Stagwell Inc (STGW) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning from Stagwell's global headquarters in One World Trade Center, New York, and welcome to Stagwell Inc.'s earnings webcast for the second quarter of 2024.

位於紐約世貿中心一號大樓的 Stagwell 全球總部早安，歡迎收看 Stagwell Inc. 2024 年第二季的收益網路廣播。

My name is Ben Allanson, and I lead the Investor Relations function here at Stagwell. With me today are Mark Penn, Stagwell's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Frank Lanuto, the Chief Financial Officer. Mark will provide a business update, and Frank will share a financial review.

我叫本‧阿蘭森 (Ben Allanson)，負責領導史塔格韋爾的投資人關係部門。今天與我在一起的有 Stagwell 董事長兼執行長 Mark Penn 和財務長 Frank Lanuto。馬克將提供業務更新，弗蘭克將分享財務回顧。

After the prepared remarks, we will open the floor for Q&A. You are welcome to submit questions through the chat function.

準備好的發言結束後，我們將開始問答環節。歡迎您透過聊天功能提出問題。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that the following remarks include forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial data. Forward-looking statements about the company, including those related to earnings guidance are subject to uncertainties and risk factors addressed in our earnings release, slide presentation, and the company's SEC filings.

在開始之前，我想提醒您，以下評論包括前瞻性陳述和非公認會計準則財務資料。有關公司的前瞻性陳述，包括與獲利指引相關的陳述，會受到我們的獲利發布、幻燈片簡報和公司向 SEC 提交的文件中提到的不確定性和風險因素的影響。

Please refer to our website, stagwellglobal.com/investors for an investor presentation and additional resources. This morning's press release and slide deck provide definitions, explanations and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial data.

請造訪我們的網站 stagwellglobal.com/investors，以了解投資者介紹和其他資源。今天早上的新聞稿和幻燈片提供了非公認會計準則財務數據的定義、解釋和調節。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Mark Penn.

接下來，我想將電話轉給我們的董事長兼執行長馬克‧佩恩 (Mark Penn)。

Thank you, Ben. Thank you to everyone joining us for our earnings call. The state of the Stagwell business is strong and getting stronger. We're on the verge of renewed growth spurt as new business is climbing, client pullbacks seem over, and the political season is heating up.

謝謝你，本。感謝大家參加我們的財報電話會議。斯塔格韋爾的業務狀況強勁，而且還在不斷增強。隨著新業務的攀升、客戶撤回似乎已經結束以及政治季節的升溫，我們正處於新一輪成長的邊緣。

The results for first half of this year puts us in solid shape to make or exceed guidance for the year as multiple sizable wins occurred late in the second quarter and in the first month of the third quarter that significantly strengthened our position for H2.

今年上半年的業績使我們處於穩固的狀態，可以實現或超過今年的指導，因為第二季末和第三季第一個月發生了許多重大勝利，這顯著加強了我們在下半年的地位。

Importantly, the industry and its consultants and gatekeepers are now beginning to view Stagwell differently. They see us increasingly as a full on competitor to the majors, and we are receiving far more opportunities that are in the $10 million-plus range. Last year, by this time, we had one. This year, we've had 11 of them.

重要的是，該行業及其顧問和看門人現在開始以不同的方式看待斯塔格韋爾。他們越來越將我們視為專業人士的有力競爭對手，我們正在獲得更多價值 1000 萬美元以上的機會。去年的這個時候，我們已經有一個了。今年，我們已經有 11 個了。

We are also very much a tech company's tech company, and our client roster includes the biggest names and technology collaborating with us on how they can integrate AI into their consumer experiences. The result is a record smatching $113 million of net new business this quarter and LTM net new business of $324 million, significantly ahead of expectations.

我們在很大程度上也是一家科技公司的科技公司，我們的客戶名單包括與我們合作的知名人士和科技公司，他們如何將人工智慧融入他們的消費者體驗中。結果是，本季淨新業務達到創紀錄的 1.13 億美元，LTM 淨新業務達到 3.24 億美元，大大超出預期。

The win of both Chevy and Cadillac from General Motors for creative was the largest single win in the company's history. But the major wins have continued into Q3 with about another $50 million of wins, including Ferraro and Anomaly as well as with a significant global provider, hopefully to be announced soon.

通用汽車的雪佛蘭和凱迪拉克在創意方面的勝利是該公司歷史上最大的單一勝利。但主要的勝利已經持續到第三季度，另外贏得了約 5000 萬美元的勝利，包括 Ferraro 和 Anomaly 以及一家重要的全球供應商，希望很快就會宣布。

These wins will come essentially at the midyear and will start to be reflected in the third quarter coming on top of what we have seen in Q2. In addition to GM, we've had major wins in the second quarter with Target, Macy's, Delta Airlines, and Zales.

這些勝利基本上將在年中出現，並將開始在第三季度反映出來，高於我們在第二季度看到的情況。除了通用汽車之外，我們在第二季度還與塔吉特（Target）、梅西百貨（Macy's）、達美航空（Delta Airlines）和扎爾斯（Zales）取得了重大勝利。

Further, the changes in the political landscape have supercharged our opportunities there, as voters have again become fully engaged. We expect over 50% growth year-over-year in advocacy.

