昆泰 (IQV) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the IQVIA second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Kerri Joseph, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasury. Mr. Joseph, please begin your conference.

女士們、先生們，感謝你們的支持。現在，我歡迎大家參加 IQVIA 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，此通話正在被錄音。謝謝。現在我想將電話轉給投資者關係和財務部高級副總裁 Kerri Joseph。約瑟夫先生，請開始您的會議。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our second quarter 2024 earnings call. With me today are Ari Bousbib, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer; Ron Bruehlman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Mike Fedock, Senior Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis; and Gustavo Perrone, Senior Director, Investor Relations.

謝謝您，接線生。大家早安。感謝您參加我們的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起出席的有董事長兼執行長 Ari Bousbib、執行副總裁兼財務長 Ron Bruehlman、財務規劃和分析高級副總裁 Mike Fedock 以及投資者關係高級總監 Gustavo Perrone。

Today, we will be referencing a presentation that will be visible during this call for those of you on our webcast. This presentation will also be available following this call on the Events and Presentations section of our IQVIA Investor Relations website at ir.iqvia.com.

今天，我們將在本次電話會議期間為網路廣播中的各位觀眾提供一份簡報。本次電話會議結束後，您也可以在 IQVIA 投資者關係網站 ir.iqvia.com 的「活動和簡報」部分查看此簡報。

Before we begin, I would like to caution listeners that certain information discussed by management during this conference call will include forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business, which are discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒聽眾，管理層在本次電話會議中討論的某些資訊將包括前瞻性陳述。由於公司業務存在風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異，這些風險和不確定性在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中有所討論，包括我們的 10-K 表年度報告和隨後向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

In addition, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures on this call, which should be considered a supplement to and not a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP measures is included in the press release and conference call presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Ari Bousbib.

此外，我們將在本次電話會議上討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標，這些指標應被視為依照 GAAP 編制的財務指標的補充，而不是替代方案。新聞稿和電話會議介紹中包含了這些非 GAAP 指標與可比較 GAAP 指標的對帳。現在我想將電話轉給我們的董事長兼執行長阿里·布斯比布 (Ari Bousbib)。

Thank you, Kerri, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today to discuss our second quarter results. IQVIA delivered another quarter of strong operational results with 5% revenue growth, excluding the impact of foreign exchange and COVID-related work and 8.6% growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share. The fundamentals of the industry remain healthy, which supports our confidence in the outlook for our business.

謝謝你，Kerri，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們討論我們的第二季業績。IQVIA 本季再次取得強勁的營運業績，營收成長 5%（不包括外匯和 COVID 相關工作的影響），調整後每股攤薄收益成長 8.6%。產業基本面依然健康，增強了我們對業務前景的信心。

On the commercial side, things are starting to gradually improve. And while customers continue to exercise budgetary cautiousness, we see faster decisions and more focus on carrying out mission critical projects, such as those associated with launching new drugs.

在商業方面，情況開始逐漸好轉。雖然客戶繼續謹慎對待預算，但我們看到他們的決策速度更快，並且更專注於執行關鍵任務項目，例如與推出新藥相關的項目。

As you recall, new FDA approvals for 2023 were 55, which was the second largest year since 2017. And in fact, year-to-date approvals are at 21, which is in line with the average for the last five years. In the quarter, TAS came in a little better than our expectations, consistent with the improving leading indicators that we cited earlier this year. Both consulting and analytics and real-world revenue improved sequentially in the second quarter.

大家還記得，2023 年 FDA 批准的新藥品數量為 55 項，這是自 2017 年以來第二多的一年。事實上，今年迄今的批准數量為 21 個，與過去五年的平均值一致。本季度，TAS 的表現略好於我們的預期，與我們今年早些時候提到的改善的領先指標一致。第二季度，諮詢分析和實際收入均較上季成長。

We said TAS revenue growth for 2024 was going to be the mirror image of 2023. And in fact, TAS revenue growth was about 3% in the first quarter and it was 4% in the second quarter, excluding COVID and foreign exchange.

我們曾表示，2024 年的 TAS 營收成長將與 2023 年持平。事實上，不包括 COVID 和外匯因素，TAS 第一季的營收成長約為 3%，第二季的營收成長為 4%。

At constant currency and based on forward-looking indicators, we remain confident in our full-year forecast for TAS. This implies 6% to 7% growth for the balance of the year, resulting in full year mid-single digit growth, again, consistent with the target we established for TAS at the beginning of the year.

以固定匯率計算並基於前瞻性指標，我們對 TAS 全年預測仍充滿信心。這意味著今年剩餘時間的成長率為 6% 至 7%，從而使全年實現中等個位數成長，這也與我們在年初為 TAS 設定的目標一致。

On the clinical side, while we continue to see the trend we have observed over the past years with large pharma reprioritizing their portfolios or programs and reallocating money to the most attractive ones in response largely to the IRA, demand from our large pharma clients in R&DS remains solid. We are also encouraged by the continued acceleration of EBP funding.

在臨床方面，雖然我們繼續看到過去幾年觀察到的趨勢，即大型製藥公司重新調整其投資組合或項目的優先順序，並將資金重新分配給最具吸引力的項目，這主要是為了響應 IRA，但我們大型製藥客戶在研發方面的需求仍然強勁。EBP 資金的持續加速也令我們感到鼓舞。

In fact, Value World Reports, emerging biotech funding for the second quarter was $22.9 billion, which is up 32% versus prior year. For the first half, biotech funding is about $70 billion, essentially equal to the entire year of 2023. Obviously, it does take time for funding to translate into RFP flows, but certainly it bodes well for mid, long-term prospects in our EBP segment.

事實上，根據 Value World 報告，第二季新興生物技術融資額為 229 億美元，比前一年成長 32%。上半年生技融資總額約 700 億美元，基本上相當於 2023 年全年的總額。顯然，資金轉化為 RFP 流確實需要時間，但這無疑預示著我們 EBP 部門的中長期前景良好。

In the quarter R&DS recorded good net new bookings of approximately $2.7 billion, representing a book-to-bill of 1.27. Backlog reached a new record of $30.6 billion, which is growth of 7.7% versus prior year. And in fact, that's actually 8.1% when you remove the impact of foreign exchange. And of course, all of our usual forward-looking indicators are RFP flows. Overall pipeline and qualified pipeline are up.

本季度，研發與發展部錄得約27億美元的淨新增訂單，訂單出貨比為1.27，表現良好。積壓訂單創下306億美元的新高，較上年同期成長7.7%。事實上，如果消除外匯的影響，這一比例實際上是 8.1%。當然，我們所有常用的前瞻性指標都是 RFP 流。整體管道和合格管道均增加。

Turning now to the results for the quarter. Revenue for the second quarter grew 2.3% on a reported basis and 3.5% at constant currency. Compared to last year and excluding COVID-related work from both periods, we grew the top line 5% at constant currency, including approximately 1.5 from acquisitions. Second quarter adjusted EBITDA increased 2.7%, driven by revenue growth and ongoing cost management discipline. Second quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $2.64 increased 8.6% year over year.

現在來談談本季的業績。第二季營收以報告基礎計算成長 2.3%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.5%。與去年相比，且不包括兩個時期的 COVID 相關工作，以固定匯率計算，我們的營收成長了 5%，其中約 1.5% 來自收購。第二季調整後的 EBITDA 成長 2.7%，這得益於營收成長和持續的成本管理紀律。第二季調整後稀釋每股收益為 2.64 美元，年增 8.6%。

Now I'd like to spend a bit of time on highlighting some of our business activity starting with TAS. IQVIA contracted with a top 20 client to expand the implementation of our commercial technology ecosystem. IQVIA's AI, ML offerings, including analytics and OCE integrate seamlessly into the client's technology infrastructure and allow our client to manage their data more effectively and to optimize our customer engagements.

現在我想花點時間重點介紹我們從 TAS 開始的一些業務活動。IQVIA 與前 20 名客戶簽訂合同，以擴大我們的商業技術生態系統的實施。IQVIA 的 AI、ML 產品（包括分析和 OCE）無縫整合到客戶的技術基礎設施中，使我們的客戶能夠更有效地管理他們的數據並優化我們的客戶參與度。

In the quarter, IQVIA won a multiyear contract with a top five clients to increase the effectiveness of the digital communication strategy. Here, our innovative solution enables targeted audience selection and custom content delivery. In our first quarter call record, we shared the preview of a large deal awarded in April for our current OCE offering.

