明晟 (MSCI) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the MSCI Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，美好的一天，歡迎參加 MSCI 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。提醒一下，此通話正在錄音。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the call over to Jeremy Ulan, Head of Investor Relations and Treasurer. You may begin.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係主管兼財務主管 Jeremy Ulan。你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good day and welcome to the MSCI Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Earlier this morning, we issued a press release announcing our results for the second quarter 2023. This press release, along with an earnings presentation we will reference on this call as well as a briefly quarterly update, are available on our website, msci.com, under the Investor Relations tab.

謝謝。美好的一天，歡迎參加 MSCI 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。今天早上早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布 2023 年第二季度的業績。該新聞稿以及我們將在本次電話會議上參考的收益演示以及簡要的季度更新，可在我們的網站 msci.com 上獲取，在投資者關係選項卡下。

Let me remind you that this call contains forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made and are governed by the language on the second slide of today's presentation. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, please see the risk factors and forward-looking statements disclaimer in our most recent Form 10-K and in our other SEC filings.

讓我提醒您，本次電話會議包含前瞻性陳述。請注意，不要過分依賴前瞻性陳述，這些陳述僅代表發布當日的情況，並受今天演示文稿第二張幻燈片上的語言管轄。有關其他風險和不確定性的討論，請參閱我們最新的 10-K 表格和其他 SEC 文件中的風險因素和前瞻性聲明免責聲明。

During today's call, in addition to results presented on the basis of U.S. GAAP, we also refer to non-GAAP measures, including, but not limited to, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA expenses, adjusted EPS and free cash flow. We believe our non-GAAP measures facilitate meaningful period-to-period comparisons and provide insight into our core operating performance. You'll find a reconciliation to the equivalent GAAP measures in the earnings materials and an explanation of why we deem this information to be meaningful as well as how management uses these measures in the appendix of the earnings presentation.

在今天的電話會議中，除了根據美國公認會計準則公佈的業績外，我們還參考了非公認會計準則指標，包括但不限於調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的 EBITDA 費用、調整後的每股收益和自由現金流。我們相信，我們的非公認會計準則指標有助於進行有意義的同期比較，並提供對我們核心經營業績的深入了解。您將在收益材料中找到對等 GAAP 衡量標準的調節表，並在收益演示文稿的附錄中解釋為什麼我們認為此信息有意義，以及管理層如何使用這些衡量標準。

We will also discuss run rate, which estimates at a particular point in time the annualized value of the recurring revenues under our client agreements for the next 12 months, subject to a variety of adjustments and exclusions that we detail in our SEC filings. As a result of those adjustments and exclusions, the actual amount of recurring revenues we will realize over the following 12 months will differ from run rate. We therefore caution you not to place undue reliance on run rate to estimate or forecast recurring revenues. We will also discuss organic growth figures, which exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency and the impact of any acquisitions or divestitures.

我們還將討論運行率，即在特定時間點估計未來 12 個月客戶協議項下經常性收入的年化價值，並受到我們在 SEC 文件中詳細說明的各種調整和排除的影響。由於這些調整和排除，我們在接下來的 12 個月內實現的實際經常性收入將與運行率有所不同。因此，我們提醒您不要過分依賴運行率來估計或預測經常性收入。我們還將討論有機增長數據，其中不包括外幣變化的影響以及任何收購或剝離的影響。

On the call today are Henry Fernandez, our Chairman and CEO; Baer Pettit, our President and COO; and Andy Wiechmann, our Chief Financial Officer. (Operator Instructions) And our goal is to devote more of our earnings calls to the Q&A segment.

今天參加電話會議的是我們的董事長兼首席執行官亨利·費爾南德斯 (Henry Fernandez)； Baer Pettit，我們的總裁兼首席運營官；以及我們的首席財務官安迪·維赫曼 (Andy Wiechmann)。 （操作員說明）我們的目標是將更多的財報電話會議投入到問答環節。

With that, let me now turn the call over to Henry Fernandez. Henry?

現在，讓我將電話轉給亨利·費爾南德斯。亨利？

Thank you, Jeremy. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. During the second quarter, MSCI delivered another solid performance against a fluid market environment. We achieved adjusted EPS growth of 17%, organic revenue growth of 13% and organic subscription run rate growth of 11%. We also maintain our laser focus on profitability, demonstrating rigorous financial and capital management.

謝謝你，傑里米。大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。第二季度，摩根士丹利資本國際 (MSCI) 在動蕩的市場環境中再次表現穩健。我們的調整後每股收益增長了 17%，有機收入增長了 13%，有機訂閱運行率增長了 11%。我們還保持對盈利能力的高度關注，表現出嚴格的財務和資本管理。

Our capital allocation framework has not changed. We will opportunistically buy back shares, support our dividend policy and accelerate our strategy through bolt-on acquisitions. Most notably, our share repurchases since the beginning of the second quarter have totaled nearly $460 million. MSCI has repurchased close to 50 million shares or nearly 40% of our total shares outstanding from the end of 2012, and we intend to keep the same focus and discipline.

我們的資本配置框架沒有改變。我們將擇機回購股票，支持我們的股息政策，並通過補強收購加速我們的戰略。最值得注意的是，自第二季度初以來我們的股票回購總額已接近 4.6 億美元。自 2012 年底起，MSCI 已回購近 5,000 萬股股票，占我們已發行股票總數的近 40%，我們打算保持同樣的重點和紀律。

All of this confirms the strength and durability of our business. One of our consistent differentiators is that MSCI can be nimble and flexible in significantly adjusting expenses up and down, depending on the operating environment. This helped stabilize our profitability through periods of market turmoil. More broadly, MSCI continues to benefit from our globally diversified and integrated franchise.

所有這些都證實了我們業務的實力和持久性。我們一貫的優勢之一是 MSCI 可以根據運營環境靈活地大幅調整費用。這有助於我們在市場動盪時期穩定盈利能力。更廣泛地說，MSCI 繼續受益於我們的全球多元化和一體化特許經營權。

In the second quarter, we delivered our 38th consecutive quarter of double-digit subscription run rate growth in Index. We also had a strong quarter in Analytics, posting our highest second quarter retention rate ever of over 95% and recurring net new sales growth of 46% in equity portfolio management. In addition, we delivered 70% Climate run rate growth across our product lines, along with a Climate retention rate of over 97%.

第二季度，我們的指數訂閱運行率連續第 38 個季度實現兩位數增長。我們在分析方面也有一個強勁的季度，第二季度的保留率達到了有史以來最高，超過 95%，股票投資組合管理的經常性淨新銷售增長了 46%。此外，我們的整個產品線的氣候運行率增長了 70%，氣候保留率超過 97%。

Our ESG run rate growth firm-wide grew 18%, and the retention rate from our ESG and Climate product segment remain resilient at 97%. This shows that despite tightening budgets, our clients continue to make ESG and Climate a top priority.

我們全公司的 ESG 運行率增長了 18%，ESG 和氣候產品部門的保留率保持在 97% 的彈性水平。這表明，儘管預算緊縮，我們的客戶仍然將 ESG 和氣候作為首要任務。

During my recent client trips to Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe and parts of the U.S., ESG was the most popular topic clients wanted to discuss. For that matter, when the IBM Institute for Business Value recently surveyed corporate executives across 22 industries, 76% of them said ESG is now central to their business strategy. This reinforces our belief that ESG risks and opportunities are investment risks and opportunities. With all of that in mind, MSCI is working to accelerate our ESG and Climate product launches. Our climate solutions continue to drive growth across the company, and they have helped us build momentum across client segments.

在我最近訪問亞洲、中東、西歐和美國部分地區的客戶期間，ESG 是客戶最想討論的話題。就此而言，當 IBM 商業價值研究院最近對 22 個行業的企業高管進行調查時，76% 的人表示 ESG 現在是其業務戰略的核心。這強化了我們的信念：ESG 風險和機遇就是投資風險和機遇。考慮到所有這些，MSCI 正在努力加快我們的 ESG 和氣候產品的推出。我們的氣候解決方案繼續推動整個公司的增長，並幫助我們在各個客戶群中建立動力。

This gets to a larger point. The integration and interoperability of our product line, what we call our One MSCI ecosystem, can dramatically increase value and efficiency for our clients. We further amplify those benefits through our open architecture for clients and other outside parties and through MSCI's role as a standard setter, industry connector and innovation hub. All of this represents our greatest competitive advantage as a company. It highlights our unique position in the industry, our unique mix of capabilities and our unique range of client segments.

這涉及到一個更大的問題。我們產品線的集成和互操作性（我們稱之為“One MSCI 生態系統”）可以顯著提高客戶的價值和效率。我們通過為客戶和其他外部各方提供的開放式架構以及 MSCI 作為標準制定者、行業連接者和創新中心的角色，進一步擴大這些優勢。所有這些都代表了我們作為一家公司最大的競爭優勢。它凸顯了我們在行業中的獨特地位、我們獨特的能力組合以及我們獨特的客戶群範圍。

Indeed, MSCI is now well placed to capitalize on major trends in shaping the industry. Those trends include the acceleration and -- of the adoption of Index investing, the continued shift to outcome-oriented, rules-based, technology-driven portfolio construction; the rise in demand for sustainable investments and climate solutions; the growing role of regulation; and the increased allocations to Private Assets.

事實上，摩根士丹利資本國際 (MSCI) 現在處於有利地位，可以利用塑造行業的主要趨勢。這些趨勢包括加速採用指數投資、持續轉向以結果為導向、基於規則、技術驅動的投資組合構建；對可持續投資和氣候解決方案的需求增加；監管作用日益增強；以及增加對私人資產的配置。

As our strategy evolves to capture new opportunities, which will require new investments, MSCI will stay firmly committed to financial discipline and high profitability. Those commitments have always anchored our strategy in the past, and they will continue anchoring our strategy in the future.

隨著我們的戰略不斷發展以抓住新的機遇，這將需要新的投資，MSCI 將堅定地致力於財務紀律和高盈利能力。這些承諾過去一直是我們戰略的基礎，未來也將繼續是我們戰略的基礎。

And with that, let me turn the call over to Baer.

接下來，讓我把電話轉給貝爾。

Thank you, Henry, and greetings, everyone. My comments today will cover MSCI's business performance and also provide an update on our continued technology transformation. Our flagship Index segment achieved a number of milestones, including 12% subscription run rate growth with 14% growth in Asia Pacific. We drove record onetime sales primarily from our recently launched float data products, which delivered nearly $8 million in gross sales. These deals facilitate deep engagement with clients while creating entry points for future recurring subscription sales.

謝謝你，亨利，並向大家問好。我今天的評論將涵蓋 MSCI 的業務表現，並提供有關我們持續技術轉型的最新信息。我們的旗艦指數細分市場實現了多個里程碑，包括訂閱運行率增長 12%，其中亞太地區增長 14%。我們主要通過最近推出的浮動數據產品推動創紀錄的一次性銷售額，該產品實現了近 800 萬美元的總銷售額。這些交易促進了與客戶的深入互動，同時為未來的定期訂閱銷售創造了切入點。

We also achieved record second quarter results for net new and new recurring sales in Index. Globally, there were 20 newly available ETF products based on MSCI indexes during the quarter, 12 of which were based on MSCI ESG and Climate indexes. During the quarter, 96% of industry inflows into ETF products domiciled and sponsored by European fund managers were linked to MSCI indexes. All of this confirms the critical and growing role that our Index segment plays in global investing, trading and portfolio construction.

