家得寶 (HD) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to The Home Depot Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加家得寶 2019 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Isabel Janci. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興介紹您的主持人伊莎貝爾詹西 (Isabel Janci)。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Joining us on our call today are Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President; Ted Decker, Executive Vice President of Merchandising; and Richard McPhail, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, the call will be opened for questions. Questions will be limited to analysts and investors. (Operator Instructions) If we are unable to get to your question during the call, please call our Investor Relations department at (770) 384-2387.

謝謝大家，早安。今天參加我們電話會議的有董事長、執行長兼總裁 Craig Menear；泰德‧德克爾 (Ted Decker)，商品銷售執行副總裁；以及執行副總裁兼財務長理查德·麥克菲爾 (Richard McPhail)。在我們發表準備好的發言之後，將會開放提問環節。問題僅限於分析師和投資者。(操作員指示)如果我們無法在通話期間回答您的問題，請致電我們的投資者關係部 (770) 384-2387。

Before I turn the call over to Craig, let me remind you that today's press release and the presentations made by our executives include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in the release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Today's presentations also include certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of these measures is provided on our website.

在我將電話轉給克雷格之前，請允許我提醒您，今天的新聞稿和我們高管的陳述包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述。這些聲明受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期和預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中確定的因素。今天的演示還包括某些非公認會計準則指標。這些措施的協調已在我們的網站上提供。

Now let me turn the call over to Craig.

現在讓我把電話轉給克雷格。

Thank you, Isabel, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal 2019 was another record year for our business as we achieved the highest sales in company history. Excluding the extra week in 2018, fiscal 2019 sales grew 3.5% to $110.2 billion. Diluted earnings per share were $10.25.

謝謝你，伊莎貝爾，大家早安。2019 財年是我們業務又創紀錄的一年，我們實現了公司歷史上最高的銷售額。除去 2018 年的額外一周，2019 財年的銷售額成長 3.5%，達到 1,102 億美元。每股攤薄收益為 10.25 美元。

As expected, we finished the year with our strongest comp performance in the fourth quarter. Comp sales were up 5.2% from last year, and our U.S. comps were positive 5.3%. Sales for the fourth quarter were $25.8 billion, and diluted earnings per share were $2.28.

正如預期，我們以第四季最強勁的業績結束了這一財年。同店銷售額較去年同期成長 5.2%，其中美國同店銷售額成長 5.3%。第四季銷售額為 258 億美元，每股攤薄收益為 2.28 美元。

We saw broad-based growth across all geographies and merchandising departments in the quarter. All 19 of our U.S. regions posted positive comps. And internationally, both Canada and Mexico reported positive comps in the fourth quarter.

本季度，我們看到所有地區和商品部門都實現了廣泛的成長。我們在美國的所有 19 個地區都公佈了積極的業績。從國際來看，加拿大和墨西哥第四季的年比銷售額均呈現正面動能。

As Ted will detail, both comp ticket and transactions grew in the quarter, and we saw growth with both our Pro and DIY customers. We had a strong holiday season with record-setting sales on Black Friday and during Cyber Week. These results reflect solid execution by our stores, our merchants, our supply chain teams as well as our vendor partners and demonstrate the overall health of the consumer.

正如 Ted 所詳述的，本季的票務和交易量均實現了成長，我們的專業客戶和 DIY 客戶數量均實現了成長。我們度過了一個強勁的假期季，黑色星期五和網路週的銷售額創下了紀錄。這些結果反映了我們的商店、商家、供應鏈團隊以及供應商合作夥伴的堅實執行，並反映了消費者的整體健康狀況。

I'm proud of our results in fiscal 2019 as the team successfully navigated a number of external headwinds by maintaining a relentless focus on our customer. 2019 was also a pivotal year in our transformation to create the One Home Depot experience. We are now 2 years into our multiyear investment and are realizing benefits. We have more conviction than ever that these strategic initiatives are creating a value proposition that is unique to the marketplace and will extend our leadership position for years to come.

我為我們 2019 財年的業績感到自豪，因為團隊透過堅持不懈地關注客戶，成功克服了許多外部阻力。2019 年也是我們打造「One Home Depot」體驗轉型的關鍵一年。我們的多年投資現已進行兩年，並開始實現收益。我們比以往任何時候都更加堅信，這些策略舉措正在創造獨特的市場價值主張，並將在未來數年鞏固我們的領導地位。

The majority of our U.S. stores have a new look and feel, and we addressed customer pain points around navigation and checkout. Our enhanced signage and store refresh package, along with investments in the front end of our stores, have improved the customer experience and driven associate productivity. These store investments are driving higher customer satisfaction scores, which we believe is translating into market share gains.

我們在美國的大部分商店都有了新的外觀和感覺，我們解決了客戶在導航和結帳方面的痛點。我們增強的標牌和商店更新套餐，以及對商店前端的投資，改善了客戶體驗並提高了員工的工作效率。這些商店投資正在提高客戶滿意度分數，我們相信這將轉化為市場份額的成長。

As a complement to our store investments, we are investing to strengthen the competitive advantages that we have built through the blending of our physical and digital platforms into a more seamless interconnected experience. For example, our chain-wide rollout of digital appliance labels, connecting ratings from the digital world to the physical world, enhancing the in-store shopping experience.

作為我們商店投資的補充，我們正在投資以加強我們透過將實體平台和數位平台融合成更無縫的互聯體驗而建立的競爭優勢。例如，我們在整個連鎖店推出數位家電標籤，將數位世界的評級與現實世界連接起來，增強店內購物體驗。

Additionally, homedepot.com continues to be an engine for growth for our overall business, driving increased traffic online and additional footsteps to our stores. Because of this, we continue to invest in search functionality, category presentations, product content and enhanced fulfillment options to remove friction from the online shopping experience.

此外，homedepot.com 繼續成為我們整體業務的成長引擎，推動線上流量的成長和更多顧客光臨我們的商店。因此，我們將繼續投資於搜尋功能、類別展示、產品內容和增強的履行選項，以消除線上購物體驗中的摩擦。

Excluding the extra week last year, online sales grew 20.8% in the quarter and 21.4% for the year. And over 50% of the time, our customers choose to pick up their order in a store. This is the power of the interconnected retail strategy.

除去年的額外一周外，本季線上銷售額成長了 20.8%，全年成長了 21.4%。超過 50% 的情況是，我們的客戶選擇在商店取貨。這就是互聯零售策略的力量。

We have also expanded our digital capabilities by investing in a B2B website experience tailored specifically for the needs of our Pro customers. We have now onboarded over 1 million Pro customers. Additionally, during the quarter, we completed the integration of a third-party, best-in-class CRM system for all of our Pro sales and services teams. This enhances our visibility, enabling us to better serve our customers. I'm excited about the opportunities ahead as we continue to build capabilities to engage with the Pro, no matter when, where or how they want to interact.

我們還透過投資專門針對專業客戶需求而客製化的 B2B 網站體驗來擴展我們的數位能力。現在，我們的專業客戶已超過 100 萬。此外，在本季度，我們為所有專業銷售和服務團隊完成了第三方、一流 CRM 系統的整合。這提高了我們的知名度，使我們能夠更好地服務客戶。我對未來的機會感到興奮，因為我們將繼續建立與專業人士互動的能力，無論他們何時、何地或如何想要互動。

Another key component of the best-in-class interconnected shopping experience centers on the enhanced delivery and fulfillment options. In 2019, we continued our multiyear journey to create the fastest, most efficient delivery network in home improvement. We are now live with at least one of each type of facility that we are building. Though it is early days, we are pleased with the initial results.

一流互聯購物體驗的另一個關鍵要素是增強的配送和履行選項。2019年，我們繼續多年努力，打造最快、最有效率的家裝配送網路。目前，我們正在建造的每種類型的設施都至少有一個是投入運作的。儘管還處於早期階段，但我們對初步結果感到滿意。

For example, we have opened a dozen market delivery operations, or MDOs, that have enabled us to transition 20% of our appliance deliveries from an outsourced model to one in which we control more of the customer experience. This has translated to meaningful improvements in our customer satisfaction scores for appliance deliveries. Our supply chain build-out will continue to ramp from here, with the largest number of new facilities coming online in 2021 and 2022.

例如，我們開設了十幾個市場交付業務（MDO），這使我們能夠將 20% 的設備交付從外包模式轉變為我們能夠更多地控制客戶體驗的模式。這使得我們家電交付的客戶滿意度評分顯著提高。我們的供應鏈建設將從現在開始繼續加速，其中最多的新設施將於 2021 年和 2022 年上線。

Turning to 2020. Richard will take you through the details, but we expect another year of growth with both sales and comp growth ranging from approximately 3.5% to 4% and diluted earnings per share of approximately $10.45. Today, our Board approved a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, which equates to an annual dividend of $6 per share. We remain committed to maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation to create value for our shareholders.

展望2020年。理查德將向您介紹詳細信息，但我們預計今年的銷售額和同類產品增長率將保持在約 3.5% 至 4% 之間，每股攤薄收益約為 10.45 美元。今天，我們的董事會批准將季度股息增加 10% 至每股 1.50 美元，相當於每股 6 美元的年度股息。我們將繼續致力於保持嚴謹的資本配置方式，為股東創造價值。

I'm incredibly proud of the progress our teams made as we transform ourselves into the One Home Depot of the future. While we define our sales growth in percentage terms, we capture share in dollar terms. And through the second year of our One Home Depot investment program, we have grown sales by over $9 billion, a level of growth unmatched in our market.

