Itron Inc (ITRI) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Itron's third-quarter 2024 earnings release conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's conference is being recorded.

再會。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加 Itron 2024 年第三季財報發布電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Paul Vincent, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在將會議交給演講主持人、投資者關係副總裁保羅文森 (Paul Vincent)。請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to Itron's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Tom Deitrich, Itron's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Joan Hooper, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will review Itron's third-quarter results and provide a general business update and outlook. Earlier today, the company issued a press release announcing its results. This release also includes details related to the conference call and webcast replay information. Accompanying today's call is a presentation that is available through the webcast and on our corporate website under the Investor Relations tab.

早安，歡迎參加 Itron 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。 Tom Deitrich，Itron 總裁兼執行長；高級副總裁兼財務長 Joan Hooper 將審查 Itron 第三季業績並提供整體業務更新和展望。今天早些時候，該公司發布了一份新聞稿，公佈了其業績。此版本還包括與電話會議和網路廣播重播資訊相關的詳細資訊。伴隨今天的電話會議的是一個演示文稿，可透過網路廣播和我們公司網站的「投資者關係」標籤觀看。

Following prepared remarks, the call will open for questions using the process the operator described. Before Tom begins, a reminder that our earnings release and financial presentation include non-GAAP financial information that we believe enhances the overall understanding of our current and future performance. Reconciliations of differences between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are available in our earnings release and on our Investor Relations website. We will be making statements during this call that are forward-looking. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties.

在準備好發言後，電話會議將按照接線員描述的流程進行提問。在湯姆開始之前，請提醒我們，我們的收益發布和財務報告包括非公認會計準則財務信息，我們相信這些信息可以增強對我們當前和未來業績的整體了解。公認會計原則和非公認會計原則財務指標之間的差異調節可在我們的收益報告和投資者關係網站上找到。我們將在本次電話會議中發表前瞻性聲明。這些陳述基於當前的預期和假設，存在風險和不確定性。

Actual results could differ materially from these expectations because of factors that were presented in today's earnings release and comments made during this conference call as well as those presented in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All company comments, estimates or forward-looking statements are made in a good faith attempt to provide appropriate insight to our current and future operating and financial environment. Materials discussed today, October 31st, 2024, may materially change, and we do not undertake any duty to update any of our forward-looking statements.

由於今天的收益發布中提出的因素和本次電話會議期間發表的評論以及我們的10-K 表格的風險因素部分以及向證券和證券交易委員會提交的其他報告和文件中提出的因素，實際結果可能與這些預期存在重大差異。本公司的所有評論、估計或前瞻性陳述均真誠地做出，旨在為我們當前和未來的營運和財務環境提供適當的見解。今天（2024 年 10 月 31 日）討論的資料可能會發生重大變化，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Now please turn to page 4 of our presentation as our CEO, Tom Deitrich, begins his remarks.

現在請翻到我們簡報的第 4 頁，我們的執行長 Tom Deitrich 開始講話。

Thank you, Paul. Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining our call. Itron's third-quarter results were ahead of our expectations and reflect another quarter of solid execution delivered by our team. The continued market demand fueled by growth in energy and water needs supports our substantial pipeline of opportunities for the future. Financial highlights for the third quarter are shown on Slide 5 and include revenue of $615 million, adjusted EBITDA of $89 million, non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.84, free cash flow of $59 million.

謝謝你，保羅。大家早安，感謝您加入我們的通話。 Itron 第三季的業績超出了我們的預期，反映出我們團隊又一個季度的穩健執行。能源和水需求的成長推動了持續的市場需求，為我們未來的大量機會提供了支持。第三季的財務亮點如幻燈片 5 所示，包括營收 6.15 億美元、調整後 EBITDA 8,900 萬美元、非 GAAP 每股收益 1.84 美元、自由現金流 5,900 萬美元。

Turning to slide 6. Our backlog at the end of third quarter was $4 billion and bookings during the quarter were $487 million. Noteworthy bookings in the third quarter include Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative selected Itron's GenX technology platform through our distribution partner NRTC. Arkansas Valley was one of the first Department of Energy Smart Grid program awardees to complete negotiations with the DOE, receiving a grant for their grid intelligence and distribution automation project. Additionally, CenterPoint Energy is working with Itron to offer the additional safety features of Intelis gas endpoints to commercial and industrial users.

轉向投影片 6。第三季值得注意的預訂包括阿肯色谷電力合作社透過我們的分銷合作夥伴 NRTC 選擇了 Itron 的 GenX 技術平台。阿肯色谷是第一批完成與能源部談判的能源部智慧電網計畫獲獎者之一，獲得了電網智慧和配電自動化項目的資助。此外，CenterPoint Energy 正在與 Itron 合作，為商業和工業用戶提供 Intelis 氣體端點的額外安全功能。

The enhanced safety capabilities include an integrated shutoff valve and pressure sensing with edge intelligence. This expansion further demonstrates CenterPoint's commitment to the safety of their users. Finally, we have expanded our support of Duke Energy to include our latest grid edge and distributed intelligence capabilities for DERMS control. In our prior quarterly call, we commented that regulatory and funding processes can extend the time from project award to booking recognition due to our disciplined approach to register and award as backlog. This can increase the quarter-to-quarter variability in bookings for any given period, and calendar 2024 is no exception.

增強的安全功能包括整合截止閥和具有邊緣智慧的壓力感測。此次擴展進一步體現了 CenterPoint 對使用者安全的承諾。最後，我們擴大了對杜克能源的支持，包括我們最新的電網邊緣和用於 DERMS 控制的分散式智慧功能。在先前的季度電話會議中，我們評論說，由於我們嚴格按照積壓的方式進行註冊和授予，因此監管和融資流程可以延長從專案授予到預訂認可的時間。這可能會增加任何給定期間預訂量的季度變化，2024 年也不例外。

We are pleased with the pace of the various regulatory and funding processes within the first month of this quarter, fourth-quarter '24. As a result, we maintain conviction for a book-to-bill ratio of 1:1 or greater for the full year.

我們對本季（24 年第四季）第一個月內各種監管和融資流程的進展感到滿意。因此，我們堅信全年的訂單出貨比將達到 1:1 或更高。

Now Joan will provide details of our third quarter results and our fourth-quarter outlook.

現在，瓊將提供我們第三季業績和第四季前景的詳細資訊。

Thank you, Tom. Please turn to slide 7 for a summary of consolidated GAAP results. Third-quarter revenue of $615 million increased 10% year over year and was stronger than expected. The higher revenue was driven by solid operational performance as well as shipments of customer orders initially anticipated in the fourth quarter and early 2025. Gross margin of 34.1% was 70 basis points higher than last year due to operational efficiencies.

謝謝你，湯姆。請參閱投影片 7，以了解綜合 GAAP 結果摘要。第三季營收為 6.15 億美元，年增 10%，強於預期。營收的成長得益於穩健的營運表現以及最初預計在第四季和 2025 年初交付的客戶訂單。

GAAP net income of $78 million or $1.70 per diluted share compares to $40 million or $0.87 per diluted share in the prior year. The improvement was driven by higher levels of operating and interest income and less tax expense. Both our GAAP and non-GAAP net income and earnings per share benefited from a favorable resolution of a foreign tax audit. This resulted in an increase in net income of approximately $14 million or $0.30 per share. Regarding non-GAAP metrics on slide 8.

