Mister Car Wash Inc (MCW) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to Mister Car Wash's conference call to discuss financial results for the Third Quarter ending September 30, 2023. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this call is being recorded, and the reproduction of this call, in whole or in part, is not permitted without written authorization from the company.

下午好，歡迎參加洗車先生的電話會議，討論截至2023 年9 月30 日的第三季度財務業績。（操作員說明）請注意，本次電話會議正在錄音，並會全部或部分複製本次電話會議，未經公司書面授權，不得進行。

Speaking from management on today's call are John Lai, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer; and Jed Gold, Chief Financial Officer. After John and Jed have made their formal remarks, we will open the call to questions.

在今天的電話會議上，管理階層發表演說的是董事長兼執行長 John Lai；和財務長傑德·戈爾德。約翰和傑德發表正式演講後，我們將開始提問。

During this conference call references to non-GAAP financial measures will be made. A complete reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures have been included in the company's earnings press release issued earlier today and posted to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at mistercarwash.com.

在本次電話會議期間，將提及非公認會計準則財務指標。這些指標與最具可比性的公認會計準則指標的完全一致已包含在公司今天早些時候發布的收益新聞稿中，並發佈在公司網站mistercarwash.com 的投資者關係部分。

As a reminder, comments made on today's call may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from the company's current expectations. Please be advised that the statements made today are currently as of this call and based on the company's present understanding of the market and industry conditions. While the company may choose to update these statements in the future, they are under no obligation to do so unless required by applicable law or regulations. Please review the forward-looking statements disclaimer contained in the company's latest annual 10-K and 10-Q reports as such factors may be updated from time to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

提醒一下，今天電話會議上的評論可能包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到重大風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致公司的實際業績與公司目前的預期有重大差異。請注意，今天發表的聲明是在本次電話會議上發表的，並且基於公司目前對市場和行業狀況的了解。雖然公司將來可能選擇更新這些聲明，但除非適用法律或法規要求，否則他們沒有義務這樣做。請查看公司最新年度 10-K 和 10-Q 報告中包含的前瞻性聲明免責聲明，因為這些因素可能會在向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中不時更新。

I will now turn the call over to Mr. John Lai. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在將電話轉給賴約翰先生。請繼續，先生。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining our Q3 earnings call. We had a solid third quarter and feel good about the upward momentum in our business. Comp store sales were positive and continue to grow quarter-over-quarter. New build openings are on schedule and performing nicely. Our Titanium launch is moving full steam ahead, and we're encouraged by the early results. Our Unlimited Wash Club members who represent over 70% of our revenues, continue to remain our most loyal and steadfast customers, and we continue to manage our expenses while simultaneously investing for the future.

大家下午好，感謝您參加我們的第三季財報電話會議。我們的第三季業績表現強勁，並對我們業務的上升勢頭感到滿意。比較店銷售額呈正值，並持續逐季成長。新建築的開業正在按計劃進行，並且表現良好。我們的鈦合金發布正在全力推進，早期結果令我們深受鼓舞。我們的 Unlimited Wash Club 會員占我們收入的 70% 以上，他們仍然是我們最忠誠和最堅定的客戶，我們將繼續管理我們的開支，同時為未來進行投資。

For the quarter, sales grew 8% to $234 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 8% to $72 million. Comp store sales increased 1.7%. We opened 8 new greenfield stores and are on track to hit our full year target of approximately 35, and we ended the quarter with 462 locations.

該季度銷售額成長 8%，達到 2.34 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 成長 8%，達到 7,200 萬美元。比較店銷售額成長 1.7%。我們新開了 8 家新店，預計將實現約 35 家的全年目標，本季末我們的門市數量達到 462 家。

As we continue to build a company that has enduring value, at the end of the day, it's all about the people that you surround yourself with. From our field operations to our Tucson headquarter staff, it truly takes an army and the strength of Mister Car Wash is due to the strength of our team.

當我們繼續打造一家具有持久價值的公司時，歸根結底，一切都取決於您周圍的人。從我們的現場操作到我們圖森總部的工作人員，這確實需要一支軍隊，而洗車先生的力量源自於我們團隊的力量。

Our Titanium launch is a perfect example of how awesome our teams are. I want to recognize 2 groups in particular, our facility maintenance group and our Tucson distribution center, who worked around the clock, building, reconfiguring and installing our new rinse improvement, lower reconfiguration and Titanium solution.

我們的鈦金發布完美地體現了我們團隊的優秀。我要特別感謝兩個團隊，我們的設施維護團隊和圖森配送中心，他們日以繼夜地工作，建造、重新配置和安裝我們新的沖洗改進、下部重新配置和鈦解決方案。

When it comes to differentiation, Titanium is just the latest in a long list of proprietary innovations that we have developed in-house. Over the last several decades, our research and development teams, staffed with very talented engineers and chemists, have developed truly unique products like HotShine, Wheel Polish, Repel Shield and now Titanium, which offer exceptional performance and tremendous value.

說到差異化，鈦只是我們內部開發的一長串專有創新中的最新一項。在過去的幾十年裡，我們的研發團隊由非常有才華的工程師和化學家組成，開發了真正獨特的產品，如HotShine、Wheel Polish、Repel Shield 和現在的Titanium，這些產品提供了卓越的性能和巨大的價值。

At the very core, we are operators who take great pride in putting out a clean dry shiny car at pace. The efficiency of our stores starts with technology and our ability to leverage mechanization, chemistry of water quality. We not only scientifically balance our in-house chemical program, but we're able to process cars in a speedy fashion, which our customers have come to expect. Part of the Mister experience is not just the efficiency in which we operate, but the level of customer service we provide to our frontline staff. This is where we really excel and it's what we hear about most often.

從本質上講，我們是為快速推出乾淨、乾燥、閃亮的汽車而感到自豪的運營商。我們商店的效率始於技術和我們利用機械化、水質化學的能力。我們不僅科學地平衡我們的內部化學計劃，而且能夠快速加工汽車，這是我們的客戶所期望的。 Mister 體驗的一部分不僅在於我們的營運效率，還在於我們為第一線員工提供的客戶服務水準。這是我們真正擅長的地方，也是我們最常聽到的。

Last week, we hosted our national leadership conference where we brought in over 200 leaders from around the country to discuss our vision, go deep on our strategy and drill down into how we're going to execute and win the war in an increasingly competitive environment. The depth of talent in the room and the energy throughout the conference was impressive and contagious.

上週，我們舉辦了全國領導人會議，邀請了來自全國各地的 200 多名領導人討論我們的願景，深入探討我們的戰略，並深入探討我們將如何在競爭日益激烈的環境中執行並贏得戰爭。房間內的人才深度和整個會議的活力令人印象深刻且具有感染力。

As we round the bend in the fourth quarter and look ahead to 2024, this team is laser-focused on growing and continuously improving our business to further our competitive advantage. There has been a lot of talk recently about competition. And as we mentioned on our last call, competition is nothing new to us and something we've been facing for many years. We believe that when customers are given a choice, the best operators will ultimately prevail and to that end, we are keenly intent on managing what we can control, which is the customer experience.

