Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (SMG) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to Scotts Miracle-Gro's fourth quarter 2025 earnings webcast. I'm Brad Chelton, Head of Investor Relations.

早安.歡迎收看 Scotts Miracle-Gro 2025 年第四季財報網路直播。我是投資者關係主管布拉德·切爾頓。

Speaking today are Chairman and CEO, Jim Hagedorn; and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, Mark Scheiwer. Jim will provide a business update, followed by Mark with a review of our financial results. In conjunction with our commentary today, please review our earnings release and supplemental financial presentation slides, which were published on our website at investor.scotts.com prior to this webcast.

今天發言的是董事長兼執行長吉姆·哈格多恩，以及財務長兼首席會計官馬克·謝韋爾。吉姆將提供業務最新進展報告，隨後馬克將回顧我們的財務表現。結合我們今天的評論，請查看我們的收益報告和補充財務演示幻燈片，這些文件已在本次網絡直播之前發佈在我們的網站 investor.scotts.com 上。

During our review, we will make forward-looking statements and discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please be aware that our actual results could differ materially from what we shared today. Please refer to our Form 10-K filed with the SEC for details of the full range of risk factors that could impact our results.

在本次審查過程中，我們將發表前瞻性聲明並討論某些非GAAP財務指標。請注意，我們的實際結果可能與今天公佈的結果有重大差異。有關可能影響我們業績的全部風險因素的詳細信息，請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格。

Following the webcast, President and Chief Operating Officer, Nate Baxter; and Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, Chris Hagedorn, will join Jim and Mark for an audio-only Q&A session. To listen to the Q&A, simply remain on this webcast. To participate, please join by the audio link shared in our press release.

網路直播結束後，總裁兼營運長內特·巴克斯特和執行副總裁兼幕僚長克里斯·哈格多恩將與吉姆和馬克一起進行一場僅音訊的問答環節。要收聽問答環節，只需繼續觀看此網路直播即可。如需參與，請透過我們新聞稿中分享的音訊連結加入。

As always, today's session will be recorded. An archived version will be published on our website. For further discussion after the call, please e-mail or call me directly.

與往常一樣，今天的會議將會錄影。存檔版本將發佈在我們的網站上。通話結束後，如需進一步討論，請直接寄電子郵件給我或打電話。

With that, let's get started with Jim's business update.

那麼，就讓我們開始聽吉姆匯報業務最新進展。

Thanks, Brad. Good morning. I'll start by reminding everyone of our mission. We're getting back to being the safe harbor, high-return equity that was our historic profile before we embarked on our financial recovery. That includes eliminating any drama around our business for investors to have to worry about.

謝謝你，布拉德。早安.首先，我要提醒大家我們的使命。我們正在恢復到疫情前的那種安全港灣、高回報股權投資的狀態。這包括消除投資者需要擔心的任何與我們業務相關的負面消息。

When you look at our outstanding fiscal '25 results and what we expect for this year, it's clear we're executing upon the mission. We're generating strong sales growth in our US consumer business and substantial free cash flow. POS units at retailers are even higher, and we're improving gross margin and profitability while reducing our leverage ratio.

從我們出色的 2025 財年業績以及我們對今年的預期來看，很明顯，我們正在實現我們的使命。我們在美國消費業務中實現了強勁的銷售成長和可觀的自由現金流。零售商的 POS 機數量甚至更高，我們在降低槓桿率的同時，提高了毛利率和獲利能力。

Our financials are stronger, and the balance sheet is healthier. Most importantly, we've deepened the moat around our business with our exceptional brands, R&D, supply chain, and sales teams. We're taking more share in a consumer goods category that shows no signs of slowing its growth.

我們的財務狀況更加穩健，資產負債表也更加健康。最重要的是，我們憑藉著卓越的品牌、研發、供應鏈和銷售團隊，加深了我們業務的護城河。我們在消費品領域佔據了更大的市場份額，而該領域的成長勢頭絲毫沒有放緩的跡象。

Our partnerships with our retailers have never been better, and more retailers are recognizing lawn and garden as a high-growth consumer category in this challenging economy. As a result of all this work, we're gaining a greater level of predictability, stability, and financial flexibility.

我們與零售商的合作關係從未如此融洽，越來越多的零售商也意識到，在當前充滿挑戰的經濟狀況下，草坪和花園產品是一個高成長的消費品類別。經過這些努力，我們獲得了更高的可預測性、穩定性和財務靈活性。

Later this month, we'll close on our new credit facility on what we expect will be better terms, a recognition of our progress. I want to thank Mark and our treasury team and our banks for their hard work.

本月晚些時候，我們將完成新的信貸安排，我們預計條款會更好，這是對我們進步的認可。我要感謝馬克、我們的財務團隊以及我們的銀行的辛勤工作。

In addition, we're looking to take more friendly actions for our shareholders that go beyond our dependable and high dividend. This includes a multiyear share buyback program that I will put before our Board of Directors this quarter for implementation in fiscal '26. That's the only major M&A that I'm interested in right now, buying back our own company.

此外，除了提供可靠且高額的股利外，我們還在尋求更多對股東友善的措施。這其中包括一項多年股票回購計劃，我將在本季度提交董事會審議，以便在 2026 財年實施。目前我唯一感興趣的大型併購專案就是回購我們自己的公司。

At the start of last year, I laid out our financial imperatives for '25 through '27. They are the foundation for consistent growth and our midterm strategic plans. They include US consumer net sales growth averaging at least 3% annually, gross margin rates of 35% or higher, EBITDA growth in the mid-single-digit range, and a leverage ratio of 3 to 3.5 times.

去年年初，我制定了我們 2025 年至 2027 年的財務要務。它們是持續成長和其中期策略計劃的基礎。其中包括美國消費者淨銷售額年均成長至少 3%，毛利率達 35% 或更高，EBITDA 成長率達到中等個位數，槓桿率為 3 至 3.5 倍。

I'd like to measure our progress not just by what we achieved in fiscal '25, but by our multiyear performance against those imperatives. It's worth noting that our US Consumer net sales the past two years increased by a combined 7%, in line with that annual average.

我希望衡量我們所取得的進展，不僅要看我們在 2025 財年的成就，還要看我們多年來在實現這些目標方面的表現。值得注意的是，過去兩年我們在美國消費者的淨銷售額合計成長了 7%，與年均水準持平。

Overall, fiscal '25 moved us closer to all of those targets. We delivered on every aspect of our guidance, and the list of positives is long. Gross margin was up nearly 500 basis points, exceeding our projections, allowing us to invest even more behind our brands and deliver EBITDA of $581 million, which was solidly within our guidance.

總體而言，2025 財年使我們離所有這些目標更近了一步。我們在各方面都兌現了我們的指導，積極成果不勝枚舉。毛利率提高了近 500 個基點，超越了我們的預期，使我們能夠對旗下品牌進行更多投資，並實現了 5.81 億美元的 EBITDA，這完全符合我們的預期。

Free cash flow exceeded expectations, too, helping us drive leverage down to just over 4 times and reaching $1.3 billion of free cash flow over the last three years. Our guidance for fiscal '26 calls for more improvement. We expect to maintain low single-digit sales growth for US Consumer and deliver gross margin approaching 33%. Leverage is expected to get safely into the 3s.

自由現金流也超出預期，幫助我們將槓桿率降至略高於 4 倍，並在過去三年中實現了 13 億美元的自由現金流。我們對 2026 財年的預期是需要進一步改進。我們預期美國消費者業務將維持個位數低銷售成長，毛利率將接近 33%。預計槓桿率將穩定進入3級。

My goal today is to demonstrate that Scotts Miracle-Gro is a best-in-class consumer goods company that deserves to be valued accordingly. Mark will cover our fiscal '25 performance in more detail and the guidance that will take us further down this path. I'll address the building blocks for fiscal '26.

我今天的目標是證明 Scotts Miracle-Gro 是一家一流的消費品公司，理應獲得相應的價值。Mark 將更詳細地介紹我們 2025 財年的業績，以及引領我們繼續前進的指導方針。我將闡述 2026 財年的基礎架構。

Subject to our plan this year are sales growth through organic volume increases and modest pricing along with very positive gross margin improvements through continued cost savings and a strategic shift in mix. Let me explain the mix shift.

今年我們的計劃是透過有機銷售成長和適度定價實現銷售成長，並透過持續節約成本和策略性產品組合調整實現非常積極的毛利率提升。讓我解釋一下混音的變化。

We will put greater resources behind our consumer activation programs for our branded products, while deemphasizing similar investments we've traditionally made in commodity products such as mulch. By stepping away from lower-priced, low-margin commodities and focusing on our higher-priced high-margin brands, we intend to drive a significant improvement in the quality of consumer sales at the retail level.

我們將增加對自有品牌產品消費者活化計畫的投入，同時減少對傳統商品（如覆蓋物）的類似投資。我們打算透過放棄低價低利潤的大宗商品，專注於高價高利潤的品牌，從而顯著提高零售層面消費者銷售的品質。

You may wonder why we invested in activation around mulch and other commodities. The primary reason was to partner with our retailers who use these products as an early season traffic driver, and it works for them.

您可能想知道我們為什麼要投資於覆蓋物和其他商品的推廣活動。主要原因是與那些將這些產品作為早季客流驅動因素的零售商合作，而這種合作對他們來說很有效。

But these commodities are barely profitable for us. They require a commitment to activation dollars. They pulled on our gross margin and max out our capacity, forcing us to contract with third parties to fill retailer commodity orders.

但這些商品對我們來說幾乎沒有利潤。他們需要投入激活資金。它們拉低了我們的毛利率，並使我們的產能達到極限，迫使我們與第三方簽訂合約來滿足零售商的商品訂單。

Our retail partners are accepting of this shift and are committed to ramping up joint activation programs to drive our branded products. They know the importance of our brands, and they see this as a bigger margin play for them, too.

我們的零售合作夥伴接受了這一轉變，並致力於加強聯合推廣力度，以推動我們品牌產品的銷售。他們了解我們品牌的重要性，也認為這對他們來說是一個利潤較高的機會。

There is unmatched power in our retailer programs combined with what we do from a broader advertising and marketing perspective. These activation investments approach $1 billion annually.

我們的零售商計劃與我們從更廣泛的廣告和行銷角度所做的工作相結合，具有無與倫比的力量。這些活化投資每年接近10億美元。

On top of this, retailers put a lot of their own money into these activities to drive our products in their store online and at shelf. These programs set us apart from competitors and would be a huge investment for any consumer goods company. Our ability to invest with our retailers behind our brands literally drives the entire lawn and garden category.

除此之外，零售商也投入大量資金進行這些活動，以推動我們的產品在其線上和線下門市銷售。這些項目使我們從競爭對手中脫穎而出，對於任何消費品公司來說都是一筆巨大的投資。我們有能力與零售商合作，投資我們的品牌，這實際上推動了整個草坪和花園類別的發展。

To ensure our associates are focused on our brand strategy this year, we'll present to our Board's comp and org committee, an incentive plan built on the metrics of branded sales growth, gross margin, and achievement of our strategic initiatives. This differs from incentive plans these past few years, which have been largely based on EBITDA and leverage metrics.

為了確保我們的員工今年專注於我們的品牌策略，我們將向董事會的薪酬和組織委員會提交一份激勵計劃，該計劃以品牌銷售成長、毛利率和策略舉措的完成情況為指標。這與過去幾年主要基於 EBITDA 和槓桿指標的激勵計劃有所不同。

The positive fiscal '25 results that we're sharing with you today demonstrate how our incentives drive behavior. Another building block for fiscal '26 is our e-commerce expansion. Online is where brands are created out of nowhere, and it's where people learn about products and they shop.