我為我們的團隊在向未來的「一個家得寶」轉型的過程中所取得的進步感到無比自豪。雖然我們以百分比來定義銷售成長，但我們以美元來計算份額。在「一個家得寶」投資計畫實施的第二年，我們的銷售額成長了 90 多億美元，這一成長水準在市場上無與倫比。

As we look forward to 2020, I am more excited than ever about the opportunities ahead. We are investing to unlock the power of a truly interconnected customer experience by enhancing our already strong foundation to further extend our leadership position into the marketplace. As with any transformation, the work we are doing is complex, and I'm proud of the way our associates continue to execute at high levels and focus on what's most important in our business, our customers.

展望2020年，我對未來的機會比以往任何時候都更加興奮。我們正在投資以釋放真正互聯的客戶體驗的力量，透過增強我們已經強大的基礎來進一步擴大我們在市場上的領導地位。與任何轉型一樣，我們所做的工作非常複雜，我為我們的員工繼續高水準執行並專注於我們業務中最重要的事情——我們的客戶的方式感到自豪。

I want to close by thanking our associates for their hard work and dedication in the fourth quarter and throughout the year. For the second half of the year, 100% of our stores will receive Success Sharing, our bonus program for our hourly associates. We look forward to continuing our momentum in 2020.

最後，我要感謝我們的同事在第四季度和全年的辛勤工作和奉獻。今年下半年，我們所有的門市都將享受「成功分享」計劃，這是我們針對小時工的獎金計劃。我們期待在 2020 年繼續保持這一良好勢頭。

And with that, let me turn the call over to Ted.

現在，請允許我將電話轉給泰德。

Thanks, Craig, and good morning, everyone. We had a strong finish to the year with fourth quarter sales exceeding our expectations. We saw growth across the store at both our Pro and DIY customers. All of our merchandising departments posted positive comps, led by our appliance department, which posted double-digit comps in the quarter. Comps in decor and storage and tools were also above the company average. All other merchandising departments were positive, but below the company comp of 5.2%.

謝謝，克雷格，大家早安。我們以強勁的勢頭結束了這一年度，第四季度的銷售額超出了我們的預期。我們發現，無論是專業客戶還是 DIY 客戶，整個商店都在成長。我們所有的商品銷售部門都取得了積極的業績，其中家電部門表現最為出色，本季度取得了兩位數的業績。裝飾、儲存和工具方面的同類產品也高於公司平均水平。所有其他商品部門均表現良好，但低於公司 5.2% 的薪資水準。

In the fourth quarter, comp average ticket increased 4.4%, and comp transactions increased 0.8%. The strength in our comp was partially driven by a shift in our event timing, which Richard will talk through in a moment. In addition, we had an excellent response to our Black Friday and holiday events, and our customers continue to trade up to new and innovative items. After experiencing significant deflation in lumber and copper during the first 3 quarters of 2019, commodity prices had a more neutral impact in the fourth quarter.

第四季，同店平均票價上漲 4.4%，同店交易量上漲 0.8%。我們的實力在某種程度上得益於賽事時間的轉變，Richard 稍後會詳細闡述這一點。此外，我們的「黑色星期五」和假日活動反應非常好，我們的客戶繼續購買新的和創新的商品。在2019年前三個季度經歷木材和銅的大幅貶值後，大宗商品價格在第四季度產生了較中性的影響。

During the fourth quarter, big-ticket comp transactions or those over $1,000, which represent approximately 20% of U.S. sales, were up double digits. The strength in our big-ticket sales was driven in part by the shift in our event timing as well as strong performance in a number of other big-ticket categories. During the fourth quarter, big-ticket categories like appliances, vinyl plank flooring and our installation services business, all posted comps above the company average.

第四季度，大額交易或超過 1,000 美元的交易（約占美國銷售額的 20%）成長了兩位數。我們的高價商品銷售強勁，部分原因是我們活動時間的轉變，以及其他一些高價商品類別的強勁表現。在第四季度，家電、乙烯基板地板和我們的安裝服務業務等大件商品的銷售額均高於公司平均水平。

Consumer demand is strong, and this was evident during our annual Black Friday, gift center and decorative holiday events. The partnership and collaboration between our merchants and supplier partners helped in the fantastic lineup of great deals and special buys in categories like smart home, power tools, hand tools and decorative holiday. Our unique assortment, together with excellent customer service and execution, led to incredible results. Black Friday was a record sales day for our company, and our gift center event grew double digits versus last year.

消費者需求強勁，這在我們每年的黑色星期五、禮品中心和裝飾節日活動中都得到了體現。我們的商家和供應商夥伴之間的合作與協作促成了智慧家庭、電動工具、手動工具和節日裝飾等類別的一系列優惠和特價商品。我們獨特的產品組合，加上卓越的客戶服務和執行，帶來了令人難以置信的成果。「黑色星期五」是我們公司創紀錄的銷售日，我們的禮品中心活動銷售額比去年增長了兩位數。

We also saw our customers tackle a variety of projects around the house. During the fourth quarter, we saw comps above the company average in several kitchen and bath categories, special or window coverings, cleaning and exterior paint. We also saw significant growth in our online-only home decor categories, which we call HD Home, as we build awareness around these high-quality, style-forward assortments. Sales to our Pro customers were healthy, driven by strength in categories like pneumatics, concrete, hand tools and caulks, all of which grew faster than the company average.

我們也看到我們的客戶在家中處理各種各樣的項目。在第四季度，我們發現廚房和浴室用品、特殊產品或窗簾、清潔產品和外牆塗料等多個類別的銷售額均高於公司平均水平。隨著我們不斷提高對這些高品質、時尚前衛產品系列的認知度，我們也看到純線上家居裝飾類別（我們稱之為 HD Home）的顯著增長。我們專業客戶的銷售狀況良好，這得益於氣動、混凝土、手動工具和填縫劑等類別的強勁增長，這些類別的增長速度均快於公司平均水平。

Looking back at 2019, our team continued their unwavering commitment to serve our customers with great everyday values and innovative products. And we did this while investing in a customer-backed store and interconnected experience to ensure that we continue to be the product authority in home improvement for years to come.

回顧 2019 年，我們的團隊繼續堅定不移地致力於為客戶提供卓越的日常價值和創新產品。我們在實現這一目標的同時，也投資了以客戶為後盾的商店和互聯體驗，以確保我們在未來幾年內繼續成為家居裝修領域的產品權威。

At our investors' conference back in December, we talked about investments we were making across our business. We also shared our new ad campaign and tagline, How Doers Get More Done, that we launched to highlight our investments into these new experiences and capabilities. We believe it is important to signal to our customers that The Home Depot is evolving as their needs change. While it is still early in our campaign, we see customers responding to our enhanced capabilities, giving us credit for saving them time and helping them complete their projects. In response to our campaign, we saw one of our largest single days of downloads of our award-winning mobile app and double-digit growth in usage of mobile tools like product locator and image search.

在去年 12 月的投資者會議上，我們討論了我們在整個業務中進行的投資。我們還分享了我們新的廣告活動和標語“實干家如何完成更多工作”，旨在強調我們對這些新體驗和新能力的投資。我們認為，向客戶表明家得寶正在隨著他們的需求變化而發展，這一點很重要。雖然我們的活動還處於早期階段，但我們看到客戶對我們增強的功能做出了積極的反應，並稱讚我們為他們節省了時間並幫助他們完成了專案。在我們開展活動的積極響應下，我們屢獲殊榮的行動應用程式的單日下載量創下了歷史新高，產品定位器和圖像搜尋等行動工具的使用量也實現了兩位數的增長。

As we look forward to 2020, we will continue our investments to better meet our customers' needs and drive a great shopping experience. One of the investments you will see in the first half of the year is a reset to our outdoor power equipment bays. We know the marketplace for outdoor power tools is transitioning to cordless technology. And we learned in our tools department that once a customer adopts a battery platform, they see tremendous value in sticking with that platform.

展望2020年，我們將繼續投資，以更好地滿足客戶的需求並提供良好的購物體驗。您將在上半年看到的投資之一是對我們的戶外電力設備艙進行重置。我們知道戶外電動工具市場正在轉向無線技術。我們在工具部門了解到，一旦客戶採用了電池平台，他們就會發現堅持使用該平台具有巨大的價值。

Similar to what we have done in our tools department, we are in the process of resetting our outdoor power equipment bays to showcase our assortment by brand, highlighting EGO, Toro, Milwaukee, RYOBI, DEWALT and Makita, many of which can only be found at The Home Depot. Through this new presentation, customers can clearly see and easily shop the value proposition that these cordless platforms bring, including being more environmentally friendly, safer and easier to use, all with the power and run time to get the job done.

與工具部門所做的類似，我們正在重新設置戶外電動設備艙，以展示按品牌分類的產品，重點展示 EGO、Toro、Milwaukee、RYOBI、DEWALT 和 Makita，其中許多只能在 The Home Depot 找到。透過這種新的展示方式，客戶可以清楚地看到並輕鬆購買這些無線平台帶來的價值主張，包括更環保、更安全、更易於使用，以及完成工作所需的強大動力和運行時間。

These powerful brands now have the lion's share of batteries in the marketplace with hundreds of millions of batteries in customers' homes and job sites today. We currently offer over 1,000 cordless power tools, and that number will continue to grow as our supplier partners are introducing innovative product all the time. Our comprehensive and unique assortment of outdoor power equipment resulted in double-digit comps in fiscal 2019.