當我們進入第四季度並展望 2024 年時，該團隊專注於發展並不斷改進我們的業務，以進一步增強我們的競爭優勢。最近有很多關於競爭的討論。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，競爭對我們來說並不新鮮，而且是我們多年來一直面臨的問題。我們相信，當客戶有選擇時，最好的運營商最終將獲勝，為此，我們熱衷於管理我們可以控制的東西，即客戶體驗。

We still believe the market is underpenetrated with additional white space in every market we're in. We also believe there's more tailwind to our category as new users adopt express car wash format and join our Unlimited Wash Club plan. While the car wash landscape remains dynamic and continues to evolve. The battle for regional dominance continues, albeit at a more rational and thoughtful pace, which we believe is healthy and good for our industry.

我們仍然相信，市場滲透率較低，我們所在的每個市場都有額外的空白。我們還相信，隨著新用戶採用快速洗車方式並加入我們的無限洗車俱樂部計劃，我們的類別將會有更多的推動力。與此同時，洗車行業仍然充滿活力並不斷發展。爭奪區域主導地位的鬥爭仍在繼續，儘管步伐更加理性和深思熟慮，我們相信這對我們的行業是健康和有利的。

When we're asked questions about how consumers are currently behaving, our answer is that we feel very fortunate to be in a space that acts more like a stable than the discretionary, with demand for our service remains steady and strong. As we continue to densify in existing markets and look for new markets to move into, we will stay disciplined in our approach to scaling at a pace that's manageable, and we'll deploy capital where we think we can generate the highest and best return while managing expenses thoughtfully. We currently are focused on building out greenfield locations, but we'll continue to evaluate acquisitions and other uses of capital.

當我們被問及消費者目前的行為方式時，我們的回答是，我們感到非常幸運，我們所處的空間更像是一個馬厩，而不是任意選擇，對我們服務的需求仍然穩定而強勁。隨著我們繼續緻密現有市場並尋找新市場進入，我們將保持嚴格的方法，以可管理的速度進行擴張，並且我們將在我們認為能夠產生最高和最佳回報的地方部署資本，同時深思熟慮地管理開支。我們目前的重點是建造綠地地點，但我們將繼續評估收購和其他資本用途。

I'd like to end my prepared remarks with a note of gratitude to the men and women of Mister who show up every day, with smiles on their faces and skipping their step, delivering happiness to the millions of customers we serve.

在結束我準備好的發言時，我想對每天出現在Mister先生面前的男男女女們表示感謝，他們面帶微笑，邁著步伐，為我們服務的數百萬顧客帶來幸福。

I will now turn the call over to Jed to provide more commentary around our financial results for the quarter.

我現在將把電話轉給傑德，以就我們本季的財務業績提供更多評論。

Thank you, John, and good afternoon, everyone. Overall, we had a solid third quarter. We continue to manage our expenses, execute against our strategic priorities and move the business forward.

謝謝約翰，大家下午好。總體而言，我們的第三季表現不錯。我們繼續管理我們的開支，執行我們的策略重點並推動業務向前發展。

Before I review the financial details of our third quarter results, let me give you a brief update on our new Titanium offering. We remain optimistic about Titanium and the positive impact it is going to have on the business and results. The early Titanium results are encouraging and running in line with our expectations. As of today, we have implemented our new Titanium offering, rinse improvement technology and reconfigured blowers in 317 stores. We continue to pick up momentum and installations are slightly ahead of our implementation plan. We now expect all stores to be reconfigured by mid-Q1 next year.

在回顧第三季業績的財務細節之前，讓我先向您簡要介紹一下我們新推出的鈦金產品。我們對鈦及其對業務和業績的正面影響保持樂觀。鈦合金的早期結果令人鼓舞，符合我們的預期。截至今天，我們已在 317 家商店實施了新的鈦產品、沖洗改進技術和重新配置的鼓風機。我們繼續保持強勁勢頭，安裝進度略超前於我們的實施計劃。我們現在預計所有商店將在明年第一季中期之前進行重新配置。

We continue to refine and test various promotional offers to help drive Titanium trial and adoption. As we have said previously, this is likely to result in slightly higher churn rates during the implementation period. We expect this to be more than offset by higher early membership levels. We believe Titanium could represent a meaningful portion of our UWC and retail business over time and remain very comfortable with the initial target of at least 10% of UWC subscription mix within a year of implementation. As previously mentioned, the revenue and EBITDA impact will likely be minimal this year due to the timing of the rollouts and the promotional offerings and strategy but we believe it will be meaningfully accretive to next year and should have a multiyear impact.

我們繼續完善和測試各種促銷優惠，以幫助推動 Titanium 的試用和採用。正如我們之前所說，這可能會導致實施期間的流失率略高。我們預計這將被早期會員水準的提高所抵消。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，Titanium 可以代表我們 UWC 和零售業務的重要組成部分，並且對實施一年內至少佔 UWC 訂閱組合的 10% 的初始目標非常滿意。如前所述，由於推出時間、促銷產品和策略，今年對收入和 EBITDA 的影響可能很小，但我們相信明年它將顯著增加，並應產生多年影響。

Now turning to the third quarter results. During the quarter, total net revenue increased 7.6% and comparable store sales increased 1.7% compared to last year. UWC sales represented nearly 72% of total wash sales and we added 6,000 net members in the third quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the number of UWC members increased 11.3%. The performance of the subscription business remained very stable in the quarter. Core churn rates remained in line with historic ranges, and we did not see customers trade down to lower-priced packages.

現在轉向第三季業績。與去年相比，本季總淨收入成長 7.6%，可比商店銷售額成長 1.7%。 UWC 銷售額佔總洗滌銷售額的近 72%，第三季我們增加了 6,000 名淨會員。 UWC會員人數較去年同期成長11.3%。本季訂閱業務的表現保持非常穩定。核心客戶流失率與歷史範圍一致，我們沒有看到客戶降價購買價格較低的套餐。

On the development side, we opened 8 new greenfield locations and acquired 5 existing stores in the third quarter. The performance of our greenfields remains strong, ramping toward our mature express exterior average unit volumes of approximately $2.1 million and 4-wall EBITDA margins of approximately 45% in under 3 years.

在開發方面，我們在第三季開設了 8 家新店並收購了 5 家現有商店。我們的綠地業績依然強勁，在不到 3 年的時間裡，我們成熟的快速外部平均單位銷售將達到約 210 萬美元，四牆 EBITDA 利潤率將達到約 45%。

On the expense side of the business, we remain focused on managing expenses where we can and optimizing the investments we are making to support the long-term growth and health of the business. Excluding stock-based compensation as a percentage of revenue, total operating expenses increased 110 basis points to 78.9% year-over-year. The main drivers were: Labor and chemicals decreased 20 basis points to 30.1%. Other store operating expense increased 90 basis points to 38.7%. G&A expense decreased 30 basis points to 9.6% and (gain) loss on sale of assets increased 90 basis points to 0.6%.

在業務的費用方面，我們仍然專注於盡可能管理費用並優化我們正在進行的投資，以支持業務的長期成長和健康。不計入股票薪酬佔收入的百分比，總營運支出較去年同期成長 110 個基點，達到 78.9%。主要驅動因素為： 勞動力和化學品下降 20 個基點至 30.1%。其他商店營運費用增加 90 個基點至 38.7%。一般及行政費用下降 30 個基點至 9.6%，資產出售（收益）損失增加 90 個基點至 0.6%。

The cost of labor and chemicals benefited from better labor scheduling and optimizing regional labor infrastructure, which was partially offset by an increase in average hourly wages. Other store operating expenses increased primarily from an increase in rent expense from the fact that we have 50 more car wash leases compared to the same time last year as a result of the additional sale leasebacks completed during the last year. In the quarter, cash rent expense increased 16% to $27 million.

