Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Houlihan Lokey second-quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, October 30, 2024.

美好的一天，女士們先生們。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加 Houlihan Lokey 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，本次電話會議將於今天（2024 年 10 月 30 日）錄製。

I will now turn the call over to the company.

我現在將把電話轉給公司。

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. By now, everyone should have access to our second quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings release, which can be found on the Houlihan Lokey website at www.hl.com in the Investor Relations section.

謝謝接線員，大家好。到目前為止，每個人都應該可以訪問我們的 2025 財年第二季度收益發布，該發布可以在 Houlihan Lokey 網站 www.hl.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

Before we begin our formal remarks, we need to remind everyone that the discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by use of words such as will, expect, anticipate, should or other similar phrases are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect, and therefore, we'd exercise caution on interpreting and relying on them.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我們需要提醒大家，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述通常透過使用「意願」、「期望」、「預期」、「應該」或其他類似短語等詞語來識別，但不能保證未來的績效。這些陳述受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異，因此，我們在解釋和依賴它們時應謹慎行事。

We refer all of you to our recent SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. We encourage investors to review our regulatory filings, including the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, when it is filed with the SEC.

我們建議大家參閱我們最近向 SEC 提交的文件，以更詳細地討論可能影響我們未來經營業績和財務狀況的風險。我們鼓勵投資者審查我們的監管文件，包括向 SEC 提交的截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的季度的 10-Q 表。

During today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's financial performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and our investor presentation on the hl.com website.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估公司的財務表現。這些措施不應被孤立地考慮，也不應取代我們根據公認會計準則編制的財務表現。我們在 hl.com 網站上發布的收益報告和投資者介紹中提供了這些指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的調節表。

Hosting the call today, we have Scott Adelson, Houlihan Lokey's Chief Executive Officer; and Lindsey Alley, Chief Financial Officer. They will provide some opening remarks, and then we will open the call to questions.

今天主持電話會議的是 Houlihan Lokey 執行長 Scott Adelson；和財務長 Lindsey Alley。他們將發表一些開場白，然後我們將開始提問。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Scott.

然後，我會將電話轉給斯科特。

Thank you, Christopher, and welcome, everyone, to our second quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call. We ended the quarter with revenues of $575 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.46. Revenues were up 23% and adjusted earnings per share were up 32% compared to the same period last year. We are pleased with our results for the quarter, and we entered the second half of the year with momentum across all three of our business lines.

謝謝 Christopher，歡迎大家參加我們的 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。本季末，我們的營收為 5.75 億美元，調整後每股收益為 1.46 美元。與去年同期相比，營收成長 23%，調整後每股收益成長 32%。我們對本季的業績感到滿意，進入下半年後，我們的所有三條業務線都呈現出強勁的勢頭。

Corporate Finance continues to benefit from improvements in the M&A markets, and we expect the second half of the year to follow this trend. Financial Restructuring had a strong second quarter, as it continues to benefit from record leverage and still elevated interest rates. And our Financial and Valuation Advisory Group experienced growth in our market-neutral services as well as developing demand for those service lines affected by an improving M&A environment.

企業融資持續受惠於併購市場的改善，我們預計下半年將遵循這一趨勢。金融重組第二季表現強勁，繼續受益於創紀錄的槓桿率和仍然高漲的利率。我們的財務和估值諮詢團隊在市場中立的服務方面取得了成長，並且受併購環境改善的影響，對這些服務項目的需求也在不斷增長。

While we are optimistic about the second half of the fiscal year, we recognize the challenges posed by the current macro environment. Interest rates, though lower than their recent peaks remain high, and it may take time to feel the effects of lower interest rates on our clients' financial performance.

雖然我們對本財年下半年持樂觀態度，但我們也意​​識到當前宏觀環境帶來的挑戰。利率雖然低於最近的峰值，但仍然很高，可能需要一段時間才能感受到較低利率對客戶財務表現的影響。

Geopolitical volatility, particularly the potential for a wider conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine and the U.S. presidential elections, all add layers of complexity to our outlook. Despite these risks, we continue to experience a steady upward trajectory for markets and the business environment.

地緣政治波動，特別是中東和烏克蘭爆發更廣泛衝突的可能性以及美國總統選舉，都為我們的前景增添了複雜性。儘管存在這些風險，我們的市場和商業環境仍繼續穩步上升。

Corporate Finance produced $364 million in revenues for the quarter, representing a 29% increase over last year's second quarter. Key metrics for our Corporate Finance business continued to improve and new business generation remains strong.

企業融資本季營收 3.64 億美元，比去年第二季成長 29%。我們企業融資業務的關鍵指標持續改善，新業務的產生依然強勁。

Since Labor Day, we have seen an increasing number of companies choosing to go to market, a trend we expect to continue. While this trajectory of deals coming to market is positive, we continue to experience longer time lines to close these transactions.

