Kestra Medical Technologies, Ltd. (KMTS) 2027 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to Kestra Medical Technologies' first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings conference call. This conference call is being recorded for replay purposes. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎參加 Kestra Medical Technologies 2027 會計年度第一季財報電話會議。本次電話會議將錄音以供重播之用。(接線員指示)

I would now like to turn the call over to Neil Bhalodkar, Vice President of Investor Relations, for introductory comments.

現在我想把電話交給投資人關係副總裁 Neil Bhalodkar，由他進行開場致詞。

Thank you, Lateef. Good afternoon. Thank you for joining Kestra's first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings call. With me today are Brian Webster, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Vaseem Mahboob, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，Lateef。下午好。感謝各位參加 Kestra 2027 會計年度第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有總裁暨執行長 Brian Webster，以及財務長 Vaseem Mahboob。

This call includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements made on this call that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Kestra's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and assumptions that are difficult to predict.

本次電話會議包含《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法》所定義的前瞻性陳述。本次電話會議中，凡非關於歷史事實之陳述，均應視為前瞻性陳述。這些陳述係基於 Kestra 目前的預期、預測與假設，而這些預期、預測與假設受到難以預測之固有不確定性、風險與假設的影響。

Actual outcomes and results could differ materially from any results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to various factors. Please review Kestra's most recent filings with the SEC, particularly the risk factors described in our Form 10-K for additional information.

由於各種因素，實際結果與表現可能與前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示的任何結果、績效或成就存在重大差異。請查閱 Kestra 最近向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件，特別是我們 Form 10-K 中所述的風險因素，以取得更多資訊。

Any forward-looking statements provided during this call, including projections of future performance, are based on management's expectations as of today. Kestra undertakes no obligation to update these statements except as required by applicable law.

本次電話會議中所提供的任何前瞻性陳述（包括對未來表現的預測）均以管理層截至今日的預期為基礎。除非適用法律另有要求，Kestra 不承擔更新此等陳述之義務。

During today's call, we will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, and are not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to our earnings release for a reconciliation of these measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

在今天的電話會議中，我們也將討論非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。這些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標是對依 GAAP 編製之財務績效衡量指標的補充，並非其替代品，也不應被視為更優於 GAAP 指標。請參閱我們的財報新聞稿，以取得這些指標與其最直接可比之 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表。

With that, I will turn the call over to Brian.

接下來，我把電話交給 Brian。

Thanks, Neil. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us on today's conference call. We're excited to discuss the strong financial performance we had in the first quarter and the continued progress we are making on our key operational objectives. I'd like to begin, though, with a reminder of the purpose behind our work, that is providing innovative, intuitive medical technologies that protect and support at-risk patients. That mission guides both the technology we create and the experience we deliver, helping patients remain engaged, connected, and protected throughout their care.

謝謝，Neil。下午好，感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。我們很高興與各位分享第一季強勁的財務表現，以及我們在關鍵營運目標上持續取得的進展。不過我想先提醒各位我們工作的初衷：提供創新、直覺式的醫療科技，以保護並支持高風險患者。這項使命引導我們所打造的技術與所提供的體驗，協助患者在整個照護過程中保持參與、連結並受到保護。

One patient's experience this quarter demonstrates how those forms of protection work together. The patient was prescribed the ASSURE WCD for protection during the high-risk period between removal of his implanted defibrillator and scheduled lead extractions. Shortly after fitting, the ASSURE System recorded more than 120 diverted therapies in one night, prompting immediate outreach from our Heart Alert Services team.

本季有一位患者的經驗，展現了這些保護機制如何相互配合。該患者在移除其植入式去顫器與預定導線拔除手術之間的高風險期間，醫師開立 ASSURE WCD 以提供保護。配戴後不久，ASSURE 系統在一個晚上記錄到超過 120 次被轉移的治療事件，促使我們的 Heart Alert Services 團隊立即主動聯繫。

The team learned the patient was driving alone through rural Utah with his two dogs. He initially resisted seeking care. Heart Alert Services remained in close contact until he agreed to go to the nearest emergency department. The team sent his clinical reports ahead to the support team at the emergency department.

團隊得知該患者正獨自駕車穿越猶他州鄉村地區，並帶著兩隻狗同行。他起初抗拒就醫。Heart Alert Services 持續保持密切聯繫，直到他同意前往最近的急診室。團隊也事先將他的臨床報告傳送給急診室的支援團隊。

Upon arrival, clinicians determined he needed to be airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital for specialized electrophysiology care. After eight days in the hospital, he underwent a successful lead extraction and received a replacement device.

抵達後，臨床人員判定他需要以空中轉送至拉斯維加斯的醫院，接受專門的心臟電生理照護。住院八天後，他成功完成導線拔除，並植入替換裝置。

This case demonstrates the differentiated value of our integrated care model. ASSURE provided continuous protection and clinical insight, while Heart Alert Services turned that insight into action, moving a patient from unseen risk to urgent specialized care, in this case, across state lines. This is the cardiac recovery system platform in action. Therapeutic protection, clinical insight, and responsive support working together when it matters most.

此案例展現了我們整合式照護模式的差異化價值。ASSURE 提供持續性的保護與臨床洞察，而 Heart Alert Services 則將這些洞察轉化為行動，讓患者從未被察覺的風險，迅速轉至急迫且專科的照護；在本案例中，甚至跨越州界。這正是心臟復原系統平台的實際運作。治療性保護、臨床洞察與即時回應支援在最關鍵的時刻協同運作。

I would now like to turn to our recent financial performance. In the first quarter, we continued to reach more patients at risk of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias while delivering another quarter of strong financial performance. Revenue advanced sequentially off a strong fourth quarter and grew 60% year over year to $31 million.

接下來我想談談我們近期的財務表現。第一季，我們在持續觸及更多面臨危險性心律不整風險的患者之際，也再次交出強勁的財務表現。營收在第四季強勁表現的基礎上按季成長，並年增 60% 至 3,100 萬美元。

Gross margin of 56.5% increased over 10 points year over year and 175 basis points sequentially. This was the 11th quarter in a row of sequential gross margin expansion, demonstrating the attractive unit economics and volume leverage of our business model. Based on the progress to date, we are increasingly confident that Kestra can achieve mid-70% gross margin in the next few years. This represents a meaningful increase from our previously communicated target of 70%.

毛利率為 56.5%，較去年同期提升超過 10 個百分點，並較前一季提升 175 個基點。這是連續第 11 季毛利率按季擴張，展現我們商業模式具吸引力的單位經濟效益與規模放大效應。基於目前的進展，我們對 Kestra 在未來幾年達到約 70% 中段（mid-70%）毛利率愈發有信心。這相較於我們先前對外溝通的 70% 目標，代表一項具意義的上調。

Importantly though, Kestra is not simply a gross margin story. With strong revenue growth and gross margin expansion, we are enhancing the operating leverage in our business. This leverage supports investments we are making in key growth drivers that we believe will yield significant earnings power and long-term value for Kestra and its stakeholders in the years ahead.

不過重要的是，Kestra 並不只是毛利率的故事。在強勁的營收成長與毛利率擴張之下，我們正在提升公司的營運槓桿。這些槓桿支撐我們在關鍵成長驅動因素上的投資；我們相信，這些投資將在未來幾年為 Kestra 及其利害關係人帶來可觀的獲利能力與長期價值。

We have been deliberately building towards this point. For example, we have invested in building the foundational technology stack needed to scale the business, including cloud platforms, enterprise data capabilities, workflow automation, and system integration layers. Those investments are now enabling the next phase of value creation through AI and automation.

我們一直有計畫地建構至今的階段。例如，我們投資打造可支撐業務擴張所需的基礎技術堆疊，包括雲端平台、企業級資料能力、工作流程自動化，以及系統整合層。這些投資如今正透過 AI 與自動化，推動下一階段的價值創造。

Our AI roadmap is highly disciplined and firmly grounded in measurable business outcomes. Every initiative is linked to a specific operating KPI and evaluated based on its ability to improve growth, efficiency, or enhance scalability. We are initially prioritizing three areas where we believe AI and automation can create significant value.

