Veralto Corporation (VLTO) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. My name is Bo and I will be your conference operator this morning. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Veralto Corporation's first quarter 2026 conference call. (Operator Instructions)

各位早安。我叫 Bo，今天上午將擔任本次電話會議的會議接線員。此刻，我謹代表 Veralto Corporation，歡迎各位參加 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。(接線員指示)

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Ryan Taylor, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想把電話交給投資人關係副總裁 Ryan Taylor 先生。先生，請開始。

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us on the call. With me today are Jennifer Honeycutt, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Sameer Ralhan, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is simultaneously being webcast. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Investors section of our website later today under the heading Events and Presentations. A replay of this call will be available until May 29.

各位早安，感謝各位參與本次電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有：我們的總裁兼執行長 Jennifer Honeycutt，以及我們的資深副總裁兼財務長 Sameer Ralhan。今天的電話會議同步進行網路直播。網路直播的重播將於今日稍晚在我們網站的「投資人」專區、於「活動與簡報」項下提供。本次電話會議的重播將提供至 5 月 29 日。

Yesterday, we issued our first quarter 2026 news release, earnings presentation, prepared remarks and supplemental materials, including information required by the SEC relating to adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures. We hope you had the opportunity to review them last night. These materials are available in the Investors section of our website www.veralto.com under the heading Quarterly Earnings. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP measures are also provided in the appendix of the webcast slides. Unless otherwise noted, all references to variances are on a year-over-year basis.

昨天，我們發布了 2026 年第一季新聞稿、財報簡報、事先準備的發言稿與補充資料，其中包含依 SEC 規定、與調整後或非 GAAP 財務衡量指標相關所需資訊。希望各位昨晚已把握機會加以檢視。這些資料可於我們網站 www.veralto.com 的「投資人」專區、在「季度盈餘」項下取得。所有非 GAAP 指標的調節表亦載於網路直播投影片的附錄中。除非另有說明，所有差異的提及均以年對年為基礎。

During the call, we will make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including those set forth in our SEC filings.

在本次電話會議中，我們將依聯邦證券法之定義作出前瞻性陳述，包括我們相信或預期未來將或可能發生之事件或發展的陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受多項風險與不確定性影響，包括我們向 SEC 提交之文件中所載者。

Actual results may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date that they are made and we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述有重大差異。這些前瞻性陳述僅截至其作出之日有效，除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述之義務。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Jennifer, who will share a few brief comments before we open the floor to Q&A.

接下來，我把電話交給 Jennifer，她將在進入問答前先分享幾點簡短評論。

Thanks, Ryan. We are off to a strong start in 2026, reflecting the effectiveness of the Veralto Enterprise System, the essential role of our products and services in customers' operations, and the resilience of our end markets.

謝謝你，Ryan。我們在 2026 年有個強勁的開局，反映出 Veralto 企業系統的有效性、我們的產品與服務在客戶營運中的關鍵角色，以及終端市場的韌性。

In the first quarter, we delivered approximately 7% total sales growth and 13% adjusted earnings per share growth, while continuing to invest in commercial execution, productivity, and innovation. Looking ahead, we expect core sales growth to accelerate as the year progresses. Reflecting this momentum and our strong first quarter, we raised our full year adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.20 to $4.28 per share.

第一季，我們實現約 7% 的總銷售成長與 13% 的調整後每股盈餘成長，同時持續投資於商業執行、提升生產力與創新。展望未來，我們預期核心銷售成長將隨著年度推進而加速。反映此一動能與我們強勁的第一季表現，我們將全年調整後每股盈餘指引上調至每股 4.20 至 4.28 美元的區間。

Thus far this year, we have invested approximately $1 billion across two strategic acquisitions: In-Situ in our Water Quality segment and GlobalVision in our PQI segment, and also made opportunistic share repurchases. I'm excited to welcome our new associates from these outstanding organizations to Veralto. Additionally, we initiated a new cost optimization program designed to streamline our business and enhance operating efficiency.

截至目前為止，今年我們已在兩項策略性併購上投資約 10 億美元：水質（Water Quality）事業的 In-Situ，以及 PQI 事業的 GlobalVision，並且也進行了機會性庫藏股回購。我很高興歡迎這些傑出組織的新同仁加入 Veralto。此外，我們啟動了一項新的成本優化計畫，旨在精簡業務並提升營運效率。

These actions underscore the strength of our free cash flow profile and our ability to create shareholder value through multiple disciplined levers. Going forward, our balance sheet remains strong, providing flexibility to pursue additional acquisitions and share repurchases. I'm proud of our team for a strong start to the year and for the actions we've taken to drive growth and continuous improvement as this year progresses and into next year. That concludes my opening remarks.

這些行動凸顯我們自由現金流體質的強勁，以及我們透過多項嚴謹且自律的槓桿創造股東價值的能力。展望未來，我們的資產負債表仍然穩健，提供我們進一步進行併購與股票回購的彈性。我為團隊今年強勁的開局，以及我們為推動成長與持續改善、在今年後續與明年所採取的行動感到自豪。以上為我的開場發言。

And at this time, we are happy to take your questions.

現在，我們很樂意回答各位的問題。

(Operator instructions)

(接線員指示)

Deane Dray, RBC Capital Markets.

Deane Dray，RBC Capital Markets。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and I really appreciate that innovation to release your prepared remarks after the close, makes things a lot easier to digest and go through the slides very thoughtfully. So what I'd like to do is start on Water Quality.

謝謝。各位早安，我非常感謝你們這項創新作法：在收盤後發布事先準備的發言稿，讓內容更容易消化，也能更有條理地仔細看投影片。因此我想先從水質業務開始。

And can we talk about the upside in core sales, certainly better than your peers this quarter. How much do you attribute this upside to Veralto's higher bias or higher mix in OpEx versus CapEx? And then just on the CapEx side, give us an update on Trojan and quote activity. Thank you.

