NuVasive Inc (NUVA) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to NuVasive's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. I would now like to introduce your host for today's call, Ms. Juliet Cunningham, Vice President of Investor Relations at NuVasive. Please go ahead, Ms. Cunningham.

女士們、先生們，美好的一天，歡迎參加 NuVasive 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。現在我想介紹今天電話會議的主持人，NuVasive 投資者關係副總裁朱麗葉·坎寧安 (Juliet Cunningham) 女士。請繼續，坎寧安女士。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. With me today are Chris Barry, Chief Executive Officer; and Matt Harbaugh, Chief Financial Officer. Chris will provide an overview of NuVasive's second quarter 2023 business results and trends, as well as innovation highlights. Matt will review our detailed financial results and full year 2023 outlook, and then we'll host a question-and-answer session.

謝謝。大家下午好。今天與我在一起的有首席執行官克里斯·巴里 (Chris Barry)；和首席財務官馬特·哈博。 Chris 將概述 NuVasive 2023 年第二季度的業務成果和趨勢，以及創新亮點。 Matt 將回顧我們詳細的財務業績和 2023 年全年展望，然後我們將主持問答環節。

The earnings release, which we issued earlier this afternoon, is posted on the IR section of our website and has been filed on Form 8-K with the SEC. We have also posted supplemental financial information. As a reminder, this call is being recorded, and an archive will be available on our IR website later today.

我們今天下午早些時候發布的收益報告已發佈在我們網站的 IR 部分，並已以 8-K 表格形式向 SEC 提交。我們還發布了補充財務信息。謹此提醒，本次通話正在錄音，今天晚些時候將在我們的 IR 網站上提供存檔。

Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that our comments during this call will include forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in NuVasive's news releases and periodic filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as their respective date.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，我們在本次電話會議中的評論將包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述基於當前的預期，涉及風險和不確定性、假設和其他因素，可能導致實際結果存在重大差異此類前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的內容。 NuVasive 的新聞稿和向 SEC 定期提交的文件中描述了可能導致實際結果出現重大差異的因素。除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述或信息的義務，這些陳述或信息以其各自的日期為準。

In addition, this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in today's earnings release and on the supplemental financial information, both of which are accessible on NuVasive's website.

此外，本次電話會議還將包括某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 財務指標的對賬已包含在今天的收益發布和補充財務信息中，兩者均可在 NuVasive 網站上訪問。

And now, I'd like to introduce Chris Barry.

現在，我想介紹克里斯·巴里。

Thank you, Juliet, and good afternoon, everyone. Earlier today, we reported second quarter 2023 financial results. On today's call, I will review our performance for the quarter, share our differentiated product portfolios and continued commercial execution position us well for the pending combination with Globus Medical and discuss where we are in the merger process and our current views of timing. After my remarks, Matt will share additional financial details on the quarter.

謝謝朱麗葉，大家下午好。今天早些時候，我們報告了 2023 年第二季度財務業績。在今天的電話會議上，我將回顧我們本季度的業績，分享我們的差異化產品組合和持續的商業執行，使我們在與Globus Medical 即將進行的合併中處於有利地位，並討論我們在合​​並過程中的進展以及我們目前對時機的看法。在我的講話之後，馬特將分享本季度的更多財務細節。

NuVasive delivered second quarter 2023 net sales of $317.8 million, an increase of 2.4% on a reported basis or 3.1% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year period. In combination with our first quarter performance, we delivered in line with our expectations for the first half of 2023. Despite a challenging Q2 2022 comparison and merger-related competitive noise, the NuVasive team delivered a solid quarter.

NuVasive 2023 年第二季度淨銷售額為 3.178 億美元，與上年同期相比，報告基礎上增長 2.4%，按固定匯率計算增長 3.1%。結合我們第一季度的業績，我們的業績符合我們對 2023 年上半年的預期。儘管 2022 年第二季度的比較充滿挑戰，並且存在與合併相關的競爭噪音，但 NuVasive 團隊的季度業績表現穩健。

Our U.S. business achieved approximately 6% growth in U.S. Spinal Hardware, led by more than 20% growth from Cervical for the seventh straight quarter. In our International business, we achieved approximately 10% growth on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year period. This performance was driven by core spine and led by double-digit growth in Europe, as well as solid contributions from Latin America and Asia Pacific.

我們的美國脊柱硬件業務實現了約 6% 的增長，其中 Cervical 業務連續第七個季度增長超過 20%。在我們的國際業務中，按固定匯率計算，與上年同期相比，我們實現了約 10% 的增長。這一業績是由核心支柱推動的，並由歐洲兩位數的增長以及拉丁美洲和亞太地區的堅實貢獻帶動。

We remain focused on our commitment to delivering core growth, a pillar of our previously communicated growth strategy. We're executing with discipline through our global teams who are remaining resilient through the pending merger. Thank you to our teams for a job well done.

我們仍然專注於實現核心增長的承諾，這是我們之前傳達的增長戰略的支柱。我們通過我們的全球團隊嚴格執行，這些團隊在即將進行的合併中保持彈性。感謝我們的團隊所做的出色工作。

Within core spine, we continue to address the significant opportunities in key procedural segments with our 360 portfolios, X360, C360, P360 and Complex. Our innovation gives our commercial teams a strong competitive position to take share across each spine segment. In anterior, we continue to celebrate 20 years of our flagship XLIF procedure and 5 years of our X360 procedure. Across the globe, XLIF continues to demonstrate superior and more predictable outcomes than traditional spine fusion procedures.

