勞氏公司 (LOW) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Lowe's Companies Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Rob, and I'll be your operator for today's call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家早安，歡迎參加勞氏公司 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我叫羅布，我將擔任您今天通話的接線生。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。

I will now turn the call over to Kate Pearlman, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer.

我現在將把電話轉給投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Kate Pearlman。

Thank you, and good morning. Here with me today are Marvin Ellison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Bill Boltz, our Executive Vice President, Merchandising; Joe McFarland, our Executive Vice President, Stores; and Brandon Sink, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，早安。今天與我在一起的有董事長兼執行長馬文‧艾里森 (Marvin Ellison)； Bill Boltz，我們的行銷執行副總裁； Joe McFarland，我們的商店執行副總裁；以及我們的執行副總裁兼財務長布蘭登·辛克（Brandon Sink）。

I would like to remind you that our notice regarding forward-looking statements is included in our press release this morning, which can be found on Lowe's Investor Relations. During this call, we will be making comments that are forward-looking, including our expectations for fiscal 2023. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties and important factors, including those discussed in the risk factors, MD&A and other sections of our annual report on Form 10-K and our other SEC filings. Additionally, we'll be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to U.S. GAAP can be found in the quarterly earnings section of our Investor Relations website.

我想提醒您，我們有關前瞻性陳述的通知包含在今天早上的新聞稿中，您可以在勞氏投資者關係中找到該新聞稿。在本次電話會議中，我們將發表前瞻性評論，包括我們對2023 財年的預期。由於各種風險、不確定性和重要因素（包括風險中討論的因素），實際結果可能與明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。我們的 10-K 表格年度報告和其他 SEC 備案文件中的因素、MD&A 以及其他部分。此外，我們也將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些項目與美國公認會計原則（U.S. GAAP）的調節可以在我們投資者關係網站的季度收益部分找到。

Now I'll turn the call over to Marvin.

現在我將把電話轉給馬文。

Thank you, Kate, and good morning, everyone. For the third quarter comparable sales decline at 7.4%. Our results were driven by a greater-than-expected pullback and DIY discretionary spending, especially in bigger ticket categories. While we've seen a more cautious consumer for some time now, this quarter, we saw some of these consumers increasingly prioritizing experiences over goods spending on travel and entertainment.

謝謝你，凱特，大家早安。第三季可比銷售額下降 7.4%。我們的業績是由超出預期的回調和 DIY 可自由支配支出推動的，特別是在較大的門票類別中。雖然我們一段時間以來看到消費者更加謹慎，但本季度，我們看到其中一些消費者越來越重視體驗，而不是旅行和娛樂方面的商品支出。

As a reminder, at Lowe's, 75% of our revenue is driven by DIY customers and 25% by Pros, while the broader market mix is roughly 50% DIY and 50% Pro. As a result, whenever the DIY customer becomes cautious, it disproportionately affects us. And while we face a softer DIY demand in the third quarter, I'm pleased that at the same time, we once again delivered positive sales comp in Pro.

提醒一下，在 Lowe's，我們 75% 的收入由 DIY 客戶推動，25% 由專業人士推動，而更廣泛的市場組合大約為 50% DIY 和 50% 專業人士。因此，只要 DIY 客戶變得謹慎，就會對我們產生不成比例的影響。雖然我們在第三季面臨 DIY 需求疲軟的情況，但我很高興同時，我們再次在 Pro 中實現了積極的銷售業績。

Now I'd like to take a moment to dig a bit deeper into our DIY performance for the third quarter. In categories like appliances, decor, flooring and kitchen and bath, where we have strong DIY penetration, we saw increased pressure on sales of bigger ticket purchases like appliances where consumers are postponing purchases if they can. For example, customers may have previously bought an entire kitchen suite may now just buy a refrigerator. Keep in mind that the industry-wide pullback in appliance sales has a larger impact on Lowe's since we are the market leader in appliances in the U.S. with 14% of our sales coming from this category. Later in the call, Bill will discuss some of the initiatives we're implementing in Q4 to improve DIY performance with a more targeted effort to reach value-conscious customers including our most competitive offers on single unit appliance purchases ahead of the holiday season and the launch of our Lowe's lowest price guarantee, so our customers can shop with confidence knowing that they'll always find the best price at Lowe's.

現在我想花點時間更深入地了解我們第三季的 DIY 表現。在家電、裝飾、地板、廚房和浴室等品類中，我們的 DIY 滲透率很高，我們發現，諸如家電等大宗商品的銷售壓力越來越大，消費者會盡可能推遲購買。例如，客戶以前可能購買了整個廚房套件，現在可能只購買一台冰箱。請記住，全行業家電銷售的下滑對 Lowe's 的影響更大，因為我們是美國家電市場的領導者，我們 14% 的銷售額來自該類別。稍後在電話會議中，比爾將討論我們在第四季度實施的一些舉措，以提高DIY 性能，並更有針對性地努力吸引註重價值的客戶，包括我們在假期前和促銷期間為單一設備購買提供最具競爭力的優惠。推出 Lowe's 最低價保證，讓我們的顧客可以放心購物，因為他們知道他們總能在 Lowe's 找到最優惠的價格。

Despite the pullback in DIY, our Pros are still working and many of their projects are a result of increased wear and tear on aging homes, which lead to unavoidable repairs. This continues to create project backlogs for small- to medium-sized Pro, who is our core customer. In our most recent survey, nearly 70% of PROs reported healthy project backlogs, but given the uncertain macro environment, they're feeling a little less confident. Although Pros may be a bit cautious in this environment, our ability to deliver a positive pro sales comp in the third quarter is a reflection that our strategy is working.

儘管 DIY 活動有所減少，但我們的專業人士仍在工作，他們的許多項目都是由於老化房屋磨損加劇而導致不可避免的維修。這繼續為我們的核心客戶中小型專業人士造成專案積壓。在我們最近的調查中，近 70% 的 PRO 表示專案積壓狀況良好，但考慮到宏觀環境的不確定性，他們感到信心有些不足。儘管專業人士在這種環境下可能會有點謹慎，但我們在第三季提供積極的專業銷售業績的能力反映了我們的策略正在發揮作用。

We're making progress with the investments we've made over the last several years to improve our service offering, including increasing loyalty through our MVP Pro rewards, developing a world-class CRM platform, improving job site delivery, enhancing service levels in our stores, creating a more seamless online experience and a number of merchandising initiatives that Bill will discuss later in the call. Overall, we built a competitive pro sales and service model, which is creating a flywheel effect that will enable us to grow Pro sales at 2x the pace of the market.

我們在過去幾年中為改善我們的服務而進行的投資正在取得進展，包括透過 MVP Pro 獎勵提高忠誠度、開發世界一流的 CRM 平台、改善工作現場交付、提高我們的服務水平商店，創造更無縫的線上體驗以及比爾稍後將在電話會議中討論的一些銷售計劃。總體而言，我們建立了具有競爭力的專業銷售和服務模式，這正在產生飛輪效應，使我們能夠以市場兩倍的速度成長專業銷售。

Let's now turn to online sales, which declined 4% in the quarter as the same pressures in DIY bigger ticket categories impacted digital sales.

現在讓我們轉向線上銷售，該季度線上銷售下降了 4%，因為 DIY 更大門票類別的壓力同樣影響了數位銷售。

Now let's talk about what we're doing to manage this unique environment. In store operations, we've made foundational improvements to associate productivity that enable us to effectively align labor to demand while continuing to serve our customers. During the quarter, we leveraged these new capabilities to reduce operating expenses while enhancing the customer experience for both Pro and DIY customers at the same time. Joe will provide more detail on these initiatives and our improved customer service scores later in the call. I'm pleased that our disciplined focus on expense management across the organization contributed to a 46 basis point increase in operating margin rate compared to adjusted operating margin in the prior year despite the sales decline, which led to diluted earnings per share of $3.06.

現在讓我們談談我們正在採取哪些措施來管理這個獨特的環境。在商店營運中，我們對員工生產力進行了根本性改進，使我們能夠有效地根據需求調整勞動力，同時繼續為客戶提供服務。在本季度，我們利用這些新功能降低了營運費用，同時增強了專業客戶和 DIY 客戶的客戶體驗。喬將在稍後的電話會議中提供有關這些舉措以及我們改進的客戶服務分數的更多詳細資訊。我很高興的是，儘管銷售額下降，但我們對整個組織費用管理的嚴格關注導致營業利潤率與上一年調整後的營業利潤率相比提高了46 個基點，導致稀釋後每股收益達到3.06 美元。

As we pull ways to drive improved sales with our DIY customers, I'd like to provide you with an update on two initiatives, our new Lowe's outlet stores and our rural strategy. Let me start with our Lowe's Outlet stores. We opened our 15th Lowe's outlet location in Q3. With these smaller format stores, we can leverage lower cost real estate in trade areas closest to our core customer without cannibalizing a nearby Lowe's store. In an environment where DIY consumers are seeking value, we're pleased with the customer response and the overall performance of our outlet locations. These stores complement our market delivery network, allowing us to offer savings between 25% to 70% off on big and bulky scratch and dent items like appliances, patio furniture, grills, all while maximizing profitability and offering our customers enhanced value. We look forward to discussing the potential growth opportunities of this strategy on an upcoming call.

當我們想辦法提高 DIY 客戶的銷售量時，我想向您介紹兩項舉措的最新情況：我們的新 Lowe's 直銷店和我們的農村策略。讓我從勞氏直營店開始。我們在第三季開設了第 15 家 Lowe's 直營店。有了這些規模較小的商店，我們可以在最接近核心客戶的貿易區域利用成本較低的房地產，而不會蠶食附近的勞氏商店。在 DIY 消費者尋求價值的環境中，我們對顧客的反應和我們專賣店的整體表現感到滿意。這些商店補充了我們的市場配送網絡，使我們能夠為電器、庭院家具、烤架等大型划痕和凹痕商品提供25% 至70% 的折扣，同時最大限度地提高盈利能力並為我們的客戶提供更高的價值。我們期待在即將召開的電話會議上討論該策略的潛在成長機會。

Turning to our rule strategy. This one-stop shop concept is designed to give customers located in rural areas across the country, everything they need for their home and farm, including a wide offering of farm, ranch and outdoor products. During the summer, we launched this rural assortment to over 300 stores where we're selling products like livestock feed, pet food, utility vehicles and apparel from brands like Cohort and Wrangler. These programs include a Petco store within a store, which enhances the total home solution we offer by bringing together home improvement and pet care services, products and expertise under one roof.

