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CEO Adam Goldstein expressed confidence in their manufacturing ability, explaining the new hybrid aircraft is designed for dual-use and will reuse significant components from the Midnight program, allowing it to be built on the same flexible production line in Georgia. For potential use cases, Goldstein noted applications like servicing oil rigs and cargo, and suggested that for civil passenger travel, the market would likely be defined by passenger comfort on longer flights rather than the aircraft's maximum range.

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CEO Adam Goldstein clarified that the Launch Edition program serves as a 'precursor' to the main order book. It allows international partners to begin operations with a small number of aircraft, building out the necessary ecosystem (pilot training, maintenance, route planning) to support larger fleet deliveries in the future. He emphasized this de-risks the larger orders and that initial deliveries will be a handful of aircraft per partner, scaling from there.

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CEO George Chamoun positioned ACV as a "neutral partner" for dealers, contrasting with competitors who are also retailers. He detailed how top dealers use ACV's AI tools for automated pricing, sourcing cars from service lanes, and receiving dynamic retail price recommendations. Chamoun clarified that the dealer wholesale market was up "low single digits" in Q1, which aligns with the company's "flattish" full-year outlook.

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CEO George Chamoun explained that while January was strong for ACV, February data appears mixed, and given various market crosswinds like interest rates, it is prudent to forecast a flat market. He emphasized that ACV's guidance range accounts for potential upside. Regarding competition, he reiterated that ACV has always faced competition but feels confident in its broad value proposition, including its marketplace, transport, capital, and pricing tools, which positions them as a strong partner for dealers.

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CFO Bill Zerella advised against analyzing auction and assurance revenue separately, noting that GAAP accounting can distort trends. CEO George Chamoun addressed the competitive dynamic, explaining that ACV's strategy is to empower the thousands of franchise and independent dealers with technology like AI-driven appraisal and sourcing tools, enabling them to effectively compete against larger, consolidated players.

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CFO Razvan Radulescu explained they were confident rounds 2 and 3 would proceed due to the legal obligations associated with the awards already being made, which differs from the unawarded round 4. He noted it's too early to discuss pricing for future rounds given the uncertainty. Regarding capital allocation, he highlighted the recent acceleration of the buyback to $20 million in Q2 and said the company would provide updates on future plans in the next call.

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CEO Phil Horlock confirmed that Blue Bird is part of an influential consortium with competitors and customers that is actively engaging with lawmakers and has received strong bipartisan support for the Clean School Bus Program. CFO Razvan Radulescu clarified that the 1,000 EV units represent the total sold in Q1 plus the current backlog, which constitutes the full-year forecast. Regarding the buyback, Horlock explained the company follows a board-approved plan of $10 million per quarter and can only execute repurchases during open trading windows.

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CEO Phil Horlock attributed the 2024 industry decline to a major competitor's significant production issues, which are now resolved, rather than Blue Bird taking share. CFO Razvan Radulescu explained the long-term targets were moved to 2028 to align with the new plant's capacity becoming fully available after its 2027 launch and ramp-up. Regarding the CEO search, Mr. Horlock confirmed a board committee is actively engaged in the process to ensure a seamless transition.

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Linda Heller (executive) clarified that 2025 revenue is dominated by collaborative arrangements, primarily with SK On, and that electrolyte sampling revenue is still minor. John Van Scoter (executive) added that while sampling demand is increasing, significant revenue from electrolytes is not expected until 2027-2028 at the earliest, with the bulk anticipated around 2030. Heller also specified the DOE funding is a grant, not a loan, and that the company received $1.5 million in Q1.

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President and CEO John Van Scoter explained that the slower electrolyte uptake is due to the nascent, early-stage nature of the all-solid-state battery market, rather than broader EV sentiment. Regarding BMW, he confirmed the pause in A1 cell deliveries was a mutual decision to refocus efforts on the imminent A2 cell's performance improvements, following successful A1 module-level testing.

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President Jeff Dyke explained that franchise used GPUs should remain in their historical $1,400-$1,600 range, while EchoPark's front-end margin is expected to improve due to better sourcing. CFO Heath Byrd added that seasonality impacts GPUs through the year. On F&I, Dyke conceded the guidance was likely conservative, attributing strong performance to better execution and cost management with third-party warranty providers, which he expects to continue.

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President Jeff Dyke responded that the aged inventory issue stemmed from over-forecasting Q3 demand and that in mature markets like Denver, EchoPark remains #1 and stable. CEO David Smith affirmed that the oldest markets are highly profitable. VP of IR Danny Wieland clarified that the Q4 SG&A to gross profit ratio increase was primarily driven by a $200 per unit gross profit headwind, not a significant rise in underlying expenses, after adjusting for one-time items in prior periods.

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CEO William Nash clarified that CarMax has always sold 1- to 10-year-old cars and the focus remains on meeting their strict quality standards, which many older cars do not. EVP Jon Daniels added that CAF's full-spectrum lending is disconnected from inventory strategy, as their lending partners finance all vehicle ages. Nash confirmed that older vehicles, when reconditioned to CarMax standards, are less of a commodity and do tend to carry a higher margin.

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CEO William Nash pointed to macro data showing the overall used car market has been depressed, particularly the 0-4 year-old segment, which he interprets as a sign that consumers are pinched. He views the eventual recovery of the market to historical norms as a significant future opportunity for CarMax.

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President & CEO William Nash stated that the CDK outage had no material impact, as CarMax's sales comp cadence improved throughout the quarter. EVP & CFO Enrique Mayor-Mora explained that Other Gross Profit growth was driven by strong performance in Service and EPP, which he expects to continue. He clarified that a potential charge of up to $10 million related to logistics optimization would impact the 'other income/expense' line, not gross margin.

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Executive Chairman Paul Sciarra clarified that despite the chart's appearance, Joby achieved record progress in FAA documentation acceptance last quarter and that the agency remains fully engaged. Regarding production, Paul Sciarra and President of Aircraft OEM Didier Papadopoulos explained that the focus for 2025 is on increasing the volume of 'conforming' parts built to FAA specifications, rather than just total volume. They confirmed meeting the 2024 goal of producing parts equivalent to one aircraft per month and noted that over 95% of composite parts are already being made on a conforming basis.

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Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff explained that the marketing push is a long-term strategy to build brand awareness ahead of the high-volume Midsize platform launch, using the Gravity as a key opportunity to reach a larger audience. SVP of Finance Gagan Dhingra addressed margins by noting that Lucid is taking steps to mitigate a potential 7-12% gross margin impact from tariffs and other factors through supply chain localization and other efforts, suggesting they are in a better position than some peers.

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Jason Trevisan, CEO, clarified that direct monetization remains through the featured listings model, while personalized search improves organic results, boosting lead quality and quantity for all dealers. Sam Zales, President and COO, explained that the acquisition insights report recommends the *make and model* a dealer should source for their local market, not a specific vehicle. Trevisan added that the future vision could involve pointing dealers to specific cars on CarGurus' own wholesale platform.

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CFO Mark Jenkins attributed the strength in Other GPU to ongoing fundamental gains in the finance platform, including streamlined experiences, better data, and improved scoring algorithms. CEO Ernie Garcia clarified that the marketplace focus is now on large commercial sellers, not other dealers, as this approach is more scalable and better leverages the combined Carvana-ADESA capabilities.

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