本季度，IQVIA 與前五大客戶簽訂了一份多年期合同，以提高數位通訊策略的有效性。在這裡，我們的創新解決方案可以實現有針對性的受眾選擇和客製化內容交付。在我們的第一季電話會議記錄中，我們分享了 4 月份針對當前 OCE 產品授予的一項大額交易的預覽。

This is a multiyear global implementation for a major division of a top five pharma clients with 1,000 users and is displacing the incumbent. As you know, IQVIA has a rich history of developing AI for healthcare, for the last 10 years, we've invested heavily in artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that support our clients from clinical development through commercialization.

這是針對擁有 1,000 名用戶的五大製藥客戶的主要部門進行的多年的全球實施，並正在取代現任者。如您所知，IQVIA 在開發醫療保健人工智慧方面擁有豐富的歷史，在過去的 10 年裡，我們在人工智慧和機器學習演算法方面投入了大量資金，為我們的客戶從臨床開發到商業化提供支援。

Our AI offerings are specifically engineered to meet the demanding standards of precision speed, privacy, and trust that are required in healthcare. Whether it's in patient support services or analytics or pharmacovigilance, our proprietary AI software solutions have become market-leading.

我們的人工智慧產品經過專門設計，以滿足醫療保健領域所需的精確速度、隱私和信任的嚴格標準。無論是在患者支援服務、分析或藥物警戒方面，我們的專有人工智慧軟體解決方案都已成為市場領導者。

Let me share a few examples of AI wins and awards in TAS this last quarter. We launched a genAI solution which collects structured and unstructured survey inputs from over 30,000 HCPs across 36 countries in multiple languages and in minutes delivers analytics and insights to our clients on how their interactions and messages about their brand resonated.

讓我分享一下上個季度 TAS 中 AI 獲勝和獲獎的幾個例子。我們推出了一款 genAI 解決方案，該解決方案以多種語言收集來自 36 個國家/地區的 30,000 多名 HCP 的結構化和非結構化調查輸入，並在幾分鐘內向我們的客戶提供有關他們與品牌的互動和資訊如何產生共鳴的分析和見解。

This work would normally take a week at least for human analyst using existing tools. A top 10 client awarded IQVIA contract to implement our centralized genAI reporting and analytics solution across their entire US salesforce, consolidating different legacy tools.

對於使用現有工具的人類分析師來說，這項工作通常至少需要一週時間。一家排名前十的客戶與 IQVIA 簽訂了合同，要求在其整個美國銷售團隊中實施我們的集中式 genAI 報告和分析解決方案，整合不同的傳統工具。

IQVIA has comprehensive genAI solution enables users to ask questions and get contextual responses in the form of charts, graphs, and KPIs. This AI solution also proactively alerts the user of key trends, anomalies, and the changes that would be required.

IQVIA 擁有全面的 genAI 解決方案，使用戶能夠提出問題並以圖表、圖形和 KPI 的形式獲得上下文回應。此 AI 解決方案還會主動提醒用戶關鍵趨勢、異常情況以及所需的變更。

In another example, a US MedTech clients selected IQVIA to implement IQVIA's AI solution to onboard and train patients to utilize their medical device for diabetes. IQVIA's AI solution incorporates to real-time sentiment analysis, provides automated transcription, and smart engagement recommendations. It empowers patients to take more control of their treatment, which of course, promote better adherence to treatment protocols.

另一個例子是，美國醫療技術客戶選擇 IQVIA 來實施其 AI 解決方案，以引導和培訓患者使用他們的醫療設備治療糖尿病。IQVIA 的 AI 解決方案結合即時情緒分析，提供自動轉錄和智慧參與建議。它使患者能夠更好地控制自己的治療，當然也有助於更好地遵守治療方案。

Lastly, for AI in TAS, IQVIA won the award of best use of artificial intelligence in healthcare out of 4,500 nominations in the 8th Annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards. IQVIA is winning AI solutions here, it's called smart zone enterprise quality management system, EQMS, which simplifies quality compliance and connects regulatory and quality processes for life sciences customers.

最後，對於 TAS 中的 AI，IQVIA 在第八屆年度醫療技術突破獎的 4,500 個提名中脫穎而出，榮獲醫療保健領域最佳人工智慧應用獎。IQVIA 在這裡贏得了 AI 解決方案，它被稱為智慧區域企業品質管理系統 (EQMS)，它簡化了品質合規性並為生命科學客戶連接監管和品質流程。

Moving to real world. IQVIA won an effectiveness study with a midsized pharma client focusing on patients who have not responded well to their previous migraine treatments. We were selected due to our strong therapeutic expertise, combined with our direct-to-patient approach to accelerate recruitment and reduce site burden.

走向現實世界。IQVIA 贏得了與中型製藥客戶的有效性研究，該研究主要針對對先前的偏頭痛治療反應不佳的患者。我們之所以被選中，是因為我們擁有強大的治療專業知識，並結合直接面向患者的方法，可以加快招募速度並減輕現場負擔。

A US EBP client awarded IQVIA real world post-approval safety and efficacy study in Japan for their coronary intravascular therapy. The aim of the project is to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the device, which could potentially increase the client's market share in Japan as well as help the clients registered device in other regions.

一家美國 EBP 客戶授予 IQVIA 在日本進行冠狀動脈血管內治療的真實世界上市後安全性和有效性研究的權利。該計畫的目的是證明該設備的安全性和有效性，這可能會增加客戶在日本的市場份額，並幫助客戶在其他地區註冊設備。

Within the quarter, a top 15 pharma client awarded IQVIA a significant contract to study the effectiveness of a therapy for schizophrenia. The study will use data tokenization to link multiple data sources and then apply AI to provide a comprehensive view of patients pre and post therapy in real-world settings to physicians, patients, and caretakers.

本季度，一家排名前 15 位的製藥客戶授予 IQVIA 一份重要合同，以研究精神分裂症治療的有效性。該研究將使用數據標記化來連結多個數據來源，然後應用人工智慧為醫生、患者和照護者提供現實環境中患者治療前後的全面視圖。

Finally, you may have seen that IQVIA was recognized by a respected independent third party research organization as a leader in medical affairs and life sciences regulatory operations. IQVIA's global end-to-end solutions enable medical affairs customers to manage and curate the richness of data coming into your organization, transforming evidence into insights that can enable actionable initiatives.

最後，您可能已經看到，IQVIA 被受人尊敬的獨立第三方研究機構認可為醫療事務和生命科學監管營運領域的領導者。IQVIA 的全球端到端解決方案使醫療事務客戶能夠管理和整理進入您組織的豐富數據，將證據轉化為可實現可行舉措的見解。

Let me now move to R&DS. Let's start with the trending therapeutic area, obesity treatments. A top 15 pharma clients selected IQVIA Labs to conduct globally harmonized high volume testing to ensure accelerated enrollment. It's expected this will result in a significant reduction of study timelines for this therapeutic area where speed to market is key.

現在讓我轉到研發部。讓我們從流行的治療領域肥胖症治療開始。前 15 家製藥客戶選擇 IQVIA 實驗室進行全球統一的大容量測試，以確保加速註冊。預計這將大大縮短這一以上市速度為關鍵的治療領域的研究時間。

Our strength in the vaccine development area led to another major award to conduct a Phase 3 trial for a new influenza vaccine that will enroll approximately 50,000 volunteers.

我們在疫苗開發領域的優勢使我們獲得了另一個重大獎項，即開展一種新型流感疫苗的第三階段試驗，該試驗將招募約 50,000 名志願者。

Turning to oncology, which represents once again our largest therapeutic area in R&DS bookings this quarter. I'll offer a few examples. A top 20 client selected IQVIA to conduct a large Phase 3 oncology study focusing on small cell lung cancer, the disease with a high need for effective treatments.

談到腫瘤學，它再次代表了我們本季研發訂單中最大的治療領域。我舉幾個例子。排名前 20 名的客戶選擇 IQVIA 進行一項大型 3 期腫瘤學研究，重點關注小細胞肺癌，這是一種對有效治療有很高需求的疾病。

We won this study due to our strong therapeutic expertise, data and analytics capabilities, as well as our proven delivery approach, which includes a dedicated delivery unit project staffing that is exclusively focused on the client's study.

我們贏得這項研究是因為我們擁有強大的治療專業知識、數據和分析能力以及經過驗證的交付方法，其中包括專注於客戶研究的專門交付單位專案人員。

By the way for some time now, we've been deploying this unique delivery approach for large customers who have an especially complex study portfolio across multiple therapeutic areas. A biotech client selected IQVIA to support a large-scale global complex Phase 3 program to test and validate their innovative cell and gene therapy vaccines for colorectal cancer.

