Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4 2025, automotive margins, excluding credits, improved sequentially from 15.4% to 17.9% despite a 16% decrease in deliveries [21] - Total gross margin ended the quarter at over 20.1%, a level not achieved in the last two years, despite lower fixed cost absorption and over $500 million in tariffs [24] - Net income was negatively impacted by a 23% depreciation in Bitcoin holdings and unfavorable foreign exchange effects [25] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Automotive gross profit remained flat sequentially despite lower deliveries, primarily due to a favorable regional mix with more deliveries in APAC and EMEA [21] - Energy segment achieved nearly $12.8 billion in revenue with a year-over-year growth of 26.6%, driven by high deployments of Megapack and Powerwall [22] - Services and others margin declined from 10.5% to 8.8% due to higher employee-related costs in service centers [23] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Record deliveries were noted in smaller countries like Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan, contributing to a larger backlog than in recent years [20] - The energy team reported strong growth rates and continued demand for energy products, indicating a robust market outlook [12] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is transitioning to a subscription-based model for Full Self-Driving (FSD), which is expected to impact automotive margins in the short term [21] - Significant investments are planned for 2026, with CapEx expected to exceed $20 billion, focusing on six factories and expanding production capacity [26][27] - The company aims to replace the Model S and X production lines with a factory for Optimus robots, targeting a production goal of 1 million units per year [7][14] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the future, emphasizing a shift towards autonomy and the potential for universal high income driven by advancements in AI and robotics [2][4] - The company is cautious about the rollout of unsupervised FSD, ensuring safety while gradually increasing autonomy capabilities [54][55] - Management acknowledged the challenges posed by increased low-cost competition and policy uncertainties affecting margins in the energy sector [22] Other Important Information - The company is making substantial investments in AI chips and solar cell manufacturing, indicating a long-term strategic focus on these areas [5][13] - The transition to a fully autonomous vehicle market is expected to significantly alter the transportation landscape, with the Cybercab model designed specifically for this purpose [30][34] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is Tesla's view on the future global car sales and its impact on EV strategy? - Tesla believes that autonomy and Cybercab will significantly change the global market size and mix, with a focus on efficiency and manufacturing at scale [28][29] Question: Are there plans to launch new models for different price segments? - Tesla has launched its least expensive models recently and continues to expand globally, aiming to provide a premium ride experience with the Cybercab [34][35] Question: What is the current bottleneck for increasing robotaxi deployment? - The company is learning from the scaled robotaxi service and is focused on solving the unsupervised FSD problem while expanding the fleet size [41][42] Question: What are the constraints on memory procurement? - Tesla's AI is designed to be compute and memory efficient, and the company is confident in its ability to manage memory constraints in the near term [91][92]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for the quarter was $81.3 billion, up 17% year-over-year and 15% in constant currency [25] - Gross margin dollars increased by 16% and operating income rose by 21% [25] - Earnings per share was $4.14, reflecting a 24% increase year-over-year [25] - Company gross margin percentage was 68%, slightly down year-over-year due to investments in AI infrastructure [26] - Operating expenses increased by 5%, driven by R&D investments [26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $51.5 billion, growing 26% year-over-year [31] - Productivity and Business Processes revenue was $34.1 billion, up 16% year-over-year [31] - M365 Commercial Cloud revenue increased by 17%, with paid M365 commercial seats growing 6% to over 450 million [32] - Intelligent Cloud segment revenue was $32.9 billion, growing 29% year-over-year [33] - More Personal Computing revenue declined by 3% to $14.3 billion [36] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Commercial bookings increased by 230%, driven by large Azure commitments from OpenAI [30] - Commercial remaining performance obligation (RPO) increased to $625 billion, up 110% year-over-year [30] - Azure revenue grew by 39%, slightly ahead of expectations [34] - LinkedIn revenue increased by 11%, driven by marketing solutions [24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI diffusion and its impact on GDP, with significant investments in AI infrastructure [6] - Microsoft aims to build a comprehensive AI business that integrates across its platforms, enhancing customer experiences [10] - The strategy includes expanding sovereignty solutions to meet local data residency needs [9] - The company is investing in both first-party and third-party AI models to enhance its offerings [11] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the growth of AI and its integration into various business lines, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure investments [6][9] - The company anticipates continued strong demand across its cloud services, with a focus on balancing supply and demand [34] - Management highlighted the importance of long-term investments in R&D and product innovation to drive future growth [50] Other Important Information - Capital expenditures for the quarter were $37.5 billion, with a significant portion allocated to short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs [27] - The company returned $12.