GAAP 淨利潤為 7,800 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.70 美元，而前一年的淨利潤為 4,000 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.87 美元。這一改善是由於營業收入和利息收入水準提高以及稅收支出減少所致。我們的公認會計原則和非公認會計原則淨利潤和每股收益都受益於外國稅務審計的有利解決方案。這導致淨利潤增加約 1,400 萬美元，即每股增加 0.30 美元。關於幻燈片 8 上的非 GAAP 指標。

Non-GAAP operating income of $79 million increased 34% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA of $89 million was a record and increased 29% year over year. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $84 million or $1.84 per diluted share versus $0.98 a year ago. Free cash flow was $59 million in Q3 versus $28 million a year ago. The improvement reflects strong year-over-year earnings growth.

非 GAAP 營業收入為 7,900 萬美元，較去年同期成長 34%。調整後 EBITDA 達到 8,900 萬美元，創歷史新高，年增 29%。該季度非 GAAP 淨利潤為 8,400 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.84 美元，去年同期為 0.98 美元。第三季自由現金流為 5,900 萬美元，去年同期為 2,800 萬美元。這一改善反映出獲利年增強勁。

Year-over-year revenue growth by business segment is on slide 9. Device solutions revenue increased 10% on a constant currency basis, primarily driven by growth in smart water sales and electric demand. Network solutions revenue grew 8% year over year, driven by increased volume associated with new projects and ongoing deployments. Outcomes revenue increased 16% on a constant currency basis, primarily due to higher recurring revenue services and software. Moving to the non-GAAP year-over-year EPS bridge on slide 10.

按業務部門劃分的年收入成長呈下滑趨勢 9。受新專案和持續部署相關數量增加的推動，網路解決方案營收年增 8%。以固定匯率計算，成果收入增加了 16%，這主要是由於服務和軟體的經常性收入增加。轉向幻燈片 10 上的非 GAAP 同比 EPS 橋樑。

Our Q3 non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.84 per diluted share was an all-time quarterly record and increased $0.86 year over year. Pre-tax operating performance contributed $0.61 per share year-over-year improvement, driven by the fall-through of higher revenue and gross profit, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Third-quarter tax expense was reduced by $14 million due to a favorable resolution of a foreign tax audit, resulting in higher net income and a $0.30 earnings per share increase. Turning to slides 11 through 13, I'll review Q3 segment results compared with the prior year. Device solutions revenue was $123 million.

我們第三季的非公認會計準則每股攤薄收益為 1.84 美元，創歷史季度記錄，年增 0.86 美元。稅前經營績效貢獻每股 0.61 美元的年比改善，這是由於收入和毛利增加的下降所推動的，但部分被較高的營業費用所抵消。由於外國稅務審計的有利決議，第三季稅務費用減少了 1,400 萬美元，導致淨利潤增加，每股收益增加 0.30 美元。轉向投影片 11 至 13，我將回顧第三季的部門業績與前一年的比較。設備解決方案收入為 1.23 億美元。

Gross margin was 27.2% and operating margin was a record 21.6%. Gross margin was up 290 basis points year over year, and operating margin was up 560 basis points, reflecting volume and operational efficiencies and effective cost management. Network solutions revenue was $417 million with gross margin of 35.9% and operating margin of 27.7%. This quarter was another record level of revenue for this segment. Gross margin increased 80 basis points year over year, and operating margin was up 110 basis points, driven by volume and operational efficiencies.

毛利率為 27.2%，營業利益率為創紀錄的 21.6%。毛利率年增 290 個基點，營業利潤率成長 560 個基點，反映了銷售和營運效率以及有效的成本管理。網路解決方案收入為 4.17 億美元，毛利率為 35.9%，營業利益率為 27.7%。本季該部門的營收再創新高。在銷售和營運效率的推動下，毛利率年增 80 個基點，營業利益率成長 110 個基點。

Outcomes revenue was $76 million with gross margin of 35% and operating margin of 14.7%. Gross margin decreased 360 basis points year-over-year and operating margin was down 110 basis points due to a lower margin revenue mix and increased services cost.

結果收入為 7,600 萬美元，毛利率為 35%，營業利益率為 14.7%。由於利潤收入組合下降和服務成本增加，毛利率年減 360 個基點，營業利潤下降 110 個基點。

Turning to slide 14. I'll review liquidity and debt at the end of the third quarter. Total debt was $1.265 billion and net debt was $282 million. As of September 30, net leverage was 0.9x and cash and equivalents were $983 million. Now please turn to slide 15 for our fourth-quarter outlook. We anticipate fourth quarter revenue to be between $600 million to $610 million. The midpoint of this range represents growth of $28 million or 5% year-over-year. For non-GAAP earnings per share, we expect a range of $1 to $1.10 per diluted share, which assumes an effective tax rate of approximately 25%.

轉向投影片 14。總債務為 12.65 億美元，淨負債為 2.82 億美元。截至 9 月 30 日，淨槓桿率為 0.9 倍，現金及等價物為 9.83 億美元。現在請翻到投影片 15，了解我們的第四季展望。我們預計第四季營收將在 6 億至 6.1 億美元之間。該範圍的中點代表同比增長 2800 萬美元，即 5%。對於非 GAAP 每股收益，我們預計稀釋後每股收益為 1 美元至 1.10 美元，假設有效稅率約為 25%。

At the midpoint, this implies a decrease of $0.18 versus Q4 of last year. But Q4 of 2023 had an effective tax rate of just 8%. When normalizing Q4 of last year to a 25% effective tax rate, this Q4 2024 outlook is an increase of $0.06 or 6% year over year.

在中點，這意味著與去年第四季相比減少了 0.18 美元。但 2023 年第四季的有效稅率僅為 8%。當去年第四季的有效稅率正常化為 25% 時，2024 年第四季的展望為年增 0.06 美元或 6%。

Now please turn to slide 16 for an update to our annual 2024 outlook incorporating this Q4 update. We now anticipate 2024 full-year revenue to be within a range of $2.428 billion to $2.438 billion. At the midpoint, this represents an increase of 12% versus 2023 and 1% from our prior 2024 annual guidance. Continued customer demand, strong operational execution and the timing of customer shipments is driving our higher 2024 revenue expectations. Earnings will also be positively impacted by the fall-through of higher revenue. Our non-GAAP earnings per share full year outlook range is $5.28 to $5.38 per diluted share. At the midpoint, the updated non-GAAP EPS estimate is up 59% versus 2023 and 17% versus prior guidance.

