Global Business Travel Group Inc (GBTG) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the American Express Global Business Travel third quarter, 2024 earnings conference call as a reminder, please note today's call is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Vice President of Investor Relations, Jennifer Thorrington. Please go ahead.

早安，歡迎參加美國運通全球商務旅行 2024 年第三季財報電話會議，請注意，今天的電話會議正在錄音。現在我將電話轉交給投資人關係副總裁 Jennifer Thorrington。請繼續。

Hello and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our third quarter, 2024 earnings conference call. This morning, we issued an earnings press release which is available on sec.gov and our website at investors dot Amex Global Business Travel.com, a slide presentation which accompanies today's prepared remarks is also available on the Amex GBT Investor Relations web page.

大家好，早安。感謝您參加我們 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天上午，我們發布了一份收益新聞稿，可在 sec.gov 和我們的網站 investors dot Amex Global Business Travel.com 上查閱，與今天的準備好的發言一起提供的幻燈片演示也可在 Amex GBT 投資者關係網頁上查閱。

We would like to advise you that our comments contain certain forward-looking statements that represent our beliefs or expectations about future events including industry and macroeconomic trends, cost savings and acquisition synergies among others. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made on today's conference call. More information on these and other risks and uncertainties is contained in our earnings release issued this morning and our other sec firing throughout today's call. We will also be presenting certain non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITA, adjusted EBITA, adjusted EBITDA, margin adjusted operating expenses, free cash flow and net debt. All references during today's call to such non-GAAP financial measures have been adjusted to exclude certain items, definitions of these terms. And the most directly comparable GAAP measures and reconciliation for non-GAAP measures are available in the supplemental materials of this presentation and in the earnings release participating with me today are Paul Abbott, our Chief Executive Officer and Karen Williams, our Chief Financial Officer. Also joining for the Q&A session. Today is Eric Bock, our Chief Legal Officer and head of Global M&A. With that, I will now turn the call over to Paul Abbott.

我們想提醒您，我們的評論包含某些前瞻性陳述，代表我們對未來事件的信念或期望，包括產業和宏觀經濟趨勢、成本節約和收購協同效應等。所有前瞻性陳述都涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與今天電話會議上的陳述有重大差異。有關這些風險和其他風險和不確定性的更多資訊包含在我們今天上午發布的收益報告和今天的電話會議中的其他證券發布中。我們也將介紹某些非 GAAP 財務指標，例如 EBITA、調整後的 EBITA、調整後的 EBITDA、利潤率調整後的營業費用、自由現金流和淨債務。今天電話會議中對此類非公認會計準則財務指標的所有引用均已進行調整，以排除某些項目和這些術語的定義。最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標和非 GAAP 指標的對帳可在本簡報的補充資料中找到，今天與我一起參加的收益發布會還有我們的執行長 Paul Abbott 和我們的財務長 Karen Williams。也參加問答環節。今天是我們的首席法律長兼全球併購主管 Eric Bock。說完這些，我現在將電話轉給保羅·阿博特 (Paul Abbott)。

Thank you Jennifer. Welcome to everyone and thank you for joining our third quarter, 2024 earnings call in the third quarter. We continued to drive strong momentum and deliver strong financial results. Our focus on controlling costs and driving operating leverage drove impressive adjusted EBITDA growth with significant margin expansion, giving us confidence to narrow the range and reiterate the midpoint of our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance, increased demand for our software and services resulted in continued share gains.

謝謝你，詹妮弗。歡迎大家，感謝您參加我們 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我們持續保持強勁勢頭並取得強勁的財務業績。我們專注於控製成本和推動經營槓桿，推動了令人矚目的調整後 EBITDA 成長和顯著的利潤率擴大，使我們有信心縮小範圍並重申全年調整後 EBITDA 指引的中點，對我們的軟體和服務的需求增加導致份額持續成長。

We have sustained our pace of new wins and importantly, maintained our very high customer retention rate, continued free cash flow acceleration remains a very important focus for the company. Our strong third quarter results give us the confidence to raise our full year free cash flow guidance once again.

我們保持了取得新勝利的步伐，更重要的是，保持了非常高的客戶保留率，持續的自由現金流加速仍然是公司關注的重點。我們強勁的第三季業績使我們有信心再次上調全年自由現金流預期。

we've previously talked about our capital allocation strategy and I'm incredibly pleased with our progress on executing exactly what we said we would do. We have significantly reduced the interest we pay on our debt continued to deleverage and strengthen the balance sheet. And we are in a strong position to continue investing in growth and productivity gains and finance. The closing and integration of the CWT acquisition.

我們之前已經討論過我們的資本配置策略，我對我們在執行承諾方面取得的進展感到非常高興。我們大幅降低了債務利息支出，並繼續去槓桿、改善資產負債表。我們有能力繼續對成長、生產力提高和金融進行投資。CWT 收購的完成與整合。

This significant progress in our financial performance has brought us to an important milestone, returning cash to shareholders during the quarter. As we previously announced, we executed our first share buyback. And today, I'm pleased to report. Our board of directors has approved a new larger share buyback authorization.

我們財務表現的重大進展為我們帶來了一個重要的里程碑，即在本季度向股東返還現金。正如我們之前宣布的那樣，我們進行了首次股票回購。今天我很高興向大家報告。我們的董事會已經批准了新的更大規模的股票回購授權。

Turning to some of the highlights of the third quarter, we continued to execute on our strategy and deliver strong financial results with significant adjusted EBITDA growth. Starting with transaction growth, transactions were up 5% driven by increased demand for business travel and our share gains TTV grew by 9% to reach nearly $8 billion driven by transaction growth and higher average ticket prices and hotel room rates.

回顧第三季的一些亮點，我們繼續執行我們的策略，並取得了強勁的財務業績，調整後的 EBITDA 實現了顯著成長。從交易量增長開始，受商務旅行需求增加的推動，交易量增長了 5%，而受交易量增長和平均機票價格及酒店房價上漲的推動，我們的份額收益 TTV 增長了 9%，達到近 80 億美元。

This included a mixed benefit from higher international TTV and strong TTV growth in certain industry verticals like financial services and Pharma. Revenue was up 5% to reach $597 million for the quarter driven by solid growth in transactions TTV and increased demand for our products and our professional services.

