Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Constellation Brands Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this call is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Joseph Suarez, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

問候。歡迎參加 Constellation Brands 2024 財政年度第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意此通話正在錄音。現在我將會議交給主持人投資者關係高級副總裁約瑟夫·蘇亞雷斯 (Joseph Suarez)。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Darrell. Good morning, all, and happy new year. Welcome to Constellation Brands Q3 Fiscal 2024 Conference Call. I'm here this morning with Bill Newlands, our CEO; and Garth Hankinson, our CFO. As a reminder, reconciliations between the most directly comparable GAAP measures and any non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call are included in our news release or otherwise available on the company's website at www.cbrands.com. Please refer to the news release and Constellation's SEC filings for risk factors, which may impact forward-looking statements made on this call. Following the call, we'll also be making available in the Investors section of our company's website, a series of slides with key highlights of the prepared remarks shared by Bill and Garth in today's call.

謝謝你，達雷爾。大家早安，新年快樂。歡迎參加 Constellation Brands 2024 財政年度第三季電話會議。今天早上我和我們的執行長比爾紐蘭茲 (Bill Newlands) 一起來到這裡。和我們的財務長加斯·漢金森 (Garth Hankinson)。謹此提醒，本次電話會議中討論的最直接可比較的 GAAP 衡量標準與任何非 GAAP 財務衡量標準之間的對帳均包含在我們的新聞稿中，或透過公司網站 www.cbrands.com 提供。請參閱新聞稿和 Constellation 向 SEC 提交的文件，以了解可能影響本次電話會議中前瞻性聲明的風險因素。電話會議結束後，我們還將在公司網站的投資者部分提供一系列幻燈片，其中包含比爾和加斯在今天電話會議中分享的準備好的演講的主要亮點。

Before turning the call over to Bill, in line with prior quarters, (Operator Instructions), which will help us to end our call on time. Thanks in advance, and now here's Bill.

在將通話轉交給比爾之前，請按照前幾季的規定（操作員指示），這將有助於我們按時結束通話。預先感謝，現在是比爾。

Thank you, Joe, and congratulations on your recent promotion, and good morning, all. Happy new year to everyone, and welcome to our Q3 fiscal '24 call. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and were able to enjoy some of our great products with your family and friends. We have several topics to address on today's call. So let's start with the key takeaways for this quarter.

謝謝你，喬，恭喜你最近晉升，大家早安。祝大家新年快樂，歡迎參加我們的 24 財年第三季電話會議。我希望你們都度過了一個美好的假期，並能夠與家人和朋友一起享受我們的一些優質產品。我們在今天的電話會議上有幾個主題要討論。讓我們從本季的主要要點開始。

First, I am pleased to report that our beer business again delivered very strong performance that accelerated throughout Q3. We achieved depletion growth of over 8% for our beer portfolio with a particularly outstanding end to the month of November. We led Thanksgiving beer sales in U.S. tracked channels and continued to see accelerating momentum in the last week of the month, reflecting both ongoing strong consumer demand and restocking after the earlier Thanksgiving holiday this year. And once again, for another entire quarter, we achieved leading share gains in tracked channels with more than 2-point expansion in the U.S. beer category and a nearly 3-point gain in the higher end. This marks the 55th consecutive quarter of depletion growth for our beer business and the tenth leading share gains.

首先，我很高興地向大家報告，我們的啤酒業務再次取得了非常強勁的業績，並在整個第三季度加速成長。我們的啤酒產品組合實現了超過 8% 的消耗成長，尤其是 11 月底的表現尤其出色。我們在美國感恩節啤酒銷售中處於領先地位，追蹤管道並在本月最後一周繼續看到加速勢頭，反映出持續強勁的消費者需求以及今年早些時候的感恩節假期後的補貨。在接下來的整個季度中，我們再次在追蹤管道中實現了領先的份額增長，美國啤酒類別增長了超過 2 個百分點，高端啤酒類別增長了近 3 個百分點。這標誌著我們的啤酒業務連續第 55 個季度虧損成長，股價漲幅第十。

Secondly, in line with our consistent disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation. We executed $215 million of share repurchases in Q3 while maintaining our net leverage ratio excluding Canopy equity and earnings, unchanged from last quarter at 3.2x. As well as continuing to deliver cash returns through our dividend and advancing our organic growth investments at our Obregon Brewery and new brewery site in Veracruz to support additional production capacity for our beer business.

其次，符合我們一貫的紀律和平衡的資本配置方法。我們在第三季執行了 2.15 億美元的股票回購，同時保持不包括 Canopy 股權和收益的淨槓桿率，與上季度的 3.2 倍持平。以及繼續透過我們的股息提供現金回報，並推進我們對奧布雷貢啤酒廠和韋拉克魯斯新啤酒廠的有機成長投資，以支持我們啤酒業務的額外產能。

And thirdly, as noted at our recent Investor Day, over the past few months, our Wine and Spirits business, much like others across the industry has seen a broader marketplace deceleration. In light of these and other near-term headwinds, we are further revising our fiscal '24 organic net sales guidance for Wine and Spirits to be down 7% to 9% and the operating income guidance for that business, excluding gross profit less marketing of brands divested last year to be down 6% to 8%, which I will elaborate on shortly. Of course, we are not pleased with these revisions, and both our leadership team and our Wine and Spirits teams remain fully committed to improving the performance of this business and to achieving its medium-term targets.

第三，正如我們最近在投資者日所指出的那樣，在過去的幾個月裡，我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務與整個行業的其他業務一樣，出現了更廣泛的市場減速。鑑於這些和其他近期不利因素，我們將進一步修訂24 財年葡萄酒和烈酒有機淨銷售額指引，將其下調7% 至9%，以及該業務的營業收入指引（不包括毛利潤減去行銷活動）去年剝離的品牌數量下降了 6% 到 8%，我將稍後詳細闡述。當然，我們對這些修訂並不滿意，我們的領導團隊和葡萄酒和烈酒團隊仍然完全致力於提高該業務的業績並實現其中期目標。

In addition, as announced earlier today, Robert Hanson has elected to step down from his role as President of our Wine and Spirits business in a few weeks at the end of the current fiscal year. We have initiated a process to identify a successor for this role, and I will step in to lead the Wine and Spirits business in the interim while, of course, retaining my chief executive oversight across both the enterprise and our beer business.

此外，正如今天早些時候宣布的那樣，羅伯特漢森 (Robert Hanson) 選擇在本財年結束後的幾週內辭去我們葡萄酒和烈酒業務總裁的職務。我們已經啟動了一個程序來確定這個職位的繼任者，我將暫時領導葡萄酒和烈酒業務，同時當然，保留我的執行長對整個企業和啤酒業務的監督。

Despite these revisions and leadership changes, as noted at our recent Investor Day, we continue to believe that over the medium term, our Wine and Spirits business should accelerate its net sales growth to 1% to 3% and improve operating margins to 25% to 26% supported by the significant transformation undertaken over the last few years to better align our portfolio with broader consumer-led premiumization trends, expand our omnichannel capabilities, and extend into targeted international markets.

儘管進行了這些修訂和領導層變動，正如我們在最近的投資者日所指出的，我們仍然相信，從中期來看，我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務應將其淨銷售額增長加快至1% 至3%，並將營業利潤率提高至25% 26% 得益於過去幾年進行的重大轉型，以更好地使我們的產品組合與更廣泛的消費者主導的高端化趨勢保持一致，擴展我們的全通路能力，並擴展到目標國際市場。

More importantly, in fiscal '24, we still expect our enterprise comparable EPS guidance, excluding Canopy to remain within our previously stated range of $12 to $12.20. And over the medium term, we continue to expect low double-digit EPS growth, as outlined at our Investor Day. Now let's step through these key points for Q3 in more detail.

更重要的是，在 24 財年，我們仍然預計我們的企業可比 EPS 指導（不包括 Canopy）將保持在我們之前規定的 12 美元至 12.20 美元範圍內。從中期來看，我們繼續預期每股盈餘將實現兩位數的低成長，正如我們在投資者日所概述的那樣。現在讓我們更詳細地了解第三季的這些關鍵點。

As noted, our beer team once again delivered remarkable results. Modelo Especial led the charge, achieving a roughly 12% increase in depletions and remained the leading share-gaining brand in tracked channel dollar sales. Strengthening its position as the #1 beer brand in the U.S. market, having ultimately achieved that top spot now on a 52-week basis.

如上所述，我們的啤酒團隊再次取得了驕人的成績。 Modelo Especial 處於領先地位，消耗量增加了約 12%，並且在追蹤的通路銷售額中仍然是份額成長領先的品牌。鞏固了其作為美國市場第一啤酒品牌的地位，並最終連續 52 週佔據這一第一名。

The broader Modelo brand family also delivered phenomenal results. Cheladas achieved an increase in depletions of approximately 22% year-over-year in Q3 and on a rolling 12-month basis, the combined set of Chelada flavors and pack sizes reached the 20 million case milestone, which is over 350% more than that set of brands was doing just 5 years ago in fiscal '19. Additionally, Modelo Chelada Especial our original flavor, which was recently launched in a 12 pack, 12-ounce format was a top 15 share gainer in Circana in Q3, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead for our new Chelada flavor and pack size additions. Also, in the Modelo family, Oro continued its strong first year of going national with a third quarter as a top 5 share gainer in the high end. We look forward to the growth opportunities ahead for Oro as awareness grows and we introduce new pack sizes next fiscal year.

更廣泛的 Modelo 品牌系列也取得了驚人的成果。 Cheladas 在第三季度的消耗量同比增長了約 22%，在連續 12 個月的基礎上，Chelada 的口味和包裝尺寸組合達到了 2000 萬箱里程碑，比去年同期增加了 350% 以上一系列品牌的表現就在5 年前的19 財年。此外，我們最近推出的 12 包、12 盎司規格的 Modelo Chelada Especial 原創口味在第三季度的 Circana 市場份額增長中名列前 15 名，我們對新的 Chelada 口味和包裝規格的未來機會感到興奮。此外，在 Modelo 家族中，Oro 繼續保持第一年強勢進軍全國市場的勢頭，第三季成為高端市場份額增長前 5 名的公司。隨著意識的增強以及我們在下一財年推出新的包裝尺寸，我們期待 Oro 未來的成長機會。

Beyond Modelo, our Corona Extra and Pacifico core beer brands continued to perform strongly in Q3. Corona Extra maintained depletion growth at about 1%, while Pacifico delivered an outstanding 19% increase. And on a rolling 12-month basis, Pacifico also reached the 20 million case milestone, double its volume from 5 years ago. In addition, both brands remain top 10 share gainers across the entire U.S. beer market and tracked dollar sales.