我們今天與大家分享的 2025 財年正面成果，證明了我們的激勵機制是如何驅動行為的。2026 財年的另一個重要組成部分是我們的電子商務擴張。網路世界是品牌誕生的地方，也是人們了解產品和購物的地方。

We've made huge gains in this channel in fiscal '25. We're doing exciting work to play in this space in a much bigger way. The growth opportunity is huge. If we can capture market share in e-comm that we have in conventional retail, it's well over $0.5 billion opportunity.

我們在 2025 財年在這個通路取得了巨大的進步。我們正在進行令人興奮的工作，準備以更大的規模在這個領域發揮作用。發展機遇巨大。如果我們能在電子商務領域獲得與傳統零售領域相同的市場份額，那將是一個超過 5 億美元的機會。

A lot of the e-comm gains last year resulted from our driving our brands through retailer digital channels. In fiscal '25, we achieved over a 50% increase in e-commerce POS units. At our largest retailer, e-comm sales doubled. And across retailer sites, our online share has grown.

去年我們在電子商務方面取得的許多進展都得益於我們透過零售商的數位管道推廣我們的品牌。在 2025 財年，我們的電子商務 POS 機數量成長超過 50%。在我們最大的零售商處，電子商務銷售額翻了一番。在各零售商網站上，我們的線上市佔率有所成長。

Nate has a dedicated team to expanding this channel. They're armed with more activation dollars and are developing new e-comm strategies that include loyalty programs, subscription services, and more. We'll expand not only what we're doing with retailers but through our own platforms as well.

Nate 有一個專門的團隊負責拓展這個頻道。他們擁有更多的行銷資金，並正在開發新的電子商務策略，包括忠誠度計劃、訂閱服務等。我們不僅會擴大與零售商的合作，還會透過我們自己的平台擴大合作。

Innovation plays into this space, too. We're augmenting our portfolio with products that are tailored to e-comm in terms of packaging and what they offer, such as the launch this year of liquid Turf Builder and liquid Miracle-Gro feeding products. Our supply chain is well positioned for online fulfillment.

創新在這個領域也扮演著重要角色。我們正在擴充產品組合，推出包裝和產品內容都更適合電子商務的產品，例如今年推出的液體草坪肥料和液體 Miracle-Gro 肥料。我們的供應鏈已做好充分準備，能夠滿足線上訂單的配送需求。

From a broader product innovation perspective, we're putting greater emphasis on organics and natural solutions. For consumers who want a less chemical approach to lawn and garden care, we're there for them.

從更廣泛的產品創新角度來看，我們更加重視有機和天然解決方案。對於那些希望減少化學投入、改善草坪和花園護理的消費者，我們隨時為他們提供服務。

Much of this will be led by Gardens where we're driving record consumer engagement and leading the entire garden category with Miracle-Gro. In fact, our organic portfolio is our fastest-growing product line ever. The team is doing a fantastic job, and I've challenged them to double their growth rate. And they have a tremendous tailwind.

其中大部分將由園藝業務引領，我們正在推動消費者參與度創紀錄，並憑藉 Miracle-Gro 引領整個園藝類別。事實上，我們的有機產品系列是我們有史以來成長最快的產品線。團隊的工作非常出色，我已經向他們提出了挑戰，要求他們將成長率提高一倍。他們也擁有巨大的順風。

Our total branded gardens business has grown over 10% units in each of the past two years. We've been gaining over 1 to 2 points of market share in each of those years, too.

過去兩年，我們的品牌花園業務總量每年增長超過 10%。這些年來，我們的市佔率每年都成長了 1 到 2 個百分點。

We have new things coming this year that will strengthen our ability to drive the entire category and bring in emerging consumers. It includes expansion of Miracle-Gro Organic, new packaging, and a bigger focus on year-round indoor gardening. Martha Stewart will again champion Miracle-Gro and the health and practical benefits of gardening.

今年我們將推出一些新舉措，這將增強我們引領整個品類發展並吸引新興消費者的能力。其中包括擴大 Miracle-Gro Organic 產品線、推出新包裝，以及更重視全年室內園藝。瑪莎·史都華將再次大力推廣 Miracle-Gro 產品，以及園藝帶來的健康和實際益處。

In controls, we have exciting things planned to take our Ortho brand to a whole new level. Ortho has often taken a backseat to our other brands, including Roundup and Tomcat, but that's changing. The team is introducing over 10 new Ortho products that will strengthen and expand our position in the category, valued at $5 billion.

在控制方面，我們計劃了一些令人興奮的事情，將我們的 Ortho 品牌提升到一個全新的水平。Ortho 一直以來都處於我們其他品牌（包括 Roundup 和 Tomcat）的次要地位，但這種情況正在改變。該團隊將推出 10 多款新的骨科產品，這將鞏固和擴大我們在該價值 50 億美元的類別中的地位。

We're introducing ant, mosquito, tick, weed preventer, and light trap SKUs. We're also evolving the marketing approach, tapping into social platforms to reach a whole new demographic. Controls is underpenetrated in dot-com and Ortho is well suited for it.

我們將推出螞蟻、蚊子、蜱蟲、除草劑和誘蟲燈等產品。我們也不斷改進行銷方式，利用社群平台接觸全新的受眾。控制在網路產業的滲透率較低，而 Ortho 非常適合填補這一空白。

Launch would be critical to our brand strategy. It's always been attractive because of its highly favorable margin profile. We're taking a very sophisticated approach, building off a great work in fiscal '25 where we reversed a long-term unit decline to deliver a combined 5.6% POS unit lift in branded fertilizer, grass seed, and spreaders.

此次發布對我們的品牌策略至關重要。由於其利潤率非常高，因此一直很有吸引力。我們採取了非常複雜的方法，以 2025 財年的出色工作為基礎，扭轉了長期的銷量下滑趨勢，使品牌肥料、草籽和撒播機的銷售點銷量合計增長了 5.6%。

We're changing how we market, advertise and promote fertilizers. We've moved away from consumer activations on single bag combination solutions like Triple Action in favor of activities that emphasize multiple feedings. And what's happened?

我們正在改變化肥的行銷、廣告和推廣方式。我們不再針對像三重功效這樣的單袋組合解決方案開展消費者推廣活動，而是轉向強調多次餵食的活動。發生了什麼事？

In the Midwest, our most important legacy market and where the weather was reasonable, POS unit gains exceeded 13% last year. Across all regions, Halts POS was up 20%. Weed and feed was up 9%. This is awesome and it demonstrates that we're on the right track.

去年，我們在中西部（我們最重要的傳統市場，也是天氣較宜人的地方）的 POS 機銷售量成長超過 13%。所有地區的 Halts POS 值均成長了 20%。除草劑和肥料價格上漲了 9%。這太棒了，這表明我們走在正確的道路上。

At the end of the day, consumers just want a great lawn, and the simplest and easy way is to regular feedings for a healthier lawn. In fiscal '26, will launch a new Turf Builder line focused on feeding your lawn four times a year. It features brand-new formulations that bring significant results within days.

歸根究底，消費者只是想要一塊漂亮的草坪，而最簡單方便的方法就是定期施肥，讓草坪更健康。在 2026 財年，我們將推出新的 Turf Builder 系列產品，專注於每年四次為您的草坪提供養分。它採用全新配方，可在數天內帶來顯著效果。

And if consumers are countering weeds, they can spot treat with our control products. We'll still carry combo solutions for consumers who prefer this approach, but we expect the new line to drive even more multi-bag purchases.

如果消費者需要除草，可以使用我們的除草產品進行局部處理。我們仍將為喜歡組合裝的消費者提供組合裝產品，但我們預期新產品線將帶動更多多袋裝產品的購買。

The partnership between the launch team and supply chain has led to significant improvements to reduce our production costs. This will enable us to create lower price points for consumers, setting the stage for higher sales while preserving margins.

發布團隊與供應鏈之間的合作顯著提高了我們的生產成本。這將使我們能夠為消費者創造更低的價格點，從而在保持利潤率的同時，為更高的銷售奠定基礎。

We all know the price of our fertilizer bags was getting high. And with the new Turf Builder line, a consumer with an average size lawn could feed it all season for about $100.

我們都知道化肥的價格越來越高。有了新的 Turf Builder 系列產品，擁有普通大小草坪的消費者只需花費約 100 美元即可在整個生長季為其施肥。

Let's talk about the overall lawn and garden category. It's gigantic. It's growing, and it's recession resistant. And we have the most powerful brands across the entire category.

我們來談談草坪和花園這個整體類別。它太大了。它正在成長，而且不受經濟衰退的影響。我們擁有整個品類中最強大的品牌。

We're not concerned about private label. Its share is less than 10%. And according to our industry-leading sources of data intelligence, it continues to decline.

我們並不關心自有品牌。其份額不到10%。根據我們行業領先的數據情報來源，這一趨勢仍在持續下降。

People are not trading down from our branded products. This is in stark contrast to what's happening with many other CPG companies. They're not only dealing with private label share gains; they're challenged by an uneasy consumer sentiment, on and off tariffs, and macroeconomic noise.

人們並沒有放棄我們的品牌產品而選擇其他品牌的產品。這與許多其他消費品公司的情況形成了鮮明對比。他們不僅要應對自有品牌市場份額的成長；還要應對不穩定的消費者情緒、時而生效時而失效的關稅以及宏觀經濟波動等挑戰。

We are not in that place. We are relatively unaffected by tariffs given our domestic sourcing. The demographics of our consumer are in our favor. They're homeowners who are not at the lower end of the market. and they're showing up.

我們不在那裡。由於我們的原材料都來自國內，因此受關稅的影響相對較小。我們的消費者群體人口結構對我們有利。他們是並非低端市場的房主，而且他們都來了。

That's evident in our point of sale. Units increased 8.5% in fiscal '25 on top of last year's gains of nearly 9%. A 17.5% POS unit increase over two years far outdistances our peer group. It's an outstanding number for any consumer company. Let's address our cost structure.

這一點在我們的銷售點顯而易見。2025 財年銷量成長 8.5%，而上一年銷量成長了近 9%。兩年內 POS 機銷量成長 17.5%，遠超過同行。對於任何一家消費品公司來說，這都是一個非常出色的數字。讓我們來探討一下成本結構。

We're being very deliberate but measured to balance out cost savings for margin improvement with necessary investments that fuel growth. We've done an outstanding job on our commitment to pull costs out.

我們採取非常謹慎但穩健的策略，在提高利潤率的同時，透過必要的投資來平衡成本節約和推動成長。我們在降低成本方面做得非常出色。

We're also undertaking a SKU rationalization to streamline the portfolio for incremental savings and supply chain efficiencies. Nate is looking to substantially invest even more this year in technology, robotics, AI, innovation, and marketing, all of which I have approved.

我們也正在進行 SKU 合理化，以精簡產品組合，逐步節省成本並提高供應鏈效率。內特今年計劃在技術、機器人、人工智慧、創新和行銷方面投入更多資金，所有這些我都已批准。

I've spent most of my time on our consumer business. So I'll pivot to Hawthorne Gardening, which was cash flow positive and contributed positive EBITDA for the full year. This improvement will aid our ultimate plan to divest Hawthorne and focus on our lawn and garden powerhouse.

我把大部分時間都花在了消費者業務上。因此，我將重點介紹霍桑園藝公司，該公司全年現金流為正，並貢獻了正的 EBITDA。這項改進將有助於我們最終剝離霍桑公司，並專注於我們的草坪和花園產業。

We are fully committed to being a pure lawn and garden company and moving Hawthorne to a place where they can be successful on their own and in their own category. If they deliver, it could create an opportunity for Scotts Miracle-Gro shareholders to participate in Hawthorne's value creation down the road.