現在請前往投影片 16，了解我們 2024 年年度展望的更新，其中包含第四季的更新。我們現在預計 2024 年全年營收將在 24.28 億美元至 24.38 億美元之間。中位數來看，這比 2023 年增長了 12%，比我們之前的 2024 年年度指導增加了 1%。持續的客戶需求、強大的營運執行力和客戶出貨時間正在推動我們提高 2024 年收入預期。收入增加的下降也將對獲利產生正面影響。我們的非 GAAP 全年每股盈餘展望範圍為稀釋後每股 5.28 美元至 5.38 美元。更新後的非 GAAP 每股盈餘預計將較 2023 年成長 59%，較先前指引成長 17%。

Although we are not ready to provide formal 2025 financial guidance at this time, the combination of 2024 performance being consistently ahead of expectations, a normalizing operating environment and very back-end loaded 2024 bookings make it reasonable to assume a lower revenue growth profile for 2025. We remain committed to the 2027 financial targets provided at this year's March Investor Day.

儘管我們目前尚未準備好提供正式的2025 年財務指引，但2024 年業績持續超出預期、正常化的營運環境以及後端負載非常嚴重的2024 年預訂量結合在一起，可以合理地假設2025 年營收成長情況較低我們仍致力於實現今年 3 月投資者日提出的 2027 年財務目標。

Now I'll turn the call back to Tom.

現在我將把電話轉回給湯姆。

Thank you, Joan. Operational momentum and efficiency gains continue to accrue during the third quarter. And while we expect growth rates to normalize in the coming quarters, the larger trends are clear. Customer demand is growing. Our broad portfolio of innovative products and services gives us confidence that our strategic direction is well placed and the 2027 financial targets remain appropriate.

謝謝你，瓊。第三季營運動能和效率持續提升。雖然我們預計未來幾季成長率將正常化，但更大的趨勢是顯而易見的。客戶需求不斷成長。我們廣泛的創新產品和服務組合讓我們相信我們的策略方向是正確的，2027 年的財務目標仍然是適當的。

Before opening the line for Q&A, there are a few non-financial highlights of note. We recently held Itron's annual Inspire customer event, where the power of data and grid edge intelligence was on full display. It is clear from the depth of interaction with utility executives, ecosystem partners and other influential industry leaders that we have the necessary motivation and thought leadership across our industry to resolve the most complex and pressing energy and water resource challenges facing us today. Significantly, the nature of the discussions has shifted from what to do to how to get it done. This is encouraging and will serve to accelerate the pace of the industry.

在開始問答之前，有一些值得注意的非財務要點。我們最近舉辦了 Itron 年度 Inspire 客戶活動，充分展現了數據和電網邊緣智慧的力量。從與公用事業高管、生態系統合作夥伴和其他有影響力的行業領導者的深入互動中可以清楚地看出，我們整個行業擁有必要的動力和思想領導力來解決我們當今面臨的最複雜和緊迫的能源和水資源挑戰。值得注意的是，討論的性質已經從做什麼轉變為如何完成。這是令人鼓舞的，將有助於加快產業的步伐。

During the conference, we announced our Grid Edge Essentials offering. Grid Edge Essentials solution dramatically simplifies the process for our utility customers to adopt new advanced technologies, accelerating the time to value. Also in conjunction with Inspire, we released our resourcefulness report, which explored artificial intelligence and machine learning trends within the utility industry. The key findings of the research include that 82% of utility executives report active AI projects. AI and ML are already helping utilities optimize asset utilization, advancing sustainability progress, and enhancing consumer engagement.

在會議期間，我們宣布了 Grid Edge Essentials 產品。 Grid Edge Essentials 解決方案大大簡化了我們的公用事業客戶採用新的先進技術的流程，並加快了價值實現的時間。此外，我們還與 Inspire 一起發布了足智多謀的報告，該報告探討了公用事業行業內的人工智慧和機器學習趨勢。該研究的主要發現包括 82% 的公用事業高管報告了活躍的人工智慧專案。人工智慧和機器學習已經在幫助公用事業公司優化資產利用率、推動永續發展並提高消費者參與度。

And perhaps unsurprisingly, reflective of broader considerations related to AI adoption, 43% of utilities cited the lack of expertise as a current barrier to greater AI adoption. AI and ML are focus areas for the utility industry, which places even greater value on thoughtful approaches to data capture, analytics and agile infrastructure. The report is available for download at itron.com, and I encourage everyone to review the findings.

也許並不奇怪，43% 的公用事業公司將缺乏專業知識視為當前更大程度採用人工智慧的障礙，這反映了與人工智慧採用相關的更廣泛考慮。人工智慧和機器學習是公用事業行業的重點領域，公用事業行業更加重視深思熟慮的資料擷取、分析和敏捷基礎設施方法。該報告可在 itron.com 下載，我鼓勵大家查看研究結果。

Thank you for joining our call today. Operator, please open the line for some questions.

感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。接線員，請撥通電話詢問一些問題。

(Operator Instructions) Ben Kallo, Baird.

（操作說明）Ben Kallo，Baird。

Congratulations on the quarter. Joan, I just want to clarify, when you talked about growth next year, there will be growth next year. It's just not the same level of growth.

恭喜本季。瓊，我只是想澄清一下，當你談到明年的成長時，明年就會有成長。只是成長水準不同而已。

Yes. Well, we're obviously not in a position to give '25 guidance yet, but I wanted to make sure people remember a couple of things. One is, we had $125 million of catch-up revenue in '24. So be careful that you grow on a normalized 2024, and the fact that the bookings are so back-end loaded is another factor. So really no different than what I've said on previous calls.

是的。好吧，我們顯然還不能提供 25 年的指導，但我想確保人們記住一些事情。一是，我們在 2024 年獲得了 1.25 億美元的追趕收入。因此，要小心你的成長是在 2024 年正常化的情況下進行的，而後端預訂量如此之大的事實是另一個因素。所以與我在之前的電話中所說的確實沒有什麼不同。

If you look at the compounded growth from the current '24 estimates to get to the '27 targets, it's only 2.5% to 5% growth because '24 was so much higher than we expected. So just be careful with the growth rates. We never expected a linear from '23 to '27.

如果你看看目前 '24 估計到 '27 目標的複合成長，你會發現它只有 2.5% 到 5% 的成長，因為 '24 比我們預期的要高得多。所以要小心成長率。我們從未預料到從 23 年到 27 年會出現線性變化。

And then the next question is just kind of behind the bookings that you expect in this quarter. Could you just talk about the state of the market and deals out there to continue kind of the strength that you guys have going on for the last couple of quarters or years?

下一個問題就是您在本季預計的預訂量的背後。您能否談談市場狀況和交易狀況，以延續過去幾季或幾年的強勁勢頭？

Thanks, Ben. Tom here. The market remains extremely constructive. The needs of utilities to deal with things like climate disruption or increasing demand or doing a better job managing water, gas safety, all of those trends are alive and well. And I think we're well positioned to be able to take advantage of that.

