Grand Canyon Education Inc (LOPE) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Grand Canyon Education Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Dan Bachus. Dan, please go ahead.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Grand Canyon Education 2023 年第三季電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在我想將會議交給今天的第一位發言人 Dan Bachus。丹，請繼續。

Thank you. Joining me on today's call is our Chairman and CEO, Brian Mueller. Please note that many of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Various factors could cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such statements. These factors are discussed in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

謝謝。我們的董事長兼執行長布萊恩·穆勒 (Brian Mueller) 參加了今天的電話會議。請注意，我們今天的許多評論將包含涉及風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述。各種因素可能導致我們的實際結果與此類聲明明示或暗示的任何未來結果有重大差異。這些因素在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中進行了討論，包括表格 10-K 的年度報告、表格 10-Q 的季度報告以及表格 8-K 的當前報告。

We undertake no obligation to provide updates with regard to the forward-looking statements made during this call, and we recommend that all investors review these reports thoroughly before taking a financial position in GCE. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Brian.

我們沒有義務提供有關本次電話會議期間所做前瞻性陳述的最新信息，我們建議所有投資者在對 GCE 進行財務狀況之前仔細閱讀這些報告。然後，我會將電話轉給布萊恩。

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining Grand Canyon Education's Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Conference Call. GCE had a remarkable quarter, exceeding enrollment expectations by producing online new starts that were approximately 20% over prior year in our largest start period of the year and also producing greater-than-expected retention numbers, exceeding revenue guidance estimates at midpoint by $2.4 million and producing an $0.18 beat in adjusted diluted earnings per share to consensus.

午安.感謝您參加 Grand Canyon Education 2023 財年第三季電話會議。 GCE 的季度業績表現出色，超出了入學預期，在我們今年最大的開學期間，在線新開學人數比去年同期增加了約20%，並且留存人數也超出了預期，超出了中點收入指導預期240 萬美元調整後稀釋每股盈餘比市場預期高出 0.18 美元。

Judging by these results and the lead flow for the months of September, October and November, there has never been greater interest in what is happening at Grand Canyon Education and its partner, Grand Canyon University as well as the other 24 partners. An article that recently appeared in Fortune magazine titled, the labor shortage is pushing American colleges into crisis, with the plunge in enrollment the worst ever recorded. Author Colin Bentley says the following, "Nationwide undergraduate college enrollments dropped 8% from 2019 to 2022, with declines even after returning to in-person classes according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse." The slide in the college going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

從這些結果以及 9 月、10 月和 11 月的潛在客戶流量來看，人們對 Grand Canyon Education 及其合作夥伴 Grand Canyon University 以及其他 24 個合作夥伴所發生的事情產生了前所未有的興趣。 《財富》雜誌最近發表了一篇題為《勞動力短缺正在使美國大學陷入危機，入學率下降創歷史新高》的文章。作者科林·本特利(Colin Bentley) 說：「從2019 年到2022 年，全國本科院校入學人數下降了8%，根據國家學生資訊交換所的數據，即使在返回面對面授課後，入學人數仍然下降。”根據美國勞工統計局的數據，自 2018 年以來大學入學率的下滑幅度是有史以來最大的。

Economists say the impact could be dire. Fewer college graduates could worsen labor shortages in fields from health care to information technology. The trend has continued into 2023, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, with freshmen enrollment dropping 6.9% at public 4-year institutions and 4.7% at private, nonprofit institutions. Grand Canyon Education and its 25 university partners are experiencing significant growth in spite of declines in the overall market. And I believe that growth will continue for the reasons I will explain as I review the 4 platforms we use to deliver higher education.

經濟學家表示，影響可能是可怕的。大學畢業生的減少可能會加劇從醫療保健到資訊科技等領域的勞動力短缺問題。根據《高等教育紀事報》報道，這一趨勢一直持續到 2023 年，公立四年制院校的新生入學率下降了 6.9%，私立非營利機構的新生入學率下降了 4.7%。儘管整體市場下滑，但 Grand Canyon Education 及其 25 所大學合作夥伴仍在實現顯著成長。我相信成長將持續下去，原因我將在回顧我們用來提供高等教育的 4 個平台時解釋。

First, the online campus at Grand Canyon University. New starts were up approximately 20% over the third quarter of the prior year and total enrollment growth significantly exceeded our expectations and it is now up 8.3% over the prior year. There are many reasons for this, but I want to highlight 4. One, we have stayed hyperfocused on opportunities that exist in today's labor market and since the beginning of the pandemic have rolled out 116 new programs, emphases and certificates across the 10 colleges at GCU.

首先是大峽谷大學的線上校園。新開工率比去年第三季成長約 20%，總入學人數成長顯著超出我們的預期，目前比去年增加 8.3%。造成這種情況的原因有很多，但我想強調第四點。第一，我們一直高度關注當今勞動力市場中存在的機會，自大流行開始以來，我們在10 所學院推出了116 個新項目、重點和證書。GCU。

These programs are tied directly to labor market opportunities for students and accounted for 8.1% of the new students that started in the third quarter. One of the responses of universities to the declining enrollments during the pandemic was to reduce the number of programs they offer. Number two, we continue to work with employers directly to address their workforce shortages. This effort is focused on the industries of education, health care, technology, public safety and the military. In the third quarter, new starts from this work increased 33%. Three, retention of students in the third quarter went up 40 basis points, which we believe continues to improve because of the relevancy of the programs that students are entering.

