Wendy's Co (WEN) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to the Wendy's Company Earnings Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you. You may begin your conference.

早安.歡迎參加溫迪公司獲利電話會議。 （操作員說明）謝謝。您可以開始您的會議了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Today's conference call and webcast includes a PowerPoint presentation, which is available on our Investor Relations website, irwendys.com. Before we begin, please take note of the safe harbor statement that appears at the end of our earnings release. This disclosure reminds investors that certain information we may discuss today is forward-looking. Various factors could affect our results and cause those results to differ materially from the projections set forth in our forward-looking statements.

謝謝大家，大家早安。今天的電話會議和網路廣播包括 PowerPoint 簡報，您可以在我們的投資者關係網站 irwendys.com 上取得該簡報。在我們開始之前，請注意我們收益發布末尾出現的安全港聲明。本揭露提醒投資者，我們今天可能討論的某些資訊具有前瞻性。各種因素可能會影響我們的結果，並導致這些結果與我們前瞻性陳述中提出的預測有重大差異。

Also, some of today's comments will reference non-GAAP financial measures. Investors should refer to our reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure at the end of this presentation or in our earnings release. On our conference call today, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Kirk Tanner, will give a business update; and our Chief Financial Officer, Gunther Plosch, will review our second quarter results and share our financial outlook. From there, we will open up the line for questions. With that, I will hand things over to Kirk.

此外，今天的一些評論將參考非公認會計準則財務指標。投資者應在本簡報末尾或我們的收益發布中參考我們的非公認會計原則財務指標與最直接可比較的公認會計原則指標的調節表。在今天的電話會議上，我們的總裁兼執行長柯克‧坦納 (Kirk Tanner) 將介紹業務最新情況；我們的財務長 Gunther Plosch 將回顧我們第二季的業績並分享我們的財務前景。從那裡，我們將開放提問熱線。這樣，我就把事情交給柯克了。

Thanks, Nick. Good morning, everyone. During the second quarter, our restaurants across the globe continued to deliver system-wide and same-restaurant sales growth, reaching 2.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Our performance was competitive in the US with our dollar and traffic share holding steady with the QSR burger category during the quarter.

謝謝，尼克。大家，早安。第二季度，我們在全球的餐廳持續實現全系統和同店銷售成長，分別達到 2.6% 和 0.8%。我們的業績在美國具有競爭力，本季我們的美元和流量份額與 QSR 漢堡類別保持穩定。

This performance was driven by sales growth at the breakfast and late-night dayparts and our focus on surrounding our customers with their Wendy's favorites, exciting innovation and compelling value done the Wendy's way with fresh, high-quality ingredients. The international segment delivered another quarter of strong system-wide sales growth reaching over 8%, driven by continued same-restaurant sales growth and net unit growth across each region.

這項業績的推動因素是早餐和深夜時段的銷售成長，以及我們專注於為客戶提供他們喜愛的Wendy's、令人興奮的創新和以新鮮、高品質原料製成的Wendy's 方式帶來的令人信服的價值。在各地區同店銷售額持續成長及淨單位成長的推動下，國際部門的全系統銷售額又一個季度強勁增長，增幅超過 8%。

Turning to our digital business. Everything we are doing in this space is with the goal of creating and building loyalty and personalized experiences for our customers. Our digital business continues to perform well, and we've made really good progress.

轉向我們的數位業務。我們在這個領域所做的一切都是為了為我們的客戶創造和建立忠誠度和個人化體驗。我們的數位業務繼續表現良好，並且取得了非常好的進展。

We grew global digital sales by over 40% year-over-year in the second quarter, delivering 17% global digital sales mix. Global digital sales growth was driven by the US segment, which grew sales dollars over 40% year-over-year and international, which grew over 30% year-over-year.

第二季度，我們的全球數位銷售額年增超過 40%，佔全球數位銷售額的 17%。全球數位銷售成長主要由美國市場和國際市場推動，美國市場的銷售額年增超過 40%，國際市場的銷售額年增超過 30%。

Our focus on driving sales through our Wendy's app and loyalty platform continues to be successful, and our loyalty business is now almost as big as our third-party delivery business. You will see us continue to focus on improving the experience for customers. We are confident that this will drive loyalty even further and create more growth for the brand in the years to come.

我們致力於透過 Wendy's 應用程式和忠誠度平台推動銷售繼續取得成功，我們的忠誠度業務現在幾乎與我們的第三方送貨業務一樣大。您將看到我們繼續專注於改善客戶體驗。我們相信，這將進一步提高忠誠度，並在未來幾年為品牌創造更多成長。

Finally, our Q2 development progress achieved our expectations. We have now opened 99 brand-new Wendy's restaurants through Q2, a more than 20% increase versus the first half of 2023. Looking ahead, the team has made meaningful progress towards solidifying our sales growth plan for the second half of 2024 and setting us up for unit growth acceleration in 2025 and beyond, driving our confidence in delivering strong results over the near and long term.

最後，我們第二季的開發進度達到了我們的預期。截至第二季度，我們已開設99 家全新Wendy's 餐廳，與2023 年上半年相比增長了20% 以上。有意義的進展為 2025 年及以後的單位成長加速做好準備，這增強了我們在近期和長期實現強勁業績的信心。

Before diving into our year-to-go plans, I'd like to briefly touch on the leadership and structural changes that we recently announced. With the elevation of Abigail Pringle and E.J. Wunsch to the roles of President, US and President International, we now have a structure that drives focus and clear accountability for accelerated unit growth and operational performance in both segments.

在深入討論我們的年度計劃之前，我想簡要介紹我們最近宣布的領導層和結構性變化。隨著阿比蓋爾·普林格爾 (Abigail Pringle) 和 E.J. Wunsch 擔任美國總裁和國際總裁，我們現在擁有一個能夠推動重點和明確責任的結構，以加速這兩個領域的單位成長和營運績效。

This evolution also provides one voice for the franchisees in each segment, streamlining our communication and enhancing our engagement. I am confident this change will accelerate progress across our strategic focus areas, including franchise profitability, unit growth, customer satisfaction and executional excellence.

這一演變也為每個細分市場的加盟商提供了一種聲音，簡化了我們的溝通並增強了我們的參與。我相信這項變更將加速我們策略重點領域的進展，包括特許經營獲利能力、單位成長、客戶滿意度和卓越執行力。

Now let's turn to our plans to drive growth during the rest of the year and beyond. We are leaning in even further across the growth pillars to drive sales while expanding restaurant margin. Our balanced approach focuses on elevating our craveable core menu, delivering impactful innovation and offering relevant value.

現在讓我們談談今年剩餘時間及以後推動成長的計劃。我們正在進一步推動成長支柱，以推動銷售，同時擴大餐廳利潤。我們的平衡方法專注於提升我們渴望的核心菜單，提供有影響力的創新並提供相關價值。

We believe we are in a position of strength, offering menu items that deliver across this spectrum. When it comes to our craveable menu, our fresh, never-frozen beef, fresh produce and full customization of every sandwich on the menu are key differentiators for us. We will continue to capitalize on opportunities to drive impactful innovation.

