QVC Group Inc (QVCGA) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the QVC Group 2024 Q4 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference will be recorded February 27. I would now like to turn the call over to Shane Kleinstein, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

歡迎參加 QVC Group 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。(操作員指示) 提醒一下，本次會議將於 2 月 27 日錄製。現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係資深副總裁 Shane Kleinstein。請繼續。

Thank you, and good afternoon. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in the most recent Form 10-K filed by our company and QVC with the SEC.

謝謝，下午好。在開始之前，我們想提醒大家，本次電話會議包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的某些前瞻性陳述。由於多種風險和不確定因素，包括我們公司和 QVC 向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新 10-K 表中提及的風險和不確定因素，實際事件或結果可能存在重大差異。

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call, and QVC Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in QVC Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon any such statement is based. Please note that we have published slides to accompany the earnings release.

這些前瞻性陳述僅代表本次電話會議之日的觀點，QVC 集團明確表示不承擔任何義務或承諾，以傳播本文所含任何前瞻性陳述的任何更新或修訂，以反映 QVC 集團對此的預期變化或此類陳述所依據的事件、條件或情況的任何變化。請注意，我們已經發布了與收益報告配套的幻燈片。

On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted OIBDA, adjusted OIBDA margin, free cash flow and constant currency. Information regarding the comparable GAAP metrics, along with required definitions and reconciliations, including preliminary notes and Schedules 1 and 2, can be found in the earnings press release issued or our earnings presentation, which are available on our website.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標，包括調整後的 OIBDA、調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率、自由現金流量和固定匯率。有關可比較 GAAP 指標的資訊以及所需的定義和對帳（包括初步說明和附表 1 和 2）可在發布的收益新聞稿或我們的收益報告中找到，這些內容可在我們的網站上找到。

Today speaking on the call, we have QVC Group President and CEO, David Rawlinson; Group CFO, Billy Wafford; and QVC Group Executive Chairman, Greg Maffei. Now I'll hand the call over to David.

今天參加電話會議的有 QVC 集團總裁兼執行長 David Rawlinson；集團財務長 Billy Wafford；以及 QVC 集團執行董事長 Greg Maffei。現在我將電話交給大衛。

Thank you, Shane, and good afternoon to all. Thank you for joining us and for your interest in the QVC Group. I'll begin today with the recap of fourth quarter results then speak to the conclusion of 2024 and Project Athens before going deeper into our growth strategy announced at Investor Day.

謝謝你，肖恩，大家下午好。感謝您加入我們並關注 QVC 集團。今天，我將首先回顧第四季度的業績，然後談談 2024 年的結論和雅典項目，然後深入探討我們在投資者日宣布的成長策略。

Total revenue declined 6% in the fourth quarter. Our top line performance saw continued volume pressure, similar to the third quarter, driven by linear television declines, a cautious consumer environment and meaningful distractions in our TV viewership due to headline grabbing events like hurricanes and the election. These events affect our sales far more than other retailers as a video-driven commerce platform with the need for people to tune into our programming in order to drive sales.

第四季總收入下降6%。與第三季類似，我們的營收表現繼續面臨銷售壓力，這受到有線電視收視率下滑、消費者謹慎的態度以及颶風和選舉等引人注目的事件對電視收視率造成的重大干擾等影響。作為一個視訊驅動的商業平台，這些活動對我們銷售的影響遠遠超過其他零售商，因為需要人們觀看我們的節目來推動銷售。

QxH TV minutes viewed declined 4%, while across the TV industry, the number of hours watched for news and information programming increased 11%. QVC International had flat revenue and cornerstone and continued to experience sales pressure due to a soft housing sector in the fourth quarter.

QxH 電視觀看分鐘數下降了 4%，而在整個電視行業，觀看新聞和資訊節目的小時數增加了 11%。QVC International 的營收和基石持平，由於第四季度房地產市場疲軟，銷售繼續面臨壓力。

Volume pressures led to sales deleverage in Q4. We continue to actively manage costs which partially offset some of the sales leverage in the quarter, with total company operating expenses and SG&A declining 9% and 6%, respectively. At our core businesses, QxH and QVC International, we expanded adjusted OIBDA margin 10 and 170 basis points, respectively. QVC International was our best-performing business in Q4 with OIBDA increasing 12% year-on-year.

銷售壓力導致第四季銷售去槓桿。我們繼續積極管理成本，部分抵銷了本季的部分銷售槓桿，公司總營運費用和銷售、一般及行政費用分別下降 9% 和 6%。在我們的核心業務 QxH 和 QVC International 方面，我們將調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率提高了 10 個基點和 170 個基點。QVC International 是我們第四季表現最好的業務，OIBDA 年成長 12%。

Cornerstone had a disproportionate impact to the QVC Group's consolidated OIBDA in the fourth quarter. While there was only 10% of total company revenue, Cornerstone's OIBDA declined $22 million, where consolidated company total OIBDA decreased $28 million or 8% year-over-year. Cornerstone made up 3/4 of the decline. Total company OIBDA margin contracted slightly, which included approximately 85 basis points of sales deleverage.

Cornerstone 對 QVC 集團第四季度的合併 OIBDA 產生了不成比例的影響。雖然僅占公司總收入的 10%，但 Cornerstone 的 OIBDA 下降了 2,200 萬美元，而合併後的公司總 OIBDA 比去年同期下降了 2,800 萬美元，即 8%。Cornerstone 佔了跌幅的 3/4。公司整體 OIBDA 利潤率略有收縮，其中包括約 85 個基點的銷售去槓桿。

Looking at the full year, we achieved several milestones. Importantly, we successfully completed Project Athens, through 2024, we generated more than $500 million of run rate OIBDA improvement compared to the objective of $300 million to $600 million. We expanded OIBDA margins 220 basis points and improved free cash flow, excluding insurance proceeds over $500 million from 2022 to 2024. We took action to manage our costs while facing challenges from revenue headwinds in 2024, resulting in the second consecutive year of adjusted OIBDA growth.

縱觀全年，我們實現了幾個里程碑。重要的是，我們成功完成了雅典項目，到 2024 年，我們實現了超過 5 億美元的運行率 OIBDA 改進，而目標是 3 億至 6 億美元。我們將 OIBDA 利潤率擴大了 220 個基點，並改善了自由現金流，不包括 2022 年至 2024 年期間超過 5 億美元的保險收益。2024 年，我們應對收入逆風帶來的挑戰，同時採取行動管理成本，從而實現調整後 OIBDA 連續第二年成長。

On a reported basis, including Zulily, we expanded gross margins 120 basis points year-over-year in 2024 due to product margin gains. We also reduced operating expenses by 8% and SG&A cost by 9% from lower commissions. We also reduced outside services and personnel costs. QVC International had a solid year, delivering stable revenue and adjusted OIBDA margin up 70 basis points.

據報道，包括 Zulily 在內的 2024 年毛利率由於產品利潤率的提高而同比擴大了 120 個基點。我們也透過降低佣金將營運費用減少了 8%，銷售、一般及行政費用減少了 9%。我們也減少了外部服務和人員成本。QVC International 今年表現穩健，營收穩定，調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率上升了 70 個基點。

We drove strong growth in our streaming businesses with monthly average users up 80%, minutes watched increasing 27% and attributed revenue up 19%. We shifted our IT model to a managed services approach to improve productivity, increase innovation and generate savings. We improved the balance sheet and reduced gross debt $442 million while also extending our maturity profile. And importantly, in mid-November, we introduced our social shopping strategy, which I'll discuss in more detail momentarily.