轉向我們的規則策略。這個一站式商店概念旨在為全國農村地區的客戶提供家庭和農場所需的一切，包括各種農場、牧場和戶外產品。今年夏天，我們向 300 多家商店推出了這款鄉村產品，我們在這些商店銷售來自 Cohort 和 Wrangler 等品牌的牲畜飼料、寵物食品、多功能車和服裝等產品。這些計劃包括店中店 Petco 店，透過將家居裝修和寵物護理服務、產品和專業知識集中在一起，增強了我們提供的整體家居解決方案。

We're pleased to see this new initiative already gaining traction with strong performance in pet, apparel and automotive. In fact, these rural customers are our best-performing DIY segment and these stores are performing significantly above the company average. Given this initial success, we're now exploring expanding this rule assortment beyond the original 300 designated rule stores. In addition, we're planning to add incremental merchandising initiatives within these original 300 stores because the customer is responding favorably to these new assortments and product lines.

我們很高興看到這項新舉措已經在寵物、服裝和汽車領域取得了強勁的表現，並獲得了廣泛的關注。事實上，這些農村客戶是我們表現最好的 DIY 細分市場，這些商店的表現明顯高於公司平均。鑑於這一初步成功，我們現在正在探索將這項規則分類擴展到最初的 300 個指定規則儲存之外。此外，我們計劃在這 300 家原有商店中增加增量行銷計劃，因為客戶對這些新品種和產品線反應良好。

Looking ahead, we remain focused on our merchandising and marketing efforts that highlight the everyday value at Lowe's for our price-sensitive customers. And we will continue to invest in our strategic growth initiatives within our Total Home strategy as we strive to become a world-class omnichannel retailer.

展望未來，我們將繼續專注於我們的銷售和行銷工作，以突出 Lowe's 為我們對價格敏感的客戶提供的日常價值。我們將繼續投資於 Total Home 策略中的策略性成長計劃，並努力成為世界一流的全通路零售商。

And as I wrap up, let me say that we remain bullish on the medium- to long-term outlook for the home improvement industry, supported by favorable housing and demographic trends. We expect home prices to be supported by a persistent supply/demand imbalance of housing, while at the same time, 250,000 millennial household formations are expected per year through 2025, and their parents and grandparents, the baby boomers increasingly prefer to age in place in their own homes. And we cannot overlook the fact that we now have the oldest housing stock in U.S. history with the medium age of homes now 41 years old, which will need ongoing investments in repair and remodel projects. These factors continue to reinforce our optimism about the mid- to long-term outlook for our industry.

最後，我要說的是，在有利的住房和人口趨勢的支持下，我們仍然看好家居裝修行業的中長期前景。我們預計房價將受到持續的住房供需不平衡的支撐，同時，到2025 年，預計每年將有25 萬個千禧一代家庭組建，他們的父母和祖父母、嬰兒潮一代越來越傾向於在原地養老。他們自己的家。我們不能忽視這樣一個事實，即我們現在擁有美國歷史上最古老的住房存量，中等年齡的房屋現在已有 41 年的歷史，這將需要持續投資於維修和改造項目。這些因素持續增強我們對產業中長期前景的樂觀態度。

In closing, I'd like to thank our frontline associates with our continued hard work and dedication to serving customers and our communities.

最後，我要感謝我們的第一線員工為服務客戶和社區而持續努力工作和奉獻精神。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bill.

然後，我會將電話轉給比爾。

Thanks, Marvin, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝馬文，大家早安。

Despite a pullback in DIY discretionary demand, we are pleased that we delivered positive Pro comps this quarter as our enhanced product and brand offerings continue to resonate with the Pro. Over the past several years, we've added the brands that Pros want, and we have invested in the inventory quantities pros need, and we continue to tailor our product assortments to local building codes and preferences. These investments continue to pay off even in a more challenging macro environment, where we remain laser-focused on highlighting everyday value and convenience, both in our stores and online to a price-conscious consumer.

儘管 DIY 可自由支配需求有所回落，但我們很高興本季我們交付了積極的 Pro 比較，因為我們增強的產品和品牌產品繼續與 Pro 產生共鳴。在過去的幾年裡，我們增加了專業人士想要的品牌，我們投資了專業人士所需的庫存數量，並且我們繼續根據當地的建築規範和偏好來客製化我們的產品種類。即使在更具挑戰性的宏觀環境中，這些投資也將繼續獲得回報，我們仍然專注於在我們的商店和網路上向對價格敏感的消費者強調日常價值和便利。

Turning to our results in Building Products. We continue to serve our Resilient Pro customer who remains active, especially on repair and maintenance projects. We delivered positive comps in building materials, partly driven by strong performance in Pro-heavy categories like roofing and drywall. We also delivered comps above the company average in rough plumbing, largely driven by positive comps in water heaters demonstrating that Lowe's is the go-to solution for critical repair needs. This quarter, Klein Tools returned home to Lowe's. This trusted brand is the #1 tool brand for electrical and HVAC professionals, and we are thrilled to now offer the largest assortment of Klein Tools in the home improvement retail channel. Our Pro customers' response to our relaunch of Klein tools has exceeded our expectations, and we're excited about our plans to expand this iconic brand to support the unique needs of these trade professionals.

轉向我們在建築產品方面的成果。我們將繼續為仍活躍的 Resilient Pro 客戶提供服務，特別是在維修和維護項目方面。我們在建築材料方面取得了積極的業績，部分原因是屋頂和乾牆等專業重型類別的強勁表現。我們還在粗糙管道方面提供了高於公司平均水平的補償，這主要是由熱水器方面的積極補償推動的，這表明勞氏是滿足關鍵維修需求的首選解決方案。本季度，Klein Tools 回到了 Lowe's 總部。這個值得信賴的品牌是電氣和暖通空調專業人士的第一個工具品牌，我們很高興現在能夠在家居裝修零售通路中提供種類最齊全的 Klein 工具。我們的專業客戶對我們重新推出 Klein 工具的反應超出了我們的預期，我們對擴展這個標誌性品牌以支持這些貿易專業人士的獨特需求的計劃感到興奮。

Now let's shift gears to home decor, which was most heavily impacted by lower DIY project-related demand. And as you heard from Marvin, this had a greater impact in categories like appliances, flooring and kitchens and back. Within appliances, we are seeing lower industry unit volumes as well as the reintroduction of pre-pandemic levels of vendor-funded promotion, which puts pressure on average selling price. And while our results in kitchens and bath were also impacted by softer DIY demand. We are seeing our private brand products gaining traction as the consumer continues to look for value, like with our new allen + roth butcher block countertops. These are made of solid FSC-certified wood and this stylish product is a cost-effective way to refresh your kitchen, bar or studio. This item has been so popular that we are now doubling our sales expectations.

現在讓我們把目光轉向家居裝飾，這是受 DIY 專案相關需求下降影響最嚴重的領域。正如您從馬文那裡聽到的那樣，這對電器、地板、廚房和背部等類別產生了更大的影響。在家電領域，我們看到行業單位銷售下降，並且重新引入了供應商資助的大流行前水平的促銷活動，這給平均售價帶來了壓力。同時，我們在廚房和浴室的表現也受到 DIY 需求疲軟的影響。隨著消費者不斷尋找價值，我們看到我們的自有品牌產品越來越受歡迎，例如我們的全新 Allen + Roth 屠夫塊檯面。這些產品由經過 FSC 認證的實木製成，這款時尚的產品是讓您的廚房、酒吧或工作室煥然一新的經濟高效的方式。該商品非常受歡迎，我們現在將銷售預期提高了一倍。

Turning to paint. We delivered comps above company average in the quarter, largely driven by the Pro paint, who relies on Lowe's as a one-stop shop for their project needs. We continue to look for opportunities to expand our product offering, including a recent launch of an exclusive line of Sherwin-Williams primers from HGTV Home. These new primers designed for the Pro who paints, gives them a versatile multi-surface application that makes it easier to work on both interior and exterior projects.

轉向繪畫。我們在本季交付的業績高於公司平均水平，這主要是由 Pro Paint 推動的，該公司依靠 Lowe's 作為一站式商店來滿足其專案需求。我們繼續尋找機會擴大我們的產品範圍，包括最近從 HGTV Home 推出的獨家宣偉底漆系列。這些專為油漆專業人士設計的新型底漆為他們提供了多功能的多表面應用，使室內和室外專案的工作變得更加容易。

Shifting gears to hardlines. In addition to a broad-based DIY pullback, we also saw pressure in categories impacted by storm-related activity. such as generators, gas cans, fuel and chain saws as we cycled Hurricane Ian from last year. We delivered comps above company average in lawn and garden as our customers engaged in smaller fall cleanup projects. And we also drove comps above company average in hardware led by key Pro categories like fasteners, safety equipment and cleaning products.

轉向強硬路線。除了廣泛的 DIY 回檔之外，我們還看到受風暴相關活動影響的類別面臨壓力。例如去年我們在伊恩颶風中騎乘時使用的發電機、瓦斯罐、燃料和鏈鋸。由於我們的客戶從事較小的秋季清潔項目，我們在草坪和花園中提供的補償高於公司平均水平。我們也以緊固件、安全設備和清潔產品等關鍵專業類別為主導，推動硬體的表現高於公司平均水準。

Lastly, we continue to build out our brand portfolio like with our new strategic partnership with the Toro Company. Their exciting product lineup further complements what is now the strongest brand offering in outdoor power equipment, one that resonates with both the Pro and DIY customer who relies on Lowe's to offer the best selection. We're looking forward to launching Toro ahead of our upcoming spring season and building on our momentum as the leading retailer of outdoor power equipment.

最後，我們繼續建立我們的品牌組合，就像我們與 Toro 公司的新策略合作夥伴關係一樣。他們令人興奮的產品系列進一步補充了目前戶外動力設備領域最強大的品牌產品，與依賴 Lowe's 提供最佳選擇的專業客戶和 DIY 客戶產生共鳴。我們期待在即將到來的春季之前推出 Toro，並鞏固我們作為戶外動力設備領先零售商的勢頭。

In response to the customers' increased focus on value, I'd like to talk about how we are highlighting some of the ways that customers can save time and money during this holiday season. For starters, we recently kicked off our holiday campaign with a commitment to supporting shoppers in new ways, all season long, which includes a wave of exciting offers and new deals every week, on great gift ideas, including power tools from some of the best brands like DEWALT, Craftsman and Cobalt and pre-lit Christmas trees, trimmed with the innovative energy-saving LED lighting. Our customers can also look forward to same-day delivery on key holiday and home improvement items as well as services like holiday light hanging for the home through A&G.