這包括國際 TTV 提高和金融服務、製藥等特定垂直行業 TTV 強勁成長帶來的混合效益。本季營收成長 5%，達到 5.97 億美元，這得益於交易 TTV 的穩定成長以及對我們的產品和專業服務的需求增加。

Finally here, our focus on margin expansion and operating leverage resulted in adjusted EBITDA growth of 23% to $118 million with strong margin expansion of 300 basis points growth was strong with global multinational customers up 8% in the quarter and I'm going to provide more detail on this. In the next slide, SME transaction growth remained muted at 2% growth but improved modestly versus the 1% growth we reported last quarter.

最後，我們專注於利潤率擴大和營業槓桿，導致調整後的 EBITDA 增長 23% 至 1.18 億美元，利潤率強勁擴大 300 個基點，全球跨國客戶在本季度增長了 8%，增長強勁，我將就此提供更多詳細信息。在下一張投影片中，中小企業交易成長仍保持在 2% 的低位，但與我們上季報告的 1% 的成長率相比略有改善。

As we described last quarter, SME customers have tightened spending controls in the face of sustained higher prices and higher interest rates.

正如我們上個季度所描述的，面對持續上漲的價格和更高的利率，中小企業客戶已經加強了支出控制。

This remains a broader trend for SME businesses. Beyond travel growth in domestic air transactions was 4%. Regional and international growth combined was up three with international specifically up 6% growth in hotel transactions was 6% which outpaced the 4% growth in air transactions. This reflects industry trends as well as our intentional focus on increasing our volume of hotel bookings as we continue to strengthen our hotel content and display and provide customers with more hotel value and more choice.

對於中小企業來說，這仍然是一種更廣泛的趨勢。國內航空交易的旅行外成長也達到了 4%。地區和國際交易量合計增長 3%，其中國際交易量增長 6%，酒店交易量增長 6%，超過航空交易量 4% 的增幅。這反映了行業趨勢以及我們對增加酒店預訂量的關注，因為我們將繼續加強酒店內容和展示，並為客戶提供更多的酒店價值和更多選擇。

Finally, on a regional basis, transaction growth was 6% in the Americas. 11% in Asia Pacific EMEA growth was softer at 2% impacted by the Olympics in France.

最後，從地區來看，美洲地區的交易量成長率為 6%。受法國奧運會的影響，亞太地區 EMEA 地區的成長為 11%，但成長率較低，為 2%。

As a reminder here for organizational purposes, we divide our customer base into two general categories, global multinational and small and medium enterprises.

出於組織目的的提醒，我們將客戶群分為兩大類，即全球跨國公司和中小型企業。

We generally use expected annual TTV to divide customers into these categories.

我們通常使用預期年度 TTV 將客戶劃分為這些類別。

Although this measure can vary by country and by customer need.

儘管這項措施可能因國家和客戶需求的不同而有所差異。

We do not have products or services that are offered solely to one size of customer. We tend to find that customers of all sizes may prefer different solutions. Some larger customers may prefer a simpler approach while some smaller customers may prefer a more bespoke high touch global solution.

我們不提供僅針對某一特定客戶群的產品或服務。我們往往發現各種規模的客戶可能更喜歡不同的解決方案。一些較大的客戶可能更喜歡更簡單的方法，而一些較小的客戶可能更喜歡定製程度更高的全球解決方案。

Looking specifically at global multinational customers. We maintained very high customer retention rate of 98% over the last 12 months. Demonstrating the value that we bring to this important customer set.

特別關注全球跨國客戶。在過去的 12 個月中，我們保持了 98% 的高客戶保留率。展示我們為這個重要客戶群帶來的價值。

We continue to see stronger relative performance with our global multinational customers. Total GM N transactions were up 8% with double digit growth in Pharma, automotive and financial services industries.

我們持續看到全球跨國客戶的相對錶現更為強勁。通用汽車 N 交易總額上漲 8%，其中製藥、汽車和金融服務業均達到兩位數成長。

We saw very solid growth across almost all of our top industry, verticals. Technology growth returned to more normalized levels as the same store sales cycled over the technology ramp up. We saw in the third quarter of 2023 TTV, growth in the quarter was 9% and outpaced transaction growth by 4% points. GMN TTV. Growth was particularly strong up 13%.

我們看到幾乎所有主要行業和垂直行業都實現了非常穩健的成長。隨著技術的進步，同店銷售週期性上升，技術成長也回歸到更正常的水平。我們看到，2023 年第三季的 TTV 成長率為 9%，比交易成長率高出 4 個百分點。GMN 泰國電視台。成長尤其強勁，高達 13%。

And within the regional and international category, International Air TTV was up 11%.

在地區和國際類別中，國際航空 TTV 上漲了 11%。

Looking ahead, our most recent customer survey indicates that demand remains solid as we look over the balance of the year. It shows that our TOP 100 customers expect travel spend to be up approximately 5% in the fourth quarter.

展望未來，我們最近的客戶調查表明，縱觀全年情況，需求依然強勁。數據顯示，我們的 TOP 100 客戶預計第四季旅遊支出將成長約 5%。

So turning here to the commercial highlights, we continue to gain share with total new winds value of $3 billion over the last 12 months.

因此，談到商業亮點，我們繼續獲得市場份額，過去 12 個月新增風電總價值達到 30 億美元。

Importantly, these share gains are on a very strong foundation of impressive customer attention which we've maintained at 97% over the last 12 months.

重要的是，這些份額的成長建立在令人印象深刻的客戶關注這一非常堅實的基礎之上，過去 12 個月我們一直將客戶關注度保持在 97%。

Our biggest growth opportunity remains with SME customers which represents approximately $950 billion of travel spend.

我們最大的成長機會仍然在於中小企業客戶，這代表著約 9,500 億美元的旅遊支出。

We are already a leader in managed travel in this segment but 70% of this opportunity is not currently in a managed travel program.

我們已經是這一領域的管理旅行領導者，但目前 70% 的商機還未納入管理旅行計畫中。

Our new wins clearly demonstrate that more and more SME customers are recognizing the benefit of a managed travel program including significant savings to our preferred extras rates, more control over their travel spend and of course, 24/7 customer service and duty of care.