我們的串流媒體業務實現了強勁增長，每月平均用戶數增長了 80%，觀看分鐘數增長了 27%，歸屬收入增長了 19%。我們將 IT 模型轉變為託管服務方法，以提高生產力、增加創新並節省開支。我們改善了資產負債表，減少了 4.42 億美元的總債務，同時延長了我們的債務期限。重要的是，11 月中旬，我們推出了社交購物策略，稍後我將詳細討論。

Looking at industry data, we were in line with the discretionary market in the first half of 2024. Our revenue performance decelerated, particularly at QxH in the second half of 2024 compared with the first half, in part, because of both anticipated and unanticipated headline-grabbing events, leading to meaningful distractions in our TV viewership. Also, Cornerstone had continued challenges in the business, which led to an outsized margin impact on our consolidated results in 2024. Ultimately, these top line pressures were more than anticipated and led to approximately 80 basis points of sales deleverage through the P&L for the full year and on a 2-year basis.

從產業數據來看，我們與 2024 年上半年的可自由支配市場保持一致。我們的營收表現有所放緩，尤其是 2024 年下半年的 QxH 與上半年相比，部分原因是預期內和預期外的頭條新聞事件，導致我們的電視收視率受到重大干擾。此外，Cornerstone 在業務上持續面臨挑戰，導致我們 2024 年的綜合業績利潤率受到過大影響。最終，這些營業收入壓力超出了預期，並導致全年和兩年期損益表中的銷售去槓桿率上升了約 80 個基點。

Looking at QxH customers. On a quarterly basis, Total customer count declined 9% in Q4, reflecting a 7% decrease in existing and reactivated customers as well as a 17% decline in new customers. We reduced performance marketing spend and promotions, particularly for gaming products.

看看 QxH 客戶。從季度來看，第四季總客戶數量下降 9%，其中現有客戶和重新啟動客戶數量下降 7%，新客戶數量下降 17%。我們減少了績效行銷支出和促銷，特別是遊戲產品。

As you can see on Slide 8 in our presentation, on a 12-month basis, count was down 3% for the 12 months ending December 31 compared to the 12 months ended September 30. This reflects the challenges I mentioned earlier, declining linear TV, changes in consumer media consumption and the disruption of our TV viewership from events in the second half of the year. While count decline, QxH existing customers continue to purchase at healthy levels, spending on average $1,650 and purchasing 32 items in 2024.

正如您在我們簡報的第 8 張幻燈片中看到的，以 12 個月計算，截至 12 月 31 日的 12 個月與截至 9 月 30 日的 12 個月相比，數量下降了 3%。這反映了我之前提到的挑戰，即線性電視的衰落、消費者媒體消費的變化以及下半年事件對我們電視收視率的干擾。儘管數量下降，QxH 現有客戶的購買量仍保持健康水平，2024 年平均消費 1,650 美元併購買 32 件商品。

At QVC, our best customers, who buy 20 or more items annually, also continue to purchase at very attractive levels. In 2024, they spent $3,980 on average and bought 76 items. From a QxH merchandise perspective, we were pleased to expand product margins more than 100 basis points in 2024 despite the volume pressures. These gains were driven by Project Athens initiatives, including strategic pricing and product mix actions as well as steps to improve product COGS.

在 QVC，我們最好的客戶每年購買 20 件或更多件商品，並且會繼續以非常優惠的價格購買。2024 年，他們平均花費 3,980 美元，購買 76 件物品。從 QxH 商品角度來看，儘管面臨銷售壓力，但我們仍很高興在 2024 年將產品利潤率擴大 100 個基點以上。這些收益主要由雅典專案舉措推動，包括策略定價和產品組合行動以及改善產品銷價的措施。

Before I review our go-forward strategy, let me reflect on the company during my tenure as CEO thus far. The business has been affected by a number of factors, the tragic fire at our Rocky Mount, North Carolina fulfillment center cost QxH an estimated 1 million customers and $500 million in revenue. Cord-cutting has reduced the number of linear homes we reach. Comparing 2024 to 2018, QVC and HSN's main channel reached 44% and 47% fewer homes, respectively.

在回顧我們的未來策略之前，讓我先回顧一下我擔任執行長期間的公司情況。業務受到多種因素的影響，北卡羅來納州洛基山配送中心發生的悲慘火災導致 QxH 損失了約 100 萬客戶和 5 億美元的收入。剪線現象減少了我們能到達的線性家庭數量。將 2024 年與 2018 年進行比較，QVC 和 HSN 主頻道的覆蓋家庭數量分別減少了 44% 和 47%。

Through Project Athens, we took action to improve the cost structure, operating discipline and cash flow capabilities of the company. We enhanced the portfolio with the divestiture of Zulily while we also successfully improved the profitability under Athens. We did not, however, achieve stable revenue, and that is where we are increasing the focus going forward. In mid-November, we introduced a new strategy aimed at returning the company to growth over the next 3 years. We are moving faster to become a live social shopping company with a focus on balancing top line growth with margin and cash flow discipline.

透過雅典項目，我們採取行動改善公司的成本結構、營運紀律和現金流能力。我們透過剝離Zulily增強了投資組合，同時我們也成功地提高了雅典的獲利能力。然而，我們並未實現穩定的收入，這也是我們未來將更加關注的重點。11月中旬，我們推出了一項新策略，旨在未來3年內讓公司恢復成長。我們正在加快步伐成為一家即時社交購物公司，重點關注營收成長與利潤率及現金流約束之間的平衡。

Last Friday, we commenced our rebranding, changing our corporate name to QVC Group, Inc., bringing the household name we are known for back into our everyday language. On Monday, our equity securities began trading under their new ticker symbols. To succeed in social commerce, you not only need a social network and personalities, you also need the ability to create content, source merchandise, distribute product and provide an end-to-end customer experience at scale. QVC Group is well positioned.

上週五，我們開始進行品牌重塑，將公司名稱更改為 QVC Group, Inc.，將這個家喻戶曉的名稱重新帶入我們的日常語言中。週一，我們的股票證券開始以新的股票代碼進行交易。要在社交商務中取得成功，您不僅需要社交網路和個性，還需要創建內容、採購商品、分銷產品和大規模提供端到端客戶體驗的能力。QVC 集團定位明確。

Globally, we produce about 120 hours of live content daily which is over 40,000 hours of content annually. We have expertise around brand and merchandising with about 400,000 products in our ecosystem. QVC US and HSN present about 1,200 products per week on our live programming. And we have an established supply chain to distribute these large quantities of products. Across our businesses, we shipped more than 200 million units from 15 fulfillment centers to 13.5 million customers in 2024.

在全球範圍內，我們每天製作約 120 小時的直播內容，每年的內容超過 40,000 小時。我們在品牌和行銷方面擁有專業知識，我們的生態系統中擁有約 400,000 種產品。QVC US 和 HSN 每週在我們的直播節目中展示約 1,200 種產品。我們有成熟的供應鏈來分銷這些大量的產品。在我們的業務中，到 2024 年，我們從 15 個履行中心向 1,350 萬客戶發送了超過 2 億件商品。

Social commerce is an attractive market and a natural extension of our core capabilities. The social commerce market in the US is projected to nearly double in the next 5 years based on research estimates. Behaviorally, there are a lot of core similarities between the QVC model and the way consumers engage with social content. Our today's special value is a daily discovery-based purchase that has inspired customers for decades.

社交商務是一個具有吸引力的市場，也是我們核心能力的自然延伸。根據研究估計，美國社交商務市場預計未來5年將成長近一倍。從行為來看，QVC 模式與消費者參與社群內容的方式有許多核心相似之處。我們今天的特別價值是基於每日發現的購買，幾十年來一直激勵著顧客。

Similarly, 68% of purchases on social selling platforms last year were made on impulse. In short, social scrolling is the new channel surfing, and we believe this behavior is very relevant for today's consumer.

