PJT Partners Inc (PJT) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the PJT Partners Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 PJT Partners 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Sharon Pearson, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

現在，我想把會議交給投資人關係主管莎朗‧皮爾森(Sharon Pearson)。請繼續，女士。

Good morning. Thanks very much, Leo, and welcome to the PJT Partners Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Joining me today is Paul Taubman, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Helen Meates, our Chief Financial Officer.

早安.非常感謝 Leo，歡迎參加 PJT Partners 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天加入我的是我們的董事長兼執行長 Paul Taubman；以及我們的財務長海倫‧梅茲 (Helen Meates)。

Before I turn the call over to Paul, I want to point out that during the course of this conference call, we may make a number of forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those indicated in these statements.

在我把電話轉給保羅之前，我想指出，在這次電話會議期間，我們可能會做出一些前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，並且存在一些重要因素可能導致實際結果與這些陳述中所示的結果有重大差異。

We believe that these factors are described in the Risk Factors section contained in PJT Partners 2023 Form 10-K, which is available on our website at pjtpartners.com.

我們認為，PJT Partners 2023 表格 10-K 中的風險因素部分對這些因素進行了描述，該表格可在我們的網站 pjtpartners.com 上取得。

I want to remind you that the company assumes no duty to update any forward-looking statements and that the presentation we make today contains non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are meaningful in evaluating the company's performance. For detailed disclosures on these non-GAAP metrics and their GAAP reconciliation, you should refer to the financial data contained within the press release we issued this morning also available on our website.

我想提醒您的是，本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務，並且我們今天所做的演示包含非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標對於評估公司業績有意義。有關這些非 GAAP 指標及其 GAAP 調整的詳細揭露，您應該參閱我們今天早上發布的新聞稿中包含的財務數據，該新聞稿也可以在我們的網站上找到。

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

然後，我會將電話轉給保羅。

Thank you, Sharon. Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for joining today's earnings call. We reported strong results with record third quarter revenues of $326 million, up 17% year-on-year, adjusted pretax income up 16% and adjusted EPS up 19% from year ago levels. Our nine-month revenues were also a record at $1.016 billion, up 23% year-on-year, reflecting increased contributions from all of our businesses. Our nine-month adjusted pretax income was up 32%, while our nine-month adjusted EPS increased 35% from year ago levels.

謝謝你，莎倫。大家早安。感謝大家參加今天的財報電話會議。我們公佈了強勁的業績，第三季營收達到創紀錄的 3.26 億美元，年增 17%，調整後稅前營收年增 16%，調整後每股盈餘較去年同期成長 19%。我們 9 個月的營收也創下了 10.16 億美元的紀錄，年增 23%，反映出我們所有業務的貢獻增加。我們的 9 個月調整後稅前收入成長了 32%，而我們的 9 個月調整後每股盈餘較去年同期成長了 35%。

The benefits of our sustained investment in the business are beginning to shine through in our financial results. We remain committed to continued investment as we seek to enhance our capabilities, deepen our industry expertise and broaden our geographic footprint.

我們對業務持續投資的好處開始在我們的財務表現中顯現出來。我們仍然致力於持續投資，尋求增強我們的能力、深化我們的行業專業知識並擴大我們的地理足跡。

Consistent with this commitment to invest, we closed our deNovo Partners acquisition on October 1. While our firm's growth has largely been driven by organic investment, we have been acquisitive when we see unique opportunities to strengthen our firm. That was why we acquired Camberview Partners, and that is why we acquired deNovo Partners.

根據這項投資承諾，我們於 10 月 1 日完成了對 deNovo Partners 的收購。雖然我們公司的成長很大程度上是由有機投資推動的，但當我們看到增強公司實力的獨特機會時，我們一直在進行收購。這就是我們收購 Camberview Partners 的原因，也是我們收購 deNovo Partners 的原因。

Our firms were culturally aligned with a similar focus on collaboration and teamwork and a shared set of values. We have the benefit of working alongside deNovo's founder for many years as well as insights gain from our strategic alliance with deNovo, which dated back to 2020.

我們的公司在文化上保持一致，都專注於協作和團隊合作以及共同的價值觀。我們受益於與 deNovo 創辦人多年的合作，並從我們與 deNovo 的策略聯盟（可追溯至 2020 年）中獲得了見解。

This highly successful partnership gave us the confidence that for all our successes together, we could be even more powerful, combining deNovo's presence in the Gulf with PJT's broad advisory capabilities, extensive global network and strong sector expertise.

這項非常成功的合作關係讓我們相信，只要我們共同取得成功，將deNovo 在海灣地區的業務與PJT 廣泛的諮詢能力、廣泛的全球網絡和強大的行業專業知識相結合，我們就能變得更加強大。

After Helen takes you through our results, I will review our business performance and outlook in greater detail. Helen?

在海倫向您介紹我們的業績之後，我將更詳細地回顧我們的業務績效和前景。海倫？

Thank you, Paul. Good morning. Beginning with revenues. Total revenues for the third quarter were $326 million, up 17% year-over-year. PJT Park Hill revenues were significantly higher than year ago levels, while Strategic Advisory revenues increased slightly and Restructuring revenues decreased slightly.

謝謝你，保羅。早安.從收入開始。第三季總營收為 3.26 億美元，年增 17%。PJT Park Hill 收入顯著高於去年同期水平，而策略諮詢收入略有增加，重組收入略有下降。

For the nine months ended September 30, total revenues were $1.16 billion, an increase of 23% year-over-year and a record first nine months. Each of our businesses produced record revenues for the first nine months of the year.

截至 9 月 30 日的 9 個月，總收入為 11.6 億美元，年增 23%，前 9 個月創歷史新高。今年前九個月，我們的每項業務都創造了創紀錄的收入。

Turning to expenses. Consistent with prior quarters, we've presented the expenses with certain non-GAAP adjustments, which are more fully described in our 8-K. First, compensation expense, we have continued to accrue a compensation expense at 69.5% of revenues for the first nine months of the year. This ratio represents our current expectation for the full year 2024.

轉向開支。與前幾季一致，我們對費用進行了某些非 GAAP 調整，這些調整在我們的 8-K 中進行了更全面的描述。首先是補償費用，今年前 9 個月我們繼續提列補償費用，佔收入的 69.5%。該比率代表了我們目前對 2024 年全年的預期。

Turning to adjusted noncompensation expense. Total adjusted noncompensation expense was $49 million for the third quarter, up 19% year-over-year, and $138 million for the first nine months, up 14% year-over-year. As a percentage of revenues, 15% for the third quarter and 13.6% for the first nine months.