我們能否談談核心銷售的上行空間？本季你們確實優於同業。你們認為這個上行有多少可歸因於 Veralto 在營運支出（OpEx）相對於資本支出（CapEx）上的較高偏重或較高組合占比？另外在 CapEx 方面，請更新一下 Trojan 以及報價活動的情況。謝謝。

Good morning, and thanks for the question, Deane. Yeah, we see strong and stable demand across both our muni and industrial markets. To your point, the Veralto products and services really sit within customer operations where the cost of failure is high for them, right? And using our equipment is part and parcel to ensuring public safety, public health and so on.

早安，謝謝你的提問，Deane。是的，我們在市政與工業兩大市場都看到強勁且穩定的需求。如你所說，Veralto 的產品與服務確實位於客戶營運的核心環節，對他們而言失效成本很高，對吧？而使用我們的設備是確保公共安全、公共衛生等不可或缺的一部分。

So from a municipal standpoint, we see this really as a mid-single-digit grower with incrementally stronger growth in muni wastewater due to recycle, reclaim, and reuse secular drivers. So we are seeing great uptake there. I would say on the industrial side, we see mid- to high single-digit growth there with strength in the common cast of characters around data centers. So that would include semiconductor, power and mining.

因此，從市政角度來看，我們認為這是一個中個位數成長的市場；而在回收、回用與再利用等長期結構性驅動因素帶動下，市政污水領域的成長會更強一些。所以我們看到那裡的採用率非常好。至於工業端，我們看到中到高個位數的成長，並且在圍繞資料中心的「常見主角」領域表現強勁。這些包括半導體、電力與採礦。

And PMI trends have been positive here, right? So we feel really good about our water businesses, both across municipal markets and industrial markets. And that's, again, really on the back of being integral to that customer operating environment.

而 PMI 趨勢在這裡也呈現正向，對吧？因此我們對水務業務非常有信心，無論是市政市場或工業市場。而這同樣是因為我們在客戶的營運環境中扮演不可或缺的角色。

Relative to your question around Trojan and UV, activity here in terms of quoting and bidding remains strong. This business has some nice bolt-on acquisitions that we've done here is with AQUAFIDES, and -- but I think it's important to remember, there's a little bit longer cycle business, right? So the bookings that we would see now would be shipping largely in Q4 2027. But great order book activity there on the back of the secular drivers I discussed.

關於你提到的 Trojan 與 UV（紫外線）方面，就報價與投標而言，相關活動仍然強勁。我們在這項業務上也做了一些不錯的補強型併購，例如 AQUAFIDES；但我認為重要的是要記得，這是一個週期稍長的業務，對吧？因此我們現在看到的訂單，主要會在 2027 年第四季出貨。不過在我剛才提到的長期結構性驅動因素支持下，訂單簿活動非常好。

Great. And just a quick follow-up. With reference to the muni outlook for '26, what are you assuming for kind of the spending growth? And if you can separate what that CapEx growth would be versus OpEx, larger equipment projects, that would be great. Thanks.

很好。再追問一個簡短問題。就你們對 2026 年市政端展望而言，你們對支出成長大概假設是多少？如果可以的話，能否拆分 CapEx 成長與 OpEx（較大型設備專案）各自的情況？那就太好了。謝謝。

Hey, Deane, thanks for the question. With respect to the muni view that we have baked into the guidance, think of pretty steady from the analytics perspective. On the CapEx side, really, it's all driven by -- predominantly for us from a Trojan perspective. As you know, we are not in the majority in the CapEx cycle, we've had the OpEx cycle. So it's really pretty steady on both sides, Deane, as you kind of think about this thing. Steady in muni business going into analytics side, Trojan side really strong as Jennifer just laid out.

嗨，Deane，謝謝你的提問。就我們納入指引的市政端看法而言，從分析（analytics）角度來看，請把它視為相當穩定。在 CapEx 方面，對我們而言主要、且大多是由 Trojan 相關所驅動。如你所知，我們在 CapEx 週期中並非占大宗，我們更多是在 OpEx 週期。因此當你思考這件事時，兩邊其實都相當穩定，Deane。市政業務在分析端維持穩定，而 Trojan 端則如 Jennifer 剛才所說非常強勁。

Great to hear. Thank you.

很高興聽到。謝謝。

Thanks, Deane.

謝謝你，Deane。

Jeff Sprague, Vertical Research.

Jeff Sprague，Vertical Research。

Hey, thanks. Good morning, everyone. Hey, Jennifer, I was wondering if you could just elaborate a little bit more on kind of the cost program, sort of the catalyst behind it, maybe some things here that you weren't able to do pre-separation, et cetera. Just -- and maybe a little more color on some of the levers you're looking to pull there.

嗨，謝謝。各位早安。嗨，Jennifer，我想請你再多補充一點關於成本方案的部分——背後的催化因素是什麼、以及一些在分拆之前你們可能無法做的事情等等。另外，也請再多給一些你們打算採取哪些槓桿的細節。

Yeah, thanks for the question, Jeff. Our cost optimization program here is just part and parcel to our continuous improvement mindset. We are always looking to drive continuous improvement, and this is really a natural evolution to make our cost structure more competitive in our journey to enhance EPS growth. This will really allow us to leverage kind of certain functional attributes across the enterprise that improve both our efficiency but also maintain our accountability within our decentralized operating model.

好的，謝謝你的問題，Jeff。我們這裡的成本優化計畫，是我們持續改善思維的一部分。我們一直在推動持續改善，而這其實是很自然的演進，目的是讓我們的成本結構更具競爭力，並在提升每股盈餘（EPS）成長的旅程中更進一步。這也將讓我們能在全企業範圍內，運用某些職能屬性來提升效率，同時在我們分散式的營運模式下維持問責。

So we will stay true to that decentralized operating model with the operating companies, retaining accountability and quick decision-making and service to their customers. But it's been a three-year journey here, right? The first part of getting the business stood up was to reinvigorate the innovation and R&D engine, get the right commercial architecture going in our operating companies, which basically provide the operating room to do everything else.

因此，我們會忠於這個分散式營運模式，由各營運公司保留問責、快速決策，以及對客戶的服務。但這是一段三年的旅程，對吧？第一步是把業務架構建立起來，重新點燃創新與研發引擎，在各營運公司建立正確的商業架構，基本上提供了推動其他所有事情的營運空間。

Secondly, we really focused on accelerating our capital allocation flywheel and have that going now with some strong strategic bolt-ons, creating significant long-term value and also with our share repurchase activity. So cost optimization was a natural next step, right? And we're really focused on simplifying our business processes to improve operating efficiency and further strengthen the competitive position.