為了回應客戶對價值的日益關注，我想談談我們如何強調客戶在這個假期期間可以節省時間和金錢的一些方法。首先，我們最近啟動了假日活動，承諾在整個季節以新的方式支持購物者，其中包括每週推出一系列令人興奮的優惠和新優惠，提供精美的禮物創意，包括來自一些最好的電動工具DEWALT、Craftsman 和 Cobalt 等品牌以及配有創新節能 LED 照明的預亮聖誕樹。我們的客戶還可以期待透過 A&G 獲得重要節日和家居裝修物品的當日送達，以及節日燈飾等服務。

And as Marvin mentioned, we recently launched our new Lowe's Lowest Price Guarantee to remind customers that not only can they expect a great shopping experience, but they will also receive the lowest price on items for their home. In fact, Customers can now find our lowest prices of the year on select major appliances. And in an effort to simplify the offer and make it easier to understand, we're offering $100 off for every $800 a customer spends. For our Pros, we have tailored exclusive bulk saving offers on appliances as well and to drive even greater excitement and traffic on Black Friday, we will feature more than 10 major appliance doorbusters. We are excited to deliver what we think will be the most compelling offers in the market.

正如馬文所提到的，我們最近推出了新的勞氏最低價格保證，以提醒顧客，他們不僅可以獲得良好的購物體驗，而且還將獲得家居用品的最低價格。事實上，客戶現在可以找到我們精選主要家電的年度最低價。為了簡化優惠並使其更容易理解，我們為客戶每消費 800 美元提供 100 美元折扣。對於我們的專業人士，我們還為家電量身定制了獨家批量優惠優惠，為了在黑色星期五帶來更大的興奮感和流量，我們將推出 10 多種主要家電促銷活動。我們很高興能夠提供我們認為市場上最具吸引力的產品。

In addition to these great deals, Lowe's is now offering Carhartt apparel online and in select stores. This iconic workwear brand makes a perfect gift for the Pro this holiday.

除了這些超值優惠之外，Lowe's 現在還在線上和精選商店提供 Carhartt 服裝。這個標誌性的工作服品牌是這個假期送給專業人士的完美禮物。

Before I close, I'd like to highlight just a few of the perpetual productivity improvements or PPI work streams that are underway in merchandising. Our teams continue to make progress in our three main focus areas: product cost management, inventory productivity and pricing and promotional strategies.

在結束之前，我想強調一下銷售中正在進行的一些永久性生產力改善或 PPI 工作流程。我們的團隊繼續在三個主要重點領域取得進展：產品成本管理、庫存生產力以及定價和促銷策略。

We continue to partner with our suppliers to take cost out, especially now that transportation and commodity costs have come down. And we are expanding our private brand portfolio, which delivers great quality and value at a lower price to our customers, while also driving better margin rate productivity. Our teams are working hard to ensure that customers have the best value every day at Lowe's, while also delivering productivity for the organization.

我們繼續與供應商合作以降低成本，特別是現在運輸和商品成本已經下降。我們正在擴大我們的自有品牌組合，以更低的價格為我們的客戶提供卓越的品質和價值，同時也推動更高的利潤率生產力。我們的團隊正在努力確保客戶每天在 Lowe's 都能獲得最大的價值，同時也為組織提供生產力。

And as I close, I'd like to extend my appreciation once again to our vendors and our merchants for their hard work, dedication and ongoing partnership.

在結束之際，我想再次向我們的供應商和商家表示感謝，感謝他們的辛勤工作、奉獻精神和持續的合作關係。

Thank you, and I'll now turn the call over to Joe.

謝謝，我現在將電話轉給喬。

Thank you, Bill, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to begin by thanking our frontline associates for their ongoing efforts to deliver excellent customer service. As Marvin mentioned, we were able to reduce operating expenses this quarter, while at the same time delivering a 200 basis point improvement in DIY customer satisfaction scores and a 300 basis point improvement for the Pro. This represents the ongoing benefit of our foundational technology investments, designed to modernize our stores operational process and simplify our associates' jobs while also creating a great shopping environment for our customers.

謝謝你，比爾，大家早安。首先，我要感謝我們的第一線員工為提供卓越的客戶服務所做的持續努力。正如 Marvin 所提到的，我們本季減少了營運費用，同時 DIY 客戶滿意度分數提高了 200 個基點，Pro 版提高了 300 個基點。這代表了我們基礎技術投資的持續效益，這些投資旨在使我們的商店營運流程現代化並簡化我們員工的工作，同時為我們的客戶創造一個良好的購物環境。

Let me highlight just a few of these changes. For starters, we created an industry-leading customer-centric scheduling system, which allows us to predict customer demand and align staffing around peak customer traffic for each store and each department. This system creates enhanced operational agility so we can rapidly adjust as demand patterns shift. Second, we've enabled greater productivity by putting mobile smart devices in all of our associates' hands to make them more efficient, reducing manual tasking and enabling faster customer service. For example, by integrating smart devices with our new store inventory management system, or SIMS, our associates can find products 40% faster.

讓我重點介紹其中的一些變化。首先，我們創建了一個業界領先的以客戶為中心的調度系統，該系統使我們能夠預測客戶需求，並根據每個商店和每個部門的高峰客戶流量調整人員配置。該系統增強了營運靈活性，因此我們可以隨著需求模式的變化而快速調整。其次，我們透過將行動智慧型裝置放在所有員工手中來提高工作效率，減少手動任務並實現更快的客戶服務，從而提高了工作效率。例如，透過將智慧型裝置與我們新的商店庫存管理系統 (SIMS) 集成，我們的員工查找產品的速度可以提高 40%。

And through Project Simple, we've eliminated duplicative tasks and reduced nonproductive hours, so we can re-purpose associate time from tasking to selling and service. A third foundational improvement is the expansion of our merchandising services team or MST. This team keeps our shelves stocked, and they recently assumed responsibilities for price changes across the store and watering in the garden center. MST is now leveraging a new app that directs them to serve a specific base based on the rate of sales, making their hard work even more productive and freeing up more time for our Red Best associates to spend with customers.

透過 Project Simple，我們消除了重複任務並減少了非生產時間，因此我們可以重新利用員工的時間，從任務分配到銷售和服務。第三個根本性改進是擴大我們的銷售服務團隊（MST）。這個團隊負責保持我們的貨架庫存，他們最近承擔了整個商店的價格變化和花園中心澆水的責任。 MST 現在正在利用一款新應用程序，指導他們根據銷售率為特定客戶提供服務，使他們的辛勤工作更加富有成效，並為我們的 Red Best 員工騰出更多時間與客戶相處。

Another important aspect of delivering excellent customer experience is convenience. That's why we're making a number of enhancements to create a more convenient shopping experience ahead of the holiday season.

提供卓越客戶體驗的另一個重要方面是便利性。因此，我們進行了多項改進，以便在假期季節之前創造更便利的購物體驗。

For example, we're extending our same-day delivery to in-store purchases through our gig network to both Pro and DIY customers. And in certain locations, we'll even be delivering live Christmas trees to our customers' doors saving them the hassle of getting it home themselves. This new gig delivery capability, which we first rolled out on lowes.com, enables us to tap into the One Rail network of 12 million drivers to deliver directly to Pro job sites and customer homes in just a matter of hours.

例如，我們正在將當天送貨服務擴展到透過我們的零工網路向專業客戶和 DIY 客戶進行店內購買。在某些地方，我們甚至會將活的聖誕樹送到客戶家門口，省去他們自己把聖誕樹帶回家的麻煩。我們首先在 lowes.com 上推出了這項新的零工交付功能，使我們能夠利用由 1200 萬司機組成的 One Rail 網絡，在短短幾個小時內直接將貨物運送到專業工作地點和客戶家中。

Our store operations team is also focused on unlocking even more productivity through our perpetual productivity improvement initiatives or PPI. This past quarter, we fully retired the old self-checkout systems and have shifted to the proprietary self-checkout systems that we've built for the home improvement shopper. We've seen greater customer adoption of these new systems since they're so much easier to use. In fact, our front-end transformation is well underway, with approximately 450 stores planned by the end of this year. Over a 3-year time line, we're revamping the checkout experience across all of our stores and increasing the selling space at the front where we're adding more merchandise right of checkout with a new design that makes it easy to showcase grab-and-go items. And with this front-end transformation, we're shifting to an easy-to-use assisted self-checkout with cashiers who will be right there to answer questions and help customers when they need it.

我們的商店營運團隊也致力於透過我們的永久性生產力改善計劃或 PPI 釋放更高的生產力。上個季度，我們完全淘汰了舊的自助結帳系統，並轉向我們為家居裝修購物者建造的專有自助結帳系統。我們看到更多的客戶採用這些新系統，因為它們更容易使用。事實上，我們的前端轉型正在順利進行，計劃在今年年底開設約450家門市。在 3 年的時間裡，我們正在改進所有商店的結帳體驗，並增加前面的銷售空間，我們透過新設計添加更多結帳權商品，以便輕鬆展示抓取 -即走即走的物品。透過這種前端轉型，我們正在轉向易於使用的輔助自助結帳，收銀員將在客戶需要時回答問題並提供協助。

Finally, we're tripling the staging area for buy online, pick up in store orders to support increased online sales and create a much faster, easier customer experience building on our momentum when it comes to driving improved customer service scores for these orders. At the same time, we're excited to launch omni selling in our stores, a critical milestone in our journey to become a world-class omnichannel retailer, enabled by our new store operating system, we can now easily sell our endless aisle on Lowes.com within the aisles of our stores. For example, let's say, a customer is shopping for new faucets and browsing our selection of the most popular finishes in the store.

最後，我們將線上購買、店內取貨訂單的暫存區域擴大了兩倍，以支持線上銷售的成長，並在我們推動提高這些訂單的客戶服務評分的勢頭的基礎上創造更快、更輕鬆的客戶體驗。同時，我們很高興在我們的商店推出全通路銷售，這是我們成為世界級全通路零售商的旅程中的一個重要里程碑，在我們新的商店操作系統的支持下，我們現在可以輕鬆地在Lowes 上銷售我們的無盡通道.com 在我們商店的過道內。例如，假設一位顧客正在購買新水龍頭，並瀏覽我們在商店中精選的最受歡迎的飾面。

While talking with an associate, they decide to go with the unique finish from Lowes.com that the associate highlights on their mobile device. The associate then saves the faucet in the customer's digital cart with their phone number and the customer can continue shopping in the store. When the customer is ready to check out, all the cashier needs to do to combine the digital and physical purchases is pull up the digital cart using the customer's phone number. We're still in the early innings here, but we know this is a great opportunity to drive our omni sales and make sure our customers get everything they need to complete their project in one shopping trip.

