IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

Good morning, and welcome to the IDEX Laboratories' fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. Participating in the call this morning are Jay Mazelski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian McKeon, Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Emerson, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Companion Animal Group Finance, and John Ravis, Vice President, Investor Relations. IDEX would like to preface the discussion today with a caution regarding forward-looking statements. Listeners are reminded that our discussion during the call will include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed today. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties is available under the forward-looking statements notice in our press release issued this morning, as well as in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be obtained from the SEC or by visiting the investor relations section of our website, IDEX.com. During this call, we will be discussing certain financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is provided in our earnings release, which may also be found by visiting the investor relations section of our website. In reviewing our fourth quarter 2024 results and initial 2025 guidance, please note all references to growth, organic growth, and comparable growth refer to growth compared to the equivalent prior year period, unless otherwise noted. To allow broad participation in the Q&A, we ask that each participant limit their questions to one, with one follow-up as necessary. We appreciate you may have additional questions, so please feel free to get back in the queue, and if time permits, we'll take your additional questions. Today's prepared remarks will be posted to the Investor Relations section of our website after the earnings conference call concludes. I would now like to turn the call over to Brian McKeon.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our fourth quarter earnings call. Today, I'm pleased to review our Q4 and full-year 2024 financial results. Andrew Emerson, who will be assuming responsibility as IDEX's CFO on March 1st, will take you through the details of the company's outlook for 2025. IDEX had a solid finish to 2024, reflecting fourth quarter performance ahead of our expectations. Revenue increased 6% organically, supported by 7% organic gains in CAG-diagnostic recurring revenues. Operating profits increased 7% as reported and 8% on a comparable basis, benefiting from solid gross margin gains, which supported operating margin performance at the high end of our guidance range. We also saw positive impacts from increased stock-based compensation activity, which benefited our effective tax rate. These factors supported delivery of $2.62 in EPS and Q4, up 10% on a comparable basis. IDEX execution drove solid expansion of our business for the full year of 2024. This is reflected in 7% full-year organic growth in CAG diagnostic recurring revenues, 9% growth in our global premium instrument install base, 11% organic gains in recurring software and digital imaging revenues, and 11% organic growth in our water business. We delivered excellent four-year financial performance in 2024, supported by comparable operating margin gains at the high end of our long-term annual improvement goals. Four-year EPS of $10.67 per share, which includes $0.56 per share of negative impact related to a discrete litigation expense accrual, increased 12% on a comparable basis, including 2% of negative growth impact from the lapping of a 2023 customer contract resolution payment. These results were achieved as we successfully advanced our innovation-driven growth strategy and worked through greater-than-expected sector and macro headwinds. As Andrew will discuss, this performance sets a solid foundation for our business to build upon as we enter 2025. Let's begin with a review of our 2024 results. Fourth quarter organic revenue growth of 6% reflected solid gains across IDEX's major business segments, including 6% organic growth in CAG, 7% organic gains in LPD, and 9% organic growth in water. Worldwide CAG diagnostic recurring revenue increased 7% organically in Q4, including benefits from improved volume growth trends. Results were supported by average global net price improvement of 4% to 4.5%, with U.S. net price realization of approximately 3.5%. As noted in our last earnings call, U.S. net price realization includes impacts from the successful extension and expansion of three major customer agreements in 2024, which will provide long-term incremental volume growth benefits for IDEX. U.S. CAG diagnostic recurring revenue increased 4% organically in Q4, net of a 1% negative growth impact from fewer equivalent selling days. IDEX execution drove approximately 2% U.S. volume growth in the quarter, normalized for equivalent days. These results were supported by sustained solid new business gains, high customer retention levels, and relatively higher gains in diagnostic frequency and volume utilization per clinical visit. IDEX achieved a solid 800 basis point normalized growth premium compared to U.S. clinical visit growth levels in the fourth quarter. We continue to work through pressure on U.S. same-store clinical visit levels, which declined nearly 3% in Q4 and 2% for the full year in 2024. This has been the primary constraint on IDEX's recent growth, reflecting transitional