Forge Global Holdings Inc (FRGE) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Emma, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Forge Global second quarter 2023 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

下午好。我叫艾瑪，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此刻，我歡迎大家參加 Forge Global 2023 年第二季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）

Thank you. Dominic Paschel, you may begin your conference.

謝謝。多米尼克·帕舍爾，您可以開始會議了。

Thank you, Emma, and thank you all for joining us today for Forge's second quarter 2023 earnings call. Joining me today are Kelly Rodriques, Forge's CEO; and Mark Lee, Forge's CFO. They will share prepared remarks regarding the quarter's results, and they will take your questions at the end.

謝謝艾瑪，也感謝大家今天加入我們參加 Forge 的 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天加入我的是 Forge 首席執行官 Kelly Rodriques；和 Forge 首席財務官 Mark Lee。他們將分享有關本季度業績的準備好的評論，並在最後回答您的問題。

Just after market close today, we issued a press release announcing Forge's second quarter 2023 financial results. A discussion of our results today is complementary to the press release, which is available on the IR page at forge.com.

今天收盤後，我們發布了新聞稿，宣布 Forge 2023 年第二季度財務業績。今天對我們結果的討論是對新聞稿的補充，該新聞稿可在 forge.com 的 IR 頁面上找到。

This conference call is being webcast live and will be available for 30 days to replay. Beginning about one hour after the conclusion of this call, there will also be an accompanying investor supplemental PDF on our IR page.

本次電話會議正在進行網絡直播，並可在 30 天內重播。從本次電話會議結束後大約一小時開始，我們的 IR 頁面上還將提供一份隨附的投資者補充 PDF。

During this conference call, we may make forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts, and projections as of today's date. Any forward-looking statements that we make are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those included in the statements. We discussed these factors in our SEC filings, including our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which came out a few minutes ago.

在本次電話會議期間，我們可能會根據截至今天的當前預期、預測和預測做出前瞻性聲明。我們做出的任何前瞻性陳述都受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，並且存在一些重要因素可能導致實際結果與陳述中包含的結果存在重大差異。我們在 SEC 文件中討論了這些因素，包括幾分鐘前發布的 10-Q 表格季度報告。

As a reminder, we are not required to update our forward-looking statements. In our presentation today, unless otherwise noted, we will be discussing adjusted financial measures, which are non-GAAP measures, that we believe are meaningful when evaluating Forge's performance. For detailed disclosures on these measures and GAAP reconciliations, you should refer to the financial data contained within our press release, which is also posted on the IR page.

提醒一下，我們不需要更新我們的前瞻性陳述。在今天的演講中，除非另有說明，否則我們將討論調整後的財務指標，這些指標是非公認會計準則指標，我們認為這些指標在評估 Forge 的業績時是有意義的。有關這些措施和 GAAP 調節的詳細披露，您應該參閱我們的新聞稿中包含的財務數據，該新聞稿也發佈在 IR 頁面上。

Additionally, we have posted our second quarter supplemental information on the same page, as I mentioned. Today's discussion will focus on the second quarter of 2023. As always, we encourage you to evaluate both the annual and quarterly results for a full picture of Forge's performance. With that, I'll turn it over to Kelly.

此外，正如我提到的，我們在同一頁面上發布了第二季度的補充信息。今天的討論將重點關注 2023 年第二季度。一如既往，我們鼓勵您評估年度和季度業績，以全面了解 Forge 的業績。有了這個，我會把它交給凱利。

Thank you, Dom, and thanks, everybody, for joining. Just like in past quarters, we'll talk about some of the highlights from Q2, and then Mark will give you a deeper dive into our financials from the quarter. We'll close with some insight into how some -- into how the private market asset class is performing. But first, just a quick reminder of why Forge is here and what we're trying to do.

謝謝你，Dom，也謝謝大家的加入。就像過去幾個季度一樣，我們將討論第二季度的一些亮點，然後馬克將讓您更深入地了解我們本季度的財務狀況。最後，我們將深入了解一些私募市場資產類別的表現。但首先，請快速提醒一下 Forge 為何存在以及我們正在努力做什麼。

There is an inevitable opportunity before us. Thousands of technology companies, with the potential for high growth, are heads down right now solving some of the world's most challenging problems. They are creating the technologies of tomorrow, artificial intelligence, satellite networks, and rockets to Mars, and food made from air, technologies that are helping cure or prevent disease. And that are changing the way we work and how efficiently and effectively all of us can do our jobs.

我們面前有一個不可避免的機會。數以千計具有高速增長潛力的科技公司正在埋頭解決世界上一些最具挑戰性的問題。他們正在創造明天的技術、人工智能、衛星網絡、飛往火星的火箭、空氣製成的食品，以及有助於治療或預防疾病的技術。這正在改變我們的工作方式以及我們所有人開展工作的效率和效果。

These disruptive technologies take time to create. And investors are just clamoring for exposure to these world-changing companies. They want regular access. They want to dedicate portions of their total portfolios and want to participate in wholly new financial products that attract private market performance.

這些顛覆性技術的創造需要時間。投資者們迫切希望投資這些改變世界的公司。他們想要定期訪問。他們希望投入其總投資組合的一部分，並希望參與吸引私人市場表現的全新金融產品。

Forge was created at the center of those, [once to offtake] inefficient and illiquid market, to bring our own disruptive technology to bear to transform the private market. And even through challenging market conditions over the past cycle, we've made progress in doing the difficult work to push this asset class forward through our data, investors, including institutions, have new information and new access to insights that are helping them time their market reentry and plan for the long term.

Forge 是在這些低效且流動性差的市場的中心創建的，目的是利用我們自己的顛覆性技術來改變私人市場。即使在過去的周期中充滿挑戰的市場條件下，我們在通過我們的數據推動這一資產類別向前發展的艱鉅工作中也取得了進展，包括機構在內的投資者可以獲得新的信息和新的見解，從而幫助他們把握時機重新進入市場並製定長期計劃。

The Forge private market Index, which tracks the performance of the 75 most liquid names in the private market, is providing new insight and transparency. It is the blueprint on which new innovations are possible and on which new financial products will be built.

Forge 私募市場指數追踪私募市場中 75 個流動性最強的公司的表現，提供了新的洞察力和透明度。它是新的創新成為可能、新的金融產品得以構建的藍圖。

We've worked to position Forge at the center of the private market ecosystem, with the technology, data expertise, and network that will allow us to capture more of the pent-up demand from existing and wholly new audiences as private market activity continues to expand and as the market continues to reset.

我們致力於將 Forge 定位在私募市場生態系統的中心，憑藉技術、數據專業知識和網絡，隨著私募市場活動的不斷發展，我們能夠從現有受眾和全新受眾中捕獲更多被壓抑的需求。擴大並隨著市場的不斷重置。

So with that, let's get into some of the financial and business highlights from the second quarter. In Q2, Forge's total revenue less transaction-based expenses was up 8% to $16.6 million from $15.5 million in Q1.

那麼，讓我們來看看第二季度的一些財務和業務亮點。第二季度，Forge 的總收入減去基於交易的費用，從第一季度的 1550 萬美元增長 8%，達到 1660 萬美元。

Placement fee revenue less transaction-based expenses for Forge in Q2 improved for the first time in six quarters, up 22% to $5.6 million compared to Q1. This was due to slightly improving market conditions that benefited our markets business. And while we cannot predict the future, we view this as a positive indicator that the private markets may have trust. We'll need to see more of a trend before drawing absolute conclusions.