我們相信我們處於優勢地位，可以提供涵蓋各個領域的菜單項目。當談到我們令人垂涎的菜單時，我們的新鮮、永不冷凍的牛肉、新鮮農產品以及菜單上每個三明治的完全客製化是我們的關鍵差異化因素。我們將繼續利用機會推動有影響力的創新。

In the second quarter, we launched Triple Berry Frosty and Saucy Nuggs, both resonating with consumers. And you can expect to see a continuous stream of innovation from us in the second half of the year. As it relates to value, consumers continue to seek relevant value. Wendy's is the original when it comes to bundled value meal deals in QSR, and you'll see us continue to lean into this competitive advantage.

第二季度，我們推出了 Triple Berry Frosty 和 Saucy Nuggs，都引起了消費者的共鳴。您可以期待在下半年看到我們源源不絕的創新。由於它與價值相關，消費者不斷尋求相關的價值。在 QSR 捆綁超值餐飲交易方面，Wendy's 是首創，您會看到我們繼續依靠這一競爭優勢。

Breakfast remains an incredibly important daypart. It is highly profitable, and we have not yet reached our potential. We continue to outperform competitors by driving breakfast dollar growth ahead of the category in the second quarter.

早餐仍然是一天中極其重要的部分。它的利潤很高，但我們尚未發揮我們的潛力。我們在第二季度推動早餐美元成長領先於同類產品，從而繼續超越競爭對手。

We have now optimized the level of our investment in 2024 to allow us to extend our existing breakfast advertising investment horizon beyond 2025. We continue to expect that breakfast sales growth will outpace rest of day at Wendy's, and those sales continue to be accretive to overall restaurant margin for the company and franchisees.

我們現在已經優化了2024 年的投資水平，使我們能夠將現有的早餐廣告投資期限延長到2025 年之後。整體成長公司和加盟商的餐廳利潤。

Turning to our overall sales outlook. As we assess the current consumer and category, we now expect to deliver global same-restaurant sales growth of 1% to 3% for the full year. Now let's turn to the great momentum we've built towards achieving our development goals.

轉向我們的整體銷售前景。在評估當前消費者和類別時，我們預計全年全球同店銷售額將成長 1% 至 3%。現在讓我們來看看我們為實現發展目標所形成的巨大勢頭。

The team has made great progress solidifying our new restaurant pipeline as we continue our mission to bring more Wendy's to more fans across the globe. We remain on track to deliver global new restaurant openings of 250 to 300 units, providing a strong foundation to accelerate on from 2025 and beyond.

隨著我們繼續履行為全球更多粉絲帶來更多溫迪的使命，團隊在鞏固我們的新餐廳管道方面取得了巨大進展。我們仍有望在全球開設 250 至 300 家新餐廳，為 2025 年及以後的加速發展奠定堅實的基礎。

Additionally, I am pleased to share that we have added more than 250 global new restaurant commitments year to date. Our European expansion is accelerating. We recently announced that the brand will enter the Republic of Ireland and Romania with strong franchisees who will begin opening restaurants in 2025.

此外，我很高興地告訴大家，今年迄今為止，我們已在全球新增了 250 多家新餐廳。我們的歐洲擴張正在加速。我們最近宣布，該品牌將進入愛爾蘭共和國和羅馬尼亞，擁有強大的特許經營商，這些特許經營商將於 2025 年開始開設餐廳。

Ireland is a natural expansion of our current footprint, and we intend for Romania to act as an anchor for further expansion across other areas of Europe. These new development agreements layer on top of an additional increase in our UK franchise commitments, all supporting our plans to build hundreds of restaurants on the European continent in the coming years.

愛爾蘭是我們當前足跡的自然擴張，我們打算讓羅馬尼亞成為歐洲其他地區進一步擴張的支柱。這些新的開發協議是我們在英國特許經營承諾的額外增加之上的，所有這些都支持我們未來幾年在歐洲大陸建立數百家餐廳的計劃。

Now turning to New Zealand. We recently shared that the Flynn Group has acquired the current New Zealand restaurants with plans to further expand the market in addition to their existing development agreement for 200 restaurants in Australia through 2034.

現在轉向紐西蘭。我們最近透露，弗林集團已收購了現有的紐西蘭餐廳，除了現有的 2034 年在澳洲開設 200 家餐廳的開發協議外，還計劃進一步擴大市場。

The Flynn Group continues to be an outstanding operator, and we are confident in our ability to grow these high potential markets, beginning with new restaurants in Australia in 2025. In Asia, our franchisee in India has increased our development commitment with a mix of both traditional locations and delivery kitchens. This will build upon our current footprint of 150 open restaurants.

Flynn 集團仍然是一家出色的營運商，我們對發展這些高潛力市場的能力充滿信心，從2025 年在澳洲開設新餐廳開始。發展承諾：傳統地點和送貨廚房。這將建立在我們目前開設的 150 家餐廳的基礎上。

Finally, in Canada, we have finalized a new agreement in Quebec with plans to double our footprint in the province this year. We have also recently announced an enhanced incentive program to appeal to franchisees of all sizes and increased the reach of our new restaurant development program. We expect that these incentives, along with our continued focus on expanding restaurant margin and improving profitability will boost new build returns and further build out our long-term restaurant pipeline.

最後，在加拿大，我們在魁北克敲定了一項新協議，計劃今年將我們在省內的足跡擴大一倍。我們最近還宣布了一項增強的激勵計劃，以吸引各種規模的特許經營商，並擴大了我們新餐廳開發計劃的覆蓋範圍。我們預計這些激勵措施以及我們對擴大餐廳利潤和提高獲利能力的持續關注將提高新建回報並進一步建立我們的長期餐廳管道。

As a result of the team's work, 100% of our new build goals through 2025 are tied to development commitments which is up from 90% we previously disclosed. We are well on our way towards rapid expansion over the long term. I'll now turn it over to GP to share our second quarter financial results.

經過團隊的努力，我們到 2025 年的新建設目標 100% 都與開發承諾掛鉤，高於我們先前揭露的 90%。從長遠來看，我們正朝著快速擴張的方向前進。現在我將把它交給普通合夥人來分享我們第二季的財務表現。

Thanks, Kirk. In the second quarter, our global systemwide sales grew 2.6%, 9.5% on a two-year basis, supported by global same-restaurant sales growth across both our US and international segments and continued global net unit growth. Our US company restaurant margin reached 16.5%, decreasing 80 basis points year-over-year. This was primarily due to an increase in labor costs driven by rate inflation and customer account declines, partially offset by the benefit of a higher average check.

謝謝，柯克。第二季度，我們的全球系統銷售額在兩年基礎上增長了 2.6% 和 9.5%，這得益於我們美國和國際部門的全球同店銷售額增長以及全球淨單位數量的持續增長。我們的美國公司餐廳利潤率達到16.5%，年減80個基點。這主要是由於利率通膨和客戶帳戶下降導致勞動成本增加，但平均支票增加的好處部分抵消了這一增加。

The decrease in G&A was primarily driven by a decrease in incentive compensation and lower outside professional services as we lapped implementation cost for the company's human capital management system in the prior year. These were partially offset by an increase in employee compensation and benefits.

一般行政費用的減少主要是由於激勵薪酬的減少和外部專業服務的減少，因為我們在上一年計算了公司人力資本管理系統的實施成本。這些被員工薪資和福利的增加部分抵消。

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 1% to approximately $143 million, resulting primarily from an increase in the company's incremental investment in breakfast advertising spending and the decrease in US company-operated restaurant margin, partially offset by higher franchise royalty revenue and lower general and administrative expense.