我們致力於成為一家純粹的草坪和花園公司，並將霍桑公司發展成為一個能夠獨立發展並在其自身領域取得成功的公司。如果他們能夠實現目標，這將為 Scotts Miracle-Gro 的股東創造機會，讓他們在未來參與 Hawthorne 的價值創造。

Progress is being made here. Earlier in fiscal '25, we divested The Hawthorne Collective, the vehicle by which we invested in cannabis plant touching operations. In Q4, we sold the international professional horticulture arm of Hawthorne Gardening.

這裡正在取得進展。2025 財年早些時候，我們剝離了 Hawthorne Collective，我們透過該實體投資於大麻植物相關業務。第四季度，我們出售了霍桑園藝公司的國際專業園藝部門。

The next and final phase is to combine Hawthorne Gardening with a cannabis-dedicated entity to create a unique, integrated company like no other. It would be diversified between input supplies, cultivation, and strong brands with a geographic footprint in industry-leading consumer markets. We're close, and we hope to provide details soon.

下一個也是最後一個階段是將 Hawthorne Gardening 與一家專注於大麻的實體合併，從而創建一個獨一無二的綜合性公司。它將實現多元化發展，涵蓋投入品供應、種植以及在行業領先的消費市場擁有地理影響力的強勢品牌。我們即將完成，希望很快就能提供詳細資訊。

So we're clear. Everything we're doing with Hawthorne reflects our commitment to our Board of Directors who have charged us with finding a solution that preserves and accelerates our tax benefit of about $100 million, meets the expectations and requirements of our banks, ensures no more cash goes into Hawthorne, and finally, positions Hawthorne for a long-term independent success.

所以我們都清楚了。我們在霍桑所做的一切，都體現了我們對董事會的承諾。董事會委託我們找到一個解決方案，既能保留並加速實現約 1 億美元的稅收優惠，又能滿足銀行的期望和要求，確保不再有現金流入霍桑，最終使霍桑能夠長期獨立成功。

To sum everything up for my comments this morning, I'll emphasize two major points. First and foremost, we're executing every day on our mission to make Scotts Miracle-Gro the safe harbor, high-return equity it should be. We're accelerating growth, and we're intent on taking more shareholder-friendly actions. We've brought stability to our company.

總結我今天早上的發言，我將強調兩點。首先，我們每天都在努力實現我們的使命，使 Scotts Miracle-Gro 成為安全港灣和高回報的股權投資標的。我們正在加速成長，並致力於採取更多有利於股東的措施。我們為公司帶來了穩定。

Second, we're a best-in-class consumer goods company. No one has the brands, innovation, supply chain, and in-store merchandising force that we do. We drive our business and the entire lawn and garden category. And we're investing even more heavily in the most powerful franchise in the space.

其次，我們是一家一流的消費品公司。沒有任何一家公司擁有像我們這樣的品牌、創新能力、供應鏈和店內銷售實力。我們引領著我們的業務以及整個草坪和花園行業。我們正在加大對業界最強大品牌的投資。

As I look to fiscal '26, we're very bullish on the year. And we have exciting things happening strategically to further support our mission. To put it simply, we got this. Here's Mark.

展望 2026 財年，我們非常看好這一年。我們正在策略層面上採取一些令人振奮的舉措，以進一步支持我們的使命。簡而言之，我們搞定了。這是馬克。

Thank you, Jim, and hello, everyone. Fiscal '25 marked another year of momentum, highlighted by substantial progress and furthering investments in our brands, innovation and channels; continuing gross margin improvements; strengthening of our balance sheet; and lowering of our leverage ratio.

謝謝你，吉姆，大家好。2025 財年標誌著又一個發展勢頭強勁的年份，其亮點包括：在品牌、創新和通路方面取得實質進展並加大投資；毛利率持續提高；資產負債表得到加強；槓桿率降低。

We met or exceeded all financial metrics in our guidance. Gross margin expansion, EPS, and strong free cash flow surpassed projections. At the same time, we made important strategic investments to fuel our continued growth. We are set up well for fiscal '26 to drive greater shareholder value, and I'll talk about that after I review our financials.

我們達到或超越了預期中的所有財務指標。毛利率擴張、每股盈餘和強勁的自由現金流均超乎預期。同時，我們進行了重要的策略性投資，以推動我們持續成長。我們已為 2026 財年做好充分準備，以創造更大的股東價值，我將在回顧財務狀況後對此進行詳細闡述。

Starting with the top line. For the quarter, US consumer net sales were $311.2 million, an increase of 3% from volume gains when you exclude the nonrecurring AeroGarden and bulk raw material sales from fiscal '24. The volume gains were driven by strong consumer demand for our lawn products and roundup.

從第一行開始。本季美國消費者淨銷售額為 3.112 億美元，若排除 2024 財年非經常性 AeroGarden 和散裝原物料銷售，則銷售成長 3%。銷售成長主要得益於消費者對我們草坪產品和除草劑的強勁需求。

For the year, US consumer sales increased 1% to $2.99 billion when excluding the impact of nonrecurring fiscal '24 sales. Annual sales gains were driven by consumer demand across our categories, maintaining listing gains from fiscal '24, and the expansion of e-commerce.

不計入 2024 財年非經常性銷售額的影響，美國消費者銷售額本年度成長 1%，達到 29.9 億美元。年度銷售額成長得益於消費者對我們各個品類的需求，延續了 2024 財年的上架銷售成長，以及電子商務的擴張。

We also saw a strong performance of new products, such as the expanded Miracle-Gro organic line, the OM Scott and Sons natural grass seed and grass food lines, and the recently launched Ortho Mosquito Kill and Prevent product. The year-over-year increase in sales was partially offset by anticipated slight reductions in retailer inventories as many retailers have modified their replenishment activities to align more closely with the POS sales curve.

我們也看到新產品表現強勁，例如擴大的 Miracle-Gro 有機產品線、OM Scott and Sons 天然草籽和草坪肥料產品線，以及最近推出的 Ortho 滅蚊產品。銷售額年增的部分原因是零售商庫存預計略有下降，因為許多零售商調整了補貨活動，使其與 POS 銷售曲線更加緊密地保持一致。

As a result, in fiscal '26 we expect US consumer to experience a 1% to 2% shift in sales from the first half of the fiscal year to the second half relative to fiscal '25. This shift, while not impacting our full-year results, reflects our retail partners ordering closer to the spring and summer POS sales curve. And the impact of this shift will be felt more in our first quarter.

因此，我們預計 2026 財年美國消費者的銷售額將比 2025 財年上半年下降 1% 至 2%。雖然這種轉變不會影響我們全年的業績，但它反映出我們的零售合作夥伴的訂購時間更接近春季和夏季的 POS 銷售曲線。這種轉變的影響將在第一季更加明顯。

This shifting trend is an advantage for us in the long term. And given our superior supply chain capabilities, we expect to capitalize on this in the future.

這種趨勢的轉變從長遠來看對我們有利。鑑於我們卓越的供應鏈能力，我們預計未來將充分利用這一優勢。

Stacked with fiscal '24, our two-year US consumer cumulative sales growth of 7% demonstrates the power and strength of our brands and our long-term commitment to delivering at least 3% annualized net sales growth. Our POS trends are a testament to the health of our brands and have helped the power of US Consumer's net sales growth for the past two years.

加上 2024 財年的數據，我們兩年內美國消費者累計銷售額增長 7%，這證明了我們品牌的實力和影響力，以及我們長期致力於實現至少 3% 的年化淨銷售額增長的承諾。我們的 POS 趨勢證明了我們品牌的健康發展，並在過去兩年中幫助了美國消費者淨銷售額的成長。

Consumer engagement remains high. And for the quarter, our POS dollar growth was 3.6% and unit growth was 11%. Over the full year, we drove unit growth of 8.5% across our categories, POS dollar gains of 1.4%. The unit and dollar growth difference reflects strong POS for our soils and mulch products with lower unit dollar values, combined with our planned increase in consumer activation activities for our higher-margin branded SKUs.

消費者參與度依然很高。本季度，我們的 POS 銷售額成長了 3.6%，銷量成長了 11%。全年來看，我們實現了各品類銷量成長 8.5%，POS 銷售額成長 1.4%。單位和美元成長差異反映了我們單位美元價值較低的土壤和覆蓋物產品的強勁銷售點，以及我們計劃增加對高利潤品牌 SKU 的消費者活化活動。

As we look to fiscal '26, I expect POS dollars and units to be more in line with each other as we increase our focus on the power of our branded products, as part of the mix shift strategy that Jim discussed.

展望 2026 財年，我預期隨著我們更加重視品牌產品的實力，POS 銷售額和銷售將更加趨於一致，這也是 Jim 所討論的組合調整策略的一部分。

The full year POS bright spots for fiscal '25 included lawns at plus 4.2% in units, led by strong growth in grass seed and spreaders. Gardens delivered plus 10% unit growth, excluding mulch on the strength of soils, which increased 11.4%. And our overall controls category, which includes Roundup and Ortho, was relatively flat after gaining strong momentum to close the year, which helped offset a slow start to the season.

2025 財年全年 POS 亮點包括草坪產品銷量成長 4.2%，其中草籽和撒播機銷量強勁成長。花園交付量增加了 10%，單位增長量不包括覆蓋物對土壤強度的影響，而土壤強度增加了 11.4%。而我們的整體控制類產品（包括 Roundup 和 Ortho）在年底獲得強勁增長勢頭後，整體表現相對平穩，這有助於抵消賽季初的緩慢開局。

Moving to market share. Our retail programs, coupled with incremental advertising investments contributed to increased consumer engagement as our overall category market share in units grew by 1%. We continue to see minimal competitive pressure from private label as recent movements at our major retailers have been insignificant.

轉向市場佔有率。我們的零售計劃，加上不斷增加的廣告投入，提高了消費者的參與度，使我們的整體品類市場份額（以銷量計）增長了 1%。我們仍然認為自有品牌帶來的競爭壓力很小，因為我們主要零售商最近的動向微乎其微。

Overall, excluding mulch, this represents less than 10% of the total category we operate in. Jim and Nate have talked about how channel expansion is a component of our growth strategy. And to that end, we drove substantial e-commerce gains primarily through our retailer e-commerce sites.

總體而言，不包括覆蓋物，這僅占我們所經營類別總量的不到 10%。Jim 和 Nate 討論過通路拓展是我們成長策略的一個組成部分。為此，我們主要透過零售商電子商務網站實現了電子商務的大幅成長。

For the year, e-commerce POS units were up 51%, while e-commerce POS dollars increased 23%, driving e-commerce up 170 basis points to represent 10% of our overall POS. As you can see, our US Consumer business is delivering on its sales goals and has strong momentum as we move into fiscal '26.

今年，電子商務 POS 機數量增加了 51%，電子商務 POS 金額增加了 23%，推動電子商務成長了 170 個基點，占我們整體 POS 的 10%。正如您所看到的，我們的美國消費者業務正在實現其銷售目標，並且在進入 2026 財年之際保持強勁的成長勢頭。

Looking at Hawthorne. Full year net sales of $165.8 million were down 44% in the fiscal '25 as we focused on profitability improvements, exited third-party distribution, and evaluated alternatives for divestiture. In September, as part of our broader strategic divestiture initiative for the Hawthorne segment, we completed the sale of Hawthorne's professional horticulture business based in the Netherlands, which generated $35 million of net sales in fiscal '25.