Forge 第二季度的安置費收入減去基於交易的費用，六個季度以來首次有所改善，與第一季度相比增長 22% 至 560 萬美元。這是由於市場狀況略有改善，這有利於我們的市場業務。雖然我們無法預測未來，但我們認為這是一個積極的指標，表明私人市場可能具有信任。在得出絕對結論之前，我們需要了解更多趨勢。

Another encouraging indicator was the rise in transaction volume, which increased 20% to $153.2 million in Q2. Forge's adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed in the second quarter to $11.8 million, better than last quarter's loss of 1$3 million and a $12.3 million loss in Q2 last year. This reflects revenue growth and a disciplined and deliberate cost management strategy, including intentional cost cutting enacted in prior quarters.

另一個令人鼓舞的指標是交易量的增長，第二季度交易量增長了 20% 至 1.532 億美元。 Forge 第二季度調整後 EBITDA 虧損收窄至 1180 萬美元，好於上一季度虧損 1300 萬美元和去年第二季度虧損 1230 萬美元。這反映了收入增長和嚴格且深思熟慮的成本管理策略，包括前幾個季度實施的有意削減成本。

This cost discipline has extended into the third quarter, and we are reiterating our commitment to lowering our burn for '23 and for 2024. Mark will talk more about this in his section.

這種成本紀律已延續到第三季度，我們重申我們致力於降低 23 年和 2024 年的消耗。Mark 將在他的部分中詳細討論這一點。

Custody administration fees for the seventh straight quarter continue to rise to $11 million in Q2, benefiting again from a higher interest rate environment.

第二季度託管管理費連續第七個季度繼續上漲至 1100 萬美元，再次受益於較高的利率環境。

In addition to our financial highlights for the quarter, Forge was added to the Russell 2000 as part of the index's annual reconstitution, which helps to validate our business as a category leader.

除了本季度的財務亮點外，Forge 還作為該指數年度重組的一部分被添加到 Russell 2000 指數中，這有助於驗證我們的業務作為類別領導者的地位。

Finally, in our ongoing effort to drive deeper engagement and provide more value to institutional investors, in July, we launched the Forge investment outlook. This is a new quarterly content franchise from Forge. It contains institutional-grade research designed to help the most advanced investors understand and go deeper into this market. It demonstrates the new level of transparency we're bringing to the private market, and showcases data that we believe shed new light on private market performance.

最後，為了推動更深入的參與並為機構投資者提供更多價值，我們於 7 月推出了 Forge 投資前景。這是 Forge 推出的新季度內容專營權。它包含機構級研究，旨在幫助最先進的投資者了解並深入了解這個市場。它展示了我們為私募市場帶來的新的透明度水平，並展示了我們認為可以為私募市場表現提供新視角的數據。

With that, let me turn it over to Mark.

那麼，讓我把它交給馬克。

Thank you, Kelly. In Q2 for just total revenue less transaction base expenses totaled $16.6 million, up 8% from $15.5 million last quarter. This increase was largely driven by placement fee revenue.

謝謝你，凱利。第二季度總收入減去交易基礎費用總計 1,660 萬美元，比上季度的 1,550 萬美元增長 8%。這一增長主要是由安置費收入推動的。

Total placement fee revenues less transaction-based expenses reached $5.6 million, up 22% from $4.6 million last quarter. Transaction volume for the quarter increased 20% to $153.2 million in Q2, while our overall net take rate increased from 3.6% last quarter, 3.7% in Q2, which is slightly higher than our historical averages.

扣除交易費用後的安置費總收入達到 560 萬美元，比上季度的 460 萬美元增長 22%。第二季度的交易量增長了 20%，達到 1.532 億美元，而我們的整體淨交易率從上季度的 3.6% 上升到第二季度的 3.7%，略高於我們的歷史平均水平。

Total custodial administration fees rose 1% in Q2 to $11 million up from $10.8 million last quarter and up 93% year over year. Our custodial business continues to provide stability and balance to our revenue streams, particularly through uncertain macroeconomic periods.

第二季度託管管理費總額從上季度的 1,080 萬美元增加到 1,100 萬美元，同比增長 93%。我們的託管業務繼續為我們的收入流提供穩定性和平衡，特別是在不確定的宏觀經濟時期。

Forge's custodial cash balance is over $550 million at the end of Q2, down from $574 million at the end of last quarter. We believe this decline was primarily driven by cash sorting and search for yield. This decrease was more than offset by the increase in the Fed funds rate and our cash administration fees.

截至第二季度末，Forge 的託管現金餘額超過 5.5 億美元，低於上季度末的 5.74 億美元。我們認為，這種下降主要是由現金分類和尋求收益驅動的。這一下降被聯邦基金利率和現金管理費的上漲所抵消。

Total custody accounts totaled 2 million in Q2, essentially flat from last quarter. Assets under custody were $15.3 billion at the end of Q2 versus $14.8 billion last quarter, an increase of 3%. Total headcount was 358 at the end of June.

第二季度託管賬戶總數為 200 萬個，與上季度基本持平。第二季度末託管資產為 153 億美元，較上季度的 148 億美元增長 3%。截至 6 月底，總人數為 358 人。

Kelly highlighted our commitment to reducing our burn rate, and as such, further cost reduction actions were taken in the current third quarter, bringing headcount down to 339, down from 349 at the start of the year.

凱利強調了我們對降低資金消耗率的承諾，因此，我們在當前第三季度採取了進一步的成本削減行動，將員工人數從年初的 349 人減少到 339 人。

Second quarter net loss increased to $25.1 million compared to $21.3 million last quarter. This change is driven by an increase of $6.4 million in non-cash expense, going from $9.7 million in Q1 to $16.2 million in Q2. This includes shares-based compensation and an increase in the fair value of our warrant liabilities due to a rising share price.

第二季度淨虧損從上一季度的 2130 萬美元增至 2510 萬美元。這一變化是由於非現金支出增加了 640 萬美元，從第一季度的 970 萬美元增加到第二季度的 1620 萬美元。這包括基於股票的薪酬以及由於股價上漲而導致的認股權證負債公允價值的增加。

In the second quarter, adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $11.8 million compared to a loss of $13 million last quarter, driven by improved revenues and tight cost controls. Net cash used in operating activities was $13.6 million in the quarter, an improvement compared to net cash used in operating activities of $17.7 million last quarter. As a reminder, the first half of our fiscal years include timing-driven cash flows, such as payout of our annual bonuses and payment of annual corporate insurance premiums, which will not recur in the second half of 2023.

在收入改善和嚴格成本控制的推動下，第二季度調整後 EBITDA 虧損從上一季度的虧損 1300 萬美元改善至 1180 萬美元。本季度經營活動使用的現金淨額為 1,360 萬美元，較上季度經營活動使用的現金淨額 1,770 萬美元有所改善。需要提醒的是，我們上半年的財政年度包括時間驅動的現金流，例如支付年度獎金和支付年度企業保險費，這些現金流在 2023 年下半年不會再發生。

Our corporate cash and cash equivalents, including term deposits in excess of 90 days, ended the quarter at approximately $162.2 million compared to $175.3 million last quarter.

本季度末，我們的企業現金和現金等價物（包括超過 90 天的定期存款）約為 1.622 億美元，而上季度為 1.753 億美元。

From a housekeeping perspective, our weighted average basic number of shares used to compute net loss was 173 million shares, and our fully diluted outstanding share count as of June 30 was 199 million shares. For Q3, we estimate 173 million weighted average basic common shares for EPS modeling purposes.

從內務管理的角度來看，我們用於計算淨虧損的加權平均基本股數量為1.73億股，截至6月30日的完全稀釋流通股數量為1.99億股。對於第三季度，出於 EPS 建模目的，我們估計加權平均基本普通股為 1.73 億股。

Historically, there is an inherent summer seasonality, which tends to result in lower third-quarter trading volumes, similar to what you see across Wall Street. However, based on the visibility that we have at this point in the quarter, we believe third-quarter volume will equal or slightly exceed that at Q2, which is a positive indicator relative to historic trends.