我們的新勝利清楚地表明，越來越多的中小企業客戶認識到管理旅行計劃的好處，包括大幅節省我們的優惠附加費用、更好地控制他們的旅行支出，當然還有全天候的客戶服務和注意義務。

This value proposition is clearly resonating. Our SME new wins value totalled $2.1 billion over the last 12 months with 14% year over year growth in the number of unmanaged customer wins in the third quarter, 80%. Now of our transactions came through digital channels up 3% points year over year and 60% of our digital bookings came through on our own software platforms. Neo and Egencia, we believe owning our own software platforms is a significant competitive advantage because we can control and improve the user experience growth on our Neo platform was particularly strong up 18% year over year, we continue to provide customers with more value and more choice in our marketplace to enhance content.

這項價值主張顯然引起了共鳴。過去 12 個月，我們的中小企業新贏客戶價值總計 21 億美元，第三季非管理客戶贏客戶數量年增 14%，增幅達 80%。現在，我們的交易透過數位管道完成，比去年同期增加了 3%，而 60% 的數位預訂是透過我們自己的軟體平台完成的。Neo 和 Egencia，我們相信擁有自己的軟體平台是一個顯著的競爭優勢，因為我們可以控制和改善用戶體驗。

We are working with over 20 airlines on DC to help our airline partners retail to our premium customers. In the most effective way.

我們正在與華盛頓特區超過 20 家航空公司合作，幫助我們的航空合作夥伴為我們的高端客戶提供零售服務。以最有效的方式。

The collaboration with American Express card and our Neo one spends management platform is also progressing. Well, we have more than doubled our Neo one customer base year over year.

與美國運通卡和我們的 Neo one 消費管理平台的合作也在推進中。我們的 Neo one 客戶群較去年同期成長了一倍以上。

We also continue to make business travel more sustainable.

我們也將持續使商務旅行變得更加永續。

We are among the first in the business travel industry to achieve SBTi validation of our carbon emission reduction targets.

我們是商務旅行產業中首批獲得 SBTi 認證的碳減排目標的公司之一。

We continue to invest in our products and services to provide customers with more value and more choice.

我們持續投資於我們的產品和服務，為客戶提供更多價值和更多選擇。

New features. This quarter include benchmarking dashboards in our peer travel insights tool.

新功能。本季度，我們在我們的同行旅遊洞察工具中加入了基準儀表板。

This uses key performance indicators for customers to compare their company's travel program against other peers in the industry.

它使用關鍵績效指標讓客戶將其公司的旅行計劃與業內其他同行的旅行計劃進行比較。

We also launched a new group travel solution on the Egencia platform.

我們也在 Egencia 平台上推出了新的團體旅遊解決方案。

I'm pleased to say our product leadership has been recognized by G two, the largest and most trusted peer to peer review site that more than 60 million people and many fortune 500 companies use to make software decisions.

我很高興地說，我們的產品領導地位已經得到了 G two 的認可，G two 是最大的、最值得信賴的點對點評審網站，超過 6000 萬人和許多財富 500 強公司使用它來製定軟體決策。

Amex GBT agencia has proudly received 19 awards from G two this fall which are based on verified user reviews from travellers and travel managers.

今年秋季，Amex GBT 代理公司很榮幸獲得 G two 頒發的 19 個獎項，這些獎項是根據旅行者和旅行經理提供的經過驗證的用戶評論而頒發的。

We're also focused on providing the very best traveller experience in the third quarter. We updated the Egencia Mobile app to deliver a more intuitive user experience.

我們也致力於在第三季提供最佳的旅行者體驗。我們更新了 Egencia Mobile 應用程序，以提供更直觀的用戶體驗。

And we made improvements to the Neo checkout process and the Egencia trip management experience.

我們改進了 Neo 結帳流程和 Egencia 行程管理體驗。

As we mentioned last quarter, we are investing in automation and A I to deliver operational efficiencies across four areas.

正如我們在上個季度所提到的，我們正在投資自動化和人工智慧，以提高四個領域的營運效率。

And these four areas represent 70% of our adjusted operating expenses.

這四個領域占我們調整後營運費用的 70%。

The four areas include increasing service, efficiencies, increasing engineering velocity, streamlining our financial processes and enabling our workforce.

這四個領域包括提高服務品質、提高效率、加快工程速度、簡化財務流程和增強勞動力能力。

Let me provide a quick update on our progress on each of these four areas.

讓我簡單介紹一下我們在這四個領域的進展。

First, we are piloting our proprietary email A I solution that saves travel counsellors time by generating offers based on incoming customer email requests.

首先，我們正在試行專有的電子郵件 AI 解決方案，該解決方案根據收到的客戶電子郵件請求產生優惠，從而節省旅遊顧問的時間。

Second, we have now expanded our use of the GitHub copilot and used it to accelerate the software development required to launch our new corporate website.

其次，我們現在擴大了 GitHub copilot 的使用範圍，並利用它來加速推出新公司網站所需的軟體開發。

Third, we have deployed automation for our credit card reconciliation process reducing the average handling time by approximately 50%.

第三，我們已經部署了信用卡對帳流程自動化，將平均處理時間縮短了約 50%。

And fourth, we've deployed AI to respond to our customer's program change requests faster, reducing these time lines by approximately 80%.

第四，我們部署了人工智慧來更快地回應客戶的程式變更請求，將這些時間表縮短了約 80%。

So as you can see, we're making measurable progress and continue to see AI as a huge opportunity to drive productivity improvements.

正如您所看到的，我們正在取得可衡量的進展，並繼續將人工智慧視為推動生產力提高的巨大機會。

Finally, regarding the CWT acquisition, we continue to work through the relevant regulatory approval processes and we continue to expect the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2025.

最後，關於 CWT 收購，我們繼續完成相關監管審批流程，並繼續預計交易將於 2025 年第一季完成。

And now I'd like to hand it over to Karen to discuss the financial results and 2024 outlook in more detail.

現在，我想交給 Karen 來更詳細地討論財務表現和 2024 年展望。

Thank you, Paul and hello everyone.

謝謝你，保羅，大家好。

I've previously talked about my three key priorities when it comes to managing our financial performance.