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, a 32% increase year-over-year [29] - The company is seeing strong momentum in its Copilot offerings, with significant increases in daily active users and paid seats [18] Q&A Session Summary Question: Concerns about CapEx growth and Azure revenue - Management acknowledged the correlation between CapEx and Azure revenue, emphasizing long-term investments in infrastructure to meet demand [48][50] Question: Line of sight from hardware CapEx to revenue and margins - Management clarified that much of the capital spent is already contracted for the useful life of the hardware, reducing risk [60][61] Question: Durability of OpenAI-related backlog - Management expressed confidence in the breadth and diversification of their RPO, highlighting strong growth across various customer segments [68] Question: Capacity additions and their impact - Management confirmed ongoing efforts to add capacity globally, emphasizing the need for efficient operations across multiple locations [75] Question: Performance of Maia 200 accelerator - Management highlighted the significance of silicon innovation and its role in enhancing performance and cost efficiency for AI workloads [80]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4 2025, automotive margins, excluding credits, improved sequentially from 15.4% to 17.9% despite a 16% decrease in deliveries, primarily due to a favorable regional mix with more deliveries in APAC and EMEA [21] - Total gross margin ended the quarter at over 20.1%, a level not achieved in the last two years, despite lower fixed cost absorption and over $500 million in tariffs impacting results [24] - Net income was negatively impacted by a 23% depreciation in Bitcoin holdings and unfavorable foreign exchange impacts [25] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Automotive gross profit remained flat sequentially, while FSD adoption improved, reaching nearly 1.1 million paid customers globally, with 70% being upfront purchases [21][22] - Energy segment achieved record gross profit for the quarter, ending the year with nearly $12.8 billion in revenue, reflecting a 26.6% year-over-year growth driven by high deployments of Megapack and Powerwall [22] - Services and Others margin declined from 10.5% to 8.8% due to higher employee-related costs, although there was an improvement in margins from the Supercharging business [23] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Record deliveries were noted in smaller countries like Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan, contributing to a larger backlog than in recent years [20] - Continued strength in demand was observed in the rest of APAC and EMEA, with the energy team achieving high growth rates [20][22] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is making significant investments in AI, robotics, and battery supply chains, with a focus on transitioning to an autonomous future [4][7] - Plans to end production of Model S and X to repurpose factory space for Optimus robot production, aiming for a long-term goal of 1 million units per year [7][13] - The company is transitioning to a subscription-based model for FSD, which may impact automotive margins in the short term [22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the future, highlighting the potential for universal high income driven by advancements in AI and robotics [2][3] - The company anticipates significant growth in the energy sector and plans to ramp up solar cell production to 100 gigawatts per year [12][13] - Management acknowledged the challenges posed by increased low-cost competition and policy uncertainties affecting margins [22] Other Important Information - The company expects capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion in 2026, driven by investments in multiple factories and AI infrastructure [26][27] - The company has over $44 billion in cash and investments, which will be utilized for funding the upcoming investments [81] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is Tesla's view on the future global car sales and its impact on EV strategy? - Management indicated that the future is autonomous, and the introduction of Cybercab will significantly change the market size and mix, with expectations of increased production volumes [28][29] Question: Are there plans to launch new models for different price segments? - Management confirmed ongoing efforts to launch less expensive models and expand globally, aiming to provide a premium ride experience through Cybercab [34][35] Question: What are the current bottlenecks for robotaxi deployment? - Management noted that scaling the robotaxi service has been a learning process, with unsupervised service recently launched in Austin, and emphasized the importance of infrastructure in supporting growth [41][44] Question: What is the current status of Optimus robots in production? - Management