sector and macro impacts following the accelerated expansion of pet healthcare during the pandemic. International CAG diagnostic recurring revenue growth was 12% in Q4, including a 1% benefit from equivalent days effects. Strong Q4 international results benefited from net price gains and improved volume growth, supported by new business expansion reflected in double-digit year-on-year growth in our international premium instrument install base. IDEXX fourth quarter performance was supported by strong global growth and consumable revenues. IDEXX VetLab consumable revenues increased 12% organically, reflecting double-digit gains in U.S. and international regions, normalized for equivalent days effects. Consumable gains were supported by a 9% increase in our global premium instrument install base in 2024, reflecting solid gains across our Catalyst premium hematology and CETAV platforms. For the full year of 2024, we achieved approximately 18,500 premium instrument placements with excellent quality, reflected in sustained, high, new, and competitive catalyst placements. In the fourth quarter, we placed 4,625 premium instruments, down 12% from high prior year levels. Overall CAG instrument revenues also declined 12% organically in Q4. Quarterly placement results were supported by strong gains in set-of-view and continued expansion of ProSite 1. We also initiated shipments of IDEX InView DX in the quarter, supporting strong comparable EVI gains, including the projected value of InView pre-orders. Rapid assay revenue was flat on an organic basis in Q4. Rapid assay results were constrained by pressure on U.S. wellness visits, as well as by the addition of the pancreatic lipase slide to our catalyst menu, which we estimated to be a 4% headwind to Q4 revenue growth. Global lab revenues expanded 4% organically in Q4. Reference lab results in the quarter were supported by solid normalized volume growth in U.S. and international regions and net price gains. Reference lab net price gains were moderated in Q4 by near-term impacts from major new customer agreements, which will benefit long-term reference lab growth. CAG veterinary software services and diagnostic imaging revenues increased 7% organically in Q4 compared to strong prior year levels. Results continue to be supported by solid growth in recurring revenues and ongoing momentum in cloud-based software placements. In other business segments, water revenues increased 9% organically in Q4 compared to strong prior year levels, driven by continued solid gains in the U.S. and Europe. Livestock, poultry, and dairy revenues increased 7% organically in Q4, supported by solid gains in our U.S., Europe, and Latin America regions. Turning to the P&L, Q4 operating profits increased 7% as reported and 8% on a comparable basis, supported by gross margin gains. Gross profit increased 8% as reported and 9% on a comparable basis. Gross margins were 59.8%, up 130 basis points on a comparable basis, adjusting for approximately 10 basis points of positive FX impact. Gross margin gains reflected favorable business mix, supported by strong consumable growth benefits from net price improvement, and higher water risk margins. Operating expenses were up 10% as reported and 9% on a comparable basis in the quarter, reflecting increases in R&D spending aligned with advancing our innovation initiatives, including our new instrument platforms. For the full year 2024, operating margins were 29%, an increase of 60 basis points on a comparable basis, including an approximately 40 basis point negative impact from lapping a customer contract resolution payment in 2023. Full-year operating margins included 160 basis points of negative impact related to a discrete litigation expense accrual recorded in the second quarter. Q4 EPS was $2.62 per share, up 10% on a comparable basis. In Q4, EPS benefited from a lower effective tax rate including 13 cents per share in tax benefits from share-based compensation activity and 6 cents per share benefit from a non-recurring tax reserve release related to the lapping of an applicable statute of limitations. Foreign exchange drove a 3 cents per share EPS headwind in the quarter, net of approximately $3 million in hedge gains. Full-year EPS was $10.67 per share, an increase of 6% on a reported basis and 12% on a comparable basis. including a 2% negative EPS growth impact related to lapping a customer contract resolution payment. 2024 four-year EPS results include $0.56 of negative impact from a discrete expense accrual related to an ongoing litigation matter, $0.05 of negative impact from currency changes, and $0.24 in tax benefits from share-based compensation activity. Foreign exchange had limited impact on Q4 and four-year revenue growth. For the full year, Foreign Exchange reduced operating profits by $5 million and EPS by 5 cents per share, net of $6 million in hedge gains. Free cash flow was $808 million for 2024, or 91% of net income, aligned with our guidance and long-term goals. Capital spending was $121 million for the full year, or approximately 3% of revenue. We allocated $249 million to repurchase 564,000 shares in the fourth quarter, For the full year, we allocated $859 million to repurchase 1,760,000 shares. Our balance sheet is in a strong position. We ended 2024 with leverage ratios of 0.7 times gross and 0.4 times net of cash. That concludes our financial review. Andrew will now walk you through our initial 2025 financial outlook.

