Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Houlihan Lokey fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, July 29, 2025.

女士們、先生們，大家好。感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Houlihan Lokey 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，本次電話會議將於今天（2025 年 7 月 29 日）進行錄音。

I will now turn the call over to the company. Please go ahead.

我現在將把電話轉給公司。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. By now, everyone should have access to our first-quarter fiscal year 2026 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。現在，每個人都應該可以看到我們 2026 財年第一季的收益報告，該報告可以在 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 for 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, you should exercise caution when 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使用「將」、「期望」、「預期」、「應該」或其他類似字眼來表示，並不能保證未來的表現。這些聲明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，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 conditions. We encourage investors to review our regulatory filings, including the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, when it is filed with the SEC.

我們請大家參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，以便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。我們鼓勵投資者查看我們的監管文件，包括向美國證券交易委員會提交的截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的季度 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.

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或取代我們根據 GAAP 編制的財務結果。

A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and our investor presentation on the edshell.com website.

我們的收益報告和 edshell.com 網站上的投資者介紹中提供了這些指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳表。

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 line to questions.

今天主持電話會議的有 Houlihan Lokey 的執行長 Scott Adelson 和財務長 Lindsey Alley。他們將發表一些開場白，然後我們將開始回答問題。

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

說完這些，我會把電話轉給史考特。

Thank you, Christopher. Welcome everyone to our first-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings call. We ended the quarter with revenues of $605 million and adjusted earnings per share of $2.14. Revenues were up 18% and adjusted earnings per share were up 75%, compared to the same quarter last year.

謝謝你，克里斯多福。歡迎大家參加我們 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。本季，我們的營收為6.05億美元，調整後每股收益為2.14美元。與去年同期相比，營收成長了18%，調整後每股收益成長了75%。

We began fiscal 2026 with momentum and concluded the quarter with solid performance by all three of our business lines. Our views of current market conditions and our business are broadly consistent with what we shared last quarter. While market forecasts remain difficult given a dynamic and volatile macro environment, we continue to see the benefits of our diversified business model, particularly across industry and geography. The markets in which we operate are showing resilience, adapting to the complexities and uncertainties of the current environment.

我們以強勁的勢頭開啟了 2026 財年，並在本季度結束時，我們三條業務線均取得了穩健的業績。我們對當前市場狀況和業務的看法與上個季度的看法大致一致。儘管在動態和波動的宏觀環境下市場預測仍然很困難，但我們仍然看到多元化業務模式的優勢，特別是在跨行業和跨地區。我們經營的市場表現出韌性，適應當前環境的複雜性和不確定性。

Turning to our results. Corporate Finance produced $399 million of revenue in the first quarter, a 21% increase over last year's first quarter. Key metrics for our Corporate Finance business, including transaction size and average fee per transaction, continue to see steady improvement. This was achieved despite muted activity from the financial sponsor community, understoring the strength of our business, which we believe should pick up as sponsor activity eventually returns to more historic levels. We are cautiously optimistic that this momentum will continue through fiscal 2026, while we remain mindful of the potential headwinds, including tariffs and inflation.

談談我們的結果。企業財務第一季實現了 3.99 億美元的收入，比去年第一季成長了 21%。我們的企業金融業務的關鍵指標，包括交易規模和每筆交易的平均費用，並持續穩定改善。儘管金融贊助商群體的活動不活躍，我們仍然取得了這一成就，這體現了我們業務的實力，我們相信，隨著贊助商活動最終恢復到歷史最高水平，我們的業務實力應該會有所提升。我們謹慎樂觀地認為，這股動能將持續到 2026 財年，同時我們仍需警惕關稅和通膨等潛在阻力。

Our Financial Restructuring business produced $128 million in revenues for the first quarter, a 9% increase over last year's first quarter. Financial Restructuring activity remains elevated, supported by persistently higher interest rates macro uncertainty, and over-leveraged companies. Revenues in Financial Restructuring are diversified across industry and geography, and we are experiencing a balanced mix of debtor and creditor work. We expect to continue to see elevated restructuring revenues throughout fiscal 2026.

我們的財務重組業務第一季創造了 1.28 億美元的收入，比去年第一季成長 9%。受持續走高的利率、宏觀不確定性以及公司槓桿率過高的影響，金融重組活動持續活躍。財務重整的收入在不同行業和地區呈現多樣化，並且我們的債務人和債權人工作呈現出均衡的組合。我們預計 2026 財年重組收入將持續增加。

For Financial and Valuation Advisory produced $79 million in revenues for the first quarter, a 16% increase versus the first quarter last year. FVA had a very strong first quarter with continued growth in its non-cyclical service lines, while its pro-cyclical businesses benefited from improving M&A market conditions, particularly in the US. Our outlook for FVA is similar to our outlook for CF, as we expect to see continued year-over-year growth throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.

