奧馳亞 (MO) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Altria Group 2022 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is scheduled to last about 1 hour, including remarks by Altria's management and the question-and-answer session.

美好的一天，歡迎來到奧馳亞集團 2022 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。今天的電話會議計劃持續約 1 小時，包括奧馳亞管理層的講話和問答環節。

Representatives of the investment community and media on the call will be able to ask questions following the conclusion of the prepared remarks. I would now like to turn the call over to Mac Livingston, Vice President of Investor Relations for the Altria Client Services. Please go ahead, sir.

電話會議上的投資界和媒體代表將能夠在準備好的發言結束後提問。我現在想把電話轉給奧馳亞客戶服務投資者關係副總裁 Mac Livingston。請繼續，先生。

Thanks, Todd. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. This morning, Billy Gifford, Altria's CEO; and Sal Mancuso, our CFO, will discuss Altria's fourth quarter and full year business results. Earlier today, we issued a press release providing our results. The release, presentation, quarterly metrics and our latest corporate responsibility report are all available at altria.com.

謝謝，托德。早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天早上，奧馳亞的首席執行官 Billy Gifford；我們的首席財務官 Sal Mancuso 將討論奧馳亞第四季度和全年的經營業績。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，提供了我們的結果。發布、介紹、季度指標和我們最新的企業責任報告都可以在 altria.com 上找到。

During our call today, unless otherwise stated, we're comparing results to the same period in 2021. Our remarks contain forward-looking and cautionary statements and projections of future results. Please review the forward-looking and cautionary statements section at the end of today's earnings release for various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from projections.

在我們今天的電話會議中，除非另有說明，否則我們會將結果與 2021 年同期進行比較。我們的言論包含前瞻性和警示性陳述以及對未來結果的預測。請查看今天收益發布末尾的前瞻性和警示性聲明部分，了解可能導致實際結果與預測產生重大差異的各種因素。

Future dividend payments and share repurchases remain subject to the discretion of Altria's Board. Altria reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Today's call will contain various operating results on both a reported and adjusted basis.

未來的股息支付和股票回購仍由奧馳亞董事會酌情決定。奧馳亞根據美國公認會計原則報告其財務業績。今天的電話會議將包含報告和調整後的各種運營結果。

Adjusted results exclude special items that affect comparisons with reported results. Descriptions of these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations are included in today's earnings release and on our website at altria.com.

調整後的結果不包括影響與報告結果比較的特殊項目。這些非 GAAP 財務措施和對賬的說明包含在今天的收益發布和我們的網站 altria.com 上。

Finally, all references in today's remarks to tobacco consumers or consumers within a specific tobacco category or segment refer to existing adult tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older. With that, I'll turn the call over to Billy.

最後，今天對煙草消費者或特定煙草類別或細分市場的消費者的所有提及均指 21 歲或以上的現有成年煙草消費者。有了這個，我會把電話轉給比利。

Thanks, Mac. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. It was an exciting year for Altria as our businesses delivered strong financial performance, and we continue to strategically invest toward our vision. We grew our adjusted diluted earnings per share by 5%, and our tobacco businesses remain resilient and successfully executed their strategies.

謝謝，麥克。早上好，感謝您加入我們。對於奧馳亞來說，這是激動人心的一年，因為我們的業務實現了強勁的財務業績，我們繼續為實現我們的願景進行戰略投資。我們將調整後的稀釋每股收益增長了 5%，我們的煙草業務保持彈性並成功執行了他們的戰略。

We also returned significant cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Last year, we returned more than $8.4 billion to shareholders, outpacing our record returns from 2021 and representing the largest single year cash return since 2002. Our vision guided our actions, and we believe we made meaningful progress on our journey toward moving beyond smoking.

我們還通過股息和股票回購向股東返還大量現金。去年，我們向股東返還了超過 84 億美元，超過了我們自 2021 年以來創紀錄的回報，並且是自 2002 年以來最大的單年度現金回報。我們的願景指導我們的行動，我們相信我們在超越吸煙的道路上取得了有意義的進展。

Our teams took several steps forward during the year, including accelerating the growth of all nicotine pouches, creating long-term optionality for our inhalable smoke-free product portfolio, enhancing our digital consumer engagement and continuing to advocate for tobacco harm reduction. Helix grew on reported shipment volume to 82.5 million cans during its first full year of unconstrained manufacturing capacity, an increase of more than 70% versus the prior year. At retail, on! share momentum continued in the fourth quarter as the brand reached 5.9% of the total oral tobacco category and 24% of the nicotine pouch category.

我們的團隊在這一年裡向前邁進了幾步，包括加速所有尼古丁袋的增長，為我們的可吸入無菸產品組合創造長期可選性，加強我們的數字消費者參與度，並繼續倡導減少煙草危害。 Helix 在其不受限制的製造能力的第一年中，報告的出貨量增長到 8250 萬罐，比上一年增長了 70% 以上。在零售，在！第四季度，該品牌的市場佔有率繼續保持增長勢頭，佔整個口腔煙草類別的 5.9% 和尼古丁袋裝類別的 24%。

This impressive performance was driven by continued increases in brand awareness and adoption by smokers and dippers. Additionally, we believe Helix effectively managed on! promotional spend as the year progressed and reduced on! promotional spend per can by approximately 15% during the second half of the year compared to the first half.

這一令人印象深刻的業績得益於品牌知名度的持續提高以及吸煙者和吸食者的採用。此外，我們相信 Helix 有效地管理了！促銷支出隨著時間的推移而減少！與上半年相比，下半年每罐的促銷支出增加了約 15%。

In all tobacco product development, we are excited to announce we have finalized a new product design, which will provide tobacco consumers more smoke-free options within our portfolio. We also began regulatory preparations for the product, and we are encouraged by the initial research results and the response we have received from Dippers and nicotine pouch users. We look forward to sharing more details and unveiling this innovative product at our Investor Day next month.

在所有煙草產品開發中，我們很高興地宣布我們已經完成了一項新產品設計，這將在我們的產品組合中為煙草消費者提供更多無菸選擇。我們還開始了該產品的監管準備工作，我們對初步研究結果以及我們從 Dippers 和尼古丁袋用戶那裡收到的回應感到鼓舞。我們期待在下個月的投資者日分享更多細節並推出這一創新產品。

Turning to our inhalable smoke-free portfolio. We created long-term optionality in the heated tobacco and e-vapor spaces. Internally, we have not yet finalized the design of our heated tobacco capsule product, but our teams continue to make progress. The consumer remains the focal point of our innovation system and our teams are tailoring the product to appeal to smokers who have not yet found a satisfying alternative to cigarettes.

轉向我們的可吸入無菸產品組合。我們在加熱煙草和電子蒸汽空間中創造了長期的可選性。在內部，我們尚未完成加熱煙草膠囊產品的設計，但我們的團隊仍在繼續取得進展。消費者仍然是我們創新系統的焦點，我們的團隊正在定制產品以吸引尚未找到令人滿意的香煙替代品的吸煙者。

We also look forward to unveiling this exciting new product at our Investor Day next month as well. And in October, we announced a strategic partnership with JT Group, including a joint venture for the U.S. commercialization of heated tobacco stick products. We're encouraged by the initial collaboration between our teams and the pace at which they are operating.

我們也期待在下個月的投資者日上推出這款令人興奮的新產品。 10 月，我們宣布與 JT Group 建立戰略合作夥伴關係，包括成立一家合資企業，在美國將加熱煙草棒產品商業化。我們對團隊之間的初步合作以及他們的運作速度感到鼓舞。

Horizon is optimizing team for the U.S. market and plans to begin regulatory preparations later this year. We're excited about the opportunity and are working diligently to bring Ploom to smokers in the U.S. In e-vapor, we previously announced we elected to be released from the noncompete obligations related to our JUUL investment. We retain our economic stake in JUUL. E-vapor remains the largest smoke-free category in the U.S. and the most successful category in transitioning U.S. smokers away from cigarettes.

Horizon 正在為美國市場優化團隊，併計劃在今年晚些時候開始監管準備工作。我們對這個機會感到興奮，並正在努力將 Ploom 帶給美國的吸煙者。在電子蒸汽方面，我們之前宣布我們選擇免除與我們的 JUUL 投資相關的競業禁止義務。我們保留我們在 JUUL 的經濟股份。電子煙仍然是美國最大的無菸類別，也是美國吸煙者戒菸最成功的類別。

We believe the category can play an important role in harouction, and we're continuing to evaluate all options to best compete in the category. Next, let's discuss the progress we made to enhance our digital consumer engagement. We launched a new digital trade program last spring, and we believe this program enhances our ongoing commitment to responsible retail.

我們相信該類別可以在拍賣中發揮重要作用，並且我們將繼續評估所有選項以在該類別中發揮最佳競爭力。接下來，讓我們討論一下我們在提高數字消費者參與度方面取得的進展。去年春天，我們推出了一項新的數字貿易計劃，我們相信該計劃加強了我們對負責任零售的持續承諾。

The program includes multiple participation options for retailers. For those participating at the highest level, we introduced incentives for retailers to include age and identity verification solutions in their digital platforms. And once the consumer is verified retailers can then provide offers and messaging from our brands within the retailer's app.