看看霍桑。2025 財年全年淨銷售額為 1.658 億美元，下降了 44%，因為我們專注於提高盈利能力、退出第三方分銷管道，並評估了剝離方案。9 月，作為我們針對 Hawthorne 業務板塊更廣泛的戰略剝離計劃的一部分，我們完成了 Hawthorne 位於荷蘭的專業園藝業務的出售，該業務在 2025 財年創造了 3500 萬美元的淨銷售額。

Total company sales for the quarter were $387.4 million and, for the full year were $3.41 billion. When excluding the impact of the Hawthorne segment and the nonrecurring sales within the US consumer, our total company sales increased 3.4% for the quarter and 1% for the full year.

該季度公司總銷售額為 3.874 億美元，全年總銷售額為 34.1 億美元。如果排除霍桑業務部門的影響以及美國消費者的非經常性銷售額，我們公司本季的總銷售額成長了 3.4%，全年成長了 1%。

Moving on to our total company gross margin. We saw strong improvements. For the quarter, the GAAP gross margin rate was 6.1% versus negative 7.1% in prior year. And the non-GAAP adjusted gross margin rate increased to 7.2% from negative 3.1% in prior year.

接下來我們來看看公司的總毛利率。我們看到了顯著的進步。本季，GAAP毛利率為6.1%，去年同期為-7.1%。非GAAP調整後的毛利率從上年的-3.1%成長至7.2%。

The quarterly improvement was primarily driven from the non-repeat of one-time inventory write-offs of $29 million recognized in Q4 of last year, along with favorable product mix, and lower material, manufacturing, and distribution costs from our transformation cost savings and efficiency initiatives.

本季業績改善主要得益於去年第四季確認的 2,900 萬美元一次性庫存減損不再發生，以及有利的產品組合，還有透過轉型成本節約和效率提升措施降低的材料、製造和分銷成本。

For the year, we ended with GAAP gross margin rate of 30.6% versus 23.9% in prior year and with the non-GAAP adjusted gross margin rate of 31.2% compared to 26.3% in prior year. The full year gross margin improvement was consistent with our Q4 drivers.

本年度，我們以美國通用會計準則計算的毛利率為 30.6%，而上年度為 23.9%；以非美國通用會計準則調整後的毛利率為 31.2%，而前一年為 26.3%。全年毛利率的改善與我們第四季的驅動因素一致。

This strong increase of 490 basis points in our full year non-GAAP rate to 31.2% exceeded our 30% target, and advanced our midterm plan to return gross margin rates to the mid-30% range by fiscal '27.

我們全年非GAAP毛利率大幅增加490個基點至31.2%，超過了我們30%的目標，並推進了我們的中期計劃，即到2027財年將毛利率恢復到30%左右的水平。

As you might recall, at the start of the year, we targeted $150 million in supply chain savings over a three-year period and another $30 million in savings and corporate functions. We've already achieved over $100 million in cost outs in fiscal '25 and have strong line of sight to the remaining savings over the next two fiscal years.

您可能還記得，年初時，我們的目標是在三年內透過供應鏈節省 1.5 億美元，並透過公司職能節省另外 3,000 萬美元。我們在 2025 財年已經實現了超過 1 億美元的成本削減，並且對未來兩個財年剩餘的節省目標有著清晰的認識。

It is important to note that we continue to reinvest in a portion of these savings back into growth areas, including advertising, R&D, and technology.

值得注意的是，我們將繼續把部分節省下來的資金再投資到成長領域，包括廣告、研發和技術。

Moving down the P&L. SG&A for the quarter increased $19 million to $137 million due to higher short-term incentive compensation and increased investments in our brands and technology. For the fiscal year, SG&A increased $44 million to $603 million for similar reasons and closely aligns to our original guidance of 17% of net sales.

向下移動損益表。由於短期激勵性薪酬增加以及對品牌和技術的投資增加，本季銷售、一般及行政費用增加了 1,900 萬美元，達到 1.37 億美元。本財年，由於類似原因，銷售、一般及行政費用增加了 4,400 萬美元，達到 6.03 億美元，與我們最初設定的淨銷售額 17% 的指導目標非常接近。

As for adjusted EBITDA, we continue to drive significant improvements. In Q4, EBITDA was a loss of $81.6 million versus a loss of $97.2 million in the prior year. We typically report a loss in our fourth quarter each year. The full year fiscal '25 EBITDA finished at $581 million, a $71 million increase over fiscal '24.

至於調整後的 EBITDA，我們持續取得顯著改善。第四季，EBITDA虧損8,160萬美元，而上年同期虧損9,720萬美元。我們通常每年第四季都會出現虧損。2025 財年全年 EBITDA 為 5.81 億美元，比 2024 財年增加了 7,100 萬美元。

Below the line, interest expense continued to fall from lower debt balances and favorable interest rates. Interest expense declined by $30 million from $158.8 million in prior year to $128.8 million. We also significantly reduced leverage ending the year at 4.1 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA compared with 4.86 times in fiscal '24, the result of continued deployment of free cash flow to debt reduction along with strong improvements in adjusted EBITDA.

在債務餘額減少和利率有利的情況下，利息支出持續下降。利息支出從去年的 1.588 億美元減少到 1.288 億美元，減少了 3,000 萬美元。我們也大幅降低了槓桿率，年底淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 4.1 倍，而 2024 財年為 4.86 倍，這是由於繼續將自由現金流用於減少債務以及調整後 EBITDA 的大幅改善所致。

Our free cash flow of $274 million, which exceeded our target by $24 million, was deployed to pay our quarterly dividend and reduce debt resulting in total borrowings at year-end declining by $120 million.

我們的自由現金流為 2.74 億美元，比目標高出 2,400 萬美元，用於支付季度股息和減少債務，使得年底總借款減少了 1.2 億美元。

Just this week, we kicked off our credit facility renewal process with our bank partners and look forward to completing this process later in November. Based on feedback from our bank partners, we are experiencing strong support for our credit facility renewal as a direct result of our recent financial performance, strength of our brands and consumer position, and our long-term growth plans. As always, we appreciate our bank partner support.

就在本週，我們與銀行合作夥伴啟動了信貸額度續約流程，並期待在 11 月下旬完成流程。根據我們銀行合作夥伴的回饋，由於我們近期的財務業績、強大的品牌和消費者地位以及我們的長期成長計劃，我們的信貸額度續期得到了強有力的支持。一如既往，我們感謝銀行夥伴的支持。

Looking at the bottom line, for the quarter, GAAP net loss was $151.8 million or $2.63 per share versus $244 million or $4.29 per share in the prior year. For the fiscal year, GAAP net income was $145.2 million or $2.47 per diluted share compared with a GAAP net loss of $34.9 million or $0.61 per share in the prior year.

從最終結果來看，本季 GAAP 淨虧損為 1.518 億美元，即每股虧損 2.63 美元，而去年同期為 2.44 億美元，即每股虧損 4.29 美元。本財年，GAAP淨利為1.452億美元，即每股攤薄收益2.47美元，而上一財年GAAP淨虧損為3,490萬美元，即每股虧損0.61美元。

Non-GAAP adjusted earnings for the quarter were a loss of $113.1 million or $1.96 per share versus a loss of $131.5 million or $2.31 per share in the prior year. For the fiscal year, non-GAAP adjusted earnings were $219.6 million or $3.74 per diluted share compared with $132 million or $2.29 per diluted share last year.

本季非GAAP調整後收益虧損1.131億美元，即每股虧損1.96美元，去年同期虧損1.315億美元，即每股虧損2.31美元。本財年，非GAAP調整後收益為2.196億美元，即每股攤薄收益3.74美元，而去年同期為1.32億美元，即每股攤薄收益2.29美元。

As a reminder, non-GAAP adjusted earnings exclude impairment, restructuring, and other nonrecurring items. For the quarter, we recognized $41.8 million in charges, which includes the previously mentioned $18 million loss on the sale of Hawthorne's professional horticulture business.

需要提醒的是，非GAAP調整後的收益不包括減損、重組和其他非經常性項目。本季度，我們確認了 4,180 萬美元的費用，其中包括先前提到的出售霍桑專業園藝業務的 1,800 萬美元損失。

Overall, we're very pleased with our fiscal '25 performance and expect to make further progress against our financial objectives and plans for fiscal '26. This includes driving net sales growth, additional gross margin improvements, strong free cash flow, and reduced debt leverage. This leads me to our financial guidance for fiscal '26. Jim laid the foundation, and I want to provide our outlook here.

總體而言，我們對 2025 財年的業績感到非常滿意，並期待在 2026 財年實現我們的財務目標和計劃。這包括推動淨銷售額成長、進一步提高毛利率、強勁的自由現金流和降低債務槓桿率。這讓我想到我們對 2026 財年的財務預期。吉姆奠定了基礎，我想在這裡闡述我們的看法。

We expect to deliver low single-digit growth in US consumer net sales built off the volume growth in our branded product lines and pricing actions. Non-GAAP adjusted gross margin rate of at least 32%, driven by our continued automation and cost savings activities.

我們預計，在品牌產品線銷售成長和定價策略的帶動下，美國消費者淨銷售額將實現個位數低成長。由於我們持續的自動化和成本節約活動，非GAAP調整後的毛利率至少達到32%。

Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share of $4.15 to $4.35 per share, inclusive of lower interest expense as we continue to pay down debt. Mid-single-digit growth in non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA as we reduce the use of equity in lieu of cash compensation.

非GAAP調整後每股收益為4.15至4.35美元，其中包括隨著我們繼續償還債務而減少的利息支出。由於我們減少了以股權代替現金補償的使用，非GAAP調整後的EBITDA實現了中等個位數的成長。

Free cash flow of $275 million and leverage ratio of high 3 times. We are confident in our plans and guidance. We are doing the right things to execute upon all of them. And just as importantly, we hold a powerful position in a very unique consumer space.

自由現金流為 2.75 億美元，槓桿比率高達 3 倍。我們對我們的計劃和指導充滿信心。我們正在採取正確的措施來執行所有這些計劃。同樣重要的是，我們在一個非常獨特的消費領域中佔據著強大的地位。

Thank you, and I will now turn it over to the operator.

謝謝，我現在就把電話交給接線生。

(technical difficulty) additional remarks.

（技術難題）補充說明。

Good morning, everybody. This is Nate Baxter, President and Chief Operating Officer. Before we get into Q&A, I really just wanted to build a little bit on what Jim and Mark said and share some of my observations.

大家早安。這位是總裁兼營運長內特·巴克斯特。在進入問答環節之前，我只想在吉姆和馬克剛才所說的基礎上再補充一些，並分享我的一些看法。

I think the headline here is the strategy and formula that we put in place in fiscal year '25 is paying off. It's obviously reflected in our results. But when I look at what happened at the retail environment, there was a very, very big indicator of just how important the branded business is for us.

我認為關鍵在於，我們在 2025 財政年度所製定的策略和方案正在發揮成效。這顯然反映在我們的結果中。但當我審視零售環境所發生的事情時，我發現了一個非常非常重要的指標，那就是品牌業務對我們來說有多重要。

For example, retailers that leaned in and really started with brands first grew tremendously, they grew double digits. Retailers who, I'll say, lagged or didn't start with that strategy did not. But later in the season, when they adjusted and focused on branded growth, there was some recovery there. So for us, this is really a proof point that our focus on branded goods is extremely important.

例如，那些積極進取、首先從品牌入手的零售商獲得了巨大的成長，實現了兩位數的成長。那些行動遲緩或一開始就沒有採用這種策略的零售商，就沒有成功。但到了賽季後期，當他們調整策略並專注於品牌發展時，情況有所改善。所以對我們來說，這確實證明了我們對品牌商品的重視是極為重要的。

When I look at the SKU rationalization that Jim talked about, this is extremely valuable from a margin standpoint. And we've been able to prove that, I think, this year because some of the margin gains are not only on the backs of what we did in supply chain, but also mix.