這些項目與學生的勞動市場機會直接相關，佔第三季入學新生的 8.1%。大學對大流行期間入學人數下降的反應之一是減少其提供的課程數量。第二，我們繼續與雇主直接合作，解決他們的勞動力短缺問題。這項努力的重點是教育、醫療保健、科技、公共安全和軍事產業。第三季度，這項工作的新開工量增加了 33%。第三，第三季學生的保留率上升了 40 個基點，我們相信由於學生正在進入的課程的相關性，這種情況會繼續改善。

Number four, GCU has resisted responding to the slower growth during the pandemic by raising tuition which many institutions have done. Online net tuition increases since 2018 have averaged approximately 1% per year. October online new enrollments remain strong, and thus, we are now expecting new enrollments in the fourth quarter to be up in the low to mid-teens year-over-year. Second, GCU ground campus for traditional students. Enrollment was in line with what we expected when we gave guidance last quarter.

第四，GCU 拒絕像許多院校那樣透過提高學費來應對疫情期間成長放緩的情況。自 2018 年以來，線上淨學費平均每年增長約 1%。 10 月的線上新註冊人數依然強勁，因此，我們現在預計第四季度的新註冊人數將年增 10% 左右。其次，GCU 面向傳統學生的地面校園。入學人數與我們上季給予指引時的預期一致。

At the same time, the number of traditional-aged students starting GCU programs -- GCU's programs online between April and September was higher than we expected as well. As I discussed last quarter, there is a clear trend here that we are uniquely positioned to respond to. Working adult students post pandemic are more inclined to work from home and to do higher education from home. This may become a trend for traditional-aged students as well. 5,631 traditional-aged students started GCU programs online between April and September, which is up 21.5% over the same time last year.

同時，4 月至 9 月期間開始 GCU 課程（GCU 線上課程）的傳統年齡學生數量也高於我們的預期。正如我上個季度所討論的，這裡有一個明顯的趨勢，我們處於獨特的位置來應對。大流行後在職的成年學生更傾向於在家工作並在家接受高等教育。對於傳統年齡的學生來說，這也可能成為一種趨勢。 4月至9月期間，有5,631名傳統年齡學生在網路上開始了GCU課程，比去年同期增加了21.5%。

These students may come to campus eventually or may do the entire program from home. These students are traditional-aged students, but we are currently counting them in our online campus numbers. Early indications for the fall of 2024 indicate GCU's traditional, on-campus enrollment, we believe, will return to its normal growth trajectory based on discovered GCU visits being up year-to-date over 30%.

這些學生最終可能會來到校園，也可能會在家中完成整個課程。這些學生是傳統年齡的學生，但我們目前將他們計入我們的線上校園人數。我們認為，2024 年秋季的早期跡象表明，GCU 傳統的校園入學人數將恢復到正常成長軌跡，因為今年迄今發現的 GCU 訪問量增加了 30% 以上。

Because of our significant advantages, including a very low price point, very low average debt levels, percentage of students completing in less than 4 years and the relevancy of GCU academic programs, we anticipate that GCU will benefit from both trends. We will continue to focus on the growth of [traditional] students attending our campus with the goal still being 50,000 and also focus on traditional-aged students across the country who want to do their academic work from home. We anticipate revenue generated from the ground traditional students will be up in the mid-single digits in the fall semester of 2023 as compared to the fall semester of 2022. Third, Grand Canyon Education's hybrid campus had a declining enrollment year-over-year of 4.3% in the third quarter. However, we believe the hybrid campus has turned the corner. New fall enrollments were up in the high single digits year-over-year, and we expect the new enrollment growth rate in spring of 2024 to be even higher.

由於我們的顯著優勢，包括非常低的價格點、非常低的平均債務水平、不到 4 年完成學業的學生比例以及 GCU 學術課程的相關性，我們預計 GCU 將從這兩種趨勢中受益。我們將繼續關注在我們校園就讀的[傳統]學生的增長，目標仍然是 50,000 名，同時也關注全國各地想要在家完成學業的傳統年齡學生。我們預計，與 2022 年秋季學期相比，2023 年秋季學期地面傳統學生產生的收入將增長中個位數。第三，Grand Canyon Education 的混合校園入學人數同比下降第三季度增長4.3%。然而，我們相信混合校園已經度過了難關。秋季新生入學人數較去年同期出現高個位數成長，我們預計 2024 年春季新生入學成長率會更高。

There are 2 main reasons for this: one, all but one of our active ABSN partners have responded to the younger students interested in ABSN programs by admitting Advanced Standing students this fall or are in the process of making that change. Students with partially completed degrees haven't accumulated a great deal of debt and are very interested in nursing careers, but didn't have an efficient way to earn their prerequisite science course work.