在與員工交談時，他們決定採用員工在行動裝置上突出顯示的 Lowes.com 的獨特外觀。然後，店員將水龍頭及其電話號碼保存在顧客​​的數位購物車中，顧客可以繼續在商店購物。當顧客準備結帳時，收銀員需要做的就是使用顧客的電話號碼拉出數位購物車，以將數位購買和實體購買結合起來。我們仍處於起步階段，但我們知道這是一個推動我們全方位銷售並確保我們的客戶在一次購物之旅中獲得完成專案所需的一切的絕佳機會。

As I close, I would like to thank all of our store leaders and associates once again for their hard work serving customers and delivering results each and every day. Thank you. And now I'll turn it over to Brandon.

在結束之際，我要再次感謝我們所有的商店領導和員工每天為服務客戶並取得成果而付出的辛勤工作。謝謝。現在我將把它交給布蘭登。

Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone. Starting with our Q3 results. We generated diluted earnings per share of $3.06. Please note, in the prior year, we recorded an asset impairment charge of $2.1 billion associated with our Canadian retail business. Now my comments from this point will reference comparisons to certain non-GAAP measures from last year were applicable. Q3 sales were $20.5 billion. For reference, prior year sales included $1.2 billion generated in our Canadian retail business.

謝謝你，喬，大家早安。從我們第三季的結果開始。我們的稀釋後每股收益為 3.06 美元。請注意，上一年，我們記錄了與加拿大零售業務相關的 21 億美元資產減損費用。現在，我的評論將參考去年適用的某些非公認會計準則衡量標準的比較。第三季銷售額為 205 億美元。作為參考，上一年的銷售額包括我們加拿大零售業務產生的 12 億美元。

Additionally, Q3 results include a $115 million sales headwind due to the shift in our fiscal calendar as we cycle over a 53-week year. Comp sales were down 7.4% as a slowdown in DIY bigger ticket spending offset growth in Pro. Q3 comps were negatively impacted by approximately 50 basis points due to lumber deflation. As a reminder, the calendar shift impacted total sales growth, but had no impact on comparable sales as comps are calculated based on weeks 28 through 40 in fiscal 2022. Comparable average ticket was down 0.5%, driven by lumber deflation, more normalized appliance promotions and a decline in big-ticket DIY transactions.

此外，第三季業績還包括 1.15 億美元的銷售逆風，這是由於我們的財政日曆在 53 週的一年周期中發生變化而造成的。由於 DIY 大門票支出的放緩抵消了 Pro 的成長，Comp 銷售額下降了 7.4%。由於木材通貨緊縮，第三季的比較受到約 50 個基點的負面影響。提醒一下，日曆變化影響了總銷售額的成長，但對可比銷售額沒有影響，因為比較是根據2022 財年的第28 週至第40 週計算的。受木材通貨緊縮、更規範的家電促銷推動，可比平均票價下降了0.5%大宗 DIY 交易量下降。

However, average ticket still increased in the majority of our merchandise categories. Comp transactions declined 6.9%, driven by softer demand in DIY discretionary projects partly offset by positive comp transactions in Pro. Our monthly comps were down 6.3% in August, 8.3% in September and 7.3% in October as DIY traffic slowed as we exited our peak seasonal weeks. Gross margin was 33.7% of sales in the third quarter, up 36 basis points from last year. Gross margin benefited from our ongoing merchandising PPI initiatives as well as favorable product mix and lower transportation costs. This was partially offset by costs associated with the expansion of our supply chain network and consistent with our year-to-date performance, [shrink] was in line with prior year.

然而，我們大多數商品類別的平均票價仍然有所增加。由於 DIY 可自由支配項目的需求疲軟，補償交易下降了 6.9%，部分被 Pro 的積極補償交易所抵消。我們的月度比較在 8 月下降了 6.3%，在 9 月下降了 8.3%，在 10 月下降了 7.3%，因為隨著我們結束了旺季週，DIY 流量放緩。第三季毛利率佔銷售額的33.7%，比去年同期成長36個基點。毛利率受益於我們持續的商品採購計劃以及有利的產品組合和較低的運輸成本。這部分被我們供應鍊網擴張相關的成本所抵消，並且與我們今年迄今的業績一致，[收縮]與前一年一致。

SG&A of 18.4% levered 30 basis points versus prior year adjusted SG&A demonstrating our enterprise-wide agility to manage expenses and drive productivity in a lower sales environment. These results would not have been possible without the exceptional efforts of our store leadership teams to rapidly respond to the sales pressure as well as the ongoing benefits that we are harvesting from our technology-led PPI initiatives. Operating margin rate of 13.2% improved by 46 basis points versus prior year adjusted operating margin. The effective tax rate was 24.6%, in line with prior year adjusted effective tax rate.

SG&A 為 18.4%，與上一年調整後的 SG&A 相比，槓桿率提高了 30 個基點，這表明我們在整個企業範圍內靈活地管理費用並在較低的銷售環境中提高生產力。如果沒有我們的商店領導團隊為快速應對銷售壓力所付出的巨大努力，以及我們從技術主導的 PPI 計劃中獲得的持續收益，這些成果是不可能實現的。營業利益率為 13.2%，比上年調整後的營業利益率提高了 46 個基點。實際稅率為24.6%，與上年度調整後的實際稅率一致。

Inventory ended the quarter at $17.5 billion, down $2.3 billion compared to Q3 of last year. U.S. inventory dollars and units were both down compared to last year as we align inventory purchases with sales.

本季末庫存為 175 億美元，比去年第三季減少 23 億美元。由於我們將庫存採購與銷售保持一致，美國庫存美元和單位數量均較去年下降。

Turning now to our capital allocation. During the quarter, we generated $485 million in free cash flow. We repurchased 7.3 million shares for $1.6 billion and paid $642 million in dividends at $1.10 per share, returning $2.2 billion to our shareholders. Capital expenditures totaled $579 million as we continue to invest in our strategic priorities within our Total Home strategy. Adjusted debt to EBITDA finished the quarter at 2.72x in line with our stated 2.75x leverage target.

現在轉向我們的資本配置。本季度，我們產生了 4.85 億美元的自由現金流。我們以 16 億美元的價格回購了 730 萬股股票，並以每股 1.10 美元的價格支付了 6.42 億美元的股息，向股東返還了 22 億美元。我們持續投資於 Total Home 策略中的策略重點，資本支出總計 5.79 億美元。本季調整後債務與 EBITDA 比率為 2.72 倍，符合我們規定的 2.75 倍槓桿目標。

Finally, we delivered return on invested capital of 35%, inclusive of an unfavorable 125 basis point impact related to transaction costs associated with the sale of our Canadian retail business and the gain we reported in Q1.

最後，我們實現了 35% 的投資資本回報率，其中包括與出售加拿大零售業務相關的交易成本以及我們在第一季報告的收益相關的 125 個基點的不利影響。

Now turning to our 2023 financial outlook. Given the recent pullback in DIY, bigger ticket discretionary spending and the uncertainty surrounding the macro factors that impact our business, we are updating our full year 2023 financial outlook. With this in mind, we are now forecasting Q4 comp sales to be fairly consistent with Q3 results. Also, the fourth quarter of 2022 included approximately $1.4 billion in sales from the additional 53rd week. We are now expecting 2023 sales of approximately $86 billion with a comparable sales decline of approximately 5%. We also now expect adjusted operating margin of approximately 13.3% and as our ongoing PPI initiatives and disciplined expense management helped to offset volume deleverage pressure from lower sales.

現在轉向我們的 2023 年財務展望。鑑於近期 DIY 的回落、門票可自由支配支出的增加以及影響我們業務的宏觀因素的不確定性，我們正在更新 2023 年全年財務展望。考慮到這一點，我們現在預測第四季的銷售額將與第三季的結果相當一致。此外，2022 年第四季額外第 53 週的銷售額約為 14 億美元。我們目前預計 2023 年銷售額約為 860 億美元，可比銷售額下降約 5%。我們現在也預期調整後的營業利潤率約為 13.3%，並且我們正在進行的 PPI 計劃和嚴格的費用管理有助於抵消銷售額下降帶來的銷售去槓桿化壓力。

Additionally, we expect full year interest expense of approximately $1.4 billion, capital expenditures of up to $2 billion and an adjusted effective income tax rate of approximately 25%. This results in an updated outlook for adjusted diluted earnings per share of approximately $13.

此外，我們預計全年利息支出約為 14 億美元，資本支出高達 20 億美元，調整後的有效所得稅率約為 25%。這導致調整後稀釋每股收益的最新展望約為 13 美元。

Please note that our outlook for operating margin and diluted earnings per share are adjusted to exclude the gain associated with the sale of our Canadian business that we recorded in Q1.

請注意，我們對營業利潤率和稀釋每股收益的展望進行了調整，以排除我們在第一季記錄的與出售加拿大業務相關的收益。

Finally, we are reconfirming our capital allocation priorities. We will continue to invest in the business to take market share, target a 35% dividend payout ratio and then return excess cash to shareholders through share repurchase, which will be funded in the near term through free cash flow.

最後，我們正在重新確認我們的資本配置優先事項。我們將繼續投資該業務以佔據市場份額，目標是35%的股息支付率，然後透過股票回購將多餘現金返還給股東，短期內將透過自由現金流提供資金。

And in closing, I'm confident that our continued investments in our Total Home strategy, our strong balance sheet and our ability to effectively manage our business in any environment will allow navigate the near-term challenges while continuing to deliver sustainable shareholder.

最後，我相信，我們對 Total Home 策略的持續投資、強大的資產負債表以及在任何環境下有效管理業務的能力將有助於應對近期挑戰，同時繼續為股東帶來永續發展。

And with that, we will open it up for questions.

接下來，我們將開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Steven Forbes with Guggenheim Securities.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自古根漢證券公司的史蒂文·福布斯。

Marvin, you mentioned in your prepared remarks the 300 rural stores comping above average and some of those categories being the best performing ones. So curious, if you can maybe help reframe how you guys are thinking through the more medium-term and longer-term opportunity there. How many stores do you think can accommodate such an assortment? And any contextualization of the spread in the DIY comp in the 300 stores versus the company average?

