類文件的風險因素和前瞻性陳述部分。副本可從 SEC、FICO 網站或我們的投資者關係團隊獲得。

This call will also include statements regarding certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the company's earnings release and Regulation G schedule issued today for a reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure. The earnings release and Regulation G schedule are available on the Investor Relations page of the company's website at fico.com or on the SEC's website at sec.gov.

此電話會議還將包括有關某些非 GAAP 財務措施的聲明。請參閱公司今天發布的收益發布和 G 條例附表，了解這些非 GAAP 財務指標與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對賬情況。收益發布和 G 條例時間表可在公司網站 fico.com 的投資者關係頁面或美國證券交易委員會網站 sec.gov 上查閱。

A replay of this webcast will be available through January 26, 2024. Now I'll turn the call over to Will Lansing.

此網絡廣播的重播將持續到 2024 年 1 月 26 日。現在我將把電話轉給 Will Lansing。

Thanks, Steve, and thank you, everyone, for joining us for our first quarter earnings call. In the Investor Relations section of our website, we've posted some slides that we'll be referencing through our presentation today.

謝謝史蒂夫，也謝謝大家參加我們的第一季度財報電話會議。在我們網站的投資者關係部分，我們發布了一些幻燈片，我們將在今天的演示中引用這些幻燈片。

I'm pleased with the results we delivered in our first fiscal quarter. Even in these uncertain economic times, the resilience of our assets and the execution of our team allow us to deliver steady growth in both revenues and earnings and value to our shareholders.

我對我們在第一財季取得的成果感到滿意。即使在這些不確定的經濟時期，我們資產的彈性和團隊的執行力也使我們能夠為股東帶來收入和收益以及價值的穩定增長。

Page 2 shows financial highlights from our first quarter. We reported revenues of $345 million in Q1, up 7% from the prior year. Our GAAP net income of $98 million was up 15% over the prior year and GAAP EPS of $3.84, up 24%. On a non-GAAP basis, Q1 net income was $108 million, up 6% from the prior year, and earnings per share of $4.26 were up 15% from the prior year quarter. Overall, we are off to a very good start in our fiscal 2023.

第 2 頁顯示了我們第一季度的財務亮點。我們報告第一季度的收入為 3.45 億美元，比上年增長 7%。我們的 GAAP 淨收入為 9800 萬美元，比上年增長 15%，GAAP 每股收益為 3.84 美元，增長 24%。按非美國通用會計準則計算，第一季度淨收入為 1.08 億美元，較上年同期增長 6%，每股收益為 4.26 美元，較上年同期增長 15%。總體而言，我們在 2023 財年開局良好。

In Scores, revenues were up 5% over the same period last year, as you can see on Page 6 of the presentation. B2B revenues were up 11% in the quarter versus the prior year, driven by unit price increases, increased volumes in card and personal loan originations, and also by a license renewal in Latin America.

在 Scores 中，收入比去年同期增長了 5%，正如您在演示文稿的第 6 頁上看到的那樣。本季度 B2B 收入較上年同期增長 11%，這主要受單價上漲、信用卡和個人貸款發放量增加以及拉丁美洲許可證續籤的推動。

In the U.S., auto originations revenues were up 24% and card and personal loan originations revenues were up 19%. We continue to see reduced mortgage origination volumes for the U.S. market, where revenues were down about 40% year-over-year. The fiscal 2023 price increases we talked about last quarter take effect primarily in January. So we expect to see much of the impact in our second fiscal quarter. As always, it's difficult to estimate the timing and magnitude of the impact.

在美國，汽車發起收入增長了 24%，信用卡和個人貸款發起收入增長了 19%。我們繼續看到美國市場的抵押貸款發起量減少，收入同比下降約 40%。我們上個季度談到的 2023 財年價格上漲主要在 1 月份生效。因此，我們預計會在第二財季看到很大的影響。與往常一樣，很難估計影響的時間和程度。

Our B2C revenues were down 6% versus the prior year quarter as we continue to see difficult comps in our myFICO business due to the economic climate and especially because of the higher interest rates and lower number of consumers preparing for mortgages.

我們的 B2C 收入比去年同期下降了 6%，因為我們繼續看到我們的 myFICO 業務由於經濟氣候而難以實現，特別是因為更高的利率和更少的準備抵押貸款的消費者。

In our software business, we continue our focus on the decisioning platform that enables businesses to optimize consumer interactions across their enterprise. Overall software numbers look strong, and platform numbers continue to be exceptional.

在我們的軟件業務中，我們繼續關注決策平台，使企業能夠優化整個企業的消費者互動。總體軟件數量看起來很強勁，平台數量繼續表現出色。

As you can see on Page 7, we delivered overall ARR growth of 11% and platform ARR growth of 46%. Our ARR, our DBNRR and our ACV numbers are adjusted for the Siron divestiture. And again, our customers continue to find new use cases, as you can see from our net retention rates shown on Page 8. Overall, net retention rate was 110%, and platform net retention is 130%, continuing to demonstrate the success of our land-and-expand strategy, and we continue to see strong demand for our software.

正如您在第 7 頁所見，我們實現了 11% 的總體 ARR 增長和 46% 的平台 ARR 增長。我們的 ARR、DBNRR 和 ACV 數字都針對 Siron 資產剝離進行了調整。同樣，我們的客戶繼續尋找新的用例，正如您從第 8 頁顯示的我們的淨保留率中看到的那樣。總體而言，淨保留率為 110%，平台淨保留率為 130%，繼續證明我們的成功土地擴張戰略，我們繼續看到對我們軟件的強勁需求。

As you can see on Page 9, our ACV bookings were up 31% over the same period last year, and we continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunities as customers look to FICO to deliver strategic mission-critical decisioning.