造成這種情況的主要原因有兩個：第一，除了一個活躍的ABSN合作夥伴外，我們所有的活躍ABSN合作夥伴都已通過今年秋季招收高級學分學生來回應對ABSN項目感興趣的年輕學生，或者正在做出這項改變。部分完成學位的學生沒有累積大量債務，並且對護理職業非常感興趣，但沒有有效的方法來獲得他們的必備科學課程作業。

GCU created the science courses and some other gen ed courses, so they could be delivered online in 8 weeks. Students can access these courses from anywhere in the world. There are start opportunities almost every week. These courses have been made very affordable, are taught by experienced faculty, class sizes are low, and there's a tremendous amount of academic support, including an artificial intelligence project that went live in October which provides students 24/7 access to tutoring.

GCU 創建了科學課程和其他一些生成課程，因此可以在 8 週內線上交付。學生可以從世界任何地方訪問這些課程。幾乎每週都有開始的機會。這些課程價格非常實惠，由經驗豐富的教師授課，班級規模較小，並且有大量的學術支持，包括 10 月份上線的人工智能項目，該項目為學生提供 24/7 的輔導。

Since we implemented these courses, we have enrolled approximately 5,500 students. We have a waterfall report that allows us to know how students are progressing through their prerequisite courses and when they will be eligible to start at one of our ABSN sites. The success rate of students who successfully enter our ABSN programs is 90% and the first-time pass rate on the NCLEX exam remains approximately 90%. We now have an extremely efficient way to get students academically eligible and prepared to enter the program. We saw positive results in the fall semester, and we believe it will get even better from there.

自從我們實施這些課程以來，我們已經招收了大約 5,500 名學生。我們有一份瀑布報告，使我們能夠了解學生在先修課程中的進展情況以及何時有資格在我們的ABSN 站點之一開始學習。成功進入我們的 ABSN 課程的學生的成功率為 90%，NCLEX 考試的首次通過率保持在 90% 左右。我們現在有一種極其有效的方法來讓學生獲得學術資格並為進入該計畫做好準備。我們在秋季學期看到了積極的成果，我們相信從那時起它會變得更好。

Fourth, the Center for Workforce Development at Grand Canyon University. In the 2022-'23 school year, we started 80 students in electricians preapprenticeship program in partnership with companies that are experiencing labor shortages in that area and are excited about hiring our graduates. The program consists of [4] credit courses and runs 1 semester. 74 students successfully completed the program. This upcoming school year, we will start 220 students in the program and expect the same results. [119] students started in this fall -- in this program in the fall, and we expect a similar number in the spring of 2024.

第四，大峽谷大學勞動力發展中心。在 2022-23 學年，我們與該地區勞動力短缺的公司合作，為 80 名學生啟動了電工學徒前計劃，並且很高興僱用我們的畢業生。本計畫由[4]個學分課程組成，為期1個學期。 74名學生成功完成了該計劃。在即將到來的學年，我們將讓 220 名學生開始參與該計劃，並期望獲得相同的結果。 [119] 學生於今年秋季開始參加該項目，我們預計 2024 年春季的學生人數將類似。

We also have plans to begin offering this program at one of our locations outside of Arizona in 2024. This fall, we also started 19 students in a manufacturing certificate program. GCU is running a small parts manufacturing business on campus that is doing work for some of the major companies in Arizona. These students are going to be -- are going to school for 20 hours a week and then work in the facility as a paid employee for 20 hours. At the end of the semester, they will receive a manufacturing certificate and be eligible for employment in Arizona's fast-growing manufacturing industry. GCU's growing engineering college also has students assisting with this project.

我們還計劃於 2024 年開始在亞利桑那州以外的一個地點提供該計畫。今年秋天，我們還為 19 名學生開設了製造證書課程。 GCU 在校園內經營一家小型零件製造企業，為亞利桑那州的一些大公司提供服務。這些學生將每週上學 20 小時，然後作為受薪員工在工廠工作 20 小時。學期結束時，他們將獲得製造證書，並有資格在亞利桑那州快速發展的製造業就業。 GCU 不斷發展的工程學院也有學生協助此計畫。

Once this concept has been successfully proved out, we expect to work with GCU to scale this program and then add others. I started out talking about the fear that exists around future labor shortages in key industries as a result of the declining enrollments in higher education across the country. In the 5-plus years since GCE has become a service provider, it has helped its partners accomplish the following: In that time, GCE has helped Grand Canyon University graduate 146,015 students; 39,776 in education; including 19,062 first-time teachers, at a time when teacher shortages have created a national crisis; 41,220 in nursing and health care professions including 2,080 prelicensure nurses at a time when there is a huge shortage of nurses.

一旦這個概念被成功證明，我們希望與 GCU 合作擴展這個項目，然後添加其他項目。我首先談到了由於全國高等教育入學人數下降而導致關鍵行業未來勞動力短缺的擔憂。 GCE成為服務提供者以來的5年多時間裡，幫助合作夥伴完成了以下工作： 在此期間，GCE已幫助大峽谷大學畢業了146,015名學生；教育領域 39,776 人；其中包括 19,062 名初任教師，當時教師短缺已造成全國性危機；護理和醫療保健行業有 41,220 名護士，其中包括 2,080 名預執照護士，而當時護士嚴重短缺。

28,308 in the college of humanities and social sciences, including thousands in counseling and social work, where there are also huge shortages. The College of Business has become one of the largest business schools in America and has produced 25,286 graduates. The College of Science, Engineering and Technology has grown by 246% and provided 5,528 graduates. The Doctoral College, Honors College and College of Theology also continue to grow. The numbers that I have just cited have all happened in the 5-plus years since GCU has become a nonprofit institution and GCE has become an education services provider.

