高德納諮詢公司 (IT) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Gartner's second-quarter 2026 earnings call. I'm David Cohen, SVP of Investor Relations. (Operator Instructions) After comments by Gene Hall, Gartner's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Craig Safian, Gartner's Chief Financial Officer, there will be a question-and-answer session. We ask that you limit yourself to one question in order to give all our analysts a chance to participate in the call.

各位早安。歡迎參加 Gartner 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。我是投資人關係資深副總裁 David Cohen。（接線員指示）在 Gartner 董事長兼執行長 Gene Hall，以及 Gartner 財務長 Craig Safian 發表評論後，將進行問答環節。為了讓所有分析師都有機會參與本次電話會議，請各位將提問限制為一個問題。

Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. This call will include a discussion of second quarter 2026 financial results and Gartner's outlook for 2026 as disclosed in today's earnings release and earnings supplement both posted to our website, investor.gartner.com. On the call, unless stated otherwise, all references to revenue are for adjusted revenue and all references to EBITDA are for adjusted EBITDA.

請注意，今天的會議將被錄音。本次電話會議將討論 2026 年第二季財務結果，以及 Gartner 對 2026 年的展望；相關內容已於今日的新聞稿與財報補充資料中揭露，並已發布於我們的網站 investor.gartner.com。除非另有說明，本次電話會議中所有提及的營收均指調整後營收，所有提及的 EBITDA 均指調整後 EBITDA。

We in each case, excluding the divested operation and with the adjustments as described in our earnings release and supplement. All contract values and associated growth rates we discuss are FX neutral. All references to share counts are for fully diluted weighted average share counts unless stated otherwise.

上述數據在各情況下均排除已剝離的業務，並依照我們的財報新聞稿與補充資料所述進行調整。我們討論的所有合約價值及其相關成長率均以固定匯率（FX neutral）計算。除非另有說明，所有提及的股數均指完全稀釋後加權平均股數。

Reconciliations for all non-GAAP numbers we use are available in the Investor Relations section of the gartner.com website. 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 covered materially from actual results and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those contained in the company's 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as well as other filings with the SEC. I encourage all of you to review the risk factors listed in these documents.

我們使用的所有非 GAAP 數字之調節表，可於 gartner.com 網站的投資人關係專區取得。如今日財報新聞稿中更詳細所述，本次電話會議中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，並受多項風險與不確定性影響，包括公司 2025 年 Form 10-K 年報及 Form 10-Q 季報，以及向 SEC 提交的其他文件中所載者。我鼓勵各位查閱這些文件中列示的風險因素。

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

現在我將電話會議交給 Gartner 董事長兼執行長 Gene Hall。

Good morning. Thanks for joining us today. Second quarter revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow were ahead of expectations. Return on invested capital was 31%. Client engagement improved again, up 140 basis points compared to last year.

各位早安。感謝各位今天加入我們。第二季營收、EBITDA、調整後 EPS 與自由現金流均優於預期。投入資本報酬率為 31%。客戶互動度再次改善，較去年提升 140 個基點。

Contract value growth accelerated compared to the first quarter. midsized enterprise clients across both GTS and GBS grew mid-single digits year-over-year. We saw positive NCB with our government clients. While our retention across both GTS and GBS improved sequentially, we delivered above-average growth in several of our end markets, and we remain agile in managing expenses.

合約價值成長較第一季加速。GTS 與 GBS 兩大業務中的中型企業客戶年增率皆為中個位數。我們在政府客戶方面看到正向的 NCB。雖然 GTS 與 GBS 的留存率皆較前一季改善，我們在多個終端市場實現高於平均的成長，同時也持續靈活管理費用。

We have a strong enduring value proposition. Gartner proactively guides C-level executives and their teams across every major enterprise function in every major geography, industry and market sector on their journeys to achieve their mission-critical priorities. Our insights help clients in four critical areas. We identify blind spots, see round corners, fill critical information gaps and prepare for the future.

我們擁有強而持久的價值主張。Gartner 主動指引各主要地區、各產業與各市場領域中，涵蓋每一項主要企業職能的 C-level 高階主管及其團隊，協助他們在實現關鍵任務優先事項的旅程中前進。我們的洞察在四個關鍵領域協助客戶。我們協助辨識盲點、預見轉折、補足關鍵資訊缺口並為未來做好準備。

First, we leverage our vantage point across about 13,000 diverse enterprises to help leaders identify blind spots and avoid common pitfalls. Second, we help leaders see around proverbial corners, which is to say we guide leaders to understand how today's decisions can impact future performance. Third, we help clients fill critical information gaps. For example, most clients have data on their own performance but lack comparative data that helps them understand how their performance compares to others.

第一，我們運用橫跨約 13,000 家多元企業的視角，協助領導者辨識盲點並避免常見陷阱。第二，我們協助領導者「看見轉角後方」，也就是引導領導者理解今日決策如何影響未來績效。第三，我們協助客戶補足關鍵資訊缺口。例如，多數客戶擁有自身績效數據，但缺乏可用來比較、以了解其表現相對於他人的對照數據。

Gartner provides access to highly detailed proprietary information, such as fast pricing databases, maturity models and cost benchmarks that are not available through public sources. Finally, using our extensive knowledge of end-user needs and vendor capabilities, we help our clients determine what the future might look like and how best to prepare.

Gartner 提供高度細緻的專有資訊存取權，例如 FAST 定價資料庫、成熟度模型與成本基準，這些資訊無法透過公開來源取得。最後，憑藉我們對終端使用者需求與供應商能力的廣泛了解，我們協助客戶判斷未來可能的樣貌，以及如何做最好的準備。

There is no other alternative where clients can get this kind of value on the full breadth and depth of their mission-critical priorities. AI remains the single most requested topic, including with Chief Information Officers, Chief HR Officers, Chief Sales Officers, Chief Marketing Officers and more. Demand for support on AI continues to grow. Gartner proactively covers the full range of AI technologies and priorities, AI strategy, domain and multimodal models, AI cybersecurity, physical AI and robotics, AI cloud to edge processing, adoption cases and best practices and more.

沒有其他替代方案能讓客戶在其關鍵任務優先事項的完整廣度與深度上，獲得這種價值。AI 仍是被要求最多的單一主題，包括資訊長（CIO）、人資長（CHRO）、銷售長（CSO）、行銷長（CMO）等。對 AI 支援的需求持續成長。Gartner 主動涵蓋 AI 技術與優先事項的全範圍，包括 AI 策略、領域模型與多模態模型、AI 資安、實體 AI 與機器人、AI 雲端到邊緣運算、導入案例與最佳實務等。

Gartner is at the center of the three critical constituencies. We connect more than 80,000 business leaders looking to get value from AI, more than 10,000 CIOs and IT organizations implementing AI and about 5,000 technology providers building out their AI strategies. In today's world, it's difficult for executives to know which sources they can trust for critical decisions. Our analysts have deep expertise. They're independent and objective.

Gartner 位於三個關鍵利害關係群體的核心。我們連結超過 80,000 位希望從 AI 取得價值的企業領導者、超過 10,000 位導入 AI 的 CIO 與 IT 組織，以及約 5,000 家正在建構其 AI 策略的科技供應商。在當今世界，高階主管很難判斷哪些來源可作為關鍵決策的可信依據。我們的分析師具備深厚專業。他們獨立且客觀。

Clients trust Gartner. We're seeing strong demand for help with AI. We also have strong demand for support on other essential priorities such as cybersecurity, cost optimization, data and analytics and more. However, in today's environment, persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges are creating new and shifting budget pressures.

客戶信任 Gartner。我們看到對 AI 協助的強勁需求。我們也看到對其他重要優先事項的強勁需求，例如資安、成本最佳化、資料與分析等。然而，在當前環境下，持續的總體經濟與地緣政治挑戰正在造成新的、且不斷變動的預算壓力。

As a result, executives are scrutinizing expenses, escalating approval processes and delaying decisions. We're taking steps to further strengthen our value proposition to thrive in persistently challenging environments and return to historical growth rates. As we've discussed before, the heart of this change is our business and technology insights transformation.

因此，高階主管正在更嚴格審視支出、提高核准流程層級並延後決策。我們正採取措施，進一步強化我們的價值主張，以在持續充滿挑戰的環境中茁壯，並回到歷史成長率。如同我們先前討論過的，這項變革的核心是我們的商業與科技洞察（BTI）轉型。

We continue to make progress on this transformation in four key areas: volume, impact, timeliness and user experience. The number of documents in our Insights library is up 18%, which allows us to cover a broader range of mission-critical priorities. The number of higher impact documents is also up double digits.