除了 Modelo 之外，我們的 Corona Extra 和 Pacifico 核心啤酒品牌在第三季繼續表現強勁。 Corona Extra 保持約 1% 的消耗成長，而 Pacifico 則實現了 19% 的驚人成長。在連續 12 個月的基礎上，Pacifico 還達到了 2,000 萬個案件的里程碑，是 5 年前的兩倍。此外，這兩個品牌仍然是整個美國啤酒市場份額成長前十的品牌，並追蹤美元銷售額。

Our beer brands clearly continue to resonate strongly with the consumer, and I'm incredibly proud of and thankful to our entire beer team for their consistently strong execution. With that backdrop, we remain confident in our fiscal '24 net sales growth guidance of 8% to 9% and from an operating income guidance perspective, we now expect our beer business to deliver 7% to 8% growth for fiscal '24 as we realize additional benefits this year from the marketing effectiveness actions discussed during our Investor Day.

我們的啤酒品牌顯然繼續與消費者產生強烈共鳴，我對我們整個啤酒團隊始終如一的強大執行力感到無比自豪和感謝。在此背景下，我們對24 財年8% 至9% 的淨銷售成長指引仍然充滿信心，從營業收入指導的角度來看，我們現在預計我們的啤酒業務將在24 財年實現7% 至8 % 的成長，因為我們今年，我們將透過投資者日討論的營銷有效性行動獲得更多收益。

Over the medium term, we still see significant opportunities to continue to achieve net sales growth of 7% to 9% in our beer business supported by the fundamental distribution, innovation and demographic drivers as well as consumer-led trends also discussed at our recent Investor Day as well as to continue to achieve best-in-class operating margins of 39% to 40%, supported by savings and efficiency initiatives across our cost of goods sold, marketing and broader SG&A. And last but not least, we continue to support the growth of our beer business through modular investments in brewing capacity and productivity initiatives to unlock further production upside.

從中期來看，我們仍然看到啤酒業務繼續實現7% 至9% 淨銷售額成長的重大機會，這得益於基本面分佈、創新和人口驅動因素以及消費者主導的趨勢，這些趨勢也在我們最近的投資者中討論過在銷售成本、行銷和更廣泛的 SG&A 方面的節約和效率舉措的支持下，我們將繼續實現 39% 至 40% 的一流營運利潤率。最後但並非最不重要的一點是，我們透過對釀造能力和生產力計劃的模組化投資，繼續支持啤酒業務的成長，以釋放進一步的生產成長空間。

Moving on to the Wine and Spirits business. As noted earlier, our Wine and Spirits business is operating amid a broader marketplace deceleration. As we have shared in recent quarters, we are actively working to address mainstream headwinds affecting our 2 largest volume brands, Woodridge and SVEDKA. However, we anticipate these efforts to extend beyond fiscal '24. More broadly, while we are maintaining a disciplined approach to taking price across our portfolio, the competitive environment is now adding pressure with more aggressive discounting and price points beyond mainstream.

轉向葡萄酒和烈酒業務。如前所述，我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務是在更廣泛的市場減速的情況下運作的。正如我們在最近幾季所分享的那樣，我們正在積極努力解決影響我們兩個最大銷售品牌 Woodridge 和 SVEDKA 的主流阻力。然而，我們預計這些努力將持續到 24 財年之後。更廣泛地說，雖然我們在整個投資組合中保持嚴格的定價方法，但競爭環境現在正透過更激進的折扣和超出主流的價格點增加壓力。

Again, we believe the broader deceleration in these higher-end categories to be temporary and have continued to execute strategic pricing actions instead of implementing reductions like certain competitors. In addition, we have made the decision to adjust some aspects of our U.S. wholesale distributor agreements, focused on improving mix, inventory and state and channel level sales execution. We are actively engaged with our largest distributor partner to ensure that our portfolio continues to make progress against our vision of leading the higher end as well as on the revitalization of our mainstream brands.

同樣，我們認為這些高端類別的更廣泛的減速是暫時的，並將繼續執行策略定價行動，而不是像某些競爭對手那樣實施降價。此外，我們還決定調整美國批發分銷商協議的某些方面，重點是改善組合、​​庫存以及州和通路層級的銷售執行。我們積極與最大的經銷商合作夥伴合作，以確保我們的產品組合繼續取得進展，實現我們引領高端市場以及振興主流品牌的願景。

From an international perspective, while we experienced a decline in the quarter driven by previously noted weakness in our more mature markets, inventory levels in Canada, our largest export market, seem to now be normalizing following the destocking from recent changes to inventory regulations, so we anticipate more balanced supply-and-demand dynamics for this market going forward. Importantly, despite the impact of these near-term headwinds on organic net sales, our prudent pricing and cost efficiency efforts enabled margin improvement for Wine and Spirits in Q3. Beyond these near-term challenges, our focus remains on driving growth across our higher-end brands.

從國際角度來看，雖然我們在本季度經歷了先前指出的更成熟市場疲軟的推動，但我們最大的出口市場加拿大的庫存水平在最近庫存法規變化導致的去庫存之後似乎正在正常化，因此我們預計未來該市場的供需動態將更加平衡。重要的是，儘管這些近期不利因素對有機淨銷售額產生了影響，但我們審慎的定價和成本效率努力使第三季葡萄酒和烈酒的利潤率有所提高。除了這些近期挑戰之外，我們的重點仍然是推動高端品牌的成長。

As shared during Investor Day, over the last few years, our Wine and Spirits business has established a stronger foundation to advance toward these targets. Since fiscal '19, we have doubled the number of fine wine and craft spirits brands in our portfolio, and we have invested and expanded our footprint in higher-growth DTC channels and targeted international markets. With our structural transformation securely in place, I want to thank Robert Hanson for his contributions over many years including initially as a nonexecutive member of the Board. We wish Robert well and all the best in his future endeavors and look forward to announcing the appointment of our next Wine and Spirits business President in the near future.

正如投資者日期間分享的那樣，在過去幾年中，我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務已經為實現這些目標奠定了更堅實的基礎。自 2019 財年以來，我們的產品組合中的優質葡萄酒和精釀烈酒品牌數量增加了一倍，並且我們在增長更快的 DTC 管道和目標國際市場進行了投資並擴大了我們的足跡。隨著我們的結構轉型順利到位，我要感謝羅伯特漢森多年來的貢獻，包括最初作為董事會非執行成員的貢獻。我們祝福羅伯特在未來的事業中一切順利，並期待在不久的將來宣布任命我們的下一任葡萄酒和烈酒業務總裁。

Lastly, I'd like to emphasize again our unwavering commitment to our consistent, balanced and disciplined approach to capital allocation. As noted at our Investor Day event, we continue to target a strong balance sheet that supports our investment-grade rating, and we are working toward a net leverage ratio of 3x, which we expect to achieve within fiscal '25. We expect to maintain a dividend payout ratio of approximately 30%, supporting continued growth of our dividend per share in line with our earnings expectations.

最後，我想再次強調，我們堅定不移地致力於採取一致、平衡和嚴格的資本配置方法。正如我們在投資者日活動中所指出的，我們繼續以強大的資產負債表為目標，以支持我們的投資級評級，並且我們正在努力實現3 倍的淨槓桿率，我們預計將在25 財年實現這一目標。我們預期股利支付率將維持在30%左右，支持每股股息持續成長，符合我們的獲利預期。

We plan to invest approximately $5 billion in growth and maintenance CapEx from fiscal '24 to fiscal '28 primarily focused on brewing capacity expansions for our beer business. We continue to opportunistically buy back shares with $215 million repurchased in Q3, which leaves us with an additional $2.6 billion still within our existing share repurchase authorization. And finally, we continue to look at tuck-in gap-filling M&A opportunities with a highly rigorous transaction criteria.

我們計劃從 24 財年到 28 財年投資約 50 億美元用於成長和維護資本支出，主要專注於啤酒業務的釀造能力擴張。我們繼續機會性地回購股票，在第三季回購了 2.15 億美元，這使得我們在現有的股票回購授權範圍內還有 26 億美元的資金。最後，我們繼續以高度嚴格的交易標準來尋找填補空白的併購機會。

So to close, let's go back to the key takeaways for the quarter. First, we have a beer portfolio and team that consistently delivers industry-leading performance and we see significant opportunities, as outlined at our Investor Day to continue to drive similarly strong growth over the medium term. Second, we remain committed to delivering value to our shareholders through consistent execution of our balanced and disciplined capital allocation priorities. And third, our Wine and Spirits business is focused on realizing net sales growth and improved operating margins by leveraging its reshaped higher-end leaning portfolio as well as our enhanced DTC channel and international market footprints and capability. And lastly and importantly, we continue to expect our enterprise comparable EPS guidance in fiscal '24, excluding Canopy, to remain within our previously stated range of $12 to $12.20 and over the medium term, we continue to expect low double-digit EPS growth, as we outlined at our Investor Day.

最後，讓我們回到本季的關鍵要點。首先，我們擁有始終如一地提供行業領先業績的啤酒產品組合和團隊，正如投資者日所概述的那樣，我們看到了重大機會，可以在中期繼續推動同樣強勁的增長。其次，我們仍致力於透過持續執行平衡且嚴格的資本配置優先事項，為股東創造價值。第三，我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務致力於透過利用其重塑的高端產品組合以及我們增強的 DTC 管道和國際市場足跡和能力，實現淨銷售額成長和提高營運利潤率。最後也是重要的是，我們繼續預計24 財年的企業可比每股收益指引（不包括Canopy）將保持在我們之前規定的12 至12.20 美元範圍內，並且在中期內，我們繼續預計每股收益將實現兩位數的低成長，正如我們在投資者日所概述的那樣。

And with that, I will now turn the call over to Garth, who will review our financial results in greater detail. Garth?

現在，我將把電話轉給加斯，他將更詳細地審查我們的財務表現。加斯？

Thank you, Bill, and good morning, everyone. As usual, my discussion on our financial performance will mainly focus on comparable basis results and stepping through our P&L. However, as of this quarter, we will discuss enterprise results, followed by business segment detail to better address our performance against the outlook shared at our Investor Day at these different levels. Beginning with net sales. We achieved enterprise-wide top line growth of 1% for the quarter. This was the result of solid beer net sales growth of 4%, partially offset by the Wine and Spirits net sales decline of 8%. Wine and Spirits net sales decline was 7% on an organic basis.

謝謝你，比爾，大家早安。與往常一樣，我對我們財務表現的討論將主要集中在可比較基礎結果和逐步分析我們的損益表上。然而，從本季度開始，我們將討論企業業績，然後討論業務部門的詳細信息，以便更好地根據投資者日在這些不同層面上分享的前景來闡述我們的業績。從淨銷售額開始。本季我們整個企業的營收成長了 1%。這是啤酒淨銷售額穩定成長 4% 的結果，部分被葡萄酒和烈酒淨銷售額下降 8% 所抵消。葡萄酒和烈酒淨銷售額有機下降 7%。

As Bill noted, beer business depletions for the quarter were above 8% as the year-over-year growth momentum from summer continued through the fall, supported by ongoing strong consumer demand of our portfolio. Again, we saw a particular acceleration in depletion volumes at the end of November as we extended our leadership across key holidays with outstanding performance during U.S. Thanksgiving. Our on-premise channel realized modest growth in depletions of about 1% for Q3 and accounted for approximately 11% of our total volumes as we've been able to replenish inventories following the keg disruption over the summer and began to advance growth and draft performance in the on-premise.

