Stifel Financial Corp (SF) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Stifel Financial third-quarter 2024 financial results conference call. Today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Stifel Financial 2024 年第三季財務業績電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Joel Jeffrey, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

這次，我想把會議交給投資者關係高級副總裁喬爾·傑弗裡(Joel Jeffrey)。請繼續。

Thanks, operator. I'd like to welcome everyone to Stifel Financial's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. I'm joined on the call today by our Chairman and CEO, Ron Kruszewski; our Co-Presidents, Victor Nesi and Jim Zemlyak; and our CFO, Jim Marischen.

謝謝，接線生。歡迎大家參加 Stifel Financial 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。我們的董事長兼執行長 Ron Kruszewski 也參加了今天的電話會議。我們的聯合總裁 Victor Nesi 和 Jim Zemlyak；以及我們的財務長 Jim Marischen。

Earlier this morning, we issued an earnings release and posted a slide deck and financial supplement to our website, which can be found on the Investor Relations page at www.stifel.com. I would note that for some of the numbers we state throughout our presentation are presented on a non-GAAP basis, and I would refer to our reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP as disclosed in our press release.

今天早些時候，我們發布了收益報告，並在我們的網站上發布了幻燈片和財務補充資料，您可以在 www.stifel.com 的投資者關係頁面上找到這些內容。我要指出的是，我們在整個簡報中陳述的一些數字是在非公認會計原則的基礎上提出的，我會提到我們在新聞稿中披露的公認會計原則與非公認會計原則的調節。

I would also remind listeners to refer to our earnings release, financial supplement, and other slide presentation for information on forward-looking statements and non-GAAP measures. This audiocast is copyrighted material of Stifel Financial Corp and may not be duplicated, reproduced, or rebroadcast without the consent of Stifel Financial.

我還想提醒聽眾參考我們的收益發布、財務補充和其他幻燈片演示，以了解有關前瞻性陳述和非公認會計原則措施的資訊。本音訊廣播是 Stifel Financial Corp 受版權保護的資料，未經 Stifel Financial 同意，不得複製、轉載或轉播。

I will now turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Ron Kruszewski.

我現在將把電話轉給我們的董事長兼執行長 Ron Kruszewski。

Thanks, Joel. Good morning and thanks to everyone for taking the time to listen to our third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call.

謝謝，喬爾。早安，感謝大家花時間收聽我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。

Looking at our third quarter results, net revenue of $1.23 billion was, in our history, our second highest quarterly revenue, up 17% year on year. The growth in our business was essentially across the board as follows.

從我們第三季的業績來看，12.3 億美元的淨收入是我們歷史上第二高的季度收入，年增 17%。我們業務的成長基本上是全面的，如下所示。

Commissions and principal transactions increased 15% as both wealth management and our institutional group generated double digit increases. Investment banking increased 66% as capital raising revenue more than doubled, while advisory revenue increased 41%. Record asset management revenue was up 15%, reflecting organic growth and market appreciation.

由於財富管理和我們的機構集團均實現了兩位數的成長，佣金和本金交易成長了 15%。投資銀行業務成長了 66%，融資收入增加了一倍多，而諮詢收入增加了 41%。創紀錄的資產管理收入成長了 15%，反映了有機成長和市場升值。

As we noted earlier in the year, we thought net interest income had bottomed. And providing evidence of this, in the third quarter, NII increased by 4% and reached the high end of our guidance.

正如我們今年早些時候指出的，我們認為淨利息收入已經觸底。第三季的NII 成長了4%，達到了我們指導的上限，這就是證明這一點的證據。

I'd also highlight that our sweep deposit balances increased by nearly $370 million, which was the first quarterly increase since the first quarter of 2022, which, by the way, clients coincided with the Fed beginning to raise rates. Third-quarter earnings per share totaled $1.50, which increased to 150% from the same period last year.

我還想強調的是，我們的綜合存款餘額增加了近 3.7 億美元，這是自 2022 年第一季以來的首次季度增長，順便說一下，客戶與美聯儲開始升息的時間一致。第三季每股收益總計1.50美元，較去年同期成長150%。

Both this quarter and last year's third quarter were impacted by legal reserves, which Jim will address in greater detail later in the presentation. Excluding these reserves, earnings per share would have been $1.60 in the third quarter, which represents a 36% percent increase over the adjusted EPS from the third quarter of last year.

本季和去年第三季都受到法定準備金的影響，吉姆將在稍後的演示中更詳細地討論這個問題。不包括這些準備金，第三季每股收益將為 1.60 美元，比去年第三季調整後每股收益成長 36%。

Our results in the quarter and through the first nine months of the year illustrate the strength of our franchise and our ability to capitalize on the improving market conditions. Year to date, we've generated record net revenue of $3.6 billion, up 13%, driven by the continued growth of our wealth management franchise, improvement in our institutional business, and the stabilization of net interest income.

我們本季和今年前九個月的業績說明了我們特許經營的實力以及我們利用市場狀況改善的能力。今年迄今為止，在財富管理業務持續成長、機構業務改善以及淨利息收入穩定的推動下，我們的淨收入達到創紀錄的 36 億美元，成長 13%。

It's important to note that we generated strong result in an environment for our institutional business that, while improving, remains below historical norms. Additionally, net revenue increased sequentially in each of the first three quarters of this year, and all of these quarters rank in the top four quarters in our history.

值得注意的是，我們的機構業務環境雖然有所改善，但仍低於歷史標準，因此取得了強勁的業績。此外，今年前三個季度的淨收入均連續成長，所有這些季度均名列我們歷史上的前四個季度。

So looking forward to the fourth quarter and beyond, we expect the momentum in our business to continue to build. And we believe that there is further upside to our results as the operating environment improves and we capitalize on the investments we've made in our business.

因此，展望第四季及以後，我們預期我們的業務動能將持續增強。我們相信，隨著營運環境的改善以及我們對業務投資的充分利用，我們的業績還有進一步的上升空間。

On slide 2, we compare our quarterly results to the Street consensus estimates. Net revenue came in approximately $30 million or about 2% above the Street forecast as all line items, except asset management, surpassed expectations.

在投影片 2 中，我們將季度業績與華爾街的普遍預期進行了比較。淨收入約為 3,000 萬美元，比華爾街預測高出約 2%，因為除資產管理外的所有項目都超出預期。

Transactional revenue came in slightly above consensus due to stronger wealth management results. Investment banking revenue was 6% ahead of the Street, driven by a higher advisory and fixed income capital raising.