我們在四個關鍵領域持續推進這項轉型：產量、影響力、即時性與使用者體驗。我們洞察資料庫中的文件數量增加 18%，使我們能涵蓋更廣泛的關鍵任務優先事項。高影響力文件的數量也呈現雙位數成長。

With the rapid pace of change in AI and other areas, it's essential for clients to stay current. To meet this need, the insights we produce immediately after important events are up significantly, making it easier for clients to access our insights increases the value they receive from us. To address this, we continue to enhance the Gartner digital experience. And we're improving our sales, services and analyst capabilities to deliver value to our clients.

隨著 AI 與其他領域的變化速度加快，客戶保持最新狀態至關重要。為滿足此需求，我們在重要事件發生後立即產出的洞察顯著增加，讓客戶更容易取得我們的洞察，並提升他們從我們這裡獲得的價值。為此，我們持續強化 Gartner 的數位體驗。同時，我們也在提升銷售、服務與分析師能力，以向客戶交付價值。

With the strong demand we're seeing for help on mission-critical priorities such as AI, a vast and growing library of high-impact timely insights and the transformational improvements we're making in our ability to deliver unparalleled client value, we remain optimistic about our future. We expect contract value growth to continue to accelerate. We will continue to drive strong free cash flow that we can put to use to drive incremental shareholder value, and we expect to deliver adjusted EPS on a compound annual basis above 12% over the next three years.

鑑於我們在 AI 等關鍵任務優先事項上看到的強勁需求、龐大且持續成長的高影響力即時洞察資料庫，以及我們在交付無與倫比客戶價值能力上的轉型式改善，我們對未來仍保持樂觀。我們預期合約價值成長將持續加速。我們將持續推動強勁的自由現金流，並加以運用以創造額外的股東價值；同時，我們預期未來三年調整後 EPS 的年複合成長率將高於 12%。

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

接下來，我把電話會議交給我們的財務長 Craig Safian。

Good morning. Before updating you on the results of the quarter, I'm going to follow up on several points Gene just made. We are making significant progress on our BTI transformation with a focus on delivering even more value to our clients. Macro dynamics and AI are driving uncertainty and affecting enterprises around the world. the data we see across engagement, retention and growth in multiple end markets reinforces the enduring value of Gartner's expert-led insights.

各位早安。在向各位更新本季結果之前，我先就 Gene 剛才提到的幾點做進一步說明。我們在 BTI 轉型方面取得顯著進展，重點是為客戶交付更多價值。總體環境動態與 AI 正在推升不確定性，並影響全球各地的企業。我們在互動、留存與多個終端市場成長方面所看到的數據，進一步印證了 Gartner 以專家主導洞察所帶來的持久價值。

This gives us confidence that this cycle will normalize and CV growth will continue to reaccelerate. . Client engagement continues to improve meaningfully, increasing 140 basis points versus last year across both digital and human interactions, underscoring the relevance and the value of our expert insights. digital engagement improved by more than 110 basis points year-over-year.

這讓我們有信心，本輪週期將趨於正常化，且CV成長將持續再度加速。.客戶參與度持續顯著改善，涵蓋數位與人工互動在內，較去年提升140個基點，凸顯我們專家洞見的相關性與價值。數位參與度年增超過110個基點。

Human interactions increased more than 150 basis points year-over-year, including through improvements in the usage of analyst consultations. Wallet retention continues to improve as down cell activity stabilizes and overall retention rates improve, in quarter retention rates increased in Q2, providing another important leading indicator of future growth.

人工互動年增超過150個基點，其中包括分析師諮詢使用率提升所帶來的改善。隨著下滑客群活動趨於穩定且整體留存率改善，錢包留存（wallet retention）持續提升；季度內留存率在第二季上升，提供了另一項重要的未來成長領先指標。

We continue to win new business with both existing clients and new enterprises. Our clients have conviction in the value we can deliver for that. We are seeing multiple areas of above-average growth. reinforcing the value our clients place on expert insights and guidance. Core GBS subscription products grew 7% in the quarter. The sales practice grew double digits. Finance and Legal grew mid-single digits and conferences revenue increased 12% year-over-year on an organic FX-neutral basis.

我們持續在既有客戶與新企業客戶中贏得新業務。客戶對我們能為其交付的價值深具信心。我們看到多個領域呈現高於平均的成長，進一步強化客戶對專家洞見與指引的重視。核心GBS訂閱產品本季成長7%。銷售實務（sales practice）成長達雙位數。財務與法務成長中個位數，而會議營收在有機、外匯中性（FX-neutral）基礎下年增12%。

Midsized enterprise delivered mid-single-digit CV growth in the quarter. Government CV returned to positive NCVI in the quarter and was an important contributor to overall acceleration. We see this as a leading indicator for the broader client base navigating different but analogous spending constraints. Tech vendors, which are among the organization's closest to AI-related advancements continue to rely on Gartner for timely and actionable insights. Software and services were again our strongest performing tech vendor subsectors.

中型企業本季實現中個位數的CV成長。政府部門CV本季回到正向NCVI，並成為整體加速的重要貢獻者。我們將此視為更廣泛客戶群在面對不同但類似的支出限制時的領先指標。科技供應商（tech vendors）作為最接近AI相關進展的組織之一，仍持續依賴Gartner取得即時且可執行的洞見。軟體與服務再次成為我們表現最強的科技供應商子產業。

While some parts of this market are reprioritizing spending as they adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape, demand for our expertise remains healthy. Taken together, these trends demonstrate the resilience of our business model. Even as clients navigate budget pressures and evaluate AI-related investments, total company CV growth accelerated in the quarter.

儘管此市場的部分領域在適應快速演變的環境時重新調整支出優先順序，我們專業能力的需求仍然健康。綜合而言，這些趨勢展現了我們商業模式的韌性。即便客戶面臨預算壓力並評估AI相關投資，公司整體CV成長仍在本季加速。

Second quarter contract value or CV grew 2% year-over-year. This was the second consecutive quarter of acceleration. Revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow in the second quarter were better than expected. We are increasing our EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow guidance for the full year.

第二季合約價值（Contract Value，CV）年增2%。這是連續第二季加速。第二季營收、EBITDA、調整後EPS與自由現金流均優於預期。我們上調全年EBITDA、調整後EPS與自由現金流的指引。

In the second quarter, we reduced our share count by another 5%, buying back $547 million of stock. Rolling four-quarter return on invested capital was 31%, and we expect to generate significant free cash flow and have fewer shares outstanding over the course of the next several years. Second quarter revenue was $1.7 billion, up 3% year-over-year as reported and 2% FX neutral. In addition, total contribution margin was strong at 71%. EBITDA was $466 million, up 6% as reported and 4% FX neutral.

第二季我們再將流通股數減少5%，回購股票5.47億美元。滾動四季的投入資本報酬率為31%，我們預期未來數年將產生可觀的自由現金流，且流通在外股數將更少。第二季營收為17億美元，按報告口徑年增3%，外匯中性年增2%。此外，總貢獻毛利率（contribution margin）維持強勁，達71%。EBITDA為4.66億美元，按報告口徑年增6%，外匯中性年增4%。

Adjusted EPS was $4.37, up 24% from Q2 of last year. and free cash flow was $378 million, up 9% year-over-year. Insights revenue in the quarter grew 2% year-over-year as reported and 1% FX neutral. Second quarter Insights contribution margin was 77%, up about 140 basis points versus last year.

調整後EPS為4.37美元，較去年第二季成長24%；自由現金流為3.78億美元，年增9%。本季洞見（Insights）營收按報告口徑年增2%，外匯中性年增1%。第二季洞見貢獻毛利率為77%，較去年提升約140個基點。

Contract value was $5.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, a sequential increase of 30 basis points from Q1. Year-over-year, CV was up 2%, which is a 70-basis point acceleration from last quarter. Excluding the US federal government, CV growth was 3.3%. At June 30, we had approximately $125 million of US Federal CV. We had about $240 million of new business in the second quarter as there continues to be considerable interest in Gartner's proprietary unbiased insights. Across GTS and GBS, we saw new business dollars increase by about 10% from Q1.

截至第二季末，合約價值為53億美元，較第一季環比增加30個基點。年比來看，CV成長2%，較上季加速70個基點。若排除美國聯邦政府，CV成長為3.3%。截至6月30日，我們約有1.25億美元的美國聯邦CV。第二季新業務約2.40億美元，因市場對Gartner專有且不偏不倚的洞見仍有相當大的興趣。在GTS與GBS之間，我們看到新業務金額較第一季增加約10%。

As you may have seen in the earnings supplement, we implemented a minor update to how we present FX-neutral KPIs. The details are in the supplement and our Investor Relations team can answer any questions you may have. Global Technology Sales contract value was $4 billion at the end of the second quarter, about flat sequentially and up 1% versus the prior year, a 70-basis point acceleration from Q1.

