康寧 (GLW) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Corning Incorporated Quarter 4 2021 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

歡迎參加康寧公司 2021 年第四季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

It is my pleasure to introduce to you Ann Nicholson, Vice President of Investor Relations.

我很高興向您介紹投資者關係副總裁 Ann Nicholson。

Thank you, Shannon, and good morning, everybody. Welcome to Corning's quarter 4 2021 earnings call. With me today are Wendell Weeks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Tony Tripeny, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Jeff Evenson, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer; and Ed Schlesinger, currently serving as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller.

謝謝你，香農，大家早上好。歡迎來到康寧 2021 年第四季度財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的是董事長兼首席執行官 Wendell Weeks； Tony Tripeny，執行副總裁兼首席財務官； Jeff Evenson，執行副總裁兼首席戰略官；和 Ed Schlesinger，目前擔任高級副總裁兼公司財務總監。

I'd like to remind you that today's remarks contain forward-looking statements that fall within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. These factors are detailed in the company's financial reports.

我想提醒您，今天的評論包含符合 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及風險、不確定性和其他可能導致實際結果出現重大差異的因素。這些因素在公司的財務報告中有詳細說明。

You should also note that we'll be discussing our consolidated results using core performance measures unless we specifically indicate our comments relate to GAAP data. Our core performance measures are non-GAAP measures used by management to analyze the business.

您還應該注意，除非我們特別指出我們的評論與 GAAP 數據有關，否則我們將使用核心績效指標來討論我們的綜合結果。我們的核心績效指標是管理層用來分析業務的非公認會計原則指標。

For the fourth quarter, the largest differences between our GAAP and core results stem from noncash mark-to-market gains associated with the company's currency hedging contracts and noncash impairment charges. With respect to mark-to-market adjustments, GAAP accounting requires earnings translation hedge contracts and foreign debt settling in future periods to be marked to market and recorded at current value at the end of each quarter, even though those contracts will not be settled in the current quarter. For us, this increased GAAP earnings in Q4 by $86 million. To be clear, this mark-to-market accounting has no impact on our cash flow.

對於第四季度，我們的公認會計原則與核心業績之間的最大差異源於與公司貨幣對沖合約和非現金減值費用相關的非現金按市值計價收益。關於按市值計價調整，GAAP 會計要求未來期間的收益轉換套期保值合同和外債結算在每個季度末按市場計價並以現值記錄，即使這些合同不會在未來期間結算當前季度。對我們而言，這使第四季度的 GAAP 收益增加了 8600 萬美元。需要明確的是，這種按市值計價的會計對我們的現金流沒有影響。

Our currency hedges protect us economically from foreign exchange rate fluctuations and provide higher certainty for our earnings and cash flow, our ability to invest for growth and our future shareholder distributions. Our non-GAAP or core results provide additional transparency into operations by using constant currency rates aligned with the economics of our underlying transactions.

我們的貨幣對沖在經濟上保護我們免受匯率波動的影響，並為我們的收益和現金流、我們為增長而投資的能力以及我們未來的股東分配提供更高的確定性。我們的非公認會計原則或核心結果通過使用與我們基礎交易的經濟性一致的恆定匯率為運營提供了額外的透明度。

We're very pleased with our hedging program and the economic certainty it provides. We've received more than $1.8 billion in cash under our hedge contracts since their inception more than 5 years ago.

我們對我們的對沖計劃及其提供的經濟確定性感到非常滿意。自 5 年多前建立對沖合約以來，我們已收到超過 18 億美元的現金。

A reconciliation of core results to the comparable GAAP value can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at corning.com. You may also access core results on our website with downloadable financials in the Interactive Analyst Center. Supporting slides are being shown live on our webcast. We encourage you to follow along. They're also available on our website for downloading.

核心結果與可比 GAAP 值的對賬可以在我們網站 Corning.com 的投資者關係部分找到。您還可以訪問我們網站上的核心結果，並在 Interactive Analyst 中心下載財務數據。支持幻燈片正在我們的網絡廣播中直播。我們鼓勵您跟隨。它們也可以在我們的網站上下載。

And now I'll turn the call over to Wendell.

現在我將把電話轉給溫德爾。

Thank you, Ann, and good morning, everyone. Today, we reported fourth quarter and full year 2021 results. We delivered another strong quarter of year-over-year growth.

謝謝你，安，大家早上好。今天，我們報告了 2021 年第四季度和全年的業績。我們實現了另一個強勁的季度同比增長。

For the fourth quarter, sales were $3.7 billion, up 12% year-over-year. We generated EPS of $0.54 and free cash flow of $425 million.

第四季度銷售額為 37 億美元，同比增長 12%。我們產生了 0.54 美元的每股收益和 4.25 億美元的自由現金流。

For the full year, sales were $14.1 billion, up 23% year-over-year. We generated EPS of $2.07, up 49% year-over-year. And we nearly doubled free cash flow. In addition, we achieved double-digit ROIC, we expanded our operating margin by 230 basis points, we increased our dividend by 9% and we reduced our outstanding shares by 5% through the resumption of share repurchases.

全年銷售額為 141 億美元，同比增長 23%。我們的每股收益為 2.07 美元，同比增長 49%。我們的自由現金流幾乎翻了一番。此外，我們實現了兩位數的投資回報率，我們的營業利潤率擴大了 230 個基點，我們的股息增加了 9%，我們通過恢復股票回購減少了 5% 的流通股。

By leveraging our fundamental capabilities and our More Corning strategy, we are capturing a compelling set of short- and long-term opportunities across our portfolio. We are performing well in a challenging environment, and we have momentum entering the year.

通過利用我們的基本能力和我們的 More Corning 戰略，我們在我們的投資組合中抓住了一系列引人注目的短期和長期機會。我們在充滿挑戰的環境中表現良好，我們有進入今年的勢頭。

Now all of that said, our gross margin is simply not where it should be. As we said last quarter, throughout the pandemic, we had prioritized protecting our people and delivering for our customers in a complex, inflationary environment. And it has come at a cost. Over the last several months, we have negotiated with customers to increase prices in our long-term contracts to more appropriately share the increased cost we are experiencing. We are focused on expanding our gross.

綜上所述，我們的毛利率根本不在應有的水平。正如我們上個季度所說，在整個大流行期間，我們優先考慮保護我們的員工並在復雜的通貨膨脹環境中為我們的客戶提供服務。這是有代價的。在過去的幾個月裡，我們與客戶進行了談判，以提高我們長期合同的價格，以更適當地分擔我們正在經歷的增加的成本。我們專注於擴大我們的總收入。

We are focused on expanding our gross margin and expect improvement in 2022 as our sales grow and our price actions take hold throughout the year.

我們專注於擴大我們的毛利率，並預計隨著我們的銷售額增長和全年價格行動在 2022 年有所改善。

Last quarter, we also discussed our expectations for our Display business. I am pleased to report we had another strong quarter of Display revenues and profits in quarter 4. Display glass pricing is expected to be flat sequentially in the first quarter. The supply-demand balance for display glass is tight. In 2022, we expect overall glass supply to remain tight to balanced and the pricing environment to remain favorable.

上個季度，我們還討論了我們對顯示業務的期望。我很高興地報告，我們在第四季度的顯示器收入和利潤又取得了強勁的季度表現。預計顯示器玻璃價格將在第一季度環比持平。顯示玻璃供需平衡緊張。 2022 年，我們預計整體玻璃供應將保持從緊到平衡，定價環境將保持有利。

This morning, you'll hear more on these and other priorities for 2022, our focused on how we intend to maintain our growth and positive momentum. Then Tony and Ed will discuss our results as well as our plan to enhance our profitability and overall financial strength. So let's dive in.

今天早上，您將聽到更多關於 2022 年這些和其他優先事項的信息，我們將重點關注我們打算如何保持增長和積極勢頭。然後托尼和埃德將討論我們的結果以及我們提高盈利能力和整體財務實力的計劃。所以讓我們潛入水中。

We've been delivering consistent growth. Sales have been up for 6 quarters in a row. Since 2019, we've grown sales by 21% and EPS by 18% with more balanced and consistent contributions across our businesses.

我們一直在實現持續增長。銷售額已連續 6 個季度增長。自 2019 年以來，我們的銷售額增長了 21%，每股收益增長了 18%，我們的業務貢獻更加平衡和一致。

Everything begins with our cohesive portfolio. We're the world leader in glass science, ceramic science and optical physics along with our four proprietary manufacturing and engineering platforms. We focus our strategy on capturing synergies among these capabilities and applying them to create disruptive innovations.

一切都始於我們有凝聚力的產品組合。我們在玻璃科學、陶瓷科學和光學物理以及我們的四個專有製造和工程平台方面處於世界領先地位。我們的戰略重點是捕捉這些能力之間的協同作用，並將它們應用於創造顛覆性創新。

Across multiple industries, we work closely with many of the most influential and successful companies to bring our world-leading capabilities to bear on their toughest challenges. In the process, we help move the world forward. As we partner with our customers to advance their visions, our probability of success increases as we combine our capabilities, reapply our talent and repurpose existing assets. This provides a powerful value creation lever by unlocking new ways to integrate more of our content into our customers' ecosystems.

在多個行業，我們與許多最有影響力和最成功的公司密切合作，利用我們世界領先的能力應對他們最嚴峻的挑戰。在此過程中，我們幫助推動世界向前發展。當我們與客戶合作推進他們的願景時，我們成功的可能性會隨著我們結合我們的能力、重新應用我們的人才和重新利用現有資產而增加。通過解鎖將我們更多內容集成到客戶生態系統中的新方法，這提供了強大的價值創造槓桿。

We aren't exclusively relying on people buying more stuff. We're driving more Corning content into the products they're already buying. Our progress in 2021 illustrates the effectiveness of our approach, and it gives us confidence that we're building on a strong foundation for additional growth in 2022.