此外，隨著選民再次充分參與，政治格局的變化增加了我們在那裡的機會。我們預計宣傳量將年增 50% 以上。

We achieved $671 million of revenue or 6% growth in the second quarter. This growth was led by 42% growth in advocacy, 13% in the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, 9% growth in creativity and communications, 5% in performance media and data. Digital transformation posted 2% growth, we remain confident over time it will get back to double digits as AI projects come.

第二季我們實現了 6.71 億美元的收入，成長 6%。這一成長主要由宣傳成長 42%、Stagwell 行銷雲端成長 13%、創造力和溝通成長 9%、績效媒體和數據成長 5% 帶動。數位轉型實現了 2% 的成長，隨著人工智慧專案的到來，我們仍然有信心隨著時間的推移，數位轉型將恢復到兩位數。

Demand from technology company is continuing to pick up as these AI projects begin to ramp. Earlier this week, we took a step to integrate two of our agencies, Instrument and Left Field Labs, into the Code and Theory network. This completes the process of scaling up engineering resources across Stagwell to take on bigger digital transformation projects.

隨著這些人工智慧計畫開始蓬勃發展，科技公司的需求持續回升。本週早些時候，我們採取了一項措施，將我們的兩個機構（Instrument 和 Left Field Labs）整合到程式碼和理論網路中。這完成了擴大 Stagwell 工程資源以承擔更大的數位轉型專案的過程。

Our EBITDA came in at $86 million for the quarter. It's important to recognize that in addition to acquiring companies, we are making significant investments in internal development and growth.

本季我們的 EBITDA 為 8,600 萬美元。重要的是要認識到，除了收購公司之外，我們還在內部發展和成長方面進行了大量投資。

On an apples-to-apples basis, we spent an additional $10 million on new business pitches, travel, entertainment, arcades experience and other onetime compensation expenses.

在同類基礎上，我們額外花費了 1000 萬美元用於新業務宣傳、旅行、娛樂、街機體驗和其他一次性補償費用。

On an overall basis, we are spending about $20 million a quarter on these growth initiatives, and they're paying off with the new larger wins and with the Stagwell Marketing Cloud growth. On average, a top 25 client now spends about $24 million annually with us.

總體而言，我們每季在這些成長計畫上花費約 2000 萬美元，它們透過新的更大的勝利和 Stagwell 行銷雲的成長獲得了回報。目前，排名前 25 位的客戶平均每年在我們這裡花費約 2,400 萬美元。

Let me say that our Cannes initiative, which hosted over 7,400 industry participants, athletes like Travis and Jason Kelce, and even a private 90-minute chat with Elon Musk was a complete success. It continues to boost our share of voice, now five times our market size and recognition in the industry as a marketer who knows how to market as we bring together sports, sports sponsors, technology, and creativity.

我想說的是，我們的坎城倡議獲得了圓滿成功，該倡議吸引了超過7,400 名行業參與者、Travis 和Jason Kelce 等運動員，甚至還與埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk) 進行了90 分鐘的私人聊天。隨著我們將體育、體育贊助商、技術和創造力結合在一起，它繼續提高我們的話語權，目前市場規模是我們的五倍，並且作為一個知道如何營銷的營銷人員在行業中的認可度。

I want to call out Beth Sidhu, our Chief Brand Officer and her team were leading a multi-agency task force, including team 72andSunny, Code and Theory, and others that worked in collaboration to show how effective we can be as marketers through this experience.

我想感謝我們的首席品牌長Beth Sidhu 和她的團隊領導一個多機構特別工作小組，其中包括72andSunny 團隊、Code and Theory 團隊以及其他團隊，他們通力合作，展示了我們作為行銷人員透過這次體驗可以多麼高效。

This moment is a critical inflection point for the company. First, we are seeing success in our core strategy of scaling up to achieve larger client assignments as the key to long-term growth.

這一刻是公司的關鍵轉捩點。首先，我們看到擴大規模以實現更大的客戶任務這一核心策略的成功是長期成長的關鍵。

Second, we are advancing our plans to bring on a DSP and SSP to give clients maximum flexibility in media placements as we build a unique content management platform to be known as Stagwell Live.

其次，我們正在推動引入 DSP 和 SSP 的計劃，為客戶在媒體投放方面提供最大的靈活性，同時我們建立了一個獨特的內容管理平台，稱為 Stagwell Live。

And third, we are deepening our commitment to a global footprint that can unlock larger global assignments.

第三，我們正在深化對全球足跡的承諾，以實現更大的全球任務。

We're in the process of a significant expansion into the Middle East with two acquisitions and the appointment of the first senior advisor in the region. We've announced a deal to acquire leaders based in Tel Aviv, which expands our social media capabilities and technology, and it joins the Stagwell Marketing Cloud in offering full and self-service influencer marketing campaigns. Further announcements in the larger Middle East region are underway.

我們正在向中東進行重大擴張，進行了兩次收購，並任命了該地區第一位高級顧問。我們宣布了一項收購特拉維夫領導者的交易，這將擴展我們的社交媒體功能和技術，並與 Stagwell 行銷雲一起提供全面的自助式影響者行銷活動。大中東地區的進一步公告正在進行中。

Our technology initiatives are progressing well. We reached a critical milestone in our partnership with Google Cloud this quarter, launching new AI-powered features across our portfolio of Stagwell Marketing Cloud products, which were built using Google Cloud Infrastructure and AI, including its Gemini models.

