Maximus Inc (MMS) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Maximus Fiscal 2025 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Maximus 2025 財年第四季及全年財報電話會議。（操作說明）提醒各位，本次會議正在錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, James Francis, Vice President of Investor Relations.

現在，我榮幸地向大家介紹主持人，投資人關係副總裁詹姆斯‧法蘭西斯。

Good morning, and thanks for joining us. With me today is Bruce Caswell, President and CEO; David Mutryn, CFO; and Jessica Batt, Vice President of Investor Relations.

早安，感謝各位的參與。今天陪同我出席的有總裁兼執行長 Bruce Caswell；財務長 David Mutryn；以及投資者關係副總裁 Jessica Batt。

I'd like to remind everyone that a number of statements being made today will be forward-looking in nature. Please remember that such statements are only predictions. Actual events and results may differ materially as a result of risks we face, including those discussed in Item 1A of our most recent Forms 10-Q and 10-K. We encourage you to review the information contained in our recent filings with the SEC and our earnings press release. The company does not assume any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except required by law.

我想提醒大家，今天發表的許多聲明都具有前瞻性。請記住，這些說法只是預測。由於我們面臨的風險，實際事件和結果可能與預期有重大差異，包括我們在最新的 10-Q 表格和 10-K 表格第 1A 項中討論的風險。我們建議您查閱我們近期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件以及我們的獲利新聞稿中所包含的資訊。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔任何義務修改或更新這些前瞻性聲明以反映後續事件或情況。

Today's presentation also contains non-GAAP financial information. For a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures presented, please see the company's most recent Forms 10-Q and 10-K.

今天的簡報還包含非GAAP財務資訊。有關所列非GAAP指標的調節表，請參閱公司最新的10-Q表和10-K表。

And with that, I'll hand the call over to Bruce.

那麼，我就把電話交給布魯斯了。

Thanks, James, and good morning. I'll begin by recapping fiscal year 2025, which was notable not only for the financial results, but for our team's ability to remain focused on serving our customers amidst a period of significant change in the government services sector. I'll then cover our priorities for fiscal year 2026, aligned with our strategic vision and current and anticipated future market conditions, including investments that are designed to prepare Maximus for what we believe are meaningful growth and market expansion opportunities. Investments in AI capabilities are an important priority and reflect our evolution as a technology-driven partner to governments.

謝謝你，詹姆斯，早安。首先，我將回顧 2025 財年，這一年不僅財務業績令人矚目，而且我們的團隊在政府服務領域發生重大變革的時期，依然能夠專注於為客戶提供服務，這一點也值得稱讚。接下來，我將介紹我們 2026 財年的優先事項，這些事項與我們的策略願景以及當前和預期的未來市場狀況一致，包括旨在讓 Maximus 為我們認為具有重要意義的成長和市場擴張機會做好準備的投資。對人工智慧能力的投資是一項重要的優先事項，體現了我們作為政府技術驅動型合作夥伴的演變。

Fiscal year 2025 was a year of significant achievement for Maximus, marked by success across multiple domains. We entered the year with strong visibility into the underlying portfolio of the business, both in terms of revenue and backlog and certain programs returning to more steady-state levels following post-pandemic upticks. We guided with prudent judgment given the changing political environment. In what emerged as a markedly different approach by the current administration following the transition, we carefully navigated an uncertain environment that brought new priorities and opportunities that developed as the year progressed.

2025 財年是 Maximus 取得重大成就的一年，在多個領域都取得了成功。年初，我們對公司的基礎業務組合有著清晰的認識，無論是收入還是積壓訂單，以及某些項目在疫情後回升後恢復到更穩定的水平。鑑於政治環境的變化，我們採取了審慎的判斷。在過渡期之後，現任政府採取了截然不同的方法，我們謹慎地應對了不確定的環境，這種環境帶來了新的優先事項和機遇，這些機會隨著時間的推移而不斷發展。

Looking back at where we started, I'm pleased to report that revenue and profitability came in higher than projected, reflecting both the strength of our core operations and the disciplined execution of our strategy throughout the year. The organic growth rate of the consolidated business was 3.9%, with the US Federal Services segment delivering 12.1% organic growth and the -- outside the US segment delivering 4.1% organic growth. This outcome is attributable to the dedication of our teams across the enterprise who are delivering on customer priorities.

回顧我們起步時的狀況，我很高興地報告，收入和盈利能力均高於預期，這既反映了我們核心業務的強勁表現，也反映了我們全年戰略的嚴格執行。合併業務的有機成長率為 3.9%，其中美國聯邦服務部門的有機成長率為 12.1%，美國以外地區的有機成長率為 4.1%。這項成果歸功於我們公司各團隊的奉獻精神，他們始終致力於滿足客戶的需求。

Equally important, our contractual relationships remained stable and secure throughout the year, with cancellations or impacts at just 0.5% of fiscal year 2025 revenue, a figure that is unchanged from our prior earnings call. This underscores the essential nature of the services we provide and the trust our customers place in us to support their mission and deliver outcomes that matter in a dynamic operating environment.

同樣重要的是，我們全年的合約關係保持穩定和安全，取消或受影響的合約僅佔 2025 財年收入的 0.5%，這一數字與我們之前的獲利電話會議數據相同。這凸顯了我們所提供服務的本質，以及客戶對我們的信任，讓我們能夠在動態的營運環境中支持他們的使命並交付重要的成果。

Even as policy and technology continue to evolve, we believe that maintaining and expanding these long-term commitments is a testament to the value we deliver and the quality and reliability of our services. Taken together, the strong fiscal year 2025 financial results, the durability of our customer relationships and the strategic investments we are making give us confidence in our future as a tech-enabled mission-critical partner to government. We are proud of what we accomplished, and we are energized by the momentum we're carrying into fiscal 2026. Our focus remains on delivering consistent performance, maintaining trusted partnerships and utilizing our increased customer presence and evolving capabilities for future growth.

即使政策和技術不斷發展，我們相信，維持和擴大這些長期承諾，證明了我們所創造的價值以及我們服務的品質和可靠性。綜合來看，2025 財年強勁的財務業績、我們與客戶關係的持久性以及我們正在進行的戰略投資，使我們對未來作為政府技術賦能的關鍵任務合作夥伴充滿信心。我們為所取得的成就感到自豪，並對我們帶著這股勢頭進入 2026 財年充滿信心。我們將繼續專注於提供穩定的業績、維護值得信賴的合作夥伴關係，並利用我們不斷擴大的客戶群和不斷發展的能力來實現未來的成長。

Looking ahead, I want to share three strategic priorities on which we are executing during fiscal 2026 that we believe are favorably positioning the business for opportunities to accelerate growth in fiscal year 2027 and beyond. These priorities include: first, expanding in US federal markets; second, policy-driven initiatives, mainly around the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, actionable in our US Services segment; and third, deployment of AI and related tech-enabled automation. Our commitment to advancing this third priority is driving an important transformation across Maximus from how we execute internal functions and support our employees to the delivery of our performance-based contracts and also to the expansion of our technology-based solutions for governments.

展望未來，我想分享我們在 2026 財年正在執行的三項策略重點，我們相信這些重點將為公司在 2027 財年及以後加速成長創造有利條件。這些優先事項包括：第一，拓展美國聯邦市場；第二，政策驅動型舉措，主要圍繞《一項偉大的法案》展開，可在我們的美國服務部門實施；第三，部署人工智慧和相關技術賦能的自動化。我們致力於推進第三項優先事項，這正在推動 Maximus 進行重大轉型，從我們執行內部職能和支援員工的方式，到我們基於績效的合約的交付，再到我們為政府擴展基於技術的解決方案。

I'll note that these and other investments were made possible by our earlier focus on what we called Maximus Forward, an organization-wide commitment to rethinking critical business functions and their cost. Starting with our US Federal business, our commitment to delivering even greater value to our customers is unwavering. We also believe the investments we made through both inorganic and organic means have expanded capacity, enhanced our competitiveness and created platforms that we believe can provide durable organic growth.

我要指出的是，這些以及其他投資之所以成為可能，是因為我們之前專注於我們稱之為「Maximus Forward」的理念，這是一項全公司範圍的承諾，旨在重新思考關鍵業務功能及其成本。從我們的美國聯邦業務開始，我們始終堅定不移地致力於為客戶創造更大的價值。我們也相信，我們透過無機和有機方式進行的投資擴大了產能，增強了我們的競爭力，並創建了我們認為能夠提供持久有機成長的平台。

In prior quarters, I've spoken about our efforts to strengthen our infrastructure, for example, rapidly achieving CMMC Level 2 certification and capabilities through what we call mission threads that tie directly to the pipeline we are prosecuting over the next several years. We believe our foundation for sustained growth is robust and that we are aligned with and in many cases, ahead of the evolving needs of our customers. We are confident in the opportunities ahead and our ability to continue to create long-term value for shareholders.