同樣，去年社交銷售平台上 68% 的購買都是衝動購買的。簡而言之，社交滾動是新的頻道衝浪，我們相信這種行為與當今的消費者非常相關。

We are enhancing our core capabilities on social, where we already have a strong presence. QxH has a combined 7 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. We are organizing our new strategy around 3 priorities to win in live social shopping.

我們正在增強我們在社交領域的核心能力，我們在該領域已經佔有強大的地位。QxH 在 Instagram、Facebook、TikTok 和 YouTube 上總共有 700 萬粉絲。我們圍繞著三大重點制定新策略，以在即時社交購物中獲勝。

WIN is an acronym. W means we are going to drive live shopping content whenever she shops, wherever she shops and spends their time. I stands for inspiring people and products by creating the world's leading live shopping content engine to inspire human connection with incredible merchandise. And N is about new ways of working to unlock efficiency and fund expansion on new platforms.

WIN 是首字母縮寫。W 意味著無論何時何地，只要她購物，無論她在何處度過，我們都將推送直播購物內容。我主張透過創造世界領先的即時購物內容引擎來激勵人們和產品，以令人難以置信的商品激發人與人之間的聯繫。N 代表新的工作方式，旨在提高效率和資助新平台的擴張。

We are implementing our strategy and have taken a series of actions. We have recruited a Chief Growth Officer to extend our sales, content and celebrity expertise to the largest social platforms and to bolster our streaming app with our partners. This new leader will head up social streaming, digital, new business development and platform distribution for QVC US and HSN. We expect to announce more on this very soon.

我們正在實施我們的策略，並已經採取了一系列行動。我們招募了一位首席成長官，將我們的銷售、內容和名人專業知識擴展到最大的社交平台，並與我們的合作夥伴一起支援我們的串流應用程式。這位新領導將負責 QVC US 和 HSN 的社交串流、數位、新業務開發和平台分銷。我們期待很快發布更多相關資訊。

We must build a world-class content engine to be successful in social commerce. Therefore, we are consolidating our QVC US and HSN operations into Studio Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania and closing the HSN campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. This will allow us to create efficiencies and better collaboration across common functions, content production, broadcasting, merchandising, operations, technology and people.

我們必須打造世界一流的內容引擎才能在社群商務中取得成功。因此，我們將把 QVC US 和 HSN 業務合併到賓州西切斯特的 Studio Park，並關閉位於佛羅裡達州聖彼得堡的 HSN 園區。這將使我們能夠在共同職能、內容製作、廣播、銷售、營運、技術和人員方面提高效率並實現更好的協作。

Importantly, we will maintain the distinct brand identities of QVC and HSN. We plan to activate this consolidated operation over the coming months, launching HSN Live broadcast from Studio Park by Q3. We anticipate our operations in St. Petersburg will wind down by the end of the year. We acknowledge this is a decision that affects many, but believe it is the right step to achieve success. I'd like to thank the St. Petersburg community for its support over many, many years.

重要的是，我們將保持 QVC 和 HSN 獨特的品牌標識。我們計劃在未來幾個月內啟動這項整合運營，並於第三季度從 Studio Park 推出 HSN Live 直播。我們預計我們在聖彼得堡的業務將在今年年底前結束。我們承認這個決定會影響很多人，但我們相信這是成功的正確一步。我要感謝聖彼得堡社區多年來的支持。

At the end of January, we realigned our executive leadership team to work more efficiency, build new capabilities, create better customer experiences and pursue growth faster. Mike Fitzharris now also leads QVC US and HSN broadcast and content production teams as well as global operations, technology and people. Mike will also continue to serve as the President of the QVC US brand.

一月底，我們重組了執行領導團隊，以提高工作效率、建立新能力、創造更好的客戶體驗並追求更快的成長。邁克·菲茨哈里斯 (Mike Fitzharris) 目前還領導 QVC US 和 HSN 廣播和內容製作團隊以及全球營運、技術和人員。Mike也將繼續擔任QVC美國品牌總裁。

We are also consolidating our US merchandising leadership. Stacy Bowe now leads buying, planning, programming and brand marketing for QVC US and HSN. She also serves as President of the HSN brand.

我們也正在鞏固我們在美國商品銷售領域的領導地位。史黛西·鮑 (Stacy Bowe) 目前負責 QVC US 和 HSN 的採購、規劃、編程和品牌行銷。她也擔任HSN品牌總裁。

Having realigned our executive leadership team, we are looking at the rest of the enterprise to fund and build the needed capabilities. We are pursuing $100 million of additional OIBDA opportunity by examining all areas of spending across the company. Headcount reductions while challenging decisions are necessary to fund new capabilities and drive growth. We are focusing this work on QVC US HSN and the global functions. Separately, QVC International is identifying additional cost efficiencies for 2025, and Cornerstone remains focused on this transformation journey.

在重新調整我們的執行領導團隊後，我們正在考慮為企業的其他部分提供資金並建立所需的能力。我們正在透過審查公司所有支出領域來尋求 1 億美元的額外 OIBDA 機會。裁員和做出艱難決策對於資助新功能和推動成長是必要的。我們將這項工作重點放在 QVC US HSN 和全球職能上。另外，QVC International 正在確定 2025 年的額外成本效率，而 Cornerstone 仍將專注於此轉型之旅。

In terms of the financial impact of our WIN strategy, we expect to generate $1.5 billion of run rate revenue from social and streaming within the next 3 years. While we work towards these revenue goals, we plan to sustain a stable double-digit adjusted OIBDA margin. And we commit to at least a 2.5x or better long-term leverage target.

就我們的 WIN 策略的財務影響而言，我們預計未來 3 年內將從社交和串流媒體中產生 15 億美元的運行收入。在努力實現這些營收目標的同時，我們計劃維持穩定的兩位數調整後 OIBDA 利潤率。我們承諾至少實現 2.5 倍或更高的長期槓桿目標。

In conclusion, we firmly believe that we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capture a fast developing and rapidly growing market and live social shopping. Social and streaming are the next frontier for entertainment and retail, and we are well positioned to compete and win in this space.

總之，我們堅信我們擁有千載難逢的機會來抓住快速發展和快速成長的市場和現場社交購物。社交和串流媒體是娛樂和零售的下一個前沿，我們在這個領域有充分的​​條件參與競爭並取得勝利。

We have a long history of innovation. In the '80s we invented home shopping on cable TV. In the '90s, we launched our first website and today are an e-commerce leader. We were early adopters on mobile and social. We have built a successful streaming business. We are intently focused on achieving our objectives and positioning the company for future growth, and we look forward to updating you on our progress.

我們有著悠久的創新歷史。80年代，我們發明了有線電視家庭購物。1990 年代，我們推出了第一個網站，如今我們已成為電子商務的領導者。我們是行動和社交領域的早期採用者。我們已經建立了成功的串流媒體業務。我們全神貫注於實現我們的目標並為公司的未來發展做好準備，我們期待向您通報我們的進展。

Now I'll turn the call to Bill to review the Q4 financial results of each of our businesses.

現在我將電話轉給比爾，讓他回顧我們各個業務的第四季財務表現。

Thank you, David, and good afternoon, everyone. Unless otherwise noted, my comments compare financial performance for the 3 months ended December 31, 2024, for the same period in 2023.

謝謝你，大衛，大家下午好。除非另有說明，我的評論將截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的 3 個月的財務表現與 2023 年同期進行比較。

Starting with QXH. Revenue fell by 8% due to lower unit volume, average selling price and shipping and handling revenue. From a category perspective, home revenue decreased 8%, driven by reduced demand for culinary and floor care products. partially offset by growth in seasonal items.