自勞動節以來，我們看到越來越多的公司選擇上市，我們預計這一趨勢將持續下去。雖然進入市場的交易軌跡是正面的，但我們仍然需要更長的時間來完成這些交易。

So while transaction velocity is improving, it is doing so at a slower pace than in previous recoveries. Additionally, within Corporate Finance, our capital markets business performed very well in the quarter, bolstered by strength in private capital and the successful integration of our Triago acquisition.

因此，雖然交易速度正在提高，但其速度比之前的復甦要慢。此外，在企業融資領域，我們的資本市場業務在本季表現非常出色，這得益於私人資本的實力以及對 Triago 收購的成功整合。

Financial Restructuring produced $132 million in revenues for the second quarter, a 15% increase versus the second quarter last year, reinforcing our view that the restructuring markets remain elevated. New business activity was particularly strong, driven by a combination of large cap and middle market opportunities. This heightened activity is expected to benefit our restructuring business well into fiscal 2026.

第二季財務重組業務產生了 1.32 億美元的收入，比去年第二季成長了 15%，這強化了我們關於重組市場仍處於高位的觀點。在大型和中型市場機會的共同推動下，新業務活動尤其強勁。這種活動的加強預計將有利於我們的重組業務直至 2026 財年。

Additionally, as market conditions continue to improve, we are prepared for some restructuring activity to turn into a healthy refinancing activity, which we are well positioned to execute on behalf of our clients.

此外，隨著市場狀況持續改善，我們已準備好將一些重組活動轉變為健康的再融資活動，我們有能力代表客戶執行這些活動。

Financial and Valuation Advisory produced $79 million in revenue for the second quarter, a 12% increase versus the second quarter last year. Performance continues to be driven by our non-cyclical business lines, particularly Portfolio Valuation. We observed an uptick in new business generation in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, and demand for our M&A related services is starting to rebound.

財務和估值諮詢第二季的營收為 7,900 萬美元，比去年第二季成長 12%。業績持續受到我們的非週期性業務線（尤其是投資組合估值）的推動。我們發現，與去年同期相比，上半年新業務產生量增加，併購相關服務的需求開始反彈。

Regarding acquisitions, we recently announced the closing of our acquisition of Prytania Solutions. Prytania is a tech-enabled valuation platform based in the UK specializing in structured products. Prytania will be integrated into our Financial and Valuation Advisory business and will complement our highly successful Portfolio Valuation Group. We extend a warm welcome to all our new colleagues joining as a result of this transaction.

關於收購，我們最近宣布完成對 Prytania Solutions 的收購。Prytania 是一家位於英國的技術驅動的估價平台，專門從事結構性產品。Prytania 將整合到我們的財務和估值諮詢業務中，並將補充我們非常成功的投資組合估值團隊。我們熱烈歡迎所有因此次交易而加入的新同事。

During the quarter, we announced the acquisition of Waller Helms, which will significantly expand the depth and breadth of our financial services industry group, especially in the insurance and wealth management sectors, areas that are highly active for private equity.

本季度，我們宣布收購 Waller Helms，這將顯著擴大我們金融服務產業集團的深度和廣度，特別是在私募股權高度活躍的保險和財富管理領域。

This acquisition will create new synergies and strengthen our coverage of these sectors with 48 new financial professionals, including 13 managing directors. The acquisition is on track to close by the end of the calendar year.

此次收購將創造新的協同效應，並透過 48 名新的金融專業人士（包括 13 名董事總經理）加強我們對這些行業的覆蓋範圍。此次收購預計將於今年底完成。

Separately, we hired three new managing directors this quarter as we continue to take advantage of an active hiring market, particularly in Corporate Finance. Our outlook for the second half of fiscal 2025 remains positive. We continue to reap the benefits of a balanced and highly diversified business model. The improving M&A sentiment, strong capital markets and sustained strength in our restructuring business are all encouraging indicators with the most talented workforce in our history, we are diligently working to capitalize on the market recovery as it unfolds.

另外，我們本季聘請了三位新的董事總經理，因為我們繼續利用活躍的招募市場，特別是在企業融資領域。我們對 2025 財年下半年的前景仍然樂觀。我們繼續從平衡且高度多元化的業務模式中獲益。不斷改善的併購情緒、強勁的資本市場以及我們重組業務的持續強勁都是令人鼓舞的指標，我們擁有歷史上最有才華的員工隊伍，我們正在努力利用市場復甦的機會。

With that, I'll turn the call over to you, Lindsey.

這樣，我會把電話轉給你，Lindsey。

Thank you, Scott. Revenues in Corporate Finance were $364 million for the quarter, up 29% compared to the same quarter last year. We closed 131 transactions this quarter, up from 117 in the same period last year, and our average transaction fee also increased.