stated that Optimus is still in the R&D phase, with basic tasks being performed in factories, and significant production volume is not expected until later in the year [49][50] Question: What is the strategy for chip production and potential external sales? - Management highlighted the need for a Tesla Terafab to ensure sufficient chip production capacity, emphasizing the importance of domestic manufacturing to mitigate geopolitical risks [66][70]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4 2025, total revenue and adjusted gross profit (AGP) declined approximately 7% and 4% year-over-year, respectively [32][39] - The AGP decline was primarily driven by a 13% year-over-year decline in Global Forwarding's AGP due to a significant drop in ocean rates [32][39] - Personnel expenses in Q4 were $337 million, including $15.2 million of restructuring charges, while excluding these charges, personnel expenses were down 8.2% year-over-year [33][34] - The effective tax rate for Q4 was 18.1%, with a full-year tax rate of 18.7% expected to be in the range of 18%-20% for 2026 [38] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - In North American Surface Transportation (NAST), truckload volume rose approximately 3% year-over-year, while LTL volume increased approximately 0.5% year-over-year, reflecting market share gains [14][32] - Global Forwarding expanded gross margins by 100 basis points year-over-year through improved revenue management [7] - NAST AGP margin improved by 20 basis points year-over-year despite market pressures [6] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Cass Freight Shipment Index declined year-over-year for the thirteenth consecutive quarter, marking the lowest Q4 reading since the financial crisis of 2009 [4] - Spot market costs for truckload capacity spiked during the last five weeks of Q4 due to seasonal capacity decline and winter storms [4][17] - Dry van load-to-truck ratios increased to approximately 10 to 1, compared to 6 to 1 during the same period in 2024 [17] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on controlling what it can, including providing differentiated service and solutions, executing with discipline, and continuously improving its business model [5][8] - The Lean AI strategy aims to enhance automation and improve customer outcomes while maintaining industry-leading operating margins [9][30] - The company is committed to building a scalable model that leverages AI to drive automation across its operations [9][30] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged the challenging macro environment in Q4, including weak global freight demand and rising costs [4][32] - The company remains confident in its ability to execute strategic initiatives and improve operating leverage when freight demand eventually increases [9][22] - Management emphasized the importance of their lean operating model in navigating market challenges and driving sustainable growth [42][43] Other Important Information - The company generated $305.4 million in cash from operations in Q4 and ended the quarter with approximately $1.49 billion of liquidity [39][40] - The company returned approximately $207.7 million of cash to shareholders in Q4 through share repurchases and dividends [40] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide perspective on Q1 and AGP growth? - Management noted that December was challenging due to ocean rate normalization and that cost pressures carried into January, but they remain committed to demonstrating outperformance in Q1 [50][51] Question: What are the expectations for operating margins in NAST for 2027? - Management indicated they are on a good trajectory to reach mid-cycle margins of 40% for NAST, with decisions on margin expansion versus growth to be made based on market conditions [53][54] Question: How does the company balance headcount reductions with maintaining service quality? - Management stated that headcount is not a KPI and emphasized engineering the business to focus on customer service while optimizing organizational structure [82]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a total revenue decline of approximately 7% year-over-year in Q4 2025, with adjusted gross profit (AGP) down about 4% year-over-year [32][39] - The AGP decline was primarily driven by a 13% year-over-year decrease in Global Forwarding's AGP due to falling ocean rates and market imbalances [32][33] - Personnel expenses in Q4 were $337 million, including $15.2 million in restructuring charges, while excluding these charges, personnel expenses were down 8.2% year-over-year [33][34] - The company generated $305.4 million in cash from operations in Q4 and ended the quarter with approximately $1.49 billion in liquidity [39][40] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - In North American Surface Transportation (NAST), total volume grew by 1% year-over-year, with truckload volume increasing by approximately 3% [6][12] - Global Forwarding expanded gross margins by 100 basis points year-over-year through improved revenue management [7] - The company achieved double-digit productivity increases in NAST for the full year and a high single-digit productivity increase in Global Forwarding [7][19] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Cass Freight Shipment Index declined year-over-year for the thirteenth consecutive quarter, marking the lowest Q4 reading since the financial crisis of 2009 [4][12] - Spot market costs for truckload capacity spiked during