Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Main Street Capital third-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Main Street Capital 第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明） 請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Zach Vaughan. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向大家介紹你們的主持人扎克·沃恩。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Main Street Capital Corporation's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Joining me today with prepared comments are Dwayne Hyzak, Chief Executive Officer; David Magdol, President and Chief Investment Officer; and Ryan Nelson, Chief Financial Officer. Also participating in the Q&A portion of the call is Nick Meserve, Managing Director and Head of Main Street's Private Credit Investment Group.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。感謝您參加 Main Street Capital Corporation 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起發表準備好的評論的是執行長 Dwayne Hyzak； David Magdol，總裁兼首席投資長；和瑞安·尼爾森，首席財務長。Main Street 私人信貸投資集團董事總經理兼負責人 Nick Meserve 也參加了電話會議的問答部分。

Main Street issued a press release yesterday afternoon that details the company's third quarter financial and operating results. This document is available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at mainstcapital.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning an hour after the completion of the call and will remain available until November 15.

Main Street 昨天下午發布了一份新聞稿，詳細介紹了該公司第三季的財務和營運業績。本文件可在公司網站 mainstcapital.com 的投資者關係部分取得。今天的電話會議的重播將在電話會議結束一小時後開始提供，並將持續到 11 月 15 日。

Information on how to access the replay was included in yesterday's release. We also advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live to the Internet and can be accessed on the company's home page.

有關如何存取重播的資訊已包含在昨天的發布中。我們也建議您，本次電話會議正在網路上進行現場直播，並且可以在公司主頁上進行存取。

Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, November 8, 2024, and therefore, you are advised that time sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

請注意，本次電話會議報告的資訊僅截至今天（2024 年 11 月 8 日），因此，我們建議您，在重播收聽或閱讀文字記錄時，時間敏感的資訊可能不再準確。

Today's call will contain forward-looking statements. Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as anticipates, believes, expects, intends, will, should, may, or similar expressions.

今天的電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述。許多前瞻性陳述可以透過使用諸如預期、相信、期望、打算、將、應該、可能或類似表達等詞語來識別。

These statements are based on management's estimates, assumptions, and projections as of the date of this call, and there are no guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these statements as a result of risks, uncertainties and other factors including, but not limited to the factors set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found on the company's website or at sec.gov. Main Street assumes no obligation to update any of these statements unless required by law.

這些陳述是基於管理層截至本次電話會議之日的估計、假設和預測，對未來績效不提供任何保證。由於風險、不確定性和其他因素，實際結果可能與這些聲明中明示或暗示的結果有重大差異，這些因素包括但不限於公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中列出的因素，這些文件可以在公司網站或 sec.gov。除非法律要求，否則 Main Street 不承擔更新任何這些聲明的義務。

During today's call, management will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, including distributable net investment income or DNII. DNII is net investment income, or NII, as determined in accordance with the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, excluding the impact of noncash compensation expenses.

在今天的電話會議上，管理層將討論非 GAAP 財務指標，包括可分配淨投資收益或 DNII。DNII 是根據美國公認會計原則 (GAAP) 確定的淨投資收入 (NII)，不包括非現金補償費用的影響。

Management believes that presenting DNII and the related per share amount are useful and appropriate supplemental disclosures for analyzing Main Street's financial performance since noncash compensation expenses do not result in net cash impairment to Main Street upon settlement. Please refer to yesterday's press release for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

管理層認為，提供 DNII 和相關每股金額對於分析 Main Street 的財務表現是有用且適當的補充披露，因為非現金補償費用不會在結算時對 Main Street 造成淨現金減值。請參閱昨天的新聞稿，以了解這些非公認會計準則指標與最直接可比較的公認會計準則財務指標的調整表。

Two additional key performance indicators that management will be discussing on this call are net asset value or NAV, and return on equity or ROE. NAV is defined as total assets minus total liabilities and is also reported on a per share basis. Main Street defines ROE as the net increase in net assets resulting from operations divided by the average quarterly total net assets.

管理階層將在本次電話會議上討論的另外兩個關鍵績效指標是資產淨值（NAV）和股本回報率（ROE）。資產淨值定義為總資產減去總負債，也以每股為基礎報告。Main Street 將 ROE 定義為營運產生的淨資產淨成長除以平均季度總淨資產。

Please note that certain information discussed on this call, including information related to portfolio companies was derived from third-party sources and has not been independently verified.

請注意，本次電話會議中討論的某些資訊（包括與投資組合公司相關的資訊）來自第三方來源，未經獨立核實。

Now I'll turn the call over to Main Street's CEO, Dwayne Hyzak.

現在我將把電話轉給 Main Street 的執行長 Dwayne Hyzak。

Thanks, Zach. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We appreciate your participation on this morning's call, and we hope that everyone is doing well. On today's call, I will provide my usual update regarding our performance in the quarter. We'll also provide an update on our asset management activities, our recent dividend declarations, our expectations for dividends going forward, our recent investment activities and current investment pipeline and several other noteworthy updates.

謝謝，扎克。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。我們感謝您參加今天早上的電話會議，希望每個人都一切順利。在今天的電話會議上，我將按照慣例提供有關本季業績的最新情況。我們還將提供有關我們的資產管理活動的最新資訊、我們最近的股息聲明、我們對未來股息的預期、我們最近的投資活動和當前的投資管道以及其他一些值得注意的更新。

Following my comments, Dave and Ryan will provide additional comments regarding our investment strategy, investment portfolio, financial results, capital structure and leverage, and our expectations for the fourth quarter, after which we'll be happy to take your questions.

在我發表評論後，戴夫和瑞安將就我們的投資策略、投資組合、財務業績、資本結構和槓桿率以及我們對第四季度的預期提供更多評論，之後我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

We're pleased with our performance in the third quarter, which resulted in an annualized return on equity of 18.8%, DNII per share that continued to exceed the dividends paid to our shareholders, and a new record for NAV per share for the ninth consecutive quarter. We believe that these continued strong results demonstrate the sustainable strength of our overall platform, the benefits of our differentiated and diversified investment strategies, the unique contributions of our asset management business, and the continued underlying strength and quality of our portfolio companies.

We're pleased with our performance in the third quarter, which resulted in an annualized return on equity of 18.8%, DNII per share that continued to exceed the dividends paid to our shareholders, and a new record for NAV per share for the ninth consecutive四分之一.我們相信，這些持續強勁的業績證明了我們整體平台的可持續實力、我們差異化和多元化投資策略的優勢、我們資產管理業務的獨特貢獻以及我們投資組合公司持續的基礎實力和品質。

We are also pleased that we further enhanced our strong capital structure and liquidity position during the quarter, which Ryan will discuss in more detail. And we continue to maintain very strong liquidity and a conservative leverage profile, which we believe is important in the current economic environment.

我們也很高興我們在本季進一步增強了強大的資本結構和流動性狀況，瑞安將對此進行更詳細的討論。我們繼續保持非常強勁的流動性和保守的槓桿狀況，我們認為這在當前的經濟環境中很重要。

We maintain attractive investment pipelines in both our lower middle market and private loan investment strategies, and we remain excited about the opportunities in our lower middle market and private loan investment portfolios and in our asset management business, each of which has us well positioned for the future and provide us a continued favorable outlook for the fourth quarter.

我們在中低端市場和私人貸款投資策略上都保持著有吸引力的投資管道，我們對中低端市場和私人貸款投資組合以及資產管理業務中的機會仍然感到興奮，每一個機會都使我們在未來，並為我們提供了第四季度持續良好的前景。

We remain confident that these strategies, together with our cost-efficient operating structure will allow us to continue to deliver superior results for our shareholders in the future. Our positive results for the third quarter, combined with our favorable outlook for the fourth quarter resulted in a recommendation to our Board of Directors for our most recent dividend announcements, which I'll discuss in more detail later.