Thank you, Brian. Turning to our 2025 full-year outlook, IDEX is planning to deliver solid organic revenue growth and profit gains. led by strong execution and benefits from new innovation. We're providing initial guidance for revenue of $4,055,000,000 to $4,170,000,000, an increase of 4% to 7% on a reported basis. On an organic basis, this reflects a growth range of 6% to 9% overall, supported by 5% to 8% organic growth in CAG diagnostic recurring revenues. At current exchange rates, we expect foreign exchange to have a 2% negative impact on full-year revenue growth. In terms of key drivers for our 2025 organic growth outlook, the midpoint of our CAG diagnostic reoccurring revenue growth range incorporates expectations for global net price realization of 4% to 4.5% and volume gains of approximately 2%. The outlook includes assumptions for declines in U.S. same-store clinical visit growth levels, with the midpoint reflecting a similar rate of decline seen in 2024. These targets incorporate continued solid global growth benefits from IDEX execution drivers, including new customer gains and increases in testing utilization supported by IDEX innovations. The higher end of our CAG diagnostic recurring revenue growth outlook captures the potential for improved sector visit and same-store growth trends, while the lower end of the range calibrates for further potential effects of macroeconomic conditions. Our revenue growth outlook includes approximately $50 million of projected IDEX InViewDX instrument revenue aligned with 4,500 placements. Jay will discuss progress against our InViewDX launch in his comments. Our reported operating margin outlook for the full year 2025 is 31% to 31.5%. On a comparable basis, this reflects an outlook of 30 to 80 basis points of improvement year over year, net of 160 basis point operating margin benefit related to the lapping of the discrete litigation expense recorded in the second quarter of 2024. We're planning for solid gross margin gains on a comparable basis in 2025, supported by growth in CAG diagnostic recurring revenues, benefits from lab productivity initiatives, and expansion of our high-margin cloud-based software business. This is partially offset by unfavorable business mix planned from higher levels of CAG diagnostic instrument revenue gains and preliminary estimates for tariff risk on internationally sourced materials. Our 2025 EPS outlook is $11.74, to $12.24 per share. This reflects an increase of 8% to 12% on a comparable basis, net of a 6% EPS growth benefit from the lapping of the Q2 2024 discrete litigation expense, and includes a $0.06 per share headwind from higher taxes related to a non-recurring tax reserve release during the fourth quarter of 2024. Our EPS outlooks also includes $42 million of net interest expense at prevailing rates. Foreign exchange is expected to have a negative impact of 21 cents year over year at the rates disclosed in our press release, net of established hedge positions. In terms of sensitivities to changes in foreign exchange rates, we project a 1% change in the value of the U.S. dollar would impact the full year reported revenue by $15 million, and operating income by $5 million net of hedge positions. Our 2025 Free Cash Flow Outlook is for net income to free cash flow conversion ratio of 85% to 90% aligned with our long-term goals. This reflects estimated capital spending of approximately $160 million, or about 4% of revenues. The outlook incorporates increased capital deployment aligned with $1.5 billion towards share repurchases or approximately 4% of our current equity market capitalization. This reflects our high confidence in IDEC's growth potential, including continued strong execution and advancement of our innovation agenda. Regarding our Q1 outlook, we're planning for overall organic revenue growth of 4% to 6%, with similar gains in CAG-diagnostic recurring revenue net of a 1% to 1.5% day's headwind. This factors in U.S. clinic visit trends more aligned with Q4 2024 and pricing benefits at the low end of our full-year price realization range as we work through the major customer agreements noted by Brian. Reported revenue growth of 2% to 4% includes approximately 2% negative impact from foreign exchange at current rates. Our Q1 reported operating margins are planned for 30.2% to 30.6%. This reflects moderate compression in comparable margins in the quarter compared to high prior year levels and reflects investments to support recent and upcoming product launches. Overall, we're well positioned to build on our solid 2024 financial performance with continued strong execution and robust set of new product launches during 2025. This concludes our guidance update, and I will now turn the call over to Jay for his comments.