我們並不完全依賴人們購買更多的東西。我們正在將更多康寧內容引入他們已經購買的產品中。我們在 2021 年取得的進展說明了我們方法的有效性，它讓我們相信，我們正在為 2022 年的額外增長奠定堅實的基礎。

In Optical Communications, we've returned to growth with sales up 22% in 2021. And we expect strong growth to continue. Operators are expanding network capacity, capability and access. The pace of data center construction is accelerating as more applications move to the cloud and data creation continues to soar. And fiber-rich wireless deployments are underway. Meanwhile, governments around the world are initiating plans to extend the reach of broadband to more people in more places as network access is increasingly viewed as a human right. For example, the recently passed U.S. infrastructure bill allocates $65 billion in new spending for broadband infrastructure, including $42 billion for new network builds. Our customers are stating their preferences for fiber to build these networks.

在光通信領域，我們已恢復增長，2021 年銷售額增長 22%。我們預計將繼續強勁增長。運營商正在擴大網絡容量、能力和接入。隨著越來越多的應用遷移到雲端，數據創建量持續飆升，數據中心建設步伐正在加快。富含光纖的無線部署正在進行中。與此同時，隨著網絡接入越來越被視為一項人權，世界各國政府正在啟動計劃，將寬帶的覆蓋範圍擴大到更多地方的更多人。例如，最近通過的美國基礎設施法案為寬帶基礎設施分配了 650 億美元的新支出，其中 420 億美元用於新網絡建設。我們的客戶正在陳述他們對構建這些網絡的光纖的偏好。

As the only large-scale end-to-end manufacturer of optical solutions, Corning plays a vital role in driving the continued expansion of connectivity. We're working even more closely with industry players at the regional and national levels, including expanding our longtime collaboration with AT&T.

作為唯一一家大型端到端光學解決方案製造商，康寧在推動連接性的持續擴展方面發揮著至關重要的作用。我們正在與地區和國家層面的行業參與者更密切地合作，包括擴大我們與 AT&T 的長期合作。

Stepping back, we're at the beginning of a large, multiyear wave of growth for passive optical networks. Project momentum is strong across our customer base. And as U.S. infrastructure plans roll out, it could add as much as $1 billion a year to the market for 4 years starting as early as 2023. We believe private carrier and public infrastructure investments will push the market into double-digit growth over the next few years.

退後一步，我們正處於無源光網絡多年的大規模增長浪潮的開端。我們客戶群的項目勢頭強勁。隨著美國基礎設施計劃的推出，從 2023 年開始，它可能會在 4 年內每年為市場增加多達 10 億美元。我們相信私營運營商和公共基礎設施投資將推動市場在未來實現兩位數的增長數年。

In Life Sciences, we're delivering growth on multiple fronts with sales up 24% in 2021. We're seeing ongoing demand in support of a global pandemic response. Our inventions are also helping the industry advance the transition to cell- and gene-based therapies. And we're making progress on our multibillion dollar content opportunity in our pharmaceutical packaging business.

在生命科學領域，我們在多個方面實現增長，2021 年銷售額增長 24%。我們看到支持全球大流行應對的持續需求。我們的發明還幫助該行業推進向基於細胞和基因的療法的過渡。我們在醫藥包裝業務中價值數十億美元的內容機會方面取得了進展。

After introducing Valor Glass vials in 2017, we recently introduced Velocity Vials. These vials are helping industry-leading drugmakers increase efficiency and throughput to drive faster manufacturing of vaccines to help meet global demand. Velocity joins Valor and our glass tubing business as we build a comprehensive end-to-end pharmaceutical packaging portfolio. In fact, our portfolio has enabled the delivery of nearly 5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. And earlier this week, West Pharmaceutical Services, a global leader in injectable drug administration, announced a long-term supply agreement and technology investment in Corning to enhance injectable drug packaging systems.

在 2017 年推出 Valor Glass 樣品瓶後，我們最近推出了 Velocity Vials。這些小瓶正在幫助行業領先的製藥商提高效率和產量，以推動更快的疫苗生產，從而幫助滿足全球需求。 Velocity 加入 Valor 和我們的玻璃管業務，我們構建了一個全面的端到端藥品包裝產品組合。事實上，到目前為止，我們的產品組合已經交付了近 50 億劑 COVID-19 疫苗。本週早些時候，注射藥物管理領域的全球領導者 West Pharmaceutical Services 宣布了一項長期供應協議和對康寧的技術投資，以增強注射藥物包裝系統。

In automotive, 2021 sales in our Environmental Technologies segment increased 16% to reach an all-time high $1.6 billion despite weakness in the automotive market related to chip shortages. We're pursuing a $100-per-car content opportunity driven by trends that are reshaping the auto industry and reimagining the car. We delivered multiple proof points in 2021.

在汽車領域，2021 年我們環境技術部門的銷售額增長了 16%，達到 16 億美元的歷史新高，儘管汽車市場因芯片短缺而疲軟。在重塑汽車行業和重新構想汽車的趨勢的推動下，我們正在尋求每輛車 100 美元的內容機會。我們在 2021 年交付了多個證明點。

Daimler launched the Hyperscreen dashboard display in the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The display features a Gorilla Glass cover nearly 5 feet wide. Building on this momentum, we entered a new automotive product category with our Curved Mirror Solutions. This innovation is enabling the augmented reality head-up display in Hyundai's electric crossover, the IONIQ 5. And Jeep announced a product that brings our tough technical glass into their iconic vehicles. The new Jeep performance parts windshield featuring Gorilla Glass is now a factory-installed option on the Wrangler and Gladiator.

戴姆勒在梅賽德斯-奔馳 EQS 中推出了 Hyperscreen 儀表板顯示器。該顯示器具有近 5 英尺寬的大猩猩玻璃蓋。在這一勢頭的基礎上，我們通過曲面鏡解決方案進入了一個新的汽車產品類別。這項創新使現代電動跨界車 IONIQ 5 中的增強現實平視顯示器成為可能。Jeep 宣布推出一款產品，將我們堅固的技術玻璃帶入其標誌性車輛。採用大猩猩玻璃的新型 Jeep 性能部件擋風玻璃現在是牧馬人和角斗士的工廠安裝選件。

Additionally, tighter emissions regulations continue to provide a strong content opportunity for our environmental solutions. Our newest generation of gasoline particulate filters help vehicles, including hybrids, achieve even lower levels of fine particulate tailpipe emissions. The contributions of our GPF business provide a strong illustration of our More Corning strategy in action. Since 2017, Environmental Technologies sales have increased more than 40% while global car sales had decreased by 20%.

此外，更嚴格的排放法規繼續為我們的環境解決方案提供強大的內容機會。我們最新一代的汽油微粒過濾器可幫助車輛（包括混合動力車）實現更低水平的細顆粒尾氣排放。我們 GPF 業務的貢獻為我們的 More Corning 戰略的實施提供了強有力的例證。自 2017 年以來，環境技術的銷售額增長了 40% 以上，而全球汽車銷量下降了 20%。

Let's turn to mobile consumer electronics, where 2021 sales increased 7%, and we surpassed the $2 billion in sales for the first time. Since 2016, Specialty Materials has added nearly $900 million on a base of $1.1 billion in a smartphone market that has been flat to down. As we help our customers deliver new value to their users, more of our content is deployed in each device sold. That is another great illustration of More Corning in action.

讓我們轉向移動消費電子產品，2021 年的銷售額增長了 7%，我們的銷售額首次超過了 20 億美元。自 2016 年以來，Specialty Materials 在智能手機市場的 11 億美元基礎上增加了近 9 億美元，該市場一直持平。隨著我們幫助客戶為他們的用戶提供新的價值，我們的更多內容被部署在每台銷售的設備中。這是 More Corning 的另一個很好的例證。

Our industry-leading innovations continue to garner widespread accolades. In fact, Fast Company named Corning the most innovative company in the consumer electronics category for 2021, touting Ceramic Shield, the world's first transparent and color-free glass ceramic, as "virtually indestructible" and recognizing Gorilla Glass Victus as the toughest Gorilla Glass yet. We continue to see strong demand for both of these premium products.

我們行業領先的創新不斷贏得廣泛讚譽。事實上，Fast Company 將康寧評為 2021 年消費類電子產品類別中最具創新性的公司，將全球首款透明無色玻璃陶瓷 Ceramic Shield 吹捧為“幾乎堅不可摧”，並承認 Gorilla Glass Victus 是迄今為止最堅韌的 Gorilla Glass .我們繼續看到對這兩種優質產品的強勁需求。

In 2021, more than 125 devices, including smartphones, wearables, tablets and laptops, launched featuring Gorilla Glass. And we expanded our capabilities into a new category by introducing Gorilla Glass with DX and DX+ to optimize mobile phone cameras. These composite products create an attractive opportunity to increase our revenue per device.

2021 年，包括智能手機、可穿戴設備、平板電腦和筆記本電腦在內的超過 125 款設備推出了大猩猩玻璃。我們通過引入帶有 DX 和 DX+ 的大猩猩玻璃來優化手機攝像頭，將我們的能力擴展到一個新的類別。這些複合產品創造了一個有吸引力的機會來增加我們每台設備的收入。

Finally, in 2021, Apple awarded Corning an additional $45 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund. To date, Corning has received $495 million in total from Apple's fund.

最後，在 2021 年，蘋果公司從其先進製造基金中額外向康寧提供了 4500 萬美元。迄今為止，康寧從蘋果的基金中總共獲得了 4.95 億美元。

We're investing in multiple new inventions and innovations for mobile consumer electronics, and we're excited about the potential in 2022 and beyond.