這些強大的品牌目前佔據了電池市場的最大份額，目前客戶家中和工作場所中都有數億個電池。我們目前提供超過 1,000 種無線電動工具，由於我們的供應商合作夥伴不斷推出創新產品，這個數字也將持續成長。我們全面而獨特的戶外動力設備系列在 2019 財年實現了兩位數的銷售額。

With spring right around the corner, we are gearing up for another busy season. Our stores are stocked with new and innovative product, and we just recently announced that we are hiring 80,000 new associates to help us serve our customers during our spring selling season.

春天即將來臨，我們正準備迎接另一個繁忙的季節。我們的商店備有新穎的創新產品，我們最近宣布將招募 80,000 名新員工，以幫助我們在春季銷售季為客戶提供服務。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Richard.

說完這些，我想把電話轉給理查。

Thank you, Ted, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, let me take a quick moment to remind everyone that fiscal 2019 consisted of 52 weeks, while fiscal 2018 consisted of 53 weeks. This extra week added approximately $1.7 billion in sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. When we report our comparable sales or comps, we report them on a 52-week-to-52-week basis by comparing weeks 1 through 52 of fiscal 2019 with weeks 2 through 53 of fiscal 2018.

謝謝你，泰德，大家早安。在我們開始之前，請容許我花一點時間提醒大家，2019 財年共 52 週，而 2018 財年共 53 週。這額外的一周為2018財年第四季增加了約17億美元的銷售額。當我們報告可比較銷售額或可比較銷售額時，我們會以 52 週為一個週期進行報告，即透過將 2019 財年的第 1 至 52 週與 2018 財年的第 2 至 53 週進行比較。

In the fourth quarter of 2019, total sales were $25.8 billion, a 2.7% decrease from last year, reflecting the compare against the extra week in 2018. Our total company comp sales in the fourth quarter increased 5.2%, and comps in the U.S. increased 5.3%. Because of last year's 53rd week and the resulting calendar shift, our monthly comps are distorted due to the timing of our annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday events this year versus last year.

2019 年第四季度，總銷售額為 258 億美元，較去年下降 2.7%，與 2018 年的額外一周相比有所下降。我們公司第四季的總同店銷售額成長了 5.2%，其中美國同店銷售額成長了 5.3%。由於去年是第 53 週，因此日曆有所變動，今年與去年相比，我們的年度「黑色星期五」和「網路星期一」活動的時間有所不同，導致月度比較數據出現扭曲。

Our reported monthly comps for the total company were positive 1.2% in November, 9.9% in December and 5.7% in January. Our monthly comps in the U.S. were positive 1.1% in November, 10.4% in December and 5.8% in January. Given the distortion in our monthly comps caused by the calendar shift, we believe it is more appropriate to look at November and December on a combined basis. For the combined 2 months of November and December, our total company comp was 5%, followed by 5.7% in January.

我們報告稱，整個公司 11 月的月度同比銷售額增長 1.2%，12 月份增長 9.9%，1 月份增長 5.7%。我們在美國 11 月份的月度可比銷售額增長了 1.1%，12 月份增長了 10.4%，1 月份增長了 5.8%。考慮到日曆變換造成的月度比較數據的扭曲，我們認為綜合來看 11 月和 12 月的數據更為合適。11 月和 12 月兩個月合計，我們公司總薪酬為 5%，1 月份薪酬為 5.7%。

For the year, our sales totaled a record $110.2 billion. If we exclude the sales from the 53rd week in fiscal 2018, we grew sales by approximately $3.7 billion in fiscal 2019, a level of growth unmatched in our market. For the year, total company comp sales increased 3.5%, and U.S. comp sales increased 3.8%.

今年，我們的銷售總額創下了 1,102 億美元的紀錄。如果我們排除 2018 財年第 53 週的銷售額，2019 財年的銷售額將成長約 37 億美元，這一成長水準在我們的市場上無與倫比。全年，公司總銷售額成長 3.5%，美國銷售額成長 3.8%。

In the fourth quarter, our gross margin was 33.9%, a decrease of 20 basis points from last year. Similar to last quarter, the change in our gross margin was primarily driven by higher shrink and a mix of products sold compared to last year. For the year, our gross margin was 34.1%, slightly higher than our guidance at the beginning of the year.

第四季度，我們的毛利率為33.9%，較去年同期下降20個基點。與上一季類似，我們的毛利率變化主要是由於與去年相比更高的損耗和銷售產品組合所致。全年我們的毛利率為34.1%，略高於年初的預期。

In the fourth quarter, operating expense as a percent of sales decreased by 64 basis points to 20.7%, slightly better than our plan. During the quarter, we saw approximately 77 basis points of leverage as we lapped the fiscal 2018 impairment of certain trade names and the 53rd week last year. This leverage was partially offset by expenses related to our strategic investment plan of approximately $280 million, which increased approximately $25 million from last year and caused 12 basis points of deleverage.

第四季度，營業費用佔銷售額的百分比下降了 64 個基點，至 20.7%，略優於我們的計畫。在本季度，由於我們涵蓋了 2018 財年某些商品的減值以及去年第 53 週的減值，我們看到槓桿率約為 77 個基點。該槓桿率部分被與我們的戰略投資計劃相關的約 2.8 億美元的費用所抵消，這比去年增加了約 2500 萬美元，並導致了 12 個基點的去槓桿。

Fiscal 2019 operating expense as a percent of sales was 19.7%, a decrease of 28 basis points from last year. Our fiscal 2019 expense performance was better than our initial expectations, driven by productivity initiatives in our core business. During the year, we spent approximately $1 billion of investment expenses related to our strategic initiatives, in line with our plan.

2019財年營業費用佔銷售額的百分比為19.7％，比去年下降了28個基點。在核心業務生產力措施的推動下，我們 2019 財年的費用表現優於​​我們的最初預期。本年度，我們按照計畫在策略性舉措方面投入了約 10 億美元的投資。

Our operating margin for the fourth quarter was approximately 13.2% and for the year was approximately 14.4%. Interest and other expense for the fourth quarter grew by $27 million to $292 million due primarily to higher long-term debt levels than 1 year ago.

我們第四季的營業利潤率約為 13.2%，全年營業利潤率約為 14.4%。第四季的利息和其他支出增加了 2,700 萬美元，達到 2.92 億美元，這主要是由於長期債務水準高於一年前。

In the fourth quarter, our effective tax rate was 20.3%, and from fiscal 2019 was 23.6%. The lower-than-expected effective tax rate in the fourth quarter and for fiscal 2019 was driven primarily by several discrete tax items. Our diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $2.28, an increase of 9.1% from last year. For fiscal 2019, diluted earnings per share were $10.25, an increase of 5.3% compared to fiscal 2018.

第四季度，我們的有效稅率為 20.3%，2019 財年為 23.6%。第四季和2019財年的有效稅率低於預期，主要是由於幾個單獨的稅項。我們第四季的每股攤薄收益為 2.28 美元，比去年同期成長 9.1%。2019 財年每股攤薄收益為 10.25 美元，較 2018 財年成長 5.3%。

Moving on to some additional highlights. We ended the year with a store count of 2,291, while retail selling square footage was approximately 238 million square feet. For the fiscal year, total sales per retail square foot were $455, the highest in our company's history.

接下來介紹一些額外的亮點。截至年底，我們的門市數量為 2,291 家，零售面積約為 2.38 億平方英尺。在本財政年度，每平方英尺零售店的總銷售額為 455 美元，創下公司歷史新高。

At the end of the quarter, merchandise inventories grew $606 million to $14.5 billion. And inventory turns were 4.9x, down slightly versus last year. The growth in our inventory versus last year reflects the investments we are making to accelerate merchandising resets and higher in-stock levels than we had 1 year ago.

截至本季末，商品庫存增加 6.06 億美元，達到 145 億美元。庫存週轉率為 4.9 倍，較去年略有下降。與去年相比，我們的庫存有所增長，這反映了我們為加速商品重置和提高庫存水準（比一年前更高）而進行的投資。

Moving on to capital allocation. In fiscal 2019, we generated approximately $13.7 billion of cash from operations and used that cash as well as the proceeds from $2.4 billion of net debt issuances to invest in our business, pay dividends to our shareholders and repurchase our shares. During the year, we invested approximately $2.7 billion back into the business through capital expenditures. Further, we paid $6 billion in dividends to our shareholders.

繼續進行資本配置。在2019財年，我們從經營活動中產生了約137億美元的現金，並利用這些現金以及24億美元淨債務發行所得來投資我們的業務，向股東支付股息併回購我們的股票。本年度，我們透過資本支出向業務重新投資了約 27 億美元。此外，我們也向股東支付了 60 億美元的股利。

Finally, during the year, we repurchased approximately $7 billion or about 32.8 million of our outstanding shares, including roughly $3.25 billion or 14.5 million shares in the fourth quarter. Computed on the average of beginning and ending long-term debt and equity for the trailing 12 months, return on invested capital was approximately 45.4%, 60 basis points higher than the end of fiscal 2018.

最後，今年我們回購了約 70 億美元或約 3,280 萬股流通股，其中包括第四季的約 32.5 億美元或 1,450 萬股。根據過去 12 個月期初和期末長期債務和股權的平均值計算，投資資本回報率約為 45.4%，比 2018 財年末高出 60 個基點。

Today's press release includes our guidance for fiscal 2020, and I want to take a few moments to comment on the highlights. Remember that we guide off of GAAP, so fiscal 2020 guidance will launch from our reported results for fiscal 2019.