調整後EBITDA 下降1%，至約1.43 億美元，主要是由於公司在早餐廣告支出方面的增量投資增加以及美國公司經營的餐廳利潤率下降，但部分被特許經營權收入增加和一般及管理費用下降所抵消。

The decrease in adjusted earnings per share was driven by lower adjusted EBITDA, an increase in depreciation and higher cloud computing amortization costs. These were partially offset by fewer shares outstanding as a result of the company's share repurchase program and lapping a decrease in investment income in the prior year.

調整後每股盈餘的下降是由於調整後 EBITDA 下降、折舊增加和雲端運算攤銷成本上升所致。這些損失被公司股票回購計畫導致流通股減少以及上一年投資收入減少所部分抵銷。

Finally, the decrease in free cash flow resulted from an increase in the company's incremental investment in breakfast advertising and an increase in capital expenditures. These were partially offset by a decrease in cash paid for cloud computing costs. Now let's turn to our expectations for 2024.

最後，自由現金流的減少是由於公司早餐廣告增量投資增加以及資本支出增加所致。這些被雲端運算成本支付的現金減少部分抵銷。現在讓我們談談對 2024 年的期望。

After flowing through our year-to-date results and refining our category forecast for the remainder of the year in the United States, we now expect full-year global systemwide sales growth of 3% to 5%, made up of 1% to 3% same-restaurant sales growth and 2% global net unit growth. Our adjusted EBITDA outlook of $535 million to $545 million remains unchanged.

在回顧了我們今年迄今為止的業績並完善了我們對今年剩餘時間在美國的品類預測後，我們現在預計全年全球系統範圍內的銷售額增長為 3% 至 5%，其中 1% 至 3%同餐廳銷售額成長%，全球淨單位成長2%。我們調整後的 EBITDA 前景為 5.35 億美元至 5.45 億美元，維持不變。

The impact of our updated systemwide sales outlook is offset by lower expected G&A of $255 million to $265 million, primarily driven by lower expected incentive compensation and optimization of our investment in breakfast advertising as we now plan to spend approximately $22 million this year. As a result of the updated systemwide sales outlook, we have now widened our US company-operated restaurant margin expectations to 15% to 17%.

我們更新的全系統銷售前景的影響被預期總管理費用降低2.55 億美元至2.65 億美元所抵消，這主要是由於預期激勵薪酬降低以及早餐廣告投資的優化所致，因為我們現在計劃今年支出約2200萬美元。由於更新了全系統銷售前景，我們現已將美國公司經營的餐廳利潤率預期擴大至 15% 至 17%。

We are reaffirming our outlook for adjusted EPS of $0.98 to $1.02, And capital expenditures of $90 million to $100 million. Finally, we now expect free cash flow of $275 million to $285 million, driven by the impact of our updated systemwide sales outlook. To close, I'd like to highlight our capital allocation policy, which remains unchanged. Our first priority remains investing in profitable growth and our continued investments across our growth pillars showcase exactly that. Secondly, we are committed to sustaining an attractive dividend.

我們重申，調整後每股收益為 0.98 美元至 1.02 美元，資本支出為 9,000 萬美元至 1 億美元。最後，受我們更新的全系統銷售前景的影響，我們現在預計自由現金流為 2.75 億至 2.85 億美元。最後，我想強調我們的資本配置政策，該政策保持不變。我們的首要任務仍然是投資於獲利成長，我們對成長支柱的持續投資正好證明了這一點。其次，我們致力於維持有吸引力的股息。

We announced today the declaration of our third-quarter dividend of $0.25 per share and continue to expect a full-year dividend of $1 per share in 2024. Lastly, our capital allocation policy gives us the flexibility to utilize excess cash to repurchase shares and reduce debt.

我們今天宣布宣布第三季股利為每股 0.25 美元，並繼續預期 2024 年全年股利為每股 1 美元。債務。

Year to date, through July 25, we have repurchased approximately 2.9 million shares and have approximately $260 million remaining on our $500 million share repurchase authorization expiring in February of 2027. Due to current share price levels, we now expect share repurchases in 2024 of approximately $75 million. We are fully committed to delivering our simple, yet powerful formula.

今年迄今為止，截至7 月25 日，我們已回購約290 萬股股票，我們的5 億美元股票回購授權將於2027 年2 月到期，剩餘資金約為2.6 億美元。水平，我們現在預計2024 年的股票回購規模約為7500 萬美元。我們完全致力於提供簡單而強大的配方。

We're an efficient growth company that is driving strong systemwide sales growth on the backdrop of positive same-restaurant sales and expanding our global footprint. This is translating into significant free cash flows, which supports meaningful return of cash to shareholders through an attractive dividend and share repurchases. With that, I will hand things over to Nick to share our upcoming IR calendar.

我們是一家高效成長的公司，在同店銷售積極成長並擴大我們的全球足跡的背景下，推動整個系統的銷售強勁成長。這轉化為大量的自由現金流，支持透過有吸引力的股息和股票回購為股東帶來有意義的現金回報。接下來，我會把事情交給 Nick 來分享我們即將推出的 IR 日曆。

Thanks, GP. To start things off, we will hold an investor call hosted by Bernstein on August 27. On September 12, we will attend the JPMorgan conference in Miami. We'll then head to Canada for an NDR with Stifel in Toronto, on September 24. If you're interested in joining us at any of these events, please contact the respective sell-side analyst or equity sales contact at the host firm.

謝謝，全科醫生。首先，我們將於 8 月 27 日舉行由 Bernstein 主持的投資者電話會議。然後，我們將於 9 月 24 日前往加拿大，與 Stifel 在多倫多舉行 NDR。

Lastly, we plan to report our third-quarter earnings and host the conference call at the same day on October 31. As we transition into our Q&A section, I wanted to remind everyone that due to the high number of covering analysts, we'll be limiting everyone to one question only. With that, we're ready to take your questions.

最後，我們計劃報告第三季收益，並在 10 月 31 日同一天召開電話會議。回答一個問題。這樣，我們就準備好回答您的問題了。

Jeffrey Bernstein, Barclays.

傑弗裡·伯恩斯坦，巴克萊銀行。

Great. Thank you very much. I just had a question on the US comp trends, kind of in two parts, I guess. The first part is just you mentioned the quick service category discounting, and I know you talked about your $5 Biggie Bag. Just wondering if you could talk about any change in consumer behavior you've seen, I'm assuming the mix of that has gone up, and how you differentiate when it seems like everyone has a very similar $5 offer.

偉大的。非常感謝。我剛剛有一個關於美國比較趨勢的問題，我想分成兩個部分。第一部分是您剛剛提到的快速服務類別折扣，我知道您談到了 5 美元的 Biggie Bag。只是想知道您是否可以談論您所看到的消費者行為的任何變化，我假設這種變化已經上升，以及當似乎每個人都有非常相似的 5 美元報價時您如何區分。

And a follow-up was just on the franchisee feedback from those conversations. I'm sure the conversations have been active with, I know some pushback in terms of making sure everything is profitable, but just wondering how the conversations are going with franchisees as you talk about being more aggressive from the value side of things. Thank you.

