Republic Services Inc (RSG) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Republic Services second quarter 2026 investor conference call. Republic Services is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RSG. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Republic Services 2026 年第二季投資人電話會議。Republic Services 於紐約證券交易所以代號 RSG 交易。(操作員指示) 請注意，本活動將被錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to John Weeks, Vice President of Investor Relations.

現在我想將會議交給投資人關係副總裁 John Weeks。

Good afternoon. I would like to welcome everyone to Republic Services' second quarter 2026 conference call. Jon Vander Ark, our CEO; and Brian DelGhiaccio, our CFO, are on the call today to discuss our performance.

下午好。我想歡迎各位參加 Republic Services 2026 年第二季電話會議。今天 Jon Vander Ark（我們的執行長）以及 Brian DelGhiaccio（我們的財務長）也在線上，將與各位討論我們的營運表現。

I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that some information we discuss on today's call contains forward-looking statements, including forward-looking financial information, which may involve risks and uncertainties and may be materially different from actual results. Our SEC filings discuss factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The material that we discuss today is time sensitive. If in the future, you listen to a rebroadcast or recording of this conference call, you should be sensitive to the date of the original call, which is August 6, 2026.

我想花一點時間提醒各位，我們今天通話中討論的部分資訊包含前瞻性陳述，包括前瞻性財務資訊，可能涉及風險與不確定性，且可能與實際結果有重大差異。我們向 SEC 提交的文件中討論了可能導致實際結果與預期有重大差異的因素。我們今天討論的內容具有時效性。若您日後收聽本電話會議的重播或錄音，請留意原始通話日期為 2026 年 8 月 6 日。

Please note that this call is the property of Republic Services, Inc. Any redistribution, retransmission or rebroadcast of this call in any form without the expressed written consent of Republic Services is strictly prohibited. Our SEC filings, our earnings press release, which includes GAAP reconciliation tables and a discussion of business activities, along with a recording of this call, are available on Republic's website at republicservices.com. In addition, Republic's management team routinely participates in investor conferences. When events are scheduled, the dates, times and presentations are posted on our investor website.

請注意，本通話為 Republic Services, Inc. 之財產。未經 Republic Services 明確書面同意，以任何形式對本通話進行再散布、再傳輸或再播送，均嚴格禁止。我們向 SEC 提交的文件、我們的財報新聞稿（其中包含 GAAP 調節表及業務活動討論），以及本通話的錄音，皆可於 Republic 的網站 republicservices.com 取得。此外，Republic 管理團隊也會例行參與投資人會議。當活動排定時，日期、時間與簡報內容將公布於我們的投資人網站。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jon.

接下來，我想把電話交給 Jon。

Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Our strong second quarter results reflect the resilience of our business model and consistent operational execution. We delivered solid growth on both the top and bottom lines. At the same time, we continued investing in technology, automation and customer-focused solutions that strengthen our competitive position, improve customer experience and enhance long-term profitability.

謝謝你，John。各位下午好，感謝各位加入我們。我們第二季的強勁成果反映出商業模式的韌性以及一貫的營運執行力。我們在營收與獲利兩端都實現了穩健成長。同時，我們持續投資於科技、自動化與以客戶為中心的解決方案，以強化競爭地位、改善客戶體驗並提升長期獲利能力。

During the quarter, we achieved revenue growth of 4.6% and generated adjusted EBITDA growth of 4.5%. We maintained adjusted EBITDA margin at 32.1% and overcame headwinds associated with event-driven landfill volumes received in the prior year. We delivered adjusted earnings per share of $1.85 and produced $1.58 billion of adjusted free cash flow on a year-to-date basis.

本季我們達成 4.6% 的營收成長，並帶動調整後 EBITDA 成長 4.5%。我們將調整後 EBITDA 利潤率維持在 32.1%，並克服了去年因事件驅動而帶來的掩埋場進場量所形成的逆風。我們的調整後每股盈餘為 1.85 美元，年初至今累計產生 15.8 億美元的調整後自由現金流。

Our focus on delivering world-class essential services continues to support organic growth and enhance customer loyalty. With respect to customer zeal, our customer retention rate remained strong at more than 94%. We continue to see favorable Net Promoter Scores due to the value of our offerings and quality of our service delivery.

我們專注提供世界級的關鍵民生服務，持續支持內生成長並提升客戶忠誠度。就客戶熱忱而言，我們的客戶留存率仍維持強勁，超過 94%。由於我們產品與服務交付品質的價值，我們持續看到有利的淨推薦值（Net Promoter Scores）。

Organic revenue growth during the second quarter was driven by strong pricing across the business. Average yield on total revenue was 3.4%, and average yield on related revenue was 4%. This level of pricing exceeded our cost inflation, which drove margin expansion in the underlying business. Organic volume was down 1.9% on related revenue or 1.6% on total revenue. This level of performance was expected with 1.3% of the decline in total revenue associated with landfill event volumes received in the prior year.

第二季的內生營收成長主要由全業務的強勁定價所帶動。總營收的平均收益率為 3.4%，相關營收的平均收益率為 4%。此一定價水準高於我們的成本通膨，推動核心業務的利潤率擴張。相關營收的內生量下降 1.9%，或以總營收計下降 1.6%。此表現符合預期，其中總營收下降的 1.3% 與去年收到的掩埋場事件量有關。

Aside from the tough prior year comp, volume performance improved 50 basis points from the first quarter. Organic revenue in the Environmental Solutions business decreased total revenue by 20 basis points in the second quarter, which was in line with our expectations. Our Environmental Solutions sales pipeline continues to build with increased activity across multiple end markets. We continue to expect year-over-year revenue growth in this business in the second half of the year.

撇除去年同期基期偏高的影響，量的表現較第一季改善 50 個基點。第二季環境解決方案（Environmental Solutions）業務的內生營收使總營收減少 20 個基點，符合我們的預期。我們的環境解決方案銷售管線持續擴大，在多個終端市場的活動增加。我們仍預期該業務在下半年將實現年對年營收成長。

Turning to digital. Our investments in technology and AI are advancing. Over time, these capabilities are expected to drive additional growth and support continued operating leverage. We are actively deploying AI-based predictive technology that supports optimized pricing decisions across markets with varying customer and competitive dynamics. This approach is expected to reinforce price retention and reduce customer attrition over time.

接著談數位化。我們在科技與 AI 方面的投資正在推進。隨著時間推移，預期這些能力將帶動額外成長並支持持續的營運槓桿。我們正積極部署以 AI 為基礎的預測技術，以支援在不同客戶與競爭動態的市場中做出最佳化的定價決策。預期此方法將強化價格留存，並隨時間降低客戶流失。

Enhancements to our RISE digital platform are progressing with initial deployment focused on the large container business. The integration of AI and advanced routing algorithms is expected to improve safety outcomes, strengthen service execution and increase route efficiency. Early pilots confirm the expected value from this initiative. Activation of digital tools in our call centers are enhancing the customer experience and unlocking value in our business by optimizing the 11 million inbound calls we receive each year.

我們對 RISE 數位平台的強化正持續推進，初期部署聚焦於大型容器業務。AI 與先進路線規劃演算法的整合，預期將改善安全成果、強化服務執行並提升路線效率。早期試點已確認此計畫的預期價值。我們在客服中心啟用數位工具，正提升客戶體驗，並透過最佳化我們每年接收的 1,100 萬通來電，為業務釋放價值。

Moving on to sustainability. Last week, we released our latest sustainability report, highlighting the meaningful progress we are making toward our 2030 goals and the positive impact we are delivering for our customers and communities. Our suite of sustainability reports and materials is available on our website.

接著談永續。上週我們發布最新的永續報告，重點呈現我們朝 2030 年目標所取得的實質進展，以及我們為客戶與社區帶來的正面影響。我們的一系列永續報告與相關資料可於網站取得。

We continue to believe that our investments in plastic circularity and decarbonization position us for profitable growth and long-term value creation. Production volume continues to increase across our polymer center network as we optimize processing operations. Construction on our third polymer center in Allentown, Pennsylvania is progressing. Facility commissioning is planned to begin early next year.

我們仍相信，對塑膠循環（plastic circularity）與去碳化（decarbonization）的投資，使我們具備獲利成長與長期價值創造的有利定位。隨著我們最佳化加工營運，聚合物中心（polymer center）網路的產量持續提升。我們位於賓夕法尼亞州阿倫敦（Allentown）的第三座聚合物中心建設正在推進。該設施預計於明年初開始試車啟用（commissioning）。

We continue to advance renewable natural gas projects with our partners. We commenced operations at two RNG projects during the second quarter and expect two additional projects to begin operations by year-end. We made further progress on our commitment to fleet electrification. We had more than 250 electric collection vehicles in operation at the end of the second quarter. We expect to exit this year with more than 300 EV collection trucks in our fleet, and we'll continue to grow this differentiated service offering.

我們持續與合作夥伴推進再生天然氣（RNG）專案。第二季我們有兩個 RNG 專案開始營運，並預期年底前另有兩個專案開始營運。我們在車隊電動化承諾上也取得進一步進展。截至第二季末，我們已有超過 250 輛電動收運車投入營運。我們預期今年年底車隊中的電動收運卡車將超過 300 輛，並將持續擴大這項具差異化的服務方案。

As part of our approach to sustainability, we strive to be the employer where the best people want to work. We continue to see high employee engagement scores, and our turnover rate is the lowest on record. With respect to capital allocation, we invested $860 million in strategic acquisitions in the first half of the year. Our acquisition pipeline remains supportive of continued activity in both the Recycling & Waste and Environmental Solutions businesses. We expect to invest more than $1.2 billion in value-creating acquisitions in 2026.

作為我們永續策略的一部分，我們致力成為最優秀人才嚮往任職的雇主。我們持續看到高員工敬業度分數，且離職率創下歷史新低。就資本配置而言，我們在上半年投入 8.6 億美元進行策略性併購。我們的併購管線仍支持在回收與廢棄物（Recycling & Waste）以及環境解決方案兩大業務持續推進相關活動。我們預期 2026 年將在創造價值的併購上投資超過 12 億美元。

During the first half of the year, we returned more than $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and a repurchase of approximately 1% of our outstanding shares. Additionally, we recently announced an increase of the dividend for the 23rd consecutive year.