今天的新聞稿包括我們對 2020 財年的指引，我想花點時間對其中的重點進行評論。請記住，我們是根據 GAAP 制定的指南，因此 2020 財年指南將從我們報告的 2019 財年業績開始。

At our investor conference in December of 2019, we shared with you some preliminary thoughts for 2020, and we are reiterating that guidance today. The economy is strong and the U.S. consumer is healthy. The foundation of our sales plan starts with GDP, and our 2020 sales guidance assumes U.S. GDP growth of slightly less than 2% in 2020. To GDP, we add the impact that we think we will see from the housing environment, including demand driven by home price appreciation, housing turnover, household formation and the age of the housing stock. As we look at these metrics, we see an environment that is healthy and stable.

在 2019 年 12 月的投資者會議上，我們與大家分享了對 2020 年的一些初步想法，今天我們重申了這項指導。經濟強勁，美國消費者健康。我們的銷售計畫的基礎以 GDP 為起點，我們 2020 年的銷售指引假設美國 GDP 成長率略低於 2%。除了 GDP 之外，我們還添加了我們認為將從住房環境中看到的影響，包括房價上漲所推動的需求、住房週轉、家庭形成和住房存量的年齡。當我們查看這些指標時，我們看到一個健康和穩定的環境。

Our 2020 sales guidance also assumes that we will continue to gain share in the marketplace. For fiscal 2020, we expect both sales growth and total company comp sales growth of approximately 3.5% to 4%. Fiscal 2020 represents the peak year of our investment program. And as a result, we expect our fiscal 2020 operating expenses to grow at 1.2x the rate of our expected sales growth.

我們的 2020 年銷售指導也假設我們將繼續在市場上獲得份額。對於 2020 財年，我們預期銷售額成長和公司整體銷售額成長均約為 3.5% 至 4%。2020財年是我們投資計畫的巔峰年。因此，我們預計 2020 財年的營運費用成長率將是預期銷售額成長率的 1.2 倍。

For the year, we expect to grow operating profit dollars to $16 billion, giving us an operating margin of approximately 14%. For fiscal 2020, we assume our effective tax rate will be approximately 24%. We expect fiscal 2020 diluted earnings per share to grow approximately 2% to $10.45.

我們預計今年的營業利潤將成長至 160 億美元，營業利潤率將達到約 14%。對於2020財年，我們假設我們的有效稅率約為24％。我們預計 2020 財年每股攤薄收益將成長約 2% 至 10.45 美元。

For the year, we project cash flow from operations of approximately $13.5 billion. We plan to invest $2.8 billion of this cash back into the business in the form of capital expenditures. We also plan to use this cash to pay $6.4 billion of dividends and repurchase at least $5 billion of outstanding shares.

我們預計今年的經營現金流約為 135 億美元。我們計劃將其中 28 億美元以資本支出的形式重新投資於業務。我們還計劃利用這筆現金支付 64 億美元的股息併回購至少 50 億美元的流通股。

Before I close, I would like to update you on how we're thinking about one of our capital allocation principles. With regards to our dividend, in lieu of using a 55% payout ratio, we will look to grow our dividend every year as we grow earnings, as we have for the last 11 years. This morning, we announced that our Board increased our quarterly dividend by 10%, which equates to an annual dividend of $6 per share.

在結束之前，我想先向大家介紹一下我們對一項資本配置原則的看法。至於我們的股息，我們不採用 55% 的派息率，而是隨著盈利的增長而每年增加股息，就像過去 11 年裡所做的那樣。今天上午，我們宣布董事會將季度股息提高 10%，相當於每股 6 美元的年度股息。

With that, I want to thank you for your participation in today's call. And Christine, we are now ready for questions.

最後，我要感謝您參加今天的電話會議。克里斯汀，現在我們可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Michael Lasser with UBS.

（操作員指示）我們的第一個問題來自瑞銀的邁克爾·拉塞爾 (Michael Lasser)。

It's on any potential supply disruption coming out of Asia, what have you factored in? What's the current status of your supply chain? Have you seen any issues with getting product from Asia at this point? And if this extends for a meaningful period of time, what -- how do you size the potential impact to your sales and earnings over the next few quarters?

對於來自亞洲的任何潛在供應中斷，您考慮了哪些因素？你們的供應鏈目前的狀況如何？目前您是否發現從亞洲採購產品有任何問題？如果這種情況持續很長一段時間，您如何評估其對未來幾季的銷售和收益的潛在影響？

So Michael, let me -- I'll start off, and then I'll hand it over to Mark Holifield. First of all, the guidance that we provided, obviously, does not include any guidance update for the situation. It's a very fluid situation that we're monitoring closely. And all of our goods for Q1 are essentially onshore or on their way. So we feel pretty good about that situation. And Mark, you might want to provide an update on...

那麼邁克爾，讓我——我先開始，然後我會把它交給馬克·霍利菲爾德。首先，我們提供的指導顯然不包括任何針對情況的指導更新。我們正在密切關注這一非常不穩定的情況。我們第一季的所有貨物基本上都在岸上或正在運輸途中。因此，我們對這種情況感覺非常滿意。馬克，你可能想提供一下最新情況…

Well, sure, Craig. Yes, as you mentioned, it does change every day. Our Q1 merchandise is already here or on the way. In Q2, the picture is still developing there. For our direct import, our sourcing offices in Asia are in touch with our factories as they're returning to operations. For our domestic vendors, we're working with them to understand and mitigate any potential impacts in their supply chains. Our team is working with all of our suppliers, both domestic and import, and our logistics service providers on a PO-by-PO, container-by-container basis to understand what the impacts to our product flow are, and they're taking appropriate action. We are encouraged that we're seeing factories come back to work. Provinces coming back to work in China, but it is a fluid situation, and it's highly variable in terms of what's the current state.

嗯，當然了，克雷格。是的，正如您所說，它確實每天都在變化。我們第一季的商品已經到達或在途中。在第二季度，情況仍在發展中。對於我們的直接進口，我們在亞洲的採購辦事處與正在恢復營運的工廠保持聯繫。對於我們的國內供應商，我們正在與他們合作，以了解並減輕其供應鏈中的任何潛在影響。我們的團隊正在與所有供應商（國內和進口）以及物流服務提供者逐一採購訂單和貨櫃進行合作，以了解對我們的產品流的影響，並採取適當的措施。我們很高興看到工廠恢復生產。中國各省正在陸續復工，但情況不穩定，目前的狀況變化很大。

And just to clarify, based on what you know today, do you think that there will be an earnings hit to -- over the next couple of quarters based on any supply disruptions if this -- even if things get back to normal in the very near future? So -- or do you have time to adjust based on what you know at this point?

需要澄清的是，根據您今天所了解的情況，您是否認為，即使情況在不久的將來恢復正常，未來幾個季度的盈利是否會因供應中斷而受到打擊？那麼—或者您是否有時間根據您目前所了解的情況進行調整？

Michael, based on what we know today, we couldn't say that there would be a hit. Again, the teams are working this day to day, as Mark said, PO to PO, container to container. We're also putting plans in place to mitigate any risk going forward.

邁克爾，根據我們今天所掌握的信息，我們不能說會發生爆炸。再說一遍，正如馬克所說，團隊每天都在進行這項工作，從訂單到訂單，從貨櫃到貨櫃。我們也制定了計劃來減輕未來的風險。

That's remarkable. And then...

這太了不起了。進而...

[70%] of what we do is domestic.

[70%] 的業務是在國內進行的。

Okay. My follow-up question is, you just wrapped up your second year in a row with about 1% growth -- comp growth in traffic after many years of higher traffic than that. Is 1% growth in traffic the new norm? And how do you think the implementation of your strategic investment plan is going to impact traffic in the next few years?

好的。我的後續問題是，你們剛結束了連續第二年的成長，流量成長率約為 1%，而先前多年的流量成長率都高於這一水準。1% 的流量成長是新常態嗎？您認為未來幾年戰略投資計畫的實施將對交通產生什麼影響？

I mean, Mike, the objective of what we're doing on the investment plan is to position ourselves to be able to continue to grow faster than the market. I think some of the growth that we saw in years past was a result of an accelerated recovery from a very difficult spot. What we've always focused on is how do we balance ticket and transactions, and that's really where our focus is. And the market will determine what level that's at.

我的意思是，麥克，我們制定投資計劃的目標是使我們自己能夠繼續以比市場更快的速度成長。我認為，過去幾年我們看到的部分成長是從非常困難的時期加速復甦的結果。我們一直關注的是如何平衡票務和交易，這才是我們真正的重點。市場將決定其水平。

Our next question comes from the line of Scot Ciccarelli with RBC.

我們的下一個問題來自 RBC 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

I actually had a follow-up on Michael's question first. So like, I guess the question is, given the delta that we've seen in transactions and average ticket, what would you guys point to regarding kind of what's driving that divergence? I mean -- and you just referenced you had a recovery phase, but I would think that recovery phase actually would help both sides of that ledger, not just one.

我實際上首先對邁克爾的問題進行了跟進。所以，我想問題是，鑑於我們在交易和平均票價中看到的差異，你們會指出是什麼導致了這種差異？我的意思是 - 你剛才提到你有一個恢復階段，但我認為恢復階段實際上會對賬簿的雙方都有幫助，而不僅僅是一方。

Yes. So I'd say we have some opportunity areas that we've invested in to continue to grow that has accelerated our ticket growth, largely being we put significant investment in appliances that has paid back in a very big way in terms of the accelerated growth we've seen in that business. Same thing would hold true for what Ted referenced as it relates to the lithium technology and the average ticket growth we've seen in power tools and now in outdoor power equipment.