從歷史上看，存在固有的夏季季節性，這往往會導致第三季度交易量下降，類似於你在華爾街看到的情況。然而，根據本季度目前的情況，我們認為第三季度的交易量將等於或略高於第二季度，這相對於歷史趨勢來說是一個積極的指標。

So in summary, we continue to monitor the state of the markets and actively manage our cost structure. Forge remains committed to lowering our overall use of cash in 2023 and to being good stewards of our capital.

總而言之，我們將繼續監控市場狀況並積極管理我們的成本結構。 Forge 仍然致力於在 2023 年降低我們的總體現金使用量，並做好我們的資本管家。

I hand it back to Kelly for a brief private market overview before we turn it over for questions.

在我們將其轉交提問之前，我將其交還給凱利，以獲取簡短的私人市場概述。

Thank you. Thanks, Mark. As Mark said, we'll continue to monitor costs. We're on track with our commitment to lower our cash use and had taken intentional and thoughtful measures to reduce costs as we remain focused on lean growth.

謝謝。謝謝，馬克。正如馬克所說，我們將繼續監控成本。我們正在履行減少現金使用的承諾，並在繼續專注於精益增長的同時，採取了有意而深思熟慮的措施來降低成本。

Meanwhile, there are reasons to feel encouraged that the market may be warming. For example, we closed 46% more trades in Q2 than in Q1, and the number of issues we transacted in was up by 25% quarter over quarter. Looking at the overall market trends, we believe the market is working through what we call the great reset, a mass revaluation that is pressuring companies to adopt lean growth and prioritize profitability.

與此同時，我們有理由對市場可能變暖感到鼓舞。例如，我們第二季度的成交量比第一季度多了 46%，交易數量環比增加了 25%。縱觀整體市場趨勢，我們認為市場正在經歷所謂的“大重置”，即大規模的價值重估，迫使企業採用精益增長並優先考慮盈利能力。

In this era of the great reset, our data is showing that company's valuations today are closer to their second to last funding round than to their most recent funding round.

在這個大重置的時代，我們的數據顯示，公司今天的估值更接近倒數第二輪融資，而不是最近一輪融資。

In our Q2 private market update, we reported that median trade prices for companies trading on the Forge platform implied valuations 5% below the company's second to last primary funding round, and about 51% below their most recent funding round. Some companies have recognized this valuation reset publicly, writing down their valuations to set investor expectations and prepare for their next capital raise or exit. For many others, that recognition won't come unless and until they need to raise a new round of primary funds.

在我們第二季度私募市場更新中，我們報告稱，在Forge 平台上交易的公司的交易價格中位數意味著該公司的估值比倒數第二輪主要融資低5%，比最近一輪融資低約51%。一些公司已公開承認這一估值重置，並減記其估值以設定投資者預期並為下一次融資或退出做好準備。對於許多其他人來說，除非他們需要籌集新一輪的主要資金，否則這種認可不會到來。

Many companies continue to delay new primary rentals, but as the time stamp between their last primary extends to an average of 20 months, the pent-up demand for liquidity from employees and investors only grows, while still, only a handful of unicorns have weighed into the public market waters.

許多公司繼續推遲新的主要租金，但隨著上次主要租金之間的時間間隔延長至平均20 個月，員工和投資者對流動性的壓抑需求只會增加，而仍然只有少數獨角獸公司面臨壓力進入公共市場水域。

The reception to those who have has demonstrated enthusiastic investor demand for public investment opportunities, which could encourage more large unicorns to seek public exits. Investors have in past cycles shown they are motivated by signs of impending exits to get into the private market to invest early.

對這些人的歡迎表明投資者對公共投資機會的熱情需求，這可能會鼓勵更多大型獨角獸尋求公開退出。在過去的周期中，投資者已經表明，他們受到即將退出的跡象的激勵，會儘早進入私人市場進行投資。

A Wall Street Journal headline recently on July 24 capture that sentiment, we are feeling FOMO drives investors as IPO market awakens from long slumber. Signs that investors have worried about missing the bottom are good for Forge, even as the lead lag in the private versus public market persists.

《華爾街日報》最近 7 月 24 日的頭條新聞捕捉到了這種情緒，我們認為，隨著 IPO 市場從長期沉睡中醒來，FOMO 正在推動投資者。儘管私人市場與公開市場的領先優勢仍然存在，但投資者擔心錯過底部的跡像對 Forge 來說是件好事。

And while we've noted positive momentum in some of the major public indices, the Forge private market index is down 17% for the year to the end of Q2. However, the three-month period ending in July, Forge private market index remained flat. That's the first three-month period where the index performance did not decline since the market turned at the beginning of 2022.

儘管我們注意到一些主要公共指數的積極勢頭，但截至第二季度末，Forge 私人市場指數下跌了 17%。然而，截至 7 月份的三個月期間，Forge 私人市場指數仍持平。這是自 2022 年初市場轉向以來，該指數表現首次沒有出現下滑的三個月。

We've also noted a narrowing of the bid-ask spread on the Forge platform from 30% in April to between 17% and 18% in May and June. Through the end of July, we saw the bid-ask spread narrowed further to 15%, as a positive signal that buyers and sellers are getting closer on price and perhaps that some investors believe they've reached the bottom.

我們還注意到 Forge 平台上的買賣價差從 4 月份的 30% 縮小到 5 月份和 6 月份的 17% 到 18% 之間。到 7 月底，我們看到買賣價差進一步收窄至 15%，這是一個積極信號，表明買家和賣家的價格越來越接近，也許一些投資者認為他們已經觸底。

We've also seen elevated right of first refusal, or ROE for rates, continue, meaning existing investors of these companies are seeing prices that sellers are agreeing to as attractive.

我們還看到優先購買權（即利率 ROE）繼續提高，這意味著這些公司的現有投資者看到賣方同意的價格具有吸引力。

In closing, we are feeling some momentum in the interest and activity on the platform. And as Mark mentioned, based on what we can see so far on the quarter, we expect third-quarter markets results to come in on par or better than the second quarter. As the market reawakens, we are continuing to invest in our disruptive technology and data offerings, and to exercise lean growth as we look forward to continuing our positive momentum.

最後，我們感受到了平台上的興趣和活動的一些勢頭。正如馬克所提到的，根據我們本季度迄今為止所看到的情況，我們預計第三季度的市場業績將與第二季度持平或更好。隨著市場的複蘇，我們將繼續投資於我們的顛覆性技術和數據產品，並實現精益增長，因為我們期待繼續保持積極的勢頭。

Thank you, and back to Dom.

謝謝你，回到Dom。

Thank you, Kelly. With that, Emma, please open to questions from the line.

謝謝你，凱利。艾瑪，請接受電話中的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Owen Lau, Oppenheimer.

（操作員說明）Owen Lau，Oppenheimer。

Hey, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my questions. So for public markets, I think, many people or some people would say we have passed the worst time for private markets. Kelly, you just mentioned that the private market has probably troughed, but you still have some reservations. So what are the potential wildcards that can derail this trend? Thank you.

嘿，下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。所以對於公開市場，我認為很多人或者有些人會說我們已經度過了私募市場最糟糕的時期。凱利，您剛才提到私募市場可能已經觸底，但您仍然有一些保留。那麼，有哪些潛在的通配符可能會破壞這一趨勢呢？謝謝。

I'm sorry, could you repeat? What are the potential what?

抱歉，您能再說一遍嗎？有哪些潛力呢？

Like potential, like reasons that can derail this trend. Any potential reason that you would see this recovery may not materialize.

