Pool Corp (POOL) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Pool Corporation fourth quarter 2025 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Melanie Hart, Senior Vice President and CFO. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 Pool Corporation 2025 年第四季電話會議。（操作說明）請注意，本次活動正在錄影。現在我將把會議交給高級副總裁兼財務長梅蘭妮·哈特。請繼續。

Welcome, everyone, to our fourth quarter and year-end 2025 earnings conference call. During today's call, our discussion, comments and responses to questions may include forward-looking statements, including management's outlook for 2026 and future periods. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed today. Information regarding the factors and variables that could cause actual results to differ from projected results discussed in our 10-K. In addition, we may make references to non-GAAP financial measures in our comments.

歡迎各位參加我們2025年第四季及全年業績電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，我們的討論、評論和對問題的回答可能包含前瞻性陳述，包括管理階層對 2026 年及未來時期的展望。實際結果可能與今天討論的內容有重大差異。有關可能導致實際結果與預測結果不同的因素和變數的信息，請參閱我們在 10-K 文件中的討論。此外，我們在評論中可能會提及非GAAP財務指標。

A description and reconciliation of any non-GAAP financial measures included in our press release will be posted to our corporate website in the Investor Relations section. Additionally, we have provided a presentation summarizing key points from our press release and today's call, which can also be found on our Investor Relations website. Peter Arvan, our President and CEO, will begin our call today. Pete?

我們將在公司網站的投資者關係欄位中發布新聞稿中包含的任何非GAAP財務指標的說明和對帳資訊。此外，我們還提供了一份演示文稿，總結了我們新聞稿和今天電話會議的要點，該演示文稿也可在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。我們的總裁兼執行長彼得·阿爾文將開始今天的電話會議。皮特？

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Let me begin with a look back at 2025. This was a year of continued industry developments, shifting demand patterns, persistent customer uncertainty, and evolving customer expectations. We stay true to our long-term strategy, investing in new capabilities, expanding our exclusive brands and advancing our digital and distribution platforms. These efforts allowed us to address current market pressures while maintaining a strong foundation for future growth.

各位早安，感謝各位的參與。讓我們先回顧一下2025年。今年是行業持續發展、需求模式不斷變化、客戶持續感到不確定以及客戶期望不斷變化一年。我們堅持長期策略，投資新能力，拓展我們的獨家品牌，並推動我們的數位化和分銷平台。這些努力使我們能夠在應對當前市場壓力的同時，為未來的成長奠定堅實的基礎。

One important industry theme this year was the ongoing decline in general construction activity, including new pool construction. It's important to note that this trend is not unique to our business, but is felt across the broader construction sector. In 2025, we estimate that just under 60,000 new pools were built in the US, a mid-single-digit decline from last year. This is about half of what we saw at the height of the pandemic and 40% lower than in 2022. Even in this environment, we maintained our position and gained share in several important areas, driven by our differentiated offering and commitment to service.

今年一個重要的行業主題是建築業整體活動的持續下滑，包括新建游泳池的建設。值得注意的是，這種趨勢並非我們公司獨有，而是整個建築業普遍存在的現象。我們估計，到 2025 年，美國將新建近 6 萬個游泳池，比去年下降了個位數百分比。這大約是疫情高峰期的一半，比 2022 年低 40%。即使在這種環境下，憑藉我們差異化的產品和服務，我們仍然保持了市場地位，並在幾個重要領域獲得了市場份額。

While new pool construction remains down, maintenance spending proved resilient. Also see the likelihood of pent-up demand in the pool industry, although it's difficult to predict the timing, we do believe that as consumer confidence returns, deferred pool projects and upgrades will come back to the market. This opportunity encourages us even though it remains difficult to put a time line on it. Operationally, we took a disciplined approach to 2025. While the broader industry continued to add capacity, we slowed our own facility expansion and focused instead on driving more value from our existing network.

雖然新建游泳池的工程量持續下降，但維護支出卻展現了韌性。此外，泳池產業也可能出現被壓抑的需求，雖然很難預測特定時間，但我們相信，隨著消費者信心的恢復，被推遲的泳池計畫和升級改造將會重返市場。雖然很難確定實現的時間表，但這個機會仍然鼓舞著我們。在營運方面，我們對 2025 年採取了嚴謹的態度。儘管整個產業都在不斷增加產能，但我們卻放緩了自身設施的擴張速度，轉而專注於從我們現有的網路中創造更多價值。

While early, we are seeing measurable benefits from our strategic investments, including increased efficiency from our technology upgrades, improved customer experiences through digital platforms and enhanced profitability from our supply chain initiatives. The progress underscores the effectiveness of our approach, and we expect these gains to become even more significant in 2026 as our initiatives continue to scale and evolve. Moving to financial performance. Our annual revenue was $5.3 billion, holding steady year-over-year. This stability was supported by steady maintenance demand with early indications of improvements in some discretionary categories even with lower new pool starts.

雖然還處於早期階段，但我們已經從策略性投資中看到了可衡量的收益，包括技術升級帶來的效率提升、透過數位平台改善客戶體驗以及供應鏈舉措帶來的盈利能力提高。這項進展凸顯了我們方法的有效性，我們預期隨著我們的各項措施不斷擴大規模和發展，到 2026 年這些成果將變得更加顯著。接下來討論財務業績。我們的年度收入為 53 億美元，與去年持平。這種穩定性得益於穩定的維護需求，即使新泳池開工量下降，一些可自由支配的類別也出現了改善的早期跡象。

In the fourth quarter, our sales totaled $982 million, just 1% below last year's level, a period that, as a reminder, benefited from significant hurricane-related repairs in Florida and thus was a particularly tough comparison. We delivered strong gross margin performance in 2025, reaching 29.7% for the year, up 20 basis points from the prior year when adjusted for onetime items. This reflects the strength of our market leadership, disciplined pricing strategies and operational excellence through our supply chain. In the fourth quarter, gross margins rose to 30.1%, an improvement of 70 basis points year-over-year. We delivered our commitment to shareholder returns, distributing $530 million in cash this year, a 10% increase over last year.

第四季度，我們的銷售額總計 9.82 億美元，僅比去年同期下降 1%。需要指出的是，去年同期受益於佛羅裡達州颶風造成的重大損失，因此是一個特別艱難的比較時期。2025 年，我們的毛利率表現強勁，全年達到 29.7%，經一次性專案調整後，比上年增長 20 個基點。這體現了我們強大的市場領導地位、嚴謹的定價策略以及透過供應鏈實現的卓越營運。第四季毛利率上升至 30.1%，年增 70 個基點。我們履行了對股東回報的承諾，今年派發了 5.3 億美元的現金，比去年增長了 10%。

This includes $341 million in share repurchases and a 4% increase in our quarterly dividend, underscoring our confidence in the business and our disciplined capital allocation. Inventory, as we have done successfully in the past, we acted opportunistically to secure pre-price increase purchases. This proactive investment positions us to protect and expand our gross margins, and we expect to sell through this inventory in the normal course of business. When we look at our performance by region, Florida sales declined 2% for the year and 9% in the fourth quarter, reflecting last year's post storm activity. However, on a two-year basis, fourth quarter sales in Florida were still up 2%.

這包括 3.41 億美元的股票回購和 4% 的季度股息成長，這凸顯了我們對業務的信心和我們嚴謹的資本配置。庫存方面，我們像過去成功那樣，抓住機會，在價格上漲之前進行採購。這項積極主動的投資使我們能夠保護和擴大毛利率，我們預計在正常的業務過程中出售這些庫存。從各地區的業績來看，佛羅裡達州的銷售額全年下降了 2%，第四季度下降了 9%，反映了去年風暴過後的情況。然而，從兩年前的數據來看，佛羅裡達州第四季的銷售額仍然成長了 2%。

Texas showed early signs of recovery late in the year. Sales grew 1% in the fourth quarter, which helped offset a 3% decline for the full year. California declined 3% for the full year and 4% for the fourth quarter. Arizona was flat for the full year and down slightly in the fourth quarter. Elsewhere, Horizon sales declined 2% for the year.

德克薩斯州在年底出現了復甦的早期跡象。第四季銷售額成長了 1%，這有助於抵消全年 3% 的下滑。加州全年下降 3%，第四季下降 4%。亞利桑那州全年表現平平，第四季略有下滑。在其他方面，Horizo​​​​n 的銷售額全年下降了 2%。

In Europe, we posted local currency growth for the first time in three years, including a 4% increase in the fourth quarter. If we look at our results by product category, chemicals were down 1% for the year, mostly due to price and 3% in the fourth quarter driven by tough comps with post hurricane cleanup. Building materials finished flat for the year and were up 4% in the fourth quarter, driven by demand for our national pool trend products and our differentiated customer experience. Equipment sales, excluding cleaners, were flat year-over-year and down 3% in the fourth quarter, cycling against prior year hurricane recovery comps. Commercial pool products rose 3% for the year.

在歐洲，我們三年來首次實現了以當地貨幣計價的成長，其中第四季成長了 4%。如果我們按產品類別查看業績，化學品全年下降了 1%，主要是由於價格因素；第四季度下降了 3%，主要是由於颶風後清理工作導致的同比數據過高。建材業務全年持平，第四季成長 4%，這主要得益於市場對我們全國泳池潮流產品的需求以及我們差異化的客戶體驗。除清潔設備外，設備銷售額與去年同期持平，第四季下降 3%，與去年颶風災後重建的業績相比有所波動。商用泳池產品全年成長3%。

Now let me highlight performance in 2 important channels: independent retail and Pinch A Penny franchise network. Sales to our independent retail customers decreased 3% for the year and 4% in the fourth quarter. This reflects softer retail demand compared to hurricane-driven surge we saw in -- late in 2024, which created a high benchmark for year-over-year comparisons. Additionally, we did see pressure on chemical pricing, which is why the team is focused on proprietary product differentiation. For Pinch A Penny, sales from franchisees to their end customers declined 2% for the full year and 9% in the fourth quarter.