謝謝你，斯科特。該季度企業融資收入為 3.64 億美元，比去年同期成長 29%。本季我們完成了 131 筆交易，高於去年同期的 117 筆，我們的平均交易費用也有所增加。

Financial Restructuring revenues were $132 million for the quarter, a 15% increase versus the same period last year. We closed 33 transactions this quarter compared to 31 in the same quarter last year, and our average transaction fee on closed deals also increased.

該季度財務重組收入為 1.32 億美元，比去年同期成長 15%。本季我們完成了 33 筆交易，而去年同期為 31 筆，而且我們已完成交易的平均交易費用也有所增加。

As we've mentioned in the past, revenues in our Financial Restructuring business can be lumpy quarter-to-quarter, and this quarter benefited from some larger transactions. For Financial and Valuation Advisory, revenues were $79 million for the quarter, a 12% increase from the same period last year. We had 903 fee events during the quarter compared to 852 in the same period last year.

正如我們過去所提到的，我們的財務重組業務的收入可能會按季度波動，而本季受益於一些較大的交易。財務和估值諮詢業務本季營收為 7,900 萬美元，比去年同期成長 12%。本季我們發生了 903 起收費事件，而去年同期為 852 起。

Turning to expenses. Our adjusted compensation expenses were $354 million for the quarter versus $287 million for the same quarter last year. Our only adjustment was $7 million for deferred retention payments related to certain acquisitions. Our adjusted compensation expense ratio for the second quarter in both fiscal 2025 and 2024, was 61.5%, and we expect to maintain our long-term target of 61.5% for this ratio.

轉向開支。本季調整後的薪資支出為 3.54 億美元，去年同期為 2.87 億美元。我們唯一的調整是與某些收購相關的延期保留付款 700 萬美元。我們調整後的 2025 財年和 2024 財年第二季薪酬費用率為 61.5%，我們預計將維持該比率 61.5% 的長期目標。

Our adjusted non-compensation expenses were $81 million for the quarter, an increase of 7% over the same period last year. This resulted in an adjusted non-compensation expense ratio of 14.1% for the quarter compared to 16.1% for the same period last year.

本季調整後的非薪資費用為 8,100 萬美元，比去年同期成長 7%。這導致本季調整後的非薪資費用率為 14.1%，而去年同期為 16.1%。

On a per employee basis, our adjusted non-compensation expense was $31,000 this quarter versus $29,000 for the same quarter last year. For the quarter, we adjusted out of non-compensation expenses, $2.1 million in noncash acquisition-related amortization. We also had an adjustment of approximately $700,000 pertaining to professional fees associated with streamlining our global organizational structure referred to as Project Solo.

以每位員工計算，本季調整後的非薪資費用為 31,000 美元，去年同期為 29,000 美元。本季度，我們調整了非補償費用、210 萬美元的非現金收購相關攤銷。我們還對與精簡我們的全球組織結構（稱為 Project Solo）相關的專業費用進行了約 70 萬美元的調整。

Our adjusted other income and expense produced income of approximately $5.4 million versus income of approximately $2.5 million in the same period last year. The improvement in this category was primarily due to a net increase in interest income.

調整後的其他收入和支出產生的收入約為 540 萬美元，而去年同期的收入約為 250 萬美元。此類別的改善主要是由於利息收入的淨增長。

Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 31.3% compared to 28.4% for the same quarter last year. The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily a result of increased state taxes and increased taxes due to foreign operations. Our long-term target range for our adjusted effective tax rate is between 28% and 30%, and we expect fiscal 2025 to end up at the high end of that range.

本季調整後的有效稅率為 31.3%，去年同期為 28.4%。我們有效稅率的增加主要是由於國家稅收增加和海外業務增加的稅收。我們調整後的有效稅率的長期目標範圍在 28% 至 30% 之間，我們預計 2025 財年最終將達到該範圍的高端。

Turning to the balance sheet. As of quarter end, we had approximately $748 million of unrestricted cash and equivalents and investment securities. As a reminder, we will pay our deferred cash bonuses related to fiscal year 2024 in November which will reduce our balance sheet cash.

轉向資產負債表。截至季末，我們擁有約 7.48 億美元的非限制性現金和等價物以及投資證券。提醒一下，我們將於 11 月支付與 2024 財年相關的遞延現金獎金，這將減少我們的資產負債表現金。

With that, operator, we can open the line for questions.

有了這個，接線員，我們就可以打開提問線路了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

詹姆斯·亞羅，高盛。

Maybe just starting on Corporate Finance, which obviously had best-in-class trends, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. As you think about the outlook from here, in the near term, is there any risk of less than normal seasonality in the calendar fourth quarter?

也許企業融資剛開始，它顯然具有同類最佳的趨勢，無論是同比還是季度環比。當您從這裡思考前景時，短期內，第四季度是否存在季節性低於正常水平的風險？

And then longer term, how we should think about the trajectory from here? Is there anything in your view that could catalyze a notable acceleration other than perhaps the election?