我們的技術舉措進展順利。本季度，我們與Google Cloud 的合作達到了一個重要里程碑，在我們的Stagwell Marketing Cloud 產品組合中推出了新的AI 驅動功能，這些產品是使用Google Cloud 基礎設施和AI（包括其Gemini 模型）構建的。

Wondercave, our innovative text messaging based marketing platform, show remarkable growth of 145% year-over-year, as brands and Advocacy organizations leverage this technology to engage a wide variety of consumers with one-on-one conversations at scale.

Wondercave 是我們以簡訊為基礎的創新行銷平台，隨著品牌和宣傳組織利用這項技術與各類消費者進行大規模的一對一對話，其年增率達 145%。

In the quarter, the Stagwell Marketing team picked up notable work with Doctors Without Borders, CarMax and PayPal. Smart Assets, our newest start-up, into its first financial product line.

本季度，Stagwell 行銷團隊與無國界醫生組織、CarMax 和 PayPal 進行了出色的合作。我們最新的新創公司 Smart Assets 推出了其首個金融產品線。

In the third quarter, we are launching our Harris Quest series of products, which allows Harris customers to undertake do-it-yourself surveys, and our new survey panel, Unlock Surveys, is gaining steam. Our around augmented reality experience is expanding its presence in stadiums across baseball, soccer and football bringing on major sponsors, including Target and Disney.

在第三季度，我們將推出 Harris Quest 系列產品，使 Harris 客戶能夠進行自助調查，而我們的新調查小組 Unlock Surveys 正在蓬勃發展。我們的擴增實境體驗正在擴大其在棒球、足球和橄欖球體育場的影響力，吸引了包括 Target 和迪士尼在內的主要贊助商。

We've established unique partnerships with performance-driven tech players in our space, including Nexon, whose immersive suite of data solutions is now being integrated into our Stagwell ID Graph solution.

我們與我們領域的性能驅動型技術參與者建立了獨特的合作夥伴關係，其中包括 Nexon，其沉浸式資料解決方案套件現已整合到我們的 Stagwell ID Graph 解決方案中。

We're also partnering with Anzu to help marketers capture the opportunity in immersive in-game advertising. The collaboration will be led initially by Code and Theory network, and expand to other firms who are sharpening their capabilities in the gaming category.

我們也與 Anzu 合作，幫助行銷人員抓住沉浸式遊戲內廣告的機會。這項合作最初將由 Code and Theory Network 主導，並擴展到其他正在增強遊戲類別能力的公司。

Internally, we are investing heavily in AI and other tech products as a central innovation function. We've completed an initial assessment of needs and established a multiyear road map for products and internal efficiency tools that will enable our companies to capture the opportunities afforded by AI transformation.

在內部，我們大力投資人工智慧和其他科技產品，將其作為核心創新功能。我們已經完成了初步需求評估，並為產品和內部效率工具制定了多年路線圖，這將使我們的公司能夠抓住人工智慧轉型帶來的機會。

We're already applying AI to tasks like processing hundreds of thousands of media bills we receive each year, and at corporate, we focused on AI applications to our central finance unit, improving our overall ability to stay ahead. We continue to implement our cost efficiency measures.

我們已經將人工智慧應用於處理每年收到的數十萬張媒體帳單等任務，在公司，我們專注於中央財務部門的人工智慧應用，提高我們保持領先的整體能力。我們繼續實施成本效率措施。

We will have about $13 million of leases that will fall off our rolls this year, and we are rightsizing HR, finance and technology departments across the company to generate approximately $30 million of additional savings by next year.

今年我們將減少約 1,300 萬美元的租賃，並且我們正在對整個公司的人力資源、財務和技術部門進行精簡，以便到明年能額外節省約 3,000 萬美元。

We have kept our comp to revenue ratio in line and even reduced it from last year significantly. We're keeping our long-term costs in line and improving productivity while we invest in growth.

我們維持了補償與收入的比率，甚至比去年大幅降低。我們在投資成長的同時，保持長期成本穩定並提高生產力。

As to the planned disposition mentioned on prior calls, we had 18 first round bidders, so a transaction in the next few months is progressing and have consummated, will again point to the undervalued nature of our portfolio.

至於先前電話會議中提到的計劃處置，我們有 18 個第一輪競標者，因此未來幾個月的交易正在取得進展並已經完成，這將再次表明我們投資組合的低估性質。

We're on track for a solid year in 2024. And these wins, along with our multiyear growth efforts will position us well going into 2025. Stagwell was started only eight years ago, and it's been public for just three years, and we continue to grow and mature against our strategic goals and vision of transforming marketing with the right blend of technology and creativity.

我們預計在 2024 年迎來堅實的一年。這些勝利以及我們多年的成長努力將使我們能夠順利進入 2025 年。Stagwell 成立僅八年，上市僅三年，我們根據我們的策略目標和願景不斷成長和成熟，即透過技術和創造力的正確結合來轉變行銷。

Today's net new business number is conformation, we are on track, and that the best is yet to come. Now I'll hand things over to Frank Lanuto, our Chief Financial Officer, to walk you through some of our financial results in more detail.