在前幾季度，我曾談到我們為加強基礎設施所做的努力，例如，透過我們稱之為「任務線」的舉措，快速獲得 CMMC 2 級認證和能力，這些舉措與我們未來幾年正在推進的項目直接相關。我們相信，我們持續成長的基礎是穩固的，我們與客戶不斷變化的需求保持一致，在許多情況下，我們甚至走在了客戶需求的前面。我們對未來的機會充滿信心，並有能力繼續為股東創造長期價值。

Our federal leaders and teams are aligned strategically to civilian, health and defense and national security markets. I'll speak briefly to each. We are recognized for having a distinguished portfolio of civilian work, delivering essential services for student loan management, the IRS and the SEC as examples. We occupy a vital corridor of the civilian space and have deliberately aligned to bipartisan priorities that are fundamental to the government's role of supporting its citizens. We continue to see opportunities to deliver on the administration's priorities for modernized, accountable and cost-effective citizen services while recognizing how budget priorities are increasing the importance of blending deep program expertise with commercial innovation.

我們的聯邦領導人和團隊在戰略上與民用、衛生、國防和國家安全市場保持一致。我會分別簡要地和他們談談。我們在民用領域擁有卓越的業績，例如為學生貸款管理、美國國稅局和美國證券交易委員會提供重要服務。我們佔據了公民空間的重要通道，並刻意與兩黨共同的優先事項保持一致，這些優先事項對於政府履行支持公民的職責至關重要。我們繼續看到機會，可以實現政府關於現代化、負責任和具有成本效益的公民服務的優先事項，同時認識到預算優先事項如何增加將深厚的專案專業知識與商業創新相結合的重要性。

Many modernization needs remain unaddressed, and we believe that Maximus is well positioned to address these priorities. With an earned reputation in the delivery of performance-based contracts and tech modernization, we are regularly engaged as trusted advisers, leveraging our investment in solution architects and are favorably positioned for the opportunities we are tracking. To our knowledge, Maximus is the only public company in our sector that has formally documented its mix of contracts that are performance-based, which stands at 54.4% for fiscal year 2025. We believe this distinction reinforces our leadership in driving accountable and measurable results.

許多現代化需求仍未被滿足，我們相信 Maximus 完全有能力解決這些優先事項。憑藉在績效合約和技術現代化方面的良好聲譽，我們經常被聘為值得信賴的顧問，利用我們在解決方案架構師方面的投資，為我們正在關注的機會做好了充分準備。據我們所知，Maximus 是我們所在行業中唯一一家正式記錄其績效合約組合的上市公司，2025 財年績效合約佔 54.4%。我們相信，這一區別鞏固了我們在推動可衡量、可問責的成果方面的領導地位。

I've commented previously that the timing of procurements is less certain in the civilian pipeline than we've historically experienced, which highlights the importance of supporting our customers and delivering our current programs with a continued emphasis on quality and efficiency. Additionally, we've noted our investment in further differentiating Maximus as a leader in enabling the citizen experience or CX of the future. Our Total Experience Management or TXM solution, which I've mentioned on prior calls, is a FedRAMP secure, modular, flexible, scalable and configurable platform that helps enable federal agencies to deliver smarter citizen-centric services.

我之前曾說過，民用採購流程的時機不如我們以往經歷的那樣確定，這凸顯了支持客戶和持續注重品質和效率地交付當前專案的重要性。此外，我們也注意到，我們加強了投資力度，進一步鞏固 Maximus 在打造未來公民體驗 (CX) 領域的領導地位。我之前在電話會議中提到的「全面體驗管理 (TXM)」解決方案，是一個符合 FedRAMP 標準的安全、模組化、靈活、可擴展和可配置的平台，可以幫助聯邦機構提供更智慧、以公民為中心的服務。

AI-infused and packaged and sold as a cloud-based service, which is rapidly becoming the preferred procurement method of government agencies, we believe that TXM is well positioned to replace end-of-life on-premise systems. I'm proud of what our team has developed, as evidenced by a recent demo where TXM was said to be one of the most advanced and integrated demonstrations of AI in the CX platform for government yet experienced by the customer. We believe TXM is a strong fit for the pipeline of contact center consolidations we see in the market.

TXM 融合了人工智慧技術，並以雲端服務的形式打包銷售，而雲端服務正迅速成為政府機構首選的採購方式。我們相信，TXM 完全有能力取代即將報廢的本地部署系統。我為我們團隊的成果感到自豪，最近的一次演示證明了這一點，TXM 被譽為迄今為止客戶體驗到的最先進、最整合的政府 CX 平台人工智慧演示之一。我們認為 TXM 非常適合我們目前在市場上看到的呼叫中心整合趨勢。

On to the health market, which we define as including defense and nondefense-related programs and opportunities. After setting a deliberate course in this market with the 2021 acquisition of Veterans Evaluation Services, we are pleased to see synergy pipeline opportunities for new customers coming to bid and Maximus well positioned with what we believe are competitive solutions. Compared to the civilian pipeline, I'm encouraged by the procurement tempo of health opportunities with key procurement milestones largely on track. Given current conditions and the nature of the programs we're bidding, we anticipate that outcomes could be consequential for fiscal 2027 and beyond.

接下來是健康市場，我們將其定義為包括國防和非國防相關的項目和機會。在 2021 年收購 Veterans Evaluation Services 後，我們在這個市場中製定了明確的策略方向。我們很高興看到，隨著新客戶前來競標，Maximus 憑藉我們認為具有競爭力的解決方案，佔據了有利地位。與民間採購流程相比，我對醫療保健領域的採購節奏感到鼓舞，關鍵採購里程碑基本上按計劃進行。鑑於目前的情況以及我們所競標項目的性質，我們預計結果可能會對 2027 財年及以後產生重大影響。

In the defense and national security area, our strategic pursuit of certain opportunities has been affirmed by the highly credible wins with new customers we've seen seeking a change from traditional providers. Let me share one example. Most recently, Maximus was awarded a new joint cyber command and control readiness contract by the United States Air Force Lifecycle Management Center's Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division. This award with a potential value of $86 million marks our second major engagement with the Air Force under this program and represents meaningful expansion of our technology services portfolio within the defense sector. Through this contract, Maximus will lead engineering analysis, software modification, maintenance and enhancement as well as the maturation of existing architecture and infrastructure.

在國防和國家安全領域，我們透過與尋求更換傳統供應商的新客戶取得的令人信服的成功，證實了我們對某些機會的戰略性追求。我舉個例子。最近，Maximus 獲得了美國空軍生命週期管理中心密碼和網路系統部門授予的一份新的聯合網路指揮與控制準備合約。這項價值可能高達 8,600 萬美元的合約標誌著我們根據該計劃與空軍進行的第二次重大合作，也代表著我們在國防領域的技術服務組合的重大擴展。透過這份合同，Maximus 將主導工程分析、軟體修改、維護和增強，以及現有架構和基礎設施的完善。

The period of performance includes a base year, four one-year option periods and an optional six-month extension. We believe this award reflects the depth of our technology expertise and delivery capability, underscoring our ability to support the Air Force's defense readiness mission. It highlights our capabilities in software engineering, development and modernization and reinforces our position as a trusted partner in advancing mission outcomes.

履約期包括一個基準年、四個一年期續約選擇權、一個六個月的續約選擇權。我們相信，這項獎項體現了我們深厚的技術專長和交付能力，突顯了我們支持空軍國防戰備任務的能力。它突顯了我們在軟體工程、開發和現代化方面的能力，並鞏固了我們作為推進任務成果的值得信賴的合作夥伴的地位。

Our highly skilled technology professionals will deliver modeling and application analysis to help enable mission execution, further strengthening our role in supporting national security objectives. I'm proud of the progress we've made overcoming barriers that make expanding in this business area challenging. We believe that recent directives emphasizing speed, outcomes, access to commercial tech and streamlining contracting fit our strategic offerings well. In support of this strategy, we're expanding our participation in other transaction authorities, or OTAs, which the Department of War increasingly favors as a faster and more flexible acquisition path.

我們技術精湛的專業人員將提供建模和應用分析，以幫助執行任務，進一步加強我們在支持國家安全目標方面的作用。我為我們克服在這個業務領域擴張所面臨的種種障礙而取得的進展感到自豪。我們認為，近期強調速度、成果、取得商業技術以及簡化合約流程的指令與我們的策略產品非常契合。為了支持這項策略，我們正在擴大參與其他交易授權（OTA）的範圍，美國戰爭部越來越傾向於選擇OTA，因為它是更快、更靈活的採購途徑。

Collectively, we believe these actions suggest an evolution in contracting that will accommodate newer entrants like Maximus and support longer-term defense and national security policy objectives. In further support of this strategy, we've formed and are investing in our first cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, providing a mechanism for developing, maturing and retaining Maximus intellectual property through collaboration with the Department of War. This agreement supports hosting of recurring hackathon events, capability demonstrations and technology experiments in a Maximus-operated sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF.

我們認為，這些舉措共同表明了合約簽訂方式的演變，這將容納像 Maximus 這樣的新進者，並支持更長期的國防和國家安全政策目標。為了進一步支持這項策略，我們制定並投資了我們的第一個合作研發協議（CRADA），為透過與美國戰爭部合作開發、完善和保留 Maximus 的智慧財產權提供了一種機制。該協議支援在 Maximus 運營的敏感隔離資訊設施 (SCIF) 內舉辦定期黑客馬拉鬆活動、能力演示和技術實驗。

This CRADA positions Maximus closer to the men and women in uniform that conduct global operations for the department and positions Maximus at the center of advanced research and development. These activities align directly with the department's evolving acquisition strategies for rapid prototyping, IT and modernization. Recent commentary from department leadership has signaled the desire for greater investment by the industry. While this may present challenges for some competitors, Maximus is actively demonstrating on-contract innovation as part of our technology forward strategy. More than four months on, the landscape around the One Big Beautiful Bill Act remains largely unchanged, but the priorities it established continue to be front and center for our state customers within our US Services segment.