第二，我們確實聚焦於加速我們的資本配置飛輪，現在也已透過一些強而有力的策略性補強併購（bolt-ons）運轉起來，創造顯著的長期價值，同時也包含我們的庫藏股回購活動。所以成本優化就是很自然的下一步，對吧？我們非常專注於簡化業務流程，以提升營運效率，並進一步強化競爭地位。

So some of these things you can't fully account for when you're part of a $30 billion enterprise. But from a timing perspective, this is really the right time for us to look at this sort of structural allocation of costs and make sure that we're rightsized for the size business that we are today and what will be scalable in the future.

有些事情在你是某個300億美元企業的一部分時，確實很難完全盤點清楚。但就時點而言，現在正是我們檢視這種結構性的成本分攤、並確保我們的規模配置符合當前業務體量、且未來可擴展的合適時機。

And you didn't mention any benefits in 2026. We should expect this gearing up in '26, for things to flow in '27, and '28?

而你們沒有提到2026年的任何效益。我們應該預期在2026年開始加速，然後在2027、2028年反映出來嗎？

Yeah, Jeff. Most of the actions that we have laid out in this pretty detailed plan are oriented towards end of this year. So in Q4, you're going to see all of the actions. So we haven't baked any benefit from the program in 2026 in the guidance. You should expect roughly 50% of the run rate savings in '27, and full run rate in 2028. That's how you can model the savings.

是的，Jeff。我們在這份相當詳細的計畫中所列出的多數行動，都是以今年年底為目標。所以在第四季，你會看到所有行動落地。因此，我們在指引中沒有把該計畫在2026年的任何效益納入。你可以預期在2027年約實現50%的年化節省（run rate savings），並在2028年達到完整年化。這就是你可以用來建模節省的方式。

Okay, great. I'll leave it there. Thank you.

好的，很棒。我就先到這裡。謝謝。

Thanks, Jeff.

謝謝你，Jeff。

Thanks, Jeff.

謝謝你，Jeff。

Andy Kaplowitz, Citi.

Andy Kaplowitz，花旗（Citi）。

Hey, good morning, everyone.

嗨，各位早安。

Good morning, Andy.

早安，Andy。

Jennifer, I think in your prepared remarks, you mentioned packaging and color within PQI, down high single digits as a nonrecurring impact in Q1. Maybe just give a little more color around that? What are CPG companies telling you? Are they worried at all about inflation? Or is it just really lumpiness? And that's really the explanation, and I do think you're still forecasting good growth for the rest of the year in PQI.

Jennifer，我想在你的事先準備發言中，你提到PQI裡的包裝與色彩，第一季因一次性影響而下滑了高個位數。能否再多補充一些細節？消費性包裝品（CPG）公司跟你們怎麼說？他們有在擔心通膨嗎？還是只是波動性比較大？而這就是主要原因；而且我也認為你們仍在預測PQI在今年剩餘期間會有不錯的成長。

Yeah. So yeah, it's a little bit tale of two cities here relative to the PQI story. At a high level, we see continued strong demand across our CPG customer base. And it remains steady in terms of our quoting and sales activity relative to coding and marking, and we've seen that for several quarters. Complementing that really is our digital packaging and ingredient solutions brought in here with the combination of Esko and TraceGains, which continues also to be strong, and we would expect that to continue with the addition of GlobalVision.

是的。所以，相對於PQI的故事，這裡有點像「兩個城市的故事」。整體來看，我們在CPG客戶群中仍看到持續強勁的需求。就我們在噴碼與標識（coding and marking）方面的報價與銷售活動而言，也維持穩定，我們已經連續好幾季看到這種情況。與此相輔相成的是，我們透過Esko與TraceGains的結合所帶來的數位包裝與成分解決方案也持續強勁；隨著GlobalVision的加入，我們預期這股動能也會延續。

GlobalVision obviously strengthens the value proposition here in terms of building a comprehensive workflow. When you look at Q1 here relative to packaging and color, as you noted, we do see sales down high single digits here, primarily due to the nonrecurring revenue, including sales of color testing and packaging inspection equipment.

GlobalVision顯然強化了我們在建立端到端工作流程方面的價值主張。至於第一季的包裝與色彩，如你所提到的，我們確實看到銷售下滑高個位數，主要是因為一次性收入減少，其中包括色彩測試與包裝檢測設備的銷售。

But this was really focused in a few discrete industrial end markets, so automotive, textiles, building materials, driven by housing market and so on. So that's where we're seeing some of the demand weakness. But certainly, going forward, we feel strong about incremental recovery here and certainly, we don't see any changes relative to CPG demand, which would indicate our confidence in the marking and coding business continuing to be strong and, in fact, accelerate throughout the year.

但這主要集中在少數特定的工業終端市場，例如汽車、紡織、建材，受到房市等因素帶動。所以我們是在那裡看到一些需求疲弱。不過展望未來，我們對於需求逐步回升仍然很有信心；而且我們也沒有看到CPG需求有任何變化，這也支撐我們對噴碼與標識業務將持續強勁、甚至在全年加速的信心。

Thanks for that, Jennifer. And then maybe the same kind of question on PQI margins. I mean, obviously, they've been at a high level for the last few years, but they've been a bit lumpy. I know mix matters, which I think you said is going to impact your Q2 PQI margin. But structurally, do you see PQI margin having the same opportunity that you have in sort of Water Quality and consistent with the long-term incremental margin framework you have?

謝謝你的說明，Jennifer。接著想問類似的問題：關於PQI的利潤率。顯然過去幾年一直維持在高檔，但也有些波動。我知道產品組合（mix）很重要，而我想你也提到這會影響你們第二季的PQI利潤率。但從結構性角度來看，你是否認為PQI利潤率也有像水質（Water Quality）那樣的提升機會，並且符合你們長期的增量利潤率框架？

Yeah, absolutely, Andy. As you can look at PQI, right, on a sequential basis, we had a very nice improvement in the margins. Mix helps, but at the same time, some of the rollover from the tariff actions that we kind of talked about is going to roll off as well. So overall, if you kind of look at the opportunity in the second half of this year and moving forward into '27, absolutely, we see same level of opportunity.