我們的 AI 路線圖高度嚴謹，並牢牢以可衡量的商業成果為依歸。每一項計畫都連結到特定的營運 KPI，並依其提升成長、效率或強化可擴展性的能力來評估。我們初期優先聚焦三個領域，在這些領域中我們相信 AI 與自動化可創造顯著價值。

First, patient support and adherence, where AI-powered patient support agents and automated outreach can help maintain patient engagement and wear compliance while increasing the productivity of the Kestra team supporting a rapidly growing patient base.

第一是患者支援與依從性（adherence）：AI 驅動的患者支援代理與自動化外聯可協助維持患者參與度與配戴依從性，同時提升 Kestra 團隊在支援快速成長患者基礎上的生產力。

Second, revenue access and collections, where automating intake, prior authorization, and reimbursement workflows can improve our fittings to claim conversion and collections while materially reducing administrative effort.

第二是營收取得與收款：自動化受理、事前授權與給付報銷工作流程，可提升我們從配戴（fittings）到理賠（claim）的轉換率與收款表現，同時大幅降低行政作業投入。

And third, commercial demand acceleration, where AI assists our sales representatives with call preparation, follow-up, account prioritization, and clinical documentation. The objective here is straightforward. Increase rep productivity as measured by patient fittings per rep without requiring a proportional increase in head count. Together, these initiatives demonstrate the leverage in the technology foundation we have built and how AI and automation can improve key operating metrics while bending the operating expense curve as transaction volumes continue to grow.

第三是商業需求加速：AI 協助我們的業務代表進行通話準備、後續跟進、客戶排序優先級，以及臨床文件紀錄。此處的目標很直接。在不需要按比例增加人力編制的情況下，以每位業務代表的患者配戴數（patient fittings per rep）衡量，提升業務代表生產力。綜合而言，這些計畫展現了我們所建立之技術基礎的槓桿效應，以及 AI 與自動化如何在交易量持續成長的同時，改善關鍵營運指標並使營運費用曲線趨於平緩。

Turning to our commercial organization, our territory managers are continuing to win share in competitive accounts while simultaneously expanding the WCD market as prescribers increasingly recognize the benefits of protecting more patients than they have historically. Our newest reps are ramping faster than prior cohorts while our legacy reps continue to generate strong growth in same-store sales.

談到我們的商業組織，我們的區域經理持續在競爭性客戶中贏得市占，同時也在擴大 WCD 市場；因為開立處方的醫師愈來愈認知到，保護更多患者相較於過往做法的益處。我們最新一批業務代表的上手速度比以往梯次更快，而資深業務代表則持續在同店銷售（same-store sales）上帶來強勁成長。

In some of our largest markets, we have been deliberate and strategic about splitting high-volume platinum territories to go deeper and reach more prescribers in existing accounts. We are finding that when we split a territory and add a clinical account specialist, more feet on the ground closer to the customer compounds growth. It is how we ultimately turn a foothold into a fully penetrated account and put both territories on a path to becoming high-volume platinum territories.

在我們一些最大的市場中，我們有意且策略性地將高量的白金級（platinum）區域拆分，以便更深入經營，並在既有客戶中觸及更多開立處方者。我們發現，當我們拆分一個區域並增設一名臨床客戶專員（clinical account specialist）時，更多貼近客戶的一線人力會帶來複利式成長。這正是我們最終如何把立足點轉化為全面滲透的客戶，並讓兩個區域都走上成為高量白金級區域的成長路徑。

This is a powerful model for growth and operating leverage. Higher territory manager productivity is a meaningful driver of operating leverage and also positions us to more effectively capitalize on the significant growth opportunity ahead of us, given how under-penetrated the WCD category remains. As we have previously noted, despite the overwhelming evidence that an external defibrillation shock is effective at terminating dangerous cardiac rhythms, WCD therapy remains underutilized.

這是一個強而有力的成長與營運槓桿模型。更高的區域經理生產力是推動營運槓桿的重要驅動因素，也使我們能更有效把握眼前龐大的成長機會，因為 WCD 類別的滲透率仍然偏低。如我們先前所指出，儘管有壓倒性的證據顯示體外去顫電擊能有效終止危險的心律，WCD 治療仍未被充分使用。

In 2025, 6 out of 7 patients that were indicated for a WCD were not protected by one. This statistic speaks to the enormous potential in front of us. The innovation and clinical evidence we have brought to the category is beginning to change this.

在 2025 年，7 位符合 WCD 適應症的病患中，有 6 位未受到 WCD 的保護。這項統計凸顯了我們面前巨大的潛力。我們為此類別帶來的創新與臨床證據正開始改變這一現況。

Based on our financials and those of the incumbent, the WCD market grew approximately 14% on a dollar basis in the 12 months ended July of 2026. We believe we are still in the early innings of market expansion, and we see this category growing into a multibillion-dollar market in the years ahead.

根據我們與既有業者的財務資料，在截至 2026 年 7 月的 12 個月內，WCD 市場以金額計約成長 14%。我們認為市場擴張仍處於早期階段，並預期未來幾年此類別將成長為數十億美元規模的市場。

Turning to market access, we continue to bring more payers in-network while also making progress on improving our RCM capabilities. At the time of our IPO 18 months ago, approximately 70% of our fittings were for patients with in-network benefits. This figure is now in the low 80s, and we expect this to increment higher in our FY27 as we sign new contracts in target markets. Higher in-network mix meaningfully increases our team's efficiency and positively impacts all RCM metrics, including revenue per patient.

談到市場准入，我們持續讓更多付款方納入網內，同時也在提升我們的 RCM（營收循環管理）能力方面取得進展。在 18 個月前我們 IPO 時，約 70% 的配戴（fittings）來自具網內給付福利的病患。目前該比例已提升至 80% 出頭，我們預期在 FY27 隨著於目標市場簽訂新合約，該比例將進一步上升。更高的網內組合能顯著提升團隊效率，並正向影響所有 RCM 指標，包括每位病患的收入。

About six months ago, we announced that Kestra Medical Technologies had been added to the federal supply schedule for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. As a reminder, the VA is the largest integrated healthcare network in the US and covers 9 million members, nearly 50% of whom are over the age of 65. Over the last six months, we have seen a steady increase in volumes at the VA and still have a significant multi-year opportunity to grow our share within these facilities.

約在六個月前，我們宣布 Kestra Medical Technologies 已被納入美國退伍軍人事務部（VA）的聯邦供應排程。提醒一下，VA 是美國最大的整合式醫療照護網路，涵蓋 900 萬名成員，其中近 50% 年齡超過 65 歲。過去六個月，我們看到 VA 的量能穩定增加，且在未來多年內仍有顯著機會在這些機構中提升我們的市占率。

It is important to note that there are over 3,000 payers in the US, so there is still a long tail of regional and local payers we are working to bring under contract. Of note, this month, a significant national payer has expanded their coverage to non-ischemic patients undergoing guidelines-directed medical therapy. This is the first time this large payer has covered both the ischemic and non-ischemic patients.

需要注意的是，美國有超過 3,000 家付款方，因此我們仍在努力將許多區域性與地方性付款方納入合約，形成長尾。值得一提的是，本月一家重要的全國性付款方已將其保障範圍擴大至接受依指引之藥物治療（guidelines-directed medical therapy）的非缺血性病患。這是該大型付款方首次同時涵蓋缺血性與非缺血性病患。

This is significant since over 60% of the typical WCD populations are non-ischemic. We believe this is a strong signal that the recent clinical evidence is having an impact on payer policies for WCDs. Innovation also continues to be a central area of focus and investment for Kestra. We are progressing as planned with our Biobeat Technologies partnership to integrate non-invasive blood pressure monitoring into the ASSURE platform.