這項合作研發協議使 Maximus 與為國防部執行全球行動的軍人更加緊密地聯繫在一起，並將 Maximus 置於先進研發的中心。這些活動與該部門不斷發展的快速原型開發、IT 和現代化採購策略直接相關。部門領導層最近的表態表明，他們希望產業加大投資。雖然這可能會給一些競爭對手帶來挑戰，但 Maximus 正在積極展示合約創新，這是我們技術前瞻策略的一部分。四個多月過去了，圍繞《一項宏偉法案》的情況仍然基本沒有改變，但它確立的優先事項仍然是我們美國服務部門各州客戶關注的焦點。

The legislation creates meaningful opportunities for Maximus in both Medicaid and SNAP, and we remain actively engaged with clients to prepare for the requirements ahead. On Medicaid, the administration continues its focus on managing federal spend with new rules requiring twice yearly eligibility determinations for the expansion population and codifying work requirements beginning in early 2027. States must review and adjust their processes to comply, and our US services team is working closely with clients to ensure readiness. As we noted previously, we believe Maximus is well positioned as a conflict-free partner to support these compliance efforts, having done so for similar requirements in TANF and SNAP for almost 30 years.

該法案為 Maximus 在 Medicaid 和 SNAP 方面創造了有意義的機會，我們將繼續積極與客戶合作，為未來的要求做好準備。在醫療補助方面，政府繼續致力於管理聯邦支出，新規要求每年兩次對擴大的人群進行資格認定，並從 2027 年初開始對工作要求進行編纂。各州必須審查並調整其流程以符合規定，我們的美國服務團隊正與客戶密切合作，以確保做好準備。正如我們之前提到的，我們相信 Maximus 作為一個無利益衝突的合作夥伴，在支持這些合規工作方面具有良好的地位，因為 Maximus 在過去近 30 年的時間裡，一直致力於滿足 TANF 和 SNAP 的類似要求。

While the Medicaid changes are significant, state's foremost priority at the moment, based on active discussions is around SNAP. The budget implications of the new payment accuracy requirements are far greater as states with higher payment error rates will be required to absorb more of the program's expense. This shift is driving strong interest in technology-led solutions that can improve efficiency and payment accuracy. As I mentioned on the last call, Maximus already has an expanded role with a long-standing state customer, and we expect SNAP to remain a focal point of engagement given potential state budget implications. Although the policy environment has not materially shifted since our last call, these initiatives continue to be priorities for our customers. In our view, we are the right partner to help states navigate the changes, mitigate risk and deliver high-quality outcomes across both SNAP and Medicaid.

雖然醫療補助計劃的改革意義重大，但根據目前的積極討論，該州的首要任務是 SNAP（補充營養援助計劃）。新的支付準確性要求對預算的影響要大得多，因為支付錯誤率較高的州將被要求承擔更多的專案費用。這種轉變促使人們對能夠提高效率和支付準確性的技術解決方案產生了濃厚的興趣。正如我在上次電話會議中提到的，Maximus 已經與一家長期合作的州政府客戶擴大了合作關係，考慮到 SNAP 可能對州預算產生的影響，我們預計 SNAP 仍將是合作的重點。儘管自上次通話以來政策環境沒有實質變化，但這些舉措仍然是我們客戶的優先事項。我們認為，我們是幫助各州應對變化、降低風險並在 SNAP 和 Medicaid 方面取得高品質成果的合適合作夥伴。

I'll close my discussion of strategic priorities with AI, where Maximus is proud to be a leader for government customers in this unprecedented era, demonstrating the art of the possible in transforming public service delivery. Our role is not only to provide solutions, but to show what is achievable when innovation is combined with decades of deep program knowledge, policy experience and operational data. By embedding AI directly into our business processes, we are enabling customers to benefit from advanced automation, AI-powered quality monitoring and real-time insights. These capabilities are helping agencies operate more efficiently, make better decisions and deliver improved outcomes for the people they serve.

最後，我將以人工智慧作為策略重點的討論結束。在這個前所未有的時代，Maximus 很榮幸能成為政府客戶的領導者，展現在變革公共服務交付方面的可能性。我們的職責不僅是提供解決方案，還要展示當創新與數十年的深厚專案知識、政策經驗和營運數據相結合時，能夠取得怎樣的成就。透過將人工智慧直接嵌入到我們的業務流程中，我們使客戶能夠受益於先進的自動化、人工智慧驅動的品質監控和即時洞察。這些能力有助於各機構更有效率地運作，做出更好的決策，並為所服務的民眾帶來更好的結果。

We have already successfully deployed AI-driven tools across enterprise programs where these solutions have accelerated service delivery, strengthened compliance and enhanced customer satisfaction. In addition to our AI-powered TXM solution I mentioned earlier, we're also serving as customer zero for our own large-scale deployments of AI solutions in ITSM or service management and HR help desk support as well as knowledge management. This first-to-deploy experience provides us with deep insights, enabling our solutions to be tested, refined and proven before being extended to our customers.

我們已經在企業專案中成功部署了人工智慧驅動的工具，這些解決方案加快了服務交付速度，加強了合規性，並提高了客戶滿意度。除了我之前提到的AI驅動的TXM解決方案之外，我們還作為客戶，大規模部署了ITSM或服務管理、人力資源服務台支援以及知識管理的AI解決方案。這種率先部署的經驗為我們提供了深刻的見解，使我們能夠在將解決方案推廣給客戶之前對其進行測試、改進和驗證。

Maximus' AI guiding principles form a robust framework for responsible innovation grounded in ethical governance, human-centric design and mission-aligned outcomes. Our governance structure is designed to ensure that our innovation is both responsible and sustainable. Looking ahead, we have approximately 30 AI-related deployments either planned or in process across Maximus. These initiatives vary in scale from small pilots to large enterprise implementations with further full deployments expected in fiscal 2026. This pipeline reflects both the demand for AI-enabled solutions and our commitment to investing in the future of government services.

Maximus 的人工智慧指導原則為負責任的創新建立了一個強大的框架，該框架以道德治理、以人為本的設計和與使命相符的成果為基礎。我們的治理結構旨在確保我們的創新既負責任又永續。展望未來，Maximus 計劃或正在進行約 30 個與人工智慧相關的部署專案。這些措施的規模各不相同，從小型試點到大型企業實施，預計在 2026 財年進行更全面的部署。此專案儲備既反映了對人工智慧解決方案的需求，也反映了我們對投資政府服務未來的承諾。

Let me turn now to our award metrics and pipeline. For fiscal year 2025, signed awards totaled $4.7 billion of total contract value. Further, at September 30, there were $331 million worth of contracts that have been awarded but not yet signed. These awards translate into a book-to-bill of approximately 0.9 times for the trailing 12-month period and reflects ongoing progress toward increasing this metric, a previously stated goal of ours. As a reminder, we continue to view book-to-bill as a relevant forward indicator to pipeline conversion over the broader horizon, but not the sole determinant of the business' ability to grow organically.

現在讓我來談談我們的獎項評定指標和評選流程。2025 財年，已簽署的合約總額達 47 億美元。此外，截至9月30日，還有價值3.31億美元的合約已授予但尚未簽署。這些獎項使過去 12 個月的訂單出貨比約為 0.9 倍，反映了我們在提高此指標方面取得的持續進展，這也是我們先前提出的目標。需要提醒的是，我們仍然認為訂單出貨率是衡量業務成長前景的相關指標，但並非衡量企業有機成長能力的唯一指標。

Also, in periods of lower-than-normal rebid activity, which we've experienced recently, the TTM book-to-bill is expected to be below 1.0. Then in periods of greater rebid activity and given our larger contract lengths and values, the metric tends to show outsized performance. It's worth noting that the improvement to TTM book-to-bill of 0.9 was driven by more dramatic quarterly sequential improvement. The quarter ended September 30 book-to-bill was 1.0 times compared to 0.3 times for the June 30 quarter, a marked improvement in the pipeline conversion of both recurring and new work.

此外，在最近這種重新招標活動低於正常水平的時期，預計 TTM 訂單出貨比將低於 1.0。而在重新招標活動較多的時期，鑑於我們更大的合約期限和金額，該指標往往會顯示出超常的表現。值得注意的是，TTM 訂單出貨比改善至 0.9，主要得益於季度季比的顯著改善。截至 9 月 30 日的季度訂單出貨比為 1.0 倍，而截至 6 月 30 日的季度訂單出貨比為 0.3 倍，無論是經常性工作還是新工作的訂單轉換率都顯著提高。

Our pipeline at September 30 was $51.3 billion compared to $44.7 billion reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. The September 30 pipeline is comprised of approximately $3.4 billion in proposals pending, $1.4 billion in proposals in preparation and $46.6 billion in opportunities tracking. Of our total pipeline of sales opportunities, approximately 64% represents new work. Additionally, 66% of the $51.3 billion total pipeline is attributable to our US Federal Services segment. Notably, in this latest pipeline view, US Services segment opportunities tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act remain in the development stage with potential revenue in fiscal 2027 and therefore, are not yet captured in the pipeline.