當我看到吉姆提到的 SKU 合理化方案時，我認為這從利潤率的角度來看是非常有價值的。我認為，今年我們已經證明了這一點，因為利潤率的提高不僅得益於我們在供應鏈方面所做的工作，也得益於產品組合的最佳化。

As Jim said, we're going to do more of that next year. The commodities that we play in, while important to our retailers, and we will still play in them, we are making intentional decisions to redirect not only our manufacturing capacity, but also our investment dollars into those categories. And it's paying off.

正如吉姆所說，我們明年會更多地這樣做。我們所涉足的商品領域，雖然對我們的零售商來說很重要，而且我們仍將繼續涉足這些領域，但我們正在有意識地做出決定，不僅要將我們的生產能力，還要將我們的投資資金重新分配到這些領域。而且這種努力正在發揮成效。

If we look at what we did in lawns, for example, it was an amazing turnaround stemming the bleeding from almost a decade of just declines in units. What John Sass and his team did by focusing on frequency, it moved the needle.

例如，如果我們看看我們在草坪方面所做的工作，就會發現這是一個驚人的轉變，扭轉了近十年來數量持續下降的頹勢。John Sass 和他的團隊透過專注於提高頻率，取得了顯著成效。

We're looking for tremendous improvement in that over the next couple of years. We've got innovation coming in '26. John is going to launch the new Turf Builder line that Jim talked about. And in '27, we're going to follow with the combo bags.

我們期待未來幾年這方面能有巨大的進步。我們將在 2026 年推出創新產品。約翰即將推出吉姆提到的全新草坪建造者係列產品。2027年，我們將繼續推出組合包。

I want to be clear. I see this not only as a play to increase frequency. But we see it as a way to engage new consumers, bringing new innovation like this to the market, and doing it in a way at a price point that we can engage folks who have sat on the sidelines. I think that's going to be key.

我想把話說清楚。我認為這不僅僅是為了增加發球頻率。但我們認為這是吸引新消費者的一種方式，將這樣的創新帶入市場，並以一種能夠吸引那些一直持觀望態度的人的價格點來實現這一點。我認為這將是關鍵所在。

We're doing the same thing in Gardens. It was another record year. The category grew and as Jim said, there's a lot of runway.

我們在花園裡也做同樣的事情。又是一個創紀錄的年份。該品類不斷發展壯大，正如吉姆所說，還有很大的發展空間。

When I look at the MGO line, that was our fastest launch ever, more than $200 million in business over the last two years. Now we're going to shift our focus to plant food and more importantly, into our gardening. What Sadie is going to focus on there is broadening the season for gardens and making us a 365-day a year business.

當我回顧MGO產品線時，發現它是我們有史以來推出速度最快的產品，在過去兩年中實現了超過2億美元的營業額。現在我們將把重點轉移到種植食物上，更重要的是，轉移到我們的園藝上。Sadie 將重點放在延長花園開放季節上，使我們成為全年 365 天營業的企業。

I'm actually most excited about what's happening in Controls. We're focusing on bug specific applications. As Jim said, we've probably got 10 or so new pieces of innovation coming into the market. It's going to be exciting. We're going to attack indoor. We're going to attack ant, mosquito, tick, and all the challenges that consumers face out there.

其實我最興奮的是控制方面正在發生的事情。我們專注於針對特定漏洞的應用程式。正如吉姆所說，我們可能會有大約 10 項新的創新產品進入市場。這會很精彩。我們將從室內進攻入手。我們將著手解決螞蟻、蚊子、蜱蟲以及消費者面臨的所有蟲害問題。

To build on that, we're going to continue with our channel expansion in '26. This is really what gives me the confidence that we're going to see above-average branded growth. Not only are we bringing new products from an innovation standpoint, but we're going to expand in channels.

為此，我們將在 2026 年繼續拓展通路。正是這一點讓我確信，我們將看到高於平均的品牌成長。我們不僅會從創新角度推出新產品，還會拓展通路。

E-commerce is something that both Mark and Jim talked about. We expect to see double-digit gains again this year. Our retailer partners, in particular, have leaned in and seen tremendous growth more than 100% at some accounts.

電子商務是馬克和吉姆都談到的話題。我們預計今年將再次出現兩位數的成長。特別是我們的零售合作夥伴，他們積極參與，並且取得了巨大的成長，有些客戶的成長率甚至超過了 100%。

So in addition to being excited about the innovation and the channel expansion, on the back end, we're going to continue to invest in robotics and AI. I think the results that were delivered this year are just the beginning.

因此，除了對創新和通路擴張感到興奮之外，在後端，我們將繼續投資機器人和人工智慧。我認為今年取得的成果只是個開始。

Supply chain has a long road map of opportunities. We're actually going to start to bring consumer-facing in with new digital assets like websites and apps that lean into AI and give the customer a new experience.

供應鏈領域擁有長遠的發展機會。我們將開始引入面向消費者的全新數位資產，例如利用人工智慧技術的網站和應用程序，為客戶帶來全新的體驗。

So when I add all these up, I'm really bullish on '26. And then when I look at the 5- to 10-year road map, R&D is now focused on naturals, biologicals, organics, as well as new packaging and form factor solutions. I think the combination of this is going to be powerful. And what we see in '26 is just going to be a continued build of what we've done in '25.

綜上所述，我對 2026 年的前景非常看好。然後，當我查看 5 到 10 年的發展路線圖時，發現研發現在專注於天然產品、生物產品、有機產品，以及新的包裝和外形解決方案。我認為這兩者結合起來會非常強大。而我們在 2026 年看到的，只是我們在 2025 年所取得成就的延續。

So with that said, I'm going to turn it back over to questions now.

那麼，接下來我將把提問環節交還給各位。

(Operator Instructions) Jon Andersen, William Blair.

（操作說明）Jon Andersen，William Blair。

Nate, following on your comments around the focus on the branded business, branded sales, and the mix shift associated with that, wondering if you could talk a little bit more about how the lawns work that you're doing, the long strategy, which you've talked about to some extent, fits into that and how that branded focus and some of the changes you're making in the lawns business can work synergistically?

內特，鑑於你之前談到了對品牌業務、品牌銷售以及與之相關的組合轉變的關注，我想請你再詳細談談你正在進行的草坪業務，以及你之前談到的長期戰略是如何融入其中的，還有你對品牌的關注以及你在草坪業務中做出的一些改變是如何產生協同效應的？

Let me kick it off, and I'm going to shove it over to John Sass, who runs that business unit. Look, I think the thing that we realized as we looked at that unit decline algorithm over the last decade is that not that consumers were trading down to lower-priced products, it's that they were just stepping aside and staying out of the category.

讓我先拋磚引玉，然後把話題交給負責該業務部門的約翰·薩斯。我認為，在過去十年裡，我們在研究銷售下降演算法時發現，並不是消費者轉向價格更低的產品，而是他們乾脆放棄了這個類別。

So there's a couple of things here that's part of this. We talk about frequency. So I would say John primed the pump in '25 on frequency. While we didn't bring any new innovation to market, we talked about our products differently.

所以這裡麵包含幾個面向。我們來談談頻率。所以我認為約翰在 1925 年為頻率的提升奠定了基礎。雖然我們沒有為市場帶來任何新的創新，但我們對我們的產品進行了不同的宣傳。

We leaned in on two for ones, trying to build that consumer habit. That was a big part of the trade dollars that we spent last year. And I think those were well spent. And we'll continue to spend dollars on those this year because it will take a couple of years to get consumers recalibrate it to the benefits of feeding monthly.

我們大力推行買一送一的促銷活動，試圖培養消費者的這種消費習慣。那佔了我們去年貿易支出的很大一部分。我覺得這些錢花得很值得。今年我們還會繼續在這方面投入資金，因為需要幾年時間才能讓消費者重新認識到每月餵食的好處。

On the household penetration side, that's a little bit more challenging. You're talking about bringing in new consumers. So I think what John is doing with this new straight food, which is a totally new formula, low cost, easy to apply, going to deliver great results in a quick period of time.

從家庭滲透率的角度來看，這有點更具挑戰性。你指的是吸引新消費者。所以我認為約翰正在做的，就是研發這種全新的直接飼料，它是一種全新的配方，成本低廉，易於應用，並且能夠在短時間內取得顯著成效。

I honestly think we're going to see growth both in frequency from existing consumers who will supplement their two-step process -- whether they're using a halts early season or a weed and feed or hopefully both, we think they'll start to supplement that with just straight feeding. But also, we're going to make it simple and low cost for new consumers to come in.

我真心認為，現有消費者的使用頻率將會增長，他們會在兩步驟流程的基礎上進行補充——無論他們是在生長初期使用止瀉劑還是除草施肥劑，或者希望兩者都用，我們認為他們會開始用直接施肥來補充這些步驟。但同時，我們也會降低新用戶加入的門檻和成本。

So I'm really excited about it. John, I'll let you make a few comments on where you're headed with that business.

所以我對此感到非常興奮。約翰，我讓你談談你對這項業務的發展方向。

I would just add a little bit more color by classifying what we're doing on a lawn's business as an aggressive category reinvention. It's been said a couple of times here that we've been experiencing category unit decline. And the only way to really reverse that trend was to reinvent this entire portfolio in this business.

我還要補充一點，將我們在草坪業務中所做的事情定義為一種積極的品類重塑。這裡已經有人多次提到，我們正面臨品類銷售下滑的問題。而真正扭轉這種趨勢的唯一方法就是徹底重塑這個產業的整個業務組合。

And we're doing that with the consumer at the center of everything we're doing. They just alluded to having a great lawn is not that hard. It just requires regular feeding. And so we're doing that with the products that are effective.

我們所做的一切都以消費者為中心。他們只是暗示說，擁有漂亮的草坪並不難。它只需要定期餵食。所以我們正在使用那些有效的產品來做到這一點。

They're going to be affordable, and they're going to lead with claims like safety use around kids and pets. That's the crux of the issue. And that's what we're going to be doing starting in '26.

它們價格會很實惠，而且會以「對兒童和寵物安全」等理由作為賣點。這就是問題的關鍵。這就是我們從 2026 年開始要做的事。

Changing consumer behavior is a challenge, and that's what we're going to do. Our entire marketing approach is shifted to -- in order to do that. New advertising campaign, our promotional plans are different. And over the next two years, as Nate just alluded to, we have an entirely new revamped product lineup that's going to solve those consumer pain points.

改變消費者行為是一項挑戰，而這正是我們要做的事。為了實現這一目標，我們整個行銷策略都轉向了其他方向。新的廣告宣傳活動，我們的推廣計劃有所不同。正如內特剛才所提到的，在接下來的兩年裡，我們將推出全新的產品系列，以解決消費者的這些痛點。

So when you look at what we saw from results in 2025, we're super bullish on the start of this reinvention. We're still early in the process. But I believe over the next two years, we're really excited on what we're going to do with the lawn's business.

所以，從我們對 2025 年結果的預測來看，我們對這場變革的開始非常樂觀。我們目前還處於這個過程的早期階段。但我相信，在接下來的兩年裡，我們對草坪業務的發展前景感到非常興奮。

And John, maybe -- John, just to add, this is Mark Scheiwer. To me, on the finance side, to me, this translates to higher incremental unit sales, higher shipments, higher POS units. And then from a gross margin profile, this also means very strong gross margin improvement mix as we continue this journey.

還有約翰，或許──約翰，補充一下，這位是馬克‧謝沃。從財務角度來看，對我而言，這意味著更高的增量銷售、更高的出貨量和更高的POS機銷售。從毛利率來看，這也意味著隨著我們繼續推進這一進程，毛利率將會出現非常強勁的改善。

So I think those are all positive things built off the back of what they said. And we continue to put investment dollars at work as we make transformation savings, activities and adjust our SG&A to fuel this growth.

