Marcus & Millichap Inc (MMI) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Marcus & Millichap's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Jacques Cornet. Thank you. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Marcus & Millichap 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。提醒一下，此通話正在錄音。現在我想將會議交給主持人雅克·科內特 (Jacques Cornet)。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to Marcus & Millichap's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. With us today are President and Chief Executive Officer, Hessam Nadji; and Chief Financial Officer, Steve DeGennaro.

謝謝你，接線生。早上好，歡迎參加 Marcus & Millichap 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我們在一起的有總裁兼執行長 Hessam Nadji；和首席財務官史蒂夫德根納羅。

Before I turn the call over to management, please remember that our prepared remarks and the responses to questions may contain forward-looking statements. Words such as may, will, expect, believe, estimate, anticipate, goal, variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results can differ materially from what those implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, general economic conditions and commercial real estate market conditions; the company's ability to retain and attract transactional professionals; company's ability to retain its business philosophy and partnership culture amid competitive pressures; company's ability to integrate new agents and sustain its growth; and other factors discussed in the company's public filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2023.

在我將電話轉交給管理層之前，請記住，我們準備好的評論和對問題的答覆可能包含前瞻性陳述。諸如「可能」、「將」、「期望」、「相信」、「估計」、「預期」、「目標」等詞語以及這些詞語的變體和類似表達方式旨在識別前瞻性陳述。由於多種因素，包括但不限於總體經濟狀況和商業房地產市場狀況，實際結果可能與此類前瞻性聲明所暗示的結果有重大差異；公司留住和吸引交易專業人士的能力；公司在競爭壓力下維持其經營理念和合作夥伴文化的能力；公司整合新代理商並維持其成長的能力；以及該公司公開文件中討論的其他因素，包括其於 2023 年 2 月 28 日向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格年度報告。

Although the company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can make no assurance that its expectations will be attained. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

儘管該公司認為此類前瞻性陳述中反映的預期是基於合理的假設，但它不能保證其預期能夠實現。本公司不承擔因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

In addition, certain financial information presented on this call represents non-GAAP financial measures. The company's earnings release, which was issued this morning and is available on the company's website represents a reconciliation to the appropriate GAAP measures and explains why the company believes such non-GAAP measures are useful to investors.

此外，本次電話會議中提供的某些財務資訊代表非公認會計準則財務指標。該公司今天早上發布並可在公司網站上查閱的收益報告代表了對適當公認會計準則衡量標準的調整，並解釋了為什麼該公司認為此類非公認會計準則衡量標準對投資者有用。

This conference call is being webcast. The webcast link is available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.marcusmillichap.com, along with the slide presentation you may reference during the prepared remarks. With that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to CEO, Hessam Nadji.

本次電話會議正在網路直播。網路廣播連結可在公司網站 www.marcusmillichap.com 的投資者關係部分獲取，同時還提供您可以在準備發言時參考的幻燈片簡報。至此，我很高興將電話轉給執行長 Hessam Nadji。

Thank you, Jacques. On behalf of the entire Marcus & Millichap team, good morning, and welcome to our third quarter 2023 earnings call. The market challenges we've been facing this year continued on in the third quarter. The 10-year treasury yield briefly touched the psychologically key level of 5% and the Federal Reserve sent a clear signal of higher for longer in its interest rates outlook citing that inflation is proving to be more persistent than expected.

謝謝你，雅克。我代表整個 Marcus & Millichap 團隊，早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們今年面臨的市場挑戰在第三季繼續存在。 10年期公債殖利率短暫觸及5%的心理關鍵水平，聯準會在其利率前景中發出了長期走高的明確訊號，理由是事實證明通膨比預期更持久。

Rate volatility, a restrictive lending environment and the cumulative effect of the sharp increase in the cost of debt over the past 18 months weighed heavily on sales and financing volumes. Revenue for the quarter came in at $162 million, down 50% over last year, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.6 million. Revenue production remains hampered by the widened bid-ask spread, constrained financing and interest rate volatility, disrupting deal closing. Transaction time lines extended significantly beyond historical norms, and many deals fell out of contract multiple times, creating a drag on our team's productivity. The result was a 39% decline in the number of brokerage sales transactions and a 59% decline in volume during the quarter.

利率波動、嚴格的貸款環境以及過去 18 個月債務成本急劇上升的累積效應嚴重影響了銷售和融資量。該季度營收為 1.62 億美元，比去年同期下降 50%，調整後 EBITDA 損失為 660 萬美元。買賣價差擴大、融資受限和利率波動仍然阻礙了收入的產生，從而擾亂了交易的完成。交易時間大大超出了歷史標準，許多交易多次脫離合同，從而拖累了我們團隊的生產力。結果是該季度經紀銷售交易數量下降了 39%，交易量下降了 59%。

Given the macro nature and scope of the capital markets disruption, all product types and price segments showed major declines. Our traditional advantage as a market leader in the private client segment remains intact. As Steve will cover in his remarks, the private client market has declined the least of all segments as smaller deals are more driven by personal circumstances and easier to finance. As history has also shown time and again, the private investor will also likely lead in the recovery.

鑑於資本市場混亂的宏觀性質和範圍，所有產品類型和價格區間均大幅下滑。我們作為私人客戶領域市場領導者的傳統優勢仍然完好無損。正如史蒂夫將在他的演講中提到的那樣，私人客戶市場是所有細分市場中下降幅度最小的，因為較小的交易更多地受到個人情況的驅動，並且更容易融資。正如歷史一再表明的那樣，私人投資者也可能引領經濟復甦。

On the other side of the spectrum, the severe drop off in larger transactions is having an outsized impact on MMI's revenue trends, especially considering that this part of our business outpaced the market in the past few years.

