B Riley Financial Inc (RILYL) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to B. Riley Financial's first-quarter 2024 earnings call. My name is Ariel and I will be your call coordinator. Earlier today, B. Riley issued a press release and financial supplement detailing its results for the first quarter of 2024, which can be found on its investor relations website at ir.brileyfin.com.

下午好，歡迎參加 B. Riley Financial 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。我叫 Ariel，我將擔任您的呼叫協調員。今天早些時候，B. Riley 發布了一份新聞稿和財務補充報告，詳細介紹了 2024 年第一季的業績，可在其投資者關係網站 ir.brileyfin.com 上找到該資訊。

Today's call includes prepared remarks from the company followed by a question-and-answer session. Joining us today from B. Riley are Bryant Riley, Chairman, co-founder, and co-CEO; Tom Kelleher, co-founder and co-CEO; and Philip Ahn, CFO and COO. After management's remarks, we will open the line for questions. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded. In audio replay will be available on the company's investor relations website later today.

今天的電話會議包括該公司準備好的發言，隨後是問答環節。今天加入我們的還有 B. Riley 董事長、共同創辦人兼聯合執行長 Bryant Riley；湯姆‧凱萊赫 (Tom Kelleher)，共同創辦人兼聯合執行長；以及財務長兼營運長 Philip Ahn。管理層發言後，我們將開通提問專線。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，此通話正在錄音。今天晚些時候，該公司的投資者關係網站將提供音訊重播。

Today's call will also include non-GAAP measures. The reconciliation for these, as well as an explanation for the use of these metrics and a definition of these terms is available in the earnings press release and financial supplement, both of which are available on the company's investor relations website.

今天的電話會議還將包括非公認會計準則措施。這些指標的調節以及對這些指標使用的解釋和這些術語的定義可在收益新聞稿和財務補充中找到，這兩者都可以在公司的投資者關係網站上找到。

And before we conclude today's call, I will provide the necessary cautions regarding forward-looking statements.

在我們結束今天的電話會議之前，我將對前瞻性陳述提出必要的警告。

Now, I will turn the call over to Mr. Bryant Riley. Mr. Riley, please proceed.

現在，我將把電話轉給布萊恩特·萊利先生。萊利先生，請繼續。

Thank you for joining our call this afternoon. Before we get into these results for the quarter, I want to thank our employees, investors, and partners for your continued patience throughout what has been a highly unusual period for our firm. Against that backdrop, I'd like to start by putting our operating performance for the quarter into perspective and then providing some context on our investments.

感謝您今天下午加入我們的電話會議。在我們公佈本季的業績之前，我要感謝我們的員工、投資者和合作夥伴在我們公司非常不尋常的時期所表現出的持續耐心。在此背景下，我想先回顧我們本季的經營業績，然後提供一些有關我們投資的背景。

We had a solid quarter from an operating perspective. We generated $66 million of operating adjusted EBITDA compared to $88 million in the same period last year. Our advisory services business had a record Q1. BRS saw increased fee income year over year despite a decrease in overall capital market segment revenues and wealth management operating margins have continued to improve. At the same time, we monetized investments consistent with our business model and use this capital to both repay outstanding debt while investing in attractive new opportunities such as Nogin.

從營運角度來看，我們的季度業績表現穩健。我們的營運調整後 EBITDA 為 6,600 萬美元，而去年同期為 8,800 萬美元。我們的諮詢服務業務第一季創歷史新高。儘管資本市場部門整體收入下降，但 BRS 的費用收入仍較去年同期成長，財富管理營業利潤率持續提高。同時，我們將符合我們業務模式的投資貨幣化，並利用這筆資金償還未償債務，同時投資於 Nogin 等有吸引力的新機會。

For context, our first-quarter results reflected $59 million of investment-related losses, which are primarily unrealized in addition to incremental costs due to the late filing of our 10-K, internal review, and subsequent independent investigation undertaken by our Board's Audit Committee, which we are happy to have behind us.

就背景而言，我們第一季的業績反映了5,900 萬美元的投資相關損失，除了由於10-K 延遲提交、內部審查以及董事會審計委員會隨後進行的獨立調查而導致的增量成本之外，這些損失主要未實現，我們很高興有這樣的支持。

In contract, last year, our first-quarter results benefited from approximately $23 million of investment-related gains and an increase in interest income from a pool of performing consumer receivables that we acquired from Babcock in the prior year, which has generated returns north of 20%. That portfolio is maturing as reflected in the year-over-year change in our net total loan receivables balance. On a more normalized basis and excluding the incremental costs and our non-cash gains and losses, operating income was flat at approximately $33 million when compared to the same period last year.

根據合同，去年我們第一季的業績受益於約2300 萬美元的投資相關收益，以及我們上一年從巴布科克收購的一組表現良好的消費者應收賬款的利息收入的增加，這些應收帳款產生的回報超過了20%。我們的應收貸款總額淨餘額的同比變動反映了該投資組合正在成熟。在更正常化的基礎上，不包括增量成本和非現金損益，營業收入與去年同期持平，約 3,300 萬美元。

From a revenue perspective, the increase in fee income in our capital market segment was offset by lower interest income in line with the reduction of consumer receivables in our overall loan portfolio from the same period in 2023. As I mentioned, advisory services had a record first quarter. This was both in terms of revenue and operating income. This is a business that was generating approximately $76 million in revenue a little over three years ago and is now generating revenues at an annual rate of over $100 million.

從收入角度來看，我們資本市場領域費用收入的增加被利息收入的下降所抵消，這與2023年同期我們整體貸款組合中消費者應收帳款的減少相一致。正如我所提到的，諮詢服務第一季創下了紀錄。這既包括收入，也包括營業收入。該業務在三年多前創造了約 7,600 萬美元的收入，現在每年的收入超過 1 億美元。

Operating margins in our wealth management business have continued to improve over the last two years, and while Targus is continuing to work through the macro headwinds that impacted the global PC market, we believe the business is well positioned for when this market normalizes.

過去兩年，我們財富管理業務的營業利潤率持續提高，儘管泰格斯正在繼續應對影響全球個人電腦市場的宏觀逆風，但我們相信，當市場正常化時，該業務已做好充分準備。

I appreciate some on this call may be newer to our story. It's important for our investors to understand that we have a long history of making investments and acquisitions, and we utilize the services and expertise of our platform to not only maximize the potential value of our investments, but also to manage any potential downside. This is core to our business of what we do. Our portfolio is going to fluctuate in marks from quarter to quarter due to the nature of our investments. We acknowledge the volatility this creates in our periodic results. However, it is important to view our investments over a longer time horizon.

我很高興這次電話會議中的一些人可能對我們的故事比較陌生。對於我們的投資者來說，重要的是要了解我們擁有悠久的投資和收購歷史，我們利用我們平台的服務和專業知識，不僅最大限度地提高我們投資的潛在價值，而且還管理任何潛在的不利因素。這是我們業務的核心。由於我們投資的性質，我們的投資組合每季都會出現波動。我們承認這會為我們的定期業績帶來波動。然而，從更長遠的角度看待我們的投資非常重要。

As I mentioned, net loss for the quarter included an investment loss of $59 million, which was driven by changes in fair market valuations for our investments, including Freedom VCM, which consists of the underlying business of FRG, and also an investment in BW.

