Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Perella Weinberg Partners second quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) And please be advised that today's call is being recorded.

大家早安，歡迎參加 Perella Weinberg Partners 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的通話正在錄音。

I will now turn the call over to Taylor Reinhardt, Head of Communications and Marketing. Ms. Reinhardt, please go ahead.

現在我將把電話轉給傳播和行銷主管泰勒·萊因哈特 (Taylor Reinhardt)。萊因哈特女士，請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and welcome all. Joining me today are Andrew Bednar, Chief Executive Officer; and Alex Gottschalk, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝接線員，歡迎大家。今天與我一起出席的還有執行長 Andrew Bednar 和財務長 Alex Gottschalk。

Before we begin, I'd like to note that this call may contain forward-looking statements, including Perella Weinberg's expectations of future financial and business performance and conditions and industry outlook. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future events or performance. Please refer to Perella Weinberg's most recent SEC filings for a discussion of certain of these risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations, and the firm undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想指出，本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，包括 Perella Weinberg 對未來財務和業務表現、狀況和行業前景的預期。前瞻性陳述本質上受風險、不確定性和假設的影響，這些風險、不確定性和假設可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中討論的結果有重大差異，並且不能保證未來事件或表現。請參閱 Perella Weinberg 向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新文件，以了解有關這些風險和不確定性的討論。前瞻性陳述基於我們目前的信念和期望，本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

During the call, there will also be a discussion of some metrics, which are non-GAAP financial measures, which management believes are relevant in assessing the financial performance of the business. Perella Weinberg has reconciled these items to the most comparable GAAP measures in the press release filed with today's Form 8-K, which can be found on the company's website.

在電話會議中，也將討論一些非公認會計準則財務指標，管理階層認為這些指標與評估業務的財務表現有關。Perella Weinberg 在今天的 8-K 表格新聞稿中將這些項目與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標進行了協調，該新聞稿可在公司網站上找到。

I will now turn the call over to Andrew Bednar to discuss our results.

現在我將把電話轉給安德魯貝德納 (Andrew Bednar) 來討論我們的結果。

Thank you, Taylor, and good morning. Today, we reported second quarter revenues of $155 million and first half revenues of $367 million. While we experienced some variance in reported results this past quarter, the leading indicators in our business, specifically our active engagement count and our gross revenue pipeline are at peak levels. Our first half revenues were flat year over year, though with a notable difference in composition.

謝謝你，泰勒，早安。今天，我們報告第二季營收為 1.55 億美元，上半年營收為 3.67 億美元。雖然上個季度我們的報告結果出現了一些差異，但我們業務的領先指標，特別是我們的活躍參與數量和我們的總收入管道都處於峰值水平。我們的上半年營收與去年同期持平，但組成方面有顯著差異。

In the first six months of 2024, we had two transactions account for over 35% of revenue, which contributed to our record second quarter last year. In the first half of 2025, our business broadened out by industry, product, and geography, and we recorded a higher average fee per engagement. These are encouraging trends, reflecting improved client targeting, prudent business selection, and the overall value add we deliver to our clients.

2024 年上半年，我們有兩筆交易佔營收的 35% 以上，這促成了我們去年第二季創紀錄的業績。2025 年上半年，我們的業務在產業、產品和地理上均有所拓展，平均每次參與費用有所提高。這些都是令人鼓舞的趨勢，反映了客戶定位的改善、業務選擇的審慎以及我們為客戶提供的整體增值。

Without a doubt, we ended the quarter in a better environment than we experienced in April and May. Our teams are extremely busy with the level of client dialogue and related mandates growing, though conversion into announcements, especially for large transactions, has been taking longer.

毫無疑問，我們本季的經營環境比四月和五月好。隨著客戶對話和相關任務的不斷增加，我們的團隊非常忙碌，但轉換為公告（尤其是大額交易）需要更長的時間。

Today, we're still seeing some transactions sit on the edge of announcement due to a variety of factors, including some financing challenges, valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, or in certain industries, operating weakness due to a more cautious consumer. That said, with many active mandates currently in the red zone, we are confident that a broader acceleration in announcements is coming.

今天，我們仍然看到一些交易由於各種因素而處於宣布的邊緣，包括一些融資挑戰、買賣雙方之間的估值差距，或者在某些行業，由於消費者更加謹慎而導致的運營疲軟。儘管如此，由於目前許多活躍的授權處於紅色區域，我們相信，更廣泛的公告加速即將到來。

We are business builders no matter the environment. And to that end, we have made significant investments in our senior talent through both hiring and promotions. And we have more than made up for what I noted last year was a gap in senior hiring. Between now and year end, we have six partners and three managing directors joining the firm with expertise, including software, healthcare services, consumer and retail, insurance distribution, UK takeovers, machinery and capital goods, and fintech.