是的。所以我想說，我們有一些機會領域，我們已經投資了這些領域以繼續增長，從而加速了我們的票務增長，主要是因為我們對家用電器進行了大量投資，從我們在該業務中看到的加速增長來看，這些投資已經獲得了非常大的回報。同樣的事情也適用於泰德提到的鋰技術和我們在電動工具和現在的戶外電動設備中看到的平均票價增長。

So I think there's some innovation and investment factors that have helped drive ticket, maybe even above and beyond as we took share in those categories. But we've been pretty pleased with the consistency of our traffic growth over time. And like I said, we'll work to balance traffic and ticket. We always want to make sure there's a reasonable balance there.

因此，我認為有一些創新和投資因素有助於推動票務成長，甚至可能超越我們在這些類別中的份額。但我們對一段時間內流量的持續成長感到非常滿意。正如我所說的，我們會努力平衡交通和罰單。我們始終希望確保其中存在合理的平衡。

When you think about -- I'm sorry, go ahead.

當你想到——對不起，請繼續。

I was just going to add, Scot, I'd add to that, Q4, very much event-driven, our gift center, decorative holiday and, as Craig said, appliances, and those all performed incredibly well. So that contributes to the ticket and as we see consumers continue to trade up to the new innovative products that we're offering. And while we're happy with transactions, they were a little bit depressed with the lack of cold weather. So you'd think during a winter, you get a lot of people stopping in for ice melt, for that smaller pickup, even carwash or fluid, et cetera. And with the more mild winter, a lot of the biggest suppression there of transactions were those quick cold weather pickup items.

我只是想補充一下，斯科特，我想補充一下，第四季度非常受事件驅動，我們的禮品中心、裝飾節日，以及克雷格所說的家電，這些都表現得非常好。這有助於提高票價，而且我們看到消費者繼續購買我們提供的創新產品。雖然我們對交易感到滿意，但由於天氣不夠寒冷，他們卻有點沮喪。所以，你會認為，在冬天，有很多人會停下來融化冰塊，開著小型皮卡車，甚至洗車或加液體，等等。隨著冬季氣候愈發溫和，交易受到的最大抑制因素就是那些可在寒冷天氣快速取貨的商品。

Okay. That's helpful. And I guess when you think about all the investments you guys have been making in the business and supply chain technology, should we continue to expect kind of the pattern that we've seen here continue? Or does it have a more balanced impact as we go forward?

好的。這很有幫助。我想，當您考慮到您在商業和供應鏈技術方面所做的所有投資時，我們是否應該繼續期待我們所看到的模式繼續下去？或者說，隨著我們不斷前進，它會產生更平衡的影響嗎？

I mean I think, again, we look for kind of balance in that. Will it be perfect one way or another? No. But we would look for a balance.

我的意思是，我認為我們再次尋求其中的某種平衡。不管怎樣它都會是完美的嗎？不。但我們會尋求一種平衡。

Our next question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西緬古特曼 (Simeon Gutman)。

Long-term question first. So thinking again about the payback from investments, it sounds like we'll see some costs moderate next year, so that will be good to margin. But in terms of the top line lift, and I realize you're probably not going to quantify much, but can you tell us where the places we'll start to see better comps? Is it the Pro wallet share? Is it MRO categories? DIY? So what are the -- some of the KPIs that won't be as apparent as comps that you are seeing that tells you that some of these investments are beginning to pay off?

先問長期問題。因此，再次考慮投資回報，聽起來我們會看到明年一些成本會適中，這對利潤來說是件好事。但就營業收入成長而言，我知道你可能不會量化太多，但你能告訴我們從哪裡開始可以看到更好的表現嗎？是Pro錢包份額嗎？它是 MRO 類別嗎？DIY？那麼，哪些 KPI 不像您所看到的那麼明顯，可以告訴您其中一些投資開始獲得回報？

First of all, our investments are targeted for all of the above. They just rolled out. So when you think Pro, you think MRO, you think consumer, our intent is to grow in all of those spaces. And -- but what we're really trying to set ourselves up to do in the investment is to be able to position The Home Depot to grow faster than the market growth on a consistent basis no matter what that environment is. That's really what we're trying to get done.

首先，我們的投資針對的是以上所有面向。他們剛剛推出。因此，當您想到 Pro、想到 MRO、想到消費者時，我們的目的是在所有這些領域中發展。而且——但我們在投資中真正想要做的是，無論環境如何，都能讓家得寶持續保持比市場成長更快的成長速度。這確實正是我們想要實現的目標。

And does that require waiting for the supply chain investment to finish rolling out? Or no, that should stagger as all these other investments are taking place?

這是否需要等待供應鏈投資完成？或者不，這應該在所有其他投資正在進行時令人震驚嗎？

I mean the supply chain is a part of the overall component. But as we've shared with you, we have investments that span across our business, whether that's investments in the store, whether that's investments in the digital world, in our marketing elements and our product development as well as the supply chain. And we'll see the -- as we put more and more of these capabilities in place, as the supply chain continues to expand, as we open more facilities in '21 and '22, the bulk of those, we'll see that continue to grow as we put more capabilities against the market.

我的意思是供應鏈是整體組件的一部分。但正如我們與大家分享的那樣，我們的投資涵蓋了整個業務，無論是在商店的投資，還是在數位世界的投資，還是在我們的行銷元素、產品開發和供應鏈上的投資。我們將看到——隨著我們把越來越多的這些能力投入到位，隨著供應鏈的不斷擴大，隨著我們在'21年和'22年開設更多的設施，其中大部分，我們將看到它繼續增長，因為我們向市場投入了更多的能力。

Okay. And then my follow-up is in the fourth quarter, it looks like the business performed a little better than planned. Can you parse out underlying housing signs that it may be improving versus some of the seasonal? It sounds like December was a big month. I don't know if that's more holiday. But at the same time, you didn't have as much weather impact. So if you can just talk about underlying housing versus other drivers.

好的。然後我的後續行動是在第四季度，看起來業務表現比計劃的要好一些。您能否分析出房屋市場可能正在好轉而非季節性波動的潛在跡象？聽起來十二月是個重要的月份。我不知道那是否更像假期。但同時，天氣影響也沒有那麼大。因此，如果您可以談談基礎住房與其他驅動因素的關係的話。

Sure. Simeon, this is Richard. So from a housing perspective, all housing indicators wound up really sort of where we expected them. And so we don't think that, that had any material impact on our business. You mentioned December, there is a little bit of a timing shift there in the calendar from November to December. But overall, it was really just strong execution across the quarter.

當然。西緬，這是理查。因此，從住房角度來看，所有住房指標最終都達到了我們預期的水平。因此我們認為這不會對我們的業務產生任何重大影響。您提到了十二月，從十一月到十二月的日曆上時間上有一點變化。但總體而言，本季的執行確實非常強勁。

And Ted, maybe you want to go a little bit more into maybe the strength of the quarter?

泰德，也許您想更深入地談談本季的優勢？

Yes. I think, as I said in my comments, we like the balance of ticket and transaction, and we certainly like the balance of consumer and Pro. And our Pro was strong in Q4, but we really saw an engaged consumer in what are more discretionary categories, in terrific artificial Christmas tree business, our gift center record sales and growth in our gift center. And appliances, as I said, double-digit comps in appliances. It's not always just a refrigerator that's broken and being replaced. It's increasingly discretionary purchases. So we just saw a very strong consumer.

是的。我認為，正如我在評論中所說，我們喜歡票務和交易之間的平衡，我們當然喜歡消費者和專業人士之間的平衡。我們的 Pro 在第四季度表現強勁，但我們真正看到，在更多可自由支配的類別中，消費者的參與度更高，在出色的人造聖誕樹業務中，我們的禮品中心創下了銷售記錄，禮品中心的銷售額也實現了增長。正如我所說，家電行業的銷售額達到了兩位數。冰箱壞了並不總是需要更換。它越來越成為一種可自由支配的購買。因此，我們看到了非常強勁的消費者。

Our next question comes from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gordon Haskett 的 Chuck Grom。

Again, normalizing for the event shift, sales are pretty consistent across the quarter. I'm just wondering how we should think about the cadence of comps by quarter in 2020, and then wondering if you could offer some thoughts on how February started out.

再次，由於事件轉變而正常化，整個季度的銷售額相當穩定。我只是想知道我們應該如何看待 2020 年按季度進行的同店銷售節奏，然後想知道您是否可以就 2 月份的開局提供一些看法。

Well, thank you, Chuck. So we don't provide quarterly guidance. But we would say that 2020, we'll see a relatively even spread across the 2 halves of the year with respect to comp sales. And with respect to what we've seen so far in 2020, our guidance is based on the best information we have of the moment. And so our results to date are consistent with that guidance.

好吧，謝謝你，查克。因此我們不提供季度指引。但我們會說，到 2020 年，我們將看到同店銷售額在下半年呈現相對均勻的分佈。就 2020 年迄今為止的情況而言，我們的指導是基於我們目前掌握的最佳資訊。因此，我們迄今為止的結果與該指導一致。

Okay. Great. And then just bigger picture. I was wondering if you guys could just amplify on the opportunity that you have with the Pro as you onboard more of them onto the B2B website, particularly now that there's going to be the CRM aspect included.