在核心脊柱內，我們繼續通過 360 產品組合、X360、C360、P360 和 Complex 抓住關鍵程序領域的重大機遇。我們的創新使我們的商業團隊擁有強大的競爭地位，可以在每個脊柱細分市場中佔據份額。在前面，我們繼續慶祝旗艦 XLIF 手術 20 週年和 X360 手術 5 週年。在全球範圍內，XLIF 繼續展現出比傳統脊柱融合手術更優越、更可預測的結果。

Adding to 5 years of clinical validation surrounding lateral single-position surgery and X360 SPS, a 2023 study published in the Spine Journal shows that lateral SPS and traditional fusions have similar outcomes 2 years postoperatively while reducing perioperative complications and improving efficiency.

《脊柱雜誌》2023 年發表的一項研究表明，側向單位手術和X360 SPS 經過5 年的臨床驗證，側向SPS 和傳統融合術在術後2 年具有相似的結果，同時減少了圍手術期並發症並提高了效率。

Our know-how and experience in creating procedural solutions have only benefited our strategy in segments like cervical, posterior and complex. In Posterior, U.S. interbody sales delivered double-digit growth, driven by our P360 portfolio. Key products, including the commercial launch of the NuVasive tube system and the introduction of our next-generation posterior expandable cage, Mod XPL, have supported our renewed momentum in our TLIF business.

我們在創建手術解決方案方面的專業知識和經驗只會使我們在頸椎、後路和復雜等領域的策略受益。在 Posterior 領域，在我們的 P360 產品組合的推動下，美國椎體間銷售額實現了兩位數增長。主要產品，包括 NuVasive 管系統的商業推出以及下一代後路可擴張籠 Mod XPL 的推出，支持了我們 TLIF 業務的新動力。

Turning to U.S. Cervical. Our entire C360 portfolio continues to deliver above-market growth, led by increased surgeon adoption of the simplified cervical disc and Reliance Cervical. As anticipated, a simplified cervical disc is a door opener for our commercial teams, pulling through additional procedural opportunities and driving greater density in cervical accounts.

轉向美國宮頸。在外科醫生越來越多地採用簡化頸椎間盤和 Reliance Cervical 的帶動下，我們的整個 C360 產品組合繼續實現高於市場的增長。正如預期的那樣，簡化的頸椎間盤為我們的商業團隊打開了一扇大門，帶來了更多的手術機會並提高了宮頸賬戶的密度。

In complex, we're making progress in the pediatric deformity subsegment with Reliant 3D, which delivered double-digit growth. Our posterior fixation system for deformity correction unifies deformity techniques into 1 powerful and efficient procedure.

總的來說，我們通過 Reliant 3D 在兒科畸形細分領域取得了進展，實現了兩位數的增長。我們的畸形矯正後固定係統將畸形技術統一為一種強大而高效的手術。

In enabling technology, Pulse continues to make its impact across the globe, with commercial sales in several new European geographies and our first case completed in Singapore, we're seeing increased global surgeon interest in Pulse. Following the platform's 2023 summer software release, surgeons have shared positive feedback on the enhancements to their operating rooms.

在支持技術方面，Pulse 繼續在全球範圍內產生影響，在幾個新的歐洲地區進行了商業銷售，並且我們的第一個病例在新加坡完成，我們看到全球外科醫生對 Pulse 的興趣不斷增加。該平台於 2023 年夏季發佈軟件後，外科醫生就其手術室的增強功能分享了積極的反饋。

New hardware enhancements were also released to further optimize our differentiated navigation patient array, allowing us to better support revision, pediatric and complex deformity cases. These software and hardware introductions highlight our commitment to continuous innovation of the platform.

還發布了新的硬件增強功能，以進一步優化我們的差異化導航患者陣列，使我們能夠更好地支持翻修、兒科和復雜畸形病例。這些軟件和硬件的推出凸顯了我們對平台持續創新的承諾。

In our NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics business, recent achievements include the reentry of the Precise system in the U.K. and the CE Mark reinstatement of precise bone transport. This all-internal solution extends our Precise technology, treating segmental bone defects caused by tumors and trauma. The NSO business continues to be well positioned for long-term growth.

在我們的 NuVasive 專業骨科業務中，最近取得的成就包括 Precise 系統重新進入英國以及恢復精確骨運輸的 CE 標誌。這種全內部解決方案擴展了我們的 Precise 技術，可治療由腫瘤和創傷引起的節段性骨缺損。 NSO 業務繼續處於長期增長的有利位置。

Turning to our planned combination with Globus Medical. We remain excited and committed to creating an innovative global musculoskeletal company together, as demonstrated by the overwhelming support for the merger by both companies' shareholders, the pending combination will accelerate our near- and long-term strategy. Our commitment to the deal is steadfast, and our belief that this merger will benefit all stakeholders remains unchanged.

談到我們計劃與 Globus Medical 的合併。我們仍然感到興奮並致力於共同創建一家創新的全球肌肉骨骼公司，兩家公司股東對合併的大力支持就證明了這一點，即將進行的合併將加速我們的近期和長期戰略。我們對此次交易的承諾是堅定的，我們對這次合併將使所有利益相關者受益的信念也沒有改變。

As previously communicated on May 3, we received a second request from the Federal Trade Commission in connection with the FTC's review of the merger with Globus. Over the past 3 months, we and Globus have gone to great lengths to prepare our respective responses to the second request. And I'm very proud of what our teams have accomplished in a short period of time.

正如之前在 5 月 3 日通報的那樣，我們收到了聯邦貿易委員會關於 FTC 與 Globus 合併審查的第二項請求。在過去的 3 個月裡，我們和 Globus 竭盡全力準備了各自對第二個請求的答复。我對我們的團隊在短時間內取得的成就感到非常自豪。

During the Q1 earnings call, we indicated that we expected to close the transaction in the third quarter. Based on our progress with the response to the second request, we are not backing off that timing, and we are doing everything we can to make that happen. Given the recent M&A headlines, I've heard a lot of commentary about the FTC's approach to deals generally, as well as speculation about what action the FTC will take in the NuVasive-Globus merger. While there's a range of potential outcomes when the FTC is reviewing our transaction, we remain optimistic on a Q3 close.