這點意義重大，因為典型的 WCD 病患族群中，超過 60% 為非缺血性。我們認為這是強烈訊號，顯示近期臨床證據正在影響付款方對 WCD 的給付政策。創新也仍是 Kestra 的核心聚焦與投資領域。我們與 Biobeat Technologies 的合作正按計畫推進，將非侵入式血壓監測整合至 ASSURE 平台。

In addition, our team is completing an exciting late-stage R&D project intended to further extend our clinical advantage with the performance of the ASSURE System and also bring new first-in-category capabilities to the market. We expect to discuss this further in the next quarter.

此外，我們的團隊正完成一項令人振奮的後期研發專案，旨在進一步擴大 ASSURE 系統效能所帶來的臨床優勢，並為市場帶來同類首創的新功能。我們預期將在下一季進一步說明。

Over time, we believe innovation will help us accelerate market growth and win additional market share by further differentiating our product from the incumbent. More importantly, by providing additional clinical value and diagnostic insights to physicians, we believe it will result in them prescribing WCDs to more of their patients that heretofore have gone unprotected.

長期而言，我們相信創新將有助於加速市場成長，並透過進一步凸顯我們產品相較既有業者的差異化，贏得更多市占率。更重要的是，透過為醫師提供額外的臨床價值與診斷洞見，我們相信這將使醫師為更多過去未受保護的病患開立 WCD。

In conclusion, the fundamentals of Kestra's story have never been stronger. Our product differentiation is clear and compelling. The WCD market is expanding rapidly with tremendous room for further penetration. Kestra continues to deliver top-tier med tech revenue growth. Gross margin has expanded consistently and meaningful opportunity remains. We have a strong balance sheet and our execution continues to be crisp, and the foundation we have built positions Kestra for strong and durable growth for years to come.

總結而言，Kestra 的基本面從未如此強勁。我們的產品差異化清晰且具說服力。WCD 市場正快速擴張，且仍有巨大的進一步滲透空間。Kestra 持續交出頂尖的醫療科技營收成長。毛利率持續擴張，且仍有可觀的提升機會。我們擁有強健的資產負債表，執行力依然精準到位；我們所建立的基礎，將使 Kestra 在未來多年具備強勁且可持續的成長動能。

I'd like to thank our incredible team in the field and also here at the home office in Kirkland for their passion and commitment to the Kestra mission. I will now turn it over to Vaseem, who will discuss first quarter financial results in more detail and provide our updated fiscal year 2027 revenue guidance. Vaseem?

我要感謝我們在第一線以及位於 Kirkland 總部辦公室的優秀團隊，對 Kestra 使命所展現的熱情與承諾。接下來我將把時間交給 Vaseem，他將更詳細說明第一季財務結果，並提供我們更新後的 2027 會計年度營收指引。Vaseem？

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. We had a strong financial performance across the board in the first quarter. Total revenue was $31 million, an increase of 60% compared to the prior year period. Revenue growth was driven by continued WCD market expansion, competitive share gains, a higher mix of in-network patients, and ongoing improvements in our revenue cycle management capabilities.

謝謝你，Brian，各位下午好。我們第一季在各方面都繳出強勁的財務表現。總營收為 3,100 萬美元，較去年同期成長 60%。營收成長主要由 WCD 市場持續擴張、競爭性市占提升、更高的網內病患組合，以及我們營收循環管理能力的持續改善所帶動。

We continue to see improvements in all three key drivers of our revenue model, our prescription fill rate, our bill rate, and our collections performance. As we continue to bring more payers in-network, we expect to see benefits in revenue growth, gross margin, and our profitability profile. As Brian noted in his prepared remarks, we are investing in rev cycle AI tools and other automation projects that we believe will drive significant operating leverage as we scale the business.

我們持續看到營收模型三項關鍵驅動因素皆有改善：處方填補率（prescription fill rate）、開帳率（bill rate）以及收款表現（collections performance）。隨著我們持續讓更多付款方納入網內，我們預期將在營收成長、毛利率與獲利輪廓方面看到效益。如 Brian 在事先準備的談話中所提到，我們正投資於營收循環 AI 工具及其他自動化專案，我們相信這些將在業務規模擴大時帶來顯著的營運槓桿。

Turning to gross margin. Our gross margin increased to 56.5% in the first quarter versus 45.7% in the prior year period. This continued expansion in our gross margin was driven by attractive unit economics inherent in Kestra's business model, an increase in revenue per FIT from more in-network patients, and a decline in cost per FIT, driven by volume leverage and execution of Cost Improvement Projects.

接著談毛利率。第一季毛利率提升至 56.5%，相較去年同期的 45.7%。毛利率持續擴張主要來自 Kestra 商業模式內在的優異單位經濟、因更多網內病患而帶動每 FIT 的收入提升，以及每 FIT 成本下降（受惠於量能槓桿與成本改善專案的執行）。

In the quarters ahead, we expect to see steady and consistent increases in our gross margin as our rental model benefits from higher FITs. We are confident in our ability to achieve a mid 70% margin in the next few years, which is higher than our prior outlook of 70% gross margins.

在接下來的幾季，我們預期毛利率將隨著租賃模式受惠於更高的 FIT 數而穩定且持續提升。我們對於在未來幾年達成 70% 中段的毛利率充滿信心，這也高於我們先前對 70% 毛利率的展望。

GAAP operating expenses were $55.2 million in the first quarter, compared to $37.7 million in the prior year period. Included in GAAP operating expense are $1.4 million of non-recurring items related to a Biobeat milestone payment and one-time professional fees related to a key R&D project that Brian noted we will be discussing in detail in the next quarter.

第一季 GAAP 營業費用為 5,520 萬美元，去年同期為 3,770 萬美元。GAAP 營業費用中包含 140 萬美元的一次性項目，與 Biobeat 里程碑付款以及與一項關鍵研發專案相關的一次性專業服務費用有關；Brian 提到我們將在下一季詳細討論該研發專案。

Excluding non-recurring costs and stock-based compensation, operating expenses were $44.2 million in the first quarter, compared to $30.3 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily attributable to growth in expenses related to the company's commercial expansion and accelerated investment in our late-stage R&D programs. The GAAP net loss was $44.1 million in the first quarter, compared to a GAAP net loss of $25.8 million in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $24 million in the first quarter, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $19.4 million in the prior year period.

排除一次性成本與股權基礎薪酬後，第一季營業費用為 4,420 萬美元，去年同期為 3,030 萬美元。增加主要歸因於公司商業擴張相關費用成長，以及對後期研發計畫的加速投資。第一季 GAAP 淨損為 4,410 萬美元，去年同期 GAAP 淨損為 2,580 萬美元。第一季調整後 EBITDA 虧損為 2,400 萬美元，去年同期調整後 EBITDA 虧損為 1,940 萬美元。

Our cash used from operating activities in the first quarter was $32.3 million. As expected, our Q1 cash burn was higher on a sequential basis, driven by payout of our company-wide bonus and timing of payments to suppliers. We expect our burn to decline sequentially throughout fiscal year 2027, as it did in fiscal year 2026.

第一季營運活動使用現金為 3,230 萬美元。如預期，第一季的現金消耗較前一季增加，主要受公司全員獎金發放以及對供應商付款時點影響。我們預期在 2027 會計年度期間，現金消耗將如同 2026 會計年度一樣逐季下降。

In July, we announced a new $200 million term loan facility. This non-dilutive financing was a great outcome from Kestra. It fortifies our balance sheet, reduces our cost of capital, and provides significant financial flexibility to invest in our commercial strategies and expand our fleet to drive durable best-in-class growth for years to come. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling $245 million as of July 31. Including unused committed availability under our term loan agreement, Kestra has the liquidity of approximately $320 million.