我們正在投資於移動消費電子產品的多項新發明和創新，我們對 2022 年及以後的潛力感到興奮。

Turning to Display. Our leadership in large glass puts us in a position of strength. 2021 sales grew 17% to $3.7 billion. Our volume exceeded glass market growth as we ramped Gen 10.5 facilities that supply glass for large-sized TVs, which are expected to grow at a high teens compound annual growth rate over the next several years. In 2022, we expect overall glass supply to remain tight to balanced and the pricing environment to remain favorable. We continue to believe the retail market will grow, led by higher TV unit sales and growth in average screen size.

轉向顯示。我們在大玻璃領域的領先地位使我們處於優勢地位。 2021 年銷售額增長 17% 至 37 億美元。我們的產量超過了玻璃市場的增長，因為我們增加了為大尺寸電視供應玻璃的第 10.5 代設施，預計未來幾年這些設備將以十幾歲的高複合年增長率增長。 2022 年，我們預計整體玻璃供應將保持從緊到平衡，定價環境將保持有利。我們繼續相信零售市場將會增長，這主要得益於電視銷量的增長和平均屏幕尺寸的增長。

Across our markets, long-term growth drivers are strong, and our role is clear. We lead in capabilities that are vital to progress. Our approach provides exciting opportunities for Corning inventions to make a positive impact on the world. And it underscores our commitment to moving the world forward in everything that we do.

在我們的市場中，長期增長動力強勁，我們的角色很明確。我們引領對進步至關重要的能力。我們的方法為康寧的發明提供了激動人心的機會，從而對世界產生積極影響。它強調了我們致力於在我們所做的一切中推動世界向前發展的承諾。

Now let me give you some examples outside of the operational context. In 2021, we hosted COVID-19 vaccination clinics at Corning sites around the world. In Reynosa, Mexico, for example, we helped administer more than 100,000 doses of vaccines and boosters to employees and community members. And we provided more than 200,000 diagnostic tests for employees around the world.

現在讓我給你一些操作環境之外的例子。 2021 年，我們在世界各地的康寧工廠開設了 COVID-19 疫苗接種診所。例如，在墨西哥雷諾薩，我們幫助員工和社區成員接種了 100,000 多劑疫苗和加強劑。我們為世界各地的員工提供了超過 200,000 次診斷測試。

We kicked off a 5-year, $5.5 million partnership with the nation's largest historically black university, North Carolina A&T. Our work will prepare students for STEM careers. We engaged our Board of Directors to provide guidance and resources to our Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity, utilizing our members' diverse experience, gender, age and ethnicity to advance this new initiative. We achieved gender pay equity globally for all salaried employees, and we expanded the reach of our DE&I office with regional business councils.

我們與美國歷史上最大的黑人大學北卡羅來納州 A&T 建立了為期 5 年、耗資 550 萬美元的合作夥伴關係。我們的工作將使學生為 STEM 職業做好準備。我們聘請董事會為我們的種族平等和社會團結辦公室提供指導和資源，利用我們成員的不同經驗、性別、年齡和種族來推進這項新舉措。我們在全球範圍內為所有受薪員工實現了性別薪酬平等，並通過區域商業委員會擴大了我們的 DE&I 辦公室的範圍。

And finally, we committed to greenhouse gas goals that align with the Paris Agreement. And we signed solar contracts at Hemlock that will help the world address its renewable energy goals.

最後，我們承諾實現符合《巴黎協定》的溫室氣體目標。我們在 Hemlock 簽署了太陽能合同，這將幫助世界實現其可再生能源目標。

I feel very good about our efforts to bolster equality inside and outside the company and our progress on our sustainability initiatives.

我對我們在公司內外促進平等的努力以及我們在可持續發展計劃方面取得的進展感覺非常好。

Overall, we continue to build a stronger, more resilient company. We're in the early innings of exciting industry transformations, and key trends are converging around our capabilities. You can see it in our results, you can see it in our outlook for 2022 and advancement of new businesses towards significant commercial sales over the next few years.

總體而言，我們將繼續打造一家更強大、更有彈性的公司。我們正處於激動人心的行業轉型的早期階段，關鍵趨勢正在圍繞我們的能力匯聚。您可以在我們的業績中看到這一點，您可以在我們對 2022 年的展望以及未來幾年新業務向顯著商業銷售的推進中看到這一點。

Of course, to keep advancing during Corning's next 170 years, we must focus on growing and developing our leaders. We have a new generation who are stepping up to guide this company through a very exciting phase of its history into the future, and I'm working closely with each of them. To that end, I want to recognize Tony as he prepares to hand over the reins to Ed in just a few weeks. The strong position we're in today certainly reflects the many contributions he has made throughout more than 3 decades of excellent service to Corning. Tony, we thank you and wish you the very best in retirement.

當然，為了在康寧接下來的 170 年中不斷進步，我們必須專注於培養和發展我們的領導者。我們有新一代正在加緊指導這家公司度過其歷史上一個非常激動人心的階段，走向未來，我正在與他們每一個人密切合作。為此，我想認識托尼，因為他準備在幾週後將韁繩交給埃德。我們今天的強勢地位無疑反映了他在 3 多年的卓越服務中為康寧做出的許多貢獻。托尼，我們感謝您，並祝您退休後一切順利。

At the same time, I'm excited to welcome Ed into the CFO role, which he starts on February 18. Ed has long played a key role in the growth and financial strength of our company. Tony and I have worked closely with him during that time, and I look forward to the important contributions he will make in this new position.

同時，我很高興歡迎 Ed 擔任首席財務官一職，他將於 2 月 18 日開始擔任首席財務官。Ed 長期以來一直在我們公司的發展和財務實力方面發揮著關鍵作用。在那段時間裡，托尼和我與他密切合作，我期待他在這個新職位上做出的重要貢獻。

So let me turn the call over to Tony and Ed, who will share more details on our results, our priorities and our outlook for 2022.

所以讓我把電話轉給托尼和埃德，他們將分享更多關於我們的結果、我們的優先事項和我們對 2022 年的展望的細節。

Thank you, Wendell, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，溫德爾，大家早上好。

Our growth initiatives are succeeding, and we delivered another quarter of excellent year-over-year growth that capped off a truly exceptional year.

我們的增長計劃取得了成功，我們實現了又一個季度的出色同比增長，為真正非凡的一年畫上了句號。

For the full year, sales increased 23% and EPS was up 49%. All of our segments grew with 4 out of 5 increasing sales by a double-digit percentage. It was a strong year even compared to prepandemic levels. Since 2019, we have grown sales by 21% and EPS by 18%. We nearly doubled free cash flow to $1.8 billion, which is a conversion rate of 97% for the year. We achieved double-digit ROIC, and we utilized our strong cash generation to reward shareholders. We increased our dividend 9%, and we reduced our outstanding shares by 5% through the resumption of share repurchases. On so many dimensions, we are feeling great.

全年銷售額增長 23%，每股收益增長 49%。我們所有的細分市場都有五分之四的銷售額增長了兩位數。即使與大流行前的水平相比，這是一個強勁的一年。自 2019 年以來，我們的銷售額增長了 21%，每股收益增長了 18%。我們的自由現金流幾乎翻了一番，達到 18 億美元，這一年的轉化率為 97%。我們實現了兩位數的投資回報率，並利用我們強大的現金產生來獎勵股東。我們將股息提高了 9%，並通過恢復股票回購將流通股減少了 5%。在很多方面，我們都感覺很棒。

That said, as you heard from Wendell, our gross margin percentage is not where it should be. In the fourth quarter, gross margin was 36.5%, down 180 basis points sequentially. As expected, below-normal auto production and seasonally lower sales in Specialty Materials reduced profitability. In addition, we restarted idle polysilicon capacity to support Hemlock's new long-term solar contracts, thus incurring temporary start-up costs.

也就是說，正如您從溫德爾那裡聽到的那樣，我們的毛利率不是應有的水平。四季度毛利率為36.5%，環比下降180個基點。正如預期的那樣，低於正常水平的汽車產量和特種材料的季節性銷售降低了盈利能力。此外，我們重新啟動閒置的多晶矽產能以支持 Hemlock 的新長期太陽能合同，從而產生臨時啟動成本。

We expect to expand gross margin percent throughout the year. We negotiated pricing increases in long-term customer contracts to more appropriately share the higher costs that we are experiencing. These increases take effect and accelerate throughout the year. As always, we expect to deliver on a robust cost reduction program. The combined benefits of these efforts should offset the cumulative inflation we experienced over the last year and what we anticipate for 2022.

我們預計全年毛利率將擴大。我們通過談判提高長期客戶合同的價格，以更恰當地分擔我們正在經歷的更高成本。這些增長在全年生效並加速。與往常一樣，我們希望提供強有力的成本削減計劃。這些努力的綜合收益應該可以抵消我們去年經歷的累積通脹以及我們對 2022 年的預期。

Our gross and operating margins will also benefit from growing volume. Our operating leverage is such that additional volume drives good incremental profitability and becomes even more apparent as we offset inflation. We expect volume increases throughout the year. As our volumes increase and our pricing actions take effect, our gross margin percent will grow.

我們的毛利率和營業利潤率也將受益於銷量的增長。我們的經營槓桿是這樣的，額外的銷量推動了良好的增量盈利能力，並且隨著我們抵消通貨膨脹而變得更加明顯。我們預計全年銷量會增加。隨著我們的銷量增加和我們的定價行動生效，我們的毛利率將增長。

As a reminder, the first quarter is usually our lowest volume quarter of the year. We expect Specialty Materials to improve on its normal cycle, with Q1 typically being the lowest quarter of the year. Environmental Technologies sales will improve with the resolution of the chip shortage, which we expect to happen later in the year. And Optical Communications will grow as we fill the capacity that we're adding to meet growing demand.

提醒一下，第一季度通常是我們一年中銷量最低的季度。我們預計特種材料的正常週期會有所改善，第一季度通常是一年中最低的季度。隨著芯片短缺問題的解決，Environmental Technologies 的銷售將有所改善，我們預計這將在今年晚些時候發生。隨著我們為滿足不斷增長的需求而增加的容量，光通信將會增長。

For the year, we expect price increases, cost reductions and volume growth. Putting this all together, we expect Q1 to be the lowest gross margin percent quarter every year and for gross margin to grow from there.