在第一季度財報電話會議上，我們表示預計將在第三季度完成交易。根據我們對第二個請求的答復進展情況，我們不會推遲這一時間，並且我們正在盡一切努力實現這一目標。鑑於最近的併購頭條新聞，我聽到了很多關於 FTC 處理交易方式的評論，以及關於 FTC 將在 NuVasive 與 Globus 合併中採取什麼行動的猜測。儘管聯邦貿易委員會審查我們的交易時可能會出現一系列潛在結果，但我們對第三季度的交割仍持樂觀態度。

Now I'll turn the call over to Matt.

現在我將把電話轉給馬特。

Thank you, Chris, and good afternoon. I'm going to provide commentary on our second quarter results and full year 2023 net sales guidance, which remains unchanged from what we provided on February 22. Our detailed financial results have been provided in today's press release and supplemental information.

謝謝你，克里斯，下午好。我將對我們的第二季度業績和2023 年全年淨銷售指引進行評論，該指引與我們2 月22 日提供的內容保持不變。我們詳細的財務業績已在今天的新聞稿和補充信息中提供。

Today, I will discuss both GAAP and non-GAAP measures. Please see our press release for GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. And unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are to the prior year period.

今天，我將討論公認會計原則和非公認會計原則措施。請參閱我們關於 GAAP 與非 GAAP 調節的新聞稿。除非另有說明，所有比較均與上一年同期進行。

Second quarter 2023 worldwide net sales were $317.8 million, which was a 2.4% increase as reported and a 3.1% increase on a constant currency basis. Foreign currency negatively impacted our net sales performance by $2.2 million during the quarter. International net sales for the second quarter were $78.6 million, an increase of 6.8% over the prior year period on an as-reported basis and 9.8% on a constant currency basis. From a regional perspective, international growth was led by core spine net sales in Europe and Latin America. Asia Pacific growth, primarily in Australia, was offset by reimbursement pricing headwinds in Japan, as discussed previously. Overall, procedure volumes in Japan grew above market, and our market position continues to be strong.

2023 年第二季度全球淨銷售額為 3.178 億美元，報告增長 2.4%，按固定匯率計算增長 3.1%。本季度外幣對我們的淨銷售業績產生了 220 萬美元的負面影響。第二季度國際淨銷售額為 7,860 萬美元，按報告數據計算，較上年同期增長 6.8%，按固定匯率計算，較上年同期增長 9.8%。從區域角度來看，國際增長由歐洲和拉丁美洲的核心脊柱淨銷售額帶動。如前所述，亞太地區（主要是澳大利亞）的增長被日本報銷定價的不利因素所抵消。總體而言，日本的手術量增長高於市場水平，我們的市場地位仍然強勁。

Turning to U.S. net sales. Let me provide key highlights by product line. U.S. Spinal Hardware net sales for the second quarter of 2023 were $174.1 million, representing a 5.5% increase year-over-year. U.S. Cervical continued its proven and ongoing track record of achieving greater than 20% growth, led by the simplified cervical disc and Reliance Cervical. U.S. Surgical support net sales were $65.1 million, a decrease of 9.3%, primarily driven by lower biologics attachment rates as well as payer mix in NuVasive Clinical Services, or NCS.

轉向美國淨銷售額。讓我按產品線提供主要亮點。 2023 年第二季度美國脊柱硬件淨銷售額為 1.741 億美元，同比增長 5.5%。在簡化頸椎間盤和 Reliance Cervical 的帶動下，U.S. Cervical 繼續保持其已證實且持續的業績記錄，實現了超過 20% 的增長。美國手術支持淨銷售額為 6510 萬美元，下降 9.3%，主要是由於生物製劑附加率較低以及 NuVasive 臨床服務 (NCS) 的付款人組合較低。

Moving to operating results. Second quarter non-GAAP gross profit was $228.3 million compared to $224.7 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP gross margin as a percentage of net sales for the second quarter of 2023 was 71.8%, a decrease of 60 basis points compared to 72.4% in the prior year period. The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by lower NCS net sales. Pricing pressure remained consistent with historical levels in the low single-digits.

轉向經營業績。第二季度非 GAAP 毛利潤為 2.283 億美元，上年同期毛利潤為 2.247 億美元。 2023 年第二季度非 GAAP 毛利率占淨銷售額的百分比為 71.8%，較上年同期的 72.4% 下降 60 個基點。同比下降的主要原因是 NCS 淨銷售額下降。定價壓力與歷史水平保持一致，處於較低的個位數。

Second quarter 2023 non-GAAP operating expenses increased 1% to $186.1 million compared to $184.2 million in the prior year period. Non-GAAP operating margin during the second quarter of 2023 was 13.3%, an increase of 30 basis points compared to 13% in the prior year period.

2023 年第二季度非 GAAP 運營費用增長 1%，達到 1.861 億美元，而上年同期為 1.842 億美元。 2023 年第二季度的非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 13.3%，較上年同期的 13% 增長 30 個基點。

Overall, higher net sales and intentional expense control generated favorable operating leverage that more than offset the gross margin pressure. Non-GAAP other income and expense for the second quarter was $2.5 million of expense compared to $8.4 million in the prior year period. The year-over-year decrease was primarily driven by less impact from unrealized foreign currency gains in the current year period.

總體而言，較高的淨銷售額和有意的費用控制產生了有利的經營槓桿，足以抵消毛利率壓力。第二季度非公認會計準則其他收入和支出為 250 萬美元，而去年同期為 840 萬美元。同比下降的主要原因是本年度未實現的外幣收益影響較小。

Non-GAAP tax expense for the second quarter of 2023 was $9.9 million compared to $7.2 million in the prior year period. Our second quarter 2023 effective tax rate was 25% compared to 22.5% in the prior year period. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher tax reserves and valuation allowances. Currently, we expect our annual effective tax rate to be in the mid-20% range.