我之前談到管理財務績效的三個主要優先事項。

And as a reminder, they are accelerating cash flow generation, driving operating leverage and continued margin expansion, and importantly, creating capacity to invest and drive long term sustained growth both organically and through Strategic M&A.

需要提醒的是，他們正在加速現金流的產生，推動經營槓桿和持續的利潤率擴大，更重要的是，透過有機成長和策略併購創造投資能力，推動長期持續成長。

And again in the third quarter, I am really happy with the progress we have made in all three of these areas.

在第三季度，我對我們在這三個領域的進展感到非常高興。

So now let's turn to our financial performance in more detail, revenue reached $597 million up 5% year over year.

現在讓我們更詳細地了解我們的財務業績，收入達到 5.97 億美元，年增 5%。

Although revenue growth was more consistent with the first half of the year and transaction growth did not accelerate as much as we expected. We still delivered adjusted EBITDA in line with our expectations. Thanks to our rigorous cost control and importantly, free cash flow exceeded our expectations.

儘管營收成長與上半年較為一致，交易成長並沒有像我們預期的那樣加速。我們的調整後 EBITDA 仍符合我們的預期。由於我們嚴格的成本控制，更重要的是，自由現金流超出了我們的預期。

Revenue yield which we define as revenue divided by TTV was 7.7%.

我們將收入收益率（即收入除以 TTV）定義為 7.7%。

As a reminder, our revenue model is driven by 50% transaction volume, 30% TTV, and 20% product and professional services revenue.

提醒一下，我們的收入模式是由 50% 的交易量、30% 的 TTV 和 20% 的產品和專業服務收入所驅動的。

So only 30% of our revenue benefits from higher air and hotel pricing. And so, it's important to highlight as T TV grows faster than transactions as we saw in the quarter. It has a negative impact on the yield metric, the 30 basis points year over year decline was very much in line with our expectations.

因此，我們的收入中只有 30% 受益於機票和飯店價格的上漲。因此，需要強調的是，正如我們在本季看到的那樣，T TV 的成長速度快於交易量。它對收益率指標產生了負面影響，比去年同期下降 30 個基點非常符合我們的預期。

And I encourage you to look at our overall year performance on an annualized basis, which we expect to be down 15 basis to 20 basis points for the full year.

我鼓勵大家以年化為基礎來看待我們全年的整體表現，我們預計全年業績將下降 15 到 20 個基點。

This reflects the non TTV driven components of the revenue base and continued shift to digital transactions which has a positive impact on our just a EBITDA margin. And as previously discussed, there is seasonality in our yield with Q4 being our highest revenue yield quarter as we turn to total operating expense, which are a key area of focus for us. I am incredibly pleased with the momentum we are seeing across the enterprise when it comes to our focus on costs and increasing productivity.

這反映了收入基礎中非 TTV 驅動的部分以及向數位交易的持續轉變，這對我們的 EBITDA 利潤率產生了積極影響。如同前面所討論的，我們的收益率具有季節性，第四季度是我們收入收益率最高的季度，而總營運費用是我們關注的一個重點領域。當我們專注於成本和提高生產力時，我對整個企業所看到的勢頭感到非常高興。

Importantly, we are delivering over $100 million in cost savings this year that not only drive our margin expansion but enable us to reinvest for future growth in 2024. We are investing an incremental $35 million which represents a slightly lower CapEx expectation. Now with a 7,525 split between OpEx and CapEx together, the net impact of these resulted in adjusted operating expense growth of 1% year over year versus revenue growth of 5% adjusted EBITDA grew 23% to $118 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% growing an impressive 300 basis points year over year.

重要的是，我們今年節省了超過 1 億美元的成本，這不僅推動了我們的利潤率擴大，而且使我們能夠在 2024 年為未來成長進行再投資。我們將增量投資 3,500 萬美元，代表著略低的資本支出預期。現在，營運支出與資本支出合計分為 7,525 部分，其淨影響導致調整後的營運支出年增 1%，而營收成長 5%，調整後的 EBITDA 成長 23%，達到 1.18 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 20%，年成長 300 個基點。

I'm incredibly happy with the continued momentum and acceleration. When it comes to cash flow generation in the quarter, we achieved free cash flow generation of $59 million. This has been driven by our working capital optimization initiatives, lower capital spends in addition to significantly lower interest expense.

我對持續的勢頭和加速感到無比高興。談到本季的現金流產生，我們實現了 5,900 萬美元的自由現金流產生。這是由於我們的營運資本優化措施、降低資本支出、大幅降低利息支出。

As a reminder, we executed a debt refinancing in July that significantly lowered our interest costs. Importantly, though, through our derivative strategy, we have further reduced our costs when we consider this recent refinancing, and our interest rate hedges and swaps. In addition to the previously achieved savings tied to our lower leverage. The expected run rate, cash interest savings achieved were approximately 50 million and represent a 35% reduction versus 2023.

提醒一下，我們在七月進行了債務再融資，大大降低了我們的利息成本。不過，重要的是，透過我們的衍生性商品策略，考慮到最近的再融資以及我們的利率對沖和掉期，我們進一步降低了成本。除了先前因降低槓桿率而實現的節省。在預期運轉率下，實現的現金利息節省約為 5,000 萬，與 2023 年相比減少 35%。

And finally, our leverage ratio on net debt divided by last 12 months adjusted EBITDA is 1.9 times as of September '30 2024. This represents a very significant step down from the 2.7 times in September 2023 and is just below the midpoint of our target leverage ratio of 1.5 times to 2.5 times.

最後，截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的淨負債槓桿比率除以過去 12 個月調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.9 倍。這比 2023 年 9 月的 2.7 倍有非常顯著的下降，略低於我們目標槓桿率 1.5 倍至 2.5 倍的中點。

We have previously shared our powerful financial model with you all and how it positions us that industry leading returns.

我們之前曾與大家分享過我們強大的財務模型，以及它如何讓我們獲得業界領先的回報。

First, we expect business travel demand for our premium customer base to grow above GDP.

首先，我們預期高端客戶群的商務旅行需求成長將超過 GDP。

Second, we expect to continue to grow ahead of the market by driving share gains with our differentiated value proposition.

其次，我們希望憑藉差異化的價值主張推動市場佔有率成長，從而繼續領先市場。

Third is our focus on margin expansion. We are laser focused on a disciplined cost structure and continued margin growth.