正如您在第 9 頁所見，我們的 ACV 預訂量比去年同期增長了 31%，而且隨著客戶期待 FICO 提供戰略性關鍵任務決策，我們繼續看到大量機會。

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend our annual sales meeting, where I met with colleagues from around the world to discuss best practices, current trends and especially how our customers view our offerings. I heard firsthand how customers were looking at FICO to help solve their most difficult decisions and how those customers were increasingly finding new ways to use the FICO platform throughout their businesses. I don't think there's ever been a time at FICO where the team has been so excited about the opportunities ahead of us. And I share that excitement. I came away with a renewed appreciation for our unique technological capabilities and the incredible team that we have taking it to the market.

本週早些時候，我有機會參加了我們的年度銷售會議，會上我與來自世界各地的同事會面，討論最佳實踐、當前趨勢，尤其是我們的客戶如何看待我們的產品。我親耳聽到了客戶如何看待 FICO 來幫助他們解決最困難的決策，以及這些客戶如何越來越多地尋找在整個業務中使用 FICO 平台的新方法。我認為 FICO 的團隊從未對我們面前的機遇如此興奮。我也有同樣的興奮。我對我們獨特的技術能力和我們將其推向市場的令人難以置信的團隊有了新的認識。

Finally, as I've often said, we're committed to becoming the preeminent platform player in decisioning analytics. The strategic focus has allowed us to exit some nonstrategic products and services over the last few years. In November, we announced we had reached an agreement to transition our Siron compliance business to our partner, IMTF. We closed that transaction in December. While we're proud of the work and the innovation at the FICO team put into Siron to make it an industry-leading solution, we believe we are better positioned if we dedicate our focus and our resources to expanding the capabilities and market penetration of FICO platform.

最後，正如我常說的，我們致力於成為決策分析領域的卓越平台參與者。戰略重點使我們在過去幾年中退出了一些非戰略性產品和服務。 11 月，我們宣布已達成協議，將我們的 Siron 合規業務轉移給我們的合作夥伴 IMTF。我們在 12 月完成了該交易。雖然我們為 FICO 團隊為 Siron 所做的工作和創新感到自豪，使其成為行業領先的解決方案，但我們相信，如果我們將重點和資源用於擴展 FICO 的能力和市場滲透，我們將處於更好的位置平台。

I'll have some final comments in a few minutes, but first, let me turn the call back to Steve for more financial detail. Thanks.

我將在幾分鐘內發表一些最終評論，但首先，讓我將電話轉回給史蒂夫，了解更多財務細節。謝謝。

As Will said, we delivered another solid quarter in both our Scores and Software segments. Total revenues for the first quarter were $345 million, an increase of 7% over the prior year and slightly ahead of our internal plan. In our Scores segment, revenues were $178 million, up 5% from the same period last year. B2B Scores revenues were up 11% over the prior year. As has been the case for several quarters, mortgage originations revenues were down from the previous year. This quarter, those revenues were down 40% from the same quarter last year and 29% from Q4. But again, that was offset by growth in other areas. Credit card and personal loan originations revenues were up 19% over last year, and auto originations revenues were up 24%.

正如 Will 所說，我們在樂譜和軟件領域又交付了一個穩定的季度。第一季度的總收入為 3.45 億美元，比上年增長 7%，略高於我們的內部計劃。在我們的分數部分，收入為 1.78 億美元，比去年同期增長 5%。 B2B 分數收入比上一年增長了 11%。與幾個季度的情況一樣，抵押貸款發放收入比上一年有所下降。本季度，這些收入比去年同期下降 40%，比第四季度下降 29%。但同樣，這又被其他領域的增長所抵消。信用卡和個人貸款發起收入比去年增長 19%，汽車發起收入增長 24%。

We also renewed a multiyear license, which had a positive impact on the quarter. B2C Scores revenues were down 6% from the same period last year, and we expect B2C revenues to be down modestly from current levels throughout the rest of the fiscal year.

我們還續簽了多年期許可證，這對本季度產生了積極影響。 B2C 評分收入比去年同期下降 6%，我們預計 B2C 收入在本財年剩餘時間內將比當前水平小幅下降。

Software segment revenues in the first quarter were $167 million, up 9% versus the same period last year. Software revenues recognized over time were $133 million or 80% of total software revenues. License revenues recognized upfront or at any point in time, were $12 million this quarter and represented 7% of software revenues. Our professional services revenues were $22 million, representing 13% of total software revenues.

第一季度軟件部門收入為 1.67 億美元，比去年同期增長 9%。隨著時間的推移確認的軟件收入為 1.33 億美元，佔軟件總收入的 80%。本季度預先或在任何時間點確認的許可收入為 1200 萬美元，佔軟件收入的 7%。我們的專業服務收入為 2200 萬美元，佔軟件總收入的 13%。

This quarter, 85% of total company revenues were derived from our Americas region. Our EMEA region generated 9%, and the remaining 6% were from Asia Pacific. Our software ARR in the first fiscal quarter of 2023 was $583 million, an 11% increase over the prior year quarter. Our platform ARR was $133 million, up 46% last year and represented 23% of our total first quarter ARR compared with 17% last year. Our non-platform ARR was $450 million in the first quarter, up 4% when adjusted for divestitures.

本季度，公司總收入的 85% 來自美洲地區。我們的 EMEA 地區產生了 9%，其餘 6% 來自亞太地區。我們在 2023 年第一財季的軟件 ARR 為 5.83 億美元，比去年同期增長 11%。我們的平台 ARR 為 1.33 億美元，去年增長 46%，佔第一季度 ARR 總額的 23%，而去年為 17%。第一季度我們的非平台 ARR 為 4.5 億美元，經資產剝離調整後增長 4%。

Our dollar-based net retention rate in the quarter was 100% -- 110% overall versus 109% last year. Our platform customers continue to show very strong net expansion from land-and-expand follow-on sales and increased usage. The net retention per platform was 130% in the fourth quarter. Our non-platform customer software usage has matured and relatively stable with retention this quarter at 103%.