2023 年第二季度的非 GAAP 稅務費用為 990 萬美元，而上年同期為 720 萬美元。我們 2023 年第二季度的有效稅率為 25%，而上年同期為 22.5%。同比增長是由稅收儲備和估價津貼增加推動的。目前，我們預計年度有效稅率在 20% 左右。

For the second quarter of 2023, we reported GAAP net income of $7.4 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.14 compared to GAAP net loss of slightly less than $1 million or diluted loss per share of $0.02 in the prior year period. As a reminder, the prior year period included unfavorable impacts of foreign currency exchange fluctuations of approximately $25 million associated with the weakening of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar. This was principally related to our 2021 acquisition with Simplify Medical. The impact was approximately $2 million in the current year period, resulting largely in the overall improvement in GAAP net income.

2023 年第二季度，我們公佈的 GAAP 淨利潤為 740 萬美元，攤薄後每股收益為 0.14 美元，而上年同期 GAAP 淨虧損略低於 100 萬美元，攤薄後每股虧損為 0.02 美元。需要提醒的是，去年同期包括因澳元兌美元貶值而產生的約 2500 萬美元的外匯波動的不利影響。這主要與我們 2021 年收購 Simplify Medical 有關。本年度影響約為 200 萬美元，主要導致 GAAP 淨利潤整體改善。

On a non-GAAP basis, we reported net income of $29.8 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.56 compared to non-GAAP net income of $24.8 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.47 in the prior year period. The year-over-year increase was driven by operating profit growth, as well as the favorable impact of unrealized foreign currency gains.

在非 GAAP 基礎上，我們報告的淨利潤為 2,980 萬美元，或稀釋後每股收益為 0.56 美元，而上一年期間非 GAAP 淨利潤為 2,480 萬美元，或稀釋後每股收益為 0.47 美元。同比增長是由營業利潤增長以及未實現外匯收益的有利影響推動的。

Turning now to the balance sheet. We had cash and cash equivalents of $80.7 million as of June 30, 2023. During the second quarter, we repaid in full the $450 million convertible notes due in early June using $350 million from borrowings under our credit facility, combined with cash on hand.

現在轉向資產負債表。截至2023 年6 月30 日，我們的現金和現金等價物為8070 萬美元。在第二季度，我們使用信貸安排下的借款中的3.5 億美元以及手頭現金，全額償還了6 月初到期的4.5億美元可轉換票據。

Free cash flow during the second quarter was $3 million compared to $26 million in the prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to lower operating cash flow, offset by capital expenditures as compared to the prior year period. We continued our investments in capital expenditures to support our net sales growth, as well as current and future product launches.

第二季度自由現金流為 300 萬美元，而去年同期為 2600 萬美元。減少的主要原因是運營現金流量減少，但被資本支出與上年同期相比所抵消。我們繼續對資本支出進行投資，以支持我們的淨銷售額增長以及當前和未來的產品推出。

As I mentioned at the beginning of my prepared remarks, our full year 2023 financial guidance remains unchanged from February 22, which was worldwide net sales growth of between 6% to 8% on both a reported and constant currency basis compared to the prior year. This is based on foreign currency exchange rates being neutral for the full year based on rates as of July 31, 2023.

正如我在準備好的發言開頭提到的，我們的2023 年全年財務指引與2 月22 日相比保持不變，即與上一年相比，按報告貨幣和固定匯率計算的全球淨銷售額增長在6% 至8% 之間。這是基於截至 2023 年 7 月 31 日的匯率，全年外幣匯率保持中性。

Lastly, I'd like to wrap up by reiterating what Chris said about our excitement with our continued progress towards finalizing the merger with Globus Medical. It's great to see the teams from both companies working closely together towards integration planning for a successful combined company, and we continue to expect the merger to close in the third quarter.

最後，我想重申 Chris 所說的，我們對我們在完成與 Globus Medical 合併方面的持續進展感到興奮。很高興看到兩家公司的團隊緊密合作，為成功合併後的公司進行整合規劃，我們仍然預計合併將在第三季度完成。

And now I'll ask the operator to please open the call for questions.

現在我將請接線員打開電話詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) First question comes from Matt Miksic with Barclays.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的馬特·米克西奇（Matt Miksic）。

So Chris, I wanted to ask about some of the business trends that you talked a little bit about in your prepared remarks. But if you could maybe speak to anything in the results or in the operations or in the organization that you would say either indicates that the thing that folks might be fearful of here ahead of a pending transaction might be happening. In other words, reps peeling away and taking another opportunity, or that that's not happening. So any color on how you felt about performance and whether or not it was affected by anything like that. And then I have 1 follow-up.

克里斯，我想問一下您在準備好的發言中談到的一些商業趨勢。但是，如果你可以談論結果、運營或組織中的任何事情，你會說，這表明人們在未決交易之前可能擔心的事情可能會發生。換句話說，代表們會離開並抓住另一個機會，或者這種情況不會發生。因此，任何顏色都可以表明你對錶現的感受以及它是否受到類似因素的影響。然後我有 1 個後續行動。

Yes. Thanks, Matt. Happy to answer that question. The simple answer is, we're feeling very good. If you kind of dig below the surface of the 3%, you look and see the U.S. Hardware grew roughly 6%. And continued growth in Cervical. We're starting to see a growth in our posterior strategy with P360. Some of that's offset by the U.S. support business, partial is the NSO -- or I'm sorry, NCS business, which had some contractual headwinds.