財務和估值諮詢第一季的營收為 7,900 萬美元，比去年第一季成長 16%。FVA 在第一季表現非常強勁，非週期性服務線持續成長，而其順週期業務則受益於併購市場狀況的改善，尤其是在美國。我們對 FVA 的展望與對 CF 的展望類似，因為我們預計在本財年剩餘時間內將繼續實現同比增長。

In the first quarter, we hired three new managing directors, and we continue to see a strong hiring market for senior talent, drawn to our global platform, and track record of growth. Our pipeline of acquisition opportunities remains robust, and we are confident that the combination of our organic hires and strategic acquisitions will continue to help us expand our workforce across industry, service line, and geography.

在第一季度，我們聘請了三名新的董事總經理，我們繼續看到高級人才的強勁招聘市場，他們被我們的全球平台和成長記錄所吸引。我們的收購機會管道依然強勁，我們相信，有機招聘和策略收購相結合將繼續幫助我們擴大跨行業、跨服務線和跨地區的員工隊伍。

On the marketing front, I'm very proud to announce that we hosted the inaugural Houlihan Lokey One Conference in New York, dubbed the Woodstock of deal-making by Bloomberg. This major event showcased our one firm approach in global scope with more than 4,000 people in attendance and approximately 400 companies participating. We are thrilled with the feedback we received from clients who attended and we're proud of the experience that we are curating for our clients and prospects around the world.

在行銷方面，我很自豪地宣布，我們在紐約主辦了第一屆 Houlihan Lokey One 會議，彭博將其稱為交易界的伍德斯托克。這場大型活動在全球展示了我們的一站式服務模式，共有超過 4,000 位嘉賓出席，約有 400 家公司參與。我們對與會客戶的回饋感到非常高興，並為我們為世界各地的客戶和潛在客戶精心策劃的體驗感到自豪。

We remain confident in our outlook for our fiscal year 2026. Despite volatility in global markets, companies appear to be adapting to the realities of decision making in this environment. With our global reach, sector depth, and balanced business model, we continue to be well-positioned to help our clients navigate the environment and capitalize on new opportunities.

我們對 2026 財年的前景仍然充滿信心。儘管全球市場動盪，但企業似乎正在適應這種環境下的決策現實。憑藉我們的全球影響力、行業深度和均衡的業務模式，我們將繼續處於有利地位，幫助客戶應對環境並抓住新機會。

Lindsey, over to you.

林賽，交給你了。

Thank you, Scott. Revenues in Corporate Finance were $399 million for the quarter, up 21% compared to the same quarter last year. We closed 125 transactions this quarter, up from 116 in the same period last year, and our average transaction fee was higher for the quarter versus the same quarter last year. Revenues and activity levels in the US continue to outpace those in EMEA, and we expect this regional dynamic to persist through the summer.

謝謝你，斯科特。本季企業融資收入為 3.99 億美元，較去年同期成長 21%。本季我們完成了 125 筆交易，高於去年同期的 116 筆，本季的平均交易費用高於去年同期。美國的收入和活動水準持續超過歐洲、中東和非洲地區，我們預計這種區域動態將持續整個夏季。

Financial Restructuring revenues were $128 million for the quarter, a 9% increase versus the same period last year. We closed 35 transactions this quarter compared to 33 in the same quarter last year, and our average transaction fee on closed deals increased.

本季財務重組營收為 1.28 億美元，較去年同期成長 9%。本季我們完成了 35 筆交易，而去年同期為 33 筆，已完成交易的平均交易費用有所增加。

For Financial and Valuation Advisory, revenues were $79 million for the quarter, a 16% increase from the same period last year. We had 957 fee events during the quarter compared to 847 in the same period last year, a 13% increase.

財務和估值諮詢方面，本季營收為 7,900 萬美元，比去年同期成長 16%。本季我們發生了 957 起收費事件，而去年同期為 847 起，成長了 13%。

Turning to expenses, our adjusted compensation expenses were $372 million for the quarter versus $316 million for the same period last year. Our only adjustment was $21 million for deferred retention payments related to certain acquisitions.

談到費用，本季我們的調整後薪資費用為 3.72 億美元，去年同期為 3.16 億美元。我們唯一的調整是與某些收購相關的遞延保留付款 2,100 萬美元。

Our adjusted compensation expense ratio for the first quarter in both fiscal 2026 and 2025 was 61.5%. We expect to maintain our long-term target of 61.5% for our adjusted compensation expense ratio for the balance of the year.

我們 2026 財年及 2025 財年第一季的調整後薪資費用率均為 61.5%。我們預計今年餘下時間調整後的薪資費用率將維持在 61.5% 的長期目標。

Our adjusted non-compensation expenses increased to $94 million for the quarter, compared to $80 million for the same period last year. Our adjusted non-compensation expense ratio for the first quarter in both fiscal 2026 and 2025 was 15.6%.