我們第二季度的指數淨新銷售額和新經常性銷售額也創下了歷史新高。全球範圍內，本季度新增 20 只基於 MSCI 指數的 ETF 產品，其中 12 只基於 MSCI ESG 和氣候指數。本季度，歐洲基金經理註冊和保薦的 ETF 產品的行業資金流入中，96% 與 MSCI 指數掛鉤。所有這些都證實了我們的指數部分在全球投資、交易和投資組合構建中發揮著至關重要且日益增長的作用。

Turning to our ESG and Climate reporting segment. We delivered overall run rate growth of 26%, while our retention rate was nearly 97%. As I can confirm from my client meetings during the quarter, demand for our ESG products remains high, fueled by regulatory pressure for high-quality data, MSCI's comprehensive coverage and the transparency provided by our solutions.

轉向我們的 ESG 和氣候報告部分。我們的總體運行率增長了 26%，而保留率接近 97%。正如我在本季度的客戶會議上可以確認的那樣，在高質量數據的監管壓力、MSCI 的全面覆蓋以及我們的解決方案提供的透明度的推動下，對我們 ESG 產品的需求仍然很高。

Looking at Climate subscription specifically. We delivered run rate growth of over 40% with both asset managers and asset owners and over 75% run rate growth with banks, insurance, wealth management and hedge funds collectively. Meanwhile, AUM in ETF products based on MSCI Climate indexes totaled $71 billion at the end of June, which represented approximately 67% market share on the basis of AUM. As with ESG, both government regulations and voluntary disclosures continue to drive demand for advanced climate tools.

特別關注氣候訂閱。我們與資產管理公司和資產所有者的運行率增長超過 40%，與銀行、保險、財富管理和對沖基金的運行率總體增長超過 75%。與此同時，截至6月底，基於MSCI氣候指數的ETF產品的資產管理規模總計710億美元，按資產管理規模計算，約佔市場份額的67%。與 ESG 一樣，政府法規和自願披露繼續推動對先進氣候工具的需求。

Let me now turn to our Analytics segment. During the second quarter, MSCI achieved subscription run rate growth of 6.6% in Analytics, including 13% growth in equity portfolio management with notable strength in the hedge fund segment. We also posted our highest second quarter ever for retention at 95.2% and net new sales of about $11 million in Analytics.

現在讓我談談我們的分析部分。第二季度，MSCI 的 Analytics 訂閱運行率增長了 6.6%，其中股票投資組合管理增長了 13%，在對沖基金領域表現強勁。我們還公佈了第二季度有史以來最高的 Analytics 留存率（95.2%）和淨新銷售額約 1100 萬美元。

By providing investment risk and performance workflows in Analytics, we develop deep connectivity and access to client portfolios. This in turn helps us deliver additional innovative services, such as our ESG and Climate regulatory reporting solutions, including for the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. In fact, during the first half of 2023, MSCI delivered more than 47,000 total climate reports enabled by our Analytics reporting engines.

通過在分析中提供投資風險和績效工作流程，我們開發了深度連接和對客戶投資組合的訪問。這反過來又幫助我們提供額外的創新服務，例如我們的 ESG 和氣候監管報告解決方案，包括可持續財務披露法規。事實上，在 2023 年上半年，MSCI 通過我們的分析報告引擎交付了超過 47,000 份氣候報告。

Shifting to our Real Assets segment. It was a tough quarter in a challenging environment with historically low global commercial real estate activity. In that environment, our Real Assets segment posted overall run rate growth of 9% excluding FX and a retention rate of close to 93%. Regionally, we also achieved 14% Real Assets run rate growth in Asia Pacific, 10% growth in the Americas and 8% growth in EMEA.

轉向我們的實物資產部分。在充滿挑戰的環境中，這是一個艱難的季度，全球商業房地產活動處於歷史低位。在這種環境下，我們的實物資產部門（不包括外匯）的整體運行率增長了 9%，保留率接近 93%。從地區來看，我們在亞太地區的實際資產運行率也實現了 14% 的增長，在美洲實現了 10% 的增長，在歐洲、中東和非洲實現了 8% 的增長。

As MSCI explores new ways to turn raw data into actionable investment insights, we continue moving forward with our technology transformation. Generative AI and large language models are a big part of that. We've been using AI and natural language processing for a decade now to enhance our content. Given our deep expertise in modeling and data analysis, this is second nature to MSCI.

隨著 MSCI 探索將原始數據轉化為可行的投資見解的新方法，我們將繼續推進技術轉型。生成式人工智能和大型語言模型是其中的重要組成部分。十年來，我們一直在使用人工智能和自然語言處理來增強我們的內容。鑑於我們在建模和數據分析方面深厚的專業知識，這是 MSCI 的第二天性。

In ESG research, for example, AI helps us analyze and update more than 7 million data points per month with inputs from more than 4,700 news sources, 150 alternative data sources, 12,000 corporate websites and submissions from more than 5,200 corporate issuers. We have also used generative AI and LLMs to help us identify, extract and validate EU taxonomy data 4x faster than our previous capabilities. These data represent crucial inputs for EU regulatory reporting.

例如，在 ESG 研究中，人工智能每月幫助我們分析和更新超過 700 萬個數據點，其中包括來自 4,700 多個新聞來源、150 個替代數據源、12,000 個企業網站以及 5,200 多家企業發行人提交的信息。我們還使用生成式人工智能和法學碩士來幫助我們識別、提取和驗證歐盟分類數據，速度比之前的速度快 4 倍。這些數據代表了歐盟監管報告的重要輸入。

In Analytics, we use natural language processing and deep learning in our models to identify securities with similar characteristics, to examine emerging industries and to support quantitative investing and systematic alpha use cases. We're also deploying AI in our corporate functions such as finance to help automate contract review, extract information and process invoice.

在分析中，我們在模型中使用自然語言處理和深度學習來識別具有相似特徵的證券，檢查新興行業並支持定量投資和系統性阿爾法用例。我們還在財務等公司職能中部署人工智能，以幫助自動化合同審查、提取信息和處理髮票。

MSCI is embracing generative AI to enhance the client experience and operate more efficiently. In particular, we are leveraging AI to continue evolving our data processing, audit and quality mechanism. In addition, we are working to integrate AI into our MSCI ONE platform to proactively deliver actionable insights for client portfolios.

MSCI 正在採用生成式人工智能來增強客戶體驗並提高運營效率。特別是，我們正在利用人工智能繼續發展我們的數據處理、審計和質量機制。此外，我們正在努力將人工智能整合到我們的 MSCI ONE 平台中，以主動為客戶投資組合提供可行的見解。

Investments in data and technology are central to our long-term strategy. Combining those investments with our strong commercial focus supports our ability to deliver solid performance amid external challenges. I'm confident that by staying focused and disciplined in our operations and financial management, MSCI will be able to deliver for our clients and our shareholders.

對數據和技術的投資是我們長期戰略的核心。將這些投資與我們強大的商業重點相結合，支持我們在外部挑戰中提供穩定業績的能力。我相信，通過在運營和財務管理中保持專注和遵守紀律，MSCI 將能夠為我們的客戶和股東帶來回報。

And with that, let me turn the call over to Andy. Andy?

接下來，讓我把電話轉給安迪。安迪？

Thanks, Baer, and hi, everyone. During the quarter, it was encouraging to see the breadth of opportunities and diversity of revenue streams driving our solid top line growth. This included very strong nonrecurring revenue, which more than offset some of the lingering cyclical impacts we saw in parts of our asset-based fees. And we delivered solid double-digit subscription run rate growth with a remarkably stable retention rate despite some of the market pressures.

謝謝貝爾，大家好。在本季度，令人鼓舞的是，廣泛的機會和收入來源的多樣性推動了我們穩健的收入增長。這包括非常強勁的非經常性收入，這足以抵消我們在部分基於資產的費用中看到的一些揮之不去的周期性影響。儘管面臨一些市場壓力，我們的訂閱運行率仍實現了兩位數的穩定增長，保留率也非常穩定。

In Index, client demand was broad-based with double-digit subscription run rate growth for all of our subproduct areas, including market cap modules, ESG and Climate modules, factor modules and custom Index offerings. Our run rate growth with asset managers and asset owners was 10% and 12%, respectively. Collectively, these client segments represent about 70% of our Index subscription run rate.

在指數方面，客戶需求基礎廣泛，我們所有子產品領域的訂閱運行率均實現兩位數增長，包括市值模塊、ESG 和氣候模塊、因子模塊和定制指數產品。我們與資產管理者和資產所有者的運行率增長率分別為 10% 和 12%。總的來說，這些客戶群體約占我們指數訂閱運行率的 70%。

Asset-based fees have swung to positive growth, driven by a rebound in AUM-linked revenues, which were supported by both market appreciation and strong inflows. Since the end of March, we've seen $18.7 billion of inflows into MSCI-linked equity ETFs, which combined with a gradual rebound in market levels, has driven AUM balances to increase by over $67 billion. There were net inflows of $15.6 billion into MSCI-linked ETFs with geographic exposures to developed markets outside the U.S. and $3.1 billion of inflows into MSCI-linked ETFs with emerging market exposures.

在與資產管理規模相關的收入反彈的推動下，基於資產的費用已轉向正增長，這受到市場升值和強勁資金流入的支持。自 3 月底以來，已有 187 億美元流入 MSCI 相關股票 ETF，加上市場水平逐步反彈，推動資產管理規模餘額增加超過 670 億美元。擁有美國以外發達市場地理風險敞口的 MSCI 掛鉤 ETF 淨流入 156 億美元，新興市場敞口 MSCI 掛鉤 ETF 淨流入 31 億美元。

From a product lens, there were $5.2 billion of inflows into ETFs linked to MSCI ESG and Climate indexes, while $2.5 billion of inflows went to ETFs linked to MSCI factor indexes fueled by strong flows into the quality factor. In fact, the AUM balance of equity ETFs linked to MSCI indexes was greater than $1.4 trillion as of July 20. Volumes from listed futures and options linked to MSCI indexes were lower year-over-year relative to the high volatility environment we saw a year ago. This is consistent with what we would expect to see when AUM balances rebound.

從產品角度來看，有 52 億美元流入與 MSCI ESG 和氣候指數相關的 ETF，而 25 億美元的資金流入與 MSCI 因子指數相關的 ETF，這主要是由於流入質量因子的強勁資金所致。事實上，截至 7 月 20 日，與 MSCI 指數掛鉤的股票 ETF 的 AUM 餘額超過 1.4 萬億美元。與我們去年看到的高波動環境相比，與 MSCI 指數掛鉤的上市期貨和期權交易量同比有所下降。前。這與我們預期資產管理規模餘額反彈時所看到的情況一致。

In Analytics, subscription run rate growth was 7%. We had another quarter of very strong equity factor model sales as clients continue to turn to us to help understand risk and market factors in this dynamic environment. And our strong retention rate underscores the mission-critical nature of our tools, particularly in these challenging times.

