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    Michael Ward • UBS

    Michael Ward's questions to Voya Financial Inc (VOYA) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Voya Financial Inc (VOYA) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward of UBS Group asked for the Investment Management flow outlook for the remainder of the year, the trend in fee rates, and whether equity market movements pressured revenue. He also inquired about the potential for a standalone wealth advisory segment.

    Answer

    CEO - Voya Investment Management Matt Toms expressed confidence in H2 2025 flows, citing the breadth of the platform and reaffirming the 2%+ long-term organic growth target. He noted the fee rate was stable at 27 bps and considered the Q2 equity market impact to be noise. CEO & Director Heather Lavallee clarified that while wealth management is an important growth lever within the Retirement business, Voya does not plan to establish it as a separate reportable segment.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Equitable Holdings Inc (EQH) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Equitable Holdings Inc (EQH) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward from UBS Group asked about the sustainability of RILA sales growth and product innovation. He also inquired about the growth pipeline and competitive environment for the Wealth Management business.

    Answer

    President Nick Lane and CEO Mark Pearson expressed confidence in the RILA market's continued growth, driven by strong demographics and low market penetration. Lane highlighted customer-led innovation as a key differentiator. For Wealth Management, he noted strong demand for advice, a robust pipeline driven by productivity gains, and a disciplined hiring model that provides a competitive advantage.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Equitable Holdings Inc (EQH) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward of UBS inquired about the sustainability of strong net flows in the Individual Retirement and AllianceBernstein segments amid April's volatility, and asked about triggers for more aggressive capital deployment.

    Answer

    Nicholas Lane, President of Equitable Financial, highlighted strong structural drivers for Individual Retirement. Onur Erzan, Head of AB's Global Client Group, acknowledged April's challenges but pointed to a materially increased institutional pipeline. CEO Mark Pearson stated that they will wait for the RGA transaction to close before deploying proceeds but will evaluate more aggressive buybacks if the stock remains cheap.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Equitable Holdings Inc (EQH) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward of UBS inquired if Equitable would consider inorganic bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate growth in its Wealth Management business to capture the decumulation trend.

    Answer

    CFO Robin Raju confirmed M&A is focused on scaling wealth management and private credit. However, President of Equitable Financial Nicholas Lane specified that the current focus within wealth management is on the organic recruitment of experienced advisors, which is yielding attractive returns.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Reinsurance Group of America Inc (RGA) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Reinsurance Group of America Inc (RGA) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward of UBS asked for help framing the quarter's earnings variability and its impact on the 2026 outlook. He also inquired about the deal pipeline for biometric versus financial solutions and the effect of regulatory changes in Asia.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Axel André reaffirmed confidence in long-term targets, citing significant earnings power from deployed capital and other tailwinds. President & CEO Tony Cheng described the global business pipeline as strong, emphasizing that biometric risk is a key differentiator in both traditional and asset-intensive transactions, which is central to their 'Creation Re' philosophy.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Penske Automotive Group Inc (PAG) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Penske Automotive Group Inc (PAG) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward from Citi asked for quantification of the factors affecting unit sales in the U.S. and U.K. and sought clarification on the $150 million cash flow benefit from the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' tax changes.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Shelley Hulgrave detailed that divested stores and the MINI agency model transition impacted unit volumes. COO of North American Operations Richard Shearing and Chairman & CEO Roger Penske added that a temporary halt in OEM shipments due to tariff uncertainty also affected Q2 sales but is now resolving. Regarding the tax benefit, Shelley Hulgrave and Roger Penske clarified it is an annual cash tax saving from bonus depreciation on Penske Transportation Solutions (PTS) assets, separate from dividend income, and could total $450 million over three years.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Penske Automotive Group Inc (PAG) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward asked about the sustainability of SG&A as a percentage of gross profit, the potential for further improvement in the U.K. market, and the rationale behind recent share repurchases.

    Answer

    EVP and CFO Shelley Hulgrave affirmed the company's comfort with SG&A in the low 70s, citing disciplined cost control and headcount management. EVP Randall Seymore confirmed the U.K.'s performance is sustainable due to internal levers. Shelley Hulgrave and CEO Roger Penske noted that while the acquisition market has paused, share repurchases were executed opportunistically under a 10b5 plan.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Penske Automotive Group Inc (PAG) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked about Penske's capital allocation strategy, questioning if the recent wave of acquisition opportunities would shift its focus in 2025 and 2026.

