家得寶 (HD) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to The Home Depot Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加家得寶（The Home Depot）2022 年第四季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。

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

現在我很榮幸介紹今天的主持人 Isabel Janci。請開始。

Thank you, Christine, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Home Depot's Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Earnings Call. Joining us on our call today are Ted Decker, Chair, President and CEO; Jeff Kinnaird, Executive Vice President of Merchandising; Ann-Marie Campbell, Executive Vice President of U.S. Stores and International Operations, and Richard McPhail, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, the call will be open for questions. (Operator Instructions) If we are unable to get to your question during the call, please call our Investor Relations department at (770) 384-2387.

謝謝你，Christine，各位早安。歡迎參加家得寶 2022 年第四季及 2022 會計年度財報電話會議。今天與會的有：董事長、總裁暨執行長 Ted Decker；商品部執行副總裁 Jeff Kinnaird；美國門市與國際營運執行副總裁 Ann-Marie Campbell，以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Richard McPhail。在我們的準備發言結束後，將開放提問。（接線員指示）若我們在會議中無法回答您的問題，請致電投資人關係部門：(770) 384-2387。

Before I turn the call over to Ted, 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 will also include certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation of these measures is provided on our website.

在我把電話交給 Ted 之前，先提醒各位：今天的新聞稿以及我們主管的簡報內容包含《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法》所定義的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述受到風險與不確定性影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期與推估有重大差異。這些風險與不確定性包括但不限於新聞稿及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交之文件中所列因素。今天的簡報也將包含若干非 GAAP 指標。相關調節表已提供於我們的網站。

Now let me turn the call over to Ted.

現在我把電話交給 Ted。

Thanks, Isabel, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal 2022 was another record year for our business as we achieved $157.4 billion in sales. We added over $6 billion in sales and increased diluted earnings per share 7.5% versus last year to $16.69. Over a 3-year period, we have grown sales by over $47 billion and delivered diluted earnings per share growth of over 60% while investing in the long-term health of our business. Throughout fiscal 2022, we continue to face reduced friction for our customers to improve the shopping experience. As Anne will discuss, we invested in an improved customer associate experience in our stores by implementing a new store leadership structure. We also drove productivity within the 4 walls of our store through our Get Stores Right, or GSR, space optimization initiative, and we've implemented new tools and technology in stores to reduce complexity for associates and improve customer service.

謝謝你，Isabel，各位早安。2022 會計年度對我們而言又是創紀錄的一年，銷售額達到 1,574 億美元。我們新增超過 60 億美元的銷售額，稀釋後每股盈餘較去年成長 7.5%，達到 16.69 美元。過去 3 年間，我們的銷售額成長超過 470 億美元，稀釋後每股盈餘成長超過 60%，同時也持續投資於公司長期健全發展。整個 2022 會計年度，我們持續致力於降低顧客摩擦、改善購物體驗。如 Anne 將說明，我們透過導入新的門市領導架構，投資改善門市同仁的工作體驗。我們也透過 Get Stores Right（GSR）空間最佳化計畫，提升門市四面牆內的生產力，並在門市導入新工具與科技，以降低同仁作業複雜度並提升顧客服務。

We're also pleased with the traction we are seeing in our interconnected business. We've seen increased app engagement, downloads conversion as we've rolled out several enhancements, including an improved online experience for our Pro loyalty program, seamless connectivity for our military program and the launch of our new store mode feature, which makes store navigation and product interaction easier.

我們也很高興看到互聯式（interconnected）業務的推進成效。我們推出多項強化功能後，看到 App 互動度、下載量與轉換率提升，其中包括：改善 Pro 忠誠計畫的線上體驗、讓軍人計畫無縫連結，以及推出全新的 store mode 功能，使門市導覽與商品互動更容易。

We are very pleased with the continued progress on our supply chain build-out as we reached an important milestone earlier this year. All our appliance delivery volume is now managed through our market delivery operations, significantly improving the customer experience.

我們對供應鏈建置的持續進展也非常滿意，並在今年稍早達成一項重要里程碑：目前所有家電配送量皆由我們的市場配送營運（market delivery operations）管理，顯著改善顧客體驗。

In the near term, we continue to navigate a unique environment. Throughout most of fiscal 2022, we observed a resilient customer who is less price sensitive than we would have expected in the face of persistent inflation. In the third quarter, we noted some deceleration in certain products and categories, which was more pronounced in the fourth quarter. This, along with the negative impact from lumber deflation, led to fourth quarter comps that were slightly softer than anticipated.

短期而言，我們仍在因應一個獨特的環境。在 2022 會計年度的大部分時間裡，我們觀察到顧客展現韌性；在持續通膨的情況下，顧客對價格的敏感度低於我們原先預期。第三季我們注意到部分商品與品類出現放緩，而第四季更為明顯。再加上木材價格通縮的負面影響，導致第四季同店銷售（comps）略低於預期。

We are closely monitoring our elasticities and trends across the business and believe we have the tools, team and experience to manage in any environment. This team has been effectively navigating the unprecedented growth in the last 3 years, and I have full confidence in their ability to execute as we go forward.

我們正密切監控全公司各項業務的價格彈性與趨勢，並相信我們具備工具、團隊與經驗，能在任何環境下妥善管理。這個團隊在過去 3 年有效因應前所未有的成長，我對他們未來的執行能力充滿信心。

The investments in our associates, stores, digital platforms, supply chain, technology, and other strategic initiatives have strengthened our business and enabled us to grow share and deliver exceptional shareholder value over the long term. The most important investment we can make is in our people, which is why we are announcing that we are increasing annualized compensation by approximately $1 billion for our frontline hourly associates. We believe this investment will position us favorably in the market, allowing us not only to attract the most qualified talent but also retain the exceptional associate base that is already in place.

我們在同仁、門市、數位平台、供應鏈、科技及其他策略性計畫上的投資，已強化公司體質，使我們能在長期擴大市占並為股東創造卓越價值。我們能做的最重要投資就是投資在人才上，因此我們宣布將把第一線計時制同仁的年化薪酬提高約 10 億美元。我們相信這項投資將使我們在市場上更具優勢，不僅能吸引最合適的人才，也能留任現有優秀的同仁團隊。

Today, our Board approved a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend to $2.09 per share, which equates to an annual dividend of $8.36 per share.

今天，我們董事會核准將季度股利提高 10% 至每股 2.09 美元，折合年股利為每股 8.36 美元。

Turning to 2023. We are targeting approximately flat comp sales and a mid-single-digit percent decline in diluted earnings per share compared to last year. Richard will take you through the details in a moment.

接著談 2023 年。我們目標是同店銷售大致持平，稀釋後每股盈餘較去年下降中個位數百分比。稍後 Richard 會為各位說明細節。

While we expect this to be a year of moderation in demand for home improvement, we believe that the long-term underpinnings of our market remains strong and we are well positioned to leverage our distinct competitive advantages to capitalize on compelling growth opportunities in our space. I could not be more pleased with the resilience and strength that our associates have continued to demonstrate, and I want to thank them and our supplier partners for their hard work and dedication to serving our customers and communities.

雖然我們預期今年居家修繕需求將趨於溫和，但我們相信市場長期基本面仍然強勁，而我們也已做好準備，運用我們獨特的競爭優勢，把握此領域具吸引力的成長機會。我對同仁持續展現的韌性與實力感到非常欣慰，也要感謝他們以及供應商夥伴的辛勤付出與投入，服務我們的顧客與社區。

Now I'm going to turn it over to Ann-Marie Campbell, Executive Vice President of U.S. Stores and International Operations, to share a little more on how we are taking care of our associates and continuing to enhance the customer experience.

接下來我把電話交給美國門市與國際營運執行副總裁 Ann-Marie Campbell，請她分享我們如何照顧同仁並持續提升顧客體驗。

Thanks, Ted, and good morning, everyone. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to spend a few minutes talking about the best team in retail and the many ways we are investing in the associate experience at The Home Depot.

謝謝你，Ted，各位早安。我很高興能花幾分鐘談談零售業最棒的團隊，以及我們在家得寶投資提升同仁體驗的多種方式。

We know that our associates are a key differentiator and they are essential in helping us sustain the customer experience we strive for. In order to provide the best customer experience in home improvement, we must focus on cultivating the best associate experience in retail. So what does this mean to us? This means not only investing in competitive wages and benefits, but also providing tools, training and development opportunities that make working at the Home Depot and enjoyable and rewarding experience.

我們知道，同仁是我們的關鍵差異化因素，也是協助我們維持所追求顧客體驗不可或缺的一環。為了在居家修繕領域提供最佳顧客體驗，我們必須專注於打造零售業最佳的同仁體驗。這對我們而言代表什麼？這不僅是投資具競爭力的薪資與福利，也包括提供工具、訓練與發展機會，讓在家得寶工作成為一段愉快且有成就感的體驗。

As Ted mentioned, we are making a significant investment of approximately $1 billion in compensation for frontline hourly associates. This is a meaningful investment that we believe will position us favorably in the marketplace. But this is just one component of the associate investment story. We know that the key to an engaged and committed workforce is investing in the person, taking an interest in them and in their development.

如 Ted 所提，我們將對第一線計時制同仁的薪酬投入約 10 億美元。這是一項重要投資，我們相信能讓我們在市場上更具優勢。但這只是同仁投資故事的一部分。我們知道，要打造投入且有承諾的勞動力，關鍵在於投資於「人」本身，關心他們以及他們的成長發展。

To that end, we began the year with a new store leadership structure, the first time we have changed the structure since our company was founded. The driving forces of these changes were customer service and associate development. We created new management positions focused entirely on the customer service experience, increasing the number of managers on the floor at any given time. This frees up time for other store leaders to devote to associate training and development. The net result of all this is both an improved customer and associate experience while also creating new career paths for our associates.