正如 Bill 指出的那樣，在我們投資組合持續強勁的消費者需求的支持下，從夏季開始的同比增長勢頭一直持續到秋季，本季度啤酒業務的損耗超過 8%。我們再次看到 11 月底的消耗量特別加速，因為我們在美國感恩節期間表現出色，在關鍵假期中保持了領先地位。我們的本地通路在第三季度實現了約 1% 的損耗小幅增長，約佔總銷量的 11%，因為我們能夠在夏季桶中斷後補充庫存，並開始推動增長和業績表現在本地。

Shipment volumes for beer business grew 3.4%, and we achieved favorable pricing slightly above 1% as we began to lap the elevated pricing increases from last fall. These volume and pricing uplifts were partially offset by a shift in packaging mix. Altogether, these year-over-year shipment, pricing and mix changes drove the 4% or approximately $77 million increase in beer net sales for the quarter.

啤酒業務的出貨量成長了 3.4%，隨著我們開始接受去年秋季以來的高定價成長，我們實現了略高於 1% 的優惠定價。這些銷售量和價格的上漲被包裝組合的變動部分抵銷。總而言之，這些年比出貨量、定價和產品組合的變化推動本季啤酒淨銷售額成長 4%，約 7,700 萬美元。

For our Wine and Spirits business, Organic net sales declined 7%, driven by lower shipment volumes due to the previously referenced category headwinds and the change in our process aimed at aligning shipments and depletions. As a reminder, per prior calls this year, we now make quarterly shipment adjustments to align with depletions versus our former practice of only doing 1 annual adjustment in the fourth fiscal quarter. We believe this process change has partially driven less favorable comparisons for the first 3 quarters of fiscal 2024.

對於我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務，有機淨銷售額下降了 7%，這是由於先前提到的品類逆風導致出貨量下降以及我們旨在調整出貨量和消耗量的流程變化所致。提醒一下，根據今年之前的電話會議，我們現在每季進行出貨量調整，以適應消耗情況，而之前的做法是在第四財季僅進行一次年度調整。我們認為，這項流程變更在一定程度上導致了 2024 財年前 3 季的比較結果不佳。

Now shifting to operating margins. For Q3, enterprise-wide operating income increased 7%, and operating margin increased 170 basis points to 32.3%. This was primarily a result of an increase in operating income of 7% for our beer business, which also drove a 100-basis point increase in beer business operating margin to 38.5%. Enterprise-wide operating margins also benefited from a 13% reduction in corporate expense. These beer business and corporate expense tailwinds were partially offset by a 5% decrease in our Wine and Spirits business operating income, which still yielded a 60-basis point increase in operating margin to 25.4% for the Wine and Spirits business. Excluding the gross profit less marketing of the brands that are no longer part of the business following their divestiture, operating income and operating margin for the Wine and Spirits business decreased by 4% and increased by 80 basis points, respectively.

現在轉向營業利潤率。第三季度，全企業營業收入成長 7%，營業利潤率成長 170 個基點，達到 32.3%。這主要是因為我們的啤酒業務營業收入成長了7%，這也帶動啤酒業務營業利潤率成長了100個基點至38.5%。企業開支減少 13% 也使整個企業的營業利潤率受益。這些啤酒業務和企業費用的不利因素被我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務營業收入下降 5% 部分抵消，這仍然使葡萄酒和烈酒業務的營業利潤率增加了 60 個基點，達到 25.4%。不包括剝離後不再屬於該業務的品牌的毛利減去行銷費用，葡萄酒和烈酒業務的營業收入和營業利潤率分別下降 4% 和增長 80 個基點。

Stepping through these drivers in more detail, starting with beer. The increase in operating income and margin were a result of benefits in cost of products sold as we continue to build cost efficiency and productivity savings. For the quarter, total cost savings were approximately $55 million, an $11 million or a 6% decrease in marketing costs as a result of shifts in timing of spend. Note, that marketing as a percent of net sales was 8.7% for the quarter. A $4 million decrease in SG&A expense, primarily driven by lower legal fees, partially offset by higher compensation and benefit expenses, and $6 million of favorability from the divestiture of our craft beer business.

從啤酒開始，更詳細地了解這些驅動因素。營業收入和利潤率的增加是由於我們不斷提高成本效率和生產力節省，從而降低了銷售產品的成本。本季度，總成本節省約為 5,500 萬美元，由於支出時間的變化，行銷成本減少了 1,100 萬美元，即 6%。請注意，本季行銷佔淨銷售額的百分比為 8.7%。 SG&A 費用減少 400 萬美元，主要是由於法律費用降低，但部分被薪資和福利費用增加以及剝離精釀啤酒業務帶來的 600 萬美元優惠所抵消。

These benefits were partially offset by a $12 million unfavorable foreign currency impact as we still realized a higher Mexican peso rate year-over-year, inclusive of our multiyear hedging positions. Additionally, in line with our full year expectations and guidance we are still facing higher costs in our packaging and raw materials, which resulted in a $17 million headwind for the quarter. We have also faced an $11 million increase in depreciation as a result of our capacity expansions.

這些收益被 1200 萬美元的不利外匯影響部分抵消，因為我們仍然實現了同比較高的墨西哥比索匯率，其中包括我們的多年對沖頭寸。此外，根據我們全年的預期和指導，我們仍然面臨包裝和原材料成本上升的問題，這導致本季出現 1,700 萬美元的不利影響。由於產能擴張，我們還面臨 1,100 萬美元的折舊增加。

The reduction in our corporate expense, which for the quarter was $10 million, was primarily driven by the reduction in third-party services, particularly in our digital business acceleration investments partially offset by increased compensation and benefits. Our Wine and Spirits operating income margin, excluding the gross profit less marketing of the brands that are no longer part of the business following last year's divestiture had a year-over-year improvement as the volume declines and unfavorable mix were more than offset by reduced logistics and warehousing costs, favorable SG&A costs due to reduced third-party consulting expenses, and lower compensation and benefits, more favorable material costs driven by our cost savings initiatives and reduced marketing expense as we continue to shift our marketing focus towards more efficient, high-return efforts.

本季公司費用減少了 1000 萬美元，主要是由於第三方服務的減少，特別是我們數位業務加速投資的減少，部分被薪酬和福利的增加所抵消。我們的葡萄酒和烈酒營業利潤率（不包括毛利減去去年剝離後不再屬於該業務的品牌的營銷）同比有所改善，因為銷量下降和不利的組合被減少的收入所抵消。物流和倉儲成本、由於第三方諮詢費用減少而帶來的有利的SG&A成本、以及較低的薪酬和福利、由於我們的成本節約計劃而帶來的更有利的材料成本以及隨著我們繼續將營銷重點轉向更有效率、更高的目標而減少的行銷費用-回報努力。

Interest expense for the quarter was approximately $104 million, driven by higher average borrowings and higher weighted average interest rates. As a reminder, approximately 5% of our debt obligations are subject to adjustable rates. As Bill noted, we ended the quarter with a net leverage ratio of approximately 3.2x excluding Canopy equity and earnings and remain on track to reach our target goal of 3x within fiscal 2025. Our comparable effective tax rate, excluding Canopy equity and earnings for the quarter was 18% versus 18.8% last year. Our comparable EPS for the quarter, excluding Canopy equity and earnings, was $3.24, reflecting the consistent growth of our business and representing an 8% increase.

由於平均借款和加權平均利率上升，該季度的利息支出約為 1.04 億美元。提醒一下，我們大約 5% 的債務是可調整利率的。正如Bill 指出的那樣，我們本季末的淨槓桿率約為3.2 倍（不包括Canopy 股權和收益），並且預計在2025 財年實現3 倍的目標。我們的可比有效稅率（不包括Canopy 股權和收益）季度成長率為 18%，去年同期為 18.8%。我們本季的可比每股收益（不包括 Canopy 股權和收益）為 3.24 美元，反映了我們業務的持續成長，成長了 8%。

Moving to free cash flow, which we define as net cash provided by operating activities less CapEx. We generated free cash flow of $1.4 billion through the first 3 quarters of fiscal 2024, a 10% decrease driven by a 33% increase in CapEx investments attributable to the expansions at our existing Obregon facility and the construction of our new brewery located in Veracruz.

轉向自由現金流，我們將其定義為經營活動提供的淨現金減去資本支出。 2024 財年前3 季度，我們產生了14 億美元的自由現金流，下降了10%，原因是我們現有奧布雷貢工廠的擴建和位於韋拉克魯斯州的新啤酒廠的建設導致資本支出投資增加了33%。

As we look towards the end of fiscal '24, our guidance for enterprise comparable EPS, excluding Canopy equity and earnings, remains unchanged at $12 to $12.20, underpinned by the following expectations. First, an unchanged 8% to 9% net sales growth outlook but a higher 7% to 8% operating income growth expectation for our beer business. As stated in our prior calls this year and at our recent Investor Day event for our beer net sales, we continue to expect pricing to be between 1% to 2% and mid- to high single-digit volume growth in fiscal '24. And we still anticipate shipment volumes for the second half to account for approximately 45% of the full year total. Bill already addressed the drivers of the uplift in our beer operating income growth guidance but it's also important to note that we still expect beer operating margin to be approximately 38% for the full year.

當我們展望 24 財年末時，我們對企業可比每股收益（不包括 Canopy 股權和收益）的指導保持在 12 至 12.20 美元不變，受到以下預期的支撐。首先，我們的啤酒業務淨銷售額成長預期維持在 8% 至 9% 不變，但營業收入成長預期上調至 7% 至 8%。正如我們在今年之前的電話會議和最近的啤酒淨銷售額投資者日活動中所述，我們繼續預計 24 財年的定價將在 1% 至 2% 之間，銷量將實現中高個位數增長。我們仍預計下半年出貨量將佔全年總量的 45% 左右。比爾已經談到了我們啤酒營業收入成長指引提升的驅動因素，但同樣重要的是要注意，我們仍然預計全年啤酒營業利潤率約為 38%。

Second, for our Wine and Spirits business, we now expect a decline of 7% to 9% in organic net sales and a decline of 6% to 8% in operating income, excluding the impact of the divested wine brands that are no longer part of our results. Bill also already addressed the drivers for these revisions. Third, from a corporate expense perspective, we now expect that to be approximately $260 million to $270 million for the full year, which includes a slightly lower end to the range versus our prior expectation. And similarly, our interest expense expectations are now slightly lower at approximately $450 million. And last but not least, we continue to expect our comparable effective tax rate, excluding Canopy, to be approximately 19% and despite the additional $215 million of share repurchases executed in the third quarter, we also continue to anticipate weighted average diluted shares outstanding to be approximately 184 million.

