沃博聯公司 (WBA) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Walgreens Boots Alliance third-quarter 2024 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference call over to your speaker today, Tiffany Kanaga, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加沃爾格林博姿聯盟 2024 年第三季業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。我現在想將電話會議交給今天的發言人、投資者關係副總裁 Tiffany Kanaga。請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you for joining us for the Walgreens Boots Alliance earnings call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. I'm Tiffany Kanaga, Vice President of Investor Relations.

早安.感謝您參加我們的 Walgreens Boots Alliance 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。

Joining me on today's call are Tim Wentworth, our Chief Executive Officer; and Manmohan Mahajan, Global Chief Financial Officer. In addition, Mary Langowski, President of US Healthcare; Rick Gates, Senior Vice President and Walgreens' Chief Pharmacy Officer; and Tracey Brown, President of Walgreens Retail and Chief Customer Officer, will participate in Q&A.

參加今天電話會議的有我們的執行長 Tim Wentworth；以及全球財務長曼莫漢‧馬哈詹 (Manmohan Mahajan)。此外，美國醫療保健總裁 Mary Langowski；里克蓋茲 (Rick Gates)，高級副總裁兼沃爾格林首席藥房官；沃爾格林零售總裁兼首席客戶長 Tracey Brown 將參與問答。

As always, during the conference call, we anticipate making projections and forward-looking statements based on our current expectations. Our actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including those listed on slide 2 and those outlined in our latest Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement after this presentation, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise. You can find our press release and the slides referenced on this call in the Investors section of the Walgreens Boots Alliance website.

與往常一樣，在電話會議期間，我們預計會根據當前的預期做出預測和前瞻性陳述。由於多種因素的影響，我們的實際結果可能會存在重大差異，包括投影片 2 中列出的因素以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新 10-K 表格中概述的因素。我們沒有義務在本次演示後公開更新任何前瞻性聲明，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件、假設變更或其他原因。您可以在沃爾格林博姿聯盟網站的投資者部分找到我們的新聞稿和本次電話會議引用的幻燈片。

During this call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, and the reconciliations are set forth in the press release. You may also refer to the slides posted to the Investors section of our website for reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures discussed during this earnings call. We encourage you to review the comparable GAAP measures and reconciliation to non-GAAP values in the other earnings materials we provided. I will now turn the call over to Tim.

在本次電話會議中，我們將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些指標與最直接可比較的公認會計準則財務指標進行了調節，並在新聞稿中闡述了調節情況。您也可以參考我們網站投資者部分發佈的投影片，以了解非 GAAP 衡量標準與本次財報電話會議中討論的最具可比性的 GAAP 衡量標準的對帳情況。我們鼓勵您查看我們提供的其他獲利資料中的可比較 GAAP 指標以及與非 GAAP 值的調整。我現在將把電話轉給蒂姆。

Thanks, Tiffany, and good morning, everyone. While this quarter's results were not in line with our expectations, I want to start today by sharing some reflections on what I've observed since joining WBA. I'm at Walgreens today because I believe in the future of retail pharmacy and particularly in our future. We are motivated by the trust Americans place every day in their Walgreens pharmacy. And the experience we provide them in our stores and with our digital offerings is important in their lives.

謝謝蒂芙尼，大家早安。雖然本季的結果與我們的預期不符，但我想從今天開始分享一些我加入 WBA 以來所觀察到的反思。我今天來到沃爾格林是因為我相信零售藥局的未來，尤其是我們的未來。美國人每天對沃爾格林藥局的信任激勵著我們。我們在商店和數位產品中為他們提供的體驗對他們的生活非常重要。

Over our 125-year heritage, we have earned the right to engage with patients and customers in a way that few others can rival. I believe that this human-to-human interaction is an imperative in healthcare, and the core foundation of our business is the relationship we have with our customers. Through our nationwide footprint, we touch nearly 9 million lives a day as the leading independent integrated retail pharmacy and healthcare provider. This dynamic is why PBMs, payers, providers, and pharma choose to work with Walgreens.

經過 125 年的傳承，我們贏得了以其他公司無法比擬的方式與患者和客戶互動的權利。我相信這種人與人的互動在醫療保健領域是必不可少的，我們業務的核心基礎是我們與客戶的關係。作為領先的獨立綜合零售藥房和醫療保健提供者，我們的業務遍布全國，每天影響近 900 萬人的生活。這種動態就是 PBM、付款人、提供者和製藥公司選擇與沃爾格林合作的原因。

Looking back over the last several quarters, we've built a world-class leadership team, including five new members. We now have the right people in place who are already executing with a sense of urgency on a turnaround for our business. All of this is underscored by our 330,000 passionate and dedicated team members who differentiate us and deliver exceptional customer and patient experiences every day.

回顧過去幾個季度，我們已經建立了一支世界一流的領導團隊，其中包括五名新成員。我們現在擁有合適的人員，他們已經帶著緊迫感執行我們業務的扭虧為盈。這一切都歸功於我們 33 萬名充滿熱情和敬業的團隊成員，他們使我們與眾不同，每天為客戶和患者提供卓越的體驗。

The bottom line is that I'm confident WBA will be a leader in the future of healthcare with pharmacy and retail at its center. And the long-term potential of the company will be shaped by offerings built around the relationship that we've nurtured with our customers over time.

最重要的是，我相信 WBA 將成為未來以製藥和零售為中心的醫療保健的領導者。公司的長期潛力將取決於我們長期以來與客戶建立的關係所提供的產品。

But we also acknowledge where we are today and what we need to do to realize our longer-term ambitions. The severity and duration of the challenges in the operating environment have only added urgency to our strategic and operational review, and we are addressing them directly. Our review has been a significant driver of action as we assess both our existing retail pharmacy business and our collection of strategic assets. I will unpack the series of conclusions we have reached in greater detail after Manmohan, and I review the quarterly results.

但我們也承認我們今天所處的位置以及我們需要做些什麼來實現我們的長期目標。營運環境中挑戰的嚴重性和持續時間只會增加我們策略和營運審查的緊迫性，我們正在直接解決這些問題。當我們評估我們現有的零售藥局業務和我們的策略資產集合時，我們的審查一直是行動的重要推動力。我將在《曼莫漢》之後更詳細地闡述我們得出的一系列結論，並回顧季度業績。

For the third quarter, we delivered adjusted earnings per share of $0.63, reflecting significant challenges in the US retail pharmacy business stemming from a worse-than-expected consumer environment and challenging pharmacy industry trends, partially offset by strength in US healthcare and international. In light of these factors, we are reducing our full year outlook, which Manmohan will take you through in more detail.

第三季度，我們實現調整後每股收益0.63 美元，反映出美國零售製藥業務因消費環境差於預期和製藥行業趨勢充滿挑戰而面臨重大挑戰，但部分被美國醫療保健和國際市場的實力所抵消。鑑於這些因素，我們正在降低全年展望，曼莫漢將向您詳細介紹這一點。

In US retail pharmacy, we witnessed continued pressure on the US consumer. Our customers have become increasingly selective and price-sensitive in their purchases. In response, we invested in targeted promotion and price decisions which have driven traffic and will generate improved customer loyalty, but they weigh on near-term profitability as we refine our approach. We remain relentlessly focused on enhancing the front of store and creating the right omnichannel experience for our customers while driving in-store efficiencies.

在美國零售藥局，我們目睹了美國消費者面臨的持續壓力。我們的客戶在購買時變得越來越挑剔和對價格敏感。作為回應，我們投資於有針對性的促銷和價格決策，這些決策增加了流量並提高了客戶忠誠度，但隨著我們改進方法，它們會影響短期獲利能力。我們仍然堅持不懈地致力於增強店面並為客戶創造正確的全通路體驗，同時提高店內效率。

We also continue to face an incrementally challenging pharmacy industry. Recent trends such as branded mix impacts and increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures, including fluctuations in NADAC pricing, have negatively impacted pricing dynamics.

我們也持續面臨製藥業日益嚴峻的挑戰。最近的趨勢，例如品牌組合影響以及監管和報銷壓力的增加（包括 NADAC 定價的波動），對定價動態產生了負面影響。

Additionally, the script market is growing but continues to trail below pre-pandemic growth levels. These headwinds have affected our performance and are materially weighing on our ability to serve patients profitably.

此外，劇本市場正在成長，但仍低於疫情前的成長水準。這些不利因素影響了我們的業績，並嚴重影響了我們為患者提供獲利服務的能力。

We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require, we approach the market differently. For example, we are in active discussions with our PBM and payer partners to align incentives and ensure we are paid fairly.

我們正處於當前藥房模式不可持續的階段，而且我們的營運環境面臨挑戰，需要我們以不同的方式對待市場。例如，我們正在與 PBM 和付款合作夥伴積極討論，以調整激勵措施並確保我們獲得公平的報酬。

We are also working with our suppliers and partnering directly with pharma companies to build out specialty pharmacy, clinical trials, and other services, which Walgreens is uniquely positioned to facilitate, given our physical footprint and the trust we've already established with patients.

我們也與我們的供應商合作，並直接與製藥公司合作，建立專業藥房、臨床試驗和其他服務，鑑於我們的實際足跡和我們已經與患者建立的信任，沃爾格林在促進這些服務方面具有獨特的優勢。

In US healthcare, we had another quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA and year-on-year growth driven by continued growth and disciplined cost management at VillageMD along with strength at Shields. Following last quarter's actions to rightsize VillageMD's footprint, the business is now on a clearer path to profitability as it continues to add lives and optimize its cost structure.

在美國醫療保健領域，由於 VillageMD 的持續增長和嚴格的成本管理以及 Shields 的實力，我們又一個季度實現了調整後的 EBITDA 正值和同比增長。繼上季採取行動調整 VillageMD 的業務規模之後，該公司現在正走上一條更加清晰的盈利之路，因為它不斷增加生命並優化其成本結構。

In international, the business continues to perform strongly and in line with expectations. Boots UK delivered meaningful retail comp growth and achieved another sequential quarter of market share gains from strength in both physical and digital channels. We continued to execute with discipline across the organization to drive further cost out and prioritize free cash flow. We remain on track to deliver $1 billion in cost savings this year.

在國際業務方面，該業務持續表現強勁並符合預期。 Boots UK 憑藉實體和數位通路的實力實現了顯著的零售業績成長，並實現了另一個連續季度的市場份額成長。我們繼續在整個組織內嚴格執行，以進一步降低成本並優先考慮自由現金流。今年我們仍有望實現 10 億美元的成本節約。

As we look ahead to the remainder of the year, we are operating under the following assumptions. We expect the operating environment to remain challenging. We do not expect an improvement in the US retail environment. And finally, we expect script volume growth to remain muted and anticipate continued pressures on pharmacy margins.

當我們展望今年剩餘時間時，我們將根據以下假設進行運作。我們預計經營環境仍將充滿挑戰。我們預計美國零售環境不會改善。最後，我們預計腳本數量成長將保持溫和，並預期藥品利潤率將繼續面臨壓力。

In light of these factors, we are reducing our outlook. We now expect to deliver adjusted earnings per share of $2.80 to $2.95 for the fiscal year 2024. While we acknowledge that this range is wider than normal, we believe it is prudent, given fluctuations in recent pharmacy industry trends. Consistent with our historic approach, we will provide our outlook for fiscal 2025 on our fiscal year-end call in October, but we expect the current trends I've outlined to persist into next year. Before going into details of our strategic review, I'll now turn it over to Manmohan to review our financial results.