7月，我們宣布一項新的2億美元定期貸款融資額度。這項不稀釋股權的融資是Kestra取得的一項重大成果。它強化了我們的資產負債表、降低了資金成本，並提供顯著的財務彈性，使我們得以投資商業策略並擴充機隊，推動未來多年持續且同業最佳的成長。截至7月31日，現金、約當現金及投資合計為2.45億美元。包含我們定期貸款協議下尚未動用的已承諾可用額度在內，Kestra的流動性約為3.2億美元。

In summary, we continue to deliver top-tier med tech revenue growth while significantly expanding our gross margins and fortifying our balance sheet. Our investments in the field team, RCM capabilities, and R&D initiatives position Kestra to capitalize on the large and growing WCD market opportunity and drive durable revenue growth for years to come. And while we are continuing to invest in our growth strategy in fiscal year 2027, you will see Kestra drive increasing levels of operating leverage each year going forward. For these reasons, we have high visibility and confidence in our path to profitability over the next few years.

總結來說，我們持續交出頂尖的醫療科技營收成長，同時大幅擴張毛利率並強化資產負債表。我們在前線團隊、RCM能力與研發計畫上的投資，使Kestra得以把握龐大且持續成長的WCD市場機會，並在未來多年推動持續的營收成長。此外，雖然我們在2027會計年度仍將持續投資成長策略，但您將看到Kestra自此之後每年帶來更高程度的營運槓桿。基於這些原因，我們對未來幾年邁向獲利的路徑具有高度能見度與信心。

I will now provide updated fiscal year 2027 revenue guidance. We expect revenue of $141 million, representing growth of 48% compared to fiscal year 2026. This compares to prior fiscal year 2027 revenue guidance of $137 million. We expect FITs growth to be driven by deeper penetration within existing accounts and the activation of new accounts as we invest in the regional coverage. We expect growth in revenue per FIT to be driven by a higher mix of in-network patients and continued investments in our RCM capabilities.

我現在將提供更新後的2027會計年度營收指引。我們預期營收為1.41億美元，較2026會計年度成長48%。相較之下，先前2027會計年度的營收指引為1.37億美元。我們預期FIT數量的成長將來自於既有客戶更深度的滲透，以及在我們投資區域覆蓋的同時啟用新客戶。我們預期每FIT營收的成長將由更高比例的網內（in-network）病患組合，以及持續投資我們的RCM能力所帶動。

With that, operator, we have concluded our prepared remarks and are ready to proceed to the Q&A portion of the call. Operator?

接下來，接線員，我們已結束事先準備的發言，準備進入本次電話會議的問答環節。接線員？

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Larry Biegelsen, Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo的Larry Biegelsen。

All right. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking the question. Congrats on the nice start to the year here. Brian or Vaseem, I wanted to ask about the guidance and the cadence. So you beat by about $2 million, raised by about $4 million.

好的。下午好。謝謝讓我提問。恭喜今年開局表現不錯。Brian或Vaseem，我想問一下關於指引與節奏。所以你們本季超出預期約200萬美元，並將指引上調約400萬美元。

My question is, what gave you the confidence to raise by more than the beat this quarter, and how should we think about the cadence the rest of the year? I think you said on the last call you expect an acceleration in the second half due to some of the reps you hired last year. I have one follow-up.

我的問題是：是什麼讓你們有信心把上調幅度提高到超過本季超預期的幅度？我們應該如何看待今年剩餘期間的節奏？我記得你們在上次電話會議提到，由於去年招募的一些業務代表，你們預期下半年會加速。我還有一個追問。

Yeah. Hey, Nathan (sic - Larry). Thanks for the question. Our fiscal year 2027 guidance of $141 million implies a 48% growth, which is among the highest in small cap med tech. Our revenue growth has historically been driven by prescription volume growth, in-network mix, and RCM improvements, and the growth of our field team. These KPIs are all tracking the right direction and give us a lot of confidence in increasing our guidance to 48% growth in fiscal year 2027.

是的。嗨，Nathan(原文誤稱—Larry)。謝謝你的提問。我們2027會計年度1.41億美元的指引意味著48%的成長，這在小型股醫療科技公司中屬於最高水準之一。我們的營收成長歷來由處方量成長、網內組合、RCM改善，以及前線團隊擴張所驅動。這些KPI目前都朝正確方向發展，讓我們對將2027會計年度指引上調至48%成長充滿信心。

Higher prescriptions will be driven by winning new accounts, going deeper in existing accounts, and market expansion. We expect revenue per FIT to benefit from higher in-network mix as we continue to make progress on payer coverage. As we said last year, same time, we do expect those reps to ramp up here in the second half of the year.

更高的處方量將由贏得新客戶、在既有客戶中更深度滲透，以及市場擴張所帶動。隨著我們在保險支付方覆蓋方面持續取得進展，我們預期每FIT營收將受惠於更高的網內組合。如同我們去年同一時間所說，我們確實預期這些業務代表會在今年下半年逐步上量（ramp up）。

We expect the second half to be faster than the first half.

我們預期下半年會比上半年更快。

That's helpful. And just for my follow-up, Brian, on the pipeline, I guess update on Biobeat and any milestones. I guess I've got to try to ask about this new pipeline product. Just any color on kind of where your focus, is it the patient experience, the algorithm, new features, and how far away from market is this? Anything you could share. Thanks.

這很有幫助。另外作為追問，Brian，關於產品管線，想請你更新一下Biobeat以及任何里程碑。我想我得試著問一下這個新的管線產品。能否分享一些你們目前的重點方向：是病患體驗、演算法、新功能，還是其他？以及距離上市還有多遠？任何你能分享的資訊都可以。謝謝。

Yeah, I appreciate the question. We will -- we do expect to be able to talk about it in more depth over the next quarter. We're not quite ready to do that yet.

好的，謝謝你的提問。我們——我們預期在接下來一季能更深入地談這件事。但目前我們還沒有準備好。

But I will say that what we expect to do with the new technology is leverage the platform that we've developed and extend that platform, give it additional capability, as I mentioned in my comments, capability that doesn't exist in a WCD today. So we're excited about that. That's part of why we're investing into that and excited to discuss that with you all over the next few months.

不過我可以說，我們對這項新技術的期待，是利用我們已開發的平台並延伸該平台，賦予它額外的能力；如同我在發言中提到的，那是目前WCD上不存在的能力。因此我們對此感到非常興奮。這也是我們投入資源的原因之一，並期待在未來幾個月與各位進一步討論。

Matthew O'Brien, Piper Sandler.

Piper Sandler的Matthew O'Brien。

Great. Thanks so much. Would love to talk about that gross margin update, the mid-70s. I guess, Vaseem, what is it that you're seeing or that you are expecting now that gives you the confidence to raise it? Something maybe around 400 to 500 basis points from what we were expecting before. Is the timeframe the same versus the 70% you're expecting to get to, or is it just a little further out? Then I have a follow-up.

很好。非常感謝。我想談談毛利率更新到70%中段（mid-70s）這件事。我想問，Vaseem，你現在看到或預期到什麼，讓你有信心上調？可能比我們先前預期高出約400到500個基點？達到你們所說的70%水準的時間框架是否相同，還是會稍微往後？然後我還有一個追問。

Yeah. Just on gross margins, Matt, thanks for the question. We have now expanded gross margins 11 quarters in a row, with margin increasing over 10 points year over year in this quarter. We continue to benefit from higher revenue per FIT, based on improvements on our in-network mix and also all of the CIP programs are delivering results.

好的。關於毛利率，Matt，謝謝你的提問。我們已連續11個季度擴張毛利率，本季毛利率年增超過10個百分點。我們持續受惠於每FIT營收提升（來自網內組合改善），同時所有CIP計畫也都在交付成果。

As we have said previously, we should see steady and consistent sequential increases in gross margin going forward. We have good line of sight to achieving gross margins of the mid-70% that we talked about over the next few years, driven by the attractive unit economics inherent in the business model that we have talked about in the past.

