Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q2 2025 was $603.3 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 14.2% and 13.8% on a constant currency basis [10][12] - EBITDA for Q2 2025 was $130.5 million, an increase of 16.2% compared to $112.3 million in Q2 2024, with an EBITDA margin of 21.6% [11][12] - Net income for Q2 2025 was $90.3 million, a 2.2% increase from $88.4 million in the prior year [12] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Net new business awards entering backlog in Q2 increased by 12.6% year-over-year to $620.5 million, resulting in a net book-to-bill ratio of 1.03 [8][10] - Ending backlog as of June 30, 2025, was approximately $2.9 billion, a decrease of 1.8% from the prior year [8] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company anticipates that approximately $1.75 billion of backlog will convert to revenue in the next twelve months, with a backlog conversion rate of 21.2% in Q2 [9][10] - The funding environment has stabilized and improved, allowing most clients with ongoing studies to secure sufficient funding [7][10] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company raised its revenue guidance for 2025 by $280 million at the midpoint, now expecting total revenue in the range of $2.42 billion to $2.52 billion, reflecting growth of 14.7% to 19.5% over 2024 [14] - The strategic shift towards faster-burning therapeutic areas is expected to increase reimbursable costs as a percentage of revenue by 200 to 300 basis points over the remainder of the year [14] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about accelerating revenue in the second half of the year due to improved funding, fewer cancellations, and rapid project start-ups [7][10] - The management acknowledged that while the funding environment has improved, there remains uncertainty regarding future cancellations and their impact on 2026 [29][30] Other Important Information - The company repurchased approximately 1.75 million shares for $518.5 million in Q2 2025, with $826.3 million remaining under the share repurchase authorization program [12][13] - The effective tax rate for 2025 is expected to be between 18.5% and 19% [14] Q&A Session Summary Question: What are the booking expectations for the second half? - Management expects bookings to increase, with a reasonable chance of getting the book-to-bill ratio back over 1.15, depending on cancellation rates [19] Question: Can you provide information on cancellations? - Cancellations were down across the entire portfolio, with rates lower than historical averages, contributing to better-than-expected bookings and performance [20] Question: How does the increase in pass-through costs impact revenue? - The increase in pass-through costs is expected to significantly influence revenue, with a large portion of the revenue increase attributed to accelerated reimbursable cost activity [24] Question: What is the outlook for funding and demand activity? - Management noted that while funding has improved, there is still uncertainty regarding potential future downturns in demand activity [30] Question: How did intra-quarter trends evolve in Q2? - The business environment remained strong throughout Q2, with low cancellation rates contributing to a stable demand environment [35] Question: What are the dynamics around bookings and competitive win rates? - The win rate was lower in Q2 due to the presence of large projects that were lost, but the overall number of decisions made increased significantly [48] Question: What is the expected hiring trend for the second half? - The company anticipates accelerated hiring in the second half, with a focus on maintaining mid to upper single-digit growth rates for the year [85]