現在讓我重點介紹兩個重要管道的表現：獨立零售和 Pinch A Penny 特許經營網絡。全年面向獨立零售客戶的銷售額下降了 3%，第四季下降了 4%。這反映出零售需求較 2024 年底颶風引發的激增有所放緩，當時的激增為同比比較樹立了較高的基準。此外，我們也看到了化學品價格面臨的壓力，因此團隊專注於專有產品的差異化。對於 Pinch A Penny 而言，加盟商向最終客戶的銷售額全年下降了 2%，第四季下降了 9%。

It's important to remember most Pinch A Penny stores are in Florida, and last year's fourth quarter saw a 15% jump in franchise sales due to the hurricane activity. At year-end, our Pinch A Penny network grew to just over 300 locations after adding 10 new stores during the year, including 5 in Texas and 1 each in Arizona and North Carolina. Our franchisees continue to provide essential services to customers and remain a key growth driver for our business.

值得注意的是，大多數 Pinch A Penny 門市都位於佛羅裡達州，由於颶風的影響，去年第四季特許經營銷售額成長了 15%。到年底，我們的 Pinch A Penny 網路已發展到 300 多個地點，其中 5 家位於德克薩斯州，1 家位於亞利桑那州，1 家位於北卡羅來納州。我們的加盟商繼續為客戶提供必要的服務，並且仍然是我們業務成長的關鍵驅動力。

Turning to the digital side, we continue to make investments in technology, the launch of POOL360 unlocked and new artificial intelligence features expanded customer access to our product and improve their experience across our network. Digital sales reached 13.5% of total revenue in the fourth quarter, up from 12.5% last year and peaked at a record 17% during the pool season.

在數位化方面，我們繼續增加對科技的投資，POOL360 解鎖版和新的人工智慧功能的推出，擴大了客戶對我們產品的訪問範圍，並改善了他們在我們網路中的體驗。第四季數位銷售額佔總收入的 13.5%，高於去年的 12.5%，並在泳池季期間達到創紀錄的 17% 的峰值。

For the full year, we finished at 15% of sales, which is an all-time high, and we believe this will continue to grow. We also expanded our physical footprint, opening 8 new locations and acquiring three, bringing our total to 456 sales centers at the end of the year. Between these investments in digital and our distribution network, we remain well positioned to support both the professional and the DIY end markets moving forward.

全年來看，我們的銷售額佔比達到了 15%，創歷史新高，我們相信這一比例還會繼續成長。我們也擴大了實體店面，開設了 8 個新店面，並收購了 3 個新店面，到年底我們的銷售中心總數達到了 456 個。憑藉在數位化和分銷網絡方面的這些投資，我們將繼續為專業市場和 DIY 終端市場提供支援。

Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate net sales will grow in the low single-digit range. This outlook assumes new pool construction will stay close to the 60,000 units we saw in 2025. Maintenance revenues should remain resilient, and we expect to continue to capture share through exclusive brands, enhanced technology and differentiated services.

展望 2026 年，我們預期淨銷售額將以較低的個位數成長。這個預測假設新建游泳池的數量將保持在 2025 年我們看到的 6 萬個左右。維護收入應該會保持穩定，我們預計將繼續透過獨家品牌、增強技術和差異化服務來獲取市場份額。

We expect our work to drive greater efficiency, especially the network optimization and operational improvements launched at the end of 2025 will produce more meaningful gains in 2026 as those initiatives scale. We will continue our disciplined approach to capital allocation, focusing on investment -- focusing investments on opportunities with the highest returns. With all these factors in mind, our diluted EPS range for 2026 is $10.85 to $11.15. Melanie will provide further details on our financial outlook in just a moment.

我們期望我們的工作能夠提高效率，特別是 2025 年底啟動的網路優化和營運改進，隨著這些措施的規模擴大，將在 2026 年產生更有意義的收益。我們將繼續採取嚴謹的資本配置方式，專注於投資－將投資重點放在回報最高的投資機會。綜合考慮以上因素，我們預計2026年稀釋後每股收益為10.85美元至11.15美元。梅蘭妮稍後將詳細介紹我們的財務展望。

To summarize, our focus in 2026, we'll have 3 priorities that guide us as we move forward. First, delivering an unmatched customer experience through exceptional service, tailored solutions and the reliability our customers count on. by raising the bar on customer engagement and satisfaction, we reinforced our position as the partner of choice in the industry. Second, expanding our exclusive brands and deepening our OEM relationships to offer innovative, differentiated products that set us apart in the market. And third, fully leveraging our technology and network investments from POOL360 to our distribution platform, driving greater efficiency, reach and agility across our business.

總而言之，2026 年，我們將重點放在以下 3 個優先事項，這些事項將指導我們前進的方向。首先，我們透過卓越的服務、量身訂製的解決方案以及客戶信賴的可靠性，提供無與倫比的客戶體驗。透過提高客戶參與度和滿意度，我們鞏固了自身作為產業首選合作夥伴的地位。其次，拓展我們的獨家品牌，深化我們的 OEM 合作關係，以提供創新、差異化的產品，使我們在市場上脫穎而出。第三，充分利用我們在 POOL360 到分銷平台的技術和網路投資，提高我們業務的效率、覆蓋範圍和靈活性。

We will continue to exercise strict discipline in execution and investment, ensuring we generate strong returns and stay nimble as the market conditions evolve. Feedback on our new products and digital tools have been very encouraging. We look forward to providing more detail on our strategic road map and innovation plans at our upcoming Investor Day. Investing in our people remains fundamental to our long-term strategy and culture of excellence. We are relentless in attracting, developing and retaining top talent, empowering our team members to lead, innovate and drive meaningful results.

我們將繼續嚴格執行投資策略，確保強勁的回報，並隨著市場狀況的變化保持靈活應變。我們收到的新產品和數位工具的回饋非常令人鼓舞。我們期待在即將舉行的投資者日上，詳細介紹我們的策略路線圖和創新計劃。投資員工仍然是我們長期策略和卓越文化的基礎。我們不懈地吸引、培養和留住頂尖人才，賦予團隊成員領導、創新和有意義成果的權力。

Their expertise and commitment not only fuel our current success, but also ensure we are well positioned to seize future opportunities and shape the next phase of our growth. Before I conclude, I would like to thank our employees, our vendor partners and our customers for their ongoing commitment and trust. Through another demanding year, we delivered solid results and laid the groundwork for further progress. I am confident that together, we are well positioned to drive continued leadership and value creation in the years ahead. I will now turn the call over to Melanie Hart, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for her commentary.

他們的專業知識和奉獻精神不僅推動了我們當前的成功，也確保我們能夠抓住未來的機遇，塑造我們發展的下一個階段。在結束演講之前，我要感謝我們的員工、供應商合作夥伴和客戶一直以來的支持和信任。又經歷了充滿挑戰的一年，我們取得了紮實的成果，並為未來的發展奠定了基礎。我相信，我們齊心協力，一定能夠在未來幾年繼續保持領先地位並創造價值。現在我將把電話交給我們的高級副總裁兼財務長梅蘭妮·哈特，請她發表評論。

Thank you, Pete, and thanks to everyone for joining us on today's call. I'll begin with a summary of our fourth quarter results discuss our full year 2025 achievements and then look ahead to 2026 expectations. For the fourth quarter, sales decreased by 1% compared to the prior year. The prior year's fourth quarter included a 2% benefit from increased maintenance activity and weather from hurricane recovery efforts, primarily in the Florida market. We continue to see an effect from lower discretionary spending which had a drag on sales of 2% this quarter, including the results from Horizon.

謝謝你，皮特，也謝謝今天所有參加我們電話會議的人。我將首先總結我們第四季的業績，討論我們 2025 年全年的成就，然後展望 2026 年的預期。第四季銷售額比上年同期下降了1%。上一年第四季由於維護活動增加以及颶風災後重建工作帶來的天氣因素（主要在佛羅裡達州市場）而增加了 2%。我們繼續看到可自由支配支出減少的影響，這導致本季銷售額下降了 2%，其中包括 Horizo​​n 的業績。

However, the impact has continued to moderate throughout the year as we have seen permit declines across most of our markets begin to improve. Net pricing benefit for the quarter was approximately 2%. Fourth quarter gross margin was 30.1% and reflects a 70 basis point improvement over the prior year's margin of 29.4%. The Improvements to gross margin were a result of pricing, supply chain benefits, expanded private label sales activity and a favorable product mix. The favorable product mix includes the fact that the prior year's weather impact led to increased equipment sales, which generally have lower margins than our overall product mix.

然而，隨著我們大多數市場的許可證數量開始下降，這種影響在今年持續緩和。本季淨定價收益約 2%。第四季毛利率為 30.1%，比去年同期的 29.4% 提高了 70 個基點。毛利率的提高得益於定價、供應鏈優勢、自有品牌銷售活動的擴大以及有利的產品組合。有利的產品組合包括：上一年天氣的影響導致設備銷售增加，而設備銷售額的利潤率通常低於我們整體產品組合的利潤率。

Operating expenses in the fourth quarter increased by $14 million or 6% compared to the prior year. This year-over-year expense increase is higher than the trend to date, primarily due to incremental technology investments made in the fourth quarter to ensure that POOL360 unlocked, as Pete outlined, was ready and available for use across the network. In addition, we have our new sales center openings and sales transformation expenses. We also saw self-insured medical costs continue to rise significantly outpacing general inflation rate. We reported operating income for the quarter of $52 million compared to $61 million in the prior year and diluted earnings per share of $0.85 as compared to $0.98 in the fourth quarter of 2024.

第四季營運支出比上年同期增加 1,400 萬美元，增幅為 6%。與去年同期相比，今年的支出成長高於目前的趨勢，這主要是由於第四季度增加了技術投資，以確保 POOL360 解鎖後（正如 Pete 所概述的那樣）能夠在整個網路中使用。此外，我們還有新銷售中心的開設和銷售轉型費用。我們也發現，自保醫療費用持續大幅上漲，漲幅遠超過整體通膨率。本季營業收入為 5,200 萬美元，而上年同期為 6,100 萬美元；稀釋後每股收益為 0.85 美元，而 2024 年第四季為 0.98 美元。

For the full year of 2025, we maintained sales of $5.3 billion, consistent with the prior year despite having 1 less selling day. Discretionary activity related to remodels continue to make progress. with the new pool construction remaining a challenge, resulting in approximately 2% to 3% lower sales for the full year. We have successfully implemented both full season and mid-season price increases while effectively managing evolving market pricing for chemicals, resulting in a 2% net pricing benefit. Maintenance activity overall for the year was positive.