正如我所提到的，本季的淨虧損包括5,900 萬美元的投資虧損，這是由我們投資的公平市場估值變化造成的，其中包括Freedom VCM（由FRG 的基礎業務組成）以及對BW 的投資。

As we discussed on our last call, since the closing of FRG's take private in August of last year, FRG management has executed two transactions that are aligned with our state and investment thesis. Those two transactions are the sale of Badcock Furniture in December '23 and Sylvan Learning in February '24, which sold for a higher multiple than what FRG management expected, and that was originally underwritten for this business.

正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，自去年 8 月 FRG 私有化結束以來，FRG 管理層已執行了兩項符合我們的國家和投資主題的交易。這兩筆交易是 23 年 12 月出售的 Badcock Furniture 和 24 年 2 月出售的 Sylvan Learning，其售價高於 FRG 管理層的預期，並且最初是為該業務承保的。

The adjustment in the fair market value for Freedom reflected the overall softness in the consumer market during the first quarter. Despite the change, we remain confident in the operators and the management team of each of these businesses and in their ability to execute on strategy.

Freedom公平市價的調整反映了第一季消費市場的整體疲軟。儘管發生了變化，我們仍然對每項業務的營運商和管理團隊以及他們執行策略的能力充滿信心。

For those familiar with B. Riley, you know we often describe our firm as a collection of operating businesses on the one hand and our investment book on the other. What perhaps is less appreciated is the challenges that the uniqueness of our firm present from an evaluation perspective for investors in looking at our P&L and balance sheet relative to the inherent value we've created with our wholly owned subsidiaries and the businesses we have built.

對於熟悉 B. Riley 的人來說，您知道我們經常將我們的公司描述為一方面是經營業務的集合，另一方面是我們的投資書籍。也許不太被重視的是，從投資者評估我們的損益表和資產負債表相對於我們透過全資子公司和我們建立的業務創造的內在價值的評估角度來看，我們公司的獨特性帶來了挑戰。

For perspective, over the last year, we have taken non-cash impairment charges related to Targus, which has underperformed since we purchased it a year and a half ago. On the other hand, our Great American businesses, which consist of appraisal and asset disposition, are on our books for approximately $35 million, and our GlassRatner advisory business, which we acquired in 2018 and has approximately $35 million invested, including tuck-ins, combined in 2023 to generate approximately $52 million of operating income, which includes roughly $1 million of income from our real estate advisory. This $52 million is represented in our auction and liquidation and financial segment income.

從長遠來看，去年我們計入了與 Targus 相關的非現金減損費用，自從我們一年半前購買以來，該公司的表現一直不佳。另一方面，我們的Great American 業務（包括評估和資產處置）在我們的帳面上價值約為3500 萬美元，而我們的GlassRatner 諮詢業務是我們於2018 年收購的，投資額約為3500 萬美元，包括折算、到 2023 年，我們將產生約 5,200 萬美元的營業收入，其中包括來自我們的房地產諮詢的約 100 萬美元的收入。這 5,200 萬美元計入我們的拍賣、清算和金融部門收入。

Taken together, our core operations continue to generate strong free cash flow, and combined with the actions we are taking, we expect to exit 2024 with ample liquidity to aggressively capitalize on the opportunities ahead of us. We remain focused on running our business in the best interest of our stakeholders by addressing the needs of our clients, partners, and employees. The market opportunity in this small and mid-cap space remains as attractive as ever, and we believe B. Riley is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of companies in this space.

總而言之，我們的核心業務繼續產生強勁的自由現金流，結合我們正在採取的行動，我們預計到 2024 年時將擁有充足的流動性，以積極利用我們面前的機會。我們始終致力於透過滿足客戶、合作夥伴和員工的需求，以利害關係人的最佳利益來經營我們的業務。這個中小型股領域的市場機會仍然像以往一樣有吸引力，我們相信 B. Riley 具有獨特的優勢，可以滿足該領域公司的需求。

To that end, we are pleased to deliver our investors a dividend of $0.50 per share related to our operating performance for the first quarter. We are thankful to our many supporters for their outreach and continued confidence in B. Riley.

為此，我們很高興向投資者提供與我們第一季經營業績相關的每股 0.50 美元的股息。我們感謝眾多支持者的支持以及對 B. Riley 的持續信任。

With that, I will turn the call over to Phil Ahn, our CFO and COO, to discuss key metrics for the quarter. Phil?

接下來，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長兼營運長菲爾安 (Phil Ahn)，討論本季的關鍵指標。菲爾？

Thanks, Bryant. For the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, we reported total revenues of $343 million and net loss attributable to common shareholders of $51 million, driven by approximately $59 million of investment-related losses and incremental expenses related to the filing of our 10-K and the internal review and subsequent investigation undertaken by our audit committee.

謝謝，Kobe。截至2024 年3 月31 日的第一季度，我們報告的總收入為3.43 億美元，歸屬於普通股股東的淨虧損為5,100 萬美元，這是由約5,900 萬美元的投資相關損失和與提交10 -K 相關的增量費用推動的以及我們的審計委員會進行的內部審查和後續調查。

As Bryant noted, investment gains and losses have and will continue to create volatility in our periodic earnings. For this reason, we generally discuss our performance in the context of our operating revenues and operating adjusted EBITDA, which are considered non-GAAP financial measures.

正如布萊恩特指出的那樣，投資收益和損失已經並將繼續造成我們定期收益的波動。因此，我們通常在營業收入和營業調整後 EBITDA 的背景下討論我們的業績，這些被視為非公認會計準則財務指標。

Excluding investment gains and losses, operating revenues were $379 million for the first quarter of 2024 compared to $389 million in the prior year quarter. Revenues from services and fees increased 9% to $257 million in the first quarter, up from $236 million in the same prior year period.

不計投資損益，2024 年第一季營業收入為 3.79 億美元，去年同期為 3.89 億美元。第一季服務和費用收入成長 9%，達到 2.57 億美元，高於去年同期的 2.36 億美元。

Interest income from loans and securities lending was $60 million for the first quarter of 2024, compared to prior year quarter. This decrease was driven primarily by the reduction of our loans receivable at fair value balance from $772 million as of March 31, 2023, to $452 million as of March 31, 2024.

與去年同期相比，2024 年第一季來自貸款和證券借貸的利息收入為 6,000 萬美元。這一下降主要是由於我們以公允價值餘額計算的應收貸款從截至2023年3月31日的7.72億美元減少至截至2024年3月31日的4.52億美元。

And as Bryant noted, we generated operating adjusted EBITDA of $66 million in the first quarter of 2024, which compared to $88 million in the first quarter of 2023.

正如 Bryant 指出的那樣，我們在 2024 年第一季的營運調整後 EBITDA 為 6,600 萬美元，而 2023 年第一季為 8,800 萬美元。

Turning to highlights from our balance sheet, as of March 31, we had $191 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $943 million in net securities and other investments owned, and $452 million in loans receivable, at fair value. At quarter end, we had total cash and investments balance of approximately $1.6 billion, which includes approximately $21 million of other investments reported in our prepaid and other assets.