順便說一句，一段時間以來，我們一直在為那些在多個治療領域擁有特別複雜的研究組合的大客戶部署這種獨特的交付方式。一位生物技術客戶選擇 IQVIA 來支援一項大規模全球複雜 3 期計劃，以測試和驗證其針對大腸直腸癌的創新細胞和基因療法疫苗。

Lastly, in oncology, a top 25 pharma client awarded IQVIA a contract to develop an optimal clinical strategy and to execute the bladder cancer study in the US. We were awarded this engagement based on IQVIA's AI-enabled site selection and visibility solutions that will help clients meet aggressive timelines.

最後，在腫瘤學領域，一家排名前 25 位的製藥客戶授予 IQVIA 一份合同，以製定最佳臨床策略並在美國進行膀胱癌研究。我們憑藉 IQVIA 的 AI 選址和可視化解決方案獲得此項合同，該解決方案將幫助客戶滿足緊迫的時間表。

I'll discuss AI initiatives in TAS and in fact, AI enablement is also pervasive in R&DS, couple of other such examples. A US biotech client awarded IQVIA four full-service clinical trials, which are supported by IQVIA's AI-enabled data and analytics, increasing the likelihood of success for each trial, reducing the risk of protocol amendments, as well as the need to add countries and sites after the trial starts.

我將討論 TAS 中的 AI 計劃，事實上，AI 支援在 R&DS 中也很普遍，還有其他一些類似的例子。一家美國生物技術客戶授予 IQVIA 四項全方位服務的臨床試驗，這些試驗由 IQVIA 的人工智慧數據和分析支持，增加了每次試驗成功的可能性，降低了方案修改的風險，以及試驗開始後添加國家和地點的需要。

In another example, we were awarded a pharmacovigilance project by a large biotech client to manage all case processing work worldwide using our AI capabilities. The IQVIA AI-enabled solution is designed to dramatically improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance data quality and accuracy. We will continue to share more exciting AI initiatives across the businesses, hopefully at future investor forums. I'll now turn it over to Ron for more details on our financial performance.

另一個例子是，我們獲得了一個大型生物技術客戶的藥物警戒項目，利用我們的人工智慧能力管理全球所有案件處理工作。IQVIA 人工智慧解決方案旨在大幅提高生產力、降低成本並增強資料品質和準確性。我們將繼續在未來的投資者論壇上分享更多令人興奮的企業人工智慧計畫。現在我將把主題交給羅恩，讓他詳細介紹我們的財務表現。

Hey, thanks, Ari, and good morning, everyone. Let's start by reviewing revenue. Second quarter revenue of $3.814 billion grew 2.3% on a reported basis and 3.5% at constant currency. In the quarter, COVID-related revenues were approximately $45 million, which is down about $70 million versus the second quarter of 2023.

嘿，謝謝你，阿里，大家早安。我們先來回顧一下收入。第二季營收為 38.14 億美元，以報告基礎計算成長 2.3%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.5%。本季度，與 COVID 相關的收入約為 4,500 萬美元，與 2023 年第二季度相比下降了約 7,000 萬美元。

Excluding all COVID-related work from both this year and last, constant currency growth was 5%. Technology and analytics solutions revenue was $1.495 billion, which was up 2.7% reported and 3.8% at constant currency. And if we exclude COVID work from both years, it was exactly 4% growth, as you may recall, Q1 2023 was the last quarter with meaningful COVID activity in TAS.

除去今年和去年所有與新冠疫情相關的工作，固定匯率成長率為 5%。技術和分析解決方案收入為 14.95 億美元，報告成長 2.7%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.8%。如果我們排除這兩年的 COVID 工作，成長率恰好是 4%，您可能還記得，2023 年第一季是 TAS 中最後一個出現有意義的 COVID 活動的季度。

R&D Solutions revenue of $2.147 billion was up 2.4% reported and 3.3% in constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work growth at constant currency and R&DS was 6%. And lastly, contract sales and medical Solutions revenue of $172 million, declined 2.3% reported, but grew 2.8% at constant currency.

研發解決方案營收為 21.47 億美元，以報告數字計算成長 2.4%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.3%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的固定匯率工作成長和研發支出，成長率為 6%。最後，合約銷售和醫療解決方案收入為 1.72 億美元，報告下降 2.3%，但以固定匯率計算成長 2.8%。

For the first half, total Company revenues were $7.551 billion, up 2.3% reported and 3.2% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, growth at constant currency was 5.5%. Technology and analytics solutions revenue for the first half was $2.948 billion up 1.7% reported and 2.4% in constant currency. And excluding all COVID related work, growth at constant currency in TAS in the first half was 3.5%.

上半年，公司總營收為 75.51 億美元，報告成長 2.3%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.2%。不包括所有與 COVID 相關的工作，以固定匯率計算的成長率為 5.5%。上半年技術和分析解決方案收入為 29.48 億美元，報告成長 1.7%，以固定匯率計算成長 2.4%。並且，不包括所有與 COVID 相關的工作，上半年 TAS 以固定貨幣計算的成長率為 3.5%。

R&D solutions' first half revenue of $4.242 billion was up 2.9% at actual FX rates and 3.6% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work growth at constant currency in R&DS was 7% for the half. And lastly, CSMS first half revenue of $361 million increased 0.8% reported and 5% at constant currency.

研發解決方案上半年營收為 42.42 億美元，以實際匯率計算成長 2.9%，以固定匯率計算成長 3.6%。不包括所有與 COVID 相關的工作，以固定匯率計算，研發支出上半年成長率為 7%。最後，CSMS 上半年營收為 3.61 億美元，按報告數字計算成長 0.8%，以固定匯率計算成長 5%。

Let's move down to P&L now. Adjusted EBITDA was $887 million for the second quarter, representing growth of 2.7%, while first half adjusted EBITDA was $1.749 billion, up 2% year over year. Second quarter GAAP net income was $363 million and GAAP diluted earnings per share was $1.97.

現在讓我們來看看損益表。第二季調整後 EBITDA 為 8.87 億美元，成長 2.7%；上半年調整後 EBITDA 為 17.49 億美元，年成長 2%。第二季 GAAP 淨收入為 3.63 億美元，GAAP 稀釋每股收益為 1.97 美元。

For the first half, we had GAAP net income of $651 million or $3.53 of earnings per diluted share. Adjusted net income was $487 million for the second quarter and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.64. For the first half, adjusted net income was $955 million or $5.18. per share

上半年，我們的 GAAP 淨收入為 6.51 億美元，即每股收益 3.53 美元。第二季調整後淨利為4.87億美元，調整後每股稀釋收益為2.64美元。上半年調整後淨利為9.55億美元，即每股5.18美元。

Now as already reviewed, R&D solutions bookings were again strong in the quarter. Our backlog at June 30 was $30.6 billion, up 7.7% at actual currency and 8.1% at constant currency. Next 12 months, revenue from backlog increased to $7.8 billion, growing 6.9% year over year.

正如已經回顧的那樣，本季研發解決方案的預訂量再次強勁。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的積壓訂單為 306 億美元，以實際貨幣計算成長 7.7%，以固定匯率計算成長 8.1%。接下來的 12 個月，積壓訂單收入增加到 78 億美元，年增 6.9%。

Let's turn now to the balance sheet. As of June 30, cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.545 billion and gross debt was $13.258 billion that results in net debt of $11.713 billion. Our net leverage ratio ending the quarter was 3.25 times trailing 12 month adjusted EBITDA. Second quarter cash flow from operations was $588 million and capital expenditures were $143 million and that resulted in free cash flow of$ 445 million.

現在讓我們來看看資產負債表。截至 6 月 30 日，現金和現金等價物總額為 15.45 億美元，總債務為 132.58 億美元，淨債務為 117.13 億美元。本季末我們的淨槓桿率為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 3.25 倍。第二季經營現金流為 5.88 億美元，資本支出為 1.43 億美元，自由現金流為 4.45 億美元。

Okay. Turning to guidance with the first half of the year now behind us and better forward visibility, we're refining our financial guidance for the balance of the year. For the year, we now expect revenue to be between $15.425 billion and $15.525 billion. Adjusted EBITDA should be between $3.705 billion and $3.765 billion, and adjusted diluted earnings per share between $11.10 and $11.30.

好的。談到指導，今年上半年已經過去，並且前景更加光明，我們正在完善今年剩餘時間的財務指導。我們目前預計今年的營收將在 154.25 億美元至 155.25 億美元之間。調整後的 EBITDA 應在 37.05 億美元至 37.65 億美元之間，調整後的每股攤薄收益應在 11.10 美元至 11.30 美元之間。

There is no material change to our previous assumptions about COVID-related step down, acquisition impacts, and foreign exchange impacts. By segment at constant currency ex-COVID, our full-year guidance remains the same and it's unchanged versus what we gave you back in February, which is the same, TAS will grow this year around 5% and R&DS in the 7% range.