是的，當然，Andy。你看PQI，按季來看，我們的利潤率有非常不錯的改善。產品組合有幫助，但同時，我們先前談到的關稅措施所帶來的一些遞延影響也會逐步消退。所以整體而言，如果你看今年下半年以及往2027年之後的機會，我們確實看到同等程度的提升空間。

Good to hear, thanks, guys.

很高興聽到，謝謝各位。

Thanks, Andy.

謝謝你，Andy。

John McNulty, BMO Capital Markets.

John McNulty，BMO資本市場（BMO Capital Markets）。

Yeah, thanks for taking my question. Maybe just one on the water front. I mean, in particular, some of your competitors in the ChemTreat arena have put through some really chunky price hikes and/or surcharges, [10 to 14] for one, [8 to 14] for the other. I guess, can you speak to your thoughts on pricing and if you see a need for it at this point, just given what's going on from a raw material perspective around the Iran conflict?

是的，謝謝讓我提問。我想問一個關於水處理的問題。特別是，你們在ChemTreat領域的一些競爭對手已經推出相當大幅度的漲價和／或附加費，其中一家是[10到14]，另一家是[8到14]。我想請你談談你們對定價的看法，以及在目前這個時間點，考量到伊朗衝突導致原物料面發生的情況，你們是否也看到需要採取定價行動？

Yeah, thanks for the question, John. We take a disciplined approach to pricing within sort of all of our operating companies, but I think particularly you're referring here to ChemTreat. We -- by virtue of our 75% sales direct to customers, we've got a lot of customer intimacy and insight as to how to support their operations through this dynamic macro environment.

是的，謝謝你的問題，John。我們在所有營運公司都採取紀律性的定價方法，但我想你這裡特別指的是ChemTreat。我們——由於我們有75%的銷售是直接面向客戶，因此我們與客戶之間有很高的緊密度與洞察，能夠了解如何在這個多變的總體環境中支持他們的營運。

And so we partner with them to achieve pricing that is going to offset the headwinds from rising costs, but we do this sort of very surgically. We feel that this approach has been disciplined in the way we execute it, it served us well to achieve that mid- to high single-digit core sales growth, and we've done this since the spin, and we would expect this approach to continue.

因此，我們與他們合作，以達成能夠抵銷成本上升逆風的定價，但我們是以相當精準、外科手術式的方式來進行。我們認為這種做法在執行上一直很有紀律，也確實幫助我們達成中到高個位數的核心銷售成長；自分拆以來我們一直如此，並預期這種做法會持續下去。

Got it. And then maybe just a little bit of color. Given the challenging environment with inflation and at least in some cases, there may be a little bit of demand destruction. Are you seeing any interesting assets that maybe weren't available to you in the market now coming to the market? Or is it really just too early for that given what's been going on?

了解。那再請你補充一點細節。考量到通膨帶來的挑戰性環境，而且在某些情況下可能出現一些需求破壞。你們是否看到一些有趣的資產——可能以前市場上你們拿不到、但現在開始出現在市場上？還是說以目前的情況來看，現在談這個仍然太早？

Yeah, John, maybe I'll take this one. If you look at it from the asset perspective, market conditions change, but we're always going to stay true to our market company valuation algorithm as we kind of look at all the strategic opportunities. Again, things do open up in these kind of market conditions, but it's too early to say at this point. But overall, pipelines look pretty active and pretty excited about the opportunities that are here in the near term for us.

是的，John，這題我來回答。如果從資產角度來看，市場狀況會改變，但我們在評估各種策略性機會時，會始終遵循我們的市場與公司估值方法論。同樣地，在這類市場環境下確實會有一些機會浮現，但就目前而言還太早下定論。不過整體來看，案源管線相當活躍，我們也對近期可把握的機會感到相當振奮。

William Grippin, Barclays.

William Grippin，巴克萊。

Great. Thank you for the time. I just wanted to come back to the cost optimization plan that you've laid out here, I just want to make sure we're thinking about that correctly. Is that -- should we view that as sort of upside to your long-term margin expansion algorithm? Or does this sort of just keep you on track with that algorithm?

很好。謝謝你撥冗。我想回到你們在這裡提出的成本優化計畫，確認一下我們的理解是否正確。我們是否應該把它視為你們長期利潤率擴張方法論的上行空間？還是說這只是讓你們維持在該方法論的既定軌道上？

Yeah, Will, thanks for the question. The short answer is yes, right? If you look at our value creation algorithm, it's unchanged, mid-single-digit core sales growth with 30% to 35% fall-through. So from a modeling perspective, as you kind of start thinking about '27, '28, it is logical to assume that we will use the 30% to 35% fall-through on the core sales growth and then add the savings from the cost optimization program on top of that. So think of it as a step change in '27 and '28. As far as particular -- the exact details for '27, of course, we'll talk when we give that guidance.

是的，Will，謝謝你的問題。簡短回答是：是的，對吧？如果你看我們的價值創造方法論，它沒有改變：核心銷售中個位數成長，落利率（fall-through）30%到35%。因此從建模角度來看，當你開始思考'27、'28時，合理的假設是：我們會對核心銷售成長套用30%到35%的落利率，然後再把成本優化計畫的節省額外加上去。所以把它視為在'27與'28的一個階梯式提升。至於'27的具體——確切細節，當然我們在提供指引時會再說明。

Perfect. I appreciate that. And then I wanted to touch on capital allocation here and just how you're thinking about the mix of that going forward. I think you've clearly executed on M&A recently as well as significantly ramped up the repurchase activity, and I think spent a pretty good majority of -- or a good chunk of the $750 million authorization. How do you think about that sort of going forward over the balance of the year, maybe into '27? And could we potentially see an increase in the authorization? Or maybe what would be a trigger point for that?