2025 年全年，儘管銷售日減少了一天，但我們仍保持了 53 億美元的銷售額，與前一年持平。與房屋改造相關的非必要活動持續取得進展，但新建游泳池仍面臨挑戰，導致全年銷售額下降約 2% 至 3%。我們已成功實施了整個季度和季度中期的價格上漲，同時有效管理了不斷變化的化學品市場價格，從而獲得了 2% 的淨價格收益。全年維護活動整體呈現正態勢。

In 2025, we estimate that maintenance items accounted for roughly 64% of our pool product sales, while renovation and remodel projects made up 22% and new pool construction contributed 14%. These are consistent with our 2024 estimate. Our sales of products primarily used in new pool construction and remodel finished the year flat, which was better than the overall new build market, we have estimated to be down 3% to 5%. Gross margin for 2025 was 29.7%, up 20 basis points compared to the prior year reported margin, which was also 29.7%, but included a 20 basis point benefit from import taxes. This improvement reflects effective supply chain management and disciplined pricing practices.

我們預計到 2025 年，維護用品將占我們泳池產品銷售額的約 64%，翻新和改造項目佔 22%，新建泳池貢獻了 14%。這些與我們2024年的預測一致。我們主要用於新建泳池和改造泳池的產品的銷售額全年持平，這比整體新建市場的情況要好，我們估計整體新建市場下降了 3% 到 5%。2025 年毛利率為 29.7%，比前一年報告的毛利率高出 20 個基點，上一年的毛利率也是 29.7%，但包含了進口稅帶來的 20 個基點收益。這項改進反映了有效的供應鏈管理和嚴格的定價策略。

These results were achieved through a consistent focus on operational execution and proactive engagement with customers. Regarding product mix, building materials accounted for 12% of sales in 2025 and 2024. Operating expenses increased $34 million, bringing the total to $992 million. Key investments this year included in the 3.5% expense increase are approximately 1% for incremental costs related to the 8 new greenfield locations and 1% in incremental technology spend. These increases were partially offset by ongoing improvement from our capacity creation efforts, which helped mitigate the impact of broader cost inflation.

這些成果的取得得益於我們對營運執行的持續關注和對客戶的積極主動的互動。從產品組合來看，建築材料在 2024 年和 2025 年的銷售額佔比為 12%。營運支出增加了 3,400 萬美元，總額達到 9.92 億美元。今年 3.5% 的費用成長中包含的關鍵投資約佔 1%，其中 8 個新綠地地點的增量成本約佔 1%，技術支出約佔 1%。這些成長部分被我們產能提升工作的持續改善所抵消，這有助於減輕整體成本上漲的影響。

For the year, operating income reached $580 million compared to the $617 million in the previous year. Interest expense decreased by $3 million year-over-year benefiting from lower overall rates, including benefits from refinancings during the year. We have continued to benefit from our treasury management efforts and mix of fixed and variable rate debt. The effective tax rate was 23.8%, slightly higher than last year's 23.4% with ASU benefit. On a full year basis and excluding the impact of ASU, the tax rate was 24.7%.

本年度營業收入達 5.8 億美元，而前一年為 6.17 億美元。利息支出年減 300 萬美元，這得益於整體利率的下降，包括年內再融資帶來的好處。我們持續受益於資金管理方面的努力以及固定利率和浮動利率債務的組合。實際稅率為 23.8%，略高於去年的 23.4%（含 ASU 優惠）。全年來看，不考慮 ASU 的影響，稅率為 24.7%。

Diluted earnings per share of $10.85 compares to $11.30 in the previous year and includes an ASU benefit of $0.12 per diluted share for the full year versus $0.23 in 2024. Adjusted diluted EPS was $10.73 compared to $11.07 last year, representing a 3% decrease. The $11.07 includes the $0.25 import tax benefit. Moving to our balance sheet and cash flow. Inventory at year-end was $1.45 billion, an increase of $165 million or 13% from last year's balance of $1.29 billion.

稀釋後每股收益為 10.85 美元，而前一年為 11.30 美元，其中包括 ASU 帶來的每股稀釋收益 0.12 美元（全年），而 2024 年為 0.23 美元。經過調整後的稀釋每股收益為 10.73 美元，而去年同期為 11.07 美元，下降了 3%。11.07 美元中包含 0.25 美元的進口稅優惠。接下來來看看我們的資產負債表和現金流量表。年末庫存為 14.5 億美元，比上年的 12.9 億美元增加了 1.65 億美元，增幅達 13%。

In anticipation of estimated cost increases for certain products for the 2026 season, we evaluated early by opportunities and made strategic purchases. We expect normal inventory seasonality for 2026 with a peak in March ahead of the season and lower inventory levels by the end of the third quarter. This is an area where our team has proven to excel, and we are comfortable with the lift in the inventory that is focused on our faster-moving product line. Total debt increased $249 million to $1.2 billion at year-end. Debt balances were primarily used to fund incremental working capital and share repurchases.

考慮到某些產品在 2026 年預計成本上漲，我們提前評估了各種機會並進行了策略性採購。我們預計 2026 年庫存季節性將保持正常水平，在 3 月旺季到來之前達到峰值，到第三季末庫存水準將下降。我們的團隊在這個領域表現出色，我們對庫存的增加感到滿意，因為這主要集中在我們週轉更快的產品線上。截至年底，總債務增加2.49億美元，達到12億美元。債務餘額主要用於補充營運資金和回購股票。

Our year-end leverage ratio was 1.67, consistent with our target range of 1.5 to 2x. As expected, our cash flow from operating activities was $366 million representing 90% of net income of $406 million. Cash flow in 2025 was reduced by the $69 million in deferred tax payments made in the first quarter of 2025 related to those impacted by the hurricanes in 2024. Cash flow from operating activities in 2025 would have been 107% of net income without the deferred tax payment. We finished 2025 with solid earnings performance.

我們年末槓桿率為 1.67，符合 1.5 至 2 倍的目標範圍。正如預期的那樣，我們的營運活動現金流為 3.66 億美元，佔淨收入 4.06 億美元的 90%。2025 年的現金流減少了 6,900 萬美元，這筆款項是 2025 年第一季支付的，與 2024 年受颶風影響的人員有關。若不計遞延所得稅款，2025 年營業活動產生的現金流量將佔淨收入的 107%。我們在2025年取得了穩健的獲利表現。

We continue to invest forward into the business with 8 new greenfield locations, 3 acquired sales centers, 10 new Pinch a Penny franchise stores, including 2 new states and enhanced capabilities within our POOL360 ecosystem. We have invested capital in inventory, dividends and increased share repurchases to benefit the business and the shareholders. Next, we'll move on to our discussion of 2026.

我們繼續增加對業務的投資，包括新建 8 個綠地店、收購 3 個銷售中心、開設 10 家新的 Pinch a Penny 特許經營店（涵蓋 2 個新州）以及增強 POOL360 生態系統內的能力。我們已將資金投入庫存、股利和增加股票回購中，以使公司和股東受益。接下來，我們將繼續討論 2026 年的情況。

Heading into 2025, we faced a challenging macro environment, including higher than historical interest rates, increased cost, continued inflation impacts from tariffs and uncertainty around when consumers will return to more typical discretionary spending in the pool and irrigation market. While we saw some improvements in the comparative trends, we are still awaiting more positive consumer spending.

展望 2025 年，我們面臨著充滿挑戰的宏觀環境，包括高於歷史水平的利率、不斷上漲的成本、關稅帶來的持續通膨影響，以及消費者何時才能恢復到泳池和灌溉市場更典型的可自由支配支出的不確定性。雖然我們看到一些對比趨勢有所改善，但我們仍在等待消費者支出出現更多正面的跡象。

Our focus has been on improving the business outside of the macro trend, and we accomplished that in 2025 as we were able to realize benefits from pricing and maintenance activity that offset the decline in discretionary spending. In 2026, we expect our maintenance business to remain resilient, supported by the addition of approximately 60,000 new pools built in 2025.

我們一直致力於在宏觀趨勢之外改善業務，並在 2025 年實現了這一目標，因為我們能夠從定價和維護活動中獲得收益，從而抵消可自由支配支出的下降。預計到 2026 年，我們的維護業務將保持穩健，這得益於 2025 年新建的約 60,000 個游泳池。

We also anticipate vendor cost increases and corresponding pricing pass-throughs to result in a 1% to 2% pricing benefit. Given that we have not yet observed a positive inflection in discretionary spending trends, we will continue to monitor these dynamics before projecting the timing of any significant recovery. Overall, we expect 2026 to continue to be a challenging market.

我們也預計供應商成本增加以及相應的價格轉嫁將帶來 1% 至 2% 的價格優勢。鑑於我們尚未觀察到可自由支配支出趨勢出現正向轉折，我們將繼續監測這些動態，然後再預測任何重大復甦的時間。總體而言，我們預計 2026 年市場仍將充滿挑戰。

However, we anticipate our market position and execution will allow us to achieve low single-digit sales growth. In 2026, we will have the same number of selling days each quarter and for the full year compared to 2025. Our gross margin for 2026 is projected to be consistent with 2025. We expect ongoing positive contributions from the effective supply chain, pricing strategies and increased private label sales offsetting continued shift to larger customers. At this time, we do not anticipate a significant increase in new pool construction or remodel activity, so product mix is not expected to have a material positive impact on 2026 gross margin.

然而，我們預期憑藉我們的市場地位和執行力，我們將實現個位數的低銷售成長。2026 年，我們每季和全年的銷售天數將與 2025 年相同。我們預計 2026 年的毛利率將與 2025 年持平。我們預計，有效的供應鏈、定價策略和自有品牌銷售的成長將持續做出積極貢獻，抵消向大型客戶的持續轉移。目前，我們預計新建泳池或改建活動不會大幅增加，因此產品組合預計不會對 2026 年毛利率產生實質的正面影響。

For 2026, we estimate we will incur approximately $5 million in additional costs to open five to eight new sales centers. As part of our commitment to being an employer of choice, we also plan to increase employee rewards in line with higher earnings. This means that assuming we achieve low single-digit growth revenue, incentive-based compensation expenses are projected to rise by $10 million to $15 million. As we have proven over the last several years, this incentive compensation reload only occurred in line with improved results and has not yet been normalized through 2025. The management team remains confident in our ability to generate returns from recent investments in technology and infrastructure.