我們先前對與 COVID 相關的降壓、收購影響和外匯影響的假設沒有重大變化。以 COVID 以外的固定匯率計算，我們的全年指引保持不變，與我們 2 月給出的指引相比沒有變化，今年 TAS 將成長 5% 左右，R&DS 將成長 7% 左右。

Moving now to third-quarter guidance, we expect revenue to be between $3.830 billion and $3.880 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $925 million and $950 million, and adjusted diluted EPS should be between $2.76 and $2.86. Now our guidance assumes that foreign exchange rates as of July 18 continue for the balance of the year.

現在來看第三季指引，我們預期營收將在 38.30 億至 38.80 億美元之間。調整後EBITDA預計在9.25億美元至9.5億美元之間，調整後稀釋每股盈餘預計在2.76美元至2.86美元之間。目前，我們的指引假設截至7月18日的外匯匯率將在今年剩餘時間內維持不變。

So to summarize, we delivered another solid quarter of financial performance. R&DS and bookings of $2.7 billion with a strong book-to-bill of 1.27. TAS performed well against our expectations. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 8.6% year over year.

總而言之，我們又取得了穩健的財務表現。研發支出及訂單金額達27億美元，訂單出貨比高達1.27。 TAS表現超出預期。調整後每股攤薄收益年增8.6%。

We're now leaving behind the interest expense headwinds and are moving back towards resuming double-digit EPS growth. Free cash flow for the quarter and for the first half were strong, driven by strong collections performance, and we remain confident that both TAS and R&DS will achieve the full-year target for revenue growth we provided at the beginning of the year. And with that, let me hand it back to the operator to open the session for Q&A.

我們現在已經擺脫了利息支出的不利因素，並正在重新實現兩位數的每股盈餘成長。受強勁的收款業績推動，本季和上半年的自由現金流強勁，我們仍然相信 TAS 和 R&DS 都將實現我們在年初設定的全年營收成長目標。現在，請允許我將時間交還給操作員，開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Shlomo Rosenbaum, Stifel.

（操作員指示）Shlomo Rosenbaum，Stifel。

Hi, thank you very much for taking my questions. Looks like a very solid quarter and we're seeing the TAS improving, which is definitely heartening. Question I have Ari and Ron, is just the guidance is raised for revenue and EPS at the midpoint, but if you look at the EBITDA guidance, it was lowered a little bit.

你好，非常感謝您回答我的問題。看起來這是一個非常穩健的季度，我們看到 TAS 正在改善，這絕對令人振奮。我的問題是 Ari 和 Ron，只是在中點提高了收入和每股收益的指導，但如果你看一下 EBITDA 指導，它會被稍微降低一點。

Maybe you could talk about what's going on in the nature of the revenue that's coming through for the year and maybe just a little bit also in terms of the kind of pacing we got the third quarter, so we could imply the fourth quarter. And if you could talk a little bit about the ramp you expect in the fourth quarter. Thank you.

也許您可以談談今年收入的性質，也許還可以談談我們第三季度的節奏，以便我們能夠推斷第四季度的節奏。您能否談談對第四季成長的預期？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks, Shlomo. Look, I wouldn't read much into the tweaks in the guidance. It's what we review all of our business unit forecasts and we build all that up and it falls wherever it falls. And we know that the FX is slightly more favorable than it was last time we reported. So that kind of injuries is driving a little bit in aggregate, the higher -- a little bit higher on revenue. Again, I wouldn't read much there.

是的，謝謝，Shlomo。瞧，我不會過度解讀指南中的調整。我們會審查所有業務部門的預測，並將所有預測建立起來，無論它落在哪裡。我們知道，外匯情況比我們上次報告的情況略好。因此，整體而言，這類傷害會稍微增加收入。再說一次，我不會在那裡讀太多書。

EBITDA, whatever the mix of business fell, okay, when you have a little bit more of certain offerings than others, and as a result, you've got, you know, the margin fell whatever it fell, but look, we would say we're still, you know, delivering margin growth.

EBITDA，無論業務組合如何下降，好吧，當你擁有的某些產品比其他產品多一點時，結果，你知道，無論它下降多少，利潤率都會下降，但你看，我們會說我們仍然在實現利潤率增長。

And even yeah, I see what you mean. I mean, frankly, I didn't even -- we don't focus on that. These are small tweaks and I wouldn't, it could vary again next quarter. So there's nothing other than wherever the mix of business fell, frankly.

是的，我明白你的意思。我的意思是，坦白說，我甚至沒有——我們沒有關注這一點。這些都是小的調整，我不會，下個季度可能會再次改變。因此，坦白說，除了業務組合下降之外，沒有別的事情。

We're still delivering at this level was the margin expansion here about 30 basis points at the midpoint and 50 basis points at the high end. So that's very strong, given the markets we've been navigating here from the for the first half. And on the EPS, I think it's largely a better control of CapEx, which in turn, as you know, a bit more favorability on DNA, it is below the line, basically, you know that drives the EPS, the higher point on EPS. Again, these are tweaks, I wouldn't draw much conclusion on that.

我們仍保持這一水平，利潤率擴張中點約為 30 個基點，高端約為 50 個基點。考慮到我們上半年一直在探索的市場，這是非常強勁的。就 EPS 而言，我認為這主要是對資本支出的更好控制，反過來，正如你所知，對 DNA 更有利，它低於這條線，基本上，你知道這會推動 EPS，即 EPS 的更高點。再說一次，這些都是調整，我不會就此得出太多結論。

David Windley, Jefferies.

傑富瑞的戴維溫德利 (David Windley)。

Hi, thanks for taking my question. Good morning. Ari, you've talked in some of your recent public commentary about price pressure or price expectations from customers. And in your opening remarks, you mentioned budget sensitivity, I think in the context of TAS. Could you just kind of bring us up to current on your assessment of the market environment in terms of customers' willingness to pay your asking price?

你好，謝謝你回答我的問題。早安.阿里，您在最近的一些公開評論中談到了來自客戶的價格壓力或價格預期。在您的開場白中，您提到了預算敏感性，我認為這是在 TAS 的背景下。您能否從客戶支付要價的意願角度，向我們介紹您對市場環境的最新評估？

Good question. I did talk about this in the past and there is no change there. It is true. Again, I mentioned in my introductory remarks, it's not like we've all of a sudden moved to a different bullish environment, clients, large pharma to focus on that segment first.

好問題。我以前確實談過這個問題，現在也沒有任何改變。是真的。再次，我在開場白中提到，我們並不是突然轉向不同的看漲環境，客戶、大型製藥公司首先關注該領域。

It has announced -- I mean, there's barely a large pharma company that has not announced a massive cost cutting program, multibillion dollars. And often that comes first with a review of their procurement practices with their vendors. And we are a top vendor to pharma. So there's no surprise here. What I said before is still valid. Those budgetary constraints persist, the cautiousness persist.

它已經宣布——我的意思是，幾乎沒有一家大型製藥公司沒有宣布一項大規模的成本削減計劃，耗資數十億美元。通常，這首先要審查他們與供應商的採購實務。我們是製藥業的頂級供應商。所以這並不奇怪。我之前說的話仍然有效。預算限制依然存在，謹慎態度依然存在。

And of course, you know, it's not like we can price whatever we want. Now clients still need to do some projects. Many of them had been postponed and delayed. We see that improving. Decision timelines had started to improve and now they have improved more dramatically. They are not where they were before this whole some cautiousness begun, but they have improved significantly, which is why we feel more confident with the forecast.

當然，你知道，我們並不是可以隨心所欲地定價。現在客戶還需要做一些專案。其中許多項目已被推遲或延遲。我們看到情況正在改善。決策時間表已開始改善，現在改善更為顯著。雖然它們不再像之前那樣謹慎，但已經有了顯著改善，這就是我們對預測更有信心的原因。

Pricing, yeah, I mean, look, a large pharma clients are more disciplined in their spending and therefore, it's a tougher fight out there in terms of negotiations, no question about that. And it's true in TAS and it's true in R&DS, frankly.

定價，是的，我的意思是，大型製藥客戶在支出方面更加自律，因此，在談判方面競爭會更加激烈，這是毫無疑問的。坦白說，在 TAS 和 R&DS 中都是如此。

At the same time, you know, you get on the R&DS side on the CRO side, you get really an industry that has kind of segmented itself in a way with very large players and a bunch of smaller ones, including some who are sometimes desperate for business and becoming disciplined with respect to how they go about approaching their bids and so on, so forth and obviously clients. You can expect clients fully taking advantage of that.