截至 9 月 30 日，我們的在建項目總額為 513 億美元，而 2025 財年第三季報告的總額為 447 億美元。截至 9 月 30 日，待審批項目總額約為 34 億美元，正在準備的項目總額約為 14 億美元，正在追蹤的項目總額約為 466 億美元。在我們所有的銷售機會中，約有 64% 代表新業務。此外，513億美元總儲備金中的66%來自我們的美國聯邦服務部門。值得注意的是，在最新的專案規劃視圖中，與《一項偉大的法案》相關的美國服務業機會仍處於開發階段，潛在收入要到 2027 財年才會出現，因此尚未納入專案規劃。

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

接下來，我將把電話交給大衛。

Thanks, Bruce, and good morning. I'd like to recap our strong fiscal year 2025 with a few financial highlights and then walk through results in our typical fashion. I'll close with formal fiscal year 2026 guidance and commentary.

謝謝你，布魯斯，早安。我想先回顧我們強勁的 2025 財年，重點介紹一些財務亮點，然後再以我們慣常的方式介紹業績。最後，我將給出 2026 財年的正式指導和評論。

First, I'm proud of the team's strong execution to enable finishing fiscal year 2025 right on the mark for revenue, which totaled $5.43 billion. This equates to organic growth of 3.9% over the prior year. From an earnings standpoint, the full year adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.9% and adjusted earnings per share were $7.36. The fourth quarter included a higher level of severance charges related to ongoing cost management efforts.

首先，我為團隊的出色執行力感到自豪，而正是這種執行力使得我們在 2025 財年實現了營收目標，總額達到 54.3 億美元。這相當於比前一年實現了 3.9% 的有機成長。從獲利角度來看，全年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 12.9%，調整後每股收益為 7.36 美元。第四季包含與持續成本管理措施相關的較高水準的遣散費。

Second, the fourth quarter was also notable for its strong cash flows as we had anticipated, enabling us to deliver $366 million of free cash flow for the full fiscal year 2025. Third, from a capital allocation standpoint, we stayed focused on debt paydown and opportunistic share repurchases. At September 30, our net leverage was 1.5 times. Looking back across the full fiscal year, we repurchased approximately $457 million worth of shares, including $151 million in the fourth quarter.

其次，正如我們預期的那樣，第四季度的現金流也十分強勁，使我們能夠在 2025 財年全年實現 3.66 億美元的自由現金流。第三，從資本配置的角度來看，我們始終專注於償還債務和伺機回購股票。截至9月30日，我們的淨槓桿率為1.5倍。回顧整個財年，我們回購了價值約 4.57 億美元的股票，其中第四季回購了 1.51 億美元。

Finally, our official guidance for fiscal 2026 aligns with the early color we provided in August. The midpoint of $5.325 billion of revenue reflects our current view of volume dynamics on some of our variable work that I will discuss in more detail. Meanwhile, the $8.10 midpoint of adjusted EPS guidance reflects ongoing margin expansion and 10% growth over fiscal 2025. Continued adoption of technology and careful cost management are key enablers on the bottom-line outlook, while the recent share repurchase activity further benefited diluted EPS by lowering the weighted average shares outstanding. Last, the midpoint of our free cash flow guidance is $475 million, representing about 30% year-over-year growth. Those are the key highlights, so let's turn to total company results.

最後，我們對 2026 財年的正式預期與我們在 8 月提供的初步預測一致。53.25 億美元的營收中點反映了我們目前對一些可變業務量動態的看法，我將在下文中詳細討論。同時，調整後每股收益預期中位數為 8.10 美元，反映了利潤率持續擴張以及到 2025 財年增長 10%。持續採用新技術和謹慎的成本管理是獲利前景的關鍵推動因素，而最近的股票回購活動透過降低加權平均流通股數，進一步提高了稀釋後每股收益。最後，我們自由現金流預期中位數為 4.75 億美元，年增約 30%。以上是主要亮點，接下來我們來看看公司整體業績。

For the full fiscal year 2025, revenue increased 2.4% to $5.43 billion. As I mentioned, organic revenue growth was 3.9% and aligned with our long-term target of sustainable mid-single-digit organic growth. The US Federal Services segment drove the growth, thanks to several programs in the clinical and natural disaster support domains experiencing high demand for our services. Our profitability improved to deliver a 12.9% adjusted EBITDA margin for the full fiscal 2025 as compared to 11.6% for the prior year. This was attributable to the higher demand in the US Federal Service segment, coupled with technology and cost initiatives.

2025 財年全年，營收成長 2.4%，達到 54.3 億美元。正如我之前提到的，有機收入成長了 3.9%，符合我們實現可持續的中等個位數有機成長的長期目標。美國聯邦服務部門推動了成長，這得益於臨床和自然災害支援領域的多個項目對我們的服務有著很高的需求。我們的獲利能力有所提高，2025 財年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 12.9%，而前一年為 11.6%。這主要歸因於美國聯邦服務部門更高的需求，以及技術和成本控制的措施。

Fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS was $7.36 as compared to $6.11 for the prior year, representing a healthy 20% increase. While most of it was improved profitability as evidenced by the higher adjusted EBITDA margin, a portion of the year-over-year improvement stemmed from the share repurchase activity this year. I would like to make a note about our just completed fourth quarter earnings. During the quarter, we took deliberate action to yield cost savings in future periods, which included severance charges totaling approximately $16 million. These were booked within the two domestic segments and had a more pronounced effect on the operating margins of the US Services segment.

2025 財年調整後每股收益為 7.36 美元，而上年為 6.11 美元，增幅達 20%。雖然大部分成長來自獲利能力的提高（如調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的提高所證明），但同比改善的一部分源於今年的股票回購活動。我想就我們剛結束的第四季收益做個說明。本季度，我們採取了旨在未來節省成本的措施，其中包括總計約 1,600 萬美元的遣散費。這些收入計入了兩個國內業務板塊，對美國服務板塊的營業利潤率產生了更明顯的影響。

Let's go to segment results. Starting with the US Federal Services segment, revenue increased 12.1% over the prior fiscal year to $3.07 billion. All growth was organic and driven by a combination of expected and unexpected volume growth across several programs, primarily in the clinical domain. In addition, this segment includes contracts to rapidly stand up support in the wake of natural disasters, which generated higher revenue than a typical year.

我們來看看細分結果。從美國聯邦服務部門來看，營收比上一財年成長了 12.1%，達到 30.7 億美元。所有成長都是自然成長，是由多個項目（主要是臨床領域）的預期和非預期業務量成長共同推動的。此外，該業務板塊還包括在自然災害發生後迅速建立支援體系的合同，這些合約產生的收入高於往年。

The higher volumes in both areas extended across several quarters this year and by the fourth quarter, had settled back to more typical levels. The operating income margin for US Federal Services was 15.3% in fiscal 2025 as compared to 12.2% in the prior year. The same demand that drove the segment's top line also benefited the margin since incremental volumes often provide operating leverage. Another reason for the margin expansion is greater implementation of technology initiatives that increase productivity of staff on the programs.

今年這兩個領域的交易量都持續了幾個季度，到第四季度，交易量已經回落到較正常的水平。美國聯邦服務公司 2025 財年的營業利益率為 15.3%，而上一財年為 12.2%。推動該業務板塊營收成長的相同需求也使利潤率受益，因為銷售量的增加通常會帶來營運槓桿效應。利潤率擴張的另一個原因是技術措施的更廣泛實施，提高了專案人員的生產力。

For the US Services segment, revenue decreased to $1.76 billion as compared to the prior year revenue of $1.91 billion. As we've noted on recent quarterly calls, across fiscal year 2024, we were successful with helping our state customers process unprecedented engagements tied to the Medicaid unwinding exercise. This was essentially the last of the pandemic-related impacts to the segment.

美國服務業務部門的收入從去年的 19.1 億美元下降至 17.6 億美元。正如我們在最近的季度電話會議上所指出的那樣，在 2024 財年，我們成功地幫助我們的州客戶處理了與 Medicaid 解散工作相關的史無前例的項目。這基本上是疫情對該領域造成的最後一點影響。

By this year, fiscal 2025, the effort was complete and Medicaid engagements reflected both normal course assistance to states and a more typical Medicaid population. The US Services operating income margin was 9.7% as compared to 12.9% in the prior year. As a reminder, last year's margin benefited from the overperformance, and we anticipated that it would not reoccur. Also, the segment's margin in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year was impacted by a meaningful portion of the $16 million total company severance cost that I referenced earlier.

到 2025 財年，這項工作已經完成，醫療補助計劃的參與既反映了對各州的正常援助，也反映了更典型的醫療補助人群。美國服務業務的營業利益率為 9.7%，而去年同期為 12.9%。需要提醒的是，去年的利潤率得益於業績超預期，我們預計這種情況不會再發生。此外，本財年第四季該部門的利潤率也受到了我先前提到的 1,600 萬美元公司遣散費總額中相當一部分的影響。

We expect this cost management effort to lift full fiscal 2026 margins in this segment. For the -- outside the US segment, revenue decreased year-over-year to $600 million due to divestitures of multiple employment services businesses in prior periods. The related decrease in revenue was partially offset by positive organic growth totaling 4.1% and a small currency benefit.