該計劃包括零售商的多種參與選擇。對於那些最高級別的參與者，我們推出了激勵措施，鼓勵零售商在其數字平台中加入年齡和身份驗證解決方案。一旦消費者通過驗證，零售商就可以在零售商的應用程序中提供來自我們品牌的優惠和信息。

I'm excited to share that we implemented these solutions in more than 33,000 stores exceeding the goal we outlined last year at CAGNY. Currently, consumers can view offers from our smokeable and most smokeless tobacco brands. But going forward, we expect to expand the program to include on! and other smoke-free brands.

我很高興與大家分享，我們在超過 33,000 家商店實施了這些解決方案，超過了我們去年在 CAGNY 制定的目標。目前，消費者可以查看我們的可吸和大多數無菸煙草品牌的優惠。但展望未來，我們希望擴大該計劃以包括在！和其他無菸品牌。

As we continue to broaden our digital reach, data will help us better understand each smoker's journey and help them successfully transition to other smoke-free alternatives in our portfolio. Moving to the regulatory environment. We remain optimistic about the future of harm reduction in the U.S. We believe we have an unprecedented opportunity to lead the way in shifting millions of smokers to smoke-free alternatives if we follow the science and foster innovation with the support of reasonable regulation.

隨著我們繼續擴大我們的數字覆蓋範圍，數據將幫助我們更好地了解每個吸煙者的旅程，並幫助他們成功過渡到我們產品組合中的其他無菸替代品。轉向監管環境。我們對美國減少危害的未來保持樂觀。我們相信，如果我們遵循科學並在合理監管的支持下促進創新，我們將有前所未有的機會引領數百萬吸煙者轉向無菸替代品。

In December, the Reagan-Udall Foundation published its operational evaluation of the FDA's Sinofert tobacco products. We were among the stakeholders who provided input into this evaluation. Among its recommendation, the report urges the FDA to fully defined product pathways and accelerate PMT decision-making, take enforcement actions against manufacturers and product and violation of the law and address the need for risk communications to tobacco consumers.

12 月，裡根-尤德爾基金會公佈了其對 FDA 的中化化肥煙草產品的運營評估。我們是為本次評估提供意見的利益相關者之一。在其建議中，該報告敦促 FDA 充分定義產品途徑並加快 PMT 決策，對製造商和產品以及違法行為採取執法行動，並滿足向煙草消費者進行風險溝通的需求。

We agree these are important opportunities and believe that the FDA should direct its focus toward implementing a framework to advance harm reduction, rather than focusing on prohibition policies that we believe will further expand the illicit market and create other unintended consequences.

我們同意這些都是重要的機會，並認為 FDA 應將重點放在實施框架以促進減少危害上，而不是將重點放在我們認為會進一步擴大非法市場並產生其他意外後果的禁令政策上。

Let's now move to the operating environment. We estimate that total equivalized tobacco volumes declined 6% for the year and 1.7% over the past 5 years on a compounded annual basis. Combustible volumes declined by an estimated 7.8% last year as smokers faced increasing economic challenges. We are encouraged that smoke-free volumes were stable compared to the prior year at 3.8 billion equivalized units and now represent an estimated 26% of the total tobacco space.

現在讓我們轉到操作環境。我們估計，按複合年率計算，當年的等效煙草總銷量下降了 6%，過去 5 年下降了 1.7%。由於吸煙者面臨越來越多的經濟挑戰，去年可燃物的體積估計下降了 7.8%。我們感到鼓舞的是，與上一年相比，無菸銷量穩定在 38 億當量單位，現在估計佔煙草總空間的 26%。

E-Vapor has been a major contributor to the growth of smoke-free products over the 5-year period. Although volumes declined by an estimated 1% year-over-year amid considerable regulatory uncertainty such as the FDA's marketing from denial order and subsequent temporary stay on fuel products, which caused market disruptions for both consumers and retailers. In old tobacco, volumes grew by an estimated 1.5% driven by the continued adoption of all nicotine pouches. Turning to our financial outlook, our plans for 2023 include a continuation of our strategy to balance earnings growth and shareholder returns with strategic investments towards our vision.

在 5 年期間，電子蒸汽一直是無菸產品增長的主要貢獻者。儘管由於監管存在相當大的不確定性，例如 FDA 因拒絕訂單而進行的營銷以及隨後對燃料產品的臨時停留，但銷量同比下降了約 1%，這對消費者和零售商都造成了市場干擾。在舊煙草中，由於繼續採用所有尼古丁袋，銷量估計增長了 1.5%。談到我們的財務前景，我們 2023 年的計劃包括繼續實施我們的戰略，以平衡收益增長和股東回報，並通過戰略投資實現我們的願景。

For 2023, our planned investment areas include continued smoke-free product research,development and regulatory preparations, digital consumer engagement, and marketplace activities in support of our smoke-free products. We believe the external environment will remain dynamic in 2023. We will continue to monitor the economy, including the impact of high inflation, tobacco consumer dynamics and regulatory and legislative developments.

2023 年，我們計劃的投資領域包括持續的無菸產品研究、開發和監管準備、數字消費者參與以及支持我們無菸產品的市場活動。我們相信外部環境將在 2023 年保持動態。我們將繼續監測經濟，包括高通脹的影響、煙草消費者動態以及監管和立法的發展。

Considering these factors, we expect to deliver 2023 Full year adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $4.98 to $5.13. This range represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 3% to 6% from a $4.84 base in 2022.

考慮到這些因素，我們預計 2023 年全年調整後的攤薄每股收益將在 4.98 美元至 5.13 美元之間。該範圍代表從 2022 年的 4.84 美元基數到 3% 至 6% 的調整後攤薄每股收益增長率。

Before I turn it over to Sal, I would like to send a sincere thank you to our employees. I continue to be impressed by the talent within our companies and our ability to adapt and overcome challenges in a dynamic operating environment. The passion and dedication of our employee base is evident, and I'm confident in our ability to execute our vision because of you.

在我把它交給 Sal 之前，我想向我們的員工致以誠摯的謝意。我繼續對我們公司的人才以及我們在動態運營環境中適應和克服挑戰的能力印象深刻。我們員工群的熱情和奉獻精神是顯而易見的，我對我們實現願景的能力充滿信心，因為有你們。

Also, I'd like to honor the memory of Leo Cole, the long-standing member of our Board who recently passed away. Leo served on our Board since 2011 and made many contributions to Altria, including as Chair of the Compensation and Talent Development Committee and as a member of the Innovation Committee. We will miss his leadership, guidance and friendship. I'll now turn it over to Sal.

此外，我還要緬懷 Leo Cole，他是我們董事會的長期成員，最近去世了。 Leo 自 2011 年起在我們的董事會任職，並為奧馳亞做出了許多貢獻，包括擔任薪酬和人才發展委員會主席以及創新委員會成員。我們將懷念他的領導、指導和友誼。我現在將它交給 Sal。

Thanks, Billy. We were very fortunate to have Leo's 12 years of service at Altria and our thoughts remain with the Kyle family. Moving to our results. Our tobacco businesses generated strong financial performance again this year and were responsive to changes in a dynamic external environment. In the fourth quarter, the smokeable products segment grew its adjusted operating company's income by 4% and expanded its adjusted OCI margins to 58.4%. The segment also reported robust net price realization of 13.5%.

謝謝，比利。我們非常幸運 Leo 在 Altria 服務了 12 年，我們的想法仍然與 Kyle 家族同在。轉到我們的結果。我們的煙草業務今年再次產生了強勁的財務業績，並對動態外部環境的變化做出了反應。第四季度，可吸煙產品部門調整後的運營公司收入增長了 4%，調整後的 OCI 利潤率擴大至 58.4%。該部門還報告了 13.5% 的強勁淨價實現。

As a reminder, manufacturer price realization does not reflect retail price changes for smokers. For example, Marlboro net retail path price increased 6.4% in the fourth quarter compared to last year. We continue to successfully execute against our strategy in the smokable segment, maximizing profitability while balancing investments in Marlboro with funding the growth of smoke-free products.

提醒一下，製造商價格實現並不反映吸煙者的零售價格變化。例如，萬寶路在第四季度的淨零售路徑價格與去年同期相比增長了 6.4%。我們繼續成功地執行我們在可吸煙部分的戰略，最大限度地提高盈利能力，同時平衡對萬寶路的投資與為無菸產品的增長提供資金。

For the full year, smokeable segment adjusted OCI grew 2.9% to $10.7 billion, and adjusted OCI margins expanded by 1.4 percentage points to 59%. In smokeable segment, net price realization for the year was 11.1%. In addition, over the past 5 years, the smokeable segment has grown adjusted OCI by $2.2 billion representing a compounded annual growth rate of 4.7%.