無論環境如何，我們都是業務建設者。為此，我們透過招募和晉升對高級人才進行了大量投資。我們已經彌補了去年我所指出的高階人才招募的缺口。從現在到年底，我們將有六位合夥人和三位董事總經理加入公司，他們的專業領域包括軟體、醫療保健服務、消費者和零售、保險分銷、英國收購、機械和資本貨物以及金融科技。

In July, we promoted six managing directors to partner for each a hard-earned and very deserving recognition of the contributions they have made to our business. So by year end, 12 new partners and nine new managing directors will be on our platform, representing our best hiring year on record since entering the public markets. This creates a significant source of future revenue and demonstrates that Perella Weinberg continues to be a destination of choice for top-tier talent across the industry.

7 月份，我們提拔了六位董事總經理為合夥人，這是對他們為我們的業務所做出的貢獻的來之不易且當之無愧的認可。因此，到年底，我們的平台上將有 12 位新合夥人和 9 位新董事總經理，這是我們進入公開市場以來招募人數最多的一年。這創造了重要的未來收入來源，並表明 Perella Weinberg 繼續成為整個行業頂級人才的首選目的地。

We also significantly expanded our capabilities with today's announced acquisition of Devon Park Advisors, a premier private funds advisory firm with specific expertise in GP-led secondaries. This acquisition creates our Private Funds Advisory business, establishes our position in a large and fast-growing segment of the market, and enables us to expand our coverage of alternative asset managers, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure, venture and real estate.

我們今天宣布收購 Devon Park Advisors，這大大擴展了我們的能力，Devon Park Advisors 是一家頂級私募基金顧問公司，在 GP 主導的二級市場方面擁有特定的專業知識。此次收購創建了我們的私募基金諮詢業務，確立了我們在龐大且快速成長的市場領域中的地位，並使我們能夠擴大另類資產管理的覆蓋範圍，包括私募股權、私人信貸、基礎設施、風險投資和房地產。

We've noted in the past that financial sponsors, in particular, were historically underrepresented in our client base and in our revenue. This transaction changes our mix overnight. We're excited to welcome to our firm a group of talented new colleagues from Devon Park, including a partner and two managing directors.

我們過去曾注意到，特別是金融贊助商，在我們的客戶群和收入中所佔比例歷來偏低。這筆交易一夜之間改變了我們的組合。我們非常高興地歡迎來自德文公園的一群才華橫溢的新同事加入我們公司，其中包括一名合夥人和兩名董事總經理。

I've said in the past that we would consider M&A to advance our growth objectives if the transaction is compelling, not only financially, but strategically and culturally as well. And that is what we have with Devon Park. We expect that the addition of Devon Park will contribute to our financial performance immediately upon closing and looking ahead, will meaningfully benefit all of our stakeholders, our clients, our teams, and our shareholders.

我過去曾說過，如果交易不僅在財務上，而且在策略和文化上都具有吸引力，我們會考慮透過併購來推進我們的成長目標。這就是我們在德文公園所擁有的。我們預計，德文公園的加入將在交易完成後立即為我們的財務表現做出貢獻，並展望未來，將為我們所有的利益相關者、我們的客戶、我們的團隊和我們的股東帶來有意義的利益。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Alex to review our financial results and capital management in more detail.

說完這些，我現在將電話轉給亞歷克斯，讓他更詳細地審查我們的財務表現和資本管理。

Thank you, Andrew. Our second quarter revenues of $155 million included $28 million related to closings that occurred within the first few days of the third quarter and which in accordance with relevant accounting principles were recorded in the second quarter.

謝謝你，安德魯。我們第二季的 1.55 億美元收入包括與第三季頭幾天內發生的交易有關的 2,800 萬美元，根據相關會計原則，這些收入已記錄在第二季。

Consistent with our first quarter, our adjusted compensation margin remained at 67% of revenues. We will evaluate our accrual level in the back half of the year as we gain clarity on full-year revenue and the current impact of talent investment. Our adjusted non-compensation expense of $36 million for the quarter was a meaningful drop from the prior year and prior quarter and was largely driven by the expected decline in litigation-related costs.

與第一季一致，我們的調整後薪資利潤率仍為營收的 67%。當我們明確全年收入和人才投資的當前影響時，我們將評估下半年的應計水準。本季我們調整後的非薪資支出為 3,600 萬美元，與去年同期和上一季相比大幅下降，主要是由於預期訴訟相關成本下降所致。

For the first half of the year, non-compensation expenses totaled $86 million, up 9.5% from the same period last year. Given a lower anticipated run rate, we are now modeling a mid-single-digit increase for the full year, which is lower than previously indicated.

上半年非薪資支出總計8,600萬美元，較去年同期成長9.5%。鑑於預期運行率較低，我們目前預測全年成長率為中等個位數，低於先前的預測。

Our adjusted tax rate for the first half, excluding the benefit from stock-based compensation vesting at a higher price than grant date, was 30% and is in line with our expectation for the remainder of the year.