    Answer

    EVP and CFO Shelley Hulgrave reiterated the company's balanced strategy, targeting 5% growth from acquisitions and 5% internally. She highlighted the $2.1 billion in acquisitions made in 2024 across all business segments and geographies, while also emphasizing a continued commitment to shareholder returns, noting over $350 million returned in 2024 and an active share repurchase authorization.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Lithia Motors Inc (LAD) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Lithia Motors Inc (LAD) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward from Citi followed up on SG&A, asking how the U.S. business performed when excluding the impact of UK operations. He also questioned if the current quarterly profit from Driveway Finance (DFC) represents a new sustainable run rate.

    Answer

    SVP & CFO Tina Miller confirmed the U.S. business remains strong on the SG&A front, with the blended number impacted by the higher UK cost structure. SVP of Finance Chuck Lietz affirmed that DFC is on a strong growth trajectory and the current profit level is an expected run rate going forward, while CEO Bryan DeBoer highlighted DFC's profit was three times the prior year's level.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Lithia Motors Inc (LAD) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked about the potential impact of lower interest rates across the business and inquired about the integration progress and synergy opportunities with the Pendragon acquisition.

    Answer

    CEO Bryan DeBoer estimated that a 100-basis-point drop in interest rates would positively impact quarterly EPS by about $0.70. Regarding Pendragon, he reported strong progress, with the team adopting new performance mindsets, improving F&I, and advancing network optimization by divesting 40-50 assets. He believes achieving operating margins of 2.5-3% is achievable over time.

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    Michael Ward's questions to AutoNation Inc (AN) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to AutoNation Inc (AN) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward of Citi inquired about AutoNation's M&A strategy, asking about the company's flexibility, potential deal sizes, market priorities, and whether it would consider overseas expansion.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Thomas Szlosek noted that the M&A pipeline has improved and the company has built up 'dry powder' for potential deals while maintaining its commitment to share repurchases. CEO Michael Manley elaborated that AutoNation's primary M&A focus is on increasing density in existing markets to unlock reliable synergies, guided by the principle of maximizing long-term earnings per share for shareholders.

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    Michael Ward's questions to AutoNation Inc (AN) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward inquired if the strong Q1 demand and potential Q2 pull-forward would positively impact cash flow, offsetting typical second-quarter seasonality. He also asked how the upcoming ABS issuance would affect operating cash flow and sought guidance on floor plan interest expense for Q2.

    Answer

    CFO Tom Szlosek agreed that strong demand is positive for cash flow but reminded that Q2 is typically the lowest cash flow quarter due to seasonal tax payments. CEO Mike Manley added that the changing mix of inventory would also be a factor. Regarding the ABS, Szlosek explained it would replace warehouse financing and could improve the advance rate, freeing up some capital. For floor plan interest, he suggested modeling Q2 at a pace similar to Q1.

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    Michael Ward's questions to AutoNation Inc (AN) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward of Freedom Capital inquired about the impact of recent storms on 50 stores, asking for quantification and whether the service side was more affected. He followed up by suggesting that underlying After-Sales growth was significantly higher than reported once storm and CDK impacts were excluded.

    Answer

    CEO Mike Manley confirmed that the service business sees more lingering effects from storms than sales, with downtime ranging from 2 to 5 days. CFO Tom Szlosek estimated the storm impact on After-Sales growth was likely 100-200 basis points. Executive Derek Fiebig reminded that the CDK outage also negatively impacted After-Sales results. Manley agreed the underlying performance was stronger than the reported numbers indicated.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward from Citigroup asked how the UK's BEV mandates affect gross profit and questioned the current environment for large-scale acquisitions.

    Answer

    CEO Daryl Kenningham explained that UK BEV mandates negatively impact gross profit because a significant portion of BEV sales are directed to corporate fleets at lower margins compared to retail sales. Regarding M&A, Kenningham noted that while the year has been quiet due to uncertainty, he anticipates larger deals could emerge in the coming years and has seen a recent uptick in inbound inquiries.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward asked about the long-term potential for the U.K. business to expand from one-third of total revenue to a 50/50 split with the U.S. He also inquired about the impact of weather on the U.S. business early in the quarter.