完美。謝謝你的說明。接著我想談談資本配置，以及你們未來如何看待配置組合。我認為你們近期在併購（M&A）上執行得很明確，同時也大幅提高回購活動，而且看起來已經使用了相當大一部分——或至少一大塊——7.5億美元的授權額度。你們如何看待今年剩餘期間、甚至到'27年的走向？我們是否可能看到授權額度增加？或者說，什麼情況會成為觸發點？

Yeah. Thanks for the question, Will. I think it's safe to say that we're going to continue to be disciplined here. We do have a bias for M&A relative to capital allocation. And I think you've seen that bias read through here with our $1 billion of capital deployed thus far in the year.

是的。謝謝你的問題，Will。我想可以很有把握地說，我們會持續保持紀律。在資本配置上，相較於其他用途，我們對併購是有偏好的。而你也可以從我們今年迄今已投入約10億美元資本看出這個偏好。

The M&A engine is running well. And to Sameer's point, we've got active funnels on both sides of the house and engaged in several cultivation activities. So our bias will remain M&A. We think that's going to create the best long-term value creation over time, but we reserve the right, as you've seen, to utilize that capital when we see market dislocations relative to the business performance, and we plan to continue to take advantage of that. As far as whether that would be increased, that's going to be a Board decision and in due course, we will take that on at whatever time it is appropriate.

併購引擎運轉得很好。而且如Sameer所說，我們在兩個事業端都有活躍的案源漏斗，並且正在進行多項培育活動。因此我們的偏好仍會是併購。我們認為這將隨時間推進創造最佳的長期價值；但同時我們也保留權利——如你所見——當市場相對於公司基本面出現錯置時，我們會運用資本並計畫持續把握這類機會。至於是否會提高授權額度，這將由董事會決定；在適當的時間點，我們會在合宜時機加以處理。

Appreciate the color. Thanks very much.

謝謝補充說明。非常感謝。

Thanks, Will.

謝謝你，Will。

Mike Halloran, Baird.

Mike Halloran，Baird。

Good morning, everyone. A clarification on the early -- how does the cost-opt program layer between the two segments?

各位早安。我想釐清一下前面提到的——成本優化計畫在兩個事業部之間是如何分配/分層的？

Yeah. If you look at the cost optimization program, Mike, it's pretty broad-based across both the businesses as well as corporate functions. Overall, I would say there's a little bit of more bias towards PQI, but it's pretty balanced across the company, if you think of it.

是的。Mike，如果你看成本優化計畫，它涵蓋面相當廣，橫跨兩個事業以及公司層級的職能部門。整體而言，我會說稍微更偏向PQI一些，但若從公司整體來看其實相當均衡。

Got it. And then just from a guidance perspective, maybe help me understand what you're embedding in terms of seasonality, end market improvement versus end market stability here. Is there any expectation for an acceleration in end markets as we sit here today? Or is it relatively normal seasonality as it plays out? And if you are assuming any acceleration in any areas that we should be thinking about specifically?

了解。再從指引的角度，能否幫我理解你們在季節性、終端市場改善與終端市場持穩之間，分別內含了哪些假設？以我們今天所處的情況，你們是否預期終端市場會加速？還是說只是相對正常的季節性推移？如果你們確實假設某些領域會加速，有沒有特別需要我們留意的地方？

Yeah, so overall, as you kind of think about the end market dynamics, Mike, that we've built into the guidance, from a CPG perspective, pretty steady. Frankly, it tends to be less seasonal. Same for the global food and beverage markets. These are pretty nondiscretionary demand. So we expect the market and the demand to be pretty steady over here.

是的，Mike，整體來看，當你思考我們在指引中納入的終端市場動態，從CPG角度來看相當穩定。坦白說，它的季節性通常較不明顯。全球食品與飲料市場也是如此。這些需求相當屬於非選擇性（nondiscretionary）。因此我們預期這邊的市場與需求會相當穩定。

Similarly, on the water side, I would say, is the muni side, as Jennifer said earlier, it's pretty steady that what we are seeing, given where we operate, we operate in the OpEx side of our customers. So the risk of failure is very high. So we are pretty well embedded in the high-value part of the workflows. So overall demand pretty steady.

同樣地，在水務這一端，我會說市政（muni）端，如Jennifer先前提到的，我們看到的也相當穩定，因為我們所處的位置是在客戶的營運支出（OpEx）端。因此失效風險非常高。所以我們在工作流程中高價值的環節嵌入得很深。因此整體需求相當穩定。

But in the second half, as you know, especially as we get into Q4, the comps get a little easier as well. So that kind of helps as you kind of think about the core growth. So sequentially, we should see core growth kind of moving up as we go through the year.

不過在下半年，如你所知，特別是進入第四季時，去年同期比較基期也會變得更容易一些。因此在思考核心成長時，這也會帶來一些助益。所以從季度環比來看，隨著年度推進，我們應該會看到核心成長逐步走高。

Appreciate it. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝你，Mike。

Andrew Buscaglia, BNP Paribas.

Andrew Buscaglia，法國巴黎銀行（BNP Paribas）。

Hey, good morning, everyone.

各位早安。

Good morning, Andrew.

早安，Andrew。

Just wanted to check on the water quality, just a number of drivers, including data centers. I'm just wondering if you could talk about how influential that data center contribution was to growth. I don't know how you want to do it, but maybe just talk a little more about that, please.

我想確認一下水質業務，有幾個驅動因素，包括資料中心。我想請問資料中心對成長的貢獻有多大、影響力如何？不確定你想用什麼方式回答，但能否請你再多談一點？

Yeah, I mean our water team had a fantastic quarter just in terms of execution, driving hard across the enterprise. Relative to sort of which markets are faster growers, we do see strong growth in data centers. But as a reminder, data center revenue is still overall a very small portion of our total sales in water quality. And so we don't spell out sort of market sizes, growth rate separately here publicly, but we will say that we're getting great traction here, a lot of uptake in demand, and that's benefiting essentially all of our water businesses.