今天的淨新業務數字已確認，我們已步入正軌，而且最好的尚未到來。現在我將把事情交給我們的財務長 Frank Lanuto，讓您更詳細地了解我們的一些財務表現。

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter results. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question after prepared remarks conclude, please feel free to submit them through the chat function.

謝謝你，馬克。大家早安，感謝您加入我們討論我們的第二季業績。提醒一下，如果您在準備好的發言結束後想提出問題，請隨時透過聊天功能提交。

Led by record-breaking net new business and robust growth in our creativity and communications, advocacy, and performance media snf fata capabilities, Stagwell delivered solid second quarter financial results.

在破紀錄的淨新業務以及我們的創造力和溝通、宣傳和績效媒體 snf fata 能力的強勁增長的帶動下，Stagwell 交付了穩健的第二季度財務業績。

For the quarter, we reported revenue of $671 million, an increase of 6% as compared to the same period in the prior year. Net revenue, excluding pass-through costs, increased 2% for the same period to $554 million.

本季度，我們報告營收為 6.71 億美元，較上年同期成長 6%。淨收入（不含轉嫁成本）同期成長 2%，達到 5.54 億美元。

We generated record net new business of $113 million in the quarter, approximately 31% higher than the previous high for the prior 11 quarters since our merger. This brings our trailing 12-month net new business total to $324 million, another record and the sixth consecutive such quarterly increase.

本季我們創造了創紀錄的淨新業務 1.13 億美元，比合併以來前 11 個季度的最高水準高出約 31%。這使得我們過去 12 個月的淨新業務總額達到 3.24 億美元，再創紀錄，也是連續第六個季度成長。

This was driven by a strong new business pipeline of increasingly larger global pitches. The average size of our wins increased 65% year-over-year, driven by a 57% increase in business deals above $1 million, a positive indicator that our offering is resonating strongly in the marketplace.

這是由日益擴大的全球推廣的強大新業務管道所推動的。在 100 萬美元以上的商業交易成長 57% 的推動下，我們的平均獲勝規模同比增長了 65%，這是我們的產品在市場中引起強烈反響的積極跡象。

Turning to revenue by capability. For the second consecutive quarter, revenue grew in 4 of our 5 principal capabilities.

轉向按能力劃分的收入。我們的 5 個主要功能中有 4 個的收入連續第二個季度成長。

Performance media and data delivered $78 million in revenue, an increase of 5% over the prior year period. The growth was driven by continued strength in the consumer products and financial sectors and was further supported by a recent return to growth in technology over the past couple of quarters.

績效媒體和數據帶來了 7,800 萬美元的收入，比去年同期成長 5%。這一成長是由消費產品和金融領域的持續強勁推動的，並受到過去幾季技術成長恢復的進一步支持。

Creativity and communications delivered $317 million of revenue, an increase of 9% over the prior year period, driven by our Advocacy business, which grew 42% year-over-year to $72 million.

在我們的宣傳業務的推動下，創意和傳播業務實現了 3.17 億美元的收入，比上年同期增長 9%，該業務同比增長 42%，達到 7,200 萬美元。

We expect accelerating performance in advocacy in the second half of the year as we ramp up the convention season and move towards the general election in November. Excluding advocacy, creativity and communications grew a noteworthy 7%, driven by new wins in the consumer products, retail and communication sectors.

我們預計，隨著大會季的到來和 11 月大選的臨近，下半年的宣傳工作將會加速。不包括宣傳、創意和傳播，在消費品、零售和傳播領域的新勝利的推動下，成長了 7%。

Digital transformation continued its recent return to growth in the second quarter with revenue increasing to $163 million, a 2% improvement over the prior period. This has been driven by strong performance in advocacy as the political year ramps up.

第二季數位化轉型持續恢復成長，營收增至 1.63 億美元，較上一季成長 2%。這是由於隨著政治年的臨近，宣傳活動的強勁表現所推動的。

Across verticals, we've seen improving trends in technology, driven by a combination of growth in existing customers and new wins as well as within the consumer space, which includes the recent AOR win with Fogo de Chao.

在各個垂直領域，我們看到了技術趨勢的改善，這是由現有客戶的成長和新的勝利以及消費者領域的共同推動的，其中包括最近與 Fogo de Chao 合作的 AOR 勝利。

Stagwell Marketing Cloud posted $65 million in revenue, an increase of 13% year-over-year, driven by advocacy and our travel media business, which improved 19% driven by stronger growth in the communications and retail sectors.

在宣傳和我們的旅遊媒體業務的推動下，Stagwell Marketing Cloud 實現營收 6,500 萬美元，年增 13%，而在通訊和零售業強勁成長的推動下，旅遊媒體業務成長了 19%。

And lastly, consumer insights and strategy reported $48 million in revenue, a decline of 2% as compared to the comparable period last year, but reflecting a sequential improvement from Q1 as we begin to put the Hollywood strikes behind this.