今年上半年，我們透過股利發放以及回購約 1% 的流通在外股份，向股東回饋超過 10 億美元。此外，我們近期宣布連續第 23 年提高股利。

Building on the strong results delivered through the first half of the year and continued momentum we see across the business, we raised our full year 2026 guidance as follows: revenue is expected to be in the range of $17.2 billion to $17.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in a range of $5.525 billion to $5.550 billion. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $7.23 to $7.28, and adjusted free cash flow is expected to be in a range of $2.540 billion to $2.575 billion. Our full year guidance incorporates higher-than-expected fuel recovery fee revenue through July increased recycling commodity revenue based on current prices and the contribution of acquisitions closed to date.

在上半年交出強勁成果、且我們看到全公司業務動能持續之際，我們將2026全年指引上調如下：營收預期介於172億美元至173億美元之間。調整後EBITDA預期介於55.25億美元至55.50億美元之間。調整後每股盈餘預期介於7.23美元至7.28美元之間，而調整後自由現金流預期介於25.40億美元至25.75億美元之間。我們的全年指引納入了截至7月高於預期的燃料回收費收入、基於目前價格的回收商品收入增加，以及迄今已完成收購案的貢獻。

I will now turn the call over to Brian, who will provide details on the quarter.

接下來我把電話交給Brian，他將提供本季的細節。

Thanks, Jon. Core price on total revenue was 5.3%. Core price on related revenue was 6.4%, which included open market pricing of 7.8% and restricted pricing of 4.1%. The components of core price on related revenue included small container of 8.1%, large container of 6.9% and residential of 6.3%. Average yield on total revenue was 3.4% and average yield on related revenue was 4%. Additionally, fuel recovery fees increased total revenue by 1.8%, which offset higher fuel expense and related surcharges.

謝謝，Jon。總營收的核心價格為5.3%。相關營收的核心價格為6.4%，其中包含公開市場定價7.8%與受限定價4.1%。相關營收核心價格的組成包括：小型容器8.1%、大型容器6.9%以及住宅6.3%。總營收的平均收益率為3.4%，相關營收的平均收益率為4%。此外，燃料回收費使總營收增加1.8%，抵銷了較高的燃料費用及相關附加費。

Second quarter volume decreased total revenue by 1.6% and related revenue by 1.9%. Most of the decline was due to the event-driven landfill volumes in the prior year. Volume performance on related revenue also included a 1.1% increase in landfill MSW. This was more than offset by large container volumes, which declined 2.2%, primarily due to continued softness in construction-related activity, residential volume, which declined 4.3% due to known contract losses, and landfill special waste, which declined 30 basis points. It's important to note that landfill special waste increased 10.7%, excluding the tough comp from wildfire volumes received in the prior year.

第二季的量（volume）使總營收下降1.6%，相關營收下降1.9%。大部分下滑是因為前一年事件驅動的掩埋場處理量。相關營收的量表現也包含掩埋場MSW（都市固體廢棄物）增加1.1%。但這被大型容器量下滑2.2%（主要因建築相關活動持續疲弱）、住宅量下滑4.3%（因已知的合約流失），以及掩埋場特殊廢棄物下滑30個基點所抵銷。需要注意的是，若排除前一年接收野火廢棄物量所造成的高基期，掩埋場特殊廢棄物其實增加了10.7%。

Moving on to recycling. Commodity prices were $136 per ton during the second quarter. This compared to $149 per ton in the prior year. Recycling processing and commodity sales increased by $8 million during the quarter. Increased volumes at our polymer centers offset lower recycled commodity prices. Current commodity prices are approximately $140 per ton. This is the basis used for the second half of the year in our updated guidance. This would imply a full year average commodity price of approximately $135 per ton.

接著談回收業務。第二季商品價格為每噸136美元。相較之下，前一年為每噸149美元。本季回收處理與商品銷售增加了800萬美元。我們聚合物中心（polymer centers）的量增加，抵銷了再生商品價格下滑的影響。目前商品價格約為每噸140美元。這是我們更新後指引中用於下半年的基礎假設。這意味著全年平均商品價格約為每噸135美元。

Total company adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.1%. Margin performance during the quarter included margin expansion in the underlying business of 90 basis points, which was offset by a 50 basis point decrease from landfill event volumes, a 30 basis point decrease from net fuel and a 10 basis point decrease from recycled commodity prices.

全公司調整後EBITDA利潤率為32.1%。本季利潤率表現包含：基礎業務利潤率擴張90個基點，但被掩埋場事件量造成的50個基點下降、燃料淨影響造成的30個基點下降，以及再生商品價格造成的10個基點下降所抵銷。

With respect to Environmental Solutions, Second quarter revenue increased $53 million sequentially, driven by higher event volumes and additional seasonal activity across the business. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the Environmental Solutions business was 20.2%, a sequential improvement of 100 basis points. Year-to-date, adjusted free cash flow was $1.58 billion. Our performance was driven primarily by EBITDA growth in the business. Total debt was $14.2 billion, and total liquidity was $2.8 billion. Our leverage ratio at the end of the quarter was approximately 2.6 times.

就環境解決方案（Environmental Solutions）而言，第二季營收較前一季增加5,300萬美元，主要由較高的事件量以及全業務額外的季節性活動所帶動。環境解決方案業務的調整後EBITDA利潤率為20.2%，較前一季改善100個基點。年初至今，調整後自由現金流為15.8億美元。我們的表現主要由業務EBITDA成長所驅動。總負債為142億美元，總流動性為28億美元。本季末的槓桿比率約為2.6倍。

With respect to taxes, our combined tax rate and impact from equity investments in renewable energy resulted in an equivalent tax impact of 23.8% during the quarter. We now expect an equivalent tax impact of approximately 24.5% for the year.

就稅務而言，我們的合併稅率以及對再生能源股權投資的影響，使本季等效稅負影響為23.8%。我們目前預期全年等效稅負影響約為24.5%。

With that, operator, I would like to open the call to questions.

以上，接線員，我想開放提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Tyler Brown, Raymond James.

Tyler Brown，Raymond James。

Hey, good afternoon guys. Brian, it looks like the EBITDA midpoint was up, call it, $40 million, I think, at the midpoint. Just curious if you could break that increase down between M&A and the core. And then is flat to slightly down margins in Q3 is still a good placeholder?

嗨，各位下午好。Brian，看起來EBITDA的中位數上調了，大概4,000萬美元，我想在中位數是這樣。想請教你能否把這個增幅拆分一下，M&A與核心業務各占多少。另外，第三季利潤率持平到小幅下滑，仍然可以作為一個合理的暫定假設嗎？

Yes. When you look at the increase of the $40 million or so in EBITDA, majority of that is just due to increase in commodity prices. So if you look at both the revenue and the related EBITDA, that's about $25 million, and then the rest is due to the contribution from incremental acquisitions. So if you look at the revenue that's increasing, you've also got the increase from fuel recovery fees, but that is mostly offset by fuel costs as well as related surcharges.

是的。當你看EBITDA增加約4,000萬美元時，其中大部分只是因商品價格上升所致。所以若看營收以及相關的EBITDA，約為2,500萬美元，其餘則來自新增收購案的貢獻。另外，若看營收的增加，也包含燃料回收費的增加，但這大多被燃料成本以及相關附加費所抵銷。

Okay. And then on the Q3 margins.

了解。那第三季利潤率呢？

Yes. So Q3, think of it relatively flattish with the prior year with margin expansion in the fourth quarter.

是的。第三季可以把它視為與前一年大致持平，而第四季會有利潤率擴張。

Okay. Perfect. And then this is a big picture question. So first, congrats to the team for giving the sustainability report. I know those are big undertakings. But Jon, one of the things that come my eye in there was your total TRIR safety numbers, I think those are a decade low. I know that zero is the goal. But can you kind of talk about what you think the top 1 or 2 items that are really driving that success are?

好的。完美。接著是一個比較宏觀的問題。首先，恭喜團隊發布永續報告。我知道那是很大的工程。不過Jon，我在裡面注意到你們的TRIR（總可記錄事故率）安全數據，我想那是十年來的新低。我知道目標是零。但你能否談談，你認為真正驅動這項成功的前1到2個關鍵因素是什麼？

Yes. Thank you for noticing. That's our number 1 priority and value. And I think it's a mix of things. We've always had a very good safety culture and very good at training, prioritizing on the front line. I think the big increases have really been technology. We put a lot of equipment into vehicles. And it's not just the camera, the technology. It's also the coaching and training around it. That system has really been encouraging.

是的。謝謝你注意到。那是我們的第一優先事項與核心價值。我認為是多種因素的結合。我們一直都有非常好的安全文化，也很擅長訓練，並在第一線優先落實。我認為最大的提升其實來自科技。我們在車輛上導入了很多設備。而且不只是攝影機等技術本身。也包括圍繞這些技術的教練輔導與訓練。那套系統確實帶來很正向的推動。

And I'd say our next frontier is really to use AI in that capacity and think about analytics and understand what types of environments create unsafe opportunities and how do you then create management actions and systems and tools and processes around it. So I think we've got more room to run on that. We don't take it for granted. We wake up every day and try to keep all 42,000 colleagues safe, but we're making great progress.

我會說我們下一個前沿領域，是真正在這方面運用AI，思考分析（analytics），並了解哪些環境會創造不安全的機會，接著如何建立相應的管理行動、系統、工具與流程。所以我認為我們在這方面還有很大的發揮空間。我們不會把它視為理所當然。我們每天醒來都努力讓42,000位同仁都能安全，但我們確實正在取得很大的進展。

Adam Bubes, Goldman Sachs.

Adam Bubes，高盛。

Hi good afternoon. Wondering if you could just break the performance out across the major lines in Environmental Solutions because I know there's a lot of moving pieces there. And then Nice to see that sequential seasonal step-up? Just how are you thinking about potential magnitude of growth in the balance of the year?

嗨，午安。想請問您是否可以把環境解決方案（Environmental Solutions）在主要業務線的表現拆開說明一下，因為我知道那裡有很多變動因素。另外，很高興看到季節性帶動的環比提升？您如何看待今年剩餘期間潛在的成長幅度？

Yes. So if you take a look at the performance in Environmental Solutions, we saw an increase in emergency response jobs year-over-year, which was partially offset by a reduction in landfill tons. And again, we are just slightly down on a year-over-year basis, but we saw sequential improvement each of the month throughout the second quarter. And we're optimistic, and again, we project that we're going to grow from a top line perspective as well as related margin expansion in the second half of the year.