    Answer

    CEO Daryl Kenningham stated that while he would 'never say never,' there are no current plans for the U.K. to become 50% of the business, noting that more acquisition opportunities are currently seen in the U.S. CFO Daniel McHenry confirmed that weather in February did negatively impact business in the Northeast and Houston, and it was difficult to recover the lost service work as shops were already running at high capacity.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked if there are any structural reasons preventing the acquired Inchcape business from achieving SG&A levels comparable to the corporate average. He also questioned if F&I per unit could see further upside in 2025 with the return of captive financing.

    Answer

    CFO Daniel McHenry stated there are no structural impediments and expects the Inchcape stores' SG&A to be as good as, if not better than, the legacy U.K. business over time. Executive Peter Delongchamps noted that while new vehicle finance penetration has benefited from captive rates, the real opportunity for F&I growth lies in improving used car finance penetration as rates potentially fall.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward questioned the rapid integration timeline for the Inchcape acquisition and asked for an update on the company's strategy regarding business adjacencies, such as standalone used car operations or finance companies.

    Answer

    CEO Daryl Kenningham clarified that the Inchcape integration will be 'substantially' complete by year-end, with some IT and process training potentially extending into early 2025. Regarding adjacencies, Kenningham stated that while they are regularly evaluated, the company's current focus remains on franchised dealerships to avoid diluting focus and compromising critical OEM relationships, which are essential for growth.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward requested an updated view on sensitivities to equity and interest rate shocks and asked how the common dividend fits into capital priorities.

    Answer

    CFO Yanela Frias provided updated sensitivities, noting a 10% equity shock would impact annual AOI by about $0.30 per share, and a 50 basis point rate decline would impact annual EPS by about 20%. She reiterated that capital priorities are unchanged: balancing financial strength, investing in growth, and shareholder distributions, with a particular focus on financial strength in the current macro environment.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked about the impact of the recent guaranteed universal life (GUL) risk transfer deal on the individual life assumption charge and whether such updates encourage further risk transfer. He also requested more information on the disclosure that certain PGIM Quant funds were moved to runoff.

    Answer

    Chief Financial Officer Yanela Frias stated they could not quantify the impact of the GUL deal on the charge but affirmed that the company is always evaluating further derisking opportunities. Andy Sullivan, Head of International Businesses and PGIM, clarified that the Quant funds in question represent a non-material part of the business with less than $1 billion in AUM and that the move does not reflect any issues with PGIM's overall strong investment performance.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Aflac Inc (AFL) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Aflac Inc (AFL) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward inquired about the business environment in Japan, asking if any anti-U.S. sentiment from trade tensions could create sales challenges. He also asked about the buyback strategy and if Aflac would be comfortable with repurchases exceeding operating income if sales headwinds persist.

    Answer

    Charles Lake, Chairman of Aflac International, stated that the company sees no anti-American sentiment, citing the strong U.S.-Japan alliance. Max Broden, CFO, reiterated that buybacks are a function of available capital and investment opportunities, with organic growth being the top priority. He noted that the current capital deployment framework, which has found buybacks to have good IRRs, remains consistent.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Aflac Inc (AFL) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward questioned the contribution of the Sumitas product to Japan's sales growth and asked if Aflac is becoming more reliant on first-sector products to meet its sales targets.

    Answer

    Koichiro Yoshizumi and Masatoshi Koide of Aflac Japan explained that while Sumitas sales are strong, it primarily serves as a 'hook' product to facilitate cross-selling of core third-sector medical and cancer insurance. CFO Max Broden added that the product is highly profitable on a post-reinsurance basis. CEO Daniel Amos praised the strong financial controls and monitoring surrounding the product.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward of UBS asked about the company's approach to share buybacks in the volatile market and inquired if there were any specific pockets of weakness observed across credit asset classes.