後續行動只是針對這些對話中加盟商的回饋。我確信與加盟商的對話一直很活躍，我知道在確保一切都能盈利方面存在一些阻力，但只是想知道當您談論從事物的價值方面更加積極進取時，與特許經營商的對話進行得如何。謝謝。

Yeah. Good morning, Jeffrey. This is Kirk. I appreciate the question, very relevant right now, of course. Yeah, look, the first thing I would point to is we've got this nationally recognized famous platform called Biggie Bag that we've had on the menu prior to others coming in and doing something similar on the menu.

是的。早上好，傑弗裡。這是柯克。我很欣賞這個問題，當然，現在非常相關。是的，看，我要指出的第一件事是，我們有一個全國公認的著名平台，名為Biggie Bag，在其他人進來並在菜單上做類似的事情之前，我們已經在菜單上有了這個平台。

So we have traction with that value proposition that's relevant. Our franchisees are certainly on board with that. And of course, that is a concern for everyone. But our franchisees are on board. They help build this platform over the years. This has been a very effective tool.

因此，我們對相關的價值主張具有吸引力。我們的特許經營商當然也同意這一點。當然，這是每個人都關心的問題。但我們的特許經營商已經加入了。多年來，他們幫助建立了這個平台。這是一個非常有效的工具。

And it is in line with the rest of the things that we offer on our menu. We're very focused on three things: delivering our core, having exciting innovation that drives traffic and relevant value. The balance of our portfolio and our menu allows us to work really hard in times like we're in. And we're really excited about the traction that we have and the balance that we have across our menu.

它與我們菜單上提供的其他內容一致。我們非常專注於三件事：提供我們的核心、推動流量和相關價值的令人興奮的創新。我們的產品組合和菜單的平衡使我們能夠在當前的時代非常努力地工作。 我們對我們所擁有的吸引力和菜單上的平衡感到非常興奮。

Brian Bittner, Oppenheimer.

布萊恩比特納，奧本海默。

Thanks. Good morning, guys. I just wanted to ask a question about your updated same-store sales guidance for 2024. It's now 1% to 3%. And I think the math suggests that this assumes a kind of 2% to 5% comp range in the second half of the year, which is obviously a meaningful acceleration from where your trends have been in the last couple of quarters.

謝謝。早上好傢伙。我只是想問一個關於你們更新的 2024 年同店銷售指導的問題。我認為數學表明，這假設下半年的補償範圍為 2% 至 5%，這顯然是較過去幾個季度的趨勢有意義的加速。

I know you're expecting to stimulate some breakfast growth, but is the easy comparisons a big enough factor to drive this acceleration that you're baking into the outlook? Or what does drive your confidence that the second half can showcase this acceleration?

我知道您希望刺激早餐的成長，但是簡單的比較是否足以推動您在前景中看到的這種加速成長？或者是什麼讓您對下半場能夠展現這種加速充滿信心？

Good morning, Brian. Yeah, we are confident with our 1% to 3% guidance range. Clearly, easier comparison is one part of the story. Second part of the story is that we definitely expect that the category is going to be slightly improved in the back half. And thirdly is confident in the programming we have out there.

早安，布萊恩。是的，我們對 1% 到 3% 的指導範圍充滿信心。顯然，更容易進行比較是故事的一部分。故事的第二部分是，我們肯定希望該類別在後半段會略有改善。第三，對我們現有的程式設計充滿信心。

As Kirk just said, our programming is focused on showcasing our core and all the goodness we have in there, plus you will see a meaningful stream of innovation in the second half. Plus our national recognized Biggie platform and our digital offerings and acquisition strategies, the combination of all three will, as you point out, drive a slight acceleration on a one-year basis. If you look on a two-year basis, it's actually very, very comparable.

正如柯克剛才所說，我們的節目重點在於展示我們的核心和我們所擁有的所有優點，而您將在下半年看到一系列有意義的創新。加上我們國家認可的 Biggie 平台以及我們的數位產品和收購策略，正如您所指出的，這三者的結合將推動一年的輕微加速。如果你以兩年為基礎來看，其實非常非常具有可比性。

John Ivankoe, JPMorgan.

約翰‧伊凡科，摩根大通。

Sorry about that. I don't know what happened. Hopefully, this number is correct. That's what I have in front of me, so please correct me if it's wrong. Your prime cost, food and paper plus labor running 63%. Generally investable in the industry, companies kind of want to be around 60%, even lower. Obviously, negative traffic.

對於那個很抱歉。我不知道發生了什麼事。希望這個數字是正確的。這就是我前面的內容，如有錯誤請指正。您的主要成本，食品和紙張加上勞動力佔 63%。一般來說，在該行業可投資的公司希望在 60% 左右，甚至更低。顯然，流量為負。

And the question that I ask is not just in terms of unit development, but as we kind of think about the system over the next couple of years in terms of rent renewals, if you will, of properties that are coming up to their 20-year term, how are we feeling about just overall capacity in the US?

我問的問題不僅僅是單元開發方面，而是我們在未來幾年的租金續約方面考慮該系統，如果你願意的話，對於即將達到 20-今年，我們對美國的整體產能有何感受？

I mean the economics would certainly suggest that you keep stores open, but in some cases, it's actually not the choice -- the tenant, it's the choice of the landlord. So I just really wanted to get a sense as we think about the US, not just in '25, but a couple of years after '25. Just kind of how we're thinking about net overall unit count in this important market. Thank you.

我的意思是，經濟學肯定會建議你保持商店營業，但在某些情況下，這實際上不是租戶的選擇，而是房東的選擇。所以我真的很想了解我們對美國的看法，不僅是在 25 年，而且是在 25 年後的幾年。這就是我們對這個重要市場的淨總體單位數量的看法。謝謝。

Well, good morning, John. Yeah, we are very confident and bullish about the US market. We are highly underpenetrated. We have a lot of interest from US franchisees to continue to expand. We announced that in the first half, we added about 250 development agreements. It was a good amount in International, but that's also additions in the United States.

嗯，早上好，約翰。是的，我們對美國市場非常有信心和看好。我們的滲透率非常低。美國特許經營商對我們繼續擴張非常感興趣。我們宣布，上半年我們新增了約250個開發協議。這在國際上是一個不錯的數字，但在美國也有增加。

As you might have also picked up, I think, two weeks ago, we issued a new FDD. And in the new FDD, we launched an optimized incentive programs, our commitment to keep working on the restaurant economic model, plus the incentives that are out there making the decisions for franchisees to build much, much easier. So we think we have not reached our potential in the United States.

我想您可能也注意到了，兩週前我們發布了新的 FDD。在新的FDD中，我們推出了優化的激勵計劃，我們致力於繼續致力於餐廳經濟模式，再加上現有的激勵措施，使加盟商的決策變得更加容易。所以我們認為我們在美國還沒有發揮出我們的潛力。

We're helping with incentives that we just launched, continue the incentive program around Build-to-suit, then feel confident that the contribution of the US market to the overall unit growth, which is about 30%, is very feasible for us.

我們正在幫助實施我們剛推出的激勵措施，繼續圍繞量身定制的激勵計劃，然後相信美國市場對整體銷售成長的貢獻（約 30%）對我們來說是非常可行的。

Alex Slagle, Jefferies.

亞歷克斯·斯萊格爾，杰弗里斯。

All right. Thanks. I guess to follow up to that, let's talk Canada, your biggest international market, and you talked to the new commitments and plans for accelerated growth in Quebec. And I know the profitability and economics there have improved significantly versus 2019. So curious if you think there could be even greater opportunity to expand that development beyond just Quebec, maybe look at Ontario, Alberta, just perhaps you feel pretty well penetrated at this point, but curious if you think there's greater opportunity there.