由於財富管理業績強勁，交易收入略高於共識。在更高的諮詢和固定收益融資的推動下，投資銀行業務收入比華爾街高出 6%。

Net interest income was $3 million above the Street estimate and at the high end of our guidance, as net interest margin came in above expectations. Asset management revenue was slightly below the Street, primarily due to lower revenue from third-party cash sweep, which Jim will give more detail on later in the presentation.

由於淨利差高於預期，淨利息收入比華爾街預期高出 300 萬美元，處於我們指導的最高水平。資產管理收入略低於華爾街，主要是由於第三方現金掃蕩的收入較低，吉姆將在稍後的演示中詳細介紹這一點。

On the expense side, our compensation ratio was 58%, above the Street by 7 basis points as we continue to conservatively accrue throughout 2024. Non-comp expenses, excluding the aforementioned legal reserves, were essentially in line with Street estimates.

在費用方面，我們的薪酬比率為 58%，比華爾街高出 7 個基點，因為我們在 2024 年繼續保守地增加薪酬。不包括上述法定準備金的非補償費用基本上與華爾街的估計一致。

Turning to slide 3. We've used this slide a number of times to show how our institutional business and net interest income provide natural hedges to each other. As you can see from the chart, this inverse relationship has provided increased stability to our bottom line over the past five years.

轉到投影片 3。我們多次使用這張投影片來展示我們的機構業務和淨利息收入如何相互提供自然對沖。正如您從圖表中看到的那樣，這種反向關係在過去五年中為我們的利潤提供了更高的穩定性。

That said, we believe we've hit an inflection point and that both line items should grow as we go forward. Our confidence in this forecast is driven by the current composition of our balance sheet and continued improvement of the capital markets from the recent troughs. Said another way, we are entering a period where both net interest income and our institutional business will add to our bottom line.

也就是說，我們相信我們已經達到了一個拐點，而這兩個項目都應該隨著我們的前進而成長。我們對這項預測的信心是由我們目前的資產負債表組成以及資本市場從近期低谷中持續改善所推動的。換句話說，我們正在進入一個淨利息收入和我們的機構業務都將增加我們利潤的時期。

While Jim will give more details on the specifics of our balance sheet, let me just say that we, today, are relatively insensitive to changes in interest rates and that we believe that in the current environment, deploying excess capital on the asset growth provides attractive risk-adjusted returns. As such, we anticipate growing net interest income.

雖然吉姆將提供有關我們資產負債表的更多細節，但我只想說，我們今天對利率變化相對不敏感，並且我們認為，在當前環境下，將過剩資本用於資產增長提供了吸引力風險調整後的回報。因此，我們預期淨利息收入將會成長。

Growth in our institutional pre-tax income will be driven by the return of more normalized market conditions and the increased scale of our business. We've seen a substantial improvement in this business in 2024 as pre-tax income of nearly $130 million is up meaningfully from the modest loss that we had over the same period last year.

我們的機構稅前收入的成長將受到更正常化的市場條件的回歸和我們業務規模的擴大的推動。我們看到該業務在 2024 年將大幅改善，稅前收入較去年同期的小幅虧損大幅增加近 1.3 億美元。

However, our year-to-date pre-tax margins of 11.5% are well below the 20% we should generate in more normal market conditions. And as such, we see meaningful upside to this business.

然而，我們年初至今 11.5% 的稅前利潤率遠低於我們在更正常的市場條件下應達到的 20%。因此，我們看到了這項業務的有意義的優勢。

There's been a lot of focus on the potential upside that a rebound in our institutional business will generate as the buck environment improves. And while we agree with this analysis, I think it's important to recognize that our global wealth management business has and will continue to be our long-term growth driver.

隨著降壓環境的改善，我們的機構業務將產生反彈，這引起了許多人的注意。雖然我們同意這項分析，但我認為重要的是要認識到我們的全球財富管理業務已經並將繼續成為我們的長期成長動力。

Given our record revenue through that first nine months of the year and our record client asset levels, global wealth is likely to reach its 22nd consecutive year of record net revenue. The key to our growth has been both retention and recruitment of highly productive advisors while providing the products, service, and entrepreneurial culture, taken together, which drive our advisers' growth and productivity.

鑑於我們今年前 9 個月創紀錄的收入以及創紀錄的客戶資產水平，全球財富可能會連續 22 年創下創紀錄的淨收入。我們成長的關鍵是保留和招募高生產力的顧問，同時提供產品、服務和創業文化，共同推動我們顧問的成長和生產力。

Additionally, the investments we've made into our platform and service has been validated by Stifel being named the number one wealth management firm in terms of employee-advisor satisfaction by J.D. Power for the second consecutive year.

此外，我們對平台和服務的投資得到了 Stifel 的驗證，連續第二年被 J.D. Power 評為員工顧問滿意度第一的財富管理公司。

Looking forward, we will remain focused on our core values of respecting our advisors and continually improving their experience at Stifel as we continue to strive for our target of $1 trillion in client assets. This approach has not only improved our advisor satisfaction levels, but just as importantly, resulted in better client experience.

展望未來，我們將繼續專注於我們的核心價值觀，即尊重我們的顧問並不斷改善他們在 Stifel 的體驗，同時繼續努力實現 1 兆美元客戶資產的目標。這種方法不僅提高了我們顧問的滿意度，而且同樣重要的是，帶來​​了更好的客戶體驗。

Now, I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Jim Marischen, to discuss our most recent quarter.

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長 Jim Marischen，討論我們最近一個季度的情況。

Thanks, Ron, and good morning, everyone. Looking at the details of our third-quarter results on slide 5.

謝謝羅恩，大家早安。查看投影片 5 上我們第三季業績的詳細資訊。

The quarterly net revenue of $1.23 billion was up 17% year on year. Year to date, revenue of $3.6 billion was up 13%. Each of our operating line items showed improvement from the same period in 2023, with the exception of NII. Our EPS in the third quarter was up 150% from the prior year and up 43% year to date as higher revenues and lower operating expenses drove the overall improvement.

該季度淨收入為 12.3 億美元，年增 17%。年初至今，營收達 36 億美元，成長 13%。除 NII 外，我們的每個營運項目均較 2023 年同期有所改善。我們第三季的每股盈餘比去年同期成長了 150%，今年迄今成長了 43%，因為營收的增加和營運費用的降低推動了整體改善。

Moving on to our segment results. Global wealth management revenue was a record $827 million, and pre-tax margins totaled 37% on record asset management revenues in our highest transactional revenue in nearly three years.

