Kindercare Learning Companies Inc (KLC) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to KinderCare's first-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions).

歡迎參加 KinderCare 第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）。

It is now my pleasure to introduce Olivia Kirrer, KinderCare's VP of Investor Relations. Ms. Kirrer, you may now begin the conference.

現在我很榮幸介紹 KinderCare 投資人關係副總裁 Olivia Kirrer。Kirrer 女士，您現在可以開始會議。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to KinderCare's first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me from the company are Chief Executive Officer, Tom Wyatt, and Chief Financial Officer, Tony Amandi. Following Tom and Tony's comments today, we will have a question-and-answer session.

謝謝，各位下午好。歡迎參加 KinderCare 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的公司代表包括執行長 Tom Wyatt 與財務長 Tony Amandi。在 Tom 與 Tony 今天的發言之後，我們將進行問答環節。

During this call, we will be discussing non-GAAP financial measures. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of the differences between the GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are available in our earnings release and within the supplemental earnings presentation, both of which are posted on our Investor Relations website at investors.kindercare.com.

在本次電話會議中，我們將討論非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。與之最直接可比的 GAAP 財務衡量指標，以及 GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務衡量指標之間差異的調節表，已載於我們的財報新聞稿及補充財報簡報中，兩者皆已發布於我們的投資人關係網站 investors.kindercare.com。

A reminder that certain statements made today may be forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the company and involve a number of uncertainties and risks, which are explained in detail in the Risk Factors section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC.

提醒各位，今天所作的某些陳述可能屬於前瞻性陳述。這些陳述係基於管理層目前對影響公司之未來事件的預期與信念，並涉及多項不確定性與風險；相關內容已在我們最近一期 Form 10-K 年報及向 SEC 提交的其他文件之「風險因素」章節中作了詳細說明。

Please refer to these filings for a more detailed discussion of forward-looking statements and the risks and uncertainties of such statements. The actual results of operations or financial condition of the company could differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements.

請參閱上述文件，以取得對前瞻性陳述以及其風險與不確定性的更詳細討論。公司的實際營運結果或財務狀況可能與我們前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的內容存在重大差異。

All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and except as required by law, KinderCare undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

所有前瞻性陳述均以今日為準；除法律要求外，KinderCare 不承擔公開更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述之義務，無論係因新資訊、未來發展或其他原因所致。

Before we move on, we'd like to note that management will be holding meetings at Baird's 2026 Global Consumer Technology and Services Conference on June 2. We look forward to connecting with those of you who will be attending.

在繼續之前，我們想提醒各位，管理層將於 6 月 2 日在 Baird 2026 全球消費者科技與服務大會期間舉行會議。我們期待與將出席的各位交流。

I'll now turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer, Tom Wyatt.

接下來我將把電話會議交給執行長 Tom Wyatt。

Thank you, Olivia, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to share with you updates on our first quarter performance. We finished the quarter slightly better than expected. That was supported in part by the efforts of our center in site directors and by our focus on execution. Over the past few months, we've made several changes across the business. and our results reflect the work that is already underway.

謝謝你，Olivia，各位下午好。我很高興向各位分享我們第一季表現的最新進展。我們本季的表現略優於預期。這部分得益於我們各中心與據點主管的努力，以及我們對執行力的專注。過去幾個月，我們在整個業務中做出了多項調整，而我們的結果也反映出這些工作已經在推進中。

It is still early, but we are starting to see encouraging signs that those actions are making an impact. Revenue was up modestly, supported by continued strength in our Champions brand and B2B businesses. At the same time, enrollment in our ECE centers remain below prior year levels, down about 3%. as improvement from the fourth quarter when enrollment was down 3.6% year-over-year, but it continues to be a primary pressure point on the business and where we are concentrating our efforts.

目前仍屬早期階段，但我們已開始看到令人鼓舞的跡象，顯示這些行動正在產生影響。營收小幅成長，主要受益於我們 Champions 品牌與 B2B 業務的持續強勁表現。同時，我們 ECE 中心的入園人數仍低於去年水準，約下降 3%。相較第四季入園人數年減 3.6% 已有所改善，但這仍是業務的主要壓力點，也是我們集中資源努力的方向。

Enrollment is not something that turns during a single quarter. It's a process of improving execution across a large portfolio of centers. Our focus right now is on putting the right pieces in place so that performance improves as we move throughout the year. Our best opportunity for material progress will be in the back half of the year. Until then, we expect gradual improvements through the first half.

入園人數並非單一季度就能扭轉的指標。這是一個在龐大中心組合中全面提升執行力的過程。我們目前的重點是把正確的要素到位，讓績效在今年推進過程中持續改善。我們取得實質進展的最佳機會將出現在下半年。在此之前，我們預期上半年將呈現逐步改善。

Over the last few months, we have increased and refined our marketing investment, and we are seeing that show up in higher inquiry volume over last year. Since we began our investment, we have seen a 15% increase in inquiry in the targeted areas and a 3% increase for KinderCare overall.

過去幾個月，我們提高並精進了行銷投資，並看到相較去年更高的諮詢量。自我們開始投入以來，目標區域的諮詢量增加了 15%，KinderCare 整體則增加了 3%。

So more families are engaging with us, and that's important for step. Just as importantly, we are starting to see early signs that conversion is beginning to improve in certain parts of the business. This is notable at cram and most pronounced in our opportunity region where enrollment during the quarter versus last year increased by 8%. That progress is not yet consistent across the system, but it reinforces something we believe strongly.

因此，有更多家庭正在與我們互動，這是重要的一步。同樣重要的是，我們開始看到一些早期跡象，顯示在業務的某些部分，轉換率正開始改善。這在 cram 尤為明顯，且在我們的機會區域最為突出：本季該區域的入園人數相較去年增加了 8%。這項進展尚未在整個系統中一致呈現，但它強化了我們深信的一點。

Demand is there. Our job is to convert it consistently across the system, and that is where our focus is right now. We are putting a dedicated focus on tightening the execution at the center level. This is about how quickly we respond to families, the quality of our tour experience and how effectively we follow up.

需求是存在的。我們的工作是把這些需求在整個系統中穩定且一致地轉化，而這正是我們目前的重點。我們正專注於強化中心層級的執行力。這包括我們回應家庭的速度、參觀導覽體驗的品質，以及我們後續追蹤的有效性。

It is also about making sure our center and site leaders spend their time on the things that matter most. We've taken steps to reduce administrative burden so they can focus more on the families and teachers because that is what ultimately drives performance.

同時也在於確保我們的中心與據點領導者把時間投入在最重要的事情上。我們已採取措施降低行政負擔，讓他們能更專注於家庭與教師，因為這些因素最終會驅動績效。

In addition to work on enrollment, we are also taking steps to strengthen our real estate portfolio and better position our centers for sustainable long-term performance. Much like any multiunit operator, we evaluate our real estate portfolio on an ongoing basis. And that typically includes closing roughly 1% of our centers each year. We recently completed a more comprehensive network assessment with the goal of enabling long-term health and growth for all of our centers.

除了入園人數相關工作外，我們也在採取措施強化不動產組合，並讓各中心更能支撐可持續的長期表現。如同任何多據點營運商，我們會持續評估不動產組合。而這通常包括每年關閉約 1% 的中心。我們近期完成了一項更全面的網絡評估，目標是促進所有中心的長期健康與成長。

To achieve this goal in 2026, we expect to have a higher number of center closures than usual. We understand that any closures can be disrupted to families and staff. Whenever possible, we proactively help families and employees transferred to nearby locations to maintain continuity of care.

為達成 2026 年的目標，我們預期中心關閉數量將高於以往。我們理解任何關閉都可能對家庭與員工造成干擾。在可行的情況下，我們會主動協助家庭與員工轉至附近據點，以維持照護的連續性。

This is disciplined portfolio management. It will result in stronger, more productive centers and higher overall occupancy over time, both of which support our mission to offer high-quality care to families. To be clear, these are not easy decisions they will create some near-term variability as we execute across the year.

這是有紀律的組合管理。隨著時間推進，這將帶來更強健、更高生產力的中心，以及更高的整體入住率，兩者皆有助於支持我們為家庭提供高品質照護的使命。需要說明的是，這些並非容易的決策；在我們全年推進執行的過程中，將帶來一些短期波動。

However, we are confident that they are the right decisions to drive beneficial outcomes in the long term. We'll keep you updated in the coming quarters on our progress. Before turning to more detailed business results, I want to spend a few minutes on the subsidy landscape. I have spent time this quarter meeting with state and federal lawmakers to advocate for families and the critical role child care plays in this country. From Colorado to Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. the feedback has been constructive and encouraging. We continue to see strong bipartisan support for child care at all levels of government.