如同我們先前所說，未來我們應會看到毛利率穩定且持續的逐季提升。我們對在未來幾年達到我們所談到的70%中段毛利率具有良好能見度，這將由我們過去提及之商業模式內含的吸引人單位經濟效益所驅動。

But this is up from our prior view of 70%, and the confidence really comes from three things. One is the reduction in cost per FIT driven by the progress of the programs, the volume-based reductions that we're seeing from our suppliers, improvements in revenue per FIT, mostly driven by this in-network mix continuing to move higher. We feel really confident that the unit economics plus the volume growth that we expect over the years will help us get to that mid-70% gross margin.

但這相較於我們先前對70%的看法有所上調，而信心主要來自三點。第一，是隨著各項計畫推進而帶動的每FIT成本下降；第二，是我們從供應商看到的以量為基礎的降價；第三，是每FIT營收的改善，主要由網內組合持續上升所驅動。我們非常有信心，單位經濟效益加上我們預期未來幾年的量成長，將幫助我們達到70%中段的毛利率。

Okay. Appreciate that. And then I guess to follow up on Larry's question on the guide, if I look at the cadence here, expecting more in the back half of the year in terms of the acceleration, would lead you to some pretty big numbers in Q3 and Q4, especially Q4 sequentially versus what you did in fiscal '26.

了解。謝謝說明。接著延續Larry關於指引的問題，如果我看今年的節奏，預期下半年在加速方面會更強，這會使你們在Q3與Q4的數字相當大，尤其是Q4相較於你們在2026會計年度的表現，按季增幅會很可觀。

So what are you seeing from a rep productivity perspective, splitting these territories and seeing improved productivity from those regions, et cetera, that gives you the confidence that you're going to be able to get to these levels throughout the course of the year? Thanks so much.

所以，從業務代表生產力的角度來看，你們看到什麼——例如拆分這些區域並看到那些地區的生產力提升等等——讓你們有信心在全年過程中能達到這些水準？非常感謝。

Yeah. Thanks, Matt. Just first of all, I appreciate you pointing out that that is a big quarter, that last one of the year. We agree. But I think what we are seeing, we gave a couple of hints in the prepared commentary. What we are seeing is we are having success as we split some of the larger territories, and we double down into those territories. So we are seeing the rep productivity opportunity be significant as we further penetrate some of these accounts.

是的。謝謝你，Matt。首先，我很感謝你指出那是一個很大的季度，也就是年度最後一個季度。我們同意。但我想我們看到的是，我們在事先準備的說明中也給了幾個提示。我們看到的是，當我們把一些較大的區域拆分，並在那些區域加倍投入時，我們取得了成功。因此，隨著我們進一步滲透這些客戶，我們看到業務代表生產力的機會相當顯著。

And then the national leverage that we will get from the cohort of reps that we hired late in FY26 and here in the early stages of FY27, we will start to see productivity in the back half of the year. So it is a combination of those things that really gives us the confidence. Plus a lot of the benefit we will see from some of our ongoing marketing programs that support the commercial team. We expect the combination of all those things to lead to that kind of growth.

接著，來自我們在FY26後期以及FY27初期所招募那一批業務代表所帶來的全國性槓桿效益，我們將在下半年開始看到生產力的展現。所以這是上述因素的綜合，真正讓我們有信心。再加上我們一些持續進行、用以支援商業團隊的行銷計畫所帶來的許多效益。我們預期這些因素的組合將帶來那樣的成長。

Mike Polark, Wolfe Research.

Mike Polark，Wolfe Research。

Hey, good afternoon. Thank you. I know the disclosure is changing, but I'm going to take a crack at it anyways.

嗨，午安。謝謝。我知道揭露方式正在改變，但我還是想試著問一下。

In the quarter, you beat the street by 7% on revenue. I'm wondering if you'd help us frame the portion of that beat from volume versus the portion of that beat from revenue per FIT relative to what you think the consensus model was. I'm just working to keep the model build as high quality as it can be as we enter this new era. Thank you.

在本季度，你們的營收比市場預期高出7%。我想請你們協助我們釐清：這個超預期中，有多少是來自量（volume），又有多少是來自每FIT的營收（revenue per FIT），相較於你們認為共識模型原本的假設。我只是希望在進入這個新時代時，模型建置能盡可能維持高品質。謝謝。

Yeah. So great question. We obviously are not commenting on the different elements of our previously communicated conversion rate, Mike, but we can tell you that we saw continued improvement in all of the KPIs that drive the revenue model, which is the fill rate, the bill rate, and obviously the in-period collections. We feel really good about where we are. As we have said, the best way to think about the growth relative to prescription is to look at the historicals.

是的。這是個很好的問題。Mike，我們顯然不會就先前已溝通的轉換率（conversion rate）的不同構成要素發表評論，但我們可以告訴你，我們看到所有推動營收模型的KPI都持續改善，包括配發率（fill rate）、計費率（bill rate），以及當期回款（in-period collections）。我們對目前的狀況感到非常滿意。如同我們所說，思考相對於處方量（prescription）的成長，最好的方式是看歷史數據。

In the past, the prescription performance has lagged the revenue number by a couple of points. And that relationship will hold for this year as it has in the past. And we feel really confident about looking at the data that way. We will be providing you those details at the end of the year as we have promised. So overall, like I said, the KPIs are tracking all in the right direction and we really feel great about the rest of the year as we head into the second quarter.

過去，處方表現通常會比營收數字落後幾個百分點。而這種關係在今年也會如同過去一樣成立。我們對以這種方式解讀數據非常有信心。我們也會如同承諾，在年底提供你們那些細節。所以整體而言，如我所說，這些KPI都朝正確方向推進，隨著我們進入第二季，我們對今年剩餘時間感到非常樂觀。

Awesome, Vaseem. Thank you. For the follow-up, Brian, I'm curious for more color on one of your mentions. You mentioned a large commercial payer is now covering the non-ischemic population, and that's the first time that has happened. Clinical evidence cited as the reason. I think we can understand that.

太好了，Vaseem。謝謝。追問一下，Brian，我想就你提到的一點再多了解一些。你提到有一家大型商業保險支付方（commercial payer）現在開始涵蓋非缺血性（non-ischemic）族群，這是第一次發生。你們提到原因是臨床證據。我想這點我們可以理解。

My question is, how many commercial payers don't cover the non-ischemic population. Is this the last mover or is this a first mover or one in the middle? I would be curious where we are on that cycle.

我的問題是：有多少商業支付方尚未涵蓋非缺血性族群？這是最後一個跟進者，還是第一個採取行動者，或是介於中間？我想知道我們在這個循環中的位置。

Yeah. That's a good question, Mike. Among the large payers, I would say this was the outlier. Most of the large payers already cover that patient population. This one had been one that had sort of held out on that for a long time and just recently came back with a new coverage decision.

是的。這是個好問題，Mike。在大型支付方之中，我會說這家是異數。大多數大型支付方已經涵蓋那個病患族群。這一家過去在這件事上算是拖了很久，最近才以新的給付涵蓋決策回來。

So there are other regional and smaller payers that have took similar positions to that large payer. We are optimistic that we will also see some movement with some of them. But it is a good signal, it is a good indicator that some of the evidence around the actual risk for some of these patients is starting to make a difference as we have been able to communicate it better. I think that you are seeing that in the 14% market growth, and you are seeing that in payer coverage decisions like this.

因此，還有其他區域型與較小型的支付方，曾採取與那家大型支付方類似的立場。我們樂觀認為，也會看到其中一些出現變化。但這是一個很好的訊號、很好的指標，顯示我們能更好地傳達後，關於這些病患實際風險的一些證據開始產生影響。我想你們在14%的市場成長中看到了這點，也在像這樣的支付方給付涵蓋決策中看到了這點。

Marie Thibault, BTIG.