為此，我們在年初導入新的門市領導架構，這是公司成立以來首次調整該架構。推動這些改變的核心動力是顧客服務與同仁發展。我們新增了專注於顧客服務體驗的管理職位，提高任何時間點在賣場現場的管理人員數量。這也讓其他門市主管能騰出時間投入同仁訓練與發展。整體結果是：顧客與同仁體驗同步提升，同時也為同仁創造新的職涯路徑。

Another important element of a best-in-class associate experience rests on simplification, how can we simplify processes and systems in our stores to enable associates to deliver a better customer experience. And how can we simplify and streamline paths so that an associate can spend more time serving our customers. One example we have talked about before is the work we've done to simplify order management in our stores with the Order Up initiative. Historically, our associates have to navigate dozens of systems, but with Order Up, we have been able to streamline multiple systems into one that is simpler and more intuitive.

另一個打造同級最佳同仁體驗的重要要素是「簡化」：我們如何簡化門市流程與系統，讓同仁能提供更好的顧客體驗？又如何簡化並精簡作業路徑，讓同仁能花更多時間服務顧客？我們之前談過的一個例子，是透過 Order Up 計畫簡化門市的訂單管理。過去同仁必須在數十個系統間切換，但透過 Order Up，我們已能把多個系統整合為單一系統，更簡單且更直覺。

We took simplification even further this year with the introduction of the new HD phone and associated applications such as Sidekick. The rollout of our HD phone was a direct result of associate feedback on the limitations of our first-generation in all devices known as FIRST Phones. For the first time ever, every associate on the floor will have an HD phone in their hand with enhanced communication features, tools and training capabilities. This increased accessibility to real-time support is significant in helping our associates better serve our customers.

今年我們透過導入新的 HD phone 以及 Sidekick 等相關應用程式，把簡化再往前推進一步。HD phone 的推出，直接源自同仁對第一代全合一裝置（稱為 FIRST Phones）限制的回饋。這是史上第一次，賣場現場的每位同仁都能手持一支 HD phone，具備強化的通訊功能、工具與訓練能力。這種即時支援的可近性提升，對協助同仁更好地服務顧客具有重大意義。

In addition to enhancing the customer service experience, the home -- the new HD phone provides real-time access to tools and applications such as Sidekick that helps associates prioritize the highest value tasks more effectively. Powered by machine learning, Sidekick directs associates to key bays where on-shelf availability is low or out exist. The HD phone empowers our associates to provide a best-in-class customer experience, increases operational efficiency and generally makes an associate job much easier. These are just a few examples of the many ways we're investing to enhance and improve the associate experience at The Home Depot.

除了提升顧客服務體驗之外，新的 HD phone 也能即時存取 Sidekick 等工具與應用程式，協助同仁更有效地優先處理最高價值的工作。Sidekick 以機器學習為基礎，會引導同仁前往貨架可得性偏低或缺貨的關鍵貨架區（bays）。HD phone 讓同仁能提供同級最佳的顧客體驗、提升營運效率，並整體上讓同仁的工作更容易。以上只是我們在家得寶投資、強化並改善同仁體驗的眾多作法中的幾個例子。

Our associates are trusted advisers for our customers and are the heartbeat of our company, and I want to thank them for all they do to take care of our customers. We will continue to invest in them with a focus on listening to their needs, maintaining competitive wages and benefits and continuing to enhance our tools, training and development opportunities.

我們的同仁是客戶信賴的顧問，也是公司運作的核心動力；我想感謝他們為照顧客戶所做的一切。我們將持續投資於同仁，重點在於傾聽他們的需求、維持具競爭力的薪資與福利，並持續強化我們的工具、訓練與發展機會。

With that, let me turn the call over to Jeff.

接下來，讓我把電話會議交給 Jeff。

Thank you, Ann, and good morning, everyone. I want to start by also thanking all of our associates and supplier partners for their ongoing commitment to serving our customers and communities.

謝謝你，Ann，各位早安。我也想先感謝我們所有同仁與供應商夥伴，持續致力於服務我們的客戶與社區。

During the fourth quarter, our comp average ticket increased 5.8% and comp transactions decreased 6%. The growth in our comp average ticket was driven primarily by inflation across our product categories as well as demand for new and innovative products. Inflation from core commodity categories positively impacted our average ticket growth by approximately 15 basis points during the fourth quarter.

第四季，我們的同店平均客單價上升 5.8%，同店交易筆數下降 6%。同店平均客單價的成長主要來自各產品類別的通膨，以及對新穎創新產品的需求。核心大宗商品類別的通膨在第四季對我們平均客單價成長帶來約 15 個基點的正面影響。

On lumber specifically, during the fourth quarter, we saw a significant decline in lumber prices relative to a year ago. On average, lumber prices were down over 50% year-over-year. Given this dynamic, comp sales were negatively impacted by approximately 70 basis points in the fourth quarter.

就木材而言，第四季我們看到木材價格相較去年同期大幅下滑。平均而言，木材價格年減超過 50%。在此動態下，第四季同店銷售約受到 70 個基點的負面影響。

Turning to our department comp performance for the fourth quarter. 7 of our 14 merchandising departments posted positive comps. Build materials, plumbing, millwork, hardware, tools, outdoor garden and paint had comps above the company average. Big ticket comp transactions, or those over $1,000, were up 3.8% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. While we saw big ticket strength across Pro-heavy categories like portable power, pipe and fittings and gypsum, we did experience softness in other categories like laundry, soft flooring and roofing.

接著看第四季各部門同店表現。我們 14 個商品部門中有 7 個呈現同店正成長。建材、管材、木作、五金、工具、戶外園藝與油漆等部門的同店表現高於公司平均。大額同店交易（即單筆超過 1,000 美元）較去年第四季成長 3.8%。雖然我們在偏向專業客（Pro）比重較高的類別（如可攜式電動工具、管材與配件、以及石膏板）看到大額交易的強勁表現，但在洗衣設備、軟質地板與屋頂等其他類別則出現較疲弱的情況。

During the fourth quarter, Pro sales growth outpaced DIY. Pro backlog still remain elevated compared to historical averages, and we saw positive comp performance in our build materials, plumbing and millwork departments as well as in certain bath-related categories.

第四季，專業客（Pro）銷售成長超過 DIY。Pro 的在手訂單（backlog）相較歷史平均仍維持在高檔，我們在建材、管材與木作部門，以及部分與衛浴相關的類別也看到同店正向表現。

Turning to total company online sales. We are very pleased with the performance of our digital assets. Sales leveraging our digital platforms increased over 4% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. This was driven by our continued investments, which are resonating with our customers. For those customers that chose to transact with us online during the fourth quarter, approximately 45% of our online orders were fulfilled through our stores, a testament to the power of our interconnected retail strategy.

接著看全公司線上銷售。我們對數位資產的表現非常滿意。透過我們數位平台帶動的銷售較去年第四季成長超過 4%。這主要來自我們持續的投資，並且正與客戶產生共鳴。對於第四季選擇在線上與我們交易的客戶而言，約 45% 的線上訂單由門市完成履約，這也證明了我們互聯零售策略的強大效益。

During the fourth quarter, we held our decorative holiday, gift center and Black Friday events. 2022 was a record sales year for these events. We are the product authority in home improvement and together with our supplier partners, we continue to offer the best product at the best value for our customers every day. A great example of this is our recent partnership with Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The Ecolab Scientific Clean product line offers the cleaning solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use that Ecolab is known for to both our Pro and DIY customers, giving them access to innovative cleaning technology, and this partnership is exclusive to the Home Depot. It marks the first of its kind in Ecolab's 100-year history.

第四季期間，我們舉辦了節慶裝飾、禮品中心與黑色星期五活動。2022 年是這些活動的銷售創紀錄年度。我們是居家修繕領域的產品權威，並與供應商夥伴一起，持續每天為客戶提供最優產品與最佳價值。一個很好的例子是我們近期與 Ecolab 的合作；Ecolab 是全球在水處理、衛生與感染預防解決方案與服務的領導者。Ecolab Scientific Clean 產品線把 Ecolab 著名的商用、工業與居家清潔解決方案提供給我們的 Pro 與 DIY 客戶，讓他們能使用創新的清潔科技，而這項合作為 Home Depot 獨家。這也標誌著 Ecolab 100 年歷史上首度出現此類合作。

We're looking forward to the year ahead, particularly with the spring selling season right around the corner. We have a great lineup of products from live goods to outdoor power equipment. We continue to see an industry-wide shift from gas-powered to battery-powered tools. And as we've been discussing for some time, we have been leaning into this trend, offering a broad assortment of outdoor power equipment with cordless technology. We have the brands that matter across tools and outdoor power, including RYOBI, Milwaukee, DEWALT and Makita.