其次，對於我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務，我們目前預計有機淨銷售額將下降 7% 至 9%，營業收入將下降 6% 至 8%，不包括不再參與的剝離葡萄酒品牌的影響。我們的結果。比爾也已經談到了這些修訂的驅動因素。第三，從企業支出的角度來看，我們現在預計全年支出約為 2.6 億至 2.7 億美元，其中略低於我們先前的預期。同樣，我們的利息支出預期目前略低，約 4.5 億美元。最後但並非最不重要的一點是，我們繼續預計，不包括Canopy 在內的可比有效稅率約為19%，儘管第三季度額外執行了2.15 億美元的股票回購，但我們繼續預計加權平均攤薄後已發行股票約1.84億。

Beyond the P&L, for free cash flow, we expect to be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion for fiscal '24, reflective of $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion in operating cash flow and $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion of CapEx.

除了損益表外，我們預計 24 財年的自由現金流將在 14 億至 15 億美元之間，反映出 26 億至 28 億美元的營運現金流和 12 億至 13 億美元的資本支出。

In closing, we continue to deliver industry-leading results in our beer business and remain confident in our ability to achieve our stated EPS targets for this fiscal year despite incremental category headwinds affecting our Wine and Spirits business. As we look further ahead, we remain excited about continuing opportunities to build shareholder value over the medium term which we hope to achieve by capturing the substantial growth opportunities that exist for our beer business, executing against our consistent, disciplined and balanced capital allocation priorities and delivering enhanced performance in Wine and Spirits, supported by the significant transformation that business has undergone and the actions that we are taking to improve this business.

最後，儘管不斷增加的品類逆風影響了我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務，但我們繼續在啤酒業務中取得行業領先的業績，並對我們實現本財年規定的每股收益目標的能力充滿信心。展望未來，我們仍然對在中期內持續創造股東價值的機會感到興奮，我們希望透過抓住我們啤酒業務存在的實質成長機會，按照我們一致、嚴格和平衡的資本配置優先事項執行，並實現這一個目標。在業務經歷的重大轉型以及我們為改善業務而採取的行動的支持下，提高葡萄酒和烈酒領域的表現。

We encourage existing and prospective shareholders who have not yet had an opportunity to review our recent Investor Day presentations to access those through our Investor Relations website, ir.cbrands.com, to gain further insights into our medium-term perspective on these topics. And with that, Bill and I are happy to take your questions.

我們鼓勵尚未有機會查看我們最近的投資者日簡報的現有和潛在股東透過我們的投資者關係網站 ir.cbrands.com 訪問這些演示文稿，以進一步了解我們對這些主題的中期觀點。就此而言，比爾和我很樂意回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Nik Modi with RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自尼克莫迪（Nik Modi）與加拿大皇家銀行資本市場（RBC Capital Markets）的電話。

So Bill, maybe you can provide some context. Obviously, you provided a few intra-quarter updates, one at the Analyst Day and one at the Morgan Stanley conference. Just regarding both the beer and Wine and Spirits business. And obviously, things came out a little bit differently. So I was hoping you can just kind of give us a perspective on what exactly happened to cause some of the delta? And if some of the clarity or perspective you gave us around the gaps between scanner data and your actual results, how we should think about that because I'm sure that's going to be something we're all going to have to start thinking about over the next couple of weeks.

那麼比爾，也許你可以提供一些背景資訊。顯然，您提供了一些季度內更新，一項是在分析師日，一項是在摩根士丹利會議上。就啤酒以及葡萄酒和烈酒業務而言。顯然，事情的結果有點不同。所以我希望你能給我們一個關於到底是什麼原因導致了一些三角洲的看法？如果您向我們提供了有關掃描器數據與實際結果之間差距的一些清晰度或觀點，我們應該如何考慮這一點，因為我確信這將是我們所有人都必須開始思考的問題接下來的幾週。

Sure. Thanks, Nik. And again, happy to new year to you. As we said in our prepared remarks, we're obviously very pleased with our beer business in Q3 and we are particularly happy with the strong acceleration in the momentum that sort of came out of November. Interestingly enough, the delta between Circana and our numbers sort of changed about the minute Garth stopped speaking at the conference in November. So that was always interesting how that works. As we've noted, we expect about 45% of our beer business volumes will be achieved in H2, which is in line with the normal seasonality of that business.

當然。謝謝，尼克。再次祝你新年快樂。正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們顯然對第三季的啤酒業務感到非常滿意，而且我們對 11 月出現的勢頭的強勁加速感到特別高興。有趣的是，當 Garth 在 11 月的會議上停止發言的那一刻起，Circana 和我們的數字之間的差異就改變了。所以它的工作原理總是很有趣。正如我們所指出的，我們預計下半年將實現約 45% 的啤酒業務量，這符合該業務的正常季節性。

And for Q4 specifically, we expect those shipments and depletes will end up being about 20% to 21% of our total fiscal year volumes. But we also expect that we're going to continue to drive mid to high single-digit volume growth annually, which is consistent with the depletion performance that we've now achieved for over a decade. And again, that's consistent with what we've also said, 1% to 2% annual average pricing increases, which supports the 7% to 9% annual net sales algorithm that we've said we will do in the medium term.

具體到第四季度，我們預計這些出貨量和消耗量最終將占我們財年總銷量的 20% 至 21% 左右。但我們也預計，我們將繼續推動每年中高個位數的銷售成長，這與我們十多年來所取得的消耗表現是一致的。再說一次，這與我們所說的一致，年平均定價上漲 1% 至 2%，這支持我們所說的中期淨銷售額增長 7% 至 9% 的演算法。

On the Wine and Spirits side, obviously, we're further revising our guidance down, was not a decision we took lightly, and we're certainly not happy about it. We examined numerous scenarios and ultimately determined the adjustment was really needed to reflect a number of things: The broader category deceleration and other factors that affected our performance including gaps from our prior U.S. wholesale expectations that we're actively addressing with our distributor partners and importantly, while making sure we maintain an appropriate inventory level for the remainder of this year, setting ourselves in good position to see sequential improvement in fiscal '25.

在葡萄酒和烈酒方面，顯然，我們正在進一步下調我們的指導，這不是我們輕易做出的決定，我們當然對此不滿意。我們檢查了多種情況，並最終確定確實需要進行調整以反映許多事情：更廣泛的類別減速和影響我們業績的其他因素，包括與我們之前與分銷商合作夥伴積極解決的美國批發預期的差距，重要的是，同時確保我們在今年剩餘時間內保持適當的庫存水平，使我們能夠在 25 財年看到連續改善。

Of course, as I said, we're not pleased with these revisions, and neither is our leadership team nor our Wine and Spirits team, but we're certainly committed to improving that performance in the medium term and expect that our net sales and operating margin targets will be consistent with what we said at Investor Day.

當然，正如我所說，我們對這些修訂並不滿意，我們的領導團隊和葡萄酒和烈酒團隊也不滿意，但我們當然致力於在中期提高業績，並期望我們的淨銷售額和營業利潤率目標將與我們在投資者日所說的一致。

As you've also seen, I'm going to be temporarily taking over that business, and I will be spending a fair amount of time with the Wine and Spirits division as we work through the process of appointing a new leader, which we have already started considering both internal and external candidates. As you probably know better than many, I spent several years of my career within the Wine and Spirits categories, and I look forward to working more closely with that team in the interim, particularly as that business turns its focus toward enhancing operational effectiveness and marketplace execution to build on the reconstituted higher-end portfolio and organizational structure that we put in place over the last few years.

正如您所看到的，我將暫時接管該業務，並且在我們任命新領導者的過程中，我將花相當多的時間在葡萄酒和烈酒部門工作，我們已經開始考慮內部和外部候選人。正如您可能比許多人更了解的那樣，我在葡萄酒和烈酒類別中度過了幾年的職業生涯，我期待在此期間與該團隊更密切地合作，特別是當該業務將重點轉向提高營運效率和市場時執行力建立在我們過去幾年建立的重組的高端產品組合和組織結構的基礎上。

But ultimately, and I'd like to, Nik, reiterate this one more time. In fiscal '24, we still expect our enterprise EPS guidance to remain within our previously stated range of $12 to $12.20 and over the medium term, we also continue to expect low digit EPS growth, as outlined at Investor Day. Hopefully, that gives you some good perspective on those elements you asked about.

但最終，尼克，我想再次重申這一點。在 24 財年，我們仍然預計我們的企業 EPS 指導將保持在先前規定的 12 美元至 12.20 美元範圍內，並且在中期，我們還繼續預計 EPS 的低數字增長，如投資者日所述。希望這能讓您對您所詢問的那些元素有一些好的看法。

Our next question comes from the line of Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格。

All right. I wanted to drill down a bit more on your beer margins. Bill and Garth, you raised your fiscal year beer operating income growth guidance. But this does still imply very low op margins in Q4. So I guess I'd like to better understand the drivers of this. And really how much visibility you have in terms of whether it's your marketing expense or commodities, hedges, et cetera, for the rest of this fiscal year. And then possibly any color on how margins should be phasing next fiscal year would be helpful.

好的。我想更深入地了解你們的啤酒利潤。比爾和加斯，你們提高了本財年啤酒營業收入成長指引。但這仍然意味著第四季度的營運利潤率非常低。所以我想我想更好地了解這一點的驅動因素。在本財年剩餘時間內，無論是行銷費用還是大宗商品、對沖等，您實際上擁有多少可見度。然後，關於下一個財年的利潤率應如何分階段的任何顏色可能都會有所幫助。

Yes, well Bonnie just to start on the question for next fiscal year, obviously, we'll give guidance on next fiscal year at our next conference call in April. But as it relates to margins this year, I mean, obviously, margins are progressing in line with what our expectations are. And what you saw in the third quarter, well this is the first time from a year-over-year perspective where we had margin improvement which again is what we expected at the outset of the year. What we've always said about margins is, and this ties back to what we've said about volumes and shipments and depletions is 55% of our activity will occur in the first half of the year and 45% in the second half of the year. And in Q4, specific to your question on Q4, that it's always typically one of our lower shipping quarters. And so therefore, margins are lower just by virtue of reduced throughput through our facilities.

