高德納諮詢公司 (IT) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Gartner's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. I'm David Cohen, SVP of Investor Relations. (Operator Instructions) After comments by Gene Hall, Gartner's Chief Executive Officer; and Craig Safian, Gartner's Chief Financial Officer, there will be a question-and-answer session. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

大家，早安。歡迎參加 Gartner 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。我是投資者關係高級副總裁大衛·科恩。 （操作員指示）根據 Gartner 首席執行官 Gene Hall 的評論；和 Gartner 首席財務官 Craig Safian 將舉行問答環節。請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

This call will include a discussion of second quarter 2023 financial results and Gartner's outlook for 2023 as disclosed in today's earnings release and earnings supplement, both posted to our website, investor.gartner.com. On call, unless stated otherwise, all references towards EBITDA are for adjusted EBITDA, with the adjustments as described in our earnings release and supplement. Our contract values and associated growth rates we discuss are based on 2023 foreign exchange rates and exclude contributions related to the first quarter divestiture and the 2022 Russia exit. All growth rates in Gene's comments are FX-neutral, unless stated otherwise. All references to share counts are for fully diluted weighted average share count, unless stated otherwise. Reconciliations for all non-GAAP numbers release are available in the Investor Relations section of the gartner.com website.

本次電話會議將包括討論 2023 年第二季度財務業績以及 Gartner 對 2023 年的展望，如今天的收益發布和收益補充報告中所披露，兩者均發佈在我們的網站 Investor.gartner.com 上。除非另有說明，否則所有提及的 EBITDA 均指調整後的 EBITDA，調整情況如我們的收益發布和補充中所述。我們討論的合同價值和相關增長率基於 2023 年外匯匯率，不包括與第一季度剝離和 2022 年俄羅斯退出相關的貢獻。除非另有說明，Gene 評論中的所有增長率均不受匯率影響。除非另有說明，所有提及的股份數量均指完全稀釋的加權平均股份數量。所有非 GAAP 數據發布的調節表均可在 gartner.com 網站的投資者關係部分找到。

As set forth in more detail in today's earnings release, certain statements made on this call may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can vary materially from actual results and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those contained in the company's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings with the SEC. Encourage all of you to review the risk factors listed in these documents.

正如今天的財報中更詳細地闡述的那樣，本次電話會議中所做的某些陳述可能構成前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述可能與實際結果存在重大差異，並受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，包括公司2022 年10-K 表格年度報告和10-Q 表格季度報告以及其他文件中包含的風險和不確定性。美國證券交易委員會。鼓勵大家查看這些文件中列出的風險因素。

Now I will turn the call over to Gartner's Chief Executive Officer, Gene Hall.

現在我將把電話轉給 Gartner 首席執行官 Gene Hall。

Good morning, and thanks for joining us today. Gartner drove another strong performance in Q2. We delivered double-digit revenue growth and high single-digit growth in contract value. EBITDA, EBITDA margins and adjusted EPS came in above expectations as a result of modest revenue upside and disciplined cost management. Free cash flow in the quarter was excellent.

早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。 Gartner 在第二季度再次取得強勁業績。我們實現了兩位數的收入增長和合同價值的高單位數增長。由於收入適度增長和嚴格的成本管理，EBITDA、EBITDA 利潤率和調整後每股收益均高於預期。本季度的自由現金流非常好。

The environment remains highly uncertain: The tech sector continues to adjust to post-pandemic demand, the banking industry is grappling with rising interest rates, many industries continue to be impacted by supply chain challenges, and more. Enterprise leaders and their teams need actionable, objective insight. Gartner is the best source for the insight, tools and advice that make the difference between success and failure for these leaders and the enterprises they serve. We're helping our clients make better decisions, whether they're thriving, struggling or anywhere in between. We do this through consistent execution of operational best practices.

環境仍然高度不確定：科技行業繼續調整以適應大流行後的需求，銀行業正在努力應對利率上升，許多行業繼續受到供應鏈挑戰等的影響。企業領導者及其團隊需要可操作的、客觀的洞察力。 Gartner 是洞察力、工具和建議的最佳來源，這些洞察力、工具和建議決定了這些領導者及其所服務的企業的成功與失敗。我們正在幫助客戶做出更好的決策，無論他們是在蓬勃發展、陷入困境還是介於兩者之間。我們通過一致執行運營最佳實踐來做到這一點。

Research continues to be our largest and most profitable segment. We guide leaders across all major enterprise functions. Our market opportunity is vast across all sectors, sizes and geographies. We estimate our opportunity at around $200 billion. 95% of our addressable market is with enterprise function leaders, like chief information officers, CFOs, heads of supply chain and more. The balance of the market opportunity is with technology vendors.

研究仍然是我們最大、最賺錢的部門。我們為所有主要企業職能部門的領導者提供指導。我們的市場機會在所有行業、規模和地區都是巨大的。我們估計我們的機會約為 2000 億美元。我們 95% 的目標市場屬於企業職能領導者，例如首席信息官、首席財務官、供應鏈負責人等。市場機會的平衡在於技術供應商。

In the second quarter, we helped clients with a wide range of topics, including cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, remote work, cost optimization and more. Research revenue grew 7% in Q2. Subscription revenue grew 9% on an organic basis. Total contract value growth was 9%. Contract value for enterprise function leaders continued to grow at double-digit rates.

第二季度，我們為客戶提供了廣泛的幫助，包括網絡安全、數據分析、人工智能、遠程工作、成本優化等。第二季度研究收入增長 7%。訂閱收入有機增長 9%。合同總價值增長了 9%。企業職能領導者的合同價值繼續以兩位數的速度增長。

We serve executives and their teams through distinct sales channels. Global Technology Sales, or GTS, serves leaders and their teams within IT. GTS also serves leaders at technology vendors, including CEOs, chief marketing officers and senior product leaders. GTS contract value grew 7%. GTS sales to enterprise function leaders performed well in the quarter. GTS sales to leaders at technology vendors were affected by technology sector dynamics and tough year-over-year comparisons. We expect sales to technology vendors will return to our target growth rates over the medium term.

我們通過不同的銷售渠道為高管及其團隊提供服務。全球技術銷售 (GTS) 為 IT 領域的領導者及其團隊提供服務。 GTS 還為技術供應商的領導者提供服務，包括首席執行官、首席營銷官和高級產品領導者。 GTS 合同價值增長 7%。本季度面向企業職能領導者的 GTS 銷售表現良好。技術供應商領導者的 GTS 銷售受到技術行業動態和艱難的同比比較的影響。我們預計對技術供應商的銷售將在中期內恢復到我們的目標增長率。

Global Business Sales, or GBS, serves leaders and their teams beyond IT. This includes HR, supply chain, finance, marketing, sales, legal and more. GBS contract value grew 15%. Through relentless execution of proven practices, we're able to deliver unparalleled value to our clients. Our business remains resilient despite a persistent complicated external environment and tough compares for the technology vendor market.

全球業務銷售 (GBS) 為 IT 之外的領導者及其團隊提供服務。這包括人力資源、供應鏈、財務、營銷、銷售、法律等。 GBS 合同價值增長 15%。通過不懈地執行經過驗證的實踐，我們能夠為客戶提供無與倫比的價值。儘管外部環境持續複雜，技術供應商市場競爭激烈，但我們的業務仍保持彈性。

Gartner Conferences deliver extraordinarily valuable insights to an engaged and qualified audience. This will be the first full year of in-person conferences since 2019, and we're off to a great start. Attendance is strong, exhibitor bookings are at record levels and feedback continues to be excellent. We had a great first half and the outlook for the year is strong.

Gartner 會議向參與其中的合格觀眾提供極其有價值的見解。這將是自 2019 年以來的第一個全年面對面會議，我們有了一個良好的開端。出席人數眾多，參展商預訂量創歷史新高，反饋也持續良好。我們上半年的表現非常出色，今年的前景也十分樂觀。

Gartner Consulting is an extension of Gartner Research. Consulting helps clients execute their most strategic initiatives through deeper, extended project-based work. Consulting is an important complement to our IT Research business. Consulting revenue grew 6% in the second quarter.