好的。謝謝。我想接下來，讓我們談談加拿大，你們最大的國際市場，你們談到了魁北克加速成長的新承諾和計畫。我知道那裡的盈利能力和經濟狀況與2019 年相比有了顯著改善。塔省，也許您在這一點上感覺已經很好地滲透了，但很好奇您是否認為那裡有更大的機會。

Yeah, Alex, good morning. Very excited about the Canadian market. We have a very engaged franchise base, as you pointed out there making great progress in sales and profits was back in 2023. The grew sales by 9% in the system. It was up in profits by about 25%. So obviously great economic environment, we definitely expect that to Canada on its own is going to double their growth rates, very attractive AUVs, definitely economics also very good. So very excited about that combined, obviously, with all the other international markets that we continue high. But yes, there's definitely a lot of growth to be had.

是的，亞歷克斯，早安。對加拿大市場非常興奮。我們擁有一個非常積極參與的特許經營基礎，正如您所指出的，早在 2023 年，我們的銷售和利潤就取得了巨大進步。它的利潤增加了約25%。顯然，經濟環境非常好，我們肯定預期加拿大本身的成長率將會翻倍，AUV非常有吸引力，經濟效益肯定也非常好。顯然，與我們持續走高的所有其他國際市場相結合，我們感到非常興奮。但是，是的，肯定還有很大的成長空間。

Eric Gonzalez, KeyBanc.

艾瑞克‧岡薩雷斯 (Eric Gonzalez)，KeyBanc。

Hi. Thank you. Maybe if you could talk about how same-store sales trended throughout the quarter? I know it's not something you typically do, but there are a lot of competitive cost currency during the quarter, and I suspect the month-to-month trends were a little bit lumpy. So maybe it could be helpful if you could explain how the quarter unfolded and some of the things that were done to lift sales when trends softened. And while we're at it, there's anything that you could tell us about the exit rate in June or how you fare in July, it would be very helpful. Thank you.

你好。謝謝。也許您可以談談整個季度的同店銷售趨勢如何？我知道這不是您通常會做的事情，但本季有很多具有競爭力的成本貨幣，而且我懷疑逐月趨勢有點不穩定。因此，如果您能解釋本季的發展情況以及在趨勢疲軟時為提高銷售額而採取的一些措施，也許會有所幫助。當我們討論這個問題時，您可以告訴我們有關 6 月退出率或 7 月情況的信息，這將非常有幫助。謝謝。

Thanks. Good morning. Yes, the sales over the quarter, there was some ebb and flow overall, but pretty consistent. I would just say, if you look at our business, we continue to compete extremely well in this environment. We talked about holding share and the proposition that we have for consumers on our balance across value, our core business innovation.

謝謝。早安.是的，本季的銷售總體上有一些起伏，但相當穩定。我只想說，如果你看看我們的業務，你會發現我們在這種環境下繼續保持著非常出色的競爭。我們討論了持有份額以及我們在價值平衡和核心業務創新方面為消費者提出的主張。

I think that kept our business fairly steady through that cycle that we just went through. That's critically important. The other thing that I think is helping us is our digital performance. We're continuing to lean into our digital. We added about 6% more loyal users to our platform -- our loyalty platform, taking us to $42 million, which I think also is really important as we build a personal relationship with our customers.

我認為這使我們的業務在我們剛剛經歷的週期中保持相當穩定。這非常重要。我認為對我們有幫助的另一件事是我們的數位效能。我們將繼續致力於數位化。我們的平台——我們的忠誠度平台——增加了大約 6% 的忠誠用戶，使我們的收入達到 4,200 萬美元，我認為這對我們與客戶建立個人關係也非常重要。

Andrew Strelzik, BMO Capital Markets.

Andrew Strelzik，BMO 資本市場。

Hi. This is Jared Hludzinski on for Andrew Strelzik. Thank you for taking the question. I was hoping you could walk us through the drivers behind the updated 2024 US company margin guidance. And if you could also provide us with an update on food cost and your visibility there as we look out to the balance of the year. Thank you.

你好。我是安德魯‧斯特雷齊克 (Andrew Strelzik) 的賈里德‧赫魯津斯基 (Jared Hludzinski)。感謝您提出問題。我希望您能向我們介紹更新後的 2024 年美國公司利潤指引背後的驅動因素。當我們展望今年的剩餘時間時，您是否也可以向我們提供有關食品成本的最新資訊以及您在那裡的知名度。謝謝。

Good morning. Yeah, on the restaurant margin, it seems to be obviously widened the guidance range for sales. We consequently, obviously, also widened the range for company restaurant margin to 15% to 17%. So the midpoint is about 16%. As you might have seen, our year-to-date margin is also 16%. We are expecting flat commodities for the year. Labor inflation, that's unchanged. Labor inflation in the 3% to 5% range, that's also unchanged.

早安.是的，在餐廳利潤方面，銷售指導範圍似乎明顯擴大了。因此，顯然我們也將公司餐廳的利潤率擴大到 15% 至 17%。所以中點約為16%。正如您可能已經看到的，我們今年迄今的利潤率也是 16%。我們預計今年大宗商品持平。勞動力通膨，這一點沒有改變。勞動力通膨率在 3% 至 5% 範圍內，也沒有變化。

And we definitely expect with the slight acceleration of sales lift in the in the second half, plus a small price action we took at the end of the second quarter. All of that gets us very comfortably into the guidance range we have just issued. The picture on commodities hasn't really changed. Beef and fries are inflationary for us. Chicken is deflationary. We obviously made no progress in the last quarter to lock down price visibility on the commodity basket. We are slightly north of 90% locked down, it's comparable of the visibility we had last year at the same time.

我們肯定預計下半年銷售成長將略有加速，再加上我們在第二季末採取的小價格行動。所有這些都讓我們非常輕鬆地進入了我們剛剛發布的指導範圍。大宗商品的情況並沒有真正改變。牛肉和薯條對我們來說是通貨膨脹的。雞是通貨緊縮的。顯然，上個季度我們在鎖定商品籃子價格可見度方面沒有取得任何進展。我們的封鎖程度略高於 90%，與去年同期的能見度相當。

Dennis Geiger, UBS.

丹尼斯蓋革，瑞銀集團。

Great. Thanks, guys. Wondering if you could talk about breakfast performance in the quarter a bit more. Seems like the advertising, the offers and the innovation has been resonating. But just curious if you could speak to any more observations around breakfast -- around your breakfast customer and sort of how that's shaping your breakfast growth goals going forward. Thank you.

偉大的。多謝你們。想知道您是否可以多談談本季的早餐表現。看起來廣告、優惠和創新已經引起了共鳴。但只是好奇你是否能談談更多關於早餐的觀察——圍繞你的早餐顧客，以及這如何影響你未來的早餐成長目標。謝謝。

Yeah. Dennis, good morning. Yeah, breakfast is really an important opportunity for us. We've talked about this in the past as reaching our full potential, and we're about halfway there, which is the exciting part. It is certainly a tailwind in our business right now. It's growing faster than the rest of our business, and it's growing faster than the category.