謝謝，本。湯姆在這裡。市場仍然極具建設性。公用事業公司需要應對氣候破壞、需求增加或更好地管理水、天然氣安全等問題，所有這些趨勢都存在且良好。我認為我們處於有利位置，能夠利用這一點。

We are definitely seeing progress on the regulatory and funding front. Last quarter, I referenced something like $1 billion of pending awards that were in process. We definitely have seen progress, I would say, well over 50%, probably closer to 75% of that regulatory process is now behind us, and that's really what is underlying the 1:1 for the full year on a book-to-bill basis that I referenced in the prepared remarks. So feeling good about the overall market. On a global level, the commentary I just gave was largely around the Americas, but Europe has, at least through Q3, continued to perform a little bit ahead of the expectations, and you saw that in our third quarter results.

我們確實看到了監管和融資方面的進展。上個季度，我提到了大約 10 億美元正在處理中的懸而未決的獎項。我想說，我們確實已經看到了進展，遠超過 50%，可能接近 75% 的監管流程現在已經過去，這確實是全年訂單到賬單 1:1 的基礎我在準備好的評論中提到的基礎。因此對整體市場感覺良好。在全球層面上，我剛剛發表的評論主要針對美洲，但歐洲至少在第三季的表現繼續略高於預期，您可以在我們第三季的業績中看到這一點。

Jeff Osborne, TD Cowen.

傑夫·奧斯本，TD·考恩。

Maybe just to follow-up on that last point, Tom. If I heard you right, you mentioned bookings were strong in October and then you said 50% to 75% of the $1 billion came in after the quarter. Is that the way you're trying to couch that for fourth quarter?

也許只是為了跟進最後一點，湯姆。如果我沒聽錯的話，您提到 10 月份的預訂量很強勁，然後您說 10 億美元中的 50% 到 75% 是在本季度之後收入的。這就是你在第四季的表現嗎？

Well, not quite, you're close. But of the $1 billion that I referenced last time, we've seen progress on the regulatory front. It doesn't mean it's quite to the point that we registered as a booking yet. But certainly, we expect to achieve the 1:1 for the year on a book-to-bill ratio. So feeling good about the progress. And I wanted to give that color just to give people a little bit of context as to what we see behind the curtain and why we remain pretty excited about the market opportunity ahead.

嗯，不完全是，你已經很接近了。但在我上次提到的 10 億美元中，我們看到了監管的進展。這並不意味著我們已經註冊為預訂了。但可以肯定的是，我們預計今年的訂單出貨比將達到 1:1。所以對進展感覺很好。我想賦予這種顏色只是為了讓人們了解一些背景信息，了解我們在幕後看到的內容以及為什麼我們對未來的市場機會仍然非常興奮。

Got it. And just to be clear, is the regulatory front you're referring to both federal and state if it requires both, just given that there were some federal awards from the GRIP Program?

知道了。需要澄清的是，如果 GRIP 計劃授予了一些聯邦獎項，那麼您所指的監管方面是否既需要聯邦又需要州？

Yes. It's a combination of the two. And again, those bookings are primarily the Americas, but there's some international things that have government funding activities associated with it, and it's lumped into the commentary we gave.

是的。這是兩者的結合。再說一次，這些預訂主要是在美洲，但也有一些國際計畫與政府資助活動相關，並且它被集中到我們給出的評論中。

Perfect. And then just two other quick ones. How, in retrospect, would you frame the strength in water all year? And do you expect that to continue next year for the devices segment? And then what's the M&A pipeline in light of the recent debt offering that you've done? And how has that evolved in the past few months?

完美的。然後還有另外兩個快速的。回想起來，你會如何看待全年的水強度？您預計明年設備領域的這種情況會持續嗎？那麼，根據您最近進行的債務發行，併購管道是怎麼樣的呢？過去幾個月情況如何演變？

So let me start with water. Water has certainly been performing above our expectations thus far in the year. The terms have been really good. We set expectations for maybe $100 million to $100 million-plus on the devices run rate. And you can look at the last three quarters, we're kind of running a bit above that.

那麼就讓我從水開始吧。今年迄今為止，水的表現肯定超出了我們的預期。條款真的很好。我們對設備運作率的預期約為 1 億至 1 億美元以上。你可以看看過去三個季度，我們的表現有點高於這個水平。

I don't know that I would expect it to continue at that level, as we get into the fourth quarter and for next year. What we see is lead times are starting to normalize again after some extended period of constraints in supply channels on -- supply chains rather on a global basis. And as lead times start to reduce across the industry, that means that the amount of inventory that our customers are holding tends to pull back a little bit. So I do think the turns rate probably slows down over the coming quarters. But that doesn't mean the market is anyway going backwards. It's more just the accordion effect that you get in the supply chain itself.

當我們進入第四季和明年時，我不知道我是否會期望它繼續保持在這個水平。我們看到的是，在供應鏈而非全球供應管道受到長期限制之後，交貨時間開始再次正常化。隨著整個行業的交貨時間開始縮短，這意味著我們的客戶持有的庫存量往往會略有減少。因此，我確實認為未來幾季的周轉率可能會放緩。但這並不意味著市場正在倒退。這更像是您在供應鏈本身中獲得的手風琴效應。

On the M&A front, I would say that very similar commentary to what we have mentioned in the past. We're pleased with the position of our balance sheet that puts us in a good place to move when those opportunities present themselves. We're very active in the market looking for those opportunities. What we are really seeking is something that will accelerate our outcomes growth rate.

在併購方面，我想說的評論與我們過去提到的非常相似。我們對資產負債表的狀況感到滿意，這使我們在這些機會出現時處於有利的位置。我們在市場上非常積極地尋找這些機會。我們真正尋求的是能夠加快我們成果成長率的東西。

It's growing a bit faster than some of the other segments in the company, but we're really looking for ways to accelerate that even more, and that's where a lot of that acquisition attention is placed on our side. We want something that will add to our grid edge intelligence platform and something that really would be scalable across many, many customers. That's what we are looking for. And as those opportunities present themselves, we'll obviously be sharing it with the market.

它的成長速度比公司中的其他一些部門要快一些，但我們確實在尋找進一步加速成長的方法，而這正是我們大量收購注意力的地方。我們希望能夠添加到我們的網格邊緣智慧平台中，並且能夠真正在許多客戶之間進行擴展。這就是我們正在尋找的。當這些機會出現時，我們顯然會與市場分享。

Noah Kaye, Oppenheimer.

諾亞凱，奧本海默。

Tom, you mentioned that the launch of Grid Edge Essentials, really a bundled solution for managing a range of outcomes for these utilities. And we understand that, that is not actually kind of commercially available broadly until December. But can you just talk at an early stage about the adoption of whether it's this solution or just more usage of the DI network that is now kind of growing pretty rapidly? And what does that mean for how the mix within outcomes in terms of revenue composition should evolve over, let's say, the next 12 to 18 months? Are we going to see more recurring revenue, higher margin? I mean just what is your visibility to that inflection?