在 Analytics 中，訂閱運行率增長率為 7%。隨著客戶繼續向我們求助，以幫助了解這個動態環境中的風險和市場因素，我們又一個季度的股權因子模型銷售非常強勁。我們強大的保留率凸顯了我們工具的關鍵任務性質，特別是在這個充滿挑戰的時代。

In June, we delivered roughly 47,000 liquidity analytics reports per day for our clients, which is up 15% from our average daily levels in December. We now process over 850 million security holdings daily on behalf of our clients in Analytics, a testament to the scale at which investors rely on us for their most important portfolio decisions. And the capabilities across Analytics are incredibly strategic for the firm, helping to fuel growth across product areas; although as we've mentioned before, we continue to expect new sales and cancels to be lumpy quarter-to-quarter in Analytics.

6 月份，我們每天為客戶提供約 47,000 份流動性分析報告，比 12 月份的日均水平增長了 15%。現在，我們每天在 Analytics 中代表客戶處理超過 8.5 億股證券，這證明了投資者在做出最重要的投資組合決策時對我們的依賴程度。分析能力對於公司來說具有難以置信的戰略意義，有助於推動跨產品領域的增長；儘管正如我們之前提到的，我們仍然預計分析中的新銷售和取消銷售將按季度波動。

In our ESG and Climate reportable segment, our run rate grew 26% with 22% growth in ESG and 50% growth in Climate. The volume of large ticket deals has improved from last quarter, although still down from last year's levels. Net new recurring sales improved 20% since the first quarter but were down meaningfully from a record second quarter last year, reflecting more measured purchasing decisions and longer sales cycles from our clients. We continue to have conviction in our long-term targets of mid- to high-20% growth given the numerous layers of opportunities and the powerful secular drivers. As Henry and Baer mentioned, our long-term opportunities remain durable and attractive for both ESG and Climate.

在我們的 ESG 和氣候報告部分，我們的運行率增長了 26%，其中 ESG 增長了 22%，氣候增長了 50%。大宗門票交易量較上季度有所改善，但仍低於去年水平。自第一季度以來，淨新經常性銷售額增長了 20%，但較去年第二季度創紀錄的水平大幅下降，反映出我們客戶的採購決策更加審慎，銷售週期更長。鑑於眾多機會和強大的長期驅動力，我們仍然對 20% 中高端增長的長期目標充滿信心。正如 Henry 和 Baer 提到的，我們的長期機會對於 ESG 和氣候而言仍然持久且有吸引力。

In Real Assets, we drove 9% organic run rate growth. As Baer indicated, our benchmarking and market and portfolio insights offerings remain strong with double-digit organic growth, while sales and retention of our transaction data products were more muted as they are cyclically correlated with the reduced volume of commercial real estate transactions. We continue to execute on our Real Asset product road map, and we are seeing early and encouraging demand for products like our mortgage debt intel offering.

在實物資產方面，我們推動了 9% 的有機運行率增長。正如貝爾所指出的，我們的基準測試、市場和投資組合洞察產品仍然強勁，實現了兩位數的有機增長，而我們的交易數據產品的銷售和保留則更加溫和，因為它們與商業房地產交易量的減少呈週期性相關。我們繼續執行我們的實物資產產品路線圖，我們看到了對抵押債務英特爾產品等產品的早期和令人鼓舞的需求。

These solid operating results across the business helped drive 17% growth in adjusted EPS in the second quarter. Helping to fuel the growth, we had very strong nonrecurring revenue in the quarter, benefiting from strong sales of our index free float product. While these nonrecurring revenues will fluctuate meaningfully quarter-to-quarter, we continue to see healthy growth in the underlying demand for many of the products that are often sold as nonrecurring, such as index licenses for OTC derivatives, history data products and other unique data sets as well as Analytics implementations. Importantly, these sales often open the door for broader conversations and can convert into recurring subscriptions.

整個業務的穩健運營業績推動第二季度調整後每股收益增長 17%。受益於指數自由流通量產品的強勁銷售，我們在本季度獲得了非常強勁的非經常性收入，這有助於推動增長。雖然這些非經常性收入將按季度大幅波動，但我們繼續看到許多經常作為非經常性銷售的產品的潛在需求健康增長，例如場外衍生品的指數許可證、歷史數據產品和其他獨特數據集以及分析實施。重要的是，這些銷售通常為更廣泛的對話打開了大門，並且可以轉化為定期訂閱。

Share repurchases drove $0.06 of the year-over-year increase as our consistent approach allowed us to continue to capitalize on attractive opportunities. It's worth noting that our free cash flow conversion and collections were reasonably strong in the quarter, although continue to remain somewhat cautious on collection activity for the balance of the year. We ended June with a cash balance of nearly $800 million, enabling us to remain positioned for strength.

股票回購推動了 0.06 美元的同比增長，因為我們一貫的做法使我們能夠繼續利用有吸引力的機會。值得注意的是，儘管我們對今年剩餘時間的收款活動繼續保持謹慎態度，但本季度我們的自由現金流轉換和收款相當強勁。 6 月底，我們的現金餘額接近 8 億美元，使我們能夠保持實力。

Finally, I would like to provide some color on our 2023 guidance, which remains mostly unchanged and assumes market levels remain relatively flat for the balance of the year. We have left our expense guidance ranges unchanged; although if market levels remain stable at current levels or increase further, we could be towards the top half of our expense ranges.

最後，我想對我們的 2023 年指引提供一些說明，該指引基本保持不變，並假設今年剩餘時間市場水平保持相對平穩。我們維持費用指導範圍不變；儘管如果市場水平保持穩定在當前水平或進一步增加，我們可能會接近費用範圍的上半部分。

On CapEx, we have modestly increased our guidance range, mainly reflecting our increased pace of capitalized software development costs. We remain excited and encouraged by the strong client engagement we are seeing across numerous growth opportunities, and we continue to be closely aligned with employees to capitalize on the long-term trends transforming the investment industry. We look forward to keeping you posted on our progress.

在資本支出方面，我們適度提高了指導範圍，主要反映了我們資本化軟件開發成本的增長步伐。我們在眾多增長機會中看到客戶的強烈參與，對此我們仍然感到興奮和鼓舞，並且我們繼續與員工密切合作，以利用改變投資行業的長期趨勢。我們期待向您通報我們的進展。

And with that, operator, please open the line for questions.

那麼，接線員，請開通提問線路。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Toni Kaplan with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）我們將接受摩根士丹利托尼·卡普蘭 (Toni Kaplan) 提出的第一個問題。

I wanted to ask about the recent ESG regulatory proposal in Europe. I guess as it reads now, how do you see it impacting your business? And are there structural changes needed? Or are you operating already in a way that would comply with the new rules?

我想問一下歐洲最近的ESG監管提案。我想正如它現在所讀的那樣，您如何看待它對您的業務的影響？是否需要進行結構性改變？或者您的運營方式是否已符合新規則？

Toni, Baer here. So look, a few observations. So the first one is that we do think we're well positioned to make this transition to the new regulatory environment. There are certain standards and ways of operating inherent to the regulation, which as you suggested, I believe we're meeting. But there will inevitably be some new aspects to that, but those will also hit all of our competitors. So it's a level playing field in that regard. And we believe that we -- as we -- an index, we can be a leader in meeting regulatory standards.

托尼，貝爾在這裡。所以看，一些觀察。因此，第一個問題是，我們確實認為我們已經做好了向新監管環境過渡的準備。該法規固有的某些標準和運作方式，正如您所建議的，我相信我們正在滿足這些標準和操作方式。但不可避免地會出現一些新的方面，但這些也會對我們所有的競爭對手造成打擊。所以在這方面這是一個公平的競爭環境。我們相信，作為一個指數，我們可以成為滿足監管標準的領導者。

And then more broadly, the -- our regulation is in parallel with our clients' regulation. And in turn, what that reflects is how critical the sustainability agenda is in Europe. And overall, that creates a significant opportunity for us.

更廣泛地說，我們的監管與客戶的監管是並行的。反過來，這反映出可持續發展議程在歐洲的重要性。總的來說，這為我們創造了一個重要的機會。

Great. Wanted to also ask about on the Index side of the business, you've had very strong success over a long period of time. I guess first, could we see the ESG slowdown start to impact the Index business at all just given ESG indices revenue is embedded in there? And maybe also when you think about sustainability of growth within indices itself, do you see any changes in the environment going forward? Or just still structurally similar to what we've seen over the last number of quarters and years?

偉大的。我還想問一下在指數業務方面，你們在很長一段時間內取得了非常巨大的成功。我想首先，考慮到 ESG 指數收入嵌入其中，我們是否會看到 ESG 放緩開始影響指數業務？也許當您考慮指數本身增長的可持續性時，您是否看到未來環境發生任何變化？或者只是在結構上仍然與我們過去幾個季度和幾年所看到的相似？

So first of all, we believe strongly based on plan discussions and strategy meetings among ourself that the index opportunity, it's only begun, that this trend will continue for years and decades to come. And it's predicated on our view and our clients' view that indices are basis of portfolios, indices are tools to build portfolios. And the more comprehensive and global the portfolio is in terms of security selection, the more the need for underlying information and underlying organization of that. It's mentioned about securities in the context of an index, which then becomes the basis of our portfolio.

因此，首先，根據我們之間的計劃討論和戰略會議，我們堅信指數機會才剛剛開始，這種趨勢將持續數年甚至數十年。這是基於我們和客戶的觀點，即指數是投資組合的基礎，指數是構建投資組合的工具。就證券選擇而言，投資組合越全面、越全球化，就越需要底層信息和底層組織。在指數的背景下提到了證券，指數成為我們投資組合的基礎。

So we saw this trend on market exposures with market cap indices, which continues unabated. We then moved on to factor indices, which have became very, very popular and continue to grow. We then moved on to ESG indices. We're now very much into the climate index phase. We're also accelerating our thematic indices.

因此，我們在市值指數的市場敞口中看到了這種趨勢，而且這種趨勢有增無減。然後我們轉向因子指數，它已經變得非常非常流行並且持續增長。然後我們轉向 ESG 指數。我們現在已經進入氣候指數階段。我們還在加速我們的主題指數。

So if you think about it, we're -- in addition to market cap indices, which are simple exposures to market, we are moving into what we call nonmarket cap indices, which are indices built on demand on an investment thesis and demand for -- by clients. So again, these are ways of organizing the securities of the world according to certain variables, whether it's an industry variable, a climate, a thematic, a factor or whatever variable, and they become extremely valuable for people who are building portfolios across those variables, whether they want to then launch an active management product, whether they want to launch a passive one, whether they want to launch structured products or listed derivatives, it's all the same concept, which is a basket, a large basket of securities organized in different ways.

