H & R Block Inc (HRB) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to H&R Block's Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to hand the call over to Vice President, Investor Relations, Michaella Gallina. Please, go ahead.

感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加 H&R Block 2024 財年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Michaella Gallina。請繼續。

Thank you, Latif. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to H&R Block's Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. Joining me today are Jeff Jones, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Tony Bowen, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，拉蒂夫。大家下午好，歡迎參加 H&R Block 2024 財年第二季財務業績電話會議。今天加入我的是我們的總裁兼執行長傑夫瓊斯 (Jeff Jones)；以及我們的財務長 Tony Bowen。

Earlier today, we issued a press release and presentation, which can be downloaded or viewed live on our website at investors.hrblock.com. Our call is being broadcast and webcast live, and a replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

今天早些時候，我們發布了新聞稿和演示文稿，您可以在我們的網站 Investors.hrblock.com 上下載或即時查看。我們的電話會議正在進行廣播和網路直播，網路直播的重播將在 90 天內提供。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind listeners that comments made by management may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. These statements involve material risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statement due to numerous factors. For a description of these risks and uncertainties, please see H&R Block's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as updated periodically with our other SEC filings.

在開始之前，我想提醒聽眾，管理層發表的評論可能包括聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及重大風險和不確定性，由於多種因素，實際結果可能與任何前瞻性陳述中的預測有所不同。有關這些風險和不確定性的描述，請參閱 H&R Block 的 10-K 表格年度報告和 10-Q 表格季度報告，該報告與我們向 SEC 提交的其他文件定期更新。

Please note, some metrics we'll discuss today are presented on a non-GAAP basis. We've reconciled the comparable GAAP and non-GAAP figures in the appendix of our presentation. Finally, the content of this call contains time-sensitive information accurate only as of today, February 6, 2024. H&R Block undertakes no obligation to revise or otherwise update any statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this call.

請注意，我們今天將討論的一些指標是在非公認會計原則的基礎上提出的。我們在簡報的附錄中對可比較的公認會計準則和非公認會計準則資料進行了核對。最後，本次電話會議的內容包含截至今天（2024 年2 月6 日）的時間敏感資訊。H&R Block 不承擔修改或以其他方式更新任何聲明以反映本次電話會議日期之後發生的事件或情況的義務。

With that, I will now turn it over to Jeff.

有了這個，我現在將把它交給傑夫。

Thank you, Michaella. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I'll begin today with a summary of Q2 results, provide an update on our Block Horizons progress and share more on why we are well positioned for the tax season. Then I'll discuss the announcement today regarding Tony's decision to retire. And finally, he will provide context on our financials, including the strength of our capital allocation and balance sheet.

謝謝你，米凱拉。大家下午好，感謝您加入我們。今天，我將首先總結第二季度的業績，提供有關我們的 Block Horizo​​ns 進展的最新信息，並分享更多關於為什麼我們在納稅季節處於有利地位的信息。然後我將討論今天有關托尼決定退休的公告。最後，他將提供我們財務狀況的背景信息，包括我們的資本配置和資產負債表的實力。

Turning to Q2 results. Performance continues to meet expectations, and today, we reaffirmed our fiscal year outlook. In the quarter, revenue grew 8% as we had a strong finish to the extended filing season. In addition, we saw consumers in need of cash and many turned to H&R Block to meet their financial needs with our new Emerald Advance offering, which we believe bodes well for the tax season. We also continued our share repurchase program, buying back $218 million in the quarter or another 3% of shares outstanding. Overall, I feel very good about our results.

轉向第二季的結果。業績繼續符合預期，今天，我們重申了我們的財年前景。由於我們在延長的申請季中取得了良好的成績，本季營收成長了 8%。此外，我們看到消費者需要現金，許多人轉向 H&R Block 透過我們新的 Emerald Advance 產品來滿足他們的財務需求，我們相信這對報稅季來說是個好兆頭。我們也繼續實施股票回購計劃，在本季度回購了 2.18 億美元，即另外 3% 的已發行股票。總的來說，我對我們的結果感覺非常好。

Now I'll provide an update on our Block Horizon strategy where we continue to make progress. Starting with small business, revenue grew over 20% in the quarter. Assisted small business tax volumes finished the extended season with momentum. We had nearly a 4% increase in net average charge, and we continue to see favorable trends in bookkeeping and payroll. While the second quarter only included 2 weeks of the filing season, given the October 15 deadline, we feel great about the start of the year. We have focused our marketing plan on the gig economy and specific industry segments we already do well in. Overall, I continue to be pleased with the growth we're seeing in small business.

現在，我將提供有關我們繼續取得進展的 Block Horizo​​n 策略的最新資訊。從小型企業開始，本季營收成長超過 20%。援助的小型企業稅收量以強勁的勢頭結束了延長的季節。我們的淨平均費用增加了近 4%，我們繼續看到簿記和工資的有利趨勢。雖然第二季度僅包含兩週的申請季，但考慮到 10 月 15 日截止日期，我們對今年的開局感覺很好。我們將行銷計劃的重點放在零工經濟和我們已經做得很好的特定行業領域。總體而言，我對我們在小型企業中看到的成長仍然感到滿意。

Turning now to Wave. Revenue growth was 5% in Q2. Last quarter, I detailed the strategic shift in Wave's business model to build more premium features to meet the evolving needs of our customers. This past week, we took another step forward by introducing a paid tier subscription service. This new tier incorporates features like automated bank transaction imports, preferred pricing on payments and agent support rather than self-service support. At the same time, Wave will continue to offer payments and payroll for an additional fee. These recent moves reflect progress on our road map to accelerate revenue growth and drive long-term profitability and aligns with our commitment to empower small business owners to start, survive and thrive.