是的，我是說，我們的水務團隊這一季在執行面表現非常出色，在整個企業內部都很努力推動。至於哪些市場成長較快，我們確實看到資料中心有強勁成長。但提醒一下，資料中心營收在我們水質總銷售中整體仍只占很小一部分。因此我們不會在公開場合分別揭露各市場規模或成長率，但我們可以說，我們在這裡取得了很好的進展、需求採用度很高，而這基本上正在帶動我們所有的水務業務。

And then M&A-wise, it certainly sounds like you're still interested in moving forward with capital allocation towards that. I'm wondering, we saw here on the treatment side, a move into the data center space a little bit more aggressively. Does that market interest you in terms of increasing -- maybe increasing in terms of the hierarchy of where your interests lie?

接著在併購（M&A）方面，聽起來你們仍然有意持續推進，並將資本配置投入其中。我想請教的是，我們看到在處理端，你們更積極地切入資料中心領域。就提高你們的關注度而言——也就是在你們的興趣排序中是否會往上移——這個市場對你們有吸引力嗎？

Yeah, I mean, I think you'll see us stay true to our algorithm of market, company, and valuation. We like businesses that look like us, right? We like razor-razorblade businesses. We like being in the operating cycle of the customers' operations.

是的，我的意思是，我想你們會看到我們仍會忠於我們的演算法：市場、公司與估值。我們喜歡看起來像我們的業務，對吧？我們喜歡「剃刀—刀片」型的商業模式。我們喜歡身處客戶營運的作業循環之中。

And we find that this gives us long-term durability and good confidence in sort of the steady state that we've been able to create here. So I wouldn't say we're taking anything off the table here, but I do think there are profiles of companies that we like, and we will stay true to relative to those that create long-term advantage and allow us to apply VES to make them better.

我們發現這能帶來長期的韌性，並讓我們對目前所建立的穩態（steady state）有很高的信心。所以我不會說我們把任何事情排除在外，但我確實認為我們偏好某些公司輪廓；我們會忠於那些能創造長期優勢、並讓我們能運用 VES 使其變得更好的標的。

All right, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Jacob Levinson, Melius Research.

Jacob Levinson，Melius Research。

Hi, good morning, everyone.

嗨，各位早安。

Good morning, Jake.

早安，Jake。

I don't think we've touched on China yet. And I know some of your peers have had some challenges there on sort of the water infrastructure side of things. And I know there are different business mixes with your portfolio, but maybe you can just give us some color on how you'd characterize that market today, if there are any puts and takes around specific verticals?

我想我們還沒談到中國。我知道你們的一些同業在那邊、在水務基礎設施相關領域遇到一些挑戰。我也知道你們的投資組合業務組成不同，但也許你們可以分享一下你們如何描述目前那個市場的狀況，以及在特定垂直領域是否有任何利多與利空因素？

Yeah, China continues to behave like a more mature market. Our China sales here in the first quarter were up low single digits. Generally, in line with the past couple of quarters, not really any material change to what we're seeing there. PQI did lead that growth with double-digit growth here. Now we've lapped some comps here, which make it a little bit easier to post some growth.

是的，中國持續呈現出較成熟市場的樣貌。我們第一季在中國的銷售額年增低個位數。整體而言與過去幾季大致一致，並沒有看到任何實質性的變化。PQI 以雙位數成長帶動了這波增長。另外我們也已經度過了一些比較基期，使得要呈現成長相對容易一些。

Water quality was down just slightly here, low single digits in China, and that is reflective of kind of the funding environment for municipalities with money still not flowing from the government to prop up that particular industry. So we continue to have opportunistic sales into industrial segments, still waiting for water funding to break loose here on the muni side in China but have strong opportunities that continue within PQI.

在中國，水質（Water Quality）業務小幅下滑，約低個位數，這反映出地方政府的資金環境——政府資金仍未流入以支撐該產業。因此我們持續在工業領域把握機會性銷售；在中國市政端仍在等待水務資金釋出，但在 PQI 方面仍持續有很強的機會。

Okay, that's good color. And just a quick follow-up for Sameer. I think your tax rate has been going down a little bit over the last couple of years and just be helpful to understand how much of that is maybe just related to geographic mix or whether there's some planning activity you've been able to do over the last few years since the spin.

好的，這些說明很有幫助。另外給 Sameer 一個簡短追問。我想你們的稅率在過去幾年略有下降；想了解其中有多少可能只是與地理組合有關，或是自分拆以來你們在過去幾年能做的一些稅務規劃所帶來的效果？

Yeah, thanks, Jake, for that. If you look at the tax rate is definitely, we have made a pretty nice move from where we started from 24.5%-ish when we kind of spun off, now in the 20s. I would say, Jake, it's a balance, but I would say majority is skewed towards sort of the really great work by the tax team and from a planning perspective to get it to the right place.

好的，謝謝你，Jake。如果你看稅率，我們確實從分拆時大約 24.5% 左右，做了相當不錯的改善，現在落在 20% 出頭。我會說這是多方因素的平衡，但我認為主要還是偏向稅務團隊在規劃面做得非常出色，讓稅率達到合適的水準。

Okay, appreciate it. Thank you. I'll pass it on.

好的，感謝。謝謝。我把時間交出去。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We'll go next now to Brian Lee with Goldman Sachs. Hearing no response, we'll circle back to Brian. We'll go next now to Andrew Krill with Deutsche Bank.

接下來是高盛的 Brian Lee。沒有聽到回應，我們稍後再回到 Brian。接下來是德意志銀行的 Andrew Krill。

Hi, thanks. Good morning, everyone. I was hoping you could give us an update on tariffs. There have been a variety of updates from the Supreme Court ruling to changes in Section 232 rules and then also general cost inflation from higher oil. Can you give us an update how you're viewing the tariff headwinds and cost inflation headwinds this year and if that's changed at all versus last quarter? Thanks.

嗨，謝謝。各位早安。我想請你們更新一下關稅的情況。從最高法院裁決到 232 條款規則的變更，以及油價上升帶來的整體成本通膨，近期有各種更新。你們能否說明一下，今年你們如何看待關稅逆風與成本通膨逆風？相較上季是否有任何改變？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Andrew, for that. If you kind of look at on the tariff side, there are three layers, right? The stuff that happened last year, effectively, we've taken the pricing actions, all the line moves have happened. Those things should start rolling -- impact of those should start rolling over as you kind of get into the second half.