本季度，我們調整後的非薪資支出增至 9,400 萬美元，而去年同期為 8,000 萬美元。我們 2026 財年及 2025 財年第一季的調整後非薪酬費用率均為 15.6%。

On a per-employee basis, our adjusted non-compensation expense for the quarter increased to $35,000 versus $31,000 for the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily driven by our Houlihan Lokey One Conference, which combined six legacy conferences spread throughout the year in the US into a single flagship conference. Excluding the cost of this event, non-compensation expense growth would generally have been in line with historical trends.

以每位員工計算，本季我們調整後的非薪資支出增加至 35,000 美元，去年同期為 31,000 美元。這一成長主要得益於我們的 Houlihan Lokey One 會議，該會議將美國全年舉辦的六場傳統會議合併為一場旗艦會議。除去此事件的成本，非薪酬費用的成長大致與歷史趨勢一致。

For the quarter, we adjusted out of our non-compensation expenses $9.5 million in non-cash acquisition-related amortization, approximately $900,000 pertaining to professional fees associated with streamlining our global organizational structure, referred to as Project Solo, and approximately $18 million related to the increase in value of acquisition contingent consideration.

本季度，我們從非薪酬費用中調整了 950 萬美元的非現金收購相關攤銷、約 90 萬美元與精簡全球組織結構（稱為 Project Solo）相關的專業費用，以及約 1,800 萬美元與收購或有對價價值的增加有關。

We have always treated all acquisition contingent consideration as purchase price, and adjust any significant changes to the value of such contingent consideration out of our P&L. Historically, the effects of the revaluation of acquisition contingent consideration occurred in other income and expense.

我們始終將所有收購或有對價視為購買價格，並將此類或有對價價值的任何重大變動從我們的損益表中調整出來。從歷史上看，收購或有對價重估的影響發生在其他收入和支出。

Starting in fiscal 2026, we are including the effects of the revaluation of acquisition contingent consideration and non-compensation expense as a separate line item. As a result, any adjustments to this line item will occur in non-compensation and expense going forward.

從 2026 財政年度開始，我們將收購或有對價和非補償費用重估的影響作為單獨的項目納入其中。因此，對此項目的任何調整都將在未來的非補償和費用中發生。

Our other income and expense produced income of approximately $8 million versus income of approximately $5 million in the same period last year. The improvement was primarily due to an increase in interest and other income generated by our investment securities.

我們的其他收入和支出產生了約 800 萬美元的收入，而去年同期的收入約為 500 萬美元。這一改善主要歸因於我們的投資證券產生的利息和其他收入的增加。

Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was negative 0.8% compared to 31.2% for the same quarter last year. The decrease is due to a policy change, which we discussed in last quarter's remarks. We are no longer including the impact of stock-based compensation vesting on our adjusted effective tax rate.

本季調整後有效稅率為-0.8%，去年同期為31.2%。下降是由於政策變化，我們在上個季度的評論中討論過。我們不再將股票薪酬歸屬對調整後有效稅率的影響納入考量。

This year and for the last several years, stock vesting has had a positive impact on our GAAP effective tax rate for both the quarter and the year, and we have adjusted out that benefit. Without the adjustment in Q1 of fiscal 2025, our adjusted effective tax rate would have been 9.3% for the first quarter.

今年以及過去幾年，股票歸屬對我們本季和年度的 GAAP 有效稅率產生了積極影響，我們已經調整了該收益。如果沒有 2025 財年第一季的調整，我們第一季的調整後有效稅率將為 9.3%。

Given the significant impact from stock vesting, we expect to see our fiscal 2026 full-year adjusted effective tax rate between 25% and 26%. Without the adjustment for stock vesting in fiscal year 2025, our adjusted effective tax rate for last year would have been 26%. For the first quarter fiscal 2026, we adjusted out of our effective tax rate the effects of acquisition-related non-deductible expenses.

鑑於股票歸屬的重大影響，我們預計 2026 財年全年調整後有效稅率將在 25% 至 26% 之間。如果沒有 2025 財年的股票歸屬調整，我們去年的調整後有效稅率將為 26%。對於 2026 財年第一季度，我們從有效稅率中調整了與收購相關的不可扣除費用的影響。

Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with approximately $867 million of unrestricted cash and investment securities. Our cash position declined this quarter, as we paid a significant portion of our fiscal 2025 bonuses to employees in May.

談到資產負債表，本季末我們擁有約 8.67 億美元的非限制現金和投資證券。由於我們在 5 月向員工支付了 2025 財年獎金的很大一部分，因此本季我們的現金狀況有所下降。

Also in our first quarter, we issued approximately 1.1 million shares to employees as part of our fiscal 2025 year-end compensation, and we repurchased, through withholding cover, approximately 800,000 shares during the month of May.