從 QXH 開始。由於單位銷售、平均售價以及運輸和處理收入下降，收入下降了 8%。從類別來看，由於烹飪和地板護理產品的需求減少，家居收入下降了 8%。但季節性商品的成長部分抵銷了這一影響。

Our apparel revenue grew 2% due to gains from age of possibility brands, including Kim Gravel, Jennie Garth, Stacy London and Susan Graver, as well as celebrities Christie Brinkley, Christian Siriano, and Johan Sebastian Grey at HSN. These gains were partially offset by lower demand for outerwear. Beauty revenue fell 9% due to lower demand for skin care and Bath & Body products.

我們的服裝收入成長了 2%，這得益於潛力品牌的成長，包括 Kim Gravel、Jennie Garth、Stacy London 和 Susan Graver，以及名人 Christie Brinkley、Christian Siriano 和 HSN 的 Johan Sebastian Grey。這些成長被外套需求的下降部分抵消。由於皮膚護理和沐浴及身體護理產品的需求下降，美容收入下降了 9%。

Electronics declined 16% due to lower demand for gaming and computers. We reduced online promotions for gaming items and shifted focus to higher-margin products such as audio and portable power, where we experience gains.

由於遊戲和電腦需求下降，電子產品銷量下降了 16%。我們減少了遊戲產品的線上促銷，將重點轉移到音訊和便攜式電源等利潤率更高的產品上，並從中獲利。

Adjusted OIBDA margin expanded 10 basis points. Gross margin declined 40 basis points with higher product margins mitigated by fulfillment pressure. Product margins increased by approximately 90 basis points due to higher initial margins from private label penetration and improved product costs.

調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率擴大了 10 個基點。毛利率下降了 40 個基點，由於產品利潤率較高但受到履行壓力的影響。由於自有品牌滲透帶來的初始利潤率提高以及產品成本改善，產品利潤率增加了約 90 個基點。

Fulfillment expenses were unfavorable 130 basis points due to higher wages and freight rates and sales deleverage. Operating expenses decreased 11% and were favorable by 25 basis points due to lower commissions, expenses declined 10% and were favorable by 20 basis points, reflecting lower marketing, personnel and outside services expenses, partially offset by sales deleverage.

由於工資和運費上漲以及銷售去槓桿，履行費用不利了 130 個基點。營業費用下降 11%，成長 25 個基點，原因是佣金降低；費用下降 10%，成長 20 個基點，反映出行銷、人事和外部服務費用降低，但銷售去槓桿部分抵銷了這一影響。

Before moving on to QVC International. As noted in our earnings release, we conducted an annual impairment assessment and recognized a $1.5 billion noncash impairment charge at QxH related to goodwill and trade names. This is included in operating loss but excluded from adjusted OIBDA.

在前往 QVC International 之前。正如我們在收益報告中指出的，我們進行了年度減損評估，並確認了 QxH 與商譽和商標相關的 15 億美元非現金減損費用。這包括在營業虧損中，但不包括在調整後的 OIBDA 中。

Moving to QVC International. My comments will focus on constant currency results. Revenue was flat, reflecting 1% growth in units shipped and favorable returns, offset by lower average selling price.

轉向 QVC International。我的評論將集中在固定匯率結果。收入持平，反映出出貨量成長 1% 且回報良好，但被較低的平均銷售價格所抵消。

From a category perspective, QVC International experienced constant-currency growth in home, accessories and apparel with a decline in beauty. QVC Germany and UK grew 8% and 1%, respectively, while Japan declined mid-single digits. Germany experienced sales growth in home, apparel and accessories and electronics categories. Adjusted OIBDA increased 12% and adjusted OIBDA margin expanded 170 basis points.

從類別來看，QVC International 的家居、配件和服裝業務實現了以固定匯率計算的成長，而美容業務則出現下滑。QVC 德國和英國的銷售額分別成長了 8% 和 1%，而日本的銷售額則下降了中等個位數。德國的家居、服飾及配件、電子產品類別的銷售額均有所成長。調整後的 OIBDA 成長了 12%，調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率擴大了 170 個基點。

Gross margin decreased 20 basis points due to higher fulfillment costs, partially offset by product margin gains. Some costs increased due to higher freight rates and fulfillment center wages as well as increased units shipped. Product margin strength was due to favorable returns and improved sourcing costs. SG&A was favorable by approximately 190 basis points due to lower personnel expenses and cost for outside services.

由於履行成本增加，毛利率下降了 20 個基點，但產品利潤率的提高部分抵消了這一影響。由於運費和配送中心工資上漲以及運輸單位數量增加，部分成本增加。產品利潤率的強勁成長得益於良好的回報和採購成本的改善。由於人員費用和外部服務成本降低，銷售、一般及行政開支減少了約 190 個基點。

Moving to Cornerstone. Revenue declined 7% in the quarter as we experienced soft demand for -- and competitive promotional pressure in our home brands and continued challenges in the home sector. Adjusted OIBDA margin decreased due to costs for outside services related to the transformation plan Cornerstone is implementing, higher personnel costs and sales deleverage.

移至 Cornerstone。由於我們面臨需求疲軟、家居品牌面臨競爭促銷壓力以及家居領域持續面臨的挑戰，本季營收下降了 7%。調整後的 OIBDA 利潤率下降是由於 Cornerstone 實施的轉型計劃相關的外部服務成本、人員成本增加以及銷售去槓桿。

Looking to 2025. Let me briefly comment on the recent tariff actions. As most US-based discretionary retailers, we are also exposed to import tariffs. And while receipt levels from both Mexico and Canada are negligible, we do source a significant percentage of our QxH goods from China. Like other retailers, we are taking action to mitigate the impact to our business, including working with our product suppliers, evaluating our pricing and product mix, and assessing the opportunity to change the country of origin for our goods.

展望2025年。讓我簡單評論一下最近的關稅行動。與大多數美國的非必需品零售商一樣，我們也面臨進口關稅的影響。儘管來自墨西哥和加拿大的收貨量可以忽略不計，但我們確實從中國購買了相當大比例的 QxH 商品。與其他零售商一樣，我們正在採取行動減輕對我們業務的影響，包括與我們的產品供應商合作，評估我們的定價和產品組合，以及評估改變我們商品原產國的機會。

Turning to full year cash flow and the balance sheet. In 2024, free cash flow was a source of $238 million compared to a source of $297 million last year, excluding insurance proceeds related to the Rocky Mount Fire. The decrease in cash flow, net of insurance proceeds was primarily due to lower cash from operations, partially offset by lower payments for TV distribution rights and capital expenditures.

轉向全年現金流和資產負債表。2024 年，自由現金流為 2.38 億美元，去年為 2.97 億美元，不包括與洛基山大火相關的保險收益。扣除保險收益後的現金流量減少主要是因為經營活動現金減少，但被電視發行權支付和資本支出減少部分抵銷。

In 2024, we spent $37 million on renewals of our TV distribution contracts and $199 million on capital expenditures. Reminder that our TV distribution payments can fluctuate year-over-year depending on renewal cycles. We expect the 2-year average to be approximately $70 million to $80 million. Additionally, for 2025, we anticipate CapEx to be approximately $230 million.

2024 年，我們花費 3,700 萬美元續簽電視發行合同，並花費 1.99 億美元用於資本支出。提醒您，我們的電視發行費用可能會根據續約週期而逐年波動。我們預計兩年平均值約為 7,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元。此外，到 2025 年，我們預計資本支出約為 2.3 億美元。

Looking at the QVC Group, Inc. debt profile. As of December 31, 2024, net debt was $4.6 billion. As of year-end, the QVC revolver had $1.2 billion was strong and $1.6 billion in available capacity.