轉向調整後的非補償費用。第三季調整後非薪酬費用總額為 4,900 萬美元，年增 19%；前 9 個月調整後非薪酬費用總額為 1.38 億美元，年增 14%。佔收入的百分比，第三季為 15%，前 9 個月為 13.6%。

For the third quarter, the main drivers of the year-over-year increase were higher occupancy costs, travel and related and our other expenses line. In the third quarter, we recognized some nonrecurring expenses, including expenses related to the acquisition of deNovo Partners. We expect that our full year 2024 noncomp expense growth rate will be in line with our nine-month rate of 14%, which is slightly higher than our previous guidance.

第三季度，年成長的主要推動因素是入住成本、差旅及相關費用和其他費用的增加。第三季度，我們確認了一些非經常性費用，包括與收購 deNovo Partners 相關的費用。我們預計 2024 年全年非公司費用成長率將與 14% 的 9 個月成長率一致，略高於我們先前的指導。

Turning to adjusted pretax income. We reported adjusted pretax income of $51 million for the third quarter and $172 million for the first nine months. The provision for taxes, as with prior quarters, we have presented our results as if all partnership units had been converted to shares and that all of our income was taxed at a corporate tax rate.

轉向調整後的稅前收入。我們報告第三季調整後稅前收入為 5,100 萬美元，前 9 個月調整後稅前收入為 1.72 億美元。與前幾季一樣，稅務撥備中，我們呈現的結果就好像所有合夥單位都已轉換為股票，並且我們的所有收入均按公司稅率納稅。

Our effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2024 was 21%. This rate is slightly below our previous full year '24 estimate of 22%, primarily due to the tax benefit from the delivery of vested performance units. As a result, the effective tax rate for the third quarter was 18.6%. The 21% rate represents our current expectation for the full year.

2024 年前 9 個月我們的有效稅率為 21%。該比率略低於我們先前對 24 年全年 22% 的預測，主要是由於交付既得績效單位帶來的稅收優惠。結果，第三季的有效稅率為18.6%。21%的成長率代表了我們目前對全年的預期。

Earnings per share, our adjusted if-converted earnings, were $0.93 for the third quarter and $3.10 per share for the first nine months.

第三季每股收益（調整後的轉換後收益）為 0.93 美元，前 9 個月為每股 3.10 美元。

On the share count for the third quarter, our weighted average share count was 44.5 million shares, up from 43 million in the second quarter of 2024. Given we use the treasury stock method to calculate our share count, the increase in the third quarter was principally due to the impact of a higher share price.

就第三季的股票數量而言，我們的加權平均股票數量為 4,450 萬股，高於 2024 年第二季的 4,300 萬股。由於我們採用庫存股法計算股數，因此第三季的成長主要是由於股價上漲的影響。

In addition, some of the share count increase was a result of achieving further price hurdles on the performance units. By the end of the third quarter, virtually all of the price hurdles from these performance units had been achieved.

此外，部分股票數量的增加是由於業績單位進一步達到價格障礙的結果。到第三季末，這些性能單位幾乎所有的價格障礙都已實現。

As we look to share count growth in the fourth quarter, ignoring any price movement in our stock or any additional share buybacks, we expect the fourth quarter weighted average share count to increase by approximately 400,000 shares, primarily reflecting the remaining weighting of the performance awards.

由於我們預計第四季度股票數量的增長，忽略我們股票的任何價格變動或任何額外的股票回購，我們預計第四季度加權平均股票數量將增加約 400,000 股，主要反映業績獎勵的剩餘權重。

We continue to be mindful of offsetting this dilution over time. And for the nine-month period, our repurchases totaled approximately 2.6 million shares, up from 2 million for the same period last year, with a record open market repurchases of 1.9 million shares in the year-to-date period. And finally, we plan to exchange 125,000 partnership units for cash on November 1, 2024.

我們將繼續注意隨著時間的推移抵消這種稀釋。在這 9 個月期間，我們的回購總量約為 260 萬股，高於去年同期的 200 萬股，而今年迄今公開市場回購的股票數量達到創紀錄的 190 萬股。最後，我們計劃於 2024 年 11 月 1 日將 125,000 個合夥單位兌換成現金。

On the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with a record $477 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and $491 million in net working capital, and we have no funded debt outstanding.

在資產負債表上，本季結束時，我們的現金、現金等價物和短期投資達到創紀錄的 4.77 億美元，淨營運資本為 4.91 億美元，而且我們沒有未償債務。

The Board has approved a dividend of $0.25 per share. The dividend will be paid on December 18 to Class A common shareholders of record as of December 4, 2024. And finally, as Paul mentioned, we closed the acquisition of deNovo Partners on October 1.

董事會已批准每股 0.25 美元的股息。該股將於 12 月 18 日向截至 2024 年 12 月 4 日登記在冊的 A 類普通股股東支付。最後，正如 Paul 所提到的，我們在 10 月 1 日完成了對 deNovo Partners 的收購。

Back to Paul.

回到保羅。

Thank you, Helen. Beginning with PJT Park Hill. PJT Park Hill's revenues have rebounded faster than our most optimistic predictions, fueled by significant growth in both our primary and secondary businesses. PJT Park Hill's 2024 results will be up significantly relative to 2023 and in line with 2022's record performance.

謝謝你，海倫。從 PJT Park Hill 開始。在我們的主要和次要業務顯著成長的推動下，PJT Park Hill 的營收反彈速度快於我們最樂觀的預測。PJT Park Hill 2024 年的業績將比 2023 年大幅上升，並與 2022 年的創紀錄表現一致。

Even though LPs continue to be highly selective in their allocations to alternatives, our differentiated approach to origination and distribution has enabled us to significantly outperform the broader primary fundraising marketplace. Our year-to-date fundraising volumes are more than double year ago levels, while industry-wide fundraising volumes are down year-to-date.

儘管有限合夥人在對替代品的配置方面仍然具有高度選擇性，但我們差異化的發起和分配方法使我們能夠顯著優於更廣泛的一級籌款市場。我們今年迄今的募款量是去年同期水準的兩倍多，而全行業的募款量今年迄今有所下降。

The macroeconomic headwinds, which continue to dampen the primary fundraising marketplace, have been a boon to our private capital solutions business. New fundraises continue to be constrained by limited fund distributions, which have helped create over allocations to the alternative space.

宏觀經濟逆風繼續抑制主要籌款市場，但這對我們的私人資本解決方案業務來說是一個福音。新的籌款活動繼續受到有限的資金分配的限制，這導致了對另類空間的過度分配。

While these dynamics have challenged the primary market, they have also fueled secondary activity as GPs pursue alternative liquidity options for LP capital return. With secondary industry volumes now at record levels, our private capital solutions business and its best-in-class capabilities have capitalized on this increased demand, driving strong year-to-date revenue growth.