我們期待接下來的一年，尤其春季銷售旺季近在眼前。我們有一系列很棒的產品，從活體植栽到戶外動力設備一應俱全。我們持續看到全產業從燃油工具轉向電池工具的趨勢。正如我們一段時間以來所討論的，我們正積極順應此趨勢，提供採用無線技術的多元戶外動力設備組合。我們在工具與戶外動力領域擁有重要品牌，包括 RYOBI、Milwaukee、DEWALT 與 Makita。

In our spring gift center event, we are expanding our assortment to include cordless innovation in mowers, trimmers, blowers and chainsaws. As an example, our Makita XGT platform will have over 125 professional-grade cordless tools. I'm particularly excited about our new 40-volt XGT mower that delivers gas-powered performance with high vacuum lift for premium cut quality. The XGT mower can cut over an acre in less than 60 minutes on 2 40-volt XGT batteries. These Makita tools are exclusive to The Home Depot in the big-box retail channel.

在春季禮品中心活動中，我們將擴大商品組合，納入割草機、修剪機、吹葉機與鏈鋸等無線創新產品。以 Makita XGT 平台為例，將提供超過 125 款專業級無線工具。我特別期待我們新的 40 伏 XGT 割草機，它以高真空吸力帶來媲美燃油機的性能，提供更優質的修剪效果。XGT 割草機使用 2 顆 40 伏 XGT 電池，可在不到 60 分鐘內修剪超過 1 英畝的草坪。這些 Makita 工具在大型賣場零售通路中為 The Home Depot 獨家販售。

One of our key focuses in the spring is to provide great value and innovation for our customers within our live goods offerings. We continually work to strengthen our relationship with key vendors throughout the industry, providing the best value, innovation and guarded performance for our customers. We have expanded our offerings in national, regional and proprietary brands such as Vigoro, Rio, PROVEN WINNERS, Southern Living and Knock Out Rose, just to name a few. Our teams continue to look for better garden performance varieties that provide solutions for our customers, and we are excited about the upcoming spring season.

春季我們的一項重點，是在活體植栽（live goods）商品上為客戶提供卓越價值與創新。我們持續強化與產業內關鍵供應商的關係，為客戶提供最佳價值、創新與可靠表現。我們已擴大國家型、區域型與自有品牌的產品供應，例如 Vigoro、Rio、PROVEN WINNERS、Southern Living 與 Knock Out Rose 等僅舉數例。我們的團隊持續尋找園藝表現更佳的品種，為客戶提供解決方案，並對即將到來的春季旺季感到振奮。

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

接下來，我想把電話會議交給 Richard。

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. In the fourth quarter, total sales were $35.8 billion, an increase of approximately $100 million or 0.3% from last year. During the fourth quarter, our total company comps were essentially flat at negative 0.3% for the quarter. As Jeff mentioned, lumber prices in the quarter negatively impacted comp sales by approximately 70 basis points. We had comps of negative 1.3% in November, positive 0.8% in December and negative 0.1% in January. Comps in the U.S. were negative 0.3% for the quarter with negative comps of 0.4% in -- 1.4% in November, positive 0.7% in December and negative 0.1% in January.

謝謝你，Jeff，各位早安。第四季總銷售額為 358 億美元，較去年增加約 1 億美元或 0.3%。第四季全公司同店銷售基本持平，該季為 -0.3%。如 Jeff 所提，該季木材價格對同店銷售造成約 70 個基點的負面影響。我們 11 月同店為 -1.3%，12 月為 +0.8%，1 月為 -0.1%。美國市場同店在該季為 -0.3%，其中 11 月為 -1.4%，12 月為 +0.7%，1 月為 -0.1%。

For the year, our sales totaled a record $157.4 billion with sales growth of $6.2 billion or 4.1% versus fiscal 2021. For the year, total company comp sales increased 3.1% and U.S. comp sales increased 2.9%. In the fourth quarter, our gross margin was approximately 33.3%, an increase of 7 basis points from last year. For the year, our gross margin was approximately 33.5%, a decrease of 10 basis points from last year. Gross margin was in line with our expectations, reflecting planned investments in our supply chain capabilities.

全年而言，我們銷售額創紀錄達 1,574 億美元，較 2021 會計年度增加 62 億美元或 4.1%。全年全公司同店銷售成長 3.1%，美國同店銷售成長 2.9%。第四季毛利率約為 33.3%，較去年增加 7 個基點。全年毛利率約為 33.5%，較去年下降 10 個基點。毛利率符合我們的預期，反映我們對供應鏈能力的計畫性投資。

Throughout the year, we continued to successfully offset significant transportation and product cost pressures as well as increased pressure from shrink during the back half of the year, and we did this while maintaining our position as the customer's advocate for value.

全年期間，我們持續成功抵銷顯著的運輸與產品成本壓力，以及下半年因損耗（shrink）增加所帶來的更大壓力，同時仍維持我們作為客戶價值倡議者的定位。

During the fourth quarter, operating expenses were approximately 20% of sales, representing an increase of 32 basis points from last year. Our operating expense deleverage is driven largely by charges unique to the quarter related to litigation in California, storm-related expenses and an unfortunate fire in one of our stores. For the year, operating expenses were approximately 18.3% of sales, representing a decrease of 13 basis points from fiscal 2021. Our operating margin for the fourth quarter was approximately 13.3% and for the year was approximately 15.3%. Interest and other expense for the fourth quarter increased by $85 million to $408 million due primarily to higher long-term debt levels than 1 year ago.

第四季營業費用約占銷售額的 20%，較去年增加 32 個基點。我們營業費用率上升（deleverage）主要來自該季特有的費用，包括加州訴訟相關費用、風暴相關支出，以及我們其中一家門市不幸發生火災。全年營業費用約占銷售額的 18.3%，較 2021 會計年度下降 13 個基點。第四季營業利益率約為 13.3%，全年約為 15.3%。第四季利息及其他費用增加 8,500 萬美元至 4.08 億美元，主要因長期負債水準較一年前更高。

In the fourth quarter, our effective tax rate was 22.6% and for fiscal 2022 was 23.9%. Our diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $3.30, an increase of 2.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2022 were $16.69, an increase of 7.5% compared to fiscal 2021. During the year, we opened 6 new stores and lost a store in California due to a fire, bringing our store count to 2,322 at the end of fiscal 2022.

第四季有效稅率為 22.6%，2022 會計年度為 23.9%。第四季稀釋每股盈餘為 3.30 美元，較 2021 年第四季成長 2.8%。2022 會計年度稀釋每股盈餘為 16.69 美元，較 2021 會計年度成長 7.5%。全年我們新開 6 家門市，並因火災在加州損失 1 家門市，使得 2022 會計年度末門市數達 2,322 家。

Retail selling square footage was approximately 241 million square feet at the end of fiscal 2022. Total sales per retail square foot were approximately $627 in fiscal 2022, the highest annual figure in our company's history. At the end of the quarter, merchandise inventories were $24.9 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion versus last year, and inventory turns were 4.2x, down from 5.2x from the same period last year.

截至 2022 會計年度末，零售銷售面積約為 2.41 億平方英尺。2022 會計年度每零售平方英尺總銷售額約為 627 美元，為公司歷史最高的年度數字。季度末商品存貨為 249 億美元，較去年增加 28 億美元；存貨週轉率為 4.2 倍，低於去年同期的 5.2 倍。

Moving to capital allocation. During the fourth quarter, we invested approximately $900 million back into our business in the form of capital expenditures. This brings total capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 to $3.1 billion. During the year, we paid approximately $7.8 billion of dividends to our shareholders. We look to grow our dividend every year as we grow earnings, and as Ted mentioned, today, we announced our Board of Directors increased our quarterly dividend by 10% to $2.09 per share, which equates to an annual dividend of $8.36 per share.

接著談資本配置。第四季期間，我們以資本支出形式回投約9億美元至本業。這使得2022會計年度的資本支出總額達到31億美元。年度期間，我們向股東支付約78億美元股利。我們希望在獲利成長的同時，每年都能提高股利；正如Ted今天提到的，我們宣布董事會將季度股利提高10%至每股2.09美元，折合年股利為每股8.36美元。

And finally, during fiscal 2022, we returned approximately $6.5 billion to our shareholders in the form of share repurchases, including $1.5 billion 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 44.6% compared to 44.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.

最後，在2022會計年度，我們透過庫藏股回購向股東返還約65億美元，其中第四季為15億美元。以過去12個月期初與期末長期負債與權益的平均數計算，投入資本報酬率為44.6%，相較於2021會計年度第四季末的44.7%。

Now I'll comment on our outlook for 2023. As we think about how 2023 might unfold, we think it's helpful to look back on our performance since 2019. From 2019 through 2022, we grew sales by $47.2 billion, a compound annual rate of 12.6%. During the first 5 quarters of this period, from the first quarter of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021, our sales were driven by significant ticket and transaction growth. This growth reflects factors unique to home improvement as homeowners spent more time in their homes and took on more projects as they saw their homes significantly increase in value over that period.

接下來我將評論我們對2023年的展望。當我們思考2023年可能如何發展時，我們認為回顧自2019年以來的表現很有幫助。從2019年至2022年，我們的銷售額增加472億美元，年複合成長率為12.6%。在此期間的前5個季度，也就是從2020年第一季到2021年第一季，我們的銷售主要由顯著的客單價與交易量成長所帶動。這項成長反映了居家修繕產業的獨特因素：屋主在家時間增加，且在那段期間看到房屋價值大幅上升，因此承接了更多專案。

The home improvement market also captured a greater share of the consumer's wallet, as spending on goods outpaced spending on services during the period. Beginning in the second quarter of 2021 and continuing through the fourth quarter of 2022, we reported strong sales and earnings growth driven by ticket, while transactions steadily normalized back towards 2019 levels, as the broader consumer economy shifted from goods and back into services. During this time, we continued to report positive sales growth in every quarter up to present.