長遠來看，我們該如何思考未來的發展軌跡？您認為除了選舉之外，還有什麼可以促進顯著加速嗎？

Good question, as always. Thank you. I think if you look at it, it's very consistent with what we have been talking about. Things have been improving month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and it's really all in about what's been the velocity of that improvement in Corporate Finance.

一如既往的好問題。謝謝。我想如果你看一下它，它與我們一直在談論的非常一致。情況逐月、逐季都在改善，而這其實完全取決於公司財務改善的速度。

And I think we've just continued to see it improving. Obviously, we in our statements recognize there are a number of external factors that could affect that [not the lease] which positive or negatively would be the election, but also the conflicts around the world, and we recognize that.

我認為我們只是繼續看到它的改善。顯然，我們在聲明中認識到，有許多外部因素可能會影響選舉（而不是租約），這會對選舉產生積極或消極的影響，而且還會影響世界各地的衝突，我們也認識到這一點。

But in spite of that, we do continue to see things going to market on a more regular basis and things moving along. But as we said, it is still an elongated period to close that part, while getting shorter is still not in the normal range yet.

但儘管如此，我們確實繼續看到產品更定期地進入市場，並且一切都在進展。但正如我們所說，關閉該部分仍然是一個拉長的時期，而縮短的時間仍然不在正常範圍內。

That's very helpful. Maybe just quickly on the Prytania Solutions transaction. Anything more that you could just add on the strategic rationale, maybe where the business operates, potential synergies that you see? And anything else that we should be thinking about to help us understand the transaction?

這非常有幫助。也許只是快速進行 Prytania Solutions 交易。您還可以添加更多的策略理由，也許是業務營運地點，以及您看到的潛在協同效應嗎？我們還應該考慮什麼來幫助我們理解交易？

Yes, happy to do that. It's really are pleased about this new opportunity. I mean it is an addition to our portfolio valuation business, which we think is a really wonderful business. And it is much more tech-enabled than the bulk of our portfolio valuation businesses, although we do have components of it that are similar.

是的，很高興這樣做。它真的很高興這個新機會。我的意思是，這是對我們的投資組合估值業務的補充，我們認為這是一項非常出色的業務。儘管我們確實有類似的組成部分，但它比我們大部分投資組合估值業務的技術支援程度要高得多。

We just believe that they have really superior technology. And we are excited about the opportunity to deploy that initially within our portfolio valuation area. And we believe there may be opportunities that will be applicable in other areas over time.

我們只是相信他們擁有真正卓越的技術。我們很高興有機會在我們的投資組合估值領域內進行初步部署。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，可能會有適用於其他領域的機會。

And the other benefit to that business is its UK-based. A lot of their clients are focused on non-US geographies. And so it is a kind of a nice step in growing that business or continuing to grow that business outside the US.

該業務的另一個好處是其總部位於英國。他們的許多客戶都專注於美國以外的地區。因此，這是發展該業務或繼續在美國境外發展該業務的良好一步。

Brennan Hawken, UBS.

布倫南霍肯，瑞銀集團。

I'd like to follow up maybe on that last point on PSL. So this is the first deal, I think, that we've seen so helpful to get that flushed out a little bit. It sounds like this is going to be sitting in largely that recurring portion of the FEA. Is that right? And pro forma for this deal, what percentage of that FEA revenue do you expect to be recurring?

我想跟進 PSL 的最後一點。因此，我認為，這是我們所看到的第一筆交易，對於解決這個問題非常有幫助。聽起來這將主要屬於 FEA 的重複部分。是這樣嗎？對於這筆交易，您預計 FEA 收入中的經常性收入百分比是多少？

Yes. Thanks for the question. And the answer is, yes, you are correct. That is where we'll sit and that it is the recurring portion of the revenue, and that is another reason we do like it quite a bit. It is not going to materially change our results, not at that scale today, but we believe that it will contribute over time in a more meaningful fashion.

是的。謝謝你的提問。答案是，是的，你是對的。這就是我們所坐的位置，它是收入的經常性部分，這也是我們非常喜歡它的另一個原因。它不會對我們的結果產生實質改變，不會達到今天的規模，但我們相信，隨著時間的推移，它將以更有意義的方式做出貢獻。

And to answer your somewhat question, Brennan, it will continue to be a recurring business similar to the way it was prior to the transaction.

布倫南，為了回答你的問題，它將繼續成為一項經常性業務，類似於交易之前的情況。

Thank you for picking up on the subject. Okay. Scott, I think you also had some comments in your prepared remarks around restructuring and that it's looking good and will continue to look good likely into 2026.

感謝您接受這個話題。好的。Scott，我認為您在準備好的有關重組的演講中也發表了一些評論，並且看起來不錯，並且可能會持續到 2026 年。

But also you touched on something that I wanted to ask about, actually, which was the idea that some of those restructuring mandates that the bankers have been working on are probably going to be showing up in capital markets revenue because you guys book based on product. So is that right?