好的。偉大的。接下來是更宏觀的圖景。我想知道，隨著你們將更多 Pro 引入 B2B 網站，你們是否可以擴大 Pro 帶來的機會，特別是現在它將包含 CRM 方面。

Yes. I think when we think about the Pro customer, we're actually building an ecosystem for our Pro customers that encompasses product and brands and delivery and credit services and our digital capabilities with B2B tool rental and a whole lot more. Obviously, all of that coming together allows us to be able to service our Pro customers in a more holistic way. And it allows us to continue to grow with larger, more complex customers. And so when we look at the Pro business, we think we're in the 15% to 17% range. And we'd love to see that be much more in line with the consumer penetration of share that we have as we go forward, which is why we're making these investments.

是的。我認為，當我們考慮專業客戶時，我們實際上是在為我們的專業客戶建立一個生態系統，其中包括產品和品牌、交付和信用服務以及我們的數位能力、B2B 工具租賃等等。顯然，所有這些結合在一起使我們能夠以更全面的方式為我們的專業客戶提供服務。這使我們能夠隨著更大、更複雜的客戶而繼續成長。因此，當我們看專業業務時，我們認為我們的市場份額在 15% 到 17% 之間。我們希望看到，隨著我們未來的發展，這個數字能夠與我們消費者份額的滲透率更加一致，這就是我們進行這些投資的原因。

Our next question comes from the line of Christopher Horvers with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的克里斯多福‧霍佛斯 (Christopher Horvers)。

So want to -- a couple of follow-ups. So first, on the seasonal business and the impact of the weather overall, how would you assess the weather impact last year? And December is really wet. I think you called out 85 basis points of headwind a year ago. You also had warm weather in January against polar vortex at the end there last year, but at the same time, you didn't get the snow melt and the snow blower. So how would you assess your overall impact of weather?

所以想問幾個後續問題。那麼首先，就季節性業務和整體天氣的影響而言，您如何評估去年天氣的影響？十二月確實潮濕。我記得你在一年前就指出了 85 個基點的逆風。去年 1 月底，那裡也出現了溫暖的天氣，抵禦了極地渦旋，但同時卻沒有融化積雪，也沒有吹雪機。那麼您如何評價天氣對您造成的整體影響呢？

Chris, this is Ted. I'd say neutral. It's just, as you said, extended season in some markets. The grounds not freezing, et cetera, that Pros could stay at work. But then on the other hand, you didn't get all your cold weather categories. So our merchants in the chore and snow and ice melt business aren't as happy as some of our other merchants. But I would say on balance, little impact, neutral.

克里斯，這是泰德。我認為是中立的。正如您所說，這只是某些市場的銷售季延長。由於天氣不結冰等原因，專業人士可以繼續工作。但另一方面，您並沒有獲得所有的寒冷天氣類別。因此，從事家務和融雪融冰業務的商家並不像其他一些商家那麼高興。但我想說，總的來說，影響不大，是中性的。

Got it. And then on the gross margin, so sequentially, the performance was better relative to the third quarter. You mentioned shrink and mix were still headwinds and that, obviously, you talked about at the Analyst Day, they persisted into '20, but it did get a little bit better. What was the -- what shifted in the sands there and helped offset that? Or did one of those factors mitigate? And does it change your view as you think about 2020?

知道了。然後就毛利率而言，與第三季相比，業績表現更好。您提到收縮和混合仍然是阻力，顯然，您在分析師日談到了這一點，它們持續到了20年，但情況確實有所改善。那裡的沙子發生了什麼變化並有助於抵消這種影響？還是其中一個因素減輕了？當您思考 2020 年時，這是否會改變您的觀點？

Shrink was consistent with what we had observed through the year, and we are taking steps to address that in 2020, as we discussed. We had some great benefit as we've had all year from some of the supply chain investments we're making in productivity and supply chain, but shrink was consistent.

萎縮與我們全年觀察到的情況一致，正如我們所討論的那樣，我們正在採取措施在 2020 年解決這個問題。我們全年都在對生產力和供應鏈進行一些供應鏈投資，從中獲得了巨大的收益，但收縮卻是持續的。

And so the delta versus last quarter, anything to call out there?

那麼與上一季相比，增量有什麼需要注意的嗎？

It's really -- it's a consistent trend. And as I said, we're looking to address it during 2020.

這確實是一個一致的趨勢。正如我所說，我們希望在 2020 年解決這個問題。

Our next question comes from the line of Michael Baker with Nomura.

我們的下一個問題來自野村證券的麥可貝克。

A couple here. So one, the comp outlook for next year, 3.5% to 4%. This year, you comped at 3.5%, but you were hurt by at least 50 basis points from lumber. So essentially, you're guiding to a slowdown next year and, in fact, the slowest comp in a number of years when you adjust for inflation, yet housing seems to be getting better. So just curious, a disconnect there? Is it just sort of setting up for some potential upside?

這裡有一對夫婦。首先，明年的同店銷售額預期為 3.5% 至 4%。今年，您的薪酬為 3.5%，但木材價格卻使您損失了至少 50 個基點。因此從本質上來說，你預計明年經濟將會放緩，事實上，當你根據通膨進行調整時，經濟成長將是多年來最慢的，但房屋市場似乎正在好轉。我只是好奇，那裡有斷開連接嗎？這是否只是為了實現某些潛在的好處而做的準備？

I mean, like, our methodology that we use hasn't changed, and it's not a perfect model. But Richard, do you want to just walk through the details?

我的意思是，我們使用的方法沒有改變，而且它不是一個完美的模型。但理查德，你想簡單介紹一下細節嗎？

Yes, sure. We stay consistent with our methodology providing sales guidance. And if you look at the elements of that methodology from GDP assumptions to what we're thinking with respect to support from housing to the expectation that we will continue to take share, none of the assumptions behind those elements have changed significantly since December. And so that's why we're reconfirming that outlook.

是的，當然。我們始終堅持提供銷售指導的方法。如果你看一下該方法的要素，從 GDP 假設到我們對住房支持的看法，再到我們將繼續佔據份額的預期，這些要素背後的假設自 12 月以來都沒有發生重大變化。這就是我們再次確認這一觀點的原因。

And one comment, I guess, people have always tried to think about our business as it relates to interest rates. Just so you know, we have never been able to correlate sales to interest rates. So that doesn't come into our thinking as a result.

我想，有一條評論是，人們總是試圖從利率的角度來思考我們的業務。請注意，我們從來無法將銷售額與利率關聯起來。因此，我們並沒有考慮到這一點。

But I guess to follow up on that, you would think that your business correlates to housing, right, which, I guess, in turn, correlates with interest rates. Is that a fair statement?

但我想進一步說，您會認為您的業務與住房相關，對吧，而我猜，這又與利率相關。這是一個公正的說法嗎？

It's a fair statement. We -- and certainly, we've seen some of the indicators in very recent -- in the very recent time period tick up a bit. But we're not going to adjust guidance based on short-term fluctuations or observations in housing. We think housing is healthy and stable. It's going to continue to provide positive support for our business.

這是一個公平的說法。我們 — — 當然，我們看到最近的一些指標 — — 在最近的一段時間內有所上升。但我們不會根據房屋市場的短期波動或觀察來調整指引。我們認為住房是健康和穩定的。它將繼續為我們的業務提供積極的支持。

Okay. That makes sense. If I could follow up. As I recall, the third quarter was hurt a little bit by the timing of Black Friday. So presumably, that helped the fourth quarter. I get the shift in the months within the quarter, but third quarter versus fourth quarter, did that help fourth quarter at all? And if so, by how much?

好的。這很有道理。如果我可以跟進的話。我記得，第三季受到了「黑色星期五」的一定影響。因此可以推測這對第四季有幫助。我了解本季內幾個月的變化，但第三季與第四季相比，這對第四季有幫助嗎？如果是的話，增幅有多大？

Yes, it was roughly a 35 basis point shift both ways, so it hurt Q3 by 35. It shifted that to Q4 by 35.

是的，雙向變動大約是 35 個基點，因此對第三季的影響為 35%。並將其轉移到 Q4，變化幅度為 35。

Okay. If I could slide in one more. You didn't -- you said you don't change your methodology and how you do comps, but you are changing the methodology on the dividend. Just wondering why you're changing that. Is it just a new CFO and a different way to think about it? Or is there something -- some other reason we should think about?

好的。如果我可以再滑進去一個。你沒有 - 你說你不會改變你的方法和你如何進行比較，但你正在改變股息的方法。只是想知道你為什麼要改變這一點。這僅僅是更換了一位財務長並改變了思考問題的方式嗎？或者有什麼——其他的原因我們應該考慮？

So look, we are maintaining our policy of wanting to increase our dividend every year as we grow earnings. We're not going to tie it to a specific payout ratio. But I think that this year's increase of 10% is a great example of our intention to continue to increase the dividend and also a reflection of our confidence in the business.

所以，我們將繼續堅持我們的政策，隨著獲利的成長，每年增加股利。我們不會將其與特定的派息率掛鉤。但我認為，今年10%的成長很好地表明了我們繼續增加股息的意圖，也反映了我們對業務的信心。

Our next question comes from the line of Karen Short with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的凱倫‧肖特 (Karen Short)。

Actually, just a follow-up on that comment on the dividend. So is there a specific relationship we should think about as it relates to EPS growth versus dividend growth because obviously, as you said, a 10% increase is very impressive, given that in 2020, you're kind of only looking for, call it, a 2% increase in earnings and, presumably, earnings growth will accelerate in '21?