勞動力和化學品成本受益於更好的勞動力調度和優化區域勞動力基礎設施，但平均小時工資的成長部分抵消了這一成本。其他商店營運費用的增加主要是由於去年完成的額外售後回租導致我們的洗車租賃比去年同期增加了 50 個，導致租金費用增加。本季現金租金支出成長 16%，達到 2,700 萬美元。

G&A expenses, excluding stock-based compensation expense, increased 4% and was driven by continued investments to support growth in areas such as marketing, construction and development and other support functions, which were partially offset by lower corporate insurances and other previous investments.

不包括股票薪酬費用的一般管理費用增長了4%，這是由於為支持營銷、建設和開發以及其他支持職能等領域的增長而進行的持續投資所推動的，但企業保險和其他先前投資的減少部分抵消了這一增長。

During the third quarter, interest expense increased to $19.1 million from $10.1 million last year due to higher interest rates and the expiration of our interest rate hedge in October of last year. Interest expense was slightly favorable compared to plan due to the higher cash balance, resulting from the faster pace of closing on sale leasebacks and the timing of reinvesting the proceeds back into the business.

第三季度，由於利率上升以及我們的利率對沖於去年 10 月到期，利息支出從去年的 1,010 萬美元增加至 1,910 萬美元。與計劃相比，利息支出略有有利，因為現金餘額較高，這是由於售後回租的完成速度加快以及將收益再投資回業務的時機所致。

Our GAAP reported effective tax rate for the third quarter was 18.7% compared with 26.9% for the third quarter of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the benefit related to the employee stock awards exercised in the period and the benefit related to a change in our estimated state tax expense this year compared to last year.

我們的 GAAP 報告第三季的有效稅率為 18.7%，而 2022 年第三季為 26.9%。減少的主要原因是與期內行使的員工股票獎勵相關的福利以及與我們預計今年的國家稅收支出與去年相比。

Adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share, which add back stock-based compensation and certain noncore operating expenses were $25.5 million and $0.08, respectively, in the quarter.

本季調整後淨利和調整後每股攤薄淨利潤（加上股票薪資和某些非核心營運費用）分別為 2,550 萬美元和 0.08 美元。

Third quarter adjusted EBITDA was $71.6 million, up from (sic) [by] 8.3% from the third quarter last year, adjusted EBITDA margin was a healthy 30.6% and increased 20 basis points from the third quarter of last year.

第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,160 萬美元，較去年第三季成長 8.3%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 30.6%，較去年第三季成長 20 個基點。

Moving on to some balance sheet and cash flow highlights. At the end of the third quarter, cash and cash equivalents were approximately $62.1 million and outstanding long-term debt was $897 million. Importantly, our balance sheet remains healthy, and we continue to self-fund our growth and expansion.

接下來是一些資產負債表和現金流的亮點。截至第三季末，現金和現金等價物約為 6,210 萬美元，未償長期債務為 8.97 億美元。重要的是，我們的資產負債表保持健康，我們繼續為我們的成長和擴張提供資金。

Despite the rising interest rate environment, demand for sale leasebacks remains healthy and we completed 2 sale-leaseback transactions in the third quarter for an aggregate consideration of $10.5 million. The sale-leaseback market continues to remain open for us, and we are seeing favorable rates.

儘管利率環境不斷上升，但售後回租需求依然強勁，我們在第三季完成了兩筆售後回租交易，總代價為 1,050 萬美元。售後回租市場繼續對我們開放，我們看到了優惠的利率。

Lastly, let me make a few comments around guidance and how we are thinking about the rest of the year. Our third quarter results were ahead of our expectations, and we are pleased with the directional trends in our business. Early Titanium results are in line with our plan, and we continue to tightly manage expenses and execute the business.

最後，讓我對指導意見以及我們對今年剩餘時間的看法發表一些評論。我們第三季的業績超出了我們的預期，我們對業務的方向趨勢感到滿意。鈦合金的早期業績符合我們的計劃，我們將繼續嚴格管理費用並執行業務。

The macro environment for the consumer remains challenging, and we think this dictates a certain level of cautiousness for the remainder of the year. As a result, we are leaving our full year guidance unchanged and reiterating our previously provided net revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges of $913 million to $936 million and $270 million to $283 million, respectively.

消費者的宏觀環境仍然充滿挑戰，我們認為這決定了今年剩餘時間的謹慎態度。因此，我們維持全年指引不變，並重申先前提供的淨收入和調整後 EBITDA 範圍分別為 9.13 億至 9.36 億美元和 2.70 億至 2.83 億美元。

In closing, we are pleased with our third quarter results, and we remain focused on delivering our growth strategies. I'm very proud of the team's best-in-class execution as well as their enthusiasm for capitalizing on the opportunity ahead of us as we continue to position ourselves to win the long game.

最後，我們對第三季的業績感到滿意，我們仍然專注於實現我們的成長策略。我對團隊一流的執行力以及他們利用擺在我們面前的機會的熱情感到非常自豪，因為我們將繼續為贏得長期比賽做好準備。

With that, we're happy to take your questions.

因此，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) And the first question comes from Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Simeon Gutman。

This is actually Michael Kessler on for Simeon. First, guys, I wanted to ask about how retail customers behaved through Q3? If you noticed anything relative to Q2 earlier in the year as far as some of the weakness that we've seen in the last year or so? And then any differences in how that customer behaves versus how your core UWC member behaved?

這實際上是西蒙的邁克爾凱斯勒。首先，各位，我想問零售客戶在第三季的表現如何？您是否注意到今年早些時候與第二季度相關的任何事情以及我們在去年左右看到的一些弱點？那麼該客戶的行為方式與您的 UWC 核心成員的行為方式有何差異？

Yes, I'll kick it off. So retail volume and revenues are moderating quarter-over-quarter. We're seeing improvements and a nice healthy growth in our ticket averages as well without having to resort to price increases. And so we've been very careful as an organization not to be overly promotional specifically from a discount standpoint. And so we believe that the trends that we're currently seeing are healthy, and with all the knock on wood, sustainable, but we're also staying on soft ground.

是的，我會開始它。因此，零售量和收入環比下降。我們看到平均票價有所改善並且健康增長，而不必訴諸價格上漲。因此，作為一個組織，我們一直非常小心，不要過度促銷，特別是從折扣的角度來看。因此，我們相信，我們目前看到的趨勢是健康的，並且隨著所有的衝擊，是可持續的，但我們也停留在軟弱的基礎上。

Yes. And Michael, just to put a little bit finer point on that. So going back last call, we talked about a, retail being down double digits in Q1, moderating to a high single-digit negative in Q2. It further moderated during Q3, still kind of that high mid-single digit, but it was -- Q3 was an improvement on a year-over-year basis compared to Q3. So encouraged by the trends that we're seeing here on the retail side.

是的。邁克爾，只是為了更詳細地闡述這一點。因此，回到上次電話會議，我們談到零售業在第一季下降了兩位數，在第二季放緩至較高的個位數負值。它在第三季進一步放緩，仍然處於較高的中個位數，但與第三季相比，第三季同比有所改善。我們在零售方面看到的趨勢深受鼓舞。

And Jed, your famous line is up is good, right?

傑德，你的名言很好，對吧？

We'll take it.

