Portillos Inc (PTLO) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the fiscal fourth quarter 2024 conference call and webcast. I would now like to turn the call over to Kyle Nelsen, Vice President of Investor Relations at Portillo's to begin. Thank you.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加2024財年第四季電話會議及網路廣播。現在，我想將電話轉給 Portillo 投資者關係副總裁 Kyle Nelsen。謝謝。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our fiscal fourth quarter 2024 earnings call. You can find our 10-K, earnings press release and supplemental presentation on investors.portillos.com. With me on the call today is Michael Osanloo, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Michelle Hook, Chief Financial Officer. Any comments made here about our future results and business conditions are forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance.

謝謝您，接線生。大家早安，歡迎參加我們的 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。您可以在 investor.portillos.com 上找到我們的 10-K、收益新聞稿和補充簡報。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Michael Osanloo；以及財務長米歇爾·胡克（Michelle Hook）。這裡對我們未來業績和業務狀況的任何評論均為前瞻性陳述，基於管理層當前的預期，並不保證未來的業績。

We do not update these forward-looking statements unless required by law. Our 10-K identifies risk factors that may cause our actual results to vary materially from these forward-looking statements. Today's earnings call will make reference to non-GAAP financial measures, which are not an alternative to GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP counterparts are included in this morning's posted materials. Finally, after we deliver our prepared remarks, we will open the line for your questions.

除非法律要求，我們不會更新這些前瞻性陳述。我們的 10-K 確定了可能導致我們的實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異的風險因素。今天的收益電話會議將參考非 GAAP 財務指標，這些指標並不能取代 GAAP 指標。今天早上發布的資料中包含了這些非 GAAP 指標與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對帳表。最後，在我們發表完準備好的發言後，我們將開放式熱線來回答大家的提問。

Now let me turn the call over to Michael Osanloo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Portillo's.

現在，讓我將電話轉給 Portillo 總裁兼執行長 Michael Osanloo。

Thank you, Kyle. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our year-end call. Now before I dive into our results, I do want to take a moment to recognize and thank our incredible restaurant team members. Their hard work, dedication and passion are what makes Portillo's special.

謝謝你，凱爾。大家早安。感謝您參加我們的年終電話會議。現在，在我深入了解我們的成果之前，我想花點時間來認識和感謝我們出色的餐廳團隊成員。他們的勤奮、奉獻和熱情使得 Portillo 與眾不同。

Every day they bring energy to our guests, delivering the unrivaled experience that keeps people coming back. Their commitment to excellence has been instrumental in elevating our brand, and I'm very grateful for everything they do to drive our success. Now for the fourth quarter. Our same-restaurant sales were up 0.4%, and our full-year comp was a negative 0.6%. Total revenue for the quarter was $184.6 million and full-year revenue was $710.6 million.

他們每天都會為我們的客人帶來活力，提供無與倫比的體驗，讓人們不斷回頭。他們對卓越的承諾對於提升我們的品牌起到了重要作用，我非常感謝他們為推動我們的成功所做的一切。現在進入第四季。我們的同店銷售額成長了 0.4%，而全年同店銷售額則下降了 0.6%。本季總營收為 1.846 億美元，全年營收為 7.106 億美元。

Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $45.2 million and $168.1 million for the full year with a margin of 23.7%. We saw good top line momentum in Q4, especially with the addition of kiosks at all of our restaurants. They are driving a comp lift of more than 1% through mix. We believe there's still a lot of untapped potential with kiosks, and we're excited to continue exploring their role in our business. Our team has also done a nice job of controlling costs, particularly in labor and G&A.

餐廳級第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,520 萬美元，全年調整後 EBITDA 為 1.681 億美元，利潤率為 23.7%。我們在第四季度看到了良好的營業額成長勢頭，尤其是在我們所有的餐廳都增加了自助服務終端之後。他們透過混合方式推動了超過 1% 的銷售額成長。我們相信自助服務終端仍有很大尚未開發的潛力，我們很高興繼續探索它們在我們業務中的作用。我們的團隊在控製成本方面也做得很好，特別是在勞動力和一般行政費用方面。

This has enabled us to drive strong cash flow in the business. We carried solid traction into January, but industry headwinds, including weather in February, muted some of our early momentum, similar to what you've heard from others in the restaurant industry. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, we're really excited about the plans we're executing. Our four key traffic-driving strategies are: number one, expansion of kiosk usage and functionality; number two, advertising beyond Chicagoland to increase brand awareness; number three, the launch of our Portillo's Perks loyalty program; and number four, simply better operations, including further improving speed in the drive-thru. This is how we'll drive traffic, improve margins and deliver industry-leading unit economics for our shareholders.

這使我們能夠在業務中推動強勁的現金流。我們在一月份保持了穩固的發展勢頭，但包括二月份天氣在內的行業逆風削弱了我們早期的發展勢頭，就像您從餐飲業其他人那裡聽到的一樣。展望今年剩餘的時間，我們對正在執行的計劃感到非常興奮。我們的四個關鍵流量驅動策略是：第一，擴大自助服務終端的使用和功能；第二，在芝加哥地區以外投放廣告，以提高品牌知名度；第三，我們推出了 Portillo's Perks 忠誠度計劃；第四，簡單來說就是改善運營，包括進一步提高免下車取餐的速度。這就是我們如何推動流量、提高利潤率並為股東提供業界領先的單位經濟效益。

Now of course, opening new restaurants remains critical to our growth with a focus on building efficient restaurants that deliver strong returns. In 2024, we opened 10 new restaurants, two of which are our new, more compact Restaurant of the Future format. This smaller footprint reduces our restaurant size from approximately 7,700 square feet to 6,250, and importantly, lowers the average build cost by over $1 million. We expect these to come in at $5.2 million to $5.5 million. In 2025, we plan to open 12 new restaurants, all of which will be Restaurant of the Future.

當然，開設新餐廳對我們的成長仍然至關重要，重點是打造能夠帶來豐厚回報的高效餐廳。2024 年，我們將開設 10 家新餐廳，其中兩家是我們全新的、更緊湊的未來餐廳形式。較小的佔地面積使我們餐廳的面積從大約 7,700 平方英尺減少到 6,250 平方英尺，而且重要的是，將平均建造成本降低了 100 多萬美元。我們預計這些收入將達到 520 萬至 550 萬美元。2025年，我們計劃開設12家新餐廳，所有新餐廳都將成為未來餐廳。

This includes our first restaurant in Georgia, located in the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw. The majority of the other new restaurants in 2025 will be in Texas, where we'll continue to build scale and awareness. Openings in 2025 will still be more concentrated in the back half of the year with the majority opening towards the end of the year, but we're optimistic that our strong pipeline will lead to 2026 being more balanced. Looking ahead, we continue to develop additional restaurant formats with an eye toward further improving new restaurant economics, including a more efficient operating model for our restaurant teams. These include an even smaller Restaurant of the Future 2.0 that will roll out in 2026 as well as airport and walk-up locations.

其中包括我們在喬治亞州的第一家餐廳，位於亞特蘭大郊區肯尼索。2025 年其他新餐廳大部分將位於德克薩斯州，我們將在那裡繼續擴大規模並提高知名度。2025 年的開業仍將集中在下半年，大多數將在年底開業，但我們樂觀地認為，我們強大的儲備將使 2026 年的開業更加均衡。展望未來，我們將繼續開發更多的餐廳業態，並著眼於進一步改善新的餐廳經濟，包括為我們的餐廳團隊提供更有效率的營運模式。其中包括規模較小的未來餐廳 2.0，將於 2026 年以及機場和步行店開業。

On the advertising front, we're working to build brand awareness in Texas to capitalize on the untapped potential of large audiences who don't know us yet. In late January, we launched our first market-wide ad campaign in Dallas-Fort Worth. The ads focus on introducing Portillo's to new guests. We're telling them who we are, what makes us iconic and where to find us. We're bringing the buzz and energy of a Portillo's experience to encourage people to visit.

在廣告方面，我們正在努力在德克薩斯州建立品牌知名度，以充分利用那些尚不了解我們的大量受眾的尚未開發的潛力。一月底，我們在達拉斯-沃斯堡啟動了首個市場範圍的廣告活動。這些廣告的重點是向新客人介紹 Portillo's。我們告訴他們我們是誰、什麼讓我們如此出名、在哪裡可以找到我們。我們正在帶來波蒂略體驗的熱鬧和活力，以鼓勵人們前來參觀。

Our past experience marketing outside Chicago gives us great optimism that this campaign will drive a meaningful lift. Additionally, we're launching the Portillo's Perks loyalty program next month. This program is intended to drive traffic and engagement across Portillo's. We're initially focused on driving enrollment with the goal to hit 1.5 million to 1.7 million members by July. Portillo's Perks is not a typical punch card program.