好的，謝謝。謝謝你，Andrew。如果看關稅面，大致有三個層次，對吧？去年發生的那些，我們基本上已經採取了定價行動，所有的調價都已完成。當你進入下半年時，這些措施的影響應該會開始逐步消化（roll over）。

So we are pretty well positioned on that front. As far as the new Section 232 kind of stuff, we baked the impact of that on -- in the guidance that we provided. But overall impact as you can think about for us is actually much smaller. This is not like last year. If you kind of start thinking about the steel or aluminum kind of components into our products, it's pretty small.

所以在這方面我們的布局相當到位。至於新的 232 條款相關事項，我們已把其影響納入我們提供的財測指引中。但整體影響其實小得多。這不像去年那樣。如果你開始思考鋼或鋁等零組件在我們產品中的占比，其實非常小。

So those are -- the impact of those is pretty small for us. As far as the Middle East and the current conflict and the impact that you're seeing on the commodities on the oil side, again, baked into the guidance, at least based on what we see right now.

所以這些的影響對我們而言相當有限。至於中東與目前的衝突，以及你看到在大宗商品、尤其油品端的影響，同樣也已納入指引中——至少以我們目前所見為基礎。

But as you can imagine, some really active discussions with the customers on the pricing side, Jennifer touched on the ChemTreat side earlier, the impact that we're seeing on the chemicals and packaging side, that's kind of baked in. But overall, we're pretty well positioned as you kind of think about the rest of the year. It's pricing and there's a lot of productivity stuff as well part of it.

但如你所想，我們正與客戶就定價進行非常積極的討論；Jennifer 先前也提到 ChemTreat 端，我們在化學品與包材端看到的影響，這些也都已反映在內。整體而言，展望今年剩餘時間，我們的布局相當穩健。除了定價之外，也包含許多生產力提升的措施。

Great. That's very helpful. And on a related note, just with price, is it still fair we should be thinking about the company realizing about 2% price or so? And I think PQI was trending a bit higher than water quality? Is that a reasonable approach still?

很好。這非常有幫助。另外相關地，關於價格（price），我們是否仍可認為公司大約能實現 2% 左右的價格貢獻？而且我想 PQI 的趨勢比水質（Water Quality）更高一些？這樣的看法仍然合理嗎？

Yeah, that's a pretty reasonable approach. Just kind of think of the pricing 100 basis points, 200 basis points. But frankly, with the price increases that we did last year, we're still lapping those up and then we had further price increases as part of this year's cycle. So you should expect this year in aggregate to be at the high end of the range with PQI even exceeding that a little bit.

是的，這是相當合理的看法。大致把定價想成 100 個基點到 200 個基點。但坦白說，去年我們做的漲價，我們仍在消化其比較基期，此外今年的週期中我們也進一步調價。因此你應該預期今年整體會落在區間的高端，而 PQI 甚至會略高於此。

Brian Lee, Goldman Sachs.

Brian Lee，高盛。

Hey, guys. Sorry about that. This is Tyler Bisset on for Brian. Just wanted to go back to the high-growth markets. You discussed how acquisitions of GlobalVision and In-Situ should help support growth here, but it was actually a little weak for both Water Quality and PQI during the quarter. So any reason for the weakness in the quarter? How do you expect growth to trend going forward? And then just, I guess, looking to 2Q, are you expecting any like material impact from the war in Iran?

嗨，各位。抱歉剛剛那樣。我是 Tyler Bisset，代 Brian 發問。我想回到高成長市場的話題。你們提到收購 GlobalVision 和 In-Situ 應該有助於支撐成長，但本季水質（Water Quality）與 PQI 其實都偏弱。所以本季走弱的原因是什麼？你們預期未來成長趨勢會如何？另外，展望第二季，你們是否預期伊朗戰事會帶來任何實質影響？

Yeah, thanks for the question, Tyler. I just want to make sure I get the question right. High-growth market versus GlobalVision, right, let's bifurcate those two. GlobalVision does not have any kind of a meaningful impact as you kind of think about the growth in the high-growth market side.

是的，Tyler，謝謝你的提問。我只是想確認我理解問題無誤。你是問高成長市場相較於 GlobalVision，對吧？我們把這兩者分開來看。就你所提到的高成長市場端的成長而言，GlobalVision 並沒有任何實質性的影響。

High-growth market side, effectively, we grew in the low single digits but -- or rather, sorry, a slight decline this year, but Water Quality was down low single digits, really more on the impact that we saw in China. But overall, PQI is in a little bit of a low single-digit decline as well. So nothing material. Majority of the impact that you're seeing is more sort of timing driven, especially in Latin America, that's kind of driving that impact. But otherwise, we're pretty well placed.

在高成長市場端，基本上我們的成長是低個位數，但——或者更正一下，今年是小幅下滑；而 Water Quality 也下滑了低個位數，主要是我們在中國看到的影響所致。但整體而言，PQI 也同樣是低個位數的小幅下滑。所以沒有什麼重大的因素。你看到的大部分影響更偏向於時點因素所驅動，特別是在拉丁美洲，這是造成該影響的主要原因。除此之外，我們的布局相當到位。

I would say as well, we've got a pretty big prior-year comp in India, right? We had that Q1 in India, it was about 20% last year. And we do see some impact here in Middle East, small portion of our overall revenue, but the sales there were down about 10%.

我也想補充，我們在印度有一個相當高的去年同期比較基期，對吧？去年印度的第一季大約成長 20%。另外我們也看到中東有一些影響；雖然占我們整體營收的比例不大，但那邊的銷售下滑了大約 10%。

Great, super helpful. I'll turn it over. Thanks.

很好，非常有幫助。我把時間交回去。謝謝。

Josh Spector, UBS.

UBS 的 Josh Spector。

Yeah, hey, good morning. I wanted to ask just about -- similar on some of the regional impacts here in PQI, I mean there's a pretty decent diversion between Europe and North America. I don't know if Europe was more impacted by some of the one-timer larger equipment sales? Or if it was something else? And if you could help what that looks like in 2Q, if any of that reverses at all?