但實際上，您也談到了我想問的問題，即銀行家一直在研究的一些重組任務可能會出現在資本市場收入中，因為您是根據產品預訂的。那麼這樣說對嗎？

And if we adjust for that, would you be continuing to see restructuring growth here this year just, because that's probably a better indication around where the strength of the business and the resilience of the business?

如果我們對此進行調整，今年您是否會繼續看到重組成長，因為這可能更好地表明了業務實力和業務彈性？

I think the operative word there was could be, right? I mean I think you may be reading a little too much into that. We are continuing to see strong activity in restructuring in the quarter, and that will have, as you know, due to the time frame of it, that will continue on into the future. We'll see the benefits of that.

我認為最重要的詞可能是，對嗎？我的意思是，我認為你可能讀得太多了。我們在本季繼續看到強勁的重組活動，如您所知，由於重組的時間框架，這種活動將持續到未來。我們將會看到這樣做的好處。

It is just a general statement that as we get later in a cycle, we recognize that there is a possibility of that occurring. It is not a statement that there's something in particular that's happening or happening more regularly or anything like that.

這只是一個籠統的說法，隨著我們進入一個週期的後期，我們認識到這種情況有可能發生。這並不是說有什麼特別的事情正在發生或更頻繁地發生或類似的事情。

Okay. Got it. So the outlook on restructuring and your expectations even though you came in above that range, that sort of average range aren't changing for the year? Is it just -- quarter timing?

好的。知道了。那麼，即使您的重組前景和您的預期高於該範圍，這種平均範圍今年也不會改變？這只是——季度計時嗎？

Correct. It was a good quarter, which is it continues to give us confidence in sustaining at the elevated levels it's been on.

正確的。這是一個不錯的季度，它繼續讓我們有信心維持目前的高水準。

Yes, I'd say that the only other thing that we mentioned is the activity levels this quarter were strong, and that bodes well for that this is kind of higher longer -- higher for longer.

是的，我想說的是，我們提到的唯一另一件事是本季度的活動水平強勁，這是一個好兆頭，因為這種情況會持續更長的時間。

For the restructuring activity basically, higher for longer -- .

對於重組活動來說，基本上，更高的時間更長——。

For the restructuring.

為了重組。

Aidan Hall, KBW.

艾丹·霍爾，KBW。

Noted in your prepared remarks, Scott, the Capital Markets business performed well with strength in private capital, also the integration of the Triago transaction. Just wondering if there's any update as to how we should be thinking about the contribution of this business to the corporate finance line just given the recent additions? .

Scott 在您準備好的演講中指出，憑藉私人資本的實力以及 Triago 交易的整合，資本市場業務表現良好。只是想知道考慮到最近的新增內容，我們是否應該如何考慮該業務對企業財務線的貢獻有任何更新？。

Yes. Look, I think we continue to sort of suggest to the market that you should think of that business as between 15% and 20% of our corporate finance revenues in any given year. The capital markets business over the last couple of years has done quite well. We are starting to see momentum in the M&A business, as Scott suggested. And so depending on how fast the M&A business recovers, you're still likely looking at that range that we've sort of always sold to the market.

是的。看，我認為我們繼續向市場建議，您應該將該業務視為我們在任何一年的企業財務收入的 15% 到 20% 之間。過去幾年資本市場業務表現不錯。正如斯科特所說，我們開始看到併購業務的勢頭。因此，根據併購業務恢復的速度，您仍然可能會關注我們一直向市場出售的範圍。

Okay. Got it. I appreciate the color there. Maybe just a follow-up on PSL. I understand kind of the specialty in structured credit there. Maybe how is this technology being utilized across other asset classes or verticals? And maybe you could just touch on a little more granular, the opportunity and kind of integrating that to the broader platform.

好的。知道了。我很欣賞那裡的顏色。也許只是 PSL 的後續。我了解那裡結構性信貸的專業性。也許這項技術如何在其他資產類別或垂直產業中被利用？也許您可以更具體地談談將其整合到更廣泛平台的機會和類型。

Yes. I mean, it is an area that we think there will be applicability over time. And I think that it's really too early for us to get into any details on how we really think that it will play out. But we recognize that, that is an area of our business that already utilizes a meaningful amount of technology, and we think this is particularly good technology and will only be additive to what we are already doing.

是的。我的意思是，我們認為隨著時間的推移，這個領域將會具有適用性。我認為現在就我們真正認為它會如何發展的任何細節進行討論還為時過早。但我們認識到，這是我們業務的一個領域，已經利用了大量的技術，我們認為這是特別好的技術，只會對我們已經在做的事情起到補充作用。

Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

Devin Ryan，公民 JMP。

This is Alex Jenkins filling in for Devin Ryan. Congrats on a nice quarter. I guess just to start on the MD head count over the last four quarters or so, obviously, it went down a little bit this quarter, but you've basically been growing in the low single digits. Maybe you could just touch on the environment and competitive dynamics and how we should think about framing out senior talent going forward over the next year or so.