我們會接受它。

Maybe one follow-up, Jed, on CapEx guidance, which is coming up a bit, I think, about $50 million, $55 million or 20%. So it's a pretty -- it's a notable step up given that, I guess, unit growth is still on track for how you've previously been thinking about it. So just any color on what's changing there and where you're maybe seeing some inflation in the CapEx line?

Jed，也許會有一個關於資本支出指導的後續行動，我認為，資本支出指導將會上升一點，大約 5000 萬美元、5500 萬美元或 20%。所以這是一個漂亮的——這是一個顯著的進步，因為我想，單位增長仍然符合你之前的想法。那麼，有什麼顏色可以說明那裡正在發生的變化以及您可能會在資本支出線中看到一些通貨膨脹嗎？

Yes. There's really 3 factors there, Michael. So the first, as we shared in the prepared remarks, we've been accelerating the rollout of Titanium. What was a full rollout as of the end of Q1, we're now targeting to have it all done by the middle of Q1. So getting more of these stores equipped with Titanium at a faster rate than what we had originally projected.

是的。邁克爾，這確實有 3 個因素。首先，正如我們在準備好的演講中所分享的那樣，我們一直在加速鈦合金的推出。截至第一季末已全面推出，我們現在的目標是在第一季中期全部完成。因此，更多的商店配備鈦金屬的速度比我們最初預計的要快。

Also, a little bit of a timing with just the spend against our 2024, 2025 pipeline, as we've talked about, it's an 18- to 20-month build out for one of these car washes and when the spend starts. While most of that spend is in the last 8 months of the construction cycle, there's a little bit of a timing piece there.

此外，正如我們所討論的，就我們 2024 年、2025 年管道的支出而言，有一點時間安排，其中一次洗車和支出開始時是 18 到 20 個月的建設。雖然大部分支出發生在施工週期的最後 8 個月，但其中也有一些計時部分。

And then we are seeing some construction inflationary pressure, construction costs are up just a little bit. But also our ability to get more in proceeds on a sale leaseback is also up. So the net investment on that construction and development is still approximately $2 million keeping our cash on cash -- year 2 cash-on-cash returns at about 50% and under a 3-year payback.

然後我們看到一些建築通膨壓力，建築成本略有上升。而且我們透過售後回租獲得更多收益的能力也有所提升。因此，建造和開發的淨投資仍然約為 200 萬美元，以保持我們的現金現金——第二年現金現金回報率約為 50%，且投資回收期低於 3 年。

And the next question comes from Justin Kleber with Baird.

下一個問題來自 Justin Kleber 和 Baird。

Just want to start on the guidance, Jed. Obviously, the full year implies a pretty wide range for 4Q. Just any color on maybe how the business is tracking here quarter-to-date and whether you would anticipate some acceleration, as I believe the comparisons ease quite notably in November and December versus October?

只是想開始指導，傑德。顯然，全年意味著第四季的波動範圍相當大。只是關於該業務本季度至今的跟踪情況以及您是否預計會出現一些加速的任何顏色，因為我相信 11 月和 12 月與 10 月相比，比較明顯緩和？

Yes. As we've talked about earlier in the year, we expect the lap just to get a little bit easier in Q4. Also, as the greenfields that we opened in 2022 come online, that will provide a little bit of a tailwind as they move into the sophomore year. And then also with Titanium picking up a little bit faster, that will be a nice tailwind.

是的。正如我們在今年早些時候討論過的那樣，我們預計第四季度的單圈會變得更容易一些。此外，隨著我們在 2022 年開設的綠地上線，這將為它們進入第二年提供一點推動力。隨著鈦金屬的增長速度加快，這將是一個很好的推動力。

So in order to hit the full year, the high end of the range, the plus 1%, it will require a little bit of an acceleration compared to Q3, when we look at October. October -- September and October last year were some of our strongest months, October, we're lapping a plus [9.3]. And so really looking at the 2-year stack, and we saw a slight improvement in October on a 2-year stack compared to Q3 on a 2-year stack.

因此，為了達到全年的目標，即該範圍的高端，即增加 1%，當我們觀察 10 月時，與第三季相比，需要稍微加速。十月—去年的九月和十月是我們表現最強勁的月份，十月，我們取得了加分[9.3]。因此，真正關注 2 年堆棧，我們發現 10 月的 2 年堆疊與第三季的 2 年堆疊相比略有改善。

That's very helpful color. And then just on the -- much of the costs with Titanium flowing through CapEx. I'm just wondering if there's been some, I guess, excess operating expense that the business is absorbing this year that obviously won't repeat next year as you finish the rollout early in 1Q?

這是非常有用的顏色。然後，鈦金的大部分成本都流經資本支出。我只是想知道，我猜，今年該業務是否吸收了一些超額營運費用，而隨著您在第一季初完成推出，這些費用顯然不會在明年重複？

Yes. Certainly, I think particularly the first half of the year, a lot of pressure on the labor front. When you look at less -- for the quarter, labor rates were up just over 3% compared to, I believe it was -- last quarter, we were about 5% labor rates up. So we're starting to see just a little bit of relief on that side. Utilities, we're also seeing some favorability during Q3 and expect that to continue into Q4, whereas there was a lot of pressure on utilities, particularly in the first half of the year.

是的。當然，我認為特別是今年上半年，勞工的壓力很大。如果你看一下，本季的勞動力價格比上個季度上漲了 3% 多一點，我相信是這樣，我們的勞動力價格上漲了 5% 左右。所以我們開始看到這方面的一些緩解。公用事業方面，我們在第三季度也看到了一些有利的情況，並預計這種情況將持續到第四季度，而公用事業面臨很大的壓力，特別是在今年上半年。

And then also, finally, and we called this out in the prepared remarks, corporate insurance. We're seeing some favorability on our insurance in the second half compared to where we were in the first half.

最後，我們在準備好的演講中指出了這一點：企業保險。與上半年相比，下半年我們的保險受到了一些青睞。

Yes. Jed, I would just add when we take on a project of this magnitude, and it really is what I'd describe as a fundamental transformation of our tunnel and the tunnel experience and we added, as we've noted before, this blower reconfiguration and rinse improvement. And this is not scope creep, but there's other things that come with these projects. And so when I look at our repairs and maintenance line and the things that we have to expense upfront, that's also, I think, come at a certain cost, but we're happy to make those investments because, again, we're setting up our stores for the long haul.

是的。傑德，我想補充一點，當我們承擔如此規模的專案時，這確實是我們隧道和隧道體驗的根本轉變，正如我們之前指出的，我們添加了鼓風機重新配置和漂洗改進。這並不是範圍蔓延，而是這些項目也帶來了其他一些東西。因此，當我查看我們的維修和保養系列以及我們必須預先支出的費用時，我認為這也是有一定成本的，但我們很高興進行這些投資，因為我們再次設定長期提升我們的商店。

And the next question comes from John Heinbockel with Guggenheim.

下一個問題來自古根漢的約翰·海因博克爾。

Let me start, John, sort of 2 parts. Your thought on pricing of membership architecture, right? So I think in some markets, there might be a $7 gap between premium and Titanium and others maybe $10. And then how that impacts membership qualities? So is there a thought that maybe you want more of a $7 gap and encourage people to move towards Titanium. So a little less membership but a little higher price, a little higher quality. How do you think about that?