全年，可吸部分調整後的 OCI 增長 2.9% 至 107 億美元，調整後的 OCI 利潤率擴大 1.4 個百分點至 59%。在可吸部分，全年淨價實現率為 11.1%。此外，在過去 5 年中，可吸部分的調整後 OCI 增長了 22 億美元，複合年增長率為 4.7%。

Over the same time period, adjusted OCI margins have expanded from 51% to 59%, an impressive increase of 8 percentage points. Turning to volumes. Our smokeable products segment reported domestic cigarette volumes declined 12.1% in the fourth quarter and 9.7% for the full year. When adjusted for calendar differences and trade inventory movements, domestic cigarette volumes for the fourth quarter and full year declined by an estimated 11% and 9.5%, respectively. At the industry level, when adjusted for trade inventory movements, calendar differences and other factors, we estimate that adjusted domestic cigarette volumes declined by 9% in the fourth quarter and by 8% for the full year.

同期，調整後的 OCI 利潤率從 51% 擴大到 59%，增幅令人印象深刻 8 個百分點。轉向卷。我們的可吸產品部門報告稱，第四季度國內捲煙銷量下降了 12.1%，全年下降了 9.7%。根據日曆差異和貿易庫存變動進行調整後，第四季度和全年的國內捲煙銷量估計分別下降了 11% 和 9.5%。在行業層面，在根據貿易庫存變動、日曆差異和其他因素進行調整後，我們估計調整後的國內捲煙銷量在第四季度下降了 9%，全年下降了 8%。

Next, let's discuss retail share performance. Full year retail share for the industry discount segment increased 1.4 share points. We believe these results were driven by an increased pressure on smokers disposable income and increased competitive activity, including multiple branded discount offerings priced at deep discount levels.

接下來，讓我們討論零售股的表現。行業折扣部門的全年零售份額增加了 1.4 個百分點。我們認為，這些結果是由吸煙者可支配收入壓力增加和競爭活動增加推動的，包括以大幅折扣水平定價的多個品牌折扣產品。

Marlboro retail share declined by 4/10 for the full year. Most of the full year share losses were attributable to the value options within the Marlboro brand family, such as Special Select and Marlboro 72s as some price-sensitive consumers continue to seek additional price relief. Meanwhile, the brand's mainline non-menthol offerings, including the iconic red and gold varieties were resilient and performed well for the year.

全年萬寶路零售份額下降了 4/10。全年的大部分份額損失歸因於萬寶路品牌系列中的價值選擇，例如 Special Select 和萬寶路 72s，因為一些對價格敏感的消費者繼續尋求額外的價格優惠。與此同時，該品牌的主線非薄荷醇產品，包括標誌性的紅色和金色品種，在這一年表現良好。

Marlboro's share of the premium segment grew to 58.2% for the full year. Marlboro has performed better than many other premium brands over the last several years. In fact, over the past 3 years, Marlboro grew its share of premium by 1 full share point. We are encouraged by Marlboro's resilient performance as the brand celebrates 50 years of leadership in the cigarette category.

全年，萬寶路在高端市場的份額增長至 58.2%。過去幾年，萬寶路的表現優於許多其他高端品牌。事實上，在過去 3 年中，萬寶路的保費份額增長了 1 個完整的份額點。我們對萬寶路的彈性表現感到鼓舞，因為該品牌慶祝其在捲菸類別中的領先地位 50 週年。

In cigars, reported cigar shipment volume decreased 4% for the full year. While Black & Mild continued to maintain its leadership in a profitable machine-made tip cigar segment. Next, we will move to the oral tobacco products segment. Full year segment adjusted OCI and adjusted OCI margins contracted as we continue to invest behind on!. Total segment reported shipment volume declined 2.4% for the year as growth in on! volume, which more than offset by lower reported MST volumes.

在雪茄方面，報告的全年雪茄出貨量下降了 4%。而 Black & Mild 繼續保持其在有利可圖的機制製造尖頭雪茄領域的領先地位。接下來，我們將轉向口腔煙草產品領域。全年細分市場調整後的 OCI 和調整後的 OCI 利潤率收縮，因為我們繼續投資！。總細分市場報告的出貨量今年下降了 2.4%，因為增長在繼續！量，這被報告的 MST 量減少所抵消。

When adjusted for trade inventory movements and calendar differences, we estimate that full year total oral tobacco segment volumes declined by an estimated 2%. Full year oral tobacco products segment retail share declined 1.3 percentage points as declines in MST were partially offset by the continued growth of on!. Within the traditional smokeless category of MST and snus products, Copenhagen's share performance has been stable over the last 3 years, declining only 0.3 from 2019, whereas the second largest traditional smokeless brand has ceded 1.6 share points.

在根據貿易庫存變動和日曆差異進行調整後，我們估計全年口服煙草部門的總銷量估計下降了 2%。由於 MST 的下降部分被 on! 的持續增長所抵消，全年口腔煙草產品部門的零售份額下降了 1.3 個百分點。在 MST 和鼻煙產品的傳統無菸類別中，哥本哈根的份額在過去 3 年中表現穩定，僅比 2019 年下降了 0.3 個百分點，而第二大傳統無菸品牌則減少了 1.6 個份額點。

Overall, we continue to be encouraged by the performance of our oral tobacco products as on! grew volume and share in a competitive category and Copenhagen remain the category leader. Turning to our investment in ABI. We recorded $571 million of adjusted equity earnings for the full year, down 10.6% versus 2021.

總的來說，我們繼續對我們的口腔煙草產品的表現感到鼓舞！在競爭類別中的銷量和份額均有所增長，而哥本哈根仍然是該類別的領導者。轉向我們對 ABI 的投資。我們全年錄得 5.71 億美元的調整後股權收益，比 2021 年下降 10.6%。

We continue to view the ABI stake as a financial investment, and our goal remains to maximize the long-term value of the investment for our shareholders. In our all Other operating category, we have completed our wind down of Philip Morris Capital Corporation and no finance assets remain. I would like to thank the many PMCC employees who contributed to its success over the years and to the other Altria employees who helped complete a successful wind down.

我們繼續將 ABI 股權視為一項金融投資，我們的目標仍然是為股東實現投資的長期價值最大化。在我們的所有其他經營類別中，我們已經完成了對 Philip Morris Capital Corporation 的清盤，並且沒有金融資產。我要感謝多年來為其成功做出貢獻的許多 PMCC 員工，以及幫助完成成功停產的其他奧馳亞員工。

Finally, we continue to effectively manage our balance sheet while generating strong financial performance and returning significant cash to shareholders. These results were driven by our tobacco businesses that continue to be highly cash generative. Our year-end credit metrics remain strong. Our debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 2.1x, down four tenths over the past 3 years, and our weighted average coupon was 4%, a decrease of 0.2 over the past 3 years.

最後，我們繼續有效地管理我們的資產負債表，同時產生強勁的財務業績並向股東返還大量現金。這些結果是由我們的煙草業務推動的，這些業務繼續產生大量現金。我們的年終信用指標依然強勁。我們的債務與 EBITDA 比率為 2.1 倍，在過去 3 年中下降了十分之四，我們的加權平均息票率為 4%，在過去 3 年中下降了 0.2。

We also expect to retire approximately $1.3 billion of notes coming through later this month with available cash. In addition, we returned more than $8.4 billion in cash to shareholders last year through dividends and share repurchases. These record cash returns included paying $6.6 billion in dividends and raising the dividend for the 57 time in 53 years.

我們還預計將在本月晚些時候用可用現金償還約 13 億美元的票據。此外，我們去年通過派息和股票回購向股東返還了超過 84 億美元的現金。這些創紀錄的現金回報包括支付 66 億美元的股息和 53 年來第 57 次提高股息。

We also repurchased more than 38 million shares during the year totaling $1.8 billion, which completed our previously authorized program. Earlier this week, our Board authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program which we expect to complete by the end of 2023. I'll now turn it back to Billy to conclude our remarks.

我們還在這一年回購了超過 3800 萬股股票，總計 18 億美元，完成了我們之前授權的計劃。本週早些時候，我們的董事會批准了一項新的 10 億美元股票回購計劃，我們預計該計劃將在 2023 年底前完成。我現在將其轉回給比利來結束我們的發言。

Thanks, Sal. While the calls are being compiled, I'll remind you that today's earnings release and our non-GAAP reconciliations are available on altria.com. We've also posted our usual quarterly metrics, which include pricing, inventory and other items. As we mentioned during the call, we have exciting topics to discuss at our Investor Day next month. We look forward to having a fulsome conversation about our smoke-free future and we are excited to share more about our journey toward moving beyond smoking. Todd will now transition to the Q&A period.

謝謝，薩爾。在編制電話時，我會提醒您，今天的收益發布和我們的非 GAAP 對賬可在 altria.com 上獲得。我們還發布了我們通常的季度指標，包括定價、庫存和其他項目。正如我們在電話會議中提到的那樣，我們在下個月的投資者日上有一些激動人心的話題要討論。我們期待就我們的無菸未來進行精彩的對話，我們很高興分享更多關於我們超越吸煙的旅程。托德現在將過渡到問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Vivien Azer with Cowen.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Vivien Azer 和 Cowen。

So I just wanted to start with the industry volume backdrop. I recognize you guys have kind of suspended the historical practice of offering industry guidance, and that makes good sense to me. But just hoping to get some color on how you're thinking about the potential impact of the menthol ban in California if you think that's an incremental headwind for the year.