the last five weeks of Q4 due to seasonal capacity declines and winter storms [4][17] - The dry van load-to-truck ratio increased to approximately 10 to 1, compared to 6 to 1 during the same period in 2024 [17] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on a Lean AI strategy, which combines lean operating models with advanced technology to improve service and operational efficiency [9][30] - The management emphasized the importance of controlling internal factors, such as service differentiation and cost management, to navigate challenging market conditions [5][8] - The company aims to continue expanding its operating leverage and market share, particularly when freight demand eventually increases [9][22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged the challenging macroeconomic environment but expressed confidence in the company's ability to manage through it better than in the past [4][32] - The company expects Q1 to be seasonally weaker compared to Q4, with a typical decline in the Cass Freight Shipment Index of about 2.3% [21] - Management remains optimistic about the future, indicating that the next two years could be more exciting than the previous two [46] Other Important Information - The company returned approximately $207.7 million to shareholders in Q4 through share repurchases and dividends [40] - The effective tax rate for Q4 was 18.1%, with expectations for the full year tax rate in 2026 to be between 18% and 20% [38] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on Q1 performance and AGP growth - Management noted that December was challenging due to ocean rate normalization and that spot rate cost pressures carried into January, but they remain committed to demonstrating outperformance in Q1 [48][51] Question: Long-term margin and volume growth expectations - Management discussed the importance of balancing margin expansion with market share growth, indicating that they are on track to achieve mid-cycle margin targets [49][54] Question: Understanding the Lean Operating Model - Management explained that their Lean AI strategy integrates people, technology, and a unique operating model, which allows for rapid innovation and competitive advantage [65][67] Question: Managing headcount reductions while maintaining service quality - Management clarified that headcount is not a KPI and emphasized their focus on engineering the business to optimize service without compromising quality [81]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for the quarter was $81.3 billion, up 17% year-over-year and 15% in constant currency [25] - Gross margin dollars increased by 16% and 14% in constant currency, while operating income rose by 21% and 19% in constant currency [25] - Earnings per share was $4.14, an increase of 24% and 21% in constant currency when adjusted for the impact from the investment in OpenAI [25][26] - Company gross margin percentage was 68%, slightly down year-over-year due to investments in AI infrastructure [26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $51.5 billion, growing 26% and 24% in constant currency [31] - Revenue from productivity and business processes was $34.1 billion, growing 16% and 14% in constant currency [31] - M365 Commercial Cloud revenue increased by 17% and 14% in constant currency, driven by strong Copilot results [31] - Dynamics 365 revenue increased by 19% and 17% in constant currency, with growth across all workloads [32] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Commercial bookings increased by 230% and 228% in constant currency, driven by large Azure commitments from OpenAI [30] - Commercial remaining performance obligation increased to $625 billion, up 110% year-over-year [30] - Microsoft Cloud gross margin percentage was slightly better than expected at 67% [31] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI diffusion and its impact on GDP, with a substantial growth in total addressable market (TAM) across the tech stack [6] - Investments are being made in AI infrastructure to support high-scale workloads and improve performance [7][9] - The introduction of Agent 365 aims to extend governance and security controls to agents built on the cloud [15] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the growth of AI and its integration into various business lines, emphasizing the importance of long-term investments in infrastructure [6][25] - The company anticipates continued strong growth across commercial businesses, partially offset by consumer business performance [38] - Management highlighted the need to balance incoming supply with growing demand, particularly in Azure [40] Other Important Information - Capital expenditures for the quarter were $37.5 billion, with a significant portion allocated to short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs [27] - Cash flow from operations was $35.8 billion, up 60%, driven by strong cloud billings and collections [29] - The company returned $12.