Tom，您提到 Grid Edge Essentials 的推出，實際上是用於管理這些公用事業的一系列結果的捆綁解決方案。據我們了解，直到 12 月，這種技術才真正可以廣泛投入商業使用。但是您能否在早期階段談談採用該解決方案還是只是更多地使用現在增長相當快的 DI 網路？這對於收入組成方面的結果組合在未來 12 到 18 個月內如何演變意味著什麼？我們會看到更多的經常性收入、更高的利潤嗎？我的意思是，你對這種變化的可見度如何？

So three different concepts that I think are important to pull out of the question that you asked. First and foremost, grid edge intelligence as an offering. That is a very full featured platform that allows you as a utility to have a lot of agility in your infrastructure. When you buy something, you put it in the ground, you can use it as you need and perform a lot of different grid efficiency or consumer engagement kinds of applications through things like distributed intelligence. At this point, we've got more than 12 million grid edge or DI capable endpoints that are in the field, millions more in backlog, millions of applications that are out there running for things like safety or things like distributed energy resource management out of the edge.

因此，我認為三個不同的概念對於從您提出的問題中提取出來非常重要。首先也是最重要的是，網格邊緣智慧作為一種產品。這是一個功能非常齊全的平台，使您作為公用事業公司的基礎設施具有很大的靈活性。當你購買東西時，你把它放在地上，你可以根據需要使用它，並透過分散式智慧等方式執行許多不同的電網效率或消費者參與類型的應用程式。目前，我們在現場擁有超過 1200 萬個具有 DI 能力的端點，還有數百萬個積壓的端點，以及數百萬個正在運行的應用程序，例如安全性或分佈式能源資源管理等。

That said, a lot of that fielded equipment and much of what's in backlog is for larger utilities, think large IOUs, where they have a pretty robust capability inside to be able to take advantage of that. As we broaden that grid edge intelligence capability and take it towards more midsized or muni co-op kinds of customers, the ability to say DI in a box is what Grid Edge Essentials is really all about. It packages up the endpoint, the network, the head-end software, the analytics, the DI capability and really makes it easy for a utility that doesn't have perhaps a massive IT department to be able to integrate into that overall offering. So it broadens out the opportunity for us as we think about serving more customers with this important capability. So that's what Grid Edge Essentials is really all about.

也就是說，許多已部署的設備和積壓的大部分設備都是針對大型公用事業公司的，想想大型借條，他們內部擁有相當強大的能力，能夠利用這一點。當我們擴展網格邊緣智慧功能並將其面向更多中型或市政合作型客戶時，在盒子中說出 DI 的能力正是 Grid Edge Essentials 的真正意義。它將端點、網路、前端軟體、分析、DI 功能打包在一起，真正使可能沒有龐大 IT 部門的公用事業公司能夠輕鬆整合到整個產品中。因此，當我們考慮利用這項重要功能為更多客戶服務時，它為我們拓寬了機會。這就是 Grid Edge Essentials 的真正意義所在。

Relative to market adoption, again, we're super excited about what we see our customers doing. The pace of innovation is there. The idea of the spark in someone's eye about what they might be able to do to being able to prototype and put some applications out in the field is something measured in months rather than in quarters or years, which is the typical innovation cycle if you look in the years past for utilities. So pace of innovation grows, and this becomes something that is a very robust part of our business in the years ahead. So I hope that sort of unpacks and pulls together the 3 threads that you mentioned in your question.

相對於市場採用率，我們對客戶所做的事情再次感到非常興奮。創新的步伐就在那裡。某人眼中關於他們可能能夠做些什麼來製作原型並將一些應用程式投入現場的想法是用幾個月而不是用季度或幾年來衡量的，如果你看一下，這是典型的創新周期在過去在的幾年裡，對於公用事業來說。因此，創新的步伐不斷加快，這將成為我們未來幾年業務中非常強勁的一部分。因此，我希望能夠將您在問題中提到的 3 個線索解開並整合在一起。

It does, Tom. And the follow-up was really around the implications for mix, right, and the growth of recurring revenues within the Outcomes segment. How should we think about that trend over the next --

確實如此，湯姆。後續行動其實是圍繞著對組合的影響，以及結果部門內經常性收入的成長。我們該如何看待接下來的趨勢——

Indeed, sorry, I missed that one. Indeed, I missed that one. Outcomes certainly last quarter and what you saw in -- even in second quarter was revenue that was a bit more tilted towards services and one-time services. We definitely think that Outcomes will bounce back and those targets we laid out for 2027 to put the gross margin into the 40s kind of range is what we would expect to see. I still think it will be a little bit lumpy quarter to quarter, depending on the mix until the business gets a little bit more scale to it and a little bit more heft. But certainly, we see it swinging back more towards some of that SaaS and licensing types of revenue in the quarters ahead.

確實，抱歉，我錯過了那個。確實，我錯過了那個。當然，上個季度的結果以及您所看到的 - 即使在第二季度，收入也更傾向於服務和一次性服務。我們肯定認為結果會反彈，我們預計 2027 年毛利率將達到 40 多歲的範圍。我仍然認為，每個季度的情況都會有點不穩定，這取決於組合，直到業務規模更大一點、分量更大一些。但可以肯定的是，我們看到未來幾季它會更多地轉向某些 SaaS 和授權類型的收入。

Great. Just one quick follow-up for Joan. Taxes, again, a good guide this quarter. I'm not sure if that relates to more release of valuation allowances. But can you help us frame out what should sort of be the normalized tax rate for the business going forward?

偉大的。只是瓊的一個快速跟進。稅收再次成為本季度的一個很好的指導。我不確定這是否與釋放更多估價津貼有關。但您能否幫助我們確定未來業務的正常化稅率應該是多少？

Yes. I would say probably about 25% would be a normalized rate. So yes, this quarter, the $14 million or the $0.30 per share I alluded to was the favorable basically a settlement of a foreign tax audit that pertained to many, many years ago, 2014 to '17. So yes, we had some reserves on our books. And once we settled the audit, we were able to release those. So that was really an anomaly. But if you ignore [discretes], which are hard to predict, I would say about 25%.

是的。我想說 25% 左右可能是標準化比率。所以，是的，這個季度，我提到的 1,400 萬美元或每股 0.30 美元基本上是與許多年前（2014 年至 17 年）有關的外國稅務審計的有利和解。所以，是的，我們的帳簿上有一些儲備。一旦我們完成了審計，我們就可以發布這些內容。所以這確實是個反常現象。但如果你忽略難以預測的[離散]，我會說大約 25%。

Joseph Osha, Guggenheim Partners.

約瑟夫‧奧沙，古根漢合夥人。

Following on Noah's question a little bit, I'm wondering if you can try and give us a sense as to how this quarter's bookings and this sort of bolus of an additional $1 billion coming in at the end of the year, what the mix for that round of bookings looks like relative to the revenue that you're realizing now?

接下來是諾亞的問題，我想知道您是否可以嘗試讓我們了解本季的預訂量以及年底額外增加的 10 億美元，它們的組合是怎樣的？收入有關嗎？

The bookings themselves will be very heavily skewed towards Networks and Outcomes. To be honest, that's similar to our backlog position as it is today. So that $4 billion of existing backlog is 90% plus Networks and Outcomes. And I would suspect that fourth quarter bookings looks a lot like that in terms of the mix. The outcomes portion of that portfolio is growing a little bit faster than networks in terms of third quarter revenue as an example, but that's also true in the bookings themselves.

