Construction Partners Inc (ROAD) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Construction Partners' Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Construction Partners 第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，此通話正在被錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your whole Investor Relations with Rick Black. Thank you. You may now proceed.

現在我很高興向 Rick Black 介紹你們的整個投資者關係。謝謝。您現在可以繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for the Construction Partners' conference call to review second quarter results for fiscal 2025. We -- this call is also being webcast and can be accessed through the audio link on the Events and Presentations page of the Investor Relations section of constructionpartners.net.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。感謝您參加建築夥伴電話會議，回顧 2025 財年第二季的業績。我們－本次電話會議也正在進行網路直播，您可以透過constructionpartners.net 投資者關係部分的活動和演示頁面上的音訊連結存取。

Information recorded on this call speaks only as of today, May 9, and 2025. Please be advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the date of any replay listening or transcript reading.

本次通話中記錄的資訊僅截至今天（5 月 9 日）及 2025 年。請注意，任何時間敏感資訊在重播聆聽或文字記錄閱讀之日起可能不再準確。

I would also like to remind you that the statements made in today's discussion that are not historical facts, including statements of expectations or future events or future financial performance are considered forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We will be making forward-looking statements as part of today's call that, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially. Please refer to our earnings press release from this morning for our disclosure on forward-looking statements. These factors and as well as other risks and uncertainties are described in detail in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

我還想提醒您，今天討論中所作的非歷史事實的陳述，包括對預期或未來事件或未來財務表現的陳述，均被視為根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》的安全港條款作出的前瞻性陳述。我們將在今天的電話會議中做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述本質上是不確定的且不受公司控制。實際結果可能存在重大差異。請參閱我們今天早上發布的收益新聞稿，以了解我們對前瞻性陳述的揭露。這些因素以及其他風險和不確定性在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中進行了詳細描述。

Management will also refer to non-GAAP measures including adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. Reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measures can be found at the end of the earnings press release. Construction Partners assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

管理階層也將參考非公認會計準則指標，包括調整後的淨收入、調整後的 EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率。在收益新聞稿的末尾可以找到與最近的 GAAP 指標的對帳。Construction Partners 不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

And now I would like to turn the call over to Construction Partners' CEO, Jule Smith. Jule?

現在我想將電話轉給 Construction Partners 的執行長 Jule Smith。朱勒？

Thank you, Rick, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us on the call today. With me this morning are Greg Hoffman, our Chief Financial Officer; and Ned Fleming, our Executive Chairman. . I want to begin today's call by focusing on our organizational model and how important people are to our strategy at CPI as we surpassed 6,000 employees this month. The core of our business happens in our local markets, now numbering approximately 100 distinct market areas in 8 states.

謝謝你，里克，大家早安。感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。今天早上和我在一起的是我們的財務長 Greg Hoffman；以及我們的執行主席 Ned Fleming。。在今天的電話會議上，我想首先重點介紹我們的組織模式，以及人才對於 CPI 策略的重要性，本月我們的員工人數已超過 6,000 人。我們的業務核心在本地市場，目前在 8 個州擁有約 100 個不同的市場區域。

In each of these, our local management team and workforce perform higher-margin, lower-risk projects and generate recurring revenue for repeat customers each year. Our people are the crucial element as we seek to take great care of our valuable customers and operate profitably. This local market model also provides a stable and predictable environment for our teams to bid, win and build work in their communities.

在每個項目中，我們的本地管理團隊和員工都會執行利潤更高、風險更低的項目，並為回頭客每年創造經常性收入。當我們努力照顧我們寶貴的客戶並實現盈利時，我們的員工是至關重要的因素。這種在地市場模式也為我們的團隊在其社區競標、贏得和開展工作提供了一個穩定且可預測的環境。

In our family of company structure, nowhere our character, experience and talent, more important than in the management teams at our platform companies. In each state, these management teams steward our company culture, drive operational excellence and cultivate both organic and acquisitive growth opportunities. This is why last week, we were so excited to have PRI join us as our platform company in Tennessee.

在我們的公司結構家族中，沒有什麼比我們的平台公司的管理團隊的品格、經驗和才能更重要。在每個州，這些管理團隊都負責管理我們的公司文化、推動卓越營運並培養有機成長和收購成長機會。這就是為什麼上週我們如此興奮地宣布 PRI 加入我們，成為我們在田納西州的平台公司。

PRI instantly expands our coverage the full length of the state and will include our pre-existing operations in the Nashville Metro area. A key strategic criteria in our platform acquisitions is an established and deeply experienced leadership team that fits our culture, our focus on safety and our relative market share growth strategy for further expansion.

PRI 立即將我們的覆蓋範圍擴大到整個州，並將包括我們在納許維爾大都會地區的現有業務。我們平台收購的一個關鍵策略標準是建立一支成熟且經驗豐富的領導團隊，該團隊符合我們的文化、我們對安全的關注以及我們進一步擴張的相對市場份額成長策略。

Under the leadership of Jon Hargett, Greg Ailshie, and PRI's entire management team, our new platform company will benefit from decades of collective experience and the technical expertise of seasoned industry veterans. Tennessee is growing, and we see excellent organic and acquisitive growth opportunities within the state, driven by strong economic expansion, favorable demographic trends and a healthy transportation funding program.

在 Jon Hargett、Greg Ailshie 和 PRI 整個管理團隊的領導下，我們的新平台公司將受益於數十年的集體經驗和經驗豐富的行業資深人士的技術專長。田納西州正在發展，我們看到該州擁有出色的有機成長和收購成長機會，這得益於強勁的經濟擴張、有利的人口趨勢和健康的交通資助計劃。

Turning now to the quarter. Outstanding operational performance led to Q2 year-over-year revenue growth of 54% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 135%. In addition, this marked our highest Q2 adjusted EBITDA margin in CPI's history at 12.1%. This strong margin expansion during the winter quarter was driven by great project and plant performance.

現在轉到本季。出色的營運表現使得第二季營收年增 54%，調整後 EBITDA 成長 135%。此外，這標誌著我們第二季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率達到了 CPI 歷史上的最高水平，達到 12.1%。冬季季度利潤率的強勁增長得益於項目和工廠的出色表現。

The company's vertical integration assets in aggregates, services and AC terminals performed well. We continue to focus on building a great organization. And as we build scale, the benefits contribute to higher margins. For CPI, tariffs have not and are not expected to be a significant issue for the business, as most of our supply chain and raw material inputs are sourced domestically.