我們本季度以美元為基礎的淨保留率為 100%——總體為 110%，而去年為 109%。我們的平台客戶繼續表現出非常強勁的淨擴張，來自土地和擴張的後續銷售和增加的使用。第四季度每個平台的淨留存率為 130%。我們的非平台客戶軟件使用已經成熟且相對穩定，本季度的保留率為 103%。

Software sales were again strong this quarter with annual contract value bookings at $21.5 million versus $16.4 million in the prior year, an increase of 31%. And as a reminder, ACV bookings include only the annual value of software sales, excluding professional services.

本季度軟件銷售再次強勁，年度合同價值預訂為 2150 萬美元，而去年同期為 1640 萬美元，增長 31%。提醒一下，ACV 預訂僅包括軟件銷售的年價值，不包括專業服務。

Turning now to our expenses for the quarter. Total operating expenses were $205 million this quarter versus $207 million in the prior year and $215 million in Q4. While we continue to focus on expense efficiency, we do expect our total expenses to trend up in FY '23 from salary increases and modest headcount increases.

現在談談我們本季度的支出。本季度總運營費用為 2.05 億美元，去年同期為 2.07 億美元，第四季度為 2.15 億美元。在我們繼續關注費用效率的同時，我們確實預計我們的總費用在 23 財年會因加薪和適度增加員工人數而呈上升趨勢。

Our non-GAAP operating margin, as shown on our Reg G schedule, was 49% for the quarter, representing a 400 basis point non-GAAP margin expansion versus the same period last year. GAAP net income this quarter was $98 million, up 15% from the prior year quarter. Our non-GAAP net income was $108 million for the quarter, up 6% from the same quarter last year. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 17% and included $10 million of reduced tax expense from excess tax benefits recognized upon the settlement or exercise of employee stock awards.

如我們的 Reg G 時間表所示，我們本季度的非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 49%，與去年同期相比，非 GAAP 利潤率增長了 400 個基點。本季度 GAAP 淨收入為 9800 萬美元，比去年同期增長 15%。我們本季度的非美國通用會計準則淨收入為 1.08 億美元，比去年同期增長 6%。本季度的有效稅率為 17%，其中包括在結算或行使員工股票獎勵時確認的超額稅收利益減少的 1000 萬美元稅收費用。

We expect our full year fiscal 2023 recurring tax rate to be approximately 25% to 26%. That expected recurring tax rate is before any excess tax benefits or other discrete items. The resulting net effective tax rate is estimated to be about 24%.

我們預計 2023 財年全年的經常性稅率約為 25% 至 26%。該預期的經常性稅率是在任何超額稅收優惠或其他離散項目之前。由此產生的淨有效稅率估計約為 24%。

Free cash flow for the quarter was $92 million. For the trailing 12-month months, free cash flow was $471 million. At the end of the quarter, we had $166 million in cash and marketable investments. Our total debt at quarter end was $1.92 billion with a weighted average interest rate of 4.9%.

本季度的自由現金流為 9200 萬美元。在過去的 12 個月中，自由現金流為 4.71 億美元。在本季度末，我們擁有 1.66 億美元的現金和有價投資。我們在季度末的總債務為 19.2 億美元，加權平均利率為 4.9%。

Currently, about 67% of our total debt is fixed rate. Our floating rate debt is prepayable at any time, giving us the flexibility to use free cash flow to reduce outstanding floating rate debt balances in future periods.

目前，我們總債務中約有 67% 是固定利率的。我們的浮動利率債務可隨時提前償還，使我們能夠靈活地使用自由現金流來減少未來期間未償還的浮動利率債務餘額。

Turning to return of capital. We bought back 180,000 shares in the first quarter at an average price of $418 per share. We have $451 million remaining on the current Board authorization, and we continue to view share repurchases as an attractive use of cash.

轉向資本回報。我們在第一季度以每股 418 美元的平均價格回購了 180,000 股。我們目前的董事會授權還有 4.51 億美元，我們繼續將股票回購視為一種有吸引力的現金使用方式。

And with that, I'll turn it back to Will for his thoughts on the rest of FY '23.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給威爾，聽取他對 23 財年剩餘時間的看法。

Thanks, Steve. I'm really pleased with our Q1 results. I'm pleased with the progress we're making on strategic initiatives, and I'm pleased with our positioning for the balance of fiscal 2023. Our Scores business continues to deliver growth even in a turbulent market.

謝謝，史蒂夫。我對我們第一季度的結果非常滿意。我對我們在戰略計劃方面取得的進展感到滿意，我對我們對 2023 財年剩餘時間的定位感到滿意。即使在動蕩的市場中，我們的分數業務也繼續實現增長。

As I said in the past, our diversification across different credit verticals means that we're not dependent on one specific type of lending. On the software side, our platform strategy continued to drive strong results. The strategic mission-critical nature of our decisioning FICO platform means that customers are not delaying purchases and implementations. This is evident in the 13 straight quarters of 40-plus percent of platform ARR growth and the continued strong net retention rate of current customers. We're confident we have the best-in-class capabilities in an emerging marketplace that's poised for sustained growth.

正如我過去所說，我們在不同信貸垂直領域的多元化意味著我們不依賴於一種特定類型的貸款。在軟件方面，我們的平台戰略繼續推動強勁的業績。我們的決策 FICO 平台的戰略關鍵任務性質意味著客戶不會延遲購買和實施。這在連續 13 個季度的平台 ARR 增長率超過 40% 以及當前客戶持續強勁的淨保留率中顯而易見。我們有信心在一個有望持續增長的新興市場中擁有一流的能力。

I'm confident we have the correct strategy and a strong team in place to deliver on the remarkable opportunities ahead. As always, we remain focused on execution, and we're committed to delivering outstanding value for our shareholders.