第三是我們注重利潤率的提升。我們高度重視嚴格的成本結構和持續的利潤成長。

Our operating leverage is forecasted to drive 24% to 26% adjusted a bit. Our growth in 2024 reflecting our narrowed guidance range that I will discuss in more detail shortly.

我們的營業槓桿預計將從 24% 略微調整至 26%。我們 2024 年的成長反映了我們縮小的指導範圍，我將在稍後詳細討論。

Fourth, we're incredibly focused on optimizing our capital deployment. A positive and accelerating free cash flow can fund important incremental growth opportunities in M&A including significant value creation from the pending CWT acquisition.

第四，我們非常注重優化資本配置。積極且加速的自由現金流可以為併購中的重要增量成長機會提供資金，包括即將進行的 CWT 收購所帶來的重大價值創造。

And finally, we are in a very strong position to return cash to shareholders.

最後，我們有能力向股東返還現金。

And so let's turn to the four year 2024 guidance.

因此，讓我們轉向 2024 年的四年指導。

We are hitting the mark of what we can control.

我們正在達到我們能夠控制的水平。

Although revenues are at the lower end of our guidance adjusted EBITDA free cash flow and margin are all ahead of expectations given the softer macro environment and uncertainty related to interest rates. As we've talked about previously, revenue growth continues to track towards the lower end of the guidance range provided at the start of the year, we are now narrowing our guidance for the full year revenue to $2.415 billion to $2.435 billion, which represents a year over year growth of approximately 5.5% to 6.5% and a midpoint of 6% consistent with the low end of the prior range and reflective of what we are currently seeing in terms of performance for the fourth quarter.

儘管收入處於我們預期的低端，但考慮到較弱的宏觀環境和與利率相關的不確定性，調整後的 EBITDA 自由現金流和利潤率均超出預期。正如我們之前所談到的，收入成長繼續朝著年初提供的指導範圍的低端靠攏，現在我們將全年收入指導範圍縮小至 24.15 億美元至 24.35 億美元，這意味著同比增長約 5.5% 至 6.5%，中間值為 6%，與之前範圍的低端一致，並反映了我們目前看到的第四季度業績。

Our guidance implies a modest revenue growth acceleration largely driven by higher yield related to timing of certain performance thresholds. And in line with the seasonality of our revenue model, we remain focused on driving continued operating leverage.

我們的指引意味著收入成長將適度加速，這主要得益於與某些績效門檻的時間相關的更高收益率。並且根據我們收入模式的季節性，我們仍然專注於推動持續的經營槓桿。

This includes in excess of $100 million of cost savings from the carry over actions taken in 2023 plus new cost initiatives and productivity improvements this year executing these savings enables us to deliver strong margin expansion of 290 basis to 310 basis points. While still making significant investments in future growth, we have narrowed our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance range to $470 million to $480 million, representing growth of 24% to 26%. And again, we are reiterating the midpoint of our adjusted EBITDA guidance demonstrating the strong margin performance we've already seen here to date and our confidence into Q4.

這包括 2023 年採取的結轉行動所帶來的超過 1 億美元的成本節省，加上今年新的成本舉措和生產力改進，執行這些節省使我們能夠實現 290 個基點至 310 個基點的強勁利潤率擴大。在繼續對未來成長進行大量投資的同時，我們已將全年調整後 EBITDA 預期範圍縮小至 4.7 億美元至 4.8 億美元，增幅為 24% 至 26%。我們再次重申調整後的 EBITDA 指引的中點，這表明我們迄今為止已經看到的強勁利潤率表現以及我們對第四季度的信心。

And finally, but very importantly, given our focus on cash, I am delighted to raise our guidance for free cash flow for the second time this year, we now expect to generate approximately $160 million in 2024 compared to the previous guidance of at least $130 million. This more than triples our free cash flow from last year and represents a conversion rate of just under 35% of adjusted EBITDA.

最後，但非常重要的是，鑑於我們對現金的關注，我很高興今年第二次提高我們的自由現金流指導，我們現在預計 2024 年將產生約 1.6 億美元，而之前的指導價格至少為 1.3 億美元。這使我們的自由現金流比去年增加了兩倍多，轉換率接近調整後 EBITDA 的 35%。

I want to end by highlighting our accomplishments with respect to the capital allocation priorities we laid out earlier this year.

最後，我想強調一下我們在今年稍早制定的資本配置優先事項方面所取得的成就。

Our first priority is accelerating cash generation, which our results clearly demonstrate we have accomplished.

我們的首要任務是加速現金創造，我們的業績清楚地表明我們已經實現了這一目標。

Second, continuing to deleverage our Q324 leverage ratio of 1.9 times is now in the lower half of our target.

第二，繼續去槓桿，我們24年第三季的槓桿率為1.9倍，目前處於目標的下限。

And as previously discussed, we have achieved just under $50 million of expected run rate, interest savings.

如同前面所討論的，我們實現了預期運行率略低於 5000 萬美元的利息節省。

Third, as we continue to see cash flow acceleration and naturally deleverage, it gives us optionality to invest in our business including our people software platform, SME sales and marketing engine and AI to drive organic growth, productivity and margin expansion.

第三，隨著我們繼續看到現金流加速和自然去槓桿，我們可以選擇投資我們的業務，包括我們的人員軟體平台、中小企業銷售和行銷引擎以及人工智慧，以推動有機成長、生產力和利潤率擴大。

Fourth, with respect to M&A we continue to work cooperatively with the regulators and expect the CWT acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2025 because the financing is primarily stock. We expect to remain within our target leverage range following the transaction close.

第四，關於併購，我們繼續與監管機構合作，預計 CWT 收購將在 2025 年第一季完成，因為融資主要為股票。我們預計交易結束後槓桿率仍將維持在目標範圍內。

And as you heard from Paul, our confidence in our business model and strategy puts us in a very strong position of now being able to return cash to shareholders in the third quarter. We repurchased 8 million shares in a private share buyback from an unaffiliated third party representing approximately $55 million.

正如保羅所說，我們對我們的商業模式和策略充滿信心，這讓我們處於非常有利的地位，現在我們能夠在第三季向股東返還現金。我們從一家非關聯第三方私下回購了 800 萬股股票，價值約 5,500 萬美元。

This transaction was our first share buyback and an efficient way to repurchase shares at a discount while managing potential overhang risks that could have resulted from them selling in the open market.