今年，我們預計價格上漲、成本降低和銷量增長。綜上所述，我們預計第一季度將是每年毛利率最低的季度，並且毛利率將從那裡增長。

Now let's take a closer look at performance in each of our businesses during the fourth quarter and the full year.

現在讓我們仔細看看我們每項業務在第四季度和全年的表現。

Let's begin with Optical Communications. Fourth quarter sales were up 7% sequentially, exceeding $1.2 billion. Net income increased to 12%.

讓我們從光通信開始。第四季度銷售額環比增長 7%，超過 12 億美元。淨收入增至 12%。

For the full year, sales grew 22% to $4.3 billion, and net income was up 51%. We grew significantly faster than the passive optical market. National and regional carriers increased capital spending on 5G and broadband projects. Additionally, enterprise sales were up as customers increased spending on data center builds. Full year net income grew 51% driven by the incremental volume despite cost headwinds related to materials and logistics.

全年銷售額增長 22% 至 43 億美元，淨收入增長 51%。我們的增長速度明顯快於無源光學市場。國家和地區運營商增加了 5G 和寬帶項目的資本支出。此外，隨著客戶增加數據中心建設支出，企業銷售額上升。儘管與材料和物流相關的成本逆風，但由於銷量增加，全年淨收入增長了 51%。

We're entering 2022 with a sales run rate 25% higher than where we started in 2021, and we have a strong order book. We continue to see significant public and private investments in fiber infrastructure as operators worked to expand capacity, capability and access. And we expect a large, multiyear wave of growth. In fact, we believe private carrier and public infrastructure investments will push the market into double-digit growth. We're adding capacity to capture the growing demand, and we feel really good about our position as the only large-scale, end-to-end manufacturer of optical solutions.

進入 2022 年，我們的銷售運行率比 2021 年開始時高 25%，而且我們的訂單量很大。隨著運營商努力擴大容量、能力和接入，我們繼續看到對光纖基礎設施的大量公共和私人投資。我們預計會有一個巨大的、多年的增長浪潮。事實上，我們認為私營運營商和公共基礎設施投資將推動市場實現兩位數增長。我們正在增加產能以滿足不斷增長的需求，我們對自己作為唯一一家大型端到端光學解決方案製造商的地位感到非常滿意。

Turning to Display. In the fourth quarter, sales were $942 million, up 12% year-over-year, and net income was $252 million, up 16% year-over-year. For the full year, sales were $3.7 billion, up 17% year-over-year. Net income reached $960 million, up 34% year-over-year. The pricing environment was favorable throughout the year, and our excellent operational performance allowed us to continue to lead the market.

轉向顯示。第四季度銷售額為 9.42 億美元，同比增長 12%，淨利潤為 2.52 億美元，同比增長 16%。全年銷售額為 37 億美元，同比增長 17%。淨收入達到 9.6 億美元，同比增長 34%。全年定價環境良好，優秀的經營業績使我們繼續引領市場。

In the third quarter, we provided detail about our perspective on the display industry based on three main factors: retail demand, panel makers' production and glass makers' ability to supply panel makers. Our fourth quarter performance and first quarter outlook reaffirm our expectations. We continue to expect that glass at retail will grow in 2022 by high single digits driven by TV unit and screen size growth. We expect display glass pricing to be flat sequentially in the first quarter and supply-demand balance for display glass to be tight. We expect glass supply-demand to remain tight to balanced in 2022 and the pricing environment to remain favorable.

在第三季度，我們基於三個主要因素詳細介紹了我們對顯示器行業的看法：零售需求、面板製造商的生產和玻璃製造商對面板製造商的供應能力。我們的第四季度業績和第一季度展望再次證實了我們的預期。我們繼續預計，在電視單位和屏幕尺寸增長的推動下，零售玻璃將在 2022 年以高個位數增長。我們預計第一季度顯示玻璃價格將環比持平，顯示玻璃供需平衡將趨緊。我們預計 2022 年玻璃供需將保持緊張平衡，定價環境將保持有利。

Overall, we are very pleased with Display's performance in 2021, and we feel good about our outlook for 2022. We're operating from a position of strength, and we intend to build on our momentum as we move forward.

總體而言，我們對 Display 在 2021 年的表現感到非常滿意，我們對 2022 年的前景感到滿意。我們的運營處於強勢地位，我們打算在前進的過程中鞏固我們的勢頭。

In Environmental Technologies, fourth quarter sales were $353 million, down 9% sequentially and 21% year-over-year. Fourth quarter net income was $54 million, down 10% sequentially and 42% year-over-year on lower sales volume. These declines were driven by auto production constraints created by the semiconductor chip shortage that began in the second quarter of last year. As expected, this negatively impacted profitability for the segment and the company.

在環境技術領域，第四季度銷售額為 3.53 億美元，環比下降 9%，同比下降 21%。第四季度淨收入為 5400 萬美元，由於銷量下降，環比下降 10%，同比下降 42%。這些下降是由去年第二季度開始的半導體芯片短缺造成的汽車生產限製造成的。正如預期的那樣，這對該部門和公司的盈利能力產生了負面影響。

Now even with this temporary setback caused by the chip shortage, for the full year, we were able to deliver double-digit sales growth, enabled by our content-driven growth strategy. Full year sales were nearly $1.6 billion, up 16% year-over-year, primarily driven by strength in heavy-duty diesel and greater adoption of gas particulate filters. For the full year, net income was $269 million, up 37% year-over-year.

現在，即使由於芯片短缺造成的暫時性挫折，在我們以內容驅動的增長戰略的推動下，全年我們仍能實現兩位數的銷售增長。全年銷售額接近 16 億美元，同比增長 16%，主要得益於重型柴油機的實力和氣體微粒過濾器的更多采用。全年淨收入為 2.69 億美元，同比增長 37%。

As we look ahead, we're confident that our content-driven approach will continue to drive outperformance. And when the automotive market rebounds with the resolution of the chip shortage, we expect significant growth from current levels.

展望未來，我們相信我們以內容為導向的方法將繼續推動卓越表現。當汽車市場隨著芯片短缺問題的解決而反彈時，我們預計當前水平將出現顯著增長。

Turning to Specialty Materials. Sales were $518 million, down 7% sequentially on normal seasonality. Sales were down 5% year-over-year versus a strong Q4 in 2020 following the launch of Ceramic Shield. Fourth quarter net income was $92 million, down sequentially and year-over-year driven by the lower sales volume.

轉向特種材料。銷售額為 5.18 億美元，較正常季節性下降 7%。與 Ceramic Shield 推出後的 2020 年第四季度強勁的銷售額相比，銷售額同比下降了 5%。第四季度淨收入為 9200 萬美元，由於銷量下降，環比和同比均有所下降。

Full year sales were up 7% and exceeded $2 billion driven by continued strong sales of premium cover materials. Demand also remained strong for advanced optics content used in semiconductor manufacturing as the broader end market continues to experience robust growth. Despite sales being up, full year net income was down as we invested strongly in new innovations that will be commercialized in the coming year.

受優質封面材料持續強勁銷售的推動，全年銷售額增長 7% 並超過 20 億美元。隨著更廣泛的終端市場繼續強勁增長，對半導體製造中使用的先進光學內容的需求也保持強勁。儘管銷售額上升，但全年淨收入下降，因為我們大力投資於將在來年商業化的新創新。

We have grown sales every year since 2016 through our More Corning approach despite smartphone unit sales maturing. Over that 5-year period, we've added nearly $900 million in sales on a base of $1.1 billion.

儘管智能手機銷量日趨成熟，但自 2016 年以來，通過我們的 More Corning 方法，我們的銷售額每年都在增長。在這 5 年期間，我們在 11 億美元的基礎上增加了近 9 億美元的銷售額。

Looking ahead, in 2022, we expect sales to grow faster than our underlying markets driven by continuing adoption of our innovations and growth in advanced optics, specifically in products for EUV lithography. And as I mentioned earlier, we expect sales to increase from the seasonal low levels we expect in the first quarter.

展望未來，在 2022 年，我們預計銷售額的增長速度將超過我們的基礎市場，這是由於我們不斷採用我們的創新和先進光學技術的增長，特別是在 EUV 光刻產品方面。正如我之前提到的，我們預計銷售額將從第一季度預期的季節性低水平增加。

And finally, turning to Life Sciences, we had a great year with total sales topping $1.2 billion, up 24% year-over-year. Fourth quarter sales were $317 million, up 16% year-over-year. This strong performance was driven by ongoing demand to support the global pandemic response, continued recovery in academic and pharmaceutical research labs and strong demand for bioproduction vessels and diagnostic-related consumables. Full year net income was $194 million, up 40%. Fourth quarter net income was $49 million, up 17% year-over-year.

最後，轉向生命科學，我們度過了豐收的一年，總銷售額超過 12 億美元，同比增長 24%。第四季度銷售額為 3.17 億美元，同比增長 16%。這種強勁的表現是由支持全球大流行應對的持續需求、學術和製藥研究實驗室的持續復甦以及對生物生產容器和診斷相關耗材的強勁需求推動的。全年淨收入為 1.94 億美元，增長 40%。第四季度淨收入為 4900 萬美元，同比增長 17%。

Looking ahead to 2022, we expect our strong growth to continue driven by COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, strong research funding, lab utilization returning to prepandemic levels and growth in the bioproduction segment.

展望 2022 年，我們預計 COVID-19 疫苗推出、強大的研究資金、實驗室利用率恢復到大流行前水平以及生物生產領域的增長將繼續推動我們的強勁增長。

I also want to spend a minute on our other segment. As a reminder, the majority of sales in our other segment are in Hemlock Semiconductor Group. During the year, Hemlock saw new demand for solar-grade polysilicon. With the increased activity and interest in U.S.-based solar manufacturing, customers have turned to Hemlock, a leader in polysilicon manufacturing. So in addition to selling polysilicon for use in semiconductors, Hemlock was able to sell solar polysilicon from inventory.