繼續我們的細分結果。全球財富管理收入達到創紀錄的 8.27 億美元，稅前利潤率達到創紀錄的資產管理收入的 37%，是我們近三年來最高的交易收入。

As Ron mentioned earlier, asset management revenue came in below analysts' estimates. This was due to lower third-party bank sweep balances as we move more of our lower-cost sweep deposits back into the bank, which positively impacted net interest income. Excluding the effect of the charge in the third parties -- I'm sorry. Excluding the impact of the change in third party sweeps, asset management revenue would have been in line with Street estimates.

正如羅恩之前提到的，資產管理收入低於分析師的預期。這是由於我們將更多成本較低的回款存款轉回銀行，第三方銀行回款餘額減少，這對淨利息收入產生了積極影響。不包括第三方收費的影響——抱歉。排除第三方掃描變化的影響，資產管理收入將與華爾街的預期一致。

During the quarter, we added 28 total advisors to our platform. This included 13 experienced advisors with trailing 12-month production of $10.5 million. We ended the quarter with record fee-based assets and total client assets of $191 billion and $496 billion, respectively. The sequential increases were due to higher equity markets and organic growth as net new assets grew in the low single digits.

本季度，我們的平台總共新增了 28 位顧問。其中包括 13 位經驗豐富的顧問，過去 12 個月的產出為 1,050 萬美元。本季結束時，我們的收費資產和客戶總資產分別達到創紀錄的 1,910 億美元和 4,960 億美元。環比成長是由於股市上漲以及新資產淨值以低個位數成長所致的有機成長。

On slide 7, I'll discuss our bank results. As Rob mentioned earlier, client cash levels increased during the quarter and sweep cash balances increased for the first time since the beginning of 2022. While we're not going to say the cash sorting is done, we feel that the trends continue to improve and that we'll be seeing more cash moving into the sweep program as interest rates normalize.

在投影片 7 上，我將討論我們的銀行績效。正如 Rob 之前提到的，本季客戶現金水準有所增加，現金餘額自 2022 年初以來首次增加。雖然我們不會說現金分類已經完成，但我們認為趨勢繼續改善，隨著利率正常化，我們將看到更多現金進入清理計劃。

Net interest income of $260 million was at the high end of our range, as average interest earning asset levels increased by nearly $650 million and our net interest margin increased by 5 basis points to 3.09%. The primary driver of the increase in interest-earning assets was growth in residential mortgages, C&I and fund banking loans, as well as CLOs. The increase in NIM was the result of increased loan and security yields that more than offset higher deposit costs.

淨利息收入為 2.6 億美元，處於我們區間的高端，因為平均生息資產水準增加了近 6.5 億美元，淨利差增加了 5 個基點，達到 3.09%。生息資產成長的主要驅動力是住宅抵押貸款、商業與投資和基金銀行貸款以及貸款抵押貸款的成長。淨利差的增加是貸款和證券收益率增加的結果，足以抵消更高的存款成本。

Additionally, based on the percentage deposits in our smart rate product, we've essentially gotten to a point where we are neutral to 100-basis-point rate movements, either up or down. This lack of rate sensitivity, coupled with our expectation for balance sheet growth, should result in stable to growing NII in the future quarters. Eve with our expectations for another rate cut in the fourth quarter, we expect NII to be in a range of $255 million to $265 million.

此外，根據我們智慧利率產品中的存款百分比，我們基本上已經達到了對 100 個基點的利率變動（無論上漲或下跌）持中性態度的地步。這種對利率敏感度的缺乏，加上我們對資產負債表成長的預期，應該會導致未來幾季的NII穩定成長。考慮到我們對第四季再次降息的預期，我們預計 NII 將在 2.55 億美元至 2.65 億美元之間。

Our credit metrics and reserve profile remains strong. The non-performing asset ratio stands at 47 basis points. Our credit loss provision totaled $5.3 million for the quarter. And our consolidated allowance to total loans ratio was 83 basis points, which was impacted by growth in loan balances in fund banking and residential mortgages, which are lower risk loan types that carry lower relative reserves.

我們的信用指標和儲備狀況仍然強勁。不良資產率為47個基點。本季我們的信用損失撥備總額為 530 萬美元。我們的綜合準備金與總貸款比率為83個基點，這是受到基金銀行和住宅抵押貸款餘額增長的影響，這些貸款類型風險較低，相對準備金也較低。

Moving on to the institutional group. Total revenue for that segment was $372 million in the quarter, which was up 45% year on year. Revenue of $1.11 billion was up 29%, led by strong increases in capital raising and transactional revenue.

轉到機構組。該部門本季總營收為 3.72 億美元，年增 45%。在融資和交易收入強勁成長的帶動下，營收達到 11.1 億美元，成長 29%。

Firm-wide investment banking revenue totaled $243 million. Similar to last quarter, both capital raising and advisory revenue increased sequentially and year on year.

全公司投資銀行業務收入總計 2.43 億美元。與上季類似，融資和諮詢收入均較上季和年成長。

Equity underwriting of $51 million was up 6% in the second quarter and 141% over the same period in 2023 as healthcare, industrials, and financials were our strongest contributors. Year to date, we continue to see strong improvement and capital raising as Stifel ranked number eight in terms of the number of IPOs.

第二季股票承銷額為 5,100 萬美元，較 2023 年同期成長 6%，較 2023 年同期成長 141%，醫療保健、工業和金融是我們最強勁的貢獻者。今年迄今為止，我們繼續看到強勁的改善和融資，Stifel 在 IPO 數量方面排名第八。

Fixed income underwriting revenue increased 3% sequentially and 100% from 3Q '23, as public finance revenue increase more than 73%. We continue to be a leader in the municipal underwriting business as we ranked number one in the number of negotiated transactions to nearly 15% market share.

固定收益承保收入季增 3%，較 23 年第三季成長 100%，公共財政收入成長超過 73%。我們繼續成為市政承保業務的領先者，協議交易數量排名第一，市佔率接近 15%。

Advisory revenue was $137 million, an increase of 41% from last year, as activity levels continue to improve. We had solid results in our healthcare, technology, and industrial verticals. We're also seeing momentum build in our financials practice.

隨著活動水準持續改善，諮詢收入達到 1.37 億美元，比去年增長 41%。我們在醫療保健、技術和工業垂直領域取得了堅實的成果。我們也看到我們的財務實踐勢頭增強。

Year to date, KBW has over 70% market share of announced bank and thrift M&A transactions based on deal value. This is a good indication of the momentum we have heading into 2025 in our advisory practice, as revenue from these announcements are likely to be realized next year.