轉向我們資產負債表的亮點，截至3 月31 日，以公允價值計算，我們擁有1.91 億美元的非限制現金和現金等價物、9.43 億美元的淨證券和擁有的其他投資以及4.52 億美元的應收貸款。截至季末，我們的現金和投資餘額總額約為 16 億美元，其中包括預付和其他資產中報告的約 2,100 萬美元的其他投資。

Total debt as of March 31 was approximately $2.2 billion. And total debt, net of cash and investments was approximately $581 million at quarter end.

截至 3 月 31 日，債務總額約 22 億美元。截至季末，扣除現金和投資後的總債務約為 5.81 億美元。

During the quarter, we redeemed approximately $115 million of our [Riley-O] senior notes on February 29, 2024. And earlier this month, we announced the remaining $25 million of our Riley-O senior notes will be redeemed on March -- May 31, 2024.

在本季度，我們於 2024 年 2 月 29 日贖回了約 1.15 億美元的 [Riley-O] 優先票據。本月早些時候，我們宣布剩餘的 2,500 萬美元 Riley-O 優先票據將於 2024 年 3 月即 5 月 31 日贖回。

Finally, as Bryant noted, we've declared a dividend of $0.50 per common share. Our quarterly dividend will be paid on or about June 11 to common shareholders of record as of May 27.

最後，正如布萊恩特指出的，我們宣布派發每股普通股 0.50 美元的股息。我們的季度股利將於 6 月 11 日左右支付給截至 5 月 27 日登記在冊的普通股股東。

That completes my summary. I'll now turn the call over to Tom to discuss our business segments. Tom?

我的總結到此結束。我現在將把電話轉給湯姆，討論我們的業務部門。湯姆？

Thanks, Phil. As Bryant previously mentioned, while there was a decrease in overall capital market segment revenue due to unrealized investment losses, B. Riley Securities benefited from a steady deal-making environment and generated more in fee income this quarter compared to the same period last year. BRS generated over $100 million in operating revenues and over $18 million of operating EBITDA during the quarter.

謝謝，菲爾。正如布萊恩特先前所提到的，雖然由於未實現的投資損失導致整體資本市場部門收入下降，但 B.Riley Securities 受益於穩定的交易環境，本季的費用收入較去年同期增加。BRS 在本季創造了超過 1 億美元的營業收入和超過 1,800 萬美元的營業 EBITDA。

In wealth management, we're beginning to see consistent normalized production as a result of our strategic realignment of this business following our 2021 purchase of national holdings. Revenues increased to $52 million in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing prior revenues on both a year-over-year and sequential basis.

在財富管理方面，由於我們在 2021 年購買國家控股後對該業務進行了戰略調整，我們開始看到持續的常態化生產。2024 年第一季營收增至 5,200 萬美元，年比及季比均超過先前的營收。

Wealth management brokerage revenues, advisory revenues, and syndicate revenues all showed improvement from the fourth quarter of 2023. Operating income also benefited from higher seasonal tax revenues from our accounting and tax prep division. Assets under management totaled $25.8 billion at March 31, 2024.

理財經紀收入、諮詢收入和銀團收入均較 2023 年第四季有所改善。營業收入也受惠於我們的會計和稅務準備部門季節性稅收收入的增加。截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，管理資產總額為 258 億美元。

Auction and liquidation contributed revenues of $5.8 million and operating income of $2 million during the first quarter. Our team was engaged in several ongoing projects during the quarter, both domestic and international. Returning clients drove most of our revenue opportunities, coupled with new business activity, which we expect to realize later this year. Our prospects in Europe continue to be steady with several opportunities in early stages.

第一季拍賣和清算貢獻了 580 萬美元的收入和 200 萬美元的營業收入。我們的團隊在本季度參與了多個正在進行的國內和國際項目。回頭客推動了我們大部分的收入機會，再加上我們預計今年稍後將實現的新業務活動。我們在歐洲的前景持續穩定，早期階段有一些機會。

Our financial consulting segment includes our legacy Great American Appraisal Group, our GlassRatner Consulting Division, and our B. Riley Real Estate Brokerage Division, which we established in 2020. Each of our appraisal and consulting divisions, known as B. Riley Advisory Services, experienced a record first quarter, which contributed to a 40% increase in segment revenues to $35 million and a 62% increase in segment operating income to $6.1 million, compared to the same period last year.

我們的財務諮詢部門包括我們的傳統 Great American Appraisal Group、GlassRatner 諮詢部門以及我們於 2020 年成立的 B. Riley 房地產經紀部門。我們的每個評估和諮詢部門（稱為B. Riley Advisory Services）都經歷了創紀錄的第一季度，與去年同期相比，該部門收入增長了40%，達到3500 萬美元，部門營業收入增長了62%，達到610 萬美元。

Our acquisitions of Farber and Crawford Winiarski in 2023 also contributed to the increase in advisory, bankruptcy, and forensic litigation consulting assignments. In addition to the more robust demand for our legacy appraisal and consulting services during the quarter, we have continued to develop other lines of service, including our field exam group, and expanded others, like executive search.

我們在 2023 年收購了 Farber 和 Crawford Winiarski 也促進了諮詢、破產和法證訴訟諮詢業務的增加。除了本季對我們的遺留評估和諮詢服務的更強勁需求外，我們還繼續開發其他服務範圍，包括我們的現場考試小組，並擴大了其他服務範圍，例如高階主管獵人頭。

Our portfolio of communications businesses has continued to contribute steady cash flow to our platform, generating revenues of $82 million and operating income of $8 million during the quarter.

我們的通訊業務組合繼續為我們的平台貢獻穩定的現金流，本季創造了 8,200 萬美元的收入和 800 萬美元的營業收入。

And in our consumer product segment, the continued softness in global PC and laptop sales resulted in a segment loss of $3 million during the quarter. As Bryant noted, Targus is continuing to work through some headwinds. However, we believe the business is well positioned to turn as the market for PC accessory sales recovers.

在我們的消費產品領域，全球 PC 和筆記型電腦銷售持續疲軟導致本季度該部門虧損 300 萬美元。正如布萊恩特指出的那樣，塔格斯正在繼續克服一些不利因素。然而，我們相信，隨著個人電腦配件銷售市場的復甦，該業務已做好扭轉的準備。

Finally, our continued success is due in no small part to the dedication of our employees across B. Riley, and we could not be more grateful. Our world-class team of professionals continues to demonstrate complete focus and commitment in serving our clients and customers. With that, we will now open the call for questions before turning the call back to Bryant for closing remarks.

最後，我們的持續成功在很大程度上要歸功於 B. Riley 員工的奉獻精神，對此我們深表感激。我們世界一流的專業團隊持續展現對服務客戶和客戶的完全專注和承諾。至此，我們現在將開始提問，然後再將電話轉回科比進行結束語。

(Operator Instructions) Sean, B. Riley.

（操作員說明）Sean, B. Riley。

Hey, guys. I'm actually from Charleston Capital, not B. Riley.

大家好。我實際上來自 Charleston Capital，而不是 B. Riley。

The first question here is on the consumer products. In your release, you said you had $56 million of revenue from goods sold, and there's about $52 million in consumer products revenue. What accounts for that delta, and where would that show up?