是的。如果你看環境解決方案的表現，我們看到緊急應變（emergency response）工作量年增，但部分被掩埋場進場噸數下降所抵銷。同樣地，以年對年來看我們只是略為下滑，但在第二季期間每個月都看到環比改善。我們保持樂觀，而且我們預期下半年在營收（top line）成長以及相關的利潤率擴張方面都會有所成長。

And then on the volume side, I think this year's residential volume trends reflected the loss of a few larger residential contracts that you called out last quarter. How are you thinking about volume trends beyond 2026 as you lap those contracts? Is low to mid-single-digit volume declines is the right framework over the medium term? Or is there a path towards stabilization in residential?

另外在量的部分，我想今年的住宅端量的趨勢反映了你們上季提到流失了幾個較大的住宅合約。當你們在 2026 年之後把這些合約的影響消化完（lap）後，你們如何看待量的趨勢？以中期來看，低到中個位數的量下滑是正確的框架嗎？或者住宅端有機會走向穩定？

Yes. Maybe I think start with market. We're coming out of a period of nearly four years of negative growth in Recycling & Waste. That's really been driven by industrial and construction or lack thereof in terms of activity. And I think we're now in a market that's sequentially improving.

是的。也許先從市場談起。我們正走出回收與廢棄物（Recycling & Waste）近四年的負成長期間。這主要是由工業與建築活動（或其不足）所驅動。而我認為現在市場正呈現環比改善。

I would think of it more flat with encouraging signs month-over-month. And in that context, we're obviously losing a little bit of share in residential, and we're gaining some share in industrial and small container, which will take all day long if we can make that mix change.

我會把它視為大致持平，但月對月有令人鼓舞的跡象。在這樣的背景下，我們在住宅端確實略有市占流失，但在工業與小型容器（small container）方面正在取得一些市占；如果我們能完成這樣的組合轉變，我們非常樂於接受。

You'll see residential, the rate of decline certainly start to narrow as we get into '27. And listen, we don't aspire to lose or shrink in that category, but we're always going to take price over volume, and we're going to continue to get a fair return on the hard work that our people do and the assets we invest. And if we need to continue to slightly prune in order to find more value there, we're going to do it.

你會看到住宅端的下滑速度在進入 2027 年時會明顯收斂。而且坦白說，我們並不希望在該類別流失或萎縮，但我們永遠會把價格放在量之前，我們也會持續為同仁的辛勤工作以及我們投入的資產取得合理報酬。如果我們需要持續做一些小幅修剪（prune）以在那裡找到更高價值，我們就會這麼做。

Sabahat Khan, RBC Capital Markets.

Sabahat Khan，RBC 資本市場。

Great, thanks and good afternoon. Maybe hoping to get some additional color on the commentary on the increased use of AI. I guess, based on the learning so far, have you been pointing into direction of locate these customers that you previously weren't pushing on price, but you can. Or is it kind of same customer as higher magnitude? Maybe what are the learnings? And how much more runway do you think there is on that front?

很好，謝謝，午安。希望能就你們提到 AI 使用增加的評論再多一些說明。我想問的是，基於目前的學習，你們是否已經能指向一些客戶：過去你們沒有對其推動漲價，但現在可以？還是其實是同一批客戶、只是幅度更大？有哪些學習？你們覺得在這方面還有多大的延伸空間（runway）？

Yes. I think AI is going to transform us broadly across the business, and we're using -- experimenting with it, I'd say, almost everywhere. We talked about the three major areas that we're going deep, and there's a few other ones that we'll add to the list over time in terms of investing at scale across the enterprise.

是的。我認為 AI 將在整體業務上廣泛地改造我們，而我們正在使用——我會說幾乎在各處都在試驗。我們談到三個正在深入投入的主要領域，此外還有幾個領域會隨時間加入清單，並在全企業層級進行規模化投資。

On pricing specifically, it's understanding the specific price that you want to give to a customer that both maximizes value in the short term but also the long term, right? So you could price more, but then if you're going to drive defection, that's not a very good long-term trade-off.

就定價而言，重點在於理解你想給某位客戶的特定價格，既能在短期最大化價值，也能在長期最大化價值，對吧？你當然可以把價格訂得更高，但如果因此導致客戶流失，那就不是一個很好的長期取捨。

And so this now takes in dozens of variables about the customer, and each customer has their own fingerprint in terms of the service history and background and size and scale and location. And so we're able to put all of those variables in to really get a precise optimized price that maximizes long-term value. We've always done analytics, but this is totally, as an order of magnitude, different level of sophistication.

因此，現在模型會納入關於客戶的數十個變數；每位客戶在服務歷史、背景、規模大小與範圍、地點等方面都有自己的「指紋」。我們能把所有這些變數放進去，真正得到一個精準、最佳化的價格，以最大化長期價值。我們一直都有做分析，但這在複雜度上完全是不同數量級的提升。

Great. And then just a second one on M&A. It sounds like about $1 billion and change for this year. Is this a pipeline that's building up? Or you think it could kind of seep into next year and next year could also be an outsized year? Or most of these closing this year or these transactions closing this year maybe not as much momentum into next year? Any color there?

很好。第二個問題關於併購（M&A）。聽起來今年大約是 10 億美元出頭。這是正在累積中的案源（pipeline）嗎？還是你認為可能會延伸到明年，而明年也可能是偏大的年度？或者大多數會在今年完成交割，明年動能就沒那麼強？能否分享一些看法？

Yes. The pipeline is certainly strong and how many of those things closed in the back half of the year versus push into the first part of next year, we'll expect to have another strong year next year. We'll probably give a relatively conservative guide because I never want the team to chase an M&A number because you can easily hit that and not get the returns that we expect. But everything we see going forward, that pipeline looks strong and continues to build both in the short and the medium term.

是的。案源確實很強；至於其中有多少會在下半年完成、或推遲到明年初，我們預期明年仍會是強勁的一年。我們可能會給出相對保守的指引，因為我不希望團隊為了追逐某個併購數字而去做交易；那樣很容易達標，但卻拿不到我們期望的報酬率。但就我們目前看到的情況，往前看案源很強，且在短期與中期都持續累積。

Bryan Burgmeier, Citi.

Bryan Burgmeier，花旗。

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe just following up on Tyler's question on the revision to 2026 EBITDA guidance. Are there any changes to your underlying assumptions for the core solid waste business, specifically just thinking about volume or cost inflation for some key buckets?

嗨，午安。謝謝讓我提問。想接續 Tyler 關於 2026 年 EBITDA 指引上修的問題。你們對核心固體廢棄物業務的基本假設有任何改變嗎？特別是就一些關鍵項目的量或成本通膨來看？

I would say, look, the components of organic growth, the price, the volume and then obviously, the related inflationary costs are all coming relatively in line with our initial expectations. So most of the update to the guide, again, was due to, as I mentioned earlier, those -- the increase in fuel recovery fees, due to just increased diesel costs, the incremental acquisitions. So we came into the year thinking we got about 70 basis points of contribution to top line growth due to both rollover as well as the in-year deals. Now that's 100 as well as the increase in commodity prices moving from $115 per ton to $135.

我會說，整體來看，有機成長的組成——價格、量，以及當然相關的通膨成本——都大致符合我們最初的預期。所以這次指引更新的主要原因，如我先前提到的，是燃料回收費（fuel recovery fees）的增加，這是因柴油成本上升所致，以及額外的併購。我們年初預期併購（包含續約滾入以及當年完成的交易）對營收成長的貢獻約 70 個基點。現在變成 100 個基點，另外商品價格也從每噸 115 美元上升到 135 美元。

Got it. Really appreciate that detail. And then maybe just on the kind of margin outlook or the margin cadence that you described for the second half of the year, waste and recycling margins were up like 40 bps in 2Q, and then I guess commodities will maybe be more helpful in 3Q. But it sounds like you're maybe expecting flattish kind of year-over-year, so just help us kind of frame that or maybe some headwinds I might not be thinking of.

了解。非常感謝這些細節。另外關於你們描述的下半年利潤率展望或利潤率節奏，廢棄物與回收的利潤率在第二季大約上升了 40 個基點，而商品價格在第三季可能會更有幫助。但聽起來你們可能預期年對年大致持平；能否協助我們理解一下，或有哪些我可能沒想到的逆風？

Yes, we still have the continuation of the landfill event volumes in the prior year. So that's about a 40 basis point headwind. We also, just because of the timing of the acquisitions themselves, when we look at the integration costs that we expect to incur, most of that's going to happen in the third and fourth quarter, which is a headwind. But again, when you take a look at the overall performance, we expect the underlying business to continue to remain strong and the margin expansion in the underlying business such that when you take a look at what we expect for the full year, we're looking at 60 to 70 basis points of margin expansion in the underlying business.

是的，我們仍然面臨前一年掩埋場事件性量（landfill event volumes）的延續影響。這大約是 40 個基點的逆風。另外，由於併購本身的時間點，當我們看預期會發生的整合成本時，大部分會落在第三與第四季，這也是一個逆風。但總體而言，當你看整體表現，我們預期基礎業務仍將維持強勁，且基礎業務的利潤率擴張足以使我們在看全年時，基礎業務的利潤率擴張約為 60 到 70 個基點。

Faiza Alwy, Deutsche Bank.

Faiza Alwy，德意志銀行。

Yes, hi, thank you. I wanted to follow up on volumes because some of your peers in the waste space have talked about their changing views around volumes and kind of talked about maybe fuel surcharges impacting some volumes. So it sounds like you're not changing your view on that and not seeing anything different. And I'm just curious if you have a perspective on why that might be? And what's your interpretation is of what's going on around -- from a macro perspective on volumes?

是的，您好，謝謝。我想追問一下量的部分，因為你們在廢棄物領域的一些同業談到他們對量的看法有所改變，也提到燃油附加費可能影響部分量。所以聽起來你們並沒有改變你們的看法，也沒有看到任何不同。我只是好奇你們對於為什麼會這樣是否有觀點？以及從總體角度來看，你們對於量方面正在發生的情況——你們的解讀是什麼？

Yes. I think the -- look, I talked about this. This has been a negative market recycling waste for almost four years, driven by construction and industrial activity was changing. As I'd say, commercial construction, we're starting to see slight rebound. I'd still say it's depressed overall but slight rebound.

是的。我認為——你看，我談過這個。這幾乎四年來一直是個不利的市場，回收廢棄物受到建築與工業活動變化所驅動。就商業建築而言，我們開始看到些微反彈。我仍會說整體仍然低迷，但有些微回升。

Residential construction is still very challenged. And on the industrial activity, that's where you're starting to see more momentum. And you can see that with the PMI prints that are over 50 for the last five months and starting to accelerate, and we just see that with service changes with our large container customers. So that's where we're seeing some volume lift.