同時，你知道，當你站在研發和 CRO 的立場時，你會發現這個行業已經將自己細分化，既有非常大的參與者，也有一堆較小的參與者，其中一些參與者有時迫切需要業務，並且在如何處理他們的投標等方面變得非常自律，當然還有客戶。您可以期待客戶充分利用這一點。

So again, the answer to your question is pricing continues to be tough for the reasons I just mentioned, both on the commercial and the R&DS side. We, of course, respond with continued increase in our productivity programs, cost containment programs, as well as a lot of deployment of AI within our own operations. And those things take time. Obviously, there is always a lag when we implement these solutions before we can get the full benefit. But that's what's happening on pricing. Thank you, David.

所以，再次強調，你的問題的答案是，由於我剛才提到的原因，無論是在商業方面還是在研發方面，定價仍然很困難。當然，我們會繼續加強生產力計劃、成本控制計劃，並在我們自己的營運中大量部署人工智慧。而這些事情需要時間。顯然，我們在實施這些解決方案時總會有一個滯後，然後才能獲得全部利益。但這就是定價的情況​​。謝謝你，大衛。

Anne Samuel, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的安妮‧塞繆爾 (Anne Samuel)。

Hi, thanks for taking the question. I was hoping perhaps you could speak a little bit more about the performance of your different business segments within TAS and perhaps where you started to see some of that outperformance? Thank you.

你好，謝謝你回答這個問題。我希望您能再多談談 TAS 內部不同業務部門的表現，以及您從哪裡開始看到這些優異表現？謝謝。

Yeah. You mean TAS, within the different segments. Look, I mean, the data business continues the same. You know, there's no news there and the rest of the business has begun to improve. Sequentially, we've seen improvements everywhere. Year over year in aggregate, it's up, again, excluding COVID and FX.

是的。您的意思是 TAS，在不同的細分市場中。你看，我的意思是，數據業務仍然照常進行。你知道，那裡沒有新聞，其餘業務已經開始好轉。漸漸地，我們看到了各方面的進步。與去年同期相比，整體來看，除去 COVID 和外匯因素，這一數字再次上升。

The rest of the business, as you know, data is low single digits flattish and the rest of the business in aggregate has started to grow low mid to high single digits overall. Real world, I would say, in particular, real world in particular has picked up significantly this past quarter.

如您所知，其餘業務的資料處於低個位數平穩狀態，其餘業務總體上已開始以低中高個位數成長。我想說的是，現實世界，特別是現實世界在過去的一個季度出現了顯著的成長。

That's great to hear. Thank you.

聽到這個消息真是太好了。謝謝。

Elizabeth Anderson, Evercore ISI.

伊麗莎白·安德森，Evercore ISI。

Hi, guys. Thanks so much for the question this morning. Can you talk about the burn rate maybe in the back half of the year? Is that something you sort of see based on the mix of business at this point that you think could creep up sequentially? How do you kind of view that as we progress through the back half?

嗨，大家好。非常感謝您今天早上提出的問題。能談談今年下半年的燒錢率嗎？根據目前的業務組合，您是否認為這種情況可能會逐漸增加？當我們進入後半段時，您如何看待這一點？

On the clinical side?

在臨床方面？

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah, I mean, look, this fluctuates. First of all, I mean, you know, the reported revenue and even after excluding COVID and FX, sometimes it's hard to predict exactly where pass-throughs are going to come in. And so some of that quarterly fluctuation if you will, is passed through the mix of pass-throughs. That's essentially with what we saw this quarter and probably next quarter and then rebounding for the fourth quarter.

是的，我的意思是，看，這是波動的。首先，我的意思是，你知道，報告的收入，即使排除 COVID 和 FX，有時也很難準確預測轉嫁收入將來自哪裡。因此，如果你願意的話，部分季度波動會透過混合傳遞方式傳遞。這基本上是我們本季看到的情況，可能還有下個季度的情況，然後在第四季出現反彈。

But basically of R&DS, we see a growth exactly where we forecasted at the beginning of the year, which is, you know, in the after you adjust for COVID and at constant currency in the 7%-plus range. With respect to the mix of offerings, as you know, we do have a disproportionate share of the oncology programs out there, again, not surprising.

但基本上，就研發而言，我們看到的成長完全符合我們在年初的預測，也就是說，在根據 COVID 進行調整後，以固定貨幣計算，成長率在 7% 以上。就產品組合而言，如您所知，我們的腫瘤學課程確實佔有不成比例的份額，這並不奇怪。

The critical decision factors here are our therapeutic expertise and the ability to enroll patients, which is where our unique capabilities with data analytics and AI solutions come in. And as a result, the mix of our bookings and in our backlog continues to increase towards those more complex studies in oncology as well as rare diseases. So the burn rate is largely influenced by that.

這裡的關鍵決策因素是我們的治療專業知識和招募患者的能力，這也是我們在數據分析和人工智慧解決方案方面的獨特能力所在。因此，我們的預訂和積壓項目組合持續增加，主要針對腫瘤學和罕見疾病等更複雜的研究。因此燃燒率很大程度上受其影響。

You can see by the way that is a trend in the industry. If you look at the burn rate for our competitors and they are also going down. Now in the first quarter, the first quarter backlog burn was 7%, is that what I recall was 7% and Q2 backlog burn was about the same, it was a little bit higher, 7.1%. And for the balance of the year, we're expecting it to be very similar.

順便說一下，您可以看到這是該行業的一種趨勢。如果你看看我們競爭對手的燒錢率，你會發現他們的燒錢率也在下降。現在在第一季度，第一季的積壓訂單消耗為 7%，我記得是 7%，第二季度的積壓訂單消耗大致相同，略高一些，為 7.1%。對於今年的剩餘時間，我們預計情況將非常相似。

We are encouraged that the next 12 months bookings are up. I think we said next 12 months, the next 12 months revenue from backlog is $7.8 billion that's up from what we reported first quarter. My recollection is $7.3 billion. It's up $7.3 billion last. And then this quarter, $7.8 billion, that's about 6.9% up. So we feel confident in our conversion and consequently on our burn of projects and revenue growth in the balance of the year and next year.

我們很高興看到未來 12 個月的預訂量將會上升。我想我們說過，未來 12 個月，積壓訂單的收入將達到 78 億美元，高於我們第一季報告的數字。我記得是73億美元。去年同期上漲了 73 億美元。本季為 78 億美元，成長約 6.9%。因此，我們對我們的轉型充滿信心，並因此對今年和明年的專案完成情況和收入成長充滿信心。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Max Smock, William Blair.

馬克斯史莫克、威廉布萊爾。

Hi, good morning and thanks for taking our questions. And apologies if I missed this, but within R&DS, did you quantify how much RFP flows in the qualified pipeline were up at the end of the second quarter? And then how are you thinking about the timeline for those that convert to potential uptick in bookings?

大家好，早安，感謝您回答我們的問題。如果我錯過了這一點，請原諒，但在研發部門內，您是否量化了第二季末合格管道中的 RFP 流量增加了多少？那麼，您如何考慮那些轉換為潛在預訂量上升的時間表？

Could we see an acceleration in book-to-bill above 1.3 times before the end of the year here or given kind of where we are in the year, are we now at a point where you think a more meaningful potential rebound in bookings is more of a 2025 event? Thank you.

我們是否可以看到訂單出貨比在今年年底之前加速超過 1.3 倍，或者考慮到我們今年所處的階段，我們現在是否處於一個點，您認為更有意義的訂單潛在反彈更有可能發生在 2025 年？謝謝。

Thank you, Max. We are laughing here because when did 1.3 become the benchmark. I mean, I know we reported a little over 1.3 book-to-bill ratios in the past couple of years, largely because of the COVID studies and so on. But you know, we're very happy with 1.27 and we're happy with 1.2 and we're happy with this book-to-bill, they are very, very strong.

謝謝你，馬克斯。我們在這裡笑，因為 1.3 什麼時候成為基準。我的意思是，我知道我們報告的過去幾年的訂單出貨比略高於 1.3，這主要是因為 COVID 研究等等。但你知道，我們對 1.27 非常滿意，我們對 1.2 非常滿意，我們對這個訂單出貨比非常滿意，它們非常非常強勁。

And you're talking about a rebound in bookings. We had excellent bookings. I don't know what -- we are happy with this performance, there is no rebound. It's very good. I think the bookings we reported this quarter are the first -- third-highest ever. So I'm not sure what the question is with respect to bookings, did you ask about conversion as well? Or I'm sorry, I didn't --

您說的是預訂量的反彈。我們的預訂非常好。我不知道什麼——我們對這種表現很滿意，沒有反彈。非常好。我認為我們本季報告的預訂量是有史以來第一至第三高的。所以我不確定關於預訂的問題是什麼，您是否也詢問了轉換情況？或者我很抱歉，我沒有--

Yeah, you set such a high bar. But yeah, in terms of the first part of the question --

是的，你設定的標準這麼高。但是，關於問題的第一部分--

That's true, we are paying the price.