此外，在第一季度，我們向員工發行了約 110 萬股股票作為 2025 財年年終薪酬的一部分，並且在 5 月份透過預扣保險回購了約 80 萬股股票。

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

接線員，這樣我們就可以開通問答熱線了。

(Operator Instructions) Devin Ryan, Citizen.

（操作員指示）Devin Ryan，公民。

Great. Hi, Scott. Hi, Lindsey. How are you?

偉大的。你好，斯科特。你好，林賽。你好嗎？

Hey, Devin.

嘿，德文。

So I heard the comment and prepared remarks that your views of the business are broadly consistent with last quarter. And so I'm just curious, as it relates to Corporate Finance, I would assume that there's been some market improvement just with sentiment, improving and more optimism in the market more broadly.

因此，我聽到了評論並準備好了發言，表明您對業務的看法與上個季度大致一致。所以我很好奇，因為它與公司財務有關，我認為市場情緒有所改善，市場整體上有所改善，樂觀情緒也更加濃厚。

So I'm just curious if you're seeing that with clients from where you were three months ago, maybe three months ago you were already starting to see that re-acceleration in momentum. But just want to dig in there a bit more.

所以我只是好奇，您是否看到三個月前的客戶也出現了這種情況，也許三個月前您就已經開始看到這種勢頭的重新加速。但只是想進一步深入研究。

And then just, if you can, just hit on kind of how backlogs have trended if doctors want to move forward on auctions and transactions, and then from a sector perspective as well, if you can touch on that?

然後，如果可以的話，如果醫生想要推進拍賣和交易，那麼積壓的趨勢如何，然後從行業角度來看，您是否可以談談這一點？

Thanks. Really bad connection, so I will try and do my best with that, but I think that what we've been saying for a long time is that it keeps getting better quarter by quarter, but not necessarily month by month. So even within this quarter, you saw the momentum shift, if you will, a bit back and forth, and that's some of the uncertainty we see in the marketplace.

謝謝。連接確實很差，所以我會盡力解決，但我認為我們長期以來一直在說的是，它會逐季度不斷好轉，但不一定是逐月好轉。因此，即使在本季度，你也看到了勢頭的轉變，如果你願意的話，有點來回轉變，這就是我們在市場上看到的一些不確定性。

Having said that, As I said in my remarks, I mean, the resiliency of our clients to really adjust to the market we are in continues to get better and better. And I think that is what we're feeling. It is getting better and better quarter by quarter, but not necessarily month by month.

話雖如此，正如我在演講中所說，我們的客戶真正適應我們所處市場的彈性正在變得越來越好。我想這就是我們的感受吧。情況逐季度都在好轉，但不一定逐月都在好轉。

Okay, thanks. Apologies for the background.

好的，謝謝。對於背景，我深表歉意。

The second part of your question, quite honestly, was backlog, I think, but you were breaking up so bad. I wasn't really sure. If you want to try and repeat it, I'll give it a shot.

坦白說，我認為你問題的第二部分是積壓問題，但你分手的情況很糟。我不太確定。如果你想嘗試重複它，我會試一試。

Yeah, if I'm not stuck through, I'll hop back in the queue. But essentially, I just wanted to give a little bit of a sense of how the backlog is refilling? And then if there's sectors that are snapping back faster, and then if there's any areas that aren't because they're still impacted by tariffs, or otherwise?

是的，如果我沒有被困住，我會重新回到隊列中。但本質上，我只是想稍微介紹一下積壓的工作是如何補充的呢？那麼，是否有一些行業復甦得更快，而哪些領域復甦得沒有更快，因為它們仍然受到關稅的影響，還是其他原因？

Yeah. I'd say, Devin, on the backlog side, we try to stay away from the backlog commentary. Having said that, we continue to see good, solid performance across all the sectors. As I made a comment regarding geography, we do think Europe, EMEA, has been a bit slower than the US over the last three to six months. and we don't expect that to change this summer.

是的。我想說，德文，在積壓方面，我們試圖避免積壓評論。話雖如此，我們仍然看到所有行業都表現良好、穩健。正如我對地理位置的評論，我們確實認為歐洲、歐洲、中東和非洲地區在過去三到六個月內的發展速度比美國慢一些。我們預計今年夏天這種情況不會改變。

But in terms of backlog, look, you know, some of our peers have made commentary around backlog. It's quite strong. We want to get away from comparing backlog this quarter versus last quarter versus the same time last year in terms of backlog.

但就積壓問題而言，你知道，我們的一些同行已經對積壓問題發表了評論。它相當強大。我們希望避免將本季的積壓訂單與上一季的積壓訂單以及去年同期的積壓訂單進行比較。

Got it. Okay. I'll leave it there, but thank you, guys.

知道了。好的。我就不說了，不過還是謝謝你們。

Brendan O'Brien, Wolfe Research.