另一方面，大額交易的嚴重下降對 MMI 的收入趨勢產生了巨大影響，特別是考慮到我們這部分業務在過去幾年中超過了市場。

We firmly believe that our expanded coverage in larger transactions and penetration into the institutional client segment through our IPA division are critical to our long-term competitiveness. MMI is uniquely qualified to bridge the vast private capital world with institutional assets and create value for all client segments.

我們堅信，透過 IPA 部門擴大大型交易的覆蓋範圍並滲透到機構客戶領域對於我們的長期競爭力至關重要。 MMI 擁有獨特的資格，可以將廣闊的私人資本世界與機構資產聯繫起來，並為所有客戶群創造價值。

Notwithstanding expense reductions and various cost containment strategies we've employed, the loss in the quarter is largely due to expenses related to investments made over the past several years including the acquisition and retention of top producers and teams. It also reflects our strategy to remain on the offensive side despite revenue headwinds by further growing the experienced cadre of our sales force, investing in key industry conferences, client outreach programs and providing resources for analytical and market research support.

儘管我們採取了費用削減和各種成本控制策略，但本季的虧損主要是由於與過去幾年的投資相關的費用，包括收購和保留頂級製作人和團隊。它還反映了我們的策略，即透過進一步培養經驗豐富的銷售隊伍、投資關鍵行業會議、客戶推廣計劃以及提供分析和市場研究支援資源，儘管收入不利，仍保持進攻方。

Although transaction activity is down significantly market-wide, our clients' need for market information, asset evaluation and opinions of value are at a high, given the degree of uncertainty in the marketplace. We view the costs associated with providing personalized client support as an investment in long-term relationships that will manifest in future business.

儘管整個市場的交易活動大幅下降，但鑑於市場的不確定性，我們的客戶對市場資訊、資產評估和價值意見的需求仍然很高。我們將提供個人化客戶支援相關的成本視為對長期關係的投資，而這種投資將體現在未來的業務中。

We remain steadfast in our belief that these investments will help us lead in the recovery, which is a matter of when, not if, based on our experience through multiple cycles over the company's 52-year history. To begin a recovery, we believe several underlying forces will eventually converge to drive higher transaction volumes. These include a still strong labor market, which is more likely to slow than fall off a cliff and resistant consumers who may also come off of recent spending highs, but sustain a solid financial profile. These economic pillars support strong property fundamentals across all product types with the exception of older office assets.

我們仍然堅信，這些投資將幫助我們引領復甦，但根據我們在公司 52 年歷史中多個週期的經驗，復甦只是時間問題，而不是是否會發生的問題。為了開始復甦，我們相信幾個潛在的力量最終將匯聚以推動更高的交易量。其中包括仍然強勁的勞動力市場（其放緩的可能性更大，而不是跌落懸崖）和抵制的消費者，他們也可能擺脫近期的支出高點，但保持穩健的財務狀況。這些經濟支柱支持所有產品類型的強勁房地產基本面（舊辦公資產除外）。

Another encouraging factor is that we appear to be very close, if not at, the end of the most aggressive Fed tightening cycle in 40 years. This milestone, even without a Fed pivot to lowering interest rates anytime soon, should bring some stability and direction to the market and help price discovery.

另一個令人鼓舞的因素是，我們似乎已經非常接近聯準會 40 年來最激進的緊縮週期的結束，即使不是結束。即使聯準會不會很快轉向降息，這一里程碑也應該會為市場帶來一定的穩定性和方向，並有助於價格發現。

Perhaps more critical than any quantitative factor is time. With time, sellers are adjusting to more realistic price expectations and record capital on the sideline is starting to reenter the market. The difficulty in obtaining financing and significantly lower loan-to-value is not keeping astute investors from acquiring desired assets if the price is right.

也許比任何數量因素更重要的是時間。隨著時間的推移，賣家正在適應更現實的價格預期，創紀錄的觀望資本開始重新進入市場。獲得融資的困難和貸款價值比的大幅降低並不能阻止精明的投資者在價格合適的情況下購買所需的資產。

Although wholesale distressed sales by lenders are unlikely to become a major wave, individual situation arising from maturing loans, operating issues and/or personal drivers are creating investment opportunities and recapitalization across all property types. For example, even within multifamily, which generally has the strongest fundamentals in the business, speculative transactions made at the peak pricing levels on short-term financing are having issues with maturing loans that are now far more costly and difficult to replace.

儘管貸款機構的大規模不良銷售不太可能成為一大浪潮，但由於貸款到期、營運問題和/或個人驅動因素而產生的個人情況正在為所有房地產類型創造投資機會和資本重組。例如，即使在通常具有最強勁的業務基本面的多戶家庭中，以短期融資最高定價水平進行的投機交易也存在到期貸款的問題，而這些貸款現在成本更高且難以替代。

One of the most important advantages of the MMI platform is the market coverage and countless relationships that our sales force harnesses through our collaborative culture and internal communication. We're in constant motion and making connections that lead to unique problem-solving and opportunity creation for buyers, sellers and lenders. Our financing division has matured and grown through the addition of numerous experienced originators, teams and boutique financing acquisitions who are now actively partnering with our sales teams to help investors find financing solutions.

MMI 平台最重要的優勢之一是市場覆蓋範圍以及我們的銷售人員透過我們的協作文化和內部溝通所利用的無數關係。我們不斷行動並建立聯繫，為買家、賣家和貸方解決獨特的問題並創造機會。透過增加眾多經驗豐富的發起人、團隊和精品融資收購，我們的融資部門已經成熟和發展，他們現在正積極與我們的銷售團隊合作，幫助投資者找到融資解決方案。

MMCC's access to and relationships with over 400 lenders that our originators have closed deals with in the past 12 months alone are of great value in the current market where we face financing scarcity and very tight scrutiny.

僅在過去 12 個月內，MMCC 就與 400 多家貸款機構建立了聯繫，我們的發起人已與這些貸款機構達成了交易，這在當前我們面臨融資稀缺和嚴格審查的市場中具有巨大價值。

All these advantages demonstrate MMI's leading position in investment brokerage despite the market headwinds with over 4,000 sales transactions closed year-to-date and 800 financing. This is a direct result of our client commitment and the hard work, persistence and scale of our sales force and support personnel.