我們上半年的調整稅率（不包括以高於授予日的價格歸屬的股票薪酬收益）為 30%，與我們對今年剩餘時間的預期一致。

Turning to capital management. In the second quarter, we returned an additional $24 million to equity holders through the net settlement of RSUs, open market purchases, and dividends. In the first half of the year, we repurchased 1.7 million Class A common shares as we continue to look for opportunities to offset dilution from the vesting of stock-based compensation.

轉向資本管理。第二季度，我們透過 RSU 淨結算、公開市場購買和股息向股東額外返還了 2,400 萬美元。今年上半年，我們回購了 170 萬股 A​​ 類普通股，繼續尋找機會抵銷股票薪酬歸屬帶來的稀釋。

Since entering the public markets four years ago, we have returned over $675 million to equity holders, including the repurchase of more than 32 million shares and share equivalents. At the end of the second quarter, we had 63 million shares of Class A common stock and 25 million partnership units outstanding, and we closed the quarter with $145 million in cash and no debt. This morning, we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share.

自四年前進入公開市場以來，我們已向股東返還了超過 6.75 億美元，其中包括回購超過 3,200 萬股股票和股票等價物。截至第二季末，我們擁有 6,300 萬股 A​​ 類普通股和 2,500 萬股合夥單位，本季末我們擁有 1.45 億美元現金且沒有債務。今天上午，我們宣布每股 0.07 美元的季度股息。

With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請打開熱線來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Devin Ryan, Citizens.

（操作員指示）Devin Ryan，公民。

So a question on the comment about peak level of gross fee backlog, I think, is what I heard. Just want to make sure, is that including announced deals? Or is it off of announced deals? And I hate to overly focus on the backlog, but the Dealogic data that some people look at shows it down, I think, a fair amount from the beginning of the year.

因此，我認為我聽到的是關於總費用積壓峰值的評論問題。只是想確認一下，這是否包括已宣布的交易？還是根據已宣布的交易？我不想過度關注積壓訂單，但有些人看到的 Dealogic 數據顯示，我認為積壓訂單量從年初就已經下降了相當多。

So maybe just talk a little bit more about what you're seeing in the backlog, just describing it, but then also the momentum and engagement that you've seen just kind of evolve here in recent months. You've given just a little bit of detail in the prepared remarks, but just any more color there? And then just how it feels today with some of this complexity relative to maybe even, say, a year ago? Thank you.

因此，也許您可以稍微多談談您在積壓工作中看到的情況，只是描述一下，但同時也談談您最近幾個月看到的勢頭和參與度的發展。您在準備好的發言中只給了一點點細節，但還有更多細節嗎？那麼，與一年前相比，今天這種複雜性感覺如何？謝謝。

Yeah. Good question, Devin. Let me start with some nomenclature just to make sure we're level set on what we define as pipeline versus backlog. So backlog, we think of as just the announced and pending. And I'm not going to comment on the specifics of what Dealogic or any other third-party vendor provides, but we think about backlog as just the announced and pending.

是的。問得好，德文。讓我先從一些術語開始，以確保我們對管道與積壓的定義是一致的。因此，我們認為積壓只是已宣布和待處理的事情。我不會對 Dealogic 或任何其他第三方供應商提供的具體內容發表評論，但我們認為積壓訂單只是已宣布的和待定的。

Our pipeline is all the activity that we have throughout the firm, which involves engagement letters and also situations where we believe we will be mandated. And that on [risk-adjusted] basis is trending at peak levels right now.

我們的管道是整個公司的所有活動，包括聘用書以及我們認為會被授權的情況。並且，根據[風險調整後]基礎，這一趨勢目前處於峰值水平。

As I said in my remarks upfront, we have had some longer duration to convert some of our transactions to announcement. But the flow from clients, the new business reviews that I see on my dashboard are growing, and they're up. Our engagement letter executions are growing, and they're up. And the client activity, as I do course sampling around the firm in different industries and geographies, everyone is reporting extremely busy conditions on the ground, but just challenges in getting things announced. I think the tone has changed dramatically from the end of -- that the middle of the second quarter, as I said, April and May were pretty tough months overall just to get people focused on getting transactions announced. I think that was an air pocket.

正如我在前面的演講中所說，我們有更長的時間將部分交易轉換為公告。但是來自客戶的流量，我在儀表板上看到的新業務評論正在成長，而且還在上升。我們的委託書執行量正在成長，並且呈現上升趨勢。至於客戶活動，當我在不同行業和地區的公司進行課程抽樣時，每個人都報告說當地的情況非常繁忙，但在宣布事情方面卻面臨挑戰。我認為從第二季末到第二季中期，基調發生了巨大變化，正如我所說，四月和五月總體來說是相當艱難的幾個月，只是為了讓人們專注於宣布交易。我認為那是個氣穴。

And already in July, we have seen a reversion back to a typical -- more typical announcement cadence that looks more like the first quarter than the second quarter. So we feel good about -- looking ahead, every time we get on these calls, it's always hard to measure our progress by one quarter, whether it's a great quarter or a quarter that may not have hit our expectations. But we're building a business for the long term. It's just very, very challenging to get these closing dates exactly to line up with the end of the quarter. But the leading indicators I look at, Devin, looks very, very strong.