查看 QVC Group, Inc. 的債務狀況。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，淨債務為 46 億美元。截至年底，QVC 循環信貸額度達 12 億美元，可用容量達 16 億美元。

In terms of cash balances, QVC Group had total cash of $905 million, of which $297 million was at QVC Inc., $204 million was at Liberty Interactive LLC and $269 million was at QVC Group, Inc. Our leverage ratio as of December 31, 2024, as defined by the QVC revolving credit facility, was 3.1x compared to our maximum covenant threshold of 4.5x. Please note that covenant OIBDA includes adjusted OIBDA of QVC, Inc. and Cornerstone.

就現金餘額而言，QVC 集團的總現金為 9.05 億美元，其中 2.97 億美元在 QVC Inc.，2.04 億美元在 Liberty Interactive LLC，2.69 億美元在 QVC Group, Inc.。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，根據 QVC 循環信貸安排的定義，我們的槓桿率為 3.1 倍，而我們的最高契約門檻為 4.5 倍。請注意，契約 OIBDA 包括 QVC, Inc. 和 Cornerstone 的調整後 OIBDA。

This February, we paid off the remaining $585 million of QVC Inc.'s 4.45% 2025 senior notes at maturity, funded with our revolver and cash on hand. We affirm that our debt level is manageable and our current cushion is sufficient in relation to the 4.5x maximum net leverage covenant threshold stipulated in our credit facility.

今年 2 月，我們用循環信貸和手頭上的現金償還了 QVC Inc. 4.45% 2025 年優先票據到期剩餘的 5.85 億美元。我們確認，我們的債務水準是可控的，並且相對於我們的信貸安排中規定的 4.5 倍最高淨槓桿契約門檻，我們目前的緩衝是足夠的。

Finally, as previously mentioned, we received a noncompliance notice from Nasdaq in June 2024 due to our closing bid price trading below Nasdaq's minimum requirement of $1. On December 2, 2024, we transferred our stock from the Nasdaq Global Select Market to the Nasdaq capital market and an additional 180-day calendar period began to regain compliance. As part of this extension, we have committed to effect a reverse stock split, if necessary, to remain on Nasdaq after the 108-day period.

最後，如前所述，由於我們的收盤價低於納斯達克 1 美元的最低要求，我們於 2024 年 6 月收到納斯達克的不合規通知。2024 年 12 月 2 日，我們將股票從納斯達克全球精選市場轉移到納斯達克資本市場，並開始額外 180 天的日曆期以重新獲得合規性。作為延期的一部分，我們承諾在必要時進行反向股票分割，以便在 108 天的期限後繼續在納斯達克上市。

Now I'll turn the call over to Greg.

現在我將電話轉給格雷格。

Thanks, Bill. So in 2024, we had a successful execution of many elements of the balance sheet. Just to reiterate a couple of Bill noted already or David as well. We reduced debt by $442 million during the year, including the repayment of the QVC 2024 notes. After year-end, we also repaid the 2025 notes.

謝謝，比爾。因此，在 2024 年，我們成功執行了許多資產負債表的要素。只是想重申比爾 (Bill) 或戴維 (David) 已經指出的幾點。我們今年減少了 4.42 億美元的債務，包括償還 QVC 2024 票據。年底之後，我們也償還了2025年的票據。

And we tendered for 89% of the '27, '28 notes, which was partially funded with new 2029 notes. These actions extended our debt maturity profile and help support our anticipated revolving credit facility extension.

我們投標了 89% 的 27、28 年債券，其中部分資金來自 2029 年新債券。這些措施延長了我們的債務期限，並有助於支持我們預期的循環信貸額度延長。

It's great work from the team in achieving higher margins and free cash flow under Athens. OIBDA was up 4%, including the elimination of Zulily and flat without Zulily. This is pretty solid given the challenging backdrop of accelerated cord cutting and though is short of our targeted OIBDA growth rate when we set out for Project Athens is still admirable given these conditions.

在雅典的領導下，團隊取得了更高的利潤和自由現金流，這是一項偉大的工作。如果包括 Zulily 的剔除，OIBDA 則上漲 4%，若不計入 Zulily，則持平。在加速剪線的嚴峻背景下，這一成績相當不錯，儘管這未達到我們為雅典項目制定的目標 OIBDA 增長率，但考慮到這些條件，仍然令人欽佩。

We do recognize the macro pressures of cord cutting and discretionary retail. And we have seen the massive growth in live social shopping and the clear change and consumer behavior, which is continually shifting towards digital. Accordingly, we're moving our business towards this opportunity.

我們確實認識到剪線和非必需品零售的宏觀壓力。我們看到即時社交購物的大幅成長以及消費者行為的明顯變化，即不斷向數位化轉變。因此，我們正在將業務轉向這一機會。

As our audiences increasingly go on to social, a growing market and they become increasingly comfortable transacting on social, we believe QVC is set up well to win in this space with our content production, our brands and the knowledge of the market. We believe we can balance the growth in this market with maintaining profitability going forward.

隨著我們的受眾越來越多地進入社交媒體，市場也不斷增長，他們也越來越習慣在社交媒體上進行交易，我們相信，憑藉我們的內容製作、我們的品牌和對市場的了解，QVC 已經做好了在這個領域取勝的準備。我們相信，我們可以平衡這個市場的成長與維持未來的獲利能力。

And with that, operator, I'll open up the line for questions.

接線員，現在我開始回答您的提問。

(Operator Instructions) Jenna Giannelli, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）摩根士丹利的詹娜·吉安內利 (Jenna Giannelli)。

In terms of the 3-year plan and as it pertains to 2025, how should we think about the cadence of that playing out over the next few years? Should we expect any revenue growth this year, do you think, or at least in the second half? And is the flat EBITDA margin -- OIBDA margin, excuse me, the goal for this year as well?

就三年計畫以及 2025 年而言，我們應該如何考慮其在未來幾年內實施的節奏？您認為我們今年的營收會成長嗎？或至少下半年會成長嗎？平穩的 EBITDA 利潤率——OIBDA 利潤率，對不起，也是今年的目標嗎？

Yes, I'll start on that, and then I'll let Bill jump in if he wants to. So I think what you, I think 2025 will be a real transition year. I think you'll see even stronger acceleration of social and streaming revenue than what we've had in the last couple of years. And I think you'll continue to see us experience cord-cutting related declines in some of the core US video commerce businesses.

是的，我先從那裡開始，然後如果比爾願意的話，我就讓他加入。所以我認為 2025 年將是真正的過渡年。我認為你會看到社交和串流媒體收入的成長速度比過去幾年更加強勁。我認為，您將繼續看到我們在美國一些核心視訊商務業務中經歷與剪線相關的衰退。

I think you'll see the revenue build from the growing parts of the businesses start to overcome the rate of that decline as we go through 2025 and get into 2026. So I think it will be very much a year of transition while we grow into that into that revenue growth over the full 3-year period.

我認為，當我們度過 2025 年並進入 2026 年時，您會看到業務成長部分的收入成長開始克服下降的速度。因此，我認為這將是一個過渡年，我們將在整個 3 年期間實現收入成長。

In terms of OIBDA margin, I would expect that we will maintain our basic margin levels of profitability comfortably sort of double-digit type OIBDA margins throughout the 3-year strategic period.

就 OIBDA 利潤率而言，我預計我們將在整個 3 年策略期間輕鬆維持基本獲利水平，即兩位數的 OIBDA 利潤率。

Excellent. And then I just had one follow-up, if I can. International outperformed pretty notably. I guess, maybe what were some of the key differences there are the drivers of that? And is there anything going on there specifically or structurally that you think you can pull back or leverage here in the Americas?