所以我認為這些都是基於他們所說的話而得出的正面結論。我們將持續投入投資資金，透過轉型節省成本、開展活動和調整銷售、管理及行政費用來推動這項成長。

And sorry, John, I'll add one more thing, which is just broadly not specific to lawns. But I want to be really clear. When we -- the guidelines I put in place on anything we're doing from a SKU rationalization standpoint must be margin accretive and must replace any top line we lose.

抱歉，約翰，我還要補充一點，雖然這與草坪本身關係不大。但我想要說得非常清楚。當我們——我制定的關於從 SKU 合理化角度來看我們所做任何事情的指導方針，必須能夠增加利潤，並且必須能夠彌補我們損失的任何收入。

And those are the golden rules, and the team is doing a really good job on it. And look, this is going to be a couple of year process. But I think we're starting to see the fruit of that in terms of our margin profile.

這就是黃金法則，團隊在這方面做得非常好。而且，這將會是一個持續幾年的過程。但我認為，從我們的利潤率來看，我們已經開始看到成效了。

Andrew Carter, Stifel.

Andrew Carter，Stifel。

I wanted to come back to the private label point you made. I know that there was a bifurcation in approaches this year, and you reiterated the branded solution.

我想回到你提到的自有品牌這一點。我知道今年出現了兩種不同的方法，而您也重申了品牌解決方案。

In totality, did that focus, that unique focus, hurt you or your numbers? Or was it ultimately a trade-off that you just -- it was a zero-sum game and you were indifferent to it and really, the biggest challenge view would be a universal approach of private label that would impact you?

總的來說，這種專注，這種獨特的專注，是否對你或你的表現造成了傷害？或者說，這最終是一種權衡，你只是——這是一場零和博弈，你對此漠不關心，而實際上，最大的挑戰在於自有品牌的普遍做法會對你產生影響？

Hagedorn here. I mean, a couple of ways I would approach that. Number one, I don't feel like we're under private label pressure at all. I've been running this business for a long time, and I've seen it where there's been much more significant pressure.

我是哈格多恩。我的意思是，我會從幾個方面來解決這個問題。首先，我感覺我們完全沒有受到自有品牌壓力。我經營這家公司很久了，也見過更大的壓力。

I think the last time we talked, we calculated we were up 2%. I think we ended the year about 1% up in share, which given the amount of share we have in our categories, I think is fabulous.

我想上次我們談話時，我們計算出我們獲利了 2%。我認為我們年底的市場份額增長了約 1%，考慮到我們在各個品類中的市場份額，我認為這非常棒。

So I think where we got pressure and at least where I heard about it mostly on like these calls with one analysts who wrote about that. I think we looked at it and said it's -- remember, we don't make hardly any margin on our commodity business. A lot of it we do for retailers. It's important in the category.

所以我覺得我們之所以會感到壓力，至少我主要是在和一位分析師的電話會議上聽到的，這位分析師也寫了相關文章。我想我們研究過這個問題，然後說——記住，我們的商品業務幾乎沒有任何利潤。我們做了很多工作都是為零售商服務的。它在該類別中很重要。

But the biggest thing was when people told me we were like out of capacity on mulch and we're like on third party, it was -- so on a business we made nothing on, we're like paying other people to make it for us. Plus there was a lot of activation dollars going behind it.

但最關鍵的是，當人們告訴我我們的覆蓋物產能已經飽和，我們只能依靠第三方供應商時，這簡直是——在一個我們自己一分錢都沒賺到的行業裡，我們卻要花錢請別人來幫我們生產。此外，該計畫也投入了大量的推廣資金。

Nate and I just made the decision like, we're just -- we're going to pull away from this. And take -- the biggest thing is take the activation dollars and put the activation dollars against the branded business. We know that works, and we're not talking insignificant money here.

內特和我剛剛決定，我們要退出這件事。最重要的是，要把激活資金投入品牌業務。我們知道這種方法有效，我們說的可不是一筆小數目。

So I think refocusing that money on away from commodities. And by the way, I've been involved in a lot of these discussions with our largest retailers. There is a very, very significant commitment to our programs next year, less private label pressures than we had before.

所以我認為應該把資金從大宗商品領域轉移出去。順便說一句，我參與了與我們最大的零售商的許多此類討論。明年我們對各項計畫的投入非常非常大，自有品牌帶來的壓力也比以前小了許多。

And so we aren't that interested in the commodity. There are other people who are happy working with no margin. That's good for me.

所以我們對這種商品並不太感興趣。還有一些人樂意接受沒有利潤的工作。那對我有好處。

We're willing to play. We're not willing to play to lose money. And the activation dollars are going to go where we make money. And what we're seeing is a really good reaction to that shift change for us.

我們願意參加。我們不願意為了輸錢而下注。而激活資金將會流向我們能夠獲利的地方。我們看到，這種轉變對我們來說反應非常好。

Yeah. Maybe let me just comment on the state of our relationship with the retailers. I mean, it's as strong as I've seen it in the few years I've been here. Again, just referencing what we saw in '25, those that led with branded products won big. And I think everybody recognizes that.

是的。或許我可以談談我們與零售商之間的關係現況。我的意思是，這是我在這裡的這幾年裡見過的最強勁的勢頭。再說一遍，就拿我們在 2025 年看到的情況來說，那些以品牌產品為先導的公司取得了巨大成功。我想大家都明白這一點。

So we're almost done with our program negotiations. We're totally aligned with our retailers. We're focusing on branded products.

我們的專案談判工作差不多完成了。我們與零售商的立場完全一致。我們專注於品牌產品。

Look, we'll still serve some of the commodity in private label. It's not like we're going to zero. But when I look at the empty calories associated with those and when we jointly the retailers and us, look at the margin opportunity on the branded product, it's a no-brainer. And we've built all of our programs in '26 really around that thesis.

你看，我們仍然會以自有品牌的形式供應一些商品。我們又不是要歸零。但當我看到這些產品所蘊含的空熱量，以及我們（零售商和我們自己）共同審視品牌產品的利潤機會時，答案顯而易見。我們2026年的所有專案都是圍繞著這個理念制定的。

So I'm feeling very good about that. And I think it's on us to show the consumer that we've got efficacy and value. And I think our products speak for themselves. And just to put a punctuation point on the lawns business, I think with the new products coming out in '26 and '27, it's going to just throw accelerate on that fire.

所以我對此感覺非常好。我認為我們有責任向消費者證明我們的產品具有功效和價值。我認為我們的產品本身就能說明一切。最後，我想為草坪業務畫下句點。我認為，隨著 2026 年和 2027 年新產品的推出，這將進一步加速這一行業的成長。

I guess to speak to activation, I wanted to back up on a number you gave a while ago, $200 million advertising support. And there's some puts and takes in that number. I know that's not an apples-to-apples and need some update.

我想談談激活情況，我想重申你之前提到的一個數字，2億美元的廣告支援。這個數字裡既有買入也有賣出。我知道這並非完全可比，需要更新一些資訊。

But what are your expectations for total commitment to advertising at this point? Did you achieve it in '25? How much increased investment or not is in the FY26 level?

但您目前對廣告投入的全面性有何期待？你在2025年實現了嗎？2026財年的投資金額增加了多少？

Of course, you're talking a lot about what you consider commoditized bulk business. You're walking away from a US consumer or whatever. Do you have a targeted spend as a percentage of either US consumer or your true branded business to put out there as a target?

當然，你談論的很大一部分是你認為的商品化大宗業務。你這是在放棄美國消費者什麼的。您是否設定了目標支出金額，以美國消費者或您真正的品牌業務的百分比作為目標？

Yeah, sure, Andrew. Let me comment. So my longer-term target is I think we need to be around 8%. If I look at CPG companies with an average of 8% to 10% -- our model is a little different being seasonal, so I adjust it accordingly.

當然可以，安德魯。請容許我發表一下看法。所以我認為，我的長期目標是達到 8% 左右。如果我查看平均成長率為 8% 到 10% 的消費品公司——我們的模型由於季節性而略有不同，所以我相應地進行了調整。

But for us, advertising works. The ROI, just -- I'll talk about the Miracle-Gro Organics. The work we did with Martha, we saw a tremendous ROAS with that this year. So I believe in advertising. I'd like to get to 8%. We're below 5% across the average of all our categories, so there's more we can do.

但對我們來說，廣告是有效的。投資報酬率嘛－我就說說 Miracle-Gro Organics 吧。今年我們與 Martha 合作的專案獲得了巨大的投資報酬率。所以我相信廣告。我希望達到8%。我們所有類別的平均分數都低於 5%，所以我們還有更多可以改進的地方。

There's a nuance though. It's not just the raw dollars. One of the big pivots we're making this year as we lean into digital and all that's available from a personalization and targeting standpoint, we're going to spend those existing dollars with much more efficiency.

但其中還有細微差別。不僅是美元本身的問題。今年，我們將大力發展數位化，充分利用個人化和定向技術，這是我們今年的一項重大轉變，我們將更有效地利用現有資金。

So yeah, I think in the midterm, I'd like to be north of $200 million. In the long term, I'd like to be closer to 8% of revenue. We did make incremental investments last year. I intend to make additional incremental investments this year.

所以，是的，我認為中期目標是超過 2 億美元。長遠來看，我希望營收佔比能接近 8%。我們去年確實進行了一些增量投資。我計劃今年追加投資。

And again, we're really revamping -- we're shifting away from the linear streaming. We'll still be there for the biggest sports events. But we're really starting to get our sea legs when it comes to understanding digital and working both with internal and external partners to figure out how to execute on that.

而且，我們正在進行徹底的改革——我們正在擺脫線性串流模式。我們依然會到場觀看最重要的體育賽事。但是，在理解數位化以及與內部和外部合作夥伴合作以弄清楚如何執行數位化方面，我們已經開始真正步入正軌了。

So I think it's exciting times. But advertising works. And as long as it fits with Mark's growth algorithm, we're going to invest as much as we can in that space.

所以我認為現在是個令人興奮的時代。但廣告確實有效。只要符合馬克（Mark）的成長演算法，我們就會盡可能地投資這個領域。

And Andrew, just tactically, I think for the year, we'll land around $152 million of advertising expense you'll see in the K. It's about $11 million increase over prior year. And then within our roundup commission line, we also -- that's a business that also does advertising.

安德魯，就策略而言，我認為今年我們的廣告支出將達到約 1.52 億美元，你會在 K 上看到這一點。這比前一年增加了約 1100 萬美元。然後，在我們的佣金收入中，我們也——那是一家也做廣告的公司。

The full P&L of that business is not in our P&L. We just get a commission off of it. They did have around $10 million of incremental spend in advertising as well. So you're talking a $20 million-plus stack increase.

該業務的全部損益並不包含在我們的損益表中。我們只從中抽取佣金。他們的廣告支出也增加了約 1000 萬美元。所以，這相當於增加了超過 2000 萬美元的資金。

Our advertising ratio, I think, will come in about 50 to 60 bps higher than prior year as a percentage of sales on a two-year basis. Over the past two years, we've grown that 100 basis points. Our margin expansion at the gross margin line helps fuel that growth.

我認為，以兩年為週期計算，我們的廣告支出佔銷售額的比例將比前一年高出約 50 至 60 個基點。過去兩年，我們實現了 100 個基點的成長。毛利率的提高有助於推動這一成長。

And as I look to next year, we talked about transformation activities and cuts in both the second and third quarter. A lot of those activities and cuts that we did, some of those hard decisions in various areas of our SG&A, will help reallocate and put towards advertising. So I very much expect to see our advertising to continue to increase at a level commensurate with what you saw this fiscal year in our results.