如你可能已在財報補充資料中看到，我們對外匯中性KPI的呈現方式做了小幅更新。細節載於補充資料中，我們的投資人關係團隊可回答你可能有的任何問題。全球科技銷售（Global Technology Sales）合約價值在第二季末為40億美元，環比大致持平，較去年成長1%，較第一季加速70個基點。

Excluding the US federal business, CV grew 3%. Tech Vendor year-over-year growth accelerated from Q1, while retention for GTS was 97%, an improvement from the first quarter. ex-Fed, while retention was 99%. GTS new business was up 2% compared to last year and up sequentially from Q1 of this year.

若排除美國聯邦業務，CV成長3%。科技供應商年比成長較第一季加速，而GTS留存率為97%，較第一季改善；排除聯邦後留存率為99%。GTS新業務較去年成長2%，且較今年第一季環比上升。

Global Business Sales contract value was $1.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 1% from Q1 and up 3% year-over-year. Ex-Fed, GBS CV grew 4%. Growth was led by the sales, legal and finance practices. Within GBS, about 90% of the CV is from core subscription products. CV from these products grew about 7% year-over-year in the quarter with even faster growth from our offerings for C-level leaders, while retention for GBS was 99% for the quarter. GBS new business was down 5% compared to last year. Q2 new business was around 20% higher than Q1.

全球商務銷售（Global Business Sales）合約價值在第二季末為13億美元，較第一季成長1%，年增3%。排除聯邦後，GBS CV成長4%。成長主要由銷售、法務與財務實務帶動。在GBS中，約90%的CV來自核心訂閱產品。本季這些產品的CV年增約7%，而針對C級領導者的產品成長更快；GBS本季留存率為99%。GBS新業務較去年下降5%。第二季新業務約比第一季高出20%。

The conferences business continues to perform well. We are seeing strong demand for our insights as clients and prospects want to hear from our experts and interact with one another. Conferences revenue for the second quarter was $244 million. On a same conference basis, revenue growth was around 12% FX neutral. Contribution margin was 59%. We held 18 destination conferences in the second quarter as planned. Q2 consulting revenue was $142 million compared to $156 million in the year ago period. Consulting contribution margin was 38% in Q2. Labor-based revenue was $96 million. This was about in line with our expectation.

會議業務持續表現良好。我們看到對洞見的強勁需求，因客戶與潛在客戶希望聆聽我們專家的觀點並彼此互動。第二季會議營收為2.44億美元。以同場會議（same conference）口徑計算，營收成長約12%（外匯中性）。貢獻毛利率為59%。我們按計畫在第二季舉辦了18場目的地會議（destination conferences）。第二季顧問營收為1.42億美元，去年同期為1.56億美元。第二季顧問貢獻毛利率為38%。以人力為基礎的營收為9,600萬美元。這大致符合我們的預期。

Second quarter bookings increased 17% over the prior year. Backlog at June 30 was $214 million, up about 9% year-over-year. This was the first year-over-year backlog increase since Q1 of 2025. In Contract Optimization, we had $148 million of revenue on an LTM basis, consistent with Q1 of this year. The two-year revenue CAGR was up about 9%. As you know, our Contract Optimization revenue is highly variable. The performance in Q2 was better than we had expected. EBITDA for the second quarter was $466 million, up 6% from last year's reported and 4% FX neutral.

第二季訂單（bookings）較去年增加17%。截至6月30日的待履約訂單（backlog）為2.14億美元，年增約9%。這是自2025年第一季以來首次出現待履約訂單的年比成長。在合約優化（Contract Optimization）方面，我們以過去十二個月（LTM）口徑計算的營收為1.48億美元，與今年第一季一致。兩年期營收CAGR上升約9%。如你所知，我們的合約優化營收波動性很高。第二季表現優於我們的預期。第二季EBITDA為4.66億美元，按報告口徑較去年成長6%，外匯中性成長4%。

We outperformed expectations in the second quarter through revenue upside, effective expense management and a prudent approach to guidance. Adjusted EPS in Q2 was $4.37, up 24% compared to Q2 last year. We had 67 million shares outstanding in the second quarter. This is an improvement of about 11 million shares or approximately 14% year-over-year. We exited the second quarter with 64 million shares on an unweighted basis.

我們在第二季透過營收超出預期、有效的費用管理以及審慎的指引作法，表現優於預期。第二季調整後每股盈餘（Adjusted EPS）為 4.37 美元，較去年第二季成長 24%。第二季我們的流通在外股數為 6,700 萬股。這較去年同期改善約 1,100 萬股，約年減 14%。我們在第二季結束時（未加權基礎）為 6,400 萬股。

Free cash flow remained strong in the second quarter, up 9% year-over-year. Free cash flow on a rolling four-quarter basis was $1.3 billion. Adjusting for several items detailed in the earnings supplement, free cash flow was 20% of reported revenue 78% of adjusted EBITDA and 140% of GAAP net income.

第二季自由現金流維持強勁，年增 9%。以滾動四季計算的自由現金流為 13 億美元。扣除財報補充資料中詳述的數個項目後，自由現金流相當於已揭露營收的 20%、調整後 EBITDA 的 78%，以及 GAAP 淨利的 140%。

At the end of the second quarter, we had about $1.5 billion of cash. This includes about $500 million for running the business and around $1 billion available to deploy on behalf of shareholders. Our June 30 debt balance was about $3 billion. Our reported gross debt to trailing 12-month EBITDA was under 2 times. We repurchased $547 million of stock during the second quarter, reducing our share count by more than 5% sequentially.

截至第二季末，我們持有約 15 億美元現金。其中約 5 億美元用於營運，約 10 億美元可代表股東進行資本配置。我們 6 月 30 日的債務餘額約為 30 億美元。我們揭露的總負債對過去 12 個月 EBITDA 的比率低於 2 倍。第二季我們回購 5.47 億美元股票，使股數較前一季減少超過 5%。

Last week, the Board increased the buyback authorization to about $1.2 billion. We expect the Board will continue to evaluate and refresh the amount as needed. We are updating our full year guidance to reflect recent performance and trends. The update includes the effect of foreign exchange rates, reflecting a stronger US dollar compared with our prior guidance from three months ago. For Insights revenue in 2026, our guidance is operationally unchanged. We revised the outlook to account for the stronger dollar.

上週，董事會將回購授權提高至約 12 億美元。我們預期董事會將持續視需要評估並更新該金額。我們正在更新全年指引，以反映近期表現與趨勢。本次更新納入匯率影響，反映美元相較三個月前我們先前指引時更為強勢。就 2026 年 Insights 營收而言，我們的指引在營運層面維持不變。我們修正展望以反映美元走強。

For Conferences, we are basing our guidance on the 55 in-person destination conferences we have planned for 2026. We have good visibility into current year revenue with the majority of what we've guided already under contract. For Consulting, we have maintained the outlook for the full year. Contract Optimization has had several very strong years, and the business remains highly variable.

就 Conferences 而言，我們的指引係以 2026 年規劃的 55 場實體目的地會議為基礎。我們對本年度營收具備良好能見度，因為我們所提供指引中的大部分已簽約。就 Consulting 而言，我們維持全年展望不變。Contract Optimization 過去幾年表現非常強勁，而該業務仍具有高度波動性。

For 2026, we expect revenue at or above $6.375 billion, which is updated from last quarter and is FX-neutral growth of 1%. With positive NCVI in Q2, we expect Insights revenue in Q3 to be up sequentially on an FX-neutral basis. Reported results will reflect the effect of the stronger dollar. We now expect full year EBITDA at or above $1.57 billion. Compared with our prior guidance, this is up $40 million on an operational basis and up $25 million, net of the effect of the stronger dollar. This reflects full year margins at or above 24.6%, also up from last quarter.

2026 年我們預期營收達到或高於 63.75 億美元，較上季更新，按固定匯率（FX-neutral）計算成長 1%。由於第二季 NCVI 為正，我們預期第三季 Insights 營收在固定匯率基礎上將較前一季成長。已揭露結果將反映美元走強的影響。我們目前預期全年 EBITDA 達到或高於 15.7 億美元。相較先前指引，營運層面增加 4,000 萬美元；扣除美元走強影響後，淨增加 2,500 萬美元。這反映全年利潤率達到或高於 24.6%，亦較上季提高。

We expect 2026 adjusted EPS at or above $14, an increase from last quarter that primarily reflects the increase in the EBITDA outlook and a lower share count. For 2026, we expect free cash flow at or above $1.185 billion, also an increase from the prior guidance. This reflects a conversion from GAAP net income of 136%. Our guidance is based on 66 million fully diluted weighted average shares outstanding, which incorporates the repurchases made through the end of the second quarter. We exited Q2 with about 64 million fully diluted shares.