Marie Thibault，BTIG。

Hi. Yes, thank you. Good evening. Thanks for taking the questions. I wanted to understand a little bit more about the accelerated investment that you called out in some of these key R&D programs. Should we expect R&D spend to be a little bit higher than we had previously been thinking about for the rest of the year? How would you have us think about the cadence of some of those investments?

嗨。是的，謝謝。晚安。謝謝讓我提問。我想更了解你們提到在一些關鍵研發（R&D）計畫上加速投資的部分。我們是否應該預期今年剩餘時間的研發支出會比我們先前想的略高一些？你們希望我們如何看待這些投資的節奏？

And then as part of that, you mentioned with the AI efforts, you are going to hopefully curve the operating expense costs over time. Wondering if you have a timeline on those impacts. I know it is probably fairly early, but any details on the timelines around that?

另外，作為其中一部分，你提到在AI相關工作上，希望能隨時間推移讓營運費用（operating expense）成本曲線趨緩。想請問你們對這些影響是否有時間表？我知道可能還很早，但若能提供任何關於時間點的細節也很有幫助。

Yeah. Thanks, Marie. This is Brian. I'll take the R&D question, and Basim, you can grab the AI question. On the R&D question, we do believe that those expenses were one-time in nature, and we believe that the R&D expense line will go back down.

是的。謝謝你，Marie。我是Brian。我來回答研發的問題，Basim你可以回答AI的問題。關於研發，我們確實認為那些費用屬於一次性（one-time）性質，我們也相信研發費用這一項會回落。

In my experience, when you have a multi-year R&D program that is coming close to the end of its schedule, and you have an opportunity to apply financial resources to accelerate and protect that schedule, then that is a bet I will make every day of the week. That is what we did.

以我的經驗，當你有一個多年期的研發計畫接近排程尾聲，而你有機會投入財務資源來加速並確保該排程，那麼這是一個我每天都會下注的選擇。這就是我們所做的。

We feel good about that investment. We think that's going to net the results that we are looking for. But we do see that the R&D line when it comes to the spend will come back down in the forward quarters.

我們對這項投資感到滿意。我們認為這將帶來我們想要的成果。但就支出而言，我們確實看到研發這一項在未來幾個季度會回落。

And I think, Brian, just to add to that, Marie, just overall commentary on OpEx. You did see the OpEx came in slightly higher at $55 million than our previously communicated number. And that was really driven by the Biobeat milestone payment.

我想，Brian，補充一下，Marie，關於營運費用（OpEx）的整體說明。你確實看到OpEx略高於我們先前溝通的數字，達到5,500萬美元。這主要是由Biobeat的里程碑付款（milestone payment）所驅動。

I think more importantly, you will see in our overall R&D spend was up about 70%, which is significantly higher than what it has been historically. And that's really to ramp up or almost finalize the investment in the R&D program. And then that's why we are ready to talk about some of the details here in the next 90 days.

我想更重要的是，你會看到我們整體研發支出約增加了70%，這顯著高於歷史水準。這主要是為了加速推進，或幾乎是完成對該研發計畫的投資。也因此，我們準備在接下來90天內談一些細節。

We expect the GAAP OpEx, for the year to be at $220 million in 2027, which reflects continued investment on the commercial side. And then I think to Brian's point, the R&D spend returning back to historical levels, which is somewhere in the 5% to 7% range in the second half of the year. But that $220 would still mean an OpEx growth of 20% in fiscal year '27 versus a guidance of 48%.

我們預期2027年全年的GAAP營運費用（OpEx）為2.2億美元，反映商業端持續投資。另外我想呼應Brian的觀點，研發支出在下半年將回到歷史水準，大約在5%到7%的區間。但即便是2.2億美元，仍意味著FY'27的OpEx成長為20%，相較之下，我們的指引（guidance）是48%。

We will continue to drive significant operating leverage on OpEx overall. I think a lot of that operating leverage in outer years, not this year, is predicated on some of these AI programs. We are making investments this year that will help us bend the cost curve for revenue cycle management and improving referability and things like that that Brian talked about in the prepared remarks.

我們將持續在整體OpEx上推動顯著的營運槓桿。我想其中很多營運槓桿是在更外圍的年度（outer years），不是今年，且取決於這些AI計畫。我們今年正在進行的投資，將幫助我們讓營收循環管理（revenue cycle management）的成本曲線趨緩，並提升可轉介性（referability）等事項，也就是Brian在事先準備的發言中提到的內容。

All right. That's very helpful. Thank you. And then this is my follow-up, just a curiosity really. I recall last quarter you flagged that a meaningful portion of your prescription volumes had not yet converted to revenue and would show up in this fiscal quarter. Are you able to quantify at all how many millions came in as a result of the strong volume last quarter? Thanks for taking the question.

好的。這非常有幫助。謝謝。接著這是我的追問，其實只是出於好奇。我記得上季你們提到，有相當一部分處方量尚未轉換為營收，會在本財季反映出來。你們能否量化一下，上季強勁的處方量帶來了多少（以百萬美元計）的收入進帳？謝謝讓我提問。

I don't think we have historically. We're not providing that detail, like I said to Mike's question. I think historically, the relationship between the revenue growth and prescription has been that prescriptions has lagged it by a couple of points, and I think that will continue for this year.

我想我們過去並沒有（提供過）。我們不會提供那樣的細節，就像我對 Mike 的問題所說的。我認為歷史上，營收成長與處方量之間的關係是：處方量通常會落後營收成長幾個百分點，我想今年也會延續這種情況。

Rick Wise, Stifel.

Rick Wise，Stifel。

Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everybody. Maybe Basim, you could help us think through thoughtfully the quarterly cadences we perceive through the year. You've been very clear about the second half being higher, larger, bigger than the first half.

非常感謝。各位下午好。Basim，也許你可以幫我們更周全地思考一下，我們在全年看到的各季度節奏。你一直很清楚地表示，下半年會高於、也更大於上半年。

But that was the pattern last year as well, of course. But last year as well, the dollars each quarter had a nice step-up. Walking through to make that stronger half as well.

當然，去年也是這樣的模式。但去年每一季的金額也都有不錯的逐季上升。一路走到下半年更強的那一段。

Back to Marie's excellent question, was there anything unusually strong or one-time in nature in the first quarter that might make us think anything other than we'll see, whatever it is, a solid $1 million or $2 million sequential step-up quarterly into the second quarter, and then sort of more of the same as you get into the second half, and that, as you note, the rep productivity accelerates, et cetera?

回到 Marie 那個很棒的問題，第一季是否有任何異常強勁或一次性的因素，會讓我們認為情況不會是：第二季相較第一季逐季增加約 100 萬或 200 萬美元，然後進入下半年後大致延續同樣的趨勢；並且如你所說，業務代表生產力加速等等？

Rick, yeah. Again, Rick, great question. Great try. I think I'm going to say it one more time, slightly differently. I think if you think about last year, this is Q1, we were just coming off of the IPO. And if you remember, at that time, we had just started to ramp up the hiring of the sales team. That was the contract last year, which was that we know there's a ramp, we know what that ramp looks like.

Rick，是的。再說一次，Rick，這是個好問題。很好的嘗試。我想我會再說一次，只是換個說法。如果你回想去年，當時是第一季，我們剛完成 IPO。而且如果你記得，那時我們才剛開始加速招募銷售團隊。去年當時的前提就是：我們知道會有爬坡期，也知道那個爬坡長什麼樣子。

And as we have said in the past and we'll say today, our rep productivity continues to ramp to that model that we have discussed with you guys in the past. So yes, the 60% revenue growth in Q1 is a favorable comp off of that, the 19 and change number from Q1 last year.