是的。丹尼斯，早安。是的，早餐對我們來說確實是一個重要的機會。我們過去曾談論過這一點，即充分發揮我們的潛力，而我們已經完成了一半，這是令人興奮的部分。這無疑是我們目前業務的順風車。它的成長速度比我們其他業務的成長速度更快，而且比該類別的成長速度更快。

We're gaining share in this daypart. We continue to invest. What -- we will continue to invest through the horizon of 2025 and beyond in breakfast. And I just -- what I really like about breakfast is it's more profitable. It's incremental to our business. It leverages the restaurant's labor model. and we've got a great menu. So it is something that we'll continue to stay focused on. We'll continue to build momentum on, and it will be a tailwind for our overall SRS performance.

我們在這一時段的份額正在增加。我們繼續投資。到 2025 年及以後，我們將繼續在早餐領域進行投資。我只是 - 我真正喜歡早餐的是它更有利可圖。這對我們的業務來說是增量的。它利用了餐廳的勞動力模式。我們有很棒的菜單。所以這是我們將繼續關注的事情。我們將繼續保持勢頭，這將成為我們整體 SRS 表現的推動力。

Danilo Gargiulo, Bernstein.

達尼洛·加吉烏洛，伯恩斯坦。

Thank you. Just, I wonder if you can give us a little bit more context on the development centers that you have enhanced. Specifically, your expectations on the cash-on-cash returns on unlevered basis that you're expecting franchisees to be getting out of it? And if you can also put that into context versus the other programs that you're running and their utilization rates. Thank you.

謝謝。只是，我想知道您是否能為我們提供有關您所增強的開發中心的更多背景資訊。具體來說，您對特許經營者能夠從中獲得的無槓桿基礎上的現金回報有何期望？如果您也可以將其與您正在運行的其他程式及其利用率結合。謝謝。

Thank you. Good morning, Danilo. Yes, we are happy with the incentive programs we have just launched. So remember, you've heard us talk about Build-to-Suit and about the Pacesetter. The Pacesetter actually has expired and is one of the driving forces for the additional development commitments that got signed. So we worked in the last couple of months with the franchise community on terms of renewing the incentive program. It's a little bit different now.

謝謝。早安，達尼洛。是的，我們對剛推出的激勵計畫感到滿意。所以請記住，您已經聽過我們談論「量身打造」和「標兵」。標兵實際上已經到期，並且是簽署額外開發承諾的驅動力之一。因此，我們在過去幾個月與特許經營社區就更新激勵計劃進行了合作。現在有點不同了。

So we -- it's a tiered system. The basic idea is the more you commit from a building point of view, the higher of an incentive you're going to get, so it's obviously a win-win. We have to deal with less builders that are building more per franchise unit and the franchisees that want to build more, obviously get rewarded for a bigger incentive. I'm not looking that much on cash-on-cash returns. I look at levered payback periods.

所以我們——這是一個分層系統。基本想法是，從建築的角度來看，你投入的越多，你獲得的動機就越高，所以這顯然是雙贏的。我們必須應對每個特許經營單位建造更多建築的較少建築商，以及想要建造更多建築的特許經營商，顯然會獲得更大的激勵獎勵。我不太看重現金回報。我研究槓桿投資回收期。

The Build-to-Suit program, which is unchanged from a design point of view, is still our best program. Delevered payback on that one is about two years. The top builder, which is our richest incentive, in exchange, you need to sign up for about 15 units you get a levered return of about 3.5 years.

從設計角度來看，Build-to-Suit 計劃並沒有改變，但仍然是我們最好的計劃。此計畫的去槓桿化投資回收期約為兩年。頂級建築商，這是我們最豐厚的激勵，作為交換，你需要簽約大約15個單位，你就可以獲得大約3.5年的槓桿回報。

So very, very attractive. The franchise community that we worked the program with was very excited, and we're confident that as we're rolling this out, that we'll get the franchise base excited and sign up for development agreements. I'm sure we are going to give an update on the sign-ups on these programs in the next couple of quarters.

非常非常有吸引力。與我們一起合作該計劃的特許經營社區非常興奮，我們相信，當我們推出該計劃時，我們將使特許經營基礎感到興奮並簽署開發協議。我確信我們將在接下來的幾個季度內更新這些計劃的註冊情況。

Jon Tower, Citi.

喬恩塔，花旗銀行。

Thanks for taking the question. Just maybe circling back to the practice conversation, Kirk, I think you had mentioned in your prepared remarks, the idea that this year, you're only going to be spending about $22 million in breakfast spend -- or incremental spend from the company contribution side. I think it was closer to $27 million previously. Maybe I'm mistaken, but you also made some comments about extending it potentially beyond $25 million. So are you contemplating incremental investment above that $55 million you had originally outlined earlier this year?

感謝您提出問題。也許回到練習對話，柯克，我想你在準備好的發言中提到過，今年你只會在早餐上花費約 2200 萬美元，或者公司捐款的增量支出邊。我認為之前接近 2700 萬美元。也許我錯了，但您也發表了一些關於將其擴展至 2500 萬美元以上的評論。那麼，您是否正在考慮在今年稍早最初計劃的 5500 萬美元之上進行增量投資？

Jon, good morning. Thanks for the question. Yeah. We had to clarify, breakfast is something that, again, we're very bullish on. We do think that it's important to be -- to look at the horizon, the investment horizon a little longer than we originally communicated. So I think about it as pushing that same investment, some of that into beyond $25 million. That's how we're thinking about it.

喬恩，早安。謝謝你的提問。是的。我們必須澄清，早餐是我們非常看好的東西。我們確實認為重要的是──放眼長遠，投資期間比我們最初傳達的要長一點。因此，我認為推動同樣的投資，其中一些投資超過 2500 萬美元。我們就是這麼想的。

I think this is one where we're going to build it over time. It's again, our potential is at about $3,000 a week per restaurant over that -- over a horizon. We're going to be very diligent about doing that. But it's prudent to push that investment past $25 million. We'll continue to build it past that.

我認為這是我們將隨著時間的推移構建它的地方。再說一次，我們的潛力是每家餐廳每週收入約為 3,000 美元——超出了地平線。我們將非常努力地做到這一點。但謹慎的做法是將該投資增加到 2,500 萬美元以上。在那之後我們將繼續建造它。

Gregory Francfort, Guggenheim Partners.

葛瑞格里‧法蘭克福特，古根漢合夥人。

Hey, thanks for the question. Kirk, I think in the prepared remarks, you made a comment about increasing the pace of innovation. Can you maybe help frame up, obviously, without tipping your hand too much, what that's going to look like? Is that just going to be shorter calendar windows, a greater number of new products? Just any thoughts there. Thanks.

嘿，謝謝你的提問。柯克，我認為在準備好的發言中，您對加快創新步伐發表了評論。顯然，你能在不過度傾斜你的手的情況下幫助構想一下，那會是什麼樣子嗎？難道只是日曆視窗變短，新產品數量增加？只是有任何想法。謝謝。

Innovation is such an important part of what consumers are looking for and our customers expect from us. You've seen us do things like Saucy Nuggs. We've also been very successful leveraging our Frosty brand. It's a brand that consumers love, and we've continued to innovate off those platforms. You'll see us innovate in the second half of the year.