出色的。如果可以的話，我只需要進行一次後續行動。國際表現相當出色。我想，也許其中的一些關鍵差異就是導致這種情況的因素？您認為在美洲，您可以撤回或利用哪些特定或結構性因素？

Yes, it's a great question. The biggest difference by far is they are just seeing -- they're seeing some of the same technology transitions that we're seeing in the US, but it's all much delayed. And so they're not seeing anything close to the type of cord cutting that we've seen in the US, which is just allowing us to make the technology and platform transition and a more balanced deliberate way, then I think we're going to have the luxury of being able to do in the United States.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。迄今為止最大的區別是，他們看到了我們在美國看到的一些相同的技術轉型，但都被大大推遲了。因此，他們沒有看到任何類似於我們在美國看到的那種剪線現象，這只是讓我們能夠以更平衡、更謹慎的方式進行技術和平台轉型，然後我認為我們將有機會在美國做到這一點。

I think it also helps. We have a very experienced team on that business. We have very strong local brand presence in each of those markets. I would say, on average, our international markets are slightly less competitively intense than what we tend to face on a daily basis in our US markets. And so that's helpful as well.

我認為這也有幫助。我們在該業務方面擁有一支經驗豐富的團隊。我們在每個市場都有非常強大的本地品牌影響力。我想說，平均而言，我們的國際市場的競爭強度比我們在美國市場每天面臨的競爭強度要低一些。這也非常有幫助。

I will say a lot of the core disciplines that we are now reflecting especially in the social shopping space, in the US, we think are going to give us even greater competitive advantages and our international markets going forward. This year, the real concentration on building things like the content factory in gen, some of the other capabilities is focused on the US. But we're really very excited about what it's going to mean as we go through this year and into 2026 and bring some of those capabilities to some of the international markets, which are even if more slowly facing a lot of the same growth opportunities that are emerging here.

我想說，我們現在正在反映的許多核心學科，特別是在美國的社交購物領域，我們認為這些學科將為我們未來的國際市場帶來更大的競爭優勢。今年，真正的重點是建造諸如內容工廠之類的東西，其他一些能力則集中在美國。但我們真的非常興奮，這將意味著什麼，因為我們將度過今年並進入 2026 年，並將這些能力帶到一些國際市場，這些市場即使速度較慢，也面臨著許多與這裡相同的成長機會。

William Reuter, Bank of America.

美國銀行的威廉·路透。

This is Rob Rigby on for Bill. So first question from us. I was just wondering if you could touch on your plans for the St. Petersburg facility. And if your plan is to sell the facility, what proceeds would be used for?

我是 Rob Rigby，代替 Bill 發言。這是我們第一個問題。我只是想知道您是否可以談談您對聖彼得堡工廠的計劃。如果您的計劃是出售該設施，那麼收益將用於什麼用途？

Yes. We're still -- I mean St. Petersburg, obviously, the team is still operating there and will be for a good portion of this year. And David mentioned that by Q3, we intend to having, consolidating all content production here in Studio Park, we'll work on decommissioning that facility this year. Eventually high likelihood, obviously, they will dispose the facility via a sale. Still remains to be seen in terms of what the exact timing of that is going to be and how we use the proceeds.

是的。我們仍然在那裡——我的意思是聖彼得堡，顯然，團隊仍然在那裡運作，並且今年大部分時間都會在那裡運作。David 提到，到第三季度，我們打算將所有的內容製作整合到 Studio Park，我們將在今年關閉設施。顯然，他們最終很可能會透過出售的方式處置該設施。至於具體時間安排以及我們如何使用所得款項，仍有待觀察。

Got it. Understood. And then regarding tariffs, I was just wondering maybe if you could quantify in any way your exposure to China and your ability to potentially shift sourcing of certain goods.

知道了。明白了。然後關於關稅，我只是想知道您是否可以以某種方式量化您對中國的風險敞口以及您潛在轉移某些商品採購的能力。

Yes. I mean we've taken sourcing a considerable amount of our source of supply out of China really since 2018 and the last time that you saw a significant tariff action. We don't -- the majority of our goods we source through our vendors where we're not the importer of record. We don't quote typically what and what our complete exposure is. And obviously, we don't control the total exposure, but it's significant on the business.

是的。我的意思是，自 2018 年以及上次採取重大關稅行動以來，我們已經從中國採購了相當一部分供應源。我們不這樣做——我們的大部分商品都是透過我們的供應商採購的，我們並不是記錄在案的進口商。我們通常不引用什麼以及我們的全部曝光內容是什麼。顯然，我們無法控制整體風險暴露，但這對業務而言意義重大。

We're continuing to work with our suppliers as we evaluate product pricing and source of supply from country of origin going forward. And obviously, what our pricing situation is here in the US and if we have to pass that on to consumers.

我們將繼續與供應商合作，評估未來的產品定價和原產國的供應來源。顯然，我們在美國的定價情況如何，我們是否必須將這一價格轉嫁給消費者。

Great. And then just one last one quickly. I'm not sure if I missed it, but did you touch on the timing of that $100 million of adjusted OIBDA savings?

偉大的。然後只剩最後一個了。我不確定我是否錯過了，但您是否提到了 1 億美元調整後 OIBDA 儲蓄的時間？

We're targeting that to have a run rate by the end of this year in terms of OIBDA opportunity improvement.

我們的目標是在今年年底前實現 OIBDA 機會改善的運作率。

Karru Martinson, Jefferies Company.

傑富瑞公司的卡魯‧馬丁森 (Karru Martinson)。

The anticipated revolver extension, where are we on that? Is that something that's near term here? Or is that closer to maturity?

預期中的左輪手槍延期，我們又進展到哪一步了？這是近期的事嗎？或者說已經接近成熟了？

This is Ben Oren. I think the way we're thinking about that is October 2026 is the maturity, October 2025 is the go current, and so we are in active dialogue with the banks and hope to have something back to you in the next 1 to 2 quarters.

這是本·奧倫。我認為我們對此的想法是2026年10月是到期日，2025年10月是現行日，因此我們正在與銀行進行積極對話，並希望在未來1到2個季度內給您答复。

Okay. And then when you look at the headwinds with fulfillment 130 bps this quarter, what's the ability to kind of see some offsets to that? Is that just the deleveraging on the top line? And I guess how does that fit in with the maintaining a double-digit OIBDA margin?

好的。那麼，當您看到本季履行情況面臨 130 個基點的阻力時，有什麼能力看到一些抵銷作用呢？這僅僅是營收上的去槓桿嗎？我想問一下這跟維持兩位數的 OIBDA 利潤率有什麼關係呢？

Yes. I mean I think you're a bit episodic in the quarter, right? I mean you've got a bit of deleverage in there, right, on your warehouse costs flowing through. I think you saw a little bit of things that were episodic in terms of small parcel and charges we had in the quarter impacting us. Also, when you looked at even the international business, kind of some of the tale of Red Sea disruption that we had that impacted freight and things like that, we don't anticipate that to be systemic going forward.

是的。我的意思是，我認為您在本季的表現有點偶發性，對嗎？我的意思是，你的倉庫成本流出了一些去槓桿。我認為您看到了一些偶發事件，就本季的小包裹和費用而言，這些事情對我們產生了影響。此外，即使是從國際業務來看，紅海事件也對貨運等產生了影響，我們預計這不會在未來形成系統性影響。

Outside of any of the potential tariff discussions that are going on, right, that are impacting product COGS. We don't see that being consistent going forward. We've done a very good job of managing that over the last couple of years and continue to be actively be doing that now. And one example is we just consolidated 2 of our distribution centers on the West Coast into one to be able to take some cost out of the equation.