到了 7 月份，我們已經看到回歸到典型的公告節奏，看起來更像第一季而不是第二季。因此，我們對此感到滿意——展望未來，每次我們接到這些電話時，總是很難用一個季度來衡量我們的進展，無論這是一個偉大的季度還是一個可能沒有達到我們預期的季度。但我們是在建立長期業務。讓這些截止日期與季度末準確一致是非常非常困難的。但德文，我所看到的領先指標看起來非常非常強勁。

Yeah. That's great color, Andrew. Thank you. I appreciate the nuance there, but good to hear that. And then a follow-up here on the acquisition this morning, Devon Park Advisors, obviously, like the name there. But maybe more importantly, in terms of what it does for your firm.

是的。顏色真棒，安德魯。謝謝。我很欣賞其中的細微差別，很高興聽到這個。然後今天早上對收購進行了跟進，顯然，Devon Park Advisors 的名字就在那裡。但也許更重要的是，它能為您的公司帶來什麼。

So I'm curious, I mean, obviously, it's a small deal, but does kind of push you into private capital in a more meaningful way. So just talk a little bit about how you're thinking about the private capital opportunity for the firm. Is this the backbone to then build more capabilities off of? And if that's the case, where do you want to go next? Or where are the kind of the most immediate opportunities? And then are there areas within private capital that you guys don't want to go into that maybe some of your peers are big in or maybe those are much further down the line? Thanks.

所以我很好奇，我的意思是，顯然這是一件小事，但確實以一種更有意義的方式推動你進入私人資本。那麼請簡單談談您對公司私人資本機會的看法。這是建立更多功能的支柱嗎？如果是這樣的話，您下一步想去哪裡？或者說最直接的機會在哪裡？那麼，私人資本中是否存在一些你們不想涉足的領域，也許你們的一些同行已經涉足其中，或者這些領域還處於比較靠後的位置？謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks, Devin. So look, Devon Park is a small firm with a big impact. They're a lot like us. They've got more of a workshop mentality than a factory. We're not in the high-volume business. We're very client-centric and very focused on making sure we get superior outcomes for our clients. And with that added value on large-scale transactions, we tend to earn a very significant fee. So we feel good about the strategic and cultural fit.

是的。謝謝，德文。所以，德文公園是一家規模雖小但影響巨大的公司。他們和我們很相似。他們更具有作坊式的心態，而不是工廠式的心態。我們並沒有從事大批量業務。我們非常以客戶為中心，並非常注重確保為客戶帶來卓越的成果。透過大規模交易的附加價值，我們往往能賺取非常可觀的費用。因此，我們對策略和文化契合度感到滿意。

Financially, it's not material to our balance sheet or income statement, but it's going to have a significant impact on how we think about and pursue opportunities with our alternative asset manager clients. And as I said upfront, it sort of ranges from traditional financial sponsors, but also private credit, infrastructure, venture, and real estate.

從財務角度來看，這對我們的資產負債表或損益表並不重要，但它將對我們如何思考和尋求與另類資產管理客戶的機會產生重大影響。正如我之前所說，它涵蓋了傳統的金融贊助商，也包括私人信貸、基礎設施、創投和房地產。

All of these aspects of alternative asset management have liquidity needs. You have private capital extending duration across the growth curve of many, many companies that, in some cases, obviates the need to go public. And in some cases, there's not an opportunity to sell. And so these liquidity needs are really driving the growth of this market, which has been quite extraordinary, and we watched it for a while and have decided that it's just too important to our clients not to be in the business. And a lot of our thinking around this transaction really emanated from reverse inquiry coming from our clients asking us if we can help with GP-led secondaries.

另類資產管理的所有這些方面都有流動性需求。私人資本可以延長許多公司的成長曲線，在某些情況下，這消除了上市的需要。在某些情況下，沒有出售的機會。因此，這些流動性需求確實推動了這個市場的成長，這個市場已經相當非凡了，我們觀察了一段時間，並決定，對於我們的客戶來說，這個行業太重要了，我們不能不參與其中。我們圍繞這筆交易的許多思考實際上都源於客戶的反向詢問，他們詢問我們是否可以幫助 GP 主導的二級市場。

And so this is a hand-in-glove fit for our strategy and serving the needs of our alternative asset manager clients. We think we've got a great cultural fit. And the team at Devon Park has done a great job in building their business in a way that we've built our business. So we're very excited about the combination.

因此，這與我們的策略完美契合，並能滿足我們的另類資產管理客戶的需求。我們認為我們的文化非常契合。德文公園的團隊在建立他們的業務方面做得非常出色，就像我們建立我們的業務一樣。所以我們對這個組合感到非常興奮。

That's great. If I can just sneak in one more on the partner headcount, I'm not sure if you gave that, but if you could give it for where it ended June, and then I heard the comment about the six partner promotions and then the six external hires. So I'm assuming that would be additive to whatever the number as of June. Thanks.