比如潛力，比如可能破壞這一趨勢的原因。任何讓你看到這種複甦的潛在原因都可能不會實現。

We'll, I'll start, and Mark, you can jump in. I think what we've been watching for the last 1.5 years are big macroeconomic trends in the world, and we'll continue to watch those. But clearly, the private markets take longer. And so, what I think you're seeing is you're seeing the reaction finally coming to the private markets that have been present in public pricing and public markets for a while.

我們將開始，馬克，你可以插話了。我認為過去 1.5 年我們一直在關注的是世界宏觀經濟的大趨勢，我們將繼續關注這些趨勢。但顯然，私人市場需要更長的時間。因此，我認為你所看到的是，你看到的反應最終出現在私人市場上，這些反應已經出現在公開定價和公開市場一段時間了。

So I can't say anything specifically jumps out at me. I'd say the only other factor is there's some delay in fundraising. I think companies are continuing to delay their next capital round until they see performance improve and probably some degree of recovery. And I'd say the irony is that until they start fundraising and those mark start hitting the street, that will continue to keep things running at a pace that may not be as quickly as the public markets. But I'll let Mark comment on this one too.

所以我不能說任何特別讓我震驚的事情。我想說唯一的另一個因素是籌款有一些延遲。我認為公司將繼續推遲下一輪融資，直到他們看到業績改善並可能出現一定程度的複蘇。我想說的是，具有諷刺意味的是，在他們開始籌款並且這些標記開始出現在街上之前，這將繼續保持事情的運行速度可能不如公開市場那麼快。但我也會讓馬克對此發表評論。

Yeah, Owen. I think it's pretty much the comments and the variables that we described in the call, right? We are seeing signs of improvement. We're seeing the spread narrow in the private markets. We're seeing the performance of private companies as expressed through the Forge private market index start to flatten.

是的，歐文。我認為這幾乎就是我們在電話會議中描述的評論和變量，對吧？我們看到了改善的跡象。我們看到私人市場的利差正在縮小。我們看到 Forge 私人市場指數所體現的私人公司的表現開始趨於平緩。

I think the fact that there has been recovery -- when I looked at the stats for the public indices through last Friday, not counting yesterday and today, the QQQ were up 41%, Nasdaq was up 34%, S&P up 17%, Russell 2000 up 12%. So when you look at the disparity in investment performance and the lag between the public and private markets, with the private markets as measured by our index down 17% this year, so flat for the last three quarter.

我認為事實上已經出現復甦——當我查看上週五公共指數的統計數據時，不包括昨天和今天，QQQ 上漲了41%，納斯達克指數上漲了34%，標準普爾指數上漲了17 %，羅素指數上漲了17%。 2000年增長12%。因此，當你觀察投資業績的差異以及公開市場和私募市場之間的滯後時，我們的指數衡量的私募市場今年下降了 17%，與過去三個季度持平。

I think that represents an opportunity. And as long as the public markets don't slide back, that lag could potentially be an opportunity for people who have the willingness to invest in the private market, even though even though, of course, it's a less liquid market than the public side.

我認為這代表著一個機會。只要公共市場不回落，這種滯後對於那些願意投資私人市場的人來說可能是一個機會，儘管當然，這是一個流動性不如公共市場的市場。

So I think we're seeing the right positive signs and question of the market continuing to return to normalcy, whether that's, as Kelly said, companies starting to just get back into the IPO market and companies starting to do their next funding round. And those will all be continuing signs of improvement that will support the growth in our business.

因此，我認為我們看到了市場繼續恢復正常的正確積極跡象和問題，無論是像凱利所說的那樣，公司開始重返 IPO 市場，還是公司開始進行下一輪融資。這些都是持續改善的跡象，將支持我們業務的增長。

Got it. I think this is very helpful. And then in terms of valuation, I think you mentioned a median discount to the most funding rank and the second most funding rank shrunk in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.

知道了。我認為這非常有幫助。然後在估值方面，我認為您提到了第二大融資排名的中值折扣和第二大融資排名與第一季度相比有所縮小。

Could you please talk about how much of that shrinkage is driven by the valuation of AI companies? And do you see any sign that this trend, like this increased valuation, has broadened out to other companies outside of AI companies? Thank you.

您能談談人工智能公司估值造成的萎縮有多少嗎？您是否看到任何跡象表明這種趨勢（例如估值的增加）已經擴展到人工智能公司以外的其他公司？謝謝。

So now, AI is definitely the sector of the moment, but we don't see valuations overall being driven by AI companies at this point. I think I think we're probably talking more about companies that are raising capital having more to do -- companies raising capital in the last three to six months having more to do with valuations improving and just the overall macro environment, finally, getting people comfortable to come back into the market some. But we're still early.

所以現在，人工智能絕對是當前的行業，但我們目前認為人工智能公司的整體估值並未受到推動。我認為我們可能更多地談論那些正在籌集資金的公司有更多的事情要做——在過去三到六個月內籌集資金的公司更多地與估值改善以及整體宏觀環境有關，最後，讓人們回到市場很舒服一些。但我們還早。

And part of what I've been commenting on in the press about the great reset has to do with the fact that we're at the beginning stages of it. I think we've got a fairly small percentage of companies that have traded in the last three to six months. They have raised new rounds. It's still relatively early in the great reset.

我在媒體上評論的有關偉大重置的部分內容與我們正處於其開始階段這一事實有關。我認為在過去三到六個月內進行過交易的公司比例相當小。他們已經籌集了新一輪資金。現在還處於大重置的相對早期階段。

So this will play out, we think, over the next one to three quarters. So we'll continue to watch it. But AI is exciting. Certainly, there's a lot of interest in it. It's just not affecting overall valuations as much as you might think.

因此，我們認為，這將在未來一到三個季度內顯現出來。所以我們會繼續關注。但人工智能是令人興奮的。當然，人們對此很感興趣。它只是沒有像您想像的那樣影響整體估值。

And Kelly, thank you very much -- go ahead.

凱利，非常感謝你——繼續吧。

Hey, Owen. Owen, if I could add one more thing. Hopefully, you've had a chance to read the forward investment outlook, which we published recently. I would refer you to that publication.

嘿，歐文。歐文，我還能補充一件事嗎？希望您有機會閱讀我們最近發布的遠期投資展望。我建議您參考該出版物。

On page 9, we actually break out the Forge private market index across sectors. So when you're asking a question specifically about what parts of the index or the market are performing, actually, we specifically on that page show you Q2 returns of the different sectors embedded within our index.

在第 9 頁，我們實際上細分了各個行業的 Forge 私人市場指數。因此，當您具體詢問指數或市場的哪些部分正在表現時，實際上，我們在該頁面上專門向您展示了我們指數中嵌入的不同板塊的第二季度回報。

So we breakout enterprise software, fintech, consumer and lifestyle, industrials, food, tech, transportation, healthcare, education, and real estate. And you can see on that page the dispersion and the average returns for each of those subsectors within our overall index. So I think that would go a long way to giving you and other readers and investors insights into what we're seeing across sectors and companies.

因此，我們突破了企業軟件、金融科技、消費者和生活方式、工業、食品、科技、交通、醫療保健、教育和房地產。您可以在該頁面上看到我們整體指數中每個子行業的離散度和平均回報率。因此，我認為這對於讓您和其他讀者和投資者深入了解我們在各個行業和公司所看到的情況大有幫助。

Thanks a lot. We appreciate your answer.

多謝。我們感謝您的回答。

Jeffrey Schmitt, William Blair.

杰弗裡·施密特，威廉·布萊爾。

Hi, thanks. So as you continue to build out the data platform and continue to add products and capabilities there, how does growth for that segment look and when might you start breaking that out separately?