馬文，您在準備好的發言中提到 300 家農村商店的表現高於平均水平，其中一些類別是表現最好的商店。很好奇，如果你們能幫助重新思考如何看待更中期和更長期的機會。您認為有多少家商店可以容納這樣的品種？ 300 家商店的 DIY 比較與公司平均的分佈有何關聯？

Steven, thanks for the question. We're not going to get into that level of specificity for competitive reasons, but what I will tell you is that the rural stores have exceeded expectations. And as we noted, we started out with roughly 300. But candidly, the performance and the customer response has been such that we're now looking at a couple of different options. One option is we're going into those original 300, and we're add incremental investments initiatives, categories based on feedback from customers. We're also looking at categories that are working really well in those rural stores and asking the question, can we now take some of these categories and put them in nonrural format locations because we believe we could get the same response from customers in nonrural environments.

史蒂文，謝謝你的提問。出於競爭原因，我們不會討論這種具體程度，但我要告訴你的是，農村商店超出了預期。正如我們所指出的，我們一開始大約有 300 個。但坦白說，由於性能和客戶反應，我們現在正在考慮幾種不同的選擇。一種選擇是我們進入最初的 300 個項目，並根據客戶的回饋添加增量投資計劃和類別。我們也正在研究那些在鄉村商店中運作良好的類別，並提出問題，我們現在可以將其中一些類別放入非農村格式位置，因為我們相信我們可以從非農村環境中的客戶那裡得到相同的反應。

And then thirdly, we're just looking at expanding our profile and definition of rule because some of these characteristics, we think can fit other locations. And because of the response and because of the DIY customer being such a critical component of our company strategy, we think this makes a really good strategic rationale and it's something that we're pursuing. But again, we'll speak more about this on future calls, but I don't want to get into more specifics for obvious competitive reasons.

第三，我們只是考慮擴大我們的概況和規則定義，因為我們認為其中一些特徵可以適合其他地點。由於反應熱烈，而且 DIY 客戶是我們公司策略的重要組成部分，我們認為這是一個非常好的策略理由，也是我們正在追求的目標。但同樣，我們將在未來的電話會議中更多地討論這一點，但出於明顯的競爭原因，我不想透露更多細節。

And then maybe sticking with some initiatives here and maybe a follow-up for Bill. The front-end transformation, we're probably far enough right into it where it'd be helpful if you maybe frame the ROI of such transformations. I don't know if you can sort of maybe go through what you're seeing in terms of comp lift and/or just what is the outlook right for next year as we think through the maturation benefit of such an agenda.

然後也許會堅持這裡的一些舉措，也許還有比爾的後續行動。前端轉換，我們可能已經足夠深入了，如果您可以框架此類轉換的投資回報率，那將會很有幫助。我不知道您是否可以回顧一下您所看到的競爭提升和/或明年的前景是什麼，因為我們正在思考這樣一個議程的成熟效益。

Yes. So as Joe said, we've got roughly 450 stores that we'll complete by the end of the year. We continue to test and learn in these stores. As you can imagine, there's opportunities for us to try some additional merchandising opportunities up front of the store. It's all about getting another item in the basket, and there's opportunities in the obvious areas like snacks and drinks, but we're also looking at other categories as well that can complement what we're doing and also that shopper, both a Pro and a do-it-yourselfer that's making that transaction in our store that could pick that kind of stuff up and you think about like aspirin, band-aid, stuff like that, that could complement what they're doing and could be used on a job site or in a glove box of a car at your home.

是的。正如喬所說，我們大約有 450 家商店，我們將在今年年底前完成。我們繼續在這些商店進行測試和學習。正如您可以想像的那樣，我們有機會在店前嘗試一些額外的推銷機會。這一切都是為了在購物籃中添加另一種商品，在零食和飲料等明顯領域存在機會，但我們也在尋找其他類別，這些類別可以補充我們正在做的事情以及購物者，無論是專業人士還是專業人士一個自己動手的人在我們的商店裡進行交易，可以挑選那種東西，你會想到像阿斯匹靈、創可貼之類的東西，這可以補充他們正在做的事情，並且可以用在工作現場或家中汽車的手套箱中。

And Steve, the other thing that I'll add is this also complements the ongoing omni expansion that Joe talked about. As we extend the capabilities of connecting digital and physical stores, we need more productive space, and we need to just optimize all the things that the associates are going to accommodate and fulfill those orders. And as Joe mentioned, part of this is to create more designated space in a more productive fashion for that process, but also it's creating a much better customer experience, and it's also driving a lot of productivity for Joe's taming the store.

史蒂夫，我要補充的另一件事是，這也補充了喬談到的正在進行的全方位擴張。隨著我們擴展連接數位商店和實體商店的能力，我們需要更多的生產空間，並且我們需要優化員工將要容納和履行這些訂單的所有內容。正如喬所提到的，其中一部分是以更有效率的方式為該流程創建更多的指定空間，而且它也創造了更好的客戶體驗，並且還為喬馴服商店提高了許多生產力。

Our next question is from the line of Peter Benedict with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自彼得·本尼迪克特和​​貝爾德。

Just kind of curious as you talked a lot about the PPI initiatives and your ability to kind of be agile with expenses. If we think kind of longer term, think maybe out to next year, if there's another environment where comp store sales are maybe down in the mid-single-digit range. How do we think about your ability to manage margins in that environment? I know some of the benefit this year is cycling Canada, but just maybe some benchmarks to think about as we move to next year on how the P&L could act in different top line environments.

只是有點好奇，因為您談論了很多 PPI 計劃以及您靈活處理費用的能力。如果我們考慮更長遠的情況，也許會考慮到明年，如果在另一種環境下，比較商店的銷售額可能會下降到中個位數範圍內。我們如何看待您在這種環境下管理利潤的能力？我知道今年的一些好處是騎自行車加拿大，但也許只是在我們進入明年時需要考慮一些基準，以了解損益表如何在不同的頂線環境中發揮作用。

Yes. Peter, this is Brandon. Just in terms of as we're looking at 2024, we're in the later stages of our planning process at the moment across the organization. So we're going to hold off on providing any in-depth guidance until our Q4 call. But what I will tell you just in terms of top line macro home improvement, there's continued uncertainty on interest rates, when we're going to see relief when existing home sales are going to turn the corner and begin to improve. And obviously, the ongoing impact of inflation, higher rates on consumer wallet. So we're watching all that. I think to your specific question on margins, we're managing several puts and takes as we look at next year. We're cycling onetime legal settlements, normalization of incentive comp, wage growth, the pacing of our PPI initiative. So we're looking at all that. We're going to take all those factors under consideration as we develop our guide and hold off on providing that until we get to February.

是的。彼得，這是布蘭登。就我們展望 2024 年而言，我們整個組織目前正處於規劃過程的後期階段。因此，我們將推遲提供任何深入的指導，直到第四季度的電話會議。但我要告訴你的是，就頂線宏觀房屋改善而言，利率仍然存在不確定性，而當現有房屋銷售即將扭轉並開始改善時，我們將會看到緩解。顯然，通貨膨脹和更高的利率對消費者錢包的持續影響。所以我們正在關注這一切。我認為，對於你關於利潤率的具體問題，我們正在管理明年的一些看跌期權和看跌期權。我們正在循環進行一次性法律和解、激勵補償正常化、薪資成長以及 PPI 計劃的節奏。所以我們正在研究這一切。我們在製定指南時將考慮所有這些因素，並推遲到二月再提供。

Peter, this is Marvin. And the only thing I'll add is you heard in some of your prepared comments, was talking about an old operating system. And we talked a lot about this 30-year-old operating system. There's really been a significant impediment to some of the technology advancements, and we're going to be sunsetting that system at the end of this year, and it's going to just unlock a little bit of acceleration in some of the technology advancements that we have on the project list. We just candidly, we couldn't get to because of this system. And so the good news is we're going to continue to work to Brandon's point on all the elements of running an improved business from a merchandising to operations, supply chain, but also the technology project list over the next 3 to 5 years is robust, and it's going to allow us to continue to find ways to drive profitability, irrespective of the macro environment that we're in. We're hoping the macro environment gets better with the brand at this point. We're going to wait until our Q4 call to talk about '24 and give a much more educated perspective at that time.

彼得，這是馬文。我唯一要補充的是，您在一些準備好的評論中聽到，正在談論舊的作業系統。我們對這個已有 30 年歷史的作業系統進行了許多討論。某些技術進步確實存在重大障礙，我們將在今年年底廢除該系統，它將為我們所擁有的一些技術進步帶來一點加速在專案清單上。坦白說，由於這個系統，我們無法到達。因此，好消息是，我們將繼續按照布蘭登的觀點，致力於改進業務的所有要素，從銷售到營運、供應鏈，而且未來 3 到 5 年的技術項目清單也很強大，這將使我們能夠繼續尋找提高獲利能力的方法，無論我們所處的宏觀環境如何。我們希望此時該品牌的宏觀環境會變得更好。我們將等到第四季度的電話會議來討論“24”，並在那時提供更有根據的觀點。

All right. Fair enough. Appreciate that perspective. I guess my follow-up would be just around maybe the cost environment that you're seeing out there, a lot of talk of -- obviously, disinflation and some outright deflation in certain areas. What are you seeing right now in terms of the cost you're receiving from your suppliers? And how do you kind of view that as we look out over the next few quarter.

好的。很公平。欣賞這種觀點。我想我的後續行動可能會圍繞著您所看到的成本環境進行，很多人都在談論——顯然，某些領域存在通貨緊縮和徹底的通貨緊縮。您現在從供應商收到的成本是多少？當我們展望未來幾季時，您對此有何看法？

Yes, Peter, this is Brandon. I would say just in terms of costs coming into the organization at this point, just from an inflation price action response to that. It's leveled off pretty dramatically here as we move through the year. We've had targets in terms of clawback for this year. We laid those expectations out back in December, I would say, very much pacing in line with those targets. We laid out about $500 million over the course of 3 years. We're leveraging cost management teams, working closely with the merchants, the tech-enabled tools that we've invested in. We have very detailed product cost breakdowns that are informing those negotiations with our suppliers. So we're continuing to be balanced. We're taking a portfolio approach. We're investing in price strategically where needed, but also looking through the lens of protecting our margins.