我是亞歷克斯詹金斯 (Alex Jenkins) 接替德文瑞安 (Devin Ryan)。恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。我想從過去四個季度左右的總經理人數開始，顯然，本季略有下降，但基本上一直在低個位數成長。也許你可以談談環境和競爭動態，以及我們應該如何考慮在未來一年左右的時間內培養高階人才。

I think that when you think about MD head count from our perspective, it's a couple of things. It is obviously our annual process of promoting people. That's one piece of it. You have -- we are fairly rationally, we are and certainly right now in the market looking to acquire additional individuals, and we do that, and as we stated in the quarter, we hired three new people and then we have the acquisitions.

我認為，當你從我們的角度考慮總經理人數時，有幾件事。這顯然是我們每年提拔人才的過程。這是其中的一部分。我們相當理性，我們現在肯定在市場上尋求收購更多的個人，我們這樣做了，正如我們在本季度所述，我們僱用了三名新員工，然後我們進行了收購。

Now there -- as we've said before, we also do have some number of people both in acquisitions and other ways that don't wind up being as good a fit as in some cases, we might hope. But that number winds up netting over time. But overall, it has been a growing number.

現在，正如我們之前所說，我們確實也有一些人在收購和其他方面，但最終並不像我們希望的那樣在某些情況下適合。但隨著時間的推移，這個數字最終會增加。但總體而言，這個數字一直在增加。

Okay. All right. I appreciate that. And then maybe a follow-up. Hopefully, this is the last question that you have to answer on the election, but obviously, you work with a lot of small businesses. Can you speak to their sentiment as we head into this election? What might happen once we get past election day? And just generally what are the puts and takes of these two administrations as it relates to activity for your business? .

好的。好的。我很欣賞這一點。然後也許是後續行動。希望這是您在選舉中必須回答的最後一個問題，但顯然，您與許多小型企業合作。在我們即將進入這次選舉之際，您能談談他們的看法嗎？選舉日過後會發生什麼事？一般來說，這兩個政府與您的企業活動相關的看法和看法是什麼？。

I think you can pretty well bet that there's individuals on both sides of that equation that believe in each side set of possibilities will be beneficial to them. And I think that what we really have seen is people continuing to move forward on transactions and deploying capital and kind of regardless no longer waiting, if you will, to see what's going to happen. And I think, that is -- you're seeing that both in our results and our statements about things to continue to move forward.

我認為你完全可以打賭，這個等式兩邊都有人相信每一邊的可能性都會對他們有利。我認為我們真正看到的是人們繼續推進交易和部署資本，並且不再等待（如果你願意的話）看看會發生什麼。我認為，那就是——你在我們的結果和我們關於繼續向前發展的聲明中都看到了這一點。

Yes. I mean just to add to that, I think in the mid-cap space, we tend not to have the same regulatory pressures on our transactions that a lot of our publicly traded peers in the -- have. And so that is a big topic in the selection that really doesn't have an impact on us.

是的。我的意思是補充一點，我認為在中型股領域，我們的交易往往不會像許多公開交易的同行那樣受到同樣的監管壓力。所以這是選擇中的一個大話題，實際上對我們沒有影響。

The other is we're highly diversified across the industry. So health care may be the benefit from XYZ win in the election and industrial, the other person. And so we're, I think, diversified enough across industry where there's not one theme underlying what's better for us if someone wins.

另一個是我們在整個行業中高度多元化。因此，醫療保健可能是 XYZ 在選舉中獲勝的受益者，而工業則是其他人。因此，我認為，我們在整個行業已經足夠多元化，沒有一個主題可以說明如果有人獲勝，什麼對我們更好。

And then I think third is, for us, probably what happens to capital gains is probably the most important topic to a lot of our clients because we deal with a lot of entrepreneurs. And I think at the minimum, people think the government is going to be split. And so the idea of movement in capital gains is probably not a huge risk coming into this election. So to mix all that in the bowl and that's what we're thinking about the election.

然後我認為第三是，對我們來說，資本利得的變化可能是我們許多客戶最重要的話題，因為我們與許多企業家打交道。我認為至少人們認為政府將會分裂。因此，資本利得變動的想法可能並不是這次選舉的巨大風險。因此，將所有這些混合在碗裡，這就是我們對選舉的思考。

The other thing I would add to what Lindsey said, we also have a geographic mix as well, right? And so obviously, we sitting here in the United States are very fixated on our election, but it's a big world out there.

我要補充林賽所說的另一件事，我們也有地理組合，對吧？顯然，我們坐在美國這裡非常關注我們的選舉，但外面的世界很大。

Brendan O'Brien, Wolfe Research.