正如我們過去所說、今天也會再說一次，我們的業務代表生產力持續朝著先前與各位討論過的模型爬坡。所以是的，第一季 60% 的營收成長，是建立在相對有利的比較基期之上，也就是去年第一季 19% 多的那個數字。

But then at the same time, when you look at the guidance that we are providing here for the remainder of the year, the first half versus the second half is consistent with last year. So there's no difference. And that's also predicated, again, this year, based on the significant hiring that we did in the last six months, and those reps ramp up and put points on the board. So there's nothing different this year than last year.

但同時，當你看我們對今年剩餘期間所提供的指引，上半年相對下半年的分布與去年一致。所以沒有差異。而這同樣也是基於——再說一次——我們在過去六個月進行了大量招募，這些業務代表逐步爬坡並開始交出成績。所以今年和去年沒有什麼不同。

Okay. Thank you. As you can tell, we're all obsessed. Just as a follow-up question, I want -- I'm not quite sure how to ask the question, but I wanted to follow up, Brian, in your extended commentary, and not the same as every quarter commentary on AI and automation initiatives bending, I think you said the operating margin growth curve. You broke up a little bit. I couldn't quite get your exact language.

好的。謝謝。如你所見，我們都很著迷。再追問一個問題，我想——我不太確定該怎麼問，但我想延伸追問一下，Brian，你在較長的補充說明中提到，而不是每季都會提到的那種關於 AI 與自動化計畫會讓——我記得你說的是——營業利益率成長曲線彎折（改善）。你剛剛有點斷訊。我沒有完全聽清楚你的原話。

But given that focus and your intensity about this and all the points you made, the different points, is there one or two of these in particular that are going to be meaningful? And when do we see the impact? Is this happening right now? Are we going to see it more in fiscal '28? Just help us better understand the implications of all this work you are doing. Thank you.

但考量你們對此的聚焦與投入強度，以及你提到的各個不同面向，是否有其中一兩項會特別重要、特別有意義？我們何時會看到影響？這是現在就正在發生嗎？還是我們會在 2028 財年看到更多？請幫我們更好地理解你們正在做的這些工作的意涵。謝謝。

Yeah. Thank you, Rick. Appreciate that question. I would say a couple things. First of all, when we look at the cost per dollar of revenue that comes from the volume-based G&A functions, that's where we see that curve starting to occur on the expense side. We've started to see that gradually here in FY27. We expect that to accelerate in FY28 and '29 as we implement more of the technologies.

是的。謝謝你，Rick。感謝這個問題。我會說幾點。首先，當我們看來自以量為基礎的 G&A（一般與行政）職能之「每一美元營收對應的成本」時，我們就在費用端看到那條曲線開始出現。我們在 2027 財年已經開始逐步看到這個趨勢。隨著我們導入更多技術，我們預期在 2028 與 2029 財年會加速。

We think there's a really nice opportunity in this business when you've got this many transactions and this volume impact of additional market share, then if you don't implement the automation, then you are committing yourself to human volume-based G&A investment. And so what we're trying to do is get ahead of that with the investments in the technology stack that I talked about and the AI and automation. And we're starting to see a little bit of that benefit now. And we'll see that curve accelerate as we move into next year and the year beyond.

我們認為，當你有這麼多交易、而且額外市占帶來這樣的量能影響時，這個業務存在一個非常好的機會：如果你不導入自動化，你等於是把自己綁定在以人力支撐、以量為基礎的 G&A 投資上。因此我們要做的是，透過我提到的技術堆疊投資，以及 AI 與自動化，提前布局、走在前面。我們現在已經開始看到一些效益。而隨著我們進入明年以及再下一年，我們會看到那條曲線加速。

Travis Steed, BofA.

Travis Steed，BofA。

Hi, this is Stephanie Elghazi on for Travis. Thanks for taking the question and congrats on a good quarter. With the guide update, I was curious if there's any updates to how you're thinking about market expansion and market share.

嗨，我是代 Travis 提問的 Stephanie Elghazi。謝謝讓我提問，也恭喜你們本季表現不錯。隨著指引更新，我想了解你們對市場擴張與市占的看法是否有任何更新。

You noted market growth of around 14% this past quarter. Any expectations for where that can go this year? Anf then on market share, you had expected incremental share gains this year versus the 4 points you gained last year. Any updates in terms of market share as well?

你們提到本季市場成長約 14%。對今年市場成長可能走到哪裡，有沒有任何預期？另外在市占方面，你們原本預期今年的增量市占提升會高於去年增加的 4 個百分點。市占方面是否也有任何更新？

Yeah. Thanks for the question, Stephanie. I think in terms of market growth, the market is definitely accelerating, and you've seen that market growth has essentially doubled since the IPO. We don't have any reason to believe that it's going to decelerate at this point, especially when we see that our competitor is spending a significant amount of energy on pushing the market growth in the category. And obviously, we are doing that as well.

是的。謝謝你的問題，Stephanie。我認為就市場成長而言，市場確實正在加速，而且你也看到自 IPO 以來，市場成長基本上已經翻倍。目前我們沒有理由相信它會在此時放緩，特別是我們看到競爭對手正投入大量精力推動該品類的市場成長。而且很明顯，我們也在做同樣的事。

So we expect that to continue to grow. How fast that grows or not is difficult to call at this point.

因此我們預期市場會持續成長。至於成長速度會有多快或是否會變慢，現階段很難判斷。

We think in this most recent quarter, we're somewhere around 15% market share in the US market. And certainly, when we're growing at 60% and our competitor is growing at a fraction of that, then that means that we're going to continue to capture share.

我們認為在最近這一季，我們在美國市場的市占大約在 15% 左右。而且當我們成長 60%、競爭對手的成長只有其中一小部分時，就代表我們會持續取得市占。

And I think, in our long range planning, we have fairly modest assumptions around market share and where that goes, and we're ahead of schedule when it comes to that, and we expect to continue to see really nice gains as we field a larger team and we field some of this additional capability and innovation that we talked about.

我想在我們的長期規劃中，對市占及其走向的假設其實相當保守；而在這方面我們的進度已經超前，我們也預期，隨著我們配置更大的團隊、並推出我們提到的額外能力與創新，我們會持續看到非常不錯的成長。

Thank you. That's helpful. You talked about new reps ramping faster than prior cohorts. Just curious what you're seeing now versus before. And is there a way to frame how much revenue growth is driven by account expansion versus deeper penetration into existing accounts?

謝謝。這很有幫助。你提到新進業務代表的爬坡速度比先前的梯隊更快。想請教你們現在看到的情況與以前相比有何不同？另外，有沒有方式可以說明營收成長中，有多少是由客戶帳戶擴張所驅動、又有多少是對既有客戶帳戶的更深度滲透所帶來的？

Well, the new cohorts ramping more rapidly, I think has to do with some of the investments we've made in both our recruiting capabilities and our training capabilities. We really made a big investment in how rigorous our training is for our new territory managers as they come into the company. And we're seeing the benefits of that.

嗯，新一批團隊能更快速地爬坡，我認為這與我們在招募能力與培訓能力上的一些投資有關。我們在新任區域經理加入公司時的培訓嚴謹度方面，確實做了很大的投資。而我們也正在看到這些投資帶來的效益。

I think we've got a mix between going deeper in some of the accounts and splitting some of the territories, as I mentioned. But we're also expanding into new territories where we haven't had a presence at all. And some of the exciting growth that we're seeing is definitely coming from those expansion territories.

我認為我們同時在一些客戶上做更深的滲透，並如我提到的，也在拆分部分銷售區域。但我們也正在擴展到一些我們過去完全沒有佈局的新區域。而我們看到的一些令人振奮的成長，確實是來自那些擴張區域。

So it'll be a mix. I don't know the exact ratio right now, but I think we'll continue to see a mix between going deeper in certain territories versus expanding into brand-new territories.

所以會是混合的。我現在不知道確切比例，但我認為我們會持續看到在某些區域做更深滲透與擴展到全新區域之間的組合。

Robbie Marcus, J.P. Morgan.