那太棒了。如果我可以在合夥人人數上再多加一個數字，我不確定您是否給出了這個數字，但如果您能給出截至六月份的數字，然後我聽到了關於六位合夥人晉升和六位外部僱員的評論。所以我假設這將是對六月數字的補充。謝謝。

Yeah. We ended June at 64. Today, we're at 70, and we expect at least 76 towards the end of the year, given the new hires that we've made, subject to any types of retirements or movements. But right now, we're expecting 76 at the end of the year.

是的。6 月底，我們的人數為 64 人。如今，我們的員工人數已達 70 人，考慮到新員工的招聘，以及員工退休或調動的情況，我們預計到今年年底，員工人數至少會達到 76 人。但目前，我們預計今年底將達到 76 個。

Yeah. Okay. That's great. Well, thanks for taking the questions.

是的。好的。那太棒了。好的，感謝您回答這些問題。

Brendan O'Brien, Wolfe Research.

布倫丹‧奧布萊恩，沃爾夫研究公司。

I just want to touch on the revenue outlook for the remainder of the year. I recognize the tough year-on-year comps for revenues, especially as you alluded to the two sizable transactions that contributed to the results last year. But just given your constructive outlook for the back half, could you speak to your confidence in your ability to meet or exceed that record 2024 revenues? Or is it just too uncertain at this juncture, just given the timing of conversion and the like?

我只想談談今年剩餘時間的收入前景。我認識到收入同比下降非常嚴重，特別是您提到的兩筆對去年業績有貢獻的大規模交易。但是，鑑於您對下半年的建設性展望，您能否談談您對達到或超過 2024 年創紀錄收入的能力的信心？或者只是在這個時刻，考慮到轉換的時間等等，情況太不確定了？

Yeah. Thanks for the question. As you know, we don't give revenue guidance, so I'll stay away from that. We're very happy with our record year last year. It's always hard to replicate those types of fee events, but we're doing a good job, given that we're only down 2% in the first half versus last year, which included the record second quarter.

是的。謝謝你的提問。如你所知，我們不提供收入指導，所以我不會談論這個。我們對去年創下的紀錄感到非常高興。複製這些類型的費用事件總是很困難的，但我們做得很好，因為與去年同期相比，今年上半年我們只下降了 2%，其中包括創紀錄的第二季度。

I'm very pleased with the broadening out of the business so that we're less reliant on large fee events. We always like large fee events, but we don't like being reliant on them. So I'm very happy that we broadened out the revenue base. I feel very good about engagement take up and client receptivity. I'm super excited, as you can tell, by the addition of the capabilities with the Devon Park team. Again, a lot of that reflected reverse inquiry from our clients coming in.

我很高興看到業務的擴展，這樣我們就不再那麼依賴大型收費活動。我們總是喜歡大型收費活動，但我們不喜歡依賴它們。因此我很高興我們擴大了收入基礎。我對參與度和客戶接受度感到非常滿意。如您所知，我對 Devon Park 團隊能力的增強感到非常興奮。再次，這在很大程度上反映了我們客戶的反向詢問。

So we feel like we'll have an immediate impact as soon as we get that transaction closed, which we expect in October. Whether transactions announce and close within a certain accounting period, as I've said, I know ad nauseam here on these calls over time. It's just very hard to predict when transactions will actually close.

因此，我們覺得一旦交易完成，我們就會立即產生影響，我們預計交易將在十月完成。正如我所說，無論交易是否在某個會計期間內宣布和結束，我對這些電話的了解已經令人厭煩了。很難預測交易何時會真正結束。

We are looking forward to more announcements. We've already seen a better trend in July. And exactly when things close, that's usually in someone else's hands. And so we will do our best to serve our clients and get transactions that they want announced, and then we wait for the closing. So it's very hard in our business line to predict quarter to quarter. So I'll stay away from that. But again, the leading indicators are all quite positive.

我們期待更多公告。我們已經看到七月份更好的趨勢。而當事情結束時，通常都是在別人的掌控之中。因此，我們將竭盡全力為客戶提供服務，並宣布他們想要的交易，然後等待交易結束。因此，對於我們的業務線來說，很難對每個季度進行預測。所以我會遠離那個。但同樣，領先指標都相當正面。

That's helpful color. And for my follow-up, I've (inaudible) you on recruiting for a few quarters now. So it was really nice to see the pickup in hiring this quarter. So I just want to get an update as to what you're still -- like what the recruiting pipeline looks like today and how you're thinking about balancing your hiring ambitions with managing the comp ratio this year.