我還想花一分鐘時間了解我們的其他部分。提醒一下，我們其他部門的大部分銷售額來自 Hemlock Semiconductor Group。在這一年中，Hemlock 看到了對太陽能級多晶矽的新需求。隨著對美國太陽能製造的活動和興趣的增加，客戶轉向了多晶矽製造領域的領導者 Hemlock。因此，除了銷售用於半導體的多晶矽外，Hemlock 還能夠從庫存中銷售太陽能多晶矽。

Going forward, solar remains a strong revenue opportunity for Hemlock. In the fourth quarter, we signed long-term take-or-pay supply contracts with customer deposits that start to shift in 2022. As a result, we restarted idle capacity with minimal capital investment to meet this demand. As I mentioned earlier, gross margins were impacted in the fourth quarter as we incurred temporary costs to restart solar polysilicon capacity. This will improve throughout the year as solar production increases.

展望未來，太陽能仍然是 Hemlock 的強大收入機會。第四季度，我們與客戶存款簽訂長期照付不議供應合同，2022 年開始轉移。因此，我們以最少的資本投資重啟閒置產能以滿足這一需求。正如我之前提到的，由於我們為重啟太陽能多晶矽產能而產生了臨時成本，因此第四季度的毛利率受到了影響。隨著太陽能產量的增加，這將在全年有所改善。

Additionally, our auto glass and pharmaceutical packaging emerging businesses are also in the other segment, and both businesses significantly grew sales during the year as well.

此外，我們的汽車玻璃和醫藥包裝新興業務也在另一個領域，這兩項業務的銷售額在年內也有顯著增長。

Stepping back, we made strong progress across all of our businesses in 2021. We entered new product categories, announced collaboration with key industry leaders and contributed to significant industry advancements. We're building a strong foundation for future growth. This, combined with our consistent focus on innovation and deep commitment to RD&E, is what continues to fuel and sustain Corning's leadership position across its markets.

退一步說，我們在 2021 年的所有業務中都取得了長足的進步。我們進入了新的產品類別，宣布與主要行業領導者合作，並為行業的重大進步做出了貢獻。我們正在為未來的發展奠定堅實的基礎。這一點，再加上我們對創新的一貫關注和對 RD&E 的堅定承諾，將繼續推動和維持康寧在其市場中的領導地位。

Looking ahead, we expect Corning sales and EPS to grow year-over-year in the first quarter. We expect sales to be in the range of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion and EPS in the range of $0.48 to $0.53. Sales are down sequentially due to typical seasonal volume declines. For the full year, we expect sales of approximately $15 billion and profit to grow faster than sales.

展望未來，我們預計康寧第一季度的銷售額和每股收益將同比增長。我們預計銷售額將在 35 億美元至 37 億美元之間，每股收益將在 0.48 美元至 0.53 美元之間。由於典型的季節性銷量下降，銷售額環比下降。全年，我們預計銷售額約為 150 億美元，利潤增長速度將快於銷售額。

Before I turn things over to Ed, I'd like to take a moment to express my gratitude. First, to all Corning employees whose dedication and commitment to this great company is such an inspiration. Second, to those of you on the call and all our shareholders for being with -- being on this journey with us. We're working hard every day to maintain your trust and reward your confidence in us. And finally, I'd like to thank Wendell, Ed and my fellow members of Corning's senior leadership team. I'm proud to have played a role in building the strong foundation Corning has today. It's truly been a wonderful journey. As Ed takes the reins in just a few weeks, I'm fully confident in his ability to build on this foundation and continue creating value for all our shareholders.

在我把事情交給 Ed 之前，我想花一點時間表達我的感激之情。首先，所有康寧員工對這家偉大公司的奉獻和承諾是一種鼓舞。其次，感謝你們中的那些人以及我們所有與我們在一起的股東 - 與我們一起踏上這段旅程。我們每天都在努力維護您的信任並獎勵您對我們的信任。最後，我要感謝 Wendell、Ed 和康寧高級領導團隊的其他成員。我很自豪能在康寧今天的堅實基礎中發揮作用。這真是一段美妙的旅程。隨著 Ed 在短短幾週內上任，我對他在此基礎上繼續發展並繼續為我們所有股東創造價值的能力充滿信心。

With that, I'll turn it over to Ed.

有了這個，我會把它交給埃德。

Thanks, Tony, and hello, everyone. I'm looking forward to connecting with you in the days and months ahead so we can expand on the thoughts I share today and address any questions you may have.

謝謝，托尼，大家好。我期待在未來的幾天和幾個月內與您聯繫，以便我們可以擴展我今天分享的想法並解決您可能遇到的任何問題。

Before I start, I'd like to say that it's been an honor working alongside Tony all these years. Under his tenure, we met or exceeded all the goals of our 4-year strategy and capital allocation framework. And today, we're performing well against the subsequent goals we outlined in our strategy and growth framework in 2019.

在我開始之前，我想說這些年來與托尼一起工作是一種榮幸。在他的任期內，我們達到或超過了我們 4 年戰略和資本配置框架的所有目標。今天，我們在 2019 年戰略和增長框架中概述的後續目標表現良好。

Our execution has created a stronger, more resilient Corning, and that provided vital -- proved vital as the pandemic unfolded. Our solid footing enabled us to preserve our financial strength throughout 2020, and it kept us well positioned for growth in 2021. Throughout it all, Tony's focus on financial stewardship has been central to our results, and I plan to sustain that disciplined approach.

我們的執行創造了一個更強大、更有彈性的康寧，這提供了至關重要的——隨著大流行的蔓延，事實證明至關重要。我們堅實的基礎使我們能夠在整個 2020 年保持財務實力，並使我們為 2021 年的增長做好準備。在整個過程中，托尼對財務管理的關註一直是我們業績的核心，我計劃維持這種嚴謹的方法。

So let me walk through my priorities as CFO as I work to ensure that Corning continues to be an excellent steward of capital.

因此，讓我回顧一下我作為首席財務官的工作重點，以確保康寧繼續成為出色的資本管家。

We expect another strong year of cash generation in 2022, and our financial priorities remain unchanged. We will continue to invest our cash to support organic growth, extend our leadership and reward shareholders.

我們預計 2022 年將是又一個強勁的現金產生年，我們的財務重點保持不變。我們將繼續投資現金以支持有機增長，擴大我們的領導地位並獎勵股東。

First, we will continue to invest for growth primarily through RD&E and CapEx. RD&E is fundamental to our long-term success, and our allocation will be consistent with previous years. In 2022, we expect to keep CapEx consistent with 2021. Our investments include adding capacity to meet growing demand, introduce new innovations and improve productivity.

首先，我們將繼續主要通過 RD&E 和資本支出進行投資以實現增長。 RD&E 是我們長期成功的基礎，我們的分配將與往年保持一致。 2022 年，我們預計資本支出與 2021 年保持一致。我們的投資包括增加產能以滿足不斷增長的需求、引入新的創新和提高生產力。

Shareholder returns also remain a key priority. In 2022, we expect to increase our dividend per share by approximately $0.10. And we expect to continue opportunistic share repurchases, building on the 5% of outstanding shares we repurchased in 2021. In the near term, improving gross margin is my top priority. We expect improvement throughout 2022 as sales grow and our pricing actions take hold.

股東回報也仍然是一個關鍵優先事項。 2022 年，我們預計每股股息將增加約 0.10 美元。我們預計將繼續機會性的股票回購，以我們在 2021 年回購的 5% 的流通股為基礎。在短期內，提高毛利率是我的首要任務。隨著銷售額的增長和我們的定價行動的實施，我們預計整個 2022 年都會有所改善。

Overall, I'll close today saying that I'm optimistic about our growth trajectory for 2022 and excited to step into the CFO role. We're building on a strong foundation. Our capabilities are relevant to major trends playing out across the industries we serve. Our More Corning approach is working. And we're executing effectively through some very volatile end markets, expanding relationships and commitments with our customers and extending our leadership position.

總體而言，我將在今天結束時說，我對我們 2022 年的增長軌跡感到樂觀，並很高興能夠擔任首席財務官一職。我們正在建立一個堅實的基礎。我們的能力與我們所服務的行業的主要趨勢相關。我們的 More Corning 方法正在奏效。我們正在通過一些非常不穩定的終端市場有效地執行，擴大與客戶的關係和承諾，並擴大我們的領導地位。

Based on the growth drivers and financial priorities you've heard this morning, I feel good about delivering on our expectation to grow sales to $15 billion in 2022 with EPS growing even faster. I look forward to updating you on our progress throughout the year.

根據您今天上午聽到的增長動力和財務優先事項，我對實現我們的預期感到滿意，即到 2022 年銷售額增長至 150 億美元，每股收益增長更快。我期待著向您通報我們全年的進展情況。

And with that, I'll turn it back over to Ann for Q&A. Ann?

有了這個，我會把它交給安進行問答。安?

Thanks, Ed. Okay. Shannon, we are ready for the first question. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝，埃德。好的。香農，我們準備好回答第一個問題了。 （操作員說明）

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Wamsi Mohan with Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Wamsi Mohan。

Yes. When you look at your comments on long-term contracts where you're negotiating pricing, can you give us some sense of what percent of your revenue is tied into these contracts? And how should investors think about the bridge to $15 billion in revenues? How much of that increase would you say is pricing versus content versus market growth? And Tony, thanks for all you've done for Corning. It's been a pleasure working with you.