居家修繕市場也在此期間取得了消費者錢包中更高的占比，因為商品支出增速超過服務支出。自2021年第二季開始並延續至2022年第四季，我們回報了強勁的銷售與獲利成長，主要由客單價帶動；同時，隨著整體消費經濟從商品轉回服務，交易量逐步正常化並回到接近2019年的水準。在此期間，直到目前為止，我們每一季都持續回報正向的銷售成長。

As we set targets for 2023, the context of the past 3 years led us to consider 3 factors that will likely influence our performance this year. First, the starting point for our target setting this year is our assumption regarding consumer spending. We've assumed, like many economists, that we will see flat real economic growth and consumer spending in 2023. Second, over the last 7 quarters, we have seen our transactions gradually normalize as consumer spending has shifted from goods to services. We believe that if this shift continues at its current pace, the home improvement market would be down low single digits. And third, as an offset to this pressure, we plan to continue to capture market share. Our competitive advantages, the investments we have made over many years and the unique advantage that our orange-blooded associates give us over our competition position us to take share in any environment.

在設定2023年的目標時，過去3年的背景使我們考量三項今年可能影響表現的因素。第一，今年目標設定的起點是我們對消費支出的假設。我們與許多經濟學家一樣，假設2023年實質經濟成長與消費支出將持平。第二，過去7個季度，我們看到隨著消費支出從商品轉向服務，我們的交易量逐步正常化。我們相信若此轉移以目前速度持續，居家修繕市場將呈現低個位數下滑。第三，為抵銷這些壓力，我們計畫持續提升市占。我們的競爭優勢、多年來的投資，以及我們「橘色血液」的門市夥伴所帶來的獨特優勢，使我們在任何環境下都具備搶占市占的能力。

Taking these factors into account, we are targeting approximately flat sales and comp sales growth for 2023. Further, our operating margin target of 14.5% reflects approximately 60 basis points of impact from the compensation investment we announced today. Our effective tax rate is targeted at approximately 24.5%. Our diluted earnings per share is targeted to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage. Outside of this target setting, if lumber prices remain at current levels for the remainder of our fiscal year, that would equate to approximately 100 basis points of pressure to comp sales and an insignificant impact to earnings. At today's current price, this would imply more pressure in the first half than in the rest of the year.

綜合上述因素，我們對2023年的目標是銷售額與同店銷售成長大致持平。此外，我們14.5%的營業利益率目標，反映了我們今天宣布的薪酬投資所帶來約60個基點的影響。我們的有效稅率目標約為24.5%。我們的稀釋後每股盈餘目標為下降中個位數百分比。除上述目標設定之外，若木材價格在本會計年度剩餘期間維持在目前水準，將相當於對同店銷售造成約100個基點的壓力，對獲利影響不顯著。以目前價格來看，這意味著上半年承受的壓力將大於下半年。

We plan to continue investing in our business with CapEx of approximately 2% of sales on an annual basis. After investing in our business and paying our dividend, it's our intent to return excess cash to shareholders in the form of share repurchases.

我們計畫持續投資本業，年度資本支出約為銷售額的2%。在投資本業並支付股利之後，我們的意圖是透過股票回購將多餘現金返還給股東。

We believe that we have positioned ourselves to meet the needs of our customers in any environment. The investments we've made in our business have enabled agility in our operating model. As we look forward, we will continue to invest to strengthen our position with customers, leverage our scale and low-cost position to drive growth faster than the market and deliver shareholder value.

我們相信，無論環境如何，我們都已做好準備以滿足客戶需求。我們對業務所做的投資，使我們的營運模式更具敏捷性。展望未來，我們將持續投資以強化我們在客戶端的地位，運用我們的規模與低成本優勢，以快於市場的速度推動成長並創造股東價值。

Thank you for your participation in today's call. And Christine, we are now ready for questions.

感謝各位參與今天的電話會議。Christine，我們現在準備開始問答。

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

（接線員指示）我們的第一個問題來自UBS的Michael Lasser。

Ted, in this environment, we're all just kind of guessing, but we assume that your guesses are a lot more educated than any of the rest of us. And in that case, what do you see as the downside risk for the home improvement market, in turn Home Depot, this year, both in terms of the depth of a potential decline and the duration of a downturn. And in that case, how would Home Depot's earnings look in that scenario?

Ted，在這樣的環境下，我們其實都只能猜測，但我們假設你們的判斷比我們其他人更有依據。在這種情況下，你認為今年居家修繕市場、進而Home Depot的下行風險是什麼？包括潛在下滑的幅度以及低迷期的持續時間。並且在那種情境下，Home Depot的獲利會呈現什麼樣貌？

Well, Michael, thanks for the question. We'll certainly address that. But before we go into the downside, I'd like to set the tone on what we see that's favorable in the business trends. And we feel very good about our business. As we've just referenced, we've grown the business $47 billion over the last 3 years and grown earnings 60% during that time. Our associates did an amazing job focusing on the customer in this challenging environment, and there's really no way we would have captured that much share had we not been making the investments over the past few years.

Michael，謝謝你的問題。我們當然會回應。不過在談下行情境之前，我想先定調我們在業務趨勢中看到的有利面，我們對業務感到非常有信心。正如我們剛才提到的，過去3年我們的業務規模增加了470億美元，且在此期間獲利成長60%。在這個充滿挑戰的環境中，我們的夥伴在聚焦客戶方面做得非常出色；如果過去幾年沒有持續投資，我們不可能取得那麼多市占。

We also still see a healthy customer. I mean we have good jobs, job growth, growing wages, still strong balance sheets. And most of our customers tend to own their home, which has seen a significant increase in value. But as we've said, we do see a unique environment with many cross currents right now. Obviously, there's heightened inflation and rising interest rates, a tight labor market and moderating equity and housing markets.

我們也仍然看到客戶狀況健康。我的意思是，就業良好、就業成長、薪資上升，資產負債表仍然強健。而且我們的大多數客戶傾向於擁有自住房，而其房屋價值已顯著上升。但正如我們所說，目前確實是個有許多交錯力量的特殊環境。顯然，通膨升溫與利率上升、勞動市場緊俏，以及股市與房市趨於降溫。

So given all that, we do expect moderation in home improvement demand. Pro backlogs are still healthy, Michael, although they are off their peak from last year. And customers are still spending time at home. Homes are aging and worth about 40% more than they were before the start of the pandemic. But people are also starting to shift spend more towards services. And as we've said, we see some more price sensitivity. So given all that, we've set the stage for a moderating year in 2023, and Richard will take you through some of the downside cases that you alluded to.

因此綜合來看，我們確實預期居家修繕需求將趨於溫和。專業客戶（Pro）的待完成訂單（backlogs）仍然健康，Michael，雖然已較去年高峰回落。客戶仍然花時間待在家中。房屋逐漸老化，且其價值約比疫情開始前高出40%。但人們也開始把支出更多轉向服務。並且如我們所說，我們看到價格敏感度有所提高。基於以上，我們已為2023年設定為一個需求趨於溫和的年度，而Richard將帶各位走過你所提到的一些下行情境。

So -- yes. So Michael, just to recap quickly, the way that we set our target and our guidance for the year was to first start with the assumption of flat consumer spending. And then with respect to the goods sector of the economy, and as I said, over the last 7 quarters, we've seen that shift across the consumer economy from goods to services. So we would anticipate this would put slight pressure on our market. And then we look to overcome that by taking share in the manner that we've done consistently over the past several years. So we're targeting flat.

所以——是的。Michael，我先快速重述一下：我們設定年度目標與指引的方式，是先從「消費支出持平」的假設出發。接著就經濟中的商品部門而言，如我所說，過去7個季度我們看到整體消費經濟從商品轉向服務。因此我們預期這會對我們的市場帶來些微壓力。然後我們希望透過持續多年一貫的方式來提升市占，以克服這些壓力。所以我們的目標是持平。

If you -- there are so many factors that influence our market right now, as Ted alluded to. But if you were to take a hypothetical situation, let's just think about that share shift that we call out. So we look at the share that we currently capture as a share of consumption, PCE, and we've tracked that through the COVID period and over the last few years. As we said in our guidance, that share shift continued at the rates at which we have seen it behave. Currently, we would expect the market to face low single-digit negative pressure.

如Ted所提到的，現在有太多因素會影響我們的市場。但如果你要看一個假設情境，我們就以我們所指出的那個「占比轉移」來思考。我們觀察目前所取得的占比，亦即占整體消費（PCE）的比重，並在COVID期間及過去幾年持續追蹤。正如我們在指引中所說，若這個占比轉移以我們目前看到的速度持續，我們預期市場將面臨低個位數的負向壓力。

But if you were to take perhaps a more extreme case and say if that share of PCE that our market holds were to shift all the way back to 2019 levels by the end of the year, that would imply pressure of, call it, mid-single-digit percentages. And so that would sort of be one way to get your mind around a hypothetical case where share shift happens more rapidly than it has been.

但如果你採取一個更極端的情境，假設我們市場在PCE中所占的比重在年底前一路回到2019年的水準，那將意味著大約中個位數百分比的壓力。因此，這可以作為一種方式，幫助你理解在占比轉移比目前更快速發生時的假設情境。

So in an environment where the market is down mid-single digits, presumably, Home Depot is going to do better than that. It will take some market share. So can you frame out what you think the decremental margins would be in a down 3 or 4 type scenario? And as part of that, where do you think you would see this first? You're already starting to experience some challenges in areas like soft flooring and others that you outlined. Is that a precursor to weakness that you might experience in other categories?