鑑於這些因素，我們正在降低我們的前景。我們現在預計 2024 財年的調整後每股收益為 2.80 美元至 2.95 美元。與我們的歷史做法一致，我們將在 10 月的財年終電話會議上提供 2025 財年的展望，但我們預計我概述的當前趨勢將持續到明年。在詳細介紹我們的策略審查之前，我現在將其交給曼莫漢審查我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Tim, and good morning, everyone. Third quarter sales grew 2.5% on a constant currency basis. US retail pharmacy increased 2.3%. International was up 1.6%, and US healthcare delivered sales growth of 7.6%.

謝謝蒂姆，大家早安。以固定匯率計算，第三季銷售額成長 2.5%。美國零售藥局上漲2.3%。國際成長 1.6%，美國醫療保健銷售額成長 7.6%。

As Tim mentioned, overall results were below our expectations. Adjusted EPS of $0.63 decreased 37% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. This was driven by a $0.24 impact from lower sale-leaseback gains, a challenging US retail environment and recent pharmacy trends.

正如蒂姆所提到的，整體結果低於我們的預期。以固定匯率計算，調整後每股收益為 0.63 美元，年減 37%。這是由於售後回租收益下降、美國零售環境充滿挑戰以及近期的藥房趨勢導致 0.24 美元的影響。

Our US healthcare and international segments continued to perform in line with our expectations. And we continue to deliver on our goals related to cost and CapEx reduction and working capital initiatives. As a reminder, last year's GAAP results included after-tax impairment charges of $323 million related to pharmacy license and tangible assets in Boots UK.

我們的美國醫療保健和國際部門的表現持續符合我們的預期。我們將繼續實現與成本和資本支出削減以及營運資本計畫相關的目標。提醒一下，去年的 GAAP 結果包括與 Boots UK 的藥房許可證和有形資產相關的 3.23 億美元稅後減損費用。

Let's move on to the year-to-date highlights. Sales increased 5.6% on a constant currency basis. Adjusted EPS declined 25% on a constant currency basis due to the softer US retail pharmacy performance and significantly lower sale-leaseback gains. This was partly offset by cost-saving initiatives, improved profitability in US healthcare and a lower adjusted effective tax rate.

讓我們繼續討論今年迄今為止的亮點。以固定匯率計算，銷售額成長 5.6%。由於美國零售藥局業績疲軟以及售後回租收益大幅下降，調整後每股盈餘以固定匯率計算下降了 25%。這在一定程度上被成本節約措施、美國醫療保健獲利能力提高和調整後有效稅率降低所抵消。

GAAP net loss was $5.6 billion compared to a loss of $2.9 billion in the first nine months of fiscal '23. The first nine months of fiscal '24 included certain non-cash impairment charges related to VillageMD goodwill as detailed last quarter. The prior year period included a $5.5 billion after-tax charge for opioid-related claims and lawsuits, partly offset by a $1.5 billion after-tax gain on the sale of Cencora and Option Care Health shares.

GAAP 淨虧損為 56 億美元，而 2023 財年前 9 個月的虧損為 29 億美元。 24 財年的前 9 個月包括與 VillageMD 商譽相關的某些非現金減損費用，如上季詳述。上一年期間包括阿片類藥物相關索賠和訴訟的 55 億美元稅後費用，部分被出售 Cencora 和 Option Care Health 股票的 15 億美元稅後收益所抵消。

Now let me cover US retail pharmacy segment. Comparable sales grew 3.5% year-on-year driven by brand inflation and pharmacy and prescription volume, partly offset by a decline in retail sales.

現在讓我介紹一下美國零售藥房領域。受品牌膨脹以及藥品和處方藥銷量的推動，可比銷售額年增 3.5%，但部分被零售額下降所抵消。

AOI decreased 48% versus the prior year quarter. Approximately 70% of this decline relates to lower sale-leaseback gains lapping reduced incentive accruals in the prior year and lower Cencora equity income. Challenging retail and pharmacy industry trends also negatively impacted AOI in the current period.

AOI 與去年同期相比下降了 48%。約 70% 的下降與售後回租收益減少、上一年應計激勵減少以及 Cencora 股權收入減少有關。零售和製藥行業的挑戰趨勢也對當前時期的 AOI 產生了負面影響。

Sale-leaseback gains, net of incremental rent expense, resulted in a $277 million headwind to AOI in the quarter. As discussed, three months ago, we do not anticipate any material benefits from sale-leaseback gains going forward. Headwinds in the retail and pharmacy businesses were partly offset by cost savings initiatives.

售後回租收益（扣除增量租金費用）導致本季度 AOI 遭受 2.77 億美元的不利影響。正如三個月前所討論的，我們預期未來的售後回租收益不會帶來任何實質好處。成本節約措施部分抵銷了零售和製藥業務的不利因素。

Let me now turn to US pharmacy. Pharmacy comp sales increased 5.7% driven by brand inflation and volume growth. Comp scripts, excluding immunization, grew 1.7% in the quarter. We are tracking in line with the overall prescription market year to date. However, overall prescription market growth remains below expectations primarily due to Medicaid redeterminations.

現在讓我談談美國藥局。在品牌膨脹和銷售成長的推動下，藥品銷售成長了 5.7%。不包括免疫接種在內的競爭腳本本季成長了 1.7%。我們正在根據今年迄今為止的整體處方藥市場進行追蹤。然而，處方藥市場的整體成長仍低於預期，這主要是由於醫療補助計劃的重新確定。

Pharmacy adjusted gross margin declined versus the prior year quarter driven by brand mix impacts, reimbursement pressure reflecting last year's negotiations, lower COVID testing demand, and incremental pressure from certain generic launches with procurement dynamics similar to brands. Recent fluctuations in NADAC drove an incremental $20 million of the partial quarter impact.

藥局調整後毛利率較上年同期下降，原因包括品牌組合影響、去年談判帶來的報銷壓力、新冠檢測需求下降以及某些仿製藥上市帶來的增量壓力（採購動態與品牌相似）。 NADAC 最近的波動導致部分季度影響增加了 2000 萬美元。

Turning next to our US retail business. Comparable retail sales declined 2.3% in the quarter. As Tim mentioned, the consumer backdrop remains a challenge. With this continued channel shift and a sustained pullback in discretionary spending, we have responded by lowering prices across health and wellness, personal care, and seasonal categories.

接下來談談我們的美國零售業務。本季可比零售額下降 2.3%。正如蒂姆所提到的，消費者背景仍然是一個挑戰。隨著管道的持續轉變和可自由支配支出的持續縮減，我們的應對措施是降低健康和保健、個人護理和季節性類別的價格。

Where we invested in price and promotions, we saw returns in sales and unit lift. At the same time, value-seeking behavior and new product launches year-to-date helped to drive our own brand penetration up 65 basis points in the quarter.

當我們在價格和促銷方面進行投資時，我們看到了銷售和單位提升的回報。同時，價值追求行為和年初至今的新產品發布幫助我們自己的品牌滲透率在本季度提高了 65 個基點。

While we're seeing early signs of customers responding to our actions, retail gross margin declined more than previously anticipated due to our price and promo investments this year lapping last year's margin recovery actions as well as higher levels of shrink. This was partly offset by positive impact on gross margin from our category performance improvement initiatives, which are tracking in line with our expectations as we deepen relationship with select suppliers.

雖然我們看到客戶對我們的行動做出反應的早期跡象，但由於我們今年的價格和促銷投資超過了去年的利潤恢復行動以及更高的收縮水平，零售毛利率下降幅度超出了先前的預期。這在某種程度上被我們的品類績效改善計畫對毛利率的正面影響所抵消，隨著我們加深與精選供應商的關係，這些計畫符合我們的預期。

Turning next to international segment. And as always, I will talk in constant currency numbers. Total sales grew 1.6% with Boots UK increasing 1.6% and Germany wholesale up 4.9%. Segment adjusted gross profit increased 2% with growth across all businesses. Adjusted operating income was down 17% due to lapping real estate gains in the prior year period.

接下來轉向國際部分。像往常一樣，我將用不變的貨幣數字來談論。總銷售額成長 1.6%，其中 Boots 英國成長 1.6%，德國批發成長 4.9%。隨著所有業務的成長，部門調整後毛利成長了 2%。由於去年同期房地產收益下滑，調整後營業收入下降 17%。

Let's now cover Boots UK in detail. Boots UK continues to perform well. Comp pharmacy sales were up 5.8%. Comp retail sales increased 6% with all categories showing growth. Across formats, destination health and beauty, flagship and travel locations performed particularly well. Boots.com sales increased 13.8% year-on-year and represented nearly 16% of our UK retail sales.

現在讓我們詳細介紹一下 Boots UK。 Boots UK 繼續表現出色。藥局銷售額成長 5.8%。比較零售額成長 6%，所有品類均出現成長。在各個業態中，目的地健康與美容、旗艦店和旅遊地點表現尤其出色。 Boots.com 銷售額較去年同期成長 13.8%，占我們英國零售額的近 16%。

Turning next to US healthcare. The US healthcare segment delivered its second consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. Third quarter sales of $2.1 billion increased 8% compared to prior year quarter.

接下來轉向美國醫療保健。美國醫療保健部門連續第二季實現正向調整 EBITDA。第三季銷售額為 21 億美元，比去年同期成長 8%。

VillageMD sales, up $1.6 billion grew 7% year on year. The increase was driven by growth in full risk and fee-for-service lives, partly offset by the impact of clinic closures. Shields sales were up 24% driven by growth within existing partnerships. Adjusted EBITDA was $23 million, an improvement of $136 million compared to last year driven by rightsizing costs, improved productivity at VillageMD, and continued robust growth at Shields.

VillageMD 銷售額達 16 億美元，年增 7%。這一增長是由全風險和按服務費用壽命的增長推動的，但部分被診所關閉的影響所抵消。在現有合作夥伴關係成長的推動下，Shields 銷售額成長了 24%。調整後的 EBITDA 為 2,300 萬美元，比去年增加了 1.36 億美元，原因是成本調整、VillageMD 生產力提高以及 Shields 持續強勁增長。

Turning next to cash flow. Operating cash flow in the first nine months of fiscal '24 was negatively impacted by $785 million in payments related to legal matters, $386 million in entity premium, contributions related to Boots pension plan, and underlying seasonality.

接下來轉向現金流。 24 財年前 9 個月的營運現金流受到 7.85 億美元的法律事務相關付款、3.86 億美元的實體保費、與 Boots 退休金計畫相關的繳款以及潛在季節性因素的負面影響。

Capital expenditures declined by $497 million versus the first nine months of fiscal '23. As a result, free cash flow was down by approximately $1.1 billion versus the prior year. We continue on pace to achieve a year-over-year reduction of $600 million in capital expenditures and $500 million in working capital initiatives in fiscal '24.

與 2023 財年的前 9 個月相比，資本支出減少了 4.97 億美元。因此，自由現金流比前一年減少了約 11 億美元。我們持續努力實現 24 財年年減 6 億美元的資本支出和 5 億美元的營運資本計畫。

I will now turn to guidance. We are lowering our fiscal '24 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.80 to $2.95. The updated range versus our expectations three months ago incorporates two key items.