今年迄今為止，根據交易價值，KBW 在已公佈的銀行和儲蓄機構併購交易中佔有超過 70% 的市場份額。這很好地表明了我們的諮詢業務進入 2025 年的勢頭，因為這些公告的收入可能會在明年實現。

Equity transactional revenue totaled $49 million, up 4% from the second quarter of 2023. We continue to gain traction on or electronic offerings, and we see continued engagement with our high-touch trading and best-in-class research.

股權交易收入總計 4,900 萬美元，較 2023 年第二季成長 4%。我們繼續在電子產品上獲得吸引力，我們看到人們繼續參與我們的高接觸交易和一流的研究。

Fixed Income transactional revenue of $79 million was up 17% year on year as we continue to benefit from the rebound in our rate business as a result of the anticipated shift in fed policy, which has increased client activity.

固定收益交易收入為 7,900 萬美元，年增 17%，因為我們繼續受益於利率業務的反彈，這是由於聯準會政策的預期轉變導致客戶活動增加。

For the next slide, we go through expenses. Our comp-to-revenue ratio in the third quarter was 58%, which is again at the high end of our full-year guidance as we continue to accrue conservatively. In terms of expectations for the comp ratio in the fourth quarter, we estimate it will remain at 58%.

在下一張投影片中，我們將介紹費用。我們第三季的利潤與收入比率為 58%，隨著我們繼續保守地成長，這再次處於我們全年指引的高端。對於第四季的本益比預期，我們預計維持在58%。

As Ron mentioned earlier in the call, non-comp expenses came in at $279 million and were negatively impacted by additional legal accruals. Excluding the legal charge or credit provision and investment banking gross-ups, our non-comp operating ratio was essentially 20%, at the midpoint of our full-year range of 19% to 21%.

正如 Ron 早些時候在電話會議中提到的，非補償費用為 2.79 億美元，並受到額外法律應計費用的負面影響。不包括法定費用或信貸撥備以及投資銀行總額，我們的非公司營業比率基本上為 20%，處於全年 19% 至 21% 範圍的中點。

I would also note that we expect to see a decline in our effective tax rate in the fourth quarter, given the excess tax benefit associated with stock-based compensation. We are currently forecasting an effective tax rate between 16% and 18% for the fourth quarter.

我還要指出的是，考慮到與股票薪酬相關的超額稅收優惠，我們預計第四季的有效稅率將會下降。我們目前預測第四季的有效稅率在 16% 至 18% 之間。

On slide 10, I'll review our capital position. Our balance sheet continues to be well capitalized Tier 1 leverage capital increased 20 basis points sequentially to 11.3%. And our Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio increased by 10 basis points to 17.9%.

在投影片 10 上，我將回顧我們的資本狀況。我們的資產負債表仍資本充足，一級槓桿資本連續增加 20 個基點至 11.3%。我們的一級創投比率上升了10個基點，達到17.9%。

[Based on a] target 10% Tier 1 leverage ratio, we have nearly $500 million of excess capital and continue to generate significant levels of additional excess capital as illustrated by the $149 million of GAAP net income that we generated in the third quarter.

[基於] 10% 的一級槓桿率目標，我們擁有近 5 億美元的超額資本，並繼續產生大量額外超額資本，正如我們在第三季度產生的 1.49 億美元 GAAP 淨利潤所示。

In terms of capital deployment during the quarter, I note that we increased bank assets by $1.1 billion to $30.4 billion. We repurchased roughly 250,000 shares at an average price of $81.23 with roughly 10.5 million shares remaining on our current authorization. And we paid quarterly dividends in our common preferred stock.

就本季的資本部署而言，我注意到我們的銀行資產增加了 11 億美元，達到 304 億美元。我們以平均價格 81.23 美元回購了約 25 萬股，目前授權剩餘約 1,050 萬股。我們每季支付普通優先股股息。

I'd also highlight that we retired $500 million of long-term debt in July. Although this doesn't impact capital levels, it helps us reduce annual interest expense by more than $20 million. Absent any assumption for additional share repurchases and assuming a stable stock price, we'd expect the fourth quarter fully diluted share count to be 111.9 million shares.

我還要強調的是，我們在 7 月償還了 5 億美元的長期債務。雖然這不會影響資本水平，但它幫助我們減少了超過 2000 萬美元的年度利息支出。在沒有任何額外股票回購的假設並假設股價穩定的情況下，我們預計第四季度完全稀釋後的股票數量將為 1.119 億股。

So with that, let me turn the call back to Ron.

那麼，讓我把電話轉回給羅恩。

Thanks, Jim. Let me conclude by saying that we are on track to reach our near and longer term goals. We started 2024 with a more conservative outlook for the operating environment than the Street forecast, but guided to solid revenue growth and expense controlled.

謝謝，吉姆。最後我要說的是，我們正在實現近期和長期目標。2024 年伊始，我們對營運環境的展望比華爾街的預測更為保守，但我們的目標是穩健的營收成長和費用控制。

Our market outlook turned out to be more accurate than the Street, and yet our net revenue is on pace to finish the year at the high end of our guidance. And our expenses are also on track to come in within our initial guidance range.

事實證明，我們的市場前景比華爾街更準確，但我們的淨收入預計在今年結束時達到我們指導的上限。我們的支出也有望在我們最初的指導範圍內。

To put the strength of our performance so far in 2024 in context, our revenue run rate of $4.8 billion is just shy of the $5 billion we've discussed as a realistic level of revenue in a normalized environment. Look, it's important to note that our $4.8 billion run rate does not factor in what we believe will be a good fourth quarter.

考慮到 2024 年迄今為止我們的業績表現，我們 48 億美元的收入運行率僅略低於我們討論的正常化環境下的實際收入水平 50 億美元。需要注意的是，我們 48 億美元的運作率並未考慮到我們認為第四季的良好業績。

We anticipate a strong fourth quarter as we continue to benefit from the growth trends we've experienced in 2024 as well as the typical seasonality there we experience in the fourth quarter. That said, there are still meaningful uncertainty to the current operating environment, including the outcome of the upcoming elections and geopolitical risks.

我們預計第四季度將表現強勁，因為我們將繼續受益於 2024 年的成長趨勢以及第四季的典型季節性。儘管如此，當前的營運環境仍然存在很大的不確定性，包括即將舉行的選舉結果和地緣政治風險。

As we typically do, we will give our formal guidance for 2025 on our fourth quarter conference call. However, let me just say this about how we see 2025 at this point. Given the strength of our results in what we considered a transition year, our expectation for further revenue growth as markets continue to normalize and our anticipated increased operating leverage, we feel confident in our ability to achieve our targets of more than $5 billion in revenue and $8 of EPS.