所有這些優勢都證明了 MMI 在投資經紀領域的領先地位，儘管市場逆風，今年迄今已完成 4,000 多筆銷售交易和 800 筆融資。這是我們對客戶的承諾以及我們銷售團隊和支援人員的辛勤工作、堅持不懈和規模的直接結果。

To expand our market position, we have supplemented our core business with industry-leading research, auction services in recent years and our loan sales division to foster new client relationships and help existing clients execute in this difficult market environment.

為了擴大我們的市場地位，近年來，我們透過業界領先的研究、拍賣服務和貸款銷售部門來補充我們的核心業務，以培養新的客戶關係並幫助現有客戶在這個困難的市場環境中執行任務。

In the same spirit, I'm excited to announce that strategic investments in a technology-driven platform for equity raising and private debt placement called EquityMultiple. Their platform specializes in helping sponsors access its vast network of investors to raise project-specific equity and debt and provides asset management services to many of its sponsor clients. EquityMultiple's proprietary technology enables rapid execution, which is especially valuable in the current market environment.

本著同樣的精神，我很高興地宣布對一個名為 EquityMultiple 的技術驅動型股權融資和私人債務配售平台進行策略性投資。他們的平台專門幫助發起人接觸其龐大的投資者網絡，以籌集特定項目的股權和債務，並為其許多發起人客戶提供資產管理服務。 EquityMultiple 的專有技術可快速執行，這在當前的市場環境中尤其有價值。

We see multiple opportunities for client synergies and mutual referrals facilitated by both companies, heavy emphasis on technological advancements. We also made a strategic investment in a venture-backed company called Archer, which specializes in services that will increase our property underwriting productivity and ability to generate sales and financing leads. These services include property level performance metrics across the U.S. through consolidating multiple data sources through propriety technology as well as analytics, we expect will make our client targeting more efficient. Looking forward, we expect the market disruption to take more time and the recovery to be pushed out given all of the factors that I've summarized.

我們看到了兩家公司促進的客戶協同和相互推薦的多種機會，並高度重視技術進步。我們還對一家名為 Archer 的創投公司進行了策略性投資，該公司專門提供可提高我們的財產承保生產力以及產生銷售和融資線索的能力的服務。這些服務包括透過專有技術和分析整合多個資料來源，涵蓋美國各地的房地產水平績效指標，我們預計將使我們的客戶定位更有效率。展望未來，考慮到我總結的所有因素，我們預計市場混亂將需要更多時間，復甦將被推遲。

As I stated on prior calls, we are committed to our organic hiring system and continue to execute expanded candidate outreach initiatives, enhanced training and development and are increasing our recruiting resources to return to positive net hiring. This remains a top priority for the management team. In the meantime, we continue to build on our success in attracting experienced professionals, teams and independent boutiques to the firm in a complementary fashion to our existing coverage.

正如我在之前的電話中所說，我們致力於我們的有機招聘系統，並繼續執行擴大的候選人外展計劃，加強培訓和發展，並增加我們的招聘資源，以恢復積極的淨招聘。這仍然是管理團隊的首要任務。同時，我們繼續以與我們現有覆蓋範圍互補的方式吸引經驗豐富的專業人士、團隊和獨立精品店加入我們的成功。

In closing, let me emphasize the strength of our balance sheet, leading market position and brand as they enable us to continually improve the MMI platform and pursue strategic acquisitions and investments. The passage of time appears to have surfaced interesting acquisition opportunities that we're evaluating even as some of our previous explorations did not close, primarily due to a valuation expectation gap. Our expanded capital allocation strategy reflects these offensive strategies and return of significant capital to shareholders over the past 18 months.

最後，讓我強調我們的資產負債表實力、領先的市場地位和品牌，因為它們使我們能夠不斷改進 MMI 平台並尋求策略性收購和投資。隨著時間的推移，似乎出現了有趣的收購機會，我們正在評估這些機會，儘管我們之前的一些探索並未結束，這主要是由於估值預期差距。我們擴大的資本配置策略反映了這些進攻策略以及過去 18 個月向股東返還大量資本的情況。

We look forward to continuing on the path of long-term value creation as we position MMI to lead in the recovery. With that, I will turn the call over to Steve for additional insights on our results. Steve?

我們期待著繼續走長期價值創造的道路，讓 MMI 在復甦中處於領先地位。這樣，我會將電話轉給史蒂夫，以獲取有關我們結果的更多見解。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Hessam. As mentioned, market conditions remain challenging due to the Fed's steep trajectory of rate increases implemented since last year and their continued higher for longer messaging. This has led to a significant decline in transactional activity due to a lack of price discovery between buyer and seller, increasingly restricted credit markets and rate uncertainty.

謝謝你，赫薩姆。如前所述，由於聯準會自去年以來實施的大幅升息軌跡以及長期資訊持續走高，市場狀況仍然充滿挑戰。由於買賣雙方之間缺乏價格發現、信貸市場日益受限以及利率不確定性，這導致交易活動大幅下降。

With that as a backdrop, let's get into the results. Total revenue for the quarter was $162 million compared to $324 million in the prior year. Year-to-date, total revenue was $480 million versus $1 billion last year. Revenue from real estate brokerage commissions for the third quarter was $140 million and accounted for 86% of total revenue compared to $293 million last year, a decrease of 52% year-over-year. For the quarter, total sales volume was $7.4 billion across 1,361 transactions, down 59% and 39%, respectively. Year-to-date, revenue from real estate brokerage commissions was $415 million and accounted for 87% of total revenue compared to $934 million last year, a decrease of 56% year-over-year.