Gartner 諮詢是 Gartner 研究的延伸。諮詢服務通過更深入、擴展的基於項目的工作，幫助客戶執行最具戰略意義的舉措。諮詢是我們 IT 研究業務的重要補充。第二季度諮詢收入增長 6%。

We updated our 2023 guidance, increasing in EBITDA and free cash flow. We've revised our non-subscription Research revenue to reflect technology vendor dynamics, and our outlook for Conferences is higher. Craig will take you through the details.

我們更新了 2023 年指引，增加了 EBITDA 和自由現金流。我們修改了非訂閱研究收入，以反映技術供應商的動態，並且我們對會議的前景更高。克雷格將帶您了解詳細信息。

In closing, Gartner achieved another strong quarter of growth. We deliver unparalleled value to enterprise leaders and their teams across every major function, whether they're thriving, struggling or anywhere in between. We're exceptionally agile and continuously adapt to the changing world. We know the right things to do to be successful in any environment.

最後，Gartner 又實現了強勁的季度增長。我們為每個主要職能部門的企業領導者及其團隊提供無與倫比的價值，無論他們是在蓬勃發展、陷入困境還是介於兩者之間。我們異常敏捷並不斷適應不斷變化的世界。我們知道要在任何環境下取得成功，應該採取正確的行動。

Looking ahead, we are well positioned to continue our sustained record of success far into the future. Our client value proposition and addressable market opportunity will allow us to drive long-term, sustained double-digit revenue growth. We expect margins will expand modestly over time. And we generate significant free cash flow well in excess of net income. Even as we invest for future growth, we'll return significant levels of excess capital to our shareholders. This reduces shares outstanding and increases returns over time.

展望未來，我們處於有利位置，可以在未來繼續保持持續的成功記錄。我們的客戶價值主張和潛在的市場機會將使我們能夠推動長期、持續的兩位數收入增長。我們預計利潤率將隨著時間的推移而適度擴大。我們產生的自由現金流遠遠超過淨利潤。即使我們為未來增長進行投資，我們也會向股東返還大量超額資本。隨著時間的推移，這會減少流通股並增加回報。

With that, I'll hand the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Craig Safian.

接下來，我會將電話轉交給我們的首席財務官 Craig Safian。

Thank you, Gene, and good morning. Second quarter results were strong with high single-digit growth in contract value and double-digit FX-neutral revenue growth. EBITDA, EBITDA margins and adjusted EPS were better than expected as a result of modest revenue upside and disciplined cost management. Free cash flow in the quarter was excellent. With good visibility into the balance of the year, we are increasing our 2023 EBITDA and free cash flow guidance.

謝謝你，吉恩，早上好。第二季度業績強勁，合同價值實現高個位數增長，外匯中性收入實現兩位數增長。由於收入適度增長和嚴格的成本管理，EBITDA、EBITDA 利潤率和調整後每股收益好於預期。本季度的自由現金流非常好。憑藉對今年餘額的良好了解，我們正在提高 2023 年 EBITDA 和自由現金流指引。

Second quarter revenue was $1.5 billion, up 9% year-over-year as reported and 10% FX-neutral. In addition, total contribution margin was 68% compared to 69% in the prior year as we caught up on hiring during 2022. EBITDA was $384 million, ahead of our guidance and about in line with last year. Adjusted EPS was $2.85 consistent with Q2 of last year. And free cash flow was $410 million.

第二季度收入為 15 億美元，較去年同期增長 9%，剔除匯率影響後增長 10%。此外，由於我們在 2022 年趕上了招聘，總邊際貢獻率為 68%，而上一年為 69%。 EBITDA 為 3.84 億美元，高於我們的指導，與去年基本持平。調整後每股收益為 2.85 美元，與去年第二季度一致。自由現金流為 4.1 億美元。

We finished the quarter with 20,104 associates, up 12% from the prior year and 1% from the end of the first quarter. We remain well positioned from a talent perspective with low levels of open territories and our new associates coming up the tenure curve. We will continue to carefully calibrate headcount and operating expenses based on near-term revenue growth and opportunities to invest for the future.

本季度末，我們擁有 20,104 名員工，比上年增長 12%，比第一季度末增長 1%。從人才角度來看，我們仍然處於有利地位，開放領域水平較低，而且我們的新員工正在走上任期曲線。我們將繼續根據近期收入增長和未來投資機會仔細調整員工人數和運營費用。

Research revenue in the second quarter grew 6% year-over-year as reported and 7% on an FX-neutral basis. Subscription revenue grew 9% on an organic FX-neutral basis. Second quarter Research contribution margin was 73% compared to 74% in the prior year period as we have caught up on hiring and returned to the new expected levels of travel. Contract value, or CV, was $4.6 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 9% versus the prior year.

據報導，第二季度研究收入同比增長 6%，在匯率中性的基礎上增長 7%。在剔除外匯中性因素的基礎上，訂閱收入增長了 9%。第二季度研究貢獻率為 73%，而去年同期為 74%，因為我們已經趕上了招聘並恢復到了新的預期旅行水平。第二季度末合同價值 (CV) 為 46 億美元，比去年同期增長 9%。

The second quarter last year was one of our strongest Research quarters ever, with outstanding performance on nearly every metric we provide. GP growth is FX-neutral and excludes the first quarter 2023 divestiture. CV from enterprise function leaders across GTS and GBS grew at double-digit rates. CV from tech vendors grew low single digits compared to mid-teens growth in the second quarter of 2022. Quarterly net contract value increase, or NCVI, was $41 million. As we've discussed in the past, there is notable seasonality in this metric.

去年第二季度是我們有史以來最強勁的研究季度之一，我們提供的幾乎每個指標都表現出色。毛利率增長不受匯率影響，且不包括 2023 年第一季度的資產剝離。 GTS 和 GBS 的企業職能領導者的簡歷以兩位數的速度增長。與 2022 年第二季度的中位數增長相比，技術供應商的簡歷增長幅度較低。季度淨合同價值增長 (NCVI) 為 4100 萬美元。正如我們過去討論過的，該指標存在明顯的季節性。

CV growth was broad-based across practices, industry sectors, company sizes and geographic regions. Across our combined practices, the majority of industry sectors grew at double-digit rates, again, led by the transportation, retail and public sectors. We had high single-digit growth across all of our enterprise-sized categories, other than the small category, which grew mid-single digits. This category has the largest tech vendor mix. We also drove double-digit or high single-digit growth in the majority of our top 10 countries.

簡歷的增長涉及各個實踐、行業領域、公司規模和地理區域。在我們的綜合實踐中，大多數行業部門再次以兩位數的速度增長，其中交通運輸、零售和公共部門處於領先地位。我們所有企業規模的類別均實現了高個位數增長，但小型類別除外，該類別的增長為中個位數。該類別擁有最大的技術供應商組合。我們還在大多數排名前 10 的國家/地區實現了兩位數或高單位數增長。

Global Technology Sales contract value was $3.5 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 7% versus the prior year. GTS had quarterly NCVI of $14 million. While retention for GTS was 102% for the quarter, which compares to 107% in the prior year, when we saw a record high for this metric. IT enterprise function leaders' wallet retention remained above historical GTS levels during the second quarter. GTS new business was down 4% versus last year. New business with IT enterprise function leaders increased high single digits compared to the prior year against the tough compare.

截至第二季度末，全球技術銷售合同價值為 35 億美元，比去年同期增長 7%。 GTS 的季度 NCVI 為 1,400 萬美元。本季度 GTS 的留存率為 102%，而去年我們看到該指標創下歷史新高，為 107%。第二季度，IT 企業職能領導者的資金保留率仍高於歷史 GTS 水平。 GTS新業務較去年下降4%。與上一年相比，IT 企業職能領導者的新業務增長了高個位數。

GTS quota-bearing headcount was up 13% year-over-year, reflecting the catch-up hiring we did in 2022. We will continue to manage hiring based on both short-term performance and the medium-term opportunity. Our regular full set of GTS metrics can be found in the appendix of our earnings supplement.