我現在轉向指導。我們將 24 財年調整後每股盈餘指引下調至 2.80 美元至 2.95 美元。與我們三個月前的預期相比，更新後的範圍包括兩個關鍵項目。

First, the US consumer environment has not improved and is driving higher promotional activity, negatively impacting retail margin. We continue to expect fiscal '24 retail comp sales to be down approximately 3%. Second is the continuation of worse-than-expected pharmacy margin headwinds. Pharmacy margins in the second half include impact from certain generic launches with procurement dynamics similar to brands, fluctuations in NADAC, inflation and mix within branded drugs, and lower overall market growth.

首先，美國的消費環境並未改善，促銷活動增多，對零售利潤率產生了負面影響。我們繼續預期 24 財年零售銷售額將下降約 3%。其次是藥品利潤率持續惡化的不利因素。下半年的藥房利潤率包括某些仿製藥上市的影響，其採購動態與品牌相似、NADAC 的波動、品牌藥物內的通貨膨脹和混合以及整體市場增長較低。

We are maintaining full year expectations for US healthcare segment adjusted EBITDA to be breakeven at the midpoint of the guidance range. We continue to expect our adjusted effective tax rate to be under 5%. Our revised full year guidance range implies fourth quarter adjusted EPS of approximately $0.39 at the midpoint. While we're not providing fiscal '25 guidance today, let me offer key considerations to bridge from fourth quarter to next year.

我們維持對美國醫療保健部門調整後 EBITDA 的全年預期，使其在指導範圍的中點實現盈虧平衡。我們仍預期調整後的有效稅率將低於 5%。我們修訂後的全年指引範圍意味著第四季度調整後每股收益中點約為 0.39 美元。雖然我們今天不提供 25 財年指引，但讓我提供從第四季到明年的關鍵考量。

Seasonality impacts all of our businesses, and the fourth quarter is typically the lowest quarter of the year. Additionally, we expect profitability growth in US healthcare and international segments. However, as Tim mentioned, there are other factors discussed on today's call that we assume will impact fiscal '25. Our decision to wind down the sale-leaseback program, sell Cencora shares, and a more normalized adjusted effective tax rate are expected to have an approximately $0.75 impact in fiscal '25.

季節性影響我們所有的業務，第四季通常是一年中業績最低的季度。此外，我們預計美國醫療保健和國際領域的獲利能力將會成長。然而，正如蒂姆所提到的，今天的電話會議討論了其他因素，我們認為這些因素將影響 25 財年。我們決定結束售後回租計畫、出售 Cencora 股票以及更標準化的調整後有效稅率，預計將對 25 財年產生約 0.75 美元的影響。

In retail, despite easing comparisons, we do not anticipate significant improvement in the US consumer spending backdrop. We are especially seeing signs of strength on the lower-income consumer driven by accumulated inflation and depleted savings. While we're adopting our model, these changes will take time.

在零售業，儘管比較有所緩和，但我們預期美國消費者支出背景不會有顯著改善。我們尤其看到了在通膨累積和儲蓄枯竭的推動下，低收入消費者出現走強的跡象。當我們採用我們的模型時，這些改變需要時間。

We expect to see some pharmacy headwinds continue in fiscal '25. However, we are focused on stabilizing pharmacy margins as we continue to have active discussions with our PBM, payer, and supplier partners. We have more hard work ahead of us, and we are focused on building a solid foundation for the future, driving the stabilization of our business and returning to longer-term enterprise growth. With that, let me pass it back to Tim.

我們預計 25 財年製藥業將持續面臨一些阻力。然而，隨著我們繼續與 PBM、付款人和供應商合作夥伴進行積極討論，我們的重點是穩定藥品利潤。我們還有更多艱苦的工作要做，我們的重點是為未來打下堅實的基礎，推動業務穩定，回歸企業長期成長。接下來，讓我把它傳回給提姆。

Thanks, Manmohan. Let me now turn to our strategic review. Since launching our strategic and operational review at the beginning of the calendar year, we have been clear-eyed on what we're trying to achieve, and everything has been on the table.

謝謝，曼莫漢。現在讓我談談我們的策略審查。自從年初啟動策略和營運審查以來，我們對我們想要實現的目標非常清楚，一切都已擺在桌面上。

We have a deep understanding of the opportunities and complexities, and we have come to a number of important conclusions. Some will take more time to execute as we maximize optionality, but all of them are aligned around three principles to drive long-term shareholder value. First, to simplify and focus our business. Second, to use our core foundation, our relationship with our customers, to grow and expand in capital-efficient ways into adjacent areas. And third, to continue to identify opportunities to deliver profitable growth, generate meaningful cash flow, and strengthen our strategically relevant businesses today and long term.

我們對機會和複雜性有深入的了解，並得出了一些重要的結論。隨著我們最大限度地提高選擇性，有些計劃將需要更多時間來執行，但所有這些計劃都圍繞著三個原則保持一致，以推動長期股東價值。首先，簡化並集中我們的業務。其次，利用我們的核心基礎、我們與客戶的關係，以資本有效的方式發展並擴展到鄰近領域。第三，繼續尋找機會實現獲利成長，產生有意義的現金流，並加強我們當前和長期的策略相關業務。

Before unpacking the details, I want to reinforce the most important conclusion from our review. The retail pharmacy experience will be more important to the healthcare industry in the years ahead, but it will evolve. With widespread demand for convenient healthcare solutions, including chronic diseases, and nationwide labor shortages, the pharmacy and pharmacists have never been more important. Our retail pharmacy business is uniquely positioned to expand the role we play in the lives of our patients who have come to expect and need retail pharmacy at the center of their care.

在解開細節之前，我想先強調一下我們的評論中最重要的結論。未來幾年，零售藥局體驗對於醫療保健產業將變得更加重要，但它將不斷發展。隨著對便捷醫療解決方案（包括慢性病）的廣泛需求以及全國範圍內的勞動力短缺，藥房和藥劑師變得前所未有的重要。我們的零售藥局業務具有獨特的優勢，可以擴大我們在患者生活中發揮的作用，這些患者期望並需要零售藥房作為他們的護理中心。

So let me begin this discussion around our strategic decisions with our core business, US retail pharmacy. The success of the business hinges on an efficient, highly relevant customer experience, and we've launched a multifaceted action plan for improvement.

因此，讓我開始圍繞我們的核心業務美國零售藥房的戰略決策進行討論。業務的成功取決於高效率、高度相關的客戶體驗，我們推出了多方面的改善行動計畫。

As the convenient destination for millions of customers and driving $27 billion of retail sales, the store and its digital channels are central to our strategy and consumer experience. But the customer has evolved. Demographics and preferences have shifted, and we need to reposition and operate our stores accordingly. Currently, 75% of our US stores contribute roughly 100% of segment AOI. For the remaining 25% of the stores in our network which are not currently contributing to our long-term strategy, changes are imminent.

作為數百萬顧客的便利目的地並推動了 270 億美元的零售額，該商店及其數位管道對於我們的策略和消費者體驗至關重要。但客戶已經進化了。人口結構和偏好已經發生變化，我們需要相應地重新定位和經營我們的商店。目前，我們 75% 的美國商店貢獻了約 100% 的細分 AOI。對於我們網路中剩餘 25% 的商店，目前沒有為我們的長期策略做出貢獻，變革迫在眉睫。

To start, we are finalizing a multifactor store footprint optimization program, which we expect will include the closure of a significant portion of these underperforming stores over the next three years. Plans to finalize these number are in motion, and we will update you in due course.

首先，我們正在敲定一項多因素商店足跡優化計劃，我們預計該計劃將包括在未來三年內關閉大部分錶現不佳的商店。最終確定這些數字的計劃正在進行中，我們將在適當的時候向您通報最新情況。

For the remaining portion of this cohort, we are taking action to return them to profitability and deliver an improved customer experience. We will contemplate additional closures if performance does not improve, which includes external factors such as reimbursement rates.

對於該群體的其餘部分，我們正在採取行動，使他們恢復盈利並提供更好的客戶體驗。如果業績沒有改善，我們將考慮進一步關閉，其中包括報銷率等外部因素。

While it is not an easy decision to close a store, we will work to minimize customer disruptions. And importantly, as we have done in the past, we intend to redeploy the vast majority of the workforce in those stores that we close.

雖然關閉商店並不是一個容易的決定，但我們將努力盡量減少對客戶的干擾。重要的是，正如我們過去所做的那樣，我們打算重新部署我們關閉的商店中的絕大多數員工。

In addition to these closures, we are taking a series of actions and making investments to enhance the customer and patient experience across several key areas. First, we are reevaluating our assortment to ensure its relevancy, leveraging select partners and our own brands. This means we will work with fewer partners who are helping us win.

除了這些關閉之外，我們還採取了一系列行動並進行投資，以在幾個關鍵領域增強客戶和患者的體驗。首先，我們正在重新評估我們的產品組合，以確保其相關性，並利用精選的合作夥伴和我們自己的品牌。這意味著我們將與更少的幫助我們獲勝的合作夥伴合作。

For example, in the last quarter alone, we've removed eight national brands and redeployed those SKUs towards own brands and preferred partners within health and wellness categories. We are sharpening our focus as a definition for areas we are uniquely positioned to lead such as health and beauty and women's health.

例如，僅在上個季度，我們就刪除了 8 個國內品牌，並將這些 SKU 重新部署到健康和保健類別中的自有品牌和首選合作夥伴。我們正在加強我們的重點，作為我們獨特的領導領域的定義，例如健康和美容以及女性健康。

We are accelerating our digital and omnichannel offerings to meet our customers when, where, and how they want to engage. We continue to deliver approximately 80% of same-day delivery orders within one hour, and we see upside for improvement. As the ultra-convenient option for our over 120 million myWalgreens loyalty members, we have plans to meaningfully build our loyalty program. We are doubling down on our efforts to define the future of pharmacy in this country.

我們正在加速提供數位化和全通路產品，以滿足客戶所需的時間、地點和方式。我們繼續在一小時內交付大約 80% 的當日交貨訂單，我們看到了改進的空間。作為超過 1.2 億 myWalgreens 忠誠會員的超便利選擇，我們計劃有意義地建立我們的忠誠度計劃。我們正在加倍努力定義這個國家藥學的未來。

As I mentioned earlier, this starts with changing the dialogue with payers and PBMs to ensure we are paid fairly for the value we provide. We're also investing in the industry's best talent. For example, as we focus on leading in the development and elevation of the pharmacy industry profession, we're partnering with critical stakeholders such as our Deans Advisory Council to help advance our work environment and make WBA the practice setting destination of choice for pharmacy talent.

正如我之前提到的，這首先要改變與付款人和 PBM 的對話，以確保我們為我們提供的價值獲得公平的報酬。我們也投資於業界最優秀的人才。例如，當我們專注於引領製藥業專業的發展和提升時，我們正在與院長諮詢委員會等關鍵利益相關者合作，幫助改善我們的工作環境，並使 WBA 成為製藥人才的首選實踐設置目的地。

Just two weeks ago, we spent two full days with 14 deans of pharmacy across our country engaging in productive discussions to reinvigorate the community pharmacy labor supply chain. And we're enhancing our pharmacy services like immunizations to attract more patients to an improved experience and enhanced digital solutions. We've significantly decreased the average wait time per customer in the highest volume stores. And this is a result of several initiatives underway to improve the patient experience and increase retention.