這是很有幫助的顏色。作為我的後續行動，我已經（聽不清楚）了解您幾季的招募情況了。因此，看到本季招募人數的回升真是令人欣慰。所以我只是想了解一下您的最新情況——例如今天的招聘管道是什麼樣的，以及您如何考慮平衡您的招聘目標和管理今年的薪酬比率。

Yeah. We're very, very pleased with our recruiting to date. It also -- as we've gone through this now since being public four-plus years, it has a cumulative impact. So as we're hiring more people and the quality of the people we're hiring, it tends to attract more people. And so we've got a very, very steady flow and growing flow of candidates who we think could be interesting for us and exciting to add to our platform. We don't rush into those things. We're still very deliberate. We've got a process that we go through.

是的。我們對迄今為止的招募情況非常非常滿意。而且——自從我們上市四年多以來，我們已經經歷了這個過程，它具有累積影響。因此，隨著我們僱用更多的人並且所僱用人員的素質提高，我們往往會吸引更多的人。因此，我們擁有非常穩定且不斷增長的候選人流，我們認為這些候選人可能對我們來說很有趣，我們很高興能加入我們的平台。我們不會倉促行事。我們仍然非常謹慎。我們已經經歷了一個過程。

We also are very sensitive to the integration and to the cultural impact that people will have and too many people might have on the organization. So we're still a steady grower in that sense. As I mentioned last year on the third quarter call, I do think we missed recruiting a bit last year, but we were so busy and ended up producing a record year. So we switched a little bit of our time toward recruiting, and I think we have really good results in that.

我們也非常敏感地意識到人員的整合以及人員過多可能對組織產生的文化影響。所以從這個意義上來說，我們仍然是一個穩定的成長者。正如我去年在第三季電話會議上提到的那樣，我確實認為我們去年錯過了一些招募機會，但我們非常忙碌，最終創造了創紀錄的一年。因此，我們將一些時間用於招聘，我認為我們在這方面取得了非常好的結果。

As you well know, and you've been a proponent of this, I know have questioned us in the past, so thank you for that. But as you know, this is built in growth now. So we have an opportunity now with our new team, new teammates joining the firm to add revenue that is inherent now in the base of the business. We're excited about that.

如您所知，而且您一直是這理念的支持者，我知道您過去曾質疑過我們，所以對此表示感謝。但正如你所知，這是現在內在的成長。因此，現在我們有機會透過新團隊、新隊友加入公司來增加現有業務基礎中固有的收入。我們對此感到很興奮。

On comp margin, it's just too early. We usually have a reflection of that in the fourth quarter. Right now, we're accruing where we were in the first quarter, and that's our best estimate for the year, and we're managing through our investments and sort of watching our revenue development. But it's just too early in the year to make a move on that.

就利潤率而言，現在還為時過早。我們通常會在第四季度反映這一點。目前，我們正在累積第一季的業績，這是我們對今年的最佳估計，我們正在透過投資進行管理並觀察收入發展。但現在採取行動還為時過早。

Great. Thank you so much for taking my questions.

偉大的。非常感謝您回答我的問題。

Alex Bond, KBW.

亞歷克斯邦德，KBW。

Just curious on your view related to the large cap deal outlook specifically. We've seen a number of large strategic tie-ups here announced in the past couple of weeks and seems like momentum there is building. But do you think conversations or activity levels in this part of the market are back to or maybe close to the pre-April levels? Or is there still somewhat of a maybe a wait-and-see element of some C-suite? Just wanting to have a bit more macro clarity or maybe see how some of these recently announced deals progress before committing to a deal themselves. Thanks.

我只是好奇您對大盤交易前景的看法。過去幾週，我們看到這裡宣布了許多大型策略合作，而且似乎勢頭正在增強。但是，您是否認為該市場部分的對話或活動水平已恢復到或接近 4 月之前的水平？或者某些主管仍抱持觀望態度？只是想在自己達成交易之前，對宏觀情況有更清晰的了解，或者看看最近宣布的一些交易的進展。謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks for the question, Alex. I think for sure, in not just large-scale transactions, but really across the board, the price is thought on that already. And I think there's an outlook, and I look forward rather than I look behind. I think people have managed through all the tariff turmoil and believe that we're going to come through that fine. It won't be without impact, but it will be fine. I described the word that most of our executives and clients are using in that regard.

是的。謝謝你的提問，亞歷克斯。我認為，不僅在大規模交易中，而且在各個領域，價格都已經考慮到了。我認為這是一個前景，我向前看而不是回顧過去。我認為人們已經度過了所有的關稅風暴，並相信我們能夠度過罰款。雖然不會沒有影響，但不會有什麼問題。我描述了我們大多數的高階主管和客戶在這方面使用的字詞。

And you saw -- and we've seen a very significant increase in large-scale transactions. They were in some industries that were not present. So that happens when you're a smaller scale player as we are. We're working on our scaling. As you know, that's a significant part of our strategy to scale up the business.