GTS 配額員工人數同比增長 13%，反映了我們在 2022 年所做的追趕性招聘。我們將繼續根據短期績效和中期機會來管理招聘。我們的常規全套 GTS 指標可以在我們的收入補充附錄中找到。

Global Business Sales contract value was $1 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 15% year-over-year, which remains towards the higher end of our medium-term outlook of 12% to 16%. All of our GBS practices grew at double-digit or high single-digit rates, again, led by supply chain and HR. GBS CV increased $27 million from the first quarter. While retention for GBS was 109% for the quarter, which compares to 115% in the prior year, when we saw one of the highest-ever results for this metric. GBS new business was up 2% compared to last year against a strong compare.

第二季度末全球業務銷售合同價值為 10 億美元，同比增長 15%，仍接近我們中期前景 12% 至 16% 的上限。在供應鍊和人力資源的帶動下，我們所有的 GBS 實踐都以兩位數或高個位數的速度增長。 GBS CV 較第一季度增加 2700 萬美元。本季度 GBS 的保留率為 109%，而去年為 115%，當時我們看到了該指標有史以來最高的結果之一。 GBS 新業務較去年增長 2%，表現強勁。

GBS quota-bearing headcount was up 15% year-over-year. This excludes headcount associated with the Q1 divestiture. As with GTS, our regular full set of GBS metrics can be found in the appendix of our earnings supplement.

GBS 配額員工人數同比增長 15%。這不包括與第一季度剝離相關的員工人數。與 GTS 一樣，我們常規的全套 GBS 指標可以在我們的收益補充附錄中找到。

Conferences revenue for the second quarter was $169 million, ahead of our expectations, as we saw strong performance with both exhibitors and attendees. Contribution margin in the quarter was 58%, consistent with typical seasonality. We held 17 destination conferences in the quarter, all in person.

第二季度會議收入為 1.69 億美元，超出了我們的預期，因為我們看到參展商和與會者都表現強勁。本季度的貢獻率為 58%，與典型的季節性相符。本季度我們舉辦了 17 場目的地會議，全部是面對面的。

Second quarter Consulting revenues increased by 5% year-over-year to $126 million. On an FX-neutral basis, revenues were up 6%. Consulting contribution margin was 37% in the second quarter. Labor-based revenues were $104 million, up 9% versus Q2 of last year and up 11% on an FX-neutral basis. Backlog at June 30 was $172 million, increasing 17% year-over-year on an FX-neutral basis with continued booking strength. Our contract optimization business is highly variable. We delivered $22 million of revenue in the quarter, and the pipeline for both contract optimization and labor-based revenues remained strong.

第二季度諮詢收入同比增長 5%，達到 1.26 億美元。在匯率中性的基礎上，收入增長了 6%。第二季度諮詢貢獻率為 37%。基於勞動力的收入為 1.04 億美元，比去年第二季度增長 9%，在匯率中性的基礎上增長 11%。截至 6 月 30 日，積壓訂單為 1.72 億美元，在匯率中性的基礎上同比增長 17%，預訂量持續強勁。我們的合同優化業務變化很大。我們在本季度實現了 2200 萬美元的收入，合同優化和基於勞動力的收入渠道仍然強勁。

Consolidated cost of services increased 15% year-over-year in the second quarter as reported and on an FX-neutral basis. The biggest driver of the increase was higher headcount to support our continued strong growth. We also saw an increase in cost year-over-year with a return to in-person conferences.

據報告，在匯率中性的基礎上，第二季度綜合服務成本同比增長 15%。增長的最大推動因素是員工人數的增加，以支持我們持續強勁的增長。隨著面對面會議的回歸，我們還看到成本逐年增加。

SG&A increased 12% year-over-year in the second quarter as reported and 14% on an FX-neutral basis. SG&A increased in the quarter as a result of headcount growth.

據報告，第二季度銷售、管理及行政費用同比增長 12%，在匯率中性的基礎上增長 14%。由於員工人數增長，本季度的銷售、管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 有所增加。

EBITDA for the second quarter was $384 million compared to $389 million in the year-ago period. Second quarter EBITDA upside to our guidance reflected revenue exceeding our expectations in Conferences and prudent expense management.

第二季度 EBITDA 為 3.84 億美元，去年同期為 3.89 億美元。第二季度 EBITDA 高於我們的指導，反映出會議收入超出了我們的預期以及審慎的費用管理。

Depreciation in the quarter of $24 million was up modestly compared to 2022. Net interest expense, excluding deferred financing costs in the quarter was $23 million. This was down $5 million versus the second quarter of 2022 due to higher interest income on our cash balances. The modest floating rate debt we have is fully hedged through maturity.

與 2022 年相比，本季度的折舊額為 2400 萬美元，略有上升。本季度的淨利息支出（不包括遞延融資成本）為 2300 萬美元。由於我們現金餘額的利息收入增加，與 2022 年第二季度相比減少了 500 萬美元。我們擁有的適度浮動利率債務在到期時得到了充分對沖。

The Q2 adjusted tax rate, which we use for the calculation of adjusted net income, was 25% for the quarter. The tax rate for the items used to adjust net income was 27% for the quarter.

我們用於計算調整後淨利潤的第二季度調整後稅率為 25%。本季度用於調整淨利潤的項目稅率為 27%。

Adjusted EPS in Q2 was $2.85, in line with last year. We had 80 million shares outstanding in the second quarter. This is a reduction of close to 1 million shares or about 1% year-over-year. We exited the second quarter with about 80 million shares on an unweighted basis.

第二季度調整後每股收益為 2.85 美元，與去年持平。第二季度我們有 8000 萬股流通股。這意味著減少了近100萬股，同比減少約1%。第二季度結束時，我們持有約 8000 萬股未加權股票。

Operating cash flow for the quarter was $436 million, up 5% compared to last year. CapEx for the quarter was $26 million, up 21% year-over-year, as a result of an increase in technology investments. Free cash flow for the quarter was $410 million. Free cash flow as a percent of revenue on a rolling 4-quarter basis was 17% of revenue and 66% of EBITDA. Adjusted for the after-tax impact of the Q1 divestiture, free cash flow conversion from GAAP net income was 119%. Our free cash flow conversion is generally higher when CV growth is accelerating.

該季度運營現金流為 4.36 億美元，比去年增長 5%。由於技術投資增加，本季度資本支出為 2600 萬美元，同比增長 21%。該季度的自由現金流為 4.1 億美元。連續 4 個季度的自由現金流佔收入的百分比分別為收入的 17% 和 EBITDA 的 66%。根據第一季度資產剝離的稅後影響進行調整後，根據 GAAP 淨利潤換算的自由現金流為 119%。當簡歷增長加速時，我們的自由現金流轉換通常會更高。

At the end of the second quarter, we had about $1.2 billion of cash. Our June 30 debt balance was about $2.5 billion. Our reported gross debt to trailing 12-month EBITDA was under 2x. Our expected free cash flow generation, available revolver and excess cash remaining on the balance sheet provide ample liquidity to deliver on our capital allocation strategy of share repurchases and strategic tuck-in M&A. Our balance sheet is very strong with $2.2 billion of liquidity, low levels of leverage and effectively fixed interest rates.

第二季度末，我們擁有約 12 億美元的現金。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的債務餘額約為 25 億美元。我們報告的總債務與過去 12 個月的 EBITDA 相比低於 2 倍。我們預期的自由現金流生成、可用循環資金和資產負債表上剩餘的多餘現金提供了充足的流動性，以實現我們的股票回購和戰略性併購的資本配置策略。我們的資產負債表非常強勁，擁有 22 億美元的流動性、低杠桿水平和有效的固定利率。

We repurchased $132 million of stock during the second quarter. We had about $830 million remaining on our share repurchase authorization at June 30. We expect the Board to continue to refresh the repurchase authorization as needed going forward. As we continue to repurchase shares, our capital base will shrink. Over time, this is accretive to earnings per share, and combined with growing profits, also delivers increasing returns on invested capital over time.