確實如此，我們正在付出代價。

Yeah, sorry, victim of expectations. But my first part of the question was just around whether or not you can provide any sort of detail or more detail around just how much RFP flows in the qualified pipeline [are up this quarter]?

是的，很抱歉，我是期望的受害者。但我的問題的第一部分是關於您是否可以提供任何細節或更多細節，關於合格管道中 RFP 的流動量[本季上漲]？

Yeah, so again, RFP flows, total pipeline -- qualified pipeline in this some are up basically all around the 45 pipeline, I think was up. That was the number, 12% -- it was up 12%. Total pipeline is up single digits, RFP flows as well, right, mid-teens

是的，所以再說一次，RFP 流程、總管道 - 其中一些合格的管道基本上都在上升，大約 45 個管道，我認為都在上升。這個數字是 12%——上漲了 12%。總管道數量成長個位數，RFP 流量也是如此，對吧，十幾歲

RFP flow is up single digits, yeah.

徵求建議書是的，流量上升了個位數。

Got it. Thanks for taking the question.

知道了。感謝您回答這個問題。

Jailendra Singh, Truist Securities.

Jailendra Singh，Truist Securities。

Thank you, and thanks for taking my questions. I want to go back to the individual businesses. You talked about in past RWE and consulting both improving second quarter. Last quarter, you called out RWE some recovery after some slowdown in Q4, consulting taking a step down, how are you thinking about these individual businesses as you think about TAS expectations in second half, considering that recovery in consulting remain relatively volatile? And is RWE back to mid to high-teens growth rate or is there still room for recovery there?

謝謝，也謝謝您回答我的問題。我想回到個體企業的問題。您之前談到過 RWE 和顧問業務在第二季都有所改善。上個季度，您指出 RWE 在第四季度放緩之後有所復甦，諮詢業務有所下滑，考慮到諮詢業務的復甦仍然相對不穩定，您在考慮下半年 TAS 預期時如何看待這些個別業務？RWE 的成長率是否回到了中高水平，還是還有復甦的空間？

No. I mean, we see overall TAS in the second half in the 6% to 7% range at constant currency. Okay, that's what we see after -- obviously, businesses are rolling up their forecasts and they are always higher than that. But we take some contingency. We evaluate the environment and we discount that and that's where we are now in the 6% to 7% range in aggregate.

不。我的意思是，我們預計下半年整體 TAS 在固定匯率下將在 6% 至 7% 的範圍內。好的，這就是我們看到的——顯然，企業正在提高他們的預測，而且他們的預測總是高於這個數字。但我們會採取一些應急措施。我們評估了環境，並將其考慮在內，因此現在總體而言處於 6% 到 7% 的範圍內。

And you know, you can make the assumptions yourself, you could see that in order to get to that if 30% of the business is essentially flattish, that's the data. So the 70% has to grow in the high single digits in aggregate in order to get us to those numbers. So that's where we see the forecast. And we feel very confident based on the leading indicators that we look at.

而且你知道，你可以自己做出假設，你可以看到，為了達到這個目的，如果 30% 的業務基本上持平，這就是數據。因此，為了達到這些數字，70% 的整體成長率必須達到高個位數。這就是我們看到的預測。根據我們所看到的領先指標，我們感到非常有信心。

But your real world numbers down optimistic.

但現實世界的數字卻令人樂觀。

Which one? Double digits (multiple speakers) not high teens, maybe -- could be low teens, but high single to low teens for real world.

哪一個？兩位數（多位發言者）可能不是十幾歲的高位數——可能是十幾歲的低位數，但在現實世界中則是十幾歲的高個位數到十幾歲的低位數。

Justin Bowers, DB.

賈斯汀·鮑爾斯，DB。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. So just in terms of the strength in TAS and the outlook for the rest of the year, how much of that is in your sense the underlying market improving versus IQVIA winning its fair share of business with some of the tools that you have? And then part two of that would be, what are some of the changes that you've made to manage the part of the business this year versus, let's say, last year at this time?

謝謝大家，早安。那麼，僅就 TAS 的實力和今年剩餘時間的前景而言，您認為其中有多少是由於基礎市場改善，還是 IQVIA 憑藉您擁有的一些工具贏得了公平的業務份額？第二部分是，與去年同期相比，今年您在管理這部分業務方面做了哪些改變？

Well, thank you. First of all, it's not like the market is rebounding. I mentioned before that client cautiousness and budgetary discipline continues, especially at large pharma. It didn't go away. But what we did say before was that within the portfolio of offerings that we have, there are certain things that are mission critical for our clients. And what happened last time was -- last year at this time is that we expected those things to happen and they were pushed to the right, okay. They were delayed.

好的，謝謝你。首先，市場並沒有出現反彈。我之前提到過，客戶的謹慎和預算紀律仍在繼續，尤其是在大型製藥公司。它並沒有消失。但我們之前確實說過，在我們提供的產品組合中，有些東西對我們的客戶來說至關重要。上次發生的事情是——去年這個時候，我們預計這些事情會發生，並且它們被推到了右邊，好吧。他們被耽擱了。

We said all along that at some point those things have to be done and that is what is happening now and what we see happening in the second half. So it's not like the market overall has grown, it's that but the segments of the market that are a must do for our clients are finally happening and they will be happening in the second half. So that's number one for the market.

我們一直說，在某個時候必須要做這些事情，這就是現在正在發生的事情，也是我們看到下半年正在發生的事情。因此，這並不意味著整個市場都成長了，而是我們的客戶必須做的細分市場終於發生了變化，而且這些變化將在下半年發生。所以是市場第一。

So from that sense, you could say that the market is a little better in the sense that the clients are willing to spend that money. But again, I mentioned before, the negotiations are tougher. So to answer the second part of your question, what we're doing differently here is obviously being more responsive to our client needs. We are being more accommodating with their terms and we are commercially being more aggressive to make sure that we're actually doing those projects, that the markets are putting out there, the clients are putting out there for bid.

因此從這個意義上來說，你可以說市場稍微好一些，因為客戶願意花這筆錢。但我之前提到過，談判更加艱難。因此，要回答你問題的第二部分，我們在這裡所做的不同顯然是為了更好地回應客戶的需求。我們對他們的條款更加寬容，並且在商業上也更加積極，以確保我們確實在做這些項目，確保市場、客戶都能參與競標。

Understood. One quick follow-up, in terms of the improving decision making timelines that you referenced earlier to, is that for is that around some of the stuff that was pushed out to the right? Or is that for some new opportunities as well or just something you're seeing more broadly? Thank you.

明白了。關於您之前提到的改進決策時間表，我想問一下，這是否與一些被推到右邊的事情有關？或者這也是一些新的機會，或者只是您更廣泛地看到的東西？謝謝。

It's true broadly. Obviously, the mission-critical stuff is mission-critical and needs to be done. So yeah, that is improving the overall average. But I would say, even for the rest, I think we've seen improved decision making, faster timelines. Thank you.

大體上來說，這是事實。顯然，關鍵任務就是關鍵任務，必須完成。是的，這確實提高了整體平均水平。但我想說，即使對於其餘部分，我們也看到了決策的改進和更快的時間表。謝謝。

Tejas Savant, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的 Tejas Savant。

Hey, guys, good morning and thanks for the time. Just following up on that line of questioning on TAS, I guess could you share a little bit of color around what gives you confidence that this improved decision making timeline sort of dynamic continues your particularly given the election cycle that's sort of heating up as we speak?

嘿，大家早安，感謝你們抽出時間。我只是在跟進 TAS 上的這些問題，我想您能否稍微分享一下，是什麼讓您有信心這種改進的決策時間表動態會繼續下去，特別是考慮到我們正在談論的選舉週期正在升溫？

And then on the analytics and consulting piece within TAS, are you starting to see the work related to those new drug approvals? You talked about both year-to-date and last year starting to show up in the project backlog. Or is that still upside to come heading into year-end in '25? Thank you.