所以我只想從行業數量背景開始。我知道你們已經暫停了提供行業指導的歷史慣例，這對我來說很有意義。但是，如果您認為這是今年的不利因素，那麼只是希望了解您如何看待加利福尼亞州薄荷醇禁令的潛在影響。

Sure. Yes, I think it's a little early to say exactly what that headwind will be, Vivien. Certainly, it will be a headwind from the State of California having banned it. It went into effect, you remember in December. So we'll see how that proceeds. But yes, I would say that would be a headwind as we enter 2023.

當然。是的，我認為現在確切地說出逆風是什麼還為時過早，Vivien。當然，這將是加利福尼亞州禁止它的逆風。它生效了，你記得在十二月。所以我們將看看它是如何進行的。但是，是的，我會說這將是我們進入 2023 年時的逆風。

Fantastic. And then just pivoting to the oral tobacco segment, encouraging to hear some rationalization on! promo having fallen 15% in 2 half '22. Can you offer a little color on where that positions relative to the competitive set?

極好的。然後只是轉向口腔煙草部分，鼓勵聽到一些合理化！ promo having falled 15% in 2 half '22.你能提供一點關於相對於競爭組的位置的顏色嗎？

Yes. We think it's -- it actually -- we were very pleased with the results we -- as you mentioned, we reduced it 15% first half to second half and it continued its momentum and grew share. We think it's a growing category, Vivien, and that the entire segment is growing, and we want to participate in that growth. So we're continue to invest behind it. And as we move forward, I think you see the benefit of data analytics. And then in the future, the application of what most people refer to as revenue growth management that was success in traditional smokeless as well as cigarettes. So that's what you can expect from us as we move forward.

是的。我們認為它 - 實際上 - 我們對我們的結果非常滿意 - 正如你提到的那樣，我們將上半年減少了 15% 到下半年並且它繼續保持勢頭並增加份額。我們認為這是一個不斷增長的類別，Vivien，整個細分市場都在增長，我們希望參與這種增長。因此，我們將繼續對其進行投資。隨著我們的前進，我想您會看到數據分析的好處。然後在未來，大多數人稱之為收入增長管理的應用在傳統無菸和香煙中取得了成功。這就是您在我們前進的過程中對我們的期望。

Perfect. And just one last one for you. Sal, please, I recognize it's premature for us to start modeling royalties from the IP litigation with British American Tobacco because there's certainly an appeals process. But if you could just textualize how we should be thinking about that incremental revenue stream as litigation draws to a conclusion, please?

完美的。最後一張給你。 Sal，拜託，我認識到我們現在開始為英美煙草的知識產權訴訟建模版稅還為時過早，因為肯定有一個上訴程序。但是，如果您可以將我們應該如何考慮隨著訴訟得出結論而增加的收入流，拜託？

Yes, sure. Vivien, you're right, there is an appeals process. We developed our guidance. We have not considered the royalty, any potential royalties in that guidance. But as you know, with any year, you put plans in place and there are always puts and takes. So I think it's early to really think about how you might model that. Let's see how the appeals process plays out.

是的，當然。 Vivien，你是對的，有一個上訴程序。我們制定了指南。我們沒有考慮特許權使用費，該指南中的任何潛在特許權使用費。但正如你所知，在任何一年，你都會制定計劃，而且總是有進有退。所以我認為現在真正考慮如何建模還為時過早。讓我們看看上訴過程是如何進行的。

Our next question comes from Pamela Kaufman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Pamela Kaufman。

How would you characterize the current state of your consumer? And this builds on Vivien's question, but just wanted to hear how you're thinking about the puts and takes to figure out volumes in '23? Volume declines were clearly very elevated in '22. So do you expect a more normalized year of mid-single-digit volume declines given easier comparisons and moderating gas prices?

您如何描述消費者的當前狀態？這是建立在 Vivien 的問題上的，但只是想听聽你是如何考慮 put 和 take 來計算 23 年的交易量的？ 22 年的成交量下降幅度顯然非常大。那麼，鑑於更容易的比較和緩和的天然氣價格，您是否預計今年中個位數的銷量下降會更加正常化？

Yes, Vivien, I know you're looking for -- I'm sorry, Pamela, you're looking for guidance on upcoming volume. Let's talk about the headwinds and tailwinds as we progress through the year. I'll talk about the consumer first because that's the most important when you think about volumes. I think the consumer remains under pressure.

是的，Vivien，我知道你在尋找——對不起，Pamela，你在尋找關於即將出版的捲的指導。讓我們談談我們在這一年中取得進展的逆風和順風。我將首先談論消費者，因為當您考慮數量時，這是最重要的。我認為消費者仍然面臨壓力。

We tried to highlight that it was the compounding of the inflation impact as we progress through 2022. I think you've heard as many predictions as I have had soft landing, no deep recession. So I think even the experts from an economist standpoint are all over the board. We feel good about the guidance that we put out. We feel good about where the consumer is, but we want the adaptability and the flexibility to be able to move with the consumer needs.

我們試圖強調，隨著我們到 2022 年，這是通脹影響的複合。我想你聽到的預測和我聽到的軟著陸一樣多，沒有深度衰退。所以我認為即使是從經濟學家角度來看的專家也都是一刀切的。我們對我們提出的指南感到滿意。我們對消費者所在的位置感到滿意，但我們希望適應性和靈活性能夠隨著消費者的需求而變化。

So I think the consumer will remain under pressure until we see some relief, if you will, from inflationary pressures in the marketplace. Gas prices is just one aspect. That's -- we certainly have seen a decline, but nowhere near the lows we were seeing as we were pre-pandemic levels. So gas prices can move around depending on China reopening and things of that nature. So we'll see where that goes.

因此，我認為消費者將繼續承受壓力，直到我們看到市場通脹壓力有所緩解（如果您願意的話）。油價只是一方面。那是——我們當然看到了下降，但遠不及我們在大流行前水平看到的低點。因此，天然氣價格可能會根據中國重新開放和類似性質的事情而波動。所以我們會看到它的去向。

I think when you think about volumes, it's specifically combustible volume. It's important to remember that what we're looking at is how the consumer is impacted. Tobacco, the industry is not immune to macroeconomic environment. It's just less impacted than other industry categories. And so from that standpoint, historically, what we've seen Pamela, is that as the consumer is experiencing this rapid change in their economic condition, whether up or down, they make changes in their purchasing behavior and then it becomes more comfortable to them through time and they adjust various factors in their purchasing basket. So it remains to be seen. We'll see how the macroeconomic shapes up. But I would say that's the biggest thing and how that macroeconomic impacts purchasing behavior.

我認為當你考慮體積時，它特別是可燃體積。重要的是要記住，我們正在研究的是消費者如何受到影響。煙草行業也不能倖免於宏觀經濟環境。它只是比其他行業類別受到的影響更小。因此，從這個角度來看，從歷史上看，我們看到 Pamela 的情況是，當消費者正在經歷經濟狀況的這種快速變化時，無論是上升還是下降，他們都會改變他們的購買行為，然後他們會變得更加舒適隨著時間的推移，他們會調整購買籃子中的各種因素。所以還有待觀察。我們將看到宏觀經濟如何形成。但我會說這是最重要的事情，也是宏觀經濟如何影響購買行為。

That's helpful. And my other question is just on your 2023 earnings guidance, which reflects a slightly lower growth rate compared to your 4% to 7% guidance over the last several years. So can you talk about the puts and takes influencing the outlook for '23? And how much incremental investment does this reflect behind reduced risk? And are there any other discrete factors contributing to the slight shift in the growth rate?

這很有幫助。我的另一個問題是關於您的 2023 年收益指導，與過去幾年 4% 至 7% 的指導相比，它反映出增長率略低。那麼你能談談影響 23 年前景的看跌期權和看跌期權嗎？這在降低風險的背後反映了多少增量投資？是否有任何其他離散因素導致增長率的輕微變化？

Yes. I think the last comment you made I would say that as a slight shift. We're very excited about the guidance we put out. I think when you think about it, it's really the uncertainty around the macroeconomic environment was the biggest impact to the overall guidance. And you've mentioned it and you asked about that earlier. It's where does the macroeconomic environment go through as we progress through 2023 and how does that specifically impact our tobacco consumer across all categories?

是的。我認為你最後發表的評論是一個輕微的轉變。我們對我們提出的指南感到非常興奮。我認為當你考慮它時，宏觀經濟環境的不確定性確實是對整體指導的最大影響。你已經提到過它並且你早些時候問過這個問題。到 2023 年，宏觀經濟環境將經歷怎樣的變化，這對我們所有類別的煙草消費者有何具體影響？

Our next question comes from Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Bonnie Herzog。

I had a question about your pricing. Just thinking about the strength in your net price realization and smokeables over the past several quarters, it's been so darn robust. So I just wanted to hear from you how sustainable you think this is, especially in considering, I guess, the pressure on the consumer and some of the other things you called out?