雖然這些動態對一級市場構成了挑戰，但隨著普通合夥人尋求替代流動性選擇來獲得有限合夥人資本回報，它們也刺激了二級市場活動。隨著第二產業規模目前達到創紀錄水平，我們的私人資本解決方案業務及其一流的能力充分利用了這種不斷增長的需求，推動了今年迄今為止的收入強勁增長。

Turning to Restructuring. Our leading Restructuring business continues to benefit from a multiyear cycle of elevated restructuring levels and liability management activity. Our team has maintained its global leadership rankings in both announced and completed restructuring transactions and remains extremely active in providing proactive liability management advice to clients.

轉向重組。我們領先的重組業務繼續受益於多年周期的重組水準和負債管理活動的提高。我們的團隊在已宣布和已完成的重組交易中均保持了全球領先地位，並且仍然非常積極地為客戶提供主動的負債管理建議。

For the nine months, our Restructuring revenues are at record levels, and 2024 is shaping up to be another record year. Even with the expectation of additional rate cuts beyond the 50 basis point move by the Fed and rate cuts from other central banks, we have high conviction that this restructuring cycle will continue for some time to come. Corporates and sponsors continue to work their way through high interest rates, challenged business models, technological disruption and changing consumer preferences.

過去 9 個月，我們的重組收入創下歷史新高，2024 年將再創紀錄。即使預計聯準會將進一步降息超過 50 個基點，其他央行也將降息，但我們堅信這項重組週期將在未來一段時間內持續下去。企業和贊助商繼續努力應對高利率、充滿挑戰的商業模式、技術顛覆和不斷變化的消費者偏好。

Turning to Strategic Advisory. While year-to-date global M&A volumes are up for the first time since 2021, they're only up 8% relative to last year. We have always expected 2024 to be a transitional year, sandwiched between two successive down years for global M&A activity and what should be a far more constructive 2025 market environment.

轉向策略諮詢。儘管今年迄今全球併購交易量自 2021 年以來首次出現成長，但與去年相比僅成長了 8%。我們一直預期 2024 年將是過渡年，夾在全球併購活動連續兩年低迷的年份和本應更具建設性的 2025 年市場環境之間。

Against this backdrop, our nine-month revenues for Strategic Advisory were up solidly year-on-year, while third quarter Strategic Advisory revenues were up slightly. The M&A market is slowly recovering, with many elements now in place for a more active M&A environment in 2025.

在此背景下，我們前九個月的策略諮詢收入較去年同期穩定成長，而第三季策略諮詢收入略有成長。併購市場正在緩慢復甦，許多要素現已具備，可在 2025 年創造更活躍的併購環境。

Central banks are cutting rates. Capital markets are more open and receptive than at any point in the past three years. The velocity of both private equity monetizations and dry powder deployment has begun to increase. We will soon turn the page on a year of consequential elections around the world. And all the while, companies' strategic appetite for M&A continues to grow.

各國央行正在降息。資本市場比過去三年中的任何時候都更加開放和包容。私募股權貨幣化和乾粉部署的速度已開始加快。我們很快就會翻開這一年世界各地重要選舉的一頁。同時，企業對併購的策略需求持續成長。

Today, we are better positioned to capitalize on an active M&A marketplace than we were in 2021. We have 35% more Strategic Advisory partners who have been with the firm for more than two years than we did in 2021. We're seeing the benefits of this more built-out platform translate into greater traction with clients, higher win rates and a growing backlog of announced transactions.

如今，與 2021 年相比，我們更有能力利用活躍的併購市場。與 2021 年相比，在公司工作兩年以上的策略諮詢夥伴增加了 35%。我們看到這個更完善的平台的好處轉化為對客戶的更大吸引力、更高的獲勝率以及已宣布交易的積壓不斷增加。

We are quite constructive on our Strategic Advisory prospects, given this building announced pending close backlog, a near-record mandate count and an increasingly favorable M&A backdrop.

考慮到這棟大樓宣布的未完成的積壓訂單、接近創紀錄的委託數量以及日益有利的併購背景，我們對我們的策略諮詢前景非常有建設性。

In closing, 2024 is proving to be an important milestone in the firm's evolution. We continue to attract a significant number of highly talented professionals to our platform. We continue to expand our global reach, most recently with our deNovo Partners acquisition.

最後，2024 年被證明是公司發展的一個重要里程碑。我們繼續吸引大量才華橫溢的專業人士加入我們的平台。我們繼續擴大我們的全球影響力，最近我們收購了 deNovo Partners。

We continue to see the network benefits of our collaborative business model as we increasingly deliver the full capabilities of our integrated advisory and capital-raising businesses to clients around the world. And as we showcase our unique capabilities and value proposition, our brand, both in terms of recognition and reputation, continues to grow.

隨著我們越來越多地向世界各地的客戶提供綜合諮詢和融資業務的全部功能，我們繼續看到我們的協作業務模式的網路優勢。隨著我們展示我們獨特的能力和價值主張，我們的品牌在認知和聲譽方面都在不斷增長。

2024 will undoubtedly be another year of differentiated performance for our firm. And as before, we remain confident in our near, intermediate and long-term growth prospects.

2024 年無疑將是我們公司業績差異化的另一年。和以前一樣，我們對近期、中期和長期的成長前景仍然充滿信心。

And with that, we will now take your questions.

現在我們將回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP Securities.

（操作員指示）Devin Ryan，公民 JMP 證券。

Great. First question, in the M&A advisory practice in Strategic Advisory, obviously, Paul, you highlighted the material level of headcount growth there, and you're seeing significant seasoning of bankers on the platform.

偉大的。第一個問題，在策略諮詢的併購諮詢實踐中，顯然，保羅，您強調了那裡員工數量增長的實質性水平，並且您看到該平台上銀行家的顯著經驗。

And so given the level of change we've seen in your business specifically over the past handful of years, I think people are having a hard time just trying to understand the capacity of the Strategic Advisory business today and kind of how that's evolved relative to maybe the prior upcycle that you referenced.

因此，考慮到我們在過去幾年中看到的業務變化程度，我認為人們很難試圖了解當今策略諮詢業務的能力以及它相對於過去幾年的發展方式。 。

So just wanted to get a sense of whether there's any type of range of productivity expectations that you guys expect when you hire a partner or any other frameworks you would suggest to think about that from the outside, just given that degree of change in the business over the past few years.