我們在第二季度回購了價值 1.32 億美元的股票。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的股票回購授權還剩約 8.3 億美元。我們預計董事會將繼續根據需要更新回購授權。隨著我們繼續回購股票，我們的資本基礎將會縮小。隨著時間的推移，這會增加每股收益，再加上不斷增長的利潤，隨著時間的推移，投資資本的回報也會不斷增加。

We are increasing our full year Conferences, EBITDA and free cash flow guidance to reflect the strong Q2 performance. We are updating our Research revenue guidance to reflect tech vendor market dynamics on the non-subscription part of the business.

我們正在增加全年會議、EBITDA 和自由現金流指導，以反映第二季度的強勁表現。我們正在更新我們的研究收入指引，以反映技術供應商非訂閱業務部分的市場動態。

For Research, we continue to innovate and provide a very compelling value proposition for clients and prospects. We've got tough compares across most of the segment for another quarter. We expect stronger growth from the subscription business than the non-subscription part of the segment, as we indicated last quarter. The non-subscription part of the business has direct exposure to tech vendor spending.

在研究方面，我們不斷創新，為客戶和潛在客戶提供非常引人注目的價值主張。我們對下一個季度的大部分細分市場進行了艱難的比較。正如我們上季度所指出的那樣，我們預計訂閱業務的增長將比該領域的非訂閱部分更強勁。該業務的非訂閱部分直接受到技術供應商支出的影響。

The outlook continues to be based on all of our 47 destination conferences for 2023 running in person. There is seasonality to the business based on the conferences calendar, which is different than the historical pattern. We still expect Q4 to be the largest quarter of the year. We expect Q3 will be the smallest-revenue quarter of the year, as I noted in May. For Consulting revenues, contract optimization remains highly valuable. We had a very strong year in 2022, especially in contract optimization in the fourth quarter. We will continue both to manage expenses prudently to support future growth and deliver strong margins.

展望仍然基於我們 2023 年所有 47 場面對面舉辦的目的地會議。根據會議日曆，業務存在季節性，這與歷史模式不同。我們仍然預計第四季度將是今年最大的季度。正如我在五月份指出的那樣，我們預計第三季度將是今年收入最小的季度。對於諮詢收入而言，合同優化仍然非常有價值。 2022 年我們度過了非常強勁的一年，尤其是在第四季度的合同優化方面。我們將繼續謹慎管理開支，以支持未來的增長並實現強勁的利潤率。

Our updated 2023 guidance is as follows. We expect Research revenue of at least $4.855 billion, which is FX-neutral growth of about 6%, or 7% excluding the Q1 divestiture. The update to Research revenue guidance reflects the effect of tech vendor market dynamics on the non-subscription part of the business. We expect Conferences revenue of at least $490 million, which is growth of about 26%. We have increased our outlook for Conferences by $20 million. We expect Consulting revenue of at least $505 million, which is growth of about 5% FX-neutral, consistent with the outlook we gave in May.

我們更新的 2023 年指導如下。我們預計研究收入至少為 48.55 億美元，剔除匯率因素後增長約 6%，不包括第一季度資產剝離則增長 7%。研究收入指引的更新反映了技術供應商市場動態對業務非訂閱部分的影響。我們預計會議收入至少為 4.9 億美元，增長約 26%。我們將會議前景提高了 2000 萬美元。我們預計諮詢收入至少為 5.05 億美元，在匯率中性的情況下增長約 5%，與我們 5 月份給出的前景一致。

The result is an outlook for consolidated revenue of at least $5.85 billion, which is FX-neutral growth of 7%. The guidance reflects an update to non-subscription research revenue, partially offset by an increase to Conferences.

其結果是，綜合收入前景至少為 58.5 億美元，在匯率中性的情況下增長 7%。該指引反映了非訂閱研究收入的更新，部分被會議的增加所抵消。

We now expect full year EBITDA of at least $1.36 billion, up $30 million from our prior guidance, and an increase in our margin outlook as well. We will deliver on our margin guidance in most economic scenarios. If revenue is stronger than our outlook, EBITDA would be better than our guidance. We now expect 2023 adjusted EPS of at least $10.

我們現在預計全年 EBITDA 至少為 13.6 億美元，比我們之前的指導增加 3000 萬美元，並且我們的利潤率前景也將提高。我們將在大多數經濟情況下提供保證金指導。如果收入強於我們的預期，則 EBITDA 將好於我們的指導。我們現在預計 2023 年調整後每股收益至少為 10 美元。

For 2023, we now expect free cash flow of at least $975 million, up $55 million from our prior guidance. This higher free cash flow reflects a conversion from GAAP net income of about 140%, excluding the after-tax divestiture proceeds. Our guidance is based on 80 million fully diluted weighted average shares outstanding, which reflects the repurchases made through the end of June. Finally, for the third quarter of 2023, we expect EBITDA of at least $275 million.

目前，我們預計 2023 年自由現金流至少為 9.75 億美元，比之前的指導增加 5500 萬美元。這一較高的自由現金流反映出約 140% 的 GAAP 淨利潤（不包括稅後剝離收益）的轉換。我們的指導基於 8000 萬股完全稀釋加權平均已發行股票，反映了截至 6 月底的回購情況。最後，我們預計 2023 年第三季度的 EBITDA 至少為 2.75 億美元。

We had a strong first half despite continuing global macro uncertainty and a dynamic tech vendor market. CV and revenue grew high single digits in the quarter. Conferences and EBITDA performance exceeded our expectations and we increased our guidance as well. Margins are strong, consistent with our prior commentary. Free cash flow was strong in the quarter, and we increased the guidance for the full year. We repurchased over $230 million in stock during the first half and remain committed to returning excess capital to our shareholders. And we have ample liquidity that we are ready to deploy on behalf of shareholders over the coming quarters.

儘管全球宏觀不確定性持續存在且技術供應商市場充滿活力，但我們上半年的表現依然強勁。本季度的簡歷和收入增長了高個位數。會議和 EBITDA 表現超出了我們的預期，我們也提高了指導。利潤率很高，與我們之前的評論一致。本季度自由現金流強勁，我們提高了全年指導。上半年我們回購了超過 2.3 億美元的股票，並繼續致力於將多餘的資本返還給股東。我們擁有充足的流動性，準備在未來幾個季度代表股東進行部署。

Looking out over the medium term, our financial model and expectations are unchanged. With 12% to 16% Research CV growth, we will deliver double-digit revenue growth. With gross margin expansion, sales costs growing in line with CV growth over time and G&A leverage, we can modestly expand margins. We can grow free cash flow at least as fast as EBITDA because of our modest CapEx needs and the benefits of our clients paying us upfront. And we'll continue to deploy our capital on share repurchases, which will lower the share count over time; and on strategic, value-enhancing tuck-in M&A.

展望中期，我們的財務模式和預期保持不變。隨著 12% 至 16% 研究簡歷的增長，我們將實現兩位數的收入增長。隨著毛利率的擴張、銷售成本的增長與CV隨時間的增長以及一般行政費用槓桿的增長一致，我們可以適度擴大利潤率。由於我們適度的資本支出需求以及客戶預先向我們付款的好處，我們的自由現金流增長速度至少可以與 EBITDA 一樣快。我們將繼續將資金用於股票回購，這將隨著時間的推移減少股票數量；以及戰略性的、增值的併購。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to the operator, and we'll be happy to take your questions. Operator?

這樣，我會將電話轉回給接線員，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question coming from the line of Jeff Meuler with Baird.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jeff Meuler 和 Baird 的線路。

Q2 CV and new business sold seemed solid to me, but just want to make sure, to 100% confirm, that there was no change to Research non -- or I'm sorry, Research subscription revenue expectations in the guidance that's signaling like a surprising step-down recently or incremental slowing recently in CV. And if it's all limited to just the non-subs, the $70 million reduction on a $422 million revenue base seems like a big midyear adjustment. If you could just talk through the dynamics there.