我們仍然相信，這些策略以及我們具有成本效益的營運結構將使我們能夠在未來繼續為股東提供卓越的績效。我們第三季的正面業績，加上我們對第四季的良好前景，導致我們向董事會推薦了最新的股息公告，我將在稍後詳細討論。

Our NAV per share increased in the quarter primarily due to the impact of net fair value increases in our investment portfolio and our asset management business and the accretive impact of our equity issuances, which Ryan will discuss in more detail.

我們的每股資產淨值在本季度有所增長，主要是由於我們的投資組合和資產管理業務的淨公允價值增加的影響以及我們股票發行的增值影響，瑞安將對此進行更詳細的討論。

The continued favorable performance of the majority of our lower middle market portfolio companies resulted in another quarter of strong dividend income contributions and significant net fair value appreciation in the equity investments in our lower middle market portfolio.

我們大多數中低端市場投資組合公司的持續良好表現導致另一個季度強勁的股息收入貢獻以及我們中低端市場投資組合中股權投資的顯著淨公允價值升值。

We are also excited to have several portfolio companies in the advanced stages of completing strategic acquisitions, which if successful will provide the opportunity for additional future fair value appreciation in addition to providing us highly attractive incremental debt investments in these high performing portfolio companies.

我們也很高興有幾家投資組合公司處於完成策略性收購的後期階段，如果成功，除了為我們提供對這些高性能投資組合公司極具吸引力的增量債務投資之外，還將提供未來公允價值額外升值的機會。

We also continue to see increased interest from potential buyers in several of our lower middle market portfolio companies and could lead to favorable realizations over the next few quarters and which we believe further highlights the strength and quality of our portfolio companies.

我們也繼續看到潛在買家對我們的幾家中低端市場投資組合公司的興趣不斷增加，並可能在未來幾季實現有利的實現，我們相信這進一步凸顯了我們投資組合公司的實力和品質.

Our lower middle market investment activity in the third quarter included total investments of $52 million, which after repayments and other investment activity, resulted in a net increase in lower middle market investments of $2 million.

第三季中低階市場投資活動包括總投資 5,200 萬美元，扣除還款和其他投資活動後，中低階市場投資淨增加 200 萬美元。

Although this investment activity was lower than our expectations for the quarter, we're pleased to have completed two new lower middle market platform company investments shortly after quarter end, which David will cover in more detail. And we expect to have additional lower middle market investment activity before year end.

儘管這項投資活動低於我們對本季的預期，但我們很高興在季度末後不久完成了兩項新的中低端市場平台公司投資，大衛將對此進行更詳細的介紹。我們預計年底前將會有更多的中低階市場投資活動。

We're very pleased with our private loan investment activity in the quarter. This activity included total private loan investments of $309 million, which after repayments and other investment activity resulted in a net increase in our private loan investments of $163 million. Given our conservative capital structure and strong liquidity position, we remain very well positioned to continue the growth of our investment portfolio over the next few quarters.

我們對本季的私人貸款投資活動感到非常滿意。這項活動包括私人貸款投資總額 3.09 億美元，扣除還款和其他投資活動後，我們的私人貸款投資淨增加 1.63 億美元。鑑於我們保守的資本結構和強勁的流動性狀況，我們仍處於有利位置，可以在未來幾季繼續投資組合的成長。

We've also continued to produce positive results for our asset management business. The funds we advise through our external investment manager continued to experience favorable performance in the third quarter, resulting in significant incentive fee income for our asset management business for the eighth consecutive quarter, and together with our recurring base management fees, a significant contribution to our net investment income.

我們的資產管理業務也持續取得正面成果。我們透過外部投資經理提供諮詢服務的基金在第三季度繼續表現良好，為我們的資產管理業務連續第八個季度帶來了可觀的激勵費收入，加上我們的經常性基本管理費，為我們的資產管理業務做出了重大貢獻。

We also benefited from significant fair value appreciation in the value of our External Investment Manager due to a combination of the continued increase in fee income, growth in assets under management, and broader market based drivers.

由於費用收入的持續成長、管理資產的成長以及更廣泛的市場驅動因素，我們也受益於外部投資經理價值的顯著公允價值升值。

We remain excited about our plans for the external funds that we manage as we execute our investment strategies and other strategic initiatives, and we are optimistic about the future performance of the funds and the attractive returns we are providing to the investors of each fund and about our strategy of growing our asset management business within our internally managed structure.

我們對在執行投資策略和其他策略舉措時管理的外部基金的計劃仍然感到興奮，我們對基金的未來表現以及我們為每隻基金的投資者提供的有吸引力的回報感到樂觀我們在內部管理結構內發展資產管理業務的策略。

As part of these efforts, we are very pleased with our progress in exploring a potential listing of the shares of MSC Income Fund, a non-listed BDC advised by our External Investment Manager. As detailed in MSC Income Fund's recent definitive proxy statement, upon the approval of the fund's shareholders and effective upon a listing of the fund's shares, the fund would transition its investment strategy to be solely focused on its private loan investment strategy, accompanied by an amendment to its investment advisory agreement to among other things, align its fee structure with the go-forward investment strategy.

作為這些努力的一部分，我們對探索 MSC Income Fund 股票潛在上市的進展感到非常高興，MSC Income Fund 是一家由我們的外部投資經理建議的非上市 BDC。正如MSC Income Fund最近的最終委託書所詳述的那樣，在獲得基金股東批准並在基金股票上市後生效後，該基金將把其投資策略轉變為僅專注於私人貸款投資策略，並附有一項修正案其投資諮詢協議，除其他外，使其費用結構與前瞻性投資策略保持一致。

The fund plans to hold a special meeting of its shareholders in early December to consider and vote on the proposals set forth in the fund's definitive proxy statement, each of which is intended to position the fund's listed shares. We're very excited about these potential activities and changes, which we believe represent significant catalysts to the future growth of the fund and the opportunity for significant future benefits to both to fund's shareholders and our asset management business.

該基金計劃於 12 月初召開股東特別會議，審議基金最終委託書中提出的提案並進行投票，每項提案均旨在定位該基金的上市股票。我們對這些潛在的活動和變化感到非常興奮，我們相信這些活動和變化是基金未來成長的重要催化劑，並為基金股東和我們的資產管理業務提供了未來獲得重大利益的機會。

Based upon our results for the third quarter, combined with our favorable outlook in each of our primary investment strategies and for our asset management business, earlier this week, our Board declared a supplemental dividend of $0.30 per share payable in December, representing our 13th consecutive quarterly supplemental dividend and an increase to our regular monthly dividends for the fourth quarter of 2025 to $0.25 per share.

根據我們第三季的業績，結合我們對每項主要投資策略和資產管理業務的良好前景，本週早些時候，我們的董事會宣布12 月份支付每股0.30 美元的補充股息，這是我們連續第13 次派發股息。

The first quarter regular monthly dividends are payable in each of January, February, and March and represent a 4% increase from the regular monthly dividends paid in the first quarter of 2024. The supplemental dividend for December is a result of our strong performance in the third quarter and will result in total supplemental dividends paid during the trailing 12 month period of $1.20 per share, representing an additional 41% paid to our shareholders in excess of our regular monthly dividends, and total dividends for the trailing 12 months of over $4 per share and the current total yield we are providing to our shareholders of approximately 8%.

第一季每月定期股利將於 1 月、2 月和 3 月支付，較 2024 年第一季支付的每月定期股利增加 4%。12 月的補充股息是我們第三季強勁業績的結果，將導致過去 12 個月期間支付的補充股息總額為每股 1.20 美元，相當於向股東支付的額外股息超出我們每月定期支付的金額股息，過去12 個月的股息總額超過每股4 美元，目前我們提供給股東的總收益率約為8%。

We currently expect to recommend that our Board continue to declare future supplemental dividends to the extent DNII significantly exceeds our regular monthly dividends paid in future quarters and we maintain a stable to positive NAV. Based upon our expectations for continued favorable performance in the fourth quarter, we currently anticipate proposing an additional supplemental dividend payable in March 2025.