最後，消費者洞察和策略報告的收入為 4800 萬美元，與去年同期相比下降了 2%，但反映出隨著我們開始將好萊塢罷工拋在腦後，與第一季相比有所改善。

Quickly looking at our geographical breakdown, the US saw revenue growth of 7% in the second quarter. This has been driven by robust growth in advocacy, creativity and communications, and our performance media and data capabilities.

快速查看我們的地理分佈，美國第二季的收入成長了 7%。這是由倡導、創造力和溝通以及我們的績效媒體和數據能力的強勁成長所推動的。

International revenue grew 3% year-over-year driven by continued expansion in the Middle East and Latin American markets. Turning to costs, we made a conscious decision in the second quarter to invest in several initiatives aimed at building and converting our revenue pipeline into new business.

在中東和拉丁美洲市場持續擴張的推動下，國際收入較去年同期成長 3%。談到成本，我們在第二季度做出了有意識的決定，投資於幾項旨在建立收入管道並將其轉化為新業務的舉措。

Our Sport Beach event at Cannes in 2023 was a big success, contributing to the record-breaking net new business wins we've reported over the last 12 months. Given the positive trend, we increased our investment in the Sport Beach franchise this year.

我們在 2023 年在坎城舉行的運動海灘活動取得了巨大成功，為我們在過去 12 個月報告的破紀錄的淨新業務勝利做出了貢獻。鑑於這一積極趨勢，我們今年增加了對運動海灘特許經營權的投資。

While still too early to quantify the success of this year's event, the level of new business opportunities coming out of the festival is unprecedented. We've also increased our investment in select new business opportunities.

雖然量化今年活動的成功程度還為時過早，但節日帶來的新商機是前所未有的。我們也增加了對特定新商業機會的投資。

We are now tracking to be invited to more than $1.4 billion of pitches in 2024. Our other G&A costs are inclusive of certain unbillable customer expenses. These costs tend to grow in line with our net revenues.

我們目前預計 2024 年將受邀參加價值超過 14 億美元的推廣活動。我們的其他一般管理費用包括某些不可計費的客戶費用。這些成本往往隨著我們的淨收入的成長而成長。

For both the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, our unbillable costs as a percentage of net revenue remained stable at approximately 6%.

在 2023 年和 2024 年第二季度，我們的不可計費成本佔淨收入的百分比保持穩定在 6% 左右。

The increased investment in growth and client service costs pushed our G&A expenses modestly higher in the second quarter by approximately $5 million to $113 million. This included approximately $3 million in incremental T&E expense.

對成長和客戶服務成本的投資增加，推動我們第二季的一般管理費用小幅上漲約 500 萬美元至 1.13 億美元。其中包括約 300 萬美元的增量 T&E 費用。

This results in G&A to net revenue ratio of 20.4%, an increase of 60 basis points versus the prior period, although largely in line with our historical ratio.

這導致 G&A 與淨收入的比率為 20.4%，比上一期增加了 60 個基點，儘管與我們的歷史比率基本一致。

During the quarter, we awarded limited bonuses to key talent, which reduced adjusted EBITDA by approximately $5 million. Our staffing to net revenue ratio, excluding bonuses, improved 50 basis points over the prior year to 62.8%, as well as improving sequentially by 140 basis points.

本季度，我們向關鍵人才發放了有限的獎金，這導致調整後 EBITDA 減少了約 500 萬美元。我們的員工與淨收入比率（不包括獎金）比上年提高了 50 個基點，達到 62.8%，比上一季提高了 140 個基點。

We continue to focus on controlling our labor costs closely while meeting the requirements of growing revenue. Our goal is to maintain a staffing to net revenue ratio of 60% to 65% throughout the year. And lastly, during the second quarter, we maintained our investment in the marketing cloud of approximately $14 million.

我們繼續專注於嚴格控制勞動成本，同時滿足收入成長的要求。我們的目標是全年將人員配置與淨收入的比例維持在 60% 至 65%。最後，在第二季度，我們對行銷雲的投資維持在約 1,400 萬美元。

Continued investment in our digital capabilities is integral to our strategy and remains a major investment priority for us as we work to build an industry-leading suite of tech products for the modern marketer.

對數位能力的持續投資是我們策略的一部分，並且仍然是我們的主要投資優先事項，因為我們致力於為現代行銷人員打造業界領先的技術產品套件。

As a result, Stagwell delivered $86 million in adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter. This represents a 15.5% margin on net revenue. Excluding our cloud investment, our second quarter adjusted EBITDA margin would have been approximately 18.3%.

因此，Stagwell 在第二季調整後 EBITDA 為 8,600 萬美元。這意味著淨收入利潤率為 15.5%。不包括我們的雲端投資，我們第二季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 18.3%。

Moving to the balance sheet, we continue to allocate capital efficiently to maintain a strong financial position. Starting with deferred acquisition consideration, we reduced obligations by approximately $43 million from the end of the second quarter last year to $71 million at the end of the second quarter in '24.

轉向資產負債表，我們繼續有效地配置資本，以維持強勁的財務狀況。從遞延收購考慮開始，我們的債務從去年第二季末減少了約 4,300 萬美元，到 2024 年第二季末為 7,100 萬美元。

We remain on track to reduce our DAC obligations to approximately $40 million by the end of the year. We also acquired 7.8 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $6.30 per share, for approximately $49 million.