第二季度的簡歷和新業務銷售對我來說似乎很可靠，但只是想確保 100％ 確認，研究非 - 或者我很抱歉，指南中的研究訂閱收入預期沒有變化，這發出了類似的信號最近令人驚訝的降級或最近CV 的增量放緩。如果這一切都僅限於非訂閱者，那麼在 4.22 億美元的收入基礎上減少 7000 萬美元似乎是年中的一次重大調整。如果你能談談那裡的動態就好了。

Yes, Jeff, thanks for the questions. So on the first part of your question, the subscription revenue piece of our business continues to perform very well, as you noted. We do have the tech vendor dynamics impacting the business, but GBS continues to be very strong. The IT end user portion of GTS continues to be very strong. Your point on the CV growth for each of those and the new business dynamics for each of those were spot on in the quarter. And so essentially, the revision to guidance, where we thought we were going to be from a subscription perspective, it's the non-sub piece that really impacted the guidance. I think -- and Gene will hop in here, too.

是的，傑夫，謝謝你的提問。因此，關於你問題的第一部分，正如你所指出的，我們業務的訂閱收入部分繼續表現良好。我們確實有技術供應商的動態影響我們的業務，但 GBS 仍然非常強勁。 GTS 的 IT 最終用戶部分仍然非常強勁。您對每個項目的簡歷增長以及每個項目的新業務動態的觀點在本季度都是正確的。因此，從本質上講，對指南的修訂，我們認為我們將從訂閱的角度來看，真正影響指南的是非子部分。我想——吉恩也會跳到這裡。

The way to think about the impact. So clearly, as we've talked about, the non-sub business has direct exposure to tech vendor marketing spending, and that has become very constrained over the last few quarters and more constrained in the first half of this year. And that's essentially what's impacting that business.

思考影響的方式。很明顯，正如我們所討論的，非子業務直接受到技術供應商營銷支出的影響，而這在過去幾個季度變得非常有限，而在今年上半年則更加受到限制。這本質上就是影響該業務的因素。

We do believe that when the tech vendor market stabilizes, that this will get back to being a great growth business for us, just like it will within the GTS subscription part of the business as well. We're just dealing with a little bit of those temporary dynamics that we're talking about. And again, having 2 quarters of history, to be able then to look forward, with the facts we saw in the first half of the year, that led to that revision. But again, solely on the non-subscription part of the business.

我們確實相信，當技術供應商市場穩定下來時，這對我們來說將重新成為一項巨大的增長業務，就像 GTS 訂閱部分業務一樣。我們只是在處理我們正在談論的一些臨時動態。再說一次，有了兩個季度的歷史，我們就能夠根據我們在上半年看到的事實來展望未來，這導致了這次修訂。但同樣，僅限於業務的非訂閱部分。

Okay. And then when I hear about tech vendor marketing spend weakness, obviously, we see that in the broader landscape. So what's happening in your non-subs business and Research directionally makes sense. But the thing that I would worry about is does Conferences revenue also get hit at some point? And I get that the Conferences attendance is strong, but it seems surprising to me that the exhibitor bookings are doing as well as they are in Conferences against that landscape. And maybe if you could compare and contrast, like if there's a major client difference or if it's just the value prop is so strong. Or if -- how you think about, I guess, future risk on exhibitor bookings and conferences.

好的。然後，當我聽說技術供應商營銷支出疲軟時，顯然，我們在更廣泛的領域看到了這一點。因此，您的非訂閱業務和研究中發生的事情是有道理的。但我擔心的是，會議收入是否也會在某個時候受到影響？我知道會議的出席率很高，但令我驚訝的是，在這種情況下，參展商的預訂情況與會議中的情況一樣好。也許你可以進行比較和對比，比如是否存在主要客戶差異，或者只是價值支撐如此強大。或者，我猜您如何看待參展商預訂和會議的未來風險。

Jeff, so our Conferences business is a great business. There's great value proposition, is doing extremely well. On the attendee side, we're seeing great growth across the board. We're expanding the number of conferences as quickly as we can do it operationally because we're seeing such great takeup.

傑夫，所以我們的會議業務是一項偉大的業務。有很大的價值主張，而且做得非常好。在與會者方面，我們看到了全面的巨大增長。我們正在盡快擴大會議的數量，因為我們看到瞭如此巨大的使用率。

On the exhibitor side, similarly, because we have such rate attendees, it's very attractive to exhibitors, and our exhibitor bookings have been very strong and in line with what we've seen last year, which were also extremely strong. And it's because of the great value proposition we have with both our attendees and with the exhibitors.

在參展商方面，同樣，因為我們有如此多的與會者，這對參展商來說非常有吸引力，而且我們的參展商預訂非常強勁，與我們去年看到的情況一致，去年也非常強勁。這是因為我們對與會者和參展商都提出了巨大的價值主張。

And our question coming from the line of Heather Balsky with Bank of America.

我們的問題來自美國銀行的希瑟·巴爾斯基 (Heather Balsky)。

Yes, you just kind of talked about your enterprise business and how it's holding up strong. And you talked about it running up double digits this quarter. I'm just curious, quarter-to-quarter, I guess 2Q versus 1Q, how that business is trending. Are you -- where you see demand going in the current environment? And potentially what you think some of the catalysts are in either direction.

是的，您剛才談到了您的企業業務以及它如何保持強勁。你談到本季度它增長了兩位數。我只是好奇，按季度計算，我想第二季度與第一季度相比，該業務的趨勢如何。您認為當前環境下的需求走向如何？您認為某些催化劑可能是朝任一方向發展的。

Heather, thanks. I think the trends on the enterprise function leader part of the business were pretty consistent from Q1 to Q2. So nothing within the quarter and really nothing too much from a variability perspective from Q1 to Q2. So those businesses continue to perform very well, and our expectation is they continue to perform very well. So nothing really to see there from a monthly perspective or from a quarter-to-quarter perspective.

希瑟，謝謝。我認為從第一季度到第二季度，企業職能領導部分的趨勢非常一致。因此，從第一季度到第二季度的變化角度來看，本季度內沒有什麼變化，而且實際上也沒有太多變化。因此，這些業務繼續表現出色，我們的期望是它們繼續表現出色。因此，從每月的角度或從每季度的角度來看，確實沒有什麼可看的。

Okay. That's helpful. And with regards to your outlook for the tech vendors, you talked about that you see it returning to sort of your normalized run rate growth over the midterm. And then I think you just mentioned that it's probably more of a short-term trend. I'm just curious if, are you seeing any signs of potential improvement as you move through the year or even to 2024? Or just curious why you're talking more over the midterm versus the short term.

好的。這很有幫助。關於您對技術供應商的展望，您談到您認為它會在中期恢復到正常化的運行率增長。然後我想你剛剛提到這可能更多的是一種短期趨勢。我只是好奇，隨著這一年甚至 2024 年的到來，您是否看到任何潛在改善的跡象？或者只是好奇為什麼你更多地談論中期而不是短期。

Heather, it's Gene. So what I'd say is on a short-term basis, no change, Q1 to Q2, in terms of tech vendor demand, very similar with the exception of the non-subscription business, which as we've talked about.

希瑟，我是吉恩。因此，我想說的是，從短期來看，從第一季度到第二季度，就技術供應商的需求而言，沒有任何變化，除了我們已經討論過的非訂閱業務外，非常相似。

It's our perspective that what happened -- what's going on in the tech industry is that demand got pulled forward during the recession, through the pandemic. And that -- so there was some demand that was already filled then, and demand will get back to trend once sort of a little time elapses. And how long that takes, we don't know. But we believe the technology business will get back to trend in the medium term.

我們的觀點是，科技行業正在發生的事情是，在經濟衰退期間，通過大流行，需求被拉動了。那麼，當時有一些需求已經被滿足，一旦過了一點時間，需求就會恢復到趨勢。而這需要多長時間，我們不知道。但我們相信科技業務將在中期恢復趨勢。

And our next question coming from the line of Toni Kaplan with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的托尼·卡普蘭。

I was hoping that you could talk about the current client spending appetite, if you're seeing cost-cutting or if you're seeing just business as usual. It sounds like the subscription business is performing well, and it's just this tech vendor piece that's having a little bit of a hiccup. So I just wanted to get any color on the overall customer environment.