然而，我們有信心這些是能在長期推動正面成果的正確決策。我們將在接下來幾季持續向各位更新進展。在進入更詳細的業務結果之前，我想花幾分鐘談談補助的整體環境。本季我花時間與州與聯邦立法者會面，為家庭發聲，並倡議托育在本國所扮演的關鍵角色。從科羅拉多到麻薩諸塞再到華盛頓特區，回饋都相當具建設性且令人鼓舞。我們持續看到各級政府對托育的強勁兩黨支持。

Federally, an additional $85 million in CCDBG funding was approved in February. At the state level, while we are seeing different approaches, the overall direction remains constructive. For example, Indiana is deploying approximately $200 million to support the families of 14,000 additional children. We applaud the state's leaders for taking action to support the children and families of Indiana. More broadly, we are seeing constructive developments in several other states.

在聯邦層面，2 月核准額外 8,500 萬美元的 CCDBG 資金。在州層面，雖然我們看到不同的做法，但整體方向仍具建設性。例如，印第安納州正投入約 2 億美元，以支持額外 14,000 名兒童的家庭。我們讚許該州領導人採取行動，支持印第安納州的兒童與家庭。更廣泛而言，我們也在其他數個州看到具建設性的發展。

There are supportive actions in New Jersey and in Maryland to reach more subsidy families and reduce their program rate list. Overall, while conditions vary by market, we are encouraged by the recent directions many states are taking. Turning back to the business. We spent this quarter taking steps to drive week-to-week enrollment improvement in the first half of the year, so we can build momentum in the second half.

新澤西州與馬里蘭州也有支持性措施，以觸及更多補助家庭並降低其計畫費率清單。整體而言，儘管各市場狀況不一，我們對許多州近期採取的方向感到鼓舞。回到業務面。本季我們採取措施，推動上半年逐週的入園改善，以便在下半年建立動能。

For our flagship brand, KinderCare Our work continues to enable center directors to spend more time engaging in person with teachers and families. We are also evolving how we manage inquiries, allowing our directors to stay focused on families, particularly in centers with high inquiry and lower occupancy. The data consistently tells us that when family and teacher engagement improves, outcomes improve across the board for children, teachers and enrollment, leading to stronger center performance.

就我們的旗艦品牌 KinderCare 而言，我們的工作仍在持續推進，讓中心主任能有更多時間親自與教師與家庭互動。我們也在演進管理諮詢詢問的方式，使主任能持續聚焦於家庭，特別是在詢問量高且入園率較低的中心。數據一再顯示，當家庭與教師的互動參與度提升時，兒童、教師與招生等各方面的成果都會全面改善，進而帶動中心績效更強勁。

We are also placing more emphasis this year on our in-center small group enrichment programs, which provide incremental revenue. These are programs we have had for quite some time, which offer families additional options for their children like comics, languages, music and STEM. We are creating amazing experiences for children in our centers and expanding this enrichment into our summer camps as well.

今年我們也更加著重於中心內的小組增益課程（enrichment programs），可帶來額外收入。這些是我們已推行相當長一段時間的方案，為家庭提供更多孩子的選擇，例如漫畫、語言、音樂與 STEM。我們正在為中心內的孩子打造精彩體驗，並將這些增益課程擴展到我們的夏令營中。

Early results are encouraging, and we're pleased with the momentum we see in engagement, retention educational enrichment and the value these programs bring to our centers. At Creme, our new brand positioning is starting to resonate. We are preparing for upcoming specialty summer camps and we see families enjoying our updated curriculum, which launched in the first quarter.

初步成果令人鼓舞，我們也很高興看到在互動參與、留任、教育增益，以及這些方案為中心帶來的價值方面所展現的動能。在 Creme，我們新的品牌定位開始引起共鳴。我們正在為即將到來的特色夏令營做準備，也看到家庭很享受我們在第一季推出的更新課綱。

We are seeing better conversion of stronger inquiries, especially in younger students and are encouraged by the progress we are making. Champions continues to be a strong performer for us. Our 70% growth reflects both new site additions and the strength of our existing sites, and we see continued opportunity in both. In our B2B offering, we continue to see strong employer interest in supporting their employees. We signed 12 new tuition benefit clients in the quarter, including a large public university in Florida and multiple professional organizations.

我們看到高品質詢問的轉換率有所提升，尤其是在年齡較小的學生族群，並對我們取得的進展感到振奮。Champions 仍是我們的強勁表現者。我們 70% 的成長反映了新據點的增加以及既有據點的實力，我們也看到兩者皆有持續機會。在我們的 B2B 方案中，我們持續看到雇主對支持其員工有強烈興趣。本季我們簽下 12 家新的學費補助客戶，包括佛羅里達州一所大型公立大學以及多個專業組織。

All told, we are seeing increasing demand for more integrated solutions across our services. These relationships are becoming a more meaningful and complementary part of our business and a strong growth driver going forward. We continue to make positive progress in our real estate growth during the quarter.

總體而言，我們看到市場對跨服務更整合式解決方案的需求正在增加。這些合作關係正成為我們業務中更具意義且相互補強的一部分，並將是未來強勁的成長動能。本季我們在不動產擴張方面持續取得正向進展。

By opening three new centers and acquiring another two. So when you step back, the picture to us is clear. We feel good about the progress we're seeing. We are proud of the growth from B2B and champions, and we're seeing solid improvement at Creme. We're also seeing traction from our marketing investment and from the changes we've made within our KinderCare centers. We still have work to do. So we have a clear path forward and are focused on continuing our progress into the second half of the year.

我們開設了三家新中心並另外收購兩家中心。因此，當你退一步看，我們認為整體圖像很清楚。我們對目前看到的進展感到樂觀。我們為 B2B 與 Champions 的成長感到自豪，也看到 Creme 有穩健改善。我們也看到行銷投資以及我們在 KinderCare 中心內所做變革帶來的成效。我們仍有工作要做。因此，我們有清晰的前進路徑，並專注於在今年下半年持續推進進展。

With that, I will turn it over to Tony.

接下來，我把時間交給 Tony。

Thanks, Tom. I'll walk through the quarter and then go over how we are thinking about the year. Starting with income. Revenue was $673 million in the first quarter, up modestly compared to last year. Same center revenue decreased by $7 million from last year, driven primarily by lower enrollment, while contributions from newer centers and higher tuition rates helped offset some of that pressure.

謝謝，Tom。我將先帶大家回顧本季表現，接著說明我們對全年展望的思考。先從損益表開始。第一季營收為 6.73 億美元，較去年小幅成長。同店營收較去年減少 700 萬美元，主要受招生人數下降影響；較新中心的貢獻與較高的學費費率則有助於抵消部分壓力。

Pricing contributed about 2% to ECE revenue growth despite continued lower subsidy reimbursement rates, which we expect to process at least through the current state budget cycles. This 2% increase from tuition contribution was offset by lower overall enrollment, down 3% year-over-year.

儘管補助款報銷費率持續偏低（我們預期至少會延續至目前各州預算週期結束），定價仍為 ECE 營收成長貢獻約 2%。然而，學費貢獻帶來的 2% 增幅被整體招生下滑所抵消，年減 3%。

While that represents an improvement from the 3.6% decline in the fourth quarter, enrollment continues to weigh on results. As a reminder, enrollment typically builds through the first half of the year and will decline with the transition to summer before we build back up during back-to-school.

雖然相較第四季 3.6% 的降幅已有改善，但招生仍持續拖累業績。提醒一下，招生通常會在上半年逐步增加，並在進入夏季轉換期時下滑，之後在返校季再度回升。

Same-center occupancy for the quarter was 66%, up 150 basis points from the fourth quarter and down 310 basis points from the first quarter of last year. Our Champions before and after-school business continued to perform well as revenue increased 17%, driven primarily by new site openings and incremental pricing.

本季同店入園率為 66%，較第四季上升 150 個基點，但較去年第一季下降 310 個基點。我們的 Champions 課前與課後業務持續表現良好，營收成長 17%，主要由新據點開設與額外定價所帶動。

Beyond near-term performance, we see champions and by extension, our B2B business, as an increasingly important and diversifying part of our mix. We opened three new centers and acquired two new centers during the quarter. Cash consideration for the acquisitions in Q1 was about $0.5 million funded completely ahead of the $1.1 million in free cash flow generated in the quarter.