是的。當您查看您對談判定價的長期合同的評論時，您能否告訴我們您的收入中有多少百分比與這些合同相關？投資者應該如何看待通往 150 億美元收入的橋樑？您會說定價與內容與市場增長之間的增長有多少？托尼，感謝你為康寧所做的一切。和你一起工作很愉快。

So let's deaL with the pricing question first. So first, let's pull out Display for a moment.

所以讓我們先處理定價問題。所以首先，讓我們拉出顯示片刻。

We provide glass pricing guidance each and every quarter in Display. And you know that we expect the pricing environment to remain favorable. And you just received both what happened in quarter 4, which was flat sequential pricing in Display, and our guide for a flat sequential pricing in quarter 1 as well.

我們在 Display 中每個季度都提供玻璃定價指導。而且您知道我們預計定價環境將保持有利。您剛剛收到了第 4 季度發生的情況，即 Display 中的統一順序定價，以及我們的第 1 季度統一順序定價指南。

As you look at -- let's take -- now take all of our other segments, opto, Life Sciences, auto and MCE. If we take them as a whole, we expect price to be up in total dollars year-over-year. Now each of the businesses is different. There's different types of contracts. And then within each of those, you have different customers and different positions. So it's hard to reach a general statement. But I think as you think about it analytically, basically we expect prices as a whole in those segments to go up.

當你看——讓我們看——現在看我們所有的其他細分市場，光電、生命科學、汽車和 MCE。如果我們將它們作為一個整體，我們預計價格將同比上漲。現在每個企業都不一樣。有不同類型的合同。然後在其中的每一個中，您都有不同的客戶和不同的職位。所以很難得出一個籠統的說法。但我認為，當您從分析角度考慮時，基本上我們預計這些細分市場的整體價格會上漲。

Turning to the $15 billion. Like always for us, that -- you should be thinking about it primarily as being driven by our growth. The way -- the sort of construct that you heard from Tony is that if we look back at this past year, our -- we had cost inflation much higher than a normal year of increasing input cost. And the way we're looking at the pricing is that of -- we expect to share that more appropriately with our customers. And the price, together with our normal robust cost reduction, will put us in a position to offset the inflation we've already experienced as well as what we anticipate for 2022. That then allows the volume growth to drop to the gross margin line with our normal sort of robustness and without any sort of friction costs driven by excess inflation.

轉向150億美元。像往常一樣，您應該主要將其視為由我們的增長驅動。方式 - 你從托尼那裡聽到的那種結構是，如果我們回顧過去的一年，我們的 - 我們的成本通脹遠高於投入成本增加的正常年份。我們看待定價的方式是——我們希望與我們的客戶更恰當地分享它。價格加上我們正常的強勁成本削減，將使我們能夠抵消我們已經經歷的通貨膨脹以及我們對 2022 年的預期。然後，銷量增長將下降到毛利率線以下我們正常的穩健性，沒有任何由過度通脹驅動的摩擦成本。

So that's the way we tend to think about the $15 billion. That's the way we think about price, cost and then how it turns into gross margin percentage gains as volume grows and the price actions take effect.

這就是我們傾向於考慮 150 億美元的方式。這就是我們思考價格、成本的方式，然後隨著銷量的增長和價格行動的生效，它如何轉化為毛利率百分比收益。

Our next question, from Tim Long with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊的 Tim Long。

I wanted to ask on the optical comms business. Obviously, pretty strong in the quarter. Can you talk a little bit -- have you already started to see the benefits from the renewed agreement with AT&T? And looking out at this business, it sounds like you think you can see double-digit growth in the next several years. So could you talk a little bit about how you see the margin progression over time? Do you think net margins can get back to levels they were a few years ago given higher growth and pricing actions as well?

我想問光通信業務。顯然，本季度相當強勁。您能談談嗎？您是否已經開始看到與 AT&T 續簽協議的好處？看看這項業務，聽起來您認為您可以在未來幾年看到兩位數的增長。那麼你能談談你如何看待隨時間推移的利潤增長嗎？考慮到更高的增長和定價行為，您認為淨利潤率能否恢復到幾年前的水平？

Yes, I think the short answer to that is for sure, we think that margins will expand in this business for all the reasons that Wendell just explained. I mean, first, we are taking pricing actions here. That's where a lot of our long-term supply agreements are, and those will roll out through the year. And then secondly, when you combine it with the volume increase that we expect. So yes, we expect our margins to increase.

是的，我認為簡短的回答是肯定的，我們認為由於溫德爾剛剛解釋的所有原因，該業務的利潤率將擴大。我的意思是，首先，我們在這裡採取定價行動。這就是我們的許多長期供應協議所在的地方，這些協議將在全年推出。其次，當你將它與我們預期的音量增加結合起來時。所以是的，我們預計我們的利潤率會增加。

And in terms of AT&T, obviously they're a very important customer for us, and we continue to see the benefits from that relationship.

就 AT&T 而言，顯然他們是我們非常重要的客戶，我們繼續看到這種關係帶來的好處。

Our next question comes from Martin Yang with Oppenheimer.

我們的下一個問題來自 Martin Yang 和 Oppenheimer。

Can you maybe talk about the cadence for price increase and your associated margin expansion for the majority of this year? And is there any one quarter where we should expect most of the pricing impact to be fully accounted for?

您能否談談今年大部分時間價格上漲的節奏和相關的利潤率擴張？是否有任何一個季度我們應該預計大部分定價影響會得到充分考慮？

Yes, I mean, it's -- Martin, I mean, it's clearly going to roll out at different times and different pace by customers. We'd expect to see some of it start kicking in, in Q1 and then accelerate from there. What we'd expect to have happen is Q1 being our lowest quarter from a gross margin standpoint. And then when you add the sales volume increase that we expect, as we described how those dynamics work, we'd expect gross margin to expand from there throughout the year.

是的，我的意思是，它是——馬丁，我的意思是，它顯然會在不同的時間和不同的客戶以不同的速度推出。我們希望看到其中一些在第一季度開始發揮作用，然後從那裡加速。我們預計會發生的是，從毛利率的角度來看，第一季度是我們最低的季度。然後，當您添加我們預期的銷量增長時，正如我們描述的這些動態是如何運作的，我們預計全年毛利率將從那裡擴大。

The way we tend to think about it cycle-wise is that first quarter will be the lowest amount of incremental price, then it builds as the year goes on as more and more of the contracts are -- and increased pricing go into effect and as it applies to more volume just following our normal sort of seasonal cycle in our businesses.

我們傾向於從周期角度考慮它的方式是，第一季度將是最低的增量價格，然後隨著越來越多的合同隨著時間的推移而增加——並且增加的定價開始生效，並且隨著它適用於我們業務中正常的季節性週期之後的更多交易量。

I guess the -- my -- what I was trying to get at is, are there any potential for the price increase with customers, the effect of that to -- maybe lingering into 2023 also?

我想 - 我的 - 我試圖得到的是，客戶價格上漲是否有任何潛力，其影響可能會持續到 2023 年？

It's an excellent question. Like many things, when we wrestle with the issue of inflation and we try to figure out how to deal with that problem, we learn things and we develop new tools. I would say that our customers have been very fair with us and there have been very favorable discussions. There's a good mutual understanding that they're -- that we rely on each other. We're real partners. We tend not to be transactional with our customers, and our customers are transactional with us.

這是一個很好的問題。像許多事情一樣，當我們與通貨膨脹問題作鬥爭並試圖弄清楚如何處理該問題時，我們會學到東西並開發新工具。我想說我們的客戶對我們非常公平，並且進行了非常有利的討論。他們之間有很好的相互理解——我們相互依賴。我們是真正的合作夥伴。我們傾向於不與客戶進行交易，而我們的客戶與我們進行交易。

So the good news is, those long-term nature of those relationships mean that each and every time we evolve that relationship, it tends to last. So I think it all really depends on what happens with inflation going forward.

所以好消息是，這些關係的長期性質意味著，每次我們發展這種關係時，它往往會持續下去。所以我認為這完全取決於未來通脹會發生什麼。

The key thematic is that we will own our part with the type of rigorous cost reduction we normally do. But for these excess costs, this excess inflation, they've agreed to share that in a more appropriate fashion with us.

關鍵主題是，我們將通過我們通常所做的嚴格成本削減來承擔自己的責任。但是對於這些超額成本，這種超額通貨膨脹，他們同意以更合適的方式與我們分享。

Our next question comes from Steven Fox with Fox Advisors.

我們的下一個問題來自 Fox Advisors 的 Steven Fox。

Tony, congrats on your retirement, and thanks for all your help over the years. Really appreciate it.

托尼，恭喜您退休，並感謝您多年來的所有幫助。真的很感激。

In terms of my question, I guess I was wondering if you guys could dig into Specialty Materials a little bit more. It sounded like there are some new drivers that's going to help sales growth this year. Just trying to understand maybe the new versus the more typical growth of the recent years and then maybe its impact on gross margins for the coming year.

就我的問題而言，我想我想知道你們是否可以更深入地研究特種材料。聽起來有一些新的驅動因素將有助於今年的銷售增長。只是試圖了解近年來的新增長與更典型的增長，然後可能是它對來年毛利率的影響。

Thanks, Steve. Thanks especially for the comments on Tony.

謝謝，史蒂夫。特別感謝對托尼的評論。

I think when you think about specialty, you're just seeing the inverse of what you see this year in terms of margin. We're investing in new programs that are stealth in nature. As the spending has gone up, the investment has gone up as we begin to start to ramp some of those production assets. But they're not totally stable yet, and we're continuing to invest in the product technology.

我認為，當您考慮專業時，您只會看到與今年的利潤率相反的情況。我們正在投資於本質上是隱秘的新項目。隨著支出的增加，隨著我們開始增加其中一些生產資產，投資也增加了。但它們還不是完全穩定的，我們正在繼續投資於產品技術。

And what we expect is as we work our way through this year, those products will get introduced, they'll start generating revenue, we'll get more efficient in making them, and therefore, they'll turn into profit -- year-over-year profit gains as we work our way through 2022.