現在轉向Wave。第二季度營收成長 5%。上個季度，我詳細介紹了 Wave 業務模式的策略轉變，以建立更多優質功能來滿足客戶不斷變化的需求。上週，我們又向前邁出了一步，推出了付費訂閱服務。這一新層融合了自動銀行交易導入、支付優惠定價和代理支援（而不是自助服務支援）等功能。同時，Wave 將繼續提供額外收費的付款和工資服務。最近的這些措施反映了我們在加速收入成長和推動長期獲利能力方面的進展，也符合我們幫助小企業主創業、生存和發展的承諾。

Moving to financial products. As I mentioned earlier, Emerald Advance performed well in the quarter. Although the name remains the same, significant changes were made to the product in collaboration with our bank partner, Pathward, to better meet client needs. A few of those include transitioning the product from a line of credit to a short-term loan with flexible repayment options, eliminating the annual fee and streamlining the application process and increasing the maximum available loan amount, which help customers with their holiday spending needs. In total, over $380 million in Emerald Advance loans were originated, up 25% to the prior year. And we received positive feedback from clients and associates.

轉向金融產品。正如我之前提到的，Emerald Advance 在本季表現良好。儘管名稱保持不變，但我們與銀行合作夥伴 Pathward 合作對產品進行了重大更改，以更好地滿足客戶需求。其中包括將產品從信貸額度過渡為具有靈活還款選擇的短期貸款、取消年費並簡化申請流程以及增加最大可用貸款金額，這有助於滿足客戶的假期支出需求。總共發放了超過 3.8 億美元的 Emerald Advance 貸款，比上年增長 25%。我們收到了客戶和同事的正面回饋。

Regarding Spruce, as of December 31, we had 316,000 sign-ups and $456 million in customer deposits. We continue to enhance the user experience, have seen improved App Store ratings and feel good about the increase in new client accounts and engagement. Our savings features are delivering on Spruce's mission to help clients be better with money. In fact, 20% of users who set and achieved a savings goal did so to build emergency savings and another 17% successfully saved for vacations. In addition, this year is the first time we are cross-selling Assisted and DIY tax offerings in the Spruce App. More than 30% of customers that signed up during last year's season were not H&R Block tax clients, which we see as an opportunity.

至於 Spruce，截至 12 月 31 日，我們有 316,000 名註冊用戶和 4.56 億美元的客戶存款。我們不斷增強用戶體驗，App Store 評級有所提高，並對新客戶帳戶和參與度的增加感到滿意。我們的儲蓄功能正在履行 Spruce 的使命，即幫助客戶更好地利用資金。事實上，設定並實現儲蓄目標的用戶中有 20% 是為了建立緊急儲蓄，另外 17% 的用戶成功為假期儲蓄。此外，今年是我們首次在 Spruce 應用程式中交叉銷售輔助和 DIY 稅務產品。去年銷售季註冊的客戶中有超過 30% 不是 H&R Block 稅務客戶，我們認為這是一個機會。

I'll now discuss our block experience imperative, which underpins our ability to win in both Assisted and DIY by creating personalized experiences. Clients are empowered to be served however they choose, fully virtually or fully in person and every way in between. Whether uploading documents from home, having virtual calls with tax pros or signing their return online. We also recently launched our initial 2 generative AI products that focus on improving the client experience and reducing cost, which I'll share more about in a minute. Our progress across this imperative is one of the reasons we feel well positioned for this tax season. Let me share some more starting with Assisted tax.

我現在將討論我們的區塊體驗勢在必行，它支撐著我們透過創造個人化體驗在輔助和 DIY 領域獲勝的能力。客戶可以按照自己選擇的方式獲得服務，可以是完全虛擬的，也可以是完全面對面的，或是介於兩者之間的各種方式。無論是在家上傳文件、與稅務專家進行虛擬通話或線上簽署報稅表。我們最近也推出了最初的 2 款生成式人工智慧產品，專注於改善客戶體驗和降低成本，我將在一分鐘內分享更多相關內容。我們在這一當務之急上取得的進展是我們在本納稅季感到處於有利地位的原因之一。讓我從輔助稅開始分享更多內容。

To begin with, we achieved our hiring goals and saw continued strong trends in tax pro retention. We have heard positive feedback from our tax pros about the flexibility we offer. In addition, our innovative fulfillment network will now be available to our entire network of tax pros, which can improve the speed of our service and help us better manage our capacity.

首先，我們實現了招募目標，並看到了稅務專業人員留任率持續強勁的趨勢。我們的稅務專家對我們提供的彈性給予了正面的回饋。此外，我們的創新履行網絡現在將可供我們的整個稅務專業人員網路使用，這可以提高我們的服務速度並幫助我們更好地管理我們的能力。

Last quarter, I shared some of the many enhancements to the MyBlock app that were made with the client experience in mind, including a status tracker to help clients understand where they are in the flow, when to take action and to give them easier access to their digital documents in return. Not only are we focused on the client experience, but we also see an opportunity to reduce expenses with AI. We have already launched the technology in our call center operations and continue to learn from its use. Early signs indicate that customers are able to help themselves, which reduces related call center volumes. This should also enable our agents to assist with more complex issues.

上個季度，我分享了MyBlock 應用程式的一些增強功能，這些功能是在考慮客戶體驗的情況下進行的，包括狀態追蹤器，可幫助客戶了解他們在流程中的位置、何時採取行動並讓他們更輕鬆地訪問作為回報，他們的數位文件。我們不僅專注於客戶體驗，而且還看到了利用人工智慧減少開支的機會。我們已經在呼叫中心運營中推出了該技術，並繼續從其使用中學習。早期跡象表明客戶能夠自助，這減少了相關呼叫中心的數量。這也將使我們的代理商能夠協助解決更複雜的問題。

While we're just getting started, we're pleased with the speed that we're able to deploy this innovation and how it will help us better serve our clients. All of these advancements, alongside our positive customer satisfaction metrics from last year, including value for price paid, give us confidence to take modest price increases this year, which we have previously discussed.