除了短期表現之外，我們認為 Champions，以及延伸而言的 B2B 業務，正成為我們組合中愈來愈重要且具分散風險效果的一部分。本季我們開設三家新中心並收購兩家新中心。第一季收購的現金對價約為 50 萬美元，完全由本季產生的 110 萬美元自由現金流提前支應。

New and acquired centers contributed approximately $12 million in revenue since the start of the year, an increase of 35% from the same period a year ago. Similar to the fourth quarter, we recorded a noncash impairment related to the decline in our stock price in Q1. This drove a reported net loss of $290 million and reported EPS loss of $2.45 and does not impact our liquidity or outlook.

新開與收購中心自年初以來合計貢獻約 1,200 萬美元營收，較去年同期增加 35%。與第四季類似，我們在第一季因股價下跌而認列一筆非現金減損。這導致報表淨損 2.90 億美元、報表每股虧損（EPS）為 2.45 美元，且不影響我們的流動性或展望。

Adjusted EBITDA was $52 million for the quarter compared to $83 million in the first quarter last year. Adjusted net income was $4.2 million, and adjusted EPS was $0.04 compared to $27 million and $0.23, respectively, in the prior year period. The drivers here are relatively straightforward.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 5,200 萬美元，去年第一季為 8,300 萬美元。調整後淨利為 420 萬美元，調整後 EPS 為 0.04 美元；相較之下，去年同期分別為 2,700 萬美元與 0.23 美元。其背後驅動因素相對直接。

Lower occupancy continues to be the largest factor. Since we must maintain minimum teacher-to-student ratios, our labor inputs are not as flexible in our current position in the margin set function, improvements in occupancy will allow us to drive better overall operating leverage.

入園率偏低仍是最大因素。由於我們必須維持最低師生比，我們的勞動投入在目前所處的利潤函數區間並不那麼具彈性；入園率改善將使我們能帶動更佳的整體營運槓桿。

As Tom outlined, the path to improvement is through enrollment. The early signs we are seeing in inquiries and conversion are important, and we're now looking for consistency as we move through the year. SG&A was 10.6% of revenue, down slightly from last year. As we look ahead, we expect to see additional improvement coming from a continued focus on efficiency and cost discipline. Interest expense was $18 million for the quarter, down from $20 million in the prior year, driven by our repricing last summer.

如 Tom 所述，改善的路徑在於招生。我們在詢問量與轉換率上看到的早期跡象很重要，而我們現在希望在接下來一年中看到更一致的表現。SG&A 佔營收比重為 10.6%，較去年略降。展望未來，我們預期透過持續聚焦效率與成本紀律，將帶來進一步改善。本季利息費用為 1,800 萬美元，較去年同期 2,000 萬美元下降，主要受去年夏天重新定價（repricing）影響。

Moving on to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $133 million in cash and $190 million of available capacity under our revolving credit facility. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was just under 3x and within our targeted range. We expect leverage to be around this level as we work through the enrollment pressure and EBITDA recovery consistent with our current operating profile. We have been taking a closer look to identify centers that should exit our real estate portfolio.

接著看資產負債表。本季末我們持有現金 1.33 億美元，循環信用額度下尚有 1.90 億美元可用額度。淨負債對調整後 EBITDA 倍數略低於 3 倍，落在我們目標區間內。在我們消化招生壓力並依照目前營運輪廓推動 EBITDA 復甦的過程中，我們預期槓桿水準將大致維持在此附近。我們也更仔細檢視，以辨識應退出我們不動產組合的中心。

We've examined center level trends for local market demographics, occupancy, engagement, lease terms and other factors. To that end, we've identified a set of potential centers for action and are working through timing and approach. Ideally, we want to avoid as much disruption to families and employees as possible while also consolidating effective families and teachers into nearby centers where it makes sense.

我們已檢視各中心層級的趨勢，包括當地市場人口結構、入園率、互動參與度、租約條款及其他因素。因此，我們已辨識出一組可能需要採取行動的中心，並正就時程與作法進行推進。理想情況下，我們希望在盡可能降低對家庭與員工干擾的同時，也在合理之處將家庭與教師整併至附近的中心。

This work is in process, and we do not have more specific details to share right now. Other than to say, we will close more than the usual 15 to 20 centers we normally see each year. When we speak with you to discuss Q2 results, we'll be at a point to provide more detail.

這項工作仍在進行中，目前沒有更具體的細節可分享。但可以說的是，我們將關閉的中心數量會高於我們每年通常看到的 15 到 20 家。當我們與各位討論第二季結果時，我們將能提供更多細節。

We expect some adjustment in 2026 as we work through this process, but it will result in a stronger, more resilient portfolio and improved focus going forward. We'll keep you updated on our progress with our Q2 update and in the quarters ahead. Moving on to our outlook.

在我們推進此流程的過程中，我們預期 2026 年會有一些調整，但這將帶來更強健、更具韌性的投資組合，並在未來提升聚焦度。我們將在第二季（Q2）更新以及接下來的各季，持續向各位更新我們的進展。接著談談我們的展望。

We are raising our full year adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS guidance to reflect our first quarter performance. We continue to expect revenue to be between $2.7 billion and $2.75 billion, we now expect adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $215 million to $235 million and adjusted EPS to be between $0.15 and $0.25.

我們上調全年調整後 EBITDA 與調整後 EPS 的指引，以反映第一季的表現。我們仍預期營收介於 27 億美元至 27.5 億美元之間；我們現在預期調整後 EBITDA 將落在 2.15 億美元至 2.35 億美元區間，調整後 EPS 則介於 0.15 美元至 0.25 美元。

This outlook reflects the early signs of progress we are seeing in the business while continuing to assume gradual momentum building into the second half of the year. We are maintaining our revenue building block assumptions for the full year, tuition and occupancy are expected to have offsetting contributions at plus 3% and minus 3%, respectively.

此展望反映我們在業務上看到的初步進展跡象，同時仍假設動能將逐步累積並延續至下半年。我們維持全年營收拆解假設不變；學費與入住率預期將分別帶來 +3% 與 -3% 的相互抵銷貢獻。

Champions and B2B are expected to contribute about 1% with new center openings and acquisitions contributing about 50 basis points each. Since the work on optimizing our portfolio is not yet finalized, we are not including any related closure assumptions in our full year outlook beyond the typical 1% offset we expect a given year.

Champions 與 B2B 預期合計貢獻約 1%，新中心開設與併購則各自貢獻約 50 個基點。由於我們在優化投資組合方面的工作尚未定案，除了一般年度預期約 1% 的抵銷外，我們未在全年展望中納入任何與關閉相關的假設。

Consistent with our first quarter remarks, CapEx this year will be approximately 5% of revenue and free cash flow will be between $35 million and $40 million. For modeling purposes, consumer effective tax rate to be 27% for the year. Given the impact of current occupancy levels on our margin profile and profitability, we will provide additional direction for the second quarter.

與我們第一季的說明一致，今年資本支出（CapEx）約為營收的 5%，自由現金流將介於 3,500 萬美元至 4,000 萬美元。就建模而言，全年消費者有效稅率為 27%。鑑於目前入住率水準對我們的毛利結構與獲利能力的影響，我們將就第二季提供更多指引。

For Q2, we expect revenue to be between $690 million and $700 million, and adjusted EBITDA to between $63 million and $67 million. We are doing the work today to drive improvement throughout the year. The progression we are focused on is tied to execution, particularly around enrollment and conversion, and we expect those efforts to build momentum in the back half of the year.

就第二季（Q2）而言，我們預期營收介於 6.9 億美元至 7.0 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 介於 6,300 萬美元至 6,700 萬美元。我們目前正在推動相關工作，以帶動全年改善。我們所聚焦的進展取決於執行力，特別是在招生與轉換方面；我們預期這些努力將在下半年累積動能。

Our targeted marketing investments have been effective at generating additional inquiry. How effectively we convert the new and existing demand into enrollment will be an important indicator of how the business is tracking to stronger performance. To wrap things up, our focus is on execution, improving the performance of the core business and positioning the company for stronger results as we move into the back half of the year.

我們有針對性的行銷投資在帶來更多諮詢（inquiry）方面已證明有效。我們能多有效地將新增與既有需求轉化為入學（enrollment），將是衡量業務是否朝向更強勁表現的重要指標。總結來說，我們的重點在於執行、提升核心業務表現，並在邁入下半年時讓公司具備取得更強成果的定位。

Now let's go ahead and open up the call for questions.

現在我們開放提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Jeff Silber, BMO Capital Markets.

Jeff Silber，BMO Capital Markets。

Thanks so much. In your prepared remarks, you talked about the higher inquiry, sorry about that, rate that you're seeing in marketing from a marketing perspective. Can you give us a little bit more color what you think is driving that? Is this something that can continue?