預訂本身將嚴重偏向網路和結果。老實說，這與我們今天的積壓情況類似。因此，40 億美元的現有積壓訂單中 90% 加上網路和成果。我懷疑第四季度的預訂量在組合方面看起來很相似。以第三季營收為例，該投資組合的結果部分的成長速度比網路快一些，但預訂本身也是如此。

So bookings rate for outcomes is quite a bit higher today than it was a year or two ago within the mix itself. What's underneath that, it's all the grid edge intelligence platform and the associated software and services that go along with that. So it all flows from the types of offering discussion that I outlined earlier.

因此，今天的結果預訂率比一兩年前的組合本身要高得多。其底層是所有網格邊緣智慧平台以及與之相關的相關軟體和服務。因此，這一切都源自於我先前概述的產品討論類型。

Now with that in mind, is it possible as we actually get to 2026 and 2027 that there's some kind of shorter-term book and ship business in devices, obviously, you can tell what I'm trying to figure out here in terms of what the revenue mix looks like? Or should we think of that backlog as being representative more of the actual -- what the actual revenue mix might look like in 2026?

現在考慮到這一點，當我們實際上到 2026 年和 2027 年時，是否有可能在設備領域出現某種短期預訂和運輸業務，顯然，你可以看出我在這裡試圖弄清楚的是什麼收入結構是什麼樣的？或者我們應該認為積壓的訂單更代表了實際情況——2026 年的實際收入組合可能會是什麼樣子？

Yes. I think that our devices business, probably that $100 million to a bit above that on a run rate basis is the right ZIP code to be in, whereas the networks and the outcomes side probably continues to grow more like the rates that we've talked about in our prepared remarks. So I think that, that would be a good way to think about the business itself. Devices tends to be a bit more turns-based than the other portions of our business. So a lot of that doesn't truly flow through the long-term backlog trends that we're talking about.

是的。我認為我們的設備業務，按運行率計算，可能是 1 億美元或稍高一點，這是正確的郵政編碼，而網絡和結果方面可能會繼續增長，就像我們所說的那樣關於我們準備好的發言。所以我認為，這將是思考業務本身的好方法。與我們業務的其他部分相比，設備往往更加回合製。因此，其中許多並沒有真正反映我們正在討論的長期積壓趨勢。

Yes. And I would say if you look at the segment level targets that we provided for 2027 in Investor Day, those are still appropriate.

是的。我想說，如果你看看我們在投資者日提供的 2027 年細分市場目標，這些目標仍然是合適的。

Okay. And then just quickly as a follow-up, given you've spoken, Joan, very clearly about the fact that stuff hitting bookings now is not going to show up in 2025 revenue. What would you say is the window for bookings showing up in 2026 revenue? Can we think about perhaps anything that shows up by the first half of '25, maybe making it into the '26 revenue? I'm just trying to understand a little bit how to roll this booking strength forward into '26 and '27.

好的。然後，作為後續行動，瓊，你已經非常清楚地表明了這樣一個事實：現在預訂的東西不會出現在 2025 年的收入中。您認為 2026 年收入中顯示的預訂窗口是多少？我們能否考慮一下 25 年上半年出現的任何事情，也許會納入 26 年的收入？我只是想了解如何將這種預訂力度延續到 26 年和 27 年。

Yes. I mean, obviously, each deal is a little bit different, but I think what we've been assuming is sort of a 9 to 12 month lag from the time you close a booking until when revenue starts to flow.

是的。我的意思是，很明顯，每筆交易都有點不同，但我認為我們一直假設從您完成預訂到收入開始流動有 9 到 12 個月的延遲時間。

Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James.

帕維爾·莫爾恰諾夫，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

If we look at outcomes, year-over-year growth past two quarters is double-digits, which is meaningfully higher than probably the last kind of two straight years. Are these one-offs? Or is there some kind of structural change in that segment that explains the double-digit growth all of a sudden?

如果我們看一下結果，過去兩個季度的同比增長是兩位數，這明顯高於過去連續兩年的水平。這些是一次性的嗎？或者該細分市場是否發生了某種結構性變化，從而解釋了突然兩位數的成長？

Well, I think there's a number of factors inside of there. Remember that a lot of the outcomes revenue tends to be tilted towards recurring revenue. So it takes a little bit of time to show up. And every time we do a booking, it adds a small slice on top of that. So as we've mentioned on previous calls, when networks got -- started to catch up on some of that constrained revenue due to component shortages in years gone by, the Outcomes revenue was going to follow.

嗯，我認為這裡面有很多因素。請記住，許多結果收入往往傾向於經常性收入。所以需要一點時間才能出現。每次我們進行預訂時，它都會在此之上添加一小部分。因此，正如我們在先前的電話會議中提到的那樣，當網路開始彌補過去幾年因組件短缺而受到限制的收入時，結果收入將隨之而來。

It's usually a bit of time for customers to get the network up and running and then some of that outcomes revenue starts to flow in on top of it. And it's just following that normal trend that we've seen. So it's maybe that 12 month lag between networks growing, which yielded the Outcomes growth. That's what you see showing through in terms of Outcomes. But it is largely tilted towards recurring revenue, and we are excited about the quarters ahead in terms of where we can continue to grow that business, which is why in our '27 targets, we've outlined it as one of the faster growing segments.

客戶通常需要一段時間來啟動並運行網絡，然後其中一些結果收入開始流入其中。它只是遵循我們所看到的正常趨勢。因此，可能是網路成長之間 12 個月的滯後導致了成果的成長。這就是您在結果方面看到的內容。但它在很大程度上傾向於經常性收入，我們對未來幾季能夠繼續發展該業務感到興奮，這就是為什麼在我們的'27 目標中，我們將其概述為成長較快的細分市場之一。

Right. A follow-up on outcomes as well. In the context of the kind of AI euphoria, a lot of headlines recently about virtual power plants. Can you talk about the role that Itron is playing in virtual power plant development, which I guess, would be within outcomes?

正確的。並對結果進行後續追蹤。在人工智慧熱潮的背景下，最近出現了很多關於虛擬發電廠的頭條新聞。您能談談 Itron 在虛擬發電廠開發中所扮演的角色嗎？

Correct. There are a lot of assets that are out at the edge of the grid, whether it is a battery that's in your garage or whether it is a rooftop solar or adding load control capabilities to existing assets, maybe something as simple as a pool pump. So outcomes really has a lot of the software capability house within it to be able to control those assets for the good of the grid and the optimization of what is going on. So a DI app to be able to pull charge out of the battery to be able to supply to the house and pull some of the load of that house off the grid is a perfect example of a VPP, virtual power plant kind of application that's going on in the outcomes segment. Several quarters ago, we announced something called Grid Edge Optimizer, which is really all about being able to utilize those edge assets to be able to balance supply and demand out at the edge.