我們過去在芝加哥以外的行銷經驗讓我們非常樂觀地認為這次活動將帶來有意義的提升。此外，我們將於下個月推出 Portillo's Perks 忠誠度計劃。該計劃旨在推動 Portillo 的流量和參與度。我們最初專注於推動入學人數，目標是到7月達到150萬至170萬名會員。Portillo's Perks 並不是一個典型的打卡程式。

It lives in your digital wallet and uses a targeted one-to-one marketing approach to drive specific behaviors based on guest habits and buying patterns. For example, in Chicagoland where we're well known, we might focus on encouraging visit frequency, whereas in new markets, we can focus on building brand awareness and excitement. We can gamify frequency through badging. We can elicit trial of new menu items, or we can offer discounts to drive incremental visits. Because this is not a points-based program, we can customize the richness of the offer to suit the needs of the business and our guests.

它存在於您的數位錢包中，並採用有針對性的一對一行銷方式，根據客人習慣和購買模式推動特定行為。例如，在我們知名的芝加哥地區，我們可能會專注於鼓勵訪問頻率，而在新市場，我們可以專注於建立品牌知名度和熱情。我們可以透過徽章將頻率遊戲化。我們可以引導顧客嘗試新的菜單項，或提供折扣來增加訪問量。由於這不是基於積分的計劃，因此我們可以客製化優惠的豐富內容以滿足企業和客人的需求。

To keep our guests coming back, we know we need to continue delivering an unrivaled experience across our restaurants. That's why our new COO, Tony Darden, has a 3-pronged approach to strengthen operational excellence further. First is improving our drive-thru efficiency. With a target of reducing drive-thru time an additional 45 seconds, we've expanded our AI-powered drive-thru camera pilot to more locations. This tool is showing promise by providing better real-time insights for restaurant leaders to optimize speed.

為了讓客人再次光臨，我們知道我們需要繼續在我們的餐廳提供無與倫比的體驗。這就是為什麼我們的新任營運長 Tony Darden 採取三管齊下的方法來進一步加強卓越營運。首先是提高我們的免下車服務效率。為了將免下車服務時間再減少 45 秒，我們已將人工智慧驅動的免下車攝影機試點擴展到更多地點。該工具透過為餐廳領導提供更好的即時見解來優化速度，顯示出良好的前景。

Second, Tony is focused on training and elevating accountability and engagement within our teams to deliver a more consistent Portillo's experience across the chain. That means restaurant and market leaders getting more shoulder-to-shoulder time with team members, coaching in the moment, reinforcing fundamentals, being attentive, hustling and responding to guests with urgency and energy, all the things that make our experience uniquely great. Third, he's identified off-premise order accuracy as an opportunity. Ensuring guests receive exactly what they ordered is critical. Tony is already implementing processes to strengthen accuracy, ensuring we uphold the same high standards across all our channels.

其次，Tony 專注於培訓和提高團隊的責任感和參與度，以在整個連鎖店中提供更一致的 Portillo 體驗。這意味著餐廳和市場領導者可以有更多的時間與團隊成員並肩作戰，及時指導，強化基本功，保持專注，以緊迫感和活力為客人忙碌和回應，所有這些都讓我們的體驗變得獨一無二。第三，他認為場外訂單準確性是一個機會。確保客人收到他們所訂購的物品至關重要。Tony 已經在實施流程來提高準確性，確保我們在所有管道都堅持同樣的高標準。

We're excited by the plans we have in place and remain focused on driving sales and transactions. With continued innovation and an unwavering focus on operational excellence, we're confident these efforts will drive the results we're aiming for and set us up for even greater success in 2025. With that, let me hand it over to Michelle.

我們對現有的計劃感到非常興奮，並將繼續專注於推動銷售和交易。透過持續創新和對卓越營運的不懈關注，我們相信這些努力將推動我們實現所期望的結果，並為我們在 2025 年取得更大的成功做好準備。說完這些，讓我把它交給米歇爾。

Great. Thank you, Michael, and good morning, everyone. As a reminder, from a year-on-year comparable basis, the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was a 13-week quarter, and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 was a 14-week quarter. During the fourth quarter, revenues were $184.6 million, reflecting a decrease of $3.2 million or 1.7% compared to last year. Total revenue was negatively impacted by $13.9 million due to an additional operating week in the fourth quarter of 2023.

偉大的。謝謝你，邁克爾，大家早安。提醒一下，從年比可比較基礎來看，2024 財年第四季為 13 週的季度，2023 財年第四季為 14 週的季度。第四季營收為 1.846 億美元，較去年同期減少 320 萬美元，降幅 1.7%。由於 2023 年第四季增加了一個營業週，總收入受到 1,390 萬美元的負面影響。

Excluding the impact of the 53rd week, revenues grew 6.1% in the fourth quarter versus last year. Our revenue growth in the fourth quarter was driven by growth from non-comp restaurants and same-restaurant sales growth. Restaurants not in our comparable restaurant base contributed $8.6 million in revenue growth during the fourth quarter. Same-restaurant sales increased 0.4%, which drove revenues up approximately $600,000 in the quarter. The same-restaurant sales was attributable to an increase in average check of 4.1%, partially offset by a 3.7% decrease in transactions.

除去第53週的影響，第四季營收較去年同期成長6.1%。我們第四季的營收成長主要得益於非同店餐廳的成長和同店銷售額的成長。不在我們可比較餐廳基礎上的餐廳在第四季度貢獻了 860 萬美元的收入成長。同店銷售額成長了 0.4%，推動本季營收增加約 60 萬美元。同店銷售成長歸因於平均帳單成長 4.1%，但交易量下降 3.7% 部分抵消了這一成長。

The higher average check was driven by an approximate 4.7% increase in certain menu prices, partially offset by product mix. Comp on a 2-year stack basis was 4.8%. We did not raise prices in the fourth quarter, keeping our overall price increase at 4.7%. In January 2025, we implemented a 1.5% price increase. Since we had a price increase in January last year roll off, our effective price increase for the first quarter of 2025 is now approximately 4.4%.

平均帳單金額上漲是由於某些菜單價格上漲了約 4.7%，但被產品組合部分抵消了。以兩年期計算的薪資為 4.8%。第四季我們沒有漲價，整體價格漲幅維持在4.7%。2025年1月，我們實施了1.5%的價格上漲。自去年 1 月價格上漲以來，我們 2025 年第一季的實際價格漲幅目前約為 4.4%。

We also made pricing adjustments in March and June of last year, and we'll continue to assess pricing throughout the year. Our goal is to ensure we continue to provide a strong value proposition to our guests. As we look to 2025, we expect our revenue growth to continue to be driven by the opening of new restaurants, combined with modest comp sales growth in the range of flat to 2%. During the first quarter of 2025, we will open 1 of our 12 targeted new restaurants in the Houston market. As Michael mentioned, we entered January with strong traction, but challenges like February's weather has tempered some of our early momentum.

我們還在去年三月和六月對價格進行了調整，我們將全年繼續評估價格。我們的目標是確保我們繼續為客人提供強大的價值主張。展望 2025 年，我們預計我們的營收成長將繼續受到新餐廳開幕的推動，同時結合持平至 2% 範圍內的適度同店銷售額成長。2025 年第一季度，我們將在休士頓市場開設 12 家目標新餐廳中的 1 家。正如邁克爾所說，我們進入一月份時勢頭強勁，但二月份的天氣等挑戰削弱了我們早期的勢頭。

Coming into 2025, we anticipated softness in the first half of the year with the goal of driving improvement in the latter half as we evolve kiosk adoption, launch of our Portillo's Perks program, increased brand awareness in our outer markets and improve our speed in the drive-thru. Now moving on to our costs. Food, beverage and packaging costs as a percentage of revenues decreased to 34.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 34.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023. This decrease was due to the increase in our average check, partially offset by a 1.8% increase in our commodity prices. In the fourth quarter, we experienced increases in produce, dairy and chicken products.

進入 2025 年，我們預計上半年業績會比較疲軟，但隨著我們不斷改進自助服務終端的採用、推出 Portillo's Perks 計劃、提高我們外部市場的品牌知名度以及提高我們的免下車取餐速度，我們的目標是在下半年推動業績的改善。現在來談談我們的成本。食品、飲料和包裝成本佔收入的百分比從 2023 年第四季的 34.8% 下降至 2024 年第四季的 34.1%。下降的原因是我們的平均支票金額增加，但商品價格上漲 1.8% 部分抵消了下降。第四季度，農產品、乳製品和雞肉製品銷售量出現成長。

We are estimating commodity inflation of 3% to 5% in 2025 with the most significant pressures coming from beef. Labor as a percentage of revenues decreased to 24.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 25.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. This decrease was driven by the increase in our average check and lower variable-based compensation, partially offset by incremental investments to support our team members, including annual rate increases. Hourly labor rates were up 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024. We are estimating labor inflation of 3% to 4% in 2025.