是的。謝謝，馬特。很高興回答這個問題。簡單的答案是，我們感覺非常好。如果你深入挖掘 3% 的表面，你會發現美國硬件增長了大約 6%。並且宮頸持續生長。我們開始看到 P360 後路策略的增長。其中一些被美國的支持業務所抵消，部分是 NSO——或者對不起，NCS 業務，它有一些合同阻力。

We have seen some Pulse slowdown, as -- likely as a result of some of the time to close or merger-related anxiety from our customers. There's also likely some capital slowdown generally in the market. I'm anxious to hear what others say there because we're still somewhat nascent in the capital sales process. But we saw slower-than-expected sales there, but the underlying strength of the U.S. business is still solid. So we're excited about that, which actually speaks to the fact that we're retaining that top talent, and the sales organization seems to be very excited about the future combination and what that holds for them individually.

我們看到 Pulse 出現了一些放緩，這可能是由於我們的客戶有時會關閉或與合併相關的焦慮。市場上的資本也可能普遍放緩。我很想听聽其他人的看法，因為我們在資本銷售過程中仍處於起步階段。但我們看到那裡的銷售速度低於預期，但美國業務的潛在實力仍然穩固。因此，我們對此感到興奮，這實際上說明了我們正在留住頂尖人才，而銷售組織似乎對未來的合併以及這對他們各自的影響感到非常興奮。

International, still double-digit growth. That's with -- our second largest market in Japan, really being offset from a good solid volume growth, as Matt talked about in his prepared remarks, dealing with the transitory pricing headwind that should come and go over the course of this year. So if you really look at the underlying strength of the business, 6% growth in the U.S. Spinal Hardware business and still double-digit growth in the International segment with Japan coming under some pressure this year from a pricing perspective.

國際方面，仍保持兩位數增長。正如馬特在他準備好的講話中談到的那樣，我們在日本的第二大市場確實被良好的銷量增長所抵消，應對今年應該出現和消失的短暫定價逆風。因此，如果你真正關注該業務的潛在實力，就會發現美國脊柱硬件業務增長了 6%，國際業務仍保持兩位數增長，而日本今年從定價角度來看面臨一些壓力。

So those things indicate to me that the business is holding its own. We're minimizing distraction. People are excited about the combination, but we're taking it 1 step at a time.

因此，這些事情向我表明，該業務正在保持穩定。我們正在盡量減少干擾。人們對這一組合感到興奮，但我們只是一步一步地邁出一步。

That's helpful. And just a follow-up to sort of make sure we're thinking about expectations for Q3 here, you mentioned and other folks have mentioned the possibility of maybe more of an August low and more seasonally softer Q3, more vacations, that sort of thing. If we would normally model sort of flat to down in the third quarter, is that down mid-single-digits? Is that down more than that because of what you're starting to see? Or just any color on the back half cadence would be super helpful.

這很有幫助。只是後續行動，以確保我們在這裡考慮對第三季度的預期，您提到過，其他人也提到過可能會出現八月份的低點和第三季度的季節性疲軟，更多的假期，諸如此類的事情。如果我們通常對第三季度的情況進行模型預測，那麼第三季度的下降幅度是中個位數嗎？由於您開始看到的情況，下降幅度是否會更大？或者後半節奏上的任何顏色都會非常有幫助。

Yes. I mean, unfortunately, it's probably. I'm probably the worst person to talk to in this particular subject. I did mention in Q1, we saw less seasonality, December to January. That was really interesting. I would say Q2 showed signs of return to pre-COVID seasonality, meaning you had the June summer and July summer vacation. You saw some of that starting to take shape. The problem is, I've gone 3 years of either a COVID-related, now a merger-related disruption to our business.

是的。我的意思是，不幸的是，這可能是。我可能是在這個特定話題上最不好交談的人。我確實在第一季度提到，從 12 月到 1 月，我們看到季節性較少。這真的很有趣。我想說，第二季度顯示出回歸新冠疫情前季節性的跡象，這意味著您度過了六月的暑假和七月的暑假。你看到其中一些開始成形。問題是，我已經經歷了 3 年的業務中斷，要么是與新冠病毒相關的，要么是與合併相關的。

So it's a little hard for me to sort of see through some of this and really identify market trends. But I would just say in general, my perspective is the market is moving back to normal seasonality. So for that, I would expect some softness generally compared to market from a normal seasonality perspective that you saw likely previous to the COVID years. But we'll see as it unfolds. I would say the Q2 seasonality looked more consistent than Q1 from previous years that were affected by COVID, if that helps.

因此，對我來說，要透視其中的一些內容並真正識別市場趨勢有點困難。但我只想說，總的來說，我的觀點是市場正在回歸正常的季節性。因此，從正常的季節性角度來看，我預計與市場相比，市場會出現一些疲軟，就像你在新冠疫情之前看到的那樣。但我們將拭目以待。我想說，第二季度的季節性看起來比前幾年受新冠疫情影響的第一季度更加一致，如果這有幫助的話。

Yes, Matt, the only other thing I would add is, typically, our fourth quarter is our biggest quarter followed by the second quarter. And then our first quarter tends to be the lightest. So yes, we do expect some lull, to use your word, in August.

是的，馬特，我唯一要補充的是，通常情況下，我們的第四季度是我們最大的季度，其次是第二季度。然後我們的第一季度往往是最輕鬆的。所以，是的，我們確實預計八月會出現一些平靜，用你的話來說。

with regard to your first question, the 1 thing I did want to highlight that was in Chris' prepared remarks is -- and I know you guys don't see our internal plan. But from a -- what did we expect when we set the budget back in the January time frame versus where we landed? It doesn't get much closer than where we landed in the first 6 months of the year. So we're tracking right in line with where we thought we were going to be.

關於你的第一個問題，我想在克里斯準備好的講話中強調的一件事是——我知道你們沒有看到我們的內部計劃。但是，當我們將預算重新設定在一月份的時間範圍內時，我們的預期是什麼？它並沒有比我們今年前 6 個月的目標更接近。因此，我們正在按照我們預期的方向進行追踪。

Next question comes from Shagun Singh with RBC Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Shagun Singh。

Great. Can you hear me okay?