是的，邦妮，我想開始討論下一個財年的問題，顯然，我們將在四月份的下一次電話會議上給出有關下一個財年的指導。但由於與今年的利潤率有關，我的意思是，顯然，利潤率的進展符合我們的預期。你在第三季看到的情況是，從年比的角度來看，這是我們第一次實現利潤率改善，這又符合我們年初的預期。我們一直所說的利潤率是，這與我們所說的銷售量、出貨量和消耗量有關，我們的活動 55% 將發生在今年上半年，45% 將發生在下半年。年。在第四季度，具體到您關於第四季度的問題，它始終是我們出貨量較低的季度之一。因此，僅僅由於我們設施的吞吐量減少，利潤率就較低。

On top of that, we continue to have increasing depreciation costs that we referenced during our prepared remarks. But as I say, I mean, we do expect that Q4 margins this year will be better than they were of last year, continuing the trend of year-over-year improvement and which, obviously, we feel confident about our ability to get back into our 39% to 40% range as we went into very good detail at our Investor Day.

最重要的是，我們在準備好的評論中提到的折舊成本繼續增加。但正如我所說，我的意思是，我們確實預計今年第四季度的利潤率將好於去年，延續同比改善的趨勢，顯然，我們對恢復利潤的能力充滿信心我們在投資者日上詳細介紹了39% 至40% 的範圍。

Our next question comes from the line of Kaumil Gajrawala with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Kaumil Gajrawala 與 Jefferies 的對話。

You're depleting, right now, you had a run rate of about 8% or I guess you did 8% for the quarter. There's expectations for some pretty good shelf space gains in April. Could you give some context on what that might mean for a pickup in depletion?

你現在正在耗盡精力，你的運行率約為 8%，或者我猜你這個季度的運行率為 8%。預計四月的貨架空間將會有相當不錯的成長。您能否提供一些背景信息，說明這對於資源枯竭的回升可能意味著什麼？

Well, here's what I'd say about that. As we said earlier, we were very pleased with the 8.2% that we got in the quarter. And we finished November very, very strong. And certainly, we're up, as you would have expected, that strong performance in late November continued into December. So we're very excited about our ability to continue to see exceptional depletions as we move into this calendar year and soon into the new fiscal year. The important thing to me is we continue to gain share.

嗯，這就是我要說的。正如我們之前所說，我們對本季 8.2% 的成長感到非常滿意。我們非常非常強勁地結束了 11 月。當然，正如您所預料的那樣，11 月底的強勁表現一直持續到 12 月。因此，我們對在進入本日曆年並很快進入新財年時繼續看到異常消耗的能力感到非常興奮。對我來說重要的是我們繼續獲得份額。

Our 2 share point gains that you saw in the overall category, nearly 3 in the high end continue to be industry-leading and are frankly, an acceleration of what our share gains had been earlier in the year. So we're very comfortable again, 7% to 9% top line driven by mid-plus single-digit growth profile, which we've said we see the runway on that for a long time to come. And certainly, this quarter and certainly, our expectations for the rest of the year are consistent with that.

我們在整個類別中看到的份額增長了 2 個百分點，在高端市場增長了近 3 個百分點，繼續處於行業領先地位，坦率地說，我們的份額增長比今年早些時候有所加速。因此，我們再次感到非常滿意，在中個位數成長的推動下，7% 到 9% 的營收成長，我們已經說過，我們在未來很長一段時間內都看到了這一趨勢。當然，本季以及今年剩餘時間的預期與此一致。

Our next question comes from the line of Bryan Spillane with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的布萊恩‧斯皮蘭 (Bryan Spillane)。

I wanted to go back, Bill, and just ask a bit about the management transition in Wine and Spirits. And I guess, a, what are you looking for? Like what are the attributes or the skill set that you think is needed? And then if you could just maybe separate how much of the focus on wine or how much of the improvement path is going to be dependent on uncontrollables. So just the category improving? And how much of it is you think things that are controllable, things that execution elements or things that Constellation can do to improve.

比爾，我想回去詢問一些有關葡萄酒和烈酒部門的管理過渡的情況。我想，a，你在尋找什麼？例如您認為需要哪些屬性或技能？然後，如果你可以區分對葡萄酒的關注程度和改進路徑的程度將取決於不可控因素。那麼只是類別在改善嗎？其中有多少是你認為可控的事情、執行元素的事情或星座可以改進的。

Sure. Thanks for the question, Bryan. I'd say this, our transformation of that business is largely complete. As we've said now a number of times, it's a very different business than what it was several years ago, even though we still have a fair amount of business in the lower end of the business. What I would say is this. We will be focused on an individual who can bring great operating efficiencies and execution in the marketplace.

當然。謝謝你的提問，布萊恩。我想說的是，我們對該業務的轉型已基本完成。正如我們現在多次說過的那樣，儘管我們在低端業務中仍然擁有相當多的業務，但與幾年前相比，這是一個非常不同的業務。我要說的是這個。我們將重點放在能夠在市場上帶來卓越營運效率和執行力的個人。

We think it's critically important that we improve our wholesale performance in the United States, and we think there's going to be continuing opportunities for us to perform very well in DTC and international channels as we have developed that business over the last couple of years. All of those things, I would argue, are well within our control. A lot of work is being done on the mainstream portion of the business, particularly on SVEDKA and Woodbridge to enhance the performance of those businesses. I think that will -- you will start to see that play out in the new fiscal year.

我們認為，提高我們在美國的批發業績至關重要，而且隨著我們在過去幾年發展該業務，我們將繼續有機會在 DTC 和國際管道中表現出色。我認為，所有這些事情都在我們的控制範圍內。我們正在針對業務的主流部分進行大量工作，特別是在 SVEDKA 和 Woodbridge 方面，以提高這些業務的績效。我認為這將會——你將開始看到這種情況在新的財政年度發揮作用。

And we believe that -- we believe some of the softening that's occurred in the overall business is transitory and will come back our way. Given the real strength that we've seen in our higher-end business like Meiomi and Kim Crawford and the Prisoner and Mi CAMPO and things of that nature. So I'm always of the belief that a significant portion of your results are really within your control. And we're going to focus on those critical factors that improve our business performance as we head into the new fiscal year.

我們相信，我們相信整體業務中出現的一些疲軟現像是暫時的，並且會再次出現。鑑於我們在高端業務中看到的真正實力，例如 Meiomi 和 Kim Crawford、Prisoner 和 Mi CAMPO 以及類似性質的產品。所以我始終相信，你的結果的很大一部分確實在你的掌控之中。當我們進入新的財政年度時，我們將重點放在那些改善我們業務績效的關鍵因素。

Our next question comes from the line of Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein.

我們的下一個問題來自納丁·薩爾瓦特 (Nadine Sarwat) 和伯恩斯坦 (Bernstein) 的對話。

A 2-parter for me. First, you obviously have posted really good beer depletions this quarter. But looking at 2023 for the overall industry, U.S. beer has been weaker than the historical plus or minus 1% that we've seen over the last decade. I'd love to hear your thoughts in your experience why you think that is. Any key takeaways to share on the health of the consumer? And what would you expect to see for the industry as a whole in '24?

對我來說是2人。首先，您顯然在本季發布了非常好的啤酒消耗情況。但展望 2023 年整個產業，美國啤酒的增幅低於我們過去十年所看到的歷史正負 1%。我很想聽聽您在經歷中的想法，為什麼您會這麼認為。關於消費者健康有什麼重要的要點可以分享嗎？您預計整個行業在 24 年會發生什麼？

And then finally, just to come back to Wine and Spirits again, good to hear you reiterating that medium-term growth algorithm you disclosed at the Investor Day. But would it be possible for you to share more details as to how -- where that conviction in achieving that is, given the guidance cut today? Any building blocks? I appreciate the initiatives you mentioned but clearly, the gap between the guidance for this fiscal year, and that medium growth algo is quite big now. So any color would be appreciated.

最後，再次回到葡萄酒與烈酒行業，很高興聽到您重申您在投資者日披露的中期成長演算法。但考慮到今天的指引下調，您能否分享更多細節，說明實現這一目標的信念在哪裡？有什麼積木嗎？我讚賞你提到的舉措，但顯然，本財年的指導與中等增長演算法之間的差距現在相當大。所以任何顏色都會受到讚賞。

Sure. So let's start with the overall beer market. One of the things that we've seen, and it's accelerated a bit, is the separation between the low end and the high end in the beer market. The high end continues to be where the strength is, and we continue to be the leader in the high end, gaining almost 3 share points in the most recent period.

當然。讓我們從整個啤酒市場開始。我們看到的一件事是啤酒市場低端和高端之間的分離，而且這種趨勢有所加速。高端市場仍然是我們的強項，我們繼續成為高端市場的領導者，在最近一段時間裡獲得了近3個份額點。

Part of that is driven, I think, by a couple of things. One is we have such a strong base with the Hispanic consumer, where beer remains a critical part of their consumption pattern. Our brands have great brand loyalty and again, that's very valuable to us as time goes forward. But one of the things that we also noted -- let's take the light beer category. While there's been a lot of movement within that category within brands. The overall sector is not overly healthy. It's down. And we've noted that continuously.

我認為，部分原因是由幾件事驅動的。一是我們在西班牙裔消費者中擁有如此強大的基礎，啤酒仍然是他們消費模式的重要組成部分。我們的品牌擁有很高的品牌忠誠度，隨著時間的推移，這對我們來說非常有價值。但我們還注意到一件事——讓我們以淡啤酒類別為例。雖然品牌內部該類別發生了許多變化。整個行業並不太健康。它下來了。我們一直注意到這一點。

So I think the important part as you think about the overall beer sector is to look at it bifurcated. The low end has not been successful and has been challenged on a volumetric basis, but the high end continues to perform well, and we're fortunate that we are leading at the high end.

所以我認為，當你思考整個啤酒產業時，重要的是要分成兩部分來看待。低端產品尚未取得成功，並且在體積上受到了挑戰，但高端產品繼續表現良好，我們很幸運，我們在高端產品方面處於領先地位。

As it relates to the Wine and Spirits, what I'd like to do on that particular point, given I'm about to do a major deep dive into that business is we'll come back to you with more details on where we see our progress going to occur in that particular business when we do our next earnings call at the beginning of the new fiscal year.

由於它與葡萄酒和烈酒相關，鑑於我即將對該業務進行重大深入研究，我想在這一特定點上做的是，我們將向您提供有關我們所看到的更多詳細信息當我們在新財年開始時召開下一次財報電話會議時，我們將在該特定業務中取得進展。

What I would say is this, we're going to be focused -- very, very focused on execution and working closely with our distribution partners to make sure that we are outperforming the categories in which we play through our distributor network. That's going to be an important part of our ongoing success going forward, and it will be a critical part of where I'm spending my time.

我想說的是，我們將非常非常專注於執行，並與我們的分銷合作夥伴密切合作，以確保我們的表現優於我們透過分銷網絡參與的類別。這將是我們不斷取得成功的重要部分，也是我花時間的重要部分。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Carey with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的克里斯凱裡（Chris Carey）。

Garth, the beer savings number that you called out, which I believe was $55 million, is a big number, certainly in the context of the savings targets through fiscal '28 that you laid out at Investor Day. And so I guess, are you pulling forward savings into fiscal'24 from other years or are you perhaps just getting better at the ability to drive savings in the near term and perhaps we should be thinking about over-delivery or maybe just building more confidence in your ability to hit those targets over time. So again, I'm just trying to get some context for your self-help capacity in the beer gross margin, which was quite strong this quarter.