因此，如果你想一想，除了市值指數（簡單的市場敞口）之外，我們還將進入所謂的非市值指數，這些指數是根據投資理論和需求建立的指數。 ——由客戶。再說一遍，這些是根據某些變量來組織世界證券的方法，無論是行業變量、氣候、主題、因素還是任何變量，對於跨這些變量構建投資組合的人們來說，它們變得極其有價值然後不管是要推出主動管理產品，還是要推出被動管理產品，無論是要推出結構性產品還是上市衍生品，都是一個概念，就是一個籃子，一大籃子證券，組織起來。不同的方式。

To achieve that, you need to have a lot of underlying information about those securities. You have to know everything about their ESG profile, their climate profile, their thematic profile, their factor profile. So MSCI is turning into a giant equity research shop to try to understand the characteristics of securities so we can organize them that way.

為了實現這一目標，您需要掌握有關這些證券的大量基礎信息。你必須了解他們的 ESG 概況、氣候概況、主題概況、因素概況的一切。因此，摩根士丹利資本國際 (MSCI) 正在轉變為一個巨大的股票研究機構，試圖了解證券的特徵，以便我們能夠以這種方式組織它們。

And everywhere we go in our shareholder base, people are waiting to -- waiting for the shoe to drop on the Index business, and we think it's the opposite. We think that this business will accelerate in the years to come in all the use cases. We're now witnessing the direct indexing revolution as well that is going to make it more efficient for -- to build personalized, customized individual portfolios.

無論我們走到哪裡，我們的股東群中的人們都在等待——等待指數業務的成功，而我們認為情況恰恰相反。我們認為這項業務在未來幾年的所有用例中都將加速發展。我們現在也正在見證直接索引革命，這將使其更有效地構建個性化、定制的個人投資組合。

So anyhow -- so I think that, that is where we are. That's what we see from our clients. That's what we see from the ground up and the like. And with respect to ESG, we're big believers that ESG is investment risk. And it's not we. Our clients are telling us, ESG is investment risk. ESG is part of the fundamental analysis of securities. It cannot be avoided. So therefore, that will continue unabated in all aspects, whether it's ratings or research or screening, but importantly, in the foundational element of building indices.

所以無論如何——所以我認為，這就是我們現在的處境。這就是我們從客戶那裡看到的。這就是我們從頭開始看到的等等。就 ESG 而言，我們堅信 ESG 就是投資風險。而這不是我們。我們的客戶告訴我們，ESG 就是投資風險。 ESG 是證券基本面分析的一部分。這是無法避免的。因此，無論是評級、研究還是篩選，這在各個方面都將繼續有增無減，但重要的是，在構建指數的基本要素方面。

We'll take our next question from Alex Kramm with UBS Financial.

我們將回答瑞銀金融集團的亞歷克斯·克拉姆 (Alex Kramm) 提出的下一個問題。

A quick question on ESG and Climate. I think when I compare today's sentiment and tone from you guys relative to last quarter, there's a markedly more positive sentiment. Now I don't know if that is because last quarter, you were talking a lot about the political and regulatory paralysis. In this quarter, you will focus more on the long term. So maybe you can just talk about why the more positive tone. And then importantly, given that there was a little bit more focus on the long term today, which is understandable, how do you feel about the near term? Very slight improvement quarter-over-quarter, but clearly still a lot of uncertainty.

關於 ESG 和氣候的簡單問題。我認為，當我將今天的情緒和基調與上個季度相比時，會發現情緒明顯更加積極。現在我不知道這是否是因為上個季度，你們談論了很多關於政治和監管癱瘓的問題。在本季度，您將更加關注長期目標。所以也許你可以談談為什麼語氣更積極。然後重要的是，考慮到今天人們更加關注長期，這是可以理解的，您對近期有何看法？季度環比略有改善，但顯然仍然存在很多不確定性。

So Manav (sic) [Alex], the reality is we feel exactly the same a quarter ago that we feel today. Maybe in the call, we go into political issues or this or that, and therefore, it can mess up the message. And that's a problem that we blame it on us. In terms of communicating, the overriding message is -- and therefore, we feel fundamentally the same.

所以馬納夫（原文如此）[亞歷克斯]，現實是我們四分之一前的感覺與今天的感覺完全相同。也許在電話中，我們會涉及政治問題或這個或那個，因此，它可能會搞亂信息。我們把這個問題歸咎於我們自己。在溝通方面，最重要的信息是——因此，我們的感覺基本上是一樣的。

And by the way, look, we're not zealots, we're not philosophers, we're not idealogues. We are grounded business people, and we see what our clients are going through in the investment process and we talk to them extensively. We review that among us and all of that, and there is no alternative path but to believe that ESG will continue to be central to the investment process.

順便說一句，你看，我們不是狂熱分子，我們不是哲學家，我們不是理想主義者。我們是腳踏實地的商人，我們了解客戶在投資過程中的經歷，並與他們進行廣泛的交談。我們回顧了我們和所有這一切，除了相信 ESG 將繼續成為投資過程的核心之外，別無選擇。

There was a client of ours who said to me one time, "Look, Henry, this is very simple. The 70 years of fundamental analysis of security is focused on market, products, competition and all that. They never focus on the internal workings of the company." And what ESG partly is about the internal workings of the company. What are the motivations? What are the governance issues? What are the social issues of -- what are -- how do they view the environmental issues and all of that? And that should be part of the investment process.

我們的一位客戶有一次對我說：“聽著，亨利，這很簡單。70 年來的安全基本面分析都集中在市場、產品、競爭等方面。他們從不關注內部運作。”該公司的。” ESG 部分涉及公司的內部運作。動機是什麼？治理問題有哪些？他們如何看待環境問題以及所有這些問題？這應該是投資過程的一部分。

So therefore, I think in my view, look -- and this is not just me speaking, I was just on the road for 6 months talking to clients all over the world. And the answer was that, Alex, is that honestly, everyone wants to talk about this because when I incorporate it in what they do every single day. Look, we can argue all day long. We can look -- talk at the political picture, the big picture and all of that. But from the ground up, we do not know anybody in the world that doesn't want to take ESG considerations into account in the creation of the investment process.

因此，我認為，在我看來，這不僅僅是我在說，我只是在路上與世界各地的客戶交談了 6 個月。亞歷克斯，答案是，老實說，每個人都想談論這個，因為當我將其融入到他們每天所做的事情中時。瞧，我們可以爭論一整天。我們可以看看——談論政治圖景、大局以及所有這些。但從一開始，我們發現世界上沒有人不想在投資流程的創建過程中考慮 ESG 因素。

One last thing that I would say is that even in those states in the U.S. where there is a lot of political pressure on the pension plan to abandon looking at, I think, from the ESG perspective, the people -- the investment teams of those places are telling us that they cannot do that because the rest of the world is going to take them into account. And if they do, it's going to lead to repricing of securities. And they don't want to get caught holding the bag.

我要說的最後一件事是，即使在美國那些養老金計劃面臨很大政治壓力的州，我認為，從 ESG 的角度來看，他們的投資團隊也會放棄關注這些人。一些地方告訴我們他們不能這樣做，因為世界其他地方會考慮到他們。如果他們這樣做，將導致證券重新定價。他們不想被抓包。

So look, that is the bottom-up, on-the-ground description on what happens. And we can talk about it all day long as to whether (inaudible), but what I'm telling you is the reality is that it is investment risk, it is investment opportunity, it is fundamental to the investment process, and people are going to have to continue to take it into account for decades and generations to come.

看，這是對所發生情況的自下而上、實地描述。我們可以整天談論是否（聽不清），但我告訴你的是現實是，這是投資風險，這是投資機會，它是投資過程的基礎，人們正在必須在幾十年和未來幾代人的時間裡繼續考慮到這一點。

All right. Fair enough. And then just switching gears very quickly on the Analytics side. Noted, obviously, the strong performance, new sales, et cetera. I think you've also, given the inflationary environment, been a little bit more strong on price. So maybe you can just differentiate how much came from pricing relative to new logos or new core sales. And given that the inflationary environment is probably softening a little bit, just wondering how you feel about the sustainability of growth in Analytics.

好的。很公平。然後在分析方面快速切換。顯然，我們注意到了強勁的業績、新的銷售等等。我認為，考慮到通脹環境，你們在價格方面也採取了更強硬的態度。因此，也許您可以區分相對於新徽標或新核心銷售的定價有多少。鑑於通貨膨脹環境可能會有所緩和，只是想知道您對分析增長的可持續性有何看法。

Sure. Yes. Alex, it's Andy. So maybe just more broadly touching on price increases. We continue to get traction rolling out higher increases than we have in recent years. The contribution to overall recurring sales, new recurring sales continues to be relatively consistent across the company with what we've seen in the last couple of quarters, which is mid-30% contribution to overall new sales.

當然。是的。亞歷克斯，這是安迪。所以也許只是更廣泛地涉及價格上漲。我們繼續獲得牽引力，推出比近年來更高的增幅。整個公司的新經常性銷售對整體經常性銷售的貢獻仍然與我們在過去幾個季度所看到的相對一致，即對整體新銷售的貢獻為 30% 左右。

Analytics, as you alluded to, we have been rolling out, like the rest of the company, higher price increases. Although I'd say we are being more measured and more strategic, we focus heavily on the use of our product, the health of the client, the value that we are adding. And that's probably the most important point, the continued value that we're adding to the product and the service that we're delivering as well as the clients' overall usage of our tools. I think it is an important lever for us, and I think it's something we'll continue to focus on here.

分析，正如您提到的，我們和公司其他部門一樣，一直在推出更高的價格上漲。儘管我想說，我們更加謹慎、更具戰略性，但我們主要關注產品的使用、客戶的健康以及我們所增加的價值。這可能是最重要的一點，我們為我們提供的產品和服務以及客戶對我們工具的整體使用增加的持續價值。我認為這對我們來說是一個重要的槓桿，我認為這是我們將繼續關注的事情。

Obviously, we do monitor the overall pricing environment. But I think the broader considerations around the value that we're adding in client usage are probably more important on the Analytics side.

顯然，我們確實監控整體定價環境。但我認為，在分析方面，圍繞我們在客戶使用中增加的價值進行更廣泛的考慮可能更為重要。

We'll take our next question from Manav Patnaik with Barclays.

我們將回答巴克萊銀行馬納夫·帕特奈克 (Manav Patnaik) 提出的下一個問題。

If I could just follow up on the ESG segment. Just looking out into the second half, I guess, it's a little bit hard to figure out some kind of seasonality in that net new business number over the last couple of years. If you could just help us with what you expect in the second half, especially in the context of, I think, Henry, you mentioned an acceleration of new products in the ESG and Climate. Is that going to start impacting second half already?

如果我能跟進 ESG 部分就好了。我想，只要展望下半年，就很難弄清楚過去幾年淨新業務數據的某種季節性。如果您能幫助我們實現您對下半年的期望，特別是在我認為亨利的背景下，您提到了 ESG 和氣候方面新產品的加速。這會開始影響下半年嗎？

So Manav, I'm sorry if I misspoke earlier. I didn't recognize the German accent versus the Indian accent. Sorry about that. But look, the -- it's hard to say. I mean the pipeline remains pretty good and pretty solid. Some things are going to accelerate from ESG, some things may not. In the context of clearly there is a consolidation process going on in Europe, people trying to make sure they classify their funds, they comply to the regs and all that. And in the U.S., they're looking for the same things.

