Virtu Financial Inc (VIRT) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Virtu Financial first quarter 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

各位好。感謝各位加入，歡迎參加 Virtu Financial 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）

I will now hand the conference over to Matthew Sandberg, Head of IR and SP&A. Matthew, please go ahead.

現在我把會議交給投資人關係與策略規劃與分析（IR 與 SP&A）主管 Matthew Sandberg。Matthew，請開始。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Our first quarter 2026 results were released this morning and are available on our website.

謝謝。各位早安。我們 2026 年第一季的業績已於今天早上發布，並已在我們的網站上提供。

With us today on this morning's call, we have Aaron Simons, our Chief Executive Officer Cindy Lee, our Chief Financial Officer and Joe Maluso, our Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. We will begin with brief prepared remarks and then take your questions.

今天早上的電話會議與會者包括：我們的執行長 Aaron Simons、財務長 Cindy Lee，以及共同總裁兼共同營運長 Joe Maluso。我們將先進行簡短的事先準備發言，接著進入問答。

First, a few reminders. Today's call may include forward-looking statements, which represent Virtue's current belief regarding future events and are therefore subject to risks, assumptions, and uncertainties, which may be outside the company's control.

首先，幾點提醒。今天的電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述代表 Virtu 目前對未來事件的看法，因此可能受到風險、假設與不確定性的影響，其中部分可能超出公司控制範圍。

Please note that our actual results and financial conditions may differ materially from what is indicated in these forward-looking statements. It is important to note that any forward-looking statements made on this call are based on information presently available to the company, and we do not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements as new information becomes available. We refer you to disclaimers in our press release and encourage you to review the description of risk factors contained in our Annual Report, Form 10-K and other public filings.

請注意，我們的實際經營成果與財務狀況可能與這些前瞻性陳述所示內容有重大差異。重要的是，本次電話會議中的任何前瞻性陳述均以公司目前可得資訊為基礎；隨著新資訊出現，我們不承擔更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述的義務。請參閱我們新聞稿中的免責聲明，並建議您檢視我們年度報告 Form 10-K 及其他公開申報文件中所載之風險因素說明。

During today's call, in addition to GAAP measures, we may refer to certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net trading income, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin.

在今天的電話會議中，除 GAAP 指標外，我們也可能提及若干非 GAAP 指標，包括調整後淨交易收入、調整後淨利、調整後 EBITDA 以及調整後 EBITDA 利潤率。

These non-GAAP measures should be considered as supplemental to and not as superior to financial measures as reported in accordance with GAAP.

這些非 GAAP 指標應視為對依 GAAP 報導之財務衡量的補充，而非更優於 GAAP 的財務衡量。

We direct listeners to consult the investor portion of our website, where you'll find additional supplemental information referred to on this call as well as the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the equivalent GAAP term in the earnings materials with an explanation of why we deem this information to be meaningful as well as how management uses these measures.

我們請聽眾參閱本公司網站的投資人專區，您可在其中找到本次電話會議所提及的其他補充資訊，以及非 GAAP 指標與相對應 GAAP 項目的調節表（reconciliation），並包含我們認為該資訊具意義的原因，以及管理階層如何使用這些指標的說明。

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

接下來，我想把電話會議交給 Aaron。

Thanks, Matt. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝，Matt。各位早安。

Again, just like very brief remarks before Cindy goes over the detailed results and we move to Q&A, but just wanted to highlight that our first quarter results show that we're executing on our plan to grow through investing in our infrastructure, acquiring top talent and expanding our capital base.

同樣地，在 Cindy 說明詳細結果並進入問答之前，我先做非常簡短的說明。我想強調，我們第一季的結果顯示，我們正按計畫執行成長策略：投資基礎設施、延攬頂尖人才並擴大資本基礎。

Following that plan, in the last seven months, we have added over $500 million in new trading capital and maintained a return on our total capital in excess of 100%.

依循該計畫，在過去七個月中，我們新增了超過 5 億美元的交易資本，並維持總資本報酬率超過 100%。

Our results for the first quarter were among the best in Virtu's history, aided by an operating environment which was even more favorable than the fourth quarter of last year. Within the context of that environment, all of our businesses performed well, customer and non-customer market making, as well as execution services.

我們第一季的表現是 Virtu 歷史上最佳之一，並受惠於比去年第四季更有利的營運環境。在此環境下，我們所有業務表現皆佳，包括客戶與非客戶的造市業務，以及執行服務。

We've provided additional perspective on the quarter in our detailed financial supplement and will be answering your questions shortly. First, though, Cindy Lee, our Chief Financial Officer, will review the financial results for the quarter.

我們已在詳細的財務補充資料中提供本季的更多觀點，稍後也會回答各位的問題。不過首先，我們的財務長 Cindy Lee 將回顧本季財務結果。

Thanks, Aaron. Good morning, everyone. For the first quarter of 2026, we generated adjusted net trading income, or ENT, of $12.9 million per day, or a total of $787 million.

謝謝，Aaron。各位早安。2026 年第一季，我們的調整後淨交易收入（adjusted net trading income，或 ENT）為每日 1,290 萬美元，合計 7.87 億美元。

This was the highest quarter total ever for Word 2.

這是 Word 2 史上最高的單季總額。

Turning to our segment performance, market-making reported an NT of $10.4 million per day for Q1. Execution services reached $2.5 million per day for the quarter and $2.1 million on a trailing 12-month basis. This is the 8th consecutive quarter.