正確的。有許多資產位於電網邊緣，無論是車庫中的電池，還是屋頂太陽能，還是為現有資產添加負載控制功能，可能就像泳池水泵一樣簡單。因此，Outputs 內部確實擁有大量軟體功能，能夠控制這些資產，以維護電網的利益並優化正在發生的事情。因此，DI 應用程式能夠從電池中提取電荷，以便能夠為房屋供電並將房屋的部分負載從電網中拉出，這是 VPP（虛擬發電廠類型的應用程式）的完美範例。幾個季度前，我們宣布了名為「網格邊緣優化器」的產品，它實際上是為了能夠利用這些邊緣資產來平衡邊緣的供需。

And those are very ripe and growing opportunities for us as more and more local hotspots and constraints are showing up in our customers' grids, whether it is because of EV growth or whether it is just more data centers in the area, you got to figure out a way to balance supply and demand where you don't quite have everything that you need and you can't afford to upsize everything. You got to make the assets you have in the field a bit more agile, which is exactly where outcomes comes to the scene and can help our customers.

隨著越來越多的本地熱點和限制出現在我們客戶的電網中，這些對我們來說是非常成熟且不斷增長的機會，無論是因為電動車的增長還是只是該地區更多的數據中心，你必須弄清楚當你沒有完全擁有你需要的一切並且你無力承擔擴大一切的情況時，找到一種平衡供需的方法。您必須使您在該領域擁有的資產更加敏捷，這正是結果出現並可以幫助我們的客戶的地方。

Austin Moeller, Canaccord Genuity.

奧斯汀·莫勒，Canaccord Genuity。

Congrats on the quarter. Just my first question here. Given the water demand needed for data centers, do you expect the increase in demand for electricity meters on the grid to mirror water meters due to the data center demand for coolant?

恭喜本季。這只是我的第一個問題。考慮到資料中心所需的水需求，您預期電網電錶的需求是否會因資料中心對冷卻劑的需求而增加，以反映水錶的需求？

I think that electricity probably outpaces water growth on a global level. Water will continue to grow as an entire segment for us in the years ahead, but I think electricity outpaces that as there is a lot more that needs to be done on the electrical infrastructure side. So I think our growth aspirations are in both segments, but probably a bit more tilted towards electricity over water.

我認為在全球範圍內，電力的成長可能超過水的成長。未來幾年，水作為我們的整體部分將繼續增長，但我認為電力將超過這一增長，因為在電力基礎設施方面還有很多工作要做。因此，我認為我們的成長願望在這兩個領域都有，但可能更傾向於電力而不是水。

Okay. And just a follow-up. How much of the non-inflation index inventory still remains? And did we get a significant reduction in that this quarter just in the reflection on the gross margin?

好的。只是後續行動。非通膨指數庫存還剩下多少？本季我們的毛利率是否大幅下降？

Yes. Our backlog today is a bit over 75% that is either repriced or indexed for the new environment we are operating in, that less than 25%-ish that is still left to flow through as of the end of Q3. Most of that remaining, call it, 25% is -- it will flow through within the next 12 months. So we're almost through that period. As new backlog starts to come in, and certainly, we noted that we expect Q4 to be a bit more of a heavy bookings quarter that will add to the right side of that equation for the quarters ahead. But call it, 75%-25% today.

是的。今天，我們的積壓訂單略多於 75%，這些訂單要么針對我們運營的新環境進行了重新定價，要么進行了索引，截至第三季度末，剩下的訂單數量還不到 25%。剩下的大部分，即 25%，將在未來 12 個月內流完。所以我們快要度過那個時期了。隨著新的積壓訂單開始出現，當然，我們注意到，我們預計第四季度的預訂量將更大，這將在未來幾季增加該等式的右側。但今天就說吧，75%-25%。

Scott Graham, Seaport Research Partners.

斯科特·格雷厄姆，海港研究合作夥伴。

Joan, I kind of wanted to go back to your math on the assumed or implied, I should say, CAGR for revenue between '24 and '27, 2.5% to 5%. I come up with that same number, of course. What I'm wondering is, I thought I heard you say '25 down. Did you mean growth down or revenue down?

瓊，我有點想回到你的數學假設或暗示，我應該說，24 至 27 年間收入的複合年增長率為 2.5% 至 5%。當然，我也得出了同樣的數字。我想知道的是，我想我聽到你說「25 下來了」。您的意思是成長下降還是收入下降？

I didn't say either, I don't believe. So what I was relating to is, first comment would be 2027 targets are still appropriate, and that was a revenue range of $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, and we had the EBITDA range of 15% to 17%. So at the time we did Investor Day, we anchored the charts of '23 actuals. So to get to the -- from the '23 actuals to the '27 targets, it was a revenue CAGR of 5% to 7%. However, '24 is a lot stronger than '23.

我也沒說，我也不相信。所以我想說的是，第一個評論是 2027 年的目標仍然合適，收入範圍為 26 億美元至 28 億美元，我們的 EBITDA 範圍為 15% 至 17%。因此，在我們舉辦投資者日活動時，我們錨定了 23 年實際情況的圖表。因此，從 23 年的實際情況到 27 年的目標，收入複合年增長率為 5% 到 7%。然而，'24比'23強很多。

So if you take the updated annual guidance at the midpoint, you get the, call it, 2.5% to 5% is what's required going forward to get to the '27 targets. And again, all we said is we don't expect that to be a straight line. So at this point, it's premature to talk about '25. I would expect some growth. But again, I would caution people, you got to do the growth off a normalized '24. You got to take $125 million out of our full year estimate, which was catch-up one-time in nature that won't recur.

因此，如果您採用中間點更新的年度指導，您會得到，稱之為 2.5% 至 5%，這是未來實現 27 年目標所需的。再說一遍，我們所說的只是我們不希望那是一條直線。所以現在談論「25」還為時過早。我預計會有一些增長。但我再次提醒人們，你必須在正常化的「24」基礎上成長。你必須從我們的全年預估中扣除 1.25 億美元，這本質上是一次性的，不會再發生。

Got it. Yes. Very much appreciated. The other question I wanted to ask is kind of more for both you and Tom. So when you provided your targets earlier this year. I believe this moving $1 billion pipeline was only kind of thought of as, let's say, a couple, maybe several hundred million, and that has graduated greatly to this $1 billion number. So it would suggest that your guidance did not contemplate that. Could you comment on that?

知道了。是的。非常感謝。我想問的另一個問題對你和湯姆來說都比較重要。所以當你今年早些時候提出你的目標時。我相信這條耗資 10 億美元的管道只是被認為是幾個，也許是幾億美元，而現在已經大大增加到了這個 10 億美元的數字。所以這表明你的指導沒有考慮到這一點。你能否對此發表評論？

Yes. I don't think that's the case. So what we're talking about with the $1 billion is a delay in getting it through the funnel to call it a booking. It's not saying it's $1 billion higher than what we would have expected. So I don't think we see any change in terms of the market demand that would get us to the '27 targets that we laid out. The $1 billion is a timing issue in terms of regulatory approvals.