實際上，這只是對股息評論的後續。那麼，我們是否應該考慮每股盈餘成長與股息成長之間的特定關係，因為顯然，正如您所說，10% 的成長非常令人印象深刻，因為在 2020 年，您只期望收益成長 2%，並且大概收益成長將在 21 年加速？

Look, our general philosophy around capital allocation hasn't changed at all in terms of, first and foremost, we're going to invest what we need to into the business to continue to position this business to win for the long term. Then based on excess cash, we look at whatever opportunities might exist out there. And we are committed to increasing our dividend on an annualized basis as we grow earnings. And then we'll continue to look for ways to return dollars to the shareholders down any other opportunity through share repurchase. So those are the fundamental basics that we hold true in this business. We still want to -- we didn't want to control ourselves to a percentage basis.

看起來，我們在資本配置方面的整體理念根本沒有改變，首先，我們將把我們需要的資金投入到業務中，以繼續使這項業務處於長期勝利的位置。然後，根據剩餘現金，我們尋找可能存在的任何機會。我們致力於隨著獲利的成長而按年度增加股利。然後，我們將繼續尋找透過股票回購等任何其他方式向股東返還資金的方法。這些就是我們在這個行業中堅守的基本原則。我們仍然希望——我們不想將自己控制在一個百分比的基礎上。

Okay. That's helpful. And then on the 14% operating margin guidance, obviously, you came in a little bit higher this year at 14.4%. Is there anything to call out there in terms of the 40 basis point decline versus the prior 30?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，就 14% 的營業利潤率預期而言，顯然今年的預期略高一些，為 14.4%。與之前的 30 個基點相比，這次下降了 40 個基點，有什麼需要注意的嗎？

No, it's really just a reflection of outperformance in Q4 and sort of rounding up to a 14.4% rather than our expectations around 2020, which have not changed. But we have great execution across the business, from sales to gross margin to operating expense. It was a team effort, and we're proud of the results we delivered.

不，這實際上只是第四季度出色表現的反映，並且四捨五入到 14.4%，而不是我們對 2020 年左右的預期，而這一預期並沒有改變。但是我們整個業務的執行力都很好，從銷售額到毛利率到營運費用。這是團隊的努力，我們為所取得的成果感到自豪。

Okay. And then just last one for me. Is there any update you could provide on additional personalization and functionality on the B2B? And maybe any color you could provide on behavior with the Pros and/or conversion with respect to the ones you've onboarded?

好的。對我來說只剩下最後一個了。您能提供有關 B2B 上的附加個人化和功能的任何更新嗎？也許您可以提供任何與專業人士的行為和/或與您所加入的人員的轉換相關的資訊？

Look, we continue to drive engagement with the Pros that we've onboarded to the B2B website. We like what we see as those Pros accelerate their engagement. But again, it's -- we are also -- as I mentioned before, we're building a complete ecosystem around the Pro. The B2B website is one portion of that experience, but encompasses all the things that I laid out before.

你看，我們繼續推動與已經加入 B2B 網站的專業人士的互動。我們很高興看到這些專業人士加快了參與度。但正如我之前提到的，我們也正在圍繞 Pro 建立一個完整的生態系統。B2B 網站是這種體驗的一部分，但涵蓋了我之前列出的所有內容。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Nagel with Oppenheimer.

我們的下一個問題來自奧本海默公司的布萊恩·納格爾。

So I wanted to just take a step back a bit. So at the meeting in December, we spent a lot of time talking about the investment initiatives. And then you had highlighted the benefits of some of these were not coming as quickly as you initially thought, but they were still coming. I guess I want an update there. I mean as we look at the business now, you had a very nice quarter. You seem excited about the initiatives. Have you seen more progress on that front than was articulated in December?

所以我想稍微退一步。因此在12月份的會議上，我們花了很多時間討論投資舉措。然後您強調了其中一些好處並沒有像您最初想像的那麼快到來，但它們仍然會到來。我想我想要那裡的更新。我的意思是，當我們回顧現在的業務時，你會發現你們度過了一個非常好的季度。您似乎對這些舉措感到很興奮。您是否看到這方面取得了比 12 月所闡述的更多的進展？

Well, I think as we shared in December that we would continue to see the investments have a payback as we move forward, and that is what we're seeing. I think the quarter, in particular, as Ted called out, was a combination of the strength that we see in terms of the events that we put in place, the product offering that we brought to the market, the continued development of our initiatives. It's all those things coming together that actually delivered on this quarter.

嗯，我認為正如我們在 12 月所說的那樣，隨著我們前進，我們將繼續看到投資獲得回報，而這正是我們所看到的。我認為，正如泰德所說，本季的表現是多種因素的綜合體現，包括我們舉辦的活動、我們向市場推出的產品以及我們持續推進的計劃。所有這些因素結合在一起，才真正實現了本季的成果。

So yes, we're pleased with the continued growth that we see in the initiatives. But at the same time, really proud of the team. The execution by our stores was outstanding. The supply chain team did a great job. Our suppliers gave us outstanding products and values. And the customer's ability to start that shopping experience in the digital world and research product and/or purchase product there, all of that is leading to the kind of performance that we saw in the fourth quarter.

所以是的，我們對這些舉措的持續成長感到高興。但同時，我真的為這支球隊感到自豪。我們商店的執行非常出色。供應鏈團隊表現優異。我們的供應商為我們提供了優質的產品和價值。客戶能夠在數位世界中開始購物體驗並研究產品和/或購買產品，所有這些都導致​​了我們在第四季度看到的那種表現。

Got it. And then my follow-up, Craig, I guess a similar-type question is on shrink, another topic we spent a lot of time discussing in the December analyst meeting. How much of a swing factor could shrink be here in 2020 to the extent that you were able to improve the performance versus what we saw in 2019?

知道了。然後我的後續問題，克雷格，我想類似的問題是關於收縮，這是我們在 12 月分析師會議上花了很多時間討論的另一個主題。2020 年，波動因素可以縮小多少，才能讓績效較 2019 年改善？

I think as we shared in December, we are in the process of implementing our initiatives to mitigate the impact from shrink. It will take time for us to actually realize the benefit as that flows through the P&L because we basically do the inventory in the stores...

我認為，正如我們在 12 月所分享的那樣，我們正在實施措施以減輕萎縮的影響。由於我們基本上是在商店中進行庫存盤點，因此我們需要一些時間才能真正實現流入損益表的收益…

And it's a phased rollout. We've piloted approaches. We feel very confident about those results, but we still learn as we go. We feel confident. And as Craig said, not only do you have the rollout, but you also have the actual recognition in the P&L, which is on a lag basis as we take inventories.

這是一個分階段推出的。我們已經試行了一些方法。我們對這些結果非常有信心，但我們仍在不斷學習。我們充滿信心。正如 Craig 所說，您不僅要進行推廣，還要在損益表中進行實際確認，這是在我們進行盤點時滯後的。

Our next question comes from the line of Elizabeth Suzuki with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

我們的下一個問題來自美銀美林的伊麗莎白鈴木 (Elizabeth Suzuki)。

Regarding the margin guidance for 2020, can you talk about what assumptions you're making for product margin and the mix impact on gross margin?

關於2020年的利潤率指引，您能談談您對產品利潤率以及產品組合對毛利率的影響做出了哪些假設嗎？

For competitive reasons, we don't detail that.

出於競爭原因，我們不詳細說明。

No, we would -- no, we wouldn't do that.

不，我們不會——不，我們不會這麼做。

Yes.

是的。

Okay. So on -- but there's no expectation that mix could be a negative, given that appliance sales have been so strong, for example? Or there are -- is there anything built into your gross margin assumption in terms of mix?

好的。等等——但考慮到家電銷售一直很強勁，預計這種組合不會產生負面影響，不是嗎？或者有—在組合方面，您的毛利率假設是否包含任何內容？

Well, there is. And as we had outlined in December, and if you think about the walk to the 14.0% guidance, you start with the fact that we're going to generate operating expense leverage on a business-as-usual basis sort of underlying everything. But then recall, this is the peak year of investment of our 3-year investment program. So that will put pressure on margin. And then we see the impact from shrink, which, as we said, we're taking steps to address; and also from mix, but the mix pressure is a good pressure. This is the pressure that reflects the fact we are taking share in categories like appliances, like power tools, like outdoor power. And so while we do think that there's mix pressure there, our objective is to grow incremental market share, incremental sales and incremental operating profit dollars, and we do that through attacking our market opportunities in front of us.

嗯，有。正如我們在 12 月所概述的那樣，如果您考慮實現 14.0% 的指導目標，那麼首先要考慮的是，我們將在一切照舊的基礎上產生營業費用槓桿。但回想一下，這是我們三年投資計畫的投資高峰年。這將對利潤造成壓力。然後我們看到了縮減的影響，正如我們所說，我們正在採取措施加以解決；也來自混合，但混合壓力是一種好的壓力。這種壓力反映出我們在家用電器、電動工具、戶外電源等領域的份額正在擴大。因此，雖然我們確實認為存在組合壓力，但我們的目標是增加市場份額、增加銷售額和增加營業利潤，我們透過抓住眼前的市場機會來實現這一目標。

Got it. Okay. And have there been products that have been excluded from tariffs retroactively where you're now getting refunds? And are those refunds a positive offset to your cost of goods sold?