就在兩週前，我們花了整整兩天的時間與全國 14 名藥學院長進行了富有成效的討論，以重振社區藥房勞動力供應鏈。我們正在增強免疫接種等藥房服務，以吸引更多患者獲得改善的體驗和增強的數位解決方案。我們顯著減少了銷量最高的商店中每位顧客的平均等待時間。這是為了改善患者體驗和提高保留率而採取的多項措施的結果。

Finally, with a mindset for driving continuous improvement throughout the organization, we are committed to operating with excellence and identifying further efficiencies in both our headquarters and our retail operations. We are restructuring our organization around these conclusions to streamline and ensure efficient development and deployment of services, to go to market as one Walgreens with more impact for our industry partners and to help close critical gaps in delivery of healthcare.

最後，本著推動整個組織持續改進的心態，我們致力於卓越運營，並進一步提高總部和零售業務的效率。我們正在圍繞這些結論重組我們的組織，以簡化並確保服務的高效開發和部署，以沃爾格林的身份進入市場，為我們的行業合作夥伴帶來更大的影響，並幫助縮小醫療保健服務方面的關鍵差距。

In that regard, Mary Langowski, our President of US healthcare, will assume responsibility for operations of specialty pharmacy, pharma and manufacturer relations and contracting, supply chain, and all services development and deployment. With these operations now under one team, we will be better aligned to go where the market is moving, sharpen our contracting, operate more efficiently, and achieve better economic outcomes. And Rick Gates, our Chief Pharmacy Officer, will take on an even greater role in defining the future of pharmacy from a strategic, operational, and labor force perspective.

在這方面，我們的美國醫療保健總裁 Mary Langowski 將負責專業藥房的營運、製藥和製造商關係及承包、供應鏈以及所有服務的開發和部署。現在，這些業務由一個團隊負責，我們將更好地適應市場的變化，加強我們的承包，更有效地運營，並取得更好的經濟成果。我們的首席藥房官 Rick Gates 將在從策略、營運和勞動力角度定義藥房的未來方面發揮更大的作用。

Turning to our broader portfolio. We have evaluated every non-retail pharmacy asset prioritizing strategic fit, profit growth potential, and cash flow generation. With that in mind, we have already stopped or will stop initiatives that distract from our focus and will grow in areas that create longer-term shareholder value.

轉向我們更廣泛的投資組合。我們評估了每項非零售藥房資產，優先考慮策略契合度、利潤成長潛力和現金流生成。考慮到這一點，我們已經停止或將停止那些分散我們注意力的舉措，並將在創造長期股東價值的領域發展。

Let me touch on several of our larger assets. Our review of Boots UK showed that we have attractive options to unlock value in this business. While we believe there is significant interest in Boots at the right time, its growth, strategic strength, and cash flow remain key contributors to the company. We are committed to continuing to invest in Boots UK and find innovative ways for this business to fulfill its potential.

讓我談談我們的幾項較大的資產。我們對 Boots UK 的審查表明，我們擁有有吸引力的選擇來釋放該業務的價值。雖然我們相信人們在適當的時候對 Boots 產生了濃厚的興趣，但它的成長、策略實力和現金流仍然是該公司的關鍵貢獻者。我們致力於持續投資 Boots UK，並為該業務尋找創新方式來發揮其潛力。

Moving next to VillageMD, which currently includes three distinct assets in VillageMD, Summit Health, and CityMD, we believe in the future of these businesses and intend to remain an investor and partner. But as part of our persistent focus on value creation for WBA, we are collaborating with leadership toward an endpoint to rapidly unlock liquidity, enhance optionality, and position them for additional growth.

接下來是 VillageMD，該公司目前包括 VillageMD、Summit Health 和 CityMD 三個不同的資產，我們對這些業務的未來充滿信心，並打算繼續作為投資者和合作夥伴。但作為我們持續關注 WBA 價值創造的一部分，我們正在與領導層合作，以實現快速釋放流動性、增強選擇性並為進一步成長做好準備的目標。

As it relates to Shields, its performance, growth, and leadership team remain best-in-class and serve as a complement to our core specialty business in the market. We are not taking action at this time. We are committed to executing on all of these decisions in a timely manner that maximizes shareholder value while creating optionality, and I look forward to providing more details as we progress.

就 Shields 而言，其業績、成長和領導團隊仍然是一流的，並作為我們市場上核心專業業務的補充。我們目前不採取行動。我們致力於及時執行所有這些決策，在創造選擇性的同時最大化股東價值，我期待隨著我們的進展提供更多細節。

Before opening the call up for Q&A, let me leave you with four thoughts. First, our core retail pharmacy business is relevant but will be different. Second, we have the right team and the right strategy to enhance our focus, strengthen our own execution, and ultimately turn around the business performance.

在開始問答之前，請允許我向您提出四點想法。首先，我們的核心零售藥局業務是相關的，但會有所不同。其次，我們有合適的團隊和正確的策略來增強我們的專注力，增強我們自身的執行力，最終扭轉績效。

Third, there is a clear market need for our services, but our economics are not currently structured in a way that is sensible for our shareholders. We have a firm grasp of the issues and are working to address these challenges in our business model. Fourth, while it may take time, and there's a great deal of work underway, I am confident we are executing on the conclusions from our strategic review thoughtfully and urgently to deliver the Walgreens that our country needs. With that, let's begin Q&A. Operator?

第三，市場對我們的服務有明確的需求，但我們的經濟結構目前並未以對股東有利的方式建構。我們牢牢抓住了這些問題，並正在努力在我們的業務模式中解決這些挑戰。第四，雖然這可能需要時間，而且還有大量工作正在進行，但我相信我們正在認真、緊急地執行戰略審查的結論，以提供我國所需的沃爾格林。接下來，我們開始問答。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Lisa Gill, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Lisa Gill，摩根大通。

Thanks very much. And Tim, thanks for all the comments and the color. I really just want to understand just a couple of things a little bit better. One, you started with your four thoughts and that the core will be different than what we can say. So one, what do you view is the future of pharmacy? And within that, can you talk about the conversations that you're having with payers and PBMs around what the new reimbursement model would look like?

非常感謝。蒂姆，感謝所有的評論和顏色。我真的只是想更好地理解一些事情。第一，你從四個想法開始，其核心將與我們所說的不同。那麼，您認為藥學的未來是什麼？其中，您能否談談您與付款人和 PBM 圍繞新的報銷模式的對話？

And then just my second question would be, just when we think about the financial side, you called out NADAC pricing on Medicaid. And I think Manmohan said that it was $20 million in this quarter. Is that a material number when we think about going forward? If you can put any numbers around that would be great. Thanks.

我的第二個問題是，就在我們考慮財務方面時，您提出了 NADAC 對醫療補助的定價。我認為 Manmohan 說過本季的收入為 2000 萬美元。當我們考慮未來時，這是一個重要的數字嗎？如果你能在周圍加上任何數字那就太好了。謝謝。

Thanks, Lisa. So big question, future pharmacy, I'll take quickly. And then I'll let Mary Langowski talk a little bit more detail about our payer conversations. Obviously, we won't get specific. But needless to say, they have, I think, changed both in tenor and content and are constructive. And then I'll let Manmohan talk about NADAC.

謝謝，麗莎。這麼大的問題，未來的藥房，我趕緊拿去。然後我會讓 Mary Langowski 更詳細地談談我們與付款人的對話。顯然，我們不會具體說明。但不用說，我認為它們在基調和內容上都發生了變化，而且是建設性的。然後我會讓曼莫漢談談 NADAC。

As far as the future of pharmacy, retail pharmacy in particular, which we talk about the store as part of an overall experience, we are working to essentially meet the consumer where they are today and where they need us to be. And there are a number of elements to that, both in the back of the store and in the front of the store.

就藥房的未來而言，尤其是零售藥房，我們將商店視為整體體驗的一部分，我們正在努力從根本上滿足消費者今天的需求以及他們需要我們的需求。商店後面和前面都有很多元素。

And so -- and I don't want to take as much time to take you in detail through all of those pieces. But at the front of the store, you saw us talk about footprint which leaves us a more rational investment horizon in terms of them bringing up to the standard that our customers would expect the store experience as well as the assortment that we would have for them, reducing our -- using almost a PBM-like approach to formulary to how we work with national brands, being deeper with fewer in order to both drive better economics and better outcomes for them as well as I saw yesterday a really exciting presentation on where we're taking our loyalty program.

因此，我不想花太多時間來詳細介紹所有這些內容。但在商店的前面，你看到我們談論足跡，這讓我們有了更理性的投資視野，讓他們達到客戶期望的商店體驗以及我們為他們提供的品種的標準，減少我們的——使用幾乎類似PBM 的方法來製定我們如何與國家品牌合作的方法，用更少的內容進行更深入的研究，以便為他們帶來更好的經濟效益和更好的結果，我昨天看到了一個非常令人興奮的演示，內容是：我們正在實施我們的忠誠度計劃。

And so again, how we engage with our most valuable consumers as well as everything from home delivery, omnichannel and freeing up our store managers to really have flexibility in their framework, changing their compensation program dramatically in order to incent outcomes in their individual stores and have them act as owners. That's the front of the store.

同樣，我們如何與最有價值的消費者互動，以及從送貨上門、全渠道到解放商店經理的一切，讓他們的框架真正具有靈活性，大幅改變他們的薪酬計劃，以激勵各個商店的成果，讓他們充當所有者。那是商店的前面。

The back of the store, we know, and Rick and the team have done a tremendous amount of work around automating the workload at the back of the store. As you know, we had paused our investment in backend automation, but we have pushed forward. We are continuing to drive and ultimately are highly committed to having that be a key part of how we both free up labor to do higher order things as well as be more efficient.

我們知道，在商店後面，Rick 和團隊圍繞商店後面工作負載的自動化做了大量工作。如您所知，我們已經暫停了對後端自動化的投資，但我們仍在繼續前進。我們將繼續努力，並最終高度致力於將其成為我們如何釋放勞動力來完成更高階的事情以及提高效率的關鍵部分。

Also at the back of the store, the Deans Council, we spent two detailed days working with the deans of 15 pharmacy schools as well as the trade association -- or association of deans rather, looking deeply at community pharmacy is a preference, what we can do to be a leader in that space, design of -- we're talking about design of curricula, so these pharmacists come out of the school excited.

同樣在商店後面的院長委員會，我們花了兩天的時間與15 所藥學院的院長以及行業協會（或更確切地說是院長協會）的院長進行了詳細的合作，深入研究社區藥局是我們的偏好，我們能夠成為該領域的領導者，設計——我們正在談論課程設計，所以這些藥劑師從學校出來時很興奮。

And importantly, starting even as far back as middle school, to animate and excite sort of potential future pharmacists to the idea of community pharmacy where unlike hospital pharmacy, you have the opportunity to build long-term relationships with your patients. So the supply chain of labor, we're taking super seriously, both in terms of the effectiveness of it but also the size and the sort of skill set.

重要的是，從中學開始，就可以激發和激發潛在的未來藥劑師對社區藥房的想法，與醫院藥房不同，您有機會與患者建立長期關係。因此，我們非常重視勞動力供應鏈，無論是在其有效性方面，還是在規模和技能組合方面。

Our contracting strategy is a key part of what we do in the back of the store, expansion of pharma services. I got an e-mail yesterday from the CEO of a major vaccine manufacturer, who again, wanted to make sure that we were on the edge of our seat getting excited about what their innovation was going to bring and how we were going to play a role in that.