是的，彼得，這是布蘭登。我想說的是，僅就此時進入組織的成本而言，僅從通貨膨脹價格行動的反應來看。隨著這一年的推移，這裡的情況急劇趨於平穩。我們已經訂定了今年的回撥目標。我想說，我們在 12 月就提出了這些期望，與這些目標的節奏非常一致。我們在 3 年內投入了約 5 億美元。我們正在利用成本管理團隊，與商家密切合作，以及我們投資的技術支援工具。我們有非常詳細的產品成本明細，可以為與供應商的談判提供資訊。因此，我們將繼續保持平衡。我們正在採取投資組合方法。我們在需要時進行價格策略性投資，但同時也著眼於保護我們的利潤。

Our next question is from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙·古特曼。

I want to try to take another stab at this margin question for next year. I know there's not a whole lot you can provide. If you think about the levers that you have do you lose any for next year? I realize you're going to lap the legal settlement in the first part of the year. And then connected to it, as you manage your selling expenses, do you think that's having an impact on sales at all? Meaning, is that not something you press on is hard for next year?

我想在明年嘗試再次嘗試解決這個保證金問題。我知道你能提供的並不多。如果你想想你擁有的槓桿，明年你會失去什麼嗎？我知道你們將在今年上半年完成法律和解。然後，當您管理銷售費用時，您認為這對銷售有影響嗎？意思是，這不是你明年要堅持的事情嗎？

Yes. Simeon, this is Brandon. I wouldn't say when we look at next year, we're losing the benefit of any of those levers. In fact, I think we're looking at where we have opportunities to accelerate. We've talked about PPI, I talked about where we were in that journey in terms of middle innings. Marvin mentioned the conversion of the store technology to a modern omnichannel platform. We got a lot of initiatives stacked up where we expect to see those benefits as that gets delivered next year. Earlier question on transforming the front end really expanding assisted checkout, expanding the BOPIS experience, and then Bill talked in his prepared comments about multiple other kind of merchandising PPI initiatives, whether it's cost clawback, inventory productivity, pricing, promotional strategies, expansion of private brands. So we're really confident in that portfolio of initiatives. We feel like it's in our control. We're managing the road map and the pacing of that and have a lot of confidence as we look at the longer-term margins that we can deliver against our stated targets there.

是的。西蒙，這是布蘭登。我不會說當我們展望明年時，我們會失去任何這些槓桿的好處。事實上，我認為我們正在尋找有機會加速的地方。我們談到了 PPI，我談到了我們在那段旅程中的中局情況。馬文提到了商店技術向現代全通路平台的轉變。我們採取了許多舉措，預計明年就能看到這些好處。早些時候關於改造前端的問題，真正擴大了輔助結帳，擴大了BOPIS 體驗，然後Bill 在他準備好的評論中談到了多種其他類型的商品推銷PPI 舉措，無論是成本回撥、庫存生產率、定價、促銷策略、擴大私人業務品牌。因此，我們對這項舉措組合非常有信心。我們感覺一切都在我們的掌控之中。我們正在管理路線圖和節奏，並且在考慮我們可以根據既定目標實現的長期利潤時充滿信心。

So Simeon, this is Marvin. I'll add this perspective. The reason why we call this a perpetual productivity improvement initiatives because we're trying to stay away from onetime events. We think that good companies create an ongoing sustained process of improvement and productivity gains. And so we have a road map of initiatives. And it's important that it's not just about store operations. You heard Bill talk about the PPI initiative, specifically for merchandising. If Don Frieson was here, he could speak specifically to supply chain and Seemantini could speak specifically for IT.

西蒙，這是馬文。我將添加這個觀點。我們之所以稱之為永久性生產力改進計劃，是因為我們試圖避免一次性事件。我們認為，優秀的公司會創造持續不斷的改善和生產力提高過程。因此，我們有一個舉措路線圖。重要的是，這不僅僅與商店營運有關。您聽到 Bill 談論 PPI 計劃，特別是針對商品銷售的計劃。如果 Don Frieson 在這裡，他可以專門談論供應鏈，而 Seemantini 可以專門談論 IT。

And so this is a culture that we've created here that candidly did not exist, but the key word is perpetual. And that means that it's ongoing, it's consistent and it's sustainable. And so as we look at '24, we know we're not going to get into the details. What Brandon is reinforcing is that we have a list of things that we're going to do. We're well aware of what we're overlapping. We understand some of the onetime factors we're going to face. And we built processes, initiatives in place to address that. And we'll be more transparent and more detail in our Q4 call because we think it's really important to lay out to you all exactly how we see it and the steps we're going to take.

因此，這是我們在這裡創造的文化，坦白說，這種文化並不存在，但關鍵字是永恆的。這意味著它是持續的、一致的、可持續的。因此，當我們回顧 24 年時，我們知道我們不會深入討論細節。布蘭登強調的是，我們有一份要做的事情清單。我們很清楚我們的重疊之處。我們了解我們將要面臨的一些一次性因素。我們建立了流程和措施來解決這個問題。我們將在第四季度的電話會議中更加透明和詳細，因為我們認為向大家準確說明我們的看法以及我們將要採取的步驟非常重要。

So my gentle follow-up to that, Marvin, is you have OpEx productivity and PPI. Those are the two biggest unlocks. I -- Just to clarify or an assumption, it doesn't sound like what the business comps has anything to do on what those two buckets produce. And then is there a situation in which those two buckets actually produce more in terms of sequencing in '24 than what it was yielding in '23.

Marvin，我的溫和後續行動是您的營運支出生產力和 PPI。這是兩個最大的解鎖。我——只是為了澄清或假設，聽起來商業比較與這兩個桶的生產沒有任何關係。然後會出現這樣一種情況：這兩個桶在 24 年的測序方面實際上產生的結果比在 23 年產生的結果還要多。

So I'll give you the perspective of a long-term operator. If we get the top line, PPI works a whole lot better. So irrespective we're going to intensify the focus. Obviously, if we have a softer top line perspective, we're going to be a lot more aggressive in the PPI side. But irrespective of our comp outlook, PPI is going to be in existence, and we're going to work really hard to make sure that we hit some of the key targets that we lay out. And again, you have our commitment that as we lay out 2024 as best we can, we'll be as transparent as possible about all of these things in our February call.

所以我會給你一個長期經營者的視角。如果我們能獲得收入，PPI 的效果就會好得多。因此，無論如何，我們都會加強重點。顯然，如果我們有一個更溫和的營收前景，我們在 PPI 方面就會更加激進。但無論我們的比較前景如何，PPI 都將存在，我們將非常努力地工作，以確保實現我們制定的一些關鍵目標。我們再次承諾，在我們盡最大努力規劃 2024 年時，我們將在 2 月的電話會議中盡可能對所有這些事情保持透明。

Our next questions are from the line of Chris Horvers with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Chris Horvers。

I want to focus a bit on the top line. You've seen increased big-ticket sensitivity, others are talking about, you mentioned flooring. People are doing smaller projects, you're not buying the suite of appliances, you're doing the bathroom, not the entire [first floor] and flooring. I guess -- so my question is, why isn't the Pro and the remodel business or maybe the remodel business and the answer is different from you on the Pro because of share, but why isn't the remodel business and the Pro business that the next should a drop? And given the changes that you've seen over the past 3 or 4 months, how are you thinking about the bottom of the comp cycle and sort of when does it start to refer back to positive?

我想稍微關註一下頂線。您已經看到大件敏感度的增加，其他人正在談論，您提到了地板。人們正在做較小的項目，你不是買全套電器，你是在做浴室，而不是整個[一樓]和地板。我想 - 所以我的問題是，為什麼不是 Pro 和改造業務，或者可能是改造業務，而且由於共享，答案與 Pro 上的答案不同，但為什麼不是改造業務和 Pro 業務那接下來應該下降嗎？考慮到您在過去 3 或 4 個月中看到的變化，您如何看待補償週期的底部以及它何時開始回升？

So Chris, I'll take the first part of that, and I'm going to just let Bill Boltz talk about some of the initiatives relative to addressing some of the top line concerns. So specific on sales for us, when we look at the quarter, we look at it from a penetration from a DIY perspective and a product mix. So as a reminder, 14% of our revenue comes from appliances. So when you have pull back on some of these big-ticket categories like appliances, is going to be disproportionately impactful for us.

克里斯，我將討論第一部分，我將讓比爾·博爾茨談論一些與解決一些最重要問題相關的舉措。對於我們的銷售來說，當我們審視本季時，我們會從 DIY 角度和產品組合的滲透角度來看待它。提醒一下，我們 14% 的收入來自電器。因此，當你減少家電等一些高價品類的採購時，將對我們產生不成比例的影響。

Having said that, we look at the Pro and to your point, we had a positive comp, and we're really pleased with that, and I went through some of the investments we've made over the course of the last 4 years that we believe are paying dividends relative to that specific small or medium Pro. And the reason we think that, that specific segment of Pro will remain healthy, although cautious, as we've noted from our survey is because of the age of homes. I mean it is a foregone conclusion that if you have a house over 40 years old, things are going to break. And when those things break and those repairs are required that smaller-to-medium contractor is typically the one that's going to get that call.

話雖如此，我們看看 Pro，就你的觀點而言，我們有一個積極的競爭，我們對此非常滿意，我回顧了我們在過去 4 年中所做的一些投資，我們認為，相對於特定的中小型專業公司，我們正在支付股息。正如我們在調查中指出的那樣，我們認為 Pro 的特定部分將保持健康（儘管持謹慎態度）的原因是房屋的年齡。我的意思是，如果你的房子已經有超過 40 年的歷史，那麼一切都會破裂，這已成定局。當這些東西壞了並且需要維修時，中小型承包商通常會接到電話。

And these pros are incredibly transparent with us and 70% say they feel really good about their backlog. But they also said that when they watch the news and they read the headlines, they're a little cautious because they just don't know what's lurking around the corner, but they're busy because these homes are old. These homes are not turning, so people are living in these homes. And so that's really the driver of that customer segment remaining healthy and busy. And look, we can't predict the bottom. But what we can say is that we're incredibly disciplined. Anytime you can deliver a 46 basis point improvement in operating margin on a negative [7.4%] comp.

這些專業人士對我們非常透明，70% 的人表示他們對自己的積壓工作感到非常滿意。但他們也表示，當他們看新聞和頭條新聞時，他們有點謹慎，因為他們只是不知道拐角處潛藏著什麼，但他們很忙，因為這些房子很舊。這些房屋不會轉動，因此人們住在這些房屋中。因此，這確實是該客戶群保持健康和忙碌的驅動力。看，我們無法預測底部。但我們可以說的是，我們非常自律。任何時候您都可以在負 [7.4%] 的情況下將營業利潤率提高 46 個基點。

It tells you that there are a lot of really things working from a productivity standpoint that drives margin rate improvement and basis point improvement in customer service that we're really proud of. So we feel good about the execution of the team, and we can't predict kind of what's going to happen when, but we can say whenever it happens, we're well positioned to take advantage of it. And I'll pivot to Bill just to talk about kind of what we're trying to do to remain agile and to try to make sure that we are driving a business environment that's attracting DIY customers and keeping these products coming back also.