目前，我們預計建議董事會繼續宣布未來的補充股息，前提是 DNII 顯著超過我們未來季度支付的每月定期股息，並且我們保持穩定至正的資產淨值。基於我們對第四季度持續良好業績的預期，我們目前預計提議於 2025 年 3 月支付額外補充股息。

Now turning to our current investment pipeline. As of today, I would characterize our lower middle market investment pipeline as above average. We believe that the unique and flexible financial solutions that we can provide to lower middle market companies and their owners and management teams and our differentiated long-term to permanent holding periods represent an attractive solution to the needs of many lower middle market companies. And we are confident in our expectations for favorable lower middle market investment activity over the next few months.

現在轉向我們目前的投資管道。截至今天，我認為我們的中低階市場投資管道高於平均水準。我們相信，我們可以為中低端市場公司及其所有者和管理團隊提供獨特而靈活的金融解決方案，以及我們差異化的長期至永久持有期，這對許多中低端市場公司的需求來說是一種有吸引力的解決方案。我們對未來幾個月有利的中低端市場投資活動充滿信心。

We also continue to be very pleased with the performance of our private credit team and the significant growth that they have provided for our private loan portfolio and our asset management business. And as of today, I would characterize our private loan investment pipeline as average.

我們也對私人信貸團隊的表現以及他們為我們的私人貸款組合和資產管理業務帶來的顯著增長感到非常滿意。截至今天，我將我們的私人貸款投資管道描述為平均水平。

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

這樣，我就把電話轉給大衛。

Thanks, Dwayne, and good morning, everyone. As Dwayne highlighted in his remarks, we believe our strong third quarter financial results continue to demonstrate the strength of Main Street's platform, our differentiated investment approach and our unique operating model. We are pleased to report that the overall operating performance for most of our portfolio companies continue to be positive, which contributed to our attractive third quarter financial results.

謝謝，德韋恩，大家早安。正如 Dwayne 在演講中所強調的那樣，我們相信我們強勁的第三季財務業績繼續證明了 Main Street 平台的實力、我們差異化的投資方法和獨特的營運模式。我們很高興地報告，我們大多數投資組合公司的整體經營業績繼續保持樂觀，這為我們第三季的財務表現帶來了吸引力。

We did, however, experience continued softness in certain portfolio companies with a consumer discretionary focused products or services, which we have been monitoring for several quarters, and we are actively working to maximize our recoveries on these specific investments. As we've discussed in the past, the largest portion of our investment portfolio and a primary driver of our long-term success has been and continues to be our focus on the underserved lower middle market and specifically, our strategy of investing in both the debt and the equity of lower middle market companies.

然而，我們確實經歷了某些以非必需消費品為重點的產品或服務的投資組合公司的持續疲軟，我們已經監控了幾個季度，並且我們正在積極努力以最大限度地提高這些特定投資的回收率。正如我們過去所討論的，我們投資組合的最大部分和我們長期成功的主要驅動力一直是並將繼續是我們對服務不足的中低端市場的關注，特別是我們的投資策略中低端市場公司的債務和股權。

In our view on the relative attractiveness of investing in the lower middle market remains unchanged, and we expect this will continue to be our primary area of focus in the future. Each quarter, we try to highlight key aspects of our investment strategy and differentiated approach. For today's call, we thought it would be useful to spend some time discussing the support we provide to our lower middle market portfolio companies.

我們認為投資中低端市場的相對吸引力保持不變，預計這將繼續是我們未來的主要關注領域。每個季度，我們都會努力強調我們投資策略和差異化方法的關鍵方面。在今天的電話會議中，我們認為花一些時間討論我們為中低端市場投資組合公司提供的支援會很有用。

In addition to our ongoing investment management activities and the managerial systems we offer to our lower middle market portfolio companies, we specifically want to highlight an annual event we host for the leaders of our lower middle market portfolio companies, the eighth annual Main Street Presidents' Meeting.

除了我們正在進行的投資管理活動和我們為中低端市場投資組合公司提供的管理系統外，我們特別想強調我們為中低端市場投資組合公司的領導者舉辦的年度活動，即第八屆年度大街總裁會議。

For those of you who are not familiar with our Presidents Meeting, it's an annual event Main Street hosts for our lower middle market portfolio company leaders to network, build relationships, share best practices, learn from each other, and benefit from being on Main Street's portfolio.

對於那些不熟悉我們總裁會議的人來說，這是Main Street 為我們中低端市場投資組合公司領導者舉辦的一年一度的活動，旨在建立聯繫、建立關係、分享最佳實踐、相互學習並從參與Main Street 中受益文件夾。

Based on post-event feedback we received from our lower middle market portfolio company executives, the event is highly valued by the participants, and the event improves each year as we refine our agenda based on the feedback we received. Topics covered in the most recent meeting included an M&A panel with several portfolio companies' CEOs, considerations for effectively utilizing artificial intelligence, Q&A on today's political landscape, an economic update, and cybersecurity best practices.

根據我們從中低端市場投資組合公司高管那裡收到的活動後反饋，該活動受到參與者的高度重視，並且隨著我們根據收到的反饋完善議程，活動每年都在改進。最近一次會議涵蓋的主題包括由多家投資組合公司執行長組成的併購小組、有效利用人工智慧的考慮因素、當今政治格局的問答、經濟動態和網路安全最佳實踐。

As a result of this annual event, our portfolio companies have done business together, referred business to each other, utilized each other as operational resources, and made long-term friendships that are invaluable. To provide more context, one panel we received very positive feedback on this year was focused on M&A best practices for add-on acquisitions.

透過這次年度活動，我們的投資組合公司共同開展業務，互相介紹業務，互相利用對方的營運資源，並建立了寶貴的長期友誼。為了提供更多背景信息，我們今年收到的非常積極的反饋的一個小組重點討論了附加收購的併購最佳實踐。

The panel was comprised of a peer group of our lower middle market portfolio company leaders a discussion on the benefits of pursuing an add-on acquisition strategy, developing and executing a successful integration plan, and lessons learned while executing an external growth strategy. We are highly confident the lessons learned that were shared by the panelists will be very helpful examples for other portfolio company executives to consider as they execute acquisition strategies in the future.

該小組由中低端市場投資組合公司領導者組成的同行小組組成，討論了追求附加收購戰略、制定和執行成功的整合計劃的好處，以及在執行外部增長戰略時吸取的經驗教訓。我們非常有信心，小組成員分享的經驗教訓將為其他投資組合公司高階主管在未來執行收購策略時考慮提供非常有用的範例。

Another valuable topic we covered was best practices for a CEO considering using artificial intelligence in their business. This session was led by an experienced industry expert who presented the benefits and potential pitfalls of AI. The discussion explored various use cases, technical implications, and takeaways to evaluate how AI can be used to potentially accelerate and improve various business processes and sales and marketing strategies.

我們討論的另一個有價值的主題是執行長考慮在其業務中使用人工智慧的最佳實踐。本次會議由一位經驗豐富的行業專家主持，他介紹了人工智慧的好處和潛在陷阱。討論探討了各種用例、技術含義和要點，以評估如何使用人工智慧來加速和改進各種業務流程以及銷售和行銷策略。

The engagement from the audience for both sessions was robust and led to several post-event discussions, including the sharing of key third-party resources and best practices that we believe will ultimately improve the financial results and operating performance for our portfolio companies in the future.

兩次會議的觀眾參與度都很高，並引發了多次會後討論，包括分享關鍵的第三方資源和最佳實踐，我們相信這些將最終改善我們投資組合公司未來的財務業績和經營業績。

Given our focus on our lower middle market strategy and the unique benefits it could provide, we are excited to bring together the key leadership from our lower middle market portfolio companies at this highly effective annual Presidents Meeting event.