Garth，您所說的啤酒節省數字（我認為是 5500 萬美元）是一個很大的數字，當然考慮到您在投資者日制定的 28 財年的節省目標。所以我想，你是否會將其他年份的儲蓄提前到 24 財年，或者你可能只是在短期內提高儲蓄的能力，也許我們應該考慮超額交付，或者只是建立更多信心隨著時間的推移，您實現這些目標的能力。再說一次，我只是想了解你們在啤酒毛利率方面的自助能力，本季的啤酒毛利率相當強勁。

Chris, thanks for the question. And I guess the short answer to your question is no, we're not pulling anything forward from future years in FY '24. I do think that what you're seeing this year is a continuation of a couple of things. One which we detailed at Investor Day, which is the shift from us from being builders of breweries to operators of breweries. And so we're getting more efficient, where we're doing a better job from an end-to-end supply chain. And that's what gave us the confidence, not just in this year, but -- and the cost savings targets that we laid out at Investor Day.

克里斯，謝謝你的提問。我想對你的問題的簡短回答是否定的，我們不會在 24 財年的未來幾年中做出任何推進。我確實認為今年你所看到的是一些事情的延續。我們在投資者日詳細介紹了這一點，即我們從啤酒廠建造者轉變為啤酒廠營運商。因此，我們的效率越來越高，端到端供應鏈的工作也做得更好。這不僅給了我們信心，也給了我們信心——以及我們在投資者日所訂定的成本節約目標。

Another thing where we're seeing benefits from is out of our digital business acceleration activities, which have been coupled with the discipline that we're creating on an end-to-end supply chain, and it's driven significant savings in a whole host of areas as it relates to procurement. So again, it is somewhat new muscle that we're building really more in an extension of existing muscle as we, again, migrate from being builders to operators.

我們看到的另一件事是我們的數位業務加速活動，這些活動與我們在端到端供應鏈上創建的規則相結合，並且它在整個主機中節省了大量成本。與採購相關的領域。再說一遍，當我們再次從建構者轉變為營運商時，我們正在建立更多的新力量，以擴展現有的力量。

Our next question comes from the line of Dara Mohsenian with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自達拉莫森尼安 (Dara Mohsenian) 與摩根士丹利 (Morgan Stanley) 的對話。

Just 2 follow-ups. Probably a mix question, just first on beer just to understand the strength in depletions at the end of the quarter. Is that more underlying strength? Was there anything timing related there? Has it continued in December? Should we look at sort of the 8% result in the quarter as sort of a true underlying gauge of the business, at least short term, understanding that's not the guidance, but how should we think about that?

只有 2 個後續行動。可能是一個混合問題，首先是關於啤酒，只是為了了解本季末的消耗強度。這是更底層的力量嗎？那裡有什麼與時間相關的事情嗎？ 12月還在繼續嗎？我們是否應該將本季 8% 的業績視為業務的真正基本指標，至少是短期的，理解這不是指導，但我們應該如何看待這一點？

And I know it's tough to talk about the gap versus scanner data. Obviously, it bounces around. But just any specific thoughts on what that could be going forward? And then I also have a wine question, if I can follow up on that.

我知道很難談論與掃描器數據之間的差距。顯然，它會反彈。但對於未來可能發生的事情有什麼具體的想法嗎？然後我還有一個關於葡萄酒的問題，我是否可以跟進。

Dara, why don't you do that right away because usually, once you ask your question, you don't have further access. What's your wine question?

達拉，為什麼不立即這樣做，因為通常，一旦你提出問題，你就沒有進一步的訪問權限。你的酒問題是什麼？

I mean just look, the comments on the revision were helpful and the longer-term portfolio transformation. But at the risk of being blunt, it's been sort of years of disappointment on that business. It's a pretty large negative revision after Analyst Day in a short period of time. So I just wanted to hear a little more about the response, Bill, and how you might manage that business differently from a strategic lens longer term, perhaps a greater focus on productivity or whatever the changes are.

我的意思是看看，對修訂的評論和長期投資組合轉型都是有幫助的。但冒著直言不諱的風險，多年來這項業務一直令人失望。這是分析師日後短時間內相當大的負面修正。所以我只是想聽聽更多關於比爾的回應，以及你如何從長期戰略角度來管理該業務，也許更加關註生產力或任何變化。

But how do you sort of think about managing the business differently and maybe how it fits in the portfolio just juxtaposition versus what's a very attractive beer business as we saw again this morning from a growth and margin standpoint.

但是，您如何看待以不同的方式管理業務，也許它如何適應投資組合，與我們今天早上從增長和利潤的角度再次看到的非常有吸引力的啤酒業務並列。

Sure. So let's cover the first one initially about the depletions coming out of the quarter. Obviously, there's always a little bit of benefit when you have an early Thanksgiving because you give retailers a chance to restock after Thanksgiving. But let's make no mistake, the takeout that we had around the Thanksgiving holiday was exceptional which you wouldn't get a great restocking if you didn't have an exceptional takeout period. And obviously, we're very pleased to see without going into specifics that the strong November is playing into December as we expected it would because the underlying trends for our business remain very strong. And as I stated in an earlier question, our actual share gains have accelerated during the course of the year, which I think is very positive as well relative to our continuing success in that business.

當然。因此，讓我們先討論第一個關於本季出現的消耗的問題。顯然，感恩節提早到來總是會帶來一些好處，因為零售商有機會在感恩節後補貨。但請不要誤會，我們在感恩節假期期間提供的外賣非常特別，如果您沒有特殊的外賣期間，您就不會得到很好的補貨。顯然，我們非常高興地看到，無需詳細說明，強勁的 11 月正在延續到 12 月，正如我們預期的那樣，因為我們業務的基本趨勢仍然非常強勁。正如我在之前的問題中所說，我們的實際份額成長在這一年中加速了，我認為這對於我們在該業務中的持續成功也是非常積極的。

As it relates to wine, as I said before, the thing that we were most concerned about coming out of this particular quarter is that we end our year in an appropriate inventory position and that we are preparing ourselves to work closely with our wholesale distributor partners to accelerate that business going forward so that we are winning in the categories and channels in which we participate. We've got a lot of work to do there, but we continue to believe the strategy work that's been done over the past few years to reposition our portfolio much more to the higher end is going to pay dividends and that as -- and again, as I said, I think to Nadine a moment ago, I'll come back with some more specific thinking. We're going to do, as you can understand, a fairly deep dive into that business, and I'll have some more thoughts on that as we get to our next call.

正如我之前所說，與葡萄酒有關，我們在這個特定季度中最關心的事情是我們在年底時保持適當的庫存狀況，並且我們正在準備與我們的批發分銷商合作夥伴密切合作加速該業務的發展，以便我們在我們參與的類別和管道中獲勝。我們在這方面還有很多工作要做，但我們仍然相信，過去幾年為將我們的投資組合重新定位到更高端而所做的戰略工作將帶來紅利，並且再次如此正如我所說，我剛才對納丁說，我會帶著一些更具體的想法回來。正如您所理解的，我們將相當深入地研究該業務，當我們進行下一次通話時，我將對此有更多的想法。

And Dara, as it relates to the gaps in Circana versus depletions. And as you mentioned in your question, it can be a bit difficult to draw parallels between the two. Look, for the balance of the year -- for at least the balance of the year going forward, we'll give updates on this as we see fit. But I think you still have to think about that gap being in the mid-single digits.

還有達拉（Dara），因為它與 Circana 與耗盡的差距有關。正如您在問題中提到的，將兩者進行比較可能有點困難。看，對於今年的剩餘時間 - 至少對於未來一年的剩餘時間，我們將在我們認為合適的時候提供相關更新。但我認為你仍然需要考慮中間個位數的差距。

That being said, I'll kind of remind everybody of the comments we made at your conference last month, which is we think that looking at that syndicated consumer takeaway data is really best to gauge long-term trends as well as relative performance. Just as a reminder, for our own business, Circana only picks up 50% of our total volumes. And there are certainly gaps between the volume growth of different tracked channel data providers. And importantly, you don't see things picked up per se as it relates to differences in time periods, meaning there can be shifts between key weekends or holidays between period-to-period that make it hard to tie depletions with the Circana data. So again, this is not -- we don't use the syndicated consumer takeaway data the way that you do, and that's why we say it's not necessarily the best way to gauge our business.

話雖如此，我還是要提醒大家注意我們上個月在會議上發表的評論，即我們認為查看聯合消費者外賣數據確實是衡量長期趨勢以及相對錶現的最佳方法。提醒一下，對於我們自己的業務，Circana 只獲得了我們總銷量的 50%。不同追蹤渠道數據提供商的數量增長之間肯定存在差距。重要的是，您不會看到事情本身有所回升，因為它與時間段的差異有關，這意味著不同時期的關鍵週末或假期之間可能存在變化，這使得很難將消耗與Circana 數據聯繫起來。再說一次，這不是——我們不會像你們一樣使用聯合消費者外送數據，這就是為什麼我們說這不一定是衡量我們業務的最佳方式。

Our next question comes from the line of Andrea Teixeira with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Andrea Teixeira。

So with your comments just now on the cadence of the quarter and into the fourth quarter. I wonder why you haven't raised guidance for being the (inaudible) in terms of top line? And the second part of your -- question, looking ahead into the spring, how much you would expect that -- the shelf resets on the back of this strength will come -- will structure you for that type of 7% to 9% algorithm.

因此，您剛才對本季和第四季節奏的評論。我想知道為什麼您沒有提出在頂線方面成為（聽不清楚）的指導？你的第二部分——問題，展望春天，你會期望多少——在這種力量的支持下，架子會重置——將為你構建那種 7% 到 9% 的演算法。

Well, let's start with the second question first. We were quite pleased with the more limited changes that occurred on the shelf sets in the back half of last calendar year. But we're expecting significant gains, greater than our growth profile here as we get to the spring resets.

好，我們先從第二個問題開始。我們對去年下半年貨架上發生的較為有限的變化感到非常滿意。但我們預計，當我們進入春季重置時，將會有顯著的收益，比我們在這裡的成長更大。

You would notice that we fully expect that we're going to finish our year in a very strong performance. You will note that we raised the bottom of our guidance, as Garth noted, and I think I noted in my remarks as well, so we actually have raised our expectations around the income side and of course, that translates through into better cash and various other things, as Garth noted.