我們的承包策略是我們在商店後面所做的工作的關鍵部分，即擴大製藥服務。昨天，我收到了一家主要疫苗製造商執行長的電子郵件，他再次希望確保我們對他們的創新將帶來什麼以及我們將如何發揮作用感到興奮。

So a lot there between the front and the back, but you don't need the number of stores we have today. We have a very clear picture of what we need to do there. We will have more details to follow. With that, I'll turn it over briefly to Mary to just go a little bit more color for you with the payer conversations that we've had, which I believe are highly constructive and then Manmohan.

前面和後面之間有很多商店，但您不需要我們今天擁有的商店數量。我們非常清楚我們需要在那裡做什麼。我們將有更多細節跟進。說到這裡，我將把它簡短地轉交給瑪麗，讓我們為您進行的付款人對話增添一點色彩，我認為這是非常有建設性的，然後是曼莫漢。

Yeah. Thank you, Tim, and thank you, Lisa. Quite frankly, we are laser-focused on being paid fairly for the value we provide. And put simply, the playbook is a bit dated and does not account for nor does it adequately or fairly pay for the role and value that we think the pharmacist is bringing and delivering services.

是的。謝謝你，提姆，謝謝你，麗莎。坦白說，我們非常注重為我們提供的價值獲得公平的報酬。簡而言之，劇本有點過時，沒有考慮也沒有充分或公平地體現我們認為藥劑師正在帶來和提供服務的角色和價值。

We also don't think it accounts adequately for the complexity that we now face in the system. And it certainly doesn't facilitate putting pharmacotherapy and behavioral interventions at the center of chronic disease management in this country. We think that has to change. And so we're collaborating with our PBM partners across the industry to make those changes.

我們也不認為它充分解釋了我們現在在系統中面臨的複雜性。這當然不利於將藥物治療和行為介入置於該國慢性病管理的中心。我們認為這種情況必須改變。因此，我們正在與整個產業的 PBM 合作夥伴合作來做出這些改變。

And Manmohan?

曼莫漢呢？

Yeah. Hi, Lisa. This -- so on NADAC, maybe a couple of thoughts. First, we've seen significant fluctuations in the last several months on the index itself. We had $20 million of impact in the quarter, but you got to think about that was a partial quarter impact. We have seen some improvement as the index, again, was updated in June. However, we are taking a very prudent approach as it relates to Q4 and the guidance for the year. And I'd say this is one of the reasons the fluctuations we've seen on NADAC is one of the reasons why we have the broader range as we put out the fiscal year guidance at this point.

是的。嗨，麗莎。關於 NADAC，也許有一些想法。首先，我們看到該指數本身在過去幾個月出現了大幅波動。我們在本季產生了 2000 萬美元的影響，但您必須考慮到這只是部分季度影響。隨著該指數在六月再次更新，我們看到了一些改善。然而，我們正在採取非常謹慎的態度，因為這與第四季和今年的指導有關。我想說，這是我們在 NADAC 上看到的波動的原因之一，也是我們在此時推出財年指導時擁有更廣泛範圍的原因之一。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Charles Rhyee, TD Cowen.

查爾斯‧萊伊 (Charles Rhyee)，TD 考恩 (TD Cowen)。

Yeah, thanks for taking the questions. Tim, I wanted to touch a little bit more on the strategy to looking at this 25% of stores that are underperforming. And a lot of these are under probably long-term leases. And I'm just wondering sort of what your cash flow position is to be able to affect getting out of these leases perhaps earlier than intended.

是的，感謝您提出問題。提姆，我想多談談針對這 25% 表現不佳的商店的策略。其中很多可能都是長期租約。我只是想知道你的現金流狀況會影響什麼，可能會比預期更早退出這些租賃。

And maybe also when you look at these stores, how much of the underperformance is just purely a broad retail issue, just a weak consumer versus maybe stores that are facing higher levels of shrink? And thus, when you close those stores, does that solve a lot more of your margin problem all at once?

也許當你觀察這些商店時，你會發現業績不佳有多少純粹是一個廣泛的零售問題，只是消費者疲軟，而商店可能面臨更高程度的萎縮？因此，當您關閉這些商店時，是否會立即解決更多的利潤問題？

Thanks, Charles. So I'll take the first part. As far as leases, one of the good news stories here is we actually opened stores over a long period of time that I think was widely acknowledged to be on the best corners in America. And so in many cases, as we close stores, we believe there is the opportunity to not simply carry the lease as a dark store over a period of time.

謝謝，查爾斯。所以我將採取第一部分。就租賃而言，這裡的好消息之一是我們實際上在很長一段時間內開設了商店，我認為人們普遍認為這些商店位於美國最好的角落。因此，在許多情況下，當我們關閉商店時，我們相信有機會不只是將租約作為暗店保留一段時間。

And we are actually part of -- something I haven't talked about, but an underpinning of our strategic review is actually engaging in a different way as it relates to how we handle exits of stores and leases so that we actually have a much less probabilistic overhang as we look at those things. So we think actually -- you certainly do have some carry on the balance sheet for those leases over time. We think they can be minimized.

我們實際上是——我沒有談論過的事情的一部分，但我們戰略審查的基礎實際上是以一種不同的方式參與，因為它與我們如何處理商店和租賃的退出有關，這樣我們實際上就少了很多當我們看待這些事情時，機率懸而未決。所以我們認為，實際上，隨著時間的推移，這些租賃的資產負債表上肯定會有一些結轉。我們認為它們可以最小化。

We're actually going back and looking at leases that we had already sort of just taken as dark because we think there's gold in them. They're hills, as they say. So from that standpoint, we're going to be highly disciplined on the leases, and that's part of our underlying economic analysis of what stores to close as well.

事實上，我們正​​在回頭審視那些我們已經認為是黑暗的租約，因為我們認為其中蘊藏著黃金。正如他們所說，它們是山。因此，從這個角度來看，我們將在租賃方面嚴格遵守紀律，這也是我們對關閉哪些商店進行基本經濟分析的一部分。

So it needs to be clear that, that is a multifactor analysis, super detailed and that is one of the elements of it. As far as what sort of the profitability impact is and the underlying dynamics that might cause a store to -- or the underlying benefit of closing a store, I'll let Tracey Brown, who obviously is president of our stores, talk a bit more about that because it is -- that's also not as simple as just high shrink stores, for example. Tracey?

因此需要明確的是，這是一個非常詳細的多因素分析，這是其中的要素之一。至於對盈利能力的影響是什麼，以及可能導致商店關閉的根本動力，或者關閉商店的潛在好處，我會讓特雷西·布朗（Tracey Brown）多談談，她顯然是我們商店的總裁。這一點，因為它是——這也不僅僅是高收縮商店那麼簡單。特雷西？

Yeah. Thank you, Tim, and thank you, Charles. So as Tim has mentioned, this is a multi-factored disciplined way of looking at where to close. Yes, shrink is an issue in some stores, but we have our eyes on our high shrink stores all the time.

是的。謝謝你，提姆，謝謝你，查爾斯。正如蒂姆所提到的，這是考慮關閉位置的多因素嚴格方法。是的，某些商店的縮水是一個問題，但我們一直在關注縮水率較高的商店。

The second thing is consumer behavior, consumer trends and where you look at the markets and where our stores are located in terms of the markets that are growing versus the markets that are declining. Third, you actually have to look at like the competitive landscape in each of these markets. And then the fourth thing that I would say is we are actually looking at how we are actually leveraging our assortment in these markets.

第二件事是消費者行為、消費者趨勢，以及你觀察市場的位置以及我們的商店位於成長市場與衰退市場的位置。第三，您實際上必須了解每個市場的競爭格局。我要說的第四件事是，我們實際上正在研究如何在這些市場中實際利用我們的產品組合。

So there are multiple levers that we look at that go into the model that drive underperformance. The other thing that I will say is there are stores that would be on this bubble. We're also taking a focused approach on those stores to get them in the right context.

因此，我們研究了導致績效不佳的模型中的多個槓桿。我要說的另一件事是，有些商店將處於這個泡沫之中。我們也對這些商店採取有針對性的方法，讓它們處於正確的環境中。

And I guess the last thing that I would say, Charles, this is a multi-level set of factors that come into play between ourselves, between local state officials, between law enforcement. There are a lot of players in these markets that need to partner with us in order to make sure that we are growing those that need to grow. And those that are not, we're taking the appropriate action.

查爾斯，我想我要說的最後一件事是，這是一系列多層次的因素，這些因素在我們之間、地方州官員之間、執法部門之間發揮作用。這些市場中有許多參與者需要與我們合作，以確保我們正在培養那些需要成長的參與者。對於那些沒有這樣做的人，我們正在採取適當的行動。

Yeah. Let me just add to that, because that is such an important point from a policy in our country standpoint. The fact of the matter is, we know that we are the last company standing in a lot of places. We are the only thing standing between those places and being pharmacy deserts.

是的。讓我補充一點，因為從我們國家的政策角度來看，這是非常重要的一點。事實是，我們知道在很多地方我們是最後一個站著的公司。我們是這些地方和藥局沙漠之間唯一的障礙。

And our goal is not simply to be the last one to leave. Our goal is to actually find new ways to work together, whether it's with state Medicaid programs, whether it's a local law enforcement, and so forth for them to do their jobs so that we can do our jobs and continue to provide care in those communities.

我們的目標不僅僅是成為最後一個離開的人。我們的目標是真正找到新的合作方式，無​​論是與州醫療補助計劃、還是當地執法部門等等，讓他們做好自己的工作，以便我們能夠做好我們的工作並繼續為這些社區提供護理。

Okay, thank you.

好的謝謝。

Eric Percher, Nephron Research.

艾瑞克‧佩徹（Eric Percher），腎臟單位研究中心。

Thank you. Two related questions relative to the gross margin in the pharmacy. And I think, first, if we look at the retail gross margin, it appears to be at a low point relative to the last 10 years. Can you give us a bit more on the discounting that you engaged in and your expectation for that through the fourth quarter and how you expect it to taper?

謝謝。與藥房毛利率相關的兩個相關問題。我認為，首先，如果我們看看零售毛利率，它似乎處於過去 10 年的低點。您能否向我們介紹一下您所進行的折扣、您對第四季度折扣的預期以及您預計折扣將如何逐漸減少？

And then the second part is looking at NADAC, if it was $20 million over a month and change and you're saying conservative over the second or this full quarter, are you assuming that there's still more expansion as it flows from Medicaid to commercial? Or do you think we can -- we've kind of seen the peak in this one or month and change?

然後第二部分是專注於NADAC，如果它在一個月內達到2000 萬美元並發生變化，並且您說在第二個或整個季度保持保守，您是否認為當它從醫療補助轉向商業時還會有更多的擴張？或者你認為我們可以——我們已經看到了這個月或一個月的高峰並發生了變化？

Sure. I'm going to pass it to Manmohan in just a second. What I'd say is, first of all, as it relates to commercial and NADAC, I believe what Rick would say if I passed it over to him, would be that while we do have some commercial contracts that use NADAC, those conversations we're having around sort of neutrality in terms of outcomes, that's actually the easier part of NADAC, quite frankly.