你好謝謝。因此，當您繼續構建數據平台並繼續添加產品和功能時，該細分市場的增長情況如何？您何時可以開始單獨進行細分？

Well, at this point, we feel like we've reached pretty good product market fit. It's been about 1.5 years since we brought it out.

嗯，在這一點上，我們覺得我們已經達到了相當好的產品市場契合度。距離我們推出它已經過去了大約 1.5 年。

And we don't want to make any forward statements committing to when we're going to do it, but as we look into 20 -- the rest of '23 and '24, we're certainly looking at how our organization is set up to go out and expand. But we've already begun to put more marketing emphasis and more of our messaging emphasis as you can hear on data and the index. So not making any specific commitments, but we are looking at 2024 to continue to make that one of our top two investment priorities.

我們不想做出任何前瞻性聲明來承諾我們何時要做這件事，但當我們研究 20 年——23 年和 24 年的其餘部分時，我們當然會研究我們的組織是如何設置的走出去，擴大規模。但我們已經開始更加重視營銷和信息傳遞，正如您可以從數據和索引中聽到的那樣。因此，我們沒有做出任何具體承諾，但我們期待 2024 年繼續將其作為我們的兩大投資重點之一。

Okay. Go ahead, Mark.

好的。繼續吧，馬克。

Sorry, Jeff. I was just going to -- as a reminder, we did disclose our annual bookings at the end of the year. And at a minimum, our intent would be to disclose our annual data bookings each year on an annual basis.

對不起，傑夫。我只是想提醒一下，我們確實在年底披露了我們的年度預訂量。至少，我們的目的是每年披露我們的年度數據預訂量。

Yeah. And I think that was 1.2 million, up from 200,000.

是的。我認為這個數字是 120 萬，高於 20 萬。

Got it. Okay. And then transaction volume was up nicely in the quarter, but looking at volume per trade, it seemed to be down a fair amount. So was there sort of a mix shift there to more retail investors trading on the platform in the quarter? And did that drive the take rate up at all?

知道了。好的。然後，本季度的交易量大幅上升，但從每筆交易的交易量來看，似乎下降了相當多的數量。那麼，本季度是否出現了更多散戶投資者在該平台上進行交易的混合轉變？這是否提高了採用率？

Yeah. Yeah. No, it's a great observation, Jeff. So just in terms of the pure platform numbers, we did do a fewer amount of large block trades. We measure that in terms of trades over $5 million.

是的。是的。不，這是一個很好的觀察，傑夫。因此，僅就純平台數量而言，我們的大宗交易數量確實較少。我們以超過 500 萬美元的交易來衡量。

And so, we did fewer large blocks, but obviously, the positive was we did a significantly more number of smaller trades. And as you pointed out, that drove up our overall take rate. And so, that 3.7% take rate compares to the average of 3.3% for full year 2022 and 2021.

因此，我們進行了更少的大宗交易，但顯然，積極的一面是我們進行了更多的小額交易。正如您所指出的，這提高了我們的整體採用率。因此，3.7% 的採用率與 2022 年和 2021 年全年的平均 3.3% 相比。

So it was a quarter where it was more dominated by smaller trades. Although early into Q3, we are seeing our average trade size start to pick up again. So that is something that, as we've talked about in the past, that mix of business will affect our overall take rates and average trade sizes.

因此，這個季度小額交易更多地佔據主導地位。儘管進入第三季度初期，我們看到我們的平均交易規模再次開始回升。因此，正如我們過去所討論的那樣，業務組合將影響我們的整體接受率和平均交易規模。

Okay. Very helpful. Thank you.

好的。很有幫助。謝謝。

Devin Ryan, JMP Securities.

德文·瑞安 (Devin Ryan)，JMP 證券。

Hey, Kelly. Hi, Mark. How are you?

嘿，凱利。嗨，馬克。你好嗎？

Great. Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝。

Hey, Dev.

嘿，德夫。

Hey. A couple questions just on the outlook. Good to get all the color from you guys and your outlook report as well. So good to see some of the building evidence around the recovery.

嘿。有幾個關於前景的問題。很高興從你們那裡得到所有的信息以及你們的展望報告。很高興看到一些有關復甦的建築證據。

I guess the first question is what do you guys think a recovery really looks like? We're obviously troughing your feels like it and starting the recovery. But do you see a level of pent-up demand to transact that maybe we get to a point where there's a little bit of a coiled spring once there's a higher degree of confidence and maybe equilibrium between buyers and sellers?

我想第一個問題是你們認為複蘇到底是什麼樣的？顯然，我們正在經歷你的感受並開始恢復。但是，您是否看到了被壓抑的交易需求水平，一旦買家和賣家之間的信心增強，甚至可能達到平衡，我們可能會達到一個有點螺旋彈簧的程度？

And just trying to think about it, maybe that's when the IPO window opens. And that will be the catalyst to really drive that coiled spring. Or if we're not thinking about it the right way, do you just feel like this is going to be a steady grind higher over the next couple of years to the extent we are covering? Let me just get a little flavor for how you guys are thinking about it.

只要想一想，也許那就是 IPO 窗口打開的時候。這將成為真正驅動螺旋彈簧的催化劑。或者，如果我們沒有以正確的方式思考這個問題，您是否只是覺得這將在未來幾年內穩步上升到我們所報導的程度？讓我稍微了解一下你們是如何看待這個問題的。

Yeah. So the data would suggest that there's pent-up demand. We've been watching the data for several quarters. But at the same time, we're hopeful -- we've been really careful about cost control, and in particular, making sure that we're running the business in a manner that assumes it's not going to come back in the return to 2021 volume and valuation.

是的。因此，數據表明存在被壓抑的需求。我們幾個季度以來一直在關注這些數據。但與此同時，我們充滿希望——我們一直非常謹慎地控製成本，特別是確保我們以一種假設它不會在回歸後再次出現的方式來運營業務。 2021 年成交量和估值。

So I'd say we're watching it. We're optimistic with the bid-ask spread data that you're starting to see now on the platform that we reported on and just the pure numbers of IOIs that have been elevated for quite a while.

所以我想說我們正在關注它。我們對您現在開始在我們報導的平台上看到的買賣差價數據以及已經提升相當長一段時間的 IOI 的純數量感到樂觀。

We are expecting some degree of recovery. We're just not going to expect it to come charging back, but we're going to manage with modesty. And I'd say one of the things that we're looking at is our pipeline. It really gives us a pretty good view into the next six weeks.

我們期待一定程度的複蘇。我們只是不會指望它會回來，但我們會謙虛地應對。我想說，我們正在關注的事情之一就是我們的管道。它確實讓我們對接下來的六周有一個很好的了解。

And those are improving. And that's part of the reason why we made the comments about Q3 because we could see that the pipeline has steadily improved from the beginning of the year until now. So I guess I'd say, and I'll let Mark comment further, my expectation is that the pipeline will continue to improve at the rate that it has been improving, which is encouraging, but that would indicate that the recovery will take a while. Mark?

這些正在改善。這就是我們對第三季度發表評論的部分原因，因為我們可以看到管道從年初到現在一直在穩步改善。所以我想我會說，我會讓馬克進一步評論，我的期望是管道將繼續以其一直在改善的速度改善，這是令人鼓舞的，但這將表明復蘇將需要一段時間儘管。標記？

Hey, Devin. think I would add that -- I think here you are spot on from a macro standpoint, seeing IPOs come back in the market seem successful, public company exits for privates, it will be an important factor. I think, as Kelly mentioned, the great reset has seen more private companies do that next funding round and reset the primary valuation. That will be another kind of validating of the new normal and the new valuations for private companies.