人文社會科學學院有28,308人，其中諮商和社會工作人員有數千人，這方面也存在巨大短缺。商學院已成為美國最大的商學院之一，並培養了 25,286 名畢業生。科學、工程與技術學院成長了246%，提供了5,528名畢業生。博士學院、榮譽學院和神學院也在不斷發展。我剛才提到的這些數字，都是GCU成為非營利組織、GCE成為教育服務機構以來的5年多時間裡發生的。

Service revenue was $221.9 million for the third quarter of 2023, an increase of $13.2 million or 6.3% as compared to $208.7 million for the third quarter of 2022. The increase year-over-year in service revenue was primarily due to an increase in GCU enrollments of 6.6% and an increase in revenue per student year-over-year. Operating income for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, was $41.5 million, an increase of $6 million as compared to $35.5 million for the same period in 2022.

2023 年第三季服務收入為 2.219 億美元，比 2022 年第三季的 2.087 億美元增長 1320 萬美元，增幅 6.3%。服務收入同比增長主要是由於 GCU 的增長入學率提高了6.6%，每名學生的收入也逐年增加。截至2023年9月30日的三個月營業收入為4,150萬美元，比2022年同期的3,550萬美元增加了600萬美元。

The operating margin for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, was 18.7% compared to 17% for the same period in 2022. Net income increased 19.1% to $35.7 million for the third quarter of 2023, compared to $30 million for the same period in 2022. GAAP diluted income per share for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, is $1.19. As adjusted, non-GAAP diluted income per share for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, is $1.26.

截至2023 年9 月30 日止三個月的營業利潤率為18.7%，而2022 年同期為17%。2023 年第三季淨利成長19.1%，達到3,570 萬美元，而2022 年同期淨利為3,000 萬美元2022 年。截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日止 3 個月的 GAAP 攤薄每股收益為 1.19 美元。調整後，截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日止 3 個月的非 GAAP 攤薄每股收益為 1.26 美元。

With that, I would like to turn it over to Dan Bachus, our CFO, to give a little more color on our 2023 quarter, talk about changes in the income statement, balance sheet and other items as well as to discuss the updated 2023 guidance.

說到這裡，我想將其交給我們的財務長 Dan Bachus，為我們的 2023 年季度提供更多的信息，討論損益表、資產負債表和其他項目的變化，並討論更新的 2023 年指導。

Thanks, Brian. Included in our Form 8-K filed with the SEC, we have included non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted income per share for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. The non-GAAP amounts exclude the tax-affected amount of the amortization of intangible assets of $2.1 million for the third quarters of both 2023 and 2022 and the tax-affected amount of the losses on fixed asset disposals of $0.4 million and $0.5 million for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We believe that non-GAAP financial information allows investors to develop a more meaningful understanding of the company's performance over time. As adjusted non-GAAP diluted income per share for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023 and '22 is $1.26 and $1.02, respectively.

謝謝，布萊恩。我們向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表格中包含截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日和 2022 年 3 個月的非 GAAP 淨利潤和非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益。非 GAAP 金額不包括受稅收影響的金額2023年和2022年第三季無形資產攤銷金額為210萬美元，以及截至2023年9月30日及2022年9月30日止三個月的固定資產處分損失受稅務影響的金額為40萬美元及50萬美元，分別。我們相信，非公認會計原則財務資訊可以讓投資者對公司的長期表現有更有意義的了解。截至2023年9月30日和2022年9月30日的三個月調整後的非公認會計準則稀釋每股收益分別為1.26美元和1.02美元。

Service revenue was higher than our expectations in the third quarter of 2023 due to the higher-than-expected enrollments at GCU and some of our other university partners. Revenue per student continues to grow on a year-over-year basis, primarily due to the service revenue impact of the growth in the GCU traditional campus enrollments between years, which has a higher revenue per student due to room, board and other ancillary revenues and the higher revenue per student at off-campus classroom and laboratory sites.

由於 GCU 和我們其他一些大學合作夥伴的入學人數高於預期，2023 年第三季的服務收入高於我們的預期。學生人均收入持續逐年增長，主要是由於 GCU 傳統校園入學人數逐年增長對服務收入的影響，由於食宿和其他輔助收入，學生人均收入較高校外教室和實驗室的每位學生收入更高。

Service revenue per share for hybrid ABSN students generates a significantly higher revenue per student than we earn on the other students as these agreements generally provide us with a higher revenue share percentage, the partners have higher tuition rates and the majority of their students take more credits on average per semester as they are in accelerated programs. The increase in revenue per student was also positively impacted in the third quarter of 2023 by year-over-year differences in the timing of the GCU traditional campus' fall semester such that $1.2 million shifted from the fourth quarter to the third quarter as compared to last year.