第一個問題是關於消費品的。在您的新聞稿中，您表示您的銷售收入為 5,600 萬美元，消費品收入約為 5,200 萬美元。這個增量是由什麼造成的？

Hey, Sean. Phil, are you talking about the $4 million delta?

嘿，肖恩。Phil，你說的是 400 萬美元的增量嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

I'm imagining that it's something from retail, but I'm not sure. Phil, do you know the delta?

我猜想這是零售店的東西，但我不確定。菲爾，你知道三角洲嗎？

No. We're going to have to get back to you. We've got a mixture of different things in there. When we do retail liquidation, some of the retail sales gets mixed in there.

不。我們得回覆你。我們在那裡混合了不同的東西。當我們進行零售清算時，一些零售銷售會混入其中。

Okay. I figured it was some liquidation. I just wanted to confirm that. Then on communication, how should we think about that margin? It looks like the incremental margin came down a touch. How do we think about that? How much of that is fixed expense versus variable?

好的。我認為這是一些清算。我只是想確認這一點。那麼在溝通方面，我們該如何考慮這個餘裕呢？看起來增量利潤略有下降。我們對此有何看法？其中固定費用與變動費用的比例是多少？

Look, I think that that group, and Phil, you can touch upon the margins a little bit more, but that group, there's three assets that have performed amazingly well. I think you know, and we talked a lot about United Online and the returns we've gotten on that $45 million investment, and magicJack has been an unbelievable investment, and Marconi has been our best investment.

看，我認為那個小組和菲爾，你可以更多地觸及利潤，但是那個小組，有三項資產表現得非常好。我想你知道，我們談論了很多關於 United Online 以及我們從 4500 萬美元投資中獲得的回報，magicJack 是一項令人難以置信的投資，而 Marconi 則是我們最好的投資。

And so the other two, Lingo and BullsEye, have been a little bit tougher, and I think are causing, you know, have contracted margins a bit. We think we have a solve there, and it's involving selling a piece of that business, not for a big number, but a business that causes us some margin contraction. But it's mostly from that side of the business. Phil, anything you want to add there?

因此，另外兩家公司——Lingo 和 BullsEye——的表現要強一些，我認為這會導致利潤率收縮。我們認為我們有一個解決方案，它涉及出售該業務的一部分，不是大量出售，而是一項導致我們利潤率收縮的業務。但主要是來自業務的這一方面。菲爾，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I think you captured it.

不，我想你抓住了它。

Okay. And then just a couple more for me. So on the dividend savings going from $1.50, about $30 million a year, should we expect that to be funneled towards deleveraging, or how should we think about the capital being allocated?

好的。然後再給我幾個。那麼，對於每年 1.50 美元、約 3000 萬美元的股息節省，我們是否應該期望將其用於去槓桿化，或者我們應該如何考慮資本分配？

Look, I think we're cognizant that anything we do, any stock we sell, any asset we sell, we are, given where our cap table trades, we're selling it for an incremental higher price, whether the yield of maturity is 20 or 22 or whatever. And so, I think we have to take that into account. We are -- we've made some big investments in the last year, and as those return, we'll think about that differently. Obviously, we've talked about the process that we are considering with GA, which based on any sort of comp, you would see a fair amount of incremental capital there.

聽著，我認為我們認識到，我們所做的任何事情，我們出售的任何股票，我們出售的任何資產，考慮到我們的股權結構表交易的地方，我們都會以更高的價格出售它，無論到期收益率是多少20 或 22 或其他。因此，我認為我們必須考慮到這一點。我們在去年進行了一些重大投資，隨著這些投資的回報，我們會以不同的方式思考這一點。顯然，我們已經討論了我們正在考慮的 GA 流程，基於任何類型的補償，您都會在那裡看到相當數量的增量資本。

So we think we'll have a lot of options, but we want to make sure that our dividend is covered by our operating EBITDA and our free cash flow, and then incrementally, we do think there's an opportunity. One of the things that we think about GAAP a lot, I mean, one of the things that's interesting and why we're difficult is that we did issue a lot of bonds at a rate that I think you, probably in a similar situation, have to pay double in terms of interest rates, and so there's a lot of embedded value there. There's obviously a discount just because of the noise around us, which we will also try and take advantage of, but there's a lot of embedded value in those bonds for us to take advantage of. So we'll look at all those things.

因此，我們認為我們將有很多選擇，但我們希望確保我們的股息由我們的經營 EBITDA 和自由現金流覆蓋，然後逐步增加，我們確實認為有機會。我們對GAAP 經常思考的一件事，我的意思是，一件有趣的事情之一，也是我們遇到困難的原因之一，是我們確實以我認為你可能處於類似情況的利率發行了大量債券，必須支付雙倍的利率，所以裡面有很多內在價值。顯然，由於我們周圍的噪音，我們也會嘗試利用這一點，但這些債券中有很多內在價值可供我們利用。所以我們會看看所有這些事情。

Yeah, makes sense. And then just two more for me. On capital markets, any color there on kind of how Q1 looked and how Q2 is beginning to shape up, and any commentary on focal point would be helpful.

是的，有道理。然後再給我兩個。在資本市場上，任何關於第一季的情況和第二季如何開始形成的顏色，以及對焦點的任何評論都會有所幫助。

Yeah, so I would say -- well, we had our biggest fee in focal point since we acquired them, and I think they're definitely picking up. The M&A market has still been pretty slow. I would say that capital markets were relatively slow in Q1, started off slow in Q2, but have picked up meaningfully in the last -- just as the Russell has picked up. So even the last couple weeks are meaningfully more active than the previous months.

是的，所以我想說 - 嗯，自從我們收購它們以來，我們在焦點上支付了最大的費用，而且我認為它們肯定會增加。併購市場仍然相當緩慢。我想說，資本市場在第一季相對緩慢，在第二季開始緩慢，但在最後一個季度顯著回升——就像羅素指數的回升一樣。因此，即使是最後幾周也比前幾個月更加活躍。

I also think that, quite frankly, when we did not have our K out, we lost a little bit of market share, and I think that is turning. I think that, from my perspective, our clients and investors recognized that we were in a unique situation, and we've been around for 27 years, and I think they appreciate that.

我還認為，坦白說，當我們沒有 K 出局時，我們失去了一點市場份額，我認為這種情況正在轉變。我認為，從我的角度來看，我們的客戶和投資者認識到我們處於獨特的境地，而且我們已經存在了 27 年，我認為他們對此表示讚賞。

I think that that's going to swing is my opinion. I'm excited about our conference. I'm excited about telling our story during that conference, and I think you're going to start to see some real momentum in the cap market side, and that's a big part of our overall strategy. We think that, in the next three to four years, there's going to be amazing opportunities there. We're really well positioned for that.

我認為這會發生變化，這是我的觀點。我對我們的會議感到很興奮。我很高興能在那次會議上講述我們的故事，我認為您將開始看到資本市場的一些真正動力，這是我們整體策略的重要組成部分。我們認為，在未來三到四年內，那裡將會有驚人的機會。我們確實為此做好了準備。

So we're excited about that business, that market, for the most part, has been closed or very slow for three years. So if we can start to see a little bit better environment, whether it's -- from companies are growing or whether it's companies who have to reevaluate their debt or whatever, we think we're positioned really well there. So I'm excited about the next, as this year goes on, the momentum we're going to see in capital markets.