鑑於我們對中低端市場策略及其可以提供的獨特優勢的關注，我們很高興能夠在這次高效的年度總裁會議活動中匯集低端市場投資組合公司的主要領導層。

We always leave the event very excited about the quality of the individuals leading our lower middle market portfolio companies and the future value creation that we expect they and their teams can generate for our mutual benefit in the future. We left this year's event more excited than ever.

我們總是在活動結束時對領導我們中低端市場投資組合公司的個人的素質以及我們期望他們及其團隊能夠為我們未來的共同利益創造的未來價值感到非常興奮。我們離開今年的活動比以往任何時候都更加興奮。

Now turning to the overall composition and results from our investment portfolio as of September 30, we continue to maintain a highly diversified portfolio of investments in 193 companies spanning across numerous industries and end markets.

現在轉向我們截至 9 月 30 日投資組合的整體組成和結果，我們繼續對跨越眾多行業和終端市場的 193 家公司保持高度多元化的投資組合。

Our largest portfolio companies, excluding our External Investment Manager represented only 3.6% of our total investment income for the trailing 12-month period and 3.2% of our total investment portfolio fair value at quarter end. The majority of our portfolio investments represented less than 1% of our income and our assets.

我們最大的投資組合公司（不包括我們的外部投資經理）僅占我們過去 12 個月期間總投資收入的 3.6%，佔季末總投資組合公允價值的 3.2%。我們的大部分投資組合僅占我們收入和資產的不到 1%。

Our investment activity in the third quarter included total investments in our lower middle market portfolio of $52 million, which after aggregate repayments on debt investments and return of invested equity capital, resulted in the net increase in our lower middle market portfolio of $2 million. As Dwayne mentioned in his remarks, post quarter end, in the first half of October, we closed two additional lower middle market platform investments representing an additional $116 million of invested capital.

我們第三季的投資活動包括對中低端市場投資組合的總投資為 5,200 萬美元，在償還債務投資和投資股本資本回報後，我們對中低端市場投資組合的淨增長為 200 萬美元。正如 Dwayne 在他的演講中提到的，季度末後，即 10 月上半月，我們完成了另外兩項中低端市場平台投資，相當於額外 1.16 億美元的投資資本。

Driven by the capabilities and relationships of our private credit team, we also completed $309 million in total private loan investments, which after aggregate repayments and sales of several private loan portfolio debt investments and return of invested capital from a private loan portfolio of company equity investment, resulted in a net increase in our private loan portfolio of $163 million. Our private loan investment activity also included significant benefits of a $26 million realized gain on an equity investment that resulted in an impressive 5.6 times multiple of invested capital.

在我們私人信貸團隊的能力和關係的推動下，我們還完成了3.09 億美元的私人貸款投資總額，這是在若干私人貸款組合債務投資的總還款和銷售以及公司股權投資私人貸款組合的投資資本回報之後完成的，導致我們的私人貸款組合淨增加 1.63 億美元。我們的私人貸款投資活動還包括透過股權投資實現 2,600 萬美元收益的重大收益，該收益是投資資本的 5.6 倍，令人印象深刻。

At the end of the third quarter, our lower middle market portfolio included investments in 84 companies, representing $2.5 billion of fair value, which is over 28% above our cost basis. We had 92 companies in our private loan portfolio representing $1.9 billion at fair value. Total investment portfolio at fair value at quarter end was 115% of the related cost cases.

截至第三季末，我們的中低端市場投資組合包括對 84 家公司的投資，公允價值達 25 億美元，比我們的成本基礎高出 28% 以上。我們的私人貸款投資組合中有 92 家公司，以公允價值計算價值 19 億美元。季末以公允價值計算的總投資組合佔相關成本案例的115%。

In summary, Main Street's investment portfolio continues to perform at a high level and deliver on our long-term results and goals. Additional details on our investment portfolio at quarter end are included in the press release that we issued yesterday. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ryan to cover financial results, capital structure, and liquidity.

總而言之，Main Street 的投資組合繼續保持高水準表現，並實現了我們的長期業績和目標。有關我們季度末投資組合的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們昨天發布的新聞稿。接下來，我將把電話轉給瑞安，討論財務表現、資本結構和流動性。

Thank you, David. To echo Dwayne's and David's comments, we are pleased with our operating results for the third quarter. Our total investment income for the third quarter was $136.8 million, increasing by $13.6 million or 11% over the third quarter of 2023, and by $4.7 million or 3.5% from the second quarter of 2024.

謝謝你，大衛。為了回應 Dwayne 和 David 的評論，我們對第三季的經營業績感到滿意。我們第三季的總投資收入為 1.368 億美元，比 2023 年第三季增加 1,360 萬美元，增幅 11%，比 2024 年第二季增加 470 萬美元，增幅 3.5%。

Our results for the third quarter of 2024 included strong levels of investment income which, as Dwayne and David touched on demonstrates the continued strength of our differentiated investment in asset management strategies.

我們 2024 年第三季的業績包括強勁的投資收入水平，正如 Dwayne 和 David 所提到的，這表明我們在資產管理策略方面差異化投資的持續優勢。

Interest income increased by $11.2 million from a year ago and by $10.5 million when compared to the second quarter. The increase over the prior year was driven primarily by the impact of increased net investment activity over the last year, partially offset by the impact of an increase in investments on non-accrual status and a decrease in interest rates on our floating rate debt investments, primarily resulting from decreases in benchmark index rates. The increase over the prior quarter was driven primarily by the impact of increased net investment activity.

利息收入較去年同期增加 1,120 萬美元，較第二季增加 1,050 萬美元。與前一年相比的成長主要是由於去年淨投資活動增加的影響，部分被非應計狀態投資增加和浮動利率債務投資利率下降的影響所抵消，主要是由於基準指數利率下降所致。上一季的成長主要是由於淨投資活動增加的影響。

Dividend income increased by $2 million or 9.7% when compared to a year ago, including a $300,000 increase in unusual or non-recurring dividends and decreased by $3.4 million or 12.9% from the second quarter after the impact of a $1.9 million decrease in unusual or nonrecurring dividends.

股息收入較去年同期增加200 萬美元，即9.7%，其中異常或非經常性股息增加30 萬美元，但由於異常或非經常性股息減少190 萬美元，較第二季度減少340 萬美元，即12.9 %。

The continued underlying strength of the majority of our lower middle market portfolio companies, together with the unique benefits of our asset management business drove the strong level of dividend income in the third quarter.

我們大多數中低階市場投資組合公司的持續潛在實力，加上我們資產管理業務的獨特優勢，推動了第三季股息收入的強勁水平。

Fee income increased by $0.4 million from a year ago and decreased by $2.4 million from the second quarter. The decrease in fee income over the prior quarter was primarily driven by lower closing fees on new and follow-on investments during the third quarter. Fee income related to refinancing and prepayment fees considered non-recurring decreased by $0.4 million compared to a year ago and decreased by $1 million compared to the second quarter.

費用收入較去年同期增加 40 萬美元，較第二季減少 240 萬美元。上一季費用收入下降的主要原因是第三季新投資和後續投資的成交費用降低。與再融資和非經常性預付款相關的費用收入較去年同期減少 40 萬美元，較第二季減少 100 萬美元。

For the third quarter, the impact of certain income list considered less consistent or non-recurring in nature, including dividends from our equity investments and accelerated prepayment, repricing and other activity related to our debt investments totaled $2.2 million.

第三季度，某些收入清單被認為不太一致或非經常性的影響，包括我們的股權投資的股息以及加速預付款、重新定價和與我們的債務投資相關的其他活動，總計為220 萬美元。

In the aggregate, these items were $2.4 million or $0.03 per share lower than the average of the prior four quarters and $2.9 million or $0.03 per share lower than the second quarter and $1.6 million or $0.02 per share higher than the third quarter of last year.