我們預期 2025 年商品通膨率為 3% 至 5%，其中最大的壓力來自牛肉。勞動力佔收入的百分比從 2023 年第四季的 25.4% 下降到 2024 年第四季的 24.6%。這一下降是由於我們的平均薪酬增加和浮動薪酬降低所致，但部分被支持我們團隊成員的增量投資（包括年度工資上漲）所抵消。2024 年第四季每小時勞動力工資上漲了 2.2%。我們預期 2025 年勞動力通膨率為 3% 至 4%。

Other operating expenses increased $1.6 million or 8% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, which was primarily driven by the opening of new restaurants and an increase in repair and maintenance expense, offset by a decrease in insurance expense. As a percentage of revenues, other operating expenses increased to 12% from 10.9% in the prior year. Occupancy expenses increased $0.4 million or 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily driven by the opening of new restaurants. As a percentage of revenues, occupancy expenses increased 0.3% compared to the prior year. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA decreased 1.1% to $45.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

2024 年第四季的其他營運費用與 2023 年第四季相比增加了 160 萬美元或 8%，這主要是由於新餐廳的開業和維修和維護費用的增加，但保險費用的減少抵消了這一變化。其他營運費用佔收入的百分比從上年的 10.9% 增加到 12%。2024 年第四季的入住費用與 2023 年第四季相比增加了 40 萬美元，即 5.3%，主要原因是新餐廳的開業。作為收入的百分比，入住費用比上年增加了 0.3%。2024 年第四季度，餐廳層級的調整後 EBITDA 下降 1.1% 至 4,520 萬美元。

The comparison was negatively impacted by $3.5 million due to the additional operating week in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding the impact of the 53rd week, restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA grew 7.1% in the fourth quarter versus last year. Restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins increased 20 basis points to 24.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024 versus 24.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023. We are estimating our restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margins to be in the range of 22.5% to 23% in 2025. Our general and administrative expenses decreased by $1.2 million to $20.3 million or 11% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024 from $21.6 million or 11.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023.

由於 2023 年第四季增加了營業週，因此該對比受到了 350 萬美元的負面影響。剔除第 53 週的影響，第四季餐廳層級的調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期成長 7.1%。2024 年第四季度，餐廳層級的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率從 2023 年第四季的 24.3% 增加 20 個基點至 24.5%。我們預計，2025 年我們餐廳層級的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將在 22.5% 至 23% 之間。我們的一般和行政費用從 2023 年第四季的 2,160 萬美元或占收入的 11.5% 減少了 120 萬美元至 2024 年第四季的 2,030 萬美元或占收入的 11%。

The decrease was primarily driven by the 14th week in 2023, lower variable-based and equity-based compensation, partially offset by an increase in advertising expense of $0.3 million. We will continue to invest in advertising in 2025 as well as other strategic initiatives, but we'll remain disciplined in our investment approach. We are estimating G&A expenses to be between $82 million to $84 million in 2025. Pre-opening expenses were flat in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. We are estimating pre-opening expenses to be in the range of $11 million to $12 million in 2025.

下降的主要原因是 2023 年第 14 週的浮動薪酬和股權薪酬降低，但廣告費用增加 30 萬美元，部分抵消了這一影響。我們將在 2025 年繼續投資廣告以及其他策略計劃，但我們仍將嚴格遵守投資方式。我們預計 2025 年的 G&A 費用將在 8,200 萬至 8,400 萬美元之間。2024 年第四季的開業前費用與 2023 年第四季相比持平。我們估計 2025 年開業前的費用將在 1,100 萬至 1,200 萬美元之間。

All this led to adjusted EBITDA of $25.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 versus $26.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3.6%. The comparison was negatively impacted by $2.4 million due to the additional operating week in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding the impact of the extra week, adjusted EBITDA grew 6.3% in the fourth quarter versus last year. Below the EBITDA line, interest expense was $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $0.9 million from the fourth quarter of 2023. This decrease was driven by a lower effective interest rate, partially offset by additional borrowings on the revolver facility.

所有這些導致 2024 年第四季的調整後 EBITDA 為 2,520 萬美元，而 2023 年第四季為 2,610 萬美元，下降了 3.6%。由於 2023 年第四季增加了額外的營業週，因此該對比受到了 240 萬美元的負面影響。除去額外一週的影響，第四季調整後的 EBITDA 較去年同期成長了 6.3%。在 EBITDA 線以下，2024 年第四季的利息支出為 600 萬美元，比 2023 年第四季減少 90 萬美元。下降的原因在於實際利率下降，但循環信貸額度的額外借款部分抵消了下降。

On January 27, we reduced our term loan from $300 million to $250 million and increased our revolver credit facility from $100 million to $150 million. The interest rate on the term debt has been lowered by approximately 40 basis points. The loans under the new agreement will mature on January 27, 2030. This new credit agreement gives us more financial flexibility to support our growth strategy and other strategic initiatives. As of today, our outstanding borrowings under the revolver credit facility are $69 million, which includes approximately $39 million that was transferred over from our term loan facility and used to pay loan costs as part of our debt amendment in January.

1 月 27 日，我們將定期貸款從 3 億美元減少到 2.5 億美元，並將循環信貸額度從 1 億美元增加到 1.5 億美元。定期債務利率降低約40個基點。新協議項下的貸款將於2030年1月27日到期。這項新的信貸協議為我們提供了更大的財務靈活性，以支持我們的成長策略和其他策略舉措。截至今天，我們在循環信貸安排下的未償還借款為 6,900 萬美元，其中包括從我們的定期貸款安排轉移而來的約 3,900 萬美元，用於支付 1 月份債務修正的貸款成本。

Our effective interest rate on the term loan and revolver was 7.5% versus 8.4% for 2023. Income tax expense was $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of $2.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2023. Our effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was 13.3%. Our effective tax rate for the year was 16.2% versus 11.5% in 2023. The increase in our effective income tax rate was primarily driven by an increase in the company's ownership interest in Portillo's OpCo.

我們的定期貸款和循環信貸的實際利率為 7.5%，而 2023 年為 8.4%。2024 年第四季所得稅費用為 190 萬美元，較 2023 年第四季增加 230 萬美元。我們第四季的有效稅率為13.3%。我們今年的有效稅率為 16.2%，而 2023 年為 11.5%。我們有效所得稅率的增加主要是由於公司在 Portillo's OpCo 的所有權權益的增加。

Our future effective tax rate will fluctuate as Class A equity ownership increases and as equity-based awards are exercised and vest. Cash from operations increased by 38.5% year-over-year to $98 million year-to-date. We ended the quarter with $22.9 million in cash. We continue to believe that we are well positioned with our balance sheet to support our growth in new restaurant openings this year and beyond. Thank you for your time, and with that, I'll turn it back to Michael.

我們未來的有效稅率將隨著 A 類股權所有權的增加以及股權獎勵的行使和歸屬而波動。今年迄今，經營現金流年增 38.5%，達到 9,800 萬美元。本季結束時，我們的現金餘額為 2,290 萬美元。我們仍然相信，我們的資產負債表能夠很好地支持我們今年及以後新餐廳開業的成長。謝謝您的時間，現在我將話題轉回給邁克爾。

Thanks, Michelle. We remain committed to driving world-class economics in our restaurants and lightening our capital spend. Our focus is on accelerating revenue, expanding margins and ensuring that every dollar we invest, whether in new restaurant builds, technology or operation, delivers strong returns. With the deployment of our loyalty program, a revamped approach to marketing and a sharpened focus on operational excellence, we are building durable traffic drivers that we can leverage quarter after quarter. With a disciplined approach to development and an emphasis on efficiency, we will continue to grow profitably while strengthening the guest experience. This is how we'll deliver 2025. Thank you.

謝謝，米歇爾。我們將繼續致力於推動我們餐廳的世界級經濟發展並減少我們的資本支出。我們的重點是加速收入、擴大利潤率並確保我們投資的每一美元（無論是新餐廳建設、技術還是營運）都能帶來豐厚的回報。透過部署我們的忠誠度計劃、改善行銷方法和更注重卓越運營，我們正在建立持久的流量驅動力，我們可以一季度又一季度地加以利用。透過嚴謹的發展方式和注重效率，我們將在增強客戶體驗的同時繼續實現獲利成長。這就是我們實現 2025 年目標的方式。謝謝。

Thank you. That concludes our formal remarks. As always, thank you for your interest in Portillo's. (Operator Instructions) The first question comes from the line of Sharon Zackfia with William Blair.