我們預期這項成本管理措施將提升該業務部門 2026 財年的利潤率。對於美國以外的業務板塊，由於前期剝離了多家就業服務業務，收入年減至 6 億美元。收入的相應下降被4.1%的內生成長和少量匯率收益部分抵銷。

The operating income margin for the -- outside the US segment was 3.7% as compared to 1.2% in the prior year. We have stated previously that we intend for the segment to reliably deliver in the 3% to 7% margin range and over time, move up in that range and closer to the profitability of the domestic segment. We are pleased with progress so far. Beyond that, we continue to see a healthy pipeline of opportunities to deliver higher-value services, which could support margin improvement.

美國以外地區的營業利潤率為 3.7%，而去年同期為 1.2%。我們之前已經說過，我們打算讓該業務板塊的利潤率穩定在 3% 到 7% 之間，並且隨著時間的推移，逐步提高利潤率，使其更接近國內業務板塊的盈利水平。我們對目前的進展感到滿意。除此之外，我們也看到大量提供更高價值服務的機會，這將有助於提高利潤率。

Turning to cash flow items. As expected, we had strong collections in the fourth quarter. Fiscal year 2025 cash flows from operating activities totaled $429 million and free cash flow was $366 million. The fourth quarter alone had free cash flows of $642 million. Our days sales outstanding, or DSO, improved substantially from the third quarter's 96 days, landing at 62 days at September 30, 2025.

接下來討論現金流量項目。如預期，我們第四季的銷售業績強勁。2025 財年經營活動產生的現金流量總計 4.29 億美元，自由現金流量為 3.66 億美元。僅在第四季度就產生了 6.42 億美元的自由現金流。我們的應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）較第三季的 96 天大幅改善，截至 2025 年 9 月 30 日達到 62 天。

We ended fiscal year 2025 with gross debt of $1.35 billion, and we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $222 million. At September 30, our debt ratio was 1.5 times. As a reminder, this ratio is our debt net of allowed cash to consolidated EBITDA for the last 12 months as calculated in accordance with our credit agreement. We achieved our goal of ending the year comfortably below 2 times. And one quarter ago at June 30, the ratio was 2.1. The improvement came from expedited paydown after catching up collections on two contracts that had created a temporarily higher DSO in prior quarters.

截至 2025 財年末，我們的總負債為 13.5 億美元，非限制性現金及現金等價物為 2.22 億美元。截至9月30日，我們的負債比率為1.5倍。提醒一下，該比率是我們根據信貸協議計算的過去 12 個月的債務淨額（扣除允許的現金）與合併 EBITDA 的比值。我們達成了年底業績輕鬆低於2倍的目標。上個季度，即 6 月 30 日，該比率為 2.1。這項改善得益於加快了還款速度，此前兩個合約的收款工作得以完成，這兩個合約導致前幾個季度的應收帳款週轉天數 (DSO) 暫時升高。

During fiscal year 2025, we repurchased approximately 5.8 million shares, totaling about $457 million, which was enabled by two Board of Directors authorization announcements. Following an additional $31 million of repurchases subsequent to year-end, we have approximately $250 million remaining as of today on the current $400 million authorization granted by the Board of Directors in September.

在 2025 財年，我們回購了約 580 萬股股票，總計約 4.57 億美元，這得歸功於董事會的兩項授權公告。在年底後又進行了 3,100 萬美元的股票回購之後，截至目前，我們在董事會 9 月批准的 4 億美元授權中還剩下約 2.5 億美元。

Moving to capital allocation. Our framework for priorities is unchanged. We first make organic investments, most of which flow through the income statement. We also maintain a $0.30 per share quarterly dividend that we intend to grow over time with earnings. Following these, we prioritize strategic acquisitions intended to accelerate organic growth. We also repurchased our shares opportunistically depending on current market conditions.

接下來討論資本配置。我們的優先事項框架保持不變。我們首先進行有機投資，其中大部分投資都會反映在損益表中。我們還維持每股 0.30 美元的季度股息，並計劃隨著盈利的增長而逐步提高股息。在此基礎上，我們將優先考慮旨在加速內生成長的策略性收購。我們也根據當前市場情況擇機回購了我們的股票。

As we move further into fiscal year 2026, we continue to evaluate suitable M&A targets, which could bring new or enhanced capabilities and new or expanded customer set or a combination of both. We will maintain our disciplined approach to evaluation of deals, and we intend to stay within our 2 to 3 times target debt ratio range. Given our high annual cash conversion and current 1.5 times debt ratio, we believe that there is ample capacity for a transaction of varying sizes, ranging from more of a tuck-in style deal to a larger deal proportional to our balance sheet capacity. If we do not conduct a transaction in fiscal year 2026 and do not complete any further share repurchases, we anticipate a debt ratio of roughly 1.0 times at September 30, 2026.

隨著我們進入 2026 財年，我們將繼續評估合適的併購目標，這些目標可能會帶來新的或增強的能力、新的或擴大的客戶群，或者兩者兼而有之。我們將繼續秉持嚴謹的交易評估方法，並將負債比率控制在目標的 2 到 3 倍範圍內。鑑於我們較高的年度現金轉換率和目前 1.5 倍的負債比率，我們認為我們有足夠的能力進行各種規模的交易，從小型收購交易到與我們的資產負債表能力成比例的大型交易。如果我們在 2026 財年不進行交易，也不完成任何進一步的股票回購，我們預計到 2026 年 9 月 30 日，負債比率約為 1.0 倍。

Let's go to official guidance. For fiscal 2026, revenue is projected to be between $5.225 billion and $5.425 billion with a midpoint of $5.325 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin is estimated to be approximately 13.7%, and adjusted EPS is projected to be between $7.95 and $8.25 per share, giving a midpoint of $8.10. Free cash flow for fiscal year 2026 is projected to be between $450 million and $500 million. This guidance is aligned with the early thinking we provided on the Q3 earnings call, where we acknowledge that fiscal 2026, particularly revenue, had wide-ranging scenarios.

讓我們參考官方指南。預計 2026 財年營收將在 52.25 億美元至 54.25 億美元之間，中位數為 53.25 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率預計約為 13.7%，調整後每股收益預計在 7.95 美元至 8.25 美元之間，中位數為 8.10 美元。 2026 財年的自由現金流預計在 4.5 億至 5 億美元之間。這項指導意見與我們在第三季財報電話會議上提出的早期想法一致，我們當時承認，2026 財年，特別是收入，存在多種可能性。

Fortunately, this year is coming into sharper focus as we typically expect at this point, with the revenue guidance reflecting how a portion of the excess volumes in fiscal 2025 are not anticipated to recur in fiscal 2026, along with seasonal natural disaster support that is inherently difficult to forecast. Those components are responsible for a year-over-year revenue headwind of approximately 3%, which we expect to partially offset with 1% of organic growth, netting to a 2% year-over-year delta at the midpoint of guidance.

幸運的是，正如我們通常預期的那樣，今年的情況正變得越來越清晰，收入預期反映出 2025 財年的部分超額銷量預計不會在 2026 財年再次出現，再加上季節性自然災害帶來的支持，而這些支持本身就很難預測。這些因素導致年比收入下降約 3%，我們預計 1% 的內生成長將部分抵消此影響，最終年增幅為 2%（以指導中位數計算）。

We acknowledge that in prior periods, we have benefited from higher volumes that increased guidance multiple times, but the circumstances causing them were not forecastable at the start of the fiscal year. For example, once into fiscal 2025, there emerged a clear and stated priority to reduce backlogs across multiple programs. By the fourth quarter, the temporary extra work requested by our government customers for us to collectively meet those priorities had moderated. Another positive development on our top line forecast is that some of the risks we had contemplated in the early color on the Q3 call, such as possible budget constraints from customers are not believed to be as large a threat to fiscal year 2026.

我們承認，在前幾個時期，銷售成長使我們多次提高了業績預期，但導致銷售成長的情況在財年開始時是無法預測的。例如，進入 2025 財年後，明確提出了減少多個專案積壓工作的優先事項。到第四季度，政府客戶要求我們共同完成這些優先事項的臨時額外工作量有所減少。另一個積極的進展是，我們在第三季電話會議早期提到的一些風險，例如客戶可能的預算限制，目前認為不會對 2026 財年構成太大威脅。

We also see opportunities tied to new work that if awarded in fiscal year 2026, could contribute to the year, but given the difficulty in predicting the timing, we expect would be a more meaningful driver of revenue in fiscal year 2027 and beyond. We believe that we remain on target with our goal to achieve a mid-single-digit organic growth rate over the longer term. Of note, the compound annual growth rate from fiscal year 2023 to the midpoint of fiscal 2026 guidance is 4.0% on an organic basis, which is not impacted by excess volumes we experienced in both fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

我們也看到一些與新專案相關的機會，如果這些專案在 2026 財年獲得批准，可能會為該財年做出貢獻，但考慮到預測時間的難度，我們預計這些專案將在 2027 財年及以後成為更有意義的收入驅動因素。我們相信，我們仍將按計劃實現長期中等個位數的有機成長率目標。值得注意的是，從 2023 財年到 2026 財年預期中點的複合年增長率為 4.0%（以有機增長計算），這不受我們在 2024 財年和 2025 財年經歷的超額銷售的影響。

Turning to the bottom line. Since the early color in August, our adjusted EBITDA margin expectation has improved to 13.7% for formal guidance. The projected improvement stems from numerous areas such as the US Federal Services segment, where the benefits of our technology initiatives, combined with stable volumes are resulting in opportunities to increase profitability. This applies to our clinical work and our tech-enabled customer service programs, where small efficiency improvements can result in meaningful cost avoidance.