所以馬納夫，如果我之前說錯了，我很抱歉。我分不清德國口音和印度口音。對於那個很抱歉。但是看，這很難說。我的意思是管道仍然非常好而且非常堅固。有些事情會通過 ESG 加速，有些事情可能不會。在歐洲顯然正在進行整合過程的背景下，人們試圖確保他們對基金進行分類，遵守法規等等。在美國，他們也在尋找同樣的東西。

But in reality, our clients are coming to us and asking us for a lot more ESG information. They want to have more. They want more granularity of the data. They want to organize in a way that they can analyze it better because they now have a higher risk of regulatory compliance issues. They want us to be -- to put more pieces describing this whole process for the marketing campaign. They want a significant expansion of the coverage of the universe of issuers that we rate on ESG. They want changes to the ESG methodologies in some respects. They want an update on what we -- how we're incorporating climate into ESG and so on and so forth.

但實際上，我們的客戶來找我們，要求我們提供更多 ESG 信息。他們想要擁有更多。他們想要更精細的數據。他們希望以一種可以更好地分析的方式進行組織，因為他們現在面臨更高的監管合規問題風險。他們希望我們為營銷活動提供更多描述整個過程的文章。他們希望顯著擴大我們對 ESG 進行評級的發行人范圍。他們希望在某些方面改變 ESG 方法。他們希望了解我們如何將氣候納入 ESG 等方面的最新信息。

So we have a lot of demand for what we do. And of course, over time, that will translate into sales. Right now, we're in a cyclical soft period in ESG, and it's logical. We've been running at a breakneck pace for years now. And there have been changes going on in the regulatory environment in Europe because there's been noise in the political environment in the U.S. and all of that. But at the end of the day, people are now focused on how are they going to continue to integrate this in a fashion that is even more granular, even more prescriptive, even more comprehensive and all of that. And that's what we're looking to expand on. So our investment will have to increase and our sales over time beyond these cyclical soft are going to increase.

所以我們所做的事情有很多需求。當然，隨著時間的推移，這將轉化為銷售額。目前，我們正處於 ESG 的周期性疲軟期，這是合乎邏輯的。多年來我們一直以驚人的速度奔跑。歐洲的監管環境正在發生變化，因為美國的政治環境出現了噪音等等。但歸根結底，人們現在關注的是如何繼續以一種更精細、更規範、更全面的方式整合這一點。這就是我們希望擴展的內容。因此，我們的投資必須增加，隨著時間的推移，我們的銷售額將超出這些週期性軟件的範圍。

Got it. Okay. And then last quarter, you talked about M&A pretty proactively. And I guess with the stock pullback, you went into the buyback -- into the stock buyback market, which made sense. So just any updates on that M&A pipeline?

知道了。好的。上個季度，您非常積極地談論了併購。我想隨著股票回調，你進入了股票回購市場，這是有道理的。那麼有關併購渠道的任何更新嗎？

Yes. So Manav, maybe I'll just broaden it to our approach to capital allocation, and then I can touch on M&A. So I would underscore, and we mentioned this in the prepared remarks, that our approach to capital allocation really remains unchanged and consistent. We are focused on delivering a consistent and increasing dividend, pursuing opportunistic share buybacks and continually focused on strategic bolt-on M&A.

是的。所以馬納夫，也許我會將其擴展到我們的資本配置方法，然後我可以談談併購。因此，我要強調，我們在準備好的發言中提到了這一點，我們的資本配置方法確實保持不變且一致。我們專注於提供持續且不斷增加的股息，追求機會性股票回購，並持續專注於戰略性補強併購。

And so as you saw in the quarter, our approach to repurchases has remained consistent, where we tend to repurchase more when we have more cash, when we see more volatility and when we see share prices where we have more conviction. And those 3 factors lined up in the quarter, and so we took advantage.

因此，正如您在本季度看到的那樣，我們的回購方法保持一致，當我們擁有更多現金、當我們看到更多波動以及當我們看到我們更有信心的股價時，我們傾向於回購更多股票。這三個因素在本季度同時出現，所以我們利用了這一優勢。

On the M&A point, listen, we continue to actively explore a number of opportunities. We have seen an increase in conversations due to the harder environment for capital raising from many early-stage companies that would be strategic for us. And we are hoping we can find some unique opportunities, but we remain disciplined. And so we're going to continue to remain very disciplined on price and strategic fit. And by their nature, M&A is opportunistic. And so there's no certainty around it, but bolt-on M&A remains a key focus for us and part of our strategy.

關於併購這一點，聽著，我們繼續積極探索一些機會。由於許多對我們具有戰略意義的早期公司的融資環境變得更加困難，我們看到對話有所增加。我們希望能夠找到一些獨特的機會，但我們仍然保持紀律。因此，我們將繼續在價格和戰略配合方面保持嚴格的紀律。從本質上來說，併購是機會主義的。因此，這並沒有確定性，但補強併購仍然是我們的重點，也是我們戰略的一部分。

We'll take our next question from Alexander Hess with JPMorgan.

我們將回答摩根大通的亞歷山大·赫斯 (Alexander Hess) 提出的下一個問題。

Briefly following up on some of the ESG and Climate questions already asked today. If I compare your ESG and Climate maybe product portfolio and product ambitions for the next year or 2 to what you guys had laid out as your road map in your 2021 Investor Day, where have you guys sort of seen the most momentum versus your plan back then? What has maybe been pushed to the back and -- to the back burner? And what has changed since that plan was announced.

簡要跟進今天已經提出的一些 ESG 和氣候問題。如果我將你們未來一兩年的 ESG 和氣候產品組合和產品雄心與你們在 2021 年投資者日制定的路線圖進行比較，你們在哪裡看到了與你們的計劃相比最具動力的地方然後？哪些事情可能被推到了次要的位置？自該計劃宣布以來發生了什麼變化。

Well, look, to be honest, I don't have the exact Investor Day presentation in my head, but I have a pretty good sense of what we said. So overall, I think we're very much in line with the broad direction of what we indicated there. I think the element that has to a degree changed is that the distinction between ESG and Climate has become greater than we thought at that time. And the climate agenda has its own specific topics, needs, regulatory framework, et cetera, distinct from ESG.

好吧，說實話，我腦子裡並沒有確切的投資者日演講，但我對我們所說的內容有很好的了解。總的來說，我認為我們非常符合我們在那裡指出的大方向。我認為必須在一定程度上改變的因素是 ESG 和氣候之間的區別比我們當時想像的要大。氣候議程有其自身特定的主題、需求、監管框架等，與 ESG 不同。

So I would say that increasingly, while there is -- there remains, of course, significant overlap between the 2, we are, in some regards, viewing them as distinct opportunity. And as we look forward to the next year, I would say that the range of climate solutions is doubtless larger in terms of regulatory needs, whether it be for banks, for asset managers, private company coverage on a kind of on-demand basis. And that doesn't mean in any way that the ESG product pipeline isn't also growing and being enhanced. It's just that I think the role of climate has become even more significant than we expected at that time.

因此，我想說，儘管兩者之間仍然存在明顯的重疊，但在某些方面，我們將它們視為獨特的機會。當我們展望明年時，我想說，就監管需求而言，氣候解決方案的範圍無疑會更大，無論是銀行、資產管理公司還是按需提供的私營公司覆蓋範圍。這並不意味著 ESG 產品渠道沒有增長和增強。只是我認為氣候的作用比我們當時的預期更加重要。

Great. And then maybe to follow up on the M&A question just asked. If you could maybe dimensionalize where you see opportunities in ESG versus in other parts of the business. And to what degree might recent EU regulations catalyze some desire for consolidation in ESG and Climate overall?

偉大的。然後也許可以跟進剛才提出的併購問題。如果您可以將 ESG 與業務其他部分的機會進行維度化。最近的歐盟法規可能會在多大程度上激發人們對 ESG 和氣候整體整合的渴望？

Sure. Yes. So listen, the areas where M&A is most strategic for us, in areas where we probably spend most of our time are the areas where we can get access to unique data sets, we can get access to unique capabilities or unique distribution. And so areas like ESG and Climate where data and capabilities are critical differentiators as well as areas like Private Assets are the areas where we spend most of our time.

當然。是的。所以聽著，併購對我們來說最具戰略意義的領域，在我們可能花費大部分時間的領域，我們可以訪問獨特的數據集，我們可以訪問獨特的能力或獨特的分佈。因此，ESG 和氣候等數據和能力是關鍵差異化因素的領域以及私人資產等領域是我們花費最多時間的領域。

And there are many small players that have developed capabilities or access to data points that we believe could be differentiators. And there's a long tail of those players, both on the Private Asset side and on the ESG and Climate side.

許多小型企業已經開發出能力或可以訪問數據點，我們認為這些能力可能是差異化因素。這些參與者都有長尾，無論是在私人資產方面還是在 ESG 和氣候方面。

I'd say the recent regulation is not something that is catalyzing more activity at this stage. To your point, I would say, over time, it will lend market dynamics to probably be a little bit more consolidated and tougher for smaller players to compete, and that potentially creates opportunities. But right now, our focus is on really accelerating our strategic road map, and we think M&A can be an accelerant there, although it doesn't need to be. And we have, as Baer was alluding to, a very rich pipeline of organic initiatives and new product launches on the horizon. M&A can just enhance that, but we're confident even without it.

我想說，最近的監管並沒有促進現階段更多的活動。就你的觀點而言，我想說，隨著時間的推移，這將使市場動態變得更加鞏固，讓較小的參與者更難以競爭，這可能會創造機會。但現在，我們的重點是真正加速我們的戰略路線圖，我們認為併購可以成為這方面的促進劑，儘管這不是必須的。正如貝爾所提到的，我們擁有非常豐富的有機計劃和即將推出的新產品。併購可以增強這一點，但即使沒有它，我們也充滿信心。

We'll take our next question from Owen Lau with Oppenheimer.

我們將回答 Owen Lau 和 Oppenheimer 提出的下一個問題。

So I think your market assumption earlier this year was down in the first half and then recover in the second half. But now the market it's up quite a bit in the first half. I'm just wondering how much conservatism do you have baked into your full year free cash flow guidance or there's any change in your investment plan for the second half? Any more color would be helpful.

所以我認為你今年早些時候的市場假設是上半年下降，然後下半年恢復。但現在市場上半年已經上漲了不少。我只是想知道您的全年自由現金流指引中有多少保守性，或者您下半年的投資計劃有什麼變化嗎？任何更多的顏色都會有幫助。

Sure. So I know you know this, Owen, but if you remember in prior quarters, the assumption underlying our guidance was that market levels will drop slightly and then rebound in the back half of the year. Needless to say, to your question, market levels have been running above those assumed levels. And so as a result, as I mentioned in the prepared remarks, if AUM levels stay at these current levels or increase, we will likely be in the top half of our guidance range on expenses as we recalibrate our spending and level of investment to those higher AUM levels.