該公司在機組集合體、服務和空調終端方面的垂直整合資產表現良好。我們將繼續致力於建立一個偉大的組織。隨著我們規模的擴大，這些好處將帶來更高的利潤。對 CPI 而言，關稅目前還不是、而且預計也不會成為業務面臨的重大問題，因為我們的大部分供應鏈和原材料投入都來自國內。

Our Sunbelt states continue to benefit from healthy federal and state project funding, in addition to a population migration that is driving steady workflow of commercial projects. We are not currently seeing any sign of degradation to these fundamental factors that have been supporting healthy and growing markets to our footprint for years. Our backlog is evidence of this continued steady demand for our services as it grew to a record $2.84 billion. Heading into the heavy work season of our fiscal year, we are raising our outlook ranges, which Greg will discuss in his remarks.

我們的陽光地帶各州繼續受益於聯邦和州政府充足的計畫資金，此外人口遷移也推動了商業計畫的穩定推進。目前，我們尚未看到這些基本因素有任何惡化的跡象，這些因素多年來一直支撐著我們所涵蓋的市場健康、不斷成長。我們的積壓訂單證明對我們服務的需求持續穩定，目前已成長至創紀錄的 28.4 億美元。進入財政年度的工作高峰期，我們提高了預期範圍，格雷格將在他的演講中討論這一點。

Taking a closer look at market conditions in our Sunbelt states, local markets are growing, and states remain focused on maintaining and improving the quality of their roads as well as increasing capacity to handle the significant migration to their states. For CPI customers in our public markets, the IIJA and state funding will continue to provide healthy bidding environments. The IIJA provides for significant funds that have not yet been deployed and Congress is focused on the next five-year reauthorization of the surface transportation bill now. Secretary Duffy's comments in the past few weeks were positive on the reauthorization that continues to focus spending on hard infrastructure, which is a positive for CPI.

仔細觀察陽光地帶各州的市場狀況，就會發現當地市場正在成長，各州仍然專注於維護和改善道路品質以及提高處理大量移民的能力。對於我們公開市場的 CPI 客戶，IIJA 和國家資助將繼續提供健康的競標環境。IIJA 提供了大量尚未部署的資金，國會目前正致力於未來五年對地面運輸法案的重新授權。達菲部長在過去幾週對重新授權的評論是積極的，該授權繼續將支出重點放在硬體基礎設施上，這對 CPI 來說是件好事。

For commercial and private customers, we continue to experience steady bidding availability. Manufacturing moving back to the United States and specifically the Sunbelt is also a positive for CPI. Turning now to our strategic growth model. We remain focused on both organic and acquisitive growth. Organic growth and our revised guidance envisions a strong second half of the year, and we continue to have an extremely active acquisition pipeline.

對於商業和私人客戶，我們繼續享受穩定的投標可用性。製造業回流美國，特別是陽光地帶，對消費者物價指數也有利。現在來談談我們的策略成長模式。我們仍然專注於有機成長和收購成長。有機成長和我們修訂後的指引預示著今年下半年將出現強勁成長，而且我們將繼續保持極其活躍的收購管道。

Our Southeastern states have great opportunities. And as we enter new states in the Southwest, the math expands and even more opportunities present themselves. In the past year, we have entered into 2 new states, Texas and Oklahoma with platform acquisitions. And through PRI, we now have a platform company in Tennessee.

我們的東南部各州擁有巨大的機會。隨著我們進入西南地區的新州，數學範圍不斷擴大，出現的機會也越來越多。在過去的一年裡，我們透過平台收購進入了兩個新州，德克薩斯州和俄克拉荷馬州。透過 PRI，我們現在在田納西州擁有一家平台公司。

As with our existing platforms, these new companies serve as growth engines for CPI to both expand into new areas through bolt-on acquisitions and to increase market share organically. In both cases, we are able to grow revenues and, more importantly, expand margins in what remains an extremely fragmented industry.

與我們現有的平台一樣，這些新公司將成為 CPI 的成長引擎，透過附加收購擴展到新領域並有機增加市場份額。在這兩種情況下，我們都能夠增加收入，更重要的是，在這個仍然極度分散的行業中擴大利潤率。

Moving forward, we continue to focus daily on our CPI strategy and delivering on our road map 2027 goals of top line growth of 15% to 20% annually and EBITDA expansion of 50 basis points per year through our three margin levers, building better markets, vertical integration and scale.

展望未來，我們將繼續每天關注我們的 CPI 策略，並透過我們的三個利潤槓桿、建立更好的市場、垂直整合和規模，實現我們的 2027 年路線圖目標，即每年實現 15% 至 20% 的營收成長和每年 50 個基點的 EBITDA 擴張。

In closing, we are very pleased with the second quarter results, and we're excited and ready for the busy spring and summer work season ahead. I'd now like to turn the call over to Greg.

最後，我們對第二季的業績非常滿意，並且對即將到來的繁忙的春季和夏季工作季節感到興奮並做好了準備。現在我想把電話轉給格雷格。

Thank you, Jule. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin with a review of our key performance metrics for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to the second quarter a year ago. I'll then discuss our revised outlook for fiscal 2025. Revenue was $571.7 million, an increase of 54% compared to the same quarter a year ago. The mix of our total revenue growth for the quarter was 7% organic revenue and 47% from recent acquisitions.

謝謝你，朱爾。大家早安。我將首先回顧我們 2025 財年第二季與去年同期第二季相比的關鍵績效指標。然後我將討論我們對 2025 財年的修訂展望。營收為 5.717 億美元，比去年同期成長 54%。本季我們的總收入成長包括 7% 的有機收入和 47% 的近期收購收入。

As a reminder, we began presenting acquisition-related expenses last quarter as a separate line item from general and administrative expenses on our income statement. G&A expenses are now presented in a manner that differentiates spend incurred to support day-to-day operations, from those expenses associated with acquisitive activity within the quarter. The prior year quarter also reflects this presentation.

提醒一下，上個季度我們開始將收購相關費用作為損益表中與一般及行政費用分開的項目列示。現在，一般及行政費用的呈現方式是將支持日常營運所產生的支出與季度內收購活動相關的支出區分開來。去年同期的情況也反映了這一情況。

Reflecting these changes, G&A expenses as a percentage of the total revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 were 8.2% compared to 9.7% in the second quarter last year. As we continue to build scale, we are targeting G&A expenses for the fiscal year to be approximately 7.2% to 7.3% of revenue. As a reminder, FY24 G&A expenses were 8.3%.

反映這些變化，2025 財年第二季的 G&A 費用佔總營收的百分比為 8.2%，而去年第二季為 9.7%。隨著我們規模的不斷擴大，我們計劃將本財年的一般及行政費用佔收入的比重控制在 7.2% 至 7.3% 左右。提醒一下，24 財年的 G&A 費用為 8.3%。

Net income was $4.2 million in the second quarter and $0.08 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $1.1 million and a diluted loss per share of $0.02 in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $69.3 million, an increase of 135% compared to the second quarter of fiscal '24. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.1% compared to 7.9% in the second quarter of last year.