因此，我只是想了解一下，考慮到業務的變化程度，當您僱用合作夥伴時，您是否期望有任何類型的生產力預期範圍，或者您建議從外部考慮的任何其他框架過去幾年。

Look, we don't manage to a metric because it's very hard to say a partner should deliver X in revenue because it's a function of what's your time horizon, number one; number two, what's the macroeconomic backdrop; number three, what else is built or unbuilt around that banker; and number four, what is the strength of the franchise and how much, what I'd like to call, walk-up business or walk-in business does one benefit from.

看，我們沒有設法制定一個指標，因為很難說合作夥伴應該提供 X 的收入，因為它是你的時間範圍的函數，第一；第二，宏觀經濟背景是什麼？第三，圍繞該銀行家還建立或未建立什麼；第四，特許經營權的優勢是什麼，以及我所謂的「無預約業務」或「無預約業務」能從中受益多少。

But the firm that we are building is designed to be best-in-class on all dimensions. And ultimately, that reflects itself in very high revenue per partner for that moment in time relative to any other firm.

但我們正在建立的公司旨在各個方面都是一流的。最終，這反映在當時每個合作夥伴相對於任何其他公司的收入都非常高。

As I've talked about repeatedly, we started this firm nine years ago with virtually everything unbuilt. The progress that we have made in nine years is extraordinary. We have far better built-out industry groups, geographic areas. We're a far better understood and sought-after firm, and all of that plays to our long-term advantages.

正如我反覆談到的，我們九年前創辦了這家公司，幾乎所有東西都尚未建成。九年來我們所取得的進步是非凡的。我們擁有更好的工業集團和地理區域。我們是一家更容易被理解和追捧的公司，所有這些都對我們的長期優勢有利。

In the last cycle in 2021, we did not have nearly the market presence that we have for 2025 and beyond. And therefore, I certainly see the direction of travel to be meaningfully more productive going forward, and I think the first time you'll see that will be in 2025.

在 2021 年的最後一個週期中，我們幾乎沒有達到 2025 年及以後的市場佔有率。因此，我當然認為未來旅行的方向將變得更加富有成效，我認為您將在 2025 年第一次看到這一點。

Got it. And then just a follow-up here on the Restructuring commentary and kind of the contribution that you're seeing there. Good to hear the outlook. Just to go a layer deeper. It would be great to just get a sense of kind of the pace of new restructuring mandates coming in because I know you're executing on a lot of deals that were announced last year and early this year.

知道了。然後是關於重組評論的後續行動以及您在那裡看到的貢獻。很高興聽到前景。只是為了更深入一層。如果能夠了解新的重組指令的實施速度，那就太好了，因為我知道你們正在執行去年和今年年初宣布的許多交易。

But just how that pace of mandate has evolved just over the past couple of quarters?and whether you're seeing a stronger effort to maybe kick the can as rates are coming down and capital markets reopen or just any other kind of nuance within the business that you're seeing?

但在過去的幾個季度裡，授權的步伐是如何演變的？隨著利率下降和資本市場重新開放，您是否會看到更強有力的努力來打破罐頭，或者您看到的業務中存在任何其他細微差別？

Yes. Look, there's so many different dynamics there. What I have said repeatedly, and I think I might have been a minority of one, was that this was a long-tailed restructuring cycle, that this restructuring cycle bears no resemblance to what we saw 2020 to 2021.

是的。看，那裡有很多不同的動態。我一再說過，而且我認為我可能是少數人，這是一個長尾重組週期，這個重組週期與我們在 2020 年至 2021 年看到的情況沒有任何相似之處。

I think when I said that, I was out by myself. I think now that's become much more conventional wisdom. We stand by that. This is a multiyear cycle. And even though central banks have moved short term, if you look at what's happened in the long term, rates have been stubbornly high and the long end of the curve has moved higher.

我想當我這麼說的時候，我已經獨自出去了。我認為現在這已經成為更傳統的智慧。我們堅持這一點。這是一個多年周期。儘管央行在短期內採取了行動，但如果你看看長期發生的情況，你會發現利率一直居高不下，而且曲線的長端已經走高。

The refinancing walls in the very near term have been addressed. But if you look out two, three, four years, there's yet another wall of maturities that will need to be addressed.

短期內的再融資牆已經解決。但如果你展望兩年、三年、四年，你會發現還有另一道成熟之牆要解決。

You have a world that speeds up more technological innovation, more disruption, more creation. But when you have more creation somewhere in the world, you have more destruction. And that's how you end up with more companies needing to rethink the balance sheet that they have because, oftentimes, the balance sheet that they have was not designed for the competitive environment that they are in.

你將擁有一個加速更多科技創新、更多顛覆、更多創造的世界。但當世界某個地方有更多的創造時，就會有更多的破壞。這就是為什麼更多的公司需要重新考慮他們所擁有的資產負債表，因為通常情況下，他們所擁有的資產負債表並不是為他們所處的競爭環境而設計的。

We don't see an answer to your specific question. We don't see any material change in the onboarding of new clients. And we are -- we've been quite pleased that as the year has gone on, we've been more constructive about 2024 and we are constructive on 2025 and beyond as well.

我們沒有看到您的具體問題的答案。我們沒有看到新客戶的加入有任何重大變化。我們很高興隨著時間的推移，我們對 2024 年以及 2025 年及以後的目標變得更具建設性。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

詹姆斯·亞羅，高盛。

Paul, maybe just on Strategic Advisory, I do appreciate your comments on why 2025 look so much stronger, but maybe you could just comment on what exactly gives you that confidence. Is it that we're past the US election, economic factors, geopolitical or something else?

Paul，也許只是在策略諮詢方面，我非常感謝您對為什麼 2025 年看起來如此強大的評論，但也許您可以只評論一下到底是什麼給了您這種信心。是我們已經過了美國大選、經濟因素、地緣政治因素還是其他因素？

Well, there's a micro and the macro. Let's talk about the macro first. At the beginning of the year, I said that notwithstanding all of the hype about runaway M&A activity, 2024 was going to be a relatively sober year. And I think I was out there maybe not a minority of one, but there were relatively few who had that sober perspective.

嗯，有微觀和宏觀。我們先來說說宏觀。今年年初，我曾說過，儘管併購活動失控，但 2024 年將是相對清醒的一年。我想我可能不是少數，但擁有這種清醒觀點的人相對較少。

I think as the year has played out, that's pretty much what we've seen. And we're sitting here today 10 months into the year with an annualized run rate of volume up all of 8% from a year ago.