總的來說，這些項目比前四個季度的平均水平低240 萬美元，即每股0.03 美元，比第二季度低290 萬美元，即每股0.03 美元，比去年第三季度高160 萬美元，即每股0.02 美元。

Our operating expenses increased by $8.2 million from a year ago, largely driven by increases in interest expense, share-based compensation expense, and deferred compensation expense. The increase in interest expense from a year ago was primarily driven by an increase in weighted average rate on our debt obligations and an increase in average borrowings to fund a portion of the growth of our investment portfolio.

我們的營運費用比一年前增加了 820 萬美元，主要是由於利息費用、股權激勵費用和遞延薪酬費用的增加。利息支出較上年同期增加的主要原因是我們債務加權平均利率的上升以及為投資組合成長提供資金的平均借款增加。

The ratio of our total operating expenses, excluding interest expense as a percentage of our average total assets was 1.3% for the quarter on an annualized basis and continues to be among the lowest in our industry.

以年化計算，本季我們的總營運費用（不包括利息費用）佔平均總資產的比例為 1.3%，繼續處於行業最低水準。

Our External Investment Manager contributed $7.9 million to our net investment income during the third quarter, representing an increase of $0.3 million from a year ago and a decrease of $1.3 million from the second quarter. The Manager earned $2.4 million in incentive fees during the quarter decreasing by $0.2 million from the prior year and $1.7 million from the second quarter. The Manager ended the quarter with total assets under management of $1.6 billion.

第三季度，我們的外部投資經理為我們的淨投資收入貢獻了790萬美元，比去年同期增加了30萬美元，比第二季度減少了130萬美元。管理公司在本季賺取了 240 萬美元的獎勵費，比前一年減少了 20 萬美元，比第二季減少了 170 萬美元。截至本季末，管理公司管理的總資產達 16 億美元。

During the quarter, we recorded net fair value appreciation, including net realized gains and net unrealized depreciation on the investment portfolio of $48.1 million. We recorded net fair value appreciation of our External Investment Manager, our lower middle market portfolio and our other portfolio, partially offset by net fair value depreciation in our private loan portfolio and our legacy middle market portfolio.

本季度，我們記錄了投資組合 4,810 萬美元的淨公允價值增值，包括已實現淨收益和未實現淨折舊。我們記錄了外部投資經理、中低端市場投資組合和其他投資組合的淨公允價值增值，部分被我們的私人貸款投資組合和傳統中端市場投資組合的淨公允價值貶值所抵銷。

The fair value appreciation of our External Investment Manager was a result of a combination of an increase in the valuation multiples of publicly traded peers, which we use as well as benchmarks for valuation purposes and an increase in the fees generated by the External Investment Manager driven by the continued strong performance of our asset management business.

我們的外部投資經理的公允價值升值是由於我們使用的公開交易同業的估值倍數增加以及用於估值目的的基準以及外部投資經理驅動的費用增加的綜合結果得益於我們資產管理業務的持續強勁表現。

The net fair value appreciation in our lower middle market was largely driven by the continued positive performance of certain of our portfolio companies. The net fair value depreciation in our private loan portfolio was driven by the net impact of increases in market spreads and specific portfolio company underperformance, partially offset by the net fair value appreciation related to favorable exit of a portfolio company at a $25.5 million realized gain in the quarter, as David discussed.

我們中低階市場的淨公允價值升值主要是由我們某些投資組合公司的持續積極績效所推動的。我們的私人貸款投資組合中的淨公允價值貶值是由市場利差增加和特定投資組合公司表現不佳的淨影響推動的，但部分被投資組合公司有利退出相關的淨公允價值升值所抵消，2017年實現的收益為2550萬美元。

We ended the third quarter with investments on non-accrual status comprising approximately 1.4% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and approximately 3.9% at cost. Net asset value or NAV increased by $0.77 per share or 2.6% over the second quarter to a record NAV per share of $30.57 at the end of the third quarter.

截至第三季末，我們的非權責發生製投資以公允價值計算約佔總投資組合的 1.4%，以成本計算約佔 3.9%。每股資產淨值或 NAV 較第二季成長 0.77 美元，即 2.6%，第三季末每股資產淨值達到創紀錄的 30.57 美元。

Our regulatory debt-to-equity leverage, calculated as total debt excluding our SBIC debentures, divided by net asset value was 0.69 times, and our regulatory asset coverage ratio was 2.44 times, and these ratios continue to be more conservative than our long-term targets of 0.8 times to 0.9 times and 2.1 times to 2.25 times respectively.

我們的監理債股槓桿率（以不包括SBIC債券的總負債除以資產淨值計算）為0.69倍，監理資產覆蓋率為2.44倍，這些比率仍比我們的長期保守。倍和2.1倍至2.25倍。

We continue to be active in the quarter on capital activities. In September of this year, we issued an additional $100 million of unsecured notes maturing in June 2027, resulting in a yield to maturity of approximate 5.6% on such issuance.

本季我們持續積極進行資本活動。今年 9 月，我們額外發行了 1 億美元無擔保票據，將於 2027 年 6 月到期，此類發行的到期收益率約為 5.6%。

The additional issuance increased the total amount of our June 2027 notes to $400 million, and we borrowed an additional $63.8 million SBIC debentures, increasing our total outstanding amount to a $350 million regulatory limit.

此次增發使我們 2027 年 6 月票據的總金額增加至 4 億美元，並且我們額外借入了 6,380 萬美元的 SBIC 債券，將我們的未償發行總額增加至 3.5 億美元的監管限額。

We also amended our SPV facility in September, increasing commitments by $170 million to $600 million, decreasing the interest rate by 25 basis points, and extending maturity to September 2029. We were also active in our at the market or ATM program, raising net proceeds of $65.6 million during the quarter. After the investment in capital activities in the third quarter, we continue to maintain very strong liquidity, including cash and availability under our credit facilities in excess of $1.3 billion.

我們也在 9 月修改了 SPV 設施，將承諾增加 1.7 億美元至 6 億美元，將利率降低 25 個基點，並將期限延長至 2029 年 9 月。我們也積極參與市場或 ATM 計劃，本季籌集了 6,560 萬美元的淨收益。在第三季的資本活動投資之後，我們繼續保持非常強勁的流動性，包括超過 13 億美元的信貸額度下的現金和可用資金。

We continue to believe that our conservative leverage, strong liquidity and continued access to capital are significant strengths that have proven to benefit us historically and have us well positioned for the future, allowing us to continue to execute our attractive investment strategies.

我們仍然相信，我們保守的槓桿率、強大的流動性和持續獲得資本的能力是重要的優勢，事實證明，這些優勢歷來使我們受益，並使我們為未來做好準備，使我們能夠繼續執行有吸引力的投資策略。

As we discussed last quarter with the current level of liquidity, we currently expect to fund our new investment activity for the next few quarters through a greater portion of debt financing, and as such, we would expect leverage to continue to increase during this time period to be closer to our long-term stated targets.

正如我們上季度討論的當前流動性水平，我們目前預計透過更大一部分債務融資為未來幾季的新投資活動提供資金，因此，我們預計槓桿率將在這段時間內繼續增加更接近我們的長期既定目標。

Coming back to our operating results. As a result of strong performance for the quarter, our return on equity for the third quarter and the first nine months of the year was 18.8% and 17.4% on an annualized basis respectively. DNII per share for the quarter of $1.06 was $0.02 or 1.9% higher than DNII per share for the third quarter of last year and was $0.01 or 0.9% lower than the DNII per share for the second quarter.

回到我們的經營績效。由於本季表現強勁，我們第三季和今年前九個月的年化股本回報率分別為 18.8% 和 17.4%。本季每股 DNII 為 1.06 美元，比去年第三季每股 DNII 高出 0.02 美元，即 1.9%，比第二季每股 DNII 低 0.01 美元，即 0.9%。

These results were the impact of certain investment income considered less consistent or nonrecurring in nature, as I discussed earlier, which was $0.03 per share below the second quarter, $0.03 below the average of the last four quarters and $0.02 below per share above the same quarter a year ago.