雖然我們才剛開始，但我們對部署這項創新的速度以及它將如何幫助我們更好地服務客戶感到滿意。所有這些進步，加上我們去年積極的客戶滿意度指標（包括支付的價格的價值），讓我們有信心今年適度提價，我們之前已經討論過這一點。

Turning to DIY. We believe the formula for success continues to be offer an award-winning product that is continually innovative, make it easy for clients to switch and price competitively. We executed this plan last year and returned to share gains. This year, we'll continue to build on that momentum. As you may have seen, we're excited to have launched AI tax assist in all of our DIY paid SKUs. This innovation enables customers to get real-time tax answers and information leveraging knowledge from our world-class Tax Institute and decades of fielding client inquiries. It's simple to use and clients can ask as many questions as they would like. If live help is preferred, H&R Block's tax professionals are there to assist. We believe this offers significant value for clients with AI tax assist and access to human health included at no extra charge.

轉向DIY。我們相信，成功的秘訣仍然是提供不斷創新的屢獲殊榮的產品，讓客戶能夠輕鬆更換產品，並且價格具有競爭力。我們去年執行了這個計劃，並重新分享了收益。今年，我們將繼續鞏固這股勢頭。正如您可能已經看到的，我們很高興在所有 DIY 付費 SKU 中推出人工智慧稅務協助。這項創新使客戶能夠利用我們世界一流的稅務研究所的知識和數十年處理客戶諮詢的知識，獲得即時稅務答案和資訊。它使用簡單，客戶可以提出任意數量的問題。如果您喜歡現場協助，H&R Block 的稅務專業人員可以為您提供協助。我們相信，這為客戶提供了巨大的價值，包括人工智慧稅務援助和免費獲得人類健康服務。

We know that a critical barrier for clients to switch is the cumbersome process of transferring their data. Last year, we actively marketed how simple it was to drag and drop a PDF of the prior year return into our flow, which automatically imported up to 150 data fields. This year, we made it even easier for TurboTax customers to retrieve their prior year return, saving significant time and effort in switching. In all, we feel really good about our DIY product and strategy. As discussed last quarter, we're taking modest price increases in this channel.

我們知道，客戶轉換的一個關鍵障礙是繁瑣的資料傳輸過程。去年，我們積極宣傳將上一年的 PDF 報表拖放到我們的流程中是多麼簡單，流程會自動匯入多達 150 個資料欄位。今年，我們讓 TurboTax 客戶能夠更輕鬆地檢索上一年的報稅表，從而節省了大量的轉換時間和精力。總而言之，我們對我們的 DIY 產品和策略感覺非常好。正如上季所討論的，我們正在該通路中適度提高價格。

Finally, our marketing is aggressively promoting the reasons to switch to H&R Block and messages the strong value proposition of both our Assisted and DIY offerings. This year's campaign, "It's better with block", demonstrates just how easy it is to switch and showcases the simplicity of our experiences, which empower clients to file however they prefer. From easy-to-use DIY software to full service assistance through our extensive local network across every corner of America. It also highlights our Refund Advance product that helps clients get their money sooner, our transparent and competitive pricing, our accuracy and MAX refund guarantees and the expertise of our global network of tax pros. In summary, we are well prepared to execute this season.

最後，我們的行銷正在積極宣傳改用 H&R Block 的理由，並傳達我們的輔助和 DIY 產品的強大價值主張。今年的活動「阻止更好」展示了切換是多麼容易，並展示了我們體驗的簡單性，使客戶能夠按照自己的喜好進行歸檔。從易於使用的 DIY 軟體到透過我們遍布美國各個角落的廣泛本地網路提供的全面服務協助。它還強調了我們的退款預付款產品，幫助客戶更快地拿到錢，我們透明且有競爭力的定價，我們的準確性和最大退款保證以及我們全球稅務專家網絡的專業知識。總而言之，我們已經為執行本賽季做好了充分準備。

Before handing it over, I want to share more about Tony's decision to retire and focus on personal interest after nearly 20 years of service to H&R Block, including the last 8 as CFO. Tony has been instrumental in driving results and will leave us in a strong position financially. Some of his most meaningful contributions include the rollout of our upfront transparent pricing model, driving material earnings growth in the business and achieving a notable track record of returning capital to shareholders. As part of Tony's decision, he's committed to remaining CFO through the end of August, to see us through tax season, complete the fiscal year and participate in our full year 2024 earnings call. We're in the process of engaging a search firm to find his replacement and we'll share more at a later date. I'm proud of all we've accomplished together, Tony, and I only wish you the best as you prepare to enter this next chapter of life. Over to you.

在移交之前，我想更多地分享一下托尼在為 H&R Block 服務了近 20 年（包括最後 8 年擔任首席財務官）後決定退休並專注於個人興趣的情況。托尼在推動業績方面發揮了重要作用，並將讓我們在財務上處於有利地位。他最有意義的貢獻包括推出我們的前期透明定價模型、推動業務盈利的實質增長以及在向股東返還資本方面取得了顯著的業績記錄。作為托尼決定的一部分，他承諾在 8 月底之前留任首席財務官，以幫助我們度過納稅季節、完成本財年並參加我們的 2024 年全年財報電話會議。我們正在聘請一家獵人頭公司來尋找他的繼任者，我們將在稍後分享更多資訊。東尼，我為我們共同取得的成就感到自豪，我只祝福你在準備進入人生的下一個篇章時一切順利。交給你了。

Thanks, Jeff. My tenure in H&R Block has been an incredible experience, and I'm grateful for all I've learned and the opportunities I've been given. It's been an honor to be part of this transformation journey, and I'm confident about the path that H&R Block is on. I'd like to reiterate that this is my personal decision, and as Jeff mentioned, nothing will change about my role in the meantime. I'm committed to ensuring a smooth transition through the end of August, and my engagement as H&R Block's CFO will not change in the coming months. With that, I will now turn to the Q2 results.