偉大的。你能聽到我說話嗎？

Yes, we can.

我們可以。

Okay. Perfect. I was just wondering if you can shed some light on any conversations, updated conversations that you're having with the FTC. Are they still requesting documentation? Is it more specific or more broader? You did sound more confident in the commitment to the deal closing in Q3. And I'm just trying to get a sense of what's driving that.

好的。完美的。我只是想知道您是否可以透露一些您與聯邦貿易委員會的對話以及最新的對話。他們還要求提供文件嗎？是更具體還是更廣泛？您聽起來確實對第三季度完成交易的承諾更有信心。我只是想了解一下是什麼推動了這一點。

Thanks, Shagun. I mean, I've said before, we walked into this eyes wide open. We're very confident in the combination of these 2 businesses. Our team has done a great job preparing our responses to the second request. The second request is something that is clearly not out of the ordinary for the FTC. So we're working feverishly to make sure that we're doing everything we can to fulfill the comment that I made earlier, which is our confidence in doing everything we can to make sure that we do deliver and close the deal in Q3.

謝謝，沙貢。我的意思是，我之前說過，我們睜大眼睛走進這個世界。我們對這兩項業務的合併非常有信心。我們的團隊在準備對第二個請求的答複方面做得非常出色。第二個要求對於聯邦貿易委員會來說顯然並不罕見。因此，我們正在積極工作，以確保我們正在盡一切努力履行我之前發表的評論，這就是我們有信心盡一切努力確保我們確實在第三季度交付並完成交易。

There's a range of potential outcomes. Obviously, the FTC is a dynamic situation. But we remain very optimistic in the Q3 close. The team has done a lot of work. We'll continue to meet the requests as they come. It's a dynamic situation, but one that we feel confident and are working very hard to make sure we're resolved.

有一系列潛在的結果。顯然，FTC 是一個動態的情況。但我們對第三季度的收盤仍然非常樂觀。團隊做了很多工作。我們將繼續滿足提出的要求。這是一個動態的情況，但我們充滿信心，並正在努力確保我們得到解決。

In the meantime, like I said, we continue to make progress on the integration planning to the extent we can with Globus, and both teams are working closely together.

與此同時，正如我所說，我們繼續在與 Globus 的整合規劃方面取得進展，兩個團隊正在密切合作。

Great. And then just 1 on guidance. I believe it implies a step-up in the back half if I'm correct. Can you just talk to the confidence in the back half, what's driving that?

偉大的。然後只是 1 指導。如果我是對的，我相信這意味著後半場的進步。您能談談後半場的信心嗎？是什麼推動了這種信心？

Yes. Shagun, it's Matt. As I mentioned earlier, when we were talking with Matt, our fourth quarter tends to be in a normalized world. It tends to be our strongest quarter, particularly in the November-December time frame. So yes, it will pick up, particularly in that fourth quarter.

是的。沙岡，我是馬特。正如我之前提到的，當我們與馬特交談時，我們的第四季度往往處於正常化的世界。這往往是我們表現最強勁的季度，尤其是在 11 月至 12 月期間。所以是的，它將會回升，特別是在第四季度。

Next question comes from Allan Gong with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的龔艾倫。

This is actually Lily on for Allan. Maybe just digging a little deeper into surgical support. In your prepared remarks, you called out headwinds from biologics and NCS. So maybe if you could just dig a little bit deeper into what happened there and what drove the weakness? And how should we be thinking about that bouncing back in the back half of the year?

這實際上是莉莉為艾倫做的。也許只是更深入地研究手術支持。在您準備好的發言中，您指出了生物製劑和 NCS 帶來的不利因素。那麼，也許您可​​以更深入地了解那裡發生的事情以及導致弱點的原因嗎？我們應該如何看待下半年的反彈？

Yes. It was a bit pronounced in the second quarter. So I would expect it to soften as we get in the back half of the year. Part of it is we had a pretty strong second quarter last year. And we have had some pricing pressure in NCS. But I would say we would expect in future quarters for that to more normalize to lower single digits on the negative side. Thanks, Lily.

是的。第二季度的表現有點明顯。因此，我預計下半年情況會有所緩和。部分原因是我們去年第二季度表現相當強勁。我們在 NCS 方面面臨著一些定價壓力。但我想說的是，我們預計在未來幾個季度，這一數字將更加正常化，下降到個位數的負值。謝謝，莉莉。

Great. That's helpful. And then maybe just as a quick follow-up. Spinal Hardware, I think, was good, but maybe not as strong as one might expect, just given the tailwinds to procedures that we've been hearing about. So is there anything specific to the spine market or to NuVasive that you'd call out that drove that?

偉大的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是作為一個快速的後續行動。我認為，脊柱硬件很好，但可能沒有人們想像的那麼強大，只是考慮到我們一直聽說的手術的順風車。那麼，您認為脊椎市場或 NuVasive 有什麼特定的因素推動了這一趨勢嗎？

Just continued growth. We're happy with the growth we continue to see in Cervical. We're obviously standing up our P360 strategy and saw some good results there. So you're coming off of a bit of a rebound year. But generally speaking, this U.S. Spinal Hardware business is on track and where we thought it would be. As we talked about and Matt kind of spoke of earlier, the one area that we are managing is the Pulse system. The customer base that's using the system is very happy.

只是持續增長。我們對宮頸癌的持續增長感到滿意。顯然，我們堅持了 P360 戰略，並取得了一些良好的成果。所以你即將迎來反彈的一年。但總的來說，美國脊柱硬件業務正步入正軌，達到我們的預期。正如我們和馬特之前談到的那樣，我們正在管理的一個領域是 Pulse 系統。使用該系統的客戶群非常滿意。

But obviously, the sign to close period in the merger created some level of pause, probably coupled with some level of capital pullback in the market we're still looking at. But generally speaking, the U.S. business is on track where we thought it would be.