我認為隨著這一年的過去，我們所看到的情況差不多就是這樣。今年已經過去 10 個月了，今天我們坐在這裡，年化交易量比去年同期增加了 8%。

And I've repeatedly talked about us needing to start to see rate cuts and not just one, but when we start to see the direction of travel as we continue, I think that, that will ignite more sponsor activity.

我多次談到我們需要開始看到降息，而不僅僅是一次，但是當我們開始看到我們繼續前進的方向時，我認為這將引發更多的贊助商活動。

I also believe that we need to get past the elections. And I also believe that there is a building demand on the part of corporates to transform their businesses and their desire to use M&A as a tool has never abated. And I suspect that once we get past the election, regardless of where it ends up in both the US Congress and in the White House, that the approach to regulation, to antitrust and the like will be more constructive than it has been.

我還相信我們需要透過選舉。我也相信，企業對業務轉型的需求越來越大，利用併購作為工具的渴望從未減弱。我懷疑，一旦我們通過了選舉，無論最終在美國國會和白宮的結果如何，監管、反壟斷等方面的方法都將比以前更具建設性。

It may manifest itself in different ways and to different degrees, but I believe that either direction will result in somewhat freeing up of strategic transactions. And when you take that, plus a continued easing of monetary policy, I suspect you're going to start to see the private equity imbalance, which has occurred, become more imbalanced as capital markets continue to open up and there's more opportunities to tap the equity markets, as you start to see dividend recapitalization transactions.

它可能以不同的方式和不同的程度表現出來，但我相信，無論哪個方向都會導致策略交易的某種程度的釋放。當你考慮到這一點，再加上貨幣政策的持續寬鬆，我懷疑你將開始看到已經發生的私募股權失衡，隨著資本市場的繼續開放，並且有更多的機會利用資本市場，它會變得更加失衡。

As you get the ecosystem into a better balance, you will see a more active environment. It's just that it's a slow rebuild and you see some of it in 2024. I'm reasonably confident you're going to see more of it in 2025.

當您使生態系統達到更好的平衡時，您將看到一個更活躍的環境。只是重建過程很緩慢，部分要等到 2024 年才能看到。我有理由相信，到 2025 年您會看到更多這樣的情況。

Now as to what makes us confident beyond the macro environment about our firm, as I said at the beginning of the year, we started with a record or near record number of mandates. We had an enormous preannouncement pipeline, but the cupboard was bare by historic standards in terms of announced pending closed transactions.

至於是什麼讓我們在宏觀環境之外對我們公司充滿信心，正如我在年初所說，我們一開始就獲得了創紀錄或接近創紀錄的委託數量。我們有大量的預先公告管道，但按照歷史標準，就已宣布的待完成交易而言，櫥櫃裡空無一物。

If you look at what has transpired over the 10 months, our mandate count continues to grow. It stands at or near record levels. Our announced pending closed backlog has improved dramatically, which sets us up very well for 2025.

如果你看看這 10 個月裡發生的事情，你會發現我們的任務數量持續成長。它處於或接近歷史記錄水平。我們宣布的待關閉積壓工作已顯著改善，這為我們 2025 年的發展奠定了良好的基礎。

We have more completed networks, whether it's by industry group or by geography. We have more maturation of the bankers on the platform. We have the benefit of some significant increase in understanding of our firm. We have far more companies who appreciate what we do and how differentiated we are.

我們擁有更完整的網絡，無論是按行業組還是按地域。我們平台上的銀行家更加成熟。我們受益於對我們公司的了解顯著增加。有更多的公司欣賞我們的工作以及我們的差異化優勢。

And all of that, both from a micro and macro perspective, sets us up very well for '25 relative to either '24 or relative to the last time we saw an active M&A market, which would be 2021.

所有這些，無論是從微觀還是宏觀角度來看，都為我們在25 年的發展奠定了良好的基礎，無論是相對於24 年，還是相對於我們上次看到活躍的併購市場（即2021 年）而言。

Excellent. That's extremely helpful. Just one follow-up here on sponsors, which have comprised nearly 40% of the M&A market in 2021 and 2022, but less than 30% in '23 and this year so far.

出色的。這非常有幫助。這裡只是對贊助商的一個後續追踪，贊助商在 2021 年和 2022 年佔據了併購市場的近 40%，但在 2023 年和今年迄今為止，這一比例還不到 30%。

So I guess, the question is, is it conceivable that sponsors could return to comprising this much of the M&A market? Or is that more of a function of the near 0% interest rate backdrop?

所以我想，問題是，贊助商是否有可能重新佔據併購市場的大部分份額？還是這更多的是接近0%的利率背景的作用？

I've always believed it was more of the latter, which is that things have a way of returning to balance. And I think it's dangerous when you have historic norms that are punctured. And all of a sudden, you're dealing with aberrational weightings to just conclude that that's the way the world is going to be going forward.

我一直相信更多的是後者，即事物有辦法恢復平衡。我認為，當歷史規範被打破時，這是很危險的。突然之間，你正在處理失常的權重，從而得出結論：這就是世界將要前進的方式。

And I think with each passing day, it becomes clear that the quantum of capital that was raised in the alternative space, the quantum of capital that was deployed, the near zero interest rate cost, the fact that as assets melted up having all of that low-cost money created very attractive returns, that is not sustainable for the long term and that's -- as we've now returned to a more normal direction of travel for interest rates, that has put a lot of pressure into the system, and it takes a while to get back to a new equilibrium.

我認為，隨著時間的推移，在另類空間中籌集的資本量、部署的資本量、接近零的利率成本以及隨著資產融化而擁有所有這些的事實變得越來越明顯。了非常有吸引力的回報，但從長遠來看這是不可持續的，而且我們現在已經回到了更正常的利率方向，這給系統帶來了很大的壓力，並且需要一段時間才能恢復到新的平衡。

So I suspect it's going to be meaningfully better than it has been, but our view of the world is not predicated on it going back to what we saw coming out of COVID.

因此，我懷疑它會比以前更好，但我們對世界的看法並不是基於我們在新冠疫情中看到的情況。

Jim Mitchell, Seaport Global Securities.

吉姆·米切爾，海港環球證券公司。

Paul, maybe you can talk -- since you're talking about sponsors there, can you talk about how you're sort of leveraging Park Hill's touch points with sponsors to kind of improve the win rate in sponsor M&A, where you are in that sort of evolution?

保羅，也許你可以談談——既然你在那裡談論贊助商，你能談談你是如何利用 Park Hill 與贊助商的接觸點來提高贊助商併購的勝率的嗎？

Yes. Well, we can talk about it across the board. So we've always maintained that if you're going to have a best-in-class sponsor practice, the best way to do it is to have a best-in-class strategic practice. Because if you have a best-in-class strategic practice and you have all of that corporate access and you have an increasingly important number of sell-side mandates, and what you can talk to your sponsors about is highly relevant to what they do, which is to buy and sell businesses, then, over time, you build a world-class sponsor practice.