混合ABSN 學生的每股服務收入為每個學生帶來的收入明顯高於我們從其他學生身上獲得的收入，因為這些協議通常為我們提供更高的收入分成百分比，合作夥伴的學費更高，而且他們的大多數學生獲得更多學分平均每學期，因為他們在加速課程中。 2023 年第三季度，GCU 傳統校區秋季學期時間表的同比差異也對每位學生的收入增長產生了積極影響，與去年同期相比，120 萬美元從第四季度轉移到了第三季度。去年。

Our operating margin was higher than our expectations, primarily due to the higher-than-expected revenue. As I discussed on prior quarter's earnings calls, we have been aggressively hiring in which head count had been mostly flat since March 2020 to meet our partners' expected future growth, which is driving increased compensation costs primarily in counseling services and support costs. We also plan for a significant increase year-over-year in travel and employee benefits as these amounts were significantly [lower] than pre-COVID levels in the prior year.

我們的營業利潤率高於預期，主要是因為收入高於預期。正如我在上一季的財報電話會議上討論的那樣，我們一直在積極招聘，自2020 年3 月以來，員工人數基本持平，以滿足我們合作夥伴的預期未來增長，這導致主要在諮詢服務和支持成本方面的薪酬成本增加。我們也計劃大幅增加差旅和員工福利，因為這些金額顯著[低於]前一年新冠疫情前的水平。

We also plan for increased clinical costs at off-campus classroom and laboratory sites due to the nursing shortage. This spending has generally remained in line with our expectations. Our effective tax rate in the third quarter of 2023 was 19.3% compared to 17.2% in the third quarter of 2022 and our guidance of 18.6%. The third quarter 2023 effective tax rate was favorably impacted by the contributions in lieu of state income taxes of $3.9 million and $5 million in July 2023 and 2022, respectively. The slightly higher-than-expected tax rate in the third quarter of 2023 was due to the contribution in lieu of state income taxes, having a less-than-expected impact on the effective tax rate due to the higher-than-expected income before taxes.

由於護理師短缺，我們還計劃增加校外教室和實驗室的臨床費用。這項支出大致上符合我們的預期。我們 2023 年第三季的有效稅率為 19.3%，而 2022 年第三季為 17.2%，我們的指導值為 18.6%。 2023 年第三季的有效稅率受到 2023 年 7 月和 2022 年分別繳納 390 萬美元和 500 萬美元代替州所得稅的繳款的有利影響。 2023年第三季稅率略高於預期是由於取代國家所得稅的繳款，由於先前的收入高於預期，對實際稅率的影響不及預期稅。

As a reminder, the contribution in lieu of state income taxes has the effect of increasing general and administrative expenses in the third quarter this year by $3.5 million and lowering income tax expense by the same amount but only 75% of the $3.5 million in the third quarter and the remaining 25% in the fourth quarter. We repurchased 306,239 shares of our common stock in the third quarter of 2023 at a cost of approximately $33.7 million and another 81,943 shares were repurchased since September 30, 2023.

提醒一下，代替州所得稅的繳款會使今年第三季的一般和行政費用增加 350 萬美元，並減少相同數額的所得稅費用，但僅佔第三季度 350 萬美元的 75%。第四季剩餘25%。我們在 2023 年第三季以約 3,370 萬美元的成本回購了 306,239 股普通股，自 2023 年 9 月 30 日以來又回購了 81,943 股。

We announced today that on October 25, 2023, the company's Board of Directors increased the authorization under its existing stock repurchase plan by $200 million and extended the current expiration date to March 1, 2025. We have $272.4 million remaining available as of today which includes the increase in October 2023 under our share repurchase authorization. The Board and the company intends to continue using a significant portion of its cash flows from operations to repurchase shares. Share repurchases in future years will be less than in 2021 and 2022 as we utilize all the proceeds from the repayment of the secured note during those years.

我們今天宣布，2023 年10 月25 日，公司董事會將現有股票回購計畫的授權增加了2 億美元，並將目前到期日延長至2025 年3 月1 日。截至今天，我們還有2.724億美元可用，其中包括根據我們的股票回購授權，我們於 2023 年 10 月進行了增加。董事會和公司打算繼續使用經營現金流的很大一部分來回購股票。未來幾年的股票回購將少於 2021 年和 2022 年，因為我們在這些年中使用了償還有擔保票據的所有收益。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flows. Total unrestricted cash and short-term investments at September 30, 2023, were $154.4 million. GCE CapEx in the third quarter of 2023, including CapEx for new off-campus classroom and laboratory sites was approximately $16.6 million or 7.5% of service revenue. We expect CapEx for 2023 to be approximately $40 million, which is more than our original projection of between $30 million and $35 million. The slightly higher CapEx is partly due to higher spend on internal IT projects and due to a couple of the new offsite locations occurring slightly higher-than-expected tenant improvement costs.