非常感謝。在你們的事先準備講稿中，你提到從行銷角度來看，你們看到諮詢量（inquiry）較高——抱歉我剛剛說得有點卡。你能否再多提供一些背景，說明你認為是什麼在驅動這個變化？這樣的趨勢是否能持續？

Yes, I'd be happy to, and I know Tony will speak to this too. It starts with the work that we did in sooner, the fact that our -- the administrative detail and stuff that was distracting our center of directors is, in essence, going away, primarily starting with the second quarter, but also the work that we've done in paid search have paid off. The numbers that we quoted earlier, 3% all KinderCare in the quarter, plus 15% in other areas is -- and that's year-over-year increases.

可以，我很樂意說明，我也知道 Tony 也會談到這點。這要從我們先前所做的工作談起；我們——那些分散中心主任注意力的行政細節等事項，基本上正在消失，主要從第二季開始；此外，我們在付費搜尋（paid search）方面所做的工作也已見成效。我們先前引用的數字，本季 KinderCare 整體為 3%，其他領域為 +15%——而且這些都是年對年（YoY）的增幅。

So we are getting more inquiry than we got last year, and we're starting to see that enroll. So very positive, sometimes in page search candidly, is not as affected, but it has been very effective for us, which goes back to a comment I made, there is not a lack of demand for children that need child care. And we're going to get them. This is what top plan is.

因此，我們獲得的諮詢量比去年更多，也開始看到這些轉化為入學。所以非常正面；坦白說，付費搜尋有時不太受影響，但對我們而言一直非常有效，這也呼應我先前的評論：需要托育的孩子並不缺乏需求。而我們會把他們爭取過來。這就是最優先的計畫。

Okay. That's great to hear. And my follow-up I want to focus on same-center occupancy. I know it's down on a year-over-year basis. But what is embedded in your guidance to get to the revenue and adjusted EBITDA level? Where should we be seeing occupancy by the end of the year?

好的。很高興聽到。我的追問想聚焦在同店入住率（same-center occupancy）。我知道它在年對年基礎上是下降的。但在你們的指引中，為了達到營收與調整後 EBITDA 的水準，隱含了哪些假設？到年底我們應該看到入住率達到什麼水準？

Yes. Jeff, as we stated in our remarks, we're still holding our guide at that 3%. So it was 310 basis points here in the quarter, and so right on that mark. And that [$0.03] was an improvement from the [360] in the fourth quarter. So we are seeing a little bit of movement trajectory, but our guide still considers a 3% down for the year.

是的。Jeff，如同我們在說明中提到的，我們仍維持指引為下降 3%。所以本季是 310 個基點，正好符合那個水準。而這個 [0.03] 相較於第四季的 [360] 是有所改善。因此我們確實看到一些變動的趨勢，但我們的指引仍假設全年下降 3%。

Okay, thanks for clarifying that. I'll jump back in the queues. Thanks so much.

好的，謝謝你釐清。我回到等候隊列。非常感謝。

Faiza Alwy, Deutsche Bank.

Faiza Alwy，德意志銀行。

Yes, hi. Thank you so much. John, you talked about the improvement at Creme and the opportunity region where enrollment increased by 8%. Just remind us and give us some context around the variability that you've seen historically and maybe discuss a little bit more on why these particular centers are doing better than others in your view?

是的，你好。非常感謝。John，你提到 Creme 的改善，以及 enrollment 增加 8% 的 opportunity region（機會區域）。能否請你提醒我們，並提供一些背景，說明你們過去歷史上看到的波動性（variability），以及在你看來為什麼這些特定中心表現會優於其他中心？

Well, let me start with the opportunity region. That is, as you know, carved out centers that have been challenged with occupancy for a number of years, candidly. And we moved to a different region. We put one of our most effective leaders over that region and she literally put together her own strategy around what do we do, how do we do it, how are we going to increase the momentum of inquiry and take advantage of that to enrollment and candidly work on retention as well.

好，我先從 opportunity region 談起。如你所知，那是我們劃分出來的一些中心，坦白說，這些中心在入住率方面已經面臨挑戰好幾年了。我們把它們調整到另一個區域。我們安排了一位最有效率的領導者之一負責該區域，她確實制定了自己的策略：我們要做什麼、怎麼做、如何提升諮詢動能並加以利用來轉化為入學，坦白說也同時著力於留任（retention）。

So she's just done a phenomenal job. She's kept the noise, very low in those centers. They've been very focused on growth. They've been very focused on creating the best possible experience toward the families that come in and visit with us and it's paid off. I mean, the 8% sort of speaks for itself. So we feel really, really good about that.

所以她做得非常出色。她讓那些中心的雜音維持在很低的程度。他們非常專注於成長。他們非常專注於為前來參觀與拜訪的家庭創造最佳可能的體驗，而這也帶來了成果。我的意思是，8% 這個數字本身就說明了一切。所以我們對此感到非常、非常有信心。

In the case of Creme, and I'm happy to answer another question you had on that. But in the case of Creme. Creme is quite a success story. We had a very rough year last year going through a rebranding of that business, changing out some leadership and candidly, just making it much more center focused than it had been in the past.

至於 Creme，如果你還有其他相關問題，我也很樂意回答。但就 Creme 而言。Creme 是一個相當成功的案例。去年我們經歷了非常艱難的一年，因為我們對該業務進行了重新品牌化（rebranding），更換了一些領導層，坦白說，也讓它比過去更以中心為核心（center focused）。

And it's really worked exceptionally well. And I also need to share and we said it in the prepared remarks, but the launch of the new curriculum, the impact that we've had from our teachers and their positive experience with it. But even more importantly, the families, we have never -- in the history of the 14 years I've been here, we've never gotten the kind of impact and response from the family units, the mothers and fathers, and parents of our kids that we've gotten in this launch, which is very exciting to us because in Creme , they are paying a premium for a premium experience.

而這些措施確實帶來了非常顯著的成效。我也需要補充——我們在事先準備講稿中也提到——新課程的推出，以及我們的老師對此的正面體驗所帶來的影響。但更重要的是，家庭端的回饋：在我在這裡的 14 年歷史中，我們從未在一次推出中，從家庭單位、孩子的母親與父親、家長那裡，獲得過如此程度的影響與回應；這讓我們非常振奮，因為在 Creme，他們是為了高端體驗而支付溢價。

And it's great to see that the new curriculum that we gave them, which is a far more advanced proprietary curriculum than the, if you will, store but the curriculum that was being used when we acquired the company, when we acquired Creme, it is significantly different. And quite frankly, people are noticing that. So we feel very, very good about that.

而且很高興看到我們提供給他們的新課綱——這是一套更先進、我們自有的專屬課綱——與你可以說是門市端所使用、但在我們收購該公司、收購 Creme 時所使用的課綱相比，有顯著不同。而且坦白說，大家都注意到了。所以我們對此感到非常、非常滿意。

The other part of it is -- the paid search increases that we're seeing in Creme have been significantly higher than the average that we suggested earlier that we mentioned earlier. So it's a combination of a much better experience for the families, a much better tour experience for the parents, ultimately, a better experience for our teachers with a new curriculum and is playing through the resilience of the families and ultimately paid search.

另外一部分是——我們在 Creme 看到的付費搜尋成長幅度，明顯高於我們先前建議、也先前提到的平均水準。所以這是多項因素的組合：家庭獲得更好的體驗、家長參觀（tour）體驗更好，最終也讓我們的老師在新課綱下有更好的體驗，並且反映在家庭的韌性上，最後也反映在付費搜尋上。

Great. And then just as a follow-up on the Champions in the before and after school side. You had really nice acceleration in 1Q. I know you -- I think you talked about higher number of center openings. So maybe just give us some context around that sort of how much of that contribution came from new centers.

很好。接著再追問一下 Champions 在課前與課後照護（before and after school）這一塊。你們在第一季有很不錯的加速成長。我知道你——我想你有提到中心開設數量增加。所以也許請你們提供一些背景，說明其中有多少貢獻是來自新中心。

And I know you didn't change your guide or the contribution that you're expecting for the year. So just let us know if there's a timing factor there? Or if there's anything else to consider?

而且我知道你們沒有調整你們的指引（guidance）或今年預期的貢獻。所以請告訴我們是否有時間點（timing）的因素？或還有其他需要考量的事情？

Yes. No, Faiza, no really changes to consider. I think as we talked about last year, Champions is slightly underperforming where we would have liked to see them. But we are seeing them back to where they are. And frankly, their Q1 was right where we expected it to be and they continue to be on that path that we expect for the year.