我們仍有望在年底前將 DAC 債務減少至約 4,000 萬美元。我們還在本季以每股 6.30 美元的平均價格收購了 780 萬股股票，價值約 4,900 萬美元。

Our existing buyback authorization as of quarter end has $65 million in remaining availability. CapEx and capitalized software for the quarter was $17 million, and broadly in line with our targets. We improved cash flows from operations by $70 million in the first half of 2024, relative to the same period a year ago, driven by improvements in our working capital management.

截至季末，我們現有的回購授權尚有 6,500 萬美元可用。本季的資本支出和資本化軟體為 1700 萬美元，基本上符合我們的目標。在營運資本管理改善的推動下，2024 年上半年我們的營運現金流較去年同期增加了 7,000 萬美元。

As a result, we ended the quarter with $136 million in cash, and $334 million outstanding under our revolver with a leverage ratio of 3.5 times. We continue to target a year-end leverage ratio of 2 times to 2.5 times.

結果，本季結束時，我們的現金為 1.36 億美元，左輪手槍餘額為 3.34 億美元，槓桿率為 3.5 倍。我們繼續將年底槓桿率目標定在2倍至2.5倍。

And finally, we are reaffirming our full year 2014 guidance as follows. Organic net revenue growth is expected to be between 5% to 7%. Organic net revenue, excluding advocacy, is expected to be 4% to 5%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $400 million to $450 million.

最後，我們重申 2014 年全年指引如下。有機淨收入成長預計在 5% 至 7% 之間。不包括宣傳在內的有機淨收入預計為 4% 至 5%。調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 4 億至 4.5 億美元之間。

We expect to deliver approximately 50% free cash flow conversion and adjusted earnings per share is expected to be between $0.75 and $0.88. That concludes our prepared remarks for this morning. I will now turn the call back over to Ben Allanson to open the Q&A portion of the call.

我們預計將實現約 50% 的自由現金流轉換，調整後每股收益預計在 0.75 美元至 0.88 美元之間。我們今天早上準備好的演講到此結束。我現在將把電話轉回給 Ben Allanson，以開始電話的問答部分。

Thank you, Frank. Just a reminder, if you have any questions, please do submit them via the chat button at the top of the screen.

謝謝你，弗蘭克。只是提醒一下，如果您有任何疑問，請透過螢幕頂部的聊天按鈕提交。

We're going to start with a question here from Jason Kreyer at Craig-Hallum.

我們將從 Craig-Hallum 的 Jason Kreyer 提出的問題開始。

Can you talk a little bit about the changes in trends for new business wins? You've landed a record deal with 72 and Anomaly, saw a big uptick in larger wins this quarter. What do you think is driving Stagwell success in some of these larger engagements?

能談談新業務獲勝趨勢的變化嗎？您與 72 和 Anomaly 達成了創紀錄的合同，並在本季度取得了較大的勝利。您認為是什麼推動史塔格韋爾在這些大型專案中取得成功？

I think overall, Stagwell is really being recognized now as the challenger holding company. I think we have established our image and brand. We held a recent meeting with search consultants, and they gave us the feedback that we've put together just this incredible combination of talent and technology that really has a growing place in the marketplace, and I think that as we kind of roll out here over time, the word is spreading, and what we're really finding is more and more consultants and brands are coming to us and giving us larger and larger opportunities. That is the whole strategy of Stagwell as the challenger holding company, and as we scale up into more countries and more capabilities.

我認為總體而言，Stagwell 現在確實被認為是挑戰者控股公司。我認為我們已經建立了我們的形象和品牌。我們最近與搜尋顧問舉行了一次會議，他們給了我們反饋，我們已經將這種令人難以置信的人才和技術組合在一起，在市場上確實佔據了不斷增長的地位，我認為當我們在這裡推出時隨著時間的推移，這個消息正在傳播，我們真正發現的是越來越多的顧問和品牌來到我們這裡，為我們提供了越來越多的機會。這就是 Stagwell 作為挑戰者控股公司的整體策略，也是我們向更多國家和更多能力擴張的過程中的整體策略。

Right. I think just following on from the question about new business wins, Barton Crockett at Rosenblatt, just asks, when do you see some of these big wins positively impacting the revenue trajectory? And how do you feel about some of the pipeline to more into potentially in the second half of the year?

正確的。我認為，在有關新業務勝利的問題之後，羅森布拉特的巴頓·克羅克特（Barton Crockett）只是問，您何時會看到這些重大勝利對收入軌跡產生積極影響？您對今年下半年可能進行的更多工作有何看法？

Sure. Many of these wins came just at the end of the quarter. In fact, the GM one, I think, was like June 26 or so. And so these will come into play in Q3. We expect that these wins are really all online in Q3. And as I said, we had another significant raft of wins that probably won't come online this month but will really start to come online by next month. But we're seeing now that the clients took a long time to make decisions, but once they make the decision, they want to get going.

當然。其中許多勝利都是在季度末取得的。事實上，我認為 GM 的時間大概是 6 月 26 日左右。因此，這些將在第三季度發揮作用。我們預計這些勝利實際上都在第三季度在線上實現。正如我所說，我們又取得了一系列重大勝利，這些勝利可能不會在本月上線，但會在下個月真正開始上線。但我們現在看到，客戶花了很長時間才做出決定，但一旦他們做出決定，他們就會想要立即採取行動。

Turning to advocacy, and the question is from Mike Ng at Goldman, with regards to political ad spending and targeted victory fundraising, could you maybe talk a little bit about whether we've seen some increased activity in the last month or so, given obviously some changes in the dynamic in the race?