住宅建築仍然非常具挑戰。而在工業活動方面，你開始看到更多動能。你可以從PMI數據看出來，過去五個月都在50以上並開始加速，而我們也從大型集裝箱客戶的服務變化中看到這點。所以我們在那裡看到一些量的提升。

So special waste, take out the comp from last year on the wildfire, and that looks good. It's a market that is slightly improving. I think there's still plenty of caution from geopolitical environment with oil prices and other things. So where we have a positive outlook, but we're still waiting and seeing for this economy, I would say, fully fired.

所以特殊廢棄物方面，扣除去年野火帶來的比較基期後，看起來不錯。這是一個正在略為改善的市場。我認為地緣政治環境、油價與其他因素仍讓人相當謹慎。因此我們的展望是正向的，但對於這個經濟體是否會——我會說——全面點火加速，我們仍在觀察等待。

Okay. Makes sense. And then just to clarify on the guidance change. is the incremental M&A that's in the guide, is that for the $1.2 billion? Or I think it's $860 million that's closed so far. So could you just confirm that it's only what's closed so far?

好的。合理。另外想釐清一下指引的變動：指引中新增的併購（M&A），是針對12億美元嗎？還是我記得目前已完成交割的是8.6億美元。所以你能否確認一下，是否只包含目前已完成交割的部分？

And then secondly, I think you said that the fuel surcharge that was included in the guide is only through July. And I'm assuming that these -- like that represents some upside to revenues and possibly EBITDA because I think diesel prices are still ahead of last year. So just those two quick clarifying things.

第二點，我想你提到指引中納入的燃油附加費只到7月。我假設這些——因為我認為柴油價格仍高於去年——可能代表營收、甚至EBITDA的上行空間。所以就這兩點快速釐清。

Yes, you are correct. So on the fuel recovery fees, we took what we knew through the month of July, right? So fuel prices have been highly volatile. So we didn't want to assume that they would remain elevated than to just have them come down, and now you're talking about a revenue change because of that assumption. So we took August through the end of the year back to our original assumption, which was just below $4 a gallon from a cost per gallon perspective on diesel. And I'm sorry, on your first question --

是的，你說得沒錯。關於燃油回收費用，我們採用的是截至7月我們已知的數據，對吧？因為燃油價格波動非常大。所以我們不想假設它會維持在高檔，結果之後下跌，然後你又要因為這個假設去討論營收變動。因此我們把8月到年底拉回到原先的假設，也就是以柴油每加侖成本角度來看，略低於4美元。抱歉，關於你的第一個問題——

Yes. That was just the confirmation of the M&A because I think you're saying you're expecting $1.2 billion of M&A. So I just want to make sure that, that entire EBITDA impact of that is not in the guide. That's just what's closed so far.

是的。就是確認併購（M&A）的部分，因為我想你是說你們預期有12億美元的併購。所以我想確認，這整體的EBITDA影響並沒有全部納入指引。只包含目前已完成交割的部分。

Yes. So through today, we've closed just shy of $1.2 billion of investment in acquisitions, all of which is included in the guidance for the full year.

是的。截至今天，我們已完成交割的收購投資金額略低於12億美元，而這些全部都已納入全年指引。

Toni Kaplan, Morgan Stanley.

Toni Kaplan，摩根士丹利。

Thanks so much. I wanted to ask on pricing. Core price stepped down a little bit this quarter. Just wanted to know your thoughts on how you see that trending through the rest of the year. And then maybe also a sort of a follow-up on pricing. Like if you think about you're doing AI initiatives to sort of optimize your pricing, and I imagine that others are as well, like how do you think that, that changes like the industry's pricing dynamics in the long term?

非常感謝。我想問一下定價。本季核心價格略有下滑。想了解你們怎麼看它在今年剩餘時間的走勢。另外也想追問定價：如果你們在做AI計畫來優化定價，我想其他公司也在做，那你們認為這會如何在長期改變產業的定價動態？

Like do you sort of have even more stickiness and things like that because everyone's sort of charging the optimal price for the business that's maybe geographically advantaged, et cetera?

例如是否會出現更高的黏著度之類的，因為大家都在對可能具地理優勢等的業務收取最優價格，等等？

Yes. If you think about pricing over time, fuel skyrocketed, and that becomes a meaningful portion of our customers' bills. So this is where AI helps us to think about the optimization of that and making sure we're playing a long-term game.

是的。如果你從長期來看定價，燃油價格飆升，而那會成為客戶帳單中相當重要的一部分。所以AI在這裡能幫助我們思考如何優化，並確保我們是在玩長期的策略。

So probably went out with balancing for a couple of months, a little less gross price than it would have in an environment I don't see the pricing environment changing broadly, which is we're pricing ahead of our cost structure. I think even in a challenged industry period, I think industry conduct around should structure around price, right, has maintained pretty good discipline for my seat in the park, and now you see units starting to come back, that will be very positive.

所以我們可能在幾個月內做了一些平衡，毛定價略低於在另一種環境下本來會做的水準。我不認為整體定價環境會有廣泛改變；也就是說，我們的定價仍領先於我們的成本結構。我認為即使在產業具挑戰的期間，從我的角度看，產業在價格方面的行為——應該說在價格結構上的作法——仍維持相當好的紀律；而現在你看到單位量開始回來，這會非常正面。

And then with respect to AI, I think this is true of almost any AI investment. It's almost always a scale investment. And so when you do routing, whether you roll that across 100 routes, 1,000 routes or 10,000 routes, you've got to do the same underlying work. Same thing with customers, whether you do that across 2,000 customers or 2 million customers, you've got to do the same underlying work. So I think it will favor scale players who are able to invest in these tools.

至於AI，我認為這幾乎適用於任何AI投資。它幾乎總是規模型投資。因此在路線規劃上，不論你把它推到100條路線、1,000條路線或10,000條路線，你都得做同樣的底層工作。客戶也是一樣，不論你是對2,000個客戶或200萬個客戶做，你都得做同樣的底層工作。所以我認為這會有利於能夠投資這些工具的規模型業者。

And on the core price, we would expect it to stay near what we posted here in the second quarter, so in a range, call it 6-2 to 6-4 in that ZIP code.

至於核心價格，我們預期會維持在我們第二季公布的水準附近，所以大概在6.2到6.4的區間，差不多就是那個範圍。

Trevor Romeo, William Blair.

Trevor Romeo，William Blair。

Hi, guys. This is Melissa on for Trevor Romeo. Maybe just turning to Environmental Solutions. Can you guys speak to what the PFAS business is running at on a revenue dollar and year-over-year growth basis and maybe just what kind of opportunities you're seeing on the disposal waste water treatment and remediation or service side of that?

嗨，各位。我是Melissa，代替Trevor Romeo提問。想把話題轉到環境解決方案（Environmental Solutions）。你們能否談談PFAS業務目前的營收規模、以及年增率表現，並且你們在處置、廢水處理與整治（remediation）或服務端看到哪些機會？

Yes. strong. I think, again, we did over $100 million last year, and we're going to exceed that number this year. Kind of we're well ahead of that pace, and we're seeing it across the full suite of our assets. So it's taking -- certainly utilizing our hazardous landfills and our water treatment capabilities, but it's also utilizing our solid waste landfills.

是的，很強勁。我想，再次強調，我們去年做了超過1億美元，而今年會超過這個數字。我們的進度明顯領先這個節奏，而且我們在我們資產的完整組合上都看到了這個趨勢。所以這不僅——當然會運用我們的危險廢棄物掩埋場與水處理能力，但也會運用我們的一般固體廢棄物掩埋場。

So some of that special waste growth you see, our jobs initiated through our Environmental Solutions team that are actually flowing through the recycling and waste P&L. And that's one of our advantages given that we have a broad set of offerings for clients that different levels of PFAS require different solutions. And for low levels, a subtitle landfill is the most cost-effective solution. And so we're taking advantage of that. And we think that pipeline is building. And so we would expect to comfortably beat our number again next year.

因此，你看到的部分特殊廢棄物成長，是由我們的環境解決方案團隊所啟動的專案，實際上會流入回收與廢棄物損益表（P&L）。而這也是我們的優勢之一，因為我們為客戶提供廣泛的服務組合，不同程度的 PFAS 需要不同的解決方案。對於低濃度而言，副標題（subtitle）掩埋場是最具成本效益的解決方案。因此我們正在善用這一點。我們也認為這條管線正在建立中。所以我們預期明年也能輕鬆再次超越我們的目標數字。

Great. And then maybe just a quick follow-up on that end as well on the reshoring trend. I realize this could be a multiyear opportunity, but are you seeing any tangible near-term lift with clients that are building out their presence in the US?

很好。那麼也許在這一端再快速追問一下，關於回流設廠（reshoring）的趨勢。我知道這可能是多年期的機會，但你們是否看到客戶在美國擴建據點，對近期帶來任何具體的拉抬？

Yes, we're starting to see that with some construction projects. I think it's mostly been -- first, it was talk and policy and now than it was planning, and I think we're now starting to see shovels in ground, and that will be good for us on both sides of the business. Certainly, in that construction activity, whether it's remediating, the dirt to prepare the construction side or the construction process itself and then the ongoing service of those facilities across a range of end markets in the manufacturing space will be good, and we'll -- that will be, I think, a tailwind for this business for five-plus years.

是的，我們開始在一些建設專案上看到這種情況。我認為大多數情況是——一開始是討論與政策，接著是規劃，而我想我們現在開始看到真正動工，這對我們兩個業務面都會有利。當然，在這些建設活動中，不論是整治、為施工端做準備的土方處理，或是施工過程本身，以及之後針對這些設施在製造業多元終端市場的持續服務，都會帶來正面效益；我認為這將成為本業務五年以上的順風。

Konark Gupta, Scotia Capital.

Konark Gupta，Scotia Capital。

Thanks. Maybe just to start on the pricing discussion. The spread between open market pricing and restricted pricing this quarter was perhaps one of the smallest we have seen, I think, in the last many years, what are you seeing in terms of competitive dynamics? And is there anything specific to like macro fuel that's influencing that?

謝謝。我想先從定價的討論開始。本季公開市場定價與受限定價之間的價差，可能是我印象中過去很多年來最小的一次；你們在競爭態勢方面看到了什麼？以及是否有任何特定因素（例如總體面的燃料）在影響這件事？

Yes. Some of this is just the -- that's a natural effect of a declining inflationary environment, which we've seen over the last year, obviously, spiking because of oil in the last couple of months, but there's typically a 12-month lag between when inflation or CPI would print and then when you see that in the restricted business. And then the open market, we think about pricing relative to that context overall. So that's why we talked about gross prices coming down, but our cost structure is also coming down, so we're maintaining that spread over time.