第二季淨收入為 420 萬美元，每股攤薄虧損 0.08 美元，去年同期淨虧損為 110 萬美元，每股攤薄虧損 0.02 美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 6,930 萬美元，較 24 財年第二季成長 135%。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 12.1%，而去年第二季為 7.9%。

In addition, as Jule mentioned, we are reporting a project backlog of $2.84 billion at March 31, 2025. The -- as a reminder, historically, CPI's backlog has declined sequentially during our heavy spring and summer work seasons. If this were to occur this year, we would not view it as a cause for concern. Rather, we would view it as a return to more seasonal patterns, albeit at a much higher percentage of the next 12 months contract revenue and backlog than in prior years.

此外，正如 Jule 所提到的，我們報告稱，截至 2025 年 3 月 31 日，專案積壓金額為 28.4 億美元。需要提醒的是，從歷史上看，在春季和夏季工作繁忙的季節，CPI 的積壓量會連續下降。如果今年發生這種情況，我們不會認為這是一個值得擔憂的問題。相反，我們認為這是向更具季節性的模式的回歸，儘管未來 12 個月的合約收入和積壓訂單的比例比前幾年高得多。

Turning now to the balance sheet. We had $101.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and $248.4 million available under our credit facility at quarter end, net of reduction for outstanding letters of credit. As of the end of the quarter, our debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA ratio was 3.23 times. We remain on pace with our strategy of reducing the leverage ratio to approximately 2.5 times and -- in the next four quarters to support sustained profitable growth.

現在來看資產負債表。截至本季末，我們擁有 1.019 億美元的現金和現金等價物，扣除未償信用證的減少額，我們的信貸額度下還有 2.484 億美元可用。截至本季末，我們的負債與過去 12 個月 EBITDA 的比率為 3.23 倍。我們將繼續按照我們的策略，在未來四個季度內將槓桿率降低至約 2.5 倍，以支持持續的獲利成長。

Cash provided by operating activities was $55.6 million compared to $18.2 million in the same quarter a year ago. As discussed last quarter, the higher-than-expected level of billings and revenue in Q1 was realized as improved cash flow in this quarter. We remain on pace for FY25 to convert 80% to 85% of EBITDA to cash flow from operations.

經營活動提供的現金為 5,560 萬美元，去年同期為 1,820 萬美元。正如上個季度所討論的，第一季的帳單和收入高於預期是由於本季現金流的改善。我們仍按計劃在 25 財年將 80% 至 85% 的 EBITDA 轉化為經營現金流。

Capital expenditures for the second quarter were $41.4 million. We continue to expect total capital expenditures for fiscal 2025 to be in the range of $130 million to $140 million. This includes maintenance CapEx of approximately 3.25% of revenue with the remaining amount invested in new growth initiatives.

第二季的資本支出為4,140萬美元。我們繼續預期 2025 財年的總資本支出將在 1.3 億至 1.4 億美元之間。其中包括約佔收入 3.25% 的維護資本支出，剩餘金額則投資於新的成長計畫。

Turning now to our outlook. Based on our recent outperformance and our current expectations for the remainder of this fiscal year, including the addition of PRI, we are raising all of our ranges for fiscal year 2025 results.

現在談談我們的展望。根據我們最近的優異表現以及對本財年剩餘時間的當前預期（包括增加 PRI），我們將提高 2025 財年業績的所有範圍。

The increased ranges are as follows: revenue in the range of $2.77 billion to $2.83 billion. In regard to our overall revenue mix for the year, we now expect organic revenue to be in the range of 8% to 10%, up from our prior expectation of 7% to 8%. Net income in the range of $106 million $117 million, adjusted net income in the range of $122.5 million to $133.5 million, adjusted EBITDA in the range of $410 million to $430 million and adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 14.8% to 15.2%.

增加的範圍如下：營收在 27.7 億美元至 28.3 億美元之間。就我們今年的整體收入結構而言，我們現在預計有機收入將在 8% 至 10% 之間，高於我們先前預期的 7% 至 8%。淨收入在 1.06 億美元至 1.17 億美元之間，調整後淨收入在 1.225 億美元至 1.335 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 在 4.1 億美元至 4.3 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率在 14.8% 至 15.2% 之間。

And with that, we will open the call to questions. Operator?

接下來，我們將開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Kathryn Thompson, Thompson Research Group.

（操作員指示）凱瑟琳湯普森，湯普森研究小組。

Just first focusing on just the broader macro view and understanding that you generally have more quick type projects that are completed in 12 months -- in 12-month period. What if any project delays or cancellations are you seeing in your end given just some of the broader macro uncertainty in the US market.

首先只專注於更廣泛的宏觀視角，並了解通常有更多在 12 個月內完成的快速專案——在 12 個月內。考慮到美國市場更廣泛的宏觀不確定性，您是否會看到任何專案延遲或取消的情況？

Kathryn. For us, it's -- we're seeing just business as usual. We do have projects that we book and burn within a year. We continue to do a lot of those projects. But the overall macro economy I feel like there's a little bit of a disconnect between what you might read in the news and what we're experiencing on the ground.

凱瑟琳。對我們來說，一切如常。我們確實有一些預訂了但在一年內就完成的項目。我們繼續做很多這樣的專案。但就整體宏觀經濟而言，我覺得新聞中報導的和我們實際經歷的之間存在一些脫節。

We haven't seen any delays. We still have a healthy bid sheet in the commercial markets. So I would say we're really just business as usual.

我們沒有看到任何延誤。我們在商業市場上仍然擁有健康的投標單。所以我想說我們其實只是照常營業。

That's helpful. And could you tell a little bit more about you've had two acquisitions kind of on the heels of each other, one in Texas last year and then in Tennessee announced last week. And it both appears to have higher structural margins versus CPI's core. Tell us a little bit more about which you can in terms of kind of why the margin differential? And what it is that you're looking for from an M&A standpoint?

這很有幫助。您能否詳細介紹一下您連續進行的兩次收購？一次是去年在德州，另一次是上週宣布的在田納西州的收購。而且與 CPI 的核心相比，它們似乎都具有更高的結構性利潤率。請您稍微告訴我們為什麼會出現利潤差異？從併購的角度來看，您在尋找什麼？

Yes. So we're excited about PRI joining us. And you're right, the acquisition of Lone Star helped us raise our margin profile going into this year. But what we've -- as I said in our prepared remarks, what we really look for in these platform acquisitions is a great management team. That's going to be the basis for years of future growth and performance.

是的。因此，我們很高興 PRI 加入我們。您說得對，收購 Lone Star 幫助我們提高了今年的利潤率。但正如我在準備好的發言中所說的那樣，我們在這些平台收購中真正尋找的是一支優秀的管理團隊。這將成為未來幾年成長和業績的基礎。

So PRI, we're excited. They do have a nice margin profile in the mid-teens. They do a great job in Knoxville, but also throughout the state and the pavement preservation expertise that they bring is something that's going to be very valuable to CPI. As far as the overall acquisitions, I'd just love to let add weigh in a little bit on some of his thoughts from a Board level.