回到最終結果。自 8 月初以來，我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率預期已提高至 13.7%（正式指引）。預期的改善源自於許多領域，例如美國聯邦服務部門，在該部門，我們的技術措施帶來的好處，加上穩定的業務量，正在創造提高獲利能力的機會。這適用於我們的臨床工作和我們以技術為支援的客戶服務項目，在這些項目中，小的效率提升就能帶來顯著的成本節約。

Notably, the margin guidance exceeds the company's target range of 10% to 13% that I stated at this point last year. Our intent is to leave this range intact and target the high end for the periods following fiscal 2026 to account for the prospect of a higher share of new work in the business.

值得注意的是，利潤率預期超過了公司去年同期設定的 10% 至 13% 的目標範圍。我們的目標是保持這一價格區間不變，並將目標鎖定在 2026 財年之後的高端市場，以應對業務中新工作份額可能增加的局面。

Often, new programs at Maximus begin at a lower margin and improve over time with the profile depending on the nature and pricing structure of the work. Walking down to the EPS level, the $8.10 adjusted earnings per share midpoint reflects both the improved profitability and the denominator benefit from the share repurchase activity throughout fiscal year 2025. It's worth noting the three-year compound annual growth rate using the adjusted EPS guidance is 28% demonstrating not only the post-pandemic recovery, but our ability to gain significant earnings improvement through pursuit of higher-value work and disciplined management of the business.

Maximus 的新專案通常一開始利潤較低，但隨著時間的推移，利潤率會根據工作的性質和定價結構而提高。進一步分析每股盈餘，調整後每股盈餘中點為 8.10 美元，這不僅反映了獲利能力的提高，也反映了 2025 財年股票回購活動帶來的分母收益。值得注意的是，根據調整後的每股收益預期，三年複合年增長率為 28%，這不僅表明了疫情後的復甦，也表明了我們通過追求更高價值的工作和對業務進行嚴格的管理，從而獲得顯著的盈利增長的能力。

A quick word on estimated segment operating margins for the full year fiscal 2026. We expect the US Federal Services margin to range between 15.5% and 16%. We expect our US Services segment margin to be in the 10% to 11% range.

簡單說明一下 2026 財年全年各部門的預計營業利益率。我們預計美國聯邦服務利潤率將在 15.5% 至 16% 之間。我們預計美國服務業務部門的利潤率將在 10% 至 11% 之間。

And for outside the US, we estimate a margin between 3% and 5%. For the free cash flow guidance, the midpoint of $475 million represents year-over-year growth of 30%. We typically have a negative free cash flow in Q1 as a result of seasonality and timing of certain payments, and we are expecting a temporary delay of payments from some customers, including expected lingering impacts from the recently concluded government shutdown, which would further impact Q1. We then anticipate strong cash flows across the remainder of the fiscal year, effectively catching up from the expected low first quarter.

對於美國以外的地區，我們估計利潤率在 3% 到 5% 之間。自由現金流預期中位數 4.75 億美元代表年增 30%。由於季節性因素和某些付款的時間安排，我們通常在第一季會出現負自由現金流。此外，我們預計部分客戶的付款會暫時延遲，包括最近結束的政府停擺可能帶來的持續影響，這將進一步影響第一季。我們預期本財年剩餘時間現金流將保持強勁，有效彌補第一季預期低迷的局面。

Other assumptions around fiscal year 2026 include an estimated $81 million of intangibles amortization expense and $58 million of depreciation and amortization tied to PP&E and capitalized software. Interest expense is estimated to be about $69 million. Finally, the full year effective income tax rate should be around 25% and weighted average shares should be about 55.5 million on a full year basis.

2026 財年的其他假設包括預計 8,100 萬美元的無形資產攤銷費用和 5,800 萬美元的與固定資產和資本化軟體相關的折舊和攤銷費用。預計利息支出約 6,900 萬美元。最後，全年實際所得稅率應在 25% 左右，全年加權平均股份應在 5,550 萬股左右。

I'll conclude by reiterating our belief in a favorable outlook for Maximus beyond the formal guidance we have laid out today. Underpinning this is our strong visibility to our portfolio of programs, ongoing attention to cost management and focus on delivering operational excellence increasingly with more automation. Our proposal activity continues to build, notably in the US Federal Services segment in which successful conversion could have positive implications to fiscal year 2027 and beyond. On the state side, we believe that the business is poised to respond to fast-evolving needs of customers who are required to be more diligent in their administration of Medicaid and SNAP. We currently anticipate that fiscal 2026 will be defined by shaping efforts with actual work and associated revenue coming to bear beginning in fiscal year 2027.

最後，我想重申，我們對 Maximus 的前景持樂觀態度，這超越了我們今天提出的正式指導。支撐這一切的是我們對專案組合的高度可見性、對成本管理的持續關注以及透過不斷提高自動化程度來追求卓越營運。我們的提案活動持續增加，尤其是在美國聯邦服務領域，成功的轉換可能會對 2027 財年及以後產生正面影響。從州政府的角度來看，我們相信，該業務已做好準備，響應客戶快速變化的需求，這些客戶需要在管理醫療補助和 SNAP 時更加認真負責。我們目前預計 2026 財年將以規劃工作為主，實際工作和相關收入將從 2027 財年開始產生。

And with that, we'll open the line for Q&A. Operator?

接下來，我們將開放問答環節。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Charlie Strauzer, CJS Securities.

（操作員說明）查理·斯特勞澤，CJS證券。

This is Will on for Charlie. Congrats on the strong quarter. Looking at the guidance, the EBITDA margin is for '26 is a lot stronger than we expected. Can you give some more color on what's driving that expansion even with the expectation for flat revenue? Is it related to mix shift or all productivity and efficiency initiatives?

這是威爾替查理報道。恭喜你們本季業績出色。從業績指引來看，2026 年的 EBITDA 利潤率遠超過我們的預期。能否詳細說明一下，在預期收入持平的情況下，是什麼因素推動了這種擴張？這是否與產品組合調整有關，還是與所有提高生產力和效率的措施有關？

David is going to start out with that, and I may add some color commentary.

大衛會先從這部分開始，我可能會做一些評論。

Sounds good. Yes, if you look at the margin guidance we laid out for each of the segments, all three are actually slightly higher than where they finished fiscal year '25. For US Services, it's worth pointing out, as I did on the prepared remarks that the portion of severance that they incurred in the fourth quarter hurt their margin in that quarter and the related savings are supporting the guide for '26 there. I think the theme across all three segments really is the continued deployment of technology and automation as well as cost management.

聽起來不錯。是的，如果你看一下我們為每個業務部門制定的利潤率預期，這三個部門的利潤率實際上都略高於 2025 財年結束時的水平。對於美國服務公司而言，值得指出的是（正如我在準備好的發言稿中所說），他們在第四季度產生的遣散費影響了該季度的利潤率，而相關的節省也支撐了該公司 2026 年的業績指引。我認為這三個部分的主題都是持續部署技術和自動化以及成本管理。

And on the cost management front, you may notice on the P&L, total company SG&A, if you consider that there was $40 million of divestiture charges in the first year -- in the first half of 2025, the rest of SG&A is essentially flat from '24 to '25 despite the revenue growth. So we're very focused on continuing to stay competitive on the cost side. And then maybe one other detail I'll point out that's related to the EBITDA and also the cash flow for that matter is that a number of capitalized software projects that have been driving CapEx the past couple of years are now operational and therefore, amortizing. So you can see in our -- in the various FY26 guidance metrics, a higher forecast for D&A and a lower forecast for CapEx.

在成本管理方面，您可能會注意到損益表和公司總銷售、一般及行政費用，考慮到第一年有 4000 萬美元的資產剝離費用——2025 年上半年，儘管收入增長，但剩餘的銷售、一般及行政費用與 2024 年到 2025 年基本持平。因此，我們非常注重在成本方面持續保持競爭力。然後，我可能還要指出一點與 EBITDA 以及現金流相關的細節，那就是過去幾年推動資本支出的一些資本化軟體專案現在已經投入運營，因此正在攤提。因此，從我們的－在2026財年各項指引指標中可以看到，折舊和攤提的預測值較高，而資本支出的預測值較低。

That is super helpful. And then looking at the revenue guidance, can you add any more color or detail around growth by segment?

這太有幫助了。那麼，在營收預期方面，您能否就各細分市場的成長情況提供更多細節或說明？

Sure. Yes. Without maybe going all the way to specific guidance by segment, I'll point out that both US Federal and US Services may see mild contraction. We expect a little bit more erosion on the US Federal side given their overperformance in '25. And what I had called out on the call specifically was clinical work and disaster response work. For context there, the clinical work is in both US Federal and US Services and the disaster response is on the federal side. So federal has a little bit more of what we called out as headwinds, but also the strongest pipeline in the near term as well. So those are kind of the commentary between the segments.