以此為背景，讓我們來看看結果。本季總營收為 1.62 億美元，去年同期為 3.24 億美元。今年迄今為止，總收入為 4.8 億美元，而去年為 10 億美元。第三季房地產經紀佣金收入為1.4億美元，佔總營收的86%，去年同期為2.93億美元，年減52%。該季度總銷售額為 74 億美元，涉及 1,361 筆交易，分別下降 59% 和 39%。年初至今，房地產經紀佣金收入為4.15億美元，佔總收入的87%，而去年為9.34億美元，年減56%。

Year-to-date sales volume was $22.1 billion across 4,062 transactions, down 60% and 43%, respectively. Average transaction size during the third quarter was approximately $5.5 million as compared to $8 million a year ago reflecting the sharp decline of larger transactions. Within brokerage, for the quarter, our core private client business contributed 65% of brokerage revenue or $91 million versus 57% last year.

年初至今，4,062 筆交易的銷售額為 221 億美元，分別下降 60% 和 43%。第三季的平均交易規模約為 550 萬美元，而去年同期為 800 萬美元，反映出較大交易量的急劇下降。在經紀業務領域，本季我們的核心私人客戶業務貢獻了經紀收入的 65%（即 9,100 萬美元），而去年為 57%。

Year-to-date, the Private Client business contributed 67% of brokerage revenue or $278 million versus 57% again last year. Middle Market and Larger Transactions, which experienced outsized growth over the past couple of years, together accounted for 31% of brokerage revenue or $43 million during the quarter, compared to 41% last year.

今年迄今為止，私人客戶業務貢獻了經紀收入的 67%，即 2.78 億美元，而去年則為 57%。中型市場和大型交易在過去幾年中經歷了大幅增長，本季合計佔經紀收入的 31%，即 4,300 萬美元，而去年為 41%。

Year-to-date, Middle Market and Larger Transactions represented 29% of brokerage revenue or $122 million compared to 40% last year. For the quarter, private client, Middle Market and Larger Transactions declined 45%, 60% and 67%, respectively, and year-to-date declined 48%, 64% and 70%, respectively.

今年迄今為止，中型市場和大型交易佔經紀收入的 29%，即 1.22 億美元，而去年這一比例為 40%。本季度，私人客戶、中間市場和大型交易分別下降 45%、60% 和 67%，年初至今分別下降 48%、64% 和 70%。

Revenue in our financing business, including MMCC, was $17 million in the third quarter compared to $28 million last year. In the quarter, we closed 276 financing transactions totaling $1.9 billion in volume compared to 518 transactions for $3.3 billion in volume in the prior year. Financing revenue year-to-date was $51 million compared to $91 million last year. This represents 839 transactions totaling $5.3 billion in volume compared to 1,735 transactions and $10.4 billion in volume last year. Other revenue, comprised primarily of consulting and advisory fees along with referral fees, was $5 million in the third quarter compared to $3 million last year. Year-to-date, other revenue was $13 million this year, flat compared to last year.

我們的融資業務（包括 MMCC）第三季的營收為 1,700 萬美元，而去年為 2,800 萬美元。本季度，我們完成了 276 筆融資交易，總金額為 19 億美元，而去年同期為 518 筆交易，總金額為 33 億美元。年初至今的融資收入為 5,100 萬美元，而去年為 9,100 萬美元。這意味著 839 筆交易，總交易額為 53 億美元，而去年為 1,735 筆交易，總交易額為 104 億美元。其他收入（主要包括諮詢費和推薦費）第三季為 500 萬美元，而去年為 300 萬美元。今年迄今為止，其他收入為 1300 萬美元，與去年持平。

Moving on to expenses. Total operating expenses for the third quarter were $177 million, 39% lower than last year. Year-to-date, total operating expenses were $522 million, 43% lower compared to the prior year. Lower expenses were largely a result of lower revenue. Cost of services was $105 million or 64.6% of total revenue, a decrease of 254 basis points over the third quarter last year. Year-to-date, cost of services was $301 million or 62.8% of total revenue, an improvement of 169 basis points compared to last year.

繼續討論支出。第三季總營運費用為 1.77 億美元，比去年下降 39%。年初至今，總營運支出為 5.22 億美元，比上年減少 43%。支出減少主要是收入減少的結果。服務成本為 1.05 億美元，佔總營收的 64.6%，比去年第三季下降 254 個基點。年初至今，服務成本為 3.01 億美元，佔總收入的 62.8%，比去年提高了 169 個基點。

SG&A during the third quarter was $69.2 million, a decrease of 5.2% over the prior year. Year-to-date, SG&A was $210.3 million, a decrease of 7.5% compared to last year. The decrease in SG&A was attributed to lower variable compensation tied to business performance impacted by market conditions, along with cost reduction actions implemented over the past 9 months. This was offset in part by expenses related to talent acquisition and retention as well as new business development and marketing support.

第三季的SG&A 為6,920 萬美元，較上年同期下降5.2%。年初至今，SG&A 為 2.103 億美元，比去年下降 7.5%。 SG&A 的減少歸因於受市場狀況影響的與業務績效相關的可變薪酬下降，以及過去 9 個月實施的成本削減行動。這部分被人才獲取和保留以及新業務開發和行銷支援相關的費用所抵消。

As discussed previously, the combination of lower revenue and the fixed nature of certain expenses associated with the expansion of our sales force, technology and infrastructure in recent years continues to impact our profitability. During the third quarter, we reported a net loss of $9.2 million or $0.24 per share. This compares with net income of $21.4 million or $0.53 per share in the previous year. Year-to-date, net loss totaled $23.8 million or $0.61 per share compared to net income of $96.3 million or $2.39 per share in the prior year.