那麼，在 TAS 內部的分析和諮詢部分，您是否開始看到與這些新藥審批相關的工作？您談到了年初至今和去年開始出現在專案積壓中的情況。或者在 25 年底前這是否仍有上升空間？謝謝。

Thank you. Well, look, I don't think the election has much more influence on the day-to-day decision making with respect to the launching of drugs. And in order to respond to the second part of your question, the answer is yes, those approvals, obviously, it's not common for a client site that they're not going to launch a drug that's been approved. So there is usually a six months to -- six to nine month time lag before that leads to between the approval and the time that the drug is actually launched and the work associated with it comes to us.

謝謝。嗯，你看，我認為選舉對藥品上市的日常決策不會有太大影響。為了回答你問題的第二部分，答案是肯定的，這些批准顯然對於客戶來說，他們不會推出已經獲得批准的藥物，這種情況並不常見。因此，從藥物獲得批准到藥物實際上市以及相關工作開始，通常會有 6 到 9 個月的時間差。

So not much, this was delayed a little bit longer versus what it should have been. And some of these projects that should have happened earlier this year are happening in the second half of the year. Again, no surprises here. Thank you.

所以沒有太多，這比它應該的時間延遲了一點。一些本應在今年早些時候啟動的項目將在今年下半年啟動。再次，沒有什麼令人驚奇的。謝謝。

Dan Leonard, UBS.

瑞銀的丹·倫納德（Dan Leonard）。

Thank you. So I have a question on the guidance. It seems that the inferred Q4 sales ramp compared to Q3 is a bit greater than typical. Can you talk about the drivers of that and perhaps even elaborate further on your conviction in the recovery in TAS in the back half? Thank you.

謝謝。我對這個指導有疑問。看起來，與第三季相比，第四季的銷售額增幅比通常情況要大一些。您能否談談造成這現象的因素，甚至進一步闡述您對塔斯馬尼亞經濟下半年復甦的信心？謝謝。

Yeah, you want to answer that? Anybody? I mean, look, the first of all there is recovery in TAS. We just talked about it at length in the past few questions, so that's understandable. Secondly, the compare is more favorable. We had a deterioration in the fourth quarter last year. It was the lowest quarter of the year last year.

是的，你想回答這個問題嗎？有人嗎？我的意思是，首先，TAS 正在復蘇。我們在過去的幾個問題中已經詳細討論過這個問題，所以這是可以理解的。其次，比較有利。去年第四季我們的狀況惡化。這是去年全年最低的季度。

And we said all along that there will be a mirror image in '24 versus '23. That is the first quarter would resemble the fourth quarter, the second quarter will resemble the third quarter, et cetera. So we do see fourth quarter up. And it's not unusual by the way, there is a seasonality in Q4 that you can go back many years. It's always the case that Q4 is much stronger. So these are the three reasons. One, recovery in TAS accelerating; two, compares; and three seasonality, which is not surprising. Anything else guys you want to --

我們一直說，24 年和 23 年將會呈現出鏡像關係。也就是說，第一季將類似於第四季度，第二季度將類似於第三季度，等等。因此我們確實看到第四季度有所增長。順便說一句，這並不罕見，第四季的季節性可以追溯到很多年前。事實總是如此，Q4 強勁得多。這就是三個原因。一是TAS復甦加速；二是對比；三是季節性，這並不奇怪。還有什麼想說的嗎--

No, I think that covers it, [simply said].

不，我想這就涵蓋了，[簡單地說]。

Charles Rhyee, Cowen.

查爾斯·瑞伊（Charles Rhyee），考恩。

Yeah, thanks Ari. I guess I wanted to ask about M&A. I think so far you spent maybe it was $220 million-odd in terms of acquisitions so far in the first half, can you talk about sort of what the revenue contribution has been? Because I think the guide was about [150 basis points] of revenue growth. I'm just curious, has that been in TAS or in R&DS or both, and how much do you still need to maybe due for the back half of the year? Thanks.

是的，謝謝 Ari。我想問的是有關併購的問題。我認為到目前為止，您在上半年用於收購的花費可能已經超過 2.2 億美元，您能談談這對收入的貢獻嗎？因為我認為指導價是大約[150個基點]的收入成長。我只是好奇，那是在 TAS 還是在 R&DS 或兩者中，以及您還需要在下半年支付多少錢？謝謝。

Yeah, thank you so much. Yes. So look, we said all along that it will be -- the acquisition would contribute to a better point to our growth this year. And we do more acquisitions, but valuations continue to be high and we have a big pipeline, but it's not always the case that we are able to close.

是的，非常感謝。是的。所以，我們一直說，這項收購將有助於我們今年實現更好的成長。我們進行了更多的收購，但估值仍然很高，我們擁有大量的收購管道，但我們並不總是能夠完成收購。

So far for the year, it's a little bit more than a point, and it's a little bit more in TAS than in R&DS, but that's it. And look, we haven't spent much so far, but we hope to spend more in second half, and we'll see what happens.

今年到目前為止，它比一個點多一點點，而且 TAS 比 R&DS 多一點點，但僅此而已。而且，到目前為止我們還沒有花太多錢，但我們希望在下半年花更多錢，我們會看到會發生什麼。

Michael Ryskin, Bank of America.

美國銀行的邁克爾·里斯金（Michael Ryskin）。

Great. Thanks for taking the question. Not sure if you addressed this before, but there have been a couple of prominent cancellations of clinical trials in the industry in the last couple of months. You called out one specifically on 1Q that impacted your performance and your book-to-bill. Then just wondering if cancellations have trended any better recently, I know that the prominent ones always make the news, but just wondering what's happening behind -- below the surface on that trend.

偉大的。感謝您回答這個問題。不確定您之前是否提到過這個問題，但在過去幾個月裡，業內已經發生了幾起引人注目的臨床試驗取消事件。您在第一季特別指出了一項影響您業績和訂單出貨比的因素。然後我只是想知道最近取消的趨勢是否有所好轉，我知道突出的取消總是成為新聞，但我只是想知道背後發生了什麼 - 在這個趨勢的表面之下。

Yeah. No, I mean, look, I mentioned in my commentary, and we've said this every quarter in the past few quarters. And it's just not a secret, the world knows that large pharma, large in response to the IRA and hypothetical impacts down the line, large pharma has been reprioritizing their programs and they have taken off the shelf some programs that they felt were either too competitive with other existing drugs or that didn't have the same risk return profiles that they had assumed pre-IRA when those programs were launched. So as a result of that, there have been a little bit more cancellations than usual, really for the past few quarters.

是的。不，我的意思是，你看，我在我的評論中提到過，而且我們在過去幾個季度每個季度都說過這一點。這已經不是什麼秘密了，全世界都知道，大型製藥公司為了應對 IRA 及其可能產生的影響，一直在重新調整他們的項目優先級，他們已經下架了一些他們認為要么與其他現有藥物競爭過於激烈，要么沒有達到 IRA 之前他們所假設的風險回報狀況的項目。因此，過去幾季的取消數量比平常要多一些。

I think in general, look, we don't tell you what the cancellations are. We report the net bookings. Our average quarterly cancellations are in the $0.5 billion range. That has been the case for a long time and as kind of, you know, $500 million-plus-or-minus, whatever $100 million to $200 million, some quarters it is less. It could be $300 million or 400 million. Some quarters, it could be more, $600 million to $700 million or more.

我認為一般來說，我們不會告訴你取消的內容是什麼。我們報告淨預訂量。我們平均每季的取消金額約為 5 億美元。這種情況已經持續了很長時間，你知道，5 億美元左右，無論是 1 億美元還是 2 億美元，有些季度的金額會更少。可能是3億美元或4億美元。有些季度，這個數字可能會更高，達到 6 億到 7 億美元甚至更多。

Most of these cancellations are $10 million, $15 million, $20 million, $25 million programs that last quarter because it was well publicized and because it was a huge one-time number, we chose to let you know about it, we have had questions, everyone knew that we were the ones doing that program and pre-call we've had questions. So we decided to let you know about it.

上個季度取消的大多數項目金額為 1000 萬美元、1500 萬美元、2000 萬美元或 2500 萬美元，因為這些項目得到了廣泛宣傳，而且是一次性巨額資金，所以我們選擇讓大家知道，我們對此有疑問，每個人都知道我們就是執行該項目的人，在預先致電之前我們就有疑問。因此我們決定讓您知道此事。

Yes, that's, what it was. It was -- I don't remember the exact number in the [core billion dollar] in one shot, but that could happen. We have no -- companies announce usually when they terminate a program, it's partly this reprioritization that I just discussed. And sometimes it's simply because of the data.

是的，就是這樣。是的——我不記得一次性投入的 [10 億美元] 的具體數字，但這可能會發生。我們沒有——公司通常會在終止某個專案時宣布這一消息，這部分就是我剛才討論過的重新排序。有時這僅僅是因為數據。

And in the case of the program that we disclosed last quarter, it wasn't a reprioritization, it was simply that the data wasn't supporting a continuation of the program and essentially the program failed as it often happens in this industry.