本交易是我們首次股票回購，也是以折扣價回購股票的有效方式，同時也能管理在公開市場上出售股票可能產生的潛在懸而未決的風險。

I'm thrilled that today we announced our board of directors has authorized an additional share buyback of up to $300 million. And with this new authorization in place, we expect to return cash to shareholders.

我很高興今天我們宣布董事會已批准額外回購高達 3 億美元的股票。根據這項新授權，我們期望向股東返還現金。

So to wrap things up, our third quarter performance was strong. We are clearly delivering on our priorities and are confident in our four year 2024 guidance. We will provide our 2025 outlook next quarter so we can now move into Q&A Paul, and I are joined by Eric Bock who is our Chief Legal Officer and global head of M&A operator. Please go ahead and open the line.

總而言之，我們第三季的表現強勁。我們正在明確履行我們的優先事項，並對我們的 2024 年四年指導充滿信心。我們將在下個季度提供 2025 年的展望，因此我們現在可以進入問答環節，Paul 和我與我們的首席法律官兼全球併購運營商負責人 Eric Bock 一起參加。請繼續並打開線路。

If you'd like to ask a question on today's call, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad now to enter the queue and our first question comes from Peter Christiansen from Citi. Peter, please go ahead your line is open.

如果您想在今天的電話會議上提問，請按電話鍵盤上的星號鍵，然後按 1 鍵進入隊列，我們的第一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Peter Christiansen。彼得，請繼續，您的線路暢通。

Thank you. Good morning. Thanks for the chance to answer questions, Karen, really impressive on the free cash flow generation here. If we think about current run rate. And, and I guess on a stand-alone basis.

謝謝。早安.感謝 Karen 給我機會回答問題，這裡的自由現金流產生確實令人印象深刻。如果我們考慮目前的運行率。而且，我猜是獨立存在的。

Do, do you think that you know we should rank cost savings as a potential to increase the free cash flow yield or the free cash flow margin further? Or is it more a function of finding working cap efficiencies or, or even the CapEx efficiencies considering that you know, you still are investing granted? I recognize this is on a stand-alone basis, but it would be good to get a sense of the runway you see for free cash flow expansion going forward. Thank you.

您是否認為我們應該將成本節約列為進一步增加自由現金流收益率或自由現金流利潤率的潛力？或者它更多的是尋找工作資本效率的功能，或者甚至是考慮到您知道的資本支出效率，您仍然在進行投資？我知道這是獨立的情況，但了解未來自由現金流擴張的跑道會很有幫助。謝謝。

So, Pete, thanks.

所以，皮特，謝謝你。

For the question. So certainly, my expect, yeah, we're very happy. I would say first off in terms of the momentum that we're continuing to see and our, you know, profit growth in terms of that continued margin expansion, given our focus around cost will continue to be a big component. But, but to your second point, as you think about the, you know, the CapEx side, as we focus on terms of really that productivity and making our CapEx then go further in terms of the investments that we're making from AI. And just that productivity that will also contribute in addition to just, you know, continuing to chip away in terms of the interest expense. And you heard us on this call in terms of obviously, we have the refinancing, but there's, you know, there's further reductions in terms of that interest expense, given some of the swaps that we've done from a derivative perspective. And so, they feel good about that.

對於這個問題。所以當然，我的期望是，我們非常高興。我想說，首先，就我們持續看到的勢頭而言，以及我們的利潤增長，就持續的利潤率擴大而言，考慮到我們對成本的關注將繼續是一個重要因素。但是，對於你的第二點，當你考慮資本支出方面時，我們真正關注的是生產力，並使我們的資本支出在我們從人工智慧方面進行的投資方面走得更遠。而且除了繼續減少利息支出之外，生產力還將做出貢獻。您在這次電話會議上聽到我們說，顯然我們已經進行了再融資，但您知道，考慮到我們從衍生性商品角度進行的一些掉期交易，利息支出進一步減少。因此，他們對此感覺很好。

That that's fair. Thank you. That, that's helpful. And Paul I wanted to ask about S&B on, on some of the activity we obviously slowed down the last two quarters. Just curious if you're seeing that broadly across, I guess all industry verticals or are there certain soft areas that we should be mindful of. Thank you.

這很公平。謝謝。那，那很有幫助。保羅，我想問一下 S&B 的情況，過去兩個季度我們的一些活動明顯放緩了。我只是好奇，您是否廣泛地看到了這一點，我想是所有垂直行業，或者是否存在我們應該注意的某些軟肋。謝謝。

Yeah, thanks for the question, Pete. I think if you look at the SME growth rate in the quarter, it did actually move up a point versus last quarter, still below global multinational. But you know, hopefully that is, you know, a kind of stabilization of the decline that we've seen over the last decline in the growth rates over the last few quarters. And I think as I said, last quarter, you know, if you could look across different industries, it's very well reported that small mid-sized businesses, I've certainly been feeling the pressure of higher prices and, and, you know, obviously much higher interest rates.

是的，謝謝你的提問，皮特。我認為，如果你看看本季的中小企業成長率，它確實比上一季上升了一個點，但仍低於全球跨國公司。但你知道，希望這是對過去幾季成長率下降趨勢的穩定。正如我上個季度所說的那樣，如果你觀察不同的行業，你會發現有充分的報告顯示，中小型企業肯定感受到了價格上漲的壓力，而且顯然還有更高的利率。

And so now that we're seeing interest rates gradually move down in, in, in the eurozone, in the UK and the US, you know, hopefully we can keep inflation under control and those interest rates continue to decline. And, you know, we think that will improve confidence with small to mid-size businesses as we go into 2025. You know, if you look at the, I think I shared this data point before we look at the Amex card spending with you know, small businesses across a very large base in, in the US. That, that card spending also, you know, stabilized in, in the third quarter.

現在我們看到歐元區、英國和美國的利率正在逐步下降，希望我們能夠控制通膨，並且利率能夠繼續下降。而且，你知道，我們認為，在邁入 2025 年時，這將增強中小型企業的信心。你知道，如果你看一下，我認為在我們查看美國運通卡在美國廣大基數上的小型企業消費情況之前，我曾分享過這個數據點。您知道，信用卡消費在第三季也趨於穩定。

You know, so I think, you know, hopefully we're seeing that stabilization and as the macro conditions improve and interest rates continue to move down. We'll start to see a gradual improvement.