知道了。好的。是否有一些產品已被追溯免除關稅，現在您可以獲得退稅嗎？這些退款是否可以抵銷您銷售成本？

Yes. I would say, first off, a huge thank you for our combined merchandising, finance, supply chain, global sourcing team as they work through this tariff issue all year. I mean we've put a lot of effort on it, and the teams did an exceptional job. That follows into the exclusions because that's a whole body of work that you need to follow what's being submitted and requested to be excluded and literally get it down to the SKU identifier and then file all the requisite paperwork to get the approvals that -- a massive body of work that the team is currently undertaking. And one big category, a huge growth category for us that has been excluded now is luxury vinyl plank in the flooring business. That's probably the single biggest one, and we're actively working to get that refund back from tariffs previously paid.

是的。首先，我要衷心感謝我們的銷售、財務、供應鏈和全球採購團隊，他們全年都在努力解決關稅問題。我的意思是我們為此付出了很多努力，而且團隊做得非常出色。這與排除有關，因為這是一整套工作，您需要追蹤提交的內容和要求排除的內容，並將其精確到 SKU 標識符，然後提交所有必要的文件以獲得批准 - 這是團隊目前正在進行的大量工作。而對我們來說，現在被排除在外的一個大類別、一個巨大的成長類別就是地板業務中的豪華乙烯基板。這可能是最大的一個問題，我們正在積極努力收回先前繳納的關稅。

Okay. So those -- and have those refunds impacted your fourth quarter at all? Or are they more, going forward, you're likely to see some of that impact in the first half of the year?

好的。那麼這些退款對您的第四季有影響嗎？或者，展望未來，您可能會在今年上半年看到一些影響？

Yes, there was some of that. There was some benefit. But ins and outs to the quarter, we feel great about the overall performance of the business.

是的，有一點。有一定的好處。但縱觀本季的情況，我們對業務的整體表現感到非常滿意。

Our next question comes from the line of Zach Fadem with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Zach Fadem。

Curious if you could speak specifically to the outlook for your e-commerce business in fiscal '20. And given all the initiatives around fulfillment and Pro, curious whether you expect that 20% growth handle to continue, whether you're still adding any categories and what you think the 2020 drivers could be.

好奇您是否可以具體談談20財年電子商務業務的前景。考慮到圍繞履行和 Pro 的所有舉措，我很好奇您是否預計 20% 的成長率將會持續下去，是否還會添加任何類別，以及您認為 2020 年的驅動因素是什麼。

We're excited about our e-commerce business as part of a whole interconnected retail strategy. We believe that the front door of our store is now on the customer's pocket. It's on the job site, that most of our customer shopping experience actually starts in the digital world even if it finishes in the physical world. As Ted has talked about, we have expanded our assortments into more categories online around the home. We think that is a continued opportunity as customers have shared with us that they believe that we can bring great value in these home categories, and they trust us to bring that value. So we think that our digital business continues to be an engine for growth, both in the digital world and in the physical world.

作為整體互聯零售策略的一部分，我們對我們的電子商務業務感到非常興奮。我們相信，我們商店的門現在就在顧客的口袋裡。在工作現場，即使我們的大多數客戶購物體驗是在現實世界中結束的，但實際上它也是始於數位世界的。正如泰德所說，我們已將網路家居商品的種類擴展至更多類別。我們認為這是一個持續的機會，因為客戶告訴我們，他們相信我們能夠在這些家居類別中帶來巨大的價值，並且他們相信我們能夠帶來這種價值。因此我們認為，我們的數位業務將繼續成為成長的引擎，無論是在數位世界還是在現實世界。

And it's not a separate business. It is managed by our merchandising team, our one merchandising team, right? And so rather than think about it as a separate business, you have to think about it as a capability.

這不是一個獨立的業務。它是由我們的商品銷售團隊、我們的商品銷售團隊來管理的，對嗎？因此，您不要將其視為一個獨立的業務，而是將其視為一種能力。

Got it. And on the appliance category, curious if you could talk a little more about the impact of taking home delivery in-house. And considering your share gains in the category over the past several years, could you comment on how much you think, share-wise, is still up for grabs and where you think it's coming from?

知道了。關於家電類別，您是否可以進一步談談送貨上門的影響？考慮到過去幾年貴公司在該類別中的份額增長，您能否評論一下，您認為從份額方面來看，還有多少份額可供爭奪，以及您認為這些份額來自哪裡？

Yes, we're really pleased -- excuse me, it's Mark. We're really pleased with the work we've done in our market delivery operations or MDOs. Those are staffed with orange apron, The Home Depot associates who are ensuring that the freight comes into those locations and is dispatched promptly to the customer, damage-free. And they're also working to ensure that there's a great customer experience there working with the delivery teams.

是的，我們非常高興──對不起，我是馬克。我們對我們在市場交付營運或 MDO 中所做的工作感到非常滿意。這些身穿橙色圍裙的工作人員是家得寶的員工，他們確保貨物能夠完好無損地運抵這些地點並及時送到客戶手中。他們也與配送團隊合作，努力確保客戶擁有良好的體驗。

So really pleased with the progress there. We -- as Craig mentioned in his comments, we've got a dozen of those up. We have another dozen or so leases signed, and we're going to continue to roll those out through 2020. And as we do, we continue to see an improvement to our on-time performance, our reschedule rate and our customer satisfaction.

我對那裡的進展感到非常高興。正如 Craig 在其評論中提到的那樣，我們已經有十幾個了。我們已經簽署了另外十幾份租約，並將在 2020 年繼續執行這些租約。同時，我們的準時率、重新安排率和客戶滿意度不斷提高。

And I'd say an opportunity to keep growing. There's still lots of participants, regional, super regionals, even mom-and-pop furniture stores that have appliance offering. So we think there's still lots of share out there. I mean, clearly, Sears had been a donor over the years and very markedly diminished store base. But we still see just a huge market that we've had a disruptive attitude in this space for a long time, and that's continuing to pay dividends as we take share.

我想說這是一個繼續成長的機會。仍有許多參與者，地區性、超級地區性，甚至還有提供家電的夫妻家具店。因此我們認為仍有很大的市場份額。我的意思是，很明顯，西爾斯多年來一直是捐助者，並且明顯減少了門市數量。但我們仍然看到一個巨大的市場，我們長期以來一直在這個領域保持顛覆性的態度，而隨著我們佔據市場份額，這種態度將繼續帶來紅利。

Our final question comes from the line of Seth Sigman with Crédit Suisse.

我們的最後一個問題來自瑞士信貸的塞思·西格曼。

A couple of follow-ups here. First, on the guidance and specifically the cadence. Richard, I think you gave us a comp cadence similar throughout the year. How should we be thinking about gross margin, SG&A and, I guess, just the cadence of investments? Should we be thinking about more pressure on the operating margin in the first half relative to the second half?

這裡有幾個後續問題。首先，關於指導，特別是節奏。理查德，我認為你給了我們全年類似的節奏。我們應該如何考慮毛利率、銷售、一般及行政費用，以及投資節奏？我們是否應該考慮上半年相對於下半年的營業利潤率面臨更大的壓力？

First, we think about it in halves, and we don't provide specific half guidance. We're looking at a relatively balanced year across the house.

首先，我們是半途而廢地考慮這個問題，而且我們不提供具體的半途而廢指導。我們預計今年各方面都會相對平衡。

Got it. Okay. And then just a follow-up on the exit rate, January being a better month here. Should we be thinking about any sort of pull forward because of weather? Or do you think it's some combination of your initiatives and just solid demand overall?

知道了。好的。然後只是對退出率的跟踪，一月是這裡更好的月份。我們是否應該考慮因天氣原因而採取任何形式的提前行動？或者您認為這是您的舉措和整體強勁需求的結合？

And then some related piece here around the macro. It sounds like you're maintaining a relatively conservative view. My question is really, are you seeing any sort of improvement or divergence in maybe markets that were slowing last year and are starting to get a little bit better? Any change in performance there that would maybe lead you to believe that the housing backdrop is just better for the business right now?

然後是一些與巨集相關的部分。聽起來你的觀點比較保守。我的問題是，您是否看到去年成長放緩且現在開始好轉的市場出現了某種改善或分化？那裡的業績表現是否發生了任何變化，這可能會讓您相信目前的住房環境對企業更有利？

So I'd say, first of all, on regional variability, this past quarter was one of the narrowest we've seen in recent times, and we don't see any widespread variability. It's really early to determine how the business plays out for the first half. We've always talked about this in terms of halves because anything can happen from a weather standpoint that could either accelerate or delay a spring, and then you generally work to capture that in the first half. That's really our approach. We're not seeing anything that would have us thinking any differently than that, whatsoever.

因此我想說，首先，就區域差異而言，過去一個季度的差異是我們近年來看到的最窄的季度之一，而且我們沒有看到任何普遍的差異。現在判斷上半年的業務表現還為時過早。我們總是從上半場的角度來討論這個問題，因為從天氣的角度來看，任何事情都可能發生，既可能加速也可能推遲春季的到來，然後你通常會努力在上半場捕捉到這一點。這確實是我們的方法。我們沒有看到任何讓我們有不同想法的事情。

We have reached the end of our allotted time for questions.

我們的提問時間已經到了。

Ms. Janci, I would now like to turn the floor back over to you for closing comments.

詹西女士，現在我想把發言權交還給您，請您發表最後評論。

Great. Thank you, Christine. Thank you for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you on our first quarter earnings call in May.

偉大的。謝謝你，克里斯汀。感謝您今天加入我們。我們期待在五月第一季財報電話會議上與您交談。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。