Robbie Marcus，摩根大通。

Hi, thanks for the question. This is Alan on for Robbie. Just one quick one. You previously talked to gross margin expansion of around 700 basis points. Sounded very bullish on gross margin progression and outperforming expectations so far in the first quarter. Just curious if you have an update on that, similar to how you updated operating expense expectations. Thank you.

嗨，謝謝讓我提問。我是代替 Robbie 的 Alan。我只有一個很快的問題。你們先前談到毛利率擴張約 700 個基點。聽起來你們對第一季迄今毛利率的走勢以及超出預期相當樂觀。想請問是否有最新進展，類似你們更新營運費用預期那樣。謝謝。

Yeah. Yes, we did comment on the 70% now kind of heading north to kind of the mid-70s. We do expect that based on the current gross margin guidance, that 700-point expansion for next year, I think, is pretty solid. But as you think about the gross margin number for fiscal year 2029, we expect for the year to deliver 70% gross margin. And that would basically give you a pretty clear line of sight that the second half of that year is going to be gross margin that is going to be north of 70%.

是的。是，我們確實提到目前約 70% 正朝著 70% 中段往上走。依據目前的毛利率指引，我認為明年擴張 700 個基點相當穩健。但如果你看 2029 會計年度的毛利率數字，我們預期全年可達到 70% 毛利率。這基本上會讓你很清楚地看到，該年度下半年毛利率將會高於 70%。

So again, we're not talking about mid-70s in five years. We're talking about mid-70s in the next two to three years. And we're very optimistic and have a lot of confidence in our ability to get there.

所以再強調一次，我們不是在談五年後才到 70% 中段。我們談的是未來兩到三年就到 70% 中段。我們非常樂觀，並且對達成這個目標的能力很有信心。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Suraj Kalia, Oppenheimer and Company.

Suraj Kalia，Oppenheimer and Company。

Good afternoon, Brian, Vaseem. Congrats on a nice quarter. Gentlemen, two questions, one for Brian and one for Vaseem. Vaseem, 14% nominal growth. Can you characterize it by unit growth and where you all stood in terms of share?

下午好，Brian、Vaseem。恭喜交出漂亮的一季。兩位先生，我有兩個問題，一個問 Brian、一個問 Vaseem。Vaseem，名目成長 14%。你能否從出貨/單位成長的角度來描述一下，以及你們在市占方面大概處於什麼位置？

And Brian, my second question, I will ask that upfront. One of your comments caught my attention about AI, and I'm just paraphrasing here, your endeavor for AI to help improve fittings per rep. I guess I'm curious, what kind of a data you are going to have your AI models to improve this metric? Because it could have pretty interesting implications for improving on patient acquisition costs over time. Gentlemen, thank you for taking my questions.

Brian，我的第二個問題我先一起問。你提到 AI 的一段話引起我注意，我在此轉述一下：你們希望用 AI 來提升每位業務代表的配戴/裝配（fittings）數。我想了解的是，你們打算讓 AI 模型使用哪些類型的資料來改善這個指標？因為這可能對長期降低病患獲取成本帶來相當有趣的影響。兩位先生，謝謝回答我的問題。

Yeah. Sorry, let me take the one in piece first. As I said in my previous commentary during the questions, since we are not commenting on prescriptions and fittings, and we committed to providing that on an annual basis, I will just kind of close and provide more clarity. We do -- the conversion rate, as we used to talk about, was up, and all of the elements that drive that conversion rate were all trading better than expected. So the 60% growth that we delivered this quarter and -- was a direct consequence of that.

好的。抱歉，我先分段回答第一個問題。如我在前面問答時的評論所說，因為我們不會逐季評論處方量與配戴/裝配數，且我們承諾會以年度頻率提供，我這裡就先做個收尾並補充更清楚的說明。我們——轉換率（我們過去常談的那個）是上升的，而推動該轉換率的所有要素表現都優於預期。因此，我們本季交出的 60% 成長——就是其直接結果。

And again, as we have said, when we give you that annual number at the end of this year on prescriptions and fittings like we did last year, you will see that the relationship between revenue and the prescriptions will hold at prescriptions being a couple points lower than the top line. And that's predicated on us continuing to make improvements in our revenue cycle management capabilities and the ability to fit those patients and convert those prescriptions into revenue.

另外，如同我們所說，當我們在今年底像去年一樣提供處方量與配戴/裝配數的年度數字時，你會看到營收與處方量之間的關係仍會維持：處方量會比營收成長率低幾個百分點。這是基於我們持續改善營收循環管理能力，以及為這些病患完成配戴/裝配並將處方轉化為營收的能力。

Yeah, thanks, Suraj. On the revenue fittings per sales rep, that is really a measure of sales rep productivity. So it's really about using some of those AI tools to free up time to make the rep give them more data to be able to decide how they spend their day, where they spend their day, where the insights are that allow them to better manage their territories.

好的，謝謝你，Suraj。關於每位業務代表的營收配戴/裝配數，這其實是衡量業務代表生產力的指標。所以重點在於運用一些 AI 工具來釋放時間，並提供更多資料，讓業務代表能決定如何安排一天的行程、把時間花在哪裡，以及哪些洞見能讓他們更好地管理其銷售區域。

And ultimately, as we make them more efficient, then that means they can spend more time penetrating the accounts that they get into. That then leads to the higher fittings per sales rep.

最終，當我們讓他們更有效率，就代表他們能花更多時間去深化他們已進入的客戶。這就會帶來每位業務代表更高的配戴/裝配數。

And yeah, you're spot on when you say that that is a pretty meaningful metric. I think it is very clear to us that when we think about the path to profitability, that path to profitability, that road runs right through rep productivity. That's why we are investing in some of those tools, why we're investing in all the training capability and recruiting capability and all those things with regards to our commercial team. So appreciate that question.

是的，你說得很對，這確實是一個相當重要的指標。我們非常清楚，當我們思考通往獲利的路徑時，那條路徑——那條通往獲利的道路——正是要靠業務代表生產力來貫穿。這也是為什麼我們要投資這些工具、投資所有的培訓能力與招募能力，以及與我們商業團隊相關的所有事項。所以謝謝你的提問。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Brian Webster for closing remarks. Sir?

謝謝。現在我想把電話會議交回給 Brian Webster 做結語。先生？

Thank you. And thank you all for your great questions and for attending the call. We're obviously excited by the start to the year. We're certainly bullish on our story.

謝謝。也謝謝各位提出很棒的問題並參與本次電話會議。我們顯然對今年的開局感到振奮。我們對我們的故事也確實相當看多。

And when it comes down to it, when you have a product that is clearly superior, you have a category where there's an unmet need of a significant number of patients, you have the ability to expand your commercial team to cover the market, you have clinical evidence that is compelling, and you add into those new innovation, that all leads to market growth, and it leads to rapid share capture. And that's what we're seeing, and we expect to continue to see.

歸根結底，當你擁有明顯更優越的產品、身處一個仍有大量病患未被滿足需求的品類、具備擴編商業團隊以覆蓋市場的能力、擁有具說服力的臨床證據，並且再加上新的創新，這些都會帶動市場成長，也會帶來快速的市占取得。這正是我們正在看到的，而且我們預期會持續看到。

We're very proud of the execution that the team has had over the prior quarters, including this Q1 that we're reporting on now. And we're just getting the year started. It's a new year. It's a new business plan. We have new priorities this year. And as we fold those in, and we're excited about executing against the plan for FY27. So thank you very much, and we'll look forward to updating you again in a few months.

我們對團隊在過去幾個季度（包括我們現在報告的這個第一季）的執行表現感到非常自豪。而我們才剛開始展開今年。這是新的一年。這是新的營運計畫。我們今年有新的優先事項。當我們把這些納入並推進時，我們也很期待依照 FY27 的計畫來執行。非常感謝，我們期待在幾個月後再次向各位更新。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. 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。