所以在市場下滑中個位數的環境下，推測Home Depot的表現會優於市場，並取得一些市占。你能否說明一下，在下滑3%或4%這類情境下，你認為遞減毛利率（decremental margins）會是什麼樣子？另外，你認為會先在哪些地方看到這種情況？你們已經開始在軟性地板等你提到的領域遇到一些挑戰。那是否是其他品類可能出現疲弱的前兆？

So just to keep it simple because share shift is not a perfect science. In a hypothetical case, and again, we're not guiding this way, this is not a downside case, but in a hypothetical situation, that share shift, if our comps were to be mid-single-digit negative, we would see operating margin around 14% as kind of a corollary to that hypothetical situation.

所以為了簡化說明，因為市占移轉並不是一門精準科學。在一個假設性的情境下——再次強調，我們並不是以這種方式來指引，這也不是下行情境——但在假設情況中，如果我們的同店銷售（comps）落在中個位數的負成長，我們會看到營業利益率大約在14%，作為該假設情境的一個對應結果。

And Michael, Jeff can give some further detail. But the price sensitivity is -- while it's a bit broader in Q4 than we saw in Q3, it's still primarily those larger single ticket, more discretionary items that we've referenced before, appliances, grills, patio, but still being a project-oriented business. And with the Pro backlog, again, albeit down, still strong, we're still seeing strong project business. But there is a bit more overall sensitivity as we saw more one-for-one offset with ticket and transaction in Q4.

而 Michael，Jeff 可以補充更多細節。不過價格敏感度是——雖然第四季比第三季我們看到的更為廣泛一些——但仍主要集中在我們先前提到的那些單筆金額較大、較具可選擇性的品類，例如家電、烤爐、庭院相關，但我們仍是一個以專案為導向的業務。而且就 Pro 的積壓訂單而言，雖然有所下降但仍然強勁，我們仍看到強勁的專案型業務。不過整體敏感度確實更高一些，因為在第四季我們看到客單價與交易量更接近一比一的相互抵銷。

Yes. Thank you, Ted. So yes, in general, to your comments, more broad than what we saw in the third quarter but still very good project demand. If you look at the 7 departments that outperformed, the plumbing business, build materials, millwork, hardware, tools and paint above our company average and just reflected the strength of the project business. To your point, Michael, we're watching categories like flooring very closely. We're working assortments. We're working different opportunities in the market to look at what's happening in categories like flooring. But some broader-based sensitivity, but still good strength in the overall business.

是的。謝謝你，Ted。是的，整體而言，如你所說，比第三季更為廣泛，但專案需求仍然非常不錯。若你看表現優於平均的7個部門，水電、建材、木作、五金、工具與油漆都高於公司平均，反映出專案業務的強勁。就你提到的，Michael，我們正非常密切地關注像地板這類品類。我們在調整商品組合，也在市場上尋找不同機會，來觀察像地板這類品類正在發生什麼。但雖然敏感度更為普遍一些，整體業務仍展現良好韌性。

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

下一個問題來自 Truist 的 Scot Ciccarelli。

So can you please clarify your expectations for unit elasticity if we were to start to see same -- see inflation pressures ease? And then secondly, any common denominators in categories or geographies where you're starting to see some of the incremental softness?

能否請你們釐清一下：如果我們開始看到通膨壓力緩解，你們對單位需求彈性（unit elasticity）的預期是什麼？第二，你們開始看到一些額外走弱的品類或地區，是否有任何共同特徵？

Sure, Scot. I think the last 2 years, we've had the same guidance that we're having this year, and that is that whatever inflation is represented in our average unit retail in ticket would be offset by transaction. So we started the year thinking about a balance of ticket and transaction and that higher ticket driven by inflation would be offset with transactions.

當然可以，Scot。我認為過去兩年，我們給出的指引與今年相同，也就是：不論通膨在我們的平均零售單價（AUR）或客單價（ticket）上呈現多少，都會被交易量（transaction）所抵銷。所以我們在年初的思考就是客單價與交易量的平衡，而由通膨推升的較高客單價會被交易量所抵銷。

The outperformance of the prior 2 years was that we didn't see that much sensitivity. The consumer, our customer was much more resilient, sort of purchase through that elasticity curve, if you will. What we are seeing now is some more sensitivity, and we had almost an exact one-for-one offset in Q4. That's what we're expecting for 2023 that there is still inflation. I mean we are still in an inflationary environment as we saw from CPI and PPI results last week, although it is abating and it's abating more, I would say, in our industry. Our costs on the table are much lower than they had been. Our wraparounds, and price moves going into '23 will be much lower than they had been in the prior 2 years. And so while we're still expecting an offset in transactions because the ticket won't be as high, the negative transactions won't be as low but still net to that flat guidance for 2023.

過去兩年的超預期表現，在於我們沒有看到那麼高的敏感度。消費者、也就是我們的顧客更具韌性，可以說是沿著那條彈性曲線持續購買。而我們現在看到的是敏感度提高了，第四季幾乎出現了完全一比一的抵銷。這也是我們對2023年的預期：仍然有通膨。我是說，我們仍處於通膨環境中，從上週的CPI與PPI結果也可看出，雖然正在趨緩，而且我會說在我們的產業趨緩得更明顯。我們目前面臨的成本壓力已比之前低很多。我們的各項附帶成本，以及進入2023年的價格調整幅度，都會比前兩年低很多。因此，雖然我們仍預期交易量會有抵銷效果，但因為客單價不會那麼高，交易量的負向幅度也不會那麼大，但整體仍會回到我們對2023年「持平」的指引。

Okay. And then any common denominator in terms of category or geographies where you're seeing some of the incremental softness? Is it just big ticket? Or is there...

好的。那在品類或地區方面，你們看到一些額外走弱是否有共同特徵？只是大額商品嗎？還是有……

Yes, big ticket would be the ones that I called out before that have continued with softness. In the geographies, while we had a little more variability of our comp range, there's no particular geography that you'd call out other than weather-impacted ones that would show anything off the mean for us.

是的，大額商品就是我先前點名、且持續偏弱的那些。在地區方面，雖然我們的同店表現區間有稍微更大的差異，但沒有任何特定地區值得特別點出；除了受天氣影響的地區之外，沒有看到明顯偏離我們平均水準的情況。

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

下一個問題來自 Morgan Stanley 的 Simeon Gutman。

Maybe related to the last question, we've had -- home prices have decelerated for about 6 to 8 months now, and we know existing home sales are in deep negative territory. If you align your business against those trends and in markets where they're more pronounced, is there a decoupling? In other words, you -- the business is stable despite prices have fallen and existing home sales being down 20%, 30%.

也許與上一題相關：房價已經放緩大約6到8個月了，而我們也知道成屋銷售正處於深度負成長。如果把你們的業務與這些趨勢對齊，並且在那些趨勢更明顯的市場來看，是否出現脫鉤？換句話說，即使房價下跌、成屋銷售下滑20%、30%，你們的業務仍然穩定嗎？

Thanks, Simeon. On home prices, we know over the long term that our business does correlate to price appreciation. Obviously, we've had unprecedented growth and appreciation since 2019. Home prices peaked in June of 2022. In fact, at that point, they were 45% higher than they were at the end of 2019. They have regressed by about 3% since that point. So we've seen some modest correction. But I can tell you, we have not seen an impact on a market-by-market basis since that peak. There's no relationship with comp sales and the home price appreciation or correction that we've seen.

謝謝你，Simeon。就房價而言，我們知道長期來看，我們的業務確實與房價上漲有相關性。顯然，自2019年以來我們經歷了前所未有的成長與升值。房價在2022年6月達到高峰。事實上，當時房價比2019年底高出45%。自那之後大約回落了3%。所以我們看到的是溫和的修正。但我可以告訴你，自那個高點以來，我們在逐一市場層面並未看到影響。我們沒有看到同店銷售與房價升值或修正之間存在任何關係。

On housing turnover, there's just that interesting dynamic of whether -- what is actually happening in housing turnover. There just aren't the willing sellers out there to the degree that they have been in past eras. We're in such a healthy -- our customer, our homeowner customers in such a healthy position that you just think about their motive for selling.

至於住宅換手率，存在一個有趣的動態：到底住宅換手實際上發生了什麼。市場上並沒有像過去那些時期那樣多的願意出售者。我們的顧客、也就是屋主型顧客，財務狀況非常健康，你只要想想他們出售的動機就知道了。

As you know, 90% -- over 90% of U.S. homeowners either own their homes outright or have fixed rate mortgages under 5%. And so that incentive to sell and move to a higher rate mortgage just isn't there. And in fact, the incentive is really there to improve in place. So it's hard to say what the sort of -- what the housing economy -- how the housing economy might impact us. But no, to answer your first question, to date, since 2022, we haven't seen a relationship.

如你所知，90%——超過90%的美國屋主不是已全額持有房屋，就是持有利率低於5%的固定利率房貸。因此，為了搬家而賣房、再去承擔更高利率房貸的誘因並不存在。事實上，真正的誘因是就地改善（improve in place）。所以很難說住宅市場——住宅經濟——會如何影響我們。但回到你第一個問題：截至目前，自2022年以來，我們沒有看到這種關係。

And a follow-up to a point that was made earlier that if the share of PCE reverts back to the 2019 level, do you take a view on this? Or is there any confidence that it doesn't. And it's a view really on digestion. We've seen a couple of categories in real terms, actually overcorrect the 2019, only 2 right now, but not home improvement, obviously. But how confident are you that we don't need to go back that far or that the digestion or so is done and we can hang out at the current share that we are?