是的。其中一部分只是——這是通膨環境下行的自然結果；過去一年我們確實看到通膨下降，當然最近幾個月因油價又出現跳升，但通常從通膨或 CPI 出現數據，到你在受限業務中看到反映，會有大約 12 個月的落後期。至於公開市場，我們會在整體背景下思考相對定價。所以我們才會談到名目價格（gross prices）在下降，但我們的成本結構也在下降，因此我們能隨時間維持這個價差。

And then in terms of price activity in markets, there are a handful of markets where you see low-cost players come in and try to build up a book of revenue almost exclusively to sell that over time. And that's distracting in a handful of markets, but that's really been true for the last 30 years in this business. And we do a good job of fiercely defending and making good price volume decisions there over time.

另外，就各市場的價格行為而言，有少數市場會看到低成本業者進場，試圖建立一個營收簿（book of revenue），幾乎就是為了日後逐步出售。這在少數市場會造成干擾，但在這個產業其實過去 30 年一直如此。而我們長期以來都很擅長強力防守，並在價格與量之間做出良好的取捨決策。

Those players who then don't end up transacting pretty quickly figure out that their set of assumptions around cost of service higher than they expected, and those decisions oftentimes are not very profitable in the end.

那些業者如果沒有很快完成交易，通常很快就會發現，他們對服務成本的假設比預期更高，而這些決策到最後往往並不怎麼獲利。

Okay. Understood. And if I can follow up on the RNG business, BP is looking to sell the Archer Energy business they have. You guys have some good relationships with them, I guess. Do you anticipate any changes as part of the sale process with the future owners?

好的。了解。如果我可以追問一下 RNG 業務，BP 正在考慮出售他們持有的 Archer Energy 業務。我想你們和他們有不錯的合作關係。你們是否預期在出售流程中，未來的新持有人會帶來任何變化？

Obviously, you don't know who that could be. But like what are some of the kind of guardrails in your contracts with them, which can protect you in terms of any changes potentially that may happen?

顯然你們也不知道可能會是誰。但例如你們與他們的合約中有哪些「護欄」（guardrails），可以在未來可能發生變動時保護你們？

Yes. We feel very comfortable. That business is very well contracted. So we will have a seat in the table in that process, and we'll be assured that our contract rights are going to live going forward with whoever they transact that business to.

是的。我們感到非常放心。那項業務的合約保障非常完善。因此在該流程中我們會有一席之地，也能確保不論他們把該業務交易給誰，我們的合約權利都會在未來持續有效。

Jerry Revich, Wells Fargo.

Jerry Revich，Wells Fargo。

Yes, hi. Good afternoon. I'm wondering if you could just talk about Environmental Services. So nice to see the sequential margin improvement. Can you just update us on how you're thinking about the margin opportunity on a multiyear basis. At 1 point, I think we were talking about margins potentially in the high 20s as being feasible. Is that off the table at this point? Or what are the significant opportunities and the levers that you could pull to drive margin upside here over time and what's a reasonable expectation?

是的，你好。下午好。我想請你們談談環境服務（Environmental Services）。很高興看到利潤率較前一季改善。能否更新一下你們如何看待多年期的利潤率機會？在某個時間點，我記得我們曾談到利潤率有機會達到接近 20% 後段（high 20s）。這個目標現在是否已經不再可行？或者說，長期來看有哪些重要機會與可運用的槓桿，能推動利潤率上行？合理的期待值又是什麼？

Yes. That long-term aspiration certainly hasn't changed. We've got to operate in a broader context and market, so we're going to make the right price volume trade-offs and we talked about probably didn't get it perfect as demand dropped at the end of '24 and into '25. We probably -- we're pursuing price more aggressively than we would have in retrospect.

是的。那個長期願景當然沒有改變。我們必須在更廣泛的市場背景下營運，因此我們會做出正確的價格與量取捨；我們也談到，當需求在 2024 年底到 2025 年初下滑時，我們可能沒有做到完美。回頭看，我們可能在追求價格上比應有的更積極。

I think as we go forward and build from here, you'll see us, I think, ahead of our enterprise 30 to 50 basis points of margin expansion to talk about a year but you'll see Environmental Solutions expand at a faster pace than that. Exactly how fast? I think it will be a little bit dictated by both competitive environment but also the demand environment, right? And if industrial activity really starts to take another step up here, I think that will be very good for margin performance as well as growth.

我認為，隨著我們往前走並在此基礎上建立，你會看到我們——我想——相較於公司整體每年 30 到 50 個基點的利潤率擴張，環境解決方案（Environmental Solutions）的擴張速度會更快。到底多快？我認為會在一定程度上取決於競爭環境，也取決於需求環境，對吧？如果工業活動在此再上一個台階，我認為那對利潤率表現與成長都會非常有利。

And Jon, in terms of just to shift the conversation to the AI opportunities, you had sized that as $100 million three months ago. Can you just talk about has that estimate changed at all? And how are you thinking about the cadence, the 30 to 50 basis points of margin expansion? Could we be ahead of that in 2027 because of potential AI benefits?

Jon，另外把話題轉到 AI 機會，你們三個月前估計規模是 1 億美元。能否談談這個估計是否有任何變化？以及你們如何看待每年 30 到 50 個基點的利潤率擴張節奏？是否可能因 AI 的效益而在 2027 年超前達成？

Yes. I don't think we'll be ahead of it in 2027. Over the long term, we certainly could. I think what we've learned both in pricing and in routing have confirmed our assumptions that, that $100 million is on the table. The exact pace of rollout, I think, will certainly be trending toward that number in the end of 2027.

是的。我不認為我們會在 2027 年就超前。但長期來看，我們當然有可能。我認為我們在定價與路線規劃兩方面的學習，都驗證了我們的假設：那 1 億美元的機會確實存在。至於確切的推行速度，我認為到 2027 年底會明顯朝那個數字靠攏。

The exact pace which we get it, we're going to make sure we get it and we stick it, right, not make it an event, but make it an ongoing capability. And the tool part I don't worry about. It's -- for routing, for example, you've got to get drivers to drive a different route that's optimized. And that change is easier said than done. You don't send out a memo and make that happen.

至於我們達成的確切速度，我們會確保把它做出來並且做穩，對吧？不要把它當成一次性事件，而是把它變成一項持續性的能力。工具本身我不擔心。例如在路線規劃上，你必須讓司機去跑一條不同、已最佳化的路線。而這種改變說起來容易、做起來難。你不可能發一封備忘錄就讓它發生。

You've got to work site-by-site, and that's leadership opportunity that I'm confident we'll capture, but that will take us a little bit of time to make sure it's durable.

你必須逐站點逐站點地推進，而那正是領導力的機會，我有信心我們會把握住，但我們需要一點時間來確保它具有持久性。

Seth Weber, BNP Paribas.

Seth Weber，法國巴黎銀行（BNP Paribas）。

Hey guys, good afternoon. Just another -- sorry, another look back on the ES business. The margin -- the kind of the flattish revenue and lower margin. I just want to confirm that that's really just a mix issue and not -- there's nothing weird going on with pricing. You feel like pricing in ES has kind of stabilized or settled out in a good spot here. Is that fair, accurate?

各位好，下午好。再補充一個——抱歉，再回頭看一下 ES 業務。利潤率——也就是營收大致持平、利潤率較低。我想確認一下，這真的只是組合（mix）因素，而不是——定價方面沒有什麼異常。你們覺得 ES 的定價在這裡已經算是穩定或落在一個不錯的位置了。這樣說公平、準確嗎？

Yes, very much. And this is kind of how we forecast and talked about it, that we would see this leveling out in the second quarter, and that would be a base to build from. And this pipeline, some things happen right away like ER, but most of these things, you get a longer sales pipeline. So we can see into the fact that we'll have momentum into the second half, just like we saw in the back half of last year, what the results will be in the first half of this year.

是的，非常如此。而且這也大致符合我們的預測與先前的說法：我們會在第二季看到這種趨於平穩的情況，並以此作為後續成長的基礎。而在這個管線中，有些事情會很快發生，例如 ER，但大多數項目會有較長的銷售管線。因此我們可以預見下半年會有動能，就像去年下半年一樣，而這也會反映在今年上半年的結果中。

Got it. Okay. And then just on free cash flow, if my math is right, it looks like free cash conversion goes a lot lower in the second half. Is that just a timing issue relative some stuff got pulled into the first half or something or perhaps my math is wrong. But it looks like free cash conversion goes lower.

了解。好。另外關於自由現金流，如果我算得沒錯，看起來下半年的自由現金轉換率會低很多。這只是時間點問題嗎？例如有些項目被拉到上半年了之類的？或者可能是我算錯了。但看起來自由現金轉換率會下降。

Yes. It's the normal seasonality of the business. And if you take a look at all years or somewhat like we paid proportionately less cash taxes in the first half of the year, and our CapEx tends to be more back-end loaded. So this is consistent with what you've seen in prior periods, and it's right on top of our plan.

是的。這是業務正常的季節性。如果你看歷年情況，大致上我們在上半年支付的現金稅款相對較少，而資本支出（CapEx）通常更偏向在後段發生。所以這與你在過去期間看到的情況一致，也完全符合我們的計畫。

Will Grippin, Barclays.

Will Grippin，巴克萊（Barclays）。

Thanks for the time here. Wanted to just come back to your fuel recovery fee assumptions in the second half. It sounds like you're assuming, I think you said $4 diesel and kind of a neutral EBITDA impact. I would have thought just based on your disclosed sensitivity and assuming diesel is either stable from here or perhaps coming down a bit, that we should see actually a net margin uplift in the second half. Is that correct? And are you sort of just being conservative here? Or what am I missing in that?

謝謝撥冗。我想回到你們對下半年燃料回收費（fuel recovery fee）的假設。聽起來你們假設——我記得你說的是每加侖 4 美元的柴油價格，且 EBITDA 影響大致中性。但我原本以為，根據你們披露的敏感度，並假設柴油價格從現在起持平或可能略降，下半年其實應該會看到淨利率提升。這樣理解對嗎？你們是不是只是比較保守？或者我漏掉了什麼？

Yes. So that sensitivity was the fuel recovery fees, and it was the direct impact of diesel fuel. We've talked about this, I talked about in the last quarter. There are other costs that we incur, transportation surcharges and other indirect expense charges that we get as well as from an overall cash perspective, increased CapEx when you've got the increased oil prices for landfill liner, for example.