我們預期 2026 年調整後每股盈餘（Adjusted EPS）達到或高於 14 美元，較上季提高，主要反映 EBITDA 展望上修以及股數下降。2026 年我們預期自由現金流達到或高於 11.85 億美元，也較先前指引提高。這反映自 GAAP 淨利的轉換率為 136%。我們的指引係以 6,600 萬股完全稀釋加權平均流通股數為基礎，已納入截至第二季末的回購。我們在第二季結束時約有 6,400 萬股完全稀釋股數。

For Q3, we expect EBITDA at or above $315 million. Our revenue, profit and cash flow results in Q2 were ahead of expectations. We've increased the EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow guidance for 2026. Contract value ex-Fed grew 3.3% in the quarter and total CV year-over-year growth improved by 70 basis points from Q1 of 2026.

就第三季而言，我們預期 EBITDA 達到或高於 3.15 億美元。第二季我們的營收、獲利與現金流結果均優於預期。我們已上調 2026 年 EBITDA、調整後 EPS 與自由現金流指引。本季不含聯邦（ex-Fed）的合約價值（CV）成長 3.3%，而總 CV 的年增率較 2026 年第一季改善 70 個基點。

We are making progress on our BTI transformation with a focus on delivering even more value to our clients. Macro dynamics in AI are driving uncertainty and affecting enterprises around the world. The data we see across engagement, retention and growth in multiple end markets reinforces the enduring value of Gartner's expert-led insights. This gives us confidence that this cycle will normalize and CV growth will continue to reaccelerate. Gartner's return on invested capital is strong at 31% on a rolling four-quarter basis.

我們在 BTI 轉型上持續取得進展，重點在於為客戶創造更多價值。AI 的總體動態正帶來不確定性，並影響全球企業。我們在多個終端市場觀察到的參與度、留存與成長數據，強化了 Gartner 由專家主導洞察的長期價值。這使我們有信心本輪週期將回歸常態，且 CV 成長將持續再加速。Gartner 的投入資本報酬率（ROIC）依滾動四季計算為 31%，表現強勁。

We continue to generate significant amounts of free cash flow. We expect the conversion of GAAP net income will improve as CV accelerates. We believe this offers a durable and compelling value proposition for our shareholders.

我們持續產生可觀的自由現金流。我們預期隨著 CV 加速，GAAP 淨利的轉換率將改善。我們相信這為股東提供了持久且具吸引力的價值主張。

We are positioned to accelerate CV growth in 2026 and we expect to deliver adjusted EPS on a compound basis above 12% over the next three years. Over time, we'll opportunistically deploy our capital on stock repurchases, which will lower the share count and on strategic value-enhancing tuck-in M&A.

我們已就位以在 2026 年加速 CV 成長，並預期未來三年調整後 EPS 的複合成長率將高於 12%。隨時間推進，我們將把握機會運用資本進行股票回購以降低股數，並進行具策略性、可提升價值的補強型併購（tuck-in M&A）。

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

接下來我把電話交回給接線員，我們很樂意回答各位的問題。接線員？

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Faiza Alwy, Deutsche Bank.

Faiza Alwy，德意志銀行。

Yes, hi, good morning. Thank you so much. I wanted to ask about how your thoughts have evolved around the role of macro and AI kind of impacting your business? Because I feel like this is the first time that you've mentioned sort of AI as a factor. Historically, we've been talking more about the macro factors like tariffs. So just curious kind of what's kind of driven the change in messaging around there?

是的，嗨，早安。非常感謝。我想請教你們對總體環境與 AI 對你們業務影響的看法，近期有何演變？因為我覺得這是你們第一次提到 AI 作為一項因素。過去我們更多是在談關稅等總體因素。所以想了解一下，是什麼驅動你們在這方面訊息傳達的改變？

Yeah. Hi, Faiza. What I'd say is that during Q2, the selling environment improved -- and I'd say many of the factors that we talked about were modestly better, most notable one obviously being part of the public sector, but other sectors as well. AI actually for us is something we get a lot of demand for us, the single biggest depend from our clients. And so it's actually quite valuable to our clients. And again, we see the single biggest driver demand from healthy clients from AI.

是的。嗨，Faiza。我會說第二季銷售環境有所改善——我們先前談到的許多因素都有小幅好轉，最明顯的當然是公共部門的一部分，但其他部門也是如此。對我們而言，AI 其實是帶來大量需求的領域，是我們客戶端單一最大的需求來源。因此它對客戶非常有價值。同樣地，我們看到來自狀況良好客戶的需求，最大的驅動因素就是 AI。

Andrew Nicholas, William Blair.

Andrew Nicholas，William Blair。

Hi, good morning. This is Tom Roesch on for Andrew Nicholas. I want to ask about the AskGartner solution. And I was wondering if you could provide some color on how renewal rates for users of AskGartner compared to those who don't and also any type of benefits you're seeing like in revenue, renewals, retention and you took those numbers to this point? Thank you.

嗨，早安。我是 Tom Roesch，代 Andrew Nicholas 提問。我想問 AskGartner 解決方案。想請你們分享一些細節：AskGartner 使用者的續約率與未使用者相比如何？以及你們目前看到的各類效益，例如在營收、續約、留存等方面，到目前為止的表現如何？謝謝。

Hey, good morning. So I think the way to think about AskGartner and Gene referenced this in the BTI transformation, it's just a piece all the things we're doing to enhance the user experience, both from a digital user experience perspective and also the experience when people do interact with our analysts and our experts. And AskGartner for us is table stakes because that's the way a lot of people are now when they're behind the firewall or working through information, they are leveraging a large language model.

嗨，早安。我認為看待 AskGartner 的方式——Gene 在 BTI 轉型中也提到——它只是我們為提升使用者體驗所做各項工作的其中一部分，既包括數位使用者體驗的面向，也包括人們與我們的分析師與專家互動時的體驗。對我們而言，AskGartner 是基本門檻，因為現在很多人在防火牆後或在處理資訊時，會運用大型語言模型。

Our core value is really driving people there to our site proactively because we know what their mission-critical priorities are, and we know what their interests are, and we know what they should be thinking about many times before they even know they should be thinking about. And they really put a huge premium on that proactivity. And then when they do come, they are proactively brought in behind the firewall, then AskGartner is one of our many digital tools that they can utilize further enhance their experience, their insights, their intelligence moving forward on their MCPs.

我們的核心價值其實在於主動把人們引導到我們的網站，因為我們知道他們的關鍵任務優先事項是什麼，也知道他們的興趣是什麼，並且很多時候在他們甚至還不知道自己應該思考之前，我們就知道他們應該思考什麼。而他們對這種主動性給予非常高的重視。接著當他們真的來到我們這裡、被主動帶到防火牆後時，AskGartner 就是我們眾多數位工具之一，他們可以用來進一步提升體驗，並在其 MCP（關鍵任務優先事項）上持續強化洞察與情報。

It's all positive. But again, I would highlight the broader digital experience as being the more important thing and actually the broader overall engagement experience across all of the elements that Gartner delivers value is really what we're focused on. AskGartner is obviously a piece of that. but not the biggest piece of it. It's an important piece, but more broadly, we're enhancing the overall experience, making it more effective and more efficient for our clients to connect with the insights they need to accomplish the mission critical priorities.

整體都是正面的。但再次強調，我會認為更重要的是更廣泛的數位體驗，實際上也包括整體的互動參與體驗——涵蓋 Gartner 交付價值的所有要素——這才是我們真正聚焦的重點。AskGartner 顯然是其中一部分，但不是最大的一部分。它很重要，但更廣泛地說，我們正在提升整體體驗，讓客戶更有效、更高效率地連結到他們完成關鍵任務優先事項所需的洞察。

Jason Haas, Wells Fargo.

Jason Haas，富國銀行。

Hey, good morning and thanks for taking my question. I'm curious if you're still expecting the ex-federal government CV growth to accelerate to 4% plus by the end of this year?

嗨，早安，謝謝讓我提問。我想確認一下，你們是否仍預期在今年底前，剔除聯邦政府（ex-federal government）的 CV 成長會加速到 4% 以上？

Hey, good morning, Jason. Yeah. So along with overall CV growth continuing to accelerate this year, it's our expectation that the expense CV growth will be a part of that. So short answer is yes. We do expect the entire business to continue to accelerate ex-Fed being a piece of that reacceleration as well.

嗨，早安，Jason。是的。隨著今年整體 CV 成長持續加速，我們預期費用端的 CV 成長也會是其中一部分。所以簡短回答是：是的。我們確實預期整體業務會持續加速，而剔除聯邦（ex-Fed）也會是這波再加速的一部分。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jeff Meuler, Baird.