我希望您能談談當前客戶的支出偏好，如果您看到的是成本削減，或者您只是看到一切如常。聽起來訂閱業務表現良好，只是這個技術供應商的部分遇到了一點問題。所以我只是想在整個客戶環境中獲得任何顏色。

Yes. So Toni, so as you pointed out, contract value for enterprise function leaders continue to grow at double-digit rates. I will say, while we're growing there, that there are more decisions are getting escalated and there's more scrutiny than there was like a year ago. So it's a tougher environment in terms of escalations. But at the end of the day, people see our value and buy, which is why we've had that great performance.

是的。托尼，正如您所指出的，企業職能領導者的合同價值繼續以兩位數的速度增長。我想說的是，當我們在那裡成長時，與一年前相比，有更多的決定正在升級，並且有更多的審查。因此，就升級而言，這是一個更加艱難的環境。但最終，人們看到了我們的價值併購買了我們，這就是我們取得如此出色業績的原因。

Terrific. Wanted to ask about whether AI could actually be a help for you with regard to adding additional seats across the enterprise. Are you thinking that corporations will start to need an AI strategy across some of the GBS lines, like finance, legal, HR? Could that lead to additional seats? And then similarly within GTS, could that lead to additional seats as well? Or do you view this as being sort of similar to prior technology trends like cloud, and so therefore, it's just a change of topic?

了不起。想詢問人工智能是否真的可以幫助您在整個企業中增加額外的席位。您是否認為企業將開始需要跨 GBS 某些領域（例如財務、法律、人力資源）的人工智能戰略？這會導致額外的座位嗎？類似地，在 GTS 中，這是否也會帶來額外的席位？或者您是否認為這與雲等先前的技術趨勢有點相似，因此這只是話題的改變？

I expect it's a little bit in between, actually. That it is a change of topics, but there's more kind of intense interest in the topic of AI than there was in such a short period with cloud.

實際上，我希望它介於兩者之間。這是主題的變化，但人們對人工智能主題的興趣比在如此短的時間內對雲的興趣要強烈。

To give you a flavor of it, we did more than 22,000 interactions in the first half. This is one-on-one calls with our experts in -- on the subject of AI, which is higher than any other single topic, and the rate of growth is very high. And we're seeing a lot of demand with enterprises that we hadn't seen before, where they're saying, "Hey, can you talk with us about AI?" So we expect that, that will be a positive for our business.

為了讓您體驗一下，我們在上半年進行了超過 22,000 次互動。這是與我們的專家進行的一對一通話，主題是人工智能，它比任何其他單一主題都要高，而且增長率非常高。我們看到企業提出了很多我們以前從未見過的需求，他們說：“嘿，你能和我們談談人工智能嗎？”因此，我們預計這將對我們的業務產生積極影響。

And sorry, Toni. I mean, the other thing I'd add is just to underscore your point on the broad applicability of AI being a little bit different than some other topics. Because to your point, finance leaders care about it, legal leaders there about it, HR leaders care about it, in addition to IT leaders and their teams caring about it. So there is the potential that it is a little more broad-based, to your point, than prior technology plays.

抱歉，托尼。我的意思是，我要補充的另一件事只是強調你的觀點，即人工智能的廣泛適用性與其他一些主題略有不同。因為就你的觀點而言，財務領導者關心它，法律領導者關心它，人力資源領導者關心它，除了 IT 領導者及其團隊關心它。因此，就您而言，它有可能比以前的技術更廣泛。

And our next question coming from the line of Seth Weber with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的賽斯·韋伯 (Seth Weber)。

I wanted to ask just about the implied EBITDA margin raise for the year. Is that just a function of mix? Or is there something else that's supporting the stronger margin outlook for the year?

我想問的是今年隱含的 EBITDA 利潤率增長情況。這只是混合的函數嗎？還是有其他因素支持今年利潤率前景更強勁？

Seth, on the margins, as we've talked about, the margins can pop around a little bit from quarter to quarter depending on spending trends and where the revenue is trending as well. And so our margins were a little bit higher than we had initially anticipated in the first half of the year. And I'd say it's really just a combination of revenue modestly exceeding our expectations in the first half and expenses modestly being a little bit below our expectations. Or said another way, we're just more prudently managing our OpEx as we work our way through the year.

塞斯，就利潤率而言，正如我們所討論的，利潤率可能會根據支出趨勢和收入趨勢在每個季度略有波動。因此，今年上半年我們的利潤率比我們最初預期的要高一些。我想說，這實際上只是上半年收入略高於我們的預期和略低於我們預期的支出的結合。或者換句話說，我們只是在全年工作中更加謹慎地管理我們的運營支出。

So again, margins can pop around. There's no megatrend there, I would say, other than a little bit of modest revenue upside and us making sure that, again, we talked about in our prepared remarks, really carefully calibrating our headcount levels and our OpEx levels to ensure that we deliver consistently strong margins.

同樣，利潤率可能會出現波動。我想說，除了一點點適度的收入增長之外，沒有什麼大趨勢，而且我們再次確保我們在準備好的講話中談到，真正仔細地調整我們的員工數量水平和運營支出水平，以確保我們始終如一地交付利潤豐厚。

Got it. And then just on the big ramp in the quota-bearing headcount. Can you just talk to where you think you are from an efficiency perspective for the new hires? Are they kind of on track? Or any kind of metrics that you could call out as far as efficiency or productivity goes with the new hires?

知道了。然後就在配額人數的大幅增長上。您能否從效率的角度談談您對新員工的看法？他們步入正軌了嗎？或者您可以提出任何關於新員工的效率或生產力的指標？

Yes. So we've -- to your point, we've ramped up our sales force with the lowest number of openings we've had in a long time. And the talent that we've been hiring, if you look at kind of how we track the quality of the talent, is very, very high. And we were ramped up hiring the most last year. So these people are starting to get a little bit of tenure under their belt. And we expect over the next 3 years, as they get up to full tenure, that actually the productivity will be very good. And we're seeing the ramp we'd expect at this point.

是的。因此，就您而言，我們已經以長期以來最低的職位空缺數量增強了銷售隊伍。如果你看看我們如何跟踪人才的質量，我們一直在招聘的人才非常非常高。去年我們的招聘力度是最大的。所以這些人開始獲得一些終身職位。我們預計，在接下來的三年裡，當他們任期滿時，生產力實際上會非常好。我們現在看到了我們所期望的斜坡。

And our next question coming from the line of Manav Patnaik with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的馬納夫·帕特奈克 (Manav Patnaik)。

I was just -- on the margin front, Craig, I think in the call, you mentioned T&E back to normal or something of that effect. So I was just curious, are we at those normalized levels where you talked about kind of the long-term margin being in the low 20s? Or is there more normalization to occur still overall with all the different moving pieces?

我只是——在保證金方面，克雷格，我想在電話會議中，你提到了 T&E 恢復正常或類似的效果。所以我只是很好奇，我們是否處於您所說的長期利潤率在 20 多歲左右的標準化水平？或者，所有不同的移動部件總體上是否會出現更多的標準化？

Manav, it's a great question. So we are back to what we believe to be roughly the new normal from both the T&E perspective. And last year in particular, we were playing catch up on hiring throughout the course of the year. And so as you look at our operating expenses now, I think we're at a pretty "normal" level of operating expenses. And so what we're looking at from Q2 through the end of this year is normal seasonality from an OpEx perspective, with our new normal levels of T&E, modest headcount growth to make sure that we're investing for the future, et cetera, kind of baked in. So I think it is a good normalized, if you will, OpEx level that we're working off of this year.

馬納夫，這是一個很好的問題。因此，從差旅費和娛樂費的角度來看，我們又回到了我們認為的新常態。尤其是去年，我們全年都在追趕招聘工作。因此，當您現在查看我們的運營支出時，我認為我們的運營支出處於相當“正常”的水平。因此，從運營支出的角度來看，從第二季度到今年年底，我們看到的是正常的季節性，我們的旅遊和娛樂達到新的正常水平，適度的員工增長以確保我們為未來進行投資等等，所以我認為這是一個很好的標準化（如果你願意的話）我們今年正在研究的運營支出水平。

Got it. Okay. And then just on the second half a little bit more specifically, can you just talk about the -- I suppose, the hiring expectations? And maybe even just on the cost side, it just seems like it could be -- it seems a little conservative. But maybe there's some things we're missing here.