談到宣傳，問題來自高盛的 Mike Ng，關於政治廣告支出和有針對性的勝利籌款，您能否談談我們在過去一個月左右的時間裡是否看到了一些活動的增加，顯然考慮到比賽動態有一些變化嗎？

Yes. So we've seen 20% to 30% increases in the last month or so. Voters really thought the presidential race was over. They were pulling back. And now with the changes that happened on the Democratic side, voters have reengaged.

是的。因此，我們在上個月左右看到了 20% 到 30% 的成長。選民真的認為總統競選已經結束了。他們正在撤退。現在，隨著民主黨方面發生的變化，選民重新參與其中。

As you can see in the polling, it's a competitive race. And of course, when it's a highly competitive race, it could go either way. Spending -- spending as I always say, go somewhat to infinity. And so I think you're seeing increasing engagement and expenditures on all sides.

正如您在民意調查中看到的那樣，這是一場競爭激烈的競選。當然，當這是一場競爭激烈的比賽時，兩種情況都可能發生。支出－正如我常說的，支出要趨於無限。所以我認為你會看到各方的參與度和支出都在增加。

Perfect. Digital transformation, can we talk a little bit about some of the trends we're seeing in DT, maybe project spend? Obviously, been a little bit of a challenge at some points here today. But what's kind of giving us confidence maybe in the back part of the year, seeing the acceleration there?

完美的。數位轉型，我們能否談談我們在數位轉型中看到的一些趨勢，也許是專案支出？顯然，今天在某些方面遇到了一些挑戰。但是，在今年下半年，看到那裡的加速發展，是什麼給了我們信心呢？

I think that we're seeing some of our kind of most advanced properties and designers already helping tech companies figure out how consumers should interact with AI.

我認為我們看到一些最先進的屬性和設計師已經在幫助科技公司弄清楚消費者應該如何與人工智慧互動。

Look, the big expenditures in technology is obviously AI. And I think all of the tech companies and the brands are experimenting with what the best way for that technology to be deployed.

看，技術方面的大筆支出顯然是人工智慧。我認為所有科技公司和品牌都在嘗試部署該技術的最佳方式。

So we feel that, that's going to really kick off years and years of enhanced digital transformation work. It's not here yet. It's beginning to trickle in, beginning to get some significant assignments.

因此，我們認為，這將真正啟動數年增強的數位轉型工作。它還沒有到這裡。它開始慢慢加入，開始接受一些重要的任務。

We've got a $7.5 million assignment just in the last month about how best to have AI interactive with consumers from big tech companies. And I think that a certain point here, I don't know whether it'd be Q3 or by Q1 of next year, I expect the floodgates to open on digital transformation capacity.

就在上個月，我們接到了一項價值 750 萬美元的任務，研究如何最好地讓人工智慧與大型科技公司的消費者互動。我認為，在某個時刻，我不知道是在明年第三季還是到明年第一季度，我預計數位轉型能力的閘門將會打開。

Great. Maybe just playing with that a little bit. Cameron McVeigh, Morgan Stanley. Just a quick question here on tech clients. What are kind of maybe some of the things we're hearing from them about spending tensions in the second half of the year?

偉大的。也許只是玩一點。卡梅倫‧麥克維，摩根士丹利。這裡只是一個關於技術客戶的簡單問題。我們從他們那裡聽到的關於下半年支出緊張的一些事情可能是什麼？

I think the competition for AI is on. I think that unlike one company that has social, and another company that has work productivity software, and another company -- you're seeing real all-on competition here for both cloud services and AI services. And that means tech companies are going to be spending really significantly to try to get competitive advantage here to really stake out their place in the marketplace.

我認為人工智慧的競爭已經開始。我認為，與一家擁有社交軟體的公司、另一家擁有工作生產力軟體的公司和另一家公司不同，你在這裡看到了雲端服務和人工智慧服務的真正全面競爭。這意味著科技公司將花費大量資金來試圖獲得競爭優勢，以真正在市場中佔有一席之地。

Just flipping a little bit to the Stagwell Marketing Cloud. A question from Mark Zgutowicz, Benchmark. He asks, what's your most promising SaaS or DaaS revenue opportunity you think over the next 12 months, and can we quantify this?

只是稍微翻轉一下 Stagwell 行銷雲。Benchmark 的 Mark Zgutowicz 提出的問題。他問道，您認為未來 12 個月最有希望的 SaaS 或 DaaS 收入機會是什麼？

Well, look, I think immediately you're seeing our text messaging platform being used both by Advocacy and brands, right, as taking off. And I think that, again, oftentimes, there are little things that people don't see that as you've seen in some of the sales and others that really have significant hidden value.

好吧，看，我想您立即就會看到我們的簡訊平台被倡導者和品牌使用，對吧，正在起飛。我認為，很多時候，人們沒有看到一些小事情，就像你在一些銷售和其他真正具有重大隱藏價值的銷售中看到的那樣。

I think we are spending a lot of immediate time on the research components. We just bought, actually, at an auction, great technology that comes with about $9 million of revenue that we picked up for less than $1 million.