除了正在進行的任何潛在關稅討論之外，這些討論都會影響產品的銷貨成本。我們認為這種情況在未來不會持續下去。過去幾年來，我們在這方面的管理工作做得非常好，現在我們將繼續積極地進行這項工作。舉個例子，我們剛剛將西海岸的兩個配送中心合併為一個，這樣可以減少一些成本。

Okay. And just lastly, I realize you don't give guidance, but we've talk with some other retailers saying, Hey, there are some storms, some weather, there was a slow start to the year. kind of balance that off what there haven't been as many onetime events. How is the consumer shaping up for 2025?

好的。最後，我知道您沒有提供指導，但我們已經與其他一些零售商進行了交談，他們說，嘿，有一些風暴，一些天氣，今年的開局比較緩慢。在某種程度上平衡了一次性事件的發生。2025年的消費者將會如何改變？

Yes. I think it's a little bit hard to read. I think if you look across the consumer sentiment measures, I think they're broadly stable but broadly down. But I don't see anything that suggests demand is collapsing. I think a lot of retailers have remarked that you're seeing value-seeking and deal-seeking behavior among the consumer.

是的。我覺得它有點難讀。我認為，如果你看一下消費者信心指數，你會發現它總體上是穩定但總體上是下降的。但我沒有看到任何跡象表明需求正在崩潰。我想很多零售商都注意到了消費者追求價值和尋求交易的行為。

I think we continue to see that gravitation towards deals, gravitation towards clearance when there's an opportunity with a good, better, best to choose down towards good or better and to choose away from best. So I think you're continuing to see some of those trends as we go into this year.

我認為，當有好的、更好的、最佳的選擇機會時，我們會繼續看到交易的傾向、清倉的傾向，而選擇向下的好或更好的，而不是選擇最好的。所以我認為，進入今年，你會繼續看到其中的一些趨勢。

I think you still continue to see a lot of the income-related trends with buying behavior for upper milder class and greater being more stable than below, so -- but I think mostly, I see a relatively stable continuation of trends from '24 into '25 with perhaps a touch of softness in consumer sentiment, but nothing that feels like it's Charvar alarming.

我認為您仍然會看到許多與收入相關的趨勢，即上層中產階級和大中產階級的購買行為比下層階級更穩定，所以 - 但我認為大多數情況下，我看到從'24年到'25年的趨勢相對穩定地延續，消費者情緒可能略有疲軟，但沒有什麼讓人感到擔憂的。

Hale Holden, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的黑爾霍爾頓。

I had two questions. The first one is when we think about sort of the effect of cord cutting. If that accelerates or as that accelerates, should we think about that as a straight-line decline or linear decline in the subcount? Or are they sort of unrelated?

我有兩個問題。第一個是我們思考剪線的影響的時候。如果加速或隨著加速，我們是否應該將其視為子計數的直線下降或線性下降？或者說它們根本不相關？

And then for the fourth quarter specifically, I think you mentioned the pullback in promotions on electronics. And I was wondering if that also had an impact on the subcount or not? And then I have a follow-up.

具體來說，對於第四季度，我想您提到了電子產品促銷活動的減少。我想知道這是否也對子計數產生影響？然後我有一個後續問題。

That's great. We tend to look at us on kind of a year-over-year basis. There's so much variation in quarters. We tend to look at it on sort of a year-over-year or 12-month lagging trailing 12 basis. What I would say, and I think it's, we've seen relatively consistent losses over -- I think in my remarks, I talked about from 2018, the 2024. I think we've seen a relatively consistent declines in terms of households during that time.

那太棒了。我們傾向於以逐年同比的角度來觀察我們的情況。各個季度的差異非常大。我們傾向於以同比或滯後 12 個月為基礎來看待它。我想說的是，我認為我們已經看到了相對持續的損失 - 我想在我的演講中，我談到了從 2018 年到 2024 年。我認為，我們看到那段時間家庭數量出現了相對持續的下降。

I would say while it started out in the general market a little bit faster, it was slower to start for us because a lot of our customers were the last to cut the cord because some of our customers are older and more weighted to that platform. I would say what you're starting to see now is all customers are cutting the cord at roughly the same sort of roughly the same sorts of rates.

我想說的是，雖然它在一般市場上的起步速​​度要快一些，但對於我們來說起步較慢，因為我們的許多客戶是最後才切斷聯繫的，因為我們的一些客戶年齡較大，並且更重視該平台。我想說，現在你開始看到的是所有客戶都以大致相同的費率切斷了電話線。

We have generally overperformed cord cutting. So if you were to do a correlation between our revenue performance and our US video commerce businesses versus a loss of households because we've been moving some of those customers to streaming and some of those customers, the digital channels. We haven't quite seen some of the reductions in revenue that you would be suggested by the level of cord cutting. But obviously, it has had a pretty direct impact.

整體而言，我們剪線行動做得太過頭了。因此，如果您要將我們的收入表現與美國視訊商務業務與家庭流失進行關聯，因為我們已經將其中一些客戶轉移到串流媒體，並將其中一些客戶轉移到數位管道。我們還沒有看到正如你所預料的剪線現象所帶來的收入減少。但顯然，它產生了相當直接的影響。

In terms of spending in the fourth quarter on advertising, you caught that comment correctly. So we pulled some of our normal performance marketing in spending that we would normally have in the fourth quarter. Some of that we reprogrammed in the first 3 quarters and some of that, we just declined the spend in the fourth quarter.

關於第四季度的廣告支出，您正確地理解了這一評論。因此，我們撤回了第四季度通常會進行的一些正常績效行銷支出。其中一些我們在前三個季度重新進行了規劃，還有一些我們在第四季度減少了支出。

Advertising, given -- advertising is always a little less effective because more people are in the market advertising in the fourth quarter. So it usually has a lower payoff with some of the election spending in this fourth quarter and had an even lower than normal a lower-than-normal payoff. And we did not see some of the opportunities around innovation in places like electronics, where we thought it was productive to push.

廣告，鑑於－廣告效果總是會稍微差一些，因為第四季有更多的人進入市場做廣告。因此，第四季度的部分選舉支出的回報通常會較低，甚至低於正常水平。而我們並沒有在電子產業等領域看到一些創新機會，而我們原本認為推動這些產業創新是富有成效的。

And then finally, we tend to see that our digital spending gets some significant tailwinds when our viewership is up, with viewership being down largely because of news and special events, we weren't going to have that tailwind, which was going to be a headwind to digital marketing efficiency. And so we made a pretty deliberate decision to pull back not to concentrate as much on new customers and new customer acquisition. Those tend to be at least in the early days, slightly less profitable customers. So I think this was the first time new customer count went down in the last 6 quarters.

最後，我們傾向於看到，當我們的收視率上升時，我們的數位支出會獲得一些顯著的順風，而收視率下降主要是因為新聞和特殊事件，我們不會有這種順風，這將成為數位行銷效率的阻力。因此，我們慎重決定退出，不再過度關注新客戶和新客戶的取得。至少在早期階段，這些客戶往往是利潤稍微低一些的客戶。所以我認為這是過去六個季度以來新客戶數量首次下降。

I think we've been growing new customers, Bob, over the last 6 quarters. It went down this quarter, mostly because we made a deliberate decision to concentrate on our most profitable existing customers and not to concentrate as much on chasing the customer file. I think as we go back into 2025 now, you'll start to see us layer back in a more balanced approach to the customer file into new customer acquisition.