接著看分部表現：造市業務在第一季的 NT 為每日 1,040 萬美元。執行服務本季達到每日 250 萬美元，過去 12 個月（TTM）為每日 210 萬美元。這是連續第 8 個季度。

Of increased total NT for VES, an indication of the substantial progress we have been noting within the VES business. This performance reflects the investment we have made in technology, our focus on client acquisition, and the expansion of our product offering.

VES 的總 NT 持續增加，顯示我們在 VES 業務上所提到的重大進展。此表現反映了我們在科技上的投資、對客戶開發的專注，以及產品供給的擴充。

Both of our operating segments benefited from generally favorable market conditions and strong execution by our team. Our profitability this quarter was robust. We generated $521 million in adjusted EBITDA, representing a 66% margin. Adjusted EPS was $2.24. For the last 12 months, we recorded $1.6 billion in adjusted EBITDA, a 66% margin, and the $6.66 in adjusted EPS.

我們兩個營運分部皆受惠於整體有利的市場環境，以及團隊強勁的執行力。本季獲利能力強勁：我們創造了 5.21 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，利潤率為 66%。調整後每股盈餘（EPS）為 2.24 美元。過去 12 個月，我們錄得 16 億美元的調整後 EBITDA、66% 的利潤率，以及 6.66 美元的調整後 EPS。

These numbers all represent highs since early 2021 and an all-time quarterly high in case of adjusted EPS, underscoring the operating leverage inherited in our business.

這些數字皆為 2021 年初以來的新高，而調整後 EPS 更創下單季歷史新高，凸顯我們業務所具備的營運槓桿。

On Slide 7 of our supplemental materials, we provide a summary of our operating expenses. Our first quarter 2026 cash compensation ratio was at 22%, which was within the historical range. The increase in compensation expense reflects our continued focus on retaining and acquiring top talent across the organization, particularly in trading and technology.

在補充資料第 7 頁，我們提供營運費用摘要。2026 年第一季的現金薪酬比率為 22%，落在歷史區間內。薪酬費用的增加反映我們持續專注於在全公司留任並招募頂尖人才，特別是在交易與科技領域。

Turning to capital, our invested capital stands at $2.6 billion as of March 31st, while generating an average return of 107%.

再看資本面：截至 3 月 31 日，我們的投入資本為 26 億美元，平均報酬率為 107%。

On the capital over the past year. We will continue to expand our capital base, strengthening our infrastructure and deploy capital where we see the greatest opportunities, all while maintaining our quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share. We will now take your questions.

就過去一年的資本而言，我們將持續擴大資本基礎、強化基礎設施，並在我們看到最大機會之處部署資本，同時維持每股 0.24 美元的季度股利。現在我們開始回答各位的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Patrick Moley, Piper Sandler.

（接線員指示）Piper Sandler 的 Patrick Moley。

Yes, good morning and thanks for taking the question.

是的，各位早安，謝謝讓我提問。

Congrats on the strong quarter. I think the environment across the board was very good, but you guys seemed to outperform that. So I was hoping maybe you could just level set with us and talk about where you saw the most opportunity in the quarter and then maybe, with or with ante up where it is, highest level on record, how should we think about the sustainability of that in this environment? Thanks.

恭喜本季表現強勁。我認為整體環境各方面都很好，但你們似乎表現更勝一籌。所以我想請你們幫我們校準一下，談談本季你們在哪些地方看到最多機會；另外，隨著（或在）ENT 目前處於歷史最高水準的情況下，我們應該如何看待在此環境中其可持續性？謝謝。

Hey, Patrick, good morning, it's Joe.

嗨，Patrick，早安，我是 Joe。

You're right, the environment was very robust, as I think you wrote in your note, and I think we did outperform.

你說得對，環境非常強勁，正如我想你在報告裡寫的那樣，而且我認為我們確實跑贏了。

It's difficult to kind of pinpoint growth since we've had this growth pivot.

自從我們轉向成長策略以來，要精準指出成長來自哪裡其實不容易。

It is across the board, and I think for the last couple of quarters, our focus has been on growing the firm, but that means a lot of things across the board in a lot of asset classes and a lot of geographies, and it naturally includes growth and investment in asset classes that maybe we were historically less focused on, but.

成長是全面性的。我認為過去幾個季度，我們的重點一直是推動公司成長，但這在很多資產類別、很多地區都代表著很多事情；也自然包含在一些我們過去相對較少著墨的資產類別上進行成長與投資，但。

We want to accelerate growth in, but it's hard to pinpoint, right? So I think in the past, we've talked about crypto, we've talked about options, but our growth, we want to make sure that it's understood the growth plan isn't limited to a handful of narrow areas, it's really broad-based and focused on a lot of different areas and it includes. All the things that we've been talking about, capital, it includes personnel, it includes investment in technology, et.

我們希望加速成長，但很難精確歸因，對吧？所以我想過去我們談過加密貨幣、談過選擇權，但我們希望大家理解，我們的成長計畫並不侷限於少數狹窄領域，而是廣泛布局、聚焦於許多不同面向；其中包含我們一直在談的所有事情：資本、人才、科技投資，等。

Cetera. And then, I mean, was there anything you can share in terms of asset classes where you maybe saw outsized growth this quarter? I can think of maybe the metals market, we saw a lot of activity, especially among retail. In the earlier part of the quarter. So anything there that you can share on asset classes?