因此，我們對這項業務感到興奮，該市場在很大程度上已經關閉或非常緩慢三年了。因此，如果我們能夠開始看到更好的環境，無論是公司正在成長，還是公司必須重新評估其債務或其他什麼，我們認為我們在這方面的定位非常好。因此，隨著今年的繼續，我對接下來我們將在資本市場看到的勢頭感到興奮。

Great. And my last one, actually, it's a good segue. So you lost $7 million of kind of like extraordinary expenses from the internal investigation. Any more expenses that you foresee bleeding over into Q2, and then how should we think about expenses related to your conference coming up?

偉大的。事實上，我的最後一個，這是一個很好的延續。因此，您因內部調查損失了 700 萬美元的特殊費用。您預計第二季還會有更多費用，那麼我們應該如何考慮與即將舉行的會議相關的費用？

So, Phil, you can say, I think the leakage is not going to be huge, but Phil, you can talk about that. I would say the conference -- we've been running the conference since the first year we started. We run it, I think, efficiently and we have a lot of sponsors, and we try to make sure that we're fiscally responsible around that. So I would not -- it's not a big number relative to the incremental costs that we had to bear for -- and just getting the audit through. But Phil, as you look at the second quarter, how would you answer that?

所以，菲爾，你可以說，我認為洩漏不會很大，但是菲爾，你可以談談這個。我想說的是會議——從我們開始的第一年起我們就一直在舉辦這個會議。我認為，我們有效率地經營它，並且我們有很多贊助商，我們努力確保我們對此承擔財務責任。所以我不會——相對於我們必須承擔的增量成本來說，這並不是一個大數字——而只是透過審計。但是菲爾，當你看到第二季度時，你會如何回答這個問題？

There's probably some spillover, obviously, from Q3. We released the K in mid-late April, so there's going to be a little bit of spillover, but I can't imagine it would be anything like we had in Q1.

顯然，第三季可能會產生一些溢出效應。我們在 4 月中下旬發布了 K，所以會有一點溢出效應，但我無法想像它會像我們在第一季一樣。

Got it. Okay. Well, thank you, guys, and congrats.

知道了。好的。嗯，謝謝你們，夥伴們，恭喜你們。

All right.

好的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Paul, Punch & Associates.

保羅潘趣公司。

Hi, all. Good afternoon, and thanks for the question. Can you, Bryant, any more color you can provide on the Great American transaction and timeline there, as well as other non-core divestiture opportunities?

大家好。下午好，謝謝你的提問。布萊恩特，您能否就 Great American 交易和時間表以及其他非核心剝離機會提供更多資訊？

So I guess what I would say is that we are in the middle of it. We've been happy with the amount of interest that we've gotten, and we'll make a determination. I think it's an amazing asset. I think it's an asset that somebody, if they use as a platform, can do a lot of the things we did, whether it's buying brands through auctions, or whether it's assignment or building a direct lending business off of it, and it's a great team. So I'm really excited about -- I mean, I don't love selling it, but for the opportunities we see are potentially selling it, I should say.

所以我想我想說的是我們正處於其中。我們對所獲得的興趣感到滿意，我們將做出決定。我認為這是一筆了不起的資產。我認為這是一項資產，如果有人將其用作平台，就可以做我們所做的很多事情，無論是透過拍賣購買品牌，還是轉讓或利用它建立直接貸款業務，這是一個很棒的選擇。所以我真的很興奮——我的意思是，我不喜歡出售它，但我應該說，我們看到的機會可能會出售它。

On the small cap side and kind of the bread and butter of where we started, we think there's just going to be a great run, and that's the view of our firm, and it'll play itself out. We've talked a little bit about some of the other non-core assets like brands, which have been an amazing, amazing investment for us and generate a lot of EBITDA, $45 million, $50 million of dividend checks, not even EBITDA.

在小型股方面以及我們起步時的麵包和黃油方面，我們認為將會有一個偉大的運行，這就是我們公司的觀點，並且它會發揮作用。我們已經討論了一些其他非核心資產，例如品牌，這對我們來說是一項驚人的投資，產生了大量的 EBITDA，4500 萬美元、5000 萬美元的股息支票，甚至還沒有 EBITDA。

So is there an opportunity at some point in the next year to think through that? I am super aware that there are opportunities for us to create a lot of value by buying our debt back at discounts, and so that does drive some of our thinking. But I think you saw we had $190 million in cash. We obviously sold some non-core assets during the quarter and last year, and we continue to do that. And we also want to be there for our deals and make sure that we're able to backstop deals or do overnights and all that kind of stuff.

那麼明年的某個時候是否有機會思考這個問題？我非常清楚，我們有機會透過以折扣價回購債務來創造大量價值，因此這確實推動了我們的一些思考。但我想你已經看到我們有 1.9 億美元的現金。顯然，我們在本季和去年出售了一些非核心資產，並且我們將繼續這樣做。我們也希望參與我們的交易，並確保我們能夠支持交易或過夜以及所有類似的事情。

So it's all balanced, but I would say the timing, these things always seem to take longer than you expect to make a decision. But if I were to handicap it -- somebody told me, I said in Q2, if I did, I was a little optimistic. I think it would be probably more the earlier side of Q3 when a decision would be made. But I think that people recognize what a unique asset it is because it's really unique.

所以一切都是平衡的，但我想說的是時機，這些事情似乎總是比你預期的決定要花更長的時間。但如果我要限制它——有人告訴我，我在第二季度說，如果我這樣做，我會有點樂觀。我認為可能會在第三季的早期做出決定。但我認為人們認識到它是多麼獨特的資產，因為它確實是獨一無二的。

Yep. Okay. And then franchise group, there were, you know, a couple news headlines that commented on QMON performance, but very little detail out there. Any update you can give on the remaining operating segments?

是的。好的。然後是特許經營集團，您知道，有幾個新聞頭條評論了 QMON 的性能，但細節很少。您能提供其餘營運部門的任何最新情況嗎？

Yeah, I would say that first of all, I am, obviously, this investment started off in a different manner than what we expected. I will say the management team there has done a great job of taking the reins. Obviously, the contract transaction that we helped facilitate, I think, was a really good first step. Sylvan was really important because the cash just really, really extends their ability to get through what is a kind of a rough consumer environment.

是的，我想說，首先，很明顯，這項投資的開始方式與我們的預期不同。我想說，那裡的管理團隊在掌控方面做得非常出色。顯然，我認為我們幫助促成的合約交易是非常好的第一步。Sylvan 非常重要，因為現金確實非常擴展了他們度過艱難的消費環境的能力。

So there's no change to the model, and I think all the constituents appreciate that. We -- you saw on that same note, the potential to do a securitization on PetSupply Plus. That's an exciting market that I think could create a lot of liquidity and pay down. We have other assets that we're working on. So hard to get into too much of the specifics.

因此，模型沒有變化，我認為所有選民都對此表示讚賞。我們—您也看到了對 PetSupply Plus 進行證券化的潛力。這是一個令人興奮的市場，我認為它可以創造大量流動性並帶來回報。我們還有其他資產正在開發中。很難深入了解太多細節。

I would just say that I think the constituents are aligned. I think the management team is doing a great job. We're fortunate that we were able to sell Sylvan and bring in a lot of cash so that we can invest in businesses like American Freight, which are -- historically have been really good businesses that are down right now. And I believe cycles turn, and as long as we can outlast that, we'll be really well positioned.

