George Tong

Todd said Cintas passes through no fuel surcharges and manages energy operationally; energy was up 10 bps YoY but down 10 bps vs Q4, roughly 100 bps of cost for the year.

Jim said all focus verticals, healthcare, hospitality, state and local government, education, are outperforming the company average; nothing specific to call out.

Tim walked through the four growth levers (new business, verticals, retention, cross-sell) and said all are performing well; thorough answer.

Increased fuel prices contemplated in guidance. No fuel surcharge, not how Cintas operates historically. Fuel at pump is ~100bps of total costs. Focus on extracting inefficiencies elsewhere rather than passing through.

Customer base quite resilient with no real change. Complex environment creates outsourcing opportunity. Value proposition resonates, frees customers to focus on their business.

Full-year revenue guide 7.8-8.5% growth, midpoint 8.2%. Second half comps tougher, H2 FY2025 growth was ~90bps higher than H1 FY2025. Pleased with position and expect leverage on guide.

No meaningful changes in sales cycles. Value proposition resonates especially in uncertain periods. Retention at attractive levels. Current customer growth steady, if anything improved slightly.

All three route-based businesses performing well. Implied Q2-Q4 growth higher than opening guide at all points. Value proposition resonating in current environment.

No changes in customer behavior or sales cycles despite uncertain environment. Retention at attractive levels. Customer base steady, if anything improved slightly.

Q4 incrementals normalized to 25% vs tougher prior-year comp (Q4 FY2024 was best profit quarter). Full-year at 35% ex-land sale, right in target range.

Customer behavior stable. Sales cycles unchanged. More uncertainty in marketplace with tariffs, trade, and interest rates but value proposition continues to resonate.

Pricing unchanged from last quarter, at historical levels. Management proud of growing and expanding margins despite pricing normalization.

Customer behavior stable despite uncertainty. Outsourcing value proposition resonates in uncertain periods. No change in sales cycles.

CEO emphasized culture of continuous improvement with long list of initiatives still in progress across sourcing, engineering, and Six Sigma.

Customer sentiment stable. Sales cycle not elongated. Two-thirds of new accounts are no programmers, highlighting massive untapped market.

Characterized reception qualitatively and noted it is less attractive to lenders pulling few scores per closed loan, without specifics.

Lansing confirmed no meaningful hurdles beyond FHFA/GSE approval. The remaining 2 of top 5 resellers are very close to signing.

Lansing confirmed no VantageScore volume loss assumed. Per-score vs performance is roughly revenue neutral with minor timing differences from the funding fee lag.

Lansing acknowledged bi-merge talk but flagged structural gaming and adverse selection problems identical to lender choice issues, with costs ultimately borne by GSEs and potentially taxpayers.

Lansing said margin expansion will come primarily from volume leverage on the new platform rather than reduced R&D spend, which will eventually decline but remains a future lever.

Lansing deferred to resellers on their pricing decisions, noting bureau data pricing is also still being worked out.

Lansing described the expected shift from land to expand, with roughly half of top 300 FIs now on platform and existing customers expanding usage driving more revenue.

Lansing framed 10T and Classic as coexisting for a long time, with 10T adoption driven by risk-bearing institutions valuing predictiveness.

Lansing cited deal backlog visibility as basis for optimism but acknowledged macro could slow deal closings.

Lansing noted no material volume changes but cautioned FICO is a lagging indicator. Weber added difficulty in forecasting amid high volatility.

Weber attributed decline to industry-wide pullback in consumer lending plus mix shift toward larger operators with lower unit pricing.

Weber cited CCS product seasonality across collection and fraud use cases, with some customers reducing usage over holidays.

Lansing confirmed non-mortgage price increases were applied but declined to specify amounts, noting it varies by segment and year.

Lansing expressed confidence FICO's entrenched position in credit markets insulates it from political administration changes.

Gene Hall ranked engagement lifting retention, retention driving existing-client new business, and easier new-logo selling; Craig declined to give a medium-term CV target.

Craig declined to give CV exit rate but noted Q1 is heaviest renewal/lowest new business quarter. Q2/Q3 have increasing new business and fewer renewals. Expects improvements across the year and doesn't believe they'll be done at year-end.

Craig cited US federal as a 250bps headwind with assumption to be flat in 2026 and grow from there. Macro has been challenging since March 2025. Expects CV to accelerate across the board, both fed and non-fed, tariff and non-tariff.

Craig confirmed 23.5% is the new margin baseline with expansion expected as CV growth accelerates. OpEx growing about 5% YoY (4% FX-neutral), reflecting merit increases plus selected investments. Revenue lags CV acceleration which explains the margin bridge.