創新是消費者所尋求的以及客戶對我們的期望的重要組成部分。你見過我們做像 Saucy Nuggs 這樣的事情。我們也非常成功地利用了 Frosty 品牌。這是消費者喜愛的品牌，我們不斷在這些平台上進行創新。您將在下半年看到我們的創新。

We'll innovate off of our core. We'll continue to innovate on platforms like Frosty. And I think innovation is an important part that kind of celebrates both our core business and our new to this world's consumer propositions that have some breakthrough. I think that's really important right now. We talk a lot about value and value is critically important. Innovation is also important. Customers are looking and loving innovation. So we are going to stay focused on that.

我們將從我們的核心出發進行創新。我們將繼續在 Frosty 等平台上進行創新。我認為創新是一個重要的部分，它既慶祝了我們的核心業務，也慶祝了我們對這個世界的新消費者主張的突破。我認為這現在非常重要。我們經常談論價值，而價值至關重要。創新也很重要。客戶正在尋找並熱愛創新。所以我們將繼續關注這一點。

Brian Mullan, Piper Sandler.

布萊恩·穆蘭，派珀·桑德勒。

Thank you. Just a question on the efforts to expand the digital menu boards at the drive-through. Where are you in that -- in the rollout at the company stores? And just maybe remind us how much of the franchise system has that capability today? Is there anything you could do to potentially accelerate that process across the franchises? Thanks.

謝謝。只是關於擴大汽車餐廳數位菜單板的努力的問題。在公司商店的推廣中，您處於什麼位置？也許只是提醒我們今天有多少特許經營系統具有這種能力？您可以做些什麼來加速整個特許經營的這一過程嗎？謝謝。

Good morning, Brian. Yes, digital ecosystems are super important, and that's what the consumer expects. As you know, we have set aside $20 million in capital to complete the digital menu board rollout in the company restaurants in '24 and '25. We are currently 30 to 35 units installed. We're obviously accelerating in the second half.

早安，布萊恩。是的，數位生態系統非常重要，這也是消費者的期望。如您所知，我們已撥出 2000 萬美元資金，以在 24 年和 25 年完成公司餐廳數位菜單板的推出。目前我們已安裝 30 至 35 台。下半年我們顯然正在加速。

We like what we see. It's a good experience for our consumer. It's a good experience for our crew members, since you obviously don't have to go out anymore and change our menu boards between rest of day and the breakfast menu. So yeah, committed to the investment, it's contemplated in the cash flow and capital forecast.

我們喜歡我們所看到的。對我們的消費者來說，這是一次很好的體驗。對於我們的工作人員來說，這是一次很好的體驗，因為您顯然不必再外出並在一天的其餘時間和早餐菜單之間更換我們的菜單板。所以，是的，致力於投資，在現金流和資本預測中考慮了這一點。

Lauren Silberman, Deutsche Bank.

勞倫·西爾伯曼，德意志銀行。

Hey. Just on the guide, I wanted to confirm the EBITDA and EPS being reaffirmed, it's primarily due to less breakfast advertising contribution this year. And then specific to the advertising, how'd you come to the decision to reduce levels of investment this year? Are you not seeing the returns as high as you would have expected?

嘿。就指南而言，我想確認 EBITDA 和 EPS 得到重申，這主要是由於今年早餐廣告貢獻減少。然後具體到廣告方面，您是如何決定今年減少投資水準的？您是否看到回報沒有達到您的期望？

Good morning, Lauren. Just to clarify, our EBITDA and EPS guidance. So it's unchanged versus previously. So obviously, we had headwinds on the sales side -- since obviously, the midpoint of the guidance range shifted down a little bit. It's not because we are not competitive, right? We are maintaining share. It's because the category is a little bit softer than we expected.

早安，勞倫。澄清一下，我們的 EBITDA 和 EPS 指導。所以與之前相比沒有變化。很明顯，我們在銷售方面遇到了阻力——因為顯然指導範圍的中點向下移動了一點。這並不是因為我們沒有競爭力，對吧？我們正在維持份額。這是因為該類別比我們預期的要軟一些。

How did we overcome the profit headwinds coming out of the sales shortfall is the optimization on the breakfast advertising investment of $5 million. And we also shifted the G&A outlook range down to $255 million to $265 million. A good portion of that was incentive comp accruals and a little bit of timing of new hires. Your specific question around the breakfast investment levels.

我們如何克服銷售不足帶來的利潤阻力，就是 500 萬美元早餐廣告投資的最佳化。我們也將一般行政費用展望範圍下調至 2.55 億美元至 2.65 億美元。其中很大一部分是應計獎勵和一些新員工的時機選擇。您關於早餐投資水準的具體問題。

We're obviously winning in the category. We have outgrown the category in the first half. So we're happy about that. But in the context of the whole environment, we absolutely believe -- and we work this a little bit with the media agencies. We believe that in that environment, we are better off stretching their investment over -- our planning assumption is now three years into 2026. And obviously, the reduction this year allowed us to stretch the investment out.

我們顯然在這個類別中獲勝。上半年我們的成長已經超越了這個類別。所以我們對此感到高興。但在整個環境的背景下，我們絕對相信——並且我們與媒體機構進行了一些合作。我們相信，在這種環境下，我們最好將他們的投資延長——我們的規劃假設是三年後的 2026 年。

Brian Harbour, Morgan Stanley.

布萊恩‧哈伯，摩根士丹利。

Yes, thanks. Good morning, guys. Just a quick one on the development side. I think you said 2Q was in line with your expectations. Was that also true of just the closures that you had in the US? Or could you kind of comment on that?

對了謝謝。早上好傢伙。只是關於開發方面的快速介紹。我認為你說第二季符合你的預期。你們在美國的關閉也是如此嗎？或者你能對此發表評論嗎？

Good morning, Brian. Yes, absolutely. It's in line with our expectations, right? As I said in the prepared remarks, our sales guidance for the year is 1% to 3% SRS and 2% net unit growth. That is unchanged versus what we have told you previously. We have reaffirmed again our gross openings, 250 to 300 units. So it's all kind of where we thought it would be.

早安，布萊恩。是的，一點沒錯。這符合我們的預期，對嗎？正如我在準備好的演講中所說，我們今年的銷售指導是 1% 至 3% 的 SRS 和 2% 的淨單位成長。這與我們之前告訴您的內容相比沒有變化。我們再次確認了總空缺數量為 250 至 300 個單位。所以這一切都在我們的想像中。

David Palmer, Evercore ISI.

大衛·帕爾默，Evercore ISI。

Thank you. Good morning, guys. I'm wondering if we could maybe take a step back and think about the biggest opportunities and challenges, Kirk, that you see for the brand in the US. What are you hearing from franchisees about what you want to improve upon, and they want to improve upon? And what are you seeing about these changes that could be made this year versus perhaps some longer-term changes that you see the brand making? Thank you.

謝謝。早上好傢伙。我想知道我們是否可以退後一步，思考一下柯克，您在美國看到的品牌面臨的最大機會和挑戰。您從特許經營商那裡聽到了什麼關於您想要改進的地方以及他們想要改進的地方？您對今年可能做出的這些變化與品牌可能做出的一些長期變化有何看法？謝謝。

Yeah, David, thanks for the question. Look, the team is focused on this positive flywheel, right? And I think that makes a lot of sense for both the brand and our franchisees. That positive flywheel starts with being very relevant in the present, which is right now, we're competing well in the marketplace. We have to stay focused on delivering and gaining share, working what Wendy's is famous for.