謝謝。我們的正式發言到此結束。一如既往，感謝您對 Portillo's 的關注。（操作員指示）第一個問題來自 William Blair 的 Sharon Zackfia。

I guess just one clarifying question, Michelle. On the weather year-to-date, is it fair to think -- is there any way to quantify the weather impact you've had through late February? Or maybe just tell us if we should expect the first quarter to be below the full year guidance.

我想只需要一個澄清的問題，米歇爾。就今年迄今的天氣狀況而言，是否可以考慮——有沒有辦法量化截至二月底的天氣影響？或者也許只是告訴我們是否應該預期第一季的業績會低於全年預期。

Yes, Sharon. We're not -- haven't quantified the weather impact. As we sit here today, we're just starting to get into, I think, some warmer weather here in Chicagoland and the Midwest. Our trends, as we said in January, we came out of the gate stronger. February has been impacted.

是的，莎倫。我們還沒有量化天氣的影響。今天我們坐在這裡，我想，芝加哥和中西部的天氣才剛開始變暖。正如我們在一月份所說的那樣，我們的趨勢是，我們一開始就表現得更強勁。二月受到了影響。

We still have a whole month to go, Sharon. So it's hard at this stage to really say definitively, knowing that we have that. But we're confident that for the full year, we're going to be in the 0% to 2% range. So that's what I can definitively at least say at this moment. But we're comfortable with the trends, the underlying strength of the business.

我們還有一個月的時間，莎倫。因此，現階段還很難確切地說我們已經擁有了這一點。但我們有信心，全年成長率將保持在 0% 至 2% 的範圍內。所以至少現在我可以肯定地說這一點。但我們對該趨勢和業務的潛在實力感到滿意。

And as we said, I believe that the momentum we have with loyalty as well as the advertising that took effect in Dallas will take hold as we come out of Q1.

正如我們所說，我相信，我們在忠誠度方面的勢頭以及在達拉斯生效的廣告將在第一季結束後繼續發揮作用。

And then I did have a question about the drive-thru speed. So that 45 seconds that you're seeking to recoup, is there any kind of rule of thumb on what that does for you in terms of throughput or incremental traffic you can get through the drive-thru? And is there any gating factor to kind of rolling out this test pretty quickly across the rest of the system if it is -- continues to be successful?

然後我確實對免下車速度有一個疑問。那麼，您想要挽回的 45 秒，在吞吐量或免下車取餐通道的增量流量方面，是否有任何經驗法則可以衡量這對您有何影響？如果這個測試能夠持續成功，那麼是否存在什麼限制因素來促使它在系統的其餘部分快速開展？

Sharon, yes. We're really excited about the drive-thru speed. As a rule of thumb, every 30 seconds of improved throughput in the drive-thru is equivalent to one point of comp. So the test is going very well. It's relatively straightforward for us to expand and deploy as quickly as possible.

莎倫，是的。我們對這種免下車速度感到非常興奮。根據經驗法則，免下車取餐通道吞吐量每提高 30 秒就相當於公司利潤增加 1 個百分點。測試進展非常順利。對我們來說，盡快擴展和部署是相對簡單的。

There's a little -- you always run into a little bit of permitting issues, things like that. But my expectation is that if the test continues as well as it has been, we will get this deployed and it will have a full impact for the back half of the year.

有一點——你總是會遇到一些許可問題，諸如此類的事情。但我的預期是，如果測試繼續順利進行，我們將會部署它，並將在今年下半年產生全面影響。

Next question comes from the line of David Tarantino with Baird.

下一個問題來自貝爾德的大衛·塔倫提諾。

I was wondering if you could elaborate on what you're seeing in the Restaurant of the Future prototype, in particular, sales and margins as you look at kind of the initial performance. And I know it's early, but any insight you could offer would be helpful.

我想知道您是否可以詳細說明您在未來餐廳原型中看到的情況，特別是在初步表現時的銷售額和利潤率。我知道現在還為時過早，但您提供的任何見解都會有所幫助。

Here's what I'd say. I'd say there's no -- like in terms of revenue, traffic, the feel, the ability to operate and execute, we're thrilled. It's -- there's no difference really between that and a more traditional prototype. It feels like a really good restaurant. It provides a Portillo's experience.

這就是我要說的。我想說沒有——例如從收入、流量、感覺、營運和執行能力方面來說，我們都很高興。它與更傳統的原型實際上沒有什麼區別。感覺真的是一家很棒的餐廳。它提供了波蒂略 (Portillo) 的體驗。

So we're really excited by that. I think it's emboldened us to be more aggressive with 2.0. I think we feel like there's still some space that we can take out of the restaurants and that even the Restaurant of the Future is -- it's still plenty built and so that we feel like we can get a little bit more capital efficient in the next iteration. I think you were referring -- there's a question behind your question, David. We have not pushed the needle yet on operational efficiency in the Restaurant of the Future.

因此我們對此感到非常興奮。我認為它激勵我們在 2.0 版上更加積極進取。我認為我們覺得餐廳中仍有一些空間可以挖掘，甚至未來餐廳也還有大量空間可以建設，因此我們覺得在下一次迭代中我們可以提高資本效率。我想你指的是──你的問題背後有一個問題，大衛。我們尚未在未來餐廳的營運效率方面取得突破。

It's still early, and we're evaluating. But we do expect and plan to generate some incremental efficiencies, given it's a smaller restaurant, given that there's less need for labor, given there's less need for utility and energy usage. So we're very excited by that, and we'll reveal what's going on with that once we feel comfortable.

現在還為時過早，我們正在評估。但我們確實期望並計劃提高一些效率，因為這家餐廳規模較小，對勞動力的需求較少，對公用事業和能源使用的需求也較少。所以我們對此感到非常興奮，一旦我們感到滿意，我們就會透露事情的進展。

Great. And I think, Michael, you've streamlined the menu in some of the new locations. So could you comment on what you're seeing from that exercise and what the benefits of that might be?

偉大的。邁克爾，我認為您已經簡化了一些新店的菜單。那麼您能否評論一下您從這次演習中看到了什麼以及可能帶來什麼好處？

Yes, it's a great question. So as you noted, in Houston, we have conducted a test with a streamlined menu. We took somewhere between 15% and 20% of the SKUs out. And it tends to be the tail, the things that are low P mix. There's been -- the only negative feedback from guests were on our Italian sausage and our Maxwell Street, our Polish sausage.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。正如您所說，在休斯頓，我們對精簡菜單進行了測試。我們撤掉了 15% 到 20% 的 SKU。而且它往往是尾部，即低 P 混合。客人唯一的負面回饋是針對我們的義大利香腸和麥斯威爾街波蘭香腸。

So we've actually quickly added those back into Houston to some great fan favor. But there's been no impact with the rest of the tail. And so we're really excited about that. As I'm sure you can imagine, it reduces complexity in the kitchen. It's an aid to throughput.

因此，我們實際上已將它們快速添加回休士頓，以贏得一些球迷的喜愛。但機尾的其餘部分並沒有受到任何影響。因此我們對此感到非常興奮。我相信您可以想像，它降低了廚房的複雜性。它有助於提高生產力。

It's an aid to accuracy. And it streamlines supply chain and supply chain costs. So we think that we have unlocked something important there. It frankly is also an enabler to achieving Restaurant of the Future 2.0 when you just don't have to store that much stuff in your coolers and your freezers, and it does help you reduce some kitchen equipment. So we're -- we've been watching that very carefully.

它有助於提高準確性。它還簡化了供應鏈和供應鏈成本。因此我們認為我們已經解開了一些重要的東西。坦白說，當您不必在冷藏箱和冰櫃中存放那麼多東西時，它也是實現未來餐廳 2.0 的推動因素，並且它確實可以幫助您減少一些廚房設備。所以我們—我們一直在密切關注這一點。

We're very excited by it. And I think there's an unlock there for us going forward.

我們對此感到非常興奮。我認為這對我們今後的發展有幫助。

I might go over my limit here, but are you thinking about streamlining the menu elsewhere, maybe in some of your more mature locations as a result of what you're seeing in those locations?

我可能在這裡超出了我的限制，但您是否考慮在其他地方精簡菜單，也許是在一些比較成熟的地點，根據您在這些地點看到的情況？

I think for now, we're thinking of it as a new markets strategy. We're not going to go back -- we're not going to like try to take away beer from our Chicago guests. I think that would cause riots in our restaurant.