是的。好吧，我們可以全面討論一下。因此，我們始終認為，如果您想擁有一流的贊助商實踐，那麼最好的方法就是擁有一流的策略實踐。因為如果你擁有一流的策略實踐，並且擁有所有公司訪問權限，並且擁有越來越重要的賣方授權，並且你可以與贊助商討論的內容與他們所做的事情高度相關，也就是購買和出售企業，然後，隨著時間的推移，你會建立一個世界一流的贊助商實踐。

So it's very hard to just start and say, we're going to cover sponsors. We don't have the corporate side figured out. You need to get the corporate side figured out, and then you need to translate it to sponsors. So that's the first point. And with every passing day, that mission is further advanced.

因此，很難一開始就說我們將涵蓋贊助商。我們還沒有弄清楚公司方面的情況。你需要弄清楚公司方面的情況，然後你需要將其轉化為贊助商。這是第一點。隨著時間的推移，這項使命正在進一步推進。

The second thing is if you think about sponsors, they typically buy companies with relatively high degrees of leverage. Most of those investments work out, not all of them do. So not surprisingly, they become a disproportionately important part of the liability management or restructuring ecosystem as far as important clients.

第二件事是，如果你考慮贊助商，他們通常會購買槓桿率相對較高的公司。這些投資大部分都能成功，但並非全部都能成功。因此，對於重要客戶而言，它們成為負債管理或重組生態系統中極為重要的一部分也就不足為奇了。

And if you look at some of the success that we've had in our liability management and restructuring endeavors, it has been to continue to expand the number of sponsors that we represent. And one of the wonderful things about sponsors is they're highly sophisticated and they understand who's best-in-class. And when you have a best-in-class franchise, that franchise is increasingly in demand as you continue to expand the footprint.

如果您看看我們在負債管理和重組工作中取得的一些成功，您會發現我們所代表的保薦人數量不斷增加。贊助商的奇妙之處之一是他們非常老練，並且了解誰是同類中最好的。當您擁有一流的特許經營權時，隨著您不斷擴大業務範圍，該特許經營權的需求就會越來越大。

Then you get to the next place, which is Park Hill, and when you look at what's going on with the deployment of fund continuation vehicles and the like, that increasingly is the domain of the largest GPs who don't necessarily look for outside help in terms of fundraising because they've taken a lot of their fundraising capabilities and brought them in-house.

然後你到達下一個地方，即 Park Hill，當你查看基金延續工具等的部署情況時，你會發現這越來越成為最大的普通合夥人的領域，他們不一定尋求外部幫助在籌款方面，因為他們已經利用了很多籌款能力並將其引入內部。

But as you have an ever-growing demand on the part of large GPs for fund continuation services, being able to leverage our best-in-class capabilities with our sponsor relationships has helped to spark a growth in that business.

但隨著大型普通合夥人對基金延續服務的需求不斷增長，能夠利用我們一流的能力和贊助商關係，有助於激發該業務的成長。

And then when you get to the next level, having mid-market sponsors who are quite desirous to work with Park Hill, being able to now pair that relationship with deep domain expertise and knowledge of many of the assets in the portfolio, which might not have been the case five years ago or seven years ago or even three years ago, increasingly creates lots of opportunities for us to present holistic relationship, holistic coverage and a holistic approach to serving clients and being rewarded in terms of business. So it all kind of is progressing at pace, and it's all highly interrelated.

然後，當你進入下一個階段時，擁有非常願意與Park Hill 合作的中端市場贊助商，現在能夠將這種關係​​與深厚的領域專業知識和投資組合中許多資產的知識相結合，這可能不會五年前、七年前甚至三年前就是這樣，越來越多地為我們創造了很多機會來展示整體關係、整體覆蓋和整體方法來服務客戶並獲得業務回報。所以這一切都在快速進展，而且都是高度相關的。

Makes sense. And great color. Maybe just a follow-up on just sort of the comp leverage. I think you've talked -- said today that every business line has had record revenues year-to-date, including M&A. I know that's been the fulcrum of getting comp ratio improvements.

有道理。顏色很棒。也許只是補償槓桿的後續行動。我想你今天說過，今年到目前為止，每個業務線的收入都創下了紀錄，包括併購。我知道這是提高薪資比率的支點。

As we look to next year, the pipeline is good. M&A does seem likely to be improving pretty materially. So is that sort of the key to getting the comp leverage out of the franchise? And any thoughts on it would be helpful.

展望明年，管道狀況良好。併購似乎確實可能會得到相當大的改善。那麼這是從特許經營中獲得補償槓桿的關鍵嗎？對此的任何想法都會有所幫助。

I'll give you the one-word answer first, yes. Now to give it a little bit of context, we have said repeatedly that comp leverage for us, because we're making such heavy investments in Strategic Advisory, is when Strategic Advisory revenues increase at a rate faster than headcount growth, that's typically when you see comp leverage.

我先給你一個字的答案，是的。現在，為了提供一些背景信息，我們已經反复說過，因為我們在戰略諮詢方面進行了大量投資，所以對我們來說，補償槓桿是指戰略諮詢收入的增長速度快於員工人數的增長速度，這通常是當你請參閱比較槓桿。

Almost every year in the early years, we were growing the revenues faster than the headcount. You saw comp leverage. You saw it in 2020, you saw it in 2021. Not surprisingly, when we continue to add heads in '22 and '23 and the market retreated and our advisory revenues retreated, even though they retreated less than virtually anyone else's, you had that mismatch. And that's why you saw negative comp leverage in '22 and '23.

早年幾乎每年，我們的收入成長速度都快於員工數量的成長速度。您看到了補償槓桿。你在 2020 年看到了它，你在 2021 年也看到了它。毫不奇怪，當我們在 22 年和 23 年繼續增加頭寸時，市場回落，我們的諮詢收入也下降，儘管他們的回落幅度幾乎比其他任何人都少，但你還是遇到了這種不匹配。這就是為什麼你在 22 年和 23 年看到了負的補償槓桿。

In '24, I suspect you're going to see headcount growth and growth in Strategic Advisory revenues reasonably matched. So it's not getting worse, it's not getting better.

在 24 年，我懷疑您會看到員工數量的成長和策略諮詢收入的成長相當匹配。所以它不會變得更糟，也不會變得更好。

Having said that, when you turn the page to 2025, I am highly confident that our Strategic Advisory revenues will grow meaningfully in excess of our headcount, and that's when you'll begin to see meaningful comp leverage in the system.