布倫丹‧奧布萊恩，沃爾夫研究中心。

I guess to start, I just wanted to touch on capital allocation. You guys have done quite a few deals over the past year or two. Just wanted to get a sense as to what the acquisition pipeline is looking like today, whether there is any need to take a bit of a breather here to focus on integrating all the deals that you've done recently and how that is influencing your thinking around capital return and buybacks.

我想首先，我只想談談資本配置。在過去的一兩年裡，你們已經做了很多交易。只是想了解一下今天的收購管道是什麼樣的，是否需要在這裡休息一下以專注於整合您最近完成的所有交易以及這如何影響您的想法圍繞資本回報和回購。

Yes. I mean I'll let Lindsey take the piece. But the -- we are always in dialogue as we have stated before, this is a part of our strategy, and we will continue to do acquisitions, when they come in, when they hit -- it's lumpy to use a term that Lindsey used earlier. And so I while there have been a few recently in short order, that doesn't mean that it will continue at that pace.

是的。我的意思是我會讓 Lindsey 拿走這件作品。但是，正如我們之前所說，我們總是在對話，這是我們策略的一部分，我們將繼續進行收購，當它們進來時，當它們發生時，使用 Lindsey 使用的術語是很困難的早期。因此，雖然最近出現了一些短期的情況，但這並不意味著它會繼續以這種速度進行。

But we are constantly looking when we find things that we think are a good fit and will be beneficial to the organization and our shareholders, we will continue to work on doing them. And so that process will continue.

但我們一直在尋找，當我們發現我們認為合適並且對組織和股東有利的事情時，我們將繼續努力去做。這個過程將繼續下去。

Yes. In terms of thinking of the overall pipeline of M&A, the fact that we've had sort of three deals here in the last six months or eight months, either announced or closed that hasn't affected the pipeline. It's as kind of robust as it's been for years, frankly. In terms of capital allocation, I don't think our position has changed any. We -- our dividend is our priority, and I'd say acquisitions is second, and then maintaining share balance would be third.

是的。就併購的整體管道而言，事實上，我們在過去六個月或八個月內進行了三筆交易，無論是宣布的還是關閉的，都沒有影響管道。坦白說，它和多年來一樣強大。在資本配置方面，我認為我們的立場沒有任何改變。我們的股利是我們的首要任務，我想說收購是第二位的，然後維持股權平衡是第三位。

And I think we've done a pretty good job in all three. We haven't been in the open market making share repurchases, but we also have quite a few withhold to cover transactions that we do throughout the year and the big one being in May. And so we generally kept our share count flat without having to go to open market. And I think, frankly, we like to keep that flexibility on our balance sheet as these acquisitions come about.

我認為我們在這三個方面都做得很好。我們還沒有在公開市場上進行過股票回購，但我們也有相當多的預扣金來支付我們全年進行的交易，尤其是五月份的交易。因此，我們通常保持股票數量不變，而無需進入公開市場。坦白說，我認為，隨著這些收購的發生，我們希望在資產負債表上保持這種靈活性。

That's great. And for my follow-up, I wanted to touch on sponsors. From the data that I can see, it's pretty apparent that there's been a bifurcation in -- default rates and liability management activity between corporate and sponsor-backed companies with sponsor defaults and liability management activity continuing to increase as corporate default rates have moderated. How much is the stress among sponsor portfolio companies has been a headwind to activity? And do we need to see these pressures abate before sponsor M&A activity like hits normalized levels?

那太棒了。對於我的後續行動，我想談談贊助商。從我所看到的數據來看，很明顯，企業和贊助商支持的公司之間的違約率和負債管理活動存在分歧，隨著企業違約率的緩和，贊助商違約和負債管理活動繼續增加。贊助商投資組合公司的壓力對經濟活動產生了多大的阻礙？在贊助商併購活動達到正常水準之前，我們是否需要看到這些壓力減輕？

I -- that's not -- I mean, while I don't disagree with some of your sentiments that, that has not been something that there has been a driver there. You got to remember, most of the sponsorship we deal with have a number of portfolio companies. And that is -- that may be a problem for an individual partner in that fund who is running that particular deal that -- but the entire portfolio effect of that private equity firm, they're not still focused on one particular, if you will, sick balance sheet that they're keeping from managing and growing and exiting their successful operations. So I mean I think that you're -- that's not something that I would say we have seen.

我——那不是——我的意思是，雖然我不同意你的一些觀點，但那並不是那裡有司機的事情。你必須記住，我們處理的大部分贊助都有許多投資組合公司。那就是 - 對於該基金中正在運行特定交易的個人合作夥伴來說，這可能是一個問題 - 但該私募股權公司的整個投資組合效應，他們不再專注於某一特定交易，如果你願意的話，病態的資產負債表使他們無法管理、發展並退出其成功的營運。所以我的意思是，我認為你——我認為我們沒有看到過這種情況。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Kenneth Worthington, JPMorgan.

肯尼斯‧沃辛頓，摩根大通。

This is Alex Bernstein on for Ken. I wanted to double click on restructuring. I know you mentioned that some of the processes were taking longer to close. This quarter was strong in part due to the timing and that your pipeline going ahead continues to look attractive.