當然。所以我知道你知道這一點，歐文，但如果你還記得在前幾個季度，我們指導的假設是市場水平將略有下降，然後在今年下半年反彈。不用說，對於你的問題，市場水平一直高於這些假設水平。因此，正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，如果資產管理規模水平保持在當前水平或增加，隨著我們根據這些水平重新調整支出和投資水平，我們可能會處於支出指導範圍的上半部分。更高的資產管理規模水平。

I don't want to comment too specifically on free cash flow guidance given that there are a wide range of factors that can swing that up and down even beyond business performance. Clearly, business performance and billings are something that help there, but there are a number of other things that can swing it. And so we continue to reiterate our guidance on the free cash flow front.

我不想對自由現金流指導進行過於具體的評論，因為有很多因素可以影響自由現金流的上下波動，甚至超出了業務績效。顯然，業務績效和賬單對此有所幫助，但還有許多其他因素可以改變它。因此，我們繼續重申我們對自由現金流方面的指導。

But listen, we continue to monitor the markets and calibrate our pace of spending. And I think it's one of the advantages of our business model is our ability to financially manage through all environments. And if AUMs are higher, we can hopefully capitalize and invest more.

但聽著，我們將繼續監控市場並調整我們的支出節奏。我認為我們商業模式的優勢之一是我們能夠在所有環境中進行財務管理。如果資產管理規模更高，我們就有希望進行更多資本化和投資。

Got it. And then could you please add more color on the growth driver of your Index subscription run rate in the second quarter? And also, it will be great if you can also remind us the growth map of your Index subscription run rate, which is how much of it is driven by pricing, new logos and also further penetration?

知道了。那麼您能否為第二季度指數認購率的增長動力添加更多色彩？另外，如果您還能提醒我們您的指數訂閱運行率的增長圖，那就太好了，其中有多少是由定價、新標識和進一步滲透驅動的？

Yes. As Henry alluded to, the overall Index subscription franchise has been quite solid for us. There's not one thing that I would call out driving the performance in the quarter. As we mentioned, we've seen double-digit growth across all module types. We've also seen double-digit growth across all geographic regions, and we've seen growth of 10% or higher across all major client segments. And so the success is broad-based.

是的。正如亨利提到的，整體指數訂閱特許經營權對我們來說相當穩固。我認為沒有一件事可以推動本季度的業績。正如我們提到的，我們看到所有模塊類型都實現了兩位數的增長。我們還看到所有地理區域都實現了兩位數的增長，並且所有主要客戶群都實現了 10% 或更高的增長。因此，成功是基礎廣泛的。

We did mention that we got a nice benefit from our newly launched free float data product, and that benefited us both on the nonrecurring side but also on the recurring subscription side. I'd say just as Henry alluded to, the overall performance is reflective of this trend of indexation, the growing ecosystem around our indexes and the growing value and utility of our index content in portfolio construction.

我們確實提到，我們從新推出的免費浮動數據產品中獲得了很大的好處，這使我們在非經常性方面和經常性訂閱方面都受益。我想說，正如亨利提到的那樣，整體表現反映了這種指數化趨勢、圍繞我們指數不斷發展的生態系統以及我們指數內容在投資組合構建中不斷增長的價值和效用。

Just on the algorithm, listen, I would say that the contribution from price within Index remains relatively consistent with what I've mentioned in recent quarters. So price is contributing around 40% or so, give or take a bit, to recurring -- new recurring sales within Index. That's a little bit higher than it's been in past years just given we are rolling out higher price increases. In addition to that, the biggest source of new sales for us is selling more to clients. And then the smallest component is new clients for us.

就算法而言，聽著，我想說的是，指數內價格的貢獻與我最近幾個季度提到的保持相對一致。因此，價格對指數內的經常性銷售（新的經常性銷售）的貢獻約為 40% 左右（或多或少）。鑑於我們正在推出更高的價格上漲，這一數字比過去幾年要高一些。除此之外，我們新銷售的最大來源是向客戶銷售更多產品。然後最小的組成部分是我們的新客戶。

We'll take our next question from Ashish Sabadra with RBC Capital Markets.

我們將回答 RBC 資本市場 Ashish Sabadra 的下一個問題。

Wanted to focus on the newly announced IFRS sustainability disclosure standards. The question there was how does that change the value proposition going forward? Does it change the competitive environment? And how does it improve the value proposition for ESG ratings?

希望重點關注新公佈的 IFRS 可持續發展披露標準。問題是這將如何改變未來的價值主張？它會改變競爭環境嗎？它如何改善 ESG 評級的價值主張？

Look, I think the context is one where there are numerous and significant regulatory changes ongoing for ESG. And we view them as significantly positive. So I don't think that there is this particular change that is material. It's the sum of all the changes that are occurring. And certainly, the likelihood that those will continue, including us being regulated which was mentioned earlier, which is a sign of how important regulators consider this topic to be.

看，我認為目前的環境是 ESG 方面正在進行大量重大的監管變化。我們認為它們非常積極。所以我認為這種特殊的變化並不重要。它是正在發生的所有變化的總和。當然，這些情況可能會繼續下去，包括我們之前提到的受到監管，這表明監管機構認為這個話題有多重要。

So going back to the distinction between the Americas and Europe, I think the -- we should discard the political noise and just make the simple statement that, that regulation has not come to the U.S. yet. And so that is more what I would put an emphasis on at the distinction rather than any other topic. So overall, it is the continued regulation, not merely in ESG but also in Climate and across all client types, which is a very significant growth engine for our business.

因此，回到美洲和歐洲之間的區別，我認為我們應該拋棄政治噪音，只是簡單地聲明，美國還沒有出台這一監管規定。因此，這才是我更想強調的區別，而不是任何其他主題。因此，總體而言，持續的監管不僅在 ESG 方面，而且在氣候方面以及所有客戶類型方面，都是我們業務非常重要的增長引擎。

That's very helpful color. And if I can follow up on the fund launches. Those particularly for ESG has been relatively muted. I was wondering how important new fund launches are for overall revenues. But also there is -- within the ESG, there is a shift from vanilla ESG funds to more of sustainability funds -- sustainability-themed funds. And how does that, again, improve the value proposition for MSCI?

這是非常有用的顏色。我是否可以跟進基金的推出情況。特別是針對 ESG 的呼聲相對較小。我想知道新基金的推出對整體收入有多重要。但在 ESG 內部，也有從普通 ESG 基金向更多可持續發展基金的轉變——以可持續發展為主題的基金。這又如何改善 MSCI 的價值主張？

Sure. So just maybe a few observations on this topic. As we alluded to before -- and this was particularly at the beginning of the year, and there have been changes in the regulatory environment regarding the classification of fund types 8 and 9. That is not over, but it's -- I would say the largest element is likely over. And we're very involved in those discussions both with clients and regulators. So that's what I would call a temporary administrative blip. But again, just to reiterate, in the context of a very positive regulatory environment for us, right?

當然。所以也許只是對這個主題的一些觀察。正如我們之前提到的，尤其是在今年年初，有關基金類型 8 和 9 分類的監管環境發生了變化。這還沒有結束，但我想說的是最大的元素可能已經結束了。我們積極參與與客戶和監管機構的討論。這就是我所說的臨時行政曇花一現。但再次重申，在我們擁有非常積極的監管環境的背景下，對嗎？

So I think that -- and then in terms of your observation regarding fund launches, there has been a steady trend for ESG funds to also include a more obvious climate component. And I think we'll continue to see a wide variety of those type of fund launches depending on the client type, the geography, et cetera, and the investment goals of the clients. So I think it's a pretty broad and diversified landscape.

因此，我認為，根據您對基金發行的觀察，ESG 基金也有一個穩定的趨勢，即包含更明顯的氣候成分。我認為我們將繼續看到各種各樣的此類基金的推出，具體取決於客戶類型、地理位置等以及客戶的投資目標。所以我認為這是一個相當廣闊和多元化的領域。

Let me just add something here in this context because oftentimes, the questions we get from shareholders and analysts is how underlying that regulation is a negative for MSCI. It's a huge positive. Now our clients don't love regulations. I mean we don't love -- we would rather operate without regulation than with regulation, but it's a reality of life. And once it comes and once you go make the adjustment, it becomes as a very strong tailwind for us because the clients need a lot more information to comply with the regulatory framework, more granular, more extensive, more this, more that.

讓我在此背景下補充一些內容，因為我們經常從股東和分析師那裡得到的問題是，監管對 MSCI 的負面影響有多大。這是一個巨大的積極因素。現在我們的客戶不喜歡法規。我的意思是我們不愛——我們寧願在沒有監管的情況下運作，也不願在有監管的情況下運作，但這就是生活的現實。一旦它到來，一旦你進行調整，它就會成為我們非常強大的推動力，因為客戶需要更多的信息來遵守監管框架，更細化、更廣泛、更多這個、更多那個。

And secondly, the regulation on us creates incredible competitive advantages because it puts a lot of other people at a disadvantage compared to people like us. So again, we don't go asking people to regulators, and we don't like it when it comes. But after a period of adjustment that we made, it becomes very positive for us.

其次，對我們的監管創造了令人難以置信的競爭優勢，因為與我們這樣的人相比，它使許多其他人處於不利地位。再說一次，我們不會去向監管機構詢問，而且我們也不喜歡這樣的事情發生。但經過一段時間的調整後，這對我們來說變得非常積極。

We'll take our next question from George Tong with Goldman Sachs.

我們將回答高盛的喬治·唐提出的下一個問題。

Can you discuss new recurring subscription sales trends you're seeing for ESG specifically excluding Climate over the past quarter? Has there been stabilization, improvement or a step back? And what are the puts and takes?

您能否討論一下您在過去一個季度中看到的 ESG（特別是不包括氣候）的新定期訂閱銷售趨勢？是穩定、改善還是退步？賣出和賣出是什麼？

Sure. Yes, I'd say the dynamics are reasonably consistent with what we saw last quarter. We're seeing similar dynamics there. I would say the growth continues to be slower in the Americas relative to EMEA. And in the U.S., we alluded to this earlier, many investors continue to take a more measured pace on how they are integrating ESG, and that is driving some of the longer sales cycles.

當然。是的，我想說，這種動態與我們上季度看到的情況相當一致。我們在那裡看到了類似的動態。我想說，相對於歐洲、中東和非洲地區，美洲的增長仍然較慢。在美國，我們之前提到過，許多投資者繼續更加謹慎地整合 ESG，這推動了一些更長的銷售週期。

I'd say U.S. investors and managers are really thinking about how ESG impacts their overall investment objective, how they differentiate themselves relative to competitors, how they market and position themselves externally. And so there is a maturation taking place. And so we continue to see longer sales cycles, most notably in the Americas on the ESG front.

我想說，美國投資者和管理者正在真正考慮 ESG 如何影響他們的整體投資目標，他們如何使自己相對於競爭對手脫穎而出，他們如何在外部進行營銷和定位。因此，成熟正在發生。因此，我們繼續看到更長的銷售週期，尤其是在 ESG 方面的美洲。

But as Henry alluded to, we continue to have a very rich dialogue with them. And the encouraging thing is we have the tools and the services that can help them on that maturation and on that journey.