約翰，讓我開始，分為兩個部分。您對會員架構定價的想法是嗎？因此，我認為在某些市場中，高級版和鈦金版之間可能存在 7 美元的差距，而其他市場可能存在 10 美元的差距。那麼這如何影響會員品質呢？那麼是否有一種想法，也許你想要更多 7 美元的差距並鼓勵人們轉向鈦金。所以會員資格少一點，但價格高一點，品質高一點。您對此有何看法？

Yes. I think you're spot on, John. And so directionally, as we look to kind of compress that delta between our Platinum and our Titanium to make it more within reach and easier for folks to upgrade, that's going to be part of our overall design.

是的。我認為你說得對，約翰。因此，從方向上來說，當我們希望壓縮白金和鈦金之間的差異，使其更觸手可及且更容易讓人們升級時，這將成為我們整體設計的一部分。

Again, we want to be very clear in how we transition existing members into a new price point. And there are certain rules and things that we need to do from a communication standpoint so that they are given ample notice. So we're working through the mechanics of that as we speak. But you nailed it. At the end of the day, as we're settling in on what we believe the Titanium price to be, anything we can do to make that more attractive and more within reach, that would help us achieve our goals. But we are balancing, to your comment, this mutual objectives behind increasing the number of members in each of our premium packages while maximizing profitability.

同樣，我們希望非常清楚如何將現有會員過渡到新的價格點。從溝通的角度來看，我們需要做一些規則和事情，以便他們可以得到充分的通知。因此，我們正在研究其中的機制。但你成功了。歸根結底，當我們確定鈦合金的價格時，我們可以採取任何措施使其更具吸引力、更容易實現，這將有助於我們實現我們的目標。但根據您的評論，我們正在平衡增加每個高級套餐中的會員數量和最大化盈利能力背後的共同目標。

All right. And then I guess a second topic, right? The idea of buy versus build, right? And how close the cost of buy has to be to build, to make that more attractive to you? Or are we -- it seems like we're getting closer. Your thought on that? And are we within reach where the economics are more compelling or competitive on the buy side?

好的。然後我猜還有第二個話題，對嗎？購買與建造的想法，對嗎？購買成本必須接近多少才能對您更具吸引力？或者我們——看起來我們越來越接近了。你對此有何想法？我們是否能夠在經濟上對買方更具吸引力或更具競爭力的地方？

Yes, it's -- we're getting there. So prices on M&A are definitely coming down. The cost of build is going up. And so there will be a point where both become equally attractive. I think it's important to note that, as a company, we're agnostic at the end of the day between greenfield and acquisitions, and we will deploy capital where we can generate the highest return.

是的，我們正在實現這一點。因此，併購價格肯定會下降。建設成本正在上升。因此，到了某個時刻，兩者都會變得同樣有吸引力。我認為值得注意的是，作為一家公司，我們在綠地和收購之間最終是不可知的，我們將在能夠產生最高回報的地方部署資本。

There's pros and cons to both sides of that equation. Greenfields, we can -- I'm not going to say, control our own destiny, but really set up the stores to our specifications and design in the way we want. But M&A is also an attractive path for us, particularly as we look to move into new markets and accelerate that path into a new market. So that, coupled with bolt-ons, which will always be part of the equation. So we're not quite there yet in terms of that equilibrium point, but it's moving in that direction.

這個等式的兩邊各有利弊。 Greenfields，我們可以——我不會說，控制我們自己的命運，但真正按照我們的規格和設計以我們想要的方式建立商店。但併購對我們來說也是一條有吸引力的道路，特別是當我們希望進入新市場並加速進入新市場時。因此，再加上螺栓固定，這將永遠是等式的一部分。因此，我們還沒有達到平衡點，但它正在朝這個方向移動。

(Operator Instructions) And the next question comes from Michael Lasser with UBS.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Michael Lasser。

John, at the outset of your remarks, you mentioned an increasingly competitive environment, while Mister Car Wash has operated in a competitive environment for a long time, are the dynamics changing where it's just more difficult to attract new members to your club, given that the 6,000 net additions is one of the smallest increases that you've reported since you've been a publicly traded company?

約翰，在您講話的一開始，您提到了競爭日益激烈的環境，而洗車先生長期以來一直在競爭激烈的環境中運營，但動態是否正在發生變化，吸引新會員加入您的俱樂部變得更加困難，因為6,000 名淨增員工是您成為上市公司以來報告的最小增幅之一？

Well, there's kind of 3 questions inside that question, Michael, which you're famous for. So to answer the middle part of your question, we haven't seen a slowdown in member growth through our greenfield locations. Q3, though, was relatively flat from a UWC net member growth standpoint. And that was somewhat intentional. We prioritized converting existing members into our Titanium program in Q3 as we're launching and rolling this out. And it's really hard when you get down to the store level to have multiple objectives happening simultaneously. So we err on the side of let's take existing members and introduce them to Titanium rather than focusing what had been our primary focus, which is on converting retail customers into membership.

好吧，邁克爾，這個問題裡面有 3 個問題，你因這三個問題而聞名。因此，為了回答您問題的中間部分，我們沒有看到我們的新建地點的會員成長放緩。不過，從 UWC 淨會員成長的角度來看，第三季相對穩定。這在某種程度上是故意的。當我們啟動和推出該計劃時，我們在第三季度優先考慮將現有會員轉換為鈦金計劃。當你深入到商店層面時，要同時實現多個目標確實很困難。因此，我們傾向於讓現有會員向他們介紹鈦金，而不是專注於我們的主要關注點，即將零售客戶轉變為會員。

And so that will be -- we're in execution mode on Titanium right now, and that's going to be our primary focus over the next several quarters. But equally -- both sides of that are equally important to us over time. And so with respect to your question about competition, we have not felt any meaningful impact to our growth trajectory due to the current competitive environment.

因此，我們現在正處於鈦金的執行模式，這將是我們未來幾季的主要關注點。但同樣地，隨著時間的推移，這兩個面向對我們來說同樣重要。因此，關於你關於競爭的問題，我們沒有感受到當前競爭環境對我們的成長軌跡產生任何有意義的影響。

Michael, one other point, I think, is worth highlighting. When you look at the seasonality of UWC growth, it's [65%] to 70% of our UWC sign-ups have typically been in the first half of the year. And when you look at the more recent years, that's been even more pronounced. But that's -- to John's point, that's where we're really optimistic and excited about Titanium is because we now have these 2.1 million existing UWC members that are at bats and driving the top line through trading them into Titanium.

邁克爾，我認為還有一點值得強調。當你觀察 UWC 成長的季節性時，你會發現 [65%] 到 70% 的 UWC 註冊學生通常是在上半年。如果你看看最近幾年，這種情況就更明顯了。但就 John 而言，這就是我們對 Titanium 真正樂觀和興奮的地方，因為我們現在擁有 210 萬現有 UWC 會員，他們透過將他們交易到 Titanium 來推動收入成長。

And Jed, in your comments, you had noted that core churn is stable. Does that mean you're -- I think you alluded to experiencing some higher churn, which would be consistent with John's comments around focusing on the conversions rather than the new customers. Can you explain and frame how we should think about churn into 2024? And then how does that impact overall membership growth in the next year, especially on the heels of the retail business being softer for the last several quarters and that being a source of new member growth?