我相信我們擁有正確的戰略和強大的團隊來把握未來的非凡機遇。一如既往，我們仍然專注於執行，我們致力於為我們的股東創造卓越的價值。

As a reminder, when we announced our CFO transition, we also reiterated our guidance with an adjustment for the transition of the Siron Compliance Solution to our partner. So we are guiding revenues of $1.463 billion, GAAP net income of $401 million, GAAP EPS of $16, non-GAAP net income of $487 million, and non-GAAP EPS of $19.42.

提醒一下，當我們宣布我們的首席財務官過渡時，我們還重申了我們的指導方針，並對將 Siron 合規解決方案過渡到我們的合作夥伴進行了調整。因此，我們指導的收入為 14.63 億美元，GAAP 淨收入為 4.01 億美元，GAAP 每股收益為 16 美元，非 GAAP 淨收入為 4.87 億美元，非 GAAP 每股收益為 19.42 美元。

I'll turn the call back to Steve, and we'll be taking questions.

我會把電話轉回給史蒂夫，我們會回答問題。

Thanks, Will. This concludes our prepared remarks, and we are now ready to take your questions. Operator, please open the line.

謝謝，威爾。我們準備好的發言到此結束，我們現在準備好回答您的問題。接線員，請打開線路。

(Operator Instructions) And we have a question from the line of George Tong with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們有一個來自 George Tong 與高盛的問題。

When you presented your fiscal 2023 guidance last quarter, you had assumed Scores revenue growth of 7% composed entirely of pricing increases and flat origination volumes. One quarter into fiscal 2023, does that assumption still hold on your end? Or are you seeing anything that could challenge those trends?

當您上個季度發布 2023 財年指引時，您曾假設 Scores 收入增長 7%，完全由價格上漲和持平的發起量組成。進入 2023 財年的四分之一時，您的假設是否仍然成立？或者您是否看到任何可以挑戰這些趨勢的東西？

I think the assumption still holds. The future remains uncertain, but right now, the assumption holds. We think we're right on track.

我認為這個假設仍然成立。未來仍然不確定，但現在，假設成立。我們認為我們走上了正軌。

Great. Switching to the software side. ARR year-over-year growth accelerated in fiscal 4Q from fiscal 3Q, and you mentioned in your prepared remarks that customer demand remains strong. Can you, overall, just elaborate on the overall spending environment for enterprise software? And if you're seeing any second derivative slowdown in spend?

偉大的。切換到軟件端。從第三財季開始，第四財季的 ARR 同比增長加速，您在準備好的評論中提到客戶需求依然強勁。總的來說，您能否詳細說明企業軟件的整體支出環境？如果您看到任何二階導數支出放緩？

So as I mentioned, I think that because the platform software is so mission-critical, it's a little bit less subject to our customers pulling in their budgets and pulling in their spend. So there's no question that there is budget pressure out there. I mean everyone is under budget pressure. But the kinds of solutions we provide with the platform are such a perfect fit for the strategic needs of some of these customers that it's something that just can't wait. And so when the customers adopt a platform, it's a transformation of their business really, and it's not the kind of thing that's easy to put off.

因此，正如我提到的那樣，我認為由於平台軟件的任務至關重要，因此我們的客戶減少預算和支出的可能性要小一些。所以毫無疑問，那裡存在預算壓力。我的意思是每個人都面臨預算壓力。但我們隨平台提供的各種解決方案非常適合其中一些客戶的戰略需求，以至於迫不及待。因此，當客戶採用一個平台時，這實際上是他們業務的一次轉型，而且這不是一件容易推遲的事情。

The other thing I would say is we're demonstrating incredibly rapid return on investment. And we have testimonials from customers with amazing returns, within year returns. And that word is getting around. Our customers are finding out that this stuff pays for itself within a year. And as a result, we have not seen any slowdown in the spend on our platform business.

我要說的另一件事是我們正在展示令人難以置信的快速投資回報。我們有來自客戶的推薦，回報驚人，年內回報。這個詞正在傳播。我們的客戶發現這些東西在一年內就能收回成本。因此，我們沒有看到平台業務支出有任何放緩。

Our next question is from Surinder Thind with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Surinder Thind。

I'd like to start with a question on the Scores business. Can you provide any other additional color on kind of the licensing deals or the magnitude of that? When I kind of think about what volumes were, the B2B revenues came in a bit higher than I was anticipating. So any color on how licensing deals compare this year to last year in terms of the revenue impact?

我想先問一個關於分數業務的問題。您能否提供有關許可交易類型或規模的任何其他顏色？當我考慮數量時，B2B 收入比我預期的要高一些。那麼，就收入影響而言，今年與去年的許可交易相比有何不同？

I would say that the license deal that we referenced is kind of par for the course. We get these deals from time to time, renewal deals, sometimes they're bigger renewal deals. They happen every year. We can't really predict what quarter they happen in, and so we get a little bit of lumpiness there, and that's what we've got here.

我想說的是，我們引用的許可協議在某種程度上與課程相提並論。我們不時得到這些交易，續約交易，有時它們是更大的續約交易。它們每年都會發生。我們無法真正預測它們發生在哪個季度，所以我們在那裡得到了一點點腫塊，這就是我們在這裡得到的。

Got it. And then in terms of the B2C business. I think you mentioned that maybe you're expecting some modestly lower revenues on a go-forward basis. Is the expectation just of sequential declines on a quarter-over-quarter basis throughout the year at this point? Or any color that you can help us provide on how to think about the amount of drag that perhaps there might be on a go-forward basis?