當然。我馬上就把它傳給曼莫漢。我想說的是，首先，因為它與商業和 NADAC 有關，我相信如果我將其轉交給 Rick，他會說，雖然我們確實有一些使用 NADAC 的商業合同，但我們的這些對話在結果方面具有一定的中立性，坦白說，這實際上是NADAC 中更容易的部分。

As it relates to the gross margin in pharmacy, I will pass it to Manmohan. And as I quickly would point out, gross margin is not only discounting. It is also mix and so forth. And so Manmohan, if you want to talk more about that?

因為它涉及製藥業的毛利率，我會將其傳遞給曼莫漢。正如我很快就會指出的那樣，毛利率不僅僅是折扣。它也是混合等等。曼莫漢，你想多談談嗎？

Yeah, sure. So as you think about the gross margin on the retail pharmacy side, maybe a couple of things there. Let me start on the retail side. And what we've experienced in the third quarter, and we think the trend is going to continue in Q4 is the environment didn't improve as we anticipated. And as a result, we focused on investing in price and promotion.

好，當然。因此，當您考慮零售藥房方面的毛利率時，也許有幾件事。讓我從零售方面開始。我們在第三季經歷的情況是，環境沒有像我們預期的那樣改善，我們認為這種趨勢將在第四季度繼續下去。因此，我們專注於價格和促銷方面的投資。

Now we've seen the unit and sales uplift as a result thereof, but at the same time, there was impact on gross margin in the short term. And so that is coming through, and we expect that's going to continue along the same lines in Q4.

現在我們已經看到了由此帶來的銷售和銷售的提升，但同時，短期內也對毛利率產生了影響。因此，這種情況正在發生，我們預計這種情況將在第四季度繼續沿著相同的路線發展。

The second piece that does impact our gross margin year-over-year is the level of shrink. And I think we talked about shrink in last couple of calls as well. We have seen it on an increasing trends, and there are a number of actions that Tracey and the team are taking to bring it back to historical normals.

第二個確實影響我們毛利率的因素是收縮程度。我想我們在最近幾次通話中也談到了收縮問題。我們看到這種趨勢呈上升趨勢，特雷西和團隊正在採取許多行動來使其恢復到歷史正常水平。

On the pharmacy side then on the margin, a couple of themes playing out. NADAC is one of them, significant fluctuation as I said earlier in the call. We have seen some level of improvement as the index itself changed in June. But as I said, we're -- at this point, the level of fluctuations we have seen month-over-month, we're just being prudent in terms of what can play out here in Q4.

在藥房方面，然後在邊緣，有幾個主題正在上演。 NADAC 就是其中之一，正如我之前在電話會議中所說的那樣，波動很大。隨著該指數本身在 6 月發生變化，我們已經看到了一定程度的改善。但正如我所說，目前，我們已經看到逐月波動的水平，我們只是對第四季度可能發生的情況持謹慎態度。

Outside of that, there last to -- last point I'd say there are some market dynamics that we experienced in Q3 as well and some will play in Q4. And maybe a couple of those to point out is there are certain generic launches where the procurement dynamics continues to be just like branded. And so that is impacting our gross margin on the pharmacy side. And then lastly, I'd say the mix that's coming in on the branded side is also having a negative impact on the margin. So that's maybe overall profile of what's driving our margin in the quarter.

除此之外，最後一點我想說的是，我們在第三季也經歷了一些市場動態，有些將在第四季發揮作用。也許需要指出的是，有一些通用產品的發布，其採購動態仍然與品牌產品一樣。因此，這影響了我們在製藥方面的毛利率。最後，我想說的是，品牌方面的混合也對利潤率產生了負面影響。這可能是推動我們本季利潤率的整體概況。

Ann Hynes, Mizuho Securities.

安·海因斯，瑞穗證券。

Hi, good morning. Thank you. I have two questions. One is just about your commentary around prescriptions and not back to pre-pandemic level. I guess I find that a little surprising just because overall healthcare utilization is so strong. So do you think it's a market share issue? Is it a pharmacist issue?

早安.謝謝。我有兩個問題。其中之一隻是關於您對處方的評論，而不是回到大流行前的水平。我想我覺得這有點令人驚訝，因為整體醫療保健利用率如此之高。那麼您認為這是市佔率問題嗎？是藥劑師的問題嗎？

I know you lost some pharmacies during the pandemic. Maybe if you can provide some updates on that. I know you mentioned Medicaid, but it was my understanding Medicaid's pretty small as a percentage of total revenue. So any other detail would be great.

我知道您在大流行期間失去了一些藥局。也許您可以提供一些相關更新。我知道您提到了醫療補助，但據我了解，醫療補助佔總收入的比例很小。所以任何其他細節都會很棒。

And then my second question is just, I guess, bigger picture. I know you're not giving all the details on the strategic review, but your stocks down a lot premarket. Like do you have a sense for maybe some of your longer-term investors when you think you could stabilize operating profit in the retail segment and free cash flow, is it like a 2026 timeframe? Like any update on the timeframe when you think you can recover this business would be great. Thanks.

我想我的第二個問題只是更大的圖像。我知道你沒有提供戰略審查的所有細節，但你的股票在盤前下跌了很多。就像當你認為你可以穩定零售部門的營業利潤和自由現金流時，你對你的一些長期投資者是否有感覺，這就像 2026 年的時間框架嗎？就像任何關於時間範圍的更新一樣，當你認為你可以恢復這項業務時，那就太好了。謝謝。

Sure. And by the way, we share the same goal that your second question implicitly implies, which is to be very clear, as you've heard us say or let me make sure you hear us say, we actually have a really strong level of conviction around the core business that we are remodeling here. It will be very different Walgreens in a lot of ways, different experience.

當然。順便說一句，我們與你的第二個問題隱含的目標相同，那就是非常明確，正如你聽到我們說的，或者讓我確保你聽到我們說的，我們實際上有非常強烈的信念圍繞著我們正在重塑的核心業務。這將在許多方面帶來非常不同的沃爾格林，帶來不同的體驗。

But by the same token, we see a clear stabilization and actual growth path for that business. It is going to take time. We're not going to give you a guidance but it's quarters, not months. It's not necessarily multiple years, but it is probably a period of time that we will have to demonstrate to you and frankly, to our consumer that we are going to deserve their preference.

但出於同樣的原因，我們看到該業務有明確的穩定和實際成長路徑。這需要時間。我們不會給你指導，但這是季度，而不是幾個月。這不一定是多年，但可能是一段時間，我們必須向您，坦白說，向我們的消費者證明，我們值得他們的偏好。

As it relates to the share dynamics and sort of why share is growing more slowly. And you're right, it's not just Medicaid, although that does impact things, the Medicaid re-enrollment challenges. By the way, which many of our urban stores could have played a role in if we were to have a closer relationship with Medicaid, and we are having some of those discussions do -- is one factor. But Rick, do you want to talk more broadly?

因為它與份額動態以及份額增長緩慢的原因有關。你是對的，這不僅僅是醫療補助，儘管這確實會影響醫療補助重新註冊的挑戰。順便說一句，如果我們要與醫療補助計劃建立更密切的關係，我們的許多城市商店本可以發揮作用，而且我們正在進行一些討論，這是一個因素。但是里克，你想更廣泛地談談嗎？

Yeah, Ann. And I think as you look at volume, I think we stated that we are growing with market right now. So it's not just a Walgreens thing. It is a market dynamic. And so when you look at Medicaid redetermination as an example, Medicaid enrollment really ballooned during the pandemic as obviously they were not moving people outside of the Medicaid coverage.

是的，安。我認為當你看數量時，我認為我們表示我們現在正在隨著市場的成長而成長。所以這不僅僅是沃爾格林的事情。這是一種市場動態。因此，當你以醫療補助重新確定為例時，醫療補助的註冊人數在大流行期間確實激增，因為顯然他們並沒有將人們轉移到醫療補助覆蓋範圍之外。

And so what we've seen is that states has continued to move patients out. We're seeing upwards of closer to 18 million to 20 million individuals who have moved out of Medicaid coverage and either have to go out and find coverage like either discount cards, individual plans, or get into commercial plans. And so we've seen a dynamic where they actually have not picked up coverage as quickly, and utilization has dropped.

因此，我們看到各州繼續將患者轉移出去。我們看到有近 1800 萬到 2000 萬人不再享受醫療補助計劃，他們要么必須出去尋找折扣卡、個人計劃等保險，要么加入商業計劃。因此，我們看到了一種動態，即他們實際上沒有那麼快地獲得覆蓋，並且利用率有所下降。

And so what I think we're seeing is that pandemic, we were running closer to 4%, 4.5% towards the end of it from a market growth perspective. Pre-pandemic, it was closer to 2.5%. And I think what we're seeing right now is we're actually running below the 2.5% from a market perspective. And obviously, we're trying to track with that.

所以我認為我們看到的是，從市場成長的角度來看，在疫情結束時我們的成長率接近 4%、4.5%。大流行前，這一比例接近 2.5%。我認為我們現在看到的是，從市場角度來看，我們實際上低於 2.5%。顯然，我們正在努力追蹤這一點。

Kevin Caliendo, UBS.

凱文‧卡里恩多，瑞銀集團。

Thanks for taking my question. I guess I wanted to expand on Charles' question a little bit. If we were to just do simple math of the stores that you've identified, the 25% stores, and let's just say those stores were gone as of today, what would be the financial impact on the company right now? Like what would be the change in terms of your gross profit or your EBIT, however, you want to define it?

感謝您提出我的問題。我想我想稍微擴展一下查爾斯的問題。如果我們對您所確定的 25% 商店進行簡單的數學計算，假設這些商店從今天起就消失了，那麼現在對公司的財務影響是什麼？但是，您想定義它嗎？

And then the follow-up to that is, of those 25% stores, I appreciate you calling out that you expect to retain most of the workforce, what is the expectation on the retention of Rx, of the scripts in those stores, meaning usually when you close a store or relocate a store, you oftentimes are able to keep a vast majority of those scripts. Has there been an analysis of that done yet? Thank you.

接下來是，在這 25% 的商店中，我感謝您指出您希望保留大部分勞動力，對這些商店中的 Rx 和腳本保留的期望是什麼，這意味著通常當您關閉商店或搬遷商店時，您通常能夠保留其中的絕大多數腳本。有沒有對此進行分析？謝謝。

Thanks for the question. I'll take the second half, which is absolutely, that's a key part of the analysis and underlying assumptions that we have experience with. Obviously, as you may know, we've been closing multiple hundreds of stores over the last several years.

謝謝你的提問。我將討論後半部分，這絕對是我們所經歷的分析和基本假設的關鍵部分。顯然，正如您所知，過去幾年我們已經關閉了數百家商店。

And we've gotten very good at being able to not only move those scripts and those patients more importantly, but also to predict sort of what the drop-off would be based on certain circumstances. So it is a key part of the analysis. The short answer is we retain nearly all of them, not all of them necessarily, but nearly all of them and certainly in a way that makes the underlying overall economics of closing the store makes sense.

我們已經非常擅長，不僅能夠移動這些腳本和患者，更重要的是，還能根據某些情況預測下降的情況。所以它是分析的關鍵部分。簡而言之，我們保留了幾乎所有這些，不一定是所有，但幾乎所有，而且肯定以一種使關閉商店的潛在整體經濟效益有意義的方式保留。

As it relates to essentially a pro forma of what the business looks like with all of that gone, which would be fairly complex because of a number of factors that you have to assume and that we have assumed but we wouldn't want to necessarily put out there as guidance right now, I'll let Manmohan talk a bit more though about those dynamics.