你知道，所以我認為，希望我們看到這種穩定，並且隨著宏觀條件的改善和利率的持續下降。我們將開始看到逐步的改善。

Super helpful. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Karen.

超有幫助。謝謝你，保羅。謝謝你，凱倫。

The next question comes from Duane Pfennigwerth from Evercore ISI. Duane, your line is open. Please go ahead.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Duane Pfennigwerth。杜安，您的線路已開通。請繼續。

Hey, thanks. Nice, nice operating leverage this quarter, but just, just curious about the spread between TTV, growth and, and revenue growth. Is that at all a function of your customer mix? Is this, is this about large multinationals growing faster than, than SME's? Is that part of the driver.

嘿，謝謝。本季的營業槓桿率不錯，但我只是好奇 TTV、成長和營收成長之間的差距。這完全是你的客戶組合的功能嗎？這是不是說大型跨國公司比中小企業發展得更快呢？這是驅動程式的一部分嗎？

Duane? Thanks for the question. And see it, it is, you know, higher than what we have traditionally seen in terms of that spread. Although when you look back to Q1, it's very much in line with what we've seen and, and really what we're seeing drive, this is essentially a component is being driven by the internet national mix.

杜安？謝謝你的提問。而且您知道，就利差而言，它比我們傳統上看到的要高。但當你回顧第一季時，它與我們所看到的情況非常一致，而且我們真正看到的是，這本質上是一個由互聯網國家組合驅動的組成部分。

But then also price if you think about more at the front of the plane that is that is really helping in terms of that, what I would say as well, Duane is just remember in terms of the TTV growth, you know, it's from a revenue perspective, it makes up 30%. And so, you have that denominator component, that numerator component that can, can skew it.

但如果你更多地考慮飛機前部的價格，那麼這確實有助於解決這個問題，我還要說的是，杜安只是記得，就 TTV 增長而言，你知道，從收入的角度來看，它佔了 30%。所以，你有分母分量，有分子分量，它們可以使其發生扭曲。

Thanks. And then just maybe you could expand a little bit on the drivers of improved free cash flow and appreciate the detail you gave us in the presentation, but specifically what is driving a lower investment this year? Is it, you know, should we think about it more as timing or, you know, projects that you're no longer pursuing? But just, just any more detail on the, on the drivers of the improved free cash flow outlook? Thank you.

謝謝。然後，也許您可以稍微詳細說明一下改善自由現金流的驅動因素，並感謝您在演示中給我們提供的細節，但具體來說，是什麼導致了今年投資的減少？你知道，我們是否應該更多地將其視為時機問題，或者你不再從事的專案？但是，關於改善自由現金流前景的驅動因素，還有什麼詳細資訊嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, sure Duane. So, it's primarily driven in, in terms of the interest expense. So, part of it is just as a result of the refinancing and you'll see that the interest expense in the quarter was significantly lower because you had the accrued interest in the second quarter. So that is the biggest driver in terms of the CapEx spend. We are still investing, we haven't changed in terms of or shifted our priorities in terms of those investments.

是的，當然了，杜安。因此，這主要受到利息支出的影響。因此，部分原因只是再融資的結果，您會發現本季的利息支出明顯較低，因為您在第二季產生了應計利息。因此，就資本支出而言，這是最大的驅動因素。我們仍在投資，我們的投資重​​點沒有改變。

It is a mix of us just being continuing as I just, you know, talked about earlier on the call continuing to be very focused in making that those dollars go further in terms of productivity save, low cost locations and such in terms of where we're hiring some of those roles. In addition to there is a small component of just phasing. But, but, but it's much more about the interest expense story.

這是我們將繼續採取的措施的混合體，正如我之前在電話會議上談到的，我們將繼續非常專注於讓這些資金在生產力節約、低成本地點等方面發揮更大的作用，並在那裡招聘一些職位。除此之外，還有一小部分只是分階段進行。但是，但是，但是這更多的是關於利息支出的故事。

Got it and then may maybe just one last one.

明白了，然後可能只是最後一個了。

And this is a question we got from a client this morning just thinking about the, the timing lag between your transactions and, you know, when that sort of business travel is actually consumed, you know, we tend to think about business travel as fairly close in, within a week or two.

這是我們今天早上從一位客戶那裡得到的一個問題，他正在考慮您的交易與此類商務旅行實際消耗之間的時間差，您知道，我們傾向於認為商務旅行的時間相當接近，在一周或兩週內。

So, is, you know, would you say that, you know, your three Q transactions are representative of activity in the third quarter and consumption in the third quarter or do you view it as, you know, leading in, in nature at all?

那麼，您是否會說，您的三個 Q 交易代表了第三季度的活動和第三季度的消費，或者您是否認為它本質上具有領先作用？

No, you're right. It's a pretty tight window between, you know, actual transactions and, and travel. So, you should certainly think about our transaction performance relating to activity in July, August and September.

不，你是對的。您知道，實際交易和旅行之間的時間間隔非常緊密。所以，您當然應該考慮我們 7 月、8 月和 9 月活動的交易表現。

Thank you.

謝謝。

As a reminder that star followed by one. The next question comes from lee Horowitz from Deutsche Bank. Lee, your line is open. Please go ahead.

作為提醒，那顆星後面跟著一顆。下一個問題來自德意志銀行的Lee Horowitz。李先生，您的線路已開通。請繼續。

Great. Thanks. So maybe sticking with the SME growth for the year. It's obviously a bit constrained by the macro environment, I guess as we look at the next year and beyond 10, the reason that maybe a healthier backdrop would drive SME demand to be stronger than it is this year and perhaps you grow more quickly is SME returning sort of the biggest lever that gets you from the, the low end of your long term range that you're going to deliver this year versus, you know, touching up near the high end.