我對你們的定價有疑問。想想過去幾個季度你的淨價實現和可吸煙產品的實力，它是如此的強勁。所以我只是想听聽你認為這有多可持續，特別是考慮到，我猜，消費者的壓力和你提到的其他一些事情？

Sure, Bonnie. And I'll be careful not to talk about future price increases. But the way we think about pricing, as you know, it's an important part of the algorithm when you're in a declining category. Remember, our strategy in that category is maximize profitability over the long term while making appropriate investments in Marlboro in the growth areas. So we see that as the engine that does that.

當然，邦妮。我會小心不要談論未來的價格上漲。但是，正如您所知，我們考慮定價的方式是，當您處於下降類別時，它是算法的重要組成部分。請記住，我們在該類別中的策略是在增長領域對萬寶路進行適當投資的同時最大限度地提高長期盈利能力。所以我們將其視為執行此操作的引擎。

When you think about pricing, I think it's important to really focus in on what Sal mentioned in his remarks. You see high price realization, but at retail to the consumer from a consumer-facing mobile on average went up about -- just shy of 6.5%, 6.4%. So the price increase to the consumer is much lower than what you see in the price realization.

當你考慮定價時，我認為真正關注 Sal 在他的評論中提到的內容很重要。你會看到高價格實現，但從面向消費者的移動設備到消費者的零售平均上漲了大約——略低於 6.5%、6.4%。因此，消費者的價格上漲幅度遠低於您在價格實現中看到的幅度。

And we mentioned before price realization is really 2 components for us. It's list price, as you would expect, across the industry, but it's also the implementation of RGM. And so with that price realization and usually Bonnie, you or one of the other analysts will ask us about price gap, and it's at 41%. I think, it's important to remember, as we get the data and really that data -- that's somewhat impersonal. -- it's consumer purchasing behavior through time.

我們之前提到的價格實現對我們來說真的是兩個組成部分。正如您所期望的那樣，它是整個行業的標價，但它也是 RGM 的實施。因此，有了這個價格實現，通常 Bonnie，你或其他一位分析師會問我們價格差距，它是 41%。我認為，重要的是要記住，因為我們獲得了數據，而且實際上是數據——這有點客觀。 -- 它是隨著時間推移的消費者購買行為。

As we analyze that, what we're able to do is the price gap varies locality to locality. It can vary store to store, and it can vary within even within the Marlboro franchise. You heard Sal talk about -- if you think about that overall price gap of 41%, you have the packing. So take red and gold in the Marlboro franchise.

正如我們分析的那樣，我們能夠做的是價格差距因地區而異。它可以因商店而異，甚至在萬寶路特許經營範圍內也可以有所不同。你聽過 Sal 談論過——如果你考慮 41% 的整體價格差距，你就有了包裝。因此，以萬寶路特許經營權中的紅色和金色為例。

If you look at total year 2022 to total year 2021, you can see it was very stable. Where we're seeing it is in those packings or SKUs we have within Marlboro that are there for price-sensitive consumers to have a safe landing point. And so we'll continue to implement those tools.

如果你看一下 2022 年到 2021 年的總數，你會發現它非常穩定。我們在萬寶路的那些包裝或 SKU 中看到它，這些包裝或 SKU 為價格敏感的消費者提供了一個安全的著陸點。因此，我們將繼續實施這些工具。

As far as how do we think about going forward, we've shared with you whether it's percent of discretionary income, a minutes work and when you benchmark the U.S. against other countries around the world, we're still at the very low end of that.

至於我們如何看待未來，我們已經與您分享了可支配收入的百分比，工作分鐘數以及當您將美國與世界其他國家進行比較時，我們仍然處於非常低的水平那。

Yes. That's actually super helpful. And that was going to be a question please you kind of walk through the gap that's useful context. Just switching gears, if I may, a question on your oral tobacco business. You highlighted how strong on! volume growth has been and -- but in the context of that, your total oral tobacco revenue and profit growth has been under pressure with a fair amount of margin contraction.

是的。這實際上非常有幫助。這將是一個問題，請你跨越有用背景的空白。只是換檔，如果可以的話，關於您的口腔煙草業務的問題。你凸顯的有多強！銷量一直在增長——但在這種情況下，你的口腔煙草總收入和利潤增長一直面臨壓力，利潤率有相當大的收縮。

So you did sort of touch on this, but hoping maybe you could talk a little bit further about maybe your strategy for turning around the entire oral tobacco business. Any key initiatives that you could highlight for us? And maybe you'll talk about this more in March?

所以你確實談到了這一點，但希望你能進一步談談你扭轉整個口腔煙草業務的戰略。您可以為我們強調任何關鍵舉措嗎？也許你會在三月份更多地談論這個？

Yes. We will -- we're certainly excited to be able to talk about it in March. You're exactly right. Within the old tobacco space, if you think about that total space, you have traditional moist smoker tobacco and you have novel old pouches. Some of the margin contraction you're seeing is just true mix, right, as consumers are moving from traditional mix smoker tobacco and novel oil is growing, you're going to have some mix impacts in that overall margin.

是的。我們會 - 我們當然很高興能夠在三月份談論它。你完全正確。在舊煙草空間中，如果您考慮整個空間，就會發現傳統的濕煙煙草和新穎的舊袋。你看到的一些利潤率收縮只是真正的混合，對，隨著消費者從傳統的混合吸煙者煙草和新油的增長中轉移，你將對整體利潤率產生一些混合影響。

We highlighted for you the reductions we made in promotional spend per can, but still had momentum in share. I think the biggest thing that we're excited is to be able to unveil the product that we have designed and have locked down and be able to show at Investor Day what that product is and some of the research related to that. So more to come at Investor Day.

我們向您強調了我們在每罐促銷支出方面的減少，但在份額方面仍有增長勢頭。我認為我們最興奮的事情是能夠推出我們設計並鎖定的產品，並能夠在投資者日展示該產品是什麼以及與此相關的一些研究。投資者日還有更多內容。

Okay. Final one for me, just speaking of that. Any more color you could provide on your smoke-free vision today and maybe just how confident you are that you're going to be able to deliver on your long-term strategy? I'm sure you're going to talk through this in an investor meeting and I'm excited to hear about it, but any sneak preview as to what you're most excited about.

好的。對我來說最後一個，只是說到這一點。您今天可以為您的無菸願景提供更多顏色，也許您對能夠實現您的長期戰略有多大信心？我相信你會在投資者會議上討論這個問題，我很高興聽到這個消息，但任何關於你最興奮的事情的預覽。

I won't necessarily give you a sneak preview because I don't want to get ahead of my Investor Day, we'd like to unveil it in total context and picture for investors. So I appreciate the question. I look forward to being to unveil that for you at Investor Day.

我不一定會給你一個先睹為快的預覽，因為我不想在我的投資者日之前提前，我們想在整個背景和圖片中為投資者揭開它的面紗。所以我很欣賞這個問題。我期待著在投資者日為您揭曉。

Our next question comes from Kalim Elliott with Bernstein.

我們的下一個問題來自 Kalim Elliott 和 Bernstein。

And Billy, you spoke in the release and in your prepared remarks about making sort of "meaningful progress" on the smoke-free portfolio. And you also mentioned strategic investments in division -- but at the same time, your CapEx guide is flat versus last year's guidance. You're continuing to deliver all algorithm EPS growth. And I think as you said, to Pam, that any slight reduction is more driven by the macro environment which presumably also implies little or no incremental P&L investment in NGPs as well.

比利，你在新聞稿和準備好的評論中談到了在無菸產品組合上取得某種“有意義的進展”。你還提到了對部門的戰略投資——但與此同時，你的資本支出指南與去年的指南持平。您將繼續實現所有算法的 EPS 增長。我認為正如你對 Pam 所說的那樣，任何輕微的減少都更多地是由宏觀環境驅動的，這可能也意味著對 NGPs 的 P&L 投資很少或沒有增加。

So my question is, what are the strategic investments that you're talking about? How meaningful are they? And where can we see them in the financial statements?

所以我的問題是，你所說的戰略投資是什麼？它們有多有意義？我們可以在財務報表的什麼地方看到它們？

Yes. I think it's a great question. I appreciate it. I think when you think about where those investments show up, it's important to remember, they're not all incremental spend. They're always puts and takes. They're going to shift some of those the infrastructure that the combustible or traditional MST has bore the cost through history, and you're going to shift that to the NGP space. We do have incremental investments around NGP product development, the regulatory preparations associated with that and the research associated with that.

是的。我認為這是一個很好的問題。我很感激。我認為當你考慮這些投資出現在哪裡時，重要的是要記住，它們並不都是增量支出。他們總是放和拿。他們將轉移可燃或傳統 MST 在歷史上承擔成本的一些基礎設施，而你將把它轉移到 NGP 領域。我們確實圍繞 NGP 產品開發、與之相關的監管準備工作以及與之相關的研究進行了增量投資。

Here's an example for you, Carl. If you think about like even the digital consumer engagement, that we're implementing in traditional smokeable or combustible and MST, and we mentioned in the remarks being able to transition that over. So you'll see those costs will actually appear in the combustible and the smokeless before it appears in the NGP categories.