Jeff Meuler，Baird。

Yeah, thank you. Good morning. Could you go into more detail, I guess, on your takeaway from the midsized client base growing mid-single and what's different relative to large enterprise? One thing that would come to my mind that I'd be curious on your thoughts on is like if large enterprise just has more downselling of number of seats, but I don't know if there's any other takeaways from you because I would think the initiatives that you've been implementing would benefit both client sizes generally. Thank you.

是的，謝謝。早安。你能否更詳細談談，你對中型客戶基礎呈現中個位數成長的觀察，以及相較大型企業有何不同？我想到的一點、也想聽聽你們看法的是：大型企業是否只是有更多席次數量的降配（downselling），但我不確定是否還有其他你們的觀察，因為我原本會認為你們正在推動的各項措施，通常應該對兩種客戶規模都有幫助。謝謝。

Hey, Jeff, it's Gene. Great question. I think what's going on with midsize enterprises is these are enterprises that are -- again, they're typically revenues of $100 million or more. So these are not small enterprises, but they're smaller than the very large enterprises. And so the level of complexity in their environment is lower.

嗨，Jeff，我是 Gene。好問題。我認為中型企業目前的情況是——這些企業通常營收在 1 億美元以上。所以它們不是小型企業，但又比超大型企業小。因此，它們所處環境的複雜度較低。

And so when they're tackling things like AI, they actually -- it's easier for them to actually get through the -- what are the big areas that they can get a good return on, how they track the cost, all that is much easier to control with a midsized enterprise. I think large enterprises, these very large enterprises, they're extremely complicated.

所以當他們在處理像 AI 這類議題時，實際上——他們更容易釐清哪些領域能帶來良好回報、如何追蹤成本等等；對中型企業而言，這些都更容易控管。我認為大型企業、這些超大型企業，則是極其複雜。

And I think it's very hard for leaders to sort out all of the puts and takes in terms of both where the value is and in terms of how you manage cost. I think that's the big difference is. In the smaller enterprises, actually, it's easier to manage or other stuff to make more progress. And the larger enterprise takes a much more complex problem, but they're still wrestling with how do you actually get that ROI control cost and risk and things like that.

我認為領導者很難在各種取捨之間理清：價值在哪裡，以及如何管理成本。我覺得這就是最大的差異。在較小的企業中，實際上更容易管理，或推動其他事情以取得更多進展。而大型企業面對的是更複雜的問題，但他們仍在摸索如何真正取得 ROI、控管成本與風險等。

And I think, Jeff, the other thing I would add is in the larger enterprises, they tend to be more global in nature and so more impacted by all of the uncertainty that exists out there. The one thing I would say is -- and again, I would echo your point, all the things we're doing from BTI transformation across the board, will benefit all clients of all sizes across GTS, the end user piece, the tech vendor piece and across GBS. We did note that we are seeing down sell stabilize in the second quarter, which, again, is largely a larger company phenomenon. So we're actually seeing some improvement there.

Jeff，我還想補充一點：大型企業往往更具全球性，因此更容易受到外部各種不確定性的影響。我想說的是——同時我也呼應你的觀點——我們在 BTI 轉型上所做的一切，將全面性地讓所有規模的客戶受益，涵蓋 GTS、終端使用者（end user）部分、科技供應商（tech vendor）部分，以及 GBS。我們確實提到，第二季我們看到降配（down sell）趨於穩定，而這主要是大型公司才會出現的現象。因此我們在那裡其實看到一些改善。

We noted also that we are setting in quarter retention rates improve. That's a phenomenon across the entire portfolio as well. And so back to Jason's question a little bit with ex-Fed accelerating, we need the entire portfolio to accelerate, and that would be inclusive of midsized enterprises, large enterprises and our largest clients across the board as well.

我們也提到，我們看到季度留存率（retention rates）有所改善。這也是整個產品組合普遍出現的現象。因此回到 Jason 的問題，若剔除聯邦（ex-Fed）要加速，我們需要整個產品組合都加速，這也包括中型企業、大型企業，以及我們最大的客戶，全面都要加速。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Josh Chan, UBS.

Josh Chan，瑞銀（UBS）。

Hi, good morning, Gene, Craig. Thanks for taking my question. I guess on Gene's comment about the selling environment improving. I was wondering if you could make a comment about the ex-Fed selling environment? Do you see that improving as well through the quarter? And for you to get to the target of acceleration for the year, what kind of needs to happen on an ex-Fed environment basis, I suppose? Thank you.

嗨，早安，Gene、Craig。謝謝讓我提問。我想接續 Gene 對銷售環境改善的評論。我想請你們談談剔除聯邦（ex-Fed）的銷售環境？你們是否也看到它在本季期間有所改善？另外，若要達成年內加速的目標，就 ex-Fed 的環境而言，需要發生什麼樣的變化？謝謝。

So I'd say on the ex-Fed selling environment, there are areas where it's gotten better, and there's areas where gotten worse. And so I sort of say there's a mix of that. And so the areas where the macro has gotten better, I think that's performed very well and the areas with got worse, has been a little bit more challenging. And so it's sort of say that's what's going on kind of under the covers. And again, as Craig said, we expect that to accelerate over time.

我會說，就剔除聯邦（ex-Fed）的銷售環境而言，有些領域變得更好，也有些領域變得更差。所以我會說它是混合的狀態。宏觀環境改善的領域，我認為表現非常好；而宏觀環境惡化的領域，則更具挑戰。所以大致上，這就是檯面下正在發生的情況。而且如 Craig 所說，我們預期它會隨時間推進而加速。

And Josh, I think what it comes down to is our belief that I think a lot of people believe this that this kind of environment is sort of a new normal to some extent. And so all of the transformations we're doing and all the ways we are improving the business and focusing on execution and all of those things are meant to be able to accelerate the business in the current environment.

Josh，我認為歸根結底是：我們相信——我想很多人也相信——某種程度上，這樣的環境正在成為一種新常態。因此，我們正在做的所有轉型、我們改善業務的所有方式、以及我們對執行力的聚焦等等，都是為了讓公司能在當前環境下加速成長。

And so again, we don't need a radical shift in the environment for the CV to continue to accelerate. We don't need a radical shift in the environment for the ex-Fed CV to accelerate. We just need to execute better, and we've got all the things in line. And again, as I mentioned and Gene mentioned in our prepared remarks, as we look under the covers a lot of our KPIs, they are definitely trending positively. And when we see those things trend positively generally results in improved performance over time.

因此再次強調，我們不需要環境出現劇烈轉變，CV 就能持續加速。我們也不需要環境出現劇烈轉變，剔除聯邦（ex-Fed）的 CV 就能加速。我們只需要把執行做得更好，而我們已把所有事情都安排到位。而且如我與 Gene 在事先準備的發言中提到的，當我們深入檢視許多 KPI，它們確實呈現正向趨勢。而當我們看到這些指標普遍轉正，通常會在一段時間後帶來更好的表現。

Thanks for the color.

感謝提供更多細節。

Manav Patnaik, Barclays.

Manav Patnaik，巴克萊。

Thank you. Good morning, guys. I was just hoping you could help understand the new business number. I think you said it was plus 2% in GTS and downside in GBS and kind of square that off with your commentary around increased engagement, new sales and so forth? And I guess within that, and maybe overall, just how is price tracking?

謝謝。各位早安。我只是希望你們能協助我理解新業務的數字。我想你們說過，GTS 是正 2%，GBS 則是下滑；那要如何與你們提到的互動度提升、新增銷售等評論相互對照？另外在這之中、或許也包含整體而言，價格走勢追蹤得如何？

Yeah, good morning, Manav. I'll start off and Gene can fill in any blanks. So I think there's a few things I'd highlight on the new business. So one is, as you know, and many of those who follow us for a while, we generally see new business dollars build from Q1 to Q2 to Q3 to Q4. So each quarter, we generally generate more new business dollars than the previous quarter. And as I noted in my prepared remarks and highlighted for both GTS and GBS, we did see a nice progression from Q1 to Q2 in new business dollars, which we view as very positive.

好的，早安，Manav。我先開始，Gene 可以補充任何遺漏之處。我認為關於新業務有幾點值得強調。第一，如你所知，也如許多長期關注我們的人所了解，我們通常會看到新業務金額從 Q1 到 Q2、Q3、Q4 逐季累積。也就是說，每一季我們一般都會比前一季產生更多的新業務金額。正如我在事先準備的發言中提到並針對 GTS 與 GBS 強調的，我們確實看到新業務金額從 Q1 到 Q2 有不錯的進展，我們認為這非常正面。

When we look under the covers at sales pipelines and new business pipelines, they are also trending positively. And as you know, having new business pipelines, does it immediately translate into growing new business, but certainly, it gives us a much better shot of continuing to drive that build from Q2 to Q3 and then Q3 to Q4 from a new business perspective and drive gains in new business as well.