但顯然，合併結束期的跡象造成了一定程度的暫停，可能還伴隨著我們仍在關注的市場中一定程度的資本回調。但總體而言，美國業務正步入我們預期的軌道。

Next question comes from Josh Jennings with Jennings.

下一個問題來自喬什·詹寧斯和詹寧斯。

This is Eric on for Josh. I was hoping to hear a little bit more on Simplify's adoption and commercial success in recent quarters. And then more broadly, what would you say about the durability of your U.S. Cervical Spine business continuing to deliver 20%-plus growth going forward? And then if I could squeeze 1 last question there, are you able to share the run rate, excuse me, for Simplify?

這是埃里克替喬什發言。我希望聽到更多有關 Simplify 最近幾個季度的採用和商業成功的信息。更廣泛地說，您對美國頸椎業務未來繼續實現 20% 以上增長的持久性有何看法？然後，如果我可以擠出最後一個問題，請問您能否分享 Simplify 的運行率？

Thanks, Eric. I'll answer as many of those as I can. Listen, we're very happy. We continue to see a ramp-up with Simplify. We believe that the CTDR portion of the cervical market is the strongest subsegment area of growth in that very large market. We think we've got the leading technology with Simplify and we continue to see growth. I think we've seen consistent growth over the last several quarters. That's really led to 20%-plus growth in the overall Cervical business.

謝謝，埃里克。我會盡可能多地回答這些問題。聽著，我們很高興。我們繼續看到 Simplify 的發展。我們認為，子宮頸市場的 CTDR 部分是這個非常大的市場中增長最強勁的細分領域。我們認為我們已經通過 Simplify 獲得了領先的技術，並且我們繼續看到增長。我認為過去幾個季度我們看到了持續增長。這確實帶動了整個宮頸業務增長 20% 以上。

As far as the durability, I would just continue to point back at the overall Cervical segment, still a $2.6 billion segment. If I had to characterize the CTDR market, and I think I did this at our Analyst Day, our strategy session we did back in October, I think it was upwards of a $400 million segment of a $2.6 billion market segment with a lot of capability to cannibalize the ACDF procedure. For those reasons and our relatively low position and market share position, I do think it's a durable growth engine for us for some period of time looking forward. I'm not going to put a date on it, but I'm happy to continue to see the growth.

就耐久性而言，我將繼續回顧整個宮頸部分，仍然是一個價值 26 億美元的部分。如果我必須描述CTDR 市場的特徵，我想我是在我們的分析師日（我們在10 月份舉辦的策略會議）上做到這一點的，我認為它是26 億美元的細分市場中超過4億美元的部分，具有強大的功能拆解 ACDF 程序。由於這些原因以及我們相對較低的地位和市場份額地位，我確實認為在未來一段時間內，這對我們來說是一個持久的增長引擎。我不會給出具體日期，但我很高興繼續看到增長。

We continue to reach and use it as a door opener for new customers. And so it's a force multiplier for us as a company, obviously. Following C360 with P360 is also the next phase of our growth to really reinvigorate our TLIF business. So the strategy that we laid out over the last several years is -- the team is executing on, so we feel good about it.

我們將繼續接觸並使用它作為新客戶的開門紅。顯然，這對我們公司來說是一個力量倍增器。繼 C360 之後，P360 也是我們發展的下一階段，真正重振 TLIF 業務。因此，我們過去幾年制定的戰略是——團隊正在執行，所以我們對此感覺良好。

As far as the run rate for Simplify, I don't think we've given that in the past. I would just say we're well above and well ahead of our deal model that we put together some years back.

至於 Simplify 的運行率，我認為我們過去沒有給出過。我只想說，我們遠遠高於並領先於我們幾年前製定的交易模式。

Next question comes from Matt Taylor with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自杰弗里斯的馬特·泰勒。

I guess you talked about confidence in the Q3 close. Is there anything that you can give us, kind of inside the response that you did that give you the confidence or back-and-forth with the FTC? And what are some of the range of outcomes that you see potentially happening if you do not close in Q3? Why would that happen?

我想您談到了對第三季度結束的信心。您可以向我們提供什麼信息嗎？在您所做的回應中，您是否能夠給我們帶來信心或與聯邦貿易委員會進行反复溝通？如果您不在第三季度完成交易，您認為可能會發生哪些結果？為什麼會發生這種情況？

I mean, I'm not going to go into any specific commentary. Clearly, it's like I said, it's a dynamic situation. The team is working very hard to make sure that we're getting everything that's asked of us. And I think we've done so effectively up to this point. As far as the range of outcomes, clearly, the FTC reviewed the information that we provided and ultimately come back to us at some point.

我的意思是，我不會進行任何具體的評論。顯然，就像我說的，這是一個動態的情況。該團隊正在非常努力地工作，以確保我們得到要求的一切。我認為到目前為止我們已經有效地做到了這一點。就結果範圍而言，顯然，聯邦貿易委員會審查了我們提供的信息，並最終在某個時候返回給我們。

I'm not -- I'm confident in the Q3 time frame because I feel like everything I've said before, I don't believe this is only competitor, I think there's lots of competitors. I think there's a low bar of entry for competitors coming into this space. And for all those reasons, the combination of us and Globus, I think, actually is much better for patients. It actually opens up the opportunity to further innovate and ultimately change patient outcomes, which is our focus as a company.

我不是——我對第三季度的時間框架充滿信心，因為我覺得我之前所說的一切，我不相信這只是競爭對手，我認為還有很多競爭對手。我認為競爭對手進入這個領域的門檻很低。出於所有這些原因，我認為我們和 Globus 的結合實際上對患者來說更好。它實際上開闢了進一步創新並最終改變患者治療結果的機會，這是我們作為一家公司的重點。

For some reason, if it doesn't, which I'm not going to speculate it won't, but I've said all along, our strategy is what we're executing on. Core growth, enabling tech, pursuing market opportunities and strengthening our bottom line, all of which we're executing on as we speak. The merger accelerates our strategy, but it doesn't -- it doesn't negate it or in any way change it.