因為它本質上涉及的是業務在所有這些都消失後的形式，這將相當複雜，因為您必須假設並且我們已經假設了許多因素，但我們不一定希望把這些因素放在一起作為現在的指導，我將讓曼莫漢更多地談論這些動態。

Yeah, sure. So look, I think from an analytics perspective, as we think through the closure, maybe two points there. 25% is the overall footprint that we're evaluating. And as Tim mentioned, it's not that all of them are for closure.

好，當然。所以，我認為從分析的角度來看，當我們思考關閉時，也許有兩點。 25% 是我們正在評估的整體足跡。正如蒂姆所提到的，並不是所有這些都是為了結束。

So we're going through the detailed analysis store by store, where we can improve the performance and bring them back into the portfolio and what's the remaining part where we need to take the action. Now Tracey mentioned a number of -- several factors that go into our determination of where we need to take the action.

因此，我們正在逐家進行詳細分析，我們可以在其中提高績效並將其重新納入產品組合中，以及我們需要採取行動的其餘部分。現在，特蕾西提到了一些影響我們決定需要採取行動的因素。

I'd say maybe I focus on the financial side. It's really driven -- it comes down to the cash flow analysis, it's cash flow positive to keep it open or cash flow positive to close. And the decision to close typically would result in accretion, both on the cash as well as on the adjusted EPS side.

我想說也許我專注於財務方面。它確實是受驅動的——這取決於現金流量分析，現金流為正則保持營業，現金流為正則關閉。關閉的決定通常會導致現金和調整後每股收益的增加。

And then so far as retention is concerned, yeah, I think Tim covered that as well. We've closed 2,000 locations over the last 10 years. So at this point, I think we have a pretty good view of -- depending upon the location of the stores, what would be the retention on the script side.

就保留率而言，是的，我認為蒂姆也談到了這一點。過去 10 年來，我們已經關閉了 2,000 家門市。因此，在這一點上，我認為我們對根據商店的位置，腳本方面的保留情況有一個很好的了解。

Yeah. And let me be clear about one additional thing. We are extremely focused on the fact that closing those stores means we have to reduce our fixed costs that support those stores as well. So if you're trying to model it, what you would need to do is assume some percentage of stores and then back out the fixed cost because we will be highly disciplined at ensuring that any fixed costs that are being carried by those stores are also removed, which is what makes closing the stores in part very attractive.

是的。讓我澄清一件事。我們非常關注這樣一個事實：關閉這些商店意味著我們必須降低支援這些商店的固定成本。因此，如果您嘗試對其進行建模，您需要做的是假設一定比例的商店，然後取消固定成本，因為我們將嚴格遵守規定，確保這些商店承擔的任何固定成本也都包含在內。 ，這就是關閉部分商店非常有吸引力的原因。

Michael Cherny, Leerink Partners.

邁克爾·切爾尼，Leerink Partners。

Good morning and thanks for taking the question. So I don't want to get too far ahead of this reboot plan, but Tim, you talked about 25% of the stores in the strategic review that you've outlined. How do you feel comfortable that, that's the right number of stores to be evaluated?

早上好，感謝您提出問題。所以我不想在這個重新啟動計劃之前走得太遠，但是蒂姆，你在你概述的戰略審查中談到了 25% 的商店。您認為要評估的商店數量是否合適？

And in the event that we play this forward in -- let's say, you close 25% of the stores, how will you be judging about whether or not that's the appropriate footprints to give the right coverage for payers, to give the right localized coverage to your point to retain the scripts that you like? I'm just trying to get a sense of a little more detail on how you landed most of that number and why we should sit here today thinking that is the right number.

如果我們向前推進——比方說，你關閉了 25% 的商店，你將如何判斷這是否是適當的足跡，為付款人提供正確的覆蓋，提供正確的本地化覆蓋就你的觀點而言，要保留你喜歡的腳本嗎？我只是想更詳細地了解您是如何獲得大部分數字的，以及為什麼我們今天應該坐在這裡並認為這是正確的數字。

Sure. I would tell you that we have not only ourselves using our models, but used a very aggressive outside firm that brings incredibly thoughtful models to the table and have done this in other scenarios to challenge our thinking.

當然。我想告訴你，我們不僅自己使用我們的模型，而且還使用了一家非常積極的外部公司，該公司帶來了令人難以置信的深思熟慮的模型，並在其他場景中做到了這一點來挑戰我們的思維。

And so listen, there's no one exact right number. Let's be clear. There are group of stores that are clear. There are a group of stores that we will be working to see whether or not they make sense. And one of the factors that we actually factor in is our payer mix.

聽著，沒有一個準確的數字。讓我們說清楚。有明確的商店群。我們將研究一組商店，看看它們是否有意義。我們實際考慮的因素之一是我們的付款人組合。

But I also want to be clear, this industry has been reducing its capacity over the last several years, and that is not a bad thing. I think most of us knew when I was in the PBM business, I knew that retail pharmacy was largely overbuilt for where the future was going to be, particularly given the possibility of technology, home delivery and so forth.

但我也想澄清的是，這個產業在過去幾年一直在減少產能，這並不是一件壞事。我想我們大多數人都知道，當我從事 PBM 業務時，我知道零售藥局在很大程度上是為了未來的發展而過度建設的，特別是考慮到技術、送貨上門等的可能性。

And so for us, that's another factor as well as the number of stores we may need to serve a particular payer today may be very different than what it would have been 10 years ago. I mean, if you look at the Department of Defense as a contracting entity, they have minimum standards. And they're very tough, and they don't require 70,000 pharmacies, let's be clear, in their network.

因此，對我們來說，這是另一個因素，我們今天為特定付款人提供服務所需的商店數量可能與 10 年前有很大不同。我的意思是，如果你將國防部視為一個承包實體，他們有最低標準。他們非常強硬，他們不需要 70,000 家藥店，我們要明確的是，在他們的網絡中。

So we think that reducing capacity in the industry is not a bad thing. We think it's good for the labor so that we're not actually overusing pharmacists in stores that we don't need. But we also think that from a payer standpoint, we are going to be positioned to serve payers very effectively with the footprint that remains.

所以我們認為產業去產能並不是壞事。我們認為這對勞動力有好處，這樣我們實際上就不會在我們不需要的商店裡過度使用藥劑師。但我們也認為，從付款人的角度來看，我們將能夠利用剩餘的足跡非常有效地為付款人提供服務。

Elizabeth Anderson, Evercore ISI.

伊麗莎白·安德森，Evercore ISI。

Hi, guys. Thanks so much for the question. I have maybe a short-term one and then maybe sort of a longer-term one. On this year, obviously, you had a nice quarter-over-quarter improvement in free cash flow. Can you help us think about sort of the free cash flow expectations for the fourth quarter? And then sort of maybe anything you can say directionally on 2025?

嗨，大家好。非常感謝您的提問。我可能有一個短期的，然後可能有一個長期的。顯然，今年自由現金流環比有了不錯的改善。您能幫助我們考慮一下第四季的自由現金流預期嗎？那麼對於 2025 年您可以說些什麼嗎？

And then as we think about some of these payer conversations that you've been having, I mean, have any of the payers sort of agreed to terms that kind of help stabilize things for, I don't know, starting 1/1/'25? Is this like more of a longer-term kind of conversation? Any other color you could provide on that side would be very helpful. Thank you.

然後，當我們考慮您一直在進行的一些付款人對話時，我的意思是，是否有任何付款人同意有助於穩定局勢的條款，我不知道，從 1/1/ 開始'25？這更像是一種長期的對話嗎？您可以在該面上提供的任何其他顏色都會非常有幫助。謝謝。

Sure. So I'll turn it over to Manmohan for the free cash flow conversation, and then Mary to give you any color on payer conversations. What I would remind you of is that we're fairly -- we're right in the middle of those conversations now. It wouldn't be appropriate to necessarily characterize any one of them, but they're super encouraging. And I think Mary can talk a little bit more about that at this juncture. But Manmohan, do you want to talk about the cash flow?

當然。因此，我將把它交給曼莫漢進行自由現金流對話，然後瑪麗向您提供有關付款人對話的任何資訊。我要提醒你們的是，我們現在正處於這些對話的中間。不一定要描述其中任何一個的特徵，但它們非常令人鼓舞。我認為瑪麗現在可以多談談這一點。但是曼莫漢，你想談談現金流嗎？

Sure. So from a third quarter perspective, we did have positive free cash flows in the quarter, and that was aided in part by the working capital improvements in the quarter as well as decreased capital expenditures. As you think about the first nine months of the year, though, the cash flows are impacted by lower earnings and then $785 million of payments related to legal matters as well as the phasing on the working capital.

當然。因此，從第三季的角度來看，我們確實在本季擁有正的自由現金流，這在一定程度上得益於本季營運資本的改善以及資本支出的減少。不過，想想今年前 9 個月，現金流會受到收入下降以及與法律事務相關的 7.85 億美元付款以及分階段營運資金的影響。

As we think through Q4, we expect Q4 free cash flows to be positive, similar to third quarter. And that is including a roughly around $150 million payment related to opioid in the quarter. And then maybe finally, I'd say, look, this is a top priority for us in the company. And all the actions we've outlined and -- we'll continue to boost the cash flow position here.

當我們思考第四季時，我們預計第四季的自由現金流將為正，與第三季類似。其中包括本季與鴉片類藥物相關的約 1.5 億美元付款。也許最後，我會說，看，這是我們公司的首要任務。我們概述的所有行動 - 我們將繼續提高這裡的現金流狀況。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And then Mary? Sorry, I'll let Mary take the piece around (multiple speakers) characterizing our conversations.

然後瑪麗？抱歉，我會讓瑪麗（多位發言者）用這篇文章來描述我們的對話。

Right, I won't speak to specific payer conversations. But I will say that there is an understanding and a collaboration going on that some of these models need to change, and we're reshaping our current negotiations on brand versus generic reimbursement and obviously, in discussions on some of these new models, new payment models that are out there. We, I think, are seeing an understanding that we need to align incentives better. And just as I said before that the old playbook is old, and it's not currently serving the system.

是的，我不會談論具體的付款人對話。但我想說的是，其中一些模式需要改變，我們正在重塑我們目前關於品牌與通用報銷的談判，顯然，在討論其中一些新模式、新支付方式時，我們正在進行理解和合作。的模型。我認為，我們正在認識到我們需要更好地調整激勵措施。正如我之前所說，舊的劇本已經很舊了，而且它目前不服務於系統。

Thank you.

謝謝。

George Hill, Deutsche Bank.

喬治·希爾，德意志銀行。

Good morning, guys, and thanks for taking the questions. I just kind of have a quick one for Manmohan. You talked about the $0.75 of earnings contribution in fiscal '24 that wasn't expected to continue. And you guys have talked about the challenges in fiscal '24 in retail pharmacy kind of expected to persist in fiscal '25.