等等。另外，我是說，你們是否能分享一下在某些資產類別上，本季是否看到特別突出的成長？我想到可能是金屬市場，我們看到很多活動，尤其是零售端，在本季前段。所以在資產類別方面，有沒有什麼可以分享的？

We made the point last quarter to remind the world that Virtu's performance is not solely based on retail investor participation, which, by the way, remains strong.

我們在上一季就已指出，藉此提醒市場：Virtu 的表現並非僅僅取決於散戶投資人參與度；順帶一提，散戶參與度仍然強勁。

So.

所以。

The customer market-making business has done very well, but I think we saw continued outstanding performance and growth in what we call prop market-making.

客戶做市業務表現非常好，但我認為我們在所謂的自營做市（prop market-making）方面也持續展現出色的表現與成長。

And the headline volatility in the quarter, obviously, from exogenous events contributed, but there's also a lot of underlying growth in trades and investments that have been made over a long period of time.

而本季的表面波動率顯然受到外生事件的影響而有所貢獻，但同時也有大量源自長期投入所帶來的交易量與投資的內生成長。

We want to get away from talking about specific areas, but I think it's pretty obvious in the quarter, if you look at just the volatility in the world and what's been going on, that that was a good environment that was helped by our continued investment and everything else we've been talking about.

我們希望不要聚焦在特定領域，但我想本季其實很明顯：如果你只看全球波動以及正在發生的事情，那確實是一個良好的環境，而這也受惠於我們持續的投資以及我們一直在談的其他各項因素。

And maybe I'll just add one thing.

我也許再補充一點。

Like instead of -- and I get it's hard, like quarter-over-quarter, the environment, as we pointed out last time, is the most important variable.

與其說——我理解這很難，像是逐季比較——正如我們上次指出的，環境是最重要的變數。

It's not like, oh, we found some new trade or something took off. Really, what I tried to highlight in the introductory remarks was you should think of this as what would have happened in the counterfactual world where we didn't add $500 million of new trading capital. Our P&L would not have been what it was in the first quarter, right? I'm not saying it's a one-for-one difference, right? But it definitely was a huge factor. And so going forward, the idea is that in any environment, we should outperform where we were before with lower capital.

並不是說，喔，我們找到某個新交易或某件事突然起飛。其實我在開場致詞想強調的是：你應該把這看成一個反事實情境——如果我們沒有新增 5 億美元的交易資本，會發生什麼事。我們第一季的損益（P&L）就不會是現在這個樣子，對吧？我不是說這是一比一的差異，對吧？但它絕對是一個巨大的因素。因此往後的想法是：在任何環境下，我們都應該以較低的資本水準，表現優於過去。

So maybe just if I could sneak one more in here, just a bigger picture question. I think it was just a few quarters ago, you said you were looking to target about $10 million a day in ante through the cycle, and that was kind of the longer-term goal for the business. So how should we interpret this quarter? Do you feel like we're kind of at that point where we can we're sort of building toward this $10 million a day through the cycle?

所以如果我可以再插一句，從更宏觀的角度問個問題。我記得就在幾季前，你提到你們希望在整個景氣循環中，目標是每天約 1,000 萬美元的 ante（基礎獲利/底注），那算是這項業務的長期目標。那我們該如何解讀本季？你覺得我們是否已經差不多到了那個點，或是正在朝著「穿越景氣循環每天 1,000 萬美元」的目標邁進？

And if not, what still needs to be done to kind of get us to that place?

如果還沒有，還需要做哪些事情才能讓我們到達那個位置？

I mean, the H1st answer is we don't know. I mean, the trailing return on capital was over 100%. I don't think we always achieve that through like a multi-year cycle. So at points in the cycle where it's less than 100%, you can back into how much capital we might need to make $10 million a day.

我的第一個回答是：我們不知道。以過去 12 個月（trailing）的資本報酬率超過 100%。我不認為我們在多年的景氣循環中都能一直達到那樣的水準。所以在循環中資本報酬率低於 100% 的時點，你可以反推我們可能需要多少資本才能做到每天 1,000 萬美元。

But in environments like this, then we need much less and we make more than $10 million a day.

但在像這樣的環境下，我們需要的資本就少得多，而且我們能賺到超過每天 1,000 萬美元。

Yeah, the through the cycle point, Patrick, is the key point in that discussion and it makes it -- it is what makes it difficult to say where we are. I think, as Aaron pointed out and I think as I pointed out in earlier calls.

是的，Patrick，「穿越景氣循環」這個重點是那段討論的關鍵，也正是它讓我們很難說明我們目前處於哪個位置。我想正如 Aaron 指出的，也如同我在先前電話會議提到的。

When we talk about goals and trading capital of $4 billion, that factors into that goal, but it's more than that, there have been a number of investments in personnel and people, the recruiting environment for Virtu I think is very good, the investments in technology being stepped up all contribute to that, right, so you need all of those things together to execute on that.

當我們談到目標以及 40 億美元的交易資本時，那確實是達成目標的一部分，但不只如此；我們也在人才與人員方面做了多項投資。對 Virtu 而言，我認為招募環境非常好；加大對科技的投資也都有所助益，對吧，所以你需要把這些要素結合起來，才能執行那個目標。

I think in the past, we've used terms like the medium term, like a three-year time horizon kind of being something that when forced to give a view is something we'd feel comfortable giving to you.

我想過去我們用過像是「中期」這樣的說法，例如以三年的時間視角；當被要求給出看法時，這是我們比較有把握提供給各位的時間框架。

Okay, thanks for the call, you guys. That's it for me.