當我們深入檢視銷售管線與新業務管線時，也呈現正向趨勢。而如你所知，擁有新業務管線不一定會立刻轉化為新業務成長，但它確實讓我們更有機會，從新業務角度持續推動 Q2 到 Q3、以及 Q3 到 Q4 的逐季累積，並帶動新業務的提升。

When we look under the covers at things like engagement and things of that nature, that's really about future retention rates, but what I would say is, obviously, future retention is also a good predictor of future new business. If you're not driving strong retention rates, it's really hard to grow the clients. And so the more that we can drive higher retention rates within our existing clients, the more new business opportunities we have as well.

當我們深入看互動度等指標時，那主要關乎未來的留存率；但我要說的是，未來留存同樣也是未來新業務的良好預測指標。如果無法推動強勁的留存率，就很難擴大客戶規模。因此，我們越能在既有客戶中推動更高的留存率，也就越能擁有更多新業務機會。

And again, you saw wallet retention increased sequentially that you should see build as well over time as we both drive stronger retention rates with our existing clients. And then with more clients retaining, we have more at-bats, if you will, to drive new business with existing clients as well.

而且你也看到錢包留存率（wallet retention）呈現季對季提升，隨著時間推移，當我們持續強化既有客戶的留存率，你也應該會看到它進一步累積。接著，當更多客戶選擇續留，我們就會有更多出手機會（at-bats），去推動既有客戶的新業務。

And so I think it's a combination of all those things. So primarily, the engagement gives us confidence about the retention rates, the retention rates give us confidence about being able to drive new business from existing clients and then you flip forward to the new business pipelines, which remain very strong and positive. That gives us confidence around the new logo contribution moving forward as well.

所以我認為這是上述因素的綜合結果。互動度主要讓我們對留存率更有信心；留存率讓我們對能從既有客戶推動新業務更有信心；再往前看，新業務管線仍然非常強勁且正向。這也讓我們對未來新客戶（new logo）的貢獻更有信心。

Surinder Thind, Jefferies.

Surinder Thind，Jefferies。

Thank you. I was hoping maybe you can provide a bit more color on the wallet retention. Obviously, things got a little bit better quarter-over-quarter, but I think there was also a commentary around continued downflow pressure within the large enterprises, maybe just how you think about where downsell pressure is versus maybe where you would like it to be? And just some of the things that are the factors that you think are driving it in the near term versus structurally where we think we are longer term on that, that would be helpful.

謝謝。我希望你們能就錢包留存率提供更多細節。顯然季對季有些改善，但我記得也有提到大型企業客戶仍持續面臨下滑（downflow）壓力；你們如何看待降購（downsell）壓力目前的位置，相較於你們希望它達到的水準？另外，若能談談你們認為短期驅動因素是什麼、以及從結構性角度長期來看我們處於什麼位置，會很有幫助。

Hey, Surinder. Good morning. So I think the commentary is really that we're seeing down sell stabilize. And so it didn't get worse Q1 to Q2, it is stabilizing. And if you think about when a contract comes up for renewal, there are one of -- three or four things that could happen. And so when there is down sell, it means we lose the upsell opportunity. And while our retention is really a function of the combination of renewing the base, obviously, there are a small amount of clients that will cancel, but you see client retention rates are improving and are at or near sort of historical highs.

嗨，Surinder。早安。我認為重點其實是我們看到降購正在趨於穩定。也就是說，從 Q1 到 Q2 並沒有變得更糟，而是在穩定下來。如果你想像合約到期續約時，可能會發生三到四種情況之一。當出現降購時，代表我們失去了加購（upsell）的機會。而我們的留存其實是續約基礎合約的組合結果；當然，會有少數客戶取消，但你可以看到客戶留存率正在改善，且已達到或接近歷史高點。

And so that's really not a challenge for us. But when a client decides to either hold spend or reduce spend, that is a missed opportunity for us to increase the spend, which generally translates into those higher wallet retention rates.

因此，這對我們來說並不是挑戰。但當客戶決定維持支出不變或降低支出時，對我們而言就是錯失了提高支出的機會，而這通常會反映在較高的錢包留存率上。

We believe that over time, with the better engagement levels, all the improvements we're making that Gene highlighted on BTI that will lead to stronger retention rates. That stabilizes the at retention and gives us more opportunities to grow that going forward. It could be just growth through price. It could be growth through upgrading people to higher-level services or it could be growth from finding new licensed users or finding new buying centers within those existing enterprises.

我們相信，隨著互動度提升，以及 Gene 在 BTI 上強調的各項改善，長期將帶來更強的留存率。這會使留存趨於穩定，並讓我們未來有更多機會推動成長。成長可能只是透過價格。也可能是把客戶升級到更高階的服務；或是在既有企業客戶中找到新的授權使用者，或找到新的採購/決策單位（buying centers）。

But we view wallet getting more back to normal over time. As we drive all these improvements in DTI and engagement, which stabilizes the retention base and then just gives us more opportunity to grow that existing client base.

但我們認為，錢包留存率會隨時間推移回到較正常的水準。因為我們推動 DTI 與互動度的各項改善，會讓留存基礎更穩定，並進一步讓我們有更多機會擴大既有客戶基礎。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jasper Bibb, Truist Securities.

Jasper Bibb，Truist Securities。

Hey, good morning, guys. I just want to ask how you're thinking about managing quota-bearing head count in the context of this reacceleration in the second half and then in the '27, like do you expect to add more salespeople in the second half to support that CV reacceleration? Or do you think you'd get there productive? Thanks.

嗨，各位早安。我想問的是，在下半年再加速、以及到 2027 年的背景下，你們如何思考管理具配額責任（quota-bearing）的員工人數？例如，你們是否預期在下半年增加更多銷售人員，以支援 CV 的再加速？還是你們認為可以靠提升生產力達成？謝謝。

Hey, Jasper. So we basically want to add sales head count when we have great productivity. And right now, we look at it as we have a lot of capacity that is underutilized and that with the changes we're making, like the BTI transformation I talked about, the increased engagement that Craig talked about, we think that will actually drive our productivity up. We'll get a nice lift there. As that comes up, we will expect to accelerate our head count growth. And so it really depends on kind of how we see this improving the productivity development over time.

嗨，Jasper。我們基本上會在生產力很好的時候才增加銷售人力。而目前我們的看法是，我們有不少尚未充分利用的產能；隨著我們正在推動的變革，例如我提到的 BTI 轉型、以及 Craig 提到的互動度提升，我們認為這實際上會推升我們的生產力。我們會看到不錯的提升。當生產力回升後，我們預期會加速人力成長。因此，這真的取決於我們如何看待這些措施隨時間推移對生產力改善的進展。

And Jasper, I would just add, we're actively managing our operating expense base so that we can remain agile and ensure we can deliver on our profit expectations, free cash flow expectations, et cetera. And then just I would reiterate what Gene said, which is we have plenty of capacity to significantly reaccelerate CV, even getting to half or three-quarters of our historical productivity levels. That will provide significant uplift to the CV growth. And again, that return to productivity would give us the confidence that Gene highlighted to reignite investment in QBH, but again, it's all about balanced managing of our OpEx base, making sure we're getting productivity out of our existing cost base. And then when we see that, that's the signal to go faster on the QBH side.

另外，Jasper，我補充一下：我們正積極管理營運費用（OpEx）基礎，以保持靈活，並確保能達成我們對利潤、自由現金流等的預期。同時我也重申 Gene 的說法：我們有足夠的產能來顯著推動 CV 再加速，即使只回到我們歷史生產力水準的一半或四分之三。那也會對 CV 成長帶來顯著的上行推力。而且，生產力回升也會帶來 Gene 所提到的信心，重新點燃對 QBH 的投資；但重點仍是要平衡地管理 OpEx 基礎，確保從既有成本基礎中取得生產力。當我們看到這一點時，那就是在 QBH 端加快腳步的訊號。

Makes sense. Thanks for taking the question.

了解。謝謝回答我的問題。

George Tong, Goldman Sachs.

George Tong，高盛。

Hi, thanks. Good morning. You talked about CV growth continuing to accelerate from current levels and highlighted several drivers. Can you rank order the key drivers you expect to fuel CV growth acceleration and what you see as a reasonable medium-term target for CV growth?

嗨，謝謝。早安。你提到 CV 成長將從目前水準持續加速，並強調了幾個驅動因素。你能否依重要性排序你預期將推動 CV 成長加速的關鍵驅動因素，以及你認為合理的中期 CV 成長目標為何？

So we think, George, the thing that's going to drive CV growth the most are two factors. The first is as engagement with our clients increases, that strengthens retention and then as our client retention increases, obviously, we rotate client just crippled earlier, our opportunity to grow in that client increases.