謝謝，傑夫。我在 H&R Block 的任期是一次令人難以置信的經歷，我很感激我所學到的一切和所獲得的機會。能夠參與這趟轉型之旅是我的榮幸，我對 H&R Block 所走的道路充滿信心。我想重申，這是我個人的決定，正如傑夫所提到的，在此期間我的角色不會發生任何改變。我致力於確保在 8 月底之前順利過渡，並且我作為 H&R Block 財務長的職位在未來幾個月內不會改變。現在，我將轉向第二季的結果。

We delivered $179 million of revenue, which increased 8% or $12.7 million over the prior year. The increase was primarily due to higher volumes and net average charge in Assisted combined with higher interest and fee income on Emerald Advance. Total operating expenses of $446.5 million decreased by $3 million as a result of lower consulting and marketing expenses, partially offset by higher corporate wages in the current year. EBITDA was a loss of $231 million, an improvement of 6% or $15 million to the prior year. Interest expense was $21 million, an increase of $2 million or 13% due to higher draws on our line of credit, coupled with higher interest rates compared to the prior year. Pretax loss decreased by $15 million to $283 million, and our effective tax rate was 33.1%, compared to 25.9% last year. Loss per share from continuing operations improved from $1.43 to $1.33, while adjusted loss per share from continuing operations improved from $1.37 to $1.27. Both were driven by lower loss, partially offset by fewer shares outstanding.

我們實現了 1.79 億美元的收入，比上一年增長 8%，即 1,270 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於 Assisted 的交易量和淨平均費用增加，以及 Emerald Advance 的利息和費用收入增加。由於諮詢和行銷費用減少，總營運費用為 4.465 億美元，減少了 300 萬美元，但部分被本年度企業工資上漲所抵消。 EBITDA 虧損 2.31 億美元，較上年增加 6%，即 1,500 萬美元。利息支出為 2,100 萬美元，增加了 200 萬美元，即 13%，原因是我們的信用額度提款增加，加上利率比前一年更高。稅前虧損減少了 1,500 萬美元，達到 2.83 億美元，我們的有效稅率為 33.1%，而去年為 25.9%。持續經營業務每股虧損從 1.43 美元改善至 1.33 美元，而持續經營業務調整後每股虧損從 1.37 美元改善至 1.27 美元。兩者均受到虧損減少的推動，但部分被流通股減少所抵銷。

While the first half of the year is a small portion of our overall fiscal year, I am pleased with our performance, and as such, we are reaffirming our fiscal year '24 outlook.

雖然上半年只占我們整個財年的一小部分，但我對我們的業績感到滿意，因此，我們重申我們的 '24 財年展望。

Turning to capital allocation. Our practice remains strong. In Q2, we bought a total of 4.8 million shares for $218 million at an average price of $45.88. This was another 3% of shares outstanding. In the first half of fiscal '24, we repurchased a total of $350 million or 5.5% of shares outstanding. As a reminder, given our narrow trading windows, we have historically executed most of our share repurchase in the first half of the fiscal year. I believe this is a great use of capital, and I am pleased with what we have accomplished.

轉向資本配置。我們的實踐依然強勁。第二季度，我們以 2.18 億美元的價格總共購買了 480 萬股股票，平均價格為 45.88 美元。這是另外 3% 的已發行股票。在 24 財年上半年，我們總共回購了 3.5 億美元，也就是已發行股票的 5.5%。提醒一下，鑑於我們的交易窗口狹窄，我們歷來都是在本財年上半年執行大部分股票回購。我相信這是對資本的巨大利用，我對我們所取得的成就感到滿意。

Finally, as I shared on the last call, we continue to feel good about our balance sheet and how we are positioned in the current environment given our relatively low leverage. All in all, I'm looking forward to the second half of the year.

最後，正如我在上次電話會議上分享的那樣，鑑於我們的槓桿率相對較低，我們對我們的資產負債表以及我們在當前環境中的定位仍然感覺良好。總而言之，我對下半年充滿期待。

I'll now turn it back over to Jeff for some closing remarks.

現在我將把它轉回傑夫做一些結束語。

Thanks, Tony. I'm pleased with our performance and confident in our ability to drive value for shareholders through our business results and capital allocation. As we end our prepared remarks, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to our team of tax professionals, associates and franchisees, whose hard work, expertise and collective spirit continue to deliver on our purpose every day. Together, we provide help and inspire confidence in our clients and communities everywhere. As a reminder, our next update on the tax season will be on our Q3 call in early May.

謝謝，托尼。我對我們的業績感到滿意，並對我們透過業務成果和資本配置為股東創造價值的能力充滿信心。在我們準備好的發言結束時，我謹向我們的稅務專業人士、同事和特許經營商團隊致以誠摯的謝意，他們的辛勤工作、專業知識和集體精神每天都在繼續實現我們的目標。我們共同為世界各地的客戶和社區提供幫助並激發他們的信心。提醒一下，我們關於納稅季的下一次更新將在五月初的第三季電話會議上進行。

Now we'll open the line for questions.

現在我們將開通提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Kartik Mehta of Northcoast Research.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Kartik Mehta。

Tony, surprised you're retiring, but congratulations, and I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk later, but it's been good working with you. Jeff, as you look at the early tax season, anything you've noticed from a competitive standpoint that might be different than you had anticipated?

東尼，很驚訝你要退休，但恭喜你，我相信我們稍後會有機會談談，但與你合作很愉快。傑夫，當您回顧早期的報稅季時，從競爭的角度來看，您是否注意到任何可能與您預期不同的地方？

Kartik, I'll let Tony respond to you shortly, and there'll be plenty of chances to say thanks and celebrate him for sure. Obviously, e-file opened a little over a week ago. And to date, we're not seeing anything competitively that we did not anticipate. I would say that in the industry, it is getting started maybe a little slower than we thought. We have no reason to believe that, that's anything other than probably related to child tax credit. And we're not worried about what we see for volume for the year, et cetera. So in the first week or two, I think that's really the only thing that we're seeing that wasn't expected, but nothing competitively.