所以 PRI，我們很興奮。他們的利潤率確實在十幾歲左右，表現不錯。他們在諾克斯維爾以及整個州都做得很好，他們帶來的路面養護專業知識對 CPI 來說非常寶貴。就整體收購而言，我只是想讓他從董事會層級對他的一些想法發表一些看法。

Kathryn, now if you're doing well today. I think we see a lot of opportunity. The Jule has done a great job of making sure the organization is ready. Greg has done a great job to make sure that the balance sheet is ready. And -- but understand, we look at a lot of acquisitions, and we pass on a lot of them because from the very start, especially when we look for platform companies, we're looking for great people, excellent markets, good assets, bolt-on opportunities in growing markets.

凱瑟琳，如果你今天過得好的話。我認為我們看到了很多機會。Jule 已經做了出色的工作以確保組織做好準備。格雷格做了出色的工作，確保資產負債表準備就緒。但要明白，我們考慮了很多收購，並且放棄了很多，因為從一開始，特別是當我們尋找平台公司時，我們就在尋找優秀的人才、優秀的市場、良好的資產以及成長型市場中的附加機會。

And one of the things that I think is really key, and we really, I think, proved that up with a Lone Star acquisition integration is a core competency. It has been since we founded the business. It was in the previous company that Charles ran. And so this is an organization that is prepared for and understands how to integrate companies.

我認為其中一件非常關鍵的事情，而且我們確實證明，透過收購 Lone Star 可以實現核心競爭力。自從我們創立這家公司以來，情況一直如此。查爾斯之前經營的就是這家公司。因此，這是一個已經做好準備並了解如何整合公司的組織。

And interestingly enough, we see a lot of opportunities because of the culture that's been built here from the start. They want to be part of this team. And so Jule building the organization and really having a family of companies is key to it, and Greg has done a terrific job of keeping the balance sheet. So yes, we -- we may tip a little bit above three like we are today, and then it will go down. When you look at our cash flow generation at 85%, it's pretty phenomenal.

有趣的是，由於這裡從一開始就建立的文化，我們看到了許多機會。他們想成為這個團隊的一份子。因此，朱爾 (Jule) 建立組織並真正擁有一個公司家族是關鍵，而格雷格 (Greg) 在保持資產負債表方面做得非常出色。所以是的，我們——我們可能會像今天一樣略高於三，然後它就會下降。如果你看到我們的現金流產生率達到 85%，那麼這是相當驚人的。

But we are going to always look for great platform companies that are generally led by people that we want to bring on as part of our team. And there's a lot of those opportunities. But make no mistake about it, we pass on a lot of opportunities.

但我們會一直尋找優秀的平台公司，這些公司通常由我們想要加入團隊的人領導。這樣的機會還有很多。但請不要誤會，我們錯過了很多機會。

Very helpful. And then final question just is on the capital allocation. You have 8%-plus cash flow through and a recently announced acquisition, obviously, which you just talked about, how should we think about capital allocation priorities in 2025? And in terms of where debt-to-EBITDA levels and how you're managing that?

非常有幫助。最後一個問題是關於資本配置。你們有 8% 以上的現金流，而且顯然最近宣布了一項收購，正如你們剛才談到的，我們應該如何考慮 2025 年的資本配置重點？那麼就債務與 EBITDA 比率而言，您是如何管理的？

Well, as Greg said, we're on track to get back within our leverage ratio, our target leverage ratio in four quarters. We're on track for what we said when we acquired Lone Star. From a capital allocation standpoint, with the cash flow that's generated, we're going to pay down debt. But we're also going to make good smart acquisitions and continue to run our strategy as a growth company. .

嗯，正如格雷格所說，我們有望在四個季度內恢復我們的槓桿率，即我們的目標槓桿率。我們正在按照收購 Lone Star 時所承諾的計劃行事。從資本配置的角度來看，我們將利用產生的現金流來償還債務。但我們也將進行明智的收購，並繼續實施我們作為成長型公司的策略。。

Tyler Brown, Raymond James.

泰勒布朗、雷蒙詹姆斯。

I just -- I kind of want to come back to PRI and maybe just talk a little bit more about that business. I think it only came with maybe on HMA plant. So does that -- does that kind of imply that it's just more focused on paving crews or specialty services? Or is there something unique about Tennessee where you can just buy FOB and don't need plants? Maybe just a little more color there.

我只是——我有點想回到 PRI 並可能再多談一點有關該業務的事情。我認為它可能只出現在 HMA 工廠。那麼這是否意味著它只是更專注於鋪路或專業服務？或者田納西州有什麼獨特之處嗎？你可以直接購買離岸價格而不需要植物？也許那裡只是多了一些色彩。

Yes, Tyler, good question. It's a little bit of all that. So PRI, as we said, stretch is almost a link to the state of Tennessee, which is a long state. And so in Knoxville, they do a lot of traditional things that we do in their East division. And in their Central and West division, they do paving, but they also do a lot of payment preservation, which we're excited about, because we do that to a certain degree in Alabama and Georgia, but these guys are experts at it.

是的，泰勒，好問題。這些都是有一點的。因此，正如我們所說，PRI 幾乎延伸到了田納西州，而田納西州是一個很長的州。因此，在諾克斯維爾，他們做了很多我們在東部賽區做的傳統事情。在他們的中部和西部分部，他們進行鋪路工作，但他們也做了很多付款保全工作，我們對此感到興奮，因為我們在阿拉巴馬州和喬治亞州在一定程度上做了這些工作，但這些人是這方面的專家。

And so -- and to your point, in the West, they have really good relationships with some producers there. And so they've chosen to buy FOB and to maintain their market share that way. But we're going to be expanding over time, just like we do with all our platform companies. We're excited to have Tennesseans taking over our Nashville operations, which is something we, back in 2022, we had as a goal, but we had to find the right platform management team. And so our Tennessee operation and folks led by Josh Miller, they're excited to be part of PRI.

所以 — — 正如您所說，在西方，他們與那裡的一些生產商保持著良好的關係。因此他們選擇購買離岸價並以此來維持其市場份額。但我們會隨著時間的推移而不斷擴張，就像我們所有的平台公司一樣。我們很高興田納西人接管我們在納許維爾的業務，這是我們在 2022 年設定的目標，但我們必須找到合適的平台管理團隊。因此，我們的田納西業務和由 Josh Miller 領導的團隊很高興成為 PRI 的一部分。

And so I see the PRI following the typical platform model of integrating into our family of companies and then just looking for great growth opportunities.

因此，我認為 PRI 遵循典型的平台模式，融入我們的公司家族，然後尋找巨大的成長機會。

Tyler. Yes. I think one of the things that Jule and the team has done terrific is this is just the first chest move in really the second chest move in Tennessee. This is a growing state. There's lots of opportunity there.