好的，謝謝你們的電話會議。我的問題就到這裡。

Dan Fannon, Jefferies.

Dan Fannon，Jefferies。

Thanks. Good morning. So I wanted to just talk about what you've been doing. Obviously, you talked about $500 million of incremental capital.

謝謝。早安。我想談談你們一直在做的事情。顯然你們提到了新增 5 億美元的增量資本。

Can you also talk about the hiring, where you've been focused, where you are, do you think, in terms of the goal of what you're looking to expand and invest in internally?

你們也能談談招募嗎？你們的重點放在哪裡、目前進度如何？就你們希望在內部擴張與投資的目標而言，你覺得現在處於什麼階段？

Yeah, sure.

好的，當然可以。

There's definitely a number of areas where we're trying to hire people. So definitely people that are in the sort of like continuum of trader to quant to researcher type role. We're trying to hire a lot of engineers, software developers.

我們確實在多個領域招募人才。包括在交易員到量化到研究員這個光譜上的各類角色。我們也在招募大量工程師、軟體開發人員。

That takes time because we have a very high bar for quality.

這需要時間，因為我們對品質的門檻非常高。

But we're trying to kind of do that as quickly as possible.

但我們正努力盡可能快速地推進。

We have made a few key senior hires in the last six to seven months that have started, and they're going to have an impact on the business, hopefully, in a short time frame.

過去六到七個月，我們已完成幾項關鍵的資深人才招募，他們已經到職，並希望在不久的時間內對業務產生影響。

But it is a longer-term expansion as well. I think this year, we hope to get our headcount close to 1,100.

但這同時也是一個較長期的擴張。我想今年我們希望把員工人數提升到接近 1,100 人。

We don't have like an exact number. It's more about just having a sufficient number of people to do a certain level of quality work that we need done. But.

我們沒有一個精確的數字。重點更在於要有足夠的人手，去完成我們需要的、一定品質水準的工作。不過。

Definitely for the foreseeable future, we're going to be pretty aggressively hiring.

可以確定的是，在可預見的未來，我們會相當積極地招募。

Great, that's helpful. And then just in the context of that, and obviously the revenue environment that you're operating in.

很好，這很有幫助。接著在這個脈絡下，當然也考量你們所處的營收環境。

How to think about expense growth would be helpful in the context of what you're thinking about either cash compensation versus previously and/or growth in the kind of more fixed cost base to support new asset classes, new personnel, all the things you're investing in.

若能談談如何看待費用成長會很有幫助，尤其是你們對現金薪酬相較以往的想法，和/或為了支援新資產類別、新人員以及你們正在投入的各項事項，固定成本基礎可能如何成長。

Sure. So I think we have given some guidance on the compensation ratios, and the first quarter accrual sort of reflects. Where we want to be.

當然。我想我們已就薪酬比率提供過一些指引，而第一季的應計（accrual）也反映了我們希望達到的水準。

Obviously, when you have a great quarter, it's much easier and the percentage looks lower, but as we've highlighted last two quarters, like we have been adjusting that up slightly because we are trying to attract the best talent in the business and part of retention is competitive compensation.

顯然，當你有一個很棒的季度時，這會容易得多，而且比例看起來會更低；但正如我們過去兩季強調的，我們確實把它略微上調，因為我們想吸引業界最優秀的人才，而留才的一部分就是具競爭力的薪酬。

But I think we are at that level, and you can see that it doesn't really affect the ratios or the EBITDA margin all that much, especially when you have a great quarter. As far as like the infrastructure investment, I mean, yes, we are going to do incrementally more of that. But already, our business has a very heavy capital expenditure profile. So I'm not sure it's going to be like so immediately obvious in the expense tables.

但我認為我們已經在那個水準上了，你也可以看到它其實不太影響比率或 EBITDA 利潤率，尤其是在你有一個很棒的季度時。至於基礎設施投資，我的意思是，是的，我們會逐步增加這方面投入。但我們的業務本來就有很高的資本支出（capex）特性。所以我不確定它會不會立刻在費用表上變得非常明顯。

No, I think that's exactly where we are.

不，我想這正是我們目前的狀況。

You saw the COP accrual this quarter as a nominal number, certainly looks outsized compared to the past. But as Aaron said, we want to hire the best people and pay them best in class. So that reflects it.

你看到本季的 COP 應計，以名目金額來看，確實相較過去顯得偏高。但如 Aaron 所說，我們想招募最好的人並支付同業最佳水準的薪酬，所以這反映在數字上。

So, Dan, if we have a.

所以，Dan，如果我們有一個。

Comp accrual or if we have a comp ratio that creeps up in the future, even in a really robust environment or even in a median environment, that will be deliberate and intentional and in our view will be a good thing, if you see that, it will mean that the growth plan is being executed on and.

如果未來薪酬應計或薪酬比率有所上升，即便是在非常強勁的環境或甚至在中位數的環境下，那也會是刻意且有意為之；在我們看來，這會是一件好事。如果你看到那樣的情況，代表成長計畫正在被落實，而且。

And we're creating value for shareholders, and we're just paying people market comp or better than market comp.

而且我們正在為股東創造價值，同時我們只是支付市場水準或高於市場水準的薪酬。

Alex Blostein, Goldman Sachs. (Operator Instructions)

Alex Blostein，Goldman Sachs。（接線員指示）

You guys hear me?