轉向資產負債表和現金流量。截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日，無限制現金及短期投資總額為 1.544 億美元。 2023 年第三季的 GCE 資本支出（包括新的校外教室和實驗室場地的資本支出）約為 1,660 萬美元，佔服務收入的 7.5%。我們預計 2023 年的資本支出約為 4,000 萬美元，高於我們最初預測的 3,000 萬至 3,500 萬美元。資本支出略高的部分原因是內部 IT 專案支出增加，以及幾個新的異地地點的租戶改善成本略高於預期。

I would now like to provide color on the updated guidance we have provided in our 8-K filed today. As a reminder, the guidance that we have provided in the outlook section of our 8-K filed today as GAAP net income and diluted income per share with the components to adjust the GAAP amounts to non-GAAP as adjusted net income and non-GAAP as adjusted diluted income per share. In addition, as requested by a number of our investors, we have included in the guidance section of our 8-K filed today the non-GAAP as adjusted diluted income per share estimates.

我現在想對我們今天在 8-K 歸檔中提供的更新指南進行說明。提醒一下，我們在今天提交的 8-K 展望部分中提供的指導為 GAAP 淨利潤和稀釋每股收益，其中 GAAP 調整後的成分相當於非 GAAP 調整後淨利潤和非 GAAP調整後的稀釋每股收益。此外，根據我們許多投資者的要求，我們在今天提交的 8-K 的指導部分中納入了非 GAAP 作為調整後稀釋每股收益的估計。

We have updated full year 2023 guidance to include the third quarter revenue and earnings piece. As I will discuss in more detail in a minute, we have also raised and narrowed the revenue and operating margin ranges for the fourth quarter based on current enrollment and spending trends. We have also updated our expected fourth quarter effective tax rate. These changes have resulted in an $0.11 increase in EPS estimates for the fourth quarter of 2023 at midpoint and a $0.57 increase in full year EPS estimates at midpoint from the original 2023 estimates.

我們更新了 2023 年全年指引，納入第三季營收和收益部分。正如我將在稍後詳細討論的那樣，我們還根據當前的入學和支出趨勢提高並縮小了第四季度的收入和營業利潤率範圍。我們也更新了預期的第四季有效稅率。這些變化導致 2023 年第四季每股收益預期中點增加 0.11 美元，全年每股收益預期中點較 2023 年原始預測增加 0.57 美元。

As Brian mentioned earlier, we anticipate total enrollment to be higher in the fourth quarter than our previous estimates which should result in higher-than-expected tuition revenue in the fourth quarter. As a reminder, the second half revenue is being negatively impacted by contract changes going to effect for a couple of our other university partners that I discussed on prior calls, in which we will no longer reimburse those partners for certain costs and as a result, have agreed to reduce the contractual revenue share percentage.

正如布萊恩之前提到的，我們預計第四季度的總入學人數將高於我們先前的估計，這將導致第四季度的學費收入高於預期。提醒一下，下半年的收入受到了合約變更的負面影響，這些變更將對我在之前的電話中討論過的其他幾所大學合作夥伴產生影響，我們將不再向這些合作夥伴報銷某些費用，因此，已同意降低合約收入份額百分比。

These changes impact both the third and fourth quarters, but have a much bigger impact on the fourth quarter than the third quarter as they went into effect with the start of the fall term. There have been no material changes in our expense expectations for the fourth quarter of 2023. We have slightly lowered our effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2023 to 20.3% from 21.3%. Our weighted average shares guidance assumes that we purchase additional shares similar to what was used to purchase shares in the third quarter, evenly over the rest of the year.

這些變化都會影響第三季度和第四季度，但對第四季度的影響比第三季度大得多，因為這些變化是在秋季學期開始時生效的。我們對 2023 年第四季的費用預期沒有重大變化。我們將 2023 年第四季的有效稅率從 21.3% 略微下調至 20.3%。我們的加權平均股票指引假設我們購買額外的股票，與第三季購買股票的數量類似，在今年剩餘時間平均購買。

The Board continues to authorize the repurchase of shares as it believes the stock remains undervalued based on the metrics that it uses to evaluate, including the ratio of enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA and the free cash flow yield rather than the multiples of other education companies, as although we can be viewed as being in the same sector, there are a few, if any, appropriate comps.

董事會繼續授權回購股票，因為它認為根據其用於評估的指標，包括企業價值與調整後 EBITDA 的比率和自由現金流收益率，而不是其他教育公司的倍數，該股票仍然被低估，雖然我們可以被視為處於同一領域，但也有一些（如果有的話）合適的比較。

On an enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA basis, the stock is currently trading at roughly [12.1], which is less than the recent S&P average of [16.4]. The average free cash flow yield for the S&P 500 is 2.8%, whereas the company's free cash flow yield is approximately 5.8%.

以調整後 EBITDA 為基礎的企業價值計算，該股目前的交易價格約為 [12.1]，低於近期標準普爾平均值 [16.4]。標普 500 指數的平均自由現金流收益率為 2.8%，而該公司的自由現金流量收益率約為 5.8%。

I will now turn the call over to moderator so that we can answer questions.

我現在將把電話轉給主持人，以便我們回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Jeff Silber。

I wanted to focus first on GCU online enrollment, really impressive numbers in terms of the accelerated growth there. Can you just give us a little bit more color what drove that and how sustainable that is going forward?

我想首先關注 GCU 線上招生，就其加速成長而言，這些數字確實令人印象深刻。您能否給我們更多的信息，說明是什麼推動了這一趨勢，以及未來的可持續性如何？

Yes. A couple of things drove it. One, the work that we're doing with school districts, hospitals, counseling centers, military bases, people are really, really focused on giving opportunities to their employees that are operating at lower levels in the organization. And so that was up 33% this quarter over the same quarter of the prior year. That work is having a major impact for organizations. And the word is spreading that we have the capability to do that. And so that is a major driver.