如前所述，收入下降以及近年來與我們銷售團隊、技術和基礎設施擴張相關的某些費用的固定性質，繼續影響我們的獲利能力。第三季度，我們報告淨虧損 920 萬美元，每股 0.24 美元。相比之下，上一年的淨利潤為 2,140 萬美元，即每股 0.53 美元。年初至今，淨虧損總計 2,380 萬美元，即每股 0.61 美元，而上一年的淨利潤為 9,630 萬美元，即每股 2.39 美元。

For the quarter, adjusted EBITDA of negative $6.6 million compared to positive $36.6 million in the prior year. Year-to-date, adjusted EBITDA was negative $15.1 million compared to positive $151.4 million in the prior year. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 18%, and our current expectation of the effective tax rate for the full year is approximately 17%.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為負 660 萬美元，而去年同期為正 3,660 萬美元。年初至今，調整後 EBITDA 為負 1,510 萬美元，而前一年為正 1.514 億美元。本季的有效稅率為18%，我們目前對全年有效稅率的預期約為17%。

Turning to the balance sheet. We maintain a well-capitalized debt-free position with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaling $411 million, up modestly from the prior quarter total of $407 million.

轉向資產負債表。我們維持資本充足的無債務頭寸，現金、現金等價物和有價證券總計 4.11 億美元，略高於上一季 4.07 億美元的總額。

During the quarter, there were no share repurchases or dividend payments. However, we have had activity on both fronts subsequent to quarter end. In the quarter, we declared a semiannual dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a total of $10.1 million. which was paid in the first week of October. Over the last 18 months, we have returned approximately $83 million to shareholders in the form of declared dividends.

本季沒有股票回購或股利支付。然而，季度末後我們在這兩個方面都開展了活動。本季度，我們宣布派發每股 0.25 美元的半年度股息，總計 1,010 萬美元。是在十月的第一周支付的。在過去 18 個月中，我們以宣派股息的形式向股東返還了約 8,300 萬美元。

Additionally, since the end of the quarter, through the end of October, we repurchased approximately 161,000 shares of common stock at an average price of $27.92 per share for a total of $4.5 million. Year-to-date, this brings total shares repurchased to nearly $1.3 million at an average price of $30.89 per share for a total of $39.4 million.

此外，自本季末至 10 月底，我們以每股 27.92 美元的平均價格回購了約 161,000 股普通股，總計 450 萬美元。今年迄今為止，回購股票總額接近 130 萬美元，平均價格為每股 30.89 美元，回購總額為 3,940 萬美元。

Since initiating the program last August, we have repurchased more than 2.1 million shares for more than $68 million and have approximately $72 million remaining on the current repurchase authorization. We remain committed to our multipronged capital allocation strategy, while at the same time, ensuring that we maintain an appropriate level of liquidity to manage through the current business cycle.

自去年 8 月啟動該計畫以來，我們已以超過 6,800 萬美元的價格回購了超過 210 萬股股票，目前的回購授權剩餘約 7,200 萬美元。我們仍然致力於多管齊下的資本配置策略，同時確保保持適當的流動性水準以管理當前的商業週期。

We continue to invest in technology and the recruitment and retention of top talent as well as way strategic acquisitions, thus positioning ourselves for the eventual recovery and leveraging the business for long-term growth.

我們繼續投資於技術、招募和保留頂尖人才以及策略性收購，為最終復甦做好準備，並利用業務實現長期成長。

As Hessam mentioned, after the end of the quarter, we made minority investments in 2 separate innovative PropTech companies. Looking forward, we expect current market trends to continue. Given these dynamics, the outlook for the fourth quarter is a continuation of transactional levels consistent with the third quarter, although this week's Fed pause may spur some additional activity.

正如 Hessam 所提到的，本季末後，我們對兩家獨立的創新房地產科技公司進行了少數股權投資。展望未來，我們預期當前的市場趨勢將持續下去。鑑於這些動態，第四季度的前景將延續與第三季度一致的交易水平，儘管本週聯準會的暫停可能會刺激一些額外的活動。

Cost of services as a percentage of revenue for the fourth quarter should follow the usual pattern of increasing sequentially. SG&A for the quarter should increase modestly over Q3 in absolute dollars and be well below Q4 of last year. And as I mentioned, the full year tax rate is currently expected to be in the 17% range.

第四季服務成本佔收入的百分比應遵循通常的連續成長模式。以絕對美元計算，本季的銷售、管理費用 (SG&A) 應比第三季小幅成長，並遠低於去年第四季。正如我所提到的，目前全年稅率預計在 17% 的範圍內。

We remain committed to fostering client trust, actively pursuing strategic growth opportunities and driving operational excellence through best practices with our entire team. The investments we have made and continue to make will position us to capture growth as market conditions inevitably improve.

我們仍然致力於培養客戶信任，積極尋求策略成長機會，並透過整個團隊的最佳實踐推動卓越營運。隨著市場狀況不可避免地改善，我們已經進行和繼續進行的投資將使我們能夠實現成長。

With that, operator, we can now open up the call for Q&A.

有了這個，接線員，我們現在可以開始問答電話了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first questions come from the line of Blaine Heck with Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自富國銀行的 Blaine Heck 線路。

Hessam, you all have a somewhat unique concentration in your business model where the transaction brokerage and financing businesses drive the vast majority of your total revenue relative to some of your competitors who have more diversification across revenue streams with other services like leasing and asset management.

Hessam，你們的業務模式都有些獨特，其中交易經紀和融資業務佔你們總收入的絕大部分，而一些競爭對手則透過租賃和資產管理等其他服務在收入流上更加多元化。

Clearly, there are times in which your structure is advantageous and levered to more healthy transactional markets, but does the slow market like this give you any desire to potentially diversify that revenue stream and get into some of those arguably more stable services?

顯然，有時您的結構是有利的，並且可以利用更健康的交易市場，但是像這樣緩慢的市場是否會讓您希望潛在地實現收入來源多元化並進入一些可以說更穩定的服務？

I know you mentioned making some investments in PropTech companies that might provide some of those services. But is there any desire to have some of those services in-house?