展望明年，我們討論了第二季和第三季的轉型活動和裁員計畫。我們所進行的許多活動和削減措施，以及在銷售、一般及行政費用各個領域做出的一些艱難決定，將有助於重新分配資金並投入廣告。因此，我非常預期我們的廣告投入將持續成長，並維持與本財年業績相符的成長水準。

I just -- look, I hear this conversation and you're not going to find a bigger supporter for increased ad spend. And it is one of our core convictions advertised because it works.

我只是——你看，我聽到了這段對話，你找不到比我更支持增加廣告支出的人了。這是我們一直以來宣傳的核心理念之一，因為它行之有效。

That said, the words we're using, activation -- I think because of the uniqueness of lawn and garden and the relatively few retailers, the amount of money that we can put behind our business -- and remember, retailers are putting more of their own money into it.

也就是說，我們使用的詞語，激活——我認為是因為草坪和花園行業的獨特性以及零售商相對較少，我們可以投入到我們業務中的資金量——記住，零售商也在投入更多的自有資金。

Listen, maybe there's another retail category that gets the support that we put behind it. But I think it's very challenging to say, what is advertising? What is activation?

聽著，或許還有其他零售類別也需要我們這樣的支持。但我認為，要定義「什麼是廣告」是一個非常具有挑戰性的問題。什麼是激活？

And I think looking back, the old ways where it was like rebates or incentives, it's not like that anymore. This is very much joint marketing between us and our retailers that is so powerful that it's -- I wouldn't want to be somebody else but us.

我覺得回過頭來看，以前那種回饋或獎勵的方式已經行不通了。這是我們與零售商之間非常有效的聯合行銷，其效果如此強大——我不想成為別人，只想成為我們自己。

Joe Altobello, Raymond James.

Joe Altobello，Raymond James。

I just want to go back to the outlook for sales for this year and I guess, even further back than that. When we were together in mid-2024, given -- at the Investor Day, you talked about 3% US consumer sales growth. We're obviously very low single digits this year, and it sounds like low single digits next year.

我只想回顧今年的銷售前景，甚至更早之前的銷售前景。2024 年年中我們在一起的時候，在投資者日上，您談到了美國消費者銷售成長 3%。我們今年的降幅顯然非常小，只有個位數，而且明年聽起來也只有個位數。

So I guess my question is, how do we get back to 3%? Because if I do the math, that would imply 27% would be up, call it, mid-singles. So is that the mix shift toward branded? Is there a very robust innovation pipeline in '27? But how do we get comfortable with that ramp in '27, I guess, is what I'm asking.

所以我想問的是，我們如何才能回到 3% 的水平？因為如果我計算一下，那就代表有 27% 的人會漲到，姑且稱之為，單身中期。所以，產品組合的趨勢是向品牌產品傾斜嗎？2027 年是否有非常強勁的創新人才儲備？但我想問的是，我們要如何適應 2027 年的這種改變呢？

I back up to this year. I don't really want to share our incentive targets on this call. But put it this way. The incentive doesn't even pay target if branded both doesn't hit 5%, okay?

我把時間倒回今年了。我不太想在這次電話會議上透露我們的激勵目標。但換個說法吧。如果兩個品牌的銷售額都沒達到 5%，那麼即使有激勵措施，也無法達到目標，懂嗎？

And you're speaking about '26.

你說的是26年。

You're talking about the fiscal year we're in. So I think -- I hate these discussions about like low single digits because what we're seeing in the field is a lot better than that. I think we've got Hawthorne mixed in there. I think it makes us look like a low growth company.

你指的是我們目前的財政年度。所以我覺得——我討厭這種關於個位數低位數的討論，因為我們在實際比賽中看到的情況要好得多。我覺得裡面混入了霍桑的元素。我認為這會讓我們看起來像是一家成長緩慢的公司。

I think we have some mix issues of commodity, which appears to slow the rate down of dollar growth. I think it's the unit growth that really matters, but branded growth next year has to exceed 5%. And if you look at branded growth the last two years, it's not a scarce number for people because we're already doing it.

我認為大宗商品市場存在一些混合問題，這似乎會減緩美元的成長速度。我認為真正重要的是銷售成長，但明年品牌銷售成長必須超過 5%。如果你看看過去兩年的品牌成長情況，你會發現它對人們來說並不稀缺，因為我們已經在這樣做了。

We're going to start talking and breaking out for you guys branded growth so you can track it alongside of us. But yeah, no, I would be embarrassed to say it's low single digits. I think the future is really good for us because I think there's a lot of really good stuff happening here, but I think you'll see it next year.

我們將開始討論並向你們介紹品牌成長，以便你們可以和我們一起追蹤成長情況。但是，不，我不好意思說它是個位數。我認為我們的未來一片光明，因為這裡有很多好事正在發生，但我想你們明年就會看到了。

Yeah, for sure. I mean, Joe, look, my algorithm is pretty simple. I expect a few percent from innovation, 1% to 2% from pricing, and a few percent from volume growth through channel expansion and potentially small tuck-in M&A if we find the right deal.

是的，當然。我的意思是，喬，你看，我的演算法很簡單。我預期創新能帶來幾個百分點的成長，定價能帶來 1% 到 2% 的成長，透過通路擴張實現銷售成長能帶來幾個百分點的成長，如果找到合適的交易，還可以透過小規模的併購實現成長。

So look, I think you're right to ask the question. But when we lay out '26 and we look at the retailer plans that we have and we look at the growth, especially in e-comm, in the Hispanic channels, I'm pretty comfortable that by '27, we'll really have the flywheel turning to your point.

所以，我覺得你問這個問題是對的。但是，當我們展望 2026 年，審視我們已有的零售商計劃，並展望成長，尤其是在電子商務和西班牙裔通路方面，我很有信心，到 2027 年，我們將真正實現你所說的飛輪效應。

There is actually a fair amount of innovation coming in '26. And we're going to do what we did last year with our mosquito kill and prevent product, which is we're not going to necessarily wait if something is available. That's a little bit out of cycle with a brick-and-mortar retailer.

實際上，2026 年將會有相當多的創新。我們將像去年對待滅蚊和預防蚊蟲產品一樣，如果產品有現貨，我們不一定要等。這與實體零售商的慣例有點不符。

We're going to launch it online with them and with others. So my intention is that we're putting new innovation out into the market as soon as it's ready versus waiting. And then I would say on the channel expansion side, we've dedicated teams to e-com nontraditional channels and as I said, Hispanic and large format, so whether it's large yard or small pros.

我們將與他們以及其他人一起在線上發布。所以我的目標是，一旦創新成果成熟，我們就立刻將其推向市場，而不是等待。然後我想說，在通路拓展方面，我們已經組建了專門的團隊負責電子商務非傳統管道，正如我所說，還有西班牙裔和大型媒體管道，無論是大型庭院還是小型專業媒體。

So we've got irons in the fire that should drive that channel expansion. And I feel pretty comfortable we'll get that a couple of percent out of that.

所以我們正在積極推動一些項目，這些項目應該能夠推動通路擴張。我覺得我們很有把握能從中獲得那百分之二的收益。

Jonathan Matuszewski, Jefferies.

喬納森·馬圖謝夫斯基，傑弗里斯。

My first one was on AI. Nate, you mentioned it a couple of times. There's been a lot of press about you guys seeking to digitize your library of lawn and garden knowledge.

我的第一篇論文是關於人工智慧的。內特，你之前提過好幾次了。關於你們計劃將草坪和花園知識庫數位化，媒體做了很多報導。

So maybe just update us on how you're bringing your retail partners into the conversation here. And do you see a scenario where maybe their e-commerce website search bars or the handheld devices their associates use increasingly lean on SMG's data to recommend your SKUs over competitors when the consumer is seeking expertise?

所以，或許您可以向我們介紹一下，您是如何讓您的零售合作夥伴參與這次討論的。您是否預見到這樣一種情況：當消費者尋求專業知識時，他們的電子商務網站搜尋欄或員工使用的手持設備會越來越依賴SMG的數據來推薦您的SKU而不是競爭對手的產品？

Yeah. Great question. Thank you. So yeah, we've been on a multiyear journey here. And I think a lot of the press really focuses on the back end and obviously has driven a lot of our efficiencies.

是的。問得好。謝謝。是的，我們在這裡已經走過好幾年的歷程。我認為很多媒體都把重點放在了後端，這顯然也推動了我們效率的提升。

'26 is going to be the year when we're ready to engage with the consumer. Look, our view is this, and it's aligned with retailers.

2026年將是我們準備好與消費者互動的一年。你看，我們的觀點是這樣的，而且這與零售商的觀點一致。

We've talked to almost all of them because I do think there is an opportunity to get our technology in their hands. So we'll have our own proprietary libraries and large language models. We are looking for ways to give them access. The e-comm is the easiest.

我們幾乎和他們所有人都談過了，因為我確實認為有機會讓他們使用我們的技術。因此，我們將擁有自己的專有函式庫和大型語言模型。我們正在尋找讓他們能夠存取這些資源的方法。電子商務是最簡單的。

And our view is that as we maintain our digital assets, which will include not only all new PDPs that are modernized, more clear; but will include, if you remember, the old Ortho problem solver book. We're going to digitize all of that. And not only will it be available to consumers on our websites and apps, but we'll make sure that our retail partners have access to those as well.

我們的觀點是，隨著我們維護數位資產，這不僅包括所有現代化、更清晰的新產品資料面板，還將包括，如果您還記得的話，舊的 Ortho 問題解決手冊。我們將把所有這些都數位化。不僅消費者可以透過我們的網站和應用程式獲取這些資訊，我們還會確保我們的零售合作夥伴也能存取這些資訊。

As for in-store, our associates already have access to that in store. I'm not sure we can actually get that aligned with their handheld systems, but it is a topic of discussion. And we've always been open with our retailers not only on giving them that but also -- we talked, I guess, probably a year ago, less about AI and more about how we've leveraged machine learning to have better predictability for retail inventories. That's data we share constantly with our retailers.

至於店內，我們的員工已經可以在店內使用該服務。我不確定我們能否真正將其與他們的手持系統相容，但這確實是一個值得討論的話題。我們一直以來都對零售商保持開放的態度，不僅向他們提供這些服務，而且——我想大概在一年前——我們談論的重點不再是人工智慧，而是我們如何利用機器學習來更好地預測零售庫存。這是我們不斷與零售商共享的數據。

So it's a good push and a good point. We intend to do it, but we need to control that data because it is our data. And that's the challenge, and we expect to see that launch to the consumer in Q2 of this year -- our fiscal Q2.

所以這是一個很好的推動，也是一個很好的觀點。我們打算這樣做，但我們需要控制這些數據，因為這是我們的數據。這就是挑戰所在，我們預計將在今年第二季（即我們的第二財季）向消費者推出產品。

Okay. And then just a quick follow-up. Mark, with the commentary about retailers ordering closer to the POS curve and the revenue shift between the half, just curious if there's any thoughts on the impact to gross margin cadence this year relative to last year, absent the effect of any Hawthorn divestiture.

好的。然後還有一個簡短的後續問題。馬克，關於零售商更接近 POS 曲線下訂單以及半年收入變化的評論，我只是好奇，如果不考慮霍桑資產剝離的影響，今年的毛利率節奏相對於去年會受到什麼影響。

And I guess, similarly on SG&A, it sounds like there's more of a regular pulsing of advertising going forward versus in the past. So just curious how that impacts the cadence for maybe SG&A dollars this year versus last?