是的。有幾件事推動了它。第一，我們正在與學區、醫院、諮商中心、軍事基地進行的工作，人們確實非常注重為組織中較低階層的員工提供機會。因此，本季比去年同期成長了 33%。這項工作對組織產生重大影響。我們有能力做到這一點的消息正在傳播。這是一個主要驅動力。

As you know, that work was all shut down for the time during COVID, but we didn't let those people off. And when the country opened back up, we were poised to really play a significant role for a lot of school districts, hospitals, et cetera. So that's part of it. Secondly, in the months of September and October, especially, well, even prior to that, we saw the efficiency of our marketing spend go up. A lot of people that -- universities as we were entering this summer, started to predict that their enrollment number was not going to hit and that their revenues were going to be down significantly.

如您所知，在新冠疫情期間，該工作全部停止，但我們並沒有放過這些人。當國家重新開放時，我們準備好為許多學區、醫院等真正發揮重要作用。這就是其中的一部分。其次，在九月和十月，特別是，即使在此之前，我們看到行銷支出的效率上升。當我們今年夏天進入大學時，許多人開始預測他們的入學人數不會受到影響，他們的收入將大幅下降。

And people stop spending in terms of advertising, if you're not making any money or not successful in a few programs that you're delivering online, we just saw withdrawal. People started to get out. And so I think the combination of all the new programs we opened, there's so much interest in the new programs. The work that we're doing directly with companies to help give people opportunities to move up, paraprofessionals becoming teachers and people moving up in the nursing profession. Cybersecurity specialists on [military bases]. It was that plus the efficiency of the marketing spend that drove the increase.

人們會停止在廣告方面的支出，如果你沒有賺到任何錢，或者你在網路上提供的一些項目沒有成功，我們就會看到退出。人們開始撤離。因此，我認為結合我們開設的所有新項目，人們對這些新項目非常感興趣。我們直接與公司合作，幫助人們獲得晉升的機會，讓專業人員成為教師，讓人們在護理行業中晉升。 [軍事基地]的網路安全專家。正是這一點加上行銷支出的效率推動了這一成長。

And at this point, we absolutely think it is sustainable. The months of September, October and November from a lead flow standpoint, just the amount of interest. And so much of it is really, really high-quality stuff. People doing their own searches looking for opportunities. And there just isn't anybody out there that has the breadth of programmatic offerings that we do. So does that help?

在這一點上，我們絕對認為這是可持續的。從鉛流的角度來看，9 月、10 月和 11 月只是利息金額。其中很多都是非常非常高品質的東西。人們自己尋找機會。沒有人能提供像我們這樣廣泛的程式化產品。那麼這有幫助嗎？

Yes. No, that's actually very helpful. Maybe if you can switch over to the hybrid program. You cited the strong new fall enrollment growth and your expectations for spring to be even higher. What are you seeing that's giving you that confidence? .

是的。不，這實際上非常有幫助。也許您可以切換到混合計劃。您提到了秋季入學人數的強勁增長，以及您對春季入學的期望更高。你看到什麼給了你這樣的信心？ 。

Man, it's primarily the universities adjusting -- our university partners adjusting to the fact that the market changed. And there's a significant amount of interest in people becoming nurses, but it's really for people who are younger and that have partially completed degrees. They're -- it's not mainly for people who have completed degrees and are looking to recareer in nursing. There's still some of that. But there's -- but the huge growth is in people that are at community colleges, who have 20, 30, 40 college credits. They haven't accumulated much debt and they're very interested in a nursing career. And so that adjustment and then the prerequisite course offerings. I mean that was just a huge challenge because there was no efficient way that was affordable for people to get into those courses, especially the science courses. Other gen ed courses as well, but especially the science courses.

夥計，這主要是大學在調整——我們的大學合作夥伴在適應市場變化的事實。人們對成為護士非常感興趣，但這實際上是針對年輕且已部分完成學位的人。他們——主要不是針對已經完成學位並希望重新從事護理工作的人。還是有一些這樣的。但是，巨大的成長是在社區大學就讀的人，他們擁有 20、30、40 個大學學分。他們沒有累積太多債務，而且對護理職業非常感興趣。如此調整，然後再提供先修課程。我的意思是，這只是一個巨大的挑戰，因為人們沒有負擔得起的有效方式來學習這些課程，尤其是科學課程。其他生成課程也是如此，但尤其是科學課程。

And GCU put together, really 10 courses are a big part of it, but there are some additional ones, put a lot of time and energy into those courses, hiring full-time faculty to teach them, providing tremendous levels of academic support, and we've already had over 5,000 students take those courses. And so now no matter where you are in the country, you can enroll in those courses within a week or 2. And one of the things that surprised us is that there are a lot of 20-, 21-year olds that are only part-time employed, that aren't taking one of those courses at a time, they're taking multiple courses at a time because most of them are only working part-time jobs. But it's the clear path from getting that science course work completed, getting into an ABSN program to do the 60 credits at the upper division level. That clear path has really changed this thing tremendously.