你們聽得到我嗎？

Yes, now we do.

是的，現在聽得到。

Yes, there we go. I'm sorry about that.

是的，好了。很抱歉剛剛那樣。

So a bit of a nuanced question, but when we look at the trends in cost of trading, so like kind of BCME and payment order flow and things like that.

所以這是一個稍微有點細緻的問題，但當我們觀察交易成本的趨勢時，例如 BCME、訂單流量付款（payment for order flow）之類的。

In the quarter. It seems to show a pretty meaningful divergence in the market-making business. Those are down, obviously the trading results. So maybe just a little bit more granularity on what drove that. And what I'm trying to get to, I guess, is are we starting to see some incremental benefits of internalization or things like that that could make sort of the flow more profitable for you guys, or there's something else went on this quarter that sort of boosted the net trading numbers from that perspective specifically?

在本季，看起來做市業務出現相當明顯的分歧。那些（指標）下降了，顯然交易結果也下降了。所以也許能否更細一點說明是什麼驅動了這些變化。我想追問的是，我們是否開始看到一些內部撮合（internalization）或類似措施帶來的增量效益，使得這些流量對你們而言更有利可圖？或者本季是否還有其他因素，從這個角度特別推升了淨交易數字？

Thanks, Alex.

謝謝，Alex。

The answer is all of the above.

答案是以上皆是。

When the flow characteristics were attractive this quarter, and in addition, again, I go back to the answer on it's not just a retail machine, although the business, that business had a great quarter, and again, the flow was very attractive, I think, leading to some of the things you're talking about.

本季的流量特性很有吸引力；此外，我再回到先前的回答：我們不只是零售的機器，雖然那塊業務本季表現非常好，而且流量確實很有吸引力，我認為也帶來了你所提到的一些效果。

But also a reminder that the business is not wholly dependent on retail and is pretty diversified both globally and by asset class on the market-making side. So depending on the sources of that non-customer market-making P&L, you could get divergence in brokerage clearance exchange as a percentage of the gross number.

但也提醒一下，這項業務並非完全依賴零售；在做市端，不論是全球布局或資產類別都相當多元。因此，取決於那些非客戶做市損益（P&L）的來源，你可能會看到經紀清算交易所（brokerage clearance exchange）占總額百分比出現分歧。

I'm not sure I'd read anything permanent or long-term into it. I think over time, we're always looking to lower execution costs, we're always looking to internalize more to the extent we can and optimize, but some of that is environment dependent as opposed to just us getting better and better.

我不確定應該把它解讀成任何永久性或長期性的訊號。我認為長期來看，我們一直在尋求降低執行成本，也一直在盡可能提高內部撮合並進行最佳化，但其中一部分取決於市場環境，而不只是我們單方面越做越好。

Yeah, understood. It's just the absolute divergence, not so much the percentage was very notable. One was up a lot, the other one was down a lot, but that's why I thought.

了解。主要是絕對值的分歧很明顯，而不是百分比特別顯著。一個大幅上升，另一個大幅下降，所以我才會這樣想。

Okay, and then obviously we don't want to get into the habit of, calling every month, but there's been quite significant change in the backdrop, this April versus last year's April and obviously over the last couple of months. So any color you guys have on how the environment is unfolding so far in the second quarter, both on the retail side and just broadly, would be super helpful.

好的，另外，顯然我們不想養成每個月都打來問的習慣，但今年 4 月相較去年 4 月，以及過去幾個月，整體背景確實有相當顯著的變化。所以如果你們能分享一些第二季迄今環境如何演變的看法，不論是零售端或更廣泛的層面，都會非常有幫助。

Look, and you started your question with the correct answer, which is we really don't do this month-to-month.

你看，而且你在問題一開始就給出了正確答案：我們真的不做月對月的評論。

My only comment to you -- well, I'd say two things. One is key perspective, right? So we had an all-time high here and that, as Aaron said, is helped by the robust environment.

我對你唯一的評論——嗯，我會說兩點。第一是關鍵視角，對吧？我們剛剛創下歷史新高，而正如 Aaron 所說，這得益於強勁的市場環境。

Just because it's more muted, I think you said in your note, doesn't mean it isn't a very good environment.

僅僅因為它比較溫和——我想你在備註裡是這麼說的——並不代表這不是一個非常好的環境。

And we're only a third of the way through it, but you can see the headline numbers, while not in terms of some of the numbers in the first quarter, are still very good from any perspective. So that's 0.1. 0.2 is we haven't talked about execution services.

而且我們才走完三分之一，但你可以看到頭條數字，雖然不及第一季的某些數字，但從任何角度看仍然非常好。這是第一點。第二點是，我們還沒談到執行服務（execution services）。

But if you look at the momentum in that business over the past two years, it has grown through the cycle, truly grown through the cycle in a number of different environments, and there's a tremendous amount of momentum there, there's client wins, there's multiple products kind of being tied together across clients, so we're looking at that as a continued growth engine as well, and that business has a tremendous amount of momentum.

但如果你看過去兩年那項業務的動能，它是穿越景氣循環成長的，確實是在多種不同環境中穿越循環成長；而且那裡有非常強的動能，有客戶贏單，有多項產品在客戶之間被串聯綁定，所以我們也把它視為持續的成長引擎，而那項業務的動能非常強。

Kenneth Worthington, JPMorgan.

JPMorgan 的 Kenneth Worthington。

Hi. Good morning. I want to go back to sort of Patrick's question to get a better sense of how the investments that you've made contribute to the capacity to profit over a cycle.