您會注意到，我們完全期望我們將以非常強勁的表現結束這一年。你會注意到，正如加斯指出的那樣，我們提高了指導的底部，我想我也在我的演講中指出了，所以我們實際上提高了對收入方面的預期，當然，這轉化為更好的現金和各種正如加斯所說，還有其他事情。

So I think you should take away what I -- hopefully, we were trying to portray, which is our business continues to deliver exactly what we've told you what we would deliver on the beer side, 7% to 9% top line growth and strong bottom operating growth to match. And certainly, I think our depletion rate coming out of Q3 reflects that strength.

所以我認為你應該拿走我希望我們試圖描繪的東西，那就是我們的業務繼續提供我們已經告訴過你的啤酒方面的服務，7% 到 9% 的收入增長以及與之相匹配的強勁底部運營增長。當然，我認為第三季的消耗率反映了這種實力。

Our next question comes from the line of Rob Ottenstein with Evercore.

我們的下一個問題來自 Rob Ottenstein 和 Evercore 的對話。

Great, 2 questions. First, so wondering if you could talk a little bit about pricing? I know that you're talking about 1% to 2%, it was 1% here. So kind of 2 parts to this. One, what is the kind of the general environment for pricing in the beer industry now, the sense that you get? And second, I know that you do kind of a sporadic pricing. So it's a lot of the country is 0 and then certain parts is maybe 4% or 5%, and so then it averages out 1% to 2%. Can you talk a little bit about kind of the timing of your price increases? My understanding that your major competitors are pricing at the end of January and the beginning of February. So how does your pricing fit into that? So that's question number one.

太好了，有 2 個問題。首先，想知道您是否可以談談定價？我知道你說的是1%到2%，這裡是1%。這分為兩部分。一、現在啤酒業定價的大環境是怎麼樣的，您的感受是怎麼樣的？其次，我知道你們的定價有點零星。所以這個國家的很多地方都是 0，然後某些部分可能是 4% 或 5%，所以平均是 1% 到 2%。可以談談你們漲價的時間嗎？據我了解，你們的主要競爭對手在一月底和二月初定價。那麼你的定價如何適應這一點呢？這是第一個問題。

And then question number 2 is kind of hearing a little bit, reading about an innovation, Corona Sunbrew. I think Sunbrew is citrus, that's off to a good start. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that.

然後問題 2 是聽到一點、讀到一項創新，Corona Sunbrew。我認為 Sunbrew 是柑橘類水果，這是一個很好的開始。我想知道你是否可以多談談這一點。

Sure. Obviously, I'm not going to comment on competitor pricing. But what I would say, Robert, is, look, we said early on. And in fact, some of you have probably question Garth and I on occasion about it that we believe that 1% to 2% was the right approach. We've done that historically for -- over the long run. We were a little bit higher than that during the really high inflationary time frame around COVID, which we fully acknowledged and recognized but I go back to what we've always said, which is we really want to keep our consumer. It's a whole lot more expensive if you chase them off and have to go reacquire a consumer than it is to never lose them in the first place. And the 1% to 2% algorithm has proven very solid for us over the long term, and it's one that we're going to continue. I think certainly, you see in other categories, people being careful about pricing. And I think that reflects just an understanding of where the consumer may or may not be in various categories.

當然。顯然，我不會評論競爭對手的定價。但羅伯特，我想說的是，看，我們很早就說過。事實上，你們中的一些人可能有時會質疑 Garth 和我，我們認為 1% 到 2% 是正確的方法。從長遠來看，我們歷史上已經這樣做了。我們的通膨率比新冠疫情期間的通膨率要高一些，我們完全承認並認識到這一點，但我回到我們一直說的，那就是我們真的想留住我們的消費者。如果你趕走他們並必須重新獲得消費者，這比從一開始就永遠不失去他們要貴得多。從長遠來看，1% 到 2% 的演算法已被證明對我們來說非常可靠，我們將繼續採用這項演算法。我想當然，你會看到在其他類別中，人們對定價很謹慎。我認為這反映了對消費者可能屬於或不屬於不同類別的理解。

As it relates to innovation, Sunbrew is coming. We plan to talk mainly about that at our introduction for that, which will occur at the beginning of March. So I'm not going to spill all the beans on it, but we're particularly excited about that. We think it's going to be, again, another very interesting new product launch for our company on the heels of very successful Oro launch and very successful Aguas Frescas launch that has occurred in Modelo, which, as you know, is also expanding here in the coming years. So please stay tuned on that one. But I think we're very optimistic that, that provides some great opportunity in the Corona franchise.

就創新而言，Sunbrew 即將到來。我們計劃在三月初的介紹中主要討論這一點。所以我不會透露所有的秘密，但我們對此感到特別興奮。我們認為，繼在莫德洛成功推出 Oro 和 Aguas Frescas 後，這將是我們公司又一次非常有趣的新產品推出，正如您所知，莫德洛也在未來幾年擴張。所以請繼續關注這一點。但我認為我們非常樂觀，這為科羅納特許經營權提供了一些絕佳的機會。

Our next question comes from the line of Lauren Lieberman with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的勞倫‧利伯曼 (Lauren Lieberman)。

I know we've covered a lot of ground, but I was hoping you could just touch on the improved cash flow outlook for the year because it's a pretty material change and exciting. So just wondering if you could talk a little bit about the key drivers on that uptick in outlook.

我知道我們已經討論了很多內容，但我希望您能談談今年現金流前景的改善，因為這是一個相當重大的變化並且令人興奮。因此，我想知道您是否可以談談前景上升的關鍵驅動因素。

Yes. Thanks, Lauren. Like -- so there are obviously a few drivers of the change in cash flow. And obviously, I think that seeing the increase in cash flow just goes to further evidence the very disciplined approach we take to managing the cash of the company. Obviously, some of the drivers there will include things like the increase in beer margin -- or I should say, beer operating income that Bill referenced in his remarks. There, obviously, will be some favorability in the taxes that I referenced in my remarks. As well as some other favorability on things like tax rate there or taxes and things of that nature. But our -- but those are the primary drivers.

是的。謝謝，勞倫。就像——所以顯然有一些現金流變化的驅動因素。顯然，我認為現金流的增加進一步證明了我們在管理公司現金方面採取了非常嚴格的方法。顯然，其中一些驅動因素將包括啤酒利潤率的增加——或者我應該說，比爾在演講中提到的啤酒營業收入。顯然，我在講話中提到的稅收將會有一些優惠。以及對稅率或稅收等類似性質的其他一些優惠。但我們的——但這些是主要驅動力。

Our next question comes from the line of Filippo Falorni with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Filippo Falorni。

I wanted to go back to the on-premise channel for the beer business. I think, Garth, you mentioned, it grew about 1% in the quarter. I was wondering if there's any more to recover from the keg issue that you guys had and then if you think about next fiscal year, we talked a lot about the opportunity to gain share in off-premise. But can you comment on your ability to gain tap handles and gain more distribution in on-premise channel as well?

我想回到啤酒業務的內部通路。 Garth，你提到過，我認為該季度增長了約 1%。我想知道是否還有更多的東西可以從你們所遇到的桶問題中恢復，然後如果您考慮下一個財政年度，我們談論了很多關於在場外獲得份額的機會。但是您能否評論一下您在本地頻道中獲得點擊手柄並獲得更多分發的能力？

Yes, you bet. As we said, we had some temporary impact around kegs, which was largely in Q2 of this year. But I think it is important to point out that last year, both Modelo Especial and Pacifico, were the #1 and #2 share gainers in draft despite some of those temporary issues. It remains a great opportunity for us when you think about it, I mean let's use an example.

是的，你敢打賭。正如我們所說，我們對小桶產生了一些暫時的影響，這主要是在今年第二季。但我認為重要的是要指出，去年，儘管存在一些暫時的問題，Modelo Especial 和 Pacifico 都是選秀中排名第一和第二的份額增長者。仔細想想，這對我們來說仍然是一個很好的機會，我的意思是讓我們舉個例子。

Modelo Especial is #5 on draft but is the #1 beer by dollars in this country. But it's certainly -- it's not #1 in the on-premise at this point. Again, a great opportunity. So interestingly, Corona Extra is the #1 packaged beer on-premise but again, still having opportunity in the draft side. So we continue to think that draft is going to be an opportunity for us as one of the growth drivers for us going forward.

Modelo Especial 在生啤酒中排名第五，但以美元計算卻是全國排名第一的啤酒。但它目前在本地還不是第一。又是一個絕佳的機會。有趣的是，Corona Extra 是排名第一的本地包裝啤酒，但同樣在選秀方面仍有機會。因此，我們仍然認為選秀對我們來說將是一個機會，成為我們前進的成長動力之一。

And Pacifico is a great example, even though it was the #2 gainer, when you see just the real acceleration you have in that brand, I think there remains opportunities for both Modelo Especial and Pacifico in particular, in the on-premise. And I certainly would hope to see both of those brands maintaining their #1 share-gainer status as we get into this calendar year.

Pacifico 就是一個很好的例子，儘管它是排名第二的贏家，但當你看到品牌的真正加速時，我認為 Modelo Especial 和 Pacifico 仍然有機會，特別是在當地。我當然希望看到這兩個品牌在進入今年時保持其份額第一的地位。

Our next question comes from the line of Gerald Pascarelli with Wedbush.

我們的下一個問題來自傑拉爾德·帕斯卡雷利和韋德布希的對話。

I just had a question on your measured versus non-measured channels within beer. So like if we look at Nielsen, your price mix has moderated at retail. It looks to be currently running right in line with the midpoint of your 1% to 2% target. So if we compare this to non-measured channels, just curious if you've seen any near-term moderation in pricing? And if not, would you maybe expect trends to become a little more aligned as we look out over the near term?

我剛剛有一個關於啤酒中測量通道與非測量通道的問題。因此，就像我們看看尼爾森一樣，你們的零售價格組合已經放緩。目前看起來正好與您 1% 至 2% 目標的中點一致。因此，如果我們將其與非衡量管道進行比較，只是好奇您是否看到近期定價有所放緩？如果沒有，您是否會期望我們在短期內展望趨勢會變得更加一致？

I think by and large, the answer to your question is yes, that those are usually reflective. We don't see a lot of variation amongst channels on that particular thing. Although you do have some very big markets that are not generally covered by some of those tracked channels, New York being an interesting one.

我認為總的來說，你的問題的答案是肯定的，這些通常是反思性的。我們沒有看到管道之間在該特定事物上有很大差異。儘管確實有一些非常大的市場，這些市場通常不會被某些追蹤管道所覆蓋，但紐約是一個有趣的市場。

So you do see some variation from time to time, but we don't expect that to be significant moving forward about what's the tracked versus what the non-tracked channels look like.

因此，您確實會不時看到一些變化，但我們預計追蹤管道與非追蹤管道的情況不會有重大進展。

And the moderation that you referenced is really just attributable to the lapping of the incremental pricing that we took in (inaudible) of last year.

您提到的適度調整其實只是歸因於我們去年採取的增量定價（聽不清楚）。

Absolutely.