它告訴您，從生產力的角度來看，有很多真正有效的事情可以推動利潤率的提高和客戶服務基點的改善，我們對此感到非常自豪。因此，我們對團隊的執行力感覺良好，我們無法預測什麼時候會發生什麼，但我們可以說，無論什麼時候發生，我們都處於有利位置，可以利用它。我將轉向比爾，談談我們正在努力做些什麼來保持敏捷性，並努力確保我們正在推動一個吸引 DIY 客戶並保持這些產品回歸的商業環境。

Yes. Thanks, Marvin. And Chris, just some of the things that we've talked about really over the last few quarters that I'm pleased with the work that the team has done is the continued acquiring of brands and making sure that we've got relevant assortments inside of our stores and online. And so we announced today Toro as part of our outdoor power equipment. We talked about Klein last quarter, and we're just starting to get that brand now into the electrical and the tool category. So that's excitement for us. We talked about localized assortments and Marvin touched briefly on the rural strategy. That's just one element of a localized opportunity.

是的。謝謝，馬文。克里斯，我們在過去幾個季度中真正討論過的一些事情，我對團隊所做的工作感到滿意，那就是繼續收購品牌並確保我們擁有相關的品種我們的商店和網上。因此，我們今天宣布 Toro 成為我們戶外動力設備的一部分。上個季度我們談到了 Klein，現在我們剛開始將品牌納入電氣和工具類別。這對我們來說很興奮。我們討論了在地化品種，馬文簡短地談到了農村戰略。這只是在地化機會的一個要素。

And then we continue to try to pivot to where the customer is. So as -- we've seen some of the softening in appliances from an industry-wide standpoint, because we're the industry leader here, we want to make sure that we can meet the customer where they want us to meet them, and that's adjusting. And so we feel like the adjustments the teams have made to make sure that we can go after the 100,000-plus appliances that break in the United States every single week that we're there when the consumer needs us both online and in-store. We continue to enhance our fundamentals and our foundation online. And so offering Apple Pay as a way to make it easier for the customer to transact online. This is just one element, same-day delivery and then obviously being seasonally relevant.

然後我們繼續嘗試以客戶為中心。因此，從整個行業的角度來看，我們已經看到了電器的一些軟化，因為我們是這裡的行業領導者，我們希望確保我們能夠滿足客戶希望我們滿足的地方，並且這就是調整。因此，我們認為團隊所做的調整是為了確保當消費者在網路和店內需要我們時，我們每週都能處理在美國發生故障的 10 萬多台電器。我們繼續增強我們的基礎和線上基礎。因此，提供 Apple Pay 作為讓客戶更輕鬆地進行線上交易的方式。這只是其中一個因素，即當日送達，而且顯然與季節性相關。

As we go into this Friday with Black Friday, it's about making sure that we've got strong offers out there that gets the customer to the door into the website. And that's the stuff that we'll continue to do. And at the same time, we have to be competitively priced. We've got to be relevant every single day. And so that's the kind of work that the team continues to stay focused on. And it takes time, obviously, to get that customer to know that these changes have happened inside of our store and online, and we're just going to just stay focused on what we can control.

當我們進入本週五的黑色星期五時，我們要確保我們提供強大的優惠，吸引客戶進入網站。這就是我們將繼續做的事情。同時，我們的價格必須具有競爭力。我們每天都必須保持相關性。這就是團隊繼續關注的工作。顯然，要讓客戶知道這些變化已經發生在我們的商店內部和網路上，我們需要時間，而我們只會專注於我們可以控制的事情。

And then my follow-up is, again, on the Pro side. As you think about the momentum in that business over this year or what you're seeing in the basket in terms of the projects that they're doing. Whether it's size or price point -- price spectrum, is there any change in momentum on the Pro side of the business?

然後我的後續行動再次是在專業版方面。當您考慮今年該業務的勢頭或您在籃子中看到的他們正在做的項目時。無論是規模還是價格－價格範圍，專業版業務的動能是否有任何變化？

Chris, thanks for the question. And listen, we can tell you that with the firm loyalty and CRM that we launched, we continue to view the basket. We continue to view the mix. We are very encouraged and continue to exceed expectation in the core metrics. And we continue to launch new capabilities, things like online quotes for the bulk pricing that Bill talked about. In my prepared remarks, I mentioned the integrated same-day gig delivery, streamlined order tracking. And so there's a lot going into that pro from an effort standpoint. And so we continue to be pleased at the progress.

克里斯，謝謝你的提問。聽著，我們可以告訴您，透過我們推出的堅定忠誠度和 CRM，我們將繼續專注於購物籃。我們繼續觀察這種組合。我們深受鼓舞，並在核心指標上繼續超出預期。我們繼續推出新功能，例如比爾談到的批量定價的線上報價。在我準備好的發言中，我提到了整合的當日演出交付、簡化的訂單追蹤。因此，從努力的角度來看，這位職業選手需要付出很多努力。因此，我們仍然對進展感到高興。

Next question is from the line of Seth Sigman with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的塞思‧西格曼 (Seth Sigman)。

So I wanted to follow up on pricing and promotional activity. Obviously, you talked about elevated promotions and appliances, and how that's being funded by vendors. I realize that category is a little bit unique, but how would you categorize discounting activity across other categories? And maybe you could also just elaborate on what you have seen and what you've been doing with that low price guarantee?

所以我想跟進定價和促銷活動。顯然，您談到了更高的促銷和設備，以及供應商如何為其提供資金。我意識到該類別有點獨特，但您如何對其他類別的折扣活動進行分類？也許您還可以詳細說明您所看到的以及您在低價保證下所做的事情？

Yes, Seth, it's Bill. And so just a couple of things here. As I said, we are seeing probably more of a move on pre-pandemic levels of promotion, specifically in the appliance area. These are largely vendor supported, but we want to make sure that we're there, obviously, and we're part of all that. As it relates to the overall, the industry remains pretty rational and pretty stable. You want to make sure that at certain times of the year, you're out there with the relevant offers and that you're doing the things that you need to do. So whether that's in the spring or this Black Friday, we're excited about having some of those offers out there and working within the guardrails and the profitability targets that we've established.

是的，賽斯，是比爾。這裡僅介紹幾件事。正如我所說，我們可能看到大流行前的促銷水平發生了更多變化，特別是在家電領域。這些主要是由供應商支持的，但顯然我們希望確保我們在那裡，並且我們是這一切的一部分。從整體來看，產業還是比較理性、比較穩定的。您希望確保在一年中的某些時間，您可以提供相關優惠，並且正在做您需要做的事情。因此，無論是在春季還是在這個黑色星期五，我們都很高興能夠提供其中一些優惠，並在我們制定的護欄和盈利目標範圍內開展工作。

But all in all, it remains, I think, relatively rational. I think the consumer is looking for value, and so we've got to find different ways to highlight value, and those are the things that this team is doing and value can come a lot of ways outside of just a reduction in price. You can highlight it through new and innovative products. You can highlight it through a special offer if that's what comes out, or we can do it through a vendor-funded promotion. So those are things that we're trying to take advantage of.

但總而言之，我認為它仍然是相對理性的。我認為消費者正在尋找價值，因此我們必須找到不同的方式來突出價值，這些就是這個團隊正在做的事情，除了降低價格之外，價值還可以透過多種方式實現。您可以透過新的創新產品來突出它。如果發生這種情況，您可以透過特別優惠來突出顯示它，或者我們可以透過供應商資助的促銷活動來做到這一點。這些都是我們正在努力利用的東西。

And Seth, this is Brandon. I would just add the adjustments that Bill is talking about that we're making as the consumers changing as we're moving through the year, our go-to-market strategy, all of that's fully embedded and reflected in our updated outlook and confidence that we're able to achieve our flat gross margins for the year.

塞斯，這是布蘭登。我只想補充比爾所說的隨著消費者在這一年中發生變化而做出的調整，我們的市場策略，所有這些都完全嵌入並反映在我們更新的前景和信心中我們能夠實現今年持平的毛利率。

And Seth on a low price guarantee, our research just indicated that we needed a more simplistic straightforward message to the customers about our value. We had something that was a little too cute, call it, a price promise that I think was way too ambiguous, and we just decided just to keep it simple and stand by the fact that we will support the lowest price in the industry on the products that we sell. We just launched it. We think the timing is perfect going into a holiday season where you have a slightly cautious consumer looking for a value. And so you take everything that Bill said about the definition of value and the fact that we're going to put media behind this lowest price guarantee. We hope that sends a message to the consumer that they could always expect a lowest price at Lowe's.

賽斯提供低價保證，我們的研究表明，我們需要向客戶傳達有關我們價值的更簡單直接的訊息。我們有一個有點太可愛的東西，我認為價格承諾太含糊了，我們只是決定保持簡單並堅持這樣一個事實：我們將支持業界最低的價格我們銷售的產品。我們剛剛推出它。我們認為，進入假期季節的時機是完美的，因為消費者在尋找價值時會略顯謹慎。因此，你可以理解比爾所說的關於價值定義的一切，以及我們將把媒體置於最低價格保證背後的事實。我們希望這向消費者傳達這樣的訊息：他們始終可以在勞氏 (Lowe's) 享受最低價格。

Okay. That's very helpful. I did have one follow-up on capital allocation, specifically share repurchases. Just based on what you've done year-to-date, where leverage sits today, how do you think about the pace of buybacks from here? Should we be thinking about that starting to slow into the fourth quarter and even over the next couple of quarters based on the demand backdrop. How do we think about that?

好的。這非常有幫助。我確實對資本配置進行了一項後續行動，特別是股票回購。根據您今年迄今所做的事情以及目前的槓桿情況，您如何看待目前回購的步伐？我們是否應該根據需求背景考慮到第四季甚至未來幾季開始放緩。我們對此有何看法？

Seth, this is Brandon. So our capital allocation priorities unchanged. We're going to continue to invest in the business in high-return projects, targeting a 35% dividend payout ratio and funneling the remainder to share repurchases. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we do expect funding and share repurchases through operating cash flow here in the near term and expect modest if any share repo in Q4 also expect to be in line with our stated leverage target at the end of the year. So we're also looking at our debt towers, paying those off as they mature. We have $500 million this past Q3. We have $450 million coming due in 2024, and we remain committed to our BBB+ credit rating and expect to manage our leverage accordingly.