卡爾，這是給你的例子。如果你甚至考慮數字消費者參與，我們正在傳統的可吸煙或可燃和 MST 中實施，我們在評論中提到能夠將其轉換過來。所以你會看到這些成本在出現在 NGP 類別之前實際上會出現在可燃物和無菸物中。

So there's a lot going on beneath the surface, if you will, from an investment standpoint. But there are always puts and takes. We're trying to be wise with the investment but not restrict growing categories.

因此，如果您願意，從投資的角度來看，表面之下發生了很多事情。但總是有投入和需要。我們試圖明智地進行投資，但不限制不斷增長的類別。

So I guess the natural follow-up is if I benchmark relative to your big competitors, both in the U.S. and internationally, the 2 biggest amongst them are spending literally billions of dollars a year. And my guess is instinctively, if you're just talking about switching a portion of your cigarette spend, over into NGP, you're not going to get anywhere close to that billions of dollars a year. And so the question is, do you genuinely believe you can be successful if you're spending so much less than those competitors? And then how?

所以我想自然而然的後續行動是，如果我以你在美國和國際上的主要競爭對手為基準，其中最大的兩個每年花費數十億美元。而且我的猜測是本能的，如果你只是談論將你的一部分香菸支出轉換為 NGP，你每年不會獲得接近數十億美元的任何地方。所以問題是，如果你比那些競爭對手少花那麼多錢，你真的相信你能成功嗎？然後怎麼辦？

Yes, we do believe that we're trying to really be driven by the consumer, learning from the global marketplace of products in the marketplace and use those as, if you will, a launch point for products and really trying to meet what the desires and needs of the consumers are in the marketplace that aren't met by those existing products in the marketplace.

是的，我們確實相信我們正在努力真正由消費者驅動，從市場上的全球產品市場中學習並將其用作產品的發佈點，如果您願意的話，並真正努力滿足消費者的需求市場上現有的產品無法滿足消費者的需求。

And so we feel like we can achieve the vision. We've highlighted for you guys that we really believe we can navigate strong returns to shareholders at the same time, making the appropriate investments in these growing categories. And we believe we can do that. I think you'll continue to hear us talk about investments, and we'll provide a lot more detail of some of the progress we've made at Investor Day.

所以我們覺得我們可以實現願景。我們已經向你們強調，我們真的相信我們可以同時為股東帶來豐厚的回報，對這些不斷增長的類別進行適當的投資。我們相信我們可以做到。我想你會繼續聽到我們談論投資，我們將提供更多關於我們在投資者日取得的進展的細節。

Our next question comes from Gaurav Jain with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Gaurav Jain。

Three questions. So first one to you, Billy. We will have a new competitor next year in the U.S. market with IQOS. And when you were distributing IQOS, then the volumes were much lesser than any of us had expected. So what did you find were the challenges when U.S. consumers came to IQOS?

三個問題。所以第一個給你，比利。明年我們在美國市場將有一個新的競爭對手 IQOS。當您分發 IQOS 時，銷量遠低於我們任何人的預期。那麼您發現美國消費者使用 IQOS 時遇到的挑戰是什麼？

Yes, it's a great question. I appreciate you asking Gaurav. I think when you think about IQOS, it was really about the disciplined approach that we were taking to introduce in a brand-new category. The consumer in the U.S. was used to the e-vapor space. They had understood that.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。謝謝你問 Gaurav。我想當你想到 IQOS 時，它真的是關於我們在一個全新的類別中引入的有紀律的方法。美國的消費者已經習慣了電子蒸汽空間。他們明白這一點。

When you're introducing a new category that requires some education on how to use the product and how to maintain the product that there is investment there that takes place. And we talked about the learnings we had as we went along the way. But I would say the biggest challenge is educating the consumer on the product and then leading their desires. And I think there's still unmet needs in the marketplace.

當您引入一個新類別時，需要對如何使用該產品以及如何維護該產品進行一些教育，就會發生投資。我們談到了一路走來的經驗教訓。但我想說最大的挑戰是對消費者進行產品教育，然後引導他們的需求。我認為市場上仍有未滿足的需求。

Sure. The next question and perhaps to you, Sal, is around MST payments next year and how we should factor in inflation? And if you could just help us understand because I think there is a confusion that how does that 3% number work versus inflation? Or is it the change of inflation that we should be looking at?

當然。薩爾，下一個問題可能是關於明年的 MST 付款以及我們應該如何考慮通貨膨脹？如果你能幫助我們理解，因為我認為人們對 3% 的數字與通貨膨脹有何關係存在混淆？還是我們應該關注的是通貨膨脹的變化？

Gaurav, you are correct to point out that inflation is a factor when you think about MSA expense. A couple of points I'll make. One is the high rate of inflation in 2022 has been accounted for and is already in the base. You are correct to point out that when you think about inflation related to MSA, there's 3% floor. So even if inflation were measured below 3%, there'd be a 3% increase in the MSA expense.

Gaurav，當你考慮 MSA 費用時，你指出通貨膨脹是一個因素是正確的。我會提出幾點。一是2022年的高通貨膨脹率已經計算在內，已經在基數中。您正確地指出，當您考慮與 MSA 相關的通貨膨脹時，下限為 3%。因此，即使通貨膨脹率低於 3%，MSA 費用也會增加 3%。

And I'll also remind you that inflation is measured at a point in time, December 31, current year to December 31, of prior year. So we have considered that when you think about 2023, there will be an elevated level of inflation. We have seen some receding of the rate of inflation, but still expect it to be elevated. So we have considered that when we put together our guidance.

我還要提醒你，通貨膨脹是在一個時間點衡量的，從當年的 12 月 31 日到上一年的 12 月 31 日。所以我們已經考慮到，當你想到 2023 年時，通脹水平將會升高。我們已經看到通貨膨脹率有所下降，但仍預計它會上升。因此，當我們整理指南時，我們已經考慮到了這一點。

And then finally, I'll say, there are other factors besides inflation to consider when you think about MSA expense, including volume, shipment share and other such factors.

最後，我要說的是，當您考慮 MSA 費用時，除了通貨膨脹之外，還有其他因素需要考慮，包括數量、出貨份額和其他此類因素。

Sure. And my last question is on share repurchases for next year, which at $1 billion or below what we thought and I think where most people were and even though your EBITDA is growing, you are generating free cash flow after dividends, our leverage will anyway be down when you have the ABI stake. So what mix you buy of $2 billion of stock and not $1 billion?

當然。我的最後一個問題是關於明年的股票回購，回購金額為 10 億美元或低於我們的預期，而且我認為大多數人都在那裡，即使您的 EBITDA 在增長，您在分紅後產生自由現金流，我們的槓桿率無論如何都會是當您擁有 ABI 股權時，就會下跌。那麼你購買 20 億美元而不是 10 億美元的股票的組合是什麼？

Well, first, let me say, we are very happy that the Board authorized a $1 billion share repurchase. And if you think about capital allocation. I think we have a history of taking a balanced approach. So as you know -- as I noted in our opening remarks, we plan on paying back about $1.3 billion in notes coming due with available cash. We continue to pay a strong dividend as well as the $1 billion share repurchase. Gaurav, I really have nothing to report on the ABI asset.

好吧，首先，讓我說，我們很高興董事會批准了 10 億美元的股票回購。如果你考慮資本配置。我認為我們有採取平衡方法的歷史。如您所知——正如我在開場白中指出的那樣，我們計劃用可用現金償還約 13 億美元的到期票據。我們繼續支付高額股息以及 10 億美元的股票回購。 Gaurav，關於 ABI 資產，我真的沒有什麼可報告的。

We continue to do the analysis that we do with all capital allocations. And currently, we believe the best thing for the shareholder over the long term is to hold the asset.

我們繼續對所有資本配置進行分析。目前，我們認為從長遠來看，對股東來說最好的事情就是持有資產。

Our next question will come from Chris Growe with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Stifel 的 Chris Growe。

I just had a quick question for you on Marlboro. You have to be very happy with the resilient performance of Marlboro. And obviously, a round at though discount and deep discount share is accelerating, which has seemed to provide some risk to the brand. I'm sure we're going to get your promotional program on this call. But I wonder if you could talk about how you see the brand performing in '23? And maybe more pointedly, have you increased promotions at a faster rate behind Marlboro to preserve that share where it's doing so well there?

我剛剛有一個關於萬寶路的問題要問你。你必須對萬寶路的彈性表現感到非常滿意。顯然，一輪折扣和大幅折扣份額正在加速，這似乎給該品牌帶來了一些風險。我相信我們會在這次電話會議上得到你們的促銷計劃。但我想知道您能否談談您如何看待該品牌在 23 年的表現？也許更尖銳的是，你們是否以比萬寶路更快的速度增加了促銷活動，以保持它在那裡做得很好的份額？

Yes. They're great questions, Chris. I think when you think about the resilience here, Marlboro, we're very pleased with it. We're pleased with how it's positioned with the consumer. We are pleased with that. It's still the aspirational brand within the cigarette space. I think when you think about your question on promotions, I would point to you that the high price realization actually shows that we're able to be more effective and efficient on our Marlboro price promotion.