我認為現在我們將其視為一種新的市場策略。我們不會再回去了——我們不會試圖從我們的芝加哥客人那裡奪走啤酒。我認為這會引起我們餐廳的騷亂。

Next question comes from the line of Andy Barish with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Andy Barish。

Just a clarification. I think Darren was remembering from ICR that the 0 to two does not include the kiosk contribution. Am I remembering that correctly?

只是澄清一下。我認為 Darren 記得 ICR 中說的 0 到 2 不包括資訊亭的貢獻。我記得沒錯的話？

No, Andy, that does include the kiosk contribution. That's in the estimate. What we have said is, generally, we weren't modeling significant lifts in the front part of the year because a lot of the strategies such as loyalty, et cetera, are going to start to roll out as we go into Q2, but it does include the kiosk lift.

不，安迪，這包括售貨亭的貢獻。這是估計。我們所說的是，一般來說，我們不會在今年上半年模擬顯著的成長，因為許多策略（例如忠誠度等）將在我們進入第二季時開始推出，但它確實包括自助服務終端的成長。

Okay. And then anything on -- I know the drive-thru channel has been tougher, and that's a big focus, obviously, and more impacted by $5 QSR promotions and things like that. But was there anything to read from the off-premise order accuracy focus? Have you seen a little bit of weakness in that channel? Or is the weakest channel still really kind of drive-thru and some of these operational improvements can start to stem the tide there?

好的。然後任何事情——我知道免下車管道變得更加困難，這顯然是一個重點，並且更多地受到 5 美元 QSR 促銷等的影響。但是，從場外訂單準確性焦點來看有什麼可讀的嗎？您是否發現該管道存在一些弱點？或者最薄弱的管道實際上仍然是某種形式的免下車服務，而其中一些營運改進可以開始阻止這種趨勢？

Yes, Andy. We definitely see, as we continue to say, more softness in the drive-thru. When you think of overall the state of the business and the channels, we're seeing that channel a little bit more pressured. And as we've talked about, that channel is more competitive with QSR in that lower income consumer. But definitely, as we think about just order accuracy in general, that's the number one reason why guests are dissatisfied.

是的，安迪。正如我們一直說的，我們確實看到，免下車服務變得更加柔和。當你考慮整體業務和通路狀況時，我們會發現通路面臨的壓力更大一些。正如我們所討論的，對於低收入消費者來說，該管道與 QSR 相比更具競爭力。但毫無疑問，當我們整體考慮訂單準確性時，這是客人不滿意的首要原因。

So speed would be the number two reason, but accuracy, generally speaking, is what we need to continue to focus on in the drive-thru. But then when we look at our just off-premise channels in general, those, generally speaking, and we're not alone in this category from a restaurant standpoint, have lower OSAT scores or customer satisfaction scores than your dine-in or drive-thru channels. So as we look at those off-premise channels, whether it's picking up in the restaurant or those delivery channels, we have to focus on guest satisfaction in those channels and then specifically focusing on guest recovery. So when we talk about order accuracy, we have to make sure that when we do make mistakes, which we know we're going to make mistakes, that we recover that guest and treat them appropriately. So that's a focus.

因此，速度是第二個原因，但一般而言，準確性是我們在免下車取餐服務中需要繼續關注的重點。但是，當我們總體上看我們的場外管道時，一般來說，從餐廳的角度來看，我們並不是唯一一個這樣的管道，這些管道的 OSAT 分數或客戶滿意度分數低於店內用餐或免下車管道。因此，當我們審視這些場外管道時，無論是在餐廳取餐還是配送管道，我們都必須關注這些管道的客人滿意度，然後特別關注客人的恢復。因此，當我們談論訂單準確性時，我們必須確保當我們確實犯錯時（我們知道我們會犯錯），我們會恢復該客人並適當地對待他們。所以這是一個重點。

I mean, Andy, said another way, it's relatively straightforward to correct the mistake that we make in the dining room. It's kind of doable even in the drive-thru because the guests will notice. It becomes increasingly difficult to correct a mistake when it's for third-party delivery. And that's why I think for us, we're acknowledging that the bar has to be higher, and we need to make fewer mistakes for third-party delivery because those are very challenging to correct and make the guests happy.

我的意思是，安迪，換句話說，糾正我們在餐廳犯的錯誤相對簡單。即使在免下車服務中這也是可行的，因為客人會注意到。當涉及第三方交付時，糾正錯誤變得越來越困難。這就是為什麼我認為，對我們來說，我們承認標準必須更高，我們需要在第三方交付中犯更少的錯誤，因為這些錯誤很難糾正，很難讓客人滿意。

Helpful. And then just finally on your 3% to 5% commodity inflation, Michelle, how much of beef is locked up at this point?

很有幫助。最後，米歇爾，關於 3% 至 5% 的商品通膨率，目前有多少牛肉被鎖定？

Yes. On the flats, Andy, we have about 50% locked for the full year.

是的。安迪，就單位而言，我們全年鎖定了約 50%。

Okay. And anything just shape-wise we should expect? Or is it kind of that inflation spread out evenly through the year?

好的。就形狀而言我們應該期待什麼嗎？或者通貨膨脹是全年均勻分佈的嗎？

Yes. As we think about inflation over the course of the year, it's looking pretty even at this stage, Andy. I think a little bit more pressures, at least what we're seeing as we get into Q3, and then maybe a little bit easing into Q4. But in terms of -- it's not extremely rollercoaster-ish, I would say, but a little bit more pressures in Q3 versus the other quarters.

是的。安迪，當我們思考今年的通貨膨脹時，現階段的通貨膨脹看起來相當均衡。我認為壓力會稍微大一些，至少在進入第三季時是這樣的，而進入第四季後可能會稍微緩解一些。但就我個人而言——我想說，這並不是過山車式的波動，但與其他季度相比，第三季的壓力會更大一些。

Next question comes from the line of Brian Harbour with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Brian Harbour。

The same-store sales guide for this year, sorry if you had mentioned this, but what was sort of the -- I guess I'll ask this more directionally, just sort of the assumptions for kind of pricing and mix in different pieces. I know that traffic is a big focus this year. But presumably, you feel like mix is kind of helped by the kiosks. And then pricing, I don't know if you're thinking it would fade a bit or whatnot. Could you just comment directionally on that?

今年的同店銷售指南，如果您提到了這一點，我很抱歉，但那是什麼——我想我會更有方向性地問這個問題，只是對定價和不同部分組合的假設。我知道交通是今年的一大焦點。但想必，您會覺得自助服務終端對混合有所幫助。然後是定價，我不知道您是否認為它會下降或諸如此類。您能對此做出指導性評論嗎？

Yes, Brian. So pricing, obviously, is going to continue to be very fluid for us. But obviously, we expected to take price this year. As we indicated, we expected to have positive mix this year, and we expected to come out of the gate with negative traffic as we entered this year with that improving over the course of the back half of the year. But that guide implies pricing a little bit positive mix and negative traffic for the year.

是的，布萊恩。因此，定價對我們來說顯然將繼續非常不穩定。但顯然，我們預計今年價格會上漲。正如我們所指出的，我們預計今年的客流量將呈正增長，而我們預計今年年初客流量將為負增長，下半年客流量將有所改善。但該指南暗示了今年的定價會略有正向組合和負向流量。

That's what that guide implies with the traffic trends, again, improving as we get into the back half of the year.

這就是指南所暗示的交通趨勢，隨著進入下半年，交通趨勢將再次改善。

Yes. Okay. Sounds good. Can you talk a little bit about the advertising that you're doing in Texas and I guess other plans for this full year, what that looks like and just kind of the timing of that?

是的。好的。聽起來不錯。您能否談談您在德克薩斯州所做的廣告業務，以及今年全年的其他計劃，以及計劃的具體內容和時間安排？

Yes. In Texas, it's really -- we have a great opportunity ahead of us on increasing awareness. We're just -- the awareness, when I look at the awareness in DFW versus Arizona, for example, there's a material opportunity for us. And awareness directly correlates to sales in our restaurants. So that's what this is about.

是的。在德州，我們在提高意識方面確實面臨著巨大的機會。我們只是——意識到，例如，當我觀察 DFW 與亞利桑那州的比較時，我們發現這對我們來說是一個重大機會。知名度與我們餐廳的銷售量直接相關。這就是本章要講述的內容。

There's outdoor, which are large billboards. They're conveniently located on very busy highways, pointing out where the closest Portillo's is and announcing to the Texas community that we're open. The marketing campaign itself is on TV, and it's on -- we know that when we are on TV in our outer markets, it works really well. We've done it in the past when we were penetrating Minneapolis, Indianapolis. We've done it in Arizona.