卡蒂克，我會讓托尼很快回覆你，並且肯定會有很多機會對他表示感謝和慶祝。顯然，電子文件是在一周多前打開的。到目前為止，我們還沒有看到任何我們沒有預料到的競爭情況。我想說的是，在這個行業，它的起步可能比我們想像的還要慢。我們沒有理由相信，這可能與兒童稅收抵免無關。我們並不擔心今年的銷售量等等。因此，在最初的一兩週內，我認為這確實是我們看到的唯一沒有預料到的事情，但沒有任何競爭性。

And then just -- I guess that segues into my next question. Just from an Assisted standpoint and DIY standpoint, you start to kind of slow right there. One that's different than the other? Or do you think both are a little bit slower than you anticipated people waiting on some these tax stuff to get through Congress?

然後——我想這就是我的下一個問題。光從輔助的角度和 DIY 的角度來看，你就開始變慢了。一個與​​另一個不同？或者你認為兩者都比你預期的要慢一些，人們正在等待這些稅收問題通過國會？

It's so hard to try to get that precise at this early point and tease apart by channel. Mean there's no question that filers for EITC or child tax credit filers are going to be in both channels. So I wouldn't want to call it like that this early. But we are seeing it being a little slower than we expected. And when we do some of our consumer pulse surveys, we think one of the reasons really is about child tax credit.

在這個早期階段很難做到精確並按管道進行區分。這意味著毫無疑問，EITC 的申報者或兒童稅收抵免的申報者將透過這兩個管道進行申報。所以我不想這麼早就這麼稱呼它。但我們發現它比我們預期的要慢一些。當我們進行一些消費者脈搏調查時，我們認為原因之一確實與兒童稅收抵免有關。

And then I know this is only possible on the margin, but any thoughts on marketing? Would you change your strategy or maybe the channels you're using just from what you're learning in the first couple of weeks of the season?

然後我知道這只是有可能的，但是對行銷有什麼想法嗎？你會根據在賽季前幾週學到的知識來改變你的策略或你正在使用的管道嗎？

Great question. I think we're always trying to get the timing right. We obviously have plans going into the season. And by the way, the early season plans, we had a lot of emphasis on EITC and refund advance. We know that marketing creative is landing very positively with consumers. So it is more on the margins where the teams are thinking about search timing or shifting around a little bit of spending or the timing of an e-mail campaign, those kind of things. But again, it's still so early in the season, and we don't see real impact, overall. And so we don't want to make any really big knee-jerk reactions based on maybe a little slower start.

很好的問題。我認為我們一直在努力把握正確的時機。我們顯然有進入本賽季的計劃。順便說一句，在賽季初期的計劃中，我們非常重視 EITC 和退款預付款。我們知道行銷創意正在受到消費者的正面歡迎。因此，團隊更多的是在邊緣考慮搜尋時間或改變一點支出或電子郵件活動的時間，諸如此類的事情。但同樣，現在還處於賽季初期，總體而言我們還沒有看到真正的影響。因此，我們不想因為起步慢一點而做出任何非常大的下意識反應。

Our next question comes from the line of George Tong of Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的喬治唐。

You reiterated your revenue guide of 2% to 3% growth for this year. Your longer-term revenue growth target is 3% to 6%. What are some of the things that could cause growth this year to come below the long-term target?

您重申了今年營收成長 2% 至 3% 的目標。您的長期收入成長目標是 3% 到 6%。哪些因素可能導致今年的成長低於長期目標？

George, this is Tony. I can take a stab at that. I mean, obviously, as you said, the top end of the range is within the longer-term range of 3% to 6%. I think coming off of last year, we're obviously -- there's a few reasons why specifically client volume was what we wanted. We wanted to make sure this year that we set guidance that was achievable and, frankly, took into account some potential curve balls that inevitably get thrown at the industry. So those are all built in.

喬治，這是東尼。我可以嘗試一下。我的意思是，顯然，正如您所說，該範圍的上限在 3% 至 6% 的長期範圍內。我認為從去年開始，我們顯然——有幾個原因可以解釋為什麼我們想要特定的客戶量。我們希望確保今年設定的指導是可實現的，並且坦白說，考慮到了一些不可避免地會拋向行業的潛在曲線球。所以這些都是內建的。

The first half of the year was a really good start. The quarter we just reported was really strong. So I feel good about heading into tax season. And obviously, we've got a long way to go, but signs so far look good that we can achieve the guidance. And we still have confidence that, over the long term, we can grow north of 3%, possibly even this year. We'll obviously have to see how tax season goes. But regardless, I think we know we're going to generate a lot of cash flow, buy back a lot of stock, continue to pay an increasing dividend and ultimately create value for shareholders, and that's what we're focused on.

上半年確實是個好的開始。我們剛剛報告的季度非常強勁。所以我對進入報稅季節感覺很好。顯然，我們還有很長的路要走，但到目前為止的跡像看起來很好，我們可以實現指導目標。我們仍然有信心，從長遠來看，我們的成長率可以超過 3%，甚至可能在今年。顯然，我們必須看看報稅季的進展如何。但無論如何，我認為我們知道我們將產生大量現金流，回購大量股票，繼續支付不斷增加的股息並最終為股東創造價值，這就是我們所關注的重點。

Got it. That's helpful. And can you talk a little bit about how your approach is changing this year in Assisted to help stabilize market share performance and potentially drive market share gains compared to last year?

知道了。這很有幫助。您能否談談今年在協助領域如何改變方法，以幫助穩定市場佔有率表現並與去年相比可能推動市場佔有率成長？

Yes, absolutely, George. I mean, remembering again that the Assisted loss last year, we identified 3 reasons, 2 of which are behind us. And the one that has been of center focus this year is early season refund advance and strong value communication to EITC filers. But holistically, there are a number of things every year that we look at, and I'm feeling very good about today. How we prepare the field organization to serve clients, hiring, retention, training, that's essential, obviously, to deliver a great experience. The role of pricing, we've talked about low single-digit price increases, which is what we intend to deliver this year. And then broadly, the way we go to market and communicate the value proposition to Assisted clients, all of that comes together to our value proposition and the way we organize the field to execute for the season. And as Tony said, we have a really strong start to the season, a good first half, and now it's about execution for the balance of the year.