是的。他們是很好的問題，克里斯。我想當你想到這裡的彈性時，萬寶路，我們對此感到非常滿意。我們對它在消費者心目中的定位感到滿意。我們對此感到滿意。它仍然是香煙領域令人嚮往的品牌。我想當你考慮關於促銷的問題時，我會指出高價格實際上表明我們能夠在我們的萬寶路價格促銷方面更加有效和高效。

I think it may be useful that -- I talked about Marlboro Red and Gold versus some of the prices, but some of the tools that we have in place actually allow the precision. So I'll just walk through a quick example with 3 consumers. You have one consumer that's purchasing premium brands and occasionally pops up and buys a discount brand. The other consumer is continuing to flip flopping between premium and discount. And the third consumer is a discount consumer that occasionally pops up and smokes a premium cigarette.

我認為這可能有用——我談到了萬寶路紅色和金色與一些價格的對比，但我們現有的一些工具實際上可以實現精確。因此，我將簡單介紹 3 個消費者的示例。您有一個消費者正在購買優質品牌，偶爾會突然出現併購買折扣品牌。另一個消費者繼續在溢價和折扣之間搖擺不定。第三個消費者是打折消費者，偶爾會冒出來抽一支優質香煙。

When you think about those consumers, you're going to treat those differently to make them more of a continuous premium brand smoker. That discount smoker, you may never be able to get them to convert to a premium because of the condition -- the economic condition that they're in. So as we move to personal value delivery as close as we can get to the consumer, we can tailor that across those 3. And so that's where I refer to the price that being at the national level. We're doing this down at the local level and on our journey to move as close as we can get to the consumer. And so that allows us to have Marlboro be resilient, address the consumers' needs on a case-by-case basis if we can get really close to the consumer and spend those resources accordingly to have a more consistent premium consumer through time.

當你考慮這些消費者時，你會以不同的方式對待他們，使他們更像是一個持續的優質品牌吸煙者。那個打折的吸煙者，你可能永遠無法讓他們轉換為溢價，因為他們所處的經濟狀況。因此，當我們盡可能接近消費者時，個人價值交付，我們可以在這 3 個方面進行調整。這就是我指的是國家層面的價格。我們正在地方層面做這件事，並在我們盡可能接近消費者的旅程中進行。因此，如果我們能夠真正接近消費者並相應地花費這些資源以隨著時間的推移擁有更一致的優質消費者，那麼這使我們能夠讓萬寶路具有彈性，根據具體情況滿足消費者的需求。

Appreciate that. I had one other follow-up, which would be, you do have 2 relatively unique kind of profit drags this year, with PMCC winding down, obviously, pensions moving around. Could you give some more color around -- or in context around the run how much that's weighing on profitability this year?

感謝。我還有另一個後續行動，那就是，今年你確實有兩種相對獨特的利潤拖累，隨著 PMCC 的結束，顯然，養老金四處流動。你能否給出更多的顏色 - 或者在運行的背景下今年對盈利能力的影響有多大？

Yes, Chris, I'll be -- so let's talk about pensions for a moment. If you think about pensions, obviously, there's a P&L impact related to return on assets, changes in discount rate, but I would say the pension is really well funded. We have strong funding in that pension plan. It's actually fully funded.

是的，克里斯，我會——所以讓我們談談養老金。如果你考慮養老金，顯然，與資產回報率、貼現率變化相關的損益影響，但我想說養老金的資金確實充足。我們在該養老金計劃中擁有雄厚的資金。它實際上是全額資助的。

So we feel really good about that. And I would say the changes in pension expense I'll remind you a noncash. We have successfully completed the wind down of PMCC. So you are correct in that we had earnings and cash flow last year and this year, we will not. And it is a year -- on a year-over-year basis is a slight lag. But remember, PMCC was part of our all other category. It was -- so we consider it fairly immaterial to the total earnings of Altria.

所以我們對此感覺非常好。我會說養老金支出的變化我會提醒你一個非現金。我們已經成功地完成了 PMCC 的關閉。所以你是對的，我們去年有收益和現金流，今年我們不會。這是一年 - 與去年同期相比略有滯後。但請記住，PMCC 是我們所有其他類別的一部分。它是——所以我們認為它對奧馳亞的總收入相當不重要。

Our next question comes from Andrei Condrea with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Andrei Condrea。

One for me, please, if you don't mind. On your smokeless business, especially on what we have seen, the brand has been driven by strong discounting versus the main peer. Now do you expect that to continue going forward or rather just closing the price gap between you and your main peer, even if your product -- your promo spend per can is decreasing?

如果你不介意的話，請給我一份。在您的無菸業務中，尤其是在我們所看到的情況下，該品牌一直受到與主要同行相比大幅折扣的推動。現在您是否希望繼續前進，或者只是縮小您與主要同行之間的價格差距，即使您的產品——您每罐的促銷支出正在減少？

Sure. Thank you. I think when you think about it -- and this is not an excuse, it's just box. They had a first mover advantage. And when consumers to get consumers to have new brands in their considerations that you have to induce trial and that's what we feel like we're doing. I would say, from a consumer standpoint, it's still very small compared to the total nicotine space. So we're going to spend while and invest while the overall category is growing so we can participate in that growth. We mentioned previously, it was intuitive that the adult dipper would move to the product pretty quickly and that the adult cigarette consumer, you're going to have to induce trial and that's what we're in the process of doing and are excited about the results thus far.

當然。謝謝你。我想當你考慮它時 - 這不是藉口，它只是盒子。他們有先發優勢。當消費者讓消費者在他們的考慮中擁有新品牌時，你必須誘導試用，這就是我們正在做的事情。我會說，從消費者的角度來看，與尼古丁的總空間相比，它仍然非常小。因此，我們將在整個類別增長的同時進行投資和投資，以便我們可以參與這種增長。我們之前提到過，很直觀的是，成年消費者會很快轉向產品，而成年香煙消費者，你將不得不進行試用，這就是我們正在做的事情，我們對此感到興奮到目前為止的結果。

I think through time, we did reduce the promotional spend per can. So when you think about the price gap, if you will, the way you referred to it to a competitive product in the marketplace, you're going to invest while the category is growing, so you get these products in the consideration set. I talked about bringing some of the data analytics. I think you saw the benefit of that in this past year, but we have more to do there.

我認為隨著時間的推移，我們確實減少了每罐的促銷費用。因此，當您考慮價格差距時，如果您願意的話，您將其稱為市場競爭產品的方式，您將在類別增長時進行投資，因此您將這些產品納入考慮範圍。我談到了帶來一些數據分析。我想你在過去的一年裡看到了這樣做的好處，但我們還有更多工作要做。

And I think as we continue to progress and move forward, we feel good about it. I don't want you to think, though, it's all discount. It's all priced off. That's to induce trial. We really see it as a complete marketing ecosystem, if you will, and I hate to use the business term, but it's surrounding the consumer and really meeting them where they're at in their journey and then supporting them in that journey to fully transition over, if you will, from cigarettes to this novel oil pulps. And so that's where we're at. We feel good about the progress we've made thus far, but we certainly have to continue to drive awareness of the trial.

而且我認為隨著我們繼續進步和前進，我們對此感覺良好。不過，我不想讓你認為，這都是折扣。都降價了那是引審。我們確實將其視為一個完整的營銷生態系統，如果你願意的話，我討厭使用商業術語，但它圍繞著消費者，真正地在他們的旅程中與他們會面，然後在這個旅程中支持他們完全過渡結束，如果你願意的話，從香煙到這種新穎的油漿。這就是我們所處的位置。我們對迄今為止取得的進展感到滿意，但我們當然必須繼續提高對該試驗的認識。

That's very clear. And yes, you are complete rises. It has been fantastic progress for one. And if I could squeeze in just one more if you don't mind, is that Marlboro has indeed done very well, and congratulations for that. But for the rest of your portfolio as small as it is versus Marlboro, what steps are you taking to defend your market share versus pressure both from peers on the very top end of the price plan and the bottom end?

這很清楚。是的，你完全升職了。對於一個人來說，這是一個了不起的進步。如果您不介意的話，我可以再擠一個，萬寶路確實做得很好，對此表示祝賀。但是對於你的其餘投資組合，儘管它與萬寶路相比規模較小，你將採取哪些措施來捍衛你的市場份額，以應對來自價格計劃最高端和最低端同行的壓力？

Yes. I would say if you look at growth, I would say the growth, if you look at competitors, has really been at the very, very bottom end. Sal highlighted in his comments, there are a number of major manufacturers that have what we would consider branded discount priced in deep discount space. And so when we look at total portfolios for some of those, we don't see the benefit of having gone down to that low price tier. They may grow one brand to the detriment of another brand within the discount space. So we want to participate in the discount category. We think it's important, but we certainly don't want to grow the discount category.