正如我們通常所做的那樣，我們將在第四季度電話會議上給予 2025 年的正式指導。不過，我現在只想談談我們對 2025 年的看法。考慮到我們在過渡年取得的強勁業績、隨著市場繼續正常化我們對收入進一步增長的預期以及我們預期營運槓桿的增加，我們對實現超過 50 億美元收入和收入的目標充滿信心。 8 美元。

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

那麼，接線員，請開通提問線路。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Devin Ryan, Citizens JMP.

謝謝。（操作員說明）Devin Ryan，Citizens JMP。

Thank you. Morning, Ron. Morning. Jim. How are you?

謝謝。早安，羅恩。早晨。吉姆.你好嗎？

Morning, Devin.

早上好，德文。

The first question just on lending. Obviously, a great loan growth in the quarter. Ron, it sounds like you still expect more from here or pretty good demand. And I also appreciate it will be opportunistic as conditions change.

第一個問題是關於貸款。顯然，本季貸款成長強勁。羅恩，聽起來您仍然對這裡有更多期望，或者需求相當不錯。我也很高興隨著情況的變化，這將是機會主義的。

But can you just maybe help quantify the level of demand that you're seeing and where it's coming from incrementally? And then it sounds like you guys think you can still grow net interest income from here, even as rates come down. Just want to get the interplay with that as well. Thanks.

但您能否協助量化您所看到的需求水準以及增量的來源？然後，聽起來你們認為即使利率下降，你們仍然可以從這裡增加淨利息收入。只是想得到與之之間的互動。謝謝。

Yeah, and I'll let Jim give some detail. As we've said, we've gotten to the position with our deposits and smart rate and versus sweep that we're essentially neutral to 100-basis-point move in terms of our margin, frankly. And what we see going forward is the opportunity to build our balance sheet.

是的，我會讓吉姆提供一些細節。正如我們所說，坦白說，我們的存款和智慧利率以及與掃描相比，我們在保證金方面基本上保持中性至 100 個基點的變動。我們未來看到的是建立資產負債表的機會。

We see great opportunity. And as you know, we have limited our balance sheet growth on purpose during a more uncertain rate environment. So as we look today, we have an ability to grow in a risk-adjusted basis, as we always do, our net interest income.

我們看到了巨大的機會。如您所知，在更不確定的利率環境下，我們有意限制了資產負債表的成長。因此，正如我們今天所看到的，我們有能力像往常一樣在風險調整的基礎上實現淨利息收入的成長。

Yeah. And I would say we are less dependent on a lot of the general loan market with the economy in general and the ability for us to put loans on our book, given our captive audience base, whether that's mortgages or securities-based loans or fund banking and venture. We have the ability to generate a fair amount, as Ron said, risk adjusted returns that are very attractive.

是的。我想說的是，考慮到我們的固定受眾基礎，無論是抵押貸款、證券貸款還是基金銀行業務，我們對總體經濟的總體貸款市場的依賴程度以及我們在賬簿上放貸的能力都減少了和冒險。正如羅恩所說，我們有能力產生相當數量的風險調整回報，這是非常有吸引力的。

You couple that with the liquidity and the sensitivity to interest rates that Ron talked about plus the $500 million of excess capital, we're essentially saying we have a fair amount of capacity with over $3 billion in sweep deposits that are available to the bank today to generate balance sheet growth at roughly a 3% NIM.

再加上羅恩談到的流動性和對利率的敏感性，再加上5 億美元的超額資本，我們基本上是說我們擁有相當大的能力，目前銀行可以使用超過30 億美元的掃款存款使資產負債表的淨利差增加約 3%。

Okay, terrific. And then just a follow-up on fixed income brokerage. Appreciate revenues there were up year over year, and I think the second quarter had roughly $20 million gain. But it still seemed a little bit softer than we were looking for.

好吧，太棒了。然後是固定收益經紀業務的後續行動。值得讚賞的是，那裡的收入同比增長，我認為第二季度的收入約為 2000 萬美元。但它看起來仍然比我們想要的要軟一些。

So just love to get any sense of whether there were losses there. And then just the outlook, particularly with depositories as we look into later this year and next year there as well. Thanks.

所以只是想了解那裡是否有損失。然後是前景，特別是我們在今年稍後和明年也會研究的存款機構。謝謝。

A little bit of seasonality always in the third quarter. I don't see any real slowing of that business. You did mention the reason that it was down from the second quarter. But I'm optimistic about that business, both as rates normalize and -- most of our depository clients continue to actively manage their portfolios.

第三季總是有一點季節性。我沒有看到該業務有任何真正的放緩。您確實提到了比第二季下降的原因。但我對這項業務感到樂觀，因為利率正常化，而且我們的大多數存款客戶繼續積極管理他們的投資組合。

We sit here and talk about cash building because the interest rate risk curve is normalizing. The same thing happened to our clients, and they're going to be more active in trading activity in an environment like that. And that presents a great situation for fixed income rate curve.

我們坐在這裡談論現金建設，因為利率風險曲線正在正常化。同樣的事情也發生在我們的客戶身上，他們在這樣的環境下會更積極地進行交易活動。這為固定利率曲線提供了一個很好的情況。

Okay, great. I'll leave it there. Thanks, guys.

好的，太好了。我會把它留在那裡。謝謝，夥計們。

Thanks, Devin.

謝謝，德文。

Thank you. Alex Blostein, Goldman Sachs.

謝謝。亞歷克斯·布洛斯坦，高盛。

Hey, guys. This is Michael on for Alex. Maybe just a follow up to the $3 billion of third-party deposits that you guys have. So it sounds like that would all be available to move over to the bank at your discretion. I was wondering if we can just double-click into the -- maybe the funding rate on those deposits and how that works.

嘿，夥計們。這是邁克爾替亞歷克斯發言。也許只是你們擁有 30 億美元第三方存款的後續。因此，聽起來您可以自行決定將所有資金轉移到銀行。我想知道我們是否可以雙擊——也許是這些存款的資金利率以及它是如何運作的。

Yeah. So the sweep deposits, obviously, it is very well known rates. We're at 4.5% of smart rate, and you can see the tiering on our sweep program. The remainder of that, primarily treasury deposits, I would say generally speaking, they are closer to smart rate, but on a blended basis, a little bit less expensive than smart rate.

是的。所以掃存款，顯然，這是眾所周知的利率。我們的智慧費率為 4.5%，您可以在我們的清掃方案中看到分層。其餘的，主要是國庫存款，一般來說，它們更接近智慧利率，但在混合基礎上，比智慧利率便宜一點。

Some of that will depend if it is a lending relationship -- I'm sorry, deposit relationship only or also comes with a lending relationship. But again, it's going to be a little bit less than smart rate.