是的。所以那個敏感度是針對燃料回收費，且是柴油燃料的直接影響。我們談過這點，我在上一季也提到過。我們還會承擔其他成本，例如運輸附加費以及其他間接費用；此外，從整體現金角度來看，當油價上升時，我們的資本支出也會增加，例如掩埋場防滲襯墊（landfill liner）的成本。

So we try and recover from a comprehensive or a holistic perspective, the cash impact of changes in diesel prices. And so we've expanded and you'll see when you see the 10-Q, expanded to include some of those other cost increases so that you get to a relatively neutral EBITDA impact from changes in diesel prices.

因此我們會從更全面、整體的角度去回收柴油價格變動對現金的影響。所以我們已擴大（範圍）——你在看到 10-Q 時會看到——把其中一些其他成本上升也納入，讓柴油價格變動對 EBITDA 的影響相對接近中性。

Okay. But there wouldn't be any sort of like margin catch-up or anything because you have a lagged effect in the first half, so it goes down.

了解。但不會有那種利潤率追補之類的情況，因為上半年有滯後效應，所以它就下降了。

Yes. So you do see that. There is a lag, right? So again, we actually wound up having a net negative from a net fuel perspective in the first quarter. As you saw, diesel prices rise in the month of March, and we didn't start recovering those costs until April.

是的。所以你確實會看到那種情況。確實存在滯後，對吧？所以再說一次，從淨燃料角度來看，我們在第一季其實最後是淨負面。如你所見，柴油價格在 3 月上升，而我們直到 4 月才開始回收那些成本。

So if you see fuel costs come down precipitously in the second half of the year, we could get that back. But it's really just a timing issue. It's not something that's sustained.

所以如果下半年燃料成本大幅下降，我們可能會把那部分拿回來。但這真的只是時間點問題。它不是一種可持續的狀態。

Okay. And last one for me. But within the ES business, I would be curious to hear what you've been seeing in terms of recent emergency response trends. We've been hearing that this year has maybe been historically low, sort of below baseline levels for emergency response activity. Is that consistent with what you've been seeing?

了解。最後一題。在 ES 業務方面，我想了解你們近期看到的緊急應變（emergency response）趨勢如何。我們聽說今年可能是歷史性偏低，某種程度上低於緊急應變活動的基準水準。這與你們看到的情況一致嗎？

It was pretty slow for us last year, actually. And I'd say it's slightly on the pickup this year, but versus historic norm, yes. If you think about many years, there's kind of large big jobs you can point to across a number of different providers. And we're just not seeing that level of kind of transformational type or big jobs that you would call out.

其實我們去年就相當慢。我會說今年略有回升，但相較於歷史常態，是的。如果你回想很多年份，通常會有一些你可以指出來、跨多家供應商的大型案子。而我們目前就是沒有看到那種可稱為具轉型性或特別大型的案子水準。

David Manthey, Baird.

David Manthey，Baird。

Thank you. Good afternoon. What was the approximate annual revenue run rate of acquisitions that you completed in the first quarter and then the same for the second quarter?

謝謝。下午好。你們在第一季完成的併購，其約當的年度營收運行率（annual revenue run rate）大概是多少？第二季同樣的數字又是多少？

Yes, we're not -- so in total, if you just take a look at what we -- what we guided to through the acquisitions completed in the first quarter, was that 70 basis points contribution. Again, that was a combination of rollover as well as in year. If you take a look at what we just added in the second quarter, it was basically an additional 30 basis points of contribution to the top line.

是的，我們不——所以整體來看，如果你看我們對第一季完成的併購所給的指引，是貢獻 70 個基點。再次說明，那是續約（rollover）以及當年度（in-year）的組合。如果你看我們在第二季新增的部分，基本上是對營收再額外貢獻 30 個基點。

Okay. But does that take you to the $1 billion? Or does that take you higher than the $1 billion?

了解。但這樣會到 10 億美元嗎？還是會高於 10 億美元？

That takes you to about the $1 billion. One of the deals that we include that we closed on here most recently, was something where we already had a 50% ownership interest in. So as we complete that deal, when you see that flow through, we were already consolidating that entity. So there's no incremental revenue, but there will be incremental EBITDA.

這大概會到 10 億美元左右。我們最近完成交割、納入其中的一筆交易，是我們原本就持有 50% 股權的案子。因此當我們完成那筆交易、你看到它反映出來時，我們原本就已經在合併報表中合併該實體。所以不會有增量營收，但會有增量 EBITDA。

Okay. I see. And then second, you've kind of framed the second and third quarter EBITDA margin as flat with all of the expense coming in the fourth quarter. It looks like it will be -- should be 50 or 70 basis points depending on the range of the guidance. But could you tell us just how much of that is already locked in because of the normalizing comps and the actions you've already taken and maybe some of the lagging CPI price benefits versus what's dependent on future actions and future demand?

了解。我明白了。第二個問題，你們把第二季與第三季的 EBITDA 利潤率描述為持平，而所有費用都會在第四季反映。看起來——依指引區間不同——應該是 50 或 70 個基點。但你們能否說明，其中有多少已經因為比較基期正常化、以及你們已採取的行動、還有一些滯後的 CPI 定價效益而基本鎖定；又有多少取決於未來的行動與未來的需求？

Well, I think you have take into consideration what's already happened through the first half of the year. So we had 50 basis points of margin expansion in the first quarter, relatively flat in the second. So year-to-date, you're at plus, call it, 25. If you're flat in the third quarter, then that kind of squeezed out what you need in the fourth quarter to get to the overall year, which we're saying is in the 10 basis point ZIP code. So not the entire year's worth of margin expansion isn't coming in the fourth quarter. Some of it already came in the first.

嗯，我認為你必須把今年上半年已經發生的情況納入考量。所以我們在第一季有 50 個基點的利潤率擴張，第二季則相對持平。因此截至目前為止，你大概是增加了 25 個基點。如果第三季持平，那就等於把你在第四季為了達到全年整體目標所需要的空間擠壓掉了；我們說的全年大概是在 10 個基點的區間。所以並不是全年的利潤率擴張都會在第四季發生。其中一部分已經在第一季實現了。

Shlomo Rosenbaum, Stifel.

Shlomo Rosenbaum，Stifel。

Hi. Thank you very much for taking my questions. I just want to probe a little bit more about the pipeline of activity that you're seeing in ES and the nature of it. You said you have pretty good visibility. Can you just give us a little later deeper into what's building, where you're winning? How much is kind of you're winning versus the overall market just getting a little bit better? And then I have one follow-up.

嗨。非常感謝你回答我的問題。我想再更深入追問一下你們在 ES 看到的業務活動管線，以及其性質。你提到你們的能見度相當不錯。能否再更深入說明一下目前正在累積的是什麼、你們在哪些地方贏得案子？其中有多少是你們自身贏得市占， versus 整體市場只是稍微好轉？另外我還有一個追問。

Yes. I think it's across end markets. Obviously, anything manufacturing related, it's probably about half of that business probably to find oil and gas and semiconductors and a range of different industries there. Listen, our strongest value proposition is going to be an integrated offering where we can bring to bear field services, hazardous waste, landfills, solid waste landfills, water remediation, even hazardous liquids. We've got great partnerships on incineration.

是的。我認為這是橫跨各個終端市場。顯然，任何與製造業相關的部分——那塊業務大概有一半可能與油氣、半導體以及一系列不同產業有關。你看，我們最強的價值主張會是整合式的方案：我們可以提供現場服務、危險廢棄物處理、掩埋場、一般廢棄物掩埋場、水體整治，甚至危險液體處理。我們在焚化方面也有很好的合作夥伴關係。

So the more complex and broad the job is, the more competitive we're going to be versus a single oil spill is going to be a pretty competitive environment where we're going to be less competitive in that space. So I'd say it's -- the pipeline is robust. It's not hanging on a single job or a single opportunity. It's broad-based geographically and across end markets.

所以工作越複雜、範圍越廣，我們相對於競爭對手就越有競爭力；反之，像單一的漏油事件這種案子，競爭環境會非常激烈，我們在那個領域的競爭力就相對較弱。因此我會說——這個管線很強勁。它不是依賴單一案子或單一機會。在地理分布與終端市場面向上都很廣泛。

Okay, great. And then could you talk -- did anything change in terms of your expectations for incremental revenue and EBITDA from both the polymer centers and RSG for the year?

好的，很棒。那接著想請教——你們對今年聚合物中心（polymer centers）以及 RSG 所帶來的增量營收與 EBITDA 的預期，有沒有任何改變？

No, it's consistent with what we originally guided to. So this year, when you take a look at our entire sustainability portfolio, we're expecting about $40 million of incremental revenue with about $20 million of incremental EBITDA.

沒有，與我們最初給出的指引一致。所以今年，如果你看我們整個永續產品組合，我們預期大約有 4,000 萬美元的增量營收，以及約 2,000 萬美元的增量 EBITDA。

Kevin Chiang, CIBC.

Kevin Chiang，CIBC。

Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Just two -- maybe two clarification questions. Just back to ES, if I look at the sequential improvement in revenue and EBITDA, we saw about a 28% incremental margin lift. Is that kind of the right way to think about the back half incremental margins as you return to growth on the top line there?

嗨。謝謝你回答我的問題。我有兩個——可能是兩個釐清問題。回到 ES，如果我看營收與 EBITDA 的季對季改善，我們看到大約 28% 的增量利潤率提升。當你們那邊營收回到成長、下半年在營收增量利潤率的思考上，這樣的看法是否正確？

Yes. I mean I think when you think on the increment, you're in the ZIP code there of what we would expect to see on those incremental revenues, in part, when you think about the mix. So as we get some more of the waste solutions, which is that post collection centric type volumes, they tend to carry a relatively higher margin but also just eating into some of the capacity we have on the field and industrial services side.

是的。我的意思是，當你看增量的話，你大概就在我們對這些增量營收所預期的區間內，部分原因是組合（mix）。所以當我們取得更多廢棄物解決方案業務——也就是偏向收運後（post collection）為核心的量——它們通常帶來相對較高的利潤率，但同時也會消耗我們在現場與工業服務端的部分產能。

Okay, that's helpful. And just you mentioned 1 of the acquisitions you made was a 50% ownership. Does that impact the equity investment line at all in the income statement? I just missed how that was being accounted for before.

好的，這很有幫助。另外你提到你們做的一項收購是 50% 持股。這會對損益表中的權益法投資（equity investment）項目有任何影響嗎？我剛剛沒聽清楚之前是怎麼入帳的。

No, we were consolidating it, so we had the revenue and then we were basically paying out the 50% interest through subcontract costs. Basically, we'll eliminate that subcontract cost line item.