預計到 2026 年，我們將需要額外投入約 500 萬美元來開設五到八個新的銷售中心。為了履行成為首選雇主的承諾，我們還計劃隨著收入的增加而增加員工獎勵。這意味著，假設我們實現個位數低成長的收入，基於激勵的薪酬支出預計將增加 1,000 萬美元至 1,500 萬美元。正如我們在過去幾年中所證明的那樣，這種激勵性薪酬的增加只有在業績改善的情況下才會發生，而且到 2025 年還沒有恢復正常。管理團隊對我們近期在技術和基礎設施方面的投資能夠產生回報的能力仍然充滿信心。

These investments have positioned us to proactively manage staffing and facility needs more efficiently across our network. With low single-digit sales growth, we expect operating margin to improve in 2026, although this improvement will be partially offset by the onetime increase in incentive compensation. We are also seeing positive momentum at the more than 50 new greenfield locations we've opened since 2021. The operating costs associated with new locations added in 2025 will result in higher year-over-year expenses in the first quarter. However, we expect expense growth to moderate as these sites reach scale and efficiency gains are realized throughout the year.

這些投資使我們能夠更積極、更有效率地管理整個網路的員工配備和設施需求。由於銷售額成長僅為個位數，我們預計 2026 年營業利潤率將有所改善，儘管這項改善將被一次性增加的激勵性薪酬部分抵消。自 2021 年以來，我們開設的 50 多個新綠地計畫也取得了積極的發展勢頭。2025 年新增地點帶來的營運成本將導致第一季支出較去年同期增加。然而，我們預計隨著這些站點規模的擴大和全年效率的提高，費用成長將會放緩。

Our continued focus on operational excellence and process optimization provides us with confidence that we can leverage our growing platform, drive productivity and achieve further cost efficiencies as the year progresses. We expect interest expense to approximate $50 million in 2026 based on current rate. Interest expense is typically higher in the first and second quarters due to inventory buildup for the swimming pool season. For depreciation and amortization, we have included estimates of $55 million to $57 million. In 2026, we do not anticipate any significant changes to our capital allocation.

我們持續專注於卓越營運和流程優化，這使我們有信心利用我們不斷發展的平台，提高生產力，並在今年內進一步提高成本效益。以當前利率計算，我們預計 2026 年利息支出將約為 5,000 萬美元。由於游泳池旺季需要大量庫存，因此第一季和第二季的利息支出通常較高。對於折舊和攤銷，我們已估算為 5500 萬美元至 5700 萬美元。預計到 2026 年，我們的資本配置不會有任何重大變化。

It would include reinvesting roughly 1% to 1.5% of net sales back into the business, and we plan to allocate between $25 million and $50 million toward acquisitions. Subject to approval, dividend payments are expected to use around $200 million in cash and we intend to continue repurchasing shares on an opportunistic basis. We project that cash flow for 2026 will be aligned with our goal of achieving 100% of net income. Annual tax rate is estimated to be approximately 25% and excluding the impact of ASU. This rate typically runs closer to 25.5% in the first, second and fourth quarters and lower in the third quarter.

這將包括將淨銷售額的約 1% 至 1.5% 再投資於業務，我們計劃撥出 2,500 萬美元至 5,000 萬美元用於收購。待獲得批准後，預計股利支付將動用約 2 億美元現金，我們打算繼續擇機回購股票。我們預計 2026 年的現金流將與我們實現 100% 淨收入的目標相符。預計年稅率約為 25%，不包括 ASU 的影響。該比率在第一、第二和第四季通常接近 25.5%，而在第三季則較低。

We do not expect to see a significant benefit from ASU in the first quarter when restricted shares [ vest and stock ] options expire and, therefore, have no projected ASC benefit in our 2026 guidance. We estimate approximately 36.8 million weighted average shares outstanding the end of the first quarter and 36.9% for the remainder of the year. Our guidance for 2026 is a diluted EPS range of $10.85 to $11.15 with no ASU tax benefit. The improvement in earnings at the midpoint would be approximately 2% to 3%. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our strategy to drive performance through steady maintenance activity, disciplined pricing and ongoing operational improvements.

我們預期在第一季受限股票（歸屬和股票選擇權）到期時，ASU 不會帶來顯著收益，因此，我們在 2026 年的業績指引中沒有 ASC 收益預期。我們估計第一季末加權平均流通股約為 3,680 萬股，今年剩餘時間約為 36.9%。我們對 2026 年的預期是稀釋後每股收益在 10.85 美元至 11.15 美元之間，不考慮 ASU 稅收優惠。中間值對應的收益改善幅度約為 2% 至 3%。展望未來，我們仍然對我們的策略充滿信心，即透過穩定的維護活動、嚴格的定價和持續的營運改善來推動業績成長。

While we continue to monitor broader macroeconomic conditions for signs of sustained recovery in discretionary markets, our strong balance sheet positions us well to capitalize on future opportunities. We remain committed to delivering exceptional cash returns to shareholders through a balanced and disciplined approach.

儘管我們將繼續關注宏觀經濟狀況，以尋找非必需消費品市場持續復甦的跡象，但我們強勁的資產負債表使我們能夠更好地掌握未來的機會。我們將繼續致力於透過平衡和嚴謹的方式，為股東帶來卓越的現金回報。

(Operator Instructions) David Manthey, Baird.

（操作說明）David Manthey，Baird。

First question on SG&A. Melanie, you pointed out that the low single-digit growth rate that you're guiding to is enough to trigger the incentive comp reset. So I assume that, that -- whatever that is, 25 or 30 basis points of a drag is factored into your earnings guidance. The question is if revenue were to come in flat, let's say, unexpectedly what -- would that imply that you would not trigger the incentive comp reset? I'm trying to get an idea, is this a sliding scale? Is it binary? How should we think about how that layers in or doesn't layer in given various ranges of revenues?

關於銷售、管理及行政費用的第一個問題。梅蘭妮，你指出，你預期的個位數低成長率足以觸發激勵薪資重置。所以我假設，無論是什麼，25 或 30 個基點的拖累因素都已計入你們的獲利預期中。問題是，如果收入意外地持平，這是否意味著您不會觸發激勵薪酬重置？我想了解一下，這是一個滑動標尺嗎？它是二進制的嗎？考慮到不同的收入範圍，我們應該如何考慮這種分層效應是否應該被納入考慮？

It's definitely a sliding scale. So within kind of that range of low single digits, we would expect different points of recovery. With flat sales, the way that our incentive programs are structured, we would not see any change to the overall incentive compensation from 25 to 26.

這絕對是一個浮動尺度。因此，在個位數低點的範圍內，我們預期會出現不同的復甦點。如果銷售額持平，按照我們激勵計畫的結構，整體激勵薪酬不會從 25 到 26 發生任何變化。

And what I would say is that additionally, if sales -- aftermarket lags even more and sales do come in flat, then, frankly, from a cost perspective, we would do other things to be in line with the market.

另外，我想說的是，如果售後市場銷售進一步滯後，銷售額停滯不前，那麼坦白說，從成本角度來看，我們將採取其他措施來與市場保持一致。

Okay. Yes. And then on gross margin, you're guiding that flat. I'm just -- as you're going through scenario planning and setting your budgets, what are some factors that you think about where that could come in above or below flat with 2025 some of the key things that you're considering?

好的。是的。然後，在毛利率方面，你要保持穩定。我只是——當您進行情境規劃和製定預算時，您認為哪些因素可能會導致 2025 年的目標高於或低於預期？您正在考慮的一些關鍵因素是什麼？

That's a good question. It's a broad topic, as you know. So when I think about the drivers of gross margin, certainly, customer mix and product mix are part of that. Our work in pricing optimization, which continues to improve factors into that. I was particularly encouraged with the fourth quarter gross margin expansion.

這是個好問題。如你所知，這是一個非常廣泛的話題。所以，當我思考毛利率的驅動因素時，客戶組合和產品組合當然是其中的一部分。我們在價格優化方面的工作，以及不斷改進的因素，都促成了這一點。第四季毛利率的成長尤其令我感到鼓舞。

And I think that was driven by a couple of things. It was driven by a great effort by our supply chain teams. I think it was partially driven by the pricing work that the field is doing. I look at product mix. Now on one hand, I would say if renovation and remodel, which continues to outpace new pool construction, frankly.

我認為這主要有兩個原因。這得歸功於我們供應鏈團隊的巨大努力。我認為這部分是由於該領域正在進行的定價工作所致。我關注產品組合。一方面，坦白說，翻新和改造泳池的需求持續超過新建泳池的需求。

If that continues on the same path that it's on, that will create some lift for us from a product mix perspective. And then I look at the proprietary or exclusive brands that we have been building over the years and our continued work in those areas as, I would say, tailwinds that would help drive the number. The other side of that is that in a market like we are in, there's always, I would say, competitive pressures, which, again, I don't really get too concerned about because we have them -- I don't expect the competitive pressures to be, frankly, any different in 2025 or 6 as they were in 2025. And as you can see by the numbers, I think the business did a very good job of more than offsetting that. So yes, they're there, but does it really drive our behavior?

如果這種情況繼續下去，從產品組合的角度來看，這將為我們帶來一些提振。然後，我認為，我們多年來打造的自有品牌或獨家品牌，以及我們在這些領域持續進行的工作，都是有助於推動業績成長的順風。另一方面，在我們所處的市場中，總是存在競爭壓力，但我並不太擔心，因為我們已經面臨這些壓力——坦白說，我預計 2025 年或 2026 年的競爭壓力不會與 2025 年有任何不同。從數據上可以看出，我認為公司在彌補損失方面做得非常出色，而且收益遠超預期。所以，是的，它們確實存在，但這真的會影響我們的行為嗎？

No. I mean we did see some deflation on chemicals. But again, in my comment, I mentioned, that's why we're kind of focused on the chemical side that we have some products that are exclusive and proprietary where we don't see that type of headwind that we are also leaning into. So overall, when I look at gross margin, I think the team did a very good job in '25. And I also think we have the same levers plus more to pull in 2026, which will help us out in that area.

不。我的意思是，我們確實看到化學產品出現了一些通貨緊縮。但是，正如我在評論中提到的，這就是為什麼我們比較專注於化學領域，因為我們有一些獨家和專有的產品，在這些領域我們沒有看到我們正在努力克服的那種阻力。所以總的來說，從毛利率來看，我認為球隊在 2025 年做得非常好。而且我認為，到 2026 年，我們不僅擁有相同的籌碼，還有更多可以利用的手段，這將有助於我們在這一領域取得成功。

Ryan Merkel, William Blair.