知道了。然後在B2C業務方面。我想你提到過，也許你期望在前進的基礎上出現一些適度較低的收入。在這一點上，是否僅預期全年環比下降？或者您可以幫助我們提供任何顏色，說明如何考慮在前進的基礎上可能存在的阻力量？

Yes. Surinder, this is Steve. It's relatively modest that we see right now. I mean, a piece of that business is, as you know, there is a partner side and then the myFICO side. The myFICO side has been challenged by the economic environment (inaudible) get mortgages increase in the spring and breaking them down and that increase in that business will probably pick back up again. But it looks right now, we're projecting it to be a little bit less than it is today, but we're not expecting to be (inaudible)

是的。 Surinder，這是史蒂夫。我們現在看到的是相對溫和的。我的意思是，如您所知，該業務的一部分是合作夥伴方，然後是 myFICO 方。 myFICO 方面一直受到經濟環境（聽不清）的挑戰，抵押貸款在春季增加並分解，並且該業務的增長可能會再次回升。但現在看起來，我們預計它會比今天少一點，但我們並不期望（聽不清）

Got it. And just a clarification on that, Steve. So is the partner side holding steady at this point? Or -- and it's -- the drag is mostly from the myFICO side?

知道了。只是澄清一下，史蒂夫。那麼此時合作方是否持穩？或者——它是——拖累主要來自 myFICO 方面？

Yes, it's mostly on the myFICO side because the myFICO side is more -- there's -- the partners have a lot of different business models they can cycle off to, right? There's a premium (inaudible) MyFICO side, we don't set what market it is. It's a lot more tied to each market.

是的，它主要在 myFICO 方面，因為 myFICO 方面更多 - 有 - 合作夥伴有很多不同的商業模式，他們可以循環使用，對吧？有一個溢價（聽不清）MyFICO 方面，我們沒有設定它是什麼市場。它與每個市場的聯繫更加緊密。

Got it. And then one quick question on just capital allocation. The stock has obviously performed really well over the past year and especially over the previous quarter. So does this still kind of make sense to be fully allocating all of your free cash flow towards share repurchases? Or should we start to think about maybe paying down some of the floating rate debt at this point?

知道了。然後是一個關於資本配置的快速問題。該股在過去一年中顯然表現非常好，尤其是在上一季度。那麼，將所有自由現金流完全分配給股票回購是否仍然有意義？或者我們是否應該開始考慮在這一點上償還一些浮動利率債務？

We're still in love with our stock, and the plan is to continue to return capital to shareholders through stock repurchase. That said, we'll keep an eye on rates. And we're at a weighted 4.9% on the interest expense right now. And I just -- when I look at FICO stock, when you look at FICO stock, I think you believe that's a better -- that's a good balance. So for now, still on stock buyback.

我們仍然熱愛我們的股票，計劃繼續通過股票回購向股東返還資本。也就是說，我們會密切關注利率。我們現在的利息支出加權為 4.9%。我只是——當我看 FICO 股票時，當你看 FICO 股票時，我認為你認為那更好——這是一個很好的平衡。所以目前，仍在進行股票回購。

Our next question is from Kyle Peterson with Needham & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Kyle Peterson。

Great. So I just wanted to get your, like, sense of appetite. I guess, like you guys just mentioned FICO stock is really attractive. But how are you guys feeling about the buyback and capital allocation in this environment? And kind of if you could rank order, Steve, your, like, use of capital, that would be really helpful.

偉大的。所以我只是想得到你的胃口。我想，就像你們剛才提到的 FICO 股票真的很有吸引力。但是你們如何看待這種環境下的回購和資本配置？如果你能對順序進行排序，史蒂夫，你的資本使用，那將非常有幫助。

Yes. Okay, Kyle, it's a good question. So one of the things we're really working on hard, frankly, is we're bringing back as much cash as we can from around the world. Even if there's a slight expense to that when the rates are higher, it just makes more sense to do that as much as possible. So that we're bringing as much cash into the U.S. as we can. And then we look at the trade-offs between the rates and to put what kind of stock we can buy back.

是的。好的，凱爾，這是個好問題。因此，坦率地說，我們真正努力工作的其中一件事就是我們正在從世界各地帶回盡可能多的現金。即使在利率較高時會有少量費用，但盡可能多地這樣做才更有意義。這樣我們就可以將盡可能多的現金帶入美國。然後我們看看利率之間的權衡，以及我們可以回購什麼樣的股票。

So as Will said, we're concentrating on buybacks, but that can change as the markets change. So we look at that, we model it out. And we're still comfortable that buying as many shares back as we can conceivably. We're not going to do like we did last year where we went all in, and we ratcheted up our debt when we said we had the opportunity. But I think you'll see us spending the free cash flow this year on buybacks.

正如威爾所說，我們正專注於回購，但這可能會隨著市場的變化而改變。所以我們看著它，我們模擬它。我們仍然很樂意盡可能多地回購股票。我們不會像去年那樣全力以赴，當我們說我們有機會時，我們就增加了債務。但我認為你會看到我們今年將自由現金流用於回購。

Yes. I mean, that makes sense. And I mean I think you guys went hog-wild on it last year, but like, yes, we are we're all about that. But I guess like just as we're thinking into the next year, is there anything different? Or should we expect more or less cash flow? I guess that the messaging from you guys historically has been, cash flow is -- it's your money and shareholders' and not ours, and we want to return that if we can't find a better use of that. But is there any different messaging? Or is it more of the same with you at helm, at least for now?