是的。沒有，Faiza，沒有什麼需要特別考量的變化。我想如同我們去年談到的，Champions 的表現略低於我們原本希望看到的水準。但我們正看到他們回到應有的狀態。坦白說，他們第一季的表現正如我們預期，並且持續走在我們對今年的預期路徑上。

They were up -- so they ended the quarter at 1,159 sites last year, they ended the quarter at 1,038. So they're up about 10% just in site count alone. And obviously, that was a lot from the additions we made this fall, but also just the net impact of closures over those two years.

他們是——去年季度末是 1,159 個據點，今年季度末是 1,038 個。所以光就據點數量而言，大約成長了 10%。而且很明顯，這很大一部分來自我們去年秋季新增的據點，但也包含這兩年期間關閉據點的淨影響。

So a lot of that growth is coming from the new sites as well, but we are seeing some nice traction, single -- low single digits, but [TWE] growth Champions as well. So we're also doing a nice job of growing that as well, which continues to be important given the high accounts of 1,000. So Champions is a base growth engine and if you come back where they belong in double-digit growth.

因此，很多成長也來自新據點；同時我們也看到一些不錯的動能，Champions 本身也有個位數——低個位數的 [TWE] 成長。所以我們也在把這塊做大，這點仍然很重要，因為高帳戶數約有 1,000 個。所以 Champions 是一個基礎成長引擎；如果他們回到應有的位置，就會回到雙位數成長。

Just on that subject, we are also seeing the quality of the additional sites that they're looking at to be improved year-over-year. So we not only see the momentum that we've seen so far this year picking up, but also the quality of the size of the school and the locations of the schools. And quite frankly, many of them are additional schools at already existing clients of ours. So it feels really good for us long term.

就這個主題而言，我們也看到他們正在評估的新增據點品質，相較去年有所提升。所以我們不僅看到今年迄今的動能正在加速，也看到學校規模與學校所在地點的品質提升。而且坦白說，其中很多都是我們既有客戶之下新增的學校。所以從長期來看，這讓我們感覺非常好。

Great. Thank you so much.

很好。非常感謝。

Jeff Meuler, Baird.

Jeff Meuler，Baird。

Yeah, thank you. Good afternoon. The opportunity region enrollment growth is really impressive. To what extent do you think the growth you're seeing there now relative to the rest of the portfolio is because you took action there sooner, and therefore, you're seeing the payback in a bigger way now versus it's just like a richer opportunity for improvement from the baseline or it's more intensive in terms of the initiatives being applied or something like that?

是的，謝謝。午安。Opportunity Region 的招生（enrollment）成長非常令人印象深刻。你們認為目前那邊相較於整體投資組合所看到的成長，有多大程度是因為你們更早採取行動，因此現在看到更大的回收（payback）；相對地，是否只是因為相較基準（baseline）有更大的改善空間，或是那邊推動的措施更密集之類的原因？

Yes. So let me start, and then Tom can add some kind of strategic operational things. Look -- has literally just hit its one year anniversary last year. So I think there is something about clearly, pulling that group out, having a really strong leader but -- leader that we knew would get into that level of detail with those kind of directors of NPLs to really focus on enrollment and growth.

是的。我先回答，然後 Tom 可以補充一些策略與營運面的內容。你看——Opportunity Region 去年剛好滿一週年。所以我認為確實有一點是：把那個團隊獨立出來、配置一位非常強的領導者——而且是我們知道會深入細節、能與那些 NPL 的主管一起把重點放在招生與成長上的領導者。

We talked about -- we put a few tools in that we're now spreading through the organization that I think are helpful as well. I think it's a combination of things, right? We weren't investing marketing -- correctly in them. So it wasn't that they aren't getting some of the additional spend now. So that's positive. But we think it is a lot of that focus, and that's something you've heard Tom talk about, I'm sure we'll add more here.

我們也談到——我們導入了一些工具，現在正把它們推廣到整個組織，我認為也很有幫助。我想這是多種因素的組合，對吧？我們過去在他們身上的行銷投資——做得不夠到位。所以並不是說他們現在沒有拿到一些額外的投入。所以這是正面的。但我們認為很大一部分來自那種聚焦，而這也是你們聽 Tom 談過的，我相信他也會在這裡補充更多。

But letting the center records focus on what's important for their center, which promotes growth in the moment, allows them to really put aside other things that are being asked and focused on that. And that's just something that leader, I think, has done a really rich job of doing over the last 12 months, and we're really seeing the results from that. So Tom, do you want to add anything else to that.

讓中心主任能專注在對他們中心最重要的事情上，這能在當下促進成長，也讓他們可以把其他被要求處理的事情先放一邊，專注在這些重點上。而我認為那位領導者在過去 12 個月把這件事做得非常到位，我們也確實看到成果。Tom，你要再補充什麼嗎？

Well, I only one thing I'll add, Tony, because you answered the question well. What I would say to you that I am most impressed with and what I'm most encouraged by in the rest of the fleet is that Christine, the young lady that is running this the RVP over the Opportunity Region. Literally cleared the decks for the center of Directors over a year ago, which we didn't even begin to do until mid-first quarter and the rest of the fleet.

嗯，Tony，我只補充一點，因為你已經把問題回答得很好了。我想說的是：我最印象深刻、也最讓我對其餘整體據點（fleet）感到鼓舞的是，Christine——這位負責 Opportunity Region 的區域副總裁（RVP）——在一年多以前就真的替中心主任「清空雜務」（cleared the decks），而我們直到第一季中段才開始在其餘據點做同樣的事。

So they see literally created no noise around what was important to her, which was the tour experience, the family experience, the quality of the teachers, the quality of the classroom and ultimately, driving growth through enrollment and inquiries. So I'd say to you that, that part is the part that I'm the most encouraged by because we have now done that in the total of 1,600 centers, not in 100 centers. So the second quarter and certainly, as we've mentioned in the call, our prepared remarks, the second half of this year, we feel much stronger about than we did 90 days ago.

所以她確實把雜音降到最低，讓大家只圍繞她認為重要的事：參觀（tour）體驗、家庭體驗、教師品質、教室品質，最終透過招生與詢問量（inquiries）來推動成長。所以我會說，這一點是我最受鼓舞的部分，因為我們現在已經在總共 1,600 個中心做到這件事，而不是只在 100 個中心。因此第二季，當然也如同我們在電話會議與事先準備的講稿中提到的，今年下半年我們的信心比 90 天前強很多。

Got it. And then when you're talking about the 15% inquiry increase among the targeted centers, 3% overall, just what percentage of the centers are you doing like paid or elevated paid search for? And just given that you're seeing the returns on it, any thought on expanding that to more of your geographies?

了解。另外，當你們提到在目標中心（targeted centers）詢問量增加 15%、整體增加 3% 時，你們大概對多少比例的中心在做付費或加強的付費搜尋？而且既然你們看到回報，是否有考慮把這做法擴大到更多地區？

Jeff, I think you were asking, given the return we're seeing on those would be spread to the more geographies?

Jeff，我想你是在問，鑑於我們在那些做法上看到的回報，是否會把它擴展到更多地理區域？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Correct. Yes. So single-digit percent of our centers. So we really wanted to target with marketing if we utilize different marketing tools at more of a localized level or a state level, what happens. And as you see those numbers, overall, it's been positive. We've learned a couple of things from a couple of other states, too, that hasn't been a detractor, but hasn't been quite as rich. And so that allows us to learn a little bit more where we can pull strain. Will we be utilizing that information to do better and think about more?

好的。沒錯。是的。目前大概是我們中心的個位數百分比。我們真的想用行銷去做精準鎖定：如果我們在更在地的層級或州的層級，運用不同的行銷工具，會發生什麼事。如你看到的那些數字，整體而言是正面的。我們也從其他幾個州學到一些事情；那並沒有造成負面影響，但效果沒有那麼顯著。因此這讓我們能再多學一些，了解哪些地方可以「拉動槓桿」（pull strain）。我們會運用這些資訊把事情做得更好，並思考是否要做得更多。

Definitely. It's definitely something that's ongoing conversation about where should we be utilizing our marketing spend and what should we do to make it robust. So no direct plans to share with you today on that, but definitely going to make sure that as the data continues to play out, that it's something we utilize in making good decisions.

當然。這確實是一個持續在討論的議題：我們的行銷支出應該用在什麼地方，以及我們該做些什麼讓它更具韌性、更穩健。所以今天沒有任何可以直接跟你分享的具體計畫，但我們一定會確保，隨著數據持續呈現結果，這會成為我們用來做出良好決策的依據。

One more thing on that subject. We've even changed during this first quarter. We've changed the emphasis in some areas. We've also stopped doing -- we do a national, if you will, breadth of paid search every quarter. But the specific targets, we maneuvered that in the first quarter, and it has paid off. So we're getting smarter and even the vehicles that we're using are changing. So we're getting smarter as we go forward, and we feel we're making progress.