賽斯，這是布蘭登。所以我們的資本配置優先順序不變。我們將繼續投資高回報項目的業務，目標是 35% 的股息支付率，並將剩餘資金用於股票回購。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的那樣，我們確實預計短期內將透過營運現金流進行融資和股票回購，並預計第四季度的任何股票回購也將符合我們年底規定的槓桿目標。 。因此，我們也在關注我們的債務塔，在它們到期時還清它們。上個第三季我們有 5 億美元。我們將於 2024 年到期 4.5 億美元，我們仍然致力於維持 BBB+ 信用評級，並期望相應地管理我們的槓桿率。

Next question is from the line of Michael Lasser with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的麥可‧拉瑟 (Michael Lasser)。

Given the importance of sales to the PPI initiative, if you're looking at, call it, another down 5% comp next year, do you start to become more aggressive with promotions or other actions in order to start to drive sales because you'll get a return on it in other ways?

鑑於銷售對 PPI 計劃的重要性，如果您正在考慮，稱之為明年另一次下降 5% 的補償，您是否會開始更加積極地進行促銷或其他行動以開始推動銷售，因為您「會以其他方式獲得回報嗎？

Michael, we're not going to get into 2024 at this time. We'll speak more specifically about that on the Q4 call. What I'll just repeat is PPI is perpetual for a reason. We're going to keep doing it. It's sustainable, it's ongoing, and we're going to be agile. We'll take the necessary steps to make sure we're running a really sound business thinking first about driving service for the customers and giving our associates a great place to work. But other than that, PPI will be in place irrespective of top line, and we'll adjust it accordingly.

邁克爾，我們現在不會進入 2024 年。我們將在第四季度的電話會議上更具體地討論這一點。我要重複的是，PPI 的永恆是有原因的。我們將繼續這樣做。它是可持續的、持續的，我們將保持敏捷。我們將採取必要的措施，確保我們的業務運作真正健全，首先考慮為客戶提供優質服務，並為我們的員工提供一個良好的工作場所。但除此之外，無論營收如何，PPI 都會保持不變，我們也會相應地進行調整。

Okay. My follow-up question is, Morgan, as you look at your sales by market, by region, and tie to the underlying housing characteristics and dynamics in those markets, where are you seeing better trends? And where are you seeing worse trends such that it informs how you think about how the rest of this cycle is going to unfold from here. It's likely at some point, hopefully, housing turnover is going to pick up. That could bode well for home improvement demand. But if it comes with a corresponding tick down in home prices, that could be not so good for home improvement demand.

好的。我的後續問題是，摩根，當您按市場、按地區查看您的銷售情況，並與這些市場的基本住房特徵和動態聯繫起來時，您在哪裡看到了更好的趨勢？你在哪裡看到了更糟糕的趨勢，從而告訴你如何思考這個週期的其餘部分將如何從這裡展開。希望在某個時候，房屋成交量可能會回升。這對居家裝修需求來說可能是個好兆頭。但如果房價相應下跌，對家居裝修需求可能就沒那麼有利了。

Michael, it's a fair question. If you strip out storm overlaps, geographically, our performance is relatively balanced. So there are really no outliers. When you look at markets that had a dramatic run-up in housing costs and some level of moderation, there's really no material impact to our business based on that. Obviously, it's something that we stay very close to. We're paying attention to it. But as of right now, it's not material, and we don't see it as something that's going to affect our business in the near term.

邁克爾，這是一個公平的問題。如果除去風暴重疊，從地理位置上看，我們的表現相對平衡。所以確實不存在異常值。當你觀察住房成本大幅上漲並在一定程度上有所放緩的市場時，你會發現這對我們的業務確實沒有產生實質影響。顯然，這是我們非常接近的事情。我們正在關注它。但截至目前，這並不重要，我們認為它不會在短期內影響我們的業務。

Next question comes from the line of Brian Nagel with Oppenheimer & Company.

下一個問題來自奧本海默公司的布萊恩‧內格爾 (Brian Nagel)。

So a couple of questions on top line. I just going to merge them together. But first off, a big follow-up just on appliances. So Morgan, you talked about maybe some normalization in overall promotion vendor way. I guess the question I have on appliances, are you seeing anything shift in the market? I mean obviously, we're against the demand backdrop. But are you seeing anything shift from a competitive standpoint? And then my second question, just with respect to the underlying cadence of the business. We saw, it would appear to be a weakening trends through the fiscal third quarter and then presumably here into the fourth quarter. Anything that you can -- clearly, there's seasonal factors there, but is there anything else you could really call out that they have -- you guys identified as kind of a driver of that we can trend the overall business?

所以有幾個問題是最重要的。我只是要把它們合併在一起。但首先，我們要對電器進行大的後續行動。摩根，您談到了整體促銷供應商方式的一些標準化。我想我對電器的疑問是，您看到市場有什麼變化嗎？我的意思是，顯然，我們面臨需求背景。但從競爭的角度來看，您是否看到任何變化？然後是我的第二個問題，關於業務的基本節奏。我們看到，整個第三財季的趨勢似乎都在減弱，然後可能會持續到第四季。任何你能做的——顯然，那裡有季節性因素，但是還有什麼你可以真正指出的——你們認為是我們可以推動整體業務趨勢的驅動因素嗎？

Michael, I'll take both and just allow Brandon and Bill to jump in if they have any additional comments. On the appliance shift, I mean we're not seeing anything other than what Bill talked about, where you have vendor-funded promotions kind of driving average ticket down. And also, as we mentioned in the prepared comments, we're seeing customers being just a little more specific on their purchases going from an entire suite to just a refrigerator as an example.

邁克爾，我會接受這兩個，如果布蘭登和比爾有任何其他意見，我會介入。關於電器的轉變，我的意思是，除了比爾所說的之外，我們沒有看到任何其他東西，即供應商資助的促銷活動會導致平均票價下降。而且，正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，我們看到客戶對購買的商品更加具體，從整套套房到僅購買冰箱為例。

And I think this is just the cautious nature of the DIY discretionary spending on some of these bigger ticket cargos we talked about. We already market leader in the U.S. and appliances. And as I mentioned earlier, 14% of our annual revenue is predicated to appliances. And so when the market is soft, we have a disproportionate impact. Having said that, we feel great about our market-leading position. And as Bill outlined, we have some competitive offers on single unit purchases for the holiday season, that's the best in the industry. And so we feel like we're in a good place relative to the marketplace.

我認為這只是我們談到的一些大件貨物的 DIY 可自由支配支出的謹慎本質。我們已經在美國和家電市場處於領先地位。正如我之前提到的，我們年收入的 14% 來自家電。因此，當市場疲軟時，我們會產生不成比例的影響。話雖如此，我們對我們的市場領先地位感到很高興。正如比爾所概述的，我們在假期期間為單件購買提供了一些有競爭力的報價，這是業內最好的。因此，我們覺得我們相對於市場處於有利的位置。

On weakening trends, there's not anything we can put our finger on it. I mean you know all the macro indicators with the resumption of student loan debt and sustained inflation, interest rates. And I just think that those things combined with the fact that people are just choosing to take discretionary dollars and have more experiences with those dollars is really leading into some of the things that we're seeing. And when those discretionary categories are impacted, those are typically DIY-related purchases. And again, at 75% penetration in DIY, we just have a disproportionate impact to that. So I'll let Brandon or Bill add anything else if they have it in addition to what I just said.

對於疲軟的趨勢，我們沒有什麼可以指出的。我的意思是，你知道所有宏觀指標，包括學生貸款債務的恢復和持續的通貨膨脹、利率。我只是認為，這些事情加上人們只是選擇接受可自由支配的美元並擁有更多使用這些美元的經驗這一事實，確實導致了我們所看到的一些事情。當這些可自由支配的類別受到影響時，這些類別通常是與 DIY 相關的購買。再說一次，DIY 的滲透率為 75%，我們對此產生了不成比例的影響。因此，除了我剛才所說的之外，如果布蘭登或比爾還有其他的話，我會讓他們補充。

The only thing that I would add, Brian, is that just, as I said earlier, just a reminder that over 100,000 units of appliances break in the marketplace every week. And we've got to be there for that consumer as the market leader, and that's what we're trying to do and do that in a responsible manner to make sure that we can hit all the financial targets that we need to hit. But also make sure that we can meet the customer where they want to be met, both online and in-store.

Brian，我唯一要補充的是，正如我之前所說，只是提醒大家，每周有超過 100,000 台電器進入市場。我們必須作為市場領導者為消費者服務，這就是我們正在努力做的事情，並以負責任的方式做到這一點，以確保我們能夠實現我們需要實現的所有財務目標。但也要確保我們能夠在客戶想要的地方與他們會面，無論是在網路上還是在店內。

Yes. And Brian, this is Brandon. Just to wrap it out in terms of how we are looking at Q4. I think our outlook largely a continuation of the macro and the traffic trends that we've experienced in Q3. We do expect a light or a slight impact from lumber deflation as we transition into Q4. All of the offers that Bill has talked about with appliance holiday offers are reflected in there. We do expect some light pressure from cycling Hurricane Ian. So we've triangulated all that. We've looked at 1-, 2-, 4-year trends all of that sort of baked into the expectations that we set, and we believe it's very achievable for us here for Q4.

是的。布萊恩，這是布蘭登。只是總結一下我們如何看待第四季。我認為我們的前景很大程度上是我們在第三季經歷的宏觀和流量趨勢的延續。我們確實預計，隨著進入第四季度，木材通貨緊縮會產生輕微或輕微的影響。比爾談到的所有與家電假期優惠有關的優惠都反映在其中。我們確實預計颶風伊恩會給騎行帶來輕微壓力。所以我們已經對所有這些進行了三角測量。我們已經研究了 1 年、2 年、4 年的趨勢，所有這些都融入了我們設定的預期，我們相信這對我們來說在第四季度是非常有可能實現的。

Thank you all for joining us today. We'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to speaking with you on our fourth quarter earnings call in February.

感謝大家今天加入我們。我們祝大家感恩節快樂和美好的假期，我們期待在二月份的第四季財報電話會議上與您交談。

Thank you. This concludes the Lowe's third quarter 2023 earnings call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。 Lowe’s 2023 年第三季財報電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。