是的，大衛，謝謝你的提問。看，團隊專注於這個積極的飛輪，對嗎？我認為這對品牌和我們的特許經營商來說都很有意義。這個積極的飛輪首先與當前非常相關，現在我們在市場上競爭很好。我們必須專注於交付和贏得市場份額，致力於溫迪的著名事業。

So that's certainly a big part of it. But you'll see us -- we're working very diligently on driving the economic model at the restaurant level, improving our margin performance because we know that is critical. We're very focused on our long-term unit performance and building new restaurants. I think that we talk about the 99 new restaurants we've built this year and the 250 to 300 restaurants we'll build in 2024. Those are all very brand-building, they perform and outperform current restaurants.

所以這肯定是其中一個重要的部分。但你會看到我們——我們正在非常努力地推動餐廳層面的經濟模式，提高我們的利潤表現，因為我們知道這至關重要。我們非常關注我們的長期單位業績和建設新餐廳。我想我們談論的是今年新建的 99 家餐廳，以及 2024 年將新建的 250 到 300 家餐廳。

So those are the big things. You think about this business, it's top line, growing share, improving our margin and building new restaurants. Those are the critical things that we are focused on and working side-by-side with our franchisees to make that happen.

這些都是大事。你想想這個業務，它的收入、不斷增長的份額、提高我們的利潤和建造新餐廳。這些是我們關注的關鍵事情，並與我們的特許經營商並肩努力實現這一目標。

Sara Senatore, Bank of America.

薩拉·參議員，美國銀行。

Great. Thank you. One, I guess, clarification and then a question, please. The first is on just, you mentioned that the industry was perhaps a little softer than you had expected at your holding share. Could you talk about any of the sort of underlying dynamics there that you saw, which is to say, is it traffic that's a bit slower? And if so, if there are specific groups or is it ticket, some of the promotional activity perhaps dragging on that?

偉大的。謝謝。我想先澄清一下，然後再提出一個問題。第一個是，您提到該行業可能比您所持股份的預期要軟一些。您能否談談您所看到的任何潛在動態，也就是說，交通是否有點慢？如果是這樣，如果有特定的群體或門票，一些促銷活動可能會拖延？

So that was just a sort of clarification. And then with respect to the restaurant mobile margins, I know you talked about a wider range of sales. Is there any change or any impact that is from the -- like the UK restaurants? I know that they had previously been a diminishing drag but anything there that may be changed. Thanks.

所以這只是一種澄清。關於餐廳的移動利潤，我知道您談到了更廣泛的銷售範圍。像英國餐廳一樣，有什麼變化或影響嗎？我知道它們以前一直是一個逐漸減弱的阻力，但任何事情都可能會改變。謝謝。

Things. Good morning, Sarah. Sara, so a little bit of the composition of our sales growth in the United States. So we have realized -- the system has realized about 4% pricing. We have seen traffic down about 2%, a little bit less than 2% and with slightly negative mix of a little bit more than 1%. So a little bit of context. So again, traffic down is a function of the category being down as well, right?

事物。早安，莎拉。薩拉，所以我們在美國的銷售成長有一點點成分。所以我們已經意識到——系統已經實現了大約 4% 的定價。我們看到流量下降了約 2%，略低於 2%，並且略高於 1%。所以有一點背景知識。那麼，流量下降也是類別下降的函數，對吧？

As we said in the prepared remarks, our traffic and dollar share, we are in line with the category. I want to point out also within the income cohorts, right, our research company splits them into below and above $75,000. We see the same trend that we have seen in the last couple of quarters. The lower income consumer is reducing the frequency, the higher income consumer is increasing their frequency. We are competing with both income cohorts and maintaining share there.

正如我們在準備好的評論中所說，我們的流量和美元份額與該類別相符。我還想指出，在收入群體中，我們的研究公司將其分為低於 75,000 美元和高於 75,000 美元的群體。我們看到了與過去幾季相同的趨勢。收入較低的消費者減少頻率，收入較高的消費者增加頻率。我們正在與兩個收入群體競爭並保持那裡的份額。

In terms of mix, actually, the biggest headwind, a little bit more than 1% is driven by the fact that we drove last year relatively hard Made to Crave premium sandwich which we didn't do this year. And secondly, we continued our digital acquisition strategy this year, right. It resulted in a 6% increase in our loyalty base, and that created a little bit of mix headwinds for us.

就組合而言，實際上，最大的逆風（略多於 1%）是由於我們去年相對較努力地推出了 Made to Crave 優質三明治，而今年我們沒有這樣做。其次，我們今年繼續了我們的數位收購策略，對吧。它使我們的忠誠度增加了 6%，這給我們帶來了一些混合阻力。

Our value offerings, Biggie Bag, year over year had no material impact on our mix and profitability year over year since obviously, is nationally recognized. We have it for several years and was obviously sitting in the base already.

我們的價值產品 Biggie Bag 逐年對我們的產品組合和盈利能力沒有產生重大影響，因為顯然它是全國認可的。我們已經擁有它好幾年了，顯然已經坐在基地裡了。

Jim Salera, Stephens.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯。

Hi. This is Tyler Prause on for Jim. Several peers in the industry -- you've mentioned headwinds to same-store sales in California due to the recent price increases. Just going to see if you could give us an update on the market and if you had any particular callouts? And then I had one follow-up.

你好。我是泰勒普拉斯 (Tyler Prause) 替吉姆 (Jim) 發言。業內的幾位同行——您提到了由於最近的價格上漲而對加州同店銷售帶來的阻力。只是想看看您是否可以向我們提供有關市場的最新資訊以及您是否有任何特定的標註？然後我進行了一項後續行動。

Yeah. I think that clearly, the consumer across the country has been well documented. There's certainly certain cohorts in consumer bases that are under pressure and more discerning in their decisions. As far as California goes, this is something that is unfortunate from a wage and labor standpoint, but the team is working against it. We've focused on driving more productivity and delivering the Wendy's promise in this light. These are opportunities where we feel like we still have to win and we have a plan in place to do that.

是的。我認為很明顯，全國各地的消費者都有詳細記錄。消費者群體中肯定有某些群體面臨壓力，他們的決策更明智。就加州而言，從工資和勞動力的角度來看，這是不幸的事情，但團隊正在努力反對它。從這個角度來看，我們致力於提高生產力並兌現溫蒂的承諾。我們覺得我們仍然必須贏得這些機會，我們已經制定了計劃來做到這一點。

We have a proposition on our menu to do just that. But I think that if you look at where consumers are, our focus is on winning in this environment. Winning and competing well in this environment. And we're doing that just with that strategy, including places like California. It goes to delivering our core, having compelling innovation and having relevant value, and this relevant value has allowed us to stay very competitive and win in this marketplace.

我們的菜單上有一個建議可以做到這一點。但我認為，如果你看看消費者在哪裡，我們的重點就是在這種環境中獲勝。在這種環境下獲勝和競爭。我們正在透過這項策略來做到這一點，包括像加州這樣的地方。它致力於提供我們的核心、具有引人注目的創新和相關價值，而這種相關價值使我們能夠保持非常強的競爭力並在這個市場中獲勝。

Thank you. At this time, we currently have no further questions for today. So that concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。目前，我們今天沒有進一步的問題。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。現在您可以斷開線路。