再追問一點：先前有人提到，如果PCE的占比回到2019年的水準，你們會對此形成看法嗎？或者你們是否有信心它不會回去？這其實是關於「消化」的觀點。我們看到有幾個品類以實質（real terms）來看，實際上已經過度修正到低於2019年水準——目前只有兩個品類，但顯然不包含居家修繕。你們有多大信心我們不需要回到那麼低，或者說消化已經完成，我們可以維持在目前的占比水準？

I think the only thing I look at really is the trajectory that we've observed. I think that's kind of the best information we can use. We're not making an assumption about whether, in your terms, there's full digestion or not.

我真正會看的只有我們觀察到的趨勢軌跡。我認為那大概是我們能使用的最佳資訊。我們並沒有去假設是否如你所說，已經「完全消化」或尚未。

And Simeon, I would say this is -- we said this is a unique period and hard to gauge on the shortest horizon. But we are just so incredibly bullish on the longer horizon for this industry, just all the dynamics that we know about starting with the fundamental shortage of housing. I mean we're still -- whether it's 1 million, 2 million, 3 million units short in -- with household formation and population growth and aging housing stock, all the things that we talk about, I mean, that is all very much in place. And as the market works its way through PCE reversion or not or level of that and inflation mortgage rates, that will all settle and what you're left with is still a market that is underserved in housing units built. And over half the homes are over 40 years old. And as Richard said, they remain in place with owning the home in low mortgage rates. People are going to want to make more significant improvements on those homes. So we -- remaining just couldn't be more bullish on the longer-term view of this industry.

而 Simeon，我會說——我們也提過——這是一段獨特的時期，在最短期的時間範圍內很難衡量。但從更長期的角度來看，我們對這個產業極度看多，因為我們所知道的所有動態都存在，首先就是住房的根本性短缺。我是說，我們仍然——不論是短缺100萬、200萬或300萬戶——在家庭形成、人口成長與房屋存量老化等因素下，我們談到的那些事情都仍然非常明確地存在。當市場逐步消化PCE占比是否回歸、回歸到什麼程度，以及通膨、房貸利率等因素，這些終將趨於穩定；而最後你會看到的仍是一個住房供給不足的市場。超過一半的房屋屋齡超過40年。而如 Richard 所說，屋主因為持有低利率房貸而選擇留在原地。人們會希望對這些房屋做更大幅度的改善。因此，我們——就長期觀點而言——對這個產業的看多程度再高也不為過。

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

下一個問題來自 Oppenheimer 的 Brian Nagel。

I had a couple of questions that are both maybe more philosophical. But first off -- and again, Ted, just some of the comments made here about increased price sensitivity, I think, on the part of your consumers, maybe that turned a little more severe than we saw in the third quarter. One of the big, I think -- I probably followed Home Depot for a long time, one of the big (inaudible) understand the data...

我有幾個問題，可能都比較偏哲學層面。不過首先——再一次，Ted，關於你們在這裡提到消費者價格敏感度提高的評論，我想第四季可能比第三季我們看到的更嚴重一些。我認為其中一個很大的——我大概追蹤 Home Depot 很久了，其中一個很大的（聽不清）理解這些數據……

Brian, you're breaking up. Can you repeat that?

Brian，你的聲音斷斷續續。你可以再說一次嗎？

Now we'll move around here. But for the question, I'll make it short. The question I'm having is as you're looking at this with the consumer behavior we're all seeking or searching right now as for those signs of weakening consumer, given a tempered backdrop. But do you believe that we're still kind of in the one-off? What you're seeing is more one-off in nature? Or is this really the beginnings of a weaker trend coming that could persist over the next few quarters?

那我換個方式問，並把問題縮短。我的問題是：當你們觀察目前的情況時，面對我們都在尋找或搜尋的消費者走弱跡象、以及較為溫和的總體背景，你們是否認為我們仍處於某種一次性（one-off）的狀況？也就是你們看到的比較偏一次性因素？還是這其實是更弱趨勢的開端，可能在接下來幾個季度持續？

Brian, it's Jeff. As we talked about price sensitivity earlier, we are seeing some additional sensitivity or saw some additional sensitivity in Q4 versus Q3. But let me give you a real-time example of how we're looking at the business, and I'll go to the cleaning business as an example. As I spoke about in my prepared remarks, we launched in this quarter Ecolab, which is a premium cleaning brand in the market, which we're seeing exceptional performance. It is a trade-up category for many consumers, many Pros, and we're just really, really excited about the partnership and the long-term opportunity in that category.

Brian，我是 Jeff。正如我們先前談到價格敏感度，我們在第 4 季相較第 3 季看到一些額外的敏感度，或是說在第 4 季確實看到更多敏感度。不過我想給你一個即時的例子，說明我們如何看待這門生意；我以清潔業務為例。如同我在事先準備的發言中提到的，我們在本季推出了 Ecolab，這是在市場上的高端清潔品牌，我們看到其表現非常出色。對許多消費者與許多專業客戶（Pros）而言，這是一個升級（trade-up）品類；我們對這項合作以及該品類的長期機會感到非常、非常興奮。

At the same time, we're expanding our HDX cleaning lineup, and that's just a great everyday value brand for our customers, and we're seeing a great pickup in that brand as well. So our merchants take the time by category to engineer what results they want to see, and cleaning is a great example there. At the same time, we're watching categories very closely like appliances, like patio furniture, like grills that we spoke about in Q3 and earlier today to ensure that we are positioned right for the current environment.

同時，我們也在擴充 HDX 的清潔產品線；這對我們的顧客而言是一個很棒的日常高性價比品牌，我們也看到該品牌有很好的成長動能。因此，我們的採購團隊會按品類投入時間，去設計他們希望看到的成果，而清潔就是一個很好的例子。同時，我們也非常密切地關注一些品類，例如家電、庭院家具、烤爐（grills）——這些我們在第 3 季以及今天稍早都談到過——以確保我們在當前環境下的定位是正確的。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 JPMorgan 的 Christopher Horvers。

Can you talk about what you saw from a rate of change in DIY versus Pro in 4Q relative to 3Q? Are you seeing one side change faster than the other? And how does that inform how you're thinking about the business in '23?

你能談談第 4 季相較第 3 季，DIY 與 Pro 的變化速度（rate of change）嗎？你們是否看到其中一端的變化比另一端更快？這又如何影響你們對 2023 年業務的思考？

I don't know if we saw a rate of change, Chris. The highlight remains the high-spend Pro. I mean that's still the strongest piece of the business. But I wouldn't say there was a rate of change much beyond that.

Chris，我不確定我們是否看到變化速度有什麼不同。亮點仍然是高消費的 Pro。我的意思是，那仍然是業務中最強的部分。但我不會說除此之外還有什麼顯著的變化速度。

Got it. And then, I guess, can you share your -- the puts and takes on the cadence of '23 from a top line perspective? You have DIY versus Pro. You've got tough lumber laps in the near term, but you also have the easier spring lap. And so how are you thinking about the cadence of the year? If you sort of had a -- did a 0 in 4Q and you ran seasonal, you can get to a lot of different outcomes. So how are you thinking about the cadence? And just to clarify, is the 100 basis points of lumber headwind in the top line guide?

了解。那接著，我想你能否分享一下——從營收角度看——2023 年節奏（cadence）的利多與利空？你有 DIY 對比 Pro；短期內有木材（lumber）高基期的壓力，但春季的比較基期又相對容易。所以你們如何看待全年節奏？如果你在第 4 季做出 0 的同店，然後按季節性推算，可能會得到很多不同結果。所以你們怎麼看這個節奏？另外確認一下，營收指引中的 100 個基點木材逆風是否已包含在內？

Right. So Chris, our guidance assumes that we'll comp slightly lower in the first half than the second half. The lumber pressure we called out is sort of outside of guidance. There's so much volatility in that, that we would not want to put that in guidance. There is 100 basis points of pressure to the year. If lumber remains at current prices, that pressure exists predominantly in the first half.

是的。Chris，我們的指引假設上半年同店會比下半年略低。至於我們提到的木材壓力，某種程度上是放在指引之外。那裡的波動太大，我們不希望把它納入指引。全年確實有 100 個基點的壓力；如果木材維持在目前價格，這個壓力主要會出現在上半年。

And Chris, as Richard mentioned, it's been a very turbulent couple of years in the lumber market. To give you an example of what we faced, in the fourth quarter on the framing side, lumber was $420 per thousand on average compared to $886 on average in 2021. To put that in retail dollar sense for everyone, a 2x4 stud, which is one of our top unit movers in the business, retail on average for $3.40 in the fourth quarter of this year. Last year, it was over $5. Now we did make some ground back on units. So you could say that when you see a lumber market depressed or normalized, you see good unit productivity and you see good overall project business. As you look forward into the front half, that same 2x4 stud was over $10. It's now $3.50. So we'll see good unit productivity and certainly an opportunity to drive more project-related business.