Good morning, and thank you, Andrew. IDEX delivered another strong quarter to close out 2024, capped with the initial placements of IDEX InViewDX. Our results this quarter exemplified the resilience of our business model, built on the foundation of customer-centric innovation, high-touch commercial execution, and a steadfast commitment to growth by advancing the standard of care in veterinary medicine. This year, we celebrated significant milestones, including the highly anticipated launch of IDEX and VUDX, a groundbreaking cellular analyzer redefining slide-free point-of-care testing. We recently announced the launch of IDEX CancerDx with canine lymphoma, a transformative oncology screening, and an agent diagnosis panel that will expand over time to address the most common canine cancers. We're also concurrently commercializing three new products and services as part of our Catalyst Technology for Life platform and test menu and enabling software. Introductions include pancreatic lipase testing, a single-slide solution already embraced by thousands of clinics. SmartQC, which enables very easy monthly calibration on our chemistry platform, and an updated IDEXX NetLab station with a more modern, intuitive interface supporting workflow efficiencies. IDEXX commercial teams continue to operate at a high level this year, supporting new business gains, solid net price realization, high 90% customer retention levels across major testing modalities, and sustained adoption levels of diagnostic testing utilization near post-pandemic highs. High placement levels across our core premium instrument platforms drove a 9% growth in our premium instrument installed base. The team also delivered very strong year-on-year EVI gains when incorporating benefits from nearly 1,600 global pre-orders for IDEX InViewDX, which will benefit our business over the coming year. 2024 also saw the extension and expansion of three major customer agreements, which will provide solid volume gains for our reference lab business. These important contractual renewals highlight the value IDEC solutions bring to our customers, supporting their practice revenue growth through highly important diagnostic testing categories. 2024 was also a pivotal year for our software business. With double-digit growth in our cloud-native PIMS placements and the launch of our pet-owner engagement solution, Velo, we're helping clinics bridge the gap between patient care and operational efficiency. Velo, now adopted by nearly 600 practices, has enhanced pet owner engagement by streamlining communication and driving increased clinical visits and diagnostic frequency. These advancements highlight the expanding role of software and unlocking the full potential of diagnostics, while delivering a seamless experience for veterinarians and pet owners alike. This strong execution was delivered in a dynamic, macro, economic, and sector environment, which saw continued pressure and clinical visits. For pets visiting U.S. clinics, pet owners continue to demonstrate interest in a higher standard of care, reflecting the strength of the pet owner bond and the prioritization of pet health. Diagnostics play a key central role in enabling better medical outcomes, as nearly half of clinical visits include some form of diagnostic testing. The growth in the use of blood work in preventive screening highlights the value pet parents place on proactive care. driven by advancements in technology and awareness of health benefits. Our commercial strategy is to support this positive trend through the use of preventive care marketing programs like Simple Start and testing innovations such as IDEX Cancer DX, which will be included at attractive prices to inspire pull-through. IDEX's commercial execution continues to be a cornerstone of our success, reflecting the deep expertise, commitment, and customer focus of our teams around the globe. Our partnership approach has yielded exceptional customer retention rates of over 97%, ensuring that practices continue to see IDEX as an indispensable partner in their growth and efficiency goals. Customers trust IDEX to help them navigate challenges of staffing and visit trends. Our nearly double-digit premium instrument install-based growth is driven by robust new placements across chemistry, hematology, and site-of-view platforms, as well as the first placements of IDEX InViewDX, We also continue to make strong progress in placing our IDEXX VetLab suites in competitive and greenfield accounts, a focus area since we get the full growth benefit of consumables usage. Customers are hungry for point-of-care technology that supports their medical mission with fast, real-time results while minimizing workflow bottlenecks with innovations such as load-and-go capability, a common, easy-to-use interface, and instrument uptime measured in years. An additional benefit is that our large, rapidly growing installed base of over 74,000 chemistry analyzers, for example, allow for rapid global adoption of new testing innovations such as pancreatic lipase to attempt such menu extension in a bit over 12 years. Menu extensions such as pancreatic lipase help support healthy volume premium to the clinic visit baseline. Our international regions showcase strong performance in 2024. contributing significantly to our growth story. Double-digit expansion of our premium installed base outside the U.S. underscored the benefits of our targeted global commercial investments over the past three years. Our maturing international sales organization has not only secured high-quality placements, but also driven consistent diagnostic utilization gains, particularly in the Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, where we continue to see on-tap potential, spotlighting our European region's very strong performance, we saw the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit CAG diagnostics recurring revenue growth with IDEXX VetLag consumables growth in the high teens. Customer satisfaction remains at the heart of our commercial strategy, supported by sustained sector-leading levels of engagement and trust. IDEXX's investment in areas such as VetConnect Plus feature expansion that now gives the customer the ability to access reference lab sample turnaround time and order status information. This is part of our strategy to not only provide subject matter expertise and complimentary testing support through our medical consulting organization, but workflow optimization that helps clinics navigate the complexities of modern veterinary care. This focus on customer success not only drives loyalty, but also ensures that IDEXX remains the go-to partner for diagnostic solutions. The launch of IDEXX in BeautyX has been one of the most exciting developments of 2024. marking a new era in point-of-care diagnostics. Designed as a technology-for-life platform, InVue DX combines advanced optics, artificial intelligence, and a slide-free workflow to deliver transformative diagnostic insights with unparalleled ease of use. The initial menu focuses on irocytology and blood morphology, taps into two clinically well-understood high-volume use cases that benefit from automation and a step up in testing consistency and performance. Customer interest for IDEXX and VUDX continues to be exceptionally strong, with nearly 1,600 pre-orders