早上好，夥計們，感謝您提出問題。我只是想為曼莫漢做一個簡短的介紹。您談到了 24 財年 0.75 美元的獲利貢獻，預計這種情況不會持續下去。你們談到了零售藥局在 24 財年面臨的挑戰，預計將在 25 財年持續存在。

I know you guys aren't ready to give full year 2025 guidance yet, but I just want to make sure, are we kind of talking about an earnings number in the low $2 range, given where the current fiscal '24 guidance is? And I guess, I mean how would be, is there -- are there any other like moving pieces as it relates to cash flow for fiscal '25 that you guys would call out now? Thank you.

我知道你們還沒準備好給出 2025 年全年指引，但我只是想確定一下，考慮到當前的 24 財年指引，我們是否在談論 2 美元以下的盈利數字？我想，我的意思是，你們現在會提出的與 25 財年現金流相關的其他類似的變動因素嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, sure, George. So on the earnings for fiscal '25, you're right, we're not providing guidance. But we will come back and provide detailed information and guidance in October.

是的，當然，喬治。因此，關於 25 財年的收益，你是對的，我們沒有提供指導。但我們會在十月回來提供詳細的資訊和指導。

But what we offered in the prepared remarks is a couple of things to consider as you bridge to '25. First is Q4 seasonality impacts all of our businesses, and you think about vaccinations, you think about cough-cold season, you think about the season -- the holiday season impacting the retail sales. So seasonality drives Q4 to be our -- typically our lowest quarter, and so you got to consider that.

但我們在準備好的評論中提供了在您過渡到“25”時需要考慮的一些事項。首先是第四季的季節性影響我們所有的業務，你會想到疫苗接種，你會想到咳嗽感冒季節，你會想到影響零售銷售的季節。因此，季節性因素導致第四季度成為我們的——通常是我們最低的季度，所以你必須考慮到這一點。

And second is, we do expect profitability growth, both in our US healthcare segment as well as in our international segment as we move into fiscal '25. However, said that, there are a few headwinds. And the biggest one here is as we think about our decision to wind down the sale-leaseback program, sale of Cencora shares, and then you consider a more normalized tax rate into fiscal '25 that we believe will result in approximately $0.75 headwind.

其次，我們確實預計，隨著進入 25 財年，我們的美國醫療保健部門和國際部門的獲利能力都會成長。然而，話雖如此，也存在一些阻力。這裡最大的一個是當我們考慮我們決定逐步結束售後回租計劃、出售 Cencora 股票時，然後考慮在 25 財年實施更正常化的稅率，我們認為這將導致大約 0.75 美元的阻力。

And then on the retail side, you have to consider -- we do believe the environment will continue to be challenging here in '25 from a consumer perspective, but there is a little bit of easing comparisons as you think about '24 versus '25. And on the pharmacy side, some of these headwinds will continue as you think through this. So this is -- these are all kind of the building blocks as you work through modeling '25.

然後在零售方面，你必須考慮——我們確實相信，從消費者的角度來看，25 年的環境將繼續面臨挑戰，但當你考慮 24 年與 25 年時，比較會有所緩和。在製藥方面，當你思考這個問題時，其中一些不利因素將繼續存在。所以這就是——這些都是你進行建模 '25 時的構建塊。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Stephanie Davis, Barclays.

史蒂芬妮戴維斯，巴克萊銀行。

Hey, guys, thanks for taking my question. I have a question, this might be best for Mary, but maybe, Tim, I'd love for you to weigh in on the future of the US healthcare strategy. Just given the plan to exit VillageMD and the idea that value-based strategies often take a few years in order to get profitable versus some of your near-term profitability goals, what's the forward take on the need to be in the value-based strategy for the best of US healthcare? And could we see this become more of a fee-for-service asset going forward?

嘿，夥計們，謝謝你提出我的問題。我有一個問題，這可能對瑪麗來說是最好的，但也許，提姆，我希望你能對美國醫療保健戰略的未來發表意見。考慮到退出 VillageMD 的計劃以及基於價值的策略通常需要幾年時間才能實現盈利（相對於您的一些近期盈利目標）的想法，基於價值的戰略的需求是什麼？我們能否看到這在未來更多地成為一種按服務收費的資產？

Yeah. I will let Mary -- I would remind all the listeners, Mary joined about three months ago and brings tremendous experience and relationships in this space, understands it well. And I want to be clear, we are big believers in value-based healthcare.

是的。我會讓瑪麗——我會提醒所有聽眾，瑪麗大約三個月前加入，並在這個領域帶來了豐富的經驗和關係，她對此非常了解。我想澄清的是，我們堅信基於價值的醫療保健。

Actually, pharmacy is the value-based healthcare provider in the ecosystem, quite frankly, if you really look at cost for outcomes and the work that we can do to impact those outcomes. So we love the fact that we actually own what will be seen over the next 20 years and needed as the most valuable part of the healthcare ecosystem and frankly, the most accessible. That's number one.

事實上，坦白說，如果你真正考慮結果的成本以及我們可以做的影響這些結果的工作，藥房是生態系統中基於價值的醫療保健提供者。因此，我們喜歡這樣一個事實：我們實際上擁有未來 20 年將被視為醫療保健生態系統中最有價值且最容易獲得的部分。這是第一名。

Number two, as it relates to VillageMD in that model, we like that model. That's why we've said we would continue to have some investment and that's participate in their growth. It will take time. And as I said, we are looking for a different horizon for what we're going to be investing in strategically under our own leadership. But Mary, do you want to talk more generally about sort of that question as it relates to US healthcare strategy and Village -- fee-for-service versus value?

第二，因為它與該模型中的 VillageMD 相關，所以我們喜歡該模型。這就是為什麼我們說我們將繼續進行一些投資，參與他們的成長。需要花時間。正如我所說，我們正在尋找不同的視野，以在我們自己的領導下進行策略性投資。但是瑪麗，您是否想更廣泛地討論與美國醫療保健策略和鄉村有關的問題—服務收費與價值？

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Stephanie. In the US healthcare business, we are laser-focused on being extremely disciplined around where we will focus, what we will do, and importantly, what we'll stop doing. So there are areas where we'll grow and double down. And those areas fit the lens Tim articulated earlier.

是的，絕對是。謝謝，斯蒂芬妮。在美國醫療保健產業，我們非常嚴格地關注我們的重點、我們將做什麼，以及重要的是我們將停止做什麼。因此，我們將在某些領域中不斷成長並加倍努力。這些區域符合提姆之前闡述的鏡頭。

Those things have high-growth potential. They build on our core business. We're streamlining how we operate as we discussed around going to market with higher impact, how we develop services, and how we partner across the industry with payers, health systems, at-risk providers as well as pharma manufacturers.

這些東西具有高成長潛力。它們建立在我們的核心業務之上。我們正在簡化我們的營運方式，因為我們討論了進入具有更高影響力的市場、我們如何開發服務，以及我們如何與付款人、衛生系統、高風險提供者以及製藥製造商在整個行業內合作。

And then third, we'll stop things. And frankly, we already have stopped certain things that don't fit this lens or create near-term value. In some cases, we'll exit or restructure those things. So it's important that we stay really laser-focused on that.

第三，我們會停止一切。坦白說，我們已經停止了某些不適合這個鏡頭或創造短期價值的事情。在某些情況下，我們會退出或重組這些東西。因此，我們必須高度關注這一點，這一點很重要。

With respect to value-based care, we have already articulated that we don't have plans to continue to invest in brick-and-mortar owned primary care practices. Now having said that, we believe strongly, as Tim said, in value-based care as well as in VillageMD. And we believe in these businesses and payers believe in these businesses, and consumers, frankly, love getting their care in these types of businesses.

關於基於價值的護理，我們已經明確表示，我們沒有計劃繼續投資實體擁有的初級護理實踐。話雖如此，正如 Tim 所說，我們堅信基於價值的護理以及 VillageMD。我們相信這些企業，付款人也相信這些企業，坦白說，消費者喜歡在這些類型的企業中得到照顧。

But what we've stated, and I'll state again is we'll be a partner of VillageMD in an ongoing way. We'll continue to be an investor. But what we're really looking to do is invest in capital-light services to be a broader partner across the industry with a range of providers and with a range of payers as well as a range of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

但我們已經說過，我將再次聲明的是，我們將持續成為 VillageMD 的合作夥伴。我們將繼續作為投資者。但我們真正想做的是投資輕資本服務，成為整個行業更廣泛的合作夥伴，與一系列供應商、一系列付款人以及一系列製藥製造商合作。

And we think we're really well positioned to do that, particularly based on the conversations we've already been having over the last three months. We are very complementary to a lot of players in the system. And they, frankly, want what we have that they don't have, which is reach -- our ability to reach people, our ability to engage them, and our ability to create interventions in really critical moments. So that's what we're planning to do.

我們認為我們確實有能力做到這一點，特別是根據過去三個月我們已經進行的對話。我們和系統中的許多球員是非常互補的。坦白說，他們想要我們擁有但他們沒有的東西，那就是影響力——我們接觸人們的能力，我們吸引他們的能力，以及我們在真正關鍵時刻進行幹預的能力。這就是我們計劃要做的。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call back over to Tim Wentworth for closing remarks.

謝謝。現在我想將電話轉回給 Tim Wentworth 致閉幕詞。

Great. Thanks, everyone, for the questions and for dialing in. Just to leave you with a couple of thoughts. First of all, our team is very clear that we are in a turnaround. We have a clear-eyed view of the things we need to do. We have gone very deep in understanding every part of this business and being realistic about the baseline we're resetting for growth.

偉大的。謝謝大家提出問題並撥通電話。首先，我們的團隊非常清楚我們正處於轉變之中。我們對需要做的事情有清楚的認識。我們非常深入地了解了這項業務的每個部分，並對我們為成長而重新設定的基線持現實態度。

Second, we have a team that is literally, I believe, one of the best teams any company could ever have. I am extremely blessed to work with a group of folks who not only work effectively together but are relentlessly focused on the challenge and most importantly, highly committed and believe in the future of our business, the retail pharmacy experience that patients and payers and pharma companies need us to be.

其次，我相信，我們的團隊確實是任何公司所能擁有的最好的團隊之一。我非常幸運能夠與一群人一起工作，他們不僅有效地合作，而且不懈地專注於挑戰，最重要的是，他們高度致力於並相信我們業務的未來，以及患者、付款人和製藥公司的零售藥房體驗需要我們成為。

Retail pharmacy is central to the future of the experience that we're going to create and the growth that we will have. It is necessary, but it will be different. And over the coming quarters, we look forward to showing you as well as telling you how it will be different and the kind of results that it will achieve in a more capital-friendly way.

零售藥局對於我們將要創造的體驗和我們將要實現的成長的未來至關重要。這是必要的，但會有所不同。在接下來的幾個季度中，我們期待向您展示並告訴您它將有何不同，以及它將以更加有利於資本的方式實現什麼樣的結果。

And finally, we are very clear about our role as stewards of capital and making investments that make sense. We have some great assets that are part of our company today. We're going to be thoughtful about how we continue to improve the value of those assets or do other things that make sense based on our longer-term strategy. So thanks again. We look forward to sharing more in the coming quarters.

最後，我們非常清楚我們作為資本管理者的角色並進行有意義的投資。今天，我們擁有一些重要的資產，這些資產已成為我們公司的一部分。我們將考慮如何繼續提高這些資產的價值或根據我們的長期策略做其他有意義的事情。所以再次感謝。我們期待在未來幾季分享更多資訊。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。