George，我們認為最能推動 CV 成長的主要有兩個因素。第一個是，隨著我們與客戶的互動程度提高，會強化留存；而當客戶留存提高時，顯然，我們先前提到的客戶流失（churn）降低後，我們在該客戶身上成長的機會就會增加。

And so I think the first thing we'll see is increased engagement leads to higher retention and higher retention actually leads to more new business with our existing clients. But on top of that, as we make the changes and get higher engagement, that also makes it easier to sell new clients to. It makes their value proposition more (inaudible) opportunities as well. And so that will take us well. So I think those are the three key factors that impacted.

所以我認為我們首先會看到的是：互動提升帶來更高的留存，而更高的留存實際上會帶來與既有客戶更多的新業務。此外，當我們做出改變並提升互動時，也會讓我們更容易向新客戶銷售。這也讓他們的價值主張更（聽不清）機會。因此這也會帶動我們。所以我認為這三個是影響的關鍵因素。

And George, I would just add, obviously, in the near term, the biggest impact is a combo of lapping the US Fed and that business actually getting back to growth as well. And so again, I know that's baked into a lot of the way people are thinking already. And so that's fine. But mathematically, that will provide a nice lift this year.

George，我再補充一下，顯然在短期內，最大的影響是「美國聯準會（US Fed）業務的基期效應」以及該業務本身也回到成長的組合。所以再次強調，我知道這已經被納入很多人目前的思考方式。所以沒問題。但從數學上來看，這會在今年帶來不錯的提振。

And then again, we believe that, that business, and again, both Gene and I noted on our prepared remarks that we actually drove in CVI in that space in the second quarter. So that's another piece of it as well. That sort of gets rolled into the total and will behave exactly the way Gene highlighted. But obviously, we won't have the same challenges we had in 2025 from the US Fed business going forward.

然後我們也相信那個業務——而且 Gene 和我在事先準備的發言中都提到，我們在第二季其實在那個領域推動了 CVI。所以這也是其中一部分。它會被納入總體，並且會完全如 Gene 所強調的方式表現。但顯然，未來我們不會再面臨 2025 年美國聯準會業務所帶來的同樣挑戰。

Thanks. And a reasonable medium-term target for CV growth?

謝謝。那合理的中期 CV 成長目標呢？

George, you should know us better than that, that we do not provide CV guidance or medium-term growth. I think the short answer is we expect CV growth to continue to reaccelerate. We've got to go through -- to continue through the low single digits to get to mid-single digits and then get through mid-single digits and beyond, and we look forward to updating every way each quarter, but we're not going to provide a medium-term target on the CV growth as is our normal practice.

George，你應該更了解我們：我們不提供 CV 指引或中期成長指引。我想簡短的回答是，我們預期 CV 成長會持續再加速。我們必須先走過——從低個位數持續提升到中個位數，然後再從中個位數往上突破，並且我們期待每一季都以各種方式更新進展，但我們不會提供中期的 CV 成長目標，這也是我們一貫的做法。

Got it. Thanks so much.

了解。非常感謝。

Toni Kaplan, Morgan Stanley.

Toni Kaplan，摩根士丹利。

Thanks very much. You mentioned in the prepared remarks, clients are reprioritizing their tech budgets. I imagine a lot of them are putting sort of more expense dollars towards utilizing large LLMs and related expenses. Is that largely what you were referring to? And are you seeing any impact in the amount that they're willing to spend with you as a result of the reprioritization? Thanks.

非常感謝。你在事先準備的發言中提到，客戶正在重新排序他們的科技預算優先順序。我想很多客戶可能把更多費用支出投入到使用大型 LLM 以及相關費用上。你主要指的是這個嗎？而且你是否看到，因為這種重新排序，他們願意在你們這裡花費的金額受到任何影響？謝謝。

Hey, Toni, so you're correct in that clients are reprioritizing their IT spending to shift more towards AI, LLMs is one piece of open more towards AI. What I'd say is that doesn't impact us in a negative way directly because if you look at the amount they spend with us relative to their IT budgets, we're very, very small. I think 10% are less for typical clients. And so as they reprioritize actually, as I mentioned before, the biggest single [environment] demand for us for our clients, including IT, is help with AI. So we're actually helping them figure out how do they reprioritize.

嗨，Toni，你說得沒錯，客戶正在重新配置他們的 IT 支出，把更多比重轉向 AI，LLM 只是其中一部分，整體是更偏向 AI。我要說的是，這不會直接對我們造成負面影響，因為如果你看他們在我們這裡的花費相對於其 IT 預算的比例，我們非常、非常小。我想對典型客戶而言大概是 10% 或更低。因此當他們重新排序時，實際上如我先前提到，對我們而言、來自客戶（包含 IT）的最大單一需求就是 AI 方面的協助。所以我們其實是在幫他們釐清該如何重新排序。

And so in that sense, it's actually driving demand for our products as we help them reprioritize. And again, so they're -- again, across both within IT and across the business, typically, companies are trying to be prioritize to free up (inaudible) for AI, and we're helping them with that.

因此從這個角度來看，當我們協助他們重新排序時，反而在推動對我們產品的需求。而且再次強調，他們——無論在 IT 內部或跨業務部門，通常公司都在嘗試重新排序，以釋放出（聽不清）資源給 AI，而我們正在協助他們做到這點。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Scott Wurtzel, Wolfe Research.

Scott Wurtzel，Wolfe Research。

Hey, good morning, guys. Thank you for taking my question. Craig, just wondering if you can talk a little bit more about some of the OpEx efficiencies that you're recognizing in the context of you're excluding FX, you're raising your revenue outlook by $5 million, EBITDA by $40 million. Just wondering if you could talk a little bit more about the OpEx efficiencies? Thanks.

嗨，各位早安。謝謝你們回答我的問題。Craig，我想請你多談一點你們正在實現的一些營運費用（OpEx）效率：在排除匯率（FX）影響下，你們把營收展望上調 500 萬美元、EBITDA 上調 4,000 萬美元。想請你多談談這些 OpEx 效率？謝謝。

Yes, Scott. Thanks for the question. I think it's ongoing best practice and on making sure that our in-quarter OpEx rate aligned with the revenue, but more importantly, that our run rate is aligned with our revenue, CV expectations rolling forward. So we continue to manage the business to ensure that we are delivering on our profit targets and also delivering on our free cash flow targets. What I would say is a lot of the reprioritization is to make sure that we are investing in key areas that we know will drive short-term, medium-term and long-term growth.

好的，Scott。謝謝你的問題。我認為這是持續的最佳實務，確保我們當季的 OpEx 支出率與營收相匹配；更重要的是，確保我們的常態化支出水準（run rate）與未來的營收、CV 預期相一致。因此我們持續管理業務，以確保達成獲利目標，也同時達成自由現金流目標。我想說的是，很多重新排序是為了確保我們投資在我們知道能推動短期、中期與長期成長的關鍵領域。

And so there's a lot of reprioritization happening on a quarterly basis. If not always in the name of driving profitability, it is often in the name of making sure that we're able to double and triple down in the places that we think are most important for delivering value for our clients and that we think are most important for delivering long-term value for the company and our stakeholders as well.

因此每一季都有大量的重新排序在進行。即使不一定都是以提升獲利為名，往往也是為了確保我們能在我們認為對客戶交付價值最重要的地方加倍、甚至加三倍投入，同時也在我們認為對公司與利害關係人創造長期價值最重要的地方加大投入。

Daniel Zako, BMO Capital Markets.

Daniel Zako，BMO 資本市場。

Hi, this is actually Jeff Silber with BMO. Other companies in the space have talked about potentially changing economics maybe a faster move to enterprise pricing or a consumption-based model. Is that something you're contemplating? And if not, why not?

嗨，其實我是 BMO 的 Jeff Silber。同業公司談到可能會改變經濟模式，例如更快轉向企業定價，或採用以使用量為基礎（consumption-based）的模式。這是你們正在考慮的方向嗎？如果不是，為什麼？

So we talked to our clients and do market research on a pretty much continual basis to understand how they will work with us and what they -- how they feel about our pricing. And what I'd say is, if you look at who we're targeting with our research, it's the typically the C level, like the CIO, CFO, their direct reports and maybe one level down. And so an organization that might have 1,000 people or 10,000 people or 50,000 people, we're targeting a handful of those people.

我們幾乎是持續不斷地與客戶溝通並進行市場研究，以了解他們會如何與我們合作，以及他們——對我們定價的感受如何。我想說的是，如果你看我們研究鎖定的對象，通常是 C-level，例如 CIO、CFO、他們的直屬部屬，可能再往下一層。因此對於一個可能有 1,000 人、10,000 人或 50,000 人的組織，我們鎖定的是其中少數幾個人。

And when we go back to talk to clients about how they want to pay for it, how they want to structure their contracts, they like the way we do it today is seat-based because they don't see a need to have it with all 10,000 of their associates. And if I could contrast that, there's some like software purchases when they sort of say, like, if you buy a lot of packaged software so they did it for each of our associates.