泰勒。是的。我認為 Jule 和他的團隊做得非常出色的一件事是，這只是田納西州第二次進行胸部運動的第一次。這是一個正在成長的狀態。那裡有很多機會。

And not only did we get a wonderful company that's got nice margins, but we've got a great management team that we can grow and add bolt-ons on. So this is (inaudible) Tennessee.

我們不僅獲得了一家利潤豐厚的優秀公司，而且還擁有了一支可以發展和補充的優秀管理團隊。這就是（聽不清楚）田納西州。

Yes. So speaking of test moves, I mean, it sounds like there's something unique about the pavement preservation piece. Is that something that you can replicate at the other platforms? .

是的。說到測試動作，我的意思是，聽起來路面養護部分有一些獨特之處。你能在其他平台上複製這種做法嗎？。

Yes. I mean, Taler, you're right. Payment preservation is, in a sense, just another way of taking care of the infrastructure. And every DOT, cities and counties use this as a tool in their toolkit to maintain infrastructure. And so we certainly have participated in that, but PRI does it at a different level.

是的。我的意思是，塔勒，你是對的。從某種意義上來說，支付保存只是維護基礎設施的另一種方式。每個交通部、城市和縣都將其作為維護基礎設施的工具。因此，我們當然參與了其中，但 PRI 的做法是不同的。

And so whether it's chip selling, FOG selling, crack failing, there's just different ways that states extend the life of their pavements.

因此，無論是晶片銷售、FOG 銷售或裂縫失效，各州延長路面使用壽命的方法各不相同。

Interesting. Okay. Great. So if I could switch gears, Greg, can you just kind of help us a little bit with the modeling. So just based on what we know today, kind of what is the implied revenue contribution from M&A?

有趣的。好的。偉大的。所以如果我可以換個話題，格雷格，你能在建模方面幫我們一點忙嗎？那麼，僅根據我們今天所了解的情況，併購帶來的隱含收入貢獻是多少？

I could probably do the math and back it out, but that's always scary. And then how much -- how much do you think hangs over into '26 already based on what you've already completed?

我或許可以算一下並推導出結果，但這總是令人害怕的。那麼，根據您已經完成的工作，您認為還有多少工作會延續到 26 年？

Yes. So well, first of all, I'll start with that. hanging over into the next year is about $150 million to $160 million -- million in revenue. So that's part of the answer. The other part of the answer is for kind of backing into 8% to 10% organic growth for the full year.

是的。那麼好吧，首先，我就從這個開始。預計明年的收入將達到約 1.5 億至 1.6 億美元。這就是部分答案。答案的另一部分是支持全年 8% 至 10% 的有機成長。

But I think that kind of leads you to the breakdown of acquisitive and organic.

但我認為這會導致獲取性和有機性的破裂。

Okay. Yes. I can kind of work that math. And then just real quickly, on the enterprise value, just to make sure that I have it all correct. So do you have what you've spent year-to-date on M&A?

好的。是的。我可以做些數學運算。然後很快地，關於企業價值，只是為了確保我所說的一切都正確無誤。那麼，今年到目前為止，您在併購方面投入了多少錢？

Basically, I'm just curious what the balance sheet looks like pro forma here into Q3. And was there any equity component to PRI? Or is an all-cash deal?

基本上，我只是好奇第三季的資產負債表形式是什麼樣的。PRI 中是否有公平成分？還是全現金交易？

It was -- Tyler, it was an all-cash deal at the typical multiples that we typically pay. And we expect our leverage ratio in our balance sheet to trend back down pretty steadily toward that 2.5% over four quarters.

是的——泰勒，這是一筆全現金交易，按照我們通常支付的典型倍數進行。我們預計，資產負債表中的槓桿率將在四個季度內穩步回落至 2.5%。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當泰爾希默，湯普森戴維斯。

Congrats on the quarter and the PRI acquisition. Jule, you mentioned Southwest acquisitions. Could that be a new state? Or are you referring to tuck-ins in Oklahoma and Tennessee?

恭喜本季和 PRI 收購。朱爾，您提到了西南航空的收購。那會是一個新的狀態嗎？還是您指的是俄克拉荷馬州和田納西州的餐廳？

Yes. Adam, specifically, what I was talking about is as we move into a new state like Texas and Oklahoma, our map expands. And so we just have more conversations with folks in those states, and we see that happening. But we're also talking a lot of folks in the Southeastern states as well.

是的。亞當，具體來說，我所說的是，當我們進入德克薩斯州和俄克拉荷馬州這樣的新州時，我們的地圖就會擴大。因此，我們與這些州的人們進行了​​更多的對話，我們看到了這種情況的發生。但我們也與東南部各州的許多人進行了交談。

So it's a busy time for acquisitions. As Ned said, we passed on quite a number of them, but they're ones that we see as just great strategic fits. But I was specifically referring that as we move into new states, we just have more opportunities to talk to folks in those states.

因此，這是收購的繁忙時期。正如內德所說，我們放棄了其中的許多想法，但我們認為這些想法非常符合我們的策略。但我特別提到，當我們進入新的州時，我們就有更多機會與這些州的人交談。

Got it. And then you briefly mentioned tariffs, but I was curious, I can't remember if you said anything about whether there's any inflation related to tariffs or not. Are you seeing that?

知道了。然後您簡要地提到了關稅，但我很好奇，我不記得您是否說過是否存在與關稅相關的通貨膨脹。你看到了嗎？

We're not. Most of our supply chain is domestic. Almost all of it. We've not seen anything related to inflation from tariffs. And as you know, should things go up, we would simply put it in our pass-through model and pass it on.

我們不是。我們的供應鏈大部分都在國內。幾乎全部。我們還沒有看到任何與關稅相關的通貨膨脹。如你所知，如果情況好轉，我們只需將其放入我們的傳遞模型中並將其傳遞下去。

But we just -- it has really been pretty much a nonissue for us, both on the supply chain and cost side, but also on the demand side and working with our customers. It's just -- it has not been a real factor so far.

但我們只是——這對我們來說實際上根本不是一個問題，無論是在供應鏈和成本方面，還是在需求方面以及與客戶的合作方面。只是——到目前為止它還不是一個真正的因素。

Okay. And then lastly, can you just remind us what assets that you had in Nashville and kind of how they're going to integrate with PRI?

好的。最後，您能否提醒我們您在納許維爾擁有哪些資產以及它們將如何與 PRI 整合？

Sure. Back in 2022, we made the deal with Blue Water and we've got three asphalt plants in a construction operation. Our asphalt plants are all in the Nashville suburbs east of Nashville. And we've been managing that from Huntsville and the -- our Alabama guys have done a great job of stewarding those assets, but we always knew that we wanted to find a Tennessee management team and platform company, and that's what we were able to do this month.