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, an increase of 32% year-over-year [29] Q&A Session Summary Question: Concerns about CapEx growth and Azure revenue - Analyst raised concerns about CapEx growing faster than expected and its impact on Azure revenue growth [47] - Management explained that CapEx is necessary for long-term growth and is allocated to meet increasing demand for Azure and AI products [48][50] Question: Understanding CapEx investment to revenue and margins - Analyst inquired about the relationship between hardware CapEx investment and revenue growth [57] - Management clarified that much of the capital spent is already contracted for the useful life of the hardware, reducing risk [60][61] Question: Durability of OpenAI-related backlog - Analyst asked about the exposure related to the 45% backlog tied to OpenAI [67] - Management emphasized the diversification of the RPO balance and expressed confidence in the partnership with OpenAI [70] Question: Capacity additions and future growth - Analyst requested comments on the magnitude of capacity additions in upcoming quarters [73] - Management confirmed efforts to add capacity globally and emphasized the importance of meeting customer demand [75] Question: Core competency in silicon development - Analyst asked about the significance of the Maia 200 accelerator and its implications for gross margins [79] - Management highlighted the long-term investment in silicon development and its optimization for AI workloads [81]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4 2025, automotive margins improved sequentially from 15.4% to 17.9%, despite a 16% decrease in deliveries [20] - Total gross margin ended the quarter at over 20.1%, a level not achieved in the last two years [22] - Net income was negatively impacted by mark-to-market charges on Bitcoin holdings, which depreciated by 23% compared to the last quarter [23] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Automotive gross profit remained flat sequentially despite lower deliveries, primarily due to a favorable regional mix with more deliveries in APAC and EMEA [20] - Energy revenue reached nearly $12.8 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 26.6%, driven by high deployments in all regions [21] - Services and others margin declined from 10.5% to 8.8%, mainly due to higher employee-related costs in service centers [22] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Record deliveries were achieved in smaller countries like Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan, contributing to a larger backlog than in recent years [19] - FSD adoption improved, reaching nearly 1.1 million paid customers globally, with about 70% being upfront purchases [20] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is making significant investments in AI chips, battery production, and solar cell manufacturing, indicating a strategic shift towards autonomy and robotics [4][5] - The production of Model S and X will be phased out to focus on the development of Optimus robots, with a long-term goal of producing 1 million units annually [6][14] - The company aims to achieve 100 gigawatts a year of solar cell production, integrating across the entire supply chain [13] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the future, highlighting the potential for universal high income driven by advancements in AI and robotics [2][3] - The company anticipates significant growth in energy and autonomous vehicle markets, despite challenges such as margin compression from increased competition and policy uncertainties [21][25] - Management emphasized the importance of capital efficiency in their investment strategy, with a projected CapEx exceeding $20 billion for the year [24][25] Other Important Information - The company is transitioning to a subscription-based model for FSD, which may impact automotive margins in the short term [20] - Operating expenses increased due to higher stock-based compensation and investments in AI-related initiatives [23] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is Tesla's view on the global car sales number in relation to its Robotaxi ambition? - Tesla believes that autonomy and Cybercab will significantly change the global market size and mix, with expectations of substantial growth in the autonomous segment [27][28] Question: Are there plans to launch new models for different price segments? - Tesla has launched its least expensive models recently and continues to expand globally, aiming to provide a premium ride experience through Cybercab [32][33] Question: What is the current bottleneck for increasing Robotaxi deployment? - The company is focused on scaling the Robotaxi service while learning from the fleet's performance, with unsupervised service already initiated in Austin [40][41] Question: What are the constraints on memory procurement? - Tesla's AI is designed to be memory efficient, and while there are near-term constraints, the company has solutions for scaling over the next three years [89][90]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for the quarter was $81.3 billion, up 17% year-over-year and 15% in constant currency [24] - Gross margin dollars increased by 16% and 14% in constant currency, while operating income rose by 21% and 19% in constant currency [24] - Earnings per share was $4.14, an increase of 24% and 21% in constant currency when adjusted for the impact from the investment in OpenAI [24] - Company gross margin percentage was 68%, slightly down year-over-year due to investments in AI infrastructure [25] - Operating expenses increased by 5% and 4% in constant currency, driven by R&D investments [25] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $51.5 billion, growing 26% and 24% in constant currency [30] - Revenue from productivity and business processes was $34.1 billion, growing 16% and 14% in constant currency [30] - M365 Commercial Cloud revenue increased by 17% and 14% in constant currency, with strong contributions from Copilot results [30] - Dynamics 365 