傑德，在您的評論中，您注意到核心流失率是穩定的。這是否意味著您——我認為您提到了更高的客戶流失率，這與約翰關於專注於轉換而不是新客戶的評論是一致的。您能否解釋並闡述我們應該如何考慮 2024 年的客戶流失？那麼，這將如何影響明年的整體會員成長，特別是在零售業務在過去幾季疲軟並且成為新會員成長的來源之後？

Yes. So when we talk about core churn, previous calls, we've shared that we've been testing various marketing initiatives, promotions. And what we have found that really works is introductory and trial price offers, where we're trying to get new customers to try Titanium and really accelerate that trial and drive mix to those more premium packages. What happens is it comes at the price of slightly higher churn. And we talked about it in the prepared remarks in Q2, also talked about in Q3, where when we roll to the regular pricing, we see a slight uptick in churn. For Q3, it was about [0.2] of an uptick in our churn with promotional UWC members rolling back to regular. So it's not outsized or anything to be overly concerned about at this point, but something that we're keeping a close eye on and making sure the end objective though is to drive that mix and get as many members in our premium package as we can.

是的。因此，當我們談論核心流失、先前的電話時，我們分享了我們一直在測試各種行銷舉措和促銷活動。我們發現真正有效的是介紹性和試用價格優惠，我們試圖讓新客戶嘗試鈦，並真正加速試用並推動混合到那些更優質的套餐。所發生的情況是，它是以略高的流失率為代價的。我們在第二季度準備好的評論中談到了這一點，在第三季度也談到了這一點，當我們轉向常規定價時，我們看到客戶流失率略有上升。第三季度，隨著促銷 UWC 會員恢復正常，我們的流失率上升了約 [0.2]。因此，目前這並不是什麼過分關注的事情，而是我們正在密切關注的事情，並確保最終目標是推動這種組合，並儘可能讓更多的會員加入我們的高級套餐。 。

Jed, if I could just add too. I think we've been very responsible and smart, quite frankly, and not getting too aggressive in some of those introductory trial offers. We've seen some silly stuff out there where folks are, I call it giving away the farm with $0.99 offers, $0.01 offers for the first month. And that could be a slippery slope. And there's an old adage, the way in which you acquire a member is the way in which you need to keep a member. But if you're leaning really heavily in on the price side of the equation, which we haven't, that is going to have -- it's going to come at a cost, and that cost is a higher churn.

傑德，如果我也可以添加的話。坦白說，我認為我們非常負責任和聰明，並且在一些介紹性試用優惠中沒有過於激進。我們在人們那裡看到了一些愚蠢的事情，我稱之為以 0.99 美元的優惠贈送農場，第一個月的 0.01 美元優惠。這可能會導致滑坡。有一句古老的格言，你獲得會員的方式就是你留住會員的方式。但如果你真的非常依賴價格方面的因素（而我們沒有這樣做），那就付出代價，而這種成本就是更高的客戶流失率。

One other point, Michael, I think it's really important for folks to hear and kind of the proverbial yellow canary is UWC usage. Obviously, a customer is more inclined to cancel out of a subscription that they're not using. When we look at usage of UWC during the quarter, we did not see any downtick there. Customers -- our UWC customers are washing as much as they have in past quarters.

還有一點，邁克爾，我認為人們聽到這一點非常重要，眾所周知的黃色金絲雀就是 UWC 的用法。顯然，客戶更傾向於取消他們不使用的訂閱。當我們查看本季 UWC 的使用情況時，我們沒有看到任何下降。客戶－我們的 UWC 客戶的清洗次數與過去幾季一樣多。

And the next question comes from Randy Konik with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自傑弗里斯的蘭迪·科尼克。

Yes. I guess a question for you, Jed. You talked about the -- back to the retail side of the business. I think you said double-digit negative comps in the first quarter, down high single in the second quarter and the third quarter was a little bit better. Based on what you're seeing across the different regions, do you think that based on the business and as it stands today in retail, as we kind of get towards the first quarter and go up against that negative double-digit type of compare, is that -- can we kind of think through that the retail side of the ledger should start to kind of get towards flattish or slightly positive as we go up against that comparison based on what you're seeing right now? I just wanted to just get a feel for that trend line.

是的。我想問你一個問題，傑德。您談到了業務的零售方面。我想你說第一季的負值是兩位數，第二季的單季下降，第三季的情況好一點。根據您在不同地區看到的情況，您是否認為基於業務以及當今零售業的現狀，當我們接近第一季並與負兩位數類型的比較進行比較時，我們是否可以考慮一下，當我們根據您現在所看到的情況進行比較時，分類帳的零售方面應該開始變得持平或略為積極？我只是想感受一下趨勢線。

Yes, Randy, when we look at the last -- when you go back and you look at this over the last 5, even 10 years, our goal is to trade our retail customers into the Unlimited Wash Club program. And so historically, that has run negative mid-single digits. Retail has run negative mid-single digits. And perhaps we really haven't been framing this like we should, but essentially, it's mix shift, trading that retail customer into the higher-priced predictive reoccurring UWC offering. But the price of that, and we're willingly accepting it, is you lose a retail customer. So it's been -- historically, it's been down about mid-single digits. And I think that's a fair assumption as we think about on a baseline for go forward.

是的，蘭迪，當我們回顧過去時，當你回顧過去 5 年，甚至 10 年的情況時，我們的目標是將我們的零售客戶納入 Unlimited Wash Club 計劃。從歷史上看，這數字一直是負中個位數。零售業已呈現負中個位數。也許我們確實沒有像我們應該的那樣構建這一點，但本質上，這是混合轉變，將零售客戶交易到價格更高的預測性重複出現的 UWC 產品中。但我們願意接受的代價是你會失去一個零售客戶。所以從歷史上看，它一直下降到中個位數左右。我認為，當我們考慮未來的基線時，這是一個合理的假設。

Understood. And then just how should we be thinking about over the next couple of years, when you're thinking about Titanium mixing in and just how you're thinking about core pricing? I'm just trying to get a sense of how we should be thinking about over a multiyear period of how pricing should shift. What should it actually grow at on a multiyear basis for the next few years? Like should we be thinking low single-digit price growth because of mix plus some taking of the core up? Just give us a little sense of how we should be thinking about that for framing it up.

明白了。那麼，當您考慮鈦合金的混合以及您如何考慮核心定價時，我們應該如何考慮未來幾年的情況？我只是想了解我們應該如何在多年的時間內思考定價應該如何轉變。未來幾年的多年實際成長應該是多少？就像我們是否應該考慮由於混合以及核心部分的增加而帶來的低個位數價格增長？只是讓我們稍微了解一下我們應該如何思考這一點來建構它。

Yes, Randy, that's a trickier one. It's still what I would consider relatively early days as we look at Titanium and how it's testing. We are very encouraged and optimistic in being able to put emphasis on that at least 10% mix. And so -- by the end of year 1. But it's really hard to say how that plays out in 2024 and then into 2025 as well. But we believe internally that it's going to continue to provide a natural tailwind because just the consumer -- educating the consumer on the benefits of Titanium, it's not just going to happen on the first visit. This is going to continue to happen over time.

是的，蘭迪，這是一個更棘手的問題。當我們研究 Titanium 及其測試方式時，我仍然會考慮相對較早的情況。我們對能夠專注於至少 10% 的組合感到非常鼓舞和樂觀。因此，到第一年年底。但很難說 2024 年以及 2025 年的情況如何。但我們內部相信，它將繼續提供自然的推動力，因為只有消費者——教育消費者了解鈦的好處，這不僅僅是在第一次訪問時發生的。隨著時間的推移，這種情況將繼續發生。

I do think, and it's worth pointing out is there's -- you've got the UWC side of it that we talk about and the at least 10%, but also the Titanium retail side as well, which we're seeing encouraging results. We're not doing any discounting or promotions there, just natural customers wanting to try on a retail basis and seeing the retail ticket mix in the mid-teens from a mix perspective.