我知道您曾提到對可能提供其中一些服務的房地產科技公司進行一些投資。但是否希望在內部擁有其中一些服務？

Absolutely. And that desire has been there during the stronger macro environment trend as well as the current market conditions that we're facing. So it's not really unique to a reaction to the challenging market that we face today. It's been part of the company's long-term strategy for some time. And most of our exploration in terms of M&A outside of the brokerage world has been focused on those types of services and those types of complementary services that bring value to our existing sales force and our existing clients.

絕對地。在更強勁的宏觀環境趨勢以及我們當前面臨的市場條件下，這種願望一直存在。因此，這並不是我們對當今充滿挑戰的市場所做的獨特反應。一段時間以來，它一直是公司長期策略的一部分。我們在經紀領域之外的併購方面的大部分探索都集中在那些為我們現有銷售人員和現有客戶帶來價值的服務類型和補充服務類型上。

So part of the criteria we've used in exploring those have to do with synergies and additional service lines that would benefit our product clients as well as middle market and institutional clients. So we examined those opportunities as much about their diversification benefits; hopefully, margin benefits and so on from an accretion perspective, but also from a service expansion and client capturing and repeat business perspective. So the long answer -- the short answer to your question is absolutely, it's been a focus, and we are as focused on it in this period as ever.

因此，我們在探索這些問題時使用的部分標準與協同效應和額外的服務線有關，這將使我們的產品客戶以及中間市場和機構客戶受益。因此，我們對這些機會進行了同樣多的研究，以了解其多元化的好處；希望從增值的角度，以及從服務擴展、客戶獲取和重複業務的角度來看，利潤率效益等等。所以，對你的問題的長答案-簡短答案是絕對的，它一直是一個焦點，我們在這個時期一如既往地關注它。

Great. And I don't know if I missed this, but can you give us any sense of kind of the size of those investments and potential returns you're expecting on your investments in those platforms?

偉大的。我不知道我是否錯過了這一點，但您能否告訴我們這些投資的規模以及您對這些平台的投資的預期潛在回報？

Well, in terms of the investments themselves, they kind of give us an entry point into some of these really interesting platforms that we believe have a lot of growth ahead of them. And -- but again, it comes back to the synergies and client benefits we can bring as well as benefits from our own sales force.

嗯，就投資本身而言，它們為我們提供了一些真正有趣的平台的切入點，我們相信這些平台前面有很大的成長空間。而且，這又回到了我們可以帶來的協同效應和客戶利益以及我們自己的銷售團隊的利益。

And with a combination of 3 different areas, one is productivity gains, new business generation gains and the repeat business opportunities to clients who we know need some of these services and are not getting it currently.

結合三個不同的領域，其中之一是生產力的提高、新業務的產生以及為我們知道需要其中一些服務但目前尚未獲得的客戶提供重複的商業機會。

So the return on that investment is going to be measured by both how well the companies do, of course, and us as investors in those companies. But also, the incremental additional business we're going to gain from having access and partnerships with these firms, which is very difficult to quantify.

因此，投資回報當然將取決於公司的表現以及我們作為這些公司的投資者的表現。而且，我們將從與這些公司的接觸和合作中獲得增量額外業務，這是很難量化的。

Yes, Blaine, this is Steve. I'll add a little bit there. And I want to point out that we're not all of a sudden getting into the venture investing business. Each of these relationships started on the commercial side and looking at the benefits that they can bring to our business, our clients, our agents, as Hessam has indicated.

是的，布萊恩，這是史蒂夫。我會在那裡補充一點。我想指出的是，我們並不是突然進入創投業務。正如赫薩姆所指出的，這些關係都是從商業方面開始的，並著眼於它們能為我們的業務、我們的客戶、我們的代理商帶來的好處。

We like what we saw on those fronts. There was an opportunity to invest in each of them. We did that -- within our diligence we did that. I will point out, though, that neither of these investments are of a size or percentage ownership that would require their quarterly operating results to impact ours, which if you're -- on the -- from a technical standpoint, means the investment was less than 20%.

我們喜歡我們在這些方面所看到的。他們每個人都有投資的機會。我們做到了——在我們的努力下，我們做到了。不過，我要指出的是，這些投資的規模或所有權比例都不要求其季度經營業績影響我們的業績，如果你從技術角度來看，這意味著投資是低於20%。

Okay. Great. That's helpful color. Switching gears, clearly, the transaction market remains deeply depressed. But of the transactions that are occurring, I guess, what percentage or portion would you say are driven by some form of distress that's kind of forcing sellers to capitulate versus those that are occurring a little bit more naturally?

好的。偉大的。這是有用的顏色。顯然，交易市場依然低迷。但我想，在正在發生的交易中，有多少百分比或部分是由某種形式的困境驅動的，這種困境迫使賣家投降，而不是那些更自然地發生的交易？

As I mentioned, Blaine, in my prepared remarks, we're starting to see situations that are unique to the owner, unique to the lender as opposed to large waves of distress being marketed or portfolios of distress, whether they're loans or assets being brought to market or even being really prepared to be brought to market. It's one-off situations that are starting to happen, and we anticipate to see a lot more of them as more loans come due over the next 2 years.

正如我所提到的，布萊恩，在我準備好的發言中，我們開始看到所有者獨有的情況，貸方獨有的情況，而不是正在營銷的大量困境或困境投資組合，無論它們是貸款還是資產被推向市場，甚至真正準備好推向市場。這種一次性情況已經開始發生，而且隨著未來兩年有更多貸款到期，我們預計這種情況會越來越多。

And frankly, as some players continue to need recapitalization, we're seeing a significant increase in the need for recaps in order to stay active in certain assets that are having either refinancing issues or operating issues. As a percentage of our closings in the third quarter, it wouldn't have been significant, but I can clearly share with you that this bucket of transaction catalyst is on the rise measurably.