當我們回去和客戶討論他們想怎麼付費、想怎麼設計合約架構時，他們喜歡我們目前的做法——以席位（seat-based）計價，因為他們不認為有必要讓他們全部 10,000 名員工都使用。如果要做個對比，有些軟體採購會是那種他們會說：如果你買很多套裝軟體，就會為我們每一位員工都採購。

We're not in that kind of business. It's really focused on the top really three levels in the organization, our core clients. And when we ask them how they want to pay, they don't say we want enterprise licenses, they actually like the way that we're working today.

我們不做那種業務。這真的聚焦在組織內最高的三個層級，也就是我們的核心客戶。而當我們問他們想怎麼付費時，他們不會說想要企業授權；他們其實喜歡我們目前的合作方式。

And Jeff, just to add to that. I mean, again, if you look at the average spend on the GTS side, it's probably about six licenses per enterprise on the GBS side. It's a little bit lower than that. And so again, we are really targeting to echo Gene's point, the top of the orchard that person's direct reports and in large organizations, all over or two down from that. We are not targeting the enterprise.

Jeff，我補充一下。我的意思是，再次，如果你看 GTS 端的平均支出，每家企業大概是六個授權；在 GBS 端，會比那個再低一些。所以同樣地，呼應 Gene 的觀點，我們真正鎖定的是「果園最上層」——那位高層的直接部屬；在大型組織中，通常也會涵蓋到再往下兩層。我們不是在鎖定整個企業。

We are targeting the C level. Because those are the people that have significant enterprise-wide mission-critical priorities that we can drive the most value for and that's where we're going to continue to focus and drive a lot of our growth and value.

我們鎖定的是 C-level。因為這些人肩負全企業範圍、攸關任務且至關重要的優先事項，我們能為他們創造最大的價值；而這也將是我們持續聚焦、推動大量成長與價值的地方。

Thanks for the color.

謝謝補充說明。

Ashish Sabadra, RBC Capital Markets.

Ashish Sabadra，RBC Capital Markets。

Thanks for taking my question. I was -- maybe a quick clarifying question. Can we know what the ex-Fed (inaudible) goes in the quarter, we get around $11 million from Fed and $3 million ex-Fed (inaudible) Just wanted to confirm that. And then just a follow-up on prior responses. I was just wondering -- can you talk about which areas are you seeing continued pressure? Are there certain industries? Or for example, tariff-impacted industries were impacted last year? Do you see easy comps going into this year? Thank you.

謝謝讓我提問。我有——也許是一個快速釐清的問題。我們能否知道本季 ex-Fed（聽不清）是多少？我們從 Fed 約有 1,100 萬美元，另外 ex-Fed（聽不清）約 300 萬美元？只是想確認一下。接著是針對先前回覆的追問。我想請問——你們看到哪些領域仍持續承受壓力？是否有特定產業？或者例如，去年受關稅影響的產業？你們是否看到今年會有較容易的比較基期？謝謝。

Hey, Ashish, I'll start with the computational stuff, and then we can dive into the more macro question. So ex-Fed (inaudible) in the quarter was about positive $4 million. So that's the math on that. In terms of -- do you want to cover the tariff in fact --

嗨，Ashish，我先從計算面的部分開始，然後我們再深入談比較偏宏觀的問題。本季 ex-Fed（聽不清）約為正 400 萬美元。所以這就是那個數字的計算結果。至於——你要不要談一下關稅的影響——

Yeah. In terms of industries, again, companies that have tariffs imposed have much tighter cost constraints for that company and ones that don't. And so that's clearly a macro factor that continues to impact just for those companies that tariffs. As I mentioned before, and Craig mentioned this as well, we're assuming that the world is going to be like that on a go-forward basis. And so we're restructuring our business, especially with the BTI transformation so that our value goes up. So even in industries where there's a big macro dislocation actually, they see the value in our products and are going to want to buy and grow with us.

好。就產業而言，再次，受到關稅加徵的公司，其成本約束會比未受影響的公司緊得多。因此，這顯然是一個宏觀因素，會持續影響那些被課徵關稅的公司。如我先前提到的，Craig 也提過，我們假設未來世界將會持續呈現這種狀態。因此我們正在重塑業務，特別是透過 BTI 轉型，讓我們的價值提升。所以即使在宏觀出現重大錯位的產業中，他們其實也看得到我們產品的價值，並且會想要購買並與我們一同成長。

Yeah. And Ashish, just the one thing I'd also just highlight is it's really the uncertainty. There are lots of different macro factors that are popping up on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. They ebb and flow, but it's causing just lots of uncertainty around the enterprises that we serve globally, and we're adapting and transforming so that we can perform better given all that uncertainty.

是的。另外 Ashish，我也想強調一點：真正的問題在於不確定性。每天、每週、每月都有各種不同的宏觀因素冒出來。它們起起落落，但這讓我們在全球服務的企業面臨大量不確定性；而我們也正在調整與轉型，以便在這些不確定性之下能有更好的表現。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Curtis Nagle, Bank of America.

Curtis Nagle，美國銀行。

Great. Thanks for much for taking the question. Just switching gears a little bit, just on consulting. I think you said the backlog is through 14 or so, first increase in about a year or so. I guess where are you seeing incremental demand? What's driving that improvement?

很好。非常感謝讓我提問。稍微換個話題，關於顧問服務。我想你提到 backlog 大約到 14 左右，這是大概一年來第一次增加。我想問你們看到增量需求來自哪裡？是什麼在推動這項改善？

Yeah. Good morning, Curtis. It's -- I think it's a little bit better execution across the board a little bit of just driving better focus with our core anchor clients. There's no like one thematic around, we sold a lot of this kind of project or this kind of engagement. I think the team has just been laser focused on, one, delivering on the backlog that we have; and two, generating the pipeline and turning that into bookings, so that we've got more backlog to or in the future.

是的。早安，Curtis。我認為這是整體執行力稍微變得更好，以及在核心主力客戶上推動更聚焦的成果。並沒有某一個明確主題，例如我們賣了很多某類專案或某類合作案。我覺得團隊只是非常專注於：第一，交付我們現有的 backlog；第二，建立 pipeline 並把它轉成 bookings，讓我們未來能有更多 backlog。

Obviously, in Q2, we had a very strong bookings quarter, again, no uber trend among the type of business that we did end up selling, but it's just a matter of staying close to our clients, understanding where they have needs. And then our consulting team diving in to meet those demands and meet those needs.

顯然在第二季，我們的 bookings 非常強勁；同樣地，在我們最終賣出的業務類型上並沒有什麼特別的超級趨勢，但重點就是緊貼客戶、了解他們有哪些需求。然後由我們的顧問團隊投入以滿足這些需求。

And so we feel good now about the full year outlook, particularly on the labor-based side, given the strong bookings quarter, and we need to follow it up with another strong bookings quarter so that we keep the backlog growing so that we can return that business to growth over the medium term.

因此，基於強勁的 bookings 季度表現，我們對全年展望感覺良好，特別是在以人力為基礎的那一端；而我們也需要再接續一個強勁的 bookings 季度，讓 backlog 持續成長，這樣我們才能在中期讓該業務回到成長軌道。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

I'm showing no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Gene Hall for closing remarks.

目前顯示沒有其他問題。我想把電話會議交回給 Gene Hall 做結語。

So in closing, with the strong demand we're seeing for help on mission-critical priorities such as AI, our BaaS and growing library of high-impact (inaudible) insights and the transformational improvements we're making in our ability to deliver unparalled client value, we remain optimistic about our future. We expect contract value growth to continue to accelerate. We will continue to drive strong free cash flow that we put to use to drive incremental shareholder value, and we expect to deliver adjusted EPS on a compound annual basis of above 12% over the next three years. Thanks for joining today, and I look forward to updating you again next quarter.

最後總結，隨著我們看到市場對於協助處理攸關任務的優先事項（例如 AI）、我們的 BaaS、以及不斷擴充的高影響力（聽不清）洞察資料庫的強勁需求，再加上我們在提升交付無與倫比客戶價值能力方面所做的轉型改善，我們對未來仍保持樂觀。我們預期合約價值成長將持續加速。我們將持續創造強勁的自由現金流，並加以運用以創造額外的股東價值；同時我們預期未來三年調整後 EPS 的複合年成長率將高於 12%。感謝今天的參與，我期待在下個季度再次向各位更新。

Thank you for your participation. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

感謝各位的參與。本節目到此結束。您現在可以掛線。各位，祝您有美好的一天。