當然。早在 2022 年，我們就與 Blue Water 達成了協議，並且已經在建造三座瀝青廠。我們的瀝青廠均位於納許維爾以東的納許維爾郊區。我們一直在亨茨維爾管理這些資產——我們的阿拉巴馬員工在管理這些資產方面做得非常出色，但我們一直都知道，我們想要找到一個田納西州的管理團隊和平台公司，而這正是我們本月能夠做到的。

Michael Feniger, Bank of America.

美國銀行的麥可費尼格。

I did want to just ask the organic growth, 11% in Q1 in Q2, 7%, it's clear based on the guide. Greg, you guys are going to still be doing high single-digit organic growth in the second half. We're seeing the national data like construction spending, especially on the private side is slowing. Do you think it's slowing -- is it just not slowing in your regions? Or is it -- is the underlying market slowing and you guys are gaining share because you've bought some assets over time, giving them bonding capacity so they're able to kind of go out that and maybe win more work.

我確實想問一下有機成長率，第一季為 11%，第二季為 7%，根據指南這是很清楚的。格雷格，你們下半年仍將實現高個位數的自然成長。我們看到國家數據，例如建築支出，特別是私人方面的支出正在放緩。您認為它正在放緩嗎——只是在您的地區它沒有放緩嗎？或者是——基礎市場正在放緩，而你們的市場份額正在增加，因為你們隨著時間的推移購買了一些資產，為他們提供了擔保能力，因此他們能夠走出去，也許贏得更多的工作。

So conscious of a question, when we see the organic growth, how much do you kind of think is you guys gaining some share out there? Or how much of it just really strong markets in your core regions?

所以意識到一個問題，當我們看到有機成長時，您認為您獲得了多少份額？或者其中有多少只是核心地區真正強大的市場？

Yes, that's a great point. I think you're good, you're right to bring that up because that's a good part of our story and that as we make these acquisitions, they're generating new organic growth. So it is new volumes to us. We're creating essentially our own growth through some of our acquisitive growth.

是的，這是一個很好的觀點。我認為你說得很好，你提出這一點是正確的，因為這是我們故事的一個很好的部分，而且隨著我們進行這些收購，它們正在產生新的有機增長。所以這對我們來說是新的內容。我們本質上是透過一些收購性成長來創造我們自己的成長。

Generally, though, I would say that -- and I'm not sure what metric you're citing there, but we believe that in our markets, they're still very strong, both on the public and private side. And we're continuing to see new bidding activity year over year.

不過，總的來說，我想說的是——我不確定你引用的是什麼指標，但我們相信，在我們的市場中，它們仍然非常強勁，無論是在公共市場還是私人市場。我們每年都會看到新的競標活動。

Great. And I just would love to talk about the price versus cost. We're seeing lower oil. I'd imagine over time that filters through to lower liquid asphalt. Just how are you seeing the pricing in the backlog that's going to come through in the back half?

偉大的。我只是想談談價格與成本。我們看到油價正在下跌。我想隨著時間的推移，液體瀝青的含量會逐漸降低。您如何看待下半年積壓訂單的定價？

And just the bidding environment, just -- your margins have obviously expanded. I'm just wondering what is price versus cost spread, how we kind of think about this as we kind of move through the year with what we're seeing right now in diesel and liquid asphalt?

就競標環境而言，您的利潤率顯然已經擴大。我只是想知道價格與成本價差是多少，隨著我們今年對柴油和液態瀝青的觀察，我們如何看待這個問題？

It's interesting, Mike. So usually, a barrel of crude and liquid AC correlate pretty well. Interestingly, they didn't at all in Q2 -- our Q2. Crude went down, liquid AC basically stayed flat. It has come down a little bit in April and on into May, but not proportionally.

這很有趣，麥克。因此通常情況下，一桶原油和液態 AC 的相關性相當高。有趣的是，他們在第二季度——我們的第二季度——根本沒有這樣做。原油價格下跌，液體AC價格基本持平。四月和五月有所下降，但比例並不大。

And then as far as diesel and natural gas, diesel has come down. Not in our -- not in Q2, but since Q2, the natural gas has gone up. So everything is moving in really strange directions. But I think generally, overall, when you talk about our cost environment, it's stable.

至於柴油和天然氣，柴油價格已經下降。不是在我們的——不是在第二季度，但自第二季度以來，天然氣價格已經上漲。所以一切都在朝著非常奇怪的方向發展。但我認為總體而言，當你談論我們的成本環境時，它是穩定的。

Michael, I just want to circle back just for a minute on the organic growth. We give this number to you guys quarterly, just to help you. But the reality is you've really got to look at organic growth sort of in an annualized basis to get a meaningful number. And that's why we try to give you an annualized basis of 8% to 10%, which was higher than we saw at the beginning of the year.

邁克爾，我只想稍微回顧一下有機成長的問題。我們每季都會向你們提供這個號碼，只是為了幫助你們。但事實上，你必須以年度化的方式觀察有機成長才能得到一個有意義的數字。這就是為什麼我們試圖給你一個 8% 到 10% 的年化基數，這比我們年初看到的要高。

And you're exactly right. As you've heard us say before, today's acquisitions become tomorrow's organic growth. When we do a bolt-on acquisition or a platform with CPI behind them, they're going to find ways to take advantage of opportunities in their market over time. And that's really what drives organic growth.

你說得完全正確。正如您之前聽到我們說過的，今天的收購將成為明天的有機成長。當我們進行附加收購或由 CPI 提供支援的平台時，他們將會找到方法來利用其市場中的機會。這才是推動有機成長的真正動力。

Helpful, Jule. And just if I could squeeze one last in there. Just are you hearing you're seeing anything on the funding side from your DOTs in terms of pauses or delays that might have occurred? And just how do you think about just going forward, it might be getting ahead of ourselves, but how do you think about that reauthorization at some point next year. Is that coming up in conversations at all?

很有幫助，朱爾。我希望我能在那裡擠最後一個。您是否聽說交通部在資金方面出現了暫停或延遲的情況？您如何看待未來的發展，這可能有點超前，但您如何看待明年某個時候的重新授權。談話中會提到這一點嗎？

How do you guys kind of manage towards that, if that is something you kind of have to manage towards. Just kind of curious if you could kind of comment on your DOTs, what they're seeing in the funding levels, any delays and how you think about that reauthorization?

如果這是你們必須要解決的問題，你們是如何面對的呢？只是有點好奇，您是否可以對您的 DOT 進行一些評論，他們在資金水平方面看到了什麼，有任何延誤，以及您對重新授權的看法？

Yes, Michael. It's not too early to talk about it because those conversations are going on in Washington on Capitol Hill. We had one of our platform company presidents, Todd Johnson, testify in front of the Transportation Committee last week on reauthorization. So we're very encouraged by what we're hearing from this administration.