關於這個主題再補充一點。其實在第一季期間我們就已經做了調整。我們在某些領域改變了重點。我們也停止了某些作法——我們每一季都會做全國性的（如果你願意這麼說）廣泛付費搜尋投放。但在第一季，我們調整了具體的目標設定，而這已經帶來成效。所以我們變得更聰明，甚至我們使用的投放載體也在改變。因此我們在往前走的過程中愈來愈精準，也覺得自己正在取得進展。

Toni Kaplan, Morgan Stanley.

Toni Kaplan，摩根士丹利。

Thank you so much. You talked a lot in the prepared remarks about analyzing the portfolio, and it sounds like you might be planning to close a bunch of centers this year. Is it more than you were expecting? And I ask that because you kept the revenue guidance the same.

非常感謝。你在事先準備的發言中談了很多關於分析投資組合的內容，聽起來你們可能計畫今年關閉一批中心。這個數量是否比你原先預期的更多？我之所以這麼問，是因為你們把營收指引維持不變。

So I was wondering if there were sort of offsetting factors that led you to keep that same revenue level even though closing these centers is sort of on the table and maybe incremental.

所以我想知道，是否有某些抵銷因素，讓你們即使把關閉這些中心（可能還是增量的）列入考量，仍然維持相同的營收水準？

Yes. Good question, Tony. So I'll call it out again, I tried to call it out in my prepared remarks there, but let's make it super clear. At this point, our guidance is still just at closing the 1% of centers. And so we are just including that work now on which centers we do believe need to exit the portfolio.

是的。好問題，Toni。我再強調一次——我在事先準備的發言裡有試著點出來——但我們把它講得非常清楚。截至目前，我們的指引仍然只是關閉1%的中心。因此我們現在只是把這項工作納入：判斷哪些中心我們確實認為需要退出投資組合。

A couple of next steps need to happen. One is determining the right timing for the communities and for us. And along with that comes lease discussions. And so we are undertaking that right now. And so we will see closures happen kind of throughout the rest of the year. And so at this point, that's why we need to see how that goes before we're able to really give a good clear guide on which of those centers we do think and when they'll be exiting the portfolio.

接下來還有幾個步驟需要進行。第一是為社區（據點）以及對我們而言，決定合適的時間點。同時也會涉及租約協商。所以我們目前正在推進這些工作。因此在今年剩餘時間裡，關閉會陸續發生。也正因如此，我們需要先看看進展如何，才能真正給出清楚且可靠的指引：哪些中心我們認為會退出投資組合，以及它們會在什麼時點退出。

And so that's why today, we're holding to that just 1%. And then when we come talk to you in Q2, we'll have a much clearer picture and be able to firm up the impacts of those closures both on revenue, but also on the bottom line for the year.

所以這就是為什麼今天我們仍維持在僅1%的水準。等到第二季再跟各位溝通時，我們會有更清楚的全貌，也能更確定這些關閉對今年營收以及獲利（底線）的影響。

And then I wanted to ask about pricing. I think in the quarter, it was a little bit over 2%. I know the full year guide is for 3%. I was wondering if you are seeing any positives from either discounting or things like that? Has that been a factor in some of the increased conversion or things like that?

另外我想問一下定價。我記得本季大概略高於2%。我知道全年指引是3%。我想了解你們是否看到任何來自折扣或類似措施的正面效果？這是否是轉換率提升或類似改善的因素之一？

And I guess, also, given that you're expecting three for the year, do you expect to sort of incrementally raise prices more as you go through the rest of the year?

另外，既然你們預期全年是3%，你們是否預期在今年剩餘時間會逐步再提高價格？

Yes. Good question, Toni. So let's parse it a little bit. So on the private pay side, we -- our new prices went into effect on January 1 for age ups and new students. And we're seeing those prices take hold just as strong as we have in the past and at a very strong rate. So that's a positive. And those private payer rates are above the 3% this year as we expected them to be. And we have not been doing additional discounting or anything like that outside of what we normally do, Toni.

是的。好問題，Toni。我們把它拆開來看。在自費（private pay）這一端——我們的新價格已在1月1日對升齡（age ups）與新生生效。我們看到這些價格的落地效果，跟過去一樣強勁，而且強度非常高。所以這是正面的。而且如我們預期，自費客戶的漲價幅度今年高於3%。此外，除了我們一貫正常會做的之外，我們沒有做額外的折扣或類似措施，Toni。

We continually find in this industry that there's places to do that. But again, the biggest thing about price is the value you provide. And if you provide great value, you're keeping your teachers, you have high engagement, price holds really well. If you're not living up to those things for the families, a small discount or some discounts don't necessarily matter. So just to share that with you, we haven't been seeing that.

我們在這個產業一直都會發現，確實有些地方可以做那樣的操作。但再說一次，定價最關鍵的是你提供的價值。如果你提供很高的價值、留得住老師、互動參與度高，價格就能維持得很好。如果你沒有做到讓家庭感受到這些，即使給一點小折扣或一些折扣，也不一定有用。所以跟你分享一下，我們並沒有看到那種情況。

One thing we have seen, and Tom mentioned it, was our enrichment programs and small takeaway sessions for phonics and STEM and some other things are gaining some momentum, which is great. It's great for the families, obviously, in the children and their kindergarten preparedness. It's great for retention.

我們確實看到的一件事——Tom也提到了——是我們的加值課程（enrichment programs）以及一些小型的加購課程，例如自然拼讀（phonics）、STEM以及其他項目，正在累積動能，這很棒。這對家庭、當然也對孩子以及他們的幼兒園就學準備度都很有幫助。這也有助於留存。

Those families usually stay longer, and it's great for rate for us as well. They're paying a little bit more in to what they're doing, and that's helping a little bit, too, on the private pay side and frankly, some subsidy, too. We're seeing more and more subsidy families than we've seen in the past utilize that as well.

這些家庭通常會待得更久，對我們的費率也有幫助。他們在所選擇的服務上會多付一點，這也在自費端帶來一些助益；坦白說，在補助（subsidy）端也有。我們看到使用這些加值課程的補助家庭也比過去更多。

On the subsidy side, I mentioned it, but we are still seeing the impacts of Indiana and some of the other states still impact us today. So a couple of things there. One, we'll anniversary those, come in the back half of the year once we get out of this budget cycle. And based on everything we know there, allows us to give us that guide that we're giving you of the 3% for the year.

在補助端，我提過，我們目前仍然受到印第安納州以及其他一些州的影響。所以這裡有幾點。第一，我們會在今年下半年、等我們走出這個預算週期後，迎來這些影響的周年比較（anniversary）。根據我們目前掌握的一切，這也讓我們能給出你們所看到的全年3%指引。

I think we're starting to see some positive things. Tom mentioned Indiana has come out with some positive news after they thought through it a little bit, and that's definitely something that's going to be helpful for us as well as we kind of recover from some of those things that impact us in the back half of the year on price and subsidy.

我認為我們開始看到一些正面訊號。Tom提到印第安納州在重新思考後釋出了一些正面消息，這肯定也會對我們有所幫助，因為我們正在從那些在下半年影響我們定價與補助的因素中逐步恢復。

Super. Thank you.

太好了。謝謝。

Of course. Thanks, Toni.

當然。謝謝你，Toni。

Manav Patnaik, Barclays.

Manav Patnaik，巴克萊。

This is Ronan Kennedy on for Manav. Can I please confirm how you're thinking about the role of closures versus turnaround efforts with all the initiatives underway. And if there is a threshold for exiting those underperforming centers versus endeavoring to improve them with those initiatives and how that has evolved?

我是代替Manav出席的Ronan Kennedy。我想確認一下，在目前所有措施都在推進的情況下，你們如何看待關閉中心與扭轉（turnaround）努力之間的角色分工。以及對於退出那些表現不佳的中心，相較於透過這些措施去改善它們，是否有一個門檻？這個門檻或判斷方式又是如何演變的？

Yes. So look, Ronan, we truly looked center by center at every single one of our centers, right? I mean that was something we always do, right? What we did with Tom really looked me in the eyes and like we got to do that again. So a lot of that analytically, we were able to get through quickly and then we went through every single one.

是的。所以你看，Ronan，我們確實是一家一家中心逐一檢視我們每一個中心，對吧？我的意思是，這本來就是我們一直在做的事，對吧？而我們和Tom一起做的，是他直視著我說：我們得再做一次。所以在分析層面，我們能很快把很多部分跑完，然後我們又把每一家都過了一遍。

Why am I calling that out? I'm calling that out because, yes, we know all these things that we put into place, right, as we've changed the trajectory of what we're doing and Tom has provided some, I think, clarity and simplicity for our field and what we can do.