當然。是的。或許我不會給出具體細分領域的指導意見，但我要指出的是，美國聯邦政府和美國服務業都可能出現輕微萎縮。鑑於美國聯邦債券在 2025 年的超常表現，我們預期美國聯邦債券的損耗會略有增加。我在電話中特別強調的是臨床工作和災害應變工作。需要說明的是，臨床工作涉及美國聯邦政府和美國軍方，而災害應變工作則由聯邦政府負責。所以聯邦政府面臨的阻力比我們所說的還要大一些，但同時也擁有近期內最強勁的發展前景。這些就是各片段之間的評論。

And then switching gears a little bit. How are you thinking about the effects of the government shutdown on your results, both in Q1 and the full year?

然後稍微轉換一下話題。您如何看待政府停擺對貴公司第一季及全年業績的影響？

Sure. It's Bruce. I'll take that. We really don't anticipate any negative impacts on our delivery on our contract portfolio in Q1 FY26. Nearly all of our programs were deemed essential services by the government. And in some cases, some of those programs had received sufficient funding prior to the shutdown through other legislative vehicles like the IRA, for example. And my top comment there would be that this really reflects the very deliberate strategy of the company over the years to develop a very durable contract portfolio that fares well in these types of situations. So to put a little more color on it, I believe that across our base of nearly 40,000 employees, we were very fortunate to have fewer than a dozen that were impacted by funding curtailments in the portfolio.

當然。是布魯斯。我接受。我們預計2026財年第一季合約組合的交付不會受到任何負面影響。我們幾乎所有項目都被政府認定為必要服務。在某些情況下，其中一些項目在政府停擺之前已經通過其他立法途徑（例如 IRA）獲得了足夠的資金。我最想說的是，這真正體現了該公司多年來精心製定的策略，即建立一個非常持久的合約組合，以應對此類情況。為了更詳細地說明情況，我認為，在我們近 40,000 名員工中，只有不到 12 人受到投資組合資金削減的影響，我們非常幸運。

And we, of course, kept those staff on salary and employed and gave them an opportunity to do some refresher training and some upskilling training and so forth during that period. Of course, now certain departments and agencies are -- could be impacted going forward because the CR presently only extends funding for those through January 30. So like others in our sector, we're going to continue to monitor that. But in prior shutdowns, including the most recent one or any indication, we will remain optimistic that any impact for us would be minimal. I did want to note that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the USDA, which includes SNAP funding, both have full year build in place already.

當然，我們保留了這些員工的薪水和工作，並在此期間為他們提供了一些進修培訓和技能提升培訓等機會。當然，現在某些部門和機構可能會受到影響，因為目前的 CR 只將這些部門和機構的資金延長至 1 月 30 日。所以，和業內其他公司一樣，我們將繼續關注這一情況。但根據以往的停工情況，包括最近一次停工或任何跡象，我們仍然樂觀地認為，停工對我們的影響將是最小的。我想指出的是，退伍軍人事務部和美國農業部（包括 SNAP 資金）都已經制定了全年建設計劃。

And therefore, they'd be unaffected by any potential further shutdown potentially in January. So it's also our understanding as we come into this that the funding for essential entitlement programs like Medicaid would continue for an additional 30 days after January 30. So should any subsequent partial government shutdown come to pass. So David, anything you'd add further to that?

因此，即使明年一月可能再次停工，他們也不會受到影響。因此，根據我們的了解，像醫療補助這樣的基本福利項目的資金將在 1 月 30 日之後再持續 30 天。如果之後再次發生部分政府停擺，情況也是如此。大衛，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. Just on the -- a little commentary on the cash flow front. As I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we've seen some payment delays from a portion of our federal customers. So I'll point out also, we have -- we've had several federal customers continue to pay us through the month of October. So the month of October was really in fairly good shape considering that the government was shut down the whole month. But nonetheless, we do expect currently that December 31 will have an elevated DSO.

是的。關於現金流方面，我只想簡單談談。正如我在準備好的演講稿中提到的，我們發現部分聯邦客戶出現了付款延遲的情況。所以我還想指出，我們有幾位聯邦客戶在整個十月都繼續向我們付款。考慮到政府整個十月都處於停擺狀態，十月的情況其實相當不錯。但儘管如此，我們目前預計 12 月 31 日的應收帳款週轉天數 (DSO) 將會增加。

I hope that helps further questions, Will.

希望這能解答你接下來的問題，威爾。

That helps. And then along those lines, you guys collected a lot of receivables in Q4 and leverage is down to 1.5 turns. So what are your priorities for allocating that capital in the short term? And you briefly talked about M&A. Could you add some color on the type of things that you're looking for?

那很有幫助。然後，按照這個思路，你們在第四季收回了很多應收帳款，槓桿率降到了 1.5 倍。那麼，您在短期內分配這筆資金的優先事項是什麼？你也簡要地談到了併購。能否詳細說明一下您正在尋找的那類東西？

Sure. Happy to do that. Fundamentally, Will, our criteria that we apply remain the same as they've been for some time, meaning that we'll be disciplined in deploying capital to combine with high-quality companies that can create new growth platforms for Maximus. That's the fundamental. We've been fairly explicit with our investors in the marketplace, noting that our priority in the near term is growth in the US federal market. And within that, we do have a bias toward the defense and national security space. Our research suggests that the CAGR in that area over the next several years is north of about 9%. We also believe from our research that the overall services marketplace and software spend marketplace in the defense community is well in excess of $150 billion. And we believe the addressable component for Maximus to be nearly $50 billion. So an excellent market and one that's growing and one candidly that we've now established our ability to win in on an organic basis.

當然。我很樂意這樣做。威爾，從根本上講，我們所採用的標準與一段時間以來的標準相同，這意味著我們將嚴格地將資金投入到能夠為 Maximus 創造新的成長平台的高品質公司。這是根本所在。我們已經相當明確地向市場上的投資者表明，我們近期的首要任務是美國聯邦市場的成長。其中，我們確實對國防和國家安全領域有所偏好。我們的研究表明，未來幾年該地區的複合年增長率將超過 9%。我們的研究還表明，國防領域的整體服務市場和軟體支出市場規模遠遠超過 1500 億美元。我們認為 Maximus 的潛在市佔率接近 500 億美元。所以這是一個非常好的市場，而且還在不斷增長，坦白說，我們現在已經證明了我們有能力在這個市場中憑藉自身實力贏得成功。

So if we think about how we would further accelerate our growth potential as a business, there are three categories, if you will, that we've been considering. The first is access to customer relationships because qualified past performance is just so important in this market to win in this market. And in some cases, there would be contract vehicles that we could potentially gain access to through a combination with another company. The second category is technical capabilities to augment what we are already bringing to bear in the marketplace through the mission threads and the accelerator work that I mentioned in my prepared remarks.

因此，如果我們思考如何進一步加速我們業務的成長潛力，我們一直在考慮以下三個面向。首先是建立客戶關係，因為在這個市場中，過去的良好表現對於贏得市場至關重要。在某些情況下，我們可以透過與其他公司合併來獲得合約工具。第二類是技術能力，以增強我們已經透過任務線和加速器工作在市場上所取得的成果，我在準備好的演講稿中提到過這些。

And the third is business systems capabilities. While some of those can be -- and certifications, if you will, while some of those can be achieved organically like the CMMC Level 2 certification that we've mentioned, others like having a certified purchasing procurement system, the faster path to those is sometimes through a combination or an acquisition. So from that perspective, in terms of criteria, that's what we'd be focusing on in terms of priorities. But I'll ask David to add to that in terms of any other metrics or criteria he'd like to share.

第三點是業務系統能力。雖然其中一些可以——例如認證——透過有機的方式獲得，例如我們提到的 CMMC 2 級認證，但其他一些，例如擁有經過認證的採購系統，更快的途徑有時是透過組合或收購。所以從這個角度來看，就評判標準而言，這就是我們確定優先事項的重點。但我會請大衛補充說明他是否有其他指標或標準想要分享。

Sure. Maybe I'll just add. We certainly consider other uses of capital, including repurchases, which, as you've seen, we've done a fair amount over the past year, especially in this environment. But I do want to emphasize that our primary reason for M&A is to unlock organic growth potential, which we believe can deliver significant value over the longer term. So that's really what we look for is revenue synergies and organic growth acceleration.

當然。或許我應該補充一下。我們當然會考慮其他資金用途，包括股票回購。正如你所看到的，在過去一年裡，我們進行了相當多的股票回購，尤其是在當前這種環境下。但我確實想強調，我們進行併購的主要原因是釋放內生成長潛力，我們相信這可以在長期內帶來巨大的價值。所以，我們真正關注的是所得綜效和內生成長加速。

That is helpful. I think just one more for me. Thanks for the update on the opportunities related to the Big Beautiful Bill. What phase of the opportunity would you say we are in right now? And what are you actively working on with states? And then can you provide any detail on the timing of RFPs coming out from the states?

那很有幫助。我覺得我再吃一個就夠了。感謝您提供「宏偉法案」相關機會的最新資訊。您認為我們目前處於機會的哪個階段？您目前正積極與各州合作哪些工作？那麼，您能否提供一些關於各州發布招標書時間安排的詳細資訊？

Sure. Happy to do that. So as I mentioned in the prepared remarks, there's been no real update from a policy perspective and not surprisingly, no regulatory updates either. Our understanding is that if we're going to see implementing regulations, for example, related to Medicaid work requirements, those wouldn't be coming out until this summer. So states are working with imperfect information. But in our view, they're in a situation where they can plan out an awful lot of what it's going to take to be compliant with these requirements, think about the impacts on their business processes and on their state systems and how they're going to go about engaging the beneficiaries.