而且您也看到了——我們已經看到大規模交易的顯著增長。他們處於一些尚不存在的行業。所以，當你像我們一樣是規模較小的參與者時，就會發生這種情況。我們正在努力擴大規模。如您所知，這是我們擴大業務策略的重要組成部分。

But those transactions are, I think, a green light to other companies considering larger-scale transactions. So we're in a market where typically transactions beget transactions. So that trending is a very positive thing, not just for large-scale transactions, but for the broader market.

但我認為，這些交易為其他考慮進行更大規模交易的公司開了綠燈。因此，我們處於一個通常交易引發交易的市場。因此，這種趨勢是一件非常積極的事情，不僅對於大規模交易而言，而且對於更廣泛的市場而言。

Got it. That makes sense. And then maybe just for my follow-up, specifically on the restructuring outlook through year end, just given obviously, the changing backdrop that we've seen since April, you had mentioned on the previous call that you're seeing heightened activity levels there kind of during that tariff uncertainty. But obviously, the backdrop has changed since then. So wondering if you could run through how you've seen activity levels or how you have seen activity levels evolve in that space in the month since.

知道了。這很有道理。然後也許只是為了我的後續問題，特別是關於到年底的重組前景，顯然考慮到我們自 4 月以來看到的變化背景，您在上次電話會議上提到，在關稅不確定性期間，您看到那裡的活動水平有所提高。但顯然，從那時起背景已經改變了。所以想知道您是否可以介紹一下您如何看待活動水平，或者自那以後一個月您如何看待該領域的活動水平演變。

The restructuring business is part of our broader Financing and Capital Solutions business. And when I think about that business combined, it's trending toward a record year. So they're doing extremely well, very busy. That was one business that was uninterrupted during April and May. That trending has continued.

重組業務是我們更廣泛的融資和資本解決方案業務的一部分。當我想到這些業務的整體情況時，我發現今年的業績有望創下紀錄。所以他們做得非常好，非常忙碌。這是四月和五月期間沒有中斷的業務之一。這種趨勢仍在持續。

I think generally, you go through some periods of what I would just describe as ingestion and digestion. So you have moments where you're incredibly busy on executing and then moments where you have to get back out and market. And so we go through those periods of time. But generally, the trends in that business still look very strong, and we haven't seen the historic cyclicality hit yet. I'm not sure it will.

我認為一般來說，你會經歷一些我稱之為攝取和消化的時期。因此，有時您會非常忙於執行任務，有時您必須回到市場。我們就這樣經歷了那些時期。但總體而言，該業務的趨勢仍然非常強勁，我們還沒有看到歷史週期性的影響。我不確定它會不會。

I think the base of that business is generally just a higher base with less volatility and the amplitude, I think, has been reduced over time where that business just creates a pretty steady ballast for the rest of our activity around M&A and now in fund advisory.

我認為該業務的基礎通常只是一個較高的基礎，波動性較小，而且我認為，隨著時間的推移，振幅已經減小，該業務只是為我們在併購和現在的基金諮詢方面的其餘活動創造了相當穩定的壓艙。

Great. That's helpful color. Thank you.

偉大的。這是很有幫助的顏色。謝謝。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅。

So you obviously substantially increased hirings here, both organically and through the acquisition announced this morning. What is the scale you believe you could achieve from a senior banker base over the next few years? And any way for us to sensitize that growth or think about how much growth you could achieve? And then longer term, is there a ramification you would expect to the comp ratio from that growth?

因此，你們顯然大幅增加了招聘人數，包括內部招聘和今天上午宣布的收購。您認為在未來幾年內，高階銀行家群體能夠達到什麼樣的規模？我們有什麼辦法可以意識到這種成長，或是思考一下可以達到多少成長？那麼從長遠來看，您認為這種成長會對同店銷售比率產生什麼影響嗎？

Yeah. Thanks, James. Right now, we have no limitation on hiring more partners and managing directors. It's really for us a question of whether they're the right fit, whether they have the caliber of expertise and client coverage that makes sense for us strategically and financially. So we'll continue to apply the same criteria to enter new people onto our platform. We're, again, excited about that pipeline. And so that looks very, very promising.

是的。謝謝，詹姆斯。目前，我們對聘用更多合夥人和董事總經理沒有任何限制。對我們來說，真正的問題是他們是否合適，他們是否具備足以讓我們在策略和財務上滿意的專業知識和客戶覆蓋範圍。因此，我們將繼續採用相同的標準來吸引新人加入我們的平台。我們再次對該管道感到興奮。所以這看起來非常非常有希望。

We're also just cautious culturally in adding too many people and wanting to make sure that we're not just simply adding to headcount, but we're adding the right people and that they're going to help create value for our firm and for all of our stakeholders. So I think what we said at IPO time back in 2021 is somewhere around five to seven hires, and then you probably have some retirements. So we were looking at four to five net. We'll be way above trend this year, which makes up a bit for last year. So that feels good.