我是亞歷克斯伯恩斯坦 (Alex Bernstein) 替肯 (Ken) 發言。我想雙擊重組。我知道您提到某些流程需要更長的時間才能關閉。本季表現強勁，部分原因在於時機，而且您未來的管道仍然看起來很有吸引力。

I wanted to help us think through the different interest rate environment. Obviously, we've had a significant rise in rates over the past handful of years, and that's starting to abate and continuing to abate. Wanted to get your thoughts on how that impacts the rate cycle that is, the types of restructuring opportunities you're seeing. And as the pipeline continues to build today, due to those building blocks like different than they did say 18 or 12 months ago. Thanks so much.

我想幫助我們思考不同的利率環境。顯然，過去幾年我們的利率大幅上升，但這種上升趨勢開始減弱並持續減弱。想了解您對這如何影響利率週期的想法，即您所看到的重組機會的類型。隨著今天管道的繼續建設，由於這些構建模組與 18 或 12 個月前所說的有所不同。非常感謝。

Yes. I want to make sure a clarifying or you're understanding, when I'm talking about an elongated time frame, that is really relating predominantly to Corporate Finance business more on the healthy side. I believe your question is relating to the restructuring business and the interest rates. Am I understanding your question correctly?

是的。我想澄清一下，或者您能理解，當我談論延長的時間框架時，這實際上主要與企業融資業務更健康的一面有關。我相信你的問題與重組業務和利率有關。我正確理解你的問題嗎？

That's right. Thank you.

這是正確的。謝謝。

Yes. And I think, it is -- we are still in an elevated interest rate environment. And I think that this quarter and the activity levels that we have seen and continue to see are an indication that there are still a number of sick balance sheets out there that need to be dealt with in some form or another. And we expect that to continue as we've stated for the foreseeable future.

是的。我認為，我們仍然處於利率上升的環境中。我認為，本季度以及我們已經看到和繼續看到的活動水平表明，仍然存在許多病態的資產負債表，需要以某種形式進行處理。我們預計，在可預見的未來，這種情況將持續下去。

Then just maybe one more thinking about the capital markets business and as that continues to grow. To start this year, there's, of course, a pretty significant wave of refinancing activity in the market broadly. To some extent, much of that was driven by the fact that the public markets were largely closed on the debt side, you had a lot of private credit funding that was going on to balance sheet at more expensive rates. And then a lot of that was flowing through and changing to the public markets in the past handful of quarters.

然後也許只是再一次思考資本市場業務及其持續成長。當然，從今年開始，市場上就會出現一波相當大的再融資活動。在某種程度上，這在很大程度上是由於公共市場在債務方面基本上關閉的事實，你有大量的私人信貸資金正在以更昂貴的利率進入資產負債表。在過去的幾個季度中，其中許多資金都流經並轉變為公開市場。

Does that elevated level of activity impact what you're seeing in the Capital Markets business? And how are you looking at that going forward as that looks to be making its way through the system now broad market was?

活動水準的提高是否會影響您在資本市場業務中看到的情況？您如何看待未來的發展，因為它似乎正在通過現在廣泛的市場系統？

Yes. I mean we have, -- we believe the largest private capital solutions group out there, and we have been very fortunate that group has been busy, continues to be busy. Private capital, obviously, as an asset classes continue to grow significantly, and we have benefited from that growth, clearly, and that's not something that we see subsiding anytime soon.

是的。我的意思是，我們相信，這是最大的私人資本解決方案集團，我們非常幸運，該集團一直很忙，而且會繼續忙碌。顯然，私人資本作為一種資產類別繼續大幅增長，我們顯然從這種增長中受益，而且我們認為這種增長不會很快消退。

And just given our average transaction size is the public markets opening up isn't having a huge impact on our private capital business. So remember, we're primarily in the middle market and that middle market, the option of sort of the public markets are generally not available to them. It's just too small. And so we welcome the public market, it's opening and even the bank market is opening, but we don't think that has a huge impact on our private capital business.

考慮到我們的平均交易規模，公開市場的開放並沒有對我們的私人資本業務產生巨大影響。所以請記住，我們主要處於中間市場，而中間市場，他們通常無法獲得某種公開市場的選擇。它太小了。因此，我們歡迎公開市場的開放，甚至銀行市場的開放，但我們認為這不會對我們的私人資本業務產生巨大影響。

Concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Scott Adelson for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節結束了。我想將會議轉回斯科特·阿德爾森（Scott Adelson）發表閉幕詞。

I want to thank you all for participating in our second quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress when we discuss our third quarter results for fiscal 2025, this coming winter. Thank you very much.

我要感謝大家參加我們的 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。我們期待在即將到來的冬季討論 2025 財年第三季業績時向大家通報我們的最新進展。非常感謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。