鮑勃，我認為在過去的六個季度裡，我們的新客戶數量一直在增加。本季有所下降，主要是因為我們決定專注於最賺錢的現有客戶，而不是過度專注於追逐客戶檔案。我認為，當我們回到 2025 年時，您將開始看到我們採用更平衡的方式將客戶檔案重新分層到新客戶獲取中。

Great. And my second question was really around Cornerstone that was the biggest delta miss on my part in terms of expectations. And I think needing for that market to turn, it hasn't, in terms of home furnishing. So I just wonder if there's any change in-strategy there? Or how do you make sure you don't flip OIBDA's negative in the meantime while we're waiting for it to improve?

偉大的。我的第二個問題其實是關於 Cornerstone 的，從預期來看，這是我最大的錯誤。我認為，就家居裝飾而言，市場需要轉變，但目前還沒有轉變。所以我只是想知道那裡的戰略是否有任何變化？或者，您如何確保在我們等待 OIBDA 改善的同時不會翻轉其負面結果？

Yes, it's a great question. I think we've been, I thank everybody in the market has been surprised to see the housing markets day at multiple decade lows in terms of moves and to an extent, new builds and those businesses are very highly correlated to the broader market.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。我想我們已經，我感謝市場上的每個人，都驚訝地看到房地產市場的走勢處於十年來的最低點，並且在某種程度上，新建房屋和這些業務與大盤高度相關。

What's encouraging to me about those businesses today is that this is giving us a lot of opportunity to run something like the program that we ran through Project Athens on QVC and HSN now on the Cornerstone brand. So a lot of the team that drove a lot of the increased profitability because of Athens is now working with Cornerstone brands. And so we know we have techniques that work that are going to help us with margin and profitability in that business over the next 12 to 18 months and those efforts are now sort of full steam ahead and fully stood up. And so we feel good about our ability to drive some bottom line margin and cost opportunities in that business.

今天這些業務讓我感到鼓舞的是，這給了我們很多機會來運行類似我們之前在 QVC 和 HSN 上的雅典計劃所運行的項目，現在在 Cornerstone 品牌上也運行該項目。因此，許多因雅典而推動獲利能力大幅提升的團隊現在正在與 Cornerstone 品牌合作。所以我們知道我們擁有有效的技術，這些技術將幫助我們在未來 12 到 18 個月內提高該業務的利潤和盈利能力，而且這些努力現在已經全速推進並得到充分實施。因此，我們對自己在該業務中推動底線利潤和成本機會的能力感到滿意。

In terms of when the -- when we get more out of the market itself in the macro, you'll recall is as good as mine. What I would just observe is that there does feel like there's real pent-up demand in the market and whenever the market gets unstuck. I would not be surprised for us to have a trend that looks to be very different for a sustained period of time. I think we will go into that -- into a market turn more profitable, more capable, having established a lot of new capabilities. And I think there's some potential to potentially over perform if we got back to an up market, given some of the work we're doing.

就何時——當我們在宏觀上從市場本身獲得更多收益時，你會記得這與我的一樣好。我的觀察是，確實感覺到市場中存在著被壓抑的需求，每當市場陷入困境時就會出現這種情況。如果我們的趨勢在一段持續的時間內看起來非常不同，我不會感到驚訝。我認為，我們將進入一個更有利可圖、更強大的市場，建立許多新的能力。而且我認為，考慮到我們正在做的一些工作，如果我們回到上行市場，就有可能表現出色。

But it's certainly been -- the macro has been depressed for longer than we would have anticipated or than we would have liked.

但事實確實如此——宏觀經濟低迷的時間比我們預期的或希望的要長。

Jacob (inaudible), JPMorgan Chase and Company.

雅各（聽不清楚），摩根大通公司。

This is Jacob on for Carla Casella. First question, you had an initiative to grow social sales about $1.5 billion. Could you just give us a sense for your progress in the quarter? Social sales grow sequentially, were there any callouts was working and what still needs to work on social? And how much lower are the margins on social versus linear?

這是雅各 (Jacob)，取代卡拉‧卡塞拉 (Carla Casella)。第一個問題，您有一個計劃，將社交銷售額提高到 15 億美元左右。您能否向我們介紹一下本季的進展？社交銷售額持續成長，是否有任何宣傳有效以及在社交方面仍需做哪些工作？那麼社交利潤率與線性利潤率相比低多少呢？

Yes, great questions. So one conversation we're having internally that we'll get back to this community on is how to give you more insight into both social and streaming and so look for us to try to find ways to be more descriptive.

是的，很好的問題。因此，我們內部正在進行的一次對話將會回饋給社區，那就是如何讓您更深入地了解社交和串流媒體，因此請我們嘗試找到更具描述性的方法。

There, you're right to closed the $1.5 billion run rate goal. By the end of the 3-year period, we think that's very possible. We already today have hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue across social and streaming, and so we're growing from a not insubstantial base there. And we saw a very good performance in Q4 and for the full year in terms of growth year-over-year. And we expect further acceleration of that into 2025.

由此可見，您正確地完成了 15 億美元的運行率目標。我們認為，到三年期末，這是非常有可能的。我們今天已經在社交和串流媒體領域獲得了數億美元的收入，因此我們在這個基礎上正在實現成長。就同​​比增長而言，我們看到第四季度和全年的表現非常好。我們預計到 2025 年這一速度將進一步加速。

Both of those businesses have been growing very strongly now for a couple of years. 2025 is the year where we really put more into advertising capabilities, building partnerships, so we'll have a lot more to say on that. A lot more to say on that later. But everything we saw in the fourth quarter leads us to believe that it's exactly the right growth agenda to be pushing as we go into the next 3 years.

這兩家公司的業務近幾年都保持著強勁成長。 2025 年是我們真正投入更多廣告能力、建立合作關係的一年，因此我們在這方面還有很多話要說。關於這一點，以後還有很多話要說。但我們在第四季度看到的一切都讓我們相信，這正是我們在未來三年內要推動的正確的成長議程。

Great. And then also just wondering if you could provide the RCF borrowing today or pro forma for the '25 no pay down?

偉大的。然後我還想知道您是否可以提供今天的 RCF 借款或 25 年無還款的形式？

I don't think we've shared what we've done there with respect to cash, but you saw that in between 9/30 and 12/31 as we build free cash flow, we did pay down some of that revolver. We'll continue to use cash to pay down the revolver and then draw to pay down debt. So we'll probably be out with the balance in our Q1 results.

我認為我們沒有分享我們在現金方面所做的事情，但您看到，在 9 月 30 日至 12 月 31 日之間，隨著我們建立自由現金流，我們確實償還了部分循環信貸。我們將繼續使用現金償還循環信貸，然後提取現金來償還債務。因此，我們第一季的業績可能不平衡。

Yes. We don't do the tendon, we don't go intra-quarter, yes.

是的。是的，我們不做肌腱，我們不進行四分之一決賽。

Okay. What about cash that went Cornerstone and at the parent level?

好的。那麼流向 Cornerstone 和母公司的現金又如何呢？

Yes, I think we can get, I mean, it's in the press release, and I get quoted on the call. I can flip, I can shoot that over to you as well. Thank you.

是的，我認為我們可以得到，我的意思是，它在新聞稿中，而且我在電話中被引用。我可以翻轉，我也可以射給你。謝謝。

All right. Operator, I think with that, we are done for the day. Thank you all for joining on the QVC Group call, and we look forward to speaking with you next quarter, if not sooner.

好的。接線員，我想我們今天的工作就到此結束了。感謝大家參加 QVC 集團電話會議，我們期待下個季度甚至更早與您交談。

Thank you, everyone.

謝謝大家。

Thank you, Greg. That concludes today's call. All parties can now disconnect. Thank you.

謝謝你，格雷格。今天的電話會議到此結束。各方現在均可斷開連線。謝謝。