嗨，早安。我想回到 Patrick 的問題，想更清楚了解你們所做的投資如何有助於在一個景氣循環中提升獲利能力。

And Aaron, you mentioned invested capital is up 20%, you've added headcount, you've invested in technology.

Aaron，你提到投入資本增加了 20%，你們增加了人力，也投資了科技。

You sort of implied that there's a multiplier on the 20% growth in invested capital.

你似乎暗示投入資本 20% 的成長存在一個乘數效應。

How do we think about that multiplier?

我們該如何看待那個乘數？

Is it something like 1.1%, is it 1.3%? It doesn't seem like it's something like a 0.9%. How do we think about that multiplier over a cycle?

它是像 1.1 倍、1.3 倍那樣嗎？看起來不像是 0.9 倍。那麼在一個景氣循環中，我們該如何看待這個乘數？

Hey, Ken, I think what Aaron was stating was that the anti-adjustment trading income we achieved in this quarter would not have been achieved had we not increased our capital.

Ken，我想 Aaron 的意思是：如果我們沒有增加資本，本季所達成的「反調整後（anti-adjustment）」交易收入是不可能達成的。

I'm not sure there was any implication of a multiplier around capital.

我不確定是否有任何關於資本乘數的暗示。

If anything, there will be a multiplier in a good environment, but it all comes out in the return, that's it.

如果真要說的話，在好的環境下會有乘數效應，但最終都會反映在報酬率上，就這樣。

We put the returns -- the original purpose of that return slide was to demonstrate that we're a services business and not a kind of.

我們放那張報酬率投影片——那張投影片最初的目的，是要證明我們是一家服務型企業，而不是某種……

Risk business.

風險型企業。

So I'm not sure I'd read anything into any statement about a multiplier. What I'd say, I just repeat, capital is fungible.

所以我不確定應該從任何關於乘數的說法中解讀出什麼。我想說的是，我再重申一次：資本是可互換的（fungible）。

We can't parse or bifurcate the new capital and the old capital.

我們無法把新增資本與既有資本拆分或二分。

But I think what I was saying is that we are able to earn more because we had a bigger capital base because there were greater opportunities.

但我想我說的是：因為有更多機會，我們能夠賺得更多，是因為我們有更大的資本基礎。

And it's important to remember that our capital is nimble, that we remain flexible and agile with it and it goes where the opportunities are.

而且重要的是要記得，我們的資本運用很靈活；我們仍然保持彈性與敏捷，資本會流向有機會的地方。

Okay, fair enough. And maybe as we think about new asset classes like predictive markets and tokenized markets, so what do you see as holding more promise for Virtu and where are you thinking about.

好的，合理。那麼當我們思考像預測市場（predictive markets）與代幣化市場（tokenized markets）這類新資產類別時，你認為哪一個對 Virtu 更有前景？你們又打算把投資重點放在哪裡？

Focusing investments there.

在那方面聚焦投資。

I mean, it's hard to say. I think we're kind of ready to be to trade in any market, any exchange, and it's really about where the volume goes.

我的意思是，這很難說。我想我們基本上已經準備好在任何市場、任何交易所進行交易，重點其實在於成交量會流向哪裡。

Tokenization might be slightly easier just because to the extent things are linked to an underlier that we already trade, it's very easy for us to value, and we know the trade very well, whereas in prediction markets, we don't have any expertise predicting like geopolitical events.

代幣化可能稍微容易一些，因為只要它們與我們已經交易的標的（underlier）相連結，我們就很容易估值，而且我們非常熟悉那筆交易；但在預測市場方面，我們並沒有預測地緣政治事件之類的專業能力。

But it really depends on volume, to be H1st.

但老實說，最終還是取決於成交量。

Michael Cypress, Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley 的 Michael Cypress。

Good morning. Thanks for taking the question. I was hoping to dig in on Execution Services and hoping you could elaborate and unpack some of the drivers of the momentum that you're seeing across the Execution Services business. And if you can just remind us as well of the top revenue contributors under the hood there and how that's evolved over the past couple of years and how you see that. Mix and contributors evolving as you look out over the next couple of years.

早安。謝謝讓我提問。我想深入了解執行服務（Execution Services），希望你們能更詳細說明並拆解你們在執行服務業務中看到的動能背後的一些驅動因素。另外也請提醒我們，那裡面主要的營收貢獻來源有哪些、過去幾年如何演變，以及展望未來幾年，你們如何看待組合與貢獻來源的變化。

Sure, Michael, this is Joe. I'll take that question. As I said, the business has a tremendous amount of momentum. The business has grown through the cycle. It has been a multi-year process since we acquired ITG around a common technology platform, emphasizing the penetration of these products.

當然，Michael，我是 Joe，我來回答。正如我說的，這項業務有非常強的動能。這項業務穿越景氣循環成長。自從我們收購 ITG 以來，圍繞共同的技術平台、強調這些產品的滲透，一直是一個多年期的過程。

Through the customer base. I think what we inherited and what we bought was a very siloed organization. And I think Steve Cavoli and the team there have done an amazing job of tying together a global client list that is as blue chip as it gets. There is the same client list that your firm will have.