是的，絕對如此，喬治。我的意思是，再次記住去年協助失利，我們確定了 3 個原因，其中 2 個已經成為過去。今年的焦點是季初退款預付以及與 EITC 申報者的強有力的價值溝通。但總的來說，我們每年都會關注很多事情，我今天感覺非常好。我們如何準備現場組織來服務客戶、招募、留任、培訓，這顯然對於提供良好的體驗至關重要。定價的作用，我們已經討論過低個位數的價格上漲，這是我們今年打算實現的目標。然後，從廣義上講，我們進入市場並向受協助的客戶傳達價值主張的方式，所有這些都匯集到我們的價值主張以及我們組織本賽季執行的方式。正如托尼所說，我們本賽季有一個非常強勁的開局，上半場表現良好，現在是關於今年剩餘時間的執行。

Our next question comes from the line of Scott Schneeberger of Oppenheimer & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Oppenheimer & Company 的 Scott Schneeberger。

Congratulations, Tony. Guys, I guess, jumping up, I'm curious about -- it was strong revenue in the quarter, apparently from the extension season. So now that, that's completely in the rearview mirror, do you have a quantification of what that impact was? How that would contribute to this year, this fiscal year's revenue growth relative to expectations or just absolutely?

恭喜你，東尼。夥計們，我想，跳起來，我很好奇——這個季度的收入很強勁，顯然是來自延長賽季。那麼現在，這完全是在後視鏡中，你有量化這種影響是什麼嗎？這將如何促進今年、本財年的營收成長相對於預期還是絕對成長？

Yes. We don't have a specific number, Scott, and thank you, by the way, for the congratulations. We talked all along about California, obviously, being a bit of a potential tailwind going into this fiscal year given what happened last year. We saw some of that come to fruition definitely in October. I think just broadly, volume was kind of strong across the country. We obviously realize some net average charge on top of the volume in Assisted. And as Jeff said on his opening comments, Emerald Advance had a really good season. We made a number of changes to that product and the number of loans that we gave out was materially higher than last year, which obviously we participate in. So just a number of things on the revenue side.

是的。斯科特，我們沒有具體的數字，順便說一句，謝謝你的祝賀。顯然，我們一直在談論加州，考慮到去年發生的情況，加州是本財年的潛在推動力。我們看到其中一些在十月確實取得了成果。我認為整體而言，全國的交易量都比較強勁。我們顯然意識到，除了輔助量之外，還有一些淨平均費用。正如傑夫在開場白中所說，翡翠進步隊度過了一個非常好的賽季。我們對該產品做了一些改變，我們發放的貸款數量比去年大幅增加，顯然我們參與了這項活動。所以只是收入方面的一些事情。

Also on the expense side. I mean, expenses were down despite revenue being up. So that's obviously a really good start, but we always like to keep in mind the first 2 quarters is about 10% of our revenue for the year. So despite having a good start, we're still early in the game. We have a lot of business to do. Tax season looks like it's starting well from our perspective, even though it's a little bit slower for the industry. So a long way to go, but we feel good about the start of the year.

另外在費用方面。我的意思是，儘管收入增加了，但支出卻下降了。因此，這顯然是一個非常好的開始，但我們始終要記住，前兩個季度的收入約占我們全年收入的 10%。因此，儘管有了一個好的開端，但我們仍處於起步階段。我們有很多事情要做。從我們的角度來看，報稅季似乎開始得很好，儘管該行業的速度有點慢。雖然還有很長的路要走，但我們對今年的開始感覺很好。

Just following on that last line you mentioned, you said starting well for you, but slow for the industry. So you are -- you think outperforming early or are you starting to slow as well? I didn't -- it was something I thought I heard you say earlier. And then -- let me just slide in a second part. I think Jeff attributed to EITC and that situation. Are you guys -- have you done survey work? Do you think that's why it is -- that's why you think it is or might it just be slow? I'm curious what you're seeing, hearing from consumers. Is there a need for money? I thought there might have been this year and that might have pushed them earlier, although I understand why they would wait under the EITC dynamic.

就你提到的最後一句話來說，你說對你來說起步很好，但對整個產業來說進展緩慢。那麼你是 - 你認為早期表現出色還是也開始放緩？我沒有──我想我之前聽過你說過這句話。然後——讓我進入第二部分。我認為傑夫將其歸因於 EITC 和這種情況。你們做過調查工作嗎？你認為這就是它的原因嗎——這就是你認為它是慢的原因還是可能只是慢？我很好奇你所看到的、消費者聽到的。需要錢嗎？我認為今年可能會發生，這可能會將他們推得更早，儘管我理解為什麼他們會在 EITC 動態下等待。

Let me start with the clarification because I probably wasn't clear enough. So I think the overall industry is starting slower. And that would include us. Obviously, we're a big part, especially the early part of the industry. And that's not atypical. I mean I think you see that, Scott. You've been around this business for a long time, a lot of times early in the season, especially when you compare on a day-to-day basis, typically shows softer volume. I think CTC is exaggerating that a little bit this year. We know we talked to clients who are waiting, even though they don't technically need to kind of see what eventually gets finalized and then just filing their taxes at that point. That's all just timing. I think when we look at the things we can control, our operational execution, our pricing mix, our volume of new clients, prior clients, everything looks good. So that's what I mean by starting well for us, even though volume is slower than where it will ultimately land. We know that's just timing. That's all going to catch up in the next few weeks.

讓我先澄清一下，因為我可能還不夠清楚。所以我認為整個產業的起步速度較慢。這也包括我們。顯然，我們是一個重要的組成部分，尤其是產業的早期部分。這並不罕見。我的意思是，我想你明白這一點，斯科特。你已經從事這項業務很長時間了，在季節初期很多次，特別是當你每天進行比較時，通常會顯示交易量較弱。我認為 CTC 今年有點誇大了這一點。我們知道我們與正在等待的客戶進行了交談，儘管他們從技術上講並不需要了解最終確定的內容，然後只需在此時報稅即可。這一切都只是時機而已。我認為，當我們審視我們可以控制的事情、我們的營運執行、我們的定價組合、我們的新客戶數量、老客戶數量時，一切看起來都很好。這就是我所說的對我們來說有良好開端的意思，儘管成交量比最終下降的速度要慢。我們知道這只是時機。這一切都將在接下來的幾週內迎頭趕上。

I'll let Jeff at the EITC point.