布倫丹·奧布萊恩（Brendan O'Brien），沃爾夫研究公司。

Good afternoon and thanks for taking my questions. I just want to touch or follow up on Devin's question a bit. Within Corporate Finance, the top-line trends continue to look very strong, but the year-on-year growth and the number of deals completed has seemed to decelerate a bit.

下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。我只是想稍微觸及或跟進一下 Devin 的問題。在企業融資領域，營收趨勢持續保持強勁，但年成長和完成的交易數量似乎有所放緩。

Just want to get a sense as to the breadth of activity that you're seeing in the market today, and specifically around the quality of assets that you're seeing move, and when we can start to see that aperture widen?

只是想了解您今天在市場上看到的活動廣度，特別是您所看到的資產品質的變化，以及我們什麼時候可以開始看到這種範圍的擴大？

Yeah. I mean, again, same commentary about getting better at kind of quarter by quarter, right? It's back to what we've talked about before, what's the slope of that improvement. We clearly are in a good environment at this point, but again, kind of the bottom end of it is what I would say.

是的。我的意思是，同樣的評論也表明情況會逐季度好轉，對嗎？回到我們之前討論的話題，改進的斜率是多少。顯然，我們目前處於良好的環境，但我想說的是，我們仍處於最低水平。

In terms of volume of deals, I do think after Labor Day, we're going to see that even pick up more. That certainly is the indication from everything we're seeing.

就交易量而言，我確實認為勞動節之後，我們會看到交易量進一步增加。從我們所看到的一切來看，這確實是一個跡象。

And look, I'd say from a deceleration standpoint, we had an extraordinary quarter one last year. I think our Corporate Finance revenues grew 44% or so. I mean, 21% growth is decelerating versus the same time last year, but it's still pretty strong and it's over a much larger base. And so, I mean, we don't see a decelerating trend at all. We're just operating off of a higher base this year versus the same time last year.

從減速的角度來看，我想說，去年我們度過了一個非凡的第一季。我認為我們的企業財務收入成長了 44% 左右。我的意思是，21% 的成長率與去年同期相比有所放緩，但仍然相當強勁，而且基數更大。所以，我的意思是，我們根本沒有看到減速趨勢。與去年同期相比，我們今年的營運基數更高。

I totally appreciate that. And I guess for my follow-up, I just want to clarify some of your comments around the non-comp side. You know, specifically, I know you got into the high single-digit non-comp growth rate last quarter. Is that still your expectation for the full year this year, or has something changed, whether it's travel or inflation or anything like that?

我非常感激。我想，作為我的後續行動，我只是想澄清你關於非公司方面的一些評論。具體來說，我知道上個季度的非同類別成長率達到了個位數的高水準。這仍然是您對今年全年的預期嗎？或者有什麼變化，無論是旅行還是通貨膨脹或諸如此類的因素？

No, we're still at that high single digits. Unfortunately, we just had our entire non-comp expense in our first quarter. I'm joking about that, but we had a higher first quarter. I think there was a specific reason why, but we do expect to see kind of still that high single digits for the balance of the year.

不，我們仍然處於那麼高的個位數。不幸的是，我們第一季的全部非經營性支出都已用完。我只是開玩笑，但我們第一季的業績確實更高。我認為其中有特定的原因，但我們確實預計今年餘下時間的成長率仍將維持在較高的個位數。

Now, part of that is driven by headcount growth, as you know. So the faster our headcount grows this year, the higher our non-comp expense. And so, some of it is beyond our control, and some of it is a good problem to have. But as we sit here today, no change from last quarter in terms of what the end of the year looks like.

現在，如您所知，部分原因是員工人數的成長。因此，今年我們的員工人數成長越快，我們的非薪資支出就越高。所以，有些問題是我們無法控制的，而有些問題則是好問題。但就我們今天坐在這裡來看，年底的情況與上一季相比沒有任何變化。

Great. Thank you for taking my questions.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Pleasure.

樂趣。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅。

Good afternoon, and thanks for taking the question. Scott, hey, guys. Restructuring remained elevated this quarter. I know you gave the outlook for the business as being elevated, but maybe you could just dig down a little bit into anything that you are seeing around liability management versus Chapter 11 traditional restructuring? And then expectations for the forward for each of those?

下午好，感謝您回答這個問題。斯科特，嘿，夥計們。本季重整活動依然活躍。我知道您對業務前景看好，但您是否可以稍微深入探討一下您所看到的有關負債管理與第 11 章傳統重組的情況？那麼對於前鋒的期望是什麼呢？

Yeah. I mean, I think it's consistent. Again, we kind of think about it as in-court and out-of-court, if you will. But it continues to be active on both sides with obviously some of the not as large transactions leaning more towards the out-of-court. But there does seem to be a good pipeline kind of across the board, and we're seeing it just continue to be a strong restructuring environment or certainly elevated.

