Revenue & Growth
Q: Run rate and 2025 growth outlook?
A: Management remains bullish on future performance, with a strong pipeline and customer retention driving improvements; guidance indicates Q4 revenue between $430M and $440M and the outlook for 2025 showing continued acceleration. "

Cash Flow
Q: What drove strong Q3 cash flow?
A: Improved collections—with 98.5% achieved—helped deliver $19M in adjusted cash flow, and seasonally strong payment follow-through is expected in Q4. "

Capital Deployment
Q: How are buybacks and acquisitions managed?
A: Management considers share repurchases opportunistic and remains selective about inorganic opportunities to maintain a balanced capital allocation strategy. "

SG&A Management
Q: Will SG&A costs fall versus revenue growth?
A: They expect a mix of lower absolute SG&A and greater leverage as revenue grows, targeting an 8.5%–9.5% SG&A-to-revenue ratio through efficiency improvements. "

Labor Hiring Trends
Q: How is hiring evolving for hourly staff?
A: Wage growth is stabilizing modestly, with a steady recovery underway to restore pre-pandemic staffing levels by late 2026. "

Manager Staffing
Q: Is management training sufficient for expansion?
A: Robust training programs are in place, ensuring quality leadership is developed to support growth into 2025. "

Assisted Living Demand
Q: What opportunities exist in assisted living?
A: Rising demand in assisted living is noted, especially from dining cross-sell opportunities, even as the traditional focus remains on skilled nursing facilities. "

EVS & Education Cross-sell
Q: How will EVS and education drive revenues?
A: The greenfield environmental services opportunity is expected to boost dining cross-sell, while the education segment, though under 5% of revenue, complements the overall growth strategy. "

Education Seasonality
Q: Does education seasonality impact Q4?
A: Seasonality is evident due to academic cycles, but its small revenue share means there is no significant effect on overall results. "

Payroll Accrual Days
Q: How many payroll accrual days are recorded?
A: For Q3, accrual days were 9, dropping to 3 in Q4 as part of operational adjustments. "

Food Inflation
Q: What is the food inflation trend?
A: Food inflation was modest at 5 basis points this quarter, aligning with an overall modest trend and expecting 40 bps to pass through in next billing. "

CECL Adjustments
Q: How do CECL adjustments compare to legacy standards?
A: The adjustments average around 70 basis points of revenue, mirroring historical bad debt levels and reflecting similar volatility seen in legacy accounting. "

Hurricane Impact
Q: Were FL/NC operations disrupted by hurricanes?
A: There were no major service or supply chain disruptions; teams managed evacuations and continuous oversight effectively, demonstrating strong resilience. "

Mental Health Opportunities
Q: What is the outlook for mental health services?
A: Although not yet quantified, management sees significant long-term potential in mental health and substance abuse services, leveraging existing operational strengths. "