GCU 加起來，實際上10 門課程佔了很大一部分，但還有一些額外的課程，在這些課程上投入了大量的時間和精力，聘請全職教師來教授這些課程，提供了巨大的學術支持，而我們已經有超過 5,000 名學生參加了這些課程。所以現在無論你在這個國家的哪個地方，你都可以在一周或兩週內註冊這些課程。令我們驚訝的事情之一是，有很多 20 歲、21 歲的人只是其中一部分- 就業時間，他們不是一次參加其中一門課程，而是一次參加多門課程，因為他們中的大多數人只是做兼職工作。但這是從完成科學課程作業到進入ABSN 計畫並獲得高年級60 個學分的明確途徑。這條清晰的道路確實大大改變了這件事。

If you're in a market and somebody tells you to go to the community college and see what they have to offer or -- that's just a long, difficult arduous process that [deincentivizes] people. And so we think now we've got a great solution to -- the first obstacle was the clinical placements, and we fixed a lot of that in the last couple of years. And now the second obstacle was that science prerequisite course work, we believe we've impacted that significantly. And so we're excited now about the next couple of years.

如果你在市場上，有人告訴你去社區大學看看他們能提供什麼，或者——這只是一個漫長而艱難的過程，會[降低]人們的積極性。因此，我們認為現在我們已經找到了一個很好的解決方案——第一個障礙是臨床安置，我們在過去幾年中解決了許多問題。現在第二個障礙是科學先決課程的工作，我們相信我們已經對此產生了重大影響。因此，我們現在對未來幾年感到興奮。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Jeff Meuler with Baird.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Jeff Meuler 和 Baird。

Yes, there's another Baird. So maybe it's -- he's on the next try the one that says Gabriel.

是的，還有另一個貝爾德。所以也許是——他正在下次嘗試說加布里埃爾的那個。

Our next question comes from the line of Gabriel Diederich with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gabriel Diederich 和 Baird 的對話。

I actually work in a different department than Jeff, but I really appreciate the comments. And I was just curious on your thoughts regarding the recent fine with the Department of Education. Any thoughts on impacts for the organization and just how that communication and dialogue is going for the company?

事實上，我與傑夫在不同的部門工作，但我真的很欣賞這些評論。我只是好奇你對最近教育部罰款的想法。關於對組織的影響以及溝通和對話對公司的影響有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. It's -- we've been dealing with the department for 5 years. And so we'll continue to deal with it. We knew that there was -- fine was coming, and so we got out in front of it and made sure that we told our part of the story. None of what's going on makes any sense from a logic perspective.

是的。我們已經與該部門打交道五年了。因此我們將繼續處理這個問題。我們知道，美好即將到來，所以我們在它面前走出去，並確保我們講述了我們的故事。從邏輯角度來看，所發生的一切都沒有任何意義。

We went through a very lawful process to return to a nonprofit institution. That went really, really well. The department for some reason denied our nonprofit status. We don't know what the reason is. They don't tell us. And then for 4 years, we try to fix it, eventually had to file a complaint. And as a result of that, the retaliation started. And so it's something we have to deal with, but it's not going to stop what we're doing.

我們通過了一個非常合法的程序來回到非營利組織。進展非常非常順利。該部門出於某種原因否認了我們的非營利地位。我們不知道原因是什麼。他們不告訴我們。然後四年來，我們試著解決這個問題，最後不得不提出投訴。結果，報復開始了。所以這是我們必須處理的事情，但它不會阻止我們正在做的事情。

Things are going unbelievably well here. The desire for what we have, which is 4 very, very creative platforms where we can deliver education to students based on what their living situation is, their life situation based upon what the nature of it is, they need to learn. We can deliver it extremely efficiently. We can do it without major tuition increases, without huge debt levels. We can just do it in an extremely high-quality way and the focus on free speech at a Christian University is very, very attractive to Americans throughout this country.

這裡的事情進展得令人難以置信。我們對擁有的 4 個非常非常有創意的平台的渴望，我們可以根據學生的生活狀況向他們提供教育，他們的生活狀況是基於他們需要學習的本質。我們可以極其有效率地交付。我們可以在不大幅增加學費和巨額債務的情況下做到這一點。我們可以以極其高品質的方式做到這一點，基督教大學對言論自由的關注對全國的美國人來說非常非常有吸引力。

And so we're in a great spot, and we're going to continue to focus on delivering to students, delivering to organizations, making sure that people are in a position to get a great return on their investment of time, energy and money. And so it's something we have to deal with, but it's not something that's going to slow this thing down at all.

因此，我們處於一個很好的位置，我們將繼續專注於為學生、為組織提供服務，確保人們能夠從時間、精力和金錢的投資中獲得豐厚的回報。所以這是我們必須處理的事情，但這根本不會減慢事情的進展。

We have reached the end of our third quarter conference call. We appreciate your time and interest in Grand Canyon Education. If you still have questions, please contact myself, Dan Bachus. Thank you very much.

我們的第三季電話會議已經結束。感謝您花時間關注大峽谷教育。如果您仍有疑問，請聯絡我本人 Dan Bachus。非常感謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。