當然。我很樂意這樣做。正如我在準備好的演講稿中提到的，從政策角度來看，並沒有任何真正的更新，不出所料，也沒有任何監管方面的更新。據我們了解，如果要推出實施細則，例如與醫療補助工作要求相關的細則，那麼這些細則最早也要到今年夏天才會出台。因此，各州都是在資訊不完全的情況下開展工作。但我們認為，他們現在處於一種可以規劃出許多符合這些要求所需措施的局面，思考這些要求對他們的業務流程和國家系統的影響，以及他們將如何與受益人互動。

And of course, for Medicaid, those are the beneficiaries in the expansion population. That's estimated to be about 21 million people on a national basis. So there's a lot of preplanning that can be done. And in fact, there have been articles out there saying from notable consultants saying if states haven't started planning, they're already behind. The update for this quarter based on our engagement in the marketplace, and it makes sense when we think about the time line is that SNAP is being taken very seriously. And why is that? The SNAP payment error rate issue as it's addressed in the bill can lead to a significant financial lift for states who don't bring their error rates down below 6%.

當然，對於醫療補助計劃來說，這些受益者屬於擴大覆蓋範圍的人群。據估計，全國約有 2,100 萬人受到影響。所以有很多前期規劃工作可以做。事實上，一些知名顧問的文章指出，如果各州還沒有開始規劃，那麼它們就已經落後了。根據我們與市場的互動，本季的最新情況是，考慮到時間線，SNAP 正在被非常認真地對待。為什麼會這樣呢？該法案中解決的 SNAP 支付錯誤率問題，可能會為那些錯誤率未降至 6% 以下的州帶來巨大的財政收入。

The federal payments related to SNAP will be affected in federal fiscal year 2028. So beginning in October of 2027, those payments could be affecting those payments -- payment impacts can take two forms. The first is on the benefit component of the SNAP funding. And the second is on the federal administrative component, which would drop from 50% to 25%. The assessment of the error rates that will affect that payment impact in October of '27 is based on federal fiscal year '25 or '26. So work has to begin ASAP to start addressing those error rates so that the measurement period within that measurement period, states can bring them into alignment and be able to avoid, in many cases, hundreds of millions of dollars of lost federal benefit and administrative cost reimbursement.

2028 聯邦財政年度，與 SNAP 相關的聯邦撥款將受到影響。因此，從 2027 年 10 月開始，這些付款可能會影響這些付款——付款影響可以採取兩種形式。第一個問題是關於 SNAP 資金的福利部分。第二點是聯邦行政部分，這部分將從 50% 降至 25%。對 2027 年 10 月可能影響該筆付款的錯誤率的評估，是基於 2025 或 2026 聯邦財政年度。因此，必須盡快開始著手解決這些錯誤率問題，以便各州能夠在測量期內使測量結果保持一致，並在許多情況下避免損失數億美元的聯邦福利和行政成本補償。

So we're out there very much engaging with our customers, doing demonstrations, having conversations about what we believe from our research and experience are the main causes of error rates in the SNAP payment process. And I think I've mentioned on a prior call, if not, I'll mention it now. From our analysis, we believe that we've got the ability to help states address about 90% of the causes of error. How do we do that? It's a combination of our historical program knowledge and business process expertise and interpretation of how policy can be implemented in an operational environment more effectively. Sometimes, quite frankly, that's as simple as improving training.

因此，我們積極與客戶互動，進行演示，並與他們探討我們根據研究和經驗認為的 SNAP 支付過程中錯誤率的主要原因。我想我之前在電話會議中提到過，如果沒有，我現在再提一下。根據我們的分析，我們認為我們有能力幫助各州解決大約 90% 的錯誤原因。我們該如何做到這一點？這是將我們過往的專案知識和業務流程專業知識相結合，並解釋如何在營運環境中更有效地實施政策。坦白說，有時候，解決問題其實很簡單，只要改進訓練即可。

One of the sources of error, just as a brief anecdote is sometimes a case worker might enter semi-monthly income as if it were biweekly or the opposite. And candidly, I think a lot of people out there, including myself, would struggle to immediately define what the difference is. So with that said, technology can play a big part in this, and we've developed AI-driven tools that can help states go through their databases and their systems of record and identify likely sources of error in their cases and then put plans in place to address that, both for existing cases to improve the error rates there, but also for new incoming cases as they come into the system.

舉個簡單的例子來說，其中一個錯誤來源是，有時個案工作人員可能會把半月收入記為雙週收入，反之亦然。坦白說，我認為包括我在內的許多人，都很難立即定義二者之間的差異。因此，科技可以在這方面發揮重要作用，我們已經開發了人工智慧驅動的工具，可以幫助各州檢查其資料庫和記錄系統，識別案件中可能存在的錯誤來源，然後製定計劃來解決這些問題，既可以針對現有案件提高錯誤率，也可以針對新進入系統的案件。

I mentioned in my prepared remarks, too, that we have 30 years of experience already helping state customers with the federal regulations pertaining to work requirements. And I wanted to amplify that just a little bit. And interestingly, folks may not be aware that there have been really a work requirement component to the SNAP program and the TANF program for many years.

我在事先準備好的演講稿中也提到，我們已經有 30 年的經驗來幫助州政府客戶應對與工作要求相關的聯邦法規。我想稍微強化一下這一點。有趣的是，人們可能沒有意識到，SNAP 計劃和 TANF 計劃多年來實際上都包含工作要求部分。

In the SNAP program, it's known as FSET, which is the Food Stamp Employment and Training program, whereby able-bodied adults without dependents or referred to in Washington policy speak as ABAWDs have to meet certain work requirements. TANF's requirements actually go back to the -- they trace their legislative heritage back to the early 1990s. I think probably the welfare reform bill under Bill Clinton known as PRWORA. In both cases, those programs have requirements for beneficiaries to demonstrate and states to demonstrate compliance of the beneficiaries in a far more complicated way than other programs classically have like unemployment insurance, where it's really just a brief self-attestation.

在 SNAP 計劃中，它被稱為 FSET，即食品券就業和培訓計劃，其中，沒有受撫養人的健全成年人（在華盛頓州的政策中被稱為 ABAWD）必須滿足一定的工作要求。TANF 的要求實際上可以追溯到——它們的立法淵源可以追溯到 20 世紀 90 年代初。我認為可能是比爾·柯林頓時期的福利改革法案，即《個人責任和工作機會協調法案》（PRWORA）。在這兩種情況下，這些項目都要求受益人證明受益人遵守規定，各州也要求受益人以比其他項目（如失業保險）複雜得多的方式證明受益人遵守規定，而失業保險實際上只需要簡短的自我證明。

We've built technology and deployed technology to enable our customers to meet those complex federal requirements over the course of decades. So we feel like the similarity between that requirement and what we'd expect to see in the Medicaid work requirements is substantial and should position us well to address those needs. So to close, we're cautiously optimistic that this increased urgency around SNAP will lead to procurement activity. Already, for example, I'm familiar with one state that's put a request for information out to the vendor community asking for how they would assist in addressing the SNAP payment error rates. RFIs usually lead to RFPs that then lead to awards and engagement.

幾十年來，我們不斷研發和部署技術，幫助客戶滿足這些複雜的聯邦要求。因此，我們認為該要求與我們預期在醫療補助工作要求中看到的要求非常相似，這應該能讓我們更能滿足這些需求。最後，我們謹慎樂觀地認為，SNAP（補充營養援助計劃）日益增長的緊迫性將導致採購活動。例如，我已經了解到有一個州向供應商群體發出資訊徵詢，詢問他們將如何協助解決 SNAP 付款錯誤率問題。RFI通常會引發RFP，然後RFP才會最終授予合約並促成合作。

And I've been very bullish on this market because many states have, as we've been referring to, a bought and paid for infrastructure with Maximus already established where we every day engage many of the beneficiaries who are going to be impacted by these programs, both in Medicaid and SNAP because there is shared eligibility often among this population between those two programs. So Will, that is -- I'm sorry to go on to quite a bit there, but this is an area we're obviously quite passionate about. I would say, in summary, we think it's the most significant expansion opportunity for our US services business that we've seen since the Affordable Care Act. There you go. Operator, back to you.

我一直非常看好這個市場，因為正如我們一直提到的，許多州已經擁有了由 Maximus 建立的、已購買並支付的基礎設施，我們每天都與許多將受到這些項目影響的受益人接觸，包括 Medicaid 和 SNAP，因為這兩個項目經常會為這部分人群提供共同的資格。所以威爾，也就是說——很抱歉我說了這麼多，但這顯然是我們非常熱衷的領域。總而言之，我們認為這是我們自《平價醫療法案》實施以來，美國服務業務所面臨的最重大的擴張機會。好了。接線員，已接通。

Thank you so much, everyone. This does conclude today's question-and-answer session. And with that, we will bring the call to a close. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

非常感謝大家。今天的問答環節到此結束。通話到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以在此時斷開線路。祝您今天餘下的時間愉快。