globally by the end of Q4, reflecting the high demand for this next-generation platform. International interest has been similarly robust as we begin taking orders in select geographies in Q4, though like the U.S., we have placed some limits on the number of pre-orders our account managers take. This level of enthusiasm underscores the transformative potential of InViewDx in clinics worldwide. As I mentioned previously, we initiated a controlled launch of IDEX InViewDx in Q4, and to ensure a best-in-class customer experience, we will gradually ramp up placements through 2025. Early feedback from customers, both in the customer experience trials and for the initial placements, have been exceptionally positive. Customers are simply amazed with how easy the analyzer is to use. eliminating the need for complex slide preparation or interpretation, with results in minutes. Underpinning the financial guidance, Andrews Shared is a placement target for 4,500-plus in-view placements over the course of the year, as we march towards our 20,000 placement goal over five years. IDEX operations and supply chain teams have made outstanding progress ramping manufacturing to support this level of placements. while our field service representative team has been expanded and trained to provide critical installation capacity to support both the interview ramp and continued growth of our core instrument platforms. The moment is upon us to bring this transformative analyzer to our global customer base. Looking ahead, we remain on track to expand IDEXA WDX's capabilities further with the addition of fine needle aspirate or FNA testing for lumps and bumps later in 2025. unlocking significant opportunity in oncology diagnostics. We're excited to have announced that VMX, the March launch of IDEX Cancer DX Panel with Lymphoma, a pioneering advancement in veterinary oncology. This innovative screening solution represents a significant step forward in companion animal health care, addressing a critical need for early cancer detection and as an aid in diagnosis in canine patients. The IDEXX CancerDx panel has breakthrough cost, performance, and turnaround time attributes for early-stage cancer diagnostic screening and as an aid in diagnosis tests, priced for as little as $15 per test when included as part of select diagnostic panels. This will change how and when canine cancer is detected, and its early diagnosis will likely change how cancer care is managed, with positive patient implications for the support of longer, healthier lives. Given the performance, cost, and turnaround time attributes of the CancerDx panel, the opportunity is to inspire a much broader inclusion of cancer screening as an essential part of the preventive care blood work. The CancerDx panel will initially launch with lymphoma detection, one of the most common and treatable cancers in dogs. Over the next three years, the panel will expand to include the six most prevalent canine cancers, which collectively account for over 50% of cancer cases in dogs. This expanded menu will tap into an estimated $1.1 billion addressable opportunity, underscoring the potential of this diagnostic innovation. Our software ecosystem plays a pivotal role in supporting veterinarians by enhancing clinic efficiency, optimizing workflows, and fostering deeper connections with practices and panelists. With double-digit growth in cloud data placement, software remains a critical enabler of diagnostic adoption and practice success. reinforcing our position as a leader in vertical SAS offerings tailored to veterinary needs. One of the year's standout achievements was the expansion of VEL, our pet owner engagement application. Designed to address the growing demand for seamless communication and improved visit outcomes, VEL has been embraced by nearly 600 practices at year end, doubling its user base since Q3. Early results from the app's deployment have been highly encouraging, with participating clinics reporting increased clinical visits, higher diagnostic usage, and improved revenue. This underscores Velo's ability to address critical workflow pain points while fostering stronger relationships between veterinarians and pet owners. We have meaningfully increased development resources and investment in Velo through 2024 and now in 2025. Looking ahead, Velo's development roadmap promises even greater value with upcoming enhancements focused on streamlining communications, expanding engagement tools, including the ability to personalize messaging, and integrating advanced analytics. Customers appreciate our commitment to an integrated diagnostics and software suite. In a way, it unlocks new opportunities for growth. Beyond Velo, we continue to expand our broader software portfolio. We've placed a record number of cloud-native PIMs, expanding that install base by 20% year-over-year. as their offerings remain a top choice for clinics seeking modern, scalable solutions. We finished the year with 60% of our PIMs installed based in the cloud, ahead of our estimates shared at Investor Day in August. IDEXX Webpacks, our cloud-native imaging workflow engine, also experienced double-digit subscriber growth, demonstrating its relevance in addressing key pain points such as dental imaging workflows. These advancements not only simplify complex processes, but also allow clinicians to spend more time focusing on patient care. The integration of diagnostics and software remains a cornerstone of IDEXX's value proposition. By providing intuitive, efficient, and comprehensive tools, we empower clinics to unlock new levels of performance while delivering superior care to their patients. As we move into 2025, our focus on software innovation will continue to drive recurring revenue growth and deepen our partnerships with veterinary practices worldwide. As we turn the page on 2024, IDEX remains steadfast in its purpose to create exceptional long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by enhancing the health and well-being of pets, people, and livestock. I extend my deepest gratitude to our nearly 11,000 employees whose dedication and hard work have made these accomplishments possible. Together, we have delivered robust financial results while setting the stage for a promising 2025 and beyond, supported by a new wave of IDEX innovations. I'd like to thank Brian McKean for the exceptional contributions he has made over a 20-year IDEXX career, spanning both as a member of our board and over the last 11 years as IDEXX's CFO. As previously announced, Brian will be stepping down from the role as CFO as of March 1st. One of Brian's many contributions has been to build a world-class finance team and develop future leadership talent. It's my great pleasure to welcome Andrew Emerson. who will become our new CFO as of March 1st. Andrew brings more than 20 years of finance experience to the healthcare industry in roles of increasing responsibility, including over nine years at IDEX working side by side with Brian throughout this time. He is well-versed in our business, our sector, and our strategy, and he is set to contribute on day one. Brian will remain with IDEX in a senior advisory capacity until his retirement date of June 1st. in order to help ensure a smooth and seamless transition for Andrew. With that, I'll turn it back over for Q&A. Thank you.

Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please signal by pressing star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute function is turned off to allow the signal to reach our equipment. Again, press star 1 to ask a question. The first question is from Erin Wright with Morgan Stanley.

Great. Thanks. And Brian, it's been great working with you over the years and congrats on your retirement and looking forward to working with you too, Andrew, as we kind of move forward. But in terms of my questions, I'll start with innovation. So I guess, can you speak to what guidance assumes now in terms of the innovation contribution in 2025? Is that adding about a point to CAG recurring growth assumptions for you? And And I just wanted to get an update on InView on that front. I guess, why are you limiting pre-orders in the U.S.? And there are placements, I guess, of 10, but pre-orders of 1,600. So I guess, why is there such a backlog there? Is there more AI training needed? Is there necessary adjustments to the offering or timing of the rollout or anything like that? Are practitioners just waiting for FNA? I guess, when do you expect FNA to launch as well? And... and what is guidance is doing on that front. Thanks.

Good morning, Erin. This is Andrew. Happy to kick us off with what's included in the guidance, and then I'll hand it over to Jay to talk a bit about InView. Just in terms of what we've provided, we initially get benefits from the instrument revenues as we launch a platform like InView. What we noted in the prepared remarks is approximately $50 million and 4,500 placements on the innovation launch of the InView DX platform. So we feel good about that, that that's captured in our overall guidance. We haven't necessarily broken out the other innovation areas, but we do expect benefits from PL and cancer, as Jay highlighted in his remarks. They're going to allow us to continue to build momentum, both domestically and internationally, but we haven't broken those out. We just have included that, and we feel good about the guidance that we've provided at this point.

Yeah, so I'll take it from there. Good morning, Aaron. So as this closed, we began shipping In Q4, I'd say that customer interest has been very high, and that's reflected in close to the 1,600 pre-orders that I indicated. From a customer lens, what customers are responding to are some of the things that we've been talking about, the key attributes of the system, starting with the menu, your cytology and blood morphology, and then F&A later in 2025. The way customers see these clinical use cases is, very high volume, well understood, and well integrated into the workflow of how they practice. They also, like the slide-free operation, they see preparing slides as really an intensive bottleneck, sometimes 15, 20 minutes, and of course, at the end of the day, what they want is consistent, highly accurate results, and they see InView is being able to deliver that. In terms of the actual launch and approach, we follow a very tried and true controlled launch process for all our analyzers. In fact, this is my fourth premium instrument launch since being at IDEX, and it starts with the aim of delivering an exceptional customer experience. It's what they expect of us. They know we have a world-class product development organization. There's always tweaks that come up as part of any launch, what I would say is we're making excellent progress. We plan to deliver the 4500 plus in 2025, as I indicated, and that'll wrap over the year. Manufacturing and installation capacity are ahead of plan, and that puts us in a strong position to achieve the plan, and customers aren't waiting to answer your specific question around, are they waiting for F&A to take delivery? They're not.

Okay, great. That's helpful. And then, does your guidance assume any sort of notable changes from a customer account standpoint at Point of Care or Ref Lab? Presumably, you're still lapping through some of that repricing action taken, I guess, in 2024. I guess, can you remind us when you fully lap that, and can you help us quantify how that headwind lingers into 2025? Is it an incremental headwind net-net or less of a headwind in 2025? Thanks.

Thanks, Aaron. So just on pricing, what we noted was 4% to 4.5% for the full year. In Q1 specifically, we did remark that we would expect to be on the lower end of that range, just given the three large customer lapping that Brian had captured in his commentary in our Q4 results. So we will continue to lap that throughout the year, but I think we've captured that in our guidance. And again, we feel good that we have strong momentum in terms of our ability to continue to work with our customers and expand our install base both internationally where we saw double-digit growth as well as globally where we had a 9% install base expansion for 2024.

Okay, great. Thank you. The next question is from Chris Schott with J.P. Morgan.

Great. Thanks so much for the questions. Just two on the 2025 guidance. First, can you just elaborate specifically On the vet visit trajectory, you expect from here, it sounds like from the prepared remarks, down 3% or so in one queue. But can you just talk about the recovery and confidence in recovery from there? And the second question was just on U.S. versus ex-U.S. growth this year. Any notable kind of differences or trends that you're expecting as we think about the regions? Thank you.