是的。我認為情況並非如此。因此，我們所說的 10 億美元是指延遲透過管道將其稱為預訂。這並不是說它比我們的預期高出 10 億美元。因此，我認為市場需求不會發生任何變化，使我們能夠實現我們所製定的 27 年目標。就監管批准而言，10 億美元是一個時間問題。

Yes. We started the year saying book-to-bill of 1:1 or greater. That's still our belief today. But we note that, okay, with the first 3 quarters of this year were whatever, 0.8%, 0.9%, something like that, well below 1:1, which means that there is a bit of a catch-up on the bookings side in Q4, which is what Joan referenced. So it's more timing within the year on the bookings themselves rather than some fundamental shift or change in the marketplace.

是的。我們在年初表示訂單與帳單的比率為 1:1 或更高。今天這仍然是我們的信念。但我們注意到，好吧，今年前 3 季的比例是 0.8%、0.9% 之類的，遠低於 1:1，這意味著預訂方面有一些追趕在第四季度，這就是瓊提到的。因此，更多的是一年內預訂本身的時機，而不是市場的一些根本性轉變或變化。

Understood. If I could just sneak this one more in. Joan, the non-GAAP incremental operating margin has been fairly steady in like the last 6 quarters in this sort of 32%, 35% last quarter, 41% range, just in this sort of 5% to 10% range. Are you comfortable with that on a go-forward basis, call it, in the low-30s type thing?

明白了。如果我能再偷偷地講一下這一點的話。 5% 到10% 範圍。在30歲左右的情況下，你對這樣的未來感到滿意嗎？

Yes. Again, not in a position to talk '25 guidance. What I would anchor you to is the '27 targets that we gave, which again, weren't operating income, but you can figure that out, EBITDA percentage of revenue of 15% to 17%. So from quarter to quarter, you're going to get some variability. As an example, OpEx for us will tend to go up in Q4. We just did our customer event. We have a lot of marketing spend, a lot of travel, outside services. So it will vary quarter-to-quarter, but I think the targets we laid out for '27 are still appropriate.

是的。再說一次，我無法談論 '25 指導方針。我想讓你們注意的是我們給的 27 年目標，這不是營業收入，但你可以算出來，EBITDA 佔收入的比例為 15% 到 17%。因此，每個季度都會出現一些變化。舉個例子，我們的營運支出在第四季往往會上升。我們剛剛舉辦了客戶活動。我們有大量的行銷支出、大量的旅行和外部服務。因此，每個季度都會有所不同，但我認為我們為 27 年制定的目標仍然是合適的。

(Operator Instructions) Chip Moore, ROTH Capital Partners.

（操作員說明）Chip Moore，ROTH Capital Partners。

I guess I just wanted to do a clarification. I think you referenced, Joan, some pull forward with some of that coming from '25, which would be an incremental headwind. I think we understand the growth dynamics there, but maybe just expand on that.

我想我只是想澄清一下。我想你提到，瓊，一些來自 25 年的推動力，這將是一個增量逆風。我認為我們了解那裡的成長動態，但也許只是對此進行擴展。

Yes. I mean, if you look at the revenue range we provided for Q3, at the midpoint, it was about $595 million, so we ended up $20 million higher than that. We did not try to low ball our guidance when we gave you that number. So obviously, we work with customers in terms of when they want the shipments and some shipments that we would have expected to be Q4 or early '25 actually occurred in Q3. So that's all we were trying to point out.

是的。我的意思是，如果你看看我們為第三季提供的收入範圍，中間值約為 5.95 億美元，所以我們最終比這個數字高出 2000 萬美元。當我們向您提供這個數字時，我們並沒有試圖低估我們的指導。顯然，我們與客戶合作確定他們想要發貨的時間，而我們原本預計在第四季度或 25 年初發貨的一些貨物實際上發生在第三季度。這就是我們想要指出的一切。

Yes. The dynamic there is as projects start to move, generally, they can accelerate a little bit once the installation crews really hit their stride and things go a little faster. And that's kind of what you saw in Q3. It was nothing particularly overt. It was just the market moving in the right direction for us.

是的。隨著專案開始進展，通常情況下，一旦安裝人員真正邁出步伐，事情就會進展得更快一些，他們就會加速一點。這就是你在第三季看到的情況。這沒什麼特別公開的。這只是市場朝著對我們來說正確的方向發展。

Perfect. Yes, and not particularly material. And maybe just my follow-up on the outlook for Q4. I think that implies maybe that margins stepped down a bit. Anything on product mix? Or I think you just referenced some of the year-end OpEx, maybe, Joan, but anything there to keep in mind? And then the margin trajectory, I guess, next year with some of the growth dynamics with what you're seeing in backlog?

完美的。是的，而且不是特別重要。也許只是我對第四季前景的跟進。我認為這可能意味著利潤率下降。關於產品組合有什麼嗎？或者我認為你只是提到了一些年終營運支出，也許，瓊，但有什麼需要記住的嗎？然後，我想，明年的利潤率軌跡以及您在積壓訂單中看到的一些成長動態？

Yes. So if I start on the top line, I would say, again, the midpoint of our range is slightly down from Q3, call it, $10 million or so. Most of that is really strong Q3 performance for devices. So as Tom mentioned, we typically think about devices as maybe a little over $100 million a quarter. They were $123 million in Q3. So really quite high.

是的。因此，如果我從頂線開始，我會再說一遍，我們範圍的中點比第三季度略有下降，稱之為 1000 萬美元左右。其中大部分是第三季設備的強勁表現。正如 Tom 所提到的，我們通常認為設備每季的銷售額可能略高於 1 億美元。第三季的銷售額為 1.23 億美元。所以確實相當高。

On an EPS standpoint, you've got obviously to factor in the tax benefit that was booked in Q3. So that's not going to recur in Q4. That's got to be $0.30 or so just right there and then higher OpEx. From a gross margin perspective, maybe flat to slightly down, we don't typically guide to gross margin, but nothing in particular there. It is the last quarter that we're in the process of closing our two factories. So you typically get a little bit of lack of productivity as you're ramping from one factory to another, and we factored that in as well.

從每股收益的角度來看，您顯然必須考慮第三季預訂的稅收優惠。因此，這種情況不會在第四季再次出現。那必須是 0.30 美元左右，然後營運支出更高。從毛利率的角度來看，可能持平或略有下降，我們通常不會指導毛利率，但沒有什麼特別的。這是我們在最後一個季度關閉兩家工廠的過程。因此，當您從一家工廠轉移到另一家工廠時，您通常會遇到一點生產力不足的情況，我們也考慮到了這一點。

Thank you. And I'm showing no further questions in the Q&A queue at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Tom Deitrich for any closing remarks.

謝謝。目前我在問答隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。現在，我將把電話轉回給湯姆·戴特里奇先生，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you, Olivia. We are pleased with our progress and certainly the performance of the team. You're starting to see the proof points in the strategy play out, and we are excited about the future and where the market is heading. So look forward to updating everyone next quarter. Thank you for joining today.

謝謝你，奧莉維亞。我們對我們的進步以及團隊的表現感到滿意。您開始看到該策略中的證據點正在發揮作用，我們對未來和市場的發展方向感到興奮。因此，期待下個季度向大家更新。感謝您今天加入。

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。您現在可以斷開連線。