我為什麼要特別點出這件事？我點出來是因為，是的，我們知道我們已經把這些措施都放到位了，對吧——隨著我們改變我們正在做的事情的走向，而Tom也為我們的第一線團隊提供了我認為更清楚、更簡化的方向，讓大家知道我們能做什麼。

We thought about that as we made each decision and made this list that now we're going to go analyze and take care of. So if there are centers that checked all the boxes as far as demographics, leadership, engagement, et cetera, those are some centers you might see us hold on to for another back-to-school session maybe or another year to see if this is going to work because like we talked about with opportunity, these things don't flip on a dime and happen the next one.

我們在做每一項決策時都把這點納入考量，並整理出這份清單，接下來我們會去分析並加以處理。因此，如果有些中心在人口結構、領導力、參與度等各方面都符合條件，這些中心你可能會看到我們先保留，或許再觀察下一個返校季，或再多留一年，看看這是否能奏效；因為就像我們談到的機會一樣，這些事情不會一夕之間就翻轉，下一刻就發生。

So definitely, there are some centers we're considering doing that. Other centers, we had a long conversation about and decided we still think it's the right thing to exit these for various reasons. And every center is a little different. Some of them could be, you know what, we can push these kids into another center closer and teachers into another one and the ones with a lease life or something else.

所以，確實有一些中心我們正在考慮這麼做。至於其他中心，我們進行了長時間的討論，並且仍然認為基於各種原因，退出這些中心是正確的決定。而且每個中心的情況都不太一樣。有些可能是，你知道的，我們可以把這些孩子轉到更近的另一個中心，把老師也調到另一個中心，還有一些則可能是租約剩餘年限之類的因素。

So truly a one for one. So I say all that, and then Tom, I know wants to touch on it a little bit, too, but we are going to exit the centers that we don't believe should be with us in the next three to five years and tomorrow, and we're going to make it so we have the strongest portfolio. So as we do have all of that focus that we keep talking about, we know our focus throughout the organization from teacher to center director to district leader to our NSC support, is on all the right centers for the long-term health of the company.

所以真的是一對一的安排。我說這些是想表達：Tom 我知道也想補充幾句，但我們將退出那些我們認為在未來三到五年、甚至從明天開始就不應該繼續由我們持有的中心，並確保我們擁有最強的組合。因此，當我們持續強調聚焦時，我們知道全組織從老師到中心主任、到區域主管、到我們的 NSC 支援，焦點都放在對公司長期健康最有利的那些正確中心上。

That was well said, Tony, I'll add only one thing. Just to put in perspective because you're asking what are we doing through the process. The process starts with the Opportunity Region. We send centers to the Opportunity Region that we know should have potential to improve. So we start there.

Tony，你說得很好，我只補充一點。只是為了讓你更有概念，因為你在問我們在流程中做了什麼。這個流程從「機會區域（Opportunity Region）」開始。我們會把我們知道有改善潛力的中心送到機會區域。所以我們從那裡開始。

And the good news is Christine is showing us they can, in fact, react and grow. And that's pleasing to us because we don't want to close any center, we don't want to impact any child or, quite frankly, any employee.

好消息是，Christine 正在向我們證明，這些中心確實能夠回應並成長。這讓我們很欣慰，因為我們不想關閉任何中心，也不想影響任何孩子，坦白說，也不想影響任何員工。

So the opportunity for us to start there and try to do everything we possibly can with leadership, with the quality of the teachers, the inquiry, the enrollment work that we do, we do that first. And if in fact, we can't see a path forward, that's when we make the decision to close it. That's very helpful.

所以我們的做法是先從那裡著手，盡我們所能在領導力、教師品質、督導（inquiry）、以及我們所做的招生工作上把能做的都先做了。如果確實看不到前進的路徑，那時我們才會做出關閉的決定。這非常有幫助。

And then for a follow-up, if I may please. The adjusted margin -- adjusted EBITDA margin drivers, I think, were understandably described as relatively straightforward. Obviously, occupancy is a primary factor. Are you able to quantify or help us think about the relative contribution of that dynamic of the 3% enrollment decline versus pricing and then wage inflation and other costs.

接著如果可以的話，我想追問一下。調整後利潤率——調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的驅動因素，我理解你們把它描述得相對直接。顯然，入園率（occupancy）是主要因素。你們能否量化，或協助我們思考：3% 的招生下滑相對於定價，以及薪資通膨與其他成本，各自對利潤率的相對貢獻？

Because I think you noted, labor is not flexible due to the required ratios and the margins for that step function lower. So can you help us how to think about those dynamics and perhaps the next inflection point in occupancy that might restore that margin leverage? And how much upside is tied to hitting that threshold?

因為我想你提到，基於法定師生比要求，人力並不具彈性，因此利潤率會出現階梯式下滑。所以你能否幫我們理解這些動態，以及入園率下一個可能恢復利潤槓桿的拐點在哪裡？而達到那個門檻所帶來的上行空間有多少？

Yes, of course. Good question. Yes, look, obviously, a 2% of tuition, and that's still continuing to outweigh our wage rate by a little under 100 basis points, so kind of in the 70 to 80 basis points range. So we're still creating some different swings, which we do every year. The majority of the rest, to your point, is the impact of that occupancy happening, right?

是的，當然。問得很好。是的，你看，學費大約上調 2%，而且這仍然持續以略低於 100 個基點的幅度跑贏我們的薪資增幅，大概在 70 到 80 個基點的區間。所以我們仍然會產生一些不同的波動，這也是我們每年都會發生的情況。其餘的大部分，如你所說，就是入園率變化帶來的影響，對吧？

And obviously, we're up against that rent that we discussed last time from Propco and normal other rent increases. We're up against normal other costs impacting that, that are putting pressure on the system.

而且很明顯，我們還面臨上次討論過的來自 Propco 的租金，以及其他正常的租金上調。我們也面臨其他正常成本的影響，這些都在對系統造成壓力。

But those are things that at the level we're at, we're just not able to manage that, especially with labor. So what's the next level? 70% is a really key number that we always talk about. 70% is where we do really have on average teachers in a classroom, which means the step function of additional hours is really minimal.

但在我們目前的水準下，這些事情我們就是不太能管理，尤其是人力成本。那下一個水準是什麼？70% 是我們一直在談的一個非常關鍵的數字。70% 是指我們平均而言能在教室裡配置到老師，這意味著額外工時的階梯式增加就會非常小。

And so that's again 70% for the year, getting back just the 3% we have off from last year will be critical for us to kind of start building that margin. And everyone counts, but we're a couple of percent off from really a sizable one where the margin really starts to ratchet back up in the right direction.

因此，再次強調，全年回到 70%，把相較去年少掉的 3% 招生補回來，對我們開始重建利潤率將至關重要。每一個百分點都很重要，但我們目前距離一個真正顯著的水準還差幾個百分點；一旦到達那裡，利潤率就會開始朝正確方向明顯回升。

Got it. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

了解。非常感謝。感激不盡。

George Tong, Goldman Sachs.

George Tong，高盛。

Hi, thanks. Good afternoon. You're expecting a gradual enrollment improvement in the first half and a more meaningful recovery in the second half. Can you elaborate on why enrollment performance should more materially improve in the second half specifically? What gives you the confidence that the second half will be the turning point and not say, some point in 2027?

嗨，謝謝。下午好。你們預期上半年招生會逐步改善，下半年會有更明顯的復甦。你能否進一步說明，為什麼招生表現應該會在下半年特別更顯著改善？是什麼讓你們有信心下半年會是轉折點，而不是例如 2027 年的某個時間點？

George, I'd say how I feel. It's just allowing all the changes we put in place the clearing the decks for the center directors, getting the right formula and quite frankly, the amount of money invested in to paid search to have the right center directors in all the centers to getting people focused on growth in a much more purposeful way than they were even in the second half of last year.

George，我就說說我的感受。這主要是讓我們已經推動的所有變革有時間發酵：替中心主任清出障礙、建立正確的公式；坦白說，也包括投入在付費搜尋（paid search）的資金規模，確保所有中心都有合適的中心主任，並讓大家以比去年下半年更有目的性的方式聚焦在成長上。

That takes time when you have, in our case, it includes Champions. We have almost 3,000 locations, 43,000 employees. It just doesn't happen overnight. The increase that we saw in the first quarter was -- it felt good to us. We felt like we were making impact where we weren't sure we were even going to see that.