知道了。好的。然後，在下半年，更具體一點，你能談談——我想是招聘預期嗎？甚至可能只是在成本方面，似乎也有可能——這似乎有點保守。但也許我們在這裡遺漏了一些東西。

Yes. I think there's a few things in there, Manav. So one is the seasonality with our Conferences business. We are performing really, really well in Conferences. And Q4 is by far our largest conference quarter, and that means you generally see expenses up in the fourth quarter just to deliver those conferences. And' then because it's the fourth quarter, because we have so many conferences, there's a lot of additional travel and marketing activity that spikes in the fourth quarter as well, which again, is sort of back to our typical seasonality that we had from an OpEx perspective pre-pandemic.

是的。我認為裡面有一些東西，馬納夫。其中之一是我們的會議業務的季節性。我們在會議中的表現非常非常好。第四季度是迄今為止我們最大的會議季度，這意味著您通常會看到第四季度的費用增加只是為了舉辦這些會議。然後，因為現在是第四季度，因為我們有很多會議，所以第四季度也會有很多額外的旅行和營銷活動激增，這又有點回到了我們從去年開始的典型季節性。大流行前的運營支出觀點。

So if you think about OpEx, it's relatively flattish from 2Q to Q3. A little bit of a step down because of it's a lighter Conferences quarter. And then a pretty big step-up in OpEx from Q3 to Q4, driven by the conferences calendar, significant travel to support our conferences calendar, and marketing to support the conferences calendar and the close of our year as well.

因此，如果考慮運營支出，第二季度到第三季度相對持平。有點下降，因為這是一個較輕的會議季度。然後，在會議日曆、支持會議日曆的大量旅行以及支持會議日曆和年末的營銷的推動下，運營支出從第三季度到第四季度有了相當大的提升。

We are running a number of scenarios, and we are planning in a very agile way in terms of the headcount that we plan to add between now and the end of this year. And there's a wide range of scenarios, and we've got a wide range of recruiting scenarios as well. I mean, one of the things that we've been very careful about is making sure that we maintain our recruitment capacity so that when supercharged growth returns, we are more than ready to turn that dial from a recruitment perspective. So we're maintaining our recruitment capacity and we're ready to tune those dials up or down, depending on what the second half of the year looks like, predominantly from a contract value growth perspective.

我們正在運行許多場景，並且我們正在以非常靈活的方式規劃從現在到今年年底之間計劃增加的人員數量。場景多種多樣，我們的招聘場景也多種多樣。我的意思是，我們一直非常小心的一件事是確保我們維持我們的招聘能力，以便當強勁的增長回歸時，我們完全準備好從招聘的角度扭轉局面。因此，我們正在維持我們的招聘能力，並準備根據下半年的情況（主要是從合同價值增長的角度）來調高或調低這些指標。

And our next question coming from the line of Josh Chan with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Josh Chan。

I guess on GTS, obviously, the wallet retention is impacted by the overall environment. I was just wondering what you think the trajectory of the GTS wallet retention will be over the coming quarters. Would it surprise you if it went below 100%? Or is that too drastic of a scenario?

我想在GTS上，顯然，錢包保留受到整體環境的影響。我只是想知道您認為未來幾個季度 GTS 錢包保留率的軌跡如何。如果低於 100%，您會感到驚訝嗎？或者這種情況是否太過極端？

Josh, I think important to disaggregate the enterprise function leader portion of GTS and the tech vendor portion of GTS. So overall, we are still well over 100% on wallet retention, and that's with the enterprise function portion of our GTS wallet retention being above historical averages. And so we expect that to continue.

Josh，我認為將 GTS 的企業職能領導者部分和 GTS 的技術供應商部分分開很重要。因此，總體而言，我們的錢包保留率仍然遠高於 100%，而且我們的 GTS 錢包保留率的企業功能部分高於歷史平均水平。因此我們預計這種情況會繼續下去。

The tech vendor side, wallet retention is a rolling 4-quarter metric, and so we'll have the more challenging quarters in the number for a little while. But I would say, we don't forecast wallet retention or -- I shouldn't say we don't forecast it, we don't guide wallet retention or contract value. But given that the enterprise function leader part of the GTS business is the predominant part of it, call it, 70-ish percent of the business, that continues to be very strong, and that should drive the wallet retention over the coming quarters.

在技​​術供應商方面，錢包保留率是一個滾動的 4 季度指標，因此我們將在一段時間內面臨更具挑戰性的季度。但我想說，我們不預測錢包保留，或者——我不應該說我們不預測，我們不指導錢包保留或合同價值。但考慮到 GTS 業務的企業職能領導部分是其主要部分，可以稱之為業務的 70% 左右，這一點仍然非常強勁，並且應該會在未來幾個季度推動錢包保留。

Okay. That's helpful. And then on your comment about headcount, I guess what indicators are you looking for in order to kind of toggle up or toggle down the recruitment in the second half?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，關於您對員工人數的評論，我想您正在尋找哪些指標，以便在下半年增加或減少招聘？

Yes. The main thing we look at is what our CV growth is. And so we look at what our bookings are and how sales are going because we want to make sure we match our headcount growth to the amount of the bookings that we have. And that kind of helps ensure that our performance of business going forward is in the right space from both a growth viewpoint as well as margin viewpoint.

是的。我們主要關注的是我們的簡歷增長情況。因此，我們會關注我們的預訂情況以及銷售情況，因為我們希望確保我們的員工人數增長與我們擁有的預訂量相匹配。從增長的角度和利潤的角度來看，這有助於確保我們未來的業務表現處於正確的範圍。

And our next question coming from the line Stephanie Moore with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自杰弗里斯的斯蒂芬妮摩爾。

I wanted to touch on the Research pricing environment. I believe you tend to increase those in the fall of the year. So just wanted to get an update on how you're thinking about price increases for this year into next.

我想談談研究定價環境。我相信你傾向於在今年秋天增加這些。因此，我只是想了解一下您對今年和明年價格上漲的看法的最新情況。

Yes, Stephanie. So I think one of our core goals with pricing is to make sure that, at a minimum, we are offsetting our projected wage inflation. And so in the past few years, when we were seeing higher wage inflation, we went a little bit stronger on the price increase. This year, again, the labor market or the type of people that we are recruiting is still relatively strong. But the wage inflation, we expect to be a little bit more muted. We're still working through all the details of the price increase, which again to your point, goes into effect in November. But I would suspect it's a little bit lighter than what we've done in the last 2 years, just given the inflationary environment, particularly wage inflationary environment, has abated a little bit.

是的，斯蒂芬妮。因此，我認為我們定價的核心目標之一是確保至少抵消預期的工資通脹。因此，在過去幾年中，當我們看到工資上漲較高時，我們對價格上漲的力度會更大一些。今年，勞動力市場或我們招聘的人員類型仍然相對強勁。但我們預計工資通脹將會更加溫和。我們仍在研究漲價的所有細節，同樣符合您的觀點，漲價將於 11 月生效。但我懷疑這比我們過去兩年所做的要輕一些，只是考慮到通脹環境，特別是工資通脹環境，已經有所減弱。

And our next question coming from the line of George Tong with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 George Tong。

Following up on some of the tech vendor non-subscription trends. Can you talk about which products specifically are seeing reduced demand due to a slowdown in tech vendor marketing spend?

跟進一些技術供應商非訂閱趨勢。您能否談談由於技術供應商營銷支出放緩而具體導致哪些產品需求減少？

And generally, is the non-subscription demand leading, coincident or lagging with broader client IT spend?

一般來說，非訂閱需求與更廣泛的客戶 IT 支出相比是領先、一致還是滯後？

George, I just want to clarify your question. So it was which products are most impacted? Is that what the question was? The first one.

喬治，我只是想澄清你的問題。那麼哪些產品受到的影響最大呢？這就是問題所在嗎？第一個。

Yes, within your non-subscription book of products.

是的，在您的非訂閱產品手冊中。

Yes, sure. So within the non-subscription part of the business, which again represents around 8% or less than 10%, let's call it, of our overall research revenue, the predominant way we derive revenue there is through lead generation for tech vendors. And really focused on the, I call it, non-enterprise IT market. So smaller businesses, et cetera.