Good morning, Chris. So just to talk about the vet visits, you know, in terms of what we've included in the guide for the US, we signaled it was, you know, similar to the decline that we intended for 2024. So that would represent approximately 2%, as Brian highlighted. When we think about Q1, we are anticipating that we saw similar trends as we exited the year. Q4 was about a 3% decline on clinical visits overall, and just as we saw in Q4, we saw some modest differences by quarter, but ultimately, again, we're anticipating about a 2% decline in clinical visits for 2025, so not really an improvement. as we head into the year, and that could bounce around a little bit by quarter, and we'll provide more information as the year goes on.

Good morning, Chris. Maybe just to spotlight our international performance. We've, as you know, invested fairly heavily in expanding our international commercial footprint over the last three-plus years, and we've seen really nice growth in terms of overall installed base of our premium customers instruments and associated consumable stream. In Europe, in fact, we've seen last seven quarters of double-digit growth from a consumable standpoint in the high teens. I think that's just a reflection of really strong execution, longer tenure in seed, and customer response to innovations like ProSite 1 and other solutions that help them practice good medicine.

Thanks so much.

The next question is from Michael Riskin with Bank of America.

Great. Thanks for taking the question. I have a couple of quick ones, hopefully, guys. First, just going back to the visit dynamics, you talked through your assumptions for 2025. I just want to dig into 4Q a little bit. I know we probably shouldn't look into quarter-to-quarter trends, and these things are volatile. I understand all that. But just The dispersion here between wellness and non-wellness is what really struck me. It seems like it sort of accelerated through the course of 24 and sort of reached its broadest dispersion in the fourth quarter. You really saw wellness drop off pretty sharply relative to total clinical visits or non-wellness visits. Just wondering what you're seeing on the ground, what the feedback is you're getting that. Obviously, there's a lot of concern that that's driven by demand, elasticity, price. you know, weak consumer environment, people just sort of backing away from some of those more discretionary visits. I know you've talked in prior quarters about potentially the impact on visit trends from some therapeutic options including injectable drugs. Just any color you can provide on wellness specifically and why you've seen that deteriorate over the course of 2024. Sure.

Let me provide some insight on that, Mike. We do think at the margin there was probably the impacts from the consumer and the overall macro environment. But the interesting thing about wellness is the inclusion of diagnostics actually went up. So we saw a really nice premium growth. Our belief is that the quality of these visits went up. The pet owner in veterinarian really used that higher intensity of diagnostics, so there's probably some marginal pet owners dropping off, potentially deferring or delaying some of those visits, the ones that came in. Very high quality, and we benefited from that, and we think with our IDEX cancer diagnostics panel included in wellness visits, we'll continue to inspire, potentially pull through on that end, too.

Okay. All right, and then for my follow-up question, I don't think you really called this out in the prepared remarks, but I noticed that for the guide for 2025, Brian or Andrew, you guys are assuming a little bit more share buyback. I think you said 2% to 3% reduction in shares. I think most years you've sort of been in that 1% reduction. Just any additional color there in terms of the rationale for that? Thanks.

Yeah, Mike, so just in terms of kind of rationale, we have high confidence in the company's potential growth model here. We've executed it exceptionally well, and I think we're really on the cusp of that new wave of innovation, which Jay has highlighted several times. This really reflects strong free cash flow generation. We have a really healthy balance sheet with high liquidity. Ryan mentioned on the call, in terms of Q4, our gross leverage was about 0.7 times, and this largely sustains those levels at a higher deployment rate. So it does achieve that 2% to 3% reduction in average shares, and again, we look at this as a positive momentum for the long term.

All right, thanks.

As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one. The next question is from John Block with Stiefel.

Thanks, guys. Good morning. It looks like the IDEX premium for the quarter, so, you know, in other words, 4-2-24, was the strongest of the year. That was before the rollout of CancerDx, I mean, essentially before Enview for the most part. So can you just talk about what led to the uptick for the premium in the quarter? you know, allowed you to arguably offset the down, whatever it was, 2.9 in clinical, and still put up some pretty good CAG DX recurring. That's specific to the fourth quarter 24 question, then I'll ask the follow-up.

Hey, John, it's Brian. As you pointed out, it's a very good quarter. Our best volume growth quarter of the year, when you normalize for days, we saw very strong consumable growth. I think that that's... reflective of the progress that we've made on instrument placements growing the installed base during the year. Some benefit from innovation, the pancreatic life-based slide is helpful on that front. And globally, just really good international momentum. So I think it's reflective of the strong execution that we've seen throughout the year that's enabled us to grow at a a faster rate than the sector. And as the team's pointed out, I think the company's really well positioned to build on that heading into 2025 with the new innovations that'll be coming.