是的，早安。我想問一下——同樣是關於 PQI 在各地區的影響；我的意思是，歐洲和北美之間有相當明顯的分歧。我不確定歐洲是否受到一些一次性的大型設備銷售影響較大？或者是其他因素？另外你能否協助說明一下第二季會是什麼樣子，以及是否會有任何回轉？

Yeah, so relative to Western Europe, PQI had a really tough comp in 2025. They were up 10.3% last year. So -- and this is on the back of our recurring revenue model where three extra days matters a lot in the first quarter of 2025. So very, very high comps relative to prior year.

好的。相較於西歐，PQI 在 2025 年的比較基期非常艱難。去年他們成長了 10.3%。而這是建立在我們的經常性收入模式之上，在 2025 年第一季多出三天對結果影響很大。所以相較去年同期的比較基期非常、非常高。

I would say here in Q1, our marking and coding businesses grew core sales low single digits, right? And that's on the back of a pretty healthy, sizable comp prior year. We did see an offset here by delays in shipments of certain hardware lines in our packaging and color businesses, which we referred to earlier. But relative to sort of broad-based global CPG demand, we see it stable.

我會說在第一季，我們的標識與編碼（marking and coding）業務核心銷售成長了低個位數，對吧？而這也是在去年同期相當健康、且規模不小的比較基期之上達成的。我們確實看到一些抵銷因素，來自我們包裝與色彩業務某些硬體產品線出貨延遲——我們先前也提到過。但就整體全球 CPG（民生消費品）需求而言，我們看到是穩定的。

We see it stable in Europe. We see it stable in North America, a little bit of a mixed bag in some of the high-growth markets largely because of a little bit of impact from, obviously, China, India. We've got some timing issues and then certainly the impact of Middle East and Africa.

我們看到歐洲是穩定的。我們看到北美也是穩定的；而在一些高成長市場則稍微比較混合，主要是因為——很明顯——中國、印度帶來一些影響。我們也有一些時點問題，當然還有中東與非洲的影響。

Okay. That's helpful. And I guess if I kind of flip that the other way. If I look later this year, you have 6% and 9% comps in North America in 3Q and 4Q. Are those going to be characterized as tough comps to go against? Or should we expect you guys to be able to grow on that level later this year?

了解。這很有幫助。我想如果我換個角度來看。如果我看今年稍晚，你們在北美第三季和第四季的比較基期分別是 6% 和 9%。這些會被視為很難對比的高基期嗎？還是我們應該預期你們今年稍晚仍能在那樣的水準上成長？

Yeah, as you kind of get into the second half, you're going to see the growth despite the comps. In fact, I would say from the PQI perspective, the comps go a little easier as we get into Q4. Overall, since the demand -- given the demand dynamic that Jennifer just talked about on the marking and coding side from the CPG side, we feel pretty good about the second half of the year, and that's kind of baked into the guidance. So nothing sort of material deviation that you want to see.

是的，當你進入下半年時，即使有比較基期，你仍會看到成長。事實上，從 PQI 的角度來看，到了第四季比較基期會稍微容易一些。整體而言，考量到 Jennifer 剛才談到的、來自 CPG 端在標識與編碼方面的需求動態，我們對下半年感覺相當不錯，而這也已反映在指引之中。所以沒有什麼你需要特別留意的重大偏離。

All right. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Joseph Giordano, TD Cowen.

TD Cowen 的 Joseph Giordano。

Hi, good morning. This is Chris on for Joe. The EPS guide moved higher, even though the operational framework looks to be -- appears to be largely consistent. Can you walk us through the specific bridge items that are driving the revision? And how much of that is operational versus capital structure below the line?

嗨，早安。我是 Chris，代 Joe 提問。EPS 指引上調了，但營運框架看起來——似乎大致一致。你能否帶我們走一遍，究竟是哪些具體的橋接項目（bridge items）推動了這次修正？其中有多少來自營運面，又有多少來自損益表線下的資本結構因素？

Yeah. Thanks, Chris, for that question. Overall, as you kind of think about the increase in the EPS guide. It's predominantly raised because of the operating stuff, the share buyback that we've done so far is already kind of baked in. Overall, what's kind of driving this thing is really a few things.

好的。Chris，謝謝你的問題。整體來看，當你思考 EPS 指引上調的原因。主要是因為營運面的因素；我們迄今為止所做的庫藏股回購其實已經反映在內。整體而言，推動這件事的主要是幾個因素。

The strength of Q1 and the way we are coming out in terms of the order books for -- out of the quarter and into April. Second one is we talked about the pricing, pricing at the higher end. So that's kind of giving us the confidence as we kind of think about the full year EPS.

第一季的強勁表現，以及我們在本季結束、進入四月時的訂單簿狀況。第二個是我們談到的定價，定價落在較高端。因此，當我們思考全年 EPS 時，這些都讓我們更有信心。

And third, I would say is, really the execution that we are seeing across the board in both the businesses and across the regions. So those are kind of really the things that are kind of driving otherwise, the demand patterns are pretty steady at this point. And given where we are now with almost four months behind, gives us more confidence on that front.

第三，我會說是我們在各業務以及各地區所看到的整體執行力。所以這些就是主要的驅動因素；除此之外，目前需求型態相當穩定。而且以目前進度來看，已經過了將近四個月，這也讓我們在這方面更有信心。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thanks for the questions. This is Ryan. That concludes our question queue for the call. We appreciate everybody's time and engagement this morning and preparation with the earlier materials. As usual, I'll be available for any kind of follow-ups that might be necessary. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll talk to you next time.

謝謝各位的提問。我是 Ryan。本次電話會議的提問隊列到此結束。我們感謝大家今天早上的時間與參與，以及對先前資料的準備。一如往常，如有任何需要的後續追蹤，我都會提供協助。非常感謝各位加入。我們下次再聊。

Thank you. Again, ladies and gentlemen, this will conclude today's Veralto Corporation's first quarter 2026 earnings call. Again, thanks so much for joining us, everyone. We wish you all a great day. Goodbye.

謝謝。各位女士先生，再次提醒，今天 Veralto Corporation 2026 年第一季財報電話會議到此結束。再次感謝大家的參與。祝各位有美好的一天。再見。