不會，我們之前是把它併表，所以我們認列了營收，然後基本上透過分包成本（subcontract costs）支付那 50% 的權益。基本上，我們會把那個分包成本的科目消除掉。

James Schumm, TD Cowen.

James Schumm，TD Cowen。

Hey, thanks. Good afternoon. I actually -- on that subcontractor cost, I was actually looking at that line item and your components of OpEx, and it looked like that jumped more than usual. Usually, there's a seasonal jump in the second quarter, but this looked like it was more than usual. And I was wondering if that was due to fuel, indirect fuel expenses and if there's an opportunity that, that could come down in the second half or whenever fuel prices decline.

嘿，謝謝。下午好。其實——關於那個分包商成本，我在看那個科目以及你們營業費用（OpEx）的組成時，感覺它的跳升幅度比平常更大。通常第二季會有季節性的上升，但這次看起來更超出常態。我想問這是否是因為燃料、間接燃料費用所致？以及是否有機會在下半年或當燃料價格下滑時回落？

Yes, a lot of that would be the increase in fuel, and we have -- they have fuel recovery mechanisms that we negotiate with them just like we have in our contracts. And that to Brian's comment earlier, we've got a pretty good overall hedge. There's a little bit of lag and drag as fuel moves up and down. But when you think about direct fuel costs and then those indirect fuel costs, we feel pretty good about being covered across different fuel prices.

是的，其中很大一部分會是燃料上漲所造成的；而且我們——他們也有燃料回收機制（fuel recovery mechanisms），我們會跟他們談判，就像我們在合約中也有類似機制一樣。另外呼應 Brian 先前的評論，我們整體的避險做得相當不錯。燃料價格上下波動時會有一些時間差與拖累。但當你把直接燃料成本以及那些間接燃料成本一起看，我們對於在不同燃料價格水準下都能獲得相當程度的保障，感覺很有把握。

Okay. And then you -- I think you said you have 250 EV trucks. You've been running these for several quarters now. Just curious to hear how has the performance been? What are the pros and cons?

好的。另外你——我想你說你們有 250 輛電動卡車（EV trucks）。你們已經運行好幾個季度了。想請教它們的表現如何？優缺點是什麼？

I mean we know that the capacity of those trucks are somewhat limited by -- with all the batteries but maybe at a time like now when fuel prices are high, maybe that's helping you out. So just sort of broad based over the past couple of years, how happy are you with those? And any color there would be appreciated.

我的意思是，我們知道這些卡車的載重能力在某種程度上會受到——因為電池的關係而受限；但像現在燃料價格很高的時候，也許反而對你們有幫助。所以就過去幾年的整體情況來看，你們對這些車的滿意度如何？如果能提供一些補充說明，我會很感謝。

Yes. The performance is exceeding our expectations. So obviously, some flowing curve when you get the first ones off the line of the factory, but that's true of any new vehicle. That's not -- doesn't have anything to do with the powertrain. The battery performance and uptime and things have been really, again, exceeding our expectations.

是的。表現超出我們的預期。所以顯然，當第一批車從工廠產線下來時會有一些學習曲線，但任何新車都是如此。那並不是——與動力系統無關。電池表現、出勤率（uptime）等各方面，確實都再次超出我們的預期。

And in terms of capacity, that's true largely when you retrofit a diesel truck. That's where you get too much weight with a battery, and you start to take down payload and really limit the routes that, that truck can cover. When you have a truck that design studs up as an EV, that allows you to take out enough weight out of the vehicle where you're not sacrificing a lot of payload.

至於載重能力，這主要發生在你把柴油車改裝（retrofit）成電動車時。那種情況下電池會造成重量過高，進而降低有效載重（payload），並且大幅限制那台車能跑的路線。但如果是一台從零開始就以電動車（EV）設計的卡車，你就能在車輛上減掉足夠的重量，因此不會犧牲太多有效載重。

Tobey Sommer, Truist.

Tobey Sommer，Truist。

Henry on for Tobey here. Maybe just to start with a quick. You add up some of the pieces, but maybe I missed, but anything on the pricing side, incremental improvement expectations there that drove part of the guidance increase?

我是 Henry，代 Tobey 提問。也許先快速問一下。你把一些因素加總起來——但也許我漏聽了——在定價方面，有沒有任何增量改善的預期，促成了這次指引上調的一部分？

No. The -- when you look at the components of the increase in revenue, again, the $150 million at the midpoint, approximately 1%, exclusively driven by increased fuel recovery fees due to the change in diesel prices, the incremental acquisitions for deals closed to date and then the increase in commodity prices. The combination of both price and volume are in line with our initial expectations.

不是。當你看營收成長的組成時，再次說明，以中位數計約1%、約1.5億美元的增量，完全是由於柴油價格變動導致燃料回收附加費提高、截至目前已完成交易的增量併購，以及商品價格上漲所驅動。價格與量的組合與我們最初的預期一致。

Understood. And then thinking about CapEx for next year, how are you, I guess, thinking about that relative to this year, maybe some of the sustainability investments come in? And then maybe more specific around those for the longer term, if you can kind of lay out how you think about that on a multiyear basis.

了解。那再談到明年的資本支出（CapEx），相較於今年你們大概是怎麼思考的？是否會納入一些永續相關投資？另外，如果可以的話，也請更具體說明這些投資在較長期、多年度的規劃上你們如何看待。

I would say, relatively consistent as a percent of revenue of what you're seeing in 2026.

我會說，作為營收百分比來看，會與你們在2026年看到的水準大致一致。

Stephanie Moore, Jefferies.

Stephanie Moore，Jefferies。

Hi, good afternoon. Actually, that's a segue into -- that's a good segue into what I want to talk about. Maybe taking again a longer-term view. I mean, I think over the last couple of years, you've built a pretty nice sustainability portfolio across RNG, in plastics. And so 2 parts. I wanted to get an update on just the returns of those investments, how they're trending as they stand today.

嗨，午安。其實這正好銜接到——這是我想談的很好的引子。也許再用更長期的角度來看。我的意思是，我想過去幾年你們在RNG以及塑膠等領域，建立了一個相當不錯的永續投資組合。所以有兩個部分。我想先請你們更新一下這些投資的報酬表現，目前的趨勢如何。

But also, I think more importantly, are there any other areas within sustainability or even outside sustainability that might be outside of your core business now that you're kind of exploring, investing in, again, over the medium to long term? So a higher-level question there.

但我想更重要的是，在永續領域內或甚至永續之外，是否還有任何其他目前不屬於你們核心業務、但你們正在探索或投資的方向——同樣是以中期到長期的角度？這是一個比較高層次的問題。

Yes. Look, we've been really happy with the demand side of the polymer centers and that we could sell each of those out 3 times or 4 times over, and we're largely exceeding our pricing assumptions. We have the supply, and so that was a strategic advantage and one of the reasons we got into it. From a learning standpoint, we're probably too optimistic on the timing in terms of how we could get to full capacity. Now the good side is that when we hit full capacity, we're above our nameplate capacity.

是的。你看，我們對聚合物中心（polymer centers）在需求端的表現非常滿意，我們幾乎可以把每一座中心的產能賣出3到4倍，而且我們在定價上大致超出原先的假設。我們掌握供給，因此這是一項策略優勢，也是我們投入的原因之一。從學習的角度來看，我們在達到滿載產能的時程上可能過於樂觀。不過好的一面是，當我們達到滿載時，實際產出高於我們的名目產能（nameplate capacity）。

So we had originally talked about four polymer centers. We think we'd probably get there with three in the short to medium term just because we're getting more capacity out of those when they're running at full steam. So we're excited about that over time.

我們原本談過要建四座聚合物中心。但我們認為在短到中期，可能三座就能達到目標，因為當它們全速運轉時，我們能從中取得更高的產能。所以我們對未來一段時間的發展感到興奮。

In terms of where we go to next is anything that goes into a landfill, we're going to challenge. We would landfill ultimately is the cost, and we would rather take volume out of that and get a second life on the second revenue stream for that. And that allows us to extend the life of landfills, which in many urban areas, we're running out of airspace and the industry is.

至於下一步要往哪裡走，凡是會進入掩埋場的東西，我們都會去挑戰。最終掩埋是一種成本，我們寧可把這些量從掩埋端移出，讓它獲得第二次生命，並形成第二條營收來源。這也讓我們能延長掩埋場的使用年限；在許多都會區，我們以及整個產業都面臨可用掩埋空間（airspace）不足的問題。

So parts of New England and coastal California and other places, if you can get an extra 5, 6, 7, 10 years in those landfills, that's enormously valuable while getting a second revenue stream. So organic material, flexible packaging, those are all things that we're taking a look at. And we'll make sure that both is going to be environmentally sustainable, but economically sustainable. It's got to have a return for us to invest.

所以像新英格蘭部分地區、加州沿海以及其他地方，如果能讓那些掩埋場多延長5、6、7甚至10年的使用年限，在取得第二條營收來源的同時，價值非常可觀。因此，有機物、軟性包裝（flexible packaging）等，都是我們正在評估的方向。我們會確保這些不僅在環境面可永續，也在經濟面可永續。必須有報酬，我們才會投資。

Noah Kaye, Oppenheimer.

Noah Kaye，Oppenheimer。

Good afternoon, and thanks for taking the questions. Sorry, it's getting a little bit more fine with the points on the modeling here, but for our models for the back half, you mentioned that the total price volume outlook hasn't changed. Any moving parts within that? I mean could volumes be a little bit worse, pricing a little bit better? Because obviously, we're going to have still an overhang on volumes from a comp perspective here in 3Q, but just trying to get a little bit more granular if possible.

午安，謝謝讓我提問。抱歉，接下來會更細一點、偏模型假設的問題：針對下半年，你提到整體的價格/量展望沒有改變。那在這之中是否有任何變動因素？例如量可能稍微差一些、但價格稍微好一些？因為很明顯，從比較基期的角度來看，第三季的量仍會有壓力；我只是想在可能的情況下更細緻地了解。

I would say only on the margin and what you see is, if you're going to grow, you're going to take on new units that are below your portfolio average. And so nominally, that would put lower pressure on yields. So we'll probably end up more toward the lower side of our yield guidance because we're doing slightly better on volumes.