其中一些取決於它是否是藉貸關係——抱歉，只有存款關係還是還帶有借貸關係。但同樣，它會比智能率低一點。

Thanks. That's helpful. Maybe just moving on quickly to the comp rate. So it sounds like you guys guided to the fourth quarter about 50%. It's been pretty range bound for the last two years. Obviously, the mix of revenues matters.

謝謝。這很有幫助。也許只是快速轉向補償率。所以聽起來你們指導第四季大約 50%。過去兩年它一直在相當範圍內。顯然，收入的組合很重要。

But how would you frame the opportunity for leverage over time? And maybe you can talk about how that would play into your early plans for 2025, both on the comp rate side, but also on the non-comp?

但隨著時間的推移，您將如何建立槓桿機會？也許您可以談談這將如何融入您 2025 年的早期計劃，無論是在薪酬方面還是在非薪酬方面？

Yeah. I think we've been conservative in comp, as we have been keeping -- net interest income has been relatively flat because our interest earning assets have been relatively flat. And as I said, we anticipate that line item growing, and that has a positive impact on our comp ratio.

是的。我認為我們在比較方面一直保持保守，正如我們一直保持的那樣，淨利息收入相對持平，因為我們的生息資產相對持平。正如我所說，我們預計該訂單項會成長，這會對我們的補償比率產生正面影響。

Couple that with a normalization of our institutional business, which is annualizing today at $1.5 billion, down from $2.2 billion in '21 and up from $1.250 billion-ish last year on an annualized basis. And we've talked about a conservative normalization of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.

再加上我們機構業務的正常化，按年化計算，我們的機構業務目前的年化價值為 15 億美元，低於 21 年的 22 億美元，也高於去年的 12.5 億美元左右。我們已經討論了 17 億至 18 億美元的保守正常化。

As that occurs, that also positively impacts the comp ratio. So I would -- in this environment, would say that 58% will be at the high end of our guidance range for 2025, to try to answer your question, as I see the market environment providing leverage to the comp ratio.

當這種情況發生時，這也會對薪酬比率產生正面影響。因此，在這種環境下，我會說 58% 將處於我們 2025 年指導範圍的高端，以試圖回答您的問題，因為我認為市場環境為補償比率提供了槓桿。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. Steven Chubak, Wolfe Research.

謝謝。史蒂文‧丘巴克，沃爾夫研究中心。

Hey, Steven.

嘿，史蒂文。

Hi. Good morning. Hey, Ron. How are you? Jim, I hope you're doing well also. So I wanted to start off, just a clarifying question. Ron. You mentioned the $8 earnings target. It's something you alluded to before in the more normalized environment.

你好。早安.嘿，羅恩。你好嗎？吉姆，我希望你也過得很好。所以我想開始，只是一個澄清的問題。羅恩.您提到了 8 美元的獲利目標。這是您之前在更正常化的環境中提到過的事情。

Was that something that you were speaking to in the context of a more normal operating backdrop? Or is that actually a 2025 expectation for where earnings could check out?

您是在更正常的營運背景下談論的嗎？或者這實際上是對 2025 年獲利情況的預期嗎？

I love the question. I understand what you're saying. I'm going to go back to what I said because I'm not really prepared to talk about that 2025. But what I did say back in '24 was that as we look forward '25 then, that we saw the ability to get to, I think it was, $5.2 billion, $8, of operating in '25. That's what I said. And what I said today was that my view hasn't changed. That's a (inaudible) way to answer your question.

我喜歡這個問題。我明白你在說什麼。我要回到我剛才所說的，因為我還沒準備好談論 2025 年。但我在 24 年確實說過，當我們展望 25 年時，我們看到了在 25 年運作達到 52 億美元、8 美元的能力。我就是這麼說的。我今天所說的是，我的觀點沒有改變。這是回答你的問題的一種（聽不清楚）方式。

Understood. I appreciate that. No. No, I appreciate that, Ron. And I did also want to ask on the buyback, just for my follow-up. Historically, you've been a good tactical buyer of your stock. We did see the moderation in share repurchases in the quarter.

明白了。我很欣賞這一點。不。不，我很感激，羅恩。我確實也想詢問回購事宜，只是為了我的後續行動。從歷史上看，您一直是股票的優秀戰術買家。我們確實看到本季股票回購有所放緩。

Just trying to square that positive message on the outlook, the earnings growth potential for next year that you outlined with that moderation in buyback, and just how you're thinking about the relative attractiveness of repurchase versus other alternatives, whether it would be bank growth or M&A.

只是試圖將這一正面訊息與前景、明年的獲利成長潛力（您概述的適度回購）以及您如何看待回購相對於其他替代方案的相對吸引力（是否會促進銀行成長）相結合或併購。

Again, we -- those three levers, bank growth, M&A, and stock buybacks, are always on the table, coupled with our dividends, which are the four primary levers that we do to manage capital levels and provide the returns and make sure that our return on investment is adequate.

再說一次，我們——這三個槓桿，銀行成長、併購和股票回購，總是擺在桌面上，再加上我們的股息，這是我們用來管理資本水平和提供回報並確保我們的投資回報是足夠的。

Look, we have that. And I mean, we've purchased stock at an average of $80. Today, there's a lot of optimism in the market in terms of financial. I've shared that. But when we look at deploying capital, the lever for bank growth appears a little more attractive to us.

看，我們有那個。我的意思是，我們以平均 80 美元的價格購買了股票。今天，市場對金融方面充滿樂觀情緒。我已經分享過了。但當我們考慮資本配置時，銀行成長的槓桿對我們來說似乎更具吸引力。

Not to say we're not buying back stock. We are, but we also repaid our note. And from a liquidity perspective, I was probably a little bit more saying, hey, I never paid off of a note. I just wired $500 million of cash. So it was a little more saying one about our liquidity position.

並不是說我們不會回購股票。我們是，但我們也償還了我們的票據。從流動性的角度來看，我可能更多的是說，嘿，我從未還清過任何票據。我剛剛匯出 5 億美元現金。因此，這更說明了我們的流動性狀況。

But look, I think our -- we'll continue to buy back stock and we'll continue to grow our balance sheet and we'll continue to look at acquisitions. Each are measured against each other as to which is the most attractive.

但是，我認為我們將繼續回購股票，我們將繼續擴大我們的資產負債表，我們將繼續考慮收購。每個人都會互相比較，看看哪個最具吸引力。

If you tie this into your original question about $8 of EPS, we probably had a little bit more of an emphasis on share repurchases at that point. You got to remember, we're adding a $1 billion of interest-earning assets at a 3% NIM. That's roughly $0.20 of EPS.