出於某種原因，如果沒有，我不會推測它不會，但我一直在說，我們的戰略就是我們正在執行的。核心增長、支持技術、尋求市場機會和加強我們的利潤，所有這些都是我們正在執行的。這次合併加速了我們的戰略，但它並沒有否定它或以任何方式改變它。

So the execution you're seeing in core growth, our focus on enabling tech. The opportunities that we see in the market strengthened, obviously, by the merger with Globus and building strength in our bottom line and discipline to expense manage, some of the things Matt talked about, those things stay intact. So whatever happens going forward, we feel very, very confident in where we are and where we're going.

因此，您在核心增長中看到的執行力，我們對支持技術的關注。顯然，我們在市場上看到的機會得到了加強，通過與 Globus 的合併，以及在我們的底線和費用管理紀律方面建立實力，馬特談到的一些事情，這些事情保持不變。因此，無論未來發生什麼，我們對我們現在的處境和前進的方向都非常非常有信心。

Next question comes from Vik Chopra with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Vik Chopra。

Two for me here. I'm just wondering how much benefit you had from backlog recapture in Q2. And what your expectations are for the rest of the year. And then Matt, I heard you talk about pricing earlier in the call, but I'm just wondering how you're thinking about pricing for the rest of the year. And are you able to take price in this inflationary environment?

這裡給我兩個。我只是想知道您從第二季度的積壓訂單重新奪回中獲得了多少好處。以及您對今年剩餘時間的期望是什麼。然後馬特，我聽到你在電話會議早些時候談到了定價，但我只是想知道你如何考慮今年剩餘時間的定價。在這種通貨膨脹的環境下你能接受價格嗎？

Thanks for the questions, Vik. I'll cover the first and then hand over to Matt. I've been looking at backlogs for 3 years now. And I don't know that I can see any difference between normal volume and backlog volume anymore. It's all a blur. And you can always go back over the last 3 years and go -- we've obviously forgone a certain amount of volume. But it's ebbed and flowed. And as I've always said, the demand-supply relationship dictates the throughput. And I don't think there's a significant strong demand or I don't think there's a significant amount of supply. Either way, the volume is about the volume right now.

謝謝你的提問，維克。我將介紹第一個內容，然後交給馬特。我已經查看積壓訂單三年了。我不知道我還能看到正常數量和積壓數量之間有什麼區別。一切都模糊了。你總是可以回顧過去三年——我們顯然已經放棄了一定數量的交易量。但它有潮起潮落。正如我一直說的，供需關係決定了吞吐量。我認為需求並不強勁，或者供應量也不大。不管怎樣，成交量就是現在的成交量。

So I wish I could tell you more and sort of discern what is normal volume, what is backlog volume. I don't know that it's worth really looking at. I think, obviously, all med tech is benefiting from some level of rebound over the last, let's say, 3, 4, 5 quarters, how long it will take to normalize and actually go through any sort of a backlog scenario. I think it will be an even cadence to that and not a bolus-type of event. So hard for me to answer that question, but something that we've looked at, but I don't know if it's worth looking at too much.

因此，我希望我能告訴您更多信息，並辨別什麼是正常數量，什麼是積壓數量。我不知道它是否真的值得一看。我認為，顯然，所有醫療技術都受益於過去（比如說，3、4、5 個季度）的某種程度的反彈，需要多長時間才能正常化並實際經歷任何形式的積壓情況。我認為這將是一個均勻的節奏，而不是一次推注式的活動。我很難回答這個問題，但我們已經研究過這個問題，但我不知道是否值得過多研究。

Yes, Vik, with regard to your question around pricing, I'll just echo what I said in the prepared remarks, we're in the low single digits. And having been with the company now for a number of years, generally, it's kind of been for us in the U.S. market kind of in that minus 1% to minus 2% in any given quarter. As far as your question as it relates to the back half of the year, it may be -- I think it will be in the same ballpark. It may have some more volatility around it, but having seen so many quarters in a row where the pricing has been relatively consistent, I'm hopeful and believe that, that is likely how it will continue to play out in the back half of the year.

是的，維克，關於你關於定價的問題，我只會重複我在準備好的評論中所說的話，我們處於低個位數。現在已經在該公司工作了很多年了，總的來說，我們在美國市場的情況是在任何特定季度都在負 1% 到負 2% 之間。至於你的問題與今年下半年有關，我認為情況可能是一樣的。它可能會有更多的波動性，但連續多個季度的定價相對穩定，我充滿希望並相信，這很可能會在下半年繼續發揮作用。年。

Next question?

下一個問題？

There are no more questions. At this time, I would like to turn the floor back over to Chris Barry, NuVasive CEO, for closing comments.

沒有更多問題了。現在，我想將發言權轉回 NuVasive 首席執行官 Chris Barry，以發表結束評論。

Thanks, Victoria, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today on the Q2 earnings call. As mentioned earlier, I believe we're making great progress on the planned combination with Globus Medical. As I've said many times, we believe the new organization will create a leading global musculoskeletal company that is well positioned to change even more patients' lives.

謝謝維多利亞，也謝謝大家今天參加我們的第二季度財報電話會議。正如前面提到的，我相信我們在與 Globus Medical 的合併計劃中正在取得巨大進展。正如我多次說過的那樣，我們相信新組織將創建一家全球領先的肌肉骨骼公司，並有能力改變更多患者的生活。

So with that, thank you all for joining, and have a great day.

因此，感謝大家的加入，祝您有美好的一天。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。