在客戶基礎之中。我認為我們繼承、也就是我們買下來的，是一個非常各自為政（siloed）的組織。而我認為 Steve Cavoli 和那裡的團隊做得非常出色，把一份全球客戶名單串聯起來，而且那份名單可說是頂級中的頂級。那是一份和你們公司會擁有的客戶名單相同的名單。

We service and we service them through. Products that we consider best-in-class, whether it's the Algo Suite or whether it is the analytics platform or the EMS Triton, right? So I think that it's a business that's evolved, that is the technology is really paying off and that is increasing client penetration, right? And the margins have improved, the business has been rationalized.

我們為他們提供服務，而且我們透過我們認為同級最佳（best-in-class）的產品來服務他們，不論是 Algo Suite、分析平台，或是 EMS Triton，對吧？所以我認為這是一項已經演進的業務，技術投資確實正在發揮效益，並且正在提高客戶滲透率，對吧？而且利潤率也改善了，業務也已被合理化（rationalized）。

Again, we don't break out down to the EBITDA line for by business.

再次說明，我們不會按業務別拆分到 EBITDA 這一層級。

When we bought ITG, it had a mid-teens EBITDA margin that is think of something that is best-in-class now that is a multiple of that in terms of how that business has performed.

我們收購 ITG 時，它的 EBITDA 利潤率在十幾個百分點的中段；而現在就該業務的表現而言，我認為它已是同業最佳水準，利潤率也已是當時的數倍。

So I think it's just a lot of work, a lot of blocking and tackling and a great sales effort kind of tying together a diverse product offering across geographies and across different types of products to an incredible blue-chip client list.

所以我認為這就是大量的工作、很多基本功與執行細節，再加上一個很出色的銷售團隊，把跨地域、跨不同產品類型的多元產品組合串聯起來，對接一份令人驚豔的頂級藍籌客戶名單。

Great, thanks. And then just a quick follow-up question on AI, clearly very quickly advancing. I was hoping you could talk about how you see the opportunity for agentic AI, and if you could elaborate on how you're using generative and maybe even agentic AI today across the organization, how you see that evolving, what are some of the use cases, and if you're able to quantify any sort of the benefits that you're seeing.

很好，謝謝。接著我想就 AI 快速追問一下，顯然它進展非常快。我想請你談談你如何看待代理式 AI（agentic AI）的機會；也請你進一步說明你們目前在整個組織中如何使用生成式、甚至代理式 AI，你們如何看待它的演進，有哪些使用案例，以及如果可以的話，能否量化你們看到的任何效益。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sure, I'll answer that. So, I mean, I think like most other companies right now, we're definitely, taking a look, doing exploratory things.

當然，我來回答。我的意思是，我想跟現在大多數公司一樣，我們確實在觀察、做一些探索性的嘗試。

We do believe that with the right sort of focus and setup, it can really be a productivity enhancement for our software developers.

我們確實相信，只要有正確的聚焦與架構設計，它可以大幅提升我們軟體開發人員的生產力。

But at the same time, our company is really built on a code base, and we employ.

但同時，我們公司是建立在一套程式碼基礎之上，而我們也聘用

Excellent engineers to maintain it, and it's something that is really beyond the capability of current tools to think about it at a high level, reason about, and design. So in our environment, introducing a bunch of technical debt of AI-generated SLOP is really never going to be in our business plan.

優秀的工程師來維護它；而就高層次的思考、推理與設計而言，這其實遠超出目前工具的能力範圍。所以在我們的環境裡，引入一堆由 AI 生成的技術債與垃圾程式碼（SLOP），絕對不會是我們的商業計畫。

But that being said, pairing. High, high-quality engineers with a tool that can, just kind of execute it beyond human speed and do sort of like boilerplate grudge work, assist in explanations.

不過話說回來，讓高、高品質的工程師搭配一個工具，能以超越人類速度去執行，做一些樣板式的苦工，並協助解釋說明。

We're definitely trying to use that internally.

我們確實正在內部嘗試使用。

And, I'd say it's a little early yet to determine the productivity impact, but I expect in the coming year or two, it will have a material impact and maybe we'll have a little bit more to say.

而且我會說現在還稍早，尚難判斷對生產力的影響；但我預期在未來一到兩年，它會帶來實質影響，屆時我們也許能分享更多。

If I could just take in a quick follow-up on that, just curious what impact you see across the competitive landscape from these advances in AI and Agentic AI?

如果我可以就此再快速追問一下，我只是好奇，你如何看待這些 AI 與代理式 AI 的進展，對競爭格局會帶來什麼影響？

Well, I mean, as I said in a previous call, I think the term AI is pretty overloaded.

嗯，我的意思是，正如我在先前的電話會議中說過的，我認為「AI」這個詞被過度泛用、涵蓋太多。

And if you just want to talk about. Statistical modeling, that's been a big part of competitive landscape for trading businesses for 30 years on Wall Street, and this is just like another iteration with novel advancements in models and hardware availability.

如果你只是想談統計建模，那在華爾街的交易業務競爭格局中，這 30 年來一直都是很重要的一部分；而這只是又一次迭代，伴隨模型的新進展以及硬體可得性的提升。

I have zero insight as to what other people are doing with agentic AI, so I don't really feel like I can give any color there.

至於其他人用代理式 AI 在做什麼，我完全沒有洞見，所以我不太能提供任何評論。

Craig Siegenthaler, Bank of America.

Craig Siegenthaler，美國銀行。

Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Hope you're all doing well.

謝謝。各位早安。希望大家都一切順利。

First question on risk management. Given the strong results, can you guys hear me okay? It's echoing a little bit.