是的。我的意思是，我認為這是一致的。再說一次，如果你願意的話，我們可以把它看作是法庭內和法庭外的事。但雙方仍保持活躍，顯然一些規模較小的交易更傾向於庭外交易。但似乎確實存在一種全面的良好管道，我們看到它繼續保持強勁的重組環境，或者肯定有所提升。

And James, our commentary for restructuring hasn't really changed much. I mean, we consider liability management traditional restructuring, so we don't really differentiate it. And look, the market has been and I think we will continue to be reasonably strong for liability management transactions given that we just had a really long runway. And we don't see that changing certainly through fiscal '26, which is why you hear a little bit of confidence in terms of elevated restructuring for the balance of the year.

詹姆斯，我們對重組的評論實際上並沒有太大改變。我的意思是，我們認為負債管理是傳統的重組，所以我們並沒有真正區分它。而且，鑑於我們剛剛擁有很長的跑道，我認為市場一直如此，而且在負債管理交易方面，我們的表現將繼續保持相當強勁。我們認為這種情況在 2026 財年不會改變，這就是為什麼你會聽到人們對今年剩餘時間重組力度加大有一點信心。

That's great. Scott or Lindsey, maybe just any thoughts around -- or any color around the growth of your secondaries business, since you did the deal. And then I guess, any thoughts around the cyclical versus structural drivers, and perhaps your expectations for how much growth that business can have over time?

那太棒了。斯科特或林賽，也許只是對你們達成交易後二級市場業務增長的任何想法或看法。然後我想，您對週期性和結構性驅動因素有何看法，以及您對該業務隨著時間的推移可以實現多少成長的預期？

Yeah. I think that we're very happy with that. That is now all involved within our capital solutions group, which, as you know, is part of Corporate Finance. And that integrated approach seems to be serving us very well, and we're extremely happy with many parts of that.

是的。我認為我們對此感到非常高興。現在這一切都涉及到我們的資本解決方案組，正如您所知，它是企業財務的一部分。這種綜合方法似乎對我們很有幫助，我們對它的許多部分都非常滿意。

Even on the primary side, we see that picking up. But certainly on the secondary side, the GP stakes, LP stakes, that whole piece directs is something that we're really seeing the benefit of coming on to our platform, and not just in terms of results, but also in terms of thinking about the business differently and how it can even scale much larger than I think maybe people thought it could have. I've been feeling really good about it.

即使在初級方面，我們也看到這種趨勢正在好轉。但當然，在次要方面，GP 股份、LP 股份以及整個專案指導是我們真正看到進入我們平台的好處，不僅僅是在結果方面，而且在以不同的方式思考業務以及如何將其規模擴大到比人們想像的更大的程度方面。我對此感覺非常好。

Great.

偉大的。

A lot more to come.

未來還會有更多。

Perfect. And then one quick ticky-tacky one for you, Lindsey. I just want to clarify a previous point.

完美的。然後給你講一個快速而俗氣的問題，林賽。我只是想澄清先前的觀點。

Your commentary is that the growth of non-comp dollars for the fiscal year, is still expected to be in the high single-digits range year on year, is that correct?

您的評論是，本財年非營利收入的成長預計仍將保持高個位數同比增長，對嗎？

Yes, that's correct.

是的，正確。

Thank you so much.

太感謝了。

Of course.

當然。

Alex Bond, KBW.

亞歷克斯·邦德（Alex Bond），KBW。

Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Just wanted to maybe drill down on the sponsor side of the market currently. And I know -- referenced earlier that the post-Labor Day market is shaping up, expecting to see an increase there, but kind of across the market more broadly. But I'm wondering if that is consistent with what you're seeing in terms of in the sponsor market as well? And then especially just given some of the recent market tailwinds that we've had.

嘿，大家下午好。目前只是想深入了解市場的贊助商方面。我知道——之前提到過，勞動節後的市場正在成形，預計會出現成長，但更廣泛的是整個市場。但我想知道這是否與您在贊助商市場看到的情況一致？尤其是考慮到我們最近遇到的一些市場順風。

So, yeah, I guess just summarizing, would you expect to see an increase in sponsor activity after that Labor Day period, or could a more broader resumption in sponsor activity maybe take a little bit longer than that? Any color there would be great. Thanks.

所以，是的，我想總結一下，您是否預計在勞動節之後贊助商活動會增加，或者贊助商活動的更廣泛恢復是否可能需要更長的時間？任何顏色都很棒。謝謝。

Yeah, I think it's consistent. The sponsor activity has been muted, no doubt about that. And I think that's one of the reasons we're pretty happy with where things are, given the muted level of activity sponsors at the moment. have seen it continue to pick up. Again, it is continuing to pick up, and we do expect it to pick up even more based upon catalogs that we're having right now.