我只想說，我認為選民是一致的。我認為管理團隊做得很好。我們很幸運，我們能夠出售 Sylvan 並帶來大量現金，這樣我們就可以投資像美國貨運這樣的企業，這些企業在歷史上一直是非常好的企業，但現在卻在下滑。我相信週期會轉變，只要我們能堅持下去，我們就會處於有利地位。

But, yeah, I mean, for sure, we did not underwrite the consumer and American Freight taking as long to turn as it has. But, again, fortunate that we have runway.

但是，是的，我的意思是，可以肯定的是，我們並沒有為消費者和美國貨運提供如此長的周轉時間。但是，再次幸運的是我們有跑道。

Yeah, okay. And, Tom, you talked about Targus being poised to turn. Just wanted to see if there's any more color you can provide on kind of what you're seeing in terms of that industry and thoughts there in terms of timelines and normalization.

好的。湯姆，你談到塔格斯正準備轉向。只是想看看您是否可以提供更多關於您所看到的行業情況以及時間表和標準化方面的想法的資訊。

Yeah, I think that's one of those businesses and industries that's really tied to a larger macro, which is the hardware. And it's kind of clear that with COVID and the proliferation of people working from home, there was a lot of people who bought a lot of laptops. But over time, that cycle will turn, and with that, it will drive sales with Targus. So, it's -- as in with the consumer, it's taken a little bit longer than we anticipated, but we see that happening eventually. So, I feel good about the investment.

是的，我認為這是與更大的宏觀（硬體）真正相關的企業和行業之一。很明顯，隨著新冠疫情和在家工作的人數激增，許多人購買了許多筆記型電腦。但隨著時間的推移，這個週期將會轉變，從而推動 Targus 的銷售。所以，就像消費者一樣，花費的時間比我們預期的要長一些，但我們最終看到這種情況發生。所以，我對這項投資感覺很好。

Sorry, TK. I think one of the things, and it's an important part of what we do, and obviously, with franchise group, it turned a little bit. But Michael Williams, who runs that business, has been successful in two public companies and a private company and approached us about buying that business because he wanted to buy that business. And, Michael is, in my mind, one of the best CEOs out there. And we have the ability to invest in a business when others may not be able to.

對不起，TK。我認為其中一件事是我們所做工作的重要組成部分，顯然，隨著特許經營集團的發展，情況發生了一些變化。但經營該業務的邁克爾·威廉姆斯(Michael Williams)在兩家上市公司和一家私人公司取得了成功，他向我們尋求收購該業務的機會，因為他想收購該業務。而且，在我看來，邁克爾是最好的執行長之一。當其他人無法投資某項業務時，我們有能力進行投資。

We are seeing some of our competitors not able to get through. And so, as we come out of it, and you've seen it, I'm sure, in many of your investments, if you're able to come out of this, whether it's investing in American Freight when others are closing stores or whether it's investing in Targus, that's what we're going to do because we feel like the partnerships we have and the management teams we have are really, really good.

我們發現我們的一些競爭對手無法通過。因此，當我們走出困境時，你已經看到了這一點，我確信，在你的許多投資中，如果你能夠走出困境，無論是在其他人關閉商店時投資美國貨運公司或者無論是投資Targus，這都是我們要做的，因為我們覺得我們擁有的合作夥伴關係和管理團隊非常非常好。

And that's -- we've seen this many times. I mean, Paul, if you remember wealth management for a long time, that was a topic of discussion. And I think you can see that Chuck and Mike, Roland, have really turned that business in partnership with us and investing. And the wealth managers in that group have been unbelievably supportive through all of this. Through all of the crazy dynamics that have gone on with us, they've been unbelievably supportive.

那就是——我們已經見過很多次了。我的意思是，保羅，如果你還記得財富管理很長一段時間，那是一個討論的話題。我認為你可以看到查克和麥克、羅蘭透過與我們的合作和投資，真正扭轉了這項業務。該群體的財富管理機構在這一切過程中都給予了令人難以置信的支持。在我們經歷的所有瘋狂的動態中，他們一直給予我們令人難以置信的支持。

And I just think that this is business. And sometimes, you acquire something and it rips and it goes, you know, goes right up like GlassRatner did, which was great and like the brands did. And sometimes you got to work and you got to work through them like we did with Select Interior or like we did with Core, which was marked down 75% at one point.

我只是認為這就是生意。有時，你買了一些東西，它會撕裂，然後它就會像 GlassRatner 一樣迅速上升，這很棒，就像品牌所做的那樣。有時你必須工作，你必須解決它們，就像我們對 Select Interior 所做的那樣，或者像我們對 Core 所做的那樣，它一度降價了 75%。

And one of their assets, we just got to grind through them and work with management to turn them. And that's what we've done our whole career. And I'm confident you'll see that happen again in those segments.

他們的資產之一，我們只需磨練它們，並與管理層合作轉變它們。這就是我們整個職業生涯所做的事情。我相信您會在這些領域看到這種情況再次發生。

No, we get it. We get it. And then Bryant, maybe just to wrap up here, you talked about crazy dynamics and unusual last few months. Any learnings or insights from the period that you think will impact either operations or capital allocation going forward?

不，我們明白了。我們懂了。然後科比，也許只是為了總結一下，你談到了過去幾個月的瘋狂動態和不尋常。您認為這段時期的任何經驗教訓或見解會影響未來的營運或資本配置嗎？

It's -- yeah, I mean, it's a pretty self-reflective question for me. And then as a firm, I would say that clearly, we are a difficult public company. If you think about it, there's an element of us is that is an operating private equity business. And then there's an element of us that is pure investments. And you kind of combine those and you get -- if you make an operating, that's kind of unique, but if you make an operating business that declines, you mark that down. If you buy an operating business that goes up, you don't mark it up.

這是——是的，我的意思是，這對我來說是一個非常自我反思的問題。作為一家公司，我要明確地說，我們是一家困難的上市公司。如果你仔細想想，我們的一個要素就是經營私募股權業務。我們的一個要素就是純粹的投資。你把這些結合起來，你就會得到——如果你經營一項業務，那是獨一無二的，但如果你經營一項業務下滑，你就會把它記下來。如果你購買一家正在上漲的營運企業，你就不會對其進行標價。

And so we're kind of in a weird spot around just that dynamic. I think that as we -- this is not something that is reaction to anything. It's where we see the opportunity. We think that we are going to go on a really good run in financial services. And you see what's happened with our advisory. I'm amazed. I am so impressed with what Andy and Jimmy and team have done in the brokerage side. I mean, it's been a tough capital markets and we have not been -- we did not have a K out for a while and that team has grinded and grinded. And I think we're going to come out of it stronger and we haven't had that.