正如我之前所討論的，這些結果是某些被認為不太一致或非經常性的投資收入的影響，每股比第二季度低0.03 美元，比過去四個季度的平均水平低0.03 美元，比同季每股低0.02 美元一年前。

Looking forward, given the strength of our underlying portfolio, we expect another strong top line and earnings quarter in the fourth quarter with expected DNII of at least $1.08 per share, with a potential for upside driven by the actual level of dividend income and portfolio investment activities during the quarter.

展望未來，鑑於我們基礎投資組合的實力，我們預計第四季度將再次實現強勁的營收和盈利季度，預計DNII 至少為每股1.08 美元，並有可能在股息收入和投資組合投資的實際水平的推動下上漲本季的活動。

With that, I will now turn the call back over to the operator so we can take any questions.

現在，我將把電話轉回給接線員，以便我們回答任何問題。

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. (Operator instructions)

謝謝。我們現在將進行問答環節。（操作員說明）

Bryce Rowe, B Riley Securities.

布萊斯羅 (Bryce Rowe)，B 萊利證券公司。

Thanks. Good morning all. I wanted to, Dwayne, maybe start on your commentary around the pipeline. Last quarter, you had the well above-average comment, and it sounds like some of the lower middle market activity might have slipped here to the fourth quarter.

謝謝。大家早安。德維恩，我想也許可以從你對管道的評論開始。上個季度，您的評論遠高於平均水平，聽起來一些中低端市場活動可能已經滑落到第四季度。

Just wanted to make sure I'm kind of reading into that the right way. And then any commentary around the move from well above to above for lower middle market and then within the private loan book going from well-above to average.

只是想確保我以正確的方式解讀這一點。然後，圍繞中低端市場從遠高於到高於，然後在私人貸款帳簿中從遠高於到平均水平的變化的任何評論。

Sure, Bryce. Thanks for the question. I'll give some initial comments. I'll let David add on any additional comments he has. I think when you look at the lower middle market pipeline guidance, I'd say there's a couple of things.

當然，布萊斯。謝謝你的提問。我將給出一些初步評論。我會讓大衛補充他的任何其他評論。我認為當你看到中低端市場的管道指導時，我會說有幾件事。

One is what we touched on in the script. We had a couple of investments that we were expecting or hoping would close in the third quarter that just slipped into the first week or two of October. So that was about $115 million of new investment activity. So that was part of the movement or underperformance relative to our expectations on lower middle market investment activity in the third quarter.

一是我們在劇本中提到的內容。我們有幾項投資預計或希望在第三季完成，但這些投資剛剛滑到了十月的第一周或第二週。因此，新投資活動約為 1.15 億美元。因此，相對於我們對第三季中低端市場投資活動的預期，這是表現不佳的一部分。

But we've also had a number of transactions or investments that we were actively actually getting on in due diligence and legal documentation that just, for one reason or another, just slipped away. Some of it was due diligence issues in at least one case.

但我們也有一些交易或投資，我們在盡職調查和法律文件中實際上正在積極進行，但由於某種原因，只是溜走了。其中至少有一個案例涉及盡職調查問題。

It was the owner operator of the company rethinking what he and they were doing and deciding to hold off on doing a transaction. So we had at least 3 transactions, off the top of my head, that because of one of those two reasons did not end to closing in the third quarter and won't close in the fourth quarter.

這是公司的所有者經營者重新思考他和他們正在做的事情並決定推遲進行交易。因此，我們至少有 3 筆交易，在我的腦海中，由於這兩個原因之一沒有在第三季結束，也不會在第四季結束。

Despite that, we continue to feel good about the pipeline. We do have a number of transactions in the lower middle market focus area or strategy that we expect to close between now and year end. And if we achieve that, we think we'll be in good shape both for Q4 and heading into 2025.

儘管如此，我們仍然對管道感覺良好。我們確實在中低階市場重點領域或策略中有許多交易，我們預計從現在到年底之間將完成這些交易。如果我們實現這一目標，我們認為我們在第四季度和進入 2025 年都將處於良好狀態。

On the private loan side, I'd say the team there has been very active. If you look back not just to the third quarter but also the second quarter, we had a significant amount of investment activity. And I would say that the pipeline for that group as they executed those activities has just cooled off a little bit.

在私人貸款方面，我想說那裡的團隊非常活躍。如果你不僅回顧第三季度，而且回顧第二季度，我們有大量的投資活動。我想說的是，該小組執行這些活動的管道剛剛冷卻了一點。

So it's not a negative pipeline but I'd say it's returned back into that average classification after two quarters of significant activity and a lot of efforts on the investment side. David, anything you would add on the lower middle market side?

因此，這不是一個負面的管道，但我想說，經過兩個季度的重大活動和投資方面的大量努力，它已經回到了平均分類。大衛，您對中低端市場有什麼補充嗎？

No, I think you've covered it.

不，我想你已經涵蓋了它。

Good deal. And Dwayne on the, you noted a pretty active third quarter for private loan. Can you talk a little bit about kind of what you're seeing from a pricing and terms perspective, especially in light of all the talk of, spreads compressing and then, obviously lower base rates that we're, we're starting to see flow through portfolios. So any any commentary around competitive levels within the private loan market around both pricing and terms?

好交易。德韋恩（Dwayne），您注意到第三季私人貸款相當活躍。您能否從定價和條款的角度談談您所看到的情況，特別是考慮到所有的討論，利差壓縮，然後，我們開始看到明顯較低的基本利率流經投資組合。那麼，對於私人貸款市場的定價和條款競爭水平有何評論？

Sure, Bryce. Again, I'll give a couple of initial comments and I'll let Nick, our Managing Director that leads our Private Credit team, let him add on anything that he has. I would say we obviously can't control the base rate market component. So that is what it is. We just like other BDCs and other private credit funds. Our results will continue to be impacted by that. So we don't really focus on that just because we can't control (inaudible) to be in the space. That's just part of your investment management that you're going to have to deal with.

當然，布萊斯。再次，我將給出一些初步評論，並讓領導我們私人信貸團隊的董事總經理尼克補充他所擁有的任何內容。我想說我們顯然無法控制基本利率市場部分。就是這樣。我們就像其他 BDC 和其他私人信貸基金一樣。我們的結果將繼續受到影響。所以我們並不是因為我們無法控制（聽不清楚）進入這個空間而真正關注這一點。這只是您必須處理的投資管理的一部分。

On the spread side, I'd say we have seen some pressure. The way I would categorize it is probably 25 basis points of pressure since quarter end, maybe 75 to 100 basis points since a year ago. So we're seeing some pressure. We continue to have the view based upon what we hear from other BDCs that are focused on the larger companies, kind of the upper middle market that we're seeing less pressure than they are, but we are seeing some pressure there.

在利差方面，我想說我們已經看到了一些壓力。我的分類方式是自季度末以來壓力可能有 25 個基點，自一年前以來可能有 75 到 100 個基點。所以我們看到了一些壓力。我們的觀點仍然基於我們從其他專注於大公司的 BDC 那裡聽到的情況，即中高端市場，我們看到的壓力比他們小，但我們在那裡看到了一些壓力。

And we wish that pressure wasn't there, but we still find the spread levels and the quality of the investment opportunities to be good for our strategy and investments that we think we can still do really well on in our private credit, private loan strategy. So it hasn't deterred us from investing, but we have seen some pressure there.