還有戶外的，都是大型廣告看板。它們位於非常繁忙的高速公路上，位置便利，可以指出最近的 Portillo's 的位置，並向德克薩斯社區宣布我們開業了。行銷活動本身是在電視上進行的，我們知道，當我們在外部市場進行電視行銷時，效果非常好。我們過去在進攻明尼阿波利斯和印第安納波利斯的時候就這麼做過。我們已經在亞利桑那州做到了。

We've done it multiple times in Chicago. And so there's a TV campaign, which is a lot of crowd-sourced material from social media, which I think is a wonderful dynamic of using traditional media and current social media to get the best of on TV. So we're optimistic about it. It's been on the air just a few weeks, and we will definitely report out on how we felt about it towards the end of the quarter.

我們在芝加哥已經做過多次了。因此，有一個電視宣傳活動，其中大量來自社交媒體的眾包素材，我認為這是利用傳統媒體和當前社交媒體在電視上發揮最佳效果的絕妙方式。因此我們對此持樂觀態度。該劇播出才幾個星期，我們一定會在本季結束時報告我們的感受。

Mr. Harbour, are you done with your questions?

哈伯先生，您的問題問完了嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Next question comes from the line of Brian Mullan with Piper Sandler.

下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Brian Mullan。

A question on development. I'm wondering if you could update us on the drive-thru only or the non-traditional format. Where does that stand? I think you opened one last year. Do you feel like you've got that format fully ready to go?

關於發展的一個問題。我想知道您是否可以向我們介紹僅限免下車服務或非傳統格式的情況。那是什麼意思？我認為你去年開了一家。您是否覺得該格式已完全準備就緒？

Or do you need to see another iteration or two before you move forward in a more rapid way with those? Just any update on that format.

或者您需要再進行一兩次迭代才能更快地推進這些工作？僅針對該格式的任何更新。

Yes. That -- we did open one in Orland Park, which is a Southeast suburb of Chicago. We've been very happy with it so far. And I think we're getting awfully close on a great format. It's got the Restaurant of the Future kitchen in it.

是的。我們確實在芝加哥東南郊區奧蘭德帕克開了一家。到目前為止我們對此非常滿意。我認為我們已經非常接近找到完美的格式了。這裡有一個未來餐廳的廚房。

So it's a smaller, more compact kitchen. But at this point, those -- that concept is -- we're fine-tuning it, making it great. It's not so much being super aggressive with it, but being, I think, thoughtfully growing those. And they make a lot of sense in places where we have density and saturation for an incremental occasion. So we're going to keep building them in Chicagoland for sure.

所以它是一個更小、更緊湊的廚房。但目前，我們正在對這個概念進行微調，使其變得更加完美。我認為，這不是要採取非常激進的行動，而是要深思熟慮地發展它們。在我們有密度和飽和度的增量場合，它們非常有意義。所以我們肯定會繼續在芝加哥地區建造它們。

And we're actively looking at a couple of other markets where we feel we have brand awareness and scale to justify the pickup-only location. There was a point -- I don't know, I don't want to overcook it, but we are looking at in-line locations and airport locations this year. And so we'll communicate that as we have more certainty around those. But I am excited to do a walk-up location, more of a -- think of a busy downtown location or a denser population location with a walk-up. So we're excited to try one of those.

我們正在積極尋找其他幾個市場，我們認為這些市場具有品牌知名度和規模，足以證明開設僅限自提店的合理性。有一點——我不知道，我不想做過頭，但今年我們正在考慮直列位置和機場位置。當我們對這些有了更多的確定性時，我們會進行傳達。但我很高興能開設一家步行店，更像是——想像一個繁忙的市中心或人口更密集的步行店。因此我們很高興嘗試其中之一。

Okay. And then a question on loyalty, which is new. Maybe talk about the decision. I think you went with an app-less loyalty program. Just any background there and how we should think about why this was the best option for Portillo's versus maybe a more traditional app-based approach that we might be more used to seeing.

好的。然後是關於忠誠度的問題，這是一個新的問題。也許談談這個決定。我認為您採用了無需應用程式的忠誠度計劃。只是任何背景資訊以及我們應該如何思考為什麼這是 Portillo 的最佳選擇，而不是我們可能更習慣看到的更傳統的基於應用程式的方法。

So just any color on that would be great to understand.

因此，只要理解任何顏色就可以了。

Yes. I think everything that the advisors told us and every bit of consumer research that we invested in would suggest that consumers are approaching app fatigue. And opening yet another restaurant-based app is just something that they're not as interested in doing, and that the typical usage pattern consolidates down to a couple of apps. So we're not -- we don't want to try to compete against that. An app-less loyalty program sits in your Apple Wallet or your Google Wallet, and it allows us to communicate to you one-on-one in a very convenient manner.

是的。我認為顧問告訴我們的一切以及我們投入的每項消費者研究都顯示消費者正在走向應用疲勞。而開設另一個基於餐廳的應用程式是他們不感興趣的事情，典型的使用模式會集中到幾個應用程式上。所以我們不會——我們不想試圖與之競爭。無需應用程式的忠誠度計劃位於您的 Apple Wallet 或 Google Wallet 中，它使我們能夠以非常方便的方式與您進行一對一的溝通。

So if you're going in and looking for an airline ticket, a concert ticket, you want to use Apple Pay for something, the program sits there. It tells you what offers you have. If you want us to or allow us to, we can communicate to you proactively. So if I know you're going into your second favorite burger joint, I can remind you how great our burgers are and I can send you an offer real time if it's geofenced. So it allows us to do a level of one-to-one customer relationship management that is truly special and unique.

因此，如果你要購買機票、音樂會門票，或者想使用 Apple Pay 進行某些支付，該程式都可以幫助你。它會告訴您有哪些優惠。如果您希望或允許我們這樣做，我們可以主動與您溝通。因此，如果我知道您要去您第二喜歡的漢堡店，我就可以提醒您我們的漢堡有多棒，並且如果它有地理圍欄，我還可以實時向您發送優惠。因此，它使我們能夠實現真正特殊且獨特的一對一客戶關係管理。

And it's -- we think that we've picked the pieces, the best pieces of what all the great restaurant companies are doing and assembled something unique.

而且我們認為，我們從所有偉大的餐飲公司所做的一切中挑選出最好的部分，並組合出了一些獨特的東西。

Next question comes from the line of Jim Salera with Stephens, Inc.

下一個問題來自 Stephens, Inc. 的 Jim Salera。

I wanted to maybe drill down on your expectations for QSR traffic growth in 2025. Because if I just kind of do back of the envelope math with pricing and the positive mix commentary, it implies kind of down traffic for you guys, down high low-single digits to maybe low mid-single digits. And at least the commentary we've heard is like QSR traffic for the industry is going to be down like, call it, 50 to 100 basis points. And so I don't know if you guys have maybe a more conservative forecast on the industry or if you anticipate your traffic to be less than the industry. Any color on that would be helpful.

我想深入了解您對 2025 年 QSR 流量成長的預期。因為如果我只是對定價和積極的組合評論進行粗略計算，這意味著你們的流量會下降，從高低個位數下降到可能低中個位數。至少我們聽到的評論是，該行業的 QSR 流量將下降 50 到 100 個基點。所以我不知道你們對這個行業的預測是否更保守，或者你們是否預計你們的流量會低於行業水平。任何顏色都會有幫助。

I think there's just an acknowledgment of the fact that we ended Q4 last year down negative 3.7% on traffic. And so we believe that we will have some traffic momentum this year, especially with rolling out loyalty program, with the marketing that we're doing, with operational improvements. I mean we've talked about those. But you're not going to flip the switch overnight. So it's not like you're going to go from negative 3.7% to positive in the first quarter, especially with some of the weather in February.

我認為這只是承認了一個事實，即去年第四季我們的客運量下降了 3.7%。因此，我們相信今年我們的流量會有一些成長勢頭，特別是隨著忠誠度計劃的推出、我們正在進行的營銷以及營運的改進。我的意思是我們已經討論過這些了。但你不可能在一夜之間改變主意。因此，這並不意味著第一季的成長率就會從-3.7%轉為正值，尤其是考慮到 2 月的天氣狀況。

So what I think, Jim, what we're saying is expect us to steadily improve on traffic over the course of the year. And that algorithm is what gets you to the 0% to 2% same-store sales with some modest pricing. We don't want to -- no one wants to be aggressive on pricing. We're excited about the mix improvements, but it's modest pricing, some mix improvement and positive momentum over the course of the year on traffic to get to that 0% to 2%.