我們在企業文化上也非常謹慎，不會增加太多員工，我們希望確保我們不只是簡單地增加員工人數，而是增加合適的人才，並確保他們能夠幫助我們的公司和所有利益相關者創造價值。因此，我認為我們在 2021 年 IPO 時所說的是大約會招募 5 到 7 名員工，然後可能會有一些員工退休。所以我們正在尋找四到五個網路。今年我們的表現將遠高於趨勢，這將彌補去年的一些不足。感覺很好。

But generally, we're still in that same zone. That might trend upward a little bit as we grow, but also, we're working very hard to make sure that we have a fair number of internal promotes. And this year, we've got a terrific class of internal partner promotes with the six individuals that we've previously announced.

但總體來說，我們仍然處於同一區域。隨著我們的成長，這種趨勢可能會略有上升，但同時，我們也在努力確保我們有相當數量的內部晉升。今年，我們迎來了一群出色的內部合作夥伴，其中包括我們先前宣布的六名個人。

And so there's a mix of growing the partner base through internal hires as well as external hires. So we'll continue to have that mix. But as we head into the year end, it's going to be back to about a third of our partnership will have been here less than three years. So that's an exciting embedded growth for us that we're going to hopefully get returns on as we head into '26 and beyond.

因此，我們可以透過內部招募和外部招募來擴大合作夥伴基礎。因此，我們會繼續保持這種混合。但隨著年底的臨近，我們將會發現大約三分之一的合作夥伴的合作時間還不到三年。因此，這對我們來說是一個令人興奮的嵌入式成長，我們希望在進入 26 年及以後能夠獲得回報。

That's great. Thanks. Any update that you could provide around capital return aspirations going forward, given the scale of the organic investment and obviously, that consumes some of that capital that could otherwise be returned to investors?

那太棒了。謝謝。考慮到有機投資的規模，並且顯然這會消耗一些原本可以返還給投資者的資本，您能否提供有關未來資本回報期望的任何最新消息？

Yeah. We're always thinking about our share count. We're laser-focused on making sure we're growing EPS through taking down the share count. We obviously have stock-based compensation every year that naturally increases that share count. So we look to mitigate that and still will look to mitigate that. We also have natural opportunities to buy in share equivalents through net settlement as well as through our partnership exchanges, which happen every quarter. So we've got opportunities to buy in those equity positions.

是的。我們始終在考慮我們的份額數量。我們專注於透過減少股票數量來確保每股收益的成長。顯然，我們每年都有股票薪酬，這自然會增加股票數量。因此，我們希望減輕這種情況，並且仍將努力減輕這種情況。我們還有自然的機會透過淨額結算以及每季進行的合作夥伴交換來購買股票等價物。因此，我們有機會買入這些股票。

More recently, we have invested in the business. I think on balance, if we can invest more in the business and generate revenue and return, that is a prudent -- a very prudent use of our capital. But we won't do that to exclude the opportunity to return capital to our shareholders. But right now, it is a more attractive use of our capital to build the business with the opportunities that we have seen now in the last quarter or two with new hires, but also with the Devon Park transaction.

最近，我們對該業務進行了投資。我認為總的來說，如果我們能夠在業務上投入更多並產生收入和回報，那麼這就是一種審慎的做法——一種非常審慎的資本使用方式。但我們不會這麼做，以排除向股東返還資本的機會。但目前，利用我們在過去一兩個季度中看到的機會（包括新員工的招聘以及 Devon Park 交易），利用資本來發展業務是一種更具吸引力的做法。

So there'll be moments where we are a little heavier on investment and a little lighter on return. That's probably the zone we're in now. But we're still always mindful. As you know, we are large owners of our shares, and we do look to mitigate the impact of our stock-based comp issuance. And dividend, as you heard today, we have it maintained at $0.07.

因此，有時我們的投資會比較多，而回報會比較少。這大概就是我們現在所處的狀態。但我們仍時時保持警戒。如您所知，我們是我們的股份的大股東，我們確實希望減輕基於股票的補償發行的影響。正如您今天所聽到的，我們將股息維持在 0.07 美元。

That's very clear. Thank you so much.

這很清楚。太感謝了。

Thank you. And it appears we have no further questions this morning. Mr. Bednar, I'd like to turn things back to you, sir, for any closing comments.

謝謝。看來我們今天早上沒有其他問題了。貝德納先生，先生，我想把話題轉回給您，請您做最後的評論。

Okay. Thank you very much. As you can sense from our comments, we're very excited about our future prospects. We welcome the Devon Park team to our Perella Weinberg team. I appreciate everyone joining the call today, and we'll catch up again in a few months. Thank you.

好的。非常感謝。從我們的評論中您可以感受到，我們對未來的前景感到非常興奮。我們歡迎 Devon Park 團隊加入我們的 Perella Weinberg 團隊。我感謝今天參加電話會議的各位，我們將在幾個月後再次見面。謝謝。

Thank you. Again, ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude today's Perella Weinberg Partners second quarter 2025 earnings call and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的 Perella Weinberg Partners 2025 年第二季財報電話會議和網路直播就到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，祝您有美好的一天。