是的，當然。因此，在業務的非訂閱部分（我們稱之為整體研究收入的 8% 或不到 10%）中，我們獲得收入的主要方式是通過為技術供應商開發潛在客戶。並且真正專注於我所說的非企業 IT 市場。較小的企業等等。

And so our GTS business is really focused on enterprise tech companies, whereas the non-subscription business is really focused on a combination of enterprise and really small business focused technology companies. And so that's where we've seen, on the small technology companies, the companies most focused on selling into small businesses, that's where we've seen the biggest challenge.

因此，我們的 GTS 業務實際上專注於企業科技公司，而非訂閱業務則真正專注於企業和真正以小型企業為重點的科技公司的組合。這就是我們在小型科技公司中看到的，這些公司最專注於向小型企業銷售產品，這就是我們看到的最大挑戰。

Again, you cover all the things that are happening in the tech market, from funding and the overall dynamics there. But as those companies are recalibrating their operating expenses, clearly, marketing and lead gen is a place that they will often look to get a big handle on. And I think that's what's happening.

同樣，您涵蓋了科技市場中正在發生的所有事情，從資金到整體動態。但隨著這些公司正在重新調整其運營支出，顯然，營銷和潛在客戶開發是他們經常尋求重點關注的地方。我認為這就是正在發生的事情。

That said, they are still spending and spending well in that business. And as Gene mentioned earlier, and I think I mentioned too, we fully expect, once the market is recalibrated, it will get back to growing. But it's predominantly around the lead gen stuff and the focus on lead gen in smaller businesses.

也就是說，他們仍在該業務上花錢，而且花錢很多。正如吉恩之前提到的，我想我也提到過，我們完全預計，一旦市場重新調整，它將恢復增長。但它主要圍繞潛在客戶開發的內容以及對小型企業潛在客戶開發的關注。

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. And then separately, could you talk about how the tech vendor non-subscription performance trended over the course of the quarter? Did you see a bottoming? Did you see further deterioration as you moved through the quarter? And does your updated guide assume trends stabilized from 2Q levels or worsened from the 2Q levels?

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後，您能否單獨談談本季度技術供應商的非訂閱業績趨勢如何？你看到觸底了嗎？隨著本季度的進展，您是否看到情況進一步惡化？您更新後的指南是否假設趨勢從第二季度水平穩定下來或從第二季度水平惡化？

Yes, it's a great question. I think it's been relatively consistent with normal levels of volatility [month-to-month], week-to-week and actually day-to-day. But trends pretty consistent Q1 to Q2. And what we've modeled into our guide is essentially stabilization from those Q2 levels for the balance of the year.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我認為它與[每月]、每週甚至每天的正常波動水平相對一致。但第一季度到第二季度的趨勢非常一致。我們在指南中建立的模型基本上是在今年剩餘時間裡從第二季度的水平開始趨於穩定。

And our next question coming from the line of Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自蒙特利爾銀行資本市場部的 Jeff Silber。

Sorry to keep on focusing on the non-subscriptions piece. Normally, can you just tell us from a breakdown perspective, what percentage comes from tech vendors and what percentage comes from enterprise customers? And if we could just focus in on the enterprise customers component of that, can you talk about how that's trending?

很抱歉繼續關注非訂閱部分。一般情況下，您能否從細分的角度告訴我們，來自技術供應商的比例是多少，來自企業客戶的比例是多少？如果我們可以只關注其中的企業客戶部分，您能談談它的趨勢嗎？

Yes, 100% of the revenue comes from tech vendors in the non-subscription piece of part of the business. So 100% of that, less than 10% of our overall Research business, is tech vendor-focused.

是的，100%的收入來自非訂閱部分業務的技術供應商。因此，其中 100%（不到我們整體研究業務的 10%）是以技術供應商為中心的。

Okay. I appreciate you clarifying that. I wanted to actually circle back and talk about AI, but the potential impact on your business internally. Do you think it's going to make your analysts more efficient? Do you think you might be able to reduce headcount from an analyst perspective just to take advantage of the technology? Any thoughts would be great.

好的。我很感謝你澄清這一點。我實際上想回過頭來談談人工智能，但它對你的內部業務的潛在影響。您認為這會讓您的分析師更有效率嗎？您認為從分析師的角度來看，您是否可以減少員工數量以利用該技術？任何想法都會很棒。

Yes, Jeff. So we're looking at AI from a lot of perspectives. The first and most important one is what I talked about earlier, which is there is a tremendous amount of client demand, and we're the best source for clients to get help in AI, and it's of tremendous interest with them. So that's the key place that we are most focused on.

是的，傑夫。所以我們從很多角度來看待人工智能。第一個也是最重要的一點就是我之前談到的，客戶的需求量巨大，我們是客戶獲得人工智能幫助的最佳來源，他們對此非常感興趣。所以這是我們最關注的關鍵地方。

We actually use AI in our business today, we have for years in different parts of our business. And so internally, we look at are there cost-optimization opportunities to reduce internally? As I said, we've been doing that. We are increasing the amount of that over time. We're also looking at can we provide customer services using AI that would be enhanced? All those kinds of things.

我們今天實際上在我們的業務中使用人工智能，多年來我們在業務的不同部分都使用了人工智能。因此，在內部，我們會研究是否有內部成本優化的機會來減少？正如我所說，我們一直在這樣做。隨著時間的推移，我們正在增加其數量。我們還在考慮是否可以使用人工智能來提供增強的客戶服務？所有這些事情。

All of this -- I'd say, internally, those kinds of uses are going to be normal course of business, being we always focus on improved productivity. We have a lot of tools, a lot -- technology is a big part of the toolkit. And AI is just one of those tools improving productivity over time, which we've always been focused on. So I don't see any kind of like some costs dropping by 50% or something because I see more of it as part of our ongoing continuous improvement and continuous innovation that we've been doing for years.

所有這些——我想說，在內部，這些用途將成為正常的業務過程，因為我們始終專注於提高生產力。我們有很多工具，很多——技術是工具包的重要組成部分。人工智能只是我們一直關注的隨著時間的推移提高生產力的工具之一。因此，我不認為某些成本會下降 50% 之類的，因為我認為這更多是我們多年來持續改進和持續創新的一部分。

And I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Gene Hall for any closing remarks.

目前我在隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。現在，我將把電話轉回給吉恩·霍爾先生，讓他發表結束語。

So here's what I'd like you take away for today's call. Gartner drove another strong performance in Q2. We deliver unparalleled value to enterprise leaders and their teams across every major function, whether they're thriving, struggling 'or anywhere in between. Were exceptionally agile and continuously adapting to the changing world, and we know the right things to do to be successful in any environment.

以下是我希望您在今天的電話會議中獲得的信息。 Gartner 在第二季度再次取得強勁業績。我們為每個主要職能部門的企業領導者及其團隊提供無與倫比的價值，無論他們是在蓬勃發展、苦苦掙扎還是介於兩者之間。我們異常敏捷並不斷適應不斷變化的世界，我們知道在任何環境中取得成功的正確做法。

Looking ahead, we are well positioned to continue our sustained record of success far into the future. Our client value proposition and addressable market opportunity will allow us to drive long-term, sustained double-digit revenue growth. We expect margins will expand modestly over time, and we generate significant free cash flow well in excess of net income. Even as we invest for future growth, we'll return significant levels of excess capital to our shareholders. This reduces shares outstanding and increases returns over time.

展望未來，我們處於有利位置，可以在未來繼續保持持續的成功記錄。我們的客戶價值主張和潛在的市場機會將使我們能夠推動長期、持續的兩位數收入增長。我們預計利潤率將隨著時間的推移而小幅增長，​​並且我們產生的自由現金流將遠遠超過淨利潤。即使我們為未來增長進行投資，我們也會向股東返還大量超額資本。隨著時間的推移，這會減少流通股並增加回報。

Thanks for joining us today, and we look forward to updating you again next quarter.

感謝您今天加入我們，我們期待下個季度再次為您提供最新消息。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。