revenue increased by 19% and 17% in constant currency, with growth across all workloads [31] - More Personal Computing revenue was $14.3 billion, declining by 3% [34] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Commercial bookings increased by 230% and 228% in constant currency, driven by large Azure commitments from OpenAI [28] - Commercial remaining performance obligation increased to $625 billion, up 110% year-over-year [29] - Microsoft Cloud gross margin percentage was slightly better than expected at 67% [30] - LinkedIn revenue increased by 11% and 10% in constant currency, driven by marketing solutions [31] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI diffusion and its impact on GDP, with a substantial growth in total addressable market (TAM) across the tech stack [5] - Investments are being made in AI infrastructure and high-value agentic experiences, with a focus on optimizing for long-term competitiveness [5][9] - The introduction of Agent 365 aims to extend governance and security controls to agents built on the cloud [14] - The company is committed to expanding its global footprint and sovereignty solutions to meet local data residency needs [9] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the ongoing demand for cloud services, with expectations of continued strong growth across commercial businesses [24][38] - The company anticipates revenue growth of 15%-17% for the next quarter, with a focus on balancing supply and demand [37] - Management highlighted the importance of investing in R&D and AI talent to drive future growth [49] Other Important Information - Capital expenditures for the quarter were $37.5 billion, with a significant portion allocated to short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs [26] - Cash flow from operations was $35.8 billion, up 60%, driven by strong cloud billings [27] - The company returned $12.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, an increase of 32% year-over-year [27] Q&A Session Summary Question: Concerns about CapEx growth and Azure revenue - An investor raised concerns about the correlation between CapEx spending and Azure revenue growth, seeking clarity on ROI from these investments [47] - Management responded by emphasizing that CapEx is aimed at meeting increased demand for Azure and supporting long-term R&D and product innovation [48][49] Question: Understanding CapEx investment duration and revenue capture - Another investor inquired about the relationship between hardware CapEx investment and revenue, particularly regarding AI-centric investments [56] - Management clarified that much of the capital being spent is already contracted for its useful life, reducing associated risks [58] Question: Concerns about OpenAI exposure - An investor asked about the durability of the backlog related to OpenAI and its implications for the company [65] - Management highlighted the breadth and diversification of their portfolio, expressing confidence in the partnership with OpenAI [66][67] Question: Capacity additions and future growth - An investor sought comments on the magnitude of capacity additions, particularly in relation to specific sites [71] - Management indicated that they are working hard to add capacity globally and emphasized the need for efficient operations [72] Question: Performance of Maia 200 accelerator - An investor asked about the significance of the Maia 200 accelerator's performance and its implications for gross margins [77] - Management expressed excitement about the progress with Maia 200 and its potential to optimize costs and performance [78][80]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4 2025, total revenue and adjusted gross profit (AGP) declined approximately 7% and 4% year-over-year, respectively [30][31] - The AGP decline was primarily driven by a 13% year-over-year decline in Global Forwarding's AGP due to a significant drop in ocean rates [30][31] - Personnel expenses were $337 million, including $15.2 million of restructuring charges, while excluding these charges, personnel expenses were down 8.2% year-over-year [31][32] - The company generated $305.4 million in cash from operations in Q4 and ended the quarter with approximately $1.49 billion of liquidity [37][38] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - In North American Surface Transportation (NAST), total volume grew by 1% and truckload volume increased by approximately 3% year-over-year, contrasting with a 7.6% decline in the Cass Freight Shipment Index [5][12] - Global Forwarding expanded gross margins by 100 basis points year-over-year through improved revenue management [6] - The LTL business delivered year-over-year volume growth for the eighth consecutive quarter, reflecting consistent outperformance versus the broader LTL market [14] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Cass Freight Shipment Index declined year-over-year for the thirteenth consecutive quarter, marking the lowest Q4 reading since the financial crisis of 2009 [3][12] - Spot market costs for truckload capacity spiked during the last five weeks of Q4 due to seasonal capacity decline and winter storms [3][17] - Dry van load-to-truck ratios increased to approximately 10 to 1, compared to 6 to 1 during the same period in 2024 [17] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on controlling what it can, including providing differentiated service and solutions, executing with discipline, and continuously improving its business model [4][8] - The Lean AI