絕對地。

Our next question comes from the line of Peter Grom with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的彼得·格羅姆 (Peter Grom)。

So Garth, I may have missed this, but is the expectation still for beer depletions and shipments to be roughly equal for the year? And then I think it was mentioned that shipments in the fourth quarter would be around 20% to 21% of full year shipments. Is that quarterly mix similar for depletions as well. Just we've seen a lot of changes in quarterly mix over the past few years that have resulted in differences in growth rates between depletions and shipments. So just trying to understand how we should think about it specifically for the fourth quarter.

加思，我可能錯過了這一點，但今年啤酒消耗量和發貨量的預期是否仍然大致相等？然後我認為有人提到第四季度的出貨量將佔全年出貨量的 20% 至 21% 左右。該季度的消耗情況也類似嗎？只是我們在過去幾年看到季度組合發生了很多變化，導致消耗量和出貨量之間的成長率有差異。所以只是想了解我們應該如何具體考慮第四季的情況。

Yes. So on shipments and depletions, yes, those should be largely in line with one another for a full year that's consistent with how we operate the business every year. And from a Q4 timing as it relates to shipments and depletions, yes, both of those are in that 20% to 21% range that Bill referenced earlier.

是的。因此，在出貨量和消耗量方面，是的，這些數據全年應該在很大程度上保持一致，這與我們每年的業務運作方式一致。從第四季的出貨量和消耗量來看，是的，這兩者都在比爾之前提到的 20% 到 21% 的範圍內。

Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Strelzik with BMO.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 的 Andrew Strelzik。

Thanks for taking the questions. Mine is about the competitive and promotional environment in beer, you've talked about your expectations on shelf space gains in the spring, the lighter spread between light and premium beer and even some of the pricing dynamics in wine. So just curious then what you're seeing across the competitive set now, how you're expecting that to evolve as the year progresses next year? And maybe any plans or programs or levers should the environment intensify?

感謝您提出問題。我的主題是關於啤酒的競爭和促銷環境，您談到了對春季貨架空間增加的期望，淡啤酒和優質啤酒之間的差距縮小，甚至葡萄酒的一些定價動態。所以只是好奇你現在在競爭中看到了什麼，你預計隨著明年的進展，情況會如何發展？也許有任何計劃、計劃或槓桿應對環境惡化？

Certainly. We expect the promotional environment to be fairly consistent with what usually is, we don't think there's going to be any radical changes around that topic. I think a lot of it goes back to what we've often said, which is the velocities that we have on our brands are superb. And obviously, at the end of the day, the retail environment is very interested in having brands focused on those that deliver outstanding velocities and sales per point of distribution.

當然。我們預期促銷環境與通常情況相當一致，我們認為圍繞該主題不會發生任何根本性變化。我認為這很大程度上可以追溯到我們經常說的，那就是我們品牌的發展速度非常快。顯然，歸根結底，零售環境非常希望品牌專注於那些能夠提供出色的速度和每個分銷點銷售額的品牌。

We shared at our Investor Day that our sales per point of distribution is radically better than the competition. And I think that's going to continue to serve us well, especially when you consider the strong brand loyalty that we have with consumers. As we've also said on numerous occasions, our judicious 1% to 2% pricing actions, we don't pull back on our pricing in the marketplace, which I think is important also. So when we make those commitments of 1% to 2%, that's what we deliver.

我們在投資者日表示，我們每個分銷點的銷售額遠遠好於競爭對手。我認為這將繼續為我們提供良好的服務，特別是當你考慮到我們對消費者的強烈品牌忠誠度時。正如我們在許多場合所說的，我們明智的 1% 到 2% 的定價行動，我們不會取消市場定價，我認為這也很重要。因此，當我們做出 1% 到 2% 的承諾時，這就是我們所兌現的。

Our next question comes from the line of Will Kirk with ROTH.

我們的下一個問題來自威爾·柯克和羅斯的台詞。

Just one for me, maybe for Garth. I heard the comment about $17 million higher in packaging and material costs for beer. I think that's the lowest year-over-year increase in some time. So is that the low level of inflation you'd be expecting there going forward? Or is deflation on those items even possible in calendar 2024? And I guess separately, it will probably be in the 10-Q later, but was -- the transportation cost line for beer, was that deflationary year-over-year in the period?

只為我準備一份，或許也為加斯準備一份。我聽到有關啤酒包裝和材料成本增加 1700 萬美元的評論。我認為這是一段時間內最低的同比增幅。那麼這就是您所期望的未來低通膨水平嗎？或者這些項目在 2024 年是否可能出現通貨緊縮？我想單獨來看，它可能會在 10 季之後出現，但是——啤酒的運輸成本線，在此期間是否與通貨緊縮？

Yes. So as we said all year long, we would start to see benefits from easing inflation as we move through the year. And obviously, we saw that in Q3. Going forward, you asked the question around whether this is at a low point or inflationary in nature. What I would say on that is we laid out a pretty good detail at our Investor Day around what the drivers are that we're expecting over the medium term that are going to result in us getting back in our 39% to 40% operating margins and that includes low single-digit inflation net of our cost savings initiatives.

是的。因此，正如我們全年所說，隨著這一年的推移，我們將開始看到通膨緩解的好處。顯然，我們在第三季看到了這一點。展望未來，您提出了關於這是否處於低點或本質上通貨膨脹的問題。我想說的是，我們在投資者日上就我們預計中期內的驅動因素製定了相當詳細的細節，這些驅動因素將使我們恢復 39% 至 40% 的營業利潤率其中包括扣除我們的成本節約舉措後的低個位數通膨。

And obviously, there's some other offsets that can set like depreciation, but those really are the drivers moving forward. And then logistics was a bit favorable in Q3 as well.

顯然，還有一些其他抵消因素可以設置，例如折舊，但這些確實是前進的驅動力。第三季的物流也有點有利。

Our final question will come from the line of Bill Chappell with Truist Securities.

我們的最後一個問題將來自 Truist Securities 的 Bill Chappell。

Just one follow-up on the acceleration of the beer in November and into December. I think I'm right in saying a year ago, you had started to see a slowdown due to weather in California and the price increases that -- just taken there with some elasticity. So was there more than I guess, more favorable comps that you saw that drove the acceleration? Or is that a key part of it? Or were the comps maybe not as affected as by those -- by weather and price increases last year as we had assumed.

這只是 11 月和 12 月啤酒加速成長的後續行動。我認為我一年前說得對，由於加州的天氣和價格上漲，您已經開始看到經濟放緩 - 只是那裡具有一定的彈性。那麼，你看到的比我想像的更有利的競爭是否推動了加速？或者說這是其中的關鍵部分？或者，公司業績可能不像我們所假設的那樣受到去年天氣和價格上漲的影響。

Well, as you often know, lots of things go into why you see acceleration, I think you've pointed out some. I think weather in California was better than it was the prior year, you saw Thanksgiving being slightly earlier than it was in prior year. I think all those things are true. What I would emphasize, though, is that the takeout around our business around Thanksgiving was particularly strong and our share gains that occurred during that period were as good as we saw during the entire year which again, just speaks to the strength of the brand.

嗯，正如您所知道的，有很多因素可以解釋為什麼您會看到加速，我想您已經指出了一些。我認為加州的天氣比去年好，感恩節比去年稍微早一點。我認為所有這些都是真的。不過，我要強調的是，感恩節前後我們的業務外賣特別強勁，在那段時間我們的份額增長與我們全年看到的一樣好，這再次證明了我們品牌的實力。

There's gives and takes all the way along in the year, as you know, from various factors that occur but when you see that kind of share acceleration that we've been seeing in the sort of the 2-point range in the overall category and 3-point range in the high end, that just speaks to the continuing strength of our beer business irrespective of the potential gives and takes that occurred naturally over the course of the year.

如您所知，這一年中一直存在著各種因素的給予和索取，但是當您看到我們在整個類別中看到的 2 點範圍內的份額加速時，高端的3 點範圍，這僅僅說明了我們啤酒業務的持續實力，無論一年中自然發生的潛在給予和接受如何。

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Bill Newlands for closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。現在我想請比爾紐蘭茲（Bill Newlands）發表結束語。

Thanks very much and thank you all for joining today's call. Again, we're very pleased that our beer business delivered strong performance in Q3 and is on track to achieve the higher end of our initial net sales and operating income guidance for the fiscal year. Our beer portfolio continues to deliver industry-leading performance, and we see a long runway of opportunities to continue to drive strong growth.

非常感謝並感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。同樣，我們非常高興我們的啤酒業務在第三季度取得了強勁的業績，並且有望實現本財年初始淨銷售額和營業收入指導的較高目標。我們的啤酒產品組合繼續提供業界領先的業績，我們看到了繼續推動強勁成長的長期機會。

In our Wine and Spirits business, we're fully committed to realizing net sales growth and improving our operating margins in line with our medium-term outlook for that business as we leverage its reshaped higher-end leaning portfolio and enhanced DTC and international footprint.

在我們的葡萄酒和烈酒業務中，我們充分利用其重塑的高端投資組合以及增強的DTC 和國際足跡，實現淨銷售額增長並提高我們的營業利潤率，以符合我們對該業務的中期前景。

And from a capital allocation perspective, we continue to consistently execute against our balanced and disciplined priorities, which are: Maintaining our investment-grade balance sheet, consistently returning cash to our shareholders through our dividend and executing opportunistic share repurchases beyond those needed to cover dilutions while advancing our organic investments to support additional production capacity for our beer business and deploying excess cash to smaller acquisitions that fill portfolio gaps, but with a thoughtful and prudent approach.

從資本配置的角度來看，我們繼續一致地執行我們平衡和嚴格的優先事項，這些優先事項是：維持我們的投資級資產負債表，透過股息持續向股東返還現金，並執行超出稀釋所需的機會性股票回購同時推進我們的有機投資，以支持我們啤酒業務的額外產能，並將多餘的現金部署到較小的收購中，以填補投資組合的空白，但採取深思熟慮和審慎的方法。

Altogether, we remain confident in our outlook for the full year and continue to expect our enterprise comparable EPS guidance for fiscal '24, excluding Canopy, to remain within our previously stated range of $12 to $12.20. And over the medium term, we continue to expect low double-digit EPS growth, as we outlined in our Investor Day. So thanks again, everyone, for joining the call, and I wish you all a safe, happy and prosperous new year. Thank you again for joining.

總而言之，我們對全年前景仍然充滿信心，並繼續預計 24 財年企業可比每股收益指引（不包括 Canopy）將保持在我們之前規定的 12 美元至 12.20 美元範圍內。從中期來看，正如我們在投資者日中概述的那樣，我們繼續預計每股收益將實現兩位數的低成長。再次感謝大家加入我們的電話會議，祝福大家新年平安、快樂、繁榮。再次感謝您的加入。

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Have a great day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。此時您可以斷開線路。祝你有美好的一天。