但正如亨利提到的，我們繼續與他們進行非常豐富的對話。令人鼓舞的是，我們擁有可以幫助他們走向成熟並踏上這段旅程的工具和服務。

We'll take our next question from [Kelsey Zhou] with Autonomous.

我們將接受 Autonomous 的 [Kelsey Zhou] 提出的下一個問題。

So BlackRock has recently talked a lot about the growth opportunities in fixed income ETFs during its Investor Day. I was wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about your investments there and kind of the revenue potential in the fixed income space.

因此，貝萊德最近在投資者日期間多次談論了固定收益 ETF 的增長機會。我想知道您是否可以告訴我們更多有關您在那裡的投資以及固定收益領域的收入潛力的信息。

Great. Thank you for that question. So I would just distinguish two things. So clearly, we have partnerships with various fixed income providers, which have been very successful, notably with Bloomberg on ESG. So that's one element. And we really see -- continue to see a lot of upside in that.

偉大的。謝謝你提出這個問題。所以我只想區分兩件事。顯然，我們與各種固定收益提供商建立了合作夥伴關係，這些提供商非常成功，特別是在 ESG 方面與彭博社的合作。這就是其中一個要素。我們確實看到了——繼續看到這方面的很多好處。

Equally, very importantly, we launched not so long ago our own fixed income indexes, where we are looking to create very differentiated products which are either focused on ESG, climate angle and also on more liquid indexes which are more suited for tradable products. So we're in the very early stages of this.

同樣，非常重要的是，我們不久前推出了自己的固定收益指數，我們希望創建非常差異化的產品，這些產品要么專注於 ESG、氣候角度，要么專注於更適合可交易產品的流動性指數。所以我們正處於這個過程的早期階段。

And we're -- as -- which is a general MSCI approach, we're feeding some investments, but we're not going over the top. We've got a great pipeline for this year, clearly, from a very, very -- from a modest start, but we're likely exceeded our internal targets. So we really do believe that this is a growth opportunity, and in our case, from a small base. But I think that, hopefully, as we go through the end of this year and start to move into next year, our plan is for it to become something much more material.

我們正在提供一些投資，但我們不會過度投資，這是摩根士丹利資本國際 (MSCI) 的一般方法。顯然，今年我們有一個很好的管道，從一個非常非常小的開始，但我們很可能超出了我們的內部目標。因此，我們確實相信這是一個增長機會，就我們而言，這是一個從小基數開始的增長機會。但我認為，希望當我們度過今年年底並開始進入明年時，我們的計劃是讓它變得更加物質化。

Appreciate that. And then maybe just one more question on ESG. What needs to happen for net new subscription sales growth to reaccelerate again? Is it the macro conditions need to improve? Is it rate cuts? Is it the political dynamic needs to stabilize in the U.S.? Just curious to hear your view on this.

感謝。也許還有一個關於 ESG 的問題。需要做什麼才能使新訂閱銷售淨增長再次加速？是宏觀環境需要改善嗎？是降息嗎？這是美國政治動態需要穩定嗎？只是想听聽您對此的看法。

Yes. So first of all, it is already beginning to accelerate at a small pace in Europe after a period of understanding the regulation, classifying funds, understanding the ingredients that they need in order to market these funds as a sustainable investment funds and all of that, a lot of our European clients are beginning to go beyond that. They're beginning to say, okay, what are we going to do now? What kind of launches -- product launches, what kind of differentiation and all of that? And they're beginning to request a lot of different data from us, as I alluded to before.

是的。首先，經過一段時間的了解監管、對基金進行分類、了解將這些基金作為可持續投資基金進行營銷所需的成分以及所有這些之後，它已經開始在歐洲小幅加速，我們的許多歐洲客戶開始超越這一點。他們開始說，好吧，我們現在要做什麼？什麼樣的發布——產品發布、什麼樣的差異化等等？正如我之前提到的，他們開始向我們請求大量不同的數據。

That's not necessarily going to be a ramp up immediately, but it's beginning to preface, hopefully, an increase in sales and the like. Notice also that the high level of retention rates also speak to the fact that people are not abandoned in this area. So that's in the Europe.

這不一定會立即增加，但它開始預示著銷售額的增加等。另請注意，高保留率也說明了這一領域的人們並沒有被拋棄。這就是歐洲的情況。

In the U.S., I think we may spoke last quarter in which we talked about the political environment because that's what everyone is talking about. But look, does that have some effect or minor effect? Yes, it will because it affects the psychology of people.

在美國，我認為我們可能會在上個季度談到政治環境，因為這是每個人都在談論的內容。但是你看，這是否有一些影響或輕微影響？是的，會的，因為它會影響人們的心理。

But a lot more of what is going on in the U.S. is that the global -- remember, we play in the global equity markets. We not only play in the U.S. equity market. So the global equity markets in the past were muted. People were concerned about what the effect of the war in Europe and the recession in Europe and China, the opening or lack of opening or whatever. So a lot of our clients were more tightening their budgets with respect to global equity investing. And therefore, ESG is part of that process. ESG is part of global equity investing as well. So we saw a slowdown on that.

但美國正在發生的更多事情是全球性的——記住，我們在全球股票市場上玩。我們不僅參與美國股市。因此，過去全球股市表現平淡。人們關心歐洲戰爭、歐洲和中國經濟衰退的影響、開放或不開放等等。因此，我們的許多客戶在全球股權投資方面更加收緊預算。因此，ESG 是該過程的一部分。 ESG 也是全球股權投資的一部分。所以我們看到了這方面的放緩。

As we begin to see maybe some reopening, better reopening of China, some of the statements about the Chinese government in the last couple of days maybe creates a more forward momentum. We are seeing a lot of momentum in Japan. Europe is obviously stuck a little bit in the economic process there. But hopefully, the markets will get better in Europe as well. I think all of that will then bode well for higher sales of every type to U.S. asset managers as it relates to everything, but ESG in particular.

當我們開始看到中國可能重新開放、更好的重新開放時，過去幾天有關中國政府的一些聲明可能會創造更多的前進動力。我們在日本看到了巨大的勢頭。歐洲的經濟進程顯然有點陷入困境。但希望歐洲市場也能好起來。我認為所有這些都將預示著美國資產管理公司各類產品的銷售額都會增加，因為它與一切相關，尤其是 ESG。

The other thing to keep in mind is that the American asset managers not only manage money for U.S. investors, they manage money for European investors too. So those people need to also be part of the recovery of the demand for sustainable investments in Europe. So we hope to see a recovery from there as well.

另一件需要記住的事情是，美國資產管理公司不僅為美國投資者管理資金，也為歐洲投資者管理資金。因此，這些人也需要成為歐洲可持續投資需求復甦的一部分。因此，我們也希望看到從那裡開始復蘇。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Faiza Alwy with Deutsche Bank.

（操作員說明）我們將接受德意志銀行 Faiza Alwy 提出的下一個問題。

I wanted to talk about margins. And Andy, I was hoping you could give some perspective on segment-level margins. I noticed that while Index top line growth was really strong, we didn't see a lot of margin expansion. So curious if there's something as it relates to the new nonrecurring product. Or any other color around investments within Index? And then Analytics, margins declined and then ESG, margins were up on a year-over-year basis as were Private Assets. So curious on any perspective on any of those segments.

我想談談利潤。安迪，我希望你能就細分市場的利潤率發表一些看法。我注意到，雖然指數營收增長確實強勁，但我們並沒有看到利潤率大幅擴張。很好奇是否有與新的非經常性產品相關的東西。或者指數內投資的任何其他顏色？然後 Analytics 的利潤率下降，然後 ESG 的利潤率同比上升，私人資產也是如此。對這些細分市場的任何觀點都很好奇。

Sure. Yes. I would say I would not overly focus on the margins in any given segment in any period. And more generally, we are not focused heavily on segment margins or the company margin overall. Our primary focus is on driving strong EPS growth. The margin is an input into that, and our pace of spend is an input into that. But overall, we're really focused on driving that attractive EPS growth over time.

當然。是的。我想說，我不會過度關注任何時期任何特定細分市場的利潤。更一般地說，我們並不太關注部門利潤率或公司整體利潤率。我們的主要重點是推動每股收益的強勁增長。利潤率是其中的一個輸入，我們的支出速度也是其中的一個輸入。但總的來說，我們真正專注於隨著時間的推移推動每股收益的有吸引力的增長。

I would say segment margins are byproduct of investment opportunities that we have. And so our primary focus is on directing spend to those opportunities, which are going to be the fastest payback, the highest return for us and the most valuable, most strategic for us. And the margin is a byproduct of that.

我想說的是，分部利潤率是我們擁有的投資機會的副產品。因此，我們的主要重點是將支出引導到這些機會上，這將是最快的回報，對我們來說是最高的回報，對我們來說也是最有價值、最具戰略意義的。利潤率是其副產品。

The other factor that feeds into segment margins period-to-period which can cause some fluctuations are allocations. And so we do have a chunk of centralized costs that get allocated to our segments as well as FX. And so for all those reasons, the quarter-to-quarter margins are not something I would focus too much on.

另一個影響分部利潤率並可能導致波動的因素是分配。因此，我們確實有很大一部分集中成本被分配給我們的細分市場和外匯。因此，出於所有這些原因，我不會過多關注季度利潤率。

We'll take our next question from Seth Weber with Wells Fargo.

我們將回答富國銀行塞思·韋伯的下一個問題。

I appreciate the color on AI and generative AI. Maybe can you just touch on whether you see any risks there, disintermediation risks or anything like that? Or do you see this as more of an opportunity for the company?

我很欣賞人工智能和生成式人工智能的色彩。也許您可以談談您是否看到其中存在任何風險，脫媒風險或類似的風險？或者您認為這對公司來說更像是一個機會？

Look, we -- I think the way I would say it is we definitely view it as an opportunity, and we're never complacent about disintermediation, right? So the opportunity, I think, is twofold. We have an enormous range of very interesting data, which we can make ever more from -- for our clients, greater insights, more analysis that can feed things like modeling and indexes, et cetera. So I think we're -- so that's a key point.

聽著，我想我想說的是，我們絕對將其視為一個機會，並且我們永遠不會對脫媒感到自滿，對嗎？所以我認為機會是雙重的。我們擁有大量非常有趣的數據，我們可以從這些數據中獲得更多——為我們的客戶提供更深入的見解、更多的分析，可以為建模和索引等提供數據。所以我認為我們——所以這是一個關鍵點。

The second thing is precisely related to modeling is that these technologies, the true value added to them is not under or overspecifying the modeling in order to get great outputs. And we have an enormous amount of teams and research, et cetera, who are trained in this.

與建模精確相關的第二件事是，這些技術的真正附加值並不是為了獲得出色的輸出而低估或過度指定建模。我們有大量的團隊和研究人員等接受過這方面的培訓。

And then I think more generally, beyond that, there are big opportunities for us to create efficiencies as well. So the way I would say it is we need to not be complacent. We want to invest, we want to move as fast as we can, and we think that this can give us some competitive advantages. And we're not complacent about people who may be able to start new businesses or create new opportunities to start up some of these items.