是的，邁克爾。現在談論這個問題還不算太早，因為這些討論正在華盛頓國會山莊進行。我們的平台公司總裁之一托德·約翰遜上週在交通委員會就重新授權一事作證。因此，我們對本屆政府的言論感到非常鼓舞。

Just to speak on the current funding, when people hear that the larger grant projects got paused, I would say two things. First, most of what CPI does is through the formula dollars anyway that go to the states. But even the grant projects, most of those, as the administration has said, is going to continue on, they just want a chance to look at it and make sure that those dollars are being spent for the best and highest purpose. And I would say this administration's focus on hard infrastructure and making sure dollars go to hard infrastructure is good for CPI.

就目前的資金狀況而言，當人們聽到較大的資助項目被暫停時，我想說兩件事。首先，CPI 的大部分作用是透過公式計算流向各州的美元。但即使是撥款項目，正如政府所說，大多數項目都將繼續進行，他們只是想有機會審視一下，並確保這些資金用於最佳和最高的目的。我想說，本屆政府對硬體基礎設施的關注以及確保資金用於硬體基礎設施對 CPI 有利。

The White House just last Friday, released their budget and even though a lot of the federal spending areas were reduced, the transportation budget actually increased. And so we feel like this administration is focused on building the infrastructure needs to support economic growth, and that's a good thing for CPI.

白宮上週五剛剛公佈了預算，儘管許多聯邦支出領域被削減，但交通預算實際上增加了。因此，我們覺得本屆政府正致力於建立支持經濟成長所需的基礎設施，這對 CPI 來說是件好事。

Andy Wittmann, Robert W. Baird.

安迪威特曼、羅伯特W貝爾德。

I wanted to start with some questions on the backlog. And specifically, if you could comment on how the margins be implied as bid margins in your backlog today compared to the profit margins that you've recognized over the last year or so. . And then secondly, I guess, maybe for Greg, a technical question, but I'm just kind of curious as to how much of your backlog that was reported this quarter was due to acquisitions.

我想先問一些有關積壓的問題。具體來說，如果您可以評論一下，與您在過去一年左右確認的利潤率相比，您今天積壓訂單中的投標利潤率是如何體現的。。其次，我想，對於格雷格來說，這可能是一個技術問題，但我只是有點好奇，本季報告的積壓訂單中有多少是由於收購造成的。

Andy, I'll answer the first part, and Greg can answer a second. Our backlog margins continue to be healthy as is shown by our raised guide for EBITDA. But I would also say, CPI, over -- it's typical that as our crews and our teams go build the projects, they find ways to win and grow margin in the backlog, and that creates good quarters like the one we just reported.

安迪，我來回答第一部分，格雷格可以回答第二部分。我們的積壓訂單利潤率持續保持健康，這從我們上調的 EBITDA 指引中可以看出。但我還要說，CPI 結束了——通常，當我們的工作人員和團隊去建設專案時，他們會找到方法來贏得積壓訂單並增加利潤，這創造了像我們剛剛報告的那樣好的季度業績。

So we're seeing a lot of bid opportunities, and so that creates a healthy bidding environment. but then we find ways to go grow the margin. And that's typical for CPI.

因此，我們看到了許多投標機會，從而創造了一個健康的投標環境。但隨後我們找到了增加利潤的方法。這對於 CPI 來說很典型。

I'll let Greg answer on the breakdown of that backlog ahead.

我會讓格雷格來回答積壓問題的詳細情況。

Yes. So of the ad, Andy, about $133 million, $134 million was due to acquisitions and $50 million to $60 million due to just organic growth sequentially quarter over quarter.

是的。因此，安迪，廣告收入中約有 1.33 億美元、1.34 億美元來自收購，其餘 5,000 萬至 6,000 萬美元則來自季度環比的有機成長。

Helpful. And then just for my follow-up, I wanted to ask a little bit, Jule, about -- I'm thinking back to the Analyst Day, actually, and you talked about becoming increasingly vertically integrated. This has always been part of something you've done, but thought at that date, it seemed like there's other areas that you were thinking about.

很有幫助。然後，為了後續問題，朱爾，我想問一點關於——實際上，我回想起分析師日，您談到了日益垂直整合的問題。這一直是你所做的事情的一部分，但在那個時候，你似乎還在考慮其他方面。

It always seemed to me like these would be areas for really good tuck-in acquisitions inside your platform companies. I would just like to hear you talk about that a little bit in terms of progress on that initiative to kind of fill in other services around the platform companies that you already have. What you've done, if any, there or what you see as potentially happening here inside of your M&A pipeline?

我一直覺得這些是平台公司內部進行真正好的附加收購的領域。我只是想聽您稍微談談該計劃的進展情況，以便填補您現有的平台公司周圍的其他服務。您在那裡做了什麼（如果有的話）或您認為在您的併購管道中可能發生什麼？

Yes. Andy, you're right. Part of our vertical integration strategy is services and as well as liquid asphalt terminals and aggregates, which as I said in our remarks, those facilities really contributed very much to this quarter. And so that part of our strategy is working well.

是的。安迪，你說得對。我們的垂直整​​合策略的一部分是服務以及液體瀝青終端和骨料，正如我在演講中所說，這些設施確實對本季度做出了巨大貢獻。因此，我們的策略的這一部分運作良好。

But on the services side, as we've said before, two of the most value-added acquisitions we've done in the last few years, didn't have any asphalt plants, they were in our existing markets and added services. And so we continue to look for those kind of opportunities.

但在服務方面，正如我們之前所說，過去幾年我們完成的兩次最具附加價值的收購都沒有任何瀝青廠，它們位於我們現有的市場並增加了服務。因此我們繼續尋找這樣的機會。

But I will say we can also grow those services organically. We just this month, were awarded our first project in the upstate of South Carolina in Greenville that has a significant grading component. And our platform company, King Asphalt is going to be growing those services organically in-house with some grading and utility crews. And so that's an example of being able to vertically integrate more services, whether we do it organically or make a good acquisition, it's a way to capture more margin.

但我想說，我們也可以有機地發展這些服務。就在本月，我們獲得了位於南卡羅來納州北部格林維爾的第一個項目，該項目包含一個重要的分級部分。我們的平台公司 King Asphalt 將與一些平整和公用事業團隊一起在內部有機地發展這些服務。這就是能夠垂直整合更多服務的一個例子，無論我們是透過有機方式還是透過良好的收購來實現，這都是獲取更多利潤的一種方式。

Yes. Andy, let me add to that, that some of those, to Jule's point, don't show up in the M&A side. They show up in the -- we talk a lot about our organic CapEx, right? So if we're spending 5%, 5.5% CapEx, 25% of that is maintenance CapEx those other -- that other percentage to get to that 5% to 5.5% is focused often on those adding services in the various companies.