Craig said more detailed 2026 color coming in February. Expects acceleration over 2026 into high single-digit CV growth. Growth can be lumpy; H1 2026 compares are favorable.

Craig described two trends: non-tariff tech subsectors (software, services) growing high single to low double digits with particular improvement in small tech software; tariff-affected subsectors (hardware, semis) muting overall tech vendor growth.

Craig confirmed some new federal business is being written despite challenges. Dollar retention just below 50% year-to-date. Staying close to clients who reduced so they can win back business when things stabilize.

Craig said GBS has a slightly higher proportion of tariff-affected clients due to supply chain being one of its largest practices.

Gene confirmed tech vendor market is healthy and accelerating, especially larger vendors. Enterprise functional leaders ex-federal are more in trend.

Craig declined to break down the revision specifically but said US federal was the largest off-trend impact. Broader macro effects also factored in.

Craig cited normal mix of large/small enterprise deals, tech vendor renewals, and public sector. Noted last year's Q1 was uniquely challenging with large tech vendor M&A disruptions.

Craig said hiring will be more evenly distributed vs 2024's back-end loading. Q1 may be lighter due to promotions, backfills, and typical higher early-year turnover.

Bischoping pointed to Legal Professional ex-government growth of 11% (up from 9%) as evidence of winning, plus ongoing evaluation of consumption-based pricing, with acceleration driven by Westlaw and CoCounsel.

Hasker said the vast majority of law firms are spending more on technology and plan to expand further, reflecting new spend driven by optimism about AI and competitive pressure, including partnerships reinvesting partner profits into tech.

Government grew 1% in Q1, down from Q4, driven by H2 2025 cancellations and downgrades now flowing through rev rec. Expected to reaccelerate as losses are lapped toward end of 2026.

Eastwood did not provide the volume/price/sell breakdown but emphasized broad-based strength across all legal segments and geographies with highest growth ever in large, mid, and small law.

Steve reiterated enterprise pricing (not per seat), meaning TR benefits from headcount reduction. Pricing has been competitive and profitable in early going. Mike added somewhat optimistic about additional pricing opportunity in 2026.

Mike cited strong October net sales/bookings, encouraging pipeline coverage ratios for Q4 and Q1 2026. Provided simple formula: great products + strong demand + growing TAM + execution + right talent = high likelihood of success.

Steve noted AI demand is more evenly distributed across firm sizes than previous product cycles. Sole proprietors showing strong interest alongside large firms.

Mike confirmed enterprise-wide pricing approach continues, carefully managing LLM variable costs per offering and use case. Steve added they're building in flexibility to adjust pricing to match efficiency value.

Steve explained chronic talent shortage in CPA profession combined with rising complexity of returns and audits drives demand for automation. Heavy investment in product stability and targeted M&A.

Mike credited Laura Clayton Madonna's leadership, rigorous pipeline management, improved customer connections, and Peguero acquisition contributing modestly.

Mike detailed 100bps full-year improvement, 43% Westlaw Precision penetration comparable to Edge adoption timeline, and optimism for continued 2025 acceleration.

Management saw no competitive share loss and said peers also felt softer demand, pointing to a broad consumer pause.

Ken said 7.5% from recurring/ancillary plus 1-2% from one-time achieves the 7-8% organic growth algorithm. One-time business jumps around quarter to quarter but normalizes to 1-2% over time.

Ken said one-time business is too small and variable to tie to macro indicators; driven more by weather patterns and average temperatures. Jerry noted pest type cycles (bedbugs, invasive species) drive one-time demand unpredictably over decades.

Ken cited strong termite/ancillary backlog and residential recurring approaching 6% as exit-rate highlights. Reluctant to talk about Q4 specifics but feel good.

Jerry couldn't identify any downside surprises; fleet vehicle gains still a headwind but viewed as transitory. Ken highlighted 7/12/20/30 growth metrics and declining tax rate.

Ken acknowledged claims are hard to predict, involving cases 3-5 years old that mature unpredictably. Safety investments reducing new claims but long tail persists.

Ken cited 1 fewer business day and 40bps FX headwind; not overly concerned. Jerry noted lost day impacts one-time termite/ancillary work disproportionately.

Jerry confirmed Saela is approximately 95% residential with minimal commercial business.

Jerry attributed softness to lapping large one-time commercial jobs from prior year and emphasized business is strong out of the gates in January.

Ken quantified 40bps total headwind split evenly between gross margin and SG&A, noting these are legacy claims from years ago being worked through.

Management said savings are already crystallizing in 2026 margins, with more in 2027-2028.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.

Management addressed the question directly with specific data points.