所以，吉姆，我認為，我們期望在今年內穩定改善交通狀況。該演算法可以讓你以適中的定價實現 0% 到 2% 的同店銷售。我們不想——沒有人想在定價上過於激進。我們對組合改進感到非常興奮，但這是適度的定價，一些組合改進和一年中客流量的積極勢頭，以達到 0% 到 2%。

Yes. I would just add on, obviously, to what Michael said, not all quarters are going to be created equally. And so as we, again, implement these strategies, we expect to see traffic improvement throughout the year and then driving that positive trend as we get into the back half of the year and exit the year. But obviously with -- we didn't expect some of the impacts that we've seen in February. So that creates a little bit more headwinds in Q1 than I think we and others in the industry anticipated.

是的。我顯然想補充麥可所說的話，並非所有領域都是平等的。因此，當我們再次實施這些策略時，我們預計全年的交通狀況將得到改善，並在進入下半年和年底時推動這一積極趨勢。但顯然，我們並沒有預料到二月出現的一些影響。所以，我認為這會為第一季帶來比我們和業內其他人預期的更多阻力。

But I don't think that that's an indicator of the fundamentals of the business. But we want to be obviously -- we want to acknowledge, Jim, what the trends are in the industry, what the consumer is feeling. And I think you see some of that as well built into the what we believe our conservative guide is for the year.

但我不認為這能反映出企業的基本面。但顯然，我們想了解──吉姆，這個產業的趨勢是什麼，消費者的感受是什麼。我想您也看到其中的一些內容已融入我們對今年的保守指導中。

Okay. Great. And maybe shifting gears a little bit, thinking about the new location in Atlanta. Any thoughts on what quarter we should see that open up? And I know, obviously, it's not in place now, but just any thoughts on -- should we expect that opening to be kind of similar to the Colony in Dallas?

好的。偉大的。或許，我們會稍微改變一下思路，考慮一下亞特蘭大的新地點。對於我們應該在哪個季度看到這種開放，您有什麼想法嗎？我知道，顯然現在它還沒有到位，但只是任何想法——我們是否應該期待它的開放有點類似於達拉斯的殖民地？

Or is there maybe another good comp we should think about as you enter a new market, and that's kind of the, what I assume is the flagship store?

或者，當您進入新市場時，我們是否應該考慮另一個好的同類產品，我認為那就是旗艦店？

I think it's -- I think I referenced earlier that it's in the back half of the year. Unfortunately, with our pipeline right now for 2025, most of our restaurant openings are in the back half of the year. So that's -- I can't even hazard to guess what Kennesaw's going to do, to be totally honest with you. We do seem to have a lot of pent-up demand when it's a first-in-market restaurant. So we're obviously not -- we're obviously excited by it and we hope that it does well, but the volumes are just very, very difficult to predict.

我認為——我想我之前提到過，這是在今年下半年。不幸的是，根據我們目前為 2025 年制定的計劃，大多數餐廳的開業時間都在下半年。所以那是——說實話，我什至不敢猜測肯尼索會做什麼。當它是第一家進入市場的餐廳時，我們確實似乎有很多被壓抑的需求。所以我們顯然不會——我們顯然對此感到興奮，我們希望它能做得很好，但銷量卻非常非常難以預測。

Next question comes from the line of Chris O'Cull with Stifel.

下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Chris O'Cull。

I apologize if I missed this, but Michael, when do you expect to start using the new loyalty program to kind of drive frequency in the Chicago area? And then have you tested any programs or offers to determine what could be most effective? And I'm just curious what those may be.

如果我錯過了這一點，我很抱歉，但是邁克爾，你預計什麼時候開始使用新的忠誠度計劃來提高芝加哥地區的客流量？然後，您是否測試過任何計劃或方案來確定哪一個最有效？我只是好奇那些是什麼。

It's in -- I don't think you missed it because I haven't actually said it, but it's in soft launch right now. We're rolling it out to test with our team members and sort of friends of friends. But we expect to be in full launch mode at the beginning of March. And so my expectation is you will start seeing a positive impact in Q2 as we roll it out and then start using it to drive traffic, frequency, et cetera. So we have a whole host of things that we're planning on doing, Chris, but it would be a little premature for me to share all that.

它已經在——我不認為你錯過了，因為我實際上並沒有說過，但它現在正處於軟啟動階段。我們正在與我們的團隊成員以及朋友的朋友一起進行測試。但我們預計將在三月初全面啟動。因此，我預計，當我們推出該功能並開始使用它來推動流量、頻率等等時，您將在第二季度開始看到積極的影響。因此，克里斯，我們計劃做很多事情，但對我來說，分享所有這些還為時過早。

Next question comes from the line of Gregory Francfort with Guggenheim Partners.

下一個問題來自古根漢合夥人公司的 Gregory Francfort。

I had two questions. My first is, Michael, can you just maybe update us on what the new store maturity curve is looking like in Texas and how those stores are comping as they enter the store base and maybe your Q3 performance there?

我有兩個問題。我的第一個問題是，邁克爾，您能否向我們介紹一下德克薩斯州新店成熟度曲線的情況，以及這些商店進入商店基礎時的競爭情況，以及您在那裡的第三季度業績？

Yes. I would say it's -- the newest restaurants in Texas are performing much more like in a more mature market. I think that our strategy of quickly achieving density in Dallas-Fort Worth has been very effective. We now have -- we have seven restaurants. We feel like we have good scale.

是的。我想說的是——德克薩斯州最新開業的餐廳的表現更像一個更成熟的市場。我認為我們在達拉斯-沃斯堡迅速實現密度的策略非常有效。我們現在有七家餐廳。我們覺得我們的規模很好。

And we feel like we can actively market and sort of shout our brand to the world. So the first -- you saw that the first couple had these extraordinary curves where enormous volume and then it came down. But the more recent ones are much more consistent with what we expect in a mature market where it starts off at a relatively modest pace, but then picks up from there. So there's less of a curve, more of a ramp on the more recent ones.

我們覺得我們可以積極行銷並向世界宣傳我們的品牌。所以首先——您會看到第一對有非凡曲線的夫婦，他們的體積巨大，然後他們就倒下了。但最近出現的情況與我們對成熟市場的預期更加一致，成熟市場起步時速度相對溫和，然後逐漸加速。因此，最近的曲線較少，斜坡較多。

Just as a reminder on what's entering the comp base this year that's in Texas. So the Colony, our first-in-market enters the comp base in Q1. Then the next one doesn't enter the comp base until Q3, which is in Allen. And then we only have one more that enters the comp base in Q4, which is Arlington. So just as a reminder of what's entering the comp base this year, that's what the cadence is for the Texas restaurants, those threes.

只是想提醒一下今年德州的公司基數是多少。因此，我們第一個進入市場的 Colony 於第一季進入了競爭對手市場。然後下一個直到 Q3 才進入 comp base，即在 Allen。然後，我們只有一個公司在第四季進入競爭對手名單，那就是阿靈頓。因此，只是為了提醒今年進入公司基礎的情況，這就是德克薩斯州餐廳（這三家餐廳）的節奏。

Thank you. That's helpful. And then just the other question I had was, as you go into Colorado and Georgia, you're starting to sign leases. Are those going to be the 6,000 square foot boxes, or is that going to be the bigger boxes? And I guess, any changes to kind of the pacing or strategy versus maybe Dallas, as a good example?

謝謝。這很有幫助。我的另一個問題是，當你進入科羅拉多州和喬治亞州時，你開始簽租約。這些是 6,000 平方英尺的箱子嗎，還是更大的箱子？我想，與達拉斯相比，在節奏或策略上有什麼變化嗎，可以舉例嗎？

On the size of the box, so everything we're building this year is already that smaller box, what we're calling Restaurant of the Future. And you know as well as we do that the process to get a new restaurant in place is anywhere from 18 months to, it can be as much as 30 months. And so we're actively in permitting for the class of 2026. That's what we're doing now. And so that's why we're -- we say go on Restaurant of the Future 2.0 today.

就盒子的大小而言，我們今年建造的所有東西都已經是那個較小的盒子，我們稱之為未來餐廳。您和我們一樣清楚，開設新餐廳通常需要 18 個月到 30 個月的時間。因此，我們正在積極為 2026 屆學生辦理許可。這就是我們現在正在做的事情。這就是為什麼我們今天要推出未來餐廳 2.0。

It's still going to be mid-2026 before you see that restaurant, just as a function of permitting and construction cycle. So everything in 2025 is Restaurant of the Future, which is that 6,250 square foot format with the lower build costs, et cetera. Everything in 2026 will be Restaurant of the Future either 1.0 or 2.0. And so you'll get a blend of lower cost, lower-sized restaurants there. One important thing to note, too, by the way.