坦白說，隨著一些參與者繼續需要資本重組，我們發現資本重組的需求顯著增加，以便在某些存在再融資問題或營運問題的資產中保持活躍。作為我們第三季成交額的百分比，這並不重要，但我可以清楚地與您分享，這一系列交易催化劑正在顯著增加。

Got it. That's really helpful. Can you talk a little bit more about how the market dislocation and depressed transaction market is kind of affecting your recruiting efforts? And I guess, how we should think about what broker count should look like as we move forward into 2024?

知道了。這真的很有幫助。能多談談市場混亂和低迷的交易市場對您的招募工作有何影響嗎？我想，當我們進入 2024 年時，我們應該如何考慮經紀人數量應該是什麼樣子？

Sure. The market condition around inexperienced professionals being hired, trained and transitioned into productive producers for us is still very challenged for the same reasons we've talked about for a while now [thoroughly] post-pandemic, in that the very tight labor market, which is starting to loosen to some extent based on today's jobs report, of course, as well as the disruption, the significant swing since the pandemic of a severe market shutdown and the downturn in 2020, a big comeback in '21, '22 and then an interest rate-induced dislocation has made the usual process of bringing inexperienced people onto the business, training them, having them work with a mentor and transition them into productive individuals has really been disruptive.

當然。缺乏經驗的專業人員被雇用、培訓並轉變為生產性生產者的市場狀況仍然面臨很大的挑戰，原因與我們在大流行後[徹底]討論了一段時間的原因相同，因為勞動力市場非常緊張，當然，根據今天的就業報告以及市場嚴重關閉和2020 年經濟低迷帶來的干擾、大流行以來的大幅波動，以及21 年、22 年的大幅捲土重來，經濟開始有所放鬆。利率引起的混亂使得將缺乏經驗的人引入企業、培訓他們、讓他們與導師一起工作並將他們轉變為富有成效的個人的通常過程確實具有破壞性。

And we're still, if you will, reacting and pivoting to the ripple effects of that 3-year disruption in the normal cadence of our new agent and originator hiring. But the trends are moving in the right direction. The additional initiatives that we've implemented are paying off, whether it's our fellowship program, our internship program, expanded kind of channels for reaching out to sales professionals from other industries and a lot of flooding the zone in helping the newer professionals that are within the firm already, get more training, get more support and make it to the other side.

如果你願意的話，我們仍在對新代理商和創始人招聘的正常節奏三年中斷所產生的連鎖反應做出反應並轉向。但趨勢正在朝著正確的方向發展。我們實施的其他措施正在取得成效，無論是我們的獎學金計劃、實習計劃、擴大接觸其他行業銷售專業人士的管道，以及大量湧入該地區來幫助該地區的新專業人士。公司已經，接受更多的培訓，獲得更多的支持，並到達彼岸。

But I don't want to underestimate just how difficult it is as a new professional to make it in this market. What we do know is that those that started in 2008, 2009 with us, maybe even in 2010 and really struggled for the first few years are some of our top performers now because they really learned the business in a healthy foundational way that has given them an advantage as a career. And we're really advertising that and using those best practices to do everything we can to help our newer professionals right now.

但我不想低估身為新專業人士在這個市場取得成功的難度。我們所知道的是，那些在2008 年、2009 年、甚至可能在2010 年加入我們、在最初幾年真正掙扎的人現在都是我們表現最好的人，因為他們真正以健康的基礎方式學習了業務，這給了他們作為職業的優勢。我們確實在宣傳這一點，並利用這些最佳實踐盡我們所能來幫助我們現在的新專業人士。

Complementing that with experienced professional hiring, teams, boutique firms has been very successful. And we continue to build on that. This year, we've brought a number of market-leading teams on board. We designed that effort in a way to be complementary to our existing coverage and our existing team, so we avoid as much overlap as possible so that we're not cannibalizing current opportunities that are already being pursued. And that strategy is very much alive and kicking and a high priority for us.

憑藉著經驗豐富的專業招募、團隊、精品公司的補充，已經非常成功。我們將繼續以此為基礎。今年，我們引進了一些市場領先的團隊。我們設計這項工作的方式是為了補充我們現有的覆蓋範圍和現有團隊，因此我們盡可能避免重疊，這樣我們就不會蠶食目前已經在尋求的機會。這一戰略非常活躍，對我們來說是一個高度優先的事項。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. Last one for me. Can you just give us a little bit more color on any additional external growth opportunities you guys might be exploring? How far along any of those discussions might be? And given that you didn't repurchase shares this quarter, although, as Steve mentioned, you guys have been active since then, I guess just how should we think about your preferences between those 2 options for capital deployment?

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。最後一張給我。您能否給我們更多關於您們可能正在探索的任何其他外部成長機會的資訊？這些討論可能進行到什麼程度？鑑於你們本季沒有回購股票，儘管正如史蒂夫所提到的那樣，你們從那時起就一直很活躍，我想我們應該如何考慮你們在這兩種資本部署選項之間的偏好？

I'll take the first part of your question first. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we have been actively pursuing external growth through acquisitions for some time now and had advanced discussions with some targets that didn't work out predominantly because of a valuation and purchase terms gap that we still felt brought too much near-term risk and midterm risk to the company.

我先回答你問題的第一部分。正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，一段時間以來，我們一直在透過收購積極追求外部成長，並與一些目標進行了深入的討論，但這些討論沒有成功，主要是因為我們仍然認為估值和購買條款的差距帶來了太多的影響。公司的近期風險和中期風險。

Those that did not work out have been more than replaced by new activities and new discussions, pretty advanced discussions with others that fall in the same category of external growth, and with time, we are seeing a little bit more realistic price expectations and terms expectations, not because the targets that we're talking to are distressed in any shape or form, but because this realism is setting in just as much as it is for real estate owners, by the way. It's the same process and the same curve, if you will. And so we're encouraged by that quite a bit, and we are doing everything we can to continue to build that pipeline.