我猜想，同樣地，在銷售、一般及行政費用方面，未來的廣告投放似乎會比過去更規律。所以，我只是好奇這會對今年的銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）的節奏產生怎樣的影響？

Sure. So I'll -- this is Mark Scheiwer. Appreciate it, Jonathan. On the sales shift, it's going to be predominantly -- as you heard in my prepared remarks, Q1 is probably where it's going to get impacted the most. I call out 1% to 2% I'd say we have good line of sight to the next few months here.

當然。那麼，我來──這位是馬克‧謝沃。謝謝你，喬納森。關於銷售變化，正如你們在我準備好的演講稿中聽到的那樣，第一季可能會受到最大的影響。我認為1%到2%的漲幅，足以讓我們對未來幾個月的走勢有較好的預期。

So as I look at that 1% to 2% shift, first half, second half, it's probably going to be amplified in Q1. We still expect gross margin to improve in all the -- in the subsequent quarters. Obviously, Q1 will be impacted by that shift probably the most and will be more volume-related given our fixed cost structure on lower sales.

因此，我觀察一下這 1% 到 2% 的變化，上半年和下半年，可能會在第一季放大。我們仍然預計在接下來的幾個季度中，所有業務的毛利率都會有所提高。顯然，第一季受這種變化的影響可能最大，而且由於我們固定成本結構導致銷售額下降，因此對銷售的影響也會更大。

As I think of SG&A, the pulsing, you are on point on that. The thing I would highlight on SG&A both this year and as we look to next year is we continue to have flex in our SG&A. So I would expect our SG&A rate for the full year to be similarly around that 17% metric.

說到銷售、管理及行政費用，你說的很對，那種脈動感真是恰到好處。我想強調的是，無論是今年還是展望明年，我們在銷售、一般及行政費用方面都保持著彈性。因此，我預計我們全年的銷售、一般及行政費用率也將在 17% 左右。

We've done a lot of transformation activities to reallocate dollars to those growth engine areas like advertising. And then at the end of the day, we have other flex within our SG&A spend from an incentive perspective, both when you compare it to this year and into next year. So I think if -- from a modeling SG&A, I would say, we should be pretty close in line to what you saw this year.

我們已經進行了許多轉型活動，將資金重新分配到廣告等成長引擎領域。最後，從激勵的角度來看，我們的銷售、一般及行政費用還有其他彈性，無論與今年相比或與明年相比都是如此。所以我覺得，如果──從模擬銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）的角度來看，我們應該與今年你們看到的情況非常接近。

Peter Grom, UBS.

Peter Grom，瑞銀集團。

So maybe a similar question just on profit trajectory and maybe just the gross margin guidance of at least 32%. And Jim, I think you mentioned in your prepared remarks approaching 33%. So can you maybe just walk through the building blocks.

所以，或許可以問一個類似的問題，關於獲利走勢，以及至少 32% 的毛利率預期。吉姆，我想你在事先準備好的演講稿中提到了接近 33%。所以，或許你可以按部就班地學習這些基本步驟。

And then I guess I'm curious, just considering the outperformance this year relative to your initial guidance, are you embedding similar levels of flexibility this year?

那麼，我很好奇，考慮到今年的業績超出了您最初的預期，您今年是否會保持類似的靈活性？

Well, I'll just take the beginning. I was under pressure from Scheiwer on what I put in my script. My expectation is higher than that, okay? And the incentive is based on higher number than that as well. So I think we're trying to under promise here, but I think we have line of sight to -- and again, to the incentive targets, which are higher than, call it, 33% or whatever it is I said.

好吧，我就從頭開始吧。Scheiwer 對我劇本的內容給我施加了壓力。我的期望值更高，好嗎？而且，獎勵的門檻也高於這個數字。所以我覺得我們在這裡有點保守了，但我認為我們有希望實現——再說一遍，是激勵目標，這些目標高於，比如說，33%或我剛才說的任何數字。

Yeah. So maybe -- Peter, this is Mark Scheiwer. Just the building blocks of growing at least 100 basis points, -- and then I can maybe turn it over to Nate also to talk about some of the projects. But the building blocks include pricing. So we have taken pricing with our customer base.

是的。所以也許──彼得，這位是馬克‧謝沃。只要奠定至少成長 100 個基點的基礎，——然後我或許還可以把麥克風交給 Nate，讓他談談一些專案。但價格是構成要素之一。因此，我們已經和客戶群協商了定價策略。

And I would expect to net out at least a point of pricing on the net sales line. So that should help with the gross margin activity. We've called out in any one year, we typically also get cost savings from a supply chain perspective. This is execution of projects to reduce costs.

我預期淨銷售額至少能降低一個價格點。這樣應該有助於提高毛利率。我們每年都會進行調整，通常也能從供應鏈的角度節省成本。這是為降低成本而執行的項目。

They historically run about 1% of sales. And I would -- as we've modeled for this year conservatively, we've put in a point. You've seen what we've done this past year in '25 where we initially guided to 30% gross margin rate. We're able to over deliver.

它們歷來約佔銷售額的 1%。而且，正如我們今年保守估計的那樣，我們已經投入了一點。你們已經看到了我們過去一年（2025年）所做的工作，我們最初的目標毛利率為30%。我們能夠超額完成任務。

The team's got a lot of outstanding projects they're working on from a supply chain savings perspective and execution. Our CapEx plan that we've laid out both last year and heading into this year, our focus on areas that provide us some really great returns and provide us strong automation.

從供應鏈節約和執行的角度來看，團隊有許多出色的專案正在進行中。我們去年和今年都制定了資本支出計劃，重點是那些能為我們帶來豐厚回報並實現強大自動化的領域。

So I'm hopeful we can outperform that conservative plan of 1% cost savings. And then offsetting that will be some level of commodities and tariff pressure that in round numbers is about 1%. So that's how the guide worked from a financial metric. Obviously, there's opportunity to overperform there, and I'll let Nate speak to some of those initiatives.

所以我希望我們能夠超越保守的1%的成本節約計畫。然後，大宗商品和關稅壓力會在一定程度上抵消這種影響，粗略估計約為 1%。這就是該指南如何從財務指標的角度進行分析的。顯然，這方面還有很大的提升空間，我會讓內特來談談其中的一些舉措。

Yeah. I'll just keep it simple, Peter. I think when I look at the internal plan that I'm building with the team, it's obviously more aggressive. And I've got levers between mix, supply chain who continues to overproduce pricing.

是的。彼得，我就簡單說說吧。我認為，當我審視我與團隊共同製定的內部計劃時，它顯然更具進取性。而且我掌握著產品組合、供應鏈以及持續過度生產和定價之間的控制權。

So I'm pretty comfortable that I've got levers and room to operate. And I think to Jim's point, we're going to be aggressive in how we attack that. But early in the season, so still putting those plans together.

所以我很有信心，我有控制權和操作空間。我認為正如吉姆所說，我們將採取積極主動的方式來應對這個問題。但現在賽季還處於初期，所以還在製定計畫。

Okay. Awesome. And then I guess, Jim, you touched on putting a multiyear buyback program in front of the Board for implementation this year. Any details you can share in terms of the size of the buyback, maybe what the impact might look like this year? And I'm assuming the answer to this is no, but the earnings guidance, that does not include any benefit from any potential buyback, right?

好的。驚人的。然後，吉姆，我想你提到了將一項多年期股票回購計畫提交給董事會，以便今年實施。您能否透露一些關於回購規模的細節，以及今年可能產生的影響？我假設答案是否定的，但獲利預期並未包含任何潛在股票回購帶來的收益，對嗎？

Yeah, that's correct. Look, we have a Board meeting Friday. We've got an hour dedicated to this. I think I've talked to most of the Board members. So I think there's a high degree of support.

是的，沒錯。請注意，我們週五要召開董事會。我們專門安排了一個小時來討論這個問題。我想我和董事會的大部分成員都談過了。所以我認為支持率很高。

I know Mark is supportive. And we've been working closely with our largest -- the investment banks of our largest banks to make sure they're comfortable and help us with the math. I think everybody feels like we can make a significant impact over time.

我知道馬克會支持我。我們一直與我們最大的幾家銀行的投資銀行密切合作，以確保他們感到放心，並幫助我們進行計算。我認為大家都覺得，假以時日，我們能夠產生重大影響。

So I don't know. If I was throwing a number out, I would just say -- what would I be looking for the Board over a multiyear? So this is not with a definition of how many years. But I'd say, $500 million to $1 billion would be what I'm going to be looking for. And I think Mark is not freaking out when I say it.

我也不知道。如果我要給一個具體的數字，我會說──我希望董事會在未來幾年內達到什麼目標？所以這裡並沒有對「多少年」做出定義。但我認為，我期望的金額應該是 5 億到 10 億美元。我覺得馬克聽到我說這話並沒有大驚小怪。

No. I think, Peter, if you look at our history, we've traditionally had around a $500 million to $1 billion program, as Jim alluded to. At this point, no definite time period as to what that would be purchased.

不。我認為，彼得，如果你回顧我們的歷史，你會發現我們傳統上都有一個大約 5 億到 10 億美元的項目，正如吉姆所暗示的那樣。目前，尚無明確的購買時間。

We'd obviously govern that activity based on our leverage as we get below 4 times, and we've got good line of sight as we head into '26 to get below 4 times. So that's that is really great. So I think the next part will be just the phasing and the execution. And as Jim said, it's currently not in our EPS.

顯然，當我們的槓桿率低於 4 倍時，我們會根據槓桿率來控制這項活動，而且我們很有希望在 2026 年將槓桿率降至 4 倍以下。那真是太好了。所以我認為接下來的部分就是分階段實施和執行了。正如吉姆所說，它目前不在我們的每股收益中。

I mean, look, if we look at our -- what we're trading at today -- and I don't we put a ton of work into it, and I know Wells and JPMorgan have as well. I think the entire consumer goods business are trading off their normal historic multiples. But it's a lot for us, even though we're probably not different than the other companies.

我的意思是，你看，如果我們看看我們——我們今天的交易價格——我知道我們為此投入了大量精力，而且我知道富國銀行和摩根大通也投入了大量精力。我認為整個消費品產業目前的交易價格都處於歷史正常水準。但對我們來說，這確實是一筆不小的開支，儘管我們可能與其他公司並無不同。

But I do think that if you look at our historic multiple, we're trading at a pretty relative deep discount at this point. So we feel like it's an opportunity. The one thing we don't want to do is get ahead of it to the point -- I'm talking within '26, but get ahead of it where we get aggressive upfront, something happens.

但我認為，如果你看一下我們歷史的本益比，你會發現我們目前的交易價格相對來說折價幅度相當大。所以我們覺得這是一個機會。我們最不想做的就是操之過急——我指的是在 2026 年之前，但我們不想操之過急，在前期採取過於激進的策略，結果導致一些不好的事情發生。

Because I think if you look at what does affect our multiples, bad news. And so I think where we are is we'll get approval this calendar year, we'll step into it in '26 I think just as long as we have this ability to our performance and where we're going to be on a leverage point of view.

因為我認為，如果你看看哪些因素會影響我們的倍數，那就是壞消息。所以我認為，我們今年就能獲得批准，2026年就能正式啟動，只要我們有能力提升業績，並且從槓桿角度來看，我們就能做到。

So I think leverage is probably the guidepost for us, which is definitely below 4 times. And I think then my view is we will execute.

所以我認為槓桿率可能是我們的指導原則，它肯定低於 4 倍。我認為，接下來我們將執行該方案。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. Thank you all for your participation on today's call. This does conclude the conference. You may now disconnect.

問答環節到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。會議至此結束。您現在可以斷開連線了。