我們期望的是，隨著我們今年的工作，這些產品將被推出，它們將開始產生收入，我們將更有效率地生產它們，因此，它們將轉化為利潤——一年——在我們努力到 2022 年的過程中，實現了同比利潤增長。

So more of a second half type of thing you just said, Wendell?

溫德爾，你剛才說的更多的是後半部分嗎？

Yes. Yes. I think more on the second half, which is, as you know, tends to be relatively typical in mobile consumer electronics.

是的。是的。我認為下半年更多，正如你所知，這在移動消費電子產品中往往是相對典型的。

Our next question comes from John Roberts with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的約翰·羅伯茨。

Best wishes as well, Tony, and welcome, Edward. Since we have so much CFO firepower here on this call, Corning met the earlier financial goals that were laid out, but they didn't include an ROIC target. And if you look at Slide 38 again, ROIC is only 10%. Do you think we'll have a focus on that going forward? You've pivoted to focus on gross margin. I don't know if you're going to pivot maybe to focus on ROIC as well. And maybe wrap the capital spending outlook in with that as well.

最好的祝福，托尼，歡迎，愛德華。由於我們在這次電話會議上擁有如此多的 CFO 火力，康寧實現了早先制定的財務目標，但它們沒有包括投資回報率目標。如果你再看一下幻燈片 38，ROIC 只有 10%。您認為我們今後會專注於這一點嗎？你已經轉向關注毛利率。我不知道你是否也會轉向關注 ROIC。並且也許也包含資本支出前景。

Sure. I mean I think that if you look back over the last several years, it's actually been a pretty significant improvement in ROIC. And it was clearly one of our focuses both on the original strategy and capital allocation framework. But if you go back to what we talked about in 2019, it was a very specific commitment to get to at least above 10% level, which I'm really proud of the fact that we accomplished that in 2021, especially when you think about the challenges from a pandemic standpoint. But for sure, continuing to expand ROIC, which is kind of the ultimate measure of profitability, is a real focus area for us. And so that also remains a high priority from a financial management standpoint. .

當然。我的意思是我認為，如果你回顧過去幾年，這實際上是 ROIC 的一個非常顯著的改進。這顯然是我們對原始戰略和資本配置框架的關注之一。但如果你回到我們在 2019 年談到的內容，這是一個非常具體的承諾，至少要達到 10% 以上的水平，我為我們在 2021 年實現這一目標感到非常自豪，尤其是當你想到從大流行的角度來看的挑戰。但可以肯定的是，繼續擴大投資回報率，這是衡量盈利能力的終極指標，是我們真正關注的領域。因此，從財務管理的角度來看，這仍然是一個高度優先事項。 .

Yes. I would add, John, that we expect to grow, as we've shared with you, and expand our margins. And we gave you our capital guidance. So we certainly are focused on ROIC and expect it to continue to be important for us as we go forward.

是的。約翰，我想補充一點，正如我們與您分享的那樣，我們希望增長，並擴大我們的利潤。我們給了你我們的資本指導。因此，我們當然專注於 ROIC，並希望它在我們前進的過程中繼續對我們很重要。

Our next question, from Asiya Merchant with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗的 Asiya Merchant。

Great. And Tony, once again, thank you for all your help.

偉大的。托尼，再次感謝您的幫助。

I had a quick question on margin. I mean you got some pushback this quarter. I think Tony mentioned there were some start-up costs that impacted margins this quarter, which, as Wendell pointed out, were underwhelming relative to expectations. My understanding was some of those cost negotiations and inflationary pressures being passed on to customers were being negotiated in 4Q as well. So where did you get the most pushback on that? And why do you feel so confident that these inflationary pressures should abate in '22 with the negotiated contracts?

我有一個關於保證金的快速問題。我的意思是你在本季度遇到了一些阻力。我認為托尼提到了本季度影響利潤率的一些啟動成本，正如溫德爾指出的那樣，與預期相比，這並不令人印象深刻。我的理解是，一些成本談判和轉嫁給客戶的通脹壓力也在第四季度進行了談判。那麼你在哪裡得到最大的阻力呢？為什麼您如此有信心通過談判合同在 22 年緩解這些通脹壓力？

So it wasn't so much -- it's really just a timing question. It wasn't so much of what goes into effect exactly in Q4, who pushed against us and who didn't. Really, it's just -- and these are all long-term contract based. And the reason we have these long-term contracts is that our core value creation comes from us making product and having a high transformation value driven by our factories. And the key thing we need to do to drive that ROIC up and to give good streams of earnings to our investors is to make sure we derisk that capital investment.

所以它不是那麼多 - 這實際上只是一個時間問題。在第四季度真正生效的東西並沒有太多，誰反對我們，誰沒有反對。真的，這只是 - 這些都是基於長期合同的。我們擁有這些長期合同的原因是我們的核心價值創造來自於我們製造產品並擁有由我們的工廠驅動的高轉型價值。為了提高投資回報率並為我們的投資者提供良好的收益流，我們需要做的關鍵事情是確保我們取消資本投資的風險。

So the good news with that is that the way inflation works is that tends to put some dampening of the effect of inflation on us because of our fixed cost structure being relatively high. But the downside is with the -- with those long-term contracts, you have to actually sit down and renegotiate them.

因此，好消息是通貨膨脹的運作方式往往會抑制通貨膨脹對我們的影響，因為我們的固定成本結構相對較高。但不利的一面是——對於那些長期合同，你必須坐下來重新談判。

So what gives us confidence is we've renegotiated them and reached a formal agreement with our customers on this is what their pricing will be. So it takes time to do that, to reach agreement and what is the appropriate sharing. But the good news is, is once you reach agreement, you have agreement and then now we just execute. And that's where we are. Now we're not closed with everybody. There's more to do, and that's another reason that some of it builds through the year.

因此，讓我們充滿信心的是，我們已經重新談判並與我們的客戶就他們的定價達成了正式協議。所以這需要時間來達成一致，什麼是適當的分享。但好消息是，一旦你們達成協議，你們就達成了協議，然後我們就執行了。這就是我們所在的地方。現在我們並沒有對所有人關閉。還有更多工作要做，這是其中一些在一年中建立起來的另一個原因。

Okay. And...

好的。和...

And with regard...

而關於...

Sorry.

對不起。

And -- sorry, Asiya. And with regard to the start-up costs that you mentioned, that was primarily in Hemlock, and that's actually a pretty exciting thing for us. As you know, when we did the transaction around Hemlock in September of 2020, it was primarily based on the semiconductor market, and we looked at solar as an option. That solar appears to be materializing, and we have signed long-term contracts, and that's where the start-up costs came from.

還有——對不起，Asiya。關於你提到的啟動成本，主要是在 Hemlock，這對我們來說實際上是一件非常令人興奮的事情。如您所知，我們在 2020 年 9 月圍繞 Hemlock 進行交易時，主要是基於半導體市場，我們將太陽能視為一種選擇。太陽能似乎正在實現，我們已經簽署了長期合同，這就是啟動成本的來源。

And on the...

而在...

Our next question...

我們的下一個問題...

Go ahead, Asiya.

加油，阿西婭。

Is from Samik Chatterjee with JPMorgan.

來自摩根大通的 Samik Chatterjee。

Congrats to Tony and Ed.

祝賀托尼和埃德。

I was going to just ask on Display here. Tony, you sounded optimistic about the retail TV environment in 2022. At least in 4Q from the data we saw, I mean, we haven't seen any positive data points. At least the industry seemed a bit more bearish or had a -- sort of seeing a soft environment in terms of TV retail in 4Q. So what's really driving in terms of data points and maybe what you're looking at driving that optimism about TV unit outlook in 2022?

我打算在這裡的顯示器上問。托尼，您聽起來對 2022 年的零售電視環境持樂觀態度。至少從我們看到的數據來看，在第四季度，我的意思是，我們還沒有看到任何積極的數據點。至少該行業似乎更加悲觀，或者在第四季度的電視零售方面看到了一種疲軟的環境。那麼，在數據點方面真正推動的是什麼，也許您正在考慮推動對 2022 年電視單位前景的樂觀情緒？

And separately, just on the screen size as well. I mean, some of the recent data show screen size increases aren't going up as much as it used to. Is there an inflation-driven change in consumer behavior where consumers are maybe pulling back a bit in terms of moving to higher screen sizes?

並且單獨地，僅在屏幕尺寸上也是如此。我的意思是，最近的一些數據顯示屏幕尺寸的增加並沒有像以前那麼大。消費者行為是否存在通貨膨脹驅動的變化，消費者可能會在轉向更高的屏幕尺寸方面有所回落？

Well, hey, thanks for the question on Display. We think it's really -- it's an important area because what we have heard from investors is that a key factor weighing on our stock price is a concern that the current cycle of downward price and profits in the LCD panel industry would cause a significant glass price and profit squeeze for Corning. Now what we said in quarter 3 is that we believe glass supply-demand balance will be tight. And therefore, the glass pricing environment will remain favorable. And therefore, we did not expect a significant reduction in our profit stream.

好吧，嘿，謝謝你在顯示器上的問題。我們認為這確實是一個重要的領域，因為我們從投資者那裡聽到的是，影響我們股價的一個關鍵因素是擔心當前 LCD 面板行業價格和利潤的下行週期會導致玻璃價格大幅上漲和康寧的利潤擠壓。現在我們在第三季度所說的是，我們相信玻璃供需平衡將趨緊。因此，玻璃定價環境將保持有利。因此，我們預計我們的利潤流不會顯著減少。

We now have quarter 4 data. Glass price was flat sequentially. Further, we guided that for quarter 1, the glass price will be flat sequentially. Once again, glass supply demand remains tight. So now we have a more confirmatory evidence to support our belief that the pricing environment will be favorable in 2022. That, I think, is the core evidence that we're looking at.