是的。我的意思是，這是有道理的。我的意思是，我認為你們去年對此非常狂熱，但是，是的，我們就是這樣。但我想就像我們正在考慮明年一樣，有什麼不同嗎？或者我們應該期待更多還是更少的現金流？我想你們過去一直傳達的信息是，現金流是——這是你們的錢和股東的，而不是我們的，如果我們找不到更好的用途，我們想退還它。但是有什麼不同的信息嗎？還是在你掌舵的情況下更是如此，至少目前是這樣？

Look, I think Steve said it well. I mean, we try to return free cash flow every year. And then periodically, we do more than that. So for the last 2 years, we've done considerably more than that. And it's because the stock price was depressed, like really, in our minds, quite depressed relative to its value, and also it was a lower interest rate environment.

看，我認為史蒂夫說得好。我的意思是，我們每年都試圖返還自由現金流。然後定期，我們做的不止於此。所以在過去的兩年裡，我們所做的遠不止於此。這是因為股價低迷，就像我們認為的那樣，相對於其價值而言，這是非常低迷的，而且這是一個較低的利率環境。

Now we have higher interest rate environment. The stock is a little bit price here. I still think it's a bargain, but it's more expensive than it was. And so we're back to thinking about stock repurchase in terms of our free cash flow, our annual free cash flow. So I would say that things have changed. I mean we were really piling up the debt to buy in the shares over the last 2 years, and we will not be quite as aggressive in the future, at least right now under these circumstances.

現在我們有更高的利率環境。這裡的股票價格有點高。我仍然認為這是一個便宜貨，但它比以前貴了。因此，我們重新考慮根據我們的自由現金流、我們的年度自由現金流來考慮股票回購。所以我想說事情已經改變了。我的意思是，在過去的兩年裡，我們真的在積累債務來購買股票，而且我們未來不會那麼激進，至少現在在這種情況下是這樣。

And again, 2/3 of our debt is fixed. So we have no rate risk there at all, so even with the rates increasing. So we're just talking about the variable rate, and we're happy with where it is right now, but we continue to monitor it. And if rates were to go up significantly, then we'd probably pare back the buybacks. But it's always just the calculus we have to do.

同樣，我們 2/3 的債務是固定的。所以我們根本沒有利率風險，所以即使利率上升。所以我們只是在談論可變利率，我們對它現在的位置感到滿意，但我們會繼續監控它。如果利率大幅上漲，那麼我們可能會削減回購。但這始終只是我們必須做的微積分。

(inaudible) best quarter.

（聽不清）最佳季度。

Our next question is from Manav Patnaik with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Manav Patnaik。

On the Auto and Card side, you gave us -- you showed some healthy revenue increases. But I was hoping you could just help us parse down what volumes are doing in those 2 categories? And the flat volume assumption for overall volumes in Scores, I guess what are you assuming for Auto and Card to get to that flat number?

在汽車和卡方面，你給了我們 - 你顯示出一些健康的收入增長。但我希望您能幫助我們分析這兩個類別中的銷量？分數中總交易量的持平交易量假設，我猜你假設汽車和紙牌達到該持平數字是什麼？

Yes. So right now, Auto is relatively flat. It's up some months and down some months, but it's relatively flat. Card is still up. It's been probably decelerating, but it's still up. So most of the increase year-over-year on revenues on the Auto side came from pricing. Most of the increase on the Card side came from volumes. Not 100%, but most of it was.

是的。所以現在，Auto 相對持平。它有幾個月上漲，也有幾個月下跌，但相對平穩。卡還在。它可能一直在減速，但它仍然在上升。因此，汽車方面的收入同比增長大部分來自定價。信用卡方面的大部分增長來自交易量。不是 100%，但大部分是。

So as we go forward now, next quarter, we'll have the benefit of the new price increases. So it -- there's a lot of different variables in there. So it's hard to really say what we're expecting in terms of overall volumes because there's a lot of different tiers involved, and there's different pricing tiers. So you have to really dig under the covers to see all of that. But we're not seeing anything in the market that's really changing the way we looked at it when we issued guidance 3 months ago.

因此，隨著我們現在前進，下個季度，我們將受益於新的價格上漲。所以它 - 那裡有很多不同的變量。所以很難真正說出我們對總銷量的期望，因為涉及很多不同的層級，並且有不同的定價層級。所以你必須深入挖掘才能看到所有這些。但我們在 3 個月前發布指南時，並沒有在市場上看到任何真正改變我們看待它的方式的東西。

Mortgage is probably a little bit weaker than it was then, but we knew it was going to be weak. So none of that really surprises us. We'll see how things progress in the next couple of quarters. If housing pricing comes down and the rates come down a little bit and that market picks up, then we'll get some more acceleration there. But right now, we're pretty much tracking to what we thought we would see 3 months ago.

抵押貸款可能比當時弱一點，但我們知道它會很弱。所以這些都不會讓我們感到驚訝。我們將看到接下來幾個季度的進展情況。如果房價下降，利率下降一點，市場回暖，那麼我們將在那裡獲得更多加速。但現在，我們幾乎在追踪 3 個月前我們認為會看到的情況。

Got it. Helpful. And then, Will, just on the Software side, the platform business always had a [5 handle]. Next is, in terms of growth, I know it's probably just nitpicking. This time, it's 46%, but even in your prepared remarks, you said 40% plus type growth. Is it just the law of large numbers? Is there something timing-wise? Just -- just talk to us a little bit around that, please?

知道了。有幫助。然後，威爾，就在軟件方面，平台業務總是有一個 [5 handle]。其次，就增長而言，我知道這可能只是吹毛求疵。這次是 46%，但即使在你準備好的發言中，你也說了 40% 以上的增長。這只是大數定律嗎？有時間方面的東西嗎？只是 - 請就此與我們談談，好嗎？

It's a little bit of both. So we knew we were never going to be able to keep the 70% number, right? So now we've been 50%, now we're a little less than 50%. Looking at the rest of the year, we think we'll probably be in that high 40s to low 50s percent. So there is some timing around some of these things. But we don't see it really decline. I mean, it's declined for the last few quarters, but we think we're pretty comfortable operating in this range, give or take a few points.