瑞安·默克爾，威廉·布萊爾。

Thanks for all the thoughts on '26. I also wanted to ask on SG&A. -- when I plug in some of the parameters that you gave, I'm coming up with like 1.5% SG&A growth for '26. Just given some of the things you talked about with the employee rewards and new sales centers. Is that -- am I in the right ballpark there?

感謝大家對「26」的所有想法。我也想問一下銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）的問題。 ——當我代入您給的一些參數後，我計算出2026年的SG&A成長率約為1.5%。就拿您剛才提到的員工獎勵和新銷售中心這些事情來說吧。是這樣嗎？我的理解對嗎？

Yes. So I would say, if you're thinking about sales growth and expense growth and trying to match those, we would expect that the expense growth would come in slightly less than the sales growth to give us a similar operating income margin, maybe slight leverage for next year. So we're going to be looking to offset the -- some of that incentive comp recovery. overall by looking at utilizing the capacity that we have put into the market. So the term that you made here for 2026 will be capacity absorption.

是的。所以我想說，如果你考慮銷售成長和支出成長，並試圖使兩者相匹配，我們預計支出成長會略低於銷售成長，以使我們獲得類似的營業利潤率，也許明年可以略微提高槓桿率。因此，我們將尋求透過利用我們已投入市場的產能來抵消部分激勵性薪酬的恢復。所以，你在這裡為 2026 年設定的術語將是產能吸收。

As we've talked about the investments that we've made in technology and the investments that we've made in building out our footprint on the greenfield side, we feel very well positioned with what we've done to date. And so our actions in 2026 will primarily be focused on starting to further enhance the generation of returns that we have on those investments.

正如我們之前討論過的，我們在技術方面的投資以及我們在新項目方面的投資，讓我們對迄今為止所做的一切感到非常滿意。因此，我們在 2026 年的行動將主要集中在進一步提高這些投資的回報。

Ryan, I'll give you a couple of thoughts in this area. So I think we are particularly focused on the SG&A of the business because I think in the last couple of years, rightfully so, we invested in order to make sure that we maintained our market leadership position in terms of capabilities, customer experience. At the same time, we also have opportunities from -- as Melanie mentioned, now from a capacity absorption perspective, we made some investments. We're starting to see positive traction on those investments. And I believe that the new facilities as they continue to mature with a great degree of focus from the management team that our operating leverage on those facilities will continue to improve.

瑞恩，我在這方面有幾點想法。所以我認為我們特別關注公司的銷售、一般及行政費用，因為我認為在過去的幾年裡，我們理所當然地進行了投資，以確保我們在能力和客戶體驗方面保持市場領先地位。同時，我們也迎來了機會——正如梅蘭妮所提到的，從產能吸收的角度來看，我們進行了一些投資。我們開始看到這些投資產生正面效果。我相信，隨著新設施的不斷完善，以及管理團隊的高度重視，我們在這些設施上的營運槓桿作用將會繼續提高。

I mean if you look at our operating margins across the fleet, if you will, we have some -- most of our facilities, frankly, are in fantastic shape. They're doing well. We added new which mixes us down. But it's the same formula that propelled the fleet to a high average is now being applied to the 50-some-odd new facilities that we've added over the years, and a focus on our lower-performing locations, which you've been covering us for a long time, implies our focus list. They're getting a particularly high level of attention right now.

我的意思是，如果你看一下我們整個船隊的營運利潤率，坦白說，我們的大部分設施狀況都非常好。他們做得很好。我們添加了新的內容，這讓我們感到困惑。但正是同樣的公式，使車隊取得了較高的平均水平，現在也應用到了我們多年來新增的 50 多個設施中。而我們長期以來一直關注的業績較差的地點，則顯示了我們的重點關注範圍。他們現在受到了特別高的關注。

So when I look at SG&A, and I say, will we be in line with the market from a top line perspective, if the market improves, then SG&A will be easier to deal with from a percentage basis. If the market doesn't improve, then we're going to have to do other things to make sure that we stay in line. But we're okay with that because we believe that the investments that we've made over the last couple of years don't need to be repeated and we should start to harvest the benefit.

所以，當我檢視銷售、管理及行政費用時，我會問，從營收角度來看，我們是否能與市場保持一致。如果市場好轉，那麼從百分比來看，銷售、管理及行政費用就更容易處理了。如果市場沒有好轉，那麼我們就必須採取其他措施來確保我們步入正軌。但我們對此並不介意，因為我們相信過去幾年所做的投資不需要重複，我們應該開始收穫了。

Got it. Okay. That's very helpful. My second question is just on 1Q. Are you assuming the first quarter is also up low single digits like the full year?

知道了。好的。那很有幫助。我的第二個問題僅針對 1Q。你是假設第一季也像全年一樣，只有個位數的成長嗎？

Just want to just see if there's any cadence things we should be thinking of and there is a bit of weather in 1Q, I'm not sure if that had an impact or not. And then could you also comment on chemical prices, will those be down in the first quarter?

我只是想看看有沒有什麼節奏方面的事情需要注意，而且第一季天氣有點變化，我不確定這是否產生了影響。那麼，您能否也談談化工產品價格，第一季價格會下降嗎？

So I'll take the first one on how 1Q is performing. I think -- so as you know, 1Q is our least significant quarter. That's not to diminish that the contribution to the business. I mean when I look at first quarter, we're not -- we're basically halfway through it. But March is bigger than January, obviously.

那麼，我先來談談第一季的表現。我認為——正如你所知，第一季是我們最不重要的季度。這並非要貶低他對企業的貢獻。我的意思是，當我回顧第一季時，我們還沒有——我們基本上已經完成了一半。但很顯然，三月的規模比一月還要大。

So at this point, I would tell you that I am encouraged with what we've seen too soon for me to tell you that hey, we're going to blow the doors off of first quarter. But what I will say is that if we have a normal weather pattern for March and the rest of this month, then I think our expectations for the first quarter will be in line. And then your second question about chemicals. A little too soon to tell because remember, in the first quarter, this is when there's some there's some noise in the system with chemical pricing. I can tell you, I'm not particularly concerned about deflation at this point on chemicals.

所以目前，我對我們所看到的情況感到鼓舞，但現在就斷言我們會在第一季取得巨大成功還為時過早。但我想說的是，如果三月以及本月剩餘時間天氣狀況正常，那麼我認為我們對第一季的預期是合理的。然後是你關於化學物質的第二個問題。現在下結論還為時過早，因為要知道，在第一季度，化學品定價方面存在一些波動。我可以告訴你，目前我對化學品價格的通貨緊縮並不特別擔心。

I think things are fairly steady -- so I don't -- I'm not at this point spending a lot of time thinking that chem prices are going to get worse. But what we are focused on is getting customers introduce to and using the proprietary chemicals where we have a differentiated value proposition, which makes us less susceptible to swings in the market on anything but pure commodities.

我認為情況相當穩定——所以我——我現在不會花太多時間去想化學品價格會進一步惡化。但我們關注的是讓客戶了解並使用我們擁有差異化價值主張的專有化學品，這使我們不太容易受到純大宗商品以外的任何市場波動的影響。

David MacGregor, Longbow Research.

David MacGregor，Longbow Research。

Yes. I guess just a question on store ops. And what's the opportunity? You made passing reference a moment ago to the focus list, but just what is the opportunity to improve the profitability at the bottom performing quintile stores? And what are some of the actions that you're taking there? Maybe you could talk about that? And I guess related to that, just given the near-term market outlook, does it make sense to begin consolidating some of these locations and just achieved better four-wall economics.

是的。我想問一個關於門市營運的問題。那機會是什麼？您剛才簡單提到了重點關註名單，但是究竟有哪些機會可以提高業績最差的五分之一門店的盈利能力呢？你在那裡採取了哪些行動？或許你可以談談這個？我想，就近期市場前景而言，整合部分門市並實現更好的門市營運經濟效益是否有意義？

Yes. I'll take that, and then Melanie can chime in. So part of our work at the focus list level, which is our bottom-performing branches, and this is nothing new for POOLCORP, but the branches that fall into the focus list, which I would argue what is a focus list branch for us would be considered by most others to be a very well-performing branch, because our standard is pretty high on what we consider a focused branch. I mean the leverage that you have there are a couple. One, obviously, the biggest lever that you have is sales growth.

是的。我接受這個提議，然後梅蘭妮可以再發表意見。因此，我們在重點關注清單層面的工作之一是針對錶現最差的分支，這對 POOLCORP 來說並不新鮮。但是，我認為我們眼中的重點關注分支，在大多數人看來，卻是表現非常出色的分支，因為我們對重點關注分支的標準相當高。我的意思是，你在那裡擁有的籌碼有幾個。很顯然，你所能利用的最大槓桿就是銷售成長。

Are you growing -- are we growing sales? Are we becoming more important, more relevant to the customers. And that's done with creating a best-in-class customer experience. and frankly, customer engagement. So from a lever perspective, the biggest one we have for the focus branches is just that.

你們的業務在成長嗎？我們的銷售額正在成長嗎？我們是否變得越來越重要，對客戶來說越來越有價值？而這一切都是透過打造一流的客戶體驗，以及坦白說，透過提升客戶參與度來實現的。所以從槓桿的角度來看，我們重點分支的最大槓桿就是如此。

Then there's the operational execution side of that. So the teams are focused on exactly what we do, how we do it, how efficient we are in doing that and making sure that we're utilizing all of the competitive advantages that we have to give us the most efficient cost to serve those customers. Your last comment as it relates to is there some opportunity for consolidation.

然後還有營運執行方面的問題。因此，團隊專注於我們具體做什麼、我們如何做、我們做事的效率如何，並確保我們利用所有競爭優勢，以最經濟的方式為客戶提供服務。您最後提到的問題是，是否有整合的機會？

And the answer is maybe -- so when we look at each individual market, we look at our footprint, and there are a couple of markets where I would say, as we have expanded our capabilities in some areas, we may have opportunities to consolidate some of those if we don't see the market at an individual particular market continuing to grow and expand, those would be ones where we look at how else can we most efficiently serve the market without letting down our customers and seeding any share. So I mean, you've known us for a while, so this is nothing new.