嘿，德文。我想我要補充一點——我認為從宏觀角度來看，你是對的，IPO 重返市場似乎很成功，上市公司退出私營企業，這將是一個重要因素。我認為，正如凱利提到的，偉大的重置已經看到更多的私營公司進行下一輪融資並重置主要估值。這將是對私營企業新常態和新估值的另一種驗證。

On a more micro level, we continue to see record levels of sellers, both in terms of number of sell side IOIs, as well as represented by the number of issuers, which have selling interest on our platform. And there's still a relatively steady balance, but we do see some slight improvement in terms of the mix, buy-side versus sell-side highlights.

在更微觀的層面上，我們繼續看到賣家的創紀錄水平，無論是從賣方 IOI 數量來看，還是從在我們平台上有銷售興趣的發行人數量來看。仍然存在相對穩定的平衡，但我們確實看到在買方與賣方亮點的組合方面略有改善。

We have been talking about that last quarter -- about a roughly two-third-to-one-third ratio between sell-side to buy-side IOIs coming in. And that ratio now is more closer to 60-40. So some improvement. We would want to see that start to get back towards a more normalized 50-50 ratio between buy-and-sell side IOIs, but we are seeing some incremental improvement.

我們上個季度一直在討論這個問題——賣方與買方 IOI 之間的比率約為三分之二到三分之一。現在這個比率更接近 60-40。所以有些改進。我們希望看到買方和賣方 IOI 之間的比率開始恢復到更正常的 50-50 比率，但我們看到了一些漸進式的改善。

And then last point, if you have had the chance to read the investment outlook, which I'm plugging again, we do point out that in terms of the number of companies which have exercised their [ropers], that increase in Q2 to 25% of all issuers that we traded, exercised at least one roper, and that's an increase from prior quarters. And it's the highest level in terms of number of issuers, which had a roper in the quarter. But that's the highest percentage in over two years.

最後一點，如果您有機會閱讀我再次插入的投資前景，我們確實指出，就已行使[ropers]的公司數量而言，第二季度增加到 25 家我們交易的所有發行人中至少行使了一名股東的百分比，這比前幾個季度有所增加。就發行人數量而言，這是最高水平，本季度發行人數量較多。但這是兩年多以來的最高比例。

So I think that when you combine that with the disparity we talked about between public performance and 2023 in private markets, I think that valuation has supported by the increased percentage of issuers exercising their roper right tells you that we're getting to the point where the opportunity to invest in the private companies looks awfully attractive.

因此，我認為，當你將其與我們討論的公開表現和2023 年私募市場表現之間的差異結合起來時，我認為，行使其權利的發行人比例增加所支撐的估值告訴你，我們正在達到這樣的程度：投資私營公司的機會看起來非常有吸引力。

Okay. Thank you both. Really helpful. And then some somewhat related, but I think the framework here is that 2021 was a special environment just for risk appetites and valuations, and that we may not be in that type of environment for some period of time.

好的。謝謝你們倆。真的很有幫助。然後是一些有些相關的，但我認為這裡的框架是，2021 年對於風險偏好和估值而言是一個特殊的環境，而我們可能在一段時間內不會處於這種環境中。

However, there's a secular growth aspect to the market that you're in and a maturation of the market. So we don't necessarily need to be in the 2021 market for volumes to be much higher for Forge to be more successful. And I think that's, at least, part of our thesis.

然而，您所在的市場有一個長期增長的方面，並且市場正在成熟。因此，我們不一定需要在 2021 年市場中實現更高的銷量才能讓 Forge 取得更大成功。我認為這至少是我們論文的一部分。

And so, I'd love to just maybe hit on, if you can, some of the anecdotes around just progress that you're having further developing the market and standardizing the market with companies that are trading on forward, so that when we get into, maybe, a more, quote-unquote, normal environment, there's just a lot more activity on Forge and your market share is also greater.

因此，如果可以的話，我很想談談一些有關進展的軼事，即您正在進一步開發市場並與正在進行遠期交易的公司一起標準化市場，以便當我們得到也許，進入一個更正常的環境， Forge 上的活動就會更多，你的市場份額也會更大。

Just trying to think about some of the things you guys are still doing behind the scenes that maybe isn't becoming evident yet just because we're in this trough of the private markets.

只是想想想你們仍在幕後做的一些事情，這些事情可能還沒有變得明顯，只是因為我們正處於私募市場的低谷。

First of all, there are more companies than ever that are coming to the same conclusion that the thesis that built the company was based upon, which is staying private longer to build the world-changing business has different capital and liquidity needs than what was previously the case when companies were going public in five to seven years.

首先，越來越多的公司比以往任何時候都得出同樣的結論，即建立該公司所依據的論點是保持私有狀態更長時間以建立改變世界的業務，但其資本和流動性需求與以前不同公司五到七年後上市的情況。

I'd say there is an anecdotal sentiment that runs through a lot of the newer unicorns that liquidity, secondary access is part of the natural life of a private company. And so, we continue to see support much greater than we saw when Mark and I were part of this five years ago from companies accepting that.

我想說的是，許多新成立的獨角獸公司都存在一種軼事情緒，即流動性、二次獲取是私營公司自然生活的一部分。因此，我們繼續看到比五年前馬克和我參與其中時看到的支持要大得多，來自接受這一點的公司。

And so, what I guess, if I look back at 2021, a lot of that volume was driven by the big IPOs that happened in 2021. So in a world where we get back to sort of normalized IPO, then yes, we will benefit from that, as well as a broadening level of participation by companies not just from the US, but globally.

因此，我想，如果我回顧 2021 年，大部分交易量都是由 2021 年發生的大型 IPO 推動的。因此，在我們回到正常化 IPO 的世界中，那麼是的，我們將受益由此，不僅來自美國，而且來自全球的公司的參與程度也不斷擴大。

And I guess, to some of my comments I made today and part of the reason why we've got this index is because we believe there are new products that will come to market that will allow a much broader group of people that aren't just buying for a flip or buying for a hard access company to have a more mainstream position in people's portfolios. And so, we see a whole set of other factors that are driving the future that are now starting to present themselves. Now, it's one of the reasons why data in the index are such a significant part of our strategy.

我想，就我今天發表的一些評論而言，我們獲得該指數的部分原因是因為我們相信，有新產品將進入市場，讓更廣泛的人群能夠使用這些產品。只是為了炒作而購買，或者為一家難以進入的公司購買，以便在人們的投資組合中佔據更主流的地位。因此，我們看到推動未來的一整套其他因素現在開始顯現出來。現在，這就是索引中的數據成為我們策略的重要組成部分的原因之一。

Said another way, we don't need another 2021 where we've got a nosebleed valuations that are unsustainable in order to have the success and the expansion of the overall market. And so, we're really excited about the overall maturity of the market.

換句話說，我們不需要再經歷一個估值過高、不可持續的 2021 年，才能獲得成功並實現整個市場的擴張。因此，我們對市場的整體成熟感到非常興奮。

We've been in a tough macroeconomic time. It's seemingly calming down, but we've got little ways to go. But there's a lot -- we're still so early in the market that I'm really excited about TAM potential, and that others are coming to see the same things we are. But I'll let Mark speak on any of the specifics data points he'd like to set up.

我們正處於宏觀經濟困難時期。看似平靜下來，但我們還有很長的路要走。但還有很多——我們在市場上還處於早期階段，我對 TAM 的潛力感到非常興奮，而且其他人也會看到我們同樣的東西。但我會讓馬克談論他想要建立的任何具體數據點。

Look, I think I would just reiterate, Devin, this last, obviously, 18 months, has been a very different and challenging market environment. But at the same time, you've seen forward to a lot of data products, lending capability, open up international operations, [head and we'll have an] index. So we're continuing to try to find that balance between managing our costs carefully, reducing our burn, but also, investing for the future.