我會說只有些微差異。你會看到的是，如果你要成長，你會承接一些低於你整體組合平均水準的新單位。因此在名目上，這會對收益率（yield）造成較低的壓力。所以我們最後可能會更偏向收益率指引的下緣，因為我們在量方面表現稍微好一些。

Same thing with service increases, right? You're going to see service increases come in at a slightly lower rate, which again puts downward pressure on yield. But those are all additional activities, which are good for the business overall, and that's why you see the margin being strong because we still got a good overall price cost spread.

服務調漲也是同樣道理，對吧？你會看到服務調漲的落點略低一些，這同樣會對收益率造成下行壓力。但這些都是額外的活動，整體而言對業務是好事；這也是為什麼你會看到利潤率仍然強勁，因為我們整體的價格與成本之間仍有良好的價差（price-cost spread）。

Hopeful. Thank you. And then there's been a lot of questions asked about ES today. And I kind of want to pull back for a minute and just ask you about how the business has performed over a longer period of time. And we're about four years into integrating US ecology.

明白。謝謝。另外，今天大家問了很多關於ES的問題。我想先退一步，請你談談這項業務在更長時間尺度下的表現。我們整合US Ecology大概已經四年了。

And just curious where you'd assess the business is at now versus the deal model. And if you think about kind of controllable levels of improvement beyond just the macro, what sort of remains as clear opportunity?

想請教你們如何評估目前這項業務相較於當初交易模型（deal model）的狀況？如果只看可控的改善空間、而不只是宏觀因素，接下來還有哪些明確的機會？

Yes. We're more excited about that business today than we were when we purchased US Ecology four years ago, and we've substantially exceeded the pro forma and driven really good returns for our shareholders there. I think we probably underestimated the challenge of integration of some legacy assets that both we had as well as legacy US Ecology had and getting the systems and tools and processes put together.

是的。我們對這項業務現在的興奮程度，比四年前收購US Ecology時更高，而且我們大幅超越了備考（pro forma）預期，並為股東帶來非常好的報酬。我想我們可能低估了整合的挑戰：包括我們自身以及US Ecology既有的一些傳統資產，還有把系統、工具與流程整合到位。

And we're playing a long game, so we're going to make the right decision for the long term, even if that sacrifices some short-term performance. We haven't gotten it always perfect in the commercial side in terms of price volume, but I think that team keeps learning and growing.

我們是在打長期戰，因此即使犧牲一些短期表現，我們也會做出對長期最正確的決策。在商業端、就價格與量而言，我們並非每次都做得完美，但我認為那個團隊持續在學習與成長。

And on balance, if you look at the progress, you're taking a business that had in the 14%, 15% EBITDA margin and made substantial improvement. And I think that improvement going forward won't be a straight line. Nothing that you're building ever is going to be perfect. It's not a mature business yet, but the upward path is to the up and to the right on the margin standpoint and again, we're very excited about both the top and bottom line prospects of that business.

整體來看，如果你看進展，我們把一個EBITDA利潤率約14%、15%的業務做出了顯著改善。而且我認為未來的改善不會是一條直線。你在打造任何東西時都不可能完美。這還不是一個成熟的業務，但從利潤率角度來看，路徑是往上、往右走；同樣地，我們對這項業務的營收端與獲利端前景都非常期待。

Connor Cerniglia, Bernstein.

Connor Cerniglia，Bernstein。

Great. Thank you for my question. You all highlighted AI-driven benefits in pricing and routing. There was a recent industry headline about automated AI-enabled systems being deployed at landfills. Can you talk about whether or not you've evaluated these technologies yet? And any early views on how landfill automation could impact your operations over time?

很好。謝謝讓我提問。你們強調了AI驅動在定價與路線規劃上的效益。近期產業有一則頭條新聞，提到在掩埋場部署自動化、AI賦能的系統。你們能談談是否已經評估過這些技術嗎？以及對於掩埋場自動化長期可能如何影響你們營運，有沒有任何初步看法？

I think automation and AI will impact everything we do. I expect that to matriculate, it already is, matriculate into our vehicles and into our heavy equipment. I think the idea of getting to autonomy at scale, a truck driving down the road or operating at a landfill truly autonomous. You could do it. I'm not sure that there's going to be substantial cost savings because, in the end, somebody is likely going to be programming or driving that.

我認為自動化與 AI 將影響我們所做的一切。我預期它會逐步滲透——其實已經在發生——並融入我們的車輛與重型設備之中。我認為要在規模化的情況下達到自主化，也就是一輛卡車在道路上行駛或在掩埋場作業時真正實現全自動自主運行，這個概念是可行的。你可以做到。但我不確定是否會有顯著的成本節省，因為到最後，很可能仍需要有人去編程或駕駛。

So you're not going to see a huge labor arbitrage in that part of the business. But if you look at other parts of the business in recycling centers, the more technology we put in, I mean, we have a fraction of the employees that we did a decade ago in many of our recycling centers through robots and automation. And so I think that we'll continue to invest and grow there. But automation, just like everything else we do has got to have a return, right? We've got to make sure that we're solving a problem and not just automating for automation's sake.

所以在那一塊業務上，你不會看到很大的勞動力套利空間。但如果你看業務的其他部分，例如回收中心，我們投入越多技術——我的意思是，透過機器人與自動化，在我們許多回收中心，員工人數相較十年前已經只剩一小部分。因此我認為我們會持續在那方面投資並擴張。但自動化就像我們做的其他所有事情一樣，必須要有回報，對吧？我們必須確保是在解決問題，而不是為了自動化而自動化。

And then maybe switching to residential. You mentioned residential volumes should improve sequentially from here. Can you maybe just refine the trajectory of the volume recovery? It seems like volumes maybe continue in the, call it, down 3% to 4% range before you lap the large contracts in Q1 of next year and then maybe you see volumes kind of closer down to 1%, 2%. Is that the right way to think about the trajectory or maybe a bit too specific. Any commentary there would be helpful.

接著也許轉到住宅端。你提到住宅端的量應該會從這裡開始按季改善。你能否再更精煉一下量回升的軌跡？看起來量可能會持續在——姑且說——下滑 3% 到 4% 的區間，直到你在明年第一季與大型合約的比較基期重疊之後，然後量可能會更接近下滑 1%、2%。這樣理解軌跡是否正確，還是可能太過具體？任何評論都會很有幫助。

Yes, we would expect sequential improvement in the volume performance, still negative, but in the, call it, 3% to 3.5% range in the second half of the year. And then that moving in '27 at this point, probably still down circa 2% based on what we expect right now. But as we've talked about, the other lines of business, small container, permanent large container, the landfill MSW, we're seeing those improve, which will -- again, when you take a look at the total volume performance, we would expect total company volume performance to sequentially improve quarter-on-quarter from here on out.

是的，我們預期量的表現會按季改善，仍然是負成長，但在今年下半年大約是——姑且說——下滑 3% 到 3.5% 的區間。然後以目前的情況來看，到了 2027 年可能仍會下滑約 2%，這是基於我們目前的預期。但如同我們談過的，其他業務線——小型容器、永久性大型容器、掩埋場 MSW（都市固體廢棄物）——我們看到這些正在改善；因此——同樣地，當你看整體的總量表現時，我們預期公司總量表現將從現在起逐季改善。

Tami Zakaria, JPMorgan.

Tami Zakaria，摩根大通。

Hey, good morning. Good afternoon. How are you? One question for today. New York is proposing that landfills treat leachate for PFAS before discharging to waterways. I think the public comments here is open. Do you plan to provide comments? And more broadly, are you planning or preparing in terms of maybe changes your operations strategy should something like this go into effect?

嗨，早安。午安。你好嗎？今天一個問題。紐約州正提議要求掩埋場在將滲濾液排放至水道之前，先針對 PFAS 進行處理。我想目前正在開放公眾意見徵詢。你們計畫提交意見嗎？更廣泛地說，若這類規定生效，你們是否正在規劃或準備，例如在營運策略上可能需要做出調整？

Yes. Obviously, there's been a lot of dialogue at both the federal and state level about PFAS, and we are very active and engaged in those conversations. We're not opposed to regulation, but it's got to be sensible regulation. And what we are opposed to is blaming a landfill for all the inbound volume that contains PFAS. PFAS is pervasive.

是的。顯然，在聯邦與州層級，關於 PFAS 已有大量對話，而我們非常積極參與並投入這些討論。我們不反對監管，但必須是合理的監管。而我們反對的是，把所有含有 PFAS 的進場量都歸咎於掩埋場。PFAS 無所不在。

And so it shows up in every landfill because it's in all types of waste streams. And penalizing the landfill, we think, is the wrong solution. We're actually the right point to remediate that because we're capturing that leachate and we're able to treat it in many cases, pretreat it, in some cases, discharge it and work with our utility partners at the local level to make sure that we have the right solutions.

因此它會出現在每一座掩埋場，因為它存在於各種類型的廢棄物流中。我們認為，懲罰掩埋場是錯誤的解決方案。事實上，我們才是進行修復的正確節點，因為我們會收集滲濾液，並且在許多情況下能夠處理它、在某些情況下先行預處理，在某些情況下排放，並與地方層級的公用事業合作夥伴合作，確保我們有正確的解決方案。

So I'd say it's something we get -- we're mindful of. We're in state capitals, we're in federal capital, but it isn't something, I think, is a fundamental risk to the business. We will manage through this just like all the regulation the industry has done in the past.

所以我會說，這是我們會——我們會留意的事情。我們在各州首府、也在聯邦首都參與其中，但我認為這並不是對業務的根本性風險。我們會像產業過去面對所有監管一樣，把這件事管理好。

At this time, there appear to be no further questions. Mr. Vander Ark, I'll turn the call back over to you for closing remarks.

目前看來沒有其他問題。Vander Ark 先生，我把電話交回給您做結語。

Thank you, Nick. As we close today's call, I want to thank the entire Republic Services team. Their dedication to our customers and communities continues to strengthen our business and differentiate Republic in the marketplace. I'm proud of what we've accomplished in the first half of the year and confident in our ability to build on this momentum as we continue creating long-term value for our customers, employees and shareholders. Have a good evening and be safe.

謝謝你，Nick。在結束今天的電話會議之際，我要感謝 Republic Services 的全體團隊。他們對客戶與社區的投入與奉獻，持續強化我們的業務，並讓 Republic 在市場上更具差異化。我為我們在上半年所達成的成果感到自豪，也對我們在持續為客戶、員工與股東創造長期價值的同時，能在此動能上再接再厲充滿信心。祝各位晚上愉快，並請注意安全。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the conference call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，本次電話會議到此結束。感謝各位與會。您現在可以掛線。