我確實認為，值得指出的是，我們談論的是 UWC 方面，至少 10%，而且還有鈦金零售方面，我們看到了令人鼓舞的結果。我們在那裡沒有做任何折扣或促銷活動，只是自然顧客想要嘗試零售，並從混合角度看到零售門票組合在十幾歲左右。

Yes, Randy, I'd just add what gives us great confidence and why we're so excited about Titanium is that when we look at pre-Titanium, what our member mix looked like, and where we were more heavily weighted towards our premium Platinum package naturally without a concerted effort internally to drive premium membership. It was really a natural, customers gravitating towards the value that we had put into that program. And now with this additional value stack that's in the Titanium program, we're very optimistic that we're going to continue to enjoy a stronger premium member mix over time. But we're going to do it again in a way that is not trying to spike member mix. We want folks to naturally gravitate towards it because they see the value in it. And that's how we've had such a sticky and strong member base throughout the years.

是的，蘭迪，我只想補充一點，是什麼給了我們很大的信心，為什麼我們對鈦金如此興奮，是因為當我們看到鈦金之前時，我們的會員組合是什麼樣的，以及我們更注重我們的溢價白金套餐自然無需內部協同努力來推動高級會員資格。客戶自然會被我們投入該計劃的價值所吸引。現在，有了鈦金計畫中的附加價值堆疊，我們非常樂觀地認為，隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續享受更強大的高級會員組合。但我們會以一種不會試圖增加成員組合的方式再次這樣做。我們希望人們自然而然地被它所吸引，因為他們看到了它的價值。這就是我們多年來擁有如此黏性和強大的會員基礎的原因。

(Operator Instructions) And the next question comes from Chris O'Cull with Stifel.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Chris O'Cull。

I was wondering how the company is thinking about capital allocation for next year. Is the plan to develop a kind of a similar number of washes or do you think there's opportunities for more acquisitions? And I'm just wondering, Jed, if is there a similar level of gross CapEx, is that a reasonable expectation for next year as you have this year?

我想知道公司如何考慮明年的資本配置。是否有計劃開發類似次數的洗滌產品，或者您認為是否有機會進行更多收購？我只是想知道，傑德，明年的總資本支出水準是否與今年相似，這是一個合理的預期嗎？

Yes. Right now, I mean, we'll provide more specifics on 2024 as we get into our next call. But what I would say, kind of at a high level from a capital allocation perspective, the current plan right now is to self-fund our growth into our investments that we plan to make next year. But it's really kind of 4 main variables as we think about that capital allocation. Just what happens on the acquisition front, what happens in the broader interest rate environment where our existing debt load is 100% floating at this point. That's a variable in the capital allocation strategy. Sale leasebacks and cap rates and what happens there, but then also just the existing human capital within this team and what we're able to bite off.

是的。我的意思是，現在我們將在下次電話會議時提供有關 2024 年的更多細節。但我想說的是，從資本配置的角度來看，目前的計畫是將我們的成長自籌資金用於我們計劃明年進行的投資。但當我們考慮資本配置時，這實際上是 4 個主要變數。收購方面會發生什麼，在更廣泛的利率環境中會發生什麼，我們現有的債務負擔目前是 100% 浮動的。這是資本配置策略中的一個變數。銷售回租和資本化率以及那裡發生的事情，但也只是這個團隊中現有的人力資本以及我們能夠咬住的東西。

I would say that as we think about 2024 greenfields, so this year, we feel good about the approximate 35 that -- we'll develop more greenfields in 2024 than what we plan to do here in 2023.

我想說的是，當我們考慮 2024 年的綠地時，今年我們對大約 35 個綠地感到滿意——我們將在 2024 年開發比 2023 年計劃更多的綠地。

Yes. Chris, if I can add, too, that we are committed to not sweating the assets, if you will. And when we look at our core portfolio, again, we're very proud of the year-over-year investments that we've been making in those stores.

是的。克里斯，如果你願意的話，我也可以補充一點，我們致力於不浪費資產。當我們再次審視我們的核心產品組合時，我們對這些商店的逐年投資感到非常自豪。

That said, given the size of our portfolio, there are a number of stores that we've identified that are in need of some additional love, if you will, in reinvestment. And so we're going to be chipping away that pile too. So while Jed is famous, he's the -- capital allocations are internally and wields a lot of power as a result. But if we use as our sole measure, the highest return of invested capital, obviously, greenfields is a really strong case.

也就是說，考慮到我們投資組合的規模，我們發現有許多商店需要額外的關懷（如果你願意的話）進行再投資。所以我們也將把那堆東西削掉。因此，雖然傑德很有名，但他的資本分配是內部進行的，因此擁有很大的權力。但如果我們使用投資資本的最高報酬率作為唯一衡量標準，顯然，綠地是一個非常強大的案例。

That said, if we neglect some of those older stores over time, that's going to ultimately show up in reduced AUVs. So we're going to be chipping away at that pile as well, again, at a pace that we can handle. But I'm happy to report that it's a very small sliver of our overall store count because the bulk of our stores are in great shape.

也就是說，如果我們隨著時間的推移忽視其中一些較舊的商店，最終會導致 AUV 減少。因此，我們也將再次以我們可以處理的速度逐步消除這一堆。但我很高興地告訴大家，這只占我們總商店數量的一小部分，因為我們的大部分商店都狀況良好。

That's helpful. Jed, are you seeing any changes in the cap rate given the falloff in bonus depreciation and just overall yield environment?

這很有幫助。傑德，考慮到紅利折舊和整體收益率環境的下降，您是否看到資本化率有任何變化？

Not at this point, Chris. I mean we're still getting deals done. We've got another -- number of stores that are at market -- that are out to market right now, and we're signing LOIs and getting good favorable cap rates on those.

現在還不行，克里斯。我的意思是我們仍在完成交易。我們還有其他一些——市場上的商店數量——現在就在市場上，我們正​​在簽署意向書並獲得良好的優惠上限利率。

Part of the analysis that we do, when we're looking at sale leaseback versus funding through external debt is we'll look at what is most accretive to EPS and calculating cap breakeven from a sale leaseback cap rate perspective relative to what the interest rate is -- prevailing interest rate is at the time. So we believe there's still a lot of cushion there, but we continue to see very favorable economics.

當我們考慮售後回租與透過外債融資時，我們所做的部分分析是，我們將看看什麼對每股收益最有增值作用，並從售後回租上限利率相對於利率的角度計算上限盈虧平衡點。是——當時的現行利率。因此，我們相信那裡仍然有很大的緩衝，但我們仍然看到非常有利的經濟效益。

I think it's a testament to having been doing sale leasebacks for longer than anybody in this space. We've got a great track record of paying our rents and a great operations team, great relationships with our brokers and with our -- with the national REITs that are out there, and that's something that's important to us, and we pride ourselves and we continue to invest time to make sure that we're nurturing those relationships and keeping that market open for us.

我認為這證明了我們在售後回租方面的歷史比這個領域的任何人都長。我們在支付租金方面有著良好的記錄，擁有一支優秀的營運團隊，與我們的經紀人以及與我們的國家房地產投資信託基金建立了良好的關係，這對我們來說很重要，我們為自己感到自豪我們將繼續投入時間，以確保我們正在培育這些關係並保持市場對我們開放。

Yes. Jed, if you're going to underwrite a project, you're going to underwrite a project with a company that has a strong track record, a great management team and a long history of doing it right. And I think we check those boxes.