是的。安迪，讓我補充一點，正如朱爾所說，其中一些並沒有出現在併購方面。它們出現在——我們談論了很多關於我們的有機資本支出的事情，對嗎？因此，如果我們花費 5%、5.5% 的資本支出，其中 25% 是維護資本支出，那麼其他百分比，即達到 5% 到 5.5% 的百分比，通常集中在各個公司增加的服務上。

Brent Thielman, D.A. Davidson.

布倫特·蒂爾曼（Brent Thielman），地方檢察官戴維森。

Great quarter, guys. Just a follow-up on Greg, I'm not sure if you said it, but your CapEx expectations for this year just with PRI added now.

太棒了，夥計們。只是對 Greg 的後續問題，我不確定您是否說過，但現在您剛剛添加了 PRI，您對今年的資本支出預期是什麼。

Yes, still around $130 million, $140 million.

是的，仍然在 1.3 億美元、1.4 億美元左右。

$130 million, $140 million, sorry. Got it. And then obviously, you've done PRI, Jule. I love to hear what are the attitudes of sellers right now? I mean, obviously, a lot of noise in the world in the market, maybe in your corner of the country, things are great.

130美元百萬，1.4億美元，抱歉。知道了。顯然，你已經完成了 PRI，Jule。我很想聽聽賣家現在的態度是什麼？我的意思是，顯然，世界市場上有很多喧囂，也許在你所在的角落，情況很好。

But have you sensed any shift in attitude, maybe -- maybe that's encouraged the pipeline to grow a little bit more because folks getting a little bit nervous about the environment? Just be curious what you're hearing from potential targets.

但是您是否感覺到態度有任何轉變，也許——也許這鼓勵了管道進一步增長，因為人們對環境有點緊張？只是好奇你從潛在目標聽到了什麼。

Yes, Brent, good question. I would say that we have a very active pipeline and sellers are reaching out and talking to us. But it feels very much like it's still the typical things that drive them, which is their families planning, their life planning.

是的，布倫特，好問題。我想說的是，我們有一個非常活躍的管道，賣家正在與我們聯繫。但感覺上，驅動他們的仍然是一些典型的事情，即他們的家庭計劃、他們的生活規劃。

I really don't think any sellers that I've talked to, and we've talked to a lot recently, are being driven by the headlines of today. They're more focused on what's long-term best for their business and their families. And a lot of them think that getting their employees and their businesses to be a part of CPI will be a good thing for the organization. And so that's helping us get to sit down in front of a lot of.

我真的不認為我交談過的任何賣家，以及我們最近交談過的許多人，會受到今天頭條新聞的影響。他們更加關注對他們的事業和家庭的長期利益。他們中的許多人認為，讓他們的員工和企業成為 CPI 的一部分對組織來說是一件好事。這有助於我們坐下來面對很多事情。

Okay. Maybe just the last question maybe from just a balance sheet management perspective. I mean, you scaled the business the time here in the last 12 months. I guess part of the question is, with that scaling up, is there a certain level of cash you want to maintain on the balance sheet?

好的。也許只是最後一個問題，也許只是從資產負債表管理的角度來看。我的意思是，在過去的 12 個月裡，你們在這裡擴大了業務規模。我想問題的一部分是，隨著規模的擴大，您是否希望在資產負債表上維持一定程度的現金？

And I guess the second part of it would be, obviously, you want to maintain leverage targets, you're going to grow EBITDA. Is there any appetite to reduce debt levels here in the next 12 months?

我想第二部分顯然是你想維持槓桿目標，你就會增加 EBITDA。未來 12 個月內是否有意願降低債務水準？

Yes, absolutely. I mean, we'll -- we said in the remarks that we're going to generate from EBITDA about 80% to 85% of that would turn into cash from operations. So, we're going to use whatever makes sense to pay down debt there. And certainly, that's factored into our discussion of leverage ratio over the next four quarters and getting down back down to that 2.5 times.

是的，絕對是。我的意思是，我們在評論中說過，我們將從 EBITDA 中產生約 80% 到 85% 的收益，並將其轉化為經營現金。因此，我們將採取一切合理措施來償還債務。當然，這已經考慮到了我們未來四個季度槓桿率的討論，並將回落至 2.5 倍。

As far as cash on the balance sheet, I guess we're always thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 3% to 5% of revenue just as a way to keep our operations role every day.

就資產負債表上的現金而言，我想我們總是考慮將收入保持在 3% 到 5% 左右，以維持我們每天的營運。

Got it. If I could slip one more in. I think I'm batting cleanup here. So like just on -- Jule, when you look across the platform and state budgets, are there some markets like you're particularly excited about when you look at those budgets and what you see coming here in the next 6 to 12 months in terms of funding for infrastructure projects?

知道了。如果我可以再放一個進去。我想我正在這裡進行清理工作。那麼就像剛才提到的那樣——朱爾，當您縱觀整個平台和國家預算時，是否存在一些讓您特別興奮的市場，當您查看這些預算時，您認為未來 6 到 12 個月在基礎設施項目資金方面會發生什麼？

Yes, Brent, I read an industry report a couple of weeks ago that talked about how with the federal infrastructure increase that IIJA created with the surface transportation bill and the states doing their own initiatives, certainly in our footprint, there's been sort of a snowball effect in contract awards, and I agree with that. We're seeing that.

是的，布倫特，幾週前我讀過一份行業報告，其中談到了 IIJA 通過地面運輸法案創造的聯邦基礎設施增加，以及各州採取自己的舉措（當然在我們的影響範圍內），在合同授予方面產生了某種滾雪球效應，我同意這一點。我們看到了這一點。

So all of our states, we have a healthy bid list. Clearly, being in Texas and Florida, those are just outsized programs because of the outsized growth of those states. But when you look at Tennessee and South Carolina and Georgia and North Carolina, it's just a healthy environment. Right now, all of those states have taken initiatives to supplement the increased federal funding.

因此，我們所有的州都有一份健康的競標名單。顯然，在德克薩斯州和佛羅裡達州，這些項目規模過大，因為這兩個州的成長速度太快。但當你看看田納西州、南卡羅來納州、喬治亞州和北卡羅來納州時，你會發現那裡的環境很健康。目前，所有這些州都已採取措施補充增加的聯邦資金。

So we feel like 2026 is going to be a very -- continue to be a significant increase in transportation funding. In 2025, contract awards in our states are up around 15% to 16% just over last year. So just as we've been saying for a while now, it's a healthy bidding environment.

因此，我們認為 2026 年交通運輸資金將持續大幅增加。2025年，我們各州的合約授予量將比去年增加約15%至16%。正如我們一直以來所說的那樣，這是一個健康的競標環境。

Thank you. At this time, I would like to turn the call back over to management for closing comments.

謝謝。現在，我想將電話轉回給管理階層，徵求他們的最後意見。

I'd like to thank everyone for joining us today, and we look forward to talking next quarter.

我感謝大家今天的參與，我們期待下季的討論。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有個愉快的一天。