是的，我認為這是一致的。毫無疑問，贊助商的活動已經淡化了。我認為這是我們對現狀感到滿意的原因之一，因為目前活動贊助商的水平較低，並且已經看到它繼續回升。再次，它正在繼續回升，根據我們現在擁有的目錄，我們確實預計它會進一步回升。

And Labor Day, for sponsors, happens to be a nice inflection point to go to market. And so, yes. Different than strategics, they tend to operate a bit more with the seasons, just given summer and vacation.

對於贊助商來說，勞動節恰好是進入市場的一個很好的轉捩點。是的。與策略不同，他們傾向於根據季節進行操作，就像夏季和假期一樣。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe just as a quick follow-up, I know you mentioned that you continue to expect the US markets can outpace the EMEA region just from an M&A perspective. But I'm curious if you can maybe just drill down a little bit more there? And maybe any trends that you're seeing that are differing there? Or are you expecting to see a broader recovery in volumes in Europe as well, but maybe just stronger in the US? Just any color there would be great as well.

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是作為一個快速的後續問題，我知道您提到您繼續預計美國市場僅從併購角度就能超過 EMEA 地區。但我很好奇您是否可以再深入一點呢？也許您看到的任何趨勢都有所不同？或者您預計歐洲的銷量也會出現更廣泛的復甦，但美國的銷量可能更強勁？任何顏色都很好。

Yeah, I think that our history is that they don't tend to move in exact unison. And I can tell you that when things started to turn down a number of quarters ago, EMEA was slower to turn down than the US. And I think that this is just a cycle time. It's just coming out slightly slower. It's not dramatic differences.

是的，我認為我們的歷史表明他們往往不會完全同步地行動。我可以告訴你，當幾個季度前情況開始下滑時，歐洲、中東和非洲地區的下滑速度比美國慢。我認為這只是一個循環時間。只是速度稍微慢了一點。這並不是什麼巨大的差異。

Got it. Understood. That's helpful. Thank you, guys.

知道了。明白了。這很有幫助。謝謝你們。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Ryan Kenny, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的瑞安·肯尼。

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. So you mentioned that you're cautiously optimistic on the environment. And my question is, with markets at all-time highs and deal announcements picking up and tariff headlines coming through, why not just optimistic? What are you hearing from clients that maybe would make them slow down a bit in getting more deals moving through the pipeline?

你好。感謝您回答我的問題。所以您提到您對環境持謹慎樂觀的態度。我的問題是，隨著市場達到歷史最高水準、交易公告不斷增加、關稅新聞不斷出現，為什麼不保持樂觀呢？您從客戶那裡聽到了什麼消息，可能會讓他們放慢速度以獲得更多交易？

Yeah, I think just by our nature, we're measured, number one. Number two is really that we are living in an environment that has demonstrated a degree of uncertainty and volatility. And so that causes us to be measured in those statements.

是的，我認為就我們的本性而言，我們是經過衡量的，這是第一名。第二，我們所處的環境確實存在著某種程度的不確定性和波動性。因此，這導致我們在這些陳述中被衡量。

Having said that, if things continue on the way they are at the moment, feel very good about it. But it's just a recognition that we are living in more volatile times at the moment.

話雖如此，如果事情繼續按照目前的狀態發展，那就感覺非常好了。但這只是承認我們目前生活在更動盪的時代。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Pleasure.

樂趣。

Jim Mitchell, Seaport Global Securities.

吉姆·米切爾，Seaport Global Securities。

Hey, good afternoon.

嘿，下午好。

Hey, Jim.

嘿，吉姆。

Scott, you talked about the acquisition environment still being robust and the pipeline being good, but as the environment picks up, does it get a little tougher to close the deals? Or do you still think, regardless of the environment, there's still a lot of opportunity to consolidate it?

史考特，您剛才說收購環境依然強勁，通路良好，但隨著環境的改善，完成交易是否會變得更加困難？或者您仍然認為，無論環境如何，仍然有很多機會來鞏固它？

That, at least based upon our history, that has not been a particularly strong indicator. And actually, if anything, it tends to work the other way when things get really tough. People don't want to do deals and so it doesn't change my view at all.

至少根據我們的歷史，這並不是一個特別強而有力的指標。事實上，當事情變得非常艱難時，情況往往會反過來。人們不想做交易，所以這根本不會改變我的觀點。

Okay. And then just to follow up on restructuring. I hear you right now the environment's still pretty good. But I guess, based on your history and cyclicality do you see If the Fed's cutting rates? We get through these tariffs, the economic environment does better. Does that business flow or is it just different because of the liability management environment and there's still plenty of room to kind of grow that piece of the puzzle?