我們希望壓力不存在，但我們仍然發現利差水準和投資機會的品質有利於我們的策略和投資，我們認為我們仍然可以在私人信貸、私人貸款策略方面做得很好。所以這並沒有阻止我們投資，但我們看到了一些壓力。

The other thing I'd say we've seen is we have seen some regional local commercial banks that have surprised us, and it really stepped up on some of our portfolio companies when they come in and beat us by a wide margin in terms of spread. Again, that's not something we can control.

The other thing I'd say we've seen is we have seen some regional local commercial banks that have surprised us, and it really stepped up on some of our portfolio companies when they come in and beat us by a wide margin in terms of傳播.再說一次，這不是我們可以控制的。

We do expect that to be more sporadic as opposed to a permanent part of the marketplace, but we have seen that more on some repayment activity as opposed to new investment activity. But that's the way I would kind of respond to your question, but I'm happy to let Nick add any additional color.

我們確實預期這種情況會更加零星，而不是市場的永久部分，但我們看到更多的是一些還款活動，而不是新的投資活動。但這就是我回答你的問題的方式，但我很高興讓尼克添加任何額外的顏色。

Dwayne, I think you nailed it there. I think we've really just seen a consistent tightening of 75 to 100 basis points over the year. I think we'll see a little bit more pricing, 25 basis points since quarter end. I think we'll maybe crack a little bit tighter as year end. We're seeing a few competitors step in that might need to spend for the year in their budget, and they're willing to kind of come down on pricing to win some deals.

德韋恩，我想你已經成功了。我認為我們今年確實看到了 75 至 100 個基點的持續緊縮。我認為我們會看到價格上漲一點，自季度末以來上漲 25 個基點。我認為到年底我們可能會更加緊張。我們看到一些競爭對手介入，他們可能需要在今年的預算中支出，並且他們願意降低價格以贏得一些交易。

That's helpful.

這很有幫助。

Bryce, just one other comment. I'd say that the significant activity we had in Q2 and Q3, we feel really good about it, given some of that spread compression.

布萊斯，只是另一個評論。我想說，考慮到價差壓縮，我們在第二季和第三季進行的重大活動讓我們感覺非常好。

Yes, understood. Maybe last one for me. You guys have certainly made the comment about maybe leaning into the available debt capital to fund. And just kind of curious, in the third quarter, we saw net balance sheet leverage go down. Was that just your conservative nature, not knowing what might come here in the fourth quarter? Just kind of curious why you didn't lean on that debt capital a little bit more in the third quarter. And relative to the comments about future quarters here, you'll likely use debt capital to fund new investments.

是的，明白了。也許對我來說是最後一張。你們肯定已經發表過關於可能傾向於利用可用債務資本來融資的評論。有點奇怪的是，在第三季度，我們看到資產負債表淨槓桿率下降。這只是你保守的本性，不知道第四季會發生什麼事？只是有點好奇為什麼你在第三季沒有更多地依賴債務資本。相對於這裡關於未來幾季的評論，您可能會使用債務資本來為新投資提供資金。

Yes, Bryce, I'd say some of it was just our continued conservative nature. But I'd say the biggest factor was, we had a really, really large lower middle market pipeline. Some of that pipeline did not come to fruition. So we were probably more active under the ATM program in the quarter than we would have otherwise been if we had known what the actual lower middle market activity was going to be. So nothing significant other than the expectations for that well above average, lower middle market investment pipeline not coming to fruition in the third quarter.

是的，布萊斯，我想說，部分原因是我們持續的保守本性。但我想說，最大的因素是，我們有非常非常大的中低階市場通路。其中一些管道並未實現。因此，如果我們知道實際的中低端市場活動將會是什麼，那麼本季我們在 ATM 計劃下的活動可能會比其他情況下更加活躍。因此，除了對遠高於平均的中低端市場投資管道在第三季不會實現的預期之外，沒有什麼重大意義。

Okay. All right. I'll jump back in queue. Thanks guys.

好的。好的。我會插回隊列。謝謝你們。

Thanks, Bryce.

謝謝，布萊斯。

Robert Dodd, Raymond James.

羅伯特·多德，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Hi guys. Thank you. Just an immediate follow-on to that one from price first. So the ATM usage, obviously, in Q3, you just explained why. Those deals have closed, well, some of them are at least closing in Q4. So should we expect lower ATM usage in Q4 because you're essentially prefunded in the sense of the deals with the ATM in Q3 that have been closed into Q4? Or can you give us any color on like what the trends are going to be near term there without giving too much away?

嗨，大家好。謝謝。只是價格第一的直接後續。顯然，在第三季度，ATM 的使用情況，您剛剛解釋了原因。這些交易已經完成，其中一些至少會在第四季度完成。那麼，我們是否應該預期第四季 ATM 使用率會下降，因為從第三季 ATM 交易到第四季已經結束的意義上來說，您基本上已經獲得了預先融資？或者您能否在不透露太多資訊的情況下向我們介紹一下近期的趨勢？

Yes. Robert, I think that is the right conclusion. In the absence of the lower middle market pipeline, you're really building significantly from here. You should expect us to see to have less activity under the ATM in Q4.

是的。羅伯特，我認為這是正確的結論。在缺乏中低端市場管道的情況下，您實際上正在從這裡開始進行大量建設。您應該預期我們會看到第四季 ATM 下的活動減少。

Got it. Thank you. On the dividend income, I mean, there was a lot of like the dividend that come in the quarter was below the, nonrecurring dividend income was lower than normal average. I mean, it's not recurring but this typically happens.

知道了。謝謝。關於股息收入，我的意思是，本季度的股息有很多低於正常平均水平，非經常性股息收入也低於正常平均水平。我的意思是，它不會重複出現，但通常會發生。

So, but it didn't happen as much this quarter. Was there any theme there? Was it we're holding on to maybe a little bit of incremental capital ahead of something like that? Do you say, do you think that might catch up in Q4? Or was it non-recurring that's just not going to happen, it's not been deferred, but any thoughts there?

所以，但本季這種情況並沒有發生那麼多。那裡有什麼主題嗎？是不是我們在類似的事情發生之前保留了一點增量資本？您認為這可能會在第四季趕上嗎？或者它是非重複性的，只是不會發生，它沒有被推遲，但有什麼想法嗎？

Sure, Robert. So I'll give a couple of comments and then again, David can add on anything else he has. But I'd say the lower middle market portfolio continues to perform really well across the Board. And specifically for the companies that are the key contributors to dividend income, they continue to perform really, really well. So we're not seeing anything that is a concern. But as you've always sort of say, we have high levels of predictability and visibility to interest income.

當然，羅伯特。所以我會給一些評論，然後大衛可以補充他所擁有的任何其他內容。但我想說，中低端市場投資組合繼續全面表現良好。特別是對於股息收入主要貢獻者的公司來說，它們的表現仍然非常非常好。所以我們沒有看到任何令人擔憂的事情。但正如您常說的那樣，我們對利息收入具有高度的可預測性和可見性。

We don't have as much visibility or predictability on the dividend income, and it's not just the performance of the companies but it's what they decide to do with their capital. I think we've mentioned that for a couple of quarters, we have several companies that are pursuing acquisition growth strategies.

我們對股息收入沒有太多的可見性或可預測性，這不僅關係到公司的業績，還關係到他們決定如何利用自己的資本。我想我們已經提到，幾個季度以來，我們有幾家公司正在追求收購成長策略。

But if they're executing with strategies, they're likely going to be a focus on paying dividends. I think you see just some impact of that, but the other is just the quarterly monthly variability from one quarter to the next that drives that. So nothing that's concerning on our side is just the normal variability.

但如果他們執行策略，他們很可能會專注於支付股息。我認為您只看到了其中的一些影響，但另一個影響只是從一個季度到下一個季度的季度月度變化。因此，我們所關心的並不是正常的改變。

I will point out, you probably saw this in the results or if you did, you'll see it when you get the 10-Q. But one part of the dividend income movement quarter-to-quarter was on the asset management business. So you saw less incentive fees come through and that has a direct impact on dividend income. So just make sure you caught that when you look at the quarter-over-quarter fluctuation.