我會讓傑夫到 EITC 點。

Yes. I mean it's obviously, EITC and CTC clients, there's going to be some overall out there. So Tony just commented on that. But again, our focus early season on value prop and refund advanced messaging, that's strong. We are in the market. We're communicating that value. And what you may see the most is what you see on television that advertising creative is performing very well with Refund Advance. But underneath that is a lot of very specific targeted work we're doing with audiences. And we know that's an important segment to do better with this year.

是的。我的意思是，很明顯，EITC 和 CTC 客戶，總體上會有一些。所以托尼只是對此發表了評論。但同樣，我們在季初將重點放在價值支撐和退款高級消息上，這很強大。我們在市場上。我們正在傳達這種價值觀。您可能最多看到的是您在電視上看到的廣告創意透過退款預付款表現非常出色。但背後是我們正在與觀眾一起做的許多非常具體的有針對性的工作。我們知道這是今年需要做得更好的一個重要部分。

Great. Thanks for all that clarification. AI taxes just -- I just want to -- it's early for you, but I just want your first read, if we could, about that and maybe a part 2 of this one because I like the part 2s and 3. Is the decision to price free on the paid SKUs, just kind of what was behind that strategy, not free and free, I get it, but just a little bit more elaboration on that approach. But more importantly, on the first question, just what are the early signs that you're seeing from that rollout?

偉大的。感謝您的所有澄清。人工智慧稅只是——我只是想——對你來說還為時過早，但如果可以的話，我只想讓你第一次讀到這個，也許還有這個的第二部分，因為我喜歡第二部分和第三部分。這個決定是嗎？對付費 SKU 進行免費定價，這就是該策略背後的原因，不是免費和免費，我明白，但只是對這種方法進行了更多的闡述。但更重要的是，關於第一個問題，您從這次推出中看到的早期跡像是什麼？

Yes. I mean I'll reiterate your point, it is absolutely early, both in absolute terms about generative AI and certainly for us with AI Tax Assist. I'm very pleased with how quickly we brought this product to market, both in DIY and in our call center operations, 2 different products. And the team is looking at lots of things every day today. I mean, ultimately, what we want to see is what's the consumer behavior? How often are they using AI Tax Assist, versus self-help, versus opting for a tax professional to help them. That's unknown at this point. They have great choices. The user experience is very strong, but we're watching that kind of simple human behavior.

是的。我的意思是，我會重申你的觀點，無論是從生成人工智慧的絕對角度來看，還是對於我們的人工智慧稅務協助而言，這絕對是早期的。我很高興我們能如此迅速地將這款產品推向市場，無論是在 DIY 中還是在我們的呼叫中心營運中，這都是兩種不同的產品。今天，團隊每天都會研究很多事情。我的意思是，最終我們想看到的是消費者的行為是什麼？他們使用人工智慧稅務協助、自助或選擇稅務專業人士來幫助他們的頻率如何。目前尚不清楚。他們有很好的選擇。使用者體驗非常強，但我們正在觀察這種簡單的人類行為。

Ultimately, we want to see if this product can help drive higher conversion inside DIY, but we're looking at accuracy and quality and what consumers choose. So I think as this tax season plays out and we get into Q3 and Q4, we will know a lot more and be able to share a lot more about our learning. The idea about pricing it for free is just the ability to strengthen the value proposition we have versus competitors. It's really that simple. The technology is new in the world. We feel great about our core user experience and the SKU lineup and our pricing for value perception versus competition. And we thought this was a great opportunity to even strengthen the value we deliver for clients.

最終，我們想看看這款產品是否可以幫助推動 DIY 內部更高的轉化，但我們正在關注準確性和品質以及消費者的選擇。因此，我認為，隨著這個納稅季節的結束，我們進入第三季度和第四季度，我們將了解更多，並能夠分享更多有關我們的學習的知識。免費定價的想法只是為了加強我們相對於競爭對手的價值主張。真的就是這麼簡單。該技術在世界上是新技術。我們對我們的核心用戶體驗、SKU 系列以及我們的價值認知與競爭定價感到滿意。我們認為這是一個很好的機會，可以增強我們為客戶提供的價值。

Our next question comes from the line of Alex Paris of Barrington Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Barrington Research 的 Alex Paris。

Yes. I'll add my congratulations as well, Tony, but we'll talk later.

是的。我也會表示祝賀，托尼，但我們稍後再說。

Thank you, Alex.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯。

Question on pricing. I think you just said that it's low single-digit price increases on Assisted. And then you had said, I think, in the prepared text that you're taking modest price increases on the DIY side as well. Orders of magnitude, low single digits like Assisted is my first question. And second how has that changed, if any, the price discount versus TurboTax, for example?

關於定價的問題。我想您剛剛說過輔助價格的漲幅較低，只有個位數。然後，我認為您在準備好的文本中說過，您也在 DIY 方面採取適度的價格上漲。我的第一個問題是像「輔助」這樣的數量級、低個位數。其次，與 TurboTax 相比，價格折扣有何變化（如果有的話）？

So this is Jeff. Alex, I'll chime in first. I mean, yes, in consumer tax Assisted and DIY, 2%, 3%, 4% kind of range and similar in both channels. Obviously, in DIY, we can be more dynamic with the pricing, given the nature of the channel and what we see happening competitively in the market. For years now, we have maintained a price advantage relative to TurboTax. And as the quality of our experience has grown, we feel more and more confident about closing that price gap. They continue to take price dramatically. And so we're not trying to follow their lead necessarily as they continue to take significant price increases, but we do see the ability to close the gap. We want to be really intentional about that and make sure that the consumer is telling us that they're getting great value things like AI Tax Assist and the experience that they're getting is worth paying for. And so that's a little bit of the thinking about how we view pricing strategy. But in DIY, it obviously is a bit more dynamic than what we do in Assisted.