答案可能是——所以當我們審視每個單獨的市場時，我們會審視我們的業務佈局。在某些市場，隨著我們在某些​​領域能力的提升，如果某個特定市場的持續成長和擴張勢頭不明顯，我們可能有機會整合這些業務。在這種情況下，我們會考慮如何以最有效的方式服務市場，同時又不讓客戶失望，也不會損失任何市場份額。我的意思是，你們認識我們有一段時間了，所以這沒什麼新鮮的。

This is what we do. We've been focused the last couple of years on continuing to build out the network and making sure we were where the pools were going to be built and where our customers needed us to be. We've added capabilities as it relates to technology and supply chain, which allow us to be, frankly, more efficient. And now we're starting to see the gains from that. To put an opportunity to size it, if you will.

這就是我們所做的。過去幾年，我們一直專注於繼續擴大網絡，確保我們在游泳池建造地點和客戶需要我們的地方都能提供服務。我們在技術和供應鏈方面增加了能力，坦白說，這使我們能夠更有效率。現在我們開始看到這些努力帶來的成果了。給你一個評估其規模的機會。

I mean, when I look at the -- our focus list branches, I would just say that when I look at the overall operating margin improvement, I think there's plenty of opportunity to work there to achieve our goals, really kind of independent of the market improving. So when I look at our operating margin improvement and expansion, yes, would the industry growing make that easier, yes, but it still wouldn't mean that we wouldn't do what we're doing on focus list branches to make them more profitable and contribute more to the business.

我的意思是，當我審視我們重點關注的分支機構時，我想說，當我審視整體營業利潤率的提升時，我認為有很多機會可以在那裡努力實現我們的目標，這實際上與市場狀況的改善無關。所以，當我審視我們的營業利潤率提升和擴張時，是的，行業增長會使之更容易，是的，但這並不意味著我們不會繼續在重點分支機構開展工作，以提高它們的盈利能力並為業務做出更大貢獻。

Got it. My second question, really just with respect to kind of the longer-term growth algorithm, and you've included within that growth of 2% to 3% above the market, mostly through store openings and private label, I guess, a little bit of acquisitions. I guess how are you thinking about your ability to achieve that above market growth in 2026?

知道了。我的第二個問題，實際上只是關於長期成長演算法，你們已經將高於市場 2% 到 3% 的成長納入其中，主要透過開設門市和自有品牌，我想，還有一點收購。我想問一下，您如何看待自己在 2026 年實現高於市場平均的成長的能力？

Yes. I think part of it is there is still plenty of opportunity. When I look at our market share across the fleet, we have plenty of markets that are still below the median. So I think just improving our customer engagement, frankly, our customer experience and our operational efficiency helps.

是的。我認為部分原因是仍然有很多機會。當我查看我們整個船隊的市場份額時，我們發現有很多市場的份額仍然低於中位數。所以我認為，坦白說，提高客戶參與度、客戶體驗和營運效率都會有所幫助。

I also think that there is an opportunity from a demand creation perspective because, pragmatically, when I look at the market overall and the products that are still being sold into the market, there is still a more than significant opportunity to expand the TAM, if you will, by selling the more technologically advanced products, which are ultimately very, very good for the homeowner.

我也認為從創造需求的角度來看，存在著機會，因為務實地來看，當我審視整個市場以及仍在市場上銷售的產品時，仍然有很大的機會透過銷售技術更先進的產品來擴大潛在市場規模（TAM），這些產品最終對房主來說非常非常好。

And I think our job is to help expand the adoption of those. So you're going to see at the Investor Day presentation, something we call the [Prozone], which is designed to do just that. to teach the builders and the service professionals when they come into the branch to be able to see the full range of products to be able to see the benefits from the more innovative and technologically advanced products that have more full-feature automation and are, frankly, more efficient for the homeowner.

我認為我們的工作就是幫助擴大這些技術的應用範圍。所以在投資者日演示中，您將會看到我們稱之為[Prozone]的東西，它的設計目的正是為了實現這一目標。它旨在讓建築商和服務專業人員在來到分公司時能夠看到全系列產品，能夠了解更具創新性和技術更先進的產品所帶來的好處，這些產品具有更全面的自動化功能，坦白說，對房主來說也更有效率。

So rather than take a more passive approach on that, we're going to take a much more active approach on that in the showrooms to make sure our customers understand all of those new products and what benefits they provide either them as a servicer or for hopefully -- or so that they can explain to the homeowner, I should say.

因此，我們不會採取更被動的方式，而是在展廳採取更積極的方式，確保我們的客戶了解所有這些新產品及其帶來的好處，無論是作為服務人員，還是希望他們能夠向房主解釋這些產品。

Susan Maklari, Goldman Sachs.

蘇珊‧馬克拉里，高盛集團。

My first question is on the gross margin. Just thinking about the path for that as we look over the year. Can you talk about what that inventory build that you made in the fourth quarter will mean for profitability? And how we should be thinking about that relative to the guide for the pricing to be up 1 to 2 points this year?

我的第一個問題是關於毛利率的。回顧過去一年，我一直在思考實現這目標的路徑。您能否談談您在第四季度進行的庫存增加對獲利能力的影響？那麼，相對於今年價格上漲 1 到 2 個基點的指導價，我們該如何看待這個問題？

Yes. So one thing, so we do expect that we will see some continued pricing benefits from the investments that we've made in inventory. We would expect that, certainly, we would see that in first quarter. As a reminder, when you look back from a comparable standpoint for 2025, we did have that mid-season price increase in 2025.

是的。所以有一點，我們預計，我們對庫存的投資將持續帶來一些價格上的好處。我們預計，肯定會在第一季看到這種情況。提醒一下，從可比較角度來看，2025 年我們確實經歷了季中價格上漲。

So starting kind of May 4, there were some benefits from that mid-season price increase, which at this point in time, we wouldn't anticipate would occur again in 2026. So I would say that we would see slightly better margins in first quarter. The remaining of the quarters would be relatively comparable with fourth quarter because it's so -- is a smaller portion of the year, we may not see as many benefits. The only thing that we've seen to date is we have seen a second wave of price increases on certain products for salt cells. But when we look at it kind of consolidated wise, we don't think that will have a significant impact on margins overall.

因此，從 5 月 4 日左右開始，季中漲價帶來了一些好處，但就目前而言，我們預計 2026 年不會再發生這種情況。所以我認為第一季的利潤率會略有提高。其餘季度的情況與第四季度相對比較接近，因為第四季度在一年中所佔比例較小，我們可能不會看到那麼多好處。到目前為止，我們唯一看到的現像是，某些鹽電解槽產品的價格出現了第二波上漲。但從整體來看，我們認為這不會對整體利潤率產生重大影響。

Susan, this is Pete. Let me add just a little bit to that, if I could. I think the team did a very good job of exercising good financial judgment with the investment in inventory. And I think they were very surgical about it. So when we allocate capital to something, one of the things that is a hallmark of the company is that we have been very judicious allocators of capital, whether that is investment in long term or whether that is investment in working capital.

蘇珊，這是皮特。如果可以的話，我想補充一點。我認為團隊在庫存投資方面做出了非常明智的財務判斷。我認為他們在這方面處理得非常謹慎。因此，當我們把資金分配到某個專案時，公司的一大特點就是我們一直以來都非常謹慎地分配資金，無論是長期投資或營運資金投資。

So I think the team did a very good job and was very surgical about making investments in areas that will help us through the 2026 season. Now obviously, given the amount of inventory that we have and what our COGS are on a full year basis, that we will burn through most of that benefit by mid-season, and then, of course, we will be reordering. But I think we feel very good about realizing benefits, but they'll be more weighted to the beginning of the year than the end of the year, subject to what happens in the industry from a pricing perspective.

所以我認為球隊做得非常好，並且在投資方面非常精準，這將有助於我們順利度過 2026 賽季。顯然，考慮到我們目前的庫存量以及我們全年的銷售成本，到季中時，我們將消耗掉大部分的利潤，然後，我們當然需要重新訂購。但我認為我們對實現收益感到非常樂觀，但收益更多地會在年初而不是年末顯現，這取決於行業定價方面的發展情況。

Yes. Okay. And then I wanted to go back to thinking about the growth for the business over time. Can you talk about how you're thinking of organic growth, given the investments that you've made in the last several years relative to the inorganic growth opportunity that's out there, are we really sort of shifting now do this period where it's going to be driven by your initiative, a lot of these efforts that you've implemented in the business, whereas the inorganic piece will just inherently become just a smaller and smaller part of that algorithm. Just any thoughts around that and what that would mean for capital allocation?

是的。好的。然後，我想回到思考企業隨時間推移的發展。鑑於過去幾年您在有機成長方面的投資，以及目前存在的非有機成長機會，您能否談談您是如何看待有機成長的？我們現在是否真的正在轉變，進入一個由您的主動性和您在業務中實施的許多舉措所驅動的時期，而非有機增長部分將自然而然地成為該演算法中越來越小的一部分？關於這一點，大家有什麼想法？這會對資本配置產生什麼影響？

Sure. I would tell you that from an organic growth perspective and what gives us confidence in the long-term growth algorithm for the business is that -- we believe that the product that -- the industry that we serve and the product that we primarily sell either through new pool construction or remodel renovation is still highly desirable. And we've been talking about -- we're kind of bumping along the bottom. There was a slight drop in new pool construction in 2025. I can't tell you that I think that, that was driven by any wild change in consumer sentiment.

當然。從有機成長的角度來看，我們對公司長期成長演算法充滿信心的原因在於——我們相信，我們所服務的行業以及我們主要透過新建泳池或改造翻新銷售的產品仍然非常受歡迎。我們一直在談論——我們有點像是在底部掙扎。2025年新建游泳池數量略有下降。我不能斷言這是由消費者情緒的劇烈變化所驅動的。

I think it's more a function of certain geographies and the housing market per se. So when I look at our opportunity to grow and I look at our market share, and I look at that on a market-by-market basis, I would tell you that we have opportunity to continue to grow even if the market continues to stay towards the bottom. I would also tell you that there's a couple of things that are going to -- we're going to start to see benefit from as it relates to equipment.