聽著，我想我只想重申一下，德文，過去 18 個月顯然是一個非常不同且充滿挑戰的市場環境。但與此同時，你已經看到了很多數據產品、借貸能力、開放國際業務、[頭，我們將有一個]指數。因此，我們將繼續努力在謹慎管理成本、減少資金消耗和為未來投資之間找到平衡。

So I do think that comparing where we are now in terms of our products and services and our footprint and our capabilities to where we were back in 2021, we've continued to make good progress. We're just doing it in a very difficult market environment.

因此，我確實認為，將我們現在的產品、服務、足跡和能力與 2021 年的情況進行比較，我們繼續取得良好進展。我們只是在非常困難的市場環境中這樣做。

Hey, I have one more thing, and that is while this cycle has been tough, we've continued to have a significant part of our organization focused on building scalable, highly automated, and the market infrastructure that's core to the next phase of the market. And while we're not ready to talk about some of the specifics there, you can bet that we've used this last 18 months in the background while the market's been dislocated to continue to make those investments.

嘿，我還有一件事，那就是雖然這個週期很艱難，但我們組織的重要部分仍然專注於構建可擴展的、高度自動化的市場基礎設施，這是下一階段的核心。市場。雖然我們還沒有準備好談論其中的一些細節，但你可以打賭，我們已經在後台利用了過去 18 個月的時間，而市場已經混亂，以繼續進行這些投資。

And we think when they do surfaced and we do bring them out, the benefit of that to the overall market in terms of scalability and efficiency will be obvious. So stay tuned.

我們認為，當它們確實出現並且我們確實將它們推出時，在可擴展性和效率方面對整個市場的好處將是顯而易見的。所以請繼續關注。

Yeah. That's all great color. If I can just squeeze one -- quick one in here, just as a follow-up to an earlier question just on the borrowing per trade trends. And appreciate some of the color there, and then also the quarter to date, what you're seeing.

是的。這都是很棒的顏色。如果我能在這裡快速擠出一個，就像之前關於每筆交易借款趨勢的問題的後續行動一樣。欣賞那裡的一些顏色，以及迄今為止的季度，您所看到的。

Just a higher level. Should we expect that you should see a recovery just along with greater volumes in the normalization in the market and valuations over time? Or like, just -- I don't know if there's more of a mix shift dynamic here that may make that hard to predict for us on the outside. Just any thought on what volume per trade looks like normalizing in a normal activity market. Is there more uplift from here, or is it really just simply the mix of types of transactions?

只是更高一個層次而已。隨著時間的推移，隨著市場正常化和估值的增加，我們是否應該期望看到經濟復甦？或者就像，只是——我不知道這裡是否存在更多的混合轉變動態，這可能會讓我們外部很難預測。任何關於在正常活動市場中每筆交易量看起來正常化的想法。這裡是否有更多的提升，或者它真的只是簡單的交易類型的混合？

Yeah. Devin, my general thought on that is that what we've seen in the last six quarters have been really a huge expansion in number of sellers, which typically tend to be the employees, the founders of the company, some more individual sellers. And what's been lacking is obviously deficit institutional buyers.

是的。德文，我對此的總體想法是，我們在過去的六個季度中看到，賣家數量確實出現了巨大的增長，通常是員工、公司創始人，以及一些個人賣家。而顯然缺乏的是赤字機構買家。

And so, I do think that as things normalize over time that you would see the institutional buyer come back in. And that as that buyer comes back in the average trade size, we'd start to go up again. So -- and I think, in general, that's how I would see it playing out over time as our markets recover.

因此，我確實認為，隨著時間的推移，情況正常化，您會看到機構買家回來。隨著買家恢復平均交易規模，我們將開始再次上升。所以，我認為，總的來說，隨著我們的市場復甦，我會看到它會如何發展。

Now, one contrast to that is as we continue to automate and improve the efficient -- overall efficiency of the process, our goal is to expand the smaller trades that we can accommodate to bring down our minimums from $100,000 to $50,000, $25,000, and people can transact in small size, so that we can accommodate both the institutional investor who wants to trade in size, as well as the individual investor who wants to buy smaller lots.

現在，與此形成鮮明對比的是，隨著我們繼續自動化並提高流程的整體效率，我們的目標是擴大我們可以容納的較小規模的交易，將最低限額從100,000 美元降低到50,000 美元、25,000 美元，並減少人員可以進行小額交易，這樣我們既可以滿足想要進行大額交易的機構投資者，也可以滿足想要購買較小手數的個人投資者。

And so, I think those would be the two offsetting factors, institutions coming back to invest, we've raised our trade size. But expanding and improving our tech to create more efficiency should lower our average trade sizes as we can start to trade even smaller size market cap private companies.

因此，我認為這將是兩個抵消因素，機構回來投資，我們提高了貿易規模。但擴展和改進我們的技術以創造更高的效率應該會降低我們的平均交易規模，因為我們可以開始交易市值更小的私營公司。

Got it. Very clear. Okay. Thanks, Mark. Appreciate it, guys.

知道了。非常清楚。好的。謝謝，馬克。非常感謝，伙計們。

Thanks, Devin.

謝謝，德文。

As a reminder --

提醒一句 -

Thank you, Emma. I think, we'll have our queue link. So I think we're good to go.

謝謝你，艾瑪。我想，我們會有隊列鏈接。所以我想我們可以走了。

Thank you. We do have one last --

謝謝。我們還有最後一個——

Oh, okay. Sorry.

哦好的。對不起。

We do have one last question [I skipped] this afternoon, my apologies. Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

今天下午我們確實有最後一個問題[我跳過了]，抱歉。肯·沃辛頓，摩根大通。

Hi. Thanks for squeezing me in. Maybe first on headcount. I think headcount was up 6% this quarter from the March quarter. I think you said in the prepared remarks it was down maybe 3% so far this quarter.

你好。謝謝你讓我加入。也許首先是在人數上。我認為本季度的員工人數比 3 月份季度增加了 6%。我想你在準備好的發言中說過，本季度到目前為止可能下降了 3%。

So can you talk a little bit about what positions are being filled here? Where are you finding the opportunities for the headcount efficiency? And how does this all fit into the good number of initiatives you have building out Europe, building out data, building out indexes, and trying to keep headcount count?

那麼您能談談這裡正在填補哪些職位嗎？您在哪裡尋找提高員工效率的機會？這一切如何融入到你們建設歐洲、構建數據、構建索引以及試圖保持員工人數的大量舉措中？

Yeah. Let me add a few comments, and then Kelly can chime in. You hit the right points here. It's a balancing act for us of trying to maintain focus on our key strategic priorities, while at the same time, trying to manage our overall expense with print relative to our revenues in each quarter.

是的。讓我添加一些評論，然后凱利可以插話。你在這裡擊中了正確的觀點。對於我們來說，這是一種平衡行為，一方面要努力保持對關鍵戰略優先事項的關注，另一方面要努力管理與每個季度收入相關的印刷總體費用。

And so, to recap, we started the year with 349 employees, right? It dropped down. We took actions in Q1, the broader headcount down to 339. During Q2, our headcount expanded back up to 359 as a combination of some key strategic hires, backfills, and continual build-out of our technology team.

回顧一下，今年伊始我們有 349 名員工，對嗎？它掉了下來。我們在第一季度採取了行動，將員工人數減少到 339 人。在第二季度，我們的員工人數又擴大到 359 人，這是一些關鍵戰略招聘、人員補充和技術團隊持續建設的結合。

And our numbers will fluctuate from quarter to quarter, right? The amount of turnover and critical hires and backfills will always vary. But generally speaking, as we've discussed before, we're in a hiring freeze. We're working to maintain our headcount.