這需要時間，尤其在我們的情況下還包含 Champions。我們有將近 3,000 個據點、43,000 名員工。這不可能一夜之間發生。第一季看到的提升——我們感覺很好。我們覺得我們正在產生影響，而在此之前我們甚至不確定是否能看到這樣的成果。

So we're really anxious to see what happens in the second quarter and into the third quarter. As you know, back-to-school is the bell ringer for us. So we can get through -- if we can retain the children that we expect to retain and the camps that we're setting up and all that is aggressively postured at this point to do so. And then we go into a back-to-school season with a firm muscle built around all those processes, we feel good about where we're going.

所以我們非常期待看看第二季以及進入第三季會發生什麼。如你所知，返校季（back-to-school）對我們來說是最重要的指標時點。所以如果我們能——如果我們能留住我們預期能留住的孩子，加上我們正在規劃的夏令營等各項安排，目前都以非常積極的姿態來達成這些目標。然後我們帶著圍繞這些流程所建立起來的扎實能力進入返校季，我們對未來走向感到樂觀。

Got it. That's helpful. You mentioned you're raising the EBITDA guide for the full year primarily to reflect outperformance in 1Q. Is there any reason why the margin outperformance in 1Q shouldn't repeat in future quarters, which would allow you to raise the guide even more?

了解。這很有幫助。你提到你們上調全年 EBITDA 指引，主要是反映第一季的優於預期表現。那有沒有什麼原因，使得第一季的利潤率優於預期不會在後續季度重現，從而讓你們無法把指引再上調更多？

Yes. Great question, George. Yes. Look, I mean, there's really the $5 million, right, that we're raising coming from Q1 is pretty much isolated to a couple of things that outperformed from when we talked to you guys in early March. One was we saw a few more grants come in than we were expecting, right? Grants has been something we talked about where last year, we expected this year to be lower than last year, and we're expecting still to be relatively close to kind of pre-pandemic levels.

是的。問得很好，George。是的。你看，我們這次上調的 500 萬美元，基本上是來自第一季，且幾乎可以歸因於幾個在我們 3 月初與各位溝通時未預期到的超出表現。其中之一是我們看到比預期更多的補助金（grants）進來，對吧？補助金是我們談過的項目：去年我們預期今年會低於去年，而我們目前仍預期大致會接近疫情前的水準。

Q1 came in a little bit stronger. And so at this point, we don't believe we have the visibility or transparency to believe that, that's going to reoccur for the rest of the year. So kind of held that amount and then expect the rest of the quarters to go still as we are expecting to start the year.

第一季的表現略強一些。因此，就目前而言，我們不認為自己具備足夠的能見度或透明度去相信這種情況會在今年剩餘時間再度發生。所以我們大致維持了那個水準，並預期其餘各季仍會如同我們年初所預期的那樣發展。

And then the rest was a little bit of labor favorability. So despite Ronan's question earlier and how it is harder to do labor here in this moment. We did see some favorable actions there with our labor, a little bit around some timing, we believe, with spring breaks and things in the quarter that we do think at this point are one-time. And so that's why we're not going to assume that we can continue those for four more quarters, George.

另外其餘部分則是人力成本略有利好。因此，儘管先前 Ronan 的提問提到，當下在人力方面更難操作。我們確實在人力方面看到一些有利的作為，部分可能與時點有關；我們認為本季的春假等因素帶來了一些影響，而目前我們判斷這些屬於一次性。因此，George，這也是為什麼我們不會假設接下來四個季度都能延續這些利好。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Josh Chan, UBS.

Josh Chan，瑞銀（UBS）。

Hi, Jocelyn. Thanks for taking my questions. I was wondering how you would contextualize the 3% enrollment decline versus the 3.6% in Q4. Would that be mostly the Opportunity Region. And then maybe relatedly, how is the enrollment trends in the non-Opportunity Region centers kind of trending?

嗨，Jocelyn。謝謝你回答我的問題。我想請教你會如何解讀 3% 的入學人數下滑，相較於第四季的 3.6%。這主要會是來自 Opportunity Region（機會區域）嗎？另外相關地，非 Opportunity Region 的中心，其入學趨勢目前大致如何？

Yes, Josh, the opportunity region had a little bit better trajectory. And so a decent portion of that is coming from there. And then there's a little probably 10 basis points or so just related to some capacity changes as well as we look at that. And that's something we always talk about that we're trying to meet each community where they're at. Everything else has stayed relatively consistent, maybe 10 basis points or so amongst everybody else of improvement, but everybody else has remained relatively consistent so far.

是的，Josh，機會區域的走勢稍微好一些。因此，其中相當一部分改善是來自那裡。另外，可能還有大約 10 個基點左右，與一些產能變動有關，我們在檢視時也會納入考量。這也是我們一直在談的：我們努力因地制宜，去滿足每個社區的需求。其他部分則相對一致；在其他地區之間，可能也有大約 10 個基點左右的改善，但到目前為止，其他地區整體仍維持相對一致。

Okay. And then on the incremental closures, I know that that's not in the guide, but is there a way that you can frame out what the impact would be? Because obviously, it will have an impact on 2027 base as you complete that program, just to kind of box that in a little maybe if there's a way to do that.

了解。另外關於額外的關閉據點，我知道這不在指引中，但你們是否能用某種方式框定其影響？因為顯然，當你們完成該計畫後，會對 2027 年的基期造成影響；如果可以的話，想請你們稍微把範圍框出來。

Josh, I would love to for you all. We are just in the throes of it right now. And it really comes down to looking at communities, looking at leases, negotiating with landlords to get out of them or not get out of them and decide how we will continue it. And as much as we would have loved to give you that color, we're not quite there on our own either.

Josh，我很希望能為各位提供。但我們現在正處於推進的關鍵階段。這真的取決於我們對各個社區的評估、對租約的檢視，以及與房東協商是否能提前解約或不解約，並據此決定我們將如何持續推進。雖然我們很想提供更多細節，但我們自己目前也還沒到那個程度。

So I'm confident that come August, we will be able to fill you in exactly where we're at and be able to talk about the impacts definitely for '26. And I think we'll be at a point we'll be able to share some thoughts of what the ongoing impacts of that will be both on revenue and EBITDA because as you'd expect, we're going to exit the lower performing centers, and that's going to have a positive trajectory for '27. It's not at the place where I can give you precision right now, but we'll be in August.

不過我有信心，到了 8 月，我們就能向各位完整說明目前進度，並且能談到對 2026 年的影響。我也認為到那時我們會在一個可以分享一些想法的階段，說明其對營收與 EBITDA 的持續性影響；因為如你所預期，我們將退出表現較差的中心，這將對 2027 年帶來正向的走勢。目前我還無法給出精確數字，但 8 月我們就可以。

Okay, I appreciate that. Thanks so much for your time.

好的，我理解，也很感謝。非常謝謝你撥冗。

Thanks, Josh.

謝謝你，Josh。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Tom Wyatt, Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在把電話交回給執行長 Tom Wyatt 作結語。

Thanks, Miriam, and thanks to all of you all. I appreciate the questions. Very high-quality questions coming from you today. We appreciate it. Look, as we've outlined literally, since I joined the company back in December and certainly after the first quarter call, what we set out to do was to execute better and to reduce the complexity in our centers, invest in paid search to really help drive the overall growth inquiry that we need.

謝謝你，Miriam，也謝謝各位。我很感謝大家的提問。今天各位提出的問題品質非常高。我們很感激。各位看，自從我在 12 月加入公司以來——當然也包括第一季電話會議之後——我們一直清楚說明：我們要做的是把執行做得更好、降低我們中心的複雜度，並投資付費搜尋，以真正帶動我們所需要的整體成長詢問量。

And we're doing that. And we've seen good signs of it in every single one of our businesses. So we feel good about that. Tony said it, and I'll say it again. At this point, it's all about execution. The demand is there. We have the opportunity. We have the largest brand in the entire marketplace and certainly have the trust of the families and respect of the families in our centers.

而我們正在這麼做。而且我們在每一個業務中都看到了良好的跡象。因此我們對此感到樂觀。Tony 說過了，我再說一次。就目前而言，一切都在於執行。需求就在那裡。我們有這個機會。我們在整個市場中擁有最大的品牌，並且在我們的中心確實獲得家庭的信任與尊重。

So although there's a lot more to do, we're very encouraged by what we've seen, and we're looking forward to updating you on the progress in the next quarter and in quarters to come. So thank you so much, and have a great evening. Take care.

因此，雖然還有很多工作要做，但我們對目前所看到的情況感到非常鼓舞，也期待在下一季以及未來幾季向各位更新進展。非常感謝各位，祝各位晚上愉快。保重。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。