就我們上個季度披露的計劃而言，這並不是重新調整優先級，而只是數據不支持繼續執行該計劃，並且該計劃本質上失敗了，就像這個行業中經常發生的那樣。

Jack Wallace, Guggenheim Securities.

古根漢證券公司的傑克華萊士。

Hey, thanks for taking my questions. I just wanted to go back and ask a follow-up to the EBITDA guidance questions from earlier. Ari, you called out there was some mix shift impacting margins in the back half of the year and with the past guidance largely reiterated strong second quarter. I wonder if you could help us get a better understanding for the mix shift at which sounds like it's intra-segment. Thank you.

嘿，謝謝你回答我的問題。我只是想回去問一下之前關於 EBITDA 指導問題的後續問題。阿里，您說過，下半年利潤率受到了一些混合變化的影響，而過去的指導在很大程度上重申了第二季度的強勁表現。我想知道您是否可以幫助我們更好地理解聽起來像是段內混合轉換的情況。謝謝。

Yeah, I don't think I can give you much more confidence. It is just where the chips fell, okay. And I know that this would attract two questions. You know, we would have to look at it again at this range. We just build up our forecast and that's where the most appropriate range fell.

是的，我認為我無法給你更多的信心。這只是籌碼掉落的地方，好吧。我知道這會引發兩個問題。你知道，我們必須在這個範圍內再次審視它。我們只是建立了我們的預測，而這正是最適合的範圍。

It could be also, you know, we did a little bit more acquisitions this quarter. And generally acquisitions come in at a very low margin in the first year. So that could have impacted. It is not a big different number, frankly in the grand scheme of things. So I can't give you much more color than that.

您知道，也可能是因為我們本季進行了更多收購。一般來說，收購第一年的利潤率非常低。所以這可能會產生影響。坦白說，從整體來看，這個數字並沒有太大的差異。所以我無法給你更多細節。

Fair enough. And then on a positive side here, right, in those CE you won a sizable chunk of the top five client. Can you just give us a better understanding for the one or handful of reasons that led that client to switch from a long-time incumbent? Thank you.

很公平。然後從積極的一面來看，在那些 CE 中，您贏得了前五名客戶中的相當一部分。您能否讓我們更了解導致該客戶從長期合作夥伴轉換過來的一個或幾個原因？謝謝。

I think they liked our solution better. I think it gave them more ability to achieve their goals. I can't go into the details of the program. That's -- they just like it better. Thank you.

我認為他們更喜歡我們的解決方案。我認為這讓他們更有能力實現他們的目標。我無法透露該計劃的細節。那是——他們只是更喜歡它。謝謝。

Patrick Donnelly, Citi.

花旗銀行的 Patrick Donnelly。

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking the questions. Ari, you talked a little bit on the capital deployment side about wanting to do more in M&A. Maybe the environment is not too friendly at the moment. But how are you thinking about priorities there? I know you guys have bought back some stock. You seem pretty comfortable with the leverage ratio. So maybe just talk through your priorities, M&A landscape, and then again, I mean, any targets on the leverage side with the [debt] would be helpful.

嘿，大家好。感謝您回答這些問題。阿里，你在資本部署方面談到了想要在併購方面做更多的事情。也許現在的環境還不是太友善。但是您如何考慮那裡的優先事項？我知道你們已經回購了一些股票。您似乎對槓桿率相當滿意。因此，也許只是談談您的優先事項、併購前景，然後，我的意思是，[債務]槓桿方面的任何目標都會有所幫助。

Yeah. The line came across a little bit blurry, but if I understand you asked about capital deployment and acquisitions. Look, you saw that our cash flow performance was actually very strong in the quarter and that obviously helped continue to reduce our leverage.

是的。這條線看起來有點模糊，但如果我理解正確的話，您問的是資本部署和收購。你看，你看到了，我們本季的現金流表現實際上非常強勁，這顯然有助於繼續降低我們的槓桿率。

I think we have on a 12-month trailing basis, we ended the quarter at 3.25 times EBITDA, which is very good. I remind you, we were not too long ago in the high-4s, and we said that we were continuing to deliver naturally as EBITDA grows.

我認為，以過去 12 個月計算，本季末我們的 EBITDA 為 3.25 倍，這非常好。我提醒你，不久前我們的業績還處於高點 4%，而且我們說過，隨著 EBITDA 的成長，我們將繼續自然地獲利。

Acquisitions, yeah, look, our long-term guidance always contemplates a couple of points of contribution from acquisitions to continue to boost our top line. So far, we've been able to do just over a point. Obviously, we have a rich pipeline and it's hard for me to predict what acquisition will be the second half or in the years to come. It's a binary outcome. So I don't know. I'm not sure if that was your question, but that's what I heard.

收購，是的，看，我們的長期指導總是考慮從收購中獲得幾個貢獻點，以繼續提高我們的營業收入。到目前為止，我們只能完成一點。顯然，我們擁有豐富的資源，我很難預測下半年或未來幾年將會有什麼樣的收購案。這是一個二元結果。所以我不知道。我不確定這是否是你的問題，但這就是我所聽到的。

Your next question --

你的下一個問題--

Okay. This will be the last question, operator.

好的。這是最後一個問題，接線員。

Understood. Matt Sykes, Goldman Sachs.

明白了。高盛的馬特·賽克斯 (Matt Sykes)。

Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Ari, you mentioned the strong funding trends in the EBP segment, at the same time you're still seeing some caution from large pharma. How should we think about the potential revenue mix-shift to EBP versus large pharma and would there be any implications for FSP versus full-service mix in that? Thank you.

你好。早安.感謝您回答我的問題。Ari，您提到了 EBP 領域強勁的融資趨勢，同時您仍然看到大型製藥公司保持謹慎態度。我們應該如何看待向 EBP 與大型製藥公司轉變的潛在收入組合，以及這對 FSP 與全方位服務組合有何影響？謝謝。

Thank you. Well, look, first of all, when there is a timeline between funding and -- on RFP and then the timeline between an RFP and a booking. So this is a business that has long cycles. So it's good that we have just as we were cautioning you not to panic when funding declines, and we said it's not going to affect us for a while. We don't get excited because funding this quarter was very strong. Yeah. It's good for our midterm and long-term prospects, but it's not like it's going to affect the mix.

謝謝。嗯，首先，看一下，在資金和 RFP 之間有一個時間表，然後是 RFP 和預訂之間的時間表。所以這是一個週期較長的業務。因此，我們剛才警告大家在資金減少時不要驚慌，這是件好事，而且我們說過，這在一段時間內不會對我們造成影響。我們並不感到興奮，因為本季的資金非常強勁。是的。這對我們的中期和長期前景有利，但不會影響組合。

Also, we have a very large backlog, the largest in the industry. And it's not going to meaningfully change the mix of what we do in the next few quarters and what's large pharma, what's EBP, what's full-service versus what's FSP. But you are correct that the more EBP, the more full-service, and that certainly helps mitigate the recent trend we've seen where, as we discussed in the past, large pharma has been swinging the pendulum a little bit more towards FSP as it has happened many times in the history of this industry.

此外，我們的積壓訂單量非常大，是業界最大的。而且它不會顯著改變我們未來幾季的業務組合，包括大型製藥公司、EBP、全方位服務以及 FSP。但您說得對，EBP 越多，服務就越全面，這肯定有助於緩解我們最近看到的趨勢，正如我們過去討論過的，大型製藥公司已經將鐘擺更多地擺向 FSP，就像這個行業歷史上發生過很多次的那樣。

So you are correct from that standpoint that as more EBP funding is there, there'll be more EBP work in the quarters to come. And therefore, when that backlog converts into revenue, there'll be a higher mix of full service versus FSP relative to what it is now. Thank you.

因此，從這個角度來看，您說得對，隨著 EBP 資金的增加，未來幾季的 EBP 工作將會更多。因此，當積壓訂單轉化為收入時，全方位服務與 FSP 的比例將比現在更高。謝謝。

With no further time for questions, I now turn the call back over to Mr. Joseph.

由於沒有時間回答問題，我現在將電話轉回給約瑟夫先生。

Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to join us today, and we look forward to speaking with you again in our third quarter 2024 earnings call. The team will be available for the rest of the day to take any follow-up questions you might have. Thank you and have a good day.

謝謝。感謝您今天抽出時間加入我們，我們期待在 2024 年第三季財報電話會議上再次與您交談。團隊將在當天剩餘時間內解答您可能遇到的任何後續問題。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。