我們的數字會逐季度波動，對嗎？人員流動量以及關鍵的招聘和補充總是會有所不同。但總的來說，正如我們之前討論過的，我們正處於招聘凍結之中。我們正在努力維持我們的員工人數。

And so, the numbers went from 349 down to 339, back up to 358 at the end of Q2. And as I said during the call, with the actions taken in July, the headcount now is back down to the 339. So we're still below where we started the year and we are trying to actively manage those competing priorities. And our strategic key, for us, drives and try to figure out where we can add and where we can subtract.

因此，這個數字從 349 下降到 339，在第二季度末又回到 358。正如我在電話會議中所說，隨著 7 月份採取的行動，員工人數現在已回落至 339 人。因此，我們仍低於年初的水平，我們正在努力積極管理這些相互競爭的優先事項。對我們來說，我們的戰略關鍵是推動並嘗試找出我們可以在哪裡添加和在哪裡可以減少。

Okay. Thank you. That makes sense.

好的。謝謝。這就說得通了。

Yeah. I'd add that the composition focus has either been in specific areas of engineering that underlie our institutional and our data focus, or specific areas of go-to market where we need institutional or segment expertise that really line up with those services that we're focusing on.

是的。我想補充一點，組成重點要么是我們機構和數據重點基礎的特定工程領域，要么是我們需要真正與我們的服務相符的機構或細分專業知識的進入市場的特定領域。重新聚焦。

So it's really a game of bringing in very specific kinds of talent and making sure we're mindful about where we're reducing so as to not sacrifice those priorities. That's really the fine-tuning on the instrument panel that we're trying to operate here in this environment.

因此，這實際上是一場引進非常特定類型的人才的遊戲，並確保我們注意我們正在減少的地方，以免犧牲這些優先事項。這實際上是我們在這種環境下嘗試操作的儀表板上的微調。

So I appreciate the question. I think it's something that should be known by our investors and prospective investors that we really are trying to line up the precious resources underneath the strategic priority that we've set for ourselves. So I appreciate the question.

所以我很欣賞這個問題。我認為我們的投資者和潛在投資者應該知道，我們確實正在努力在我們為自己設定的戰略優先事項下整合寶貴的資源。所以我很欣賞這個問題。

Great. And then just one last one. I think this goes to a prior question about reengagement and pent-up demand. But you mentioned that private company valuations are probably 50% below the latest investment rounds, which makes sense, right?

偉大的。然後只有最後一張。我認為這涉及到之前關於重新參與和被壓抑的需求的問題。但您提到私營公司的估值可能比最新幾輪投資低 50%，這是有道理的，對嗎？

Does this reality change? Has it changed the conversations that you've been having with trying to get new unicorns in new private companies to -- I'm using [bunny ears], like list on Forge for the first time? And to the same extent, is this having an impact on those that are already participating in the Forge platform?

這個現實會改變嗎？它是否改變了你一直在試圖在新的私營公司中獲得新的獨角獸的對話——我正在使用[兔子耳朵]，就像第一次在 Forge 上列出的列表一樣？同樣，這是否會對那些已經參與 Forge 平台的人產生影響？

But this new reality is something that -- it's like ostrich in the head in the sand. They don't really want that public mark out there, so they're really reluctant to participate on the platform.

但這個新現實就像鴕鳥把頭埋在沙子裡。他們並不真正想要那個公共標記，所以他們真的不願意參與這個平台。

Is this reality impeding your business as certain, or maybe even many of your target audience tries to hide from this reality, and therefore, as they go to their next public rounds and the reality becomes public, they are more willing to return to your platform? Maybe that was what you were trying to say in the first place. But anyway, what is -- am I barking up the right tree here?

這種現實是否確實會阻礙您的業務，或者甚至您的許多目標受眾都試圖隱藏這一現實，因此，當他們進入下一輪公開融資且現實公開時，他們更願意返回您的平台？也許這就是你一開始想說的。但無論如何，我在這裡咆哮的樹是對的嗎？

No, you're making sense. A couple of months ago, actually in Q1, we started reporting to the press that the emergence of newer unicorns were starting to populate a lot of the activity and mindshare of participants that we were seeing. And I think part of the reason for that was a lot of the new emerging unicorns may not have had the baggage of their valuations being highly visible in 2021. And so, therefore, it's almost like the great reset that we're talking about might not have applied to them because they weren't around in 2020, at least not as unicorns.

不，你說得有道理。幾個月前，實際上是在第一季度，我們開始向媒體報導，新的獨角獸公司的出現開始佔據我們所看到的參與者的大量活動和思想份額。我認為部分原因是許多新興獨角獸公司的估值在 2021 年可能沒有那麼明顯。因此，這幾乎就像我們正在談論的偉大重置可能會發生一樣。沒有申請它們，因為它們在2020 年還沒有出現，至少不是獨角獸。

So I'd say there's almost two classes of companies that we're dealing with here with respect to your question, companies that are having to handle and deal with the resetting of a valuation that was incredibly high in '21. And some of those names you know because we talked about them previously going out, whether it be Instacart, whether it be Strike, whether it be Klarna, these are companies that massive numbers in '21 that they're having to publicly deal with.

因此，我想說，就你的問題而言，我們正在與兩類公司打交道，這些公司必須處理和處理 21 年估值高得令人難以置信的重置問題。其中一些名字你知道，因為我們之前討論過它們，無論是 Instacart、Strike、Klarna，這些公司在 21 年數量眾多，他們必須公開應對。

Now, there's a bunch of other names that may have not done a fundraising round. And so, yes, in that area, that's what I would call the category of unicorn that have to face the music at some point, and the question is what is their performance look now relative to two years ago.

現在，還有很多其他名字可能還沒有完成融資。所以，是的，在這個領域，這就是我所說的在某個時候必鬚麵對音樂的獨角獸類別，問題是相對於兩年前，他們現在的表現如何。

But this other class of brand-new unicorns aren't facing that reality at all. There still is valuation pressure, and there is still a question about what should things be priced at, but that's starting to clear itself up. So I'd say as far as Forge is concerned, if a company comes with the conclusion that they want to allow trading, or they want to, in fact, manage a program, then I'd say in all cases, the reality of the current valuation environment is front and center.

但另一類全新的獨角獸根本沒有面對這個現實。估值壓力仍然存在，並且仍然存在一個關於產品定價應該是多少的問題，但這已經開始變得清晰起來。所以我想說，就 Forge 而言，如果一家公司得出的結論是他們想要允許交易，或者他們實際上想要管理一個程序，那麼我想說在所有情況下，現實是當前的估值環境是最重要的。

We will not be hampered by that or deterred by that as long as companies recognize the moment that we're in. And that's part of the reason why we're trying to acknowledge this great reset. But yeah, I think a lot of companies still haven't come to the reality yet, Ken. And they'll get there when they have to raise money for sure.

只要公司認識到我們所處的時刻，我們就不會受到這種情況的阻礙或阻礙。這也是我們試圖承認這一偉大重置的部分原因。但是，是的，我認為很多公司還沒有意識到這一點，肯。當他們確實需要籌集資金時，他們就會到達那裡。

Okay. Great. Thanks very much.

好的。偉大的。非常感謝。

Awesome. Thank you, Ken, for that -- those questions. And I think we're going to conclude today's call. We appreciate you all being here and look forward to seeing you on the road in Q3.

驚人的。謝謝你，肯，提出這些問題。我認為我們將結束今天的電話會議。我們感謝大家來到這裡，並期待在第三季度在路上見到你們。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。