Got it. Helpful. And then maybe second question on price. So, you know, I think it's, I think you called out three and a half in the U.S. It sort of implies, I don't know, five and change in the international markets. Jay, can you just talk about your comfort in these pricing levels? that the consumer can absorb the likely increases. I think you're going to say we don't dictate price to the consumer, but you sort of do, because the vet's not going to take it all on their margin. And to Mike's previous question, do you think this higher pricing environment, while providing a temporary fix, is acting as a headwind as we continue to see this wellness slide, and hence the pet owner avoid wanting to come in for that wellness sticker shock, and then Part B of a very disparate question is the $42 million in interest expense, can you just reconcile that? It just looks pretty high considering where we were in 24. Thanks, guys.

Yeah, let me talk about pricing, and I'll turn it to Andrew to talk about the interest expense. Of course, I'm going to caveat it and say our customers determine in-sector pricing. Keep in mind wellness versus non-wellness pricing. are different things. Typically, for a wellness visit, the veterinarian doesn't spend, you know, more than five, seven, ten minutes, you know, with the petter. So they price that differently. And we offer, you know, a number of programs like compliance-based pricing, which I think is, you know, positions it, you know, positions those panels very advantageously. You know, I would say that we are very mindful of the need to be in front of the differentiation that we offer, you know, through innovations. A lot of what we offer, for example, is complementary to the customer, whether it's VetConnect Plus, whether we add in, you know, tapes and systemized hospital for fecal antigen. I think Cancer DX is a great example of really keeping that, you know, price very moderate at $15 plus, you know, per patient. select panels. So overall, we're comfortable in terms of where we've priced. We've seen an increase, as I just indicated, in the inclusion of diagnostics and wellness panels. In fact, a very strong, you know, increase in Q4. So the quality of the visits and the quality of diagnostics inclusion, you know, has been growing fairly strongly. Andrew, do you want to address that?

Yeah, John, just in terms of the $42 million on interest, That does align with the step up in terms of our planned buybacks of $1.5 billion. So again, we've calibrated that based off of current rates. As Brian noted, we did just about $850 million in 2024. So there's an increased level there, and we've captured that in our interest expense costs.

The next question is from Daniel Clark with LearRink Partners.

Yes, thank you. I just had a quick clarification on InView. Are you still limiting pre-orders, or are you fully allowing those now?

Yeah, so generally, we've opened the funnel in terms of what our field organizations can take in North America. I would say internationally, It's more limited, and we'll continue to just offer it in select countries. And throughout the year, we'll revisit that.

Okay, got it. Thank you. And then just a separate question. Was there any impact from weather that's worth calling out in terms of visit trends for 4Q or how you're thinking about 1Q? Thanks.

Good morning, Dan. So just in the fourth quarter, I think we had signaled on the last call that we anticipated about 50 basis points of weather associated with what we saw in early October. As we head into Q1, certainly we've seen some weather types of impacts, but at the end of the day, we've captured those in our outlook and, again, feel good about the guide that we've presented today.

The next question is from with B&B Paribas, Exane.

Hi, good morning. First on the VET visit, if you can discuss further the underlying factors embedded in the 2% decline expected midpoint in terms of macro impact and time to replenish VET and VET text graduate and do you expect potential improvement in 2026? And then in terms of margin, shall we still expect 2025 margin expansion to be still post-margin led and can you discuss the as GMA and R&D this year with the in-view and cancer diagnostics launches and expansions.

Thank you. Just to provide some, I'll cover the clinical visit trends, just to provide some additional color on that. We still think capacity constraints are a challenge for practices, less around just absolute employment levels and maybe more related to number of hours work. In talking to Number of the corporate or enterprise accounts, they continue to speak to the desire to hire more veterinarians and staff as they become available. In that sense, supply can drive demand. Probably the more primary factor is the macroeconomic environment, cumulative impacts of inflation, and some moderation as a result of that.

Yeah, Navon, just on the gross margin and breakout of OPEX, we didn't provide any explicit detail here. But overall, what we're planning for is an operating margin improvement of 30 to 80 basis points on a comparable basis year over year, the midpoint being about 50 basis points. I think you'll expect most of that to be gross margin-led as we reinvest back into the business. Certainly, again, we feel good about the innovation cycle we have here and the potential for growth over time. We want to make sure we're making investments in the right areas in order to support that ultimately.

Okay. I'd like to thank everybody for their questions this morning. We're now going to conclude our Q&A portion of this morning's call. It's been a pleasure to review another quarter and full year of strong IDEX results. So thank you again for your participation this morning and we'll conclude the call.

Thank you. This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.