因此，我們在這種動態方面處於一個奇怪的位置。我認為，作為我們——這不是對任何事物的反應。這是我們看到機會的地方。我們認為我們將在金融服務領域取得非常好的進展。您會看到我們的建議發生了什麼。我很驚訝。安迪和吉米以及團隊在經紀方面所做的事情給我留下了深刻的印象。我的意思是，這是一個艱難的資本市場，而我們卻沒有——我們已經有一段時間沒有出現 K 了，而我們的團隊一直在不斷地磨練。我認為我們會變得更加強大，但我們還沒有做到這一點。

So I'm excited about what's happening on the financial services side. So I think my answer would be more of a optimism over that side of the business where we would maybe be opportunistic buying a dial-up internet company that I said all the time, but I just can't help it is, I think we paid $45 million and it's returned $135 million. That was super opportunistic.

因此，我對金融服務方面發生的事情感到興奮。所以我認為我的答案對業務的這一方面更加樂觀，我們可能會機會主義地購買我一直說的撥號互聯網公司，但我就是忍不住，我認為我們支付了4500 萬美元，返還了1.35 億美元。那是超級機會主義的。

I probably have a hard time passing up something like that again, but I would think about it a little bit more just because the complexity of our business does create -- I think it creates dynamics everywhere from how people understand us to our audit. And so maybe a little simpler is better, but there's a lot of different ways to, I think, find opportunities around this platform that we'll take advantage of and that would not -- saying that would not rule those things out.

我可能很難再次放棄類似的事情，但我會多考慮一下，因為我們業務的複雜性確實創造了——我認為它在各個方面創造了動力，從人們如何理解我們到我們的審計。因此，也許簡單一點更好，但我認為，有很多不同的方法可以圍繞這個平台找到我們會利用的機會，但不會——也就是說，這不會排除這些事情。

Great. Okay. That's perfect. And that's all I've got. Thank you for the time.

偉大的。好的。那很完美。這就是我所擁有的一切。謝謝你的時間。

Robert, Concise Capital Management.

羅伯特，簡明資本管理公司。

Hey guys. On the Investor Day, you gave, you know, a nice Eva dolly kind of peak in the last 12 months of the various businesses, just hoping we could maybe get a guide for the various businesses. Just -- you spoke about the ability to cover the dividend really more in line with just interest coverage and how you see that going forward. That would be great.

大家好。在投資者日，你給了，你知道，一個很好的伊娃·多莉（Eva dolly）在過去 12 個月中各種業務的高峰，只是希望我們能夠得到各種業務的指南。只是 - 您談到了真正更符合利息覆蓋率的股息支付能力以及您對未來的看法。那太好了。

So, look, I would say that our trailing month operating EBITDA is roughly $340 million. Our -- the number that we need to cover in operating EBITDA to cover our dividend and interest and everything is around $60 million. And that's really reliant on -- we've got a lot of recurring businesses that pay for a lot of that. And then the question is going to be what is a broker dealer going to do? And what is retail going to do if that's still part of our business?

所以，我想說，我們最近一個月的營運 EBITDA 約為 3.4 億美元。我們在經營 EBITDA 時需要支付的金額，以支付我們的股息和利息以及所有費用，約為 6000 萬美元。這確實依賴——我們有很多經常性業務，為此付出了很多代價。那麼問題是經紀交易商要做什麼？如果零售業仍然是我們業務的一部分，它將做什麼？

So ideally, over the course of the next year or two, our interest expense, if we are mostly baby bonds, that average yield, I think this is right, is like 5.8%. That's a huge advantage for us as we pay down debt.

因此，理想情況下，在未來一兩年內，如果我們主要是嬰兒債券，那麼我們的利息支出，我認為這是正確的，平均收益率約為 5.8%。當我們償還債務時，這對我們來說是一個巨大的優勢。

So, from an operating EBITDA, the number is trailing 12 months is roughly $340 million. To pay $1 -- to pay the dividend, the $2 dividend is in and around two -- hold on, in and around like two -- like $60-ish million a quarter. I mean, when I look at our business this quarter, we had no contribution from Targus. We had a less contribution from our receivables book. Retail was a little quiet, right? We made money in it, but it was a little quiet.

因此，從營運 EBITDA 來看，過去 12 個月的數字約為 3.4 億美元。為了支付 1 美元——支付股息，2 美元的股息在 2 左右——堅持下去，就像 2 左右——就像每季度 6000 萬美元左右。我的意思是，當我查看本季度我們的業務時，我們沒有得到 Targus 的貢獻。我們的應收帳款貢獻較少。零售業有點安靜，對吧？我們在裡面賺了錢，但有點安靜。

And then you have the other businesses that have been performing really steadily, and in the case of advisory, increasing. So I feel good about that. That's the way the business was set up to have a big segment of our expenses and interest paid and dividend paid for by our recurring operating EBITDA, and then have the swings from the broker-dealer.

然後你還有其他業務，它們的表現非常穩定，就諮詢而言，還在成長。所以我對此感覺很好。這就是我們業務的設立方式，我們的大部分費用、利息和股息都是由我們的經常性經營 EBITDA 支付的，然後來自經紀自營商的波動。

I mean, these swings are not new to us. In 2021, we earned $15 a share, and we weren't as excited as one would be with a $15 a share. We recognized that a lot of those gains were unrealized, and a lot of them were based off of a really, I guess, in retrospect, frothy environment.

我的意思是，這些波動對我們來說並不新鮮。2021 年，我們每股獲利 15 美元，但我們並不像每股 15 美元那麼興奮。我們體認到，其中許多成果都沒有實現，而且我想，回想起來，其中許多成果都是基於一個真正的泡沫環境。

But by the contrary, we think this is -- it's not the direct opposite, but it's pretty close. It has been a tough small-cap market. So, if we're able to continue to generate this kind of operating EBITDA in this environment with no contribution from Targus and other businesses like wealth management and appraisal and these other things improving, we feel really good about that. Does that answer the question?

但相反，我們認為這不是直接相反，但非常接近。這是一個艱難的小型股市場。因此，如果我們能夠在這種環境下繼續產生這種營運 EBITDA，而無需 Targus 和財富管理和評估等其他業務的貢獻以及其他方面的改善，我們對此感到非常高興。這能回答問題嗎？

Yeah. Yeah, it's helpful. I guess it's just something to think about going forward, maybe in the prepared comments, because, as you said, it can be tough to understand the business, but thinking of it as a sum of the parts and the individual contribution of each part might be helpful.

是的。是的，這很有幫助。我想這只是未來需要考慮的事情，也許在準備好的評論中，因為正如您所說，理解業務可能很困難，但將其視為各個部分的總和以及每個部分的單獨貢獻可能會樂於助人。

I guess just to follow up is, you got 25 baby bonds that are -- they're current. So do you think about that, like, as a constraint against the dividend, or just how do you plan on addressing it? Maybe that's why the Great American Group is on the block, which would be a shame because, obviously, there is that flywheel of you guys finding excellent investment opportunities through there, but you got to pay it off. So, is that why it's on the block? And, yeah, just, is that the plan to address it?

我想跟進的是，你有 25 個嬰兒債券，它們是最新的。那麼您是否認為這是對股息的限制，或者您打算如何解決這個問題？也許這就是為什麼偉大的美國集團被拒之門外，這將是一種恥辱，因為顯然，你們的飛輪在那裡找到了極好的投資機會，但你必須還清它。那麼，這就是它被封鎖的原因嗎？是的，這就是解決這個問題的計劃嗎？

I mean, look, we -- I think part of what we're supposed to do in general is, and I -- you could argue the other side of it, and I wouldn't -- it would be a good argument, but part of what we're supposed to do is find assets, that are either out of favor or undervalued for whatever reason, and work to create value.