我認為這更多地取決於特定的地理位置和房地產市場本身。所以，當我審視我們的成長機會和市場份額，並逐一進行分析時，我會告訴你，即使市場繼續處於低迷狀態，我們也有機會繼續成長。我還要告訴你們，有幾件事將會——我們將開始從中受益，尤其是在設備方面。

So when the industry switched to -- from single-speed motors to variable speed motors, they inherently lasted longer. But now we're starting to get close to the period where when we started selling a lot of single-speed motors or single speed pumps to variable speed pumps that they will start coming into their replacement cycle, number one.

因此，當產業從單速馬達轉向變速馬達時，它們的壽命自然就更長了。但現在我們開始接近這樣一個時期：我們開始銷售大量的單速馬達或單速泵，而這些馬達或泵將開始進入更換週期，這是第一階段。

Number two, I still believe that there is a significant opportunity to modernize the pad if I looked across the -- we talked to many, many customers, we talk about what they're seeing in the backyard when they go into these backyards and they look, what we were seeing over and over again was ultramodern pads a fully adopted everything that is available to the consumer, I would say, okay, so now we're more in a replacement cycle. But today, what I would say is there is still an outsized opportunity to modernize the pads with the new equipment.

第二，我仍然認為，如果我們放眼整個市場——我們與很多很多客戶交談過，我們談論了他們在後院看到的景象，我們反复看到的是超現代的墊子，完全採用了消費者可獲得的所有功能，我會說，好吧，所以現在我們更多地處於更換週期。但今天，我想說的是，利用新設備對護墊進行現代化改造仍然有巨大的機會。

Now part of this demand creation is incumbent upon us, I believe, in order to teach the servicers, right, and get word out, so to speak, through marketing programs and demand creation in conjunction with our OEMs that says, hey, you can improve your customer experience in the backyard if you adopt and use these new products versus just replacing what's there. So I think there is still an opportunity. The installed base is going to continue to grow.

我認為，創造這種需求的一部分責任在於我們，為了教導服務人員，並透過行銷計劃和與我們的原始設備製造商 (OEM) 合作創造需求，將資訊傳播出去，告訴他們，嘿，如果您採用和使用這些新產品，而不是僅僅更換現有產品，您就可以改善您後院的客戶體驗。所以我認為仍然有機會。用戶基數將會持續成長。

I think that there is pent-up demand on renovation and remodel, and we're starting to see some of that realized as evidenced by the building material sales increasing and the fact that we have -- I believe we've taken share in the new construction area for those as well. And then lastly, your question on inorganic growth, I think that there are still opportunities for inorganic growth out there. And I think the team is very focused in that area as well as just one of our long-term growth levers. And I don't know that anybody in the industry is any better position to do that than POOLCORP.

我認為市場對翻新和改造存在著被壓抑的需求，我們開始看到其中一些需求得到滿足，建築材料銷量的增長就證明了這一點，而且我相信我們在新建建築領域也佔據了一定的份額。最後，關於你提出的非有機成長問題，我認為非有機成長的機會仍然存在。我認為團隊非常重視這個領域，這也是我們長期成長的槓桿之一。而且我認為業界沒有哪家公司比 POOLCORP 更適合做這件事。

Scott Schneeberger, Oppenheimer.

史考特‧施內伯格，奧本海默。

It's [Daniel] on for Scott. Could you please discuss the key factors that would put you at the low end versus the high end of the EPS guidance range?

丹尼爾替補斯科特上場。請您談談哪些關鍵因素會導致您的每股盈餘預期處於區間低端還是高端？

Yes, the range is primarily going to vary depending upon overall market conditions and the resulting sales growth from that standpoint.

是的，價格範圍主要取決於整體市場狀況以及由此帶來的銷售成長。

Got it. And as far as the assumptions on new pool to be flat year-on-year as well as renovation and remodels at to slightly up. Could you speak to the -- what you're hearing from the customers regarding backlog and how confident you are in those projections?

知道了。至於新建游泳池的假設是逐年持平，而翻新改造的假設是略有上升。您能否談談您從客戶那裡了解到的關於積壓訂單的情況，以及您對這些預測的信心如何？

Yes. I'll take that. So we've just come out of our show season. So January, there's a lot of shows we spent a lot of time with dealers in January and frankly early February even as recent as this week. So I will tell you that the level of optimism from the customers right now is pretty good.

是的。我接受。我們的演出季剛結束。所以一月份有很多展會，我們在一月和二月初，甚至就在這週，都花了很多時間和經銷商們在一起。因此，我可以告訴大家，目前顧客的樂觀情緒相當高漲。

I don't know that I've talked to many customers that say we're going to build just as many pools as we built last year and the phones are ringing. So we feel comfortable in that assessment is as many pools as they build during the peak, absolutely not.

我不知道我跟多少客戶談過，他們都說我們要建造的游泳池數量和去年一樣多，而且電話也響個不停。因此，我們認為，在高峰期建造的游泳池數量絕對不會像他們建造的那麼多。

But I would tell you that the general sentiment on new pool construction is that based on the dealers we have spoken to, which is a sample size of the total, is actually pretty good. So it's not a doom and gloom. The phone is not ringing. It's basically, yes, I think we'll build at least as many pools as we built last year with many dealers saying that, hey, you know what, we're actually optimistic.

但我可以告訴你，根據我們與經銷商交談過的情況來看（這只是總數的一小部分樣本），人們對新建游泳池的普遍看法實際上是相當不錯的。所以情況並非一片黯淡。電話沒有響。基本上，是的，我認為我們至少會建造和去年一樣多的游泳池，許多經銷商也表示，嘿，你知道嗎，我們其實很樂觀。

But saying that they're optimistic in February and actually having those contracts come to realization, during the season are two different things, but I will tell you, it feels much better to me the dealers are saying, hey, I'm going to build at least as many pools that I built last year, and there's many of them that are optimistic.

但是，二月他們說樂觀和賽季期間真正落實這些合約是兩回事，但我可以告訴你，經銷商們說「嘿，我至少要建造和去年一樣多的游泳池」讓我感覺好多了，而且他們中的許多人都很樂觀。

And then like every sample, right, you have opposite end of the spectrum. People at the high end that they would tell you, hey, business is great. I'm turning customers away. I have -- I'm going to build as many pools as I can this year, and I'm taking orders into next year. And at the low end, you have people that would be struggling. But by and large, I would say, the industry confidence level is more encouraging than not.

然後就像每個樣本一樣，對吧，你會看到光譜的另一端。高端人士會告訴你，嘿，生意興隆。我正在拒絕顧客。我今年打算盡可能地建造游泳池，而且我已經開始接受明年的訂單了。而在社會底層，有些人會過得很辛苦。但總的來說，我認為，業界的信心水平還是令人鼓舞的。

Trey Grooms, Stephens.

Trey Grooms，Stephens。

Melanie, this is [Ethan] on for Trey. I wanted to dive deeper, maybe digging into more of a market-by-market look. So directionally, what are you seeing on the new pool or broader discretionary side? From a market-by-market standpoint, some of these more challenged markets on the new residential construction side like Florida and Texas, maybe starting to show signs of a potential trend improvement? I know you called out in the prepared remarks, improving trends in Texas in the back half of 2025. Obviously, these are important markets on the new pool side. So any more color on market specifics would be really helpful.

梅蘭妮，我是伊桑，替特雷上線。我想更深入了解情況，或許可以逐個市場分析。那麼從方向上看，您對新的資金池或更廣泛的自由支配資金方面有何看法？從各個市場的角度來看，像佛羅裡達州和德克薩斯州這樣一些新建住宅建設面臨較大挑戰的市場，或許開始出現潛在趨勢改善的跡象？我知道你在準備好的演講稿中提到了德州在 2025 年下半年的發展趨勢。顯然，這些都是新建泳池領域的重要市場。所以，如果能提供更多關於市場具體細節的信息，那就太好了。

Sure. The information coming out of Florida right now is still encouraging. As I mentioned, even with the storm issues that we had in Florida, and housing prices and insurance and costs and everything else in Florida. If you do a two-year stack on Florida, in the fourth quarter, they were still up 2%. So again, very encouraging for me.

當然。目前從佛羅裡達州傳出的訊息仍然令人鼓舞。正如我之前提到的，即使考慮到佛羅裡達州的風暴問題，以及佛羅裡達州的房價、保險、成本以及其他所有問題。如果你對佛羅裡達隊進行兩年的股票組合投資，到第四季度，他們的股價仍然上漲了 2%。所以，這又給了我很大的鼓舞。

Builders in Florida, I think really think it depends on where you are. So for instance, if you're in -- there's a lot of people moving into South Florida, into Miami, Miami is -- that market is very good. But it runs the spectrum, if you will. But overall, Florida is a cornerstone market for us. I think very soon, we'll be the largest market that we have in terms of the installed base, and it's still a destination for homeowners.

佛羅裡達州的建築商們，我覺得這真的取決於你所在的地區。例如，如果你身處——現在很多人搬到南佛羅裡達，搬到邁阿密，邁阿密——那裡的市場非常好。但它涵蓋了整個範圍。但總體而言，佛羅裡達州是我們最重要的市場之一。我認為很快，就安裝用戶基數而言，我們將成為我們最大的市場，而且它仍然是房主的理想選擇。

So I'm encouraged with that. Texas is the one that was, I think, surprising for a lot of people. The slowdown that we saw in Texas but it's also a bit bifurgated, too because it didn't -- it wasn't universal in let's call it, DFW in Austin, San Antonio and Houston. They all move kind of at different rates. We're starting to see the Dallas market improved, the Austin market improved lags a little bit, but the near-term commentary on Houston is that there is some optimism on the new build side.

我因此感到鼓舞。我認為，德州的結果讓很多人感到驚訝。我們在德州看到了經濟放緩，但這種情況也有些分化，因為在達拉斯-沃斯堡地區，奧斯汀、聖安東尼奧和休士頓等城市並沒有普遍出現這種情況。它們的移動速度都不太一樣。我們開始看到達拉斯市場有所改善，奧斯汀市場的改善稍顯滯後，但就休士頓而言，近期的市場評論是，新建項目方面存在一些樂觀情緒。

Arizona and California, Arizona is -- was encouraging. And if you remember during the -- when the tools really started to die out, Arizona was one of the first ones to drop. They have -- they seem to have firmed up. And California it's okay. I don't look for a big change in California. In my mind, California is much more of a renovation market than it is going to be a new pool construction market.