這就是傑夫。亞歷克斯，我先插話。我的意思是，是的，在消費稅輔助和 DIY 方面，2%、3%、4% 的範圍，兩個管道都類似。顯然，在 DIY 中，考慮到通路的性質以及我們看到的市場競爭情況，我們可以更動態地定價。多年來，我們相對於 TurboTax 一直保持著價格優勢。隨著我們體驗品質的提高，我們對縮小價格差距越來越有信心。他們繼續大幅抬高價格。因此，我們不一定要追隨他們的腳步，因為他們繼續大幅提價，但我們確實看到了縮小差距的能力。我們希望真正做到這一點，並確保消費者告訴我們他們正在獲得人工智慧稅務協助等超值的東西，並且他們獲得的體驗值得付費。這就是我們如何看待定價策略的一點思考。但在 DIY 中，它顯然比我們在 Assisted 中所做的更具動態性。

Great. So just a point of clarification. You said your price is up 2%, 3%, 4% on both sides, both channels, DIY, but they continue to take price dramatically. So I would take away from that, your price discount versus Turbo did not narrow, but you see the opportunity for it to narrow over time. Is that correct?

偉大的。所以只是澄清一點。你說你的價格在雙方、通路、DIY 上都上漲了 2%、3%、4%，但他們繼續大幅漲價。因此，我認為，您相對於 Turbo 的價格折扣並未縮小，但您會看到隨著時間的推移，折扣有可能縮小。那是對的嗎？

I think that's generally right. It gets complex fast because there are so many different SKUs. There are attaches to SKUs. All of those have different price gaps. So I'm definitely generalizing our philosophy on pricing versus trying to do a SKU-by-SKU lineup in comparison. Tony, would you add anything?

我認為這通常是正確的。由於有太多不同的 SKU，它很快就會變得複雜。 SKU 有附件。所有這些都有不同的價格差距。因此，我肯定會概括我們的定價理念，而不是嘗試逐個 SKU 進行比較。東尼，你能補充點什麼嗎？

Well, yes, I think the only thing is on the paid SKUs that include AI Assist, we know we've got a much larger price discrepancy. So I think, to your point, it depends on which SKU and which product you're (inaudible), which time in the season. We definitely think that having an advantage is important. We're trying to lean into that. And we know, as the #2 player in the DIY category, we can use price as an additional piece of the value proposition to drive volume, but still drive overall revenue growth, and that's essentially been our strategy the last few years and it will continue this year.

嗯，是的，我認為唯一的問題是包含 AI Assist 的付費 SKU，我們知道我們的價格差異要大得多。因此，我認為，就您而言，這取決於您的 SKU 和產品（聽不清楚）以及季節的哪個時間。我們絕對認為擁有優勢很重要。我們正在努力解決這個問題。我們知道，作為 DIY 類別中的第二名玩家，我們可以使用價格作為價值主張的附加部分來推動銷量，但仍能推動整體收入增長，這本質上是我們過去幾年的策略，並且它將今年繼續。

Okay. Great. I appreciate that. And then complexity, tax code changes. While modest, do you expect any lift in NAC due to tax code changes this year?

好的。偉大的。我很感激。然後是複雜性、稅法的變化。雖然幅度不大，但您預計今年稅法變更會導致 NAC 有所提升嗎？

Well, yes, I think we're both about to answer at the same time. Not really. I mean, this is a year where other than CTC, it's not a year where we see a lot of changes happening that benefit our customers. So that's really the one. And obviously, that's more about timing as we talked earlier.

嗯，是的，我想我們都會同時回答。並不真地。我的意思是，今年除了 CTC 之外，我們並沒有看到很多有利於我們客戶的變化發生。所以這確實是一個。顯然，正如我們之前所說，這更多的是關於時機。

Great. And then, I guess, last question for me. H&R Block has routinely repurchased franchise locations. I assume that's a first half affair given the tax season is awfully busy. I think you target 100 to 150 per year. Do you expect to be in that same neighborhood in this year?

偉大的。然後，我想，這是我的最後一個問題。 H&R Block 經常回購特許經營地點。鑑於報稅季非常繁忙，我認為這是上半年的事情。我認為你的目標是每年 100 到 150 個。您預計今年會在同一個社區嗎？

You're exactly right. So we do almost all of those in the first half. We try to close those basically before tax season starts, which is now behind us. We're probably closer to 150 level at this point. So the team did a nice job of reacting to franchisees being willing to sell, which has been fantastic. We love acquiring them if they're willing buyers -- sorry, if they're willing sellers, we're the willing buyers. It's been a great use of capital. We've got a great ROI on those investments. The integration is very seamless, given they're already operating as H&R Block locations. So we're always willing if the locations are right, which they typically are. And like I said, this year, it probably is going to end up being about 150 in total.

你說得完全正確。所以我們在上半場就完成了幾乎所有這些工作。我們試圖在納稅季節開始之前基本上關閉這些項目，現在已經過去了。此時我們可能已經接近 150 級了。因此，團隊對願意出售的特許經營商做出了很好的反應，這非常棒。如果他們願意買家，我們喜歡收購他們——抱歉，如果他們願意賣家，我們就是願意買家。這是對資本的極大利用。我們在這些投資上獲得了很高的投資報酬率。鑑於它們已經作為 H&R Block 地點運營，因此整合非常無縫。因此，如果地點合適（通常情況下），我們總是願意。就像我說的，今年總數可能會達到 150 左右。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Michaella Gallina for closing remarks. Madam?

謝謝。現在我想請米凱拉·加利納 (Michaella Gallina) 致閉幕詞。女士？

Thanks, Latif, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. This concludes our second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results conference call.

謝謝拉蒂夫，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。我們的 2024 財年第二季財務業績電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。