我認為更廣泛地說，除此之外，我們還有很大的機會來提高效率。所以我想說的是，我們不能自滿。我們想要投資，我們想要盡快行動，我們認為這可以給我們帶來一些競爭優勢。對於那些可能能夠創辦新企業或創造新機會來創辦其中一些項目的人，我們不會感到自滿。

We'll take our next question from Heather Balsky of Bank of America.

我們將回答美國銀行的 Heather Balsky 的下一個問題。

I wanted to go back to earlier in the call when you spoke about being able to convert some of the nonrecurring index revenues over time. I'm curious if you can talk about sort of how that transition happens, how you're able to convert those revenues and kind of the pace at which you could do so.

我想回到電話會議的早些時候，當您談到能夠隨著時間的推移轉換一些非經常性指數收入時。我很好奇你是否能談談這種轉變是如何發生的、你如何能夠轉換這些收入以及你可以這樣做的速度。

Sure. Yes. And maybe I can just broaden it to touch on the nonrecurring revenues, which were quite high in the quarter. I would say we benefited from a very large contribution from onetime license fees related to prior periods. Specific to your question, we did also have a healthy contribution from onetime purchases of our free float data set. Oftentimes, that can broaden the conversation with a client to help them appreciate why some of that data and other unique data sets that we have are going to be integral to their ongoing strategy.

當然。是的。也許我可以將其範圍擴大到非經常性收入，該收入在本季度相當高。我想說，我們從與前期相關的一次性許可費中受益匪淺。針對您的問題，一次性購買我們的自由浮動數據集確實也做出了可觀的貢獻。通常，這可以擴大與客戶的對話，幫助他們理解為什麼我們擁有的一些數據和其他獨特的數據集將成為他們正在進行的戰略的一部分。

And so oftentimes, we will see an initial sale of a data set as a onetime sale and then they want to broaden the use of it, get updated data over time, and that converts into a subscription sale. So it's a helpful feeder for us.

通常，我們會看到數據集的初始銷售是一次性銷售，然後他們希望擴大數據集的使用範圍，隨著時間的推移獲取更新的數據，並將其轉化為訂閱銷售。所以它對我們來說是一個有用的餵食器。

I would say nonrecurring revenue is, by its nature, quite lumpy, which you've probably seen. We would expect it to revert to levels seen in recent quarters. But we do have a number of areas where there are kind of strong long-term demand dynamics, most notably in areas like over-the-counter derivatives and structured products as well, where we believe there could be healthy demand over time. And those are things that lead to repeat sales and another area where sometimes there can be a switch from more of a nonrecurring-type license to a recurring license over time if they become a frequent user for these over-the-counter instruments of our Index content.

我想說，就其本質而言，非經常性收入相當不穩定，這一點您可能已經看到了。我們預計它將恢復到最近幾個季度的水平。但我們確實在許多領域存在強勁的長期需求動態，尤其是在場外衍生品和結構性產品等領域，我們相信隨著時間的推移，這些領域可能會出現健康的需求。這些都是導致重複銷售的因素，而在另一個領域，如果他們成為我們指數中這些場外交易工具的頻繁用戶，隨著時間的推移，有時可能會從更多的非經常性許可證轉換為經常性許可證內容。

And just along those lines, what we call this, a nonrecurring line, many components of it reflect products and use cases that clients will use repeatedly, which hopefully will create more stability quarter-to-quarter.

正是沿著這些思路，我們稱之為非經常性產品線，它的許多組成部分反映了客戶將重複使用的產品和用例，這有望在每個季度創造更多的穩定性。

We'll take our next question from Craig Huber with Huber Research Partners.

我們將回答 Craig Huber 和 Huber Research Partners 提出的下一個問題。

Obviously, your numbers speak for themselves in a very positive way. But I'm curious, given all your various discussions with clients in Europe and the U.S., has the tone of business with clients from a budget standpoint -- from their budget standpoint, do you feel like it's loosening up some here? I mean obviously, your numbers, your data, your analytical tools are mission-critical, as you talked about earlier and stuff, but are you feeling that budget constraints out there sort of loosening up versus maybe how you were thinking 3 or 6 months ago?

顯然，你的數字以非常積極的方式說明了一切。但我很好奇，考慮到您與歐洲和美國客戶的各種討論，從預算的角度來看，與客戶的業務基調——從他們的預算角度來看，您是否覺得這裡放鬆了一些？我的意思顯然是，正如您之前談到的那樣，您的數字、您的數據、您的分析工具對於任務至關重要，但是與您 3 或 6 個月前的想法相比，您是否覺得預算限制有所放鬆？ ？

Well, first of all, the budgetary processes of our clients are pretty much set on an annual basis. And they don't remain extremely flexible up and down that much. There will be exceptions that they need to be run all the way to the senior management of our clients. So a lot of the budget for this year was set back in December and January.

嗯，首先，我們客戶的預算流程幾乎是按年度製定的。而且他們的上下活動也沒有那麼靈活。也有例外，它們需要一直傳達到我們客戶的高級管理層。因此，今年的很多預算都被推遲到了 12 月和 1 月。

But we are -- what we are seeing for sure is a slightly more positive tone to the global economy: in the case of the U.S., the soft landing; in the case of Europe, that the worst is over and that, hopefully, this energy crisis and the war in Ukraine is not going to create more havoc; and in the case of Japan, obviously, that they're trying to inflate the economy in order to grow faster; and obviously, in China, we're still trying to figure out what the government will do there.

但我們確實看到全球經濟的基調稍微積極一些：就美國而言，是軟著陸；就歐洲而言，最糟糕的時期已經過去，希望這場能源危機和烏克蘭戰爭不會造成更多破壞；就日本而言，顯然他們正試圖通過通貨膨脹來實現更快的增長；顯然，在中國，我們仍在努力弄清楚政府將在那裡做什麼。

So -- but there is that small amount of positivism. That will normally translate into slightly higher sales over time. And the reason is that we -- our clients end up allocating more money to us compared to the growth of their budgets than not. And therefore, they will be able to maybe spend less in other areas and spend more with us because a lot of what we sell them is mission-critical, is cutting-edge. It's something that is on-demand immediately from their own clients, et cetera.

所以——但是存在少量的實證主義。隨著時間的推移，這通常會轉化為略高的銷售額。原因是我們的客戶最終分配給我們的錢比他們預算的增長多。因此，他們可能會在其他領域花更少的錢，而在我們這里花更多的錢，因為我們賣給他們的很多東西都是關鍵任務，是尖端的。這是他們自己的客戶立即按需提供的東西，等等。

So compared to a quarter or 2 ago, yes, in which people were talking maybe by hard landing, these people were talking about inflation staying high for a very long period of time, et cetera. There is a little more positivism going on in the world.

因此，與一兩個季度前相比，是的，當時人們在談論可能是硬著陸，這些人在談論通脹在很長一段時間內保持在高位，等等。世界上存在著更多的實證主義。

We'll take our last question from Russell Quelch with Redburn.

我們將回答拉塞爾·奎爾奇和雷德伯恩提出的最後一個問題。

So I appreciate your earlier comments around growth in fixed income indices. S&P have obviously chosen to grow inorganically, acquiring the iBoxx and the CDX indices as part of their IHS Markit acquisition. So given the step up in the opportunity here as a result of the rise in global yields, might you consider an acquisition to accelerate your growth in fixed income and multi-asset indices? Or will you continue to be sort of selective and organic in your approach?

因此，我感謝您之前關於固定收益指數增長的評論。標準普爾顯然選擇了無機增長，在收購 IHS Markit 的過程中收購了 iBoxx 和 CDX 指數。因此，鑑於全球收益率上升導致機會增加，您是否可以考慮進行收購以加速固定收益和多元資產指數的增長？或者你會繼續採取選擇性和有機的方法嗎？

We will always consider an acquisition in the areas that we want to expand at the right price that creates shareholder value. And unfortunately, a lot of other people in our space buy assets maybe for different reasons. We only buy assets to create shareholder value in the short, medium and long term. So we're very financially disciplined even in areas that are very strategic to us. So we will always consider it at the right prices.

我們將始終考慮在我們希望以合適的價格擴張、創造股東價值的領域進行收購。不幸的是，我們領域的許多其他人可能出於不同的原因購買資產。我們購買資產只是為了在短期、中期和長期創造股東價值。因此，即使在對我們來說非常具有戰略意義的領域，我們也非常遵守財務紀律。所以我們總是會以合適的價格來考慮。

We have looked at everything and obviously, there's not a lot out there. So what we have purposely chosen is a path of organic growth in areas that we have significant competitive advantages. So for example, there are a lot of market cap businesses, issuance-weighted indices in the lingo of fixed income, issuance-weighted indices in the world. So we're not going to add a lot of value by deploying our capital to go out and launch of all family of issuance within indices.

我們已經查看了所有內容，顯然，沒有太多內容。因此，我們特意選擇了在我們擁有顯著競爭優勢的領域內進行有機增長的道路。例如，世界上有很多市值業務、固定收益術語中的發行加權指數、發行加權指數。因此，我們不會通過部署我們的資本來推出指數內的所有發行系列來增加很多價值。

The area that we're experts on is ESG and is in Climate and is in factors. And therefore, we are pushing our capital investment into those areas that we believe we have significant competitive advantages. I believe that, by the way, that fixed income will be one of the early places of most significant repricing of assets and recosting of capital and reallocation of capital with respect to Climate, probably more than equities and probably more than other asset classes. And the reason is that the largest players in the fixed income space, the banks and the insurance companies, are going to be under significant regulatory pressure to lower their climate risk in their corporate bond portfolios, in their mortgage portfolios, in their corporate loan portfolios and the like.

我們擅長的領域是 ESG、氣候和因素。因此，我們正在將資本投資推向那些我們認為具有顯著競爭優勢的領域。順便說一句，我認為，固定收益將是與氣候相關的最重要的資產重新定價、資本重新成本和資本重新分配的早期領域之一，可能比股票和其他資產類別更重要。原因是固定收益領域最大的參與者銀行和保險公司將面臨巨大的監管壓力，要求降低其公司債券投資組合、抵押貸款投資組合和公司貸款投資組合的氣候風險等等。

And they're going to have to add soon and fast, and that's going to lead to a big repricing. So therefore, one of the areas that we're really targeting strongly is the intersection of fixed income and Climate, whether it's Analytics or whether it's fixed income and Climate and indices and the like. So that's an example of places where we see competitive advantage on our part to create value.

他們必須盡快增加產品，這將導致大幅重新定價。因此，我們真正重點關注的領域之一是固定收益和氣候的交叉點，無論是分析還是固定收益和氣候和指數等。這是我們在創造價值方面看到競爭優勢的一個例子。

And that does conclude the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想請主席兼首席執行官亨利·費爾南德斯 (Henry Fernandez) 致閉幕詞。

Well, thank you very much for your time, for your questions. We're available to answer any of your other questions at any time, so reach out to us. We'll be more than happy to share our perspective. Enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you.

好的，非常感謝您抽出寶貴的時間提出問題。我們可以隨時回答您的任何其他問題，因此請與我們聯繫。我們非常樂意分享我們的觀點。享受這一天剩下的時間。謝謝。

Thank you. That does conclude today's presentation. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的演講到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。