我會指出，您可能在結果中看到了這一點，或者如果您看到了，當您得到 10-Q 時您就會看到它。但季度股息收入變動的一部分來自於資產管理業務。所以你看到激勵費用減少了，這對股息收入有直接影響。因此，請確保在查看季度環比波動時注意到這一點。

Thank you. I did catch that. (Laughter) Sorry, go ahead.

謝謝。我確實明白了。（笑聲） 抱歉，請繼續。

No, all I was going to say to echo Dwayne's comments, there's nothing thematically in the portfolio that's being pulled back. You just have various contributors that are not only doing pursuing acquisition strategies but also reinvesting in their own platform by way of assets and new product innovation and such. So it just ebbs and flows quarter-by-quarter. There's nothing thematic there.

不，我想說的是呼應德韋恩的評論，作品集中沒有任何主題被撤回。你只是有各種貢獻者，他們不僅在追求收購策略，而且還透過資產和新產品創新等方式對自己的平台進行再投資。所以它只是逐季度地潮起潮落。那裡沒有什麼主題。

Got it. Thank you. And then one more, if I could. You mentioned a realized gain, I think, in the private loan portfolio, I think a $26 million realized gain on that side. Was that after quarter end or is that in, obviously, I haven't gone through it yet. But can you give me, what was the source of that and was that after quarter end? And if it was, was that asset also held? Is it going to affect incentive fee income from the asset manager if it was in Q4? I'm just trying to figure out when that actually happens.

知道了。謝謝。如果可以的話，然後再來一張。你提到了私人貸款投資組合中的已實現收益，我認為這方面已實現了 2,600 萬美元的收益。是在季度末之後還是在，顯然，我還沒有經歷過。但你能告訴我，這是什麼原因造成的嗎？如果是，該資產是否也被持有？如果是在第四季度，是否會影響資產管理公司的激勵費收入？我只是想弄清楚什麼時候會真正發生。

It was in Q3, Robert. It will not impact the incentive fees.

那是在第三季度，羅伯特。這不會影響獎勵費用。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員說明）

Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

馬克休斯，Truist 證券公司。

Yeah. Thank you. Good morning. Just out of curiosity, was the lower middle market activity influenced by the election?

是的。謝謝。早安.只是好奇，中低階市場活動是否受到選舉的影響？

I don't think we would say it was influenced by the election at all. Like I said in the earlier response to Bryce, it was in two situations. When you get into due diligence, you're expecting certain banks. If those things aren't there, we're going to be very consistent and we may want to still move forward but at bit different terms.

我認為我們根本不會說它受到選舉的影響。正如我在之前對布萊斯的回應中所說，有兩種情況。當您進行盡職調查時，您會期待某些銀行。如果這些事情不存在，我們將非常一致，我們可能仍希望繼續前進，但條件略有不同。

So when you have that happen, the other side has to agree with that. I'd say in at least two of those situations, it was diligence factors that resulted in a transaction not closing, and then the other one was the owner operator changing his mind.

因此，當發生這種情況時，對方必須同意。我想說，至少在其中兩種情況下，是勤勉因素導致交易未能完成，另一種是業主經營者改變了主意。

Yes. On non-accruals, just a slight uptick. I think you had mentioned the consumer discretionary, you're continuing to work through that. Any sense on timing or what end markets that might be in where you could potentially see improvement?

是的。非應計費用僅小幅上升。我想您已經提到了非必需消費品，您正在繼續解決這個問題。對時機或哪些終端市場可能會出現改善有什麼感覺嗎？

Yes. The new non-accrual was also in a business focused on the consumer. So it's kind of a consistent or continued trend there. I do think that we expect to see significant progress on that specific name over the next couple of months, whether it happens in Q4 or early Q1 remains to be seen but we do expect to see progress there. But in each of the situations that we have, it's a consumer focused business. I think we expect it to be a longer-term road to recovery as opposed to something that's going to happen quickly.

是的。新的非應計費用也適用於專注於消費者的業務。所以這是一個一致或持續的趨勢。我確實認為，我們預計在接下來的幾個月內該特定名稱將取得重大進展，無論是在第四季度還是第一季初仍有待觀察，但我們確實希望看到進展。但在我們遇到的每種情況下，這都是以消費者為中心的業務。我認為我們預計這將是一條長期的復甦之路，而不是很快就會發生的事情。

Understood. Then the EBITDA growth within the lower middle market portfolio, I think you've kind of touched on some of the contours of this, but anything that you're seeing about growth last quarter versus, say, the first six months?

明白了。然後是中低端市場投資組合中的 EBITDA 成長，我認為您已經觸及了其中的一些輪廓，但是您在上個季度（例如前六個月）的成長中看到了什麼？

Yes, we didn't kind of put out any numbers, Mark. What I would tell you from a more of a qualitative standpoint is the portfolio as a whole continues to perform well. I do think if you looked at it and kind of put it into three buckets, companies overperforming on one end, companies underperforming on the other then a bunch of companies kind of in the middle.

是的，馬克，我們沒有公佈任何數字。我從更定性的角度告訴您的是，整個投資組合繼續表現良好。我確實認為，如果你看一下它並將其分為三個部分，一方面公司表現出色，另一方面公司表現不佳，然後一堆公司處於中間。

The companies on the right end of that, the overperforming side are really, really, continue to perform exceptionally well. The groups in the middle, I'd say it's probably flat to maybe just slightly down a little bit, nothing concerning. But definitely, a portfolio where the really good performers are just performing exceptionally well.

位於最右端的公司，也就是表現優異的公司，確實、確實、持續表現得異常出色。中間的群體，我想說它可能是持平的，甚至可能只是稍微下降了一點，沒有什麼關係。但毫無疑問，在一個投資組合中，真正優秀的表現者只是表現得異常出色。

Yes. And then you talked about the prepayment activity or repayment activity that maybe some banks, regional banks getting involved selectively. I'll ask the question again. How far through that process would you say you are? Is there much more to go in your portfolio or has that stabilized?

是的。然後您談到了可能一些銀行、區域銀行有選擇地參與的預付款活動或還款活動。我會再問這個問題。您認為這個過程已經進行到什麼程度了？您的投資組合還有更多可投資的項目還是已經穩定下來？

I'd say, Mark, the regional banks or local banks we come across, it's usually more idiosyncratic where they've banked the company in the past and used before a private sponsor bought them. They did take part in the buyout and then they'd come back a year or two years into it after it's performed well and refinance us at a much cheaper rate.

我想說，馬克，我們遇到的地區銀行或當地銀行，通常比較特殊，他們過去曾為公司提供銀行服務，並在私人贊助商收購它們之前使用過它們。他們確實參與了收購，然後在業績良好之後他們會回來一兩年，並以便宜得多的利率為我們提供再融資。

So a recent example of business, I think in the first quarter of '24, an S plus 650 and then we got (inaudible) two weeks ago at S plus 225. (inaudible)

舉個最近的商業例子，我想是在 24 年第一季度，S + 650，然後我們在兩週前得到了（聽不清楚）S + 225。（聽不清楚）

Yes. So no particular trend there, just idiosyncratic as you say?

是的。所以沒有特別的趨勢，只是像你說的？

Exactly. I'd say it's much more localized banks than our regional bank.

確切地。我想說的是，它比我們的區域銀行更在地化。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Mark.

謝謝，馬克。

This concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to management for closing comments.

問答環節到此結束。我想將發言權交還給管理層以徵求結束意見。

I just want to say thank you again, everyone, for joining us this morning. We appreciate your long-term interest and support of Main Street. And we look forward to talking to you again in late February after our year-end earnings release.

我只想再次感謝大家今天早上加入我們。我們感謝您對 Main Street 的長期關注和支持。我們期待在二月底年終收益發布後再次與您交談。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。