我們現在有第 4 季度的數據。玻璃價格環比持平。此外，我們指導第一季度，玻璃價格將環比持平。再次，玻璃供應需求依然緊張。所以現在我們有了更確鑿的證據來支持我們的信念，即 2022 年的定價環境將是有利的。我認為，這是我們正在研究的核心證據。

Now when you shift to thinking about the market, retail -- so for glass out in retail overall is like in the range of what we anticipated, right? And size, we actually expect to do quite well in the coming year. One of the things that happened sort of during the pandemic is that a lot of smaller screens were sold, and that tends to be the place where the units we expected to drop off more. And they have, which has -- sort of has the effect of also accelerating, if anything, the diagonal growth on average. That's the way we tend to think about size and retail.

現在，當您轉向考慮市場和零售時——所以對於零售中的玻璃而言，總體而言就像在我們預期的範圍內，對吧？和規模，我們實際上預計來年會做得很好。在大流行期間發生的一件事是出售了許多較小的屏幕，而這往往是我們預計會出現更多下降的地方。他們有，這有——如果有的話，也有加速平均對角線增長的效果。這就是我們傾向於考慮規模和零售的方式。

Would you guys have anything to add on that?

你們有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I think that's exactly right. I mean our expectations for the year really haven't changed. They're pretty well in line from a unit standpoint with what third-party people in the industry are looking at. And the screen size, we're very confident in. I mean 1.5 inch has been pretty consistent for a very long period of time. And when you look at the growth above 65 inches TVs over the last year, it just confirms that 1.5 inch. We feel very confident about that.

不，我認為這完全正確。我的意思是我們對這一年的期望真的沒有改變。從單位的角度來看，它們與業內第三方人員所關注的內容非常一致。屏幕尺寸，我們非常有信心。我的意思是 1.5 英寸在很長一段時間內都相當穩定。當您查看去年 65 英寸電視以上的增長時，它只是證實了 1.5 英寸。我們對此感到非常有信心。

Our next question comes from George Notter with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 George Notter 和 Jefferies。

I guess I wanted to ask about the optical business. Obviously, I think the bet there is just how fast you guys can expand manufacturing capacity. I saw you grew that business, obviously, about 6.5% sequentially. So you're making progress. But at the same time, we hear about how your lead times are nearly 2 years for high-count fiber cables. So maybe you could talk about the gating items to expanding capacity there. Is it resin? Is it buildings and draw towers? Just kind of walk us through what you see. And then last thing, congrats to Tony.

我想我想問一下光學業務。顯然，我認為你們可以以多快的速度擴大製造能力。我看到你的業務增長了，顯然，環比增長了 6.5%。所以你在進步。但與此同時，我們聽說您的高支數光纖電纜的交貨時間接近 2 年。所以也許你可以談談在那裡擴大產能的門控項目。是樹脂嗎？是建築和畫塔嗎？只是帶我們看看你所看到的。最後一件事，祝賀托尼。

Thanks. Like -- as you point out, I won't comment on our specific backlog by product line. But as you point out, if we could make more, we could sell more. And that's why we announced the capacity expansions that we did last year, and we expect those to ramp as the year goes on. With each of those capacity expansions, we need to have in place long-term commitments from our customers, and we have those and that is ramping.

謝謝。就像——正如你所指出的，我不會按產品線評論我們具體的積壓工作。但正如你所指出的，如果我們能賺得更多，我們就能賣得更多。這就是我們宣布去年進行的產能擴張的原因，我們預計隨著時間的推移，這些擴張將會增加。隨著每一次產能擴張，我們都需要客戶做出長期承諾，而我們擁有這些承諾，而且這種承諾正在增加。

So the real bottleneck isn't resin, isn't raw materials, isn't labor. It is just us being able to get into place capacity that is more appropriately balanced to the demand that we are experiencing.

所以真正的瓶頸不是樹脂，不是原材料，也不是勞動力。只有我們能夠建立更適當地平衡我們正在經歷的需求的容量。

Our next question comes from Rod Hall with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Rod Hall。

Congrats, Tony. Great working with you. Best of luck (inaudible). So I had two questions, one on Hemlock. The Hemlock commentary on solar, I thought, was pretty positive. Do you have any ideas for growth there in '22 on '21 mid-single digits? Any kind of indication you could give us for that?

恭喜，托尼。和你一起工作很棒。祝你好運（聽不清）。所以我有兩個問題，一個關於 Hemlock。我認為 Hemlock 對太陽能的評論非常積極。您對 21 年中個位數的 22 年增長有什麼想法嗎？你能給我們什麼暗示嗎？

We're not specifically giving guidance, but what I would say is we've signed a number of long-term, multiyear agreements. We received cash up front. They're take-or-pay agreements. So we're highly confident that we'll be able to fill the capacity that we have coming online. So you'll see that expand through the year in 2022.

我們沒有具體提供指導，但我想說的是，我們已經簽署了許多長期、多年的協議。我們預先收到現金。它們是照付不議的協議。因此，我們非常有信心能夠填補我們即將上線的容量。因此，您將看到 2022 年這一年的增長。

One of the interesting dynamics that Ann could maybe sit down with you on afterwards, Rod, is from a modeling standpoint. When we did the Hemlock transaction, as you heard from Jeff, so we really stood on the semiconductor business, but we picked up all of those solar capabilities that really is an option with that, with inventory that we also had that was -- that is solar grade. And so just through this year, we sold down a hunk of that inventory, which generated cash nicely. And then now you're really seeing new solar-grade polysi being made by us with the start-up that you're talking about. So when you work through the modeling, let's have Ann sit down to provide a little bit of help on just sort of how that worked.

Rod 之後，Ann 可能會和你坐下來討論的一個有趣的動態是從建模的角度來看的。當我們進行 Hemlock 交易時，正如您從 Jeff 那裡聽到的那樣，我們真的站在半導體業務上，但我們獲得了所有真正可以選擇的太陽能能力，我們也擁有的庫存是 -是太陽能級。所以就在今年，我們賣掉了大量的庫存，這很好地產生了現金。然後現在你真的看到我們正在用你所說的初創公司製造新的太陽能級多晶矽。因此，當您完成建模工作時，讓我們讓 Ann 坐下來就如何工作提供一點幫助。

Okay, great. And then the buyback is kind of back to the same level it was in December of 2019. Should we be thinking like we're back into kind of a normalized buyback regime now?

好的，太好了。然後回購有點回到 2019 年 12 月的水平。我們是否應該認為我們現在又回到了一種正常化的回購制度？

Well, for sure, Rod, our approach from a buyback standpoint is that first, we generate very strong operating cash flow. And our first priority is to invest that in our business and our growth and sustained leadership. And then obviously, once we've done that, we want to return the cash to shareholders.

好吧，可以肯定的是，羅德，從回購的角度來看，我們的方法是首先，我們產生非常強勁的經營現金流。我們的首要任務是將其投資於我們的業務以及我們的增長和持續的領導力。然後很明顯，一旦我們這樣做了，我們希望將現金返還給股東。

As Ed mentioned, we've increased the dividend in 2021, and we expect to increase the dividend in 2022. And then we'll be opportunistic on buybacks. And we saw Q4 as a really great opportunity to buy back shares where the stock price was, and we'll continue to pursue buybacks on an opportunistic basis.

正如 Ed 所說，我們在 2021 年增加了股息，我們預計在 2022 年增加股息。然後我們將在回購方面投機取巧。我們認為第四季度是回購股票價格的絕佳機會，我們將繼續在機會主義的基礎上進行回購。

Our last question, from Meta Marshall with Morgan Stanley.

我們的最後一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Meta Marshall。

Maybe just a question on environmental. I just wanted to get a sense of clearly, supply chain is an issue with autos right now, but we hear a lot of like cars that are basically ready to go and just need a chip. And so just trying to get a sense of when you would expect to see environmental tick back up. Is it when the supply chain shortage kind of alleviates itself on the auto market? Or you would need kind of a quarter or 2 after that to work through kind of inventory that they may have?

也許只是一個關於環境的問題。我只是想清楚地知道，供應鏈現在是汽車的一個問題，但我們聽到很多類似的汽車基本上已經準備就緒，只需要一個芯片。所以只是想知道你什麼時候會看到環境回升。是供應鏈短缺在汽車市場上有所緩解嗎？或者你需要在那之後的一到兩個季度來處理他們可能擁有的庫存？

We don't see a significant inventory sort of overhang for our product. One of the reasons is that our demand-supply was tight for that product to begin with as we worked our way through the year, and our content strategy has put a good amount of strain on our ability to supply.

我們沒有看到我們產品的大量庫存過剩。原因之一是，在我們努力完成這一年的過程中，我們對該產品的需求供應很緊張，而我們的內容策略對我們的供應能力造成了很大的壓力。

So in general, if you had a point of view on when chips started to come back for auto and as auto production scale, we would expect to roughly follow that timing.

因此，總的來說，如果您對芯片何時開始回歸汽車以及汽車生產規模有所了解，我們預計會大致遵循該時間。

Great. All right, thank you all for joining us today. Before we close, I wanted to let everyone know that we will attend the SIG 11th Annual Tech Conference on March 4 and the Morgan Stanley Global Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 8. We'll also host management visits to investor offices in select cities. Finally, a web replay of today's call will be available on our site starting later this morning. .

偉大的。好的，謝謝大家今天加入我們。在結束之前，我想讓大家知道，我們將參加 3 月 4 日的 SIG 第 11 屆年度技術會議和 3 月 8 日的摩根士丹利全球技術、媒體和電信會議。我們還將在部分選定的投資者辦公室接待管理層訪問城市。最後，今天上午晚些時候將在我們的網站上提供今天電話會議的網絡重播。 .

So thank you all for joining us. Shannon, that concludes our call. Please disconnect all lines.

所以感謝大家加入我們。香農，我們的電話到此結束。請斷開所有線路。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。