我認為我們在研究方面花費了大量的時間。事實上，我們剛剛在一次拍賣會上購買了一項偉大的技術，它帶來了大約 900 萬美元的收入，而我們卻以不到 100 萬美元的價格買到了它。

But we believe that the most promising area here right now is the rollout of the research products. We've got about 130 large corporate clients, the Harris brand terminal. We're adding do-it-yourself research. We're adding AI-based analysis to it, and we're rolling out those products.

但我們相信，目前最有前景的領域是研究產品的推出。我們有大約130家大型企業客戶，哈里斯品牌終端機。我們正在添加 DIY 研究。我們正在為其添加基於人工智慧的分析，並且我們正在推出這些產品。

But again, we've also just bought leaders, which comes with, again, another significant raft of new business and another influencer platform, and I think we're really beginning then secondarily to get all of our communications products together.

但同樣，我們也剛剛購買了領導者，這又帶來了另一批重要的新業務和另一個有影響力的平台，我認為我們真正開始其次將我們所有的通訊產品整合在一起。

But I think the emphasis right now that I have for the next few months is getting the research products fully out the door, I think that has the most immediate promise.

但我認為接下來幾個月的重點是讓研究產品完全上市，我認為這是最直接的承諾。

Another question, this time from an investor. And this is just talking about the second half of the year and the implied inflection in the business of the acceleration in organic growth in the second half of the year. The question really is what gives us that confidence in that inflection in organic revenue growth and that acceleration in the second half? What are some of those key drivers?

另一個問題，這次是來自投資者。這只是談論下半年以及下半年自然成長加速所隱含的業務轉折點。真正的問題是，是什麼讓我們對有機收入成長的轉折點和下半年的加速充滿信心？其中一些關鍵驅動因素是什麼？

Well, look, I think there are three key drivers. Number one, as I think I've emphasized in the call, we have had a flood of business wins at the end of the second quarter, highlighted by the first time -- by wins that include tens of millions of dollars at the same time on a multiple basis.

好吧，我認為有三個關鍵驅動因素。第一，正如我在電話會議中強調的那樣，我們在第二季度末取得了大量業務勝利，這是第一次突出顯示 - 同時贏得了數千萬美元的勝利在多重基礎上。

Second, a lot of media and media margin is loaded in the back end. And third, a lot of the political season is loaded in the back end. So I think those three developments, I think give us confidence to reaffirm our guidance, and kind of move forward with what I think are going to be a really good next two quarters based on those three fundamental factors.

其次，後端載入了大量的媒體和媒體邊距。第三，政治季的大部分內容都集中在後端。因此，我認為這三個發展讓我們有信心重申我們的指導，並在我認為基於這三個基本因素的下兩個季度取得非常好的進展。

I think the last question here and just a quick one on Sport Beach and the successes of the event. The question is from Jeff Van Sinderen, B. Riley. What are you likely to emphasize a Sport Beach if you're going to do it in 2025? And maybe what are some of your intentions, effectively, what are sort of the inputs, I suppose, to potentially increasing investment, changing investment in that event is obviously successful today?

我想最後一個問題是關於體育海灘和活動的成功的一個快速問題。這個問題是由 Jeff Van Sinderen、B. Riley 提出的。如果您打算在 2025 年建造運動海灘，您可能會強調什麼？也許你的一些意圖是什麼，我認為，對於潛在增加投資、改變投資的投入，在今天顯然是成功的事件中，有哪些投入？

We're going to do a full review of kind of how to move forward with what has been created in Sport Beach. It lives almost as a unique brand within our brand now, that brings together sports and brands and technology and creativity. And I think it may live beyond just Cannes in a way and take on a life of its own. So stay tuned as we kind of carefully look at how we develop it.

我們將對如何推進 Sport Beach 中創建的內容進行全面審查。現在，它幾乎成為我們品牌中的一個獨特品牌，將運動、品牌、技術和創造力融為一體。我認為它可能會在某種程度上超越坎城影展並擁有自己的生命。因此，請繼續關注，我們將仔細研究如何開發它。

Again, as I always say, the old joke about shoemaker has no shoes. But instead, we are a shoemaker with shoes. I think that Sport Beach has been proof that when our companies work together, they can produce some amazing marketing. And I think that, that it wasn't just an experience for clients, it was an experience that clients could take away and say, wow, this is the kind of company I want working for our brands.

正如我常說的，關於鞋匠的老笑話沒有鞋子。但相反，我們是一個有鞋子的鞋匠。我認為運動海灘已經證明，當我們的公司合作時，他們可以產生一些令人驚嘆的行銷效果。我認為，這不僅僅是客戶的一次體驗，客戶可以帶走並說，哇，這就是我想要為我們的品牌工作的公司。

Well, that brings us to the end of our second quarter earnings call 2024. Thank you very much for joining us. We'll look forward to talking with you again later on in the year. Have a good one.

好了，2024 年第二季財報電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您加入我們。我們期待今年晚些時候再次與您交談。祝你過得愉快。

Thank you.

謝謝。