是的。我會說，如果你看增長，我會說，如果你看競爭對手，增長確實處於非常、非常低端。 Sal 在他的評論中強調，有許多主要製造商擁有我們認為在深度折扣空間定價的品牌折扣。因此，當我們查看其中一些的總投資組合時，我們看不到降到那個低價位的好處。他們可能會在折扣空間內發展一個品牌而損害另一個品牌。所以我們要參加折扣類。我們認為這很重要，但我們當然不想增加折扣類別。

And I think being premium focus where we feel the profitability and the high loyalty is in the cigarette space is an important place to play, and that's where we're focused. And as Sal highlighted for you, our premium brands are growing total premium share of the premium space is growing through time on the backs of Marlboro. So we're pleased with that. We talk about the RGM tools, so I won't repeat that, but being able to continue to get closer to a consumer-by-consumer basis and meet them where they're at when they have needs is where we're headed, and we're excited about that progress.

而且我認為，在我們感受到捲菸領域的盈利能力和高忠誠度的地方，成為高端焦點是一個重要的地方，這就是我們關注的地方。正如 Sal 向您強調的那樣，在萬寶路的支持下，我們的高端品牌在高端市場中的總高端份額正在不斷增長。所以我們對此感到滿意。我們談論 RGM 工具，所以我不會重複，但能夠繼續接近每個消費者的基礎，並在他們有需要時滿足他們的需求，這就是我們的前進方向，我們對這一進展感到興奮。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Priya Ohri-Gupta with Barclays.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Priya Ohri-Gupta。

So I really appreciate your commentary, Sal, around the intent to pay down your upcoming maturity later this month. I guess as we take us back, your euro-denominated debt has really sort of come down, I guess, partly driven by sort of the income that you're receiving from the ABI stake given that, that was sort of a natural hedge. Given where sort of your euro exposure stands now in terms of your debt portfolio, are you pretty comfortable with where that is? Or is there a need to continue to grow that euro exposure over time, either synthetically or through outright issuance in that market?

所以我真的很感謝你的評論，Sal，關於在本月晚些時候償還你即將到期的款項的意圖。我想當我們把我們帶回來時，你的以歐元計價的債務確實有所下降，我想，部分原因是你從 ABI 股份中獲得的收入，因為這是一種自然的對沖。考慮到您目前在債務投資組合中的歐元風險敞口，您對目前的狀況感到滿意嗎？或者是否有必要隨著時間的推移，通過合成方式或通過在該市場的直接發行來繼續增加歐元敞口？

Yes. Priya, first, I'm going to start my answer by just reiterating, I really have nothing to report. And as it pertains to ABI. We continue to believe holding the asset is in the best interest -- long-term interest of our stakeholders. Second, I would tell you that while we have flexibility, it's really a market-by-market analysis and a transaction-by-transaction analysis related to what markets we may or may not enter as we think about managing our debt going forward. So that's kind of how I would answer your question.

是的。 Priya，首先，我要通過重申來開始我的回答，我真的沒有什麼可報告的。因為它與 ABI 有關。我們仍然相信持有資產符合最佳利益——我們利益相關者的長期利益。其次，我會告訴你，雖然我們有靈活性，但它實際上是逐個市場分析和逐筆交易分析，涉及我們在考慮未來管理債務時可能進入或不進入哪些市場。這就是我回答你問題的方式。

At this time, we will open the Q&A to members of the media. (Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Jennifer Maloney with the Wall Street Journal.

屆時，我們將開放媒體問答環節。 （操作員說明）我們將接受《華爾街日報》詹妮弗馬洛尼的下一個問題。

My first question is about your JUUL valuation. I thought that you lowered the value of your stake to a price that values JUUL at $714 million. I wondered if you could explain the reasoning behind that valuation decrease. I was a little surprised because in the fourth quarter, JUUL resolved a large part of the litigation that it faced, which eliminate some of the uncertainty around the company. So could you explain that valuation?

我的第一個問題是關於你的 JUUL 估值。我認為你將你的股份價值降低到 JUUL 的估值為 7.14 億美元。我想知道你是否可以解釋估值下降背後的原因。我有點驚訝，因為在第四季度，JUUL 解決了它面臨的很大一部分訴訟，這消除了公司周圍的一些不確定性。那麼你能解釋一下這個估值嗎？

Sure. First, I'll remind you that we had taken an impairment related to litigation, and we really captured it within kind of our overall discount rate of the JUUL assets. So we had accounted for that. But on a quarterly basis, the way we account for JUUL is has us run an analysis of the fair market value of the investment.

當然。首先，我要提醒你，我們已經進行了與訴訟相關的減值，我們確實在 JUUL 資產的整體貼現率中捕獲了它。所以我們已經考慮到了這一點。但按季度計算，我們計算 JUUL 的方式是讓我們對投資的公平市場價值進行分析。

It's not publicly traded, so we have to do an independent analysis. And from quarter-to-quarter, there's going to be changes, and we've been pretty communicative about that. This quarter, it did -- our investment was reduced to $100 million and it's really macro driven, it's really macroeconomics and other factors that are considered when doing that analysis.

它沒有公開交易，因此我們必須進行獨立分析。每個季度都會有變化，我們對此進行了很好的交流。本季度，確實如此——我們的投資減少到 1 億美元，這確實是宏觀驅動的，在進行分析時確實考慮了宏觀經濟和其他因素。

So things like inflation and possible recession?

那麼諸如通貨膨脹和可能的經濟衰退之類的事情呢？

Yes, macro market conditions, inflation discount rates, things like interest rates, consumer dynamics, all of that goes into the analysis.

是的，宏觀市場狀況、通貨膨脹貼現率、利率、消費者動態等所有這些都進入了分析。

You'll know, Jennifer, when you build a discount rate, it starts with a risk-free rate. So certainly, the interest rate increases we've seen through time are going to continue to impact it as long as they're still on an upward trajectory.

你會知道，詹妮弗，當你建立貼現率時，它是從無風險利率開始的。因此，可以肯定的是，只要它們仍處於上升軌道，我們隨著時間的推移看到的加息將繼續影響它。

Got it. My second question is a little more color around the consumer purchasing patterns right now. Can you talk a little bit more about what your same consumer is doing, the volume has come down. So is it because people are making fewer trips to the store to purchase cigarettes? Or are they buying less each time? Can you sort of talk about what the actual pattern is?

知道了。我的第二個問題是現在消費者購買模式的更多顏色。你能多談談你的同一個消費者在做什麼嗎，音量已經下降了。那麼這是因為人們減少了去商店購買香煙的次數嗎？或者他們每次都買得更少？你能談談實際的模式是什麼嗎？

Yes, it's a great question. What we're seeing is as we see mobility increase, if you will, the U.S. is coming out of the COVID pandemic, we're actually seeing a return to more frequent trips. Remember, our consumer pre-COVID would go either every day or every other day. I think what you're seeing and what consumers tend to do when they get under economic pressure is they reduced their number of nicotine occasions in a day. So through time, that factors into their purchasing behavior. You see a little bit, and we highlighted that, which was the consumers that are under dire economic conditions at times will either switch out or trade out to a cheaper brand.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我們看到的是流動性增加，如果你願意的話，美國正在擺脫 COVID 大流行，我們實際上正在看到更頻繁的旅行回歸。請記住，我們的消費者在 COVID 之前會每天或每隔一天去一次。我認為你所看到的以及消費者在經濟壓力下傾向於做的事情是他們減少了一天中使用尼古丁的次數。因此，隨著時間的推移，這會影響他們的購買行為。你看到一點，我們強調，這是有時處於嚴峻經濟條件下的消費者要么換掉，要么換成更便宜的品牌。

We try to give them a safe landing place within the mobile franchise. But as far as a number of trips, we haven't seen a reduction in the number of trips, it's more about through time, reducing the no communications.

我們試圖在移動特許經營中為他們提供一個安全的著陸點。但就旅行次數而言，我們並沒有看到旅行次數的減少，更多的是通過時間，減少沒有溝通的情況。

I see. So they're smoking fewer cigarettes per day.

我懂了。所以他們每天吸更少的香煙。

That's correct. So remember, as we came into the -- there's no change in the overall trend, if you will, the long-term trend. As we went through COVID, there was less mobility, less societal pressures, we actually saw what we believe nicotine occasions go up. We see in -- when the economic conditions on the macroeconomic environment is greatly impacting the consumer, they will strict their nicotine occasions as they become more comfortable with that they tend to return to a normal trend.

這是正確的。所以請記住，當我們進入 - 整體趨勢沒有變化，如果你願意的話，長期趨勢。當我們經歷 COVID 時，流動性降低，社會壓力減少，我們實際上看到了我們認為尼古丁出現的情況。我們看到——當宏觀經濟環境的經濟狀況對消費者產生巨大影響時，他們會限制他們的尼古丁攝入量，因為他們變得更加舒適，他們往往會恢復到正常趨勢。

It appears at this time we have no further questions. I'll turn the call back over to Mac Livingston, for any additional or closing remarks.

看來此時我們沒有進一步的問題了。我會將電話轉回給 Mac Livingston，以徵求任何補充意見或結束意見。

Thanks to everyone for joining us. Please contact the Investor Relations team if you have further questions. Thanks, and have a great day.

感謝大家加入我們。如果您有其他問題，請聯繫投資者關係團隊。謝謝，祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連接。