好的。然後只是跟進重組。我聽說現在環境還是相當好的。但我想，根據您的歷史和週期性，您是否認為聯準會會降息？我們通過了這些關稅，經濟環境變得更好了。這項業務是否順暢，還是僅僅因為負債管理環境而有所不同，並且仍然有足夠的空間來擴大這一部分？

I think, three years ago, we would have told you, yes, we would expect to see restructuring decline as M&A started to pick up. And that had happened many times in the past for us. You know, look, in this environment, restructuring has shown real resilience, and I think there are a whole bunch of factors that lead to that resilience. And so, yeah, I don't want to sound too optimistic, but look, this may be the new trough for restructuring.

我想，三年前，我們會告訴你，是的，隨著併購開始回升，我們預計重組將會減少。過去，這種情況已經發生過很多次了。你知道，在這種環境下，重組表現出了真正的彈性，我認為有很多因素導致了這種彈性。所以，是的，我不想聽起來太樂觀，但是看，這可能是重組的新低谷。

And when we see interest rates come down a little bit, which I think most people expect over time, if we see an improving economy with less volatility in the macro environment, I mean, shoot -- we may see restructuring revenues kind of where they are today and waiting for the next cycle. So we've stopped kind of guessing what the trough might look like for restructuring based on just how well it's performed over the last couple of years.

當我們看到利率略有下降時（我想大多數人都會隨著時間的推移而預期到這種情況），如果我們看到經濟好轉，宏觀環境波動性減小，那麼我們可能會看到收入重組處於目前的水平，並等待下一個週期。因此，我們不再僅僅根據過去幾年重組的表現來猜測重組的低谷是什麼樣子。

Right, so peak is the new trough?

對，那麼高峰就是新的低谷嗎？

Yeah, peak is the new trough, exactly.

是的，高峰就是新的低谷，確實如此。

Okay.

好的。

If the interest rates go back to zero?

如果利率回到零呢？

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Normal cuts.

是的，是的，是的。正常切割。

Yeah, that makes sense. Thank you. Sure.

是的，這很有道理。謝謝。當然。

(Operator Instructions) Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示） 摩根大通的肯‧沃辛頓。

Good afternoon. This is Madeline Daleiden on for Ken. Thanks for taking our question. You mentioned a strong MD hiring environment in prepared remarks, and I think you've mentioned it in previous quarters as well.But we've been noticing your MD headcount growth has been significantly outpacing overall headcount growth for about the last 12 months. Is this a cognizant choice on your end to concentrate talent at more senior levels, or maybe even consolidating junior talent or administrative roles, or is this more so just reflecting the opportunistic hiring that you're pursuing?

午安.我是 Madeline Daleiden，為 Ken 主持節目。感謝您回答我們的問題。您在準備好的演講中提到了強大的 MD 招聘環境，我認為您在前幾個季度也提到過這一點。但我們注意到，在過去 12 個月左右的時間裡，您的 MD 員工人數成長速度一直遠遠超過整體員工人數成長速度。這是你們明智的選擇嗎？將人才集中在更高層次，或甚至合併初級人才或行政職位，還是僅僅反映了你們所追求的機會主義招募？

I think that we are always looking for talent that is part of our business model. And we are very fortunate that given the success in our growth and the resilience of our business model, we've been able to continue to attract really fantastic talent. And that's really all over the world and across our product lines, and we're going to stay committed to that.

我認為我們一直在尋找適合我們商業模式的人才。我們非常幸運，鑑於我們的成功成長和商業模式的彈性，我們能夠繼續吸引真正優秀的人才。這確實遍布世界各地和我們的產品線，我們將繼續致力於此。

But I don't think that there's no structural design that says we're growing senior talent and slowing down junior talent growth. It just probably happenstance in the numbers. My guess is we will revert back to kind of the structure that we've historically had. It just may be that the numbers aren't suggesting that right now.

但我不認為不存在任何結構設計表明我們正在培養高級人才並減緩初級人才的成長。這可能只是數字上的偶然事件。我猜我們會恢復到我們歷史上所擁有的結構。只是目前的數據可能還沒有顯示這一點。

Okay, great. Thank you. And are there any particular businesses or sectors you're focusing on for future hiring?

好的，太好了。謝謝。未來招募時您會重點關注哪些特定的企業或領域？

No. I mean, we really feel that in every one of our sectors and our products, there is opportunity for growth. And we are always looking for great people that we think are a strong cultural fit.

不。我的意思是，我們確實感覺到我們的每個產業和產品都存在成長機會。我們一直在尋找我們認為能夠與我們公司文化高度契合的優秀人才。

Thank you so much.

太感謝了。

Thanks very much. Pleasure.

非常感謝。樂趣。

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand the call back over to the company for closing remarks.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題。我現在將把電話交還給公司，以便公司發表結束語。

I want to thank you all for participating in our first-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings call. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress when we discuss our second-quarter results for fiscal year 2026 this fall.

我要感謝大家參加我們的 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。我們期待在今年秋天討論 2026 財年第二季業績時向大家通報我們的進展。

And that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議就到此結束了。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。