偉大的。謝謝。因此也許會堅持今年的中小企業成長。顯然，它受到宏觀環境的一定限制，我想，當我們展望明年及以後的 10 年時，也許更健康的背景會推動中小企業的需求比今年更強勁，也許您會增長更快，這是因為中小企業的回報是最大的槓桿，它使您能夠從今年要實現的長期範圍的低端接近高端。

Yeah, look, I, I think that's fair. You know, I think my macro-economic conditions would obviously help across the base. But certainly, I do think that the SME segment is more sensitive to those conditions. So, you know, I think you will see an improvement in, I think the SME growth rates in in the fourth quarter.

是的，看，我認為這是公平的。你知道，我認為我的宏觀經濟條件顯然會對整個經濟基礎有所幫助。但我確實認為中小企業對這些情況更加敏感。所以，我認為你會看到第四季中小企業的成長率有所改善。

And you know, current reference, some of the investments that we've made in the second half of this year. In order to accelerate our SME growth rates, we've made further investments in our SME sales and marketing channels that we think will also help in terms of share gains and growth rates as we move into 25. So, it's, it's not all about the macro conditions.

您知道，目前參考我們在今年下半年進行的一些投資。為了加快我們的中小企業成長率，我們對中小企業銷售和行銷管道進行了進一步的投資，我們認為這也將有助於我們進入 25 強時的份額成長和成長率。所以，這並非完全取決於宏觀條件。

We obviously have to focus on the things that we can control and that's making sure that we're driving, you know, greater productivity and greater results from all of our SME sales and marketing channels as well. But I think your question is, is, is a good one and it's definitely a lever for us as we look into 2025.

我們顯然必須專注於我們能夠控制的事情，那就是確保我們能夠從所有中小企業銷售和行銷管道中提高生產力並取得更好的成果。但我認為你的問題很好，而且對於我們展望 2025 年來說，這絕對是一個槓桿。

Great thanks. And then, you know, we've been talking a lot about your ability to leverage AI across your cost base, you know, highlighting what 70% I think of cost, I guess at this point, can you, you know, you have some nice metrics on, you know, time savings and, and you know, the things that you've been able to achieve there, but any quantification of how much time or cost you've actually taken out of the business by leveraging these technologies to date. And you know what you think the opportunity is going forward, like how much of that 70% you know, of your cost base can you, you actually affect the real cost change going forward?

非常感謝。然後，您知道，我們一直在談論您在成本基礎上利用人工智慧的能力，您知道，強調我認為的 70% 的成本，我想在這一點上，您能否有一些關於節省時間的很好的指標，以及您在那裡已經能夠實現的事情，但任何量化您迄今為止通過利用這些技術實際上從業務中節省了多少時間或成本的指標。你知道未來的機會是什麼嗎？

Yeah, look, I think if you look at our margin expansion opportunity, we see it as you know, a significant continued runway for margin expansion. I think Karen's mentioned before, you know, 100 basis points, you know, per annum, you know, minimum moving up to the mid-20s.

是的，看，我認為如果你看看我們的利潤擴大機會，我們會發現，這是一個持續擴大利潤的重要機會。我認為 Karen 之前提到過，你知道，每年 100 個基點，最低上升到 20 年代中期。

And we do see automation broadly playing a critical role in that. It's not just about AI, you know, we have, you know, RPA that we're using in certain parts of our business. We have moving transactions to our software platforms which is taking demand, you know, out of the voice channel, you know, it into you know, our digital channels where we have a, you know, a higher, higher margin and a higher ROR and it's also then, you know, using AI and using generative AI in different use cases across the business.

我們確實看到自動化在其中發揮關鍵作用。這不僅與人工智慧有關，你知道，我們在業務的某些部分使用了 RPA。我們將交易轉移到我們的軟體平台，將需求從語音管道轉移到我們的數位管道，在數位管道中，我們可以獲得更高的利潤率和更高的回報率，而且我們還可以在整個業務的不同用例中使用人工智慧和生成式人工智慧。

So I think it, it, it, it's, it's tough to put a dollar number specifically on generated AI use cases. But I think that the best way to look at it is it's, it's a very important lever to help us deliver that continued margin expansion that we've committed to. And look, you see it in the third quarter, you see 300 basis points of margin expansion year over year, you see 1% growth in OpEx versus 5% growth in revenues.

所以我認為，很難用美元數字來具體衡量產生的人工智慧用例。但我認為，最好的看待它的方式是，它是一個非常重要的槓桿，可以幫助我們實現我們所承諾的持續擴大利潤率。你看，在第三季度，利潤率年增了 300 個基點，營運支出成長了 1%，而營收成長了 5%。

But I, but we're also in parallel with that, investing more in the business, investing more in our AI capabilities, investing more in our SME growth channels, investing, you know, more in our software platforms. So that that operating expense is coming through productivity gains, not through investment reduction, coming through productivity gains that are being driven significantly by a series of different automation levers including AI

但同時，我們也在對業務、對人工智慧能力、對中小企業成長管道、對軟體平台進行更多投資。因此，營運費用是透過提高生產力而不是減少投資來實現的，而是透過人工智慧等一系列不同的自動化手段顯著推動的生產力提高來實現的。

helpful. Thank you.

有幫助的。謝謝。

As a reminder that star followed by one final call for questions. Star one on your telephone keypad as we have no further questions. So, I'll hand the call back to Paul, but.

提醒一下，明星最後進行了一次提問。請在電話鍵盤上打一顆星號，因為我們沒有其他問題了。所以，我會把電話交還給保羅，但是。

Well, thank you to everyone for joining us. I want to finalize finally, kind of thank our team for their dedication to our customers and the very strong results that they've delivered again this quarter. We remain very confident that 2024 is going to be another year of growth, share gains, continued margin expansion, accelerating cash flow, which of course is enabling us to return more cash to shareholders. So, thank you very much for joining us today and your continued interest in American Express. Global Business Travel. Thank you.

好吧，感謝大家的加入我們。最後，我想感謝我們的團隊對客戶的奉獻以及本季再次取得的強勁業績。我們仍然非常有信心，2024 年將是另一個成長、股價上漲、利潤率持續擴大、現金流加速的一年，這當然使我們能夠向股東返還更多現金。所以，非常感謝您今天的加入我們，並感謝您對美國運通的持續關注。全球商務旅行。謝謝。

This concludes today's call. Thank you very much for your attendance. You may now disconnect your lines.

今天的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的出席。現在您可以斷開線路了。