話雖如此，當你翻過這一頁到2025 年時，我非常有信心我們的策略諮詢收入將大幅增長，超過我們的員工人數，那時你將開始在系統中看到有意義的薪酬槓桿。

Brennan Hawken, UBS.

布倫南霍肯，瑞銀集團。

So Paul, I'd love to start on that last point. So it looks like partner headcount year-over-year is up about 4%. If we look at total headcount, it's up a little more 10%, but your total revenue is up 20% -- or nearly 21%. So can you maybe help us understand what's missing with the lack of comp leverage coming through this year?

保羅，我很樂意從最後一點開始。因此，看起來合作夥伴人數較去年同期成長了約 4%。如果我們看總人數，會發現增加了 10% 多一點，但總收入增加了 20%，或接近 21%。那麼，您能否幫助我們了解今年由於缺乏薪資槓桿而缺少了什麼？

Because it looks like at this point, you're basically saying 69.5 is right, which would mean 30 basis points of comp leverage versus what was reported in 2023. So is the -- is there some movement going on under the surface? What's causing the comp leverage to not show up this year? And why would that be different next year?

因為此時看起來，您基本上認為 69.5 是正確的，這意味著與 2023 年報告的相比，公司槓桿率增加了 30 個基點。那麼，表面之下是否正在發生一些變化呢？是什麼原因導致今年的比較槓桿沒有出現？為什麼明年會有所不同？

Well, I think, as I said, you've got to look at the headcount growth in Strategic Advisory and you have to look at the revenue growth in Strategic Advisory. And what I'm telling you is if you look at those two this year, they're going to be roughly in line with one another.

嗯，我認為，正如我所說，你必須專注於策略諮詢的員工人數成長，並且必須專注於策略諮詢的收入成長。我要告訴你的是，如果你看看今年的這兩個，他們會大致一致。

And we've made all of this invest -- (technical difficulty) have an inflection point. The revenue has grown this year, but it's not grown at a rate that's in excess -- or meaningfully in excess of what our Strategic Advisory headcount growth will be.

我們已經讓所有這些投資——（技術難度）有了一個轉捩點。今年的收入有所增長，但增長速度並沒有超過——或者說明顯超過了我們策略諮詢人員數量的增長。

When you look at headcount growth, you need to look at total headcount growth, and Strategic Advisory partners are an important part of that, Managing Directors, the full stack up and down. When we get to next year, if you just look at our announced pending close backlog and the like, as I said, I'm highly confident that those two will diverge to the positive, meaning meaningfully higher Strategic Advisory growth and headcount, and that's when you'll see it.

當你考慮員工數量成長時，你需要專注於總員工數量的成長，而策略諮詢合作夥伴、董事總經理、整個團隊的上下游都是其中的重要組成部分。當我們到明年時，如果你看看我們宣布的待關閉積壓訂單等，正如我所說，我非常有信心這兩者將出現積極的變化，這意味著戰略諮詢增長和員工人數將顯著增加，這就是當你看到它的時候。

And investment is a multiyear process. You need to think about it over multi years. It doesn't just move quarter-to-quarter or even year-to-year. It develops over time. And we've been very clear on how our investors should think about the cadence of that. And we've been quite consistent that they should look to that green light, which I've been pretty clear is positioned for 2025 to start to see the benefits of what we've been building.

投資是一個多年的過程。你需要考慮多年。它不只是逐季度甚至逐年變化。它隨著時間的推移而發展。我們非常清楚我們的投資者應該如何考慮這一節奏。我們一直非常一致地認為，他們應該放開綠燈，我已經非常明確地定位為 2025 年，以便開始看到我們一直在建造的項目的好處。

And we've had a couple of years of higher comp than we would like, but that's in the short term. We have no doubt that if you just take the lens and make it a little broader that the return on that investment is going to be quite significant.

我們已經有幾年的薪水比我們想要的還要高，但這只是短期的。我們毫不懷疑，如果你把視角放得更廣一點，那麼投資回報將是相當可觀的。

Okay. Great. We'll be looking forward to that meaningful leverage then next year. You also had some interesting comments on Park Hill. It sounds like things are really picking up nicely in that business.

好的。偉大的。我們將期待明年能夠發揮這種有意義的作用。您對 Park Hill 也有一些有趣的評論。聽起來這個行業的情況確實正在好轉。

When we think about the market currently, and as I'm trying to think about what should happen in that market, it feels like we're going to have probably a handoff from the continuation funds, a lot of secondary activity into more of a regular way fundraising market as things pick back up here in the beginning of next year.

當我們考慮目前的市場時，當我試圖思考該市場應該發生什麼時，感覺我們可能會從延續基金、大量二次活動轉向更多的隨著明年年初情況回暖，募資市場將成為常規方式。

Do you think that that's a fair expectation? And then can you talk about that handoff and what that would mean for economics and the revenue in the business and how it should translate into effectively growth for Park Hill?

您認為這是一個公平的期望嗎？然後您能否談談這種交接，這對經濟和業務收入意味著什麼，以及如何將其轉化為 Park Hill 的有效成長？

Yes. I'm not sure that I would agree with that. I think the fund continuation concept is here to stay. The biggest issue has been a mismatch between desire on the part of GPs to avail themselves of these opportunities and the dedicated capital that is available to invest in these situations.

是的。我不確定我是否同意這一點。我認為基金延續的概念將繼續存在。最大的問題是普通合夥人利用這些機會的願望與可用於投資這些情況的專用資本之間的不匹配。

And if you just pick up the papers, you'll see an ever increasing stream of funds that are gearing up to put billions of dollars against this opportunity. And as you get a build-out in dedicated capital for this asset class and the ability to underwrite larger transactions, more transactions, I think this business grows meaningfully from where it is today.

如果你拿起這些文件，你會看到越來越多的資金正準備投入數十億美元來抓住這個機會。當你為該資產類別獲得專用資本以及承銷更大交易、更多交易的能力時，我認為這項業務將比今天的情況有意義地增長。

And as far as the macro fundraising environment, I think we're increasingly getting to a bifurcated market where not everyone can go out and raise their next fund. And you're starting to see a tiering where the successful funds can accumulate larger and larger dollars. And those that don't have the performance and the scale are increasingly finding it more difficult.

就宏觀融資環境而言，我認為我們正日益進入一個分裂的市場，並不是每個人都能出去籌集下一筆基金。你開始看到一個層次，成功的基金可以累積越來越多的美元。那些不具備性能和規模的企業越來越發現它變得更加困難。

And in that environment, which is challenging, our Park Hill business has had differentiated performance because we have a differentiated approach to distribution and to origination. And in a more difficult environment, there is a flight to quality, and that benefits our team.