那些沒有成功的已經被新的活動和新的討論所取代，與屬於外部增長同一類別的其他人進行相當深入的討論，隨著時間的推移，我們看到了更現實的價格預期和條款預期，不是因為我們正在談論的目標以任何形式或形式陷入困境，而是因為這種現實主義與房地產所有者一樣，順便說一句。如果你願意的話，這是相同的過程和相同的曲線。因此，我們對此感到非常鼓舞，我們正在盡一切努力繼續建造這條管道。

Our preference, of course, would be to deploy as much capital for external growth and long-term growth and expanding the platform as much as possible not just because of diversification, although that's very important, but also recognizing, Blaine, that within our core business, brokerage and finance, there's plenty of room for growth. There's plenty of opportunity for additional boutiques, additional groups where we don't have that coverage to be added to the company and the success stories that we've had with numerous firms that have joined us over the past 5 years are the reason to do more of it both for the sellers as well as us.

當然，我們的偏好是為外部成長和長期成長部署盡可能多的資本，並盡可能擴大平台，這不僅僅是因為多元化，儘管這非常重要，但布萊恩也認識到，在我們的核心內部，商業、經紀和金融，都有很大的成長空間。對於我們沒有覆蓋範圍的其他精品店和其他團體來說，有很多機會可以添加到公司中，並且我們在過去 5 年裡與眾多加入我們的公司取得的成功故事是我們這樣做的原因對於賣家和我們來說，更多的都是這樣。

So that's the preference. But I think the benefit of our current capital deployment strategy is the fact that we worked very hard for several years to position the company to have such a fortress balance sheet to have multiple strategies deployed at the same time. We're returning capital to shareholders through our dividend policy and share buybacks. We're pursuing acquisition opportunities. And as importantly, we're investing in ourselves.

這就是偏好。但我認為我們目前資本部署策略的好處在於，我們花了幾年的努力將公司定位為擁有如此堡壘般的資產負債表，以便同時部署多種策略。我們透過股利政策和股票回購向股東返還資本。我們正在尋求收購機會。同樣重要的是，我們正在投資自己。

We are doubling down on MMI in this period. That is for sure. So, the fact that there was no buybacks in one particular quarter is not signaling any change to the overall strategy. That just happened to be the dynamics for that particular quarter and we have optionality.

在此期間，我們在 MMI 上加倍投入。這是肯定的。因此，某一特定季度沒有回購這一事實並不表明整體策略發生任何變化。這恰好是該特定季度的動態，我們有選擇權。

So as we pursue these external growth opportunities, hopefully, as they scale and some exciting things come together, that's where we'd love to see the capital deployed first and foremost as well as, as I said, doubling down on ourselves in technology investments, talent acquisition that wouldn't be considered necessarily M&A.

因此，當我們尋求這些外部成長機會時，希望隨著它們的規模擴大和一些令人興奮的事情匯集在一起，我們希望看到資本首先部署到這些地方，正如我所說，我們在技術投資方面加倍投入，人才獲取不一定被視為併購。

Yes. And Blaine, really, the only thing for me to add, that was very comprehensive, is pointing out that between the dividend and the share repurchase program, we've returned over $150 million to shareholders over the last 18 months, and it is that very balance sheet that we've built up over the years that's allowed us to do that while also still being able to make investments both internally and externally.

是的。布萊恩，實際上，我唯一要補充的非常全面的一點是，在過去 18 個月裡，我們向股東返還了超過 1.5 億美元，包括股息和股票回購計劃。我們多年來建立的資產負債表使我們能夠做到這一點，同時仍然能夠進行內部和外部投資。

Okay. Great. Just a follow-up here for Hessam. You talked about a valuation gap on some of those deals that fell out. Can you give us any better sense of how far off you were from an agreeable price? Was this closer to 5% off or 25%?

好的。偉大的。這裡只是 Hessam 的後續行動。您談到了其中一些失敗的交易的估值差距。您能否讓我們更了解您距離合適的價格還有多遠？這是接近 5% 折扣還是 25% 折扣？

It's somewhere between, Blaine. And it really was maybe about a turn with a multiple turn of what we felt may have been a fair market value versus what the sellers would have liked and/or the combination of the guaranteed value and earn-out. where some folks would like to take more chips off the table, and we would like to see the opposite because we're not really looking to be anybody's retirement plan. And we're targeting groups and entities that have a lot of runway and would benefit from an exciting growth path in the future that will be much, much more rewarding with Marcus & Millichap than without or with any other platform.

布萊恩，介於兩者之間。這實際上可能是關於我們認為公平的市場價值與賣家想要的價值和/或保證價值和收益的組合的多重轉變。有些人想從桌面上拿走更多籌碼，而我們希望看到相反的情況，因為我們並不真正希望成為任何人的退休計劃。我們的目標群體和實體擁有廣闊的發展空間，並將受益於未來令人興奮的成長路徑，與沒有或沒有其他平台相比，使用 Marcus & Millichap 獲得的回報要大得多。

And so if we don't see those characteristics in a deal, we're not just looking to buy market coverage. We really want to find complementary services, complementary folks that are like minded, that are similar in culture and are aggressive about future growth. And I would say those are as important criteria for us as any financial metrics.

因此，如果我們在交易中沒有看到這些特徵，我們就不僅僅是在尋求購買市場覆蓋範圍。我們確實希望找到互補的服務、志趣相投、文化相似且對未來發展積極進取的互補人員。我想說，這些對我們來說與任何財務指標一樣重要。

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the floor back over to CEO, Hessam Nadji, for closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。現在我想請執行長 Hessam Nadji 發表結束語。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everybody, for joining our third quarter call. We look forward to seeing you on the road and look forward to our next earnings call. Have a great day.

謝謝運營商，也謝謝大家參加我們的第三季電話會議。我們期待在路上見到您，並期待我們的下一次財報電話會議。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路。享受你一天剩下的時間。