我的意思是，看，我們 - 我認為我們一般應該做的一部分是，我 - 你可以爭論它的另一面，我不會 - 這將是一個很好的論點，但我們應該做的一部分是找到那些因某種原因失寵或被低估的資產，並努力創造價值。

And I think we spoke about our cost basis in GA, and the flywheel is real, but I think it's a flywheel for an institution or a company that can dedicate billions of dollars to a direct lending fund, maybe, or can be more artisan Simon or to -- again, like we did the brands thing, right?

我認為我們談到了 GA 的成本基礎，飛輪是真實的，但我認為這是一個機構或公司的飛輪，可以向直接貸款基金投入數十億美元，也許，或者可以更加工匠西蒙或者——再一次，就像我們做品牌的事情一樣，對吧？

We bought a lot of brands, and we bought them cheap, and they made us a lot of money. We did a lot of it, and as we look at it now, sometimes, recycling an asset, even if you don't want to, but just financially makes sense, you got to make those decisions, and that's what this is.

我們買了很多品牌，而且買得很便宜，他們讓我們賺了很多錢。我們做了很多這樣的事情，正如我們現在所看到的，有時，回收資產，即使你不想這樣做，但在經濟上是有意義的，你必須做出這些決定，這就是這個。

And if we get -- but we're not -- I mean, if we don't -- look, we don't need to sell GA to pay our bonds. We have $190 million in cash and a lot of assets, but if we're not -- and so if we don't get the price that we think makes sense, like, great, let's go.

如果我們得到了——但我們沒有——我的意思是，如果我們沒有——看，我們不需要出售 GA 來支付我們的債券。我們擁有 1.9 億美元的現金和大量資產，但如果我們沒有——所以如果我們沒有得到我們認為合理的價格，就像，太好了，我們走吧。

But again, we were never set up. We started out -- we started this firm as a $30 million market cap. We were not funded and set up and gigantic to just buy, buy, buy, buy, and never sell, or maybe we could have done that, but we decided to continue to buy some other things. So I would just say it's part of an overall -- as we look at a portfolio of companies, it's a company that we think is going to be of real value for somebody else and has created real value for us, and those two things crossed over.

但話又說回來，我們從來沒有被陷害過。我們一開始就創辦了這家市值 3,000 萬美元的公司。我們沒有資金、規模和規模，只是買、買、買、買、永遠不賣，或者也許我們可以這樣做，但我們決定繼續購買其他一些東西。所以我只想說，這是整體的一部分——當我們審視公司投資組合時，我們認為這是一家對其他人具有真正價值並為我們創造了真正價值的公司，而這兩件事是交叉的超過。

This concludes the Q&A. Handing it back to Mr. Riley for any final remarks.

問答到此結束。將其交還給萊利先生以供最後評論。

Great. Well, I wanted to remind everybody that tomorrow is a commission for charity day, so 100% of tomorrow's trading commissions goes to the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation. It's an important cause that funds research and programs for childhood type 1 and 2 diabetes.

偉大的。嗯，我想提醒大家，明天是慈善日佣金，所以明天的交易佣金 100% 捐給 Sugar Ray Leonard 基金會。這是資助兒童 1 型和 2 型糖尿病研究和計畫的重要事業。

Next week is our 24th annual Institutional Investor Conference. We're very excited about that. We feel like that's going to be a great forum for us to really kind of continue to build the momentum we've seen here this month and over the last few years. So there'll be 200 public and private companies, 1,000 attendees, and a great way to highlight our firm.

下週是我們的第 24 屆年度機構投資者大會。我們對此感到非常興奮。我們覺得這將是一個很棒的論壇，讓我們能夠真正繼續建立本月和過去幾年所看到的勢頭。因此，將有 200 家上市和私人公司、1,000 名與會者，這是突出我們公司的好方法。

And then I just think it's really amazing and a testimony to the people who manage this business, not the people on the executive side, but the people that manage the operating businesses that we have been through a lot. And we have maintained the culture, we maintain the people. I think the overall employee base, I think, is really excited and fired up, and I'm excited about what the next year brings. So we're looking forward to talking to you next quarter and appreciate it. Thank you, operator.

然後我認為這真的很神奇，是對管理這項業務的人的見證，不是執行方面的人，而是管理我們經歷過很多事情的運營業務的人。我們維護了文化，維護了人民。我認為整個員工群體都非常興奮和興奮，我對明年帶來的事情感到興奮。因此，我們期待下個季度與您交談並表示感謝。謝謝你，接線生。

Thank you. Before we conclude today's call, I will provide B. Riley Financial's Safe Harbor Statement, which includes important cautions regarding forward-looking statements made during this call.

謝謝。在我們結束今天的電話會議之前，我將提供 B. Riley Financial 的安全港聲明，其中包括有關本次電話會議期間所做前瞻性陳述的重要警告。

Statements made during this call that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward- looking statements that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, our business operating results, financial condition, and stock price could be materially negatively affected. You should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of today's date. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding our excitement and the expected growth of our business segments and statements regarding the company's strategic review process for the great American business and any potential resulting ramifications. Factors that could cause such actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the risks described from time to time in B. Riley Financial, Inc.'s periodic filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the risks described in B. Riley Financial, Inc.'s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Under the captions, Risk Factors and Management's Discussions and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as applicable. Additional information will be set forth in B. Riley Financial's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. These factors should be considered carefully and participants are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. All information is current as of today's call and B. Riley Financial undertakes no duty to update this information.

本次電話會議期間所做的並非歷史事實描述的陳述屬於前瞻性陳述，這些陳述基於管理層當前的預期和假設，並受到風險和不確定性的影響。如果此類風險或不確定性成為現實或此類假設被證明不正確，我們的業務經營業績、財務狀況和股價可能會受到重大負面影響。您不應過度依賴此類前瞻性陳述，這些陳述基於我們目前掌握的信息，且僅代表截至今日的情況。此類前瞻性陳述包括但不限於有關我們的興奮和業務部門的預期增長的陳述，以及有關公司對偉大的美國業務的戰略審查流程以及任何潛在由此產生的影響的陳述。可能導致此類實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述預期或暗示的結果有重大差異的因素包括但不限於 B. Riley Financial, Inc. 向 SEC 定期提交的文件中不時描述的風險，包括（但不限於）B. Riley Financial, Inc. 截至2023 年12 月31 日止年度10-K 表格年度報告中所述的風險。標題為「風險因素以及管理階層對財務狀況和經營績效的討論與分析」（如適用）。更多資訊將在 B. Riley Financial 截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的三個月期間的 10-Q 表格季度報告中列出。應仔細考慮這些因素，並告誡參與者不要過度依賴此類前瞻性陳述。截至今天的電話會議，所有資訊均為最新信息，B.Riley Financial 不承擔更新此資訊的義務。

Thank you for joining us today for B. Riley Financial's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. You may now disconnect.

感謝您今天參加我們 B. Riley Financial 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。您現在可以斷開連線。