    Answer

    CEO Deanna Strable and Interim CFO Joel Pitz confirmed their capital deployment plans are intact. Pitz noted the $200 million of buybacks in Q1 keeps them on track for their $700 million to $1 billion target for 2025. On credit, Executive Kamal Bhatia stated that while spreads have widened, it's driving a flight to quality, benefiting their fixed income business. He sees increased client activity in high-yield, preferreds, and infrastructure debt.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Sonic Automotive Inc (SAH) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Sonic Automotive Inc (SAH) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Michael Ward from Citi Research inquired about the impact of potential tariffs on the residual values of off-lease vehicles and how quickly those values might adjust. He also asked about the timeline for reopening closed EchoPark locations and whether it could be accelerated.

    Answer

    President Jeff Dyke stated that while residual values would adjust quickly, the benefit is muted by the ongoing low supply of lease returns, which he doesn't expect to normalize until next year. Regarding EchoPark expansion, CEO David Smith and Dyke confirmed they are actively evaluating properties and can open new stores efficiently. They indicated a potential restart of growth toward the end of the year or early next year, once market conditions stabilize.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Garrett Motion Inc (GTX) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Garrett Motion Inc (GTX) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward from Freedom Capital asked for details on Garrett's strategy in China, a definition of its adjusted free cash flow metric, and the company's current perspective on mergers and acquisitions.

    Answer

    President and CEO Olivier Rabiller detailed the China strategy, which focuses on new local players expanding from BEVs into hybrids, confirming new business wins for 2026-27. SVP and CFO Sean Giesen defined adjusted free cash flow as operating cash flow less CapEx, excluding one-time items. Both executives stated that while they actively review M&A, the focus remains on organic growth and any deal must clear a very high, non-dilutive bar for shareholders.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Garrett Motion Inc (GTX) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward questioned why the Q3 interest expense didn't reflect the benefit from a May refinancing and inquired about the company's strategy for electrified solutions, particularly for commercial vehicles, and its long-term revenue mix.

    Answer

    SVP and CFO Sean Deason clarified that the interest expense was impacted by mark-to-market movements on interest rate and cross-currency swaps, not a lack of benefit from the refinancing. President and CEO Olivier Rabiller added that Garrett's electrified solutions are gaining traction in both passenger and commercial vehicles, highlighting a recent Stellantis innovation award. He noted the company targets $1 billion in non-turbo revenue by 2030 while emphasizing the long-term resilience of the core turbo business, supported by hybrids and industrial applications.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Unum Group (UNM) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Unum Group (UNM) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked for details on the underlying product lines or claim types driving volatility in voluntary benefits. He also asked if Unum could quantify the positive impact of claim recoveries on the group disability loss ratio.

    Answer

    CFO Steve Zabel explained that the voluntary benefits volatility has not been concentrated in any single product line, with different products experiencing higher claims in different quarters, and he sees no consistent unfavorable trend. While not providing a specific number, he confirmed that improved claim recoveries have been a 'main driver' of the group disability benefit ratio's improvement from the low 70s pre-pandemic to the current low 60s.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Unum Group (UNM) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward asked for more detail on the underlying claim activity in voluntary benefits and requested a quantification of the impact of recoveries on the group disability loss ratio.

    Answer

    CFO Steven Zabel clarified that the voluntary benefits claims volatility has been across different product lines quarter-to-quarter (e.g., hospital indemnity, disability) with no single systemic trend, reinforcing the view that it's transitory. Regarding group disability, he quantified the improvement by noting the benefit ratio has moved from the low 70s pre-pandemic to the current low 60s, with improved claims recoveries being a primary driver of that change.

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    Michael Ward's questions to Corebridge Financial Inc (CRBG) leadership

    Michael Ward's questions to Corebridge Financial Inc (CRBG) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Michael Ward of Citigroup Inc. asked how management views the company's business mix and external risk transfer opportunities given internal changes like the Bermuda arrangement. He also sought clarification on Corebridge's outperformance in fixed annuity sales compared to the industry.

    Answer

    President and CEO Kevin Hogan stated that Corebridge has a strong position with its four market-leading businesses and is actively exploring both internal and external optimization opportunities. Regarding the outperformance in annuity sales, Hogan attributed it to the company's ability to execute, citing operational improvements to increase capacity, strong distribution partnerships, and the availability of attractive assets to support the growth.

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