兩者都有一點。所以我們知道我們永遠無法保持 70% 的數字，對嗎？所以現在我們已經達到了 50%，現在我們還不到 50%。看看今年剩下的時間，我們認為我們可能會處於 40% 到 50% 的低位。因此，其中一些事情有一些時間安排。但我們並沒有看到它真的下降。我的意思是，它在過去幾個季度有所下降，但我們認為我們在這個範圍內運營非常舒服，給予或接受幾點。

Our next question is from Ashish Sabadra with RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Ashish Sabadra。

Just a question on the special pricing. Our understanding is that tends to be in the $40 million to $60 million range usually. Is that the expectation this time as well based on initial feedback as you have ruled out these special pricing increases?

只是關於特價的問題。我們的理解是，通常在 4000 萬至 6000 萬美元之間。這一次的期望是否也是基於初步反饋，因為您已經排除了這些特殊的價格上漲？

We never confirmed that number. It's -- and so I won't be doing it today. There is still some special pricing, but I can't confirm a number for you today.

我們從未確認過這個數字。這是——所以我今天不會這樣做。還有一些特價，但我今天無法為您確認一個數字。

It's easier to do in hindsight. There's a lot of volatility, right, in the marketplace. So if you can tell us what the interest rates are going to be in 6 months, we can probably give you a better number.

事後看來更容易做到。市場上有很多波動，對吧。所以如果你能告訴我們 6 個月後的利率是多少，我們可能會給你一個更好的數字。

Okay. That's fair. Maybe just a follow-up question on portfolio rationalization. Is it fair to assume that the Siron divestiture could also potentially help on the growth profile? And are there other opportunities for portfolio rationalization within the software portfolio?

好的。這還算公平。也許只是關於投資組合合理化的後續問題。假設 Siron 資產剝離也可能有助於增長狀況是否公平？軟件組合中是否還有其他組合合理化的機會？

I would say yes and no. So yes, our platform growth rate is substantially higher than the Siron business that we divested. And so divesting it does contribute to a higher growth rate for FICO.

我會說是和不是。所以是的，我們的平台增長率大大高於我們剝離的 Siron 業務。因此，剝離它確實有助於 FICO 實現更高的增長率。

And are there other opportunities in our portfolio? Not really. I mean never say never. We're always looking to be as streamlined and efficient as we possibly can be. But we're pretty happy with the set of assets and the set of solutions that we have today. Even our older application solutions are still quite popular with our customers. We continue to invest in them and make sure that they have the features and functionality that the market needs.

我們的投資組合中還有其他機會嗎？並不真地。我的意思是永遠不要說永遠。我們一直在尋求盡可能精簡和高效。但我們對我們今天擁有的資產集和解決方案集非常滿意。即使是我們較舊的應用解決方案仍然很受客戶歡迎。我們繼續對它們進行投資，並確保它們具有市場所需的特性和功能。

And as you know, the renewals on these typically have a cycle of kind of 3 years, and they get renewed multiple times. It could be a 9-year or 12-year kind of arrangement. And so I think we'll be probably hanging on to the vast majority of our portfolio. There are no obvious candidates for divestiture at this time.

如您所知，這些更新的周期通常為 3 年，並且會更新多次。這可能是 9 年或 12 年的安排。所以我認為我們可能會保留我們投資組合的絕大部分。目前沒有明顯的剝離候選人。

That's very helpful color. And maybe if I can sneak in one last question on the B2C side. As you mentioned, some of it is tied to the mortgage weakness. But I was wondering if there's anything that you can do from a product perspective or a marketing perspective in order to improve or moderate the headwinds that are causing from the weak mortgage market on the B2C side.

這是非常有用的顏色。也許我可以在 B2C 方面偷偷提出最後一個問題。正如你提到的，其中一些與抵押貸款的疲軟有關。但我想知道，從產品的角度或營銷的角度來看，您是否可以做些什麼來改善或緩和 B2C 方面疲軟的抵押貸款市場造成的不利因素。

Well, I can share you that our talented management team is doing everything they can on the marketing side and the customer acquisition side to keep the business growing as much as possible. But you do have a macro environment that just results in the kind of performance that you're seeing right now.

好吧，我可以告訴你，我們才華橫溢的管理團隊正在營銷方面和客戶獲取方面竭盡所能，以盡可能地保持業務增長。但是你確實有一個宏觀環境，它只會產生你現在看到的那種表現。

That business is completely data-driven science-based kind of a business where we spend on customer acquisition up to where it ceases to be economically smart to do so. And so there's -- that is always optimized. That business is optimized at whatever levels we have in the marketplace. And so the short answer to your question is we're doing just the right amount. I really think it's optimized. I don't know that more would make things better. You might be able to get the growth rate up, but it wouldn't be better from an economic standpoint.

該業務完全是數據驅動的、基於科學的業務，我們在客戶獲取上花費了很多錢，直到這樣做在經濟上不再明智。因此，它始終處於優化狀態。該業務在我們在市場上的任何水平上都得到了優化。因此，對您的問題的簡短回答是我們所做的恰到好處。我真的認為它優化了。我不知道更多會讓事情變得更好。你或許可以提高增長率，但從經濟角度來看也好不到哪兒去。

We have a question from Faiza Alwy with Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的 Faiza Alwy 向我們提出了一個問題。

So first, I just wanted to pick on a comment that you made saying that you thought revenues were ahead of plan. Maybe you could talk about what areas in particular were better than your expectations in the quarter?

所以首先，我只想挑出你認為收入超前於計劃的評論。也許您可以談談本季度哪些領域特別好於您的預期？

Yes. I mean it was modest, but it was on the software side. I mean, the Scores number is pretty much dead on plan, and software came in a little bit ahead of plan. So it's encouraging to see that, that happen.