如果你把這個與你最初關於每股收益 8 美元的問題聯繫起來，我們當時可能會更加強調股票回購。您必須記住，我們將以 3% 的淨利差 (NIM) 增加 10 億美元的生息資產。這大約相當於每股收益 0.20 美元。

So there's obviously some give and take of the balance sheet growth versus the buyback, the impact on how we get to the $8 per share as well.

因此，資產負債表成長與回購之間顯然存在一些讓步，這也會影響我們如何達到每股 8 美元。

And those dynamics have changed since the beginning of the year, primarily our stock price.

自今年年初以來，這些動態已經發生了變化，主要是我們的股價。

No, of course. I appreciate that, Ron. I'll hop back in the queue. Thanks so much for taking my questions.

不，當然。我很感激，羅恩。我會跳回到隊列中。非常感謝您回答我的問題。

Okay.

好的。

Thank you. Brennan Hawken, UBS.

謝謝。布倫南霍肯，瑞銀集團。

Hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. This is Ben Rubin filling in for Brandon. I wanted to start on the cash trends obviously positively inflecting, with sweep deposits up by nearly $370 million, although smart rate was about $500 million as well.

你好。早安.感謝您回答我的問題。我是本·魯賓 (Ben Rubin) 接替布蘭登 (Brandon)。我想從現金趨勢開始，現金趨勢明顯呈現正面變化，掃除存款增加了近 3.7 億美元，儘管智慧利率也約為 5 億美元。

And you recently cut rates on the smart rates. I was just curious, what type of impact have you seen on client flows on the back of rate cuts, if any? And what does that mean as far as your expectations for cash growth towards the end of the year? Thank you.

而且您最近降低了智慧利率。我只是很好奇，您認為降息對客戶流量有何影響（如果有的話）？就您對年底現金成長的預期而言，這意味著什麼？謝謝。

Yeah. We've actually seen deposit inflows in both sweep and smart rate since we've cut rates. And we've also seen inflows in the quarter. Again, we're not ready to say cash sorting is over. As of yesterday, I'll say our sweep program is up another $100 million in the fourth quarter thus far.

是的。自從我們降息以來，我們實際上已經看到存款以掃除利率和智慧利率的形式流入。我們也看到本季有資金流入。再說一次，我們還沒準備好說現金分類已經結束。截至昨天，我想說我們的掃蕩計畫在第四季迄今又增加了 1 億美元。

So the impact of rate cuts is good. It's been minimal. Again, the bigger impact on this going forward is going to be the normalization yield curve and the competitiveness of various different alternatives.

所以降息的效果是好的。這是最小的。同樣，未來更大的影響將是殖利率曲線正常化和各種不同替代品的競爭力。

Great. Thanks. And then I was hoping to ask about the recovery in sponsor M&A. You're obviously -- your advisor results are coming on the right direction. So I was hoping you can just circle back on whether or not you've seen any improvement in the sponsor market as conditions improve and as borrowing costs and rates come down. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。然後我想問贊助商併購的復甦情況。顯然，您的顧問結果正朝著正確的方向發展。因此，我希望您能回想一下，隨著情況的改善以及借貸成本和利率的下降，贊助商市場是否有所改善。謝謝。

Generally, yes. I mean, I would say that's across the street. And you'll see it and M&A results. Certainly, the market conditions are conducive for that activity. If there's any governor on it, I think it is still the uncertainty around the election, which, at least as it relates to M&A, could -- the election could provide some real tailwinds to M&A or maybe the more current environment, I would say, a more regulatory burdens of would continue.

一般來說，是的。我的意思是，我會說那是在街對面。你會看到它和併購結果。當然，市場條件有利於這項活動。如果有任何州長參與其中，我認為這仍然是選舉的不確定性，至少在與併購相關的方面，選舉可能會為併購或當前的環境提供一些真正的推動力，我想說，更多的監管負擔將繼續存在。

But I don't see it getting worse. I can see it getting better from a regulatory perspective. But overall, the M&A environment on the sponsor side is good.

但我不認為情況會變得更糟。從監管角度來看，我可以看到它正在變得更好。但整體而言，保薦方併購環境良好。

Great. Thank you for taking my questions.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you. Bill Katz, TD Cowen.

謝謝。比爾·卡茨，TD·考恩。

Okay. Thank you very much --

好的。非常感謝--

Hey, Bill.

嘿，比爾。

Good morning, everybody. Thank you very much for taking the questions. Busy morning.

大家早安。非常感謝您接受提問。早上很忙。

So FA count was relatively flat despite adding some more seasoned folks to the platform with good [showing] production. Can you step back a little bit and talk about how you see the net growth and maybe the competitive backdrop, what it means for incremental profit contribution for FA? Thank you.

因此，儘管在平台上添加了一些經驗豐富且具有良好[展示]產量的人員，但 FA 數量相對持平。您能否退一步談談您如何看待淨成長以及競爭背景，這對 FA 的增量利潤貢獻意味著什麼？謝謝。

Yeah, I think -- we've been dealing for a while with the balancing recruiting with generally retirements. And we've seen net growth, although on a net basis, it appears muted. What you see is increased productivity per advisor because we retain clients and we're adding more productive advisors.

是的，我想——我們已經在平衡招聘和普遍退休之間進行了一段時間的處理。我們已經看到了淨增長，儘管從淨值來看，增長似乎很緩慢。您看到的是每位顧問的工作效率有所提高，因為我們留住了客戶，並且增加了更多工作效率的顧問。

Look, I would say overall, I'm probably as optimistic about the recruiting landscape as I've been in both our relative position. I've seen it being -- our relative offering, especially on the transition side, being more competitive. I think rates probably had something to do with that or at least we're seeing that trend.

總的來說，我想說的是，我對招募情勢的樂觀態度可能與我在我們兩個相對職位上的樂觀態度一樣。我發現我們的相對產品，特別是在轉型方面，更具競爭力。我認為利率可能與此有關，或者至少我們看到了這種趨勢。

And we're talking to as many productive teams as we ever have. And so I'm optimistic. The fourth quarter is [all we believe] is a muted quarter because of you really close to transition window in early December. But as I look at both the trends, primarily the number of people visiting us, who we're talking to, I feel really good about our continued growth of that business and the addition of high quality advisors to our platform.

我們正在與盡可能多的高效團隊進行交談。所以我很樂觀。[我們認為]第四季是一個平靜的季度，因為 12 月初非常接近過渡窗口。但當我觀察這兩種趨勢時，主要是訪問我們的人數以及我們正在交談的人數，我對我們業務的持續增長以及我們平台上增加的高品質顧問感到非常滿意。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just a follow up, maybe a conceptual question. Obviously, we haven't been here in a while. At what level of rates do you think you need to get to or we need to get to for money to migrate out of smart?