在這種充滿挑戰的環境中，我們的 Park Hill 業務取得了差異化的業績，因為我們採用了差異化的分銷和原創方法。在更困難的環境中，人們會追求質量，這對我們的團隊有利。

Brendan O'Brien, Wolfe Research.

布倫丹‧奧布萊恩，沃爾夫研究中心。

I just want to follow up on the comp ratio commentary. And specifically, a few of your peers have cited that comp ratios are going to be structurally higher going forward given the level of inflation seen specifically at the junior level.

我只想跟進薪酬比率評論。具體來說，一些同行指出，考慮到初級水平的通貨膨脹水平，未來的薪酬比率將在結構上更高。

Could you speak to your confidence in your ability to get back to that 64% comp ratio that you were running to previously and whether you're seeing any of the similar dynamics playing out within your own business?

您能否談談您對恢復到先前 64% 的薪酬比率的信心，以及您是否在自己的業務中看到了任何類似的動態？

I don't see any reason sitting here today that we can't do that.

我認為今天坐在這裡沒有任何理由我們不能這樣做。

Great. And I guess, for my follow-up, I want to touch on capital allocation and, specifically, whether you're more inclined to do an acquisition today versus returning capital to shareholders. I know you recently did the deal for deNovo Partners.

偉大的。我想，對於我的後續行動，我想談談資本配置，特別是，你是否更傾向於今天進行收購，而不是向股東返還資本。我知道您最近為 deNovo Partners 完成了這筆交易。

But given where you and your peers are trained today, it feels like there could be a lot of interesting opportunities out there to leverage your multiple and do an accretive acquisition. So it would be great to get a sense as to how your thinking has evolved here, if at all.

但考慮到你和你的同事今天接受的培訓，感覺可能有很多有趣的機會來利用你的倍數並進行增值收購。因此，如果能了解你的思維在這裡是如何演變的，那就太好了。

Look, we're building a best-in-class firm. I don't think you build a best-in-class firm by leveraging your multiple. So it's not like we have a currency that we don't believe in that we want to go use someplace. If anything, we still think it's an incredibly undervalued currency.

看，我們正在建立一家一流的公司。我不認為你可以利用你的本益比來建立一家一流的公司。所以這並不是說我們有一種我們不相信的貨幣，我們想去某個地方使用。如果有什麼不同的話，那就是我們仍然認為這是一種被嚴重低估的貨幣。

We want to continue to buy it back. And we'll use it if there is a highly, highly attractive combination. But as I've said repeatedly, those are few and far between. And that's why in our nine-year history, we've done it twice, and they've been a reasonably modest scale. They've been of a scale that's big enough to move the needle, but not so big as to overwhelm the firm.

我們想繼續回購。如果有非常非常有吸引力的組合，我們就會使用它。但正如我一再說過的那樣，這樣的情況很少見。這就是為什麼在我們九年的歷史中，我們已經做過兩次，而且規模相當適中。它們的規模夠大，足以推動局勢發展，但又不會大到讓公司不堪負荷。

And it all starts with, is there a compelling opportunity? And the reality is investment banking mergers, if you look at the history of them, they haven't gone particularly well. And I think we have the benefit.

一切都始於，是否存在令人信服的機會？現實是投資銀行合併，如果你回顧它們的歷史，你會發現它們的進展並不是特別順利。我認為我們有好處。

If you look at what we did with Blackstone, if you look at what we did with Camberview, if you look at what we were able to do with our strategic alliance, we're quite confident that if we do it, we can execute on it. But that doesn't mean there were that many things out there that we have the confidence that we can execute on.

如果你看看我們對Blackstone 所做的事情，如果你看看我們對Camberview 所做的事情，如果你看看我們透過我們的策略聯盟能夠做的事情，我們非常有信心，如果我們這樣做，我們可以執行它。但這並不代表我們有信心可以執行很多事情。

Aidan Hall, KBW.

艾丹·霍爾，KBW。

Great. Most have been asked, but maybe just one on deNovo. Obviously, relatively small, few partners. But strategically, it sounds like it made a lot of sense to extend beyond the initial partnership. So wondering if you could just expand on where you see the immediate impact.

偉大的。大多數人都被問過，但 deNovo 上可能只有一個。顯然，規模比較小，合作夥伴很少。但從策略上講，超越最初的合作夥伴關係聽起來很有意義。所以想知道您是否可以擴展一下您看到的直接影響。

Is it really in making introductions on the Strategic Advisory side, maybe some benefit within Park Hill with primary fundraising? And then over a longer-term period, call it, three-plus years, what are your aspirations? And what would success really look like for PJT in the Middle East?

是否真的是在策略諮詢方面進行介紹，也許在帕克希爾內部透過主要籌款獲得一些好處？然後在更長的一段時間內，稱之為三年多，你的願望是什麼？PJT 在中東的真正成功是什麼樣的？

It's Helen here. Maybe I'll answer just more on the short term. And as Paul mentioned, we have had a historical relationship. We've had a JV for four years. deNovo brings two partners, two Managing Directors and some senior advisers as well as licenses to operate in the region. So we're very committed to the region.

是海倫在這裡。也許我會更多地回答短期問題。正如保羅所提到的，我們有著歷史性的關係。我們成立合資企業已有四年了。 deNovo 帶來了兩名合夥人、兩名董事總經理和一些高級顧問以及在該地區運營的許可證。所以我們非常致力於該地區。

And where it will have immediate impact? I think it's across the board. It's all the businesses where we operate: Advisory, Restructuring, Park Hill, and so that's where we're focused. We've already had a lot of people flying down to the region to continue to meet with clients in that area, and that will be our focus. Three years down the track, I presume that we will be well ingrained and have a lot of success.

它將在哪些方面產生直接影響？我認為這是全面的。這是我們經營的所有業務：諮詢、重組、Park Hill，所以這就是我們關注的領域。我們已經有很多人飛往該地區繼續與該地區的客戶會面，這將是我們的重點。三年後，我認為我們將根深蒂固並取得很多成功。

That concludes our question-and-answer period. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Taubman for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在，我想將電話轉回給陶布曼先生，讓其致閉幕詞。

Well, again, I want to extend our appreciation for everyone's interest in our company. We look forward to speaking with you when we report full year '24 results in early '25.

好吧，我想再次感謝大家對我們公司的關注。我們期待在 25 年初報告 24 年全年業績時與您交談。