strategy aims to enhance automation and improve customer outcomes while maintaining industry-leading operating margins [9][28] - The company is committed to building a scalable model that leverages AI to drive automation across its operations [9][26] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged the challenging macro environment in Q4, characterized by weak global freight demand and rising costs [3][4] - The company remains confident in its ability to execute strategic initiatives and improve operating leverage when freight demand eventually increases [9][20] - Management emphasized the importance of their Lean AI strategy in navigating market conditions and driving sustainable, profitable growth [39][42] Other Important Information - The company returned approximately $207.7 million to shareholders in Q4 through share repurchases and dividends [38] - The effective tax rate for Q4 was 18.1%, with expectations for the full year tax rate in the range of 18%-20% for 2026 [35] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide perspective on Q1 and AGP growth? - Management noted that December was challenging due to ocean rate normalization and that cost pressures carried into January, but they remain committed to demonstrating outperformance in Q1 [46][48] Question: What are the expectations for operating margins in 2027? - Management indicated that they are on a good trajectory to reach mid-cycle margins and will make decisions on whether to expand margins or reinvest in growth based on market conditions [47][51] Question: How does the company balance headcount reductions with maintaining service quality? - Management clarified that headcount is not a KPI and emphasized that productivity improvements come from process changes rather than simply reducing headcount [81][82]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Consolidated net sales for the second quarter were $149.9 million, benefiting from a higher starting retail backlog and a higher average ticket price, but offset by fewer contract sales and lower demand [7] - Retail written orders declined by 17.9%, while wholesaler orders were down 19.3% compared to the previous year, reflecting macroeconomic challenges and a difficult prior year comparison [7] - Consolidated gross margin was 60.9%, an increase of 60 basis points from a year ago, attributed to a change in sales mix and reduced headcount [8] - Adjusted operating income was $13.5 million, with an operating margin of 9%, significantly higher than the 5.4% margin in the pre-pandemic second quarter of 2019 [8] - Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.44, with an effective tax rate of 25.3% [9] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Retail written orders showed a decline, with a notable decrease in design center traffic by 11% [7] - The wholesale backlog at the end of the quarter was $49.8 million, influenced by a lower volume of contract orders [8] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company experienced a significant impact from the government shutdown, leading to lower consumer confidence and reduced traffic to design centers [4] - Positive written order growth was observed in January, indicating a potential recovery in consumer behavior [7][34] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to strengthen its vertically integrated structure, focusing on product programs, marketing, and logistics [13][16] - Approximately 75% of furniture is manufactured in North America, providing a competitive advantage and mitigating tariff exposure [12][13] - Increased advertising spend by 25%, primarily in digital media, is expected to yield future benefits despite not fully impacting the second quarter [15][36] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management noted that the government shutdown had a major impact on orders, but there are signs of recovery as orders are beginning to come in again [21] - The company believes it can maintain strong gross margins due to improvements in talent and technology across its operations [22] - There is cautious optimism regarding consumer behavior returning to normal, with increased traffic noted in January [34] Other Important Information - The company has a robust balance sheet with total cash and investments of $179.3 million and no debt [9] - The company is exposed to tariffs on imported goods, with strategies in place to mitigate these costs through vendor cost sharing and selective price increases [11][30] Q&A Session Summary Question: Retail written orders trends during the quarter - Management acknowledged that retail written orders were impacted by difficult comparisons, with an average decrease of 18% throughout the quarter [19] Question: Improvement in contract side of the business post-government shutdown - Management reported that orders are coming in reasonably high but are lower than the previous year, with a gradual increase observed [21] Question: Sustainability of gross margins moving forward - Management expressed confidence in maintaining gross margins due to ongoing improvements in operations and technology [22] Question: Impact of tariffs and mitigation strategies - Management outlined a three-pronged approach to mitigate tariff impacts, including vendor cost sharing, sourcing diversification, and selective price increases [30][32] Question: January trends and marketing effectiveness - Management attributed improved trends in January to returning consumer confidence and effective marketing strategies [34][36]