Chris，正如 Richard 提到的，木材市場過去幾年非常動盪。舉例來說，我們在第 4 季的結構用材（framing）端，木材平均每千板英尺（per thousand）為 420 美元，相較 2021 年平均為 886 美元。為了讓大家用零售金額更有感，我們的一個主要走量單品 2x4 木柱（stud），今年第 4 季平均零售價為 3.40 美元；去年則超過 5 美元。不過我們在銷量（units）上確實收復了一些失土。所以你可以說，當木材市場低迷或回歸常態時，你會看到良好的單位生產力（unit productivity），也會看到整體專案型（project）業務表現良好。展望上半年，同樣的 2x4 木柱曾經超過 10 美元，現在是 3.50 美元。因此我們會看到良好的單位生產力，並且確實有機會帶動更多與專案相關的業務。

And Chris, another reason we leave that sort of lumber hypothetical case outside of guidance, if that pressure does exist and come through, we would not see any material impact to earnings.

Chris，我們把那種木材假設情境放在指引之外的另一個原因是：即使那個壓力真的存在並反映出來，我們也不會看到對獲利有任何實質性的影響。

Right. So you're not -- there could be a price headwind, but there could be some offsetting positive elasticity on that side. And sort of net-net, that plus the fact that doesn't hit bottom line, it's outside the guide.

了解。所以你們不是——可能會有價格逆風，但在那一端也可能有一些正向的彈性（elasticity）抵消。整體來看，再加上它不影響損益底線，因此就放在指引之外。

That's correct. You got it.

沒錯。你說對了。

Our next question comes from the line of Steven Forbes with Guggenheim.

我們的下一個問題來自 Guggenheim 的 Steven Forbes。

I wanted to start really trying to expand on the $1 billion investment that was announced. So curious, Ted or Richard or the team, can you comment on how the investment impacts planned compensation mix for the frontline associate in 2023 on average, inclusive of how we should think about the resetting of the success sharing program?

我想先從剛宣布的 10 億美元投資談起並進一步延伸。所以想請教 Ted、Richard 或團隊，能否說明這項投資對 2023 年第一線門市同仁（frontline associate）平均而言的薪酬結構（compensation mix）規劃會有何影響？也請一併說明我們應如何看待成功分享（success sharing）計畫的重設（resetting）。

Sure. Yes, Steven, and Ann will take you through some of the detail on the rates. But just to talk about this investment, we feel just great about doing this for our associates. Customer service at The Home Depot starts with our associates, and we believe this investment is consistent with our values and is going to position us favorably in the market. We've been operating successfully in a pressured labor market. We all know labor has been tighter and rates have been higher. But just last year, we were able to hire 200,000 associates. But we believe this move is going to protect our customer experience for the near, medium and long term. We'll be able to track the most qualified candidates and retain the exceptional associate base that we already have.

當然可以。是的，Steven，Ann 會帶你看一些薪資水準（rates）的細節。不過先談這項投資本身，我們非常樂於為同仁做這件事。The Home Depot 的顧客服務始於我們的同仁，我們相信這項投資符合我們的價值觀，並將使我們在市場上處於更有利的位置。我們一直在勞動市場吃緊的情況下成功營運。大家都知道人力更緊、薪資水準也更高。但就在去年，我們仍能招募 200,000 名同仁。不過我們相信這個舉措將在短期、中期與長期保護我們的顧客體驗。我們將能吸引最合格的候選人，並留住我們既有的優秀同仁基礎。

So we not only increased our starting wages, again Ann will go into some detail, but we increased wages for every single frontline associate. And there's a term in retail, you get compression when you raise the starting rates with tenured associates. We addressed compression in a meaningful way in this $1 billion investment. So our tenured associates saw real wage increases with this move.

因此，我們不僅提高了起薪——Ann 會再補充一些細節——我們也為每一位第一線同仁加薪。零售業有個術語：當你提高起薪時，會對資深同仁造成薪資壓縮（compression）。我們在這 10 億美元投資中，以相當有意義的方式處理了薪資壓縮。因此，我們的資深同仁也因這項措施而獲得實質的薪資提升。

And we hope to improve retention through this. That's why we call it an investment, and it's going to improve the customer experience through a more effective associate who's just in the building longer, understands our procedures and is much more effective engaging with the customer and selling. And we harken back to our values wheel of investing in our associates and what our founders said that if we take care of our associates, they take care of the customer and everything takes care of itself. And that's what this investment is all about. But Ann, you can give some more detail, please.

我們也希望藉此提升留任率。這就是我們稱之為「投資」的原因；它將透過更有效率的同仁來改善顧客體驗——同仁在店內待得更久、了解我們的流程，與顧客互動與銷售時就更有效。我們也回到我們的價值觀之輪：投資同仁，以及創辦人所說的——如果我們照顧好同仁，同仁就會照顧好顧客，而一切都會水到渠成。這項投資的核心就是如此。不過 Ann，請你再提供更多細節。

Yes. Thank you, Ted. First of all, the investment is incremental. So you asked about success sharing, and that is still a part of our total compensation package. One of the things I spoke about around how we think about investing in our associates, wage is one component of it. We think about it not only with wage but benefits, but also the environment we create to promote our associates from within. And I think the piece that I will say, we've spoken about this before, that close to 90% of our leaders started on the floor of the store.

好的，謝謝你，Ted。首先，這項投資是增量（incremental）的。所以你問到成功分享（success sharing），它仍然是我們整體薪酬方案的一部分。我談到我們如何思考投資同仁時，薪資只是其中一個構成。我們不只看薪資，也看福利（benefits），以及我們所打造的環境——促進同仁由內部晉升。我想補充的一點是，我們之前也提過，我們接近 90% 的領導者都是從門市現場（store floor）做起的。

And why is that important? This $1 billion investment puts us favorably in the marketplace so we can recruit, retain and attract the best leaders because they are the future leaders for the company. So this is an incremental investment. Every single hourly associate will receive an increase. And to Ted's point, our more tenured associates who are even key, when we think about going into the spring season, also got an incremental investment, a pep in their step to continue to take market share in 2023.

為什麼這很重要？這 10 億美元投資讓我們在市場上處於有利位置，使我們能招募、留任並吸引最優秀的領導人才，因為他們就是公司未來的領導者。因此這是一項增量投資。每一位計時（hourly）同仁都會獲得加薪。並且如 Ted 所說，我們更資深的同仁——在我們思考迎接春季旺季時也非常關鍵——同樣獲得額外投資，讓他們更有幹勁，在 2023 年持續提升市占。

And Steven, while we don't disclose average wages, and we've always and will continue to be competitive on a market-by-market level, and we've been competitive, it's why we're able to hire the 200,000 people last year, but after this change, our starting rate in any one market, there'll be no market under $15 for a starting rate. And starting rates go much higher than that, depending on the market. And then the average wage, again, particularly with the investment in every associate, including tenured with addressing compression, we have an average wage that is well, well above the $15 .

Steven，雖然我們不揭露平均薪資，而且我們一直、也將持續在各個市場（market-by-market）層級保持競爭力——我們也確實具備競爭力，這也是為什麼去年能招募 200,000 人——但在這次調整後，我們任何一個市場的起薪都不會低於 15 美元；而起薪也會依市場而高於此水準。至於平均薪資，再次強調，特別是我們對每位同仁都投資、也包含資深同仁並處理薪資壓縮之後，我們的平均薪資水準將遠遠高於 15 美元。

Appreciate the color. And then maybe just a quick follow-up for Richard. I think we're I think we're sort of targeting recapturing a 60% accounts payable to inventory ratio. But maybe just clarify if that's still the goal and when we should expect to achieve that this year.

感謝補充說明。接著可能快速追問 Richard 一個問題。我想我們——我想我們的目標是把應付帳款對存貨比率（accounts payable to inventory ratio）重新拉回到 60%。但能否確認這仍是目標，以及我們預期今年何時能達成？

Well, we're still -- while we know that global supply chains are improving, at least relative to where we were last year at this time, we're still pulling forward inventory. We still see extended lead times. And we think that 2023 is going to be a year of continued improvement in supply chains. So we are encouraged by the inventory movements in our business. The year-over-year inventory increase was the smallest quarterly increase of the entire year. And so we feel good about our inventory productivity. And again, we've been managing in kind of exceptional circumstances. But yes, I think over the long run, you will see us heading back to convention with respect to working capital.

嗯，我們仍然——雖然我們知道全球供應鏈正在改善，至少相較於去年此時的狀況有所好轉，但我們仍在提前拉貨、增加庫存。我們仍然看到交期延長。我們也認為 2023 年將會是供應鏈持續改善的一年。因此，我們對業務中的庫存流動感到鼓舞。庫存年增幅是全年各季中最小的單季增幅。因此，我們對庫存生產力感到滿意。而且再次強調，我們一直是在某種特殊情況下進行管理。但我認為從長期來看，你會看到我們在營運資金方面逐步回到較為常態的做法。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 Credit Suisse 的 Karen Short。

The first question I just want to ask is looking at the relationship on sales growth versus EBIT growth, and I'm actually talking about this excluding the $1 billion investment, obviously, EBIT growth on a 1-year basis is decently below sales growth. So wondering just how to think about that relationship, including or excluding but going forward. And then wondering if you could just talk a little bit about what you're seeing on 1Q to date in terms of comp performance.

第一個問題我想問的是，從銷售成長與 EBIT 成長之間的關係來看——我其實是指排除那 10 億美元投資的情況——很明顯地，以一年期來看，EBIT 成長明顯低於銷售成長。所以想請教該如何理解這個關係，不論是包含或排除該投資、以及往後的趨勢。另外也想請你談談截至目前第一季（1Q）的同店表現（comp performance）你們看到的情況。

Sure. So it may be more helpful to talk about the construction of operating margin year-to-year just to kind of tick that out. That gives you a better sense. So in a flat comp environment, we would expect to see deleverage on a fixed cost base and, obviously, in an inflationary environment as it exists today. That deleverage is somewhere between 30 to 40 basis points.