好的。這很有幫助。然後只是跟進，也許是一個概念性問題。顯然，我們有一段時間沒來這裡了。您認為您或我們需要達到什麼水準才能將資金遷移出 smart？

It sounds like both were up again into the fourth quarter, which is nice. But is there -- at what level do you think you might actually start to see a migration back towards balance sheet cash? Or is it different this time -- which is always a dangerous thing to say -- in that higher rates, higher awareness just would structurally changed the mix ex a real sharp drop in rates? Thank you.

聽起來兩人在第四節都再次崛起，這很好。但是，您認為在什麼水平上您可能真正開始看到資產負債表現金的遷移？還是說這次有所不同——這總是一件危險的事情——更高的利率、更高的意識只會從結構上改變這種組合，而不是利率真正急劇下降？謝謝。

Yeah. Well, first of all, I am not sure it's different this time in terms of -- that it was different than a zero rate environment, okay? I mean, I -- the question has to be, will we get back so that the affective spread between where sweep balances are in, say, the one-year treasury narrows so that you don't really have the incentive?

是的。好吧，首先，我不確定這次與零利率環境有何不同，好嗎？我的意思是，我——問題必須是，我們是否會回來，以便掃除餘額之間的情感差距，比如說，一年期國庫縮小，這樣你就沒有真正的動力了？

So to answer your question, even a normalization of rates, to me, would be Fed funds settling at 3% to 3.5%. And I get there by thinking inflation's going to be closer to [3 than 2] in price. You have a real interest rate, so [3.25 to 3.5]. That's where I see rates settling.

因此，回答你的問題，對我來說，即使是利率正常化，聯邦基金利率也將保持在 3% 至 3.5%。我認為通貨膨脹率將接近價格的[3比2]。你有實際利率，所以[3.25至3.5]。這就是我看到利率穩定的地方。

And as you get a normal yield curve, what will happen -- smart rate will still be there because the rate differential between transactional cash and savings cash will still provide clients with that choice. In contrast, when rates were zero, it didn't really matter.

當你得到正常的殖利率曲線時，會發生什麼事——智慧利率仍然存在，因為交易現金和儲蓄現金之間的利率差異仍將為客戶提供這種選擇。相比之下，當利率為零時，這並不重要。

And so, is it different this time? Yeah, because I don't think we're going back to a zero rate environment. I think we are well positioned, as evidenced by our neutrality to changes -- 100-basis-point changes in Fed fund. And we've retained cash and I actually see us growing cash and having a NIM which drives appropriate return on investment on our loans, which I don't feel we have to take excessive credit risks to do so.

那麼，這次有什麼不同嗎？是的，因為我認為我們不會回到零利率環境。我認為我們處於有利位置，我們對變化持中立態度——美聯儲基金 100 個基點的變化證明了這一點。我們保留了現金，而且我實際上看到我們的現金不斷增長，並擁有淨息差，這可以推動我們的貸款獲得適當的投資回報，我認為我們不必為此承擔過多的信用風險。

I wouldn't be baking in something that says that our -- we're going to drive NIM. because people are going to go back into sweep. Sweep will always be there for transactional cash, but savings cash is the new normal.

我不會烘焙那些說我們將推動 NIM 的東西。因為人們會重新開始掃蕩。現金交易永遠存在，但儲蓄現金已成為新常態。

We've had roughly, essentially, 100% beta of smart rate. So at some point in -- as rates start to decline, the attractiveness of that alternative decreases fairly significant. You also seeing a fair amount of money come out of treasury.

我們的智慧率貝塔值大致上基本上是 100%。因此，在某個時刻，隨著利率開始下降，這種替代方案的吸引力就會顯著下降。您還看到大量​​資金從國庫中流出。

That becomes a less attractive alternative. More money coming back into smart and indoor sweep. Another thing I would just say at a high level, as we continue G&A increase recruiting, recruiting is going to continue to add to the level of that operational cash balance as well.

這成為一個不太有吸引力的選擇。更多資金重新投入智慧和室內清掃領域。我想說的另一件事是，隨著我們繼續增加一般行政費用招聘，招聘也將繼續增加營運現金餘額的水平。

Great. Can I sneak in a clarifying question? I know it's my third question, so I apologize for [tax rate] goodwill. Just in terms of the tax rate into the fourth quarter, is this a new development that we should now start baking in prospectively as we think about '25 and beyond? Or is this more idiosyncratic just to this particular coming quarter?

偉大的。我可以偷偷提出一個澄清問題嗎？我知道這是我的第三個問題，所以我對[稅率]善意表示歉意。就第四季度的稅率而言，這是一個新的發展，我們現在應該開始前瞻性地考慮「25 年及以後」嗎？或者這對於即將到來的這個特定季度來說更為特殊？

This happens every year. The impact is larger than normal because of the increase in stock price. So basically, this is the excess tax benefit related to stock-based compensation. The difference between granted fair value, the fair value of stock when it vests.

這種情況每年都會發生。由於股價上漲，影響比正常情況更大。基本上，這是與股票薪酬相關的超額稅收優惠。授予公允價值與歸屬時股票公允價值之間的差額。

And as your stock price increases, you get a larger benefit which runs through as a negative or a decline in your effective tax rate. You'll see it in most quarters -- historically, the fourth quarter for us. This is just a larger impact than normal.

隨著你的股價上漲，你會獲得更大的利益，這會導致你的有效稅率為負值或下降。你會在大多數季度看到它——從歷史上看，對我們來說是第四季度。這只是比正常情況下更大的影響。

Okay. Thank you very much. Take all the questions.

好的。非常感謝。接受所有問題。

Thank you. It appears there are no further questions at this time. Mr. Kruszewski, I'll turn the call back to you for any additional or closing remarks.

謝謝。目前似乎沒有其他問題了。Kruszewski 先生，如果您有任何補充或結束語，我會將電話轉回給您。

Thank you. Great job on pronouncing the name. I appreciate that. And to all of our shareholders, we look forward to recapping 2024, talking about what we anticipate will be a good fourth quarter and giving you some updates on our views into 2025. And with that, I bid everyone a great day. Thank you for your time.

謝謝。名字的發音非常好。我很欣賞這一點。對於我們所有的股東，我們期待回顧 2024 年，談論我們預計第四季度的良好表現，並向你們提供我們對 2025 年看法的一些最新情況。在此，我祝福大家有美好的一天。謝謝您的寶貴時間。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。