第一個問題關於風險管理。鑑於結果強勁，你們聽得到我說話嗎？有點回音。

Yeah, let me. I'm changing to the speaker. So can you hear me okay?

好，我換到擴音器。所以你們現在聽得到我嗎？

Yeah. Yes.

聽得到。是的。

All right, good. So given the strong results, we were curious, how do you quantify the changes in risk management that Virtu has been taking in the market-making business over the last few quarters?

好，很好。那麼鑑於結果強勁，我們想了解，你們如何量化 Virtu 在過去幾季於做市業務中所採取的風險管理變化？

I don't think there's been any change in risk management.

我不認為風險管理有任何改變。

If you're asking, the elevated P&L was the result of us. Taking on more risk and things we weren't doing before, the answer is no.

如果你是在問，較高的損益是否是因為我們承擔了更多風險、做了以前不做的事情，答案是否定的。

Okay, and Aaron, any way to quantify that?

了解，那 Aaron，有沒有辦法量化？

In terms of.

就……

Well, in terms of how you guys look at risk, yeah.

嗯，就你們如何看待風險這件事，是的。

Yeah, no, I think that's the answer, is that based on how we look at risk, no, the answer is.

對，沒有，我想答案就是：以我們看待風險的方式來說，沒有，答案是——

The risk profile of the firm has not changed materially.

公司的風險輪廓並未出現實質變化。

Got it. I think that was Joe.

了解。我想那是 Joe。

Thank you, Joe.

謝謝你，Joe。

One follow-up here. Some of your market-making peers operate a hedge fund in parallel to the core business.

這裡再追問一個。有些做市同業會在核心業務之外並行經營一支避險基金。

I'm curious why Virtu doesn't look at doing that. That could provide a whole new revenue source for the company. So just wondering how you think about that potential strategic initiative?

我很好奇為什麼 Virtu 不考慮那樣做。那可能為公司帶來全新的營收來源。所以想請教你們如何看待這個潛在的策略性舉措？

That is a tough one, Craig. I'm not sure which competitors you're referring to.

這個問題很難，Craig。我不確定你指的是哪些競爭對手。

We're a public company, obviously, and. We maintain a dividend. I think you might be referring to some competitors that have been around a long time, are bigger, and maybe have retained personal capital in the firm that they use to make investments or have a side pocket hedge fund. We haven't contemplated Virtue Asset Management lately, but.

我們顯然是一家上市公司，而且我們維持股利。我想你可能指的是一些歷史更久、規模更大、也許在公司內保留了個人資本，用來做投資或設有側袋避險基金的競爭對手。我們最近沒有在考慮成立 Virtu 資產管理，但——

We'll talk a few years from now and see, okay? I don't want to be misinterpreted. We're not currently contemplating anything around beginning a hedge fund.

幾年後我們再聊看看，好嗎？我不希望被誤解。我們目前並沒有在考慮任何關於成立避險基金的事情。

I guess like another way to think about it, and this is again something we've highlighted on previous calls.

我想另一種思考方式是——這也是我們在先前電話會議中強調過的。

At the moment, our business is very high sharp, but capacity constrained. So acquiring a bunch of assets, we wouldn't really have a productive use for them. And in order to deploy them, we'd probably have to put them in far lower sharp strategies, and we already have difficulty explaining the variance in our earnings quarter to quarter. So I think it would just make the problem much worse.

目前，我們的業務夏普比率很高，但受制於容量限制。因此就算募集到一大筆資產，我們也未必有有效率的用途。為了部署這些資產，我們可能不得不投入夏普比率低得多的策略；而我們已經很難解釋每季盈餘的波動了，所以我認為那只會讓問題更嚴重。

Yeah, you asked about risk management, and we don't have an infrastructure in place to really manage a sharp one type.

對，你問到風險管理，而我們並沒有相應的基礎設施，去真正管理那種夏普比率為 1 的類型——

To hedge fund set up.

的避險基金架構。

Got it. And listen, I think some of your peers, Citadel, Susquehanna, their hedge fund strategies are different than the market-making strategy. So I don't know if capacity is really an issue for them.

了解。而且我想你的一些同業，像 Citadel、Susquehanna，他們的避險基金策略與做市策略不同。所以我不確定容量對他們是否真的是問題。

Well, Citadel is a great firm, but they began as a hedge fund.

嗯，Citadel 是一家很棒的公司，但他們是以避險基金起家。

So that's a different evolution.

所以那是不同的演進路徑。

Of the firm.

就公司而言。

Well, I think you're right? But that's not our expertise. We don't hire a bunch of long-short guys and give them a risk allocation and say good luck to you. Like, we run highly automated electronic market banking strategies backed by statistical research. That is capacity-limited at the scale we're talking about.

我想你說得對，但那不是我們的專長。我們不會雇一堆多空交易的人，給他們一個風險額度，然後說祝你好運。像我們做的是高度自動化的電子做市策略，以統計研究作為支撐。在我們談的這個規模下，那是有容量上限的。

Got it. Guys, thank you for taking my questions.

了解。各位，謝謝你們回答我的問題。

This concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to Aaron Simons, CEO, for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。接下來我把電話交回給執行長 Aaron Simons 作結語。

Nothing really, but thanks, everyone, for joining, and thanks for the questions, and we'll talk to you next quarter.

沒什麼特別的，只是謝謝大家參與，也謝謝各位的提問，我們下季再聊。

This concludes today's call.

今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

感謝各位出席。您現在可以掛線。