好的。或許更有幫助的是，談談營業利益率（operating margin）逐年變動的構成，逐項拆解一下，這樣你會更有概念。在同店持平的環境下，我們預期固定成本基礎會出現槓桿反向（deleverage），而且很明顯地，在目前這種通膨環境下，這個 deleverage 大約在 30 到 40 個基點之間。

In addition, our wage investment represents about 60 basis points of movement in year-to-year wage. And then offsetting that are productivity initiatives that we expect will generate between 10 and 20 basis points of recapture of margin. And so that's how we'd walk from the 15.3% to the 14.5%. Over the long run, we always expect to grow operating income faster than sales. We've been managing in a unique environment, and certainly, our guidance implies the wage investment that we've made today.

此外，我們的薪資投資約代表逐年薪資變動中的 60 個基點。與此相抵的是，我們預期生產力提升措施將帶來約 10 到 20 個基點的毛利率回補。因此，這就是我們如何從 15.3% 走到 14.5% 的拆解。長期而言，我們一向預期營業利益成長會快於銷售成長。我們一直在一個獨特的環境中管理，而我們的指引也確實反映了我們今天所做的薪資投資。

And the second part of your question, I'm sorry, I forgot.

你問題的第二部分，不好意思，我忘了。

It was just -- could you -- any color you could provide on 1Q performance in terms of comps.

就是——你能否——提供一些關於第一季（1Q）表現、同店（comps）方面的近況說明？

Well, as I've shared just a few questions ago, we do anticipate that comps in the first half will be slightly lower than the second half, and our performance to date reflects that guidance.

嗯，正如我在前面幾個問題中分享的，我們確實預期上半年同店會略低於下半年，而我們截至目前的表現也符合這項指引。

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

我們的下一個問題來自 Wells Fargo 的 Zack Fadem。

Richard, it sounds like most of the margin pressure in 2023 is expected to land at the operating expense line. And I'm curious if you could talk to the puts and takes to gross margin specifically. And is it fair to assume the inflection we saw in Q4 to slightly positive is a fair year-over-year run rate from here, just given the bulk of your supply chain investments are running their course and then freighted commodities could be a tailwind?

Richard，聽起來 2023 年大部分的利潤率壓力預期會落在營業費用（operating expense）這一行。我想請你談談毛利率（gross margin）本身的增減因素。是否可以合理假設，我們在第四季（Q4）看到的那個小幅轉正的拐點，將會是接下來的合理年對年（YoY）運行水準？畢竟你們大部分的供應鏈投資已經接近尾聲，而運費與大宗商品成本可能會成為順風？

There are a lot of ins and outs. There are a lot of ins and outs in 2022. We basically delivered gross margin precisely where we anticipated to at the beginning of the year. And underlying that was a lot of product costs and transportation costs, offset by actions and within that, continued supply chain investment in our downstream or delivery operations.

這裡面有很多進進出出（ins and outs）。2022 年有很多進進出出。我們基本上把毛利率做到了年初預期的水準。而其背後包含了大量的產品成本與運輸成本，並透過各項行動來抵銷；其中也包括我們在下游或配送營運上的持續供應鏈投資。

For 2023, we're targeting gross margin that's roughly flat year-over-year. Again, it will be a year of several ins and outs. Product cost inflation has decreased but does persist above historical levels. Transportation costs should actually be a tailwind. But we still have investment in our supply chain. And look, we did see some increased pressure from shrink in the back half, right? So we've got a lot of ins and outs. But roughly speaking, we're targeting essentially flat gross margin for the year.

對 2023 年而言，我們的目標是毛利率大致與去年持平。再次強調，這將是有多項進進出出的年度。產品成本通膨已經下降，但仍高於歷史水準。運輸成本實際上應該會成為順風。但我們仍會在供應鏈上持續投資。而且你看，我們在下半年確實看到來自損耗（shrink）的壓力增加，對吧？所以有很多進進出出。但大致而言，我們的目標是全年毛利率基本持平。

Got it. That's helpful. And then following up on the $1 billion in wage investment. Can you talk about where this puts you competitively versus your peers? And then if for whatever reason, if your comp appears to be falling short of that flattish expectation range, would you still make the planned investments in 2023? Or could you spread them out over a couple of years?

了解，這很有幫助。接著追問關於 10 億美元的薪資投資：你能談談這讓你們相較同業的競爭位置如何嗎？另外，如果因為某些原因，你們的同店表現看起來低於那個接近持平的預期區間，你們在 2023 年仍會照計畫投入嗎？還是可以把投資分散到兩三年？

We're committed to our investment. That's done. With respect to how we manage our P&L, we always operate with a degree of financial flexibility. And so in any environment, we're going to assess what that environment means for us and how we should manage the P&L.

我們對這項投資是承諾的。這已經定案。至於我們如何管理損益表（P&L），我們一向保有一定程度的財務彈性。因此在任何環境下，我們都會評估該環境對我們意味著什麼，以及我們應該如何管理 P&L。

Christine, we have time for one more question.

Christine，我們還有時間再問一個問題。

Our final question will come from the line of Steven Zaccone with Citi.

我們最後一個問題將來自 Citi 的 Steven Zaccone。

I wanted to circle back to the duration part of Michael's first question. Ted, when you think about home improvement demand seeing a moderation this year, when you take a little bit of a more medium-term outlook over the next couple of years, just since you've seen strength in the business for the last 3, what are you focused on with the health of the homeowner that may be this moderation could last couple of years in nature?

我想回到 Michael 第一個問題中關於「持續時間（duration）」的部分。Ted，當你們認為今年居家修繕需求會趨緩時，如果把視角拉到未來幾年的中期展望——畢竟你們過去 3 年業務都很強——你們在屋主（homeowner）的健康狀況方面，會聚焦哪些指標？因為這種趨緩可能會以持續數年的型態出現。

Well, as we've said, we're thrilled with the share we captured and the sales we drove. And while we don't love the moderation, you can't fight the tide, if you will, with PCE spend going back to services, people traveling and whatnot. But the 2 main things that we're going to stay focused on to take share, one, I say the consumer, the consumer rights the check for all projects, even if the Pro is doing the work. But for the consumer, we are laser-focused on delivering the best interconnected, frictionless shopping experience. I mean retail, as we know, is all about interconnection, physical world and the digital world. And we are laser-focused. Matt Carey and his team is focused on taking out all friction in that. And as we continue to delight customers with that frictionless experience, we'll look to gain more share.

嗯，正如我們所說，我們對所取得的市占以及帶動的銷售感到非常振奮。雖然我們不喜歡需求趨緩，但你也可以說，當個人消費支出（PCE）回流到服務類別、人們開始旅行等等時，你無法逆勢而為。不過，我們為了持續搶市占會專注在兩件主要的事：第一，我會說是消費者——即使是專業承包商（Pro）在施工，所有專案最終都是由消費者開支票。但對消費者而言，我們會高度聚焦於提供最佳的互聯、無摩擦（frictionless）的購物體驗。我的意思是，如我們所知，零售的核心就在於互聯：實體世界與數位世界的連結。我們非常聚焦在這點。Matt Carey 和他的團隊正專注於消除其中所有摩擦。當我們持續以這種無摩擦體驗讓顧客驚喜時，我們將尋求取得更多市占。

And then we haven't talked much about the Pro in this call, but we are still 100% focused on building out all the capabilities that Pro ecosystem that is going to allow us to capture more share of wallet with the Pro and move up to larger plan purchases. And extremely pleased with the results we're seeing as we continue to put those capabilities in the marketplace. So that's what we're going to do to keep taking share regardless of the environment or the duration of the environment.

第二點是，我們在這通電話會議中沒有太多談到 Pro，但我們仍然 100% 專注於建構 Pro 生態系的所有能力，這將使我們能夠從 Pro 那裡取得更高的錢包份額（share of wallet），並推進到更大型的計畫性採購。我們對於在持續把這些能力推向市場時所看到的成果感到非常滿意。因此，不論環境如何或環境持續多久，這就是我們將用來持續搶市占的做法。

Okay. And then the brief follow-up I had was just a question on the promotional environment. It really hasn't been that much of an issue in home improvement the last couple of years. Would you expect it to be more of a factor this year just given an overall moderation in demand?

好的。那我簡短追問的是關於促銷環境。過去幾年在居家修繕領域，促銷其實不是太大的問題。你們是否預期今年在整體需求趨緩的情況下，促銷會成為更重要的因素？

Steven, it's Jeff. No, nothing specific to call out on the promotional environment as we head into the first quarter. Further into the first quarter, we're excited about the value we're ready -- we're offering our customers. And our spring sets have gone exceptionally well, and we're looking forward to the spring season. But no change that we can predict in the promotional environment.

Steven，我是 Jeff。沒有，我們在進入第一季時，促銷環境沒有什麼特別需要指出的。隨著第一季的推進，我們對於我們準備——我們提供給顧客的價值感到興奮。我們的春季陳列（spring sets）表現非常好，我們也期待春季旺季。但就我們所能預測的，促銷環境沒有變化。

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

謝謝。Janci 女士，我現在想把會議交回給你做結語。

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

謝謝你，Christine，也謝謝各位今天加入我們。我們期待在五月的第一季財報電話會議上再與各位交流。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以掛線。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。