您要到 2026 年中期才能看到那家餐廳，這只是許可和建設週期的結果。因此，2025 年的一切都屬於未來餐廳，即面積為 6,250 平方英尺、建築成本更低的餐廳等等。2026 年的一切都將成為未來餐廳 1.0 或 2.0。因此，您會在那裡找到各種成本較低、規模較小的餐廳。順便說一句，還有一件重要的事情要注意。

We're not building these restaurants to do smaller volumes. We're building these restaurants to do the volumes that we're comfortable that a Portillo's can and should do, but we're very conscious of what the cash-on-cash return is on these restaurants.

我們建造這些餐廳並不是為了減少銷售量。我們建造這些餐廳是為了達到我們認為 Portillo 能夠而且應該達到的規模，但我們非常清楚這些餐廳的現金回報率是多少。

And maybe to increase potentially the white space longer term. And just, Michael, just then a follow-up on that strategy. Any changes from maybe how you entered Dallas-Fort Worth in terms of pacing or marketing or anything like that?

也或許可以長期增加空白空間。邁克爾，剛才我們對這項策略進行了跟進。與您進入達拉斯 - 沃斯堡時相比，在節奏、行銷或類似方面有什麼變化嗎？

What I -- I love getting to some efficient scale because then it allows us to very efficiently market and start increasing awareness. Like it took us better part of 10 years to get to an awareness level in Arizona that is sort of reasonable. We're -- our goal is to achieve that in Texas in two years. And so we're just dramatically increasing the speed with which people get to know us so that we can stabilize the business and become a steady, durable transaction and comp driver out of these markets. So I like getting to scale quickly, Greg.

我喜歡達到一定的高效規模，因為這樣我們就能非常有效率地進行行銷，並開始提高知名度。我們花了將近 10 年的時間才在亞利桑那州達到合理的認知水平。我們的目標是兩年內在德克薩斯州實現這一目標。因此，我們正在大幅提高人們了解我們的速度，以便我們能夠穩定業務並成為這些市場中穩定、持久的交易和補償驅動力。所以我喜歡快速擴大規模，格雷格。

I think it's very important for us. You got to follow it on with aggressive marketing to build awareness, but one without the other doesn't really work well.

我認為這對我們來說非常重要。你必須透過積極的行銷來建立知名度，但單靠一種手段並不能真正發揮好的效果。

(Operator Instructions) Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation. We have a question.

（操作員指示）謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。感謝您的參與。我們有一個問題。

Do you want to take it?

你想拿走它嗎？

Who is it?

是誰？

It's [Ray Piccione] from Morgan Stanley.

我是摩根士丹利的 [Ray Piccione]。

Sure, yes.

當然，是的。

My question is more focused on the drive-thru. What are some of the fundamental changes that you're making to the drive-thru as it stands today? Just some side comments before you answer that. Like in the Chicago area in the suburbs in the colder weather, the way the drive-thru window is situated, it's real close to the food. And I noticed that when I go through the drive-thru, there's -- the kids are talking to each other with the window open, and the food gets very cold when it's delivered.

我的問題主要集中在免下車服務。您對目前的免下車取餐服務做了哪些根本性的改變？在您回答之前，我只想發表一些評論。就像在芝加哥郊區寒冷的天氣裡，免下車服務窗口的位置非常靠近食物。我注意到，當我經過免下車取餐通道時，孩子們開著車窗互相交談，食物送到時已經很冷了。

Not the end of the world, but not the greatest way to do things. Secondly, I mean, pre-COVID, I noticed that the lines were long because there was a lot of business coming through, and during COVID, a lot of business coming through. And I used to drive through thinking to myself, man, look how long those lines are, but when I'd get in the line, the line would go really fast, kind of like Chick-fil-A goes through now. And the drive-thru has improved, but it's still not as fast as the pre-COVID time period. And I feel that's an intangible that's being missed that if it was just a little bit more efficient, I'd be looking at the long line saying, oh, man, look at -- there's an intangible.

這不是世界末日，但也不是做事的最佳方式。其次，我的意思是，在疫情之前，我注意到排隊很長，因為有很多生意進來；而在疫情期間，也有很多生意進來。我以前開車經過時心裡想，看看這些隊伍有多長，但當我排到隊裡時，隊伍前進得非常快，就像現在的 Chick-fil-A 一樣。雖然免下車取餐服務有所改善，但速度仍不如疫情前那麼快。我覺得這是被忽視的無形資產，如果它稍微高效一點，我就會看著長長的隊伍說，哦，天哪，看 — — 這是一個無形資產。

You go through that line and you're like, holy cow, look how long it is. And you're saying, that's a lot of business and you're excited. And then when you get in the line, it goes fast. You're excited to be a part of it. But when the line goes slow, you're no longer excited to be a part of it.

當你經過那條線時，你會想，天啊，看看它有多長。你說，這是一筆很大的生意，你很興奮。然後當你排隊的時候，隊伍就排得很快。您很高興成為其中的一員。但當隊伍變慢時，你就不再對排隊感到興奮了。

That is such an intangible nuance, but it's hugely important. And I think you guys are missing a lot of return business, residual business that could add up to a lot of money. And it's the real basic, I guess, question. What are the fundamental things that you're doing old school that are going to improve that drive-thru as it stands today?

這是一個難以捉摸的細微差別，但卻非常重要。我認為你們錯過了很多回頭客業務，以及可能帶來大量利潤的剩餘業務。我想，這是一個真正基本的問題。您採取了哪些傳統做法來改善目前的免下車服務的基本措施？

So Ray, nice to meet you. This might be better in an offline conversation, but let me just respond quickly to some of the things that you said. I think we've acknowledged on the last three or four calls that we have gotten slower, and it's one of the emphasis on why we're reclaiming that 45 seconds. We're about 45 seconds slower than pre-COVID. So 100% agree with you.

所以 Ray，很高興認識你。在線下對話中這可能會更好一些，但請允許我快速回應您所說的一些事情。我想我們在過去的三、四次通話中已經承認我們的速度變慢了，這是我們要重新奪回那 45 秒的重點之一。我們比新冠疫情之前慢了大約 45 秒。我 100% 同意你的觀點。

We acknowledge that. It's why we have a number of different initiatives in the drive-thru to get that 45 seconds back. We were actually a minute. We've gained 15 seconds. We have active initiatives to get that other 45 seconds back.

我們承認這一點。這就是為什麼我們在免下車取餐通道採取了許多不同的舉措來挽回那 45 秒。我們實際上只花了一分鐘。我們已贏取 15 秒。我們會採取積極措施來奪回另外的 45 秒。

I'm hoping that you had a one-off idiosyncratic experience when you're talking about the windows being open and kids chit chatting and stuff. So maybe offline, if you can let us know what restaurant you were at because that is certainly not normal at a Portillo's and is not acceptable at a Portillo's. So we can certainly coach up any teams that are doing that because those windows are automatic. They open and shut with motion sensor, and it is meant to only open when you're passing food in and out. In our newer restaurants, you may or may not have seen that we're actually using a side door with an air curtain that keeps all the heat inside, and that's how we're facilitating food to the guests.

我希望當您談到窗戶開著、孩子們閒聊之類的事情時，您有過一次獨特的經歷。所以也許可以離線進行，如果你可以告訴我們你在哪家餐廳，因為這在 Portillo's 肯定是不正常的，也是不可接受的。因此，我們當然可以指導任何這樣做的團隊，因為這些視窗是自動的。它們透過運動感應器打開和關閉，並且只有當你進出食物時才會打開。在我們的新餐廳裡，您可能已經看到過，也可能沒有看到過，我們實際上是使用帶有空氣幕的側門來將所有熱量保留在室內，這就是我們為客人提供食物的方式。

So it sounds like you have some local experience with Portillo's. Happy to hear more about it and figure out what went wrong with your experience.

聽起來您對 Portillo's 有一些當地經驗。很高興聽到更多有關此事的消息並弄清楚您的經歷出了什麼問題。

Generally, no, I'm very happy with Portillo's. The food is fantastic. It's just, I know that the drive-thru is so key to everything. So I just --

總體來說，不，我對 Portillo 非常滿意。食物非常棒。只是，我知道免下車通道對於一切來說都是至關重要的。所以我才--

Yes, I agree. We love our drive-thrus.

是的，我同意。我們喜歡開車前往餐廳。

Yes. And I have noticed an improvement. It's funny you said 15 seconds because I would say it's about 25% better than it was, but not quite where it needs to be.

是的。我注意到了進步。你說 15 秒很有趣，因為我想說這比以前好了 25%，但還沒有達到需要的程度。

And I agree with you 100%. It needs -- not only does it need to be where it was, but our goal is to get better than we ever were.

我完全同意你的觀點。它不僅需要保持原來的狀態，而且我們的目標是變得比以前更好。

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

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。感謝您的參與。