亞利桑那州和加利福尼亞州，亞利桑那州的情況——令人鼓舞。如果你還記得——當工具真正開始消失的時候，亞利桑那州是最早衰落的州之一。他們似乎已經——他們似乎已經站穩腳跟了。加州那邊沒問題。我不認為加州會有太大的改變。在我看來，加州與其說是新建泳池市場，不如說是翻新泳池市場。

Got it. That's super helpful color. And second question, just putting a finer point on an earlier question on the top line cadence. It sounds like 1Q trending pretty well, but it's still early. But just wanted to clarify, was hurricane repair activity still a major contributor to the 1Q '25, perhaps to a lesser degree, than the 4Q, but perhaps still enough to call out because if 1Q is trending well in spite of this comp dynamic, obviously, that would be a positive. And then maybe any thoughts on first half versus second half weighted top line profile relative to broader new res expectations, which at this point, appear to be skewed more towards a modest second half uptick.

知道了。這個顏色非常實用。第二個問題，只是想對先前關於主旋律節奏的問題做更細緻的補充。第一季的趨勢似乎相當不錯，但現在下結論還為時過早。但我想澄清一下，颶風災後重建活動是否仍是 2025 年第一季的主要貢獻因素？或許程度不如第四季度，但或許仍然值得一提，因為如果第一季儘管面臨這種比較因素，但趨勢依然良好，那顯然是一個積極的信號。那麼，對於上半年和下半年的加權營收概況，以及與更廣泛的新住宅預期相比，您有什麼看法？目前看來，新住宅預期似乎更傾向下半年小幅成長。

Yes. We -- you're correct in your assumption that fourth quarter was a bigger lift, fourth quarter '24 storm related. They were still working into first quarter. So there was still some work that most of which is repeat has been finished. The only exception to that would be the areas where the houses were completely destroyed and they had to get permitted and built to do house and the pools come last.

是的。你說的沒錯，第四季業績提升幅度更大，這與 2024 年第四季的風暴有關。他們第一季還在工作。所以還有一些工作要做，其中大部分是重複性工作，這些工作已經完成了。唯一的例外是那些房屋完全被摧毀的地區，他們需要獲得許可才能重建房屋，而游泳池則是最後才建造的。

So there's still some of that. But by and large, I would say, the storm work or anything, but complete destruction is certainly done by now. Most of it was done in the fourth quarter and some lagging. So when I look at first quarter, it's not like we had a huge comp to overcome. There are some.

所以，這種情況仍然存在。但總的來說，我認為風暴造成的破壞基本上已經完成，但徹底的破壞肯定已經結束了。大部分工作是在第四季完成的，有些工作則有所滯後。所以當我回顧第一季時，發現我們並沒有面臨巨大的年比差異需要克服。有一些。

But again, that makes our results even more encouraging from a firmness of the market perspective. And then your comment on second half -- first half, second half, it's really -- frankly, it's just too early to say. There's so many factors in there that can affect the discretionary, so I'm talking about new pool construction and renovation and remodel. But rest assured that the majority of our business is driven from the maintenance and repair I think that there is more than ample opportunity. And quite frankly, I think the business performs well in that area, and we've also added capabilities, which should allow us to continue to take share.

但從市場穩健性的角度來看，這反而讓我們的結果更加令人鼓舞。至於你對下半場——上半場、下半場——的評論，坦白說，現在下結論還為時過早。影響可支配支出的因素很多，所以我說的是新建游泳池、翻新和改造。但請放心，我們的業務大多來自維護和維修，我認為這方面的機會非常充足。坦白說，我認為公司在這一領域表現良好，而且我們也增加了相關能力，這應該能讓我們繼續擴大市場份額。

Garik Shmois, Loop Capital.

Garik Shmois，Loop Capital。

I'm wondering if you could update us on what you're assuming for new sales center openings in 2026. And just given the more muted demand environment, have your expectations on the ROI on the new sales centers changed at all versus more normalized demand period?

我想請您更新一下您對 2026 年新銷售中心開幕的預期情況。鑑於目前較疲軟的需求環境，與需求較為正常的時期相比，您對新銷售中心的投資報酬率預期是否有所改變？

Yes. So when I look at the number of locations, I mean, Melanie gave a range of 5 to 8 million I would tell you, I don't know that it will be more than 80%. I mean, it could be a scenario, I guess, where it could be, but it's highly unlikely at this point based on the capacity investments that we have already made and the footprint that we have. I think our focus is more about execution this year and driving growth in the facilities that we have -- as you know, we have a very disciplined process that goes with every new facility open. There is a pro forma.

是的。所以，當我查看地點數量時，我的意思是，梅蘭妮給出的範圍是 500 萬到 800 萬，我會告訴你，我不知道它會不會超過 80%。我的意思是，這或許是一種可能的情況，但就我們目前已投入的產能和已擁有的規模而言，這種情況發生的可能性極低。我認為我們今年的重點更多在於執行力，以及推動現有設施的成長——正如您所知，我們對每個新設施的開設都有一套非常嚴格的流程。這裡有一個標準格式。

There's a budget that pro forma and budget are carried forward. So the facility that we've opened in the last couple of years, the operating expectations and budgets associated with them were not adjusted. I looked at some of the facilities that we would have opened in 2022 when things were when there was a lot more new pool construction. If I look at some of those, we had to go back and say, well, maybe our expectation on new pool construction growth was a little bit too aggressive. But basically anything in the last couple of years, the number is the number.

預算中既有形式預算，也有結轉預算。因此，我們過去幾年開設的工廠，其營運預期和相關預算都沒有進行調整。我檢視了一些我們原本計劃在 2022 年開放的設施，當時新建游泳池的數量要多得多。如果我回顧其中一些案例，我們不得不重新審視，並表示，或許我們對新建游泳池數量的成長預期有點過於樂觀了。但基本上，近幾年的任何數據，數字就是數字。

So I think the team is really focused on execution and realizing what the commitments were in the pro formas that were submitted to fund those. And when I look at new ones, so I look at the anything that we may do this year, I mean we -- as I mentioned in my comments, I think we've kind of sharpened our expectations on return on investment and making sure that when we go out and do a branch, I mean we're going to open new branches again in 2026 without a doubt. Are we going to open as many? No, we're not going to open as many. Will there be a lot of attention paid to the ones that we opened for the last couple of years to make sure that we're realizing benefit on those?

所以我認為團隊真正專注於執行，並落實提交的用於籌集資金的財務預測中的承諾。當我審視新的項目，也就是我們今年可能開展的任何項目時，我的意思是——正如我在評論中提到的，我認為我們已經提高了對投資回報率的預期，並確保當我們開設分行時，毫無疑問，我們將在 2026 年再次開設新的分行。我們會開放那麼多門市嗎？不，我們不會開那麼多門市。我們會專注於過去幾年開設的那些門市，確保它們能帶來收益嗎？

Absolutely. So the amount of attention and scrutiny on new locations right now is and should be pretty high.

絕對地。因此，目前新選址受到的關注和審查力道相當高，也理應如此。

Okay. That makes sense. Thanks for helping with that. And follow-up question is just on Horizon. It's a smaller part of your business now, but just curious as to the deceleration in growth or the negative 5 in Q4? And also, what are you assuming for 2026?

好的。這很有道理。謝謝你幫忙。後續問題僅與 Horizo​​​​n 有關。雖然它現在在你們業務中所佔比例較小，但我很好奇成長放緩或第四季出現負5%的情況是什麼意思？另外，您對2026年有什麼預測？

Yes. I mean the Horizon business is tied mostly to new construction. The biggest product line that we have in the Horizon business is irrigation, which, as you know, most of that goes in when the housing business or when the house is constructed. There's some that happens around big, large renovation and there's also a commercial portion of the business. When I look at the overall results for the full year, I would tell you that they're not they're not terrible.

是的。我的意思是，Horizo​​​​n 的業務主要與新建項目有關。Horizo​​n 業務中我們最大的產品線是灌溉系統，如您所知，大部分灌溉系統都用於住宅建設或房屋建造過程中。有些業務發生在大型翻修工程中，此外，該業務還涉及商業部分。從全年的整體結果來看，我會告訴你，結果並不糟。

I look at -- they didn't have the same benefit of price that we had in other parts of the business. I think we have a limited footprint. I think that we have an opportunity to continue to improve from an execution perspective with Horizon. We have a focus list for Horizon just like we do the rest of the business. So do I think that we're going to see outsized growth for Horizon?

我觀察了一下——他們在價格方面並沒有像我們在業務其他方面那樣的優勢。我認為我們的影響力有限。我認為，從執行層面來看，我們有機會與 Horizo​​​​n 繼續改進。就像我們對待公司其他業務一樣，我們也為 Horizo​​n 制定了一份重點清單。所以我認為 Horizo​​n 將會實現超乎尋常的增長嗎？

I do not, but my expectations were there, execution and return on capital for them, they don't get any break as compared to from an expectation perspective, and are under the same scrutiny as the rest of the business as it relates to performance. I mean the irrigation market is -- I would tell you, it's not booming. The maintenance business is good, similar to what you see -- what we see in the pool side. And I think the business has been over the last couple of years trying to focus more attention and gain a better foothold in the maintenance and less focus on just the new construction piece.

我沒有，但我對他們的執行力和資本回報率抱持著期望。從期望的角度來看，他們並沒有得到任何優待，並且在業績方面與其他業務部門一樣受到相同的審查。我的意思是，灌溉市場——我可以告訴你，它並不繁榮。維修業務很好，和你們看到的——我們在泳池邊看到的——差不多。我認為，在過去幾年裡，公司一直在努力將更多精力集中在維護方面，並努力在維護方面站穩腳跟，而減少對新建工程的關注。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the call back over to Pete Arvan, President and CEO, for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我謹將電話轉回給總裁兼執行長皮特·阿爾文，請他作總結發言。

Just like to thank you all for your interest in POOLCORP, and we look forward to updating you on April 23 when we will announce our first quarter 2026 results. Have a fantastic day.

非常感謝大家對 POOLCORP 的關注，我們期待在 4 月 23 日公佈 2026 年第一季業績時向大家匯報最新情況。祝你今天過得愉快。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議已經結束。感謝各位參加今天的報告會。您現在可以斷開連線了。