是的。傑德，如果你要承保一個項目，你會選擇一家擁有良好業績記錄、優秀管理團隊和長期正確行事的公司來承保項目。我認為我們要勾選這些方塊。

Yes, that makes sense. Okay. Just also, I mean, the company has seen declining retail traffic for several consecutive quarters now. And I'm just wondering if you guys have completed any consumer research to try to understand the root causes of the softness. And I know that the -- I believe the industry has been soft as well. And I'm just wondering if there's any kind of discussion with any other companies? And just in terms of what's driving or what do you guys think is driving this retail softness?

是的，這是有道理的。好的。我的意思是，該公司的零售流量現已連續幾季下降。我只是想知道你們是否已經完成了任何消費者研究來嘗試了解柔軟的根本原因。我知道——我相信這個行業也很疲軟。我只是想知道是否與其他公司進行過任何形式的討論？就是什麼推動了零售業的疲軟？你們認為是什麼推動了零售業的疲軟？

Yes. So Chris, this is John. We don't have a consumer study that we can point to. There's a lot of theories. One of my beliefs is that as an industry, there's been -- a lot of folks have been pushing the pricing envelope relatively aggressively. And at certain points, this is not a completely inelastic service that you could -- at $12 or higher for a base wash, it's going to have an impact on retail frequency.

是的。克里斯，這是約翰。我們沒有可以參考的消費者研究。有很多理論。我的信念之一是，作為一個行業，很多人一直在相對積極地推動定價範圍。在某些方面，這並不是一項完全缺乏彈性的服務——基礎清洗的價格為 12 美元或更高，這將對零售頻率產生影響。

And again, I think we have been very prudent in our approach and relatively conservative and not being overly aggressive in pushing that pricing envelope. And as a result, we're happy with that but I think that has had some effect. And that's just my theory.

再說一遍，我認為我們的做法非常謹慎，相對保守，在推動定價範圍方面並沒有過於激進。結果，我們對此感到滿意，但我認為這已經產生了一些效果。這只是我的理論。

And the next question comes from Tristan Thomas-Martin with BMO Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Tristan Thomas-Martin。

Just two questions. There's been a lot of, obviously, talk about the competitive landscape and how more competitive it's gotten. But now the people are starting to pull back, does that create any specific opportunities for you?

只有兩個問題。顯然，有很多關於競爭格局以及競爭如何變得更加激烈的討論。但現在人們開始退出，這是否為你創造了任何特定的機會？

Absolutely, 100%. So I would say that right now, people are being much more calculated and measured and really focusing on growing their existing footprints than expanding into new markets. We're definitely seeing less encroaching than we have in the last couple of years, which is good and healthy. So we anticipate new unit growth to moderate and we're actually seeing some platforms pare back on their growth plans for a variety of reasons, but primarily it's access to capital.

絕對是，100%。所以我想說，現在人們更精於算計和衡量，真正專注於擴大現有足跡，而不是擴展到新市場。我們看到的侵犯行為肯定比過去幾年少了，這是好的、健康的。因此，我們預計新單位成長將放緩，而且我們實際上看到一些平台出於多種原因削減了成長計劃，但主要是因為獲得資本。

So in the end, as we look at multiples that are starting to come down, and it feels like the market right now is reset to about a 10x number, which literally 2 years ago, things were trading at north of 15 times. And there's also more of a focus, which has been our focus from the get-go on quality versus quantity because for a while during the craziness over the last several years, there were certain platforms that were all about scaling just to scale and buying whatever they could, and the chicken is coming home to roost, if you will.

所以最後，當我們看到本益比開始下降時，感覺現在的市場被重置到大約 10 倍，而實際上 2 年前，市場交易價格是 15 倍以上。還有更多的焦點，這從一開始就是我們關注質量與數量的焦點，因為在過去幾年的瘋狂時期，有一些平台只是為了擴大規模而購買任何東西他們可以，如果你願意的話，雞就會自食其果。

So we, like others, are being cautious and measured, and this will create a number of opportunities for us as an organization. But we're going to be very disciplined and highly selective in choosing when and where to pull the trigger on M&A.

因此，我們和其他人一樣，保持謹慎和謹慎，這將為我們作為一個組織創造許多機會。但我們將非常嚴格地選擇何時何地啟動併購。

Okay. And then just -- you mentioned the macro is softer. If it continues to get worse, what is the Mister Car Wash recession playbook?

好的。然後你提到宏觀更加柔和。如果情況持續惡化，洗車先生的衰退策略是什麼？

Well, I'd start with -- we have super strong AUVs right now, really healthy margins. We run a tight ship. We have a staffing model that we're really proud of. But we do err on the side of -- and there's a right -- there's the idea around right staffing, running lean and running too fat. And higher-volume stores, it's actually easier to operate a higher volume store than it is a lower volume store. But what we're doing is making material investments in people and the human capital front. And we have over 150 MITs in our pipeline that are part of our operating expense line and we're happy to make that investment because it's going to be the future for our organization is these high-potential future leaders that -- running the stores that we have in our pipeline. So if stuff hit the fan and things got really tight. We could pull back on some of those levers. And it may mean a temporary slowdown for us, but I think we'd be able to weather the storm.

好吧，我首先要說的是──我們現在擁有超強的 AUV，利潤率非常可觀。我們管理嚴密。我們擁有令我們感到非常自豪的人員配置模式。但我們確實犯了錯誤——而且這是正確的——圍繞著正確的人員配置、精益運行和過度肥胖的想法。對於高銷售商店來說，經營高銷售商店實際上比經營低銷售商店更容易。但我們正在做的是對人員和人力資本方面進行物質投資。我們有超過 150 家 MIT 正在籌備中，它們是我們營運費用線的一部分，我們很高興進行這項投資，因為這些高潛力的未來領導者將成為我們組織的未來，他們經營的商店我們已經在我們的管道中。因此，如果事情發生了，事情就會變得非常緊張。我們可以收回其中一些槓桿。這對我們來說可能意味著暫時的放緩，但我認為我們能夠渡過難關。

So last thing I'd just add on that, we have managed -- so we've been around for 25 years. We have managed through multiple economic cycles and have emerged stronger, quite frankly, from each one. And so we don't anticipate -- we believe that we'll be able to manage through this one as well as we're managing through it, and we're going to emerge just fine.

最後我想補充一點，我們已經做到了——所以我們已經存在了 25 年。坦白說，我們經歷了多個經濟週期，並且在每個週期中都變得更加強大。因此，我們不會預期 - 我們相信我們將能夠渡過這一難關，就像我們正在渡過難關一樣，我們會表現得很好。

And this concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the floor to management for any closing comments.

問答環節到此結束。我想請管理層提出任何結束意見。

Well, thank you, everybody. As car wash operators, we love what we do, we love who we serve, and we feel very fortunate to be a leader in the space that's growing year-over-year. We look forward to checking back with you guys on the next quarterly call. Thanks, everyone, for joining.

嗯，謝謝大家。作為洗車運營商，我們熱愛我們所做的事情，我們熱愛我們服務的對象，我們非常幸運能夠成為這個逐年增長的領域的領導者。我們期待在下一個季度的電話會議上與你們聯繫。謝謝大家的加入。

Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演示，您現在可以掛斷電話了。