是的。我的意思是它是適度的，但它是在軟件方面。我的意思是，Scores 數字幾乎完全沒有按計劃進行，軟件也比計劃提前了一點。因此，看到這種情況發生是令人鼓舞的。

Okay. Great. And then on the software side, I'm curious how we should think about the non-platform revenues. I think previously, you had talked about those revenues being roughly flat. And they are. They were down just a little bit on a year-over-year basis. I'm talking about the recurring revenue. Like is that -- like -- so that $450 million, is that sort of the right way to think about it going forward? Or do you expect sort of more -- some declines from here in that business?

好的。偉大的。然後在軟件方面，我很好奇我們應該如何考慮非平台收入。我想之前，你曾談到這些收入大致持平。他們是。他們同比略有下降。我說的是經常性收入。就像那樣 - 那樣 - 那麼 4.5 億美元，這是考慮它前進的正確方式嗎？或者您是否期望更多 - 該業務從這裡開始有所下降？

I think someday we will have declines, but I think for the time being, flat is the right way to think about it. Now obviously, we can manage that number. We choose to end of life some products, and that contributes to shrinkage. And it's a balancing. And it's really a balancing act that we are in.

我認為總有一天我們會出現下滑，但我認為暫時持平是正確的思考方式。現在顯然，我們可以管理這個數字。我們選擇終止某些產品的使用壽命，這會導致收縮。這是一種平衡。這確實是我們所處的一種平衡行為。

I think that we're in a good place right now at flat. That's just about the right balance where we can close down, end of life the products that would result in us having a lot of technical debt where we did continue them without really shrinking that business. The day will come, no doubt, when we will shrink that business somewhat. But that day is still a ways away.

我認為我們現在處在一個很好的位置。這只是我們可以關閉的正確平衡，結束生命週期的產品會導致我們有很多技術債務，而我們確實在沒有真正縮小業務的情況下繼續使用它們。毫無疑問，總有一天我們會略微縮減該業務。但那一天還有很長的路要走。

Got it. And then just on expenses. I think you mentioned that expenses are going to go up a little bit as we go through the year, mostly driven by personnel expenses. And I'm curious, is that something that's -- something that's already put in motion? Or maybe want to talk about the magnitude of that increase, if you can? And secondly, like how much flexibility you have on that, should the planned revenues don't come in line. Is that something you can pull back on?

知道了。然後只是費用。我想你提到過，隨著我們度過這一年，費用會有所增加，主要是由人事費用驅動的。我很好奇，這是不是已經啟動的東西？或者，如果可以的話，也許想談談這種增長的幅度？其次，如果計劃收入不符合，那麼你在這方面有多大的靈活性。那是你可以退縮的東西嗎？

It's not -- it's not a lot of money. But I mean, we put -- we have salary increases that take place in December. So we'll have 3 full quarters of that. There'll probably be some additions to headcount, but we expect to have more revenues, too. So I mean, we can delay the headcount hires if the revenues don't come in. So we do have control over it to some degree, but it's not a step function in expenses.

這不是 - 這不是很多錢。但我的意思是，我們在 12 月進行了加薪。所以我們將有 3 個完整的季度。員工人數可能會增加一些，但我們預計也會有更多的收入。所以我的意思是，如果收入沒有進來，我們可以推遲招聘員工。所以我們在某種程度上確實可以控制它，但這不是支出的階梯函數。

Our next question is from Jeff Mueler with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Jeff Mueler。

It is Evon Pollard on for Jeff. I was just hoping to get a little color on some of the nonorigination B2B scores, and particularly, the marketing and prescreen side of things. How is that trending...

這是傑夫的埃文波拉德。我只是希望對一些非原創 B2B 評分有所了解，尤其是營銷和預篩選方面的內容。這趨勢如何...

Yes. Prescreen is down slightly from last quarter. Some of that is seasonal. But we still see pretty strong pre-stream numbers, but they're not what they were in the fall. So we'll see what happens after the first of the year. Typically, that's a lower marketing quarter, but we monitor that, and we'll see. It's still strong, but it's not as strong as it was in the fall.

是的。 Prescreen 比上一季度略有下降。其中一些是季節性的。但我們仍然看到相當強勁的預流數字，但它們不是秋季時的數字。所以我們將看看今年第一天之後會發生什麼。通常情況下，這是一個較低的營銷季度，但我們會監控它，我們會看到的。它仍然很結實，但沒有秋天那麼結實。

Okay. And then...

好的。然後...

In terms of the account management scores, the account review scores, those were actually stronger. So for -- there's a lot of different factors looked on that, but it's a little bit stronger than it was in the prior quarters.

就賬戶管理分數、賬戶審核分數而言，那些實際上更強。所以對於 - 有很多不同的因素來看，但它比前幾個季度強一點。

Appreciate that. And then on the software side of things, is there a usage component that benefited in the quarter? Or is it just strong growth?

感謝。然後在軟件方面，是否有一個使用組件在本季度受益？還是只是強勁的增長？

There's some usage. I mean, it's a combination. Most of the platform, especially, it's all based on the usage. So it can either be increased usage of the same functionality or additional use cases that are brought on board.

有一定的用處。我的意思是，這是一個組合。大多數平台，尤其是，它都是基於使用情況。因此，可以增加對相同功能的使用，也可以增加其他用例。

But is there like, I guess, a transactional or is there a revenue benefit to, like I said, the increased usage that's specifically...

但是，我想，是否有交易或收入收益，就像我說的那樣，增加的使用量特別是......

Yes. Yes. Yes.

是的。是的。是的。

And that concludes our Q&A session for today. It also concludes the call. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your line.

今天的問答環節到此結束。它還結束了通話。我們感謝您的參與並請您斷開您的線路。