Trulieve Cannabis Corp

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Trulieve Cannabis Corporation Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Dhawan, and I will be the conference operator today. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Christine Hersey, Vice President of Investor Relations for Trulieve.

You may begin.

Officer and Wes Gettman, Chief Financial Officer, will deliver prepared remarks on the financial performance and outlook for Trulieve. Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call to questions. This morning, we reported third quarter 2024 results. A copy of our earnings press release and PowerPoint presentation may be found on the investor relations section of our website, www.trulieve.com. An archived version of today's conference call will be available on our website later today. As a reminder, statements made during this call that are not historical fact constitute forward-looking statements, and these statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical results or from our forecasts. including the risks and uncertainties described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including item 1A, risk factors of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as well as our other periodic quarterly filings. Although the company may voluntarily do so from time to time, it undertakes no commitment to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. During the call, management will also discuss certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with the United States generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP. We generally refer to these as non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for TRULY's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings press release that is an exhibit to our current report on Form 8K that we furnished to the SEC today and can be found in the investor relations section of our website. Lastly, at times during our prepared remarks or responses to your questions, we may offer metrics to provide greater insight into the dynamics of our business or our financial results. Please be advised that we may or may not continue to provide these additional details in the future. I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Kim Rivers. Thank you, Christine. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are pleased to report solid third quarter results. Kudos to the entire team for delivering outstanding growth margins and adjusted EBITDA during a seasonally slower quarter that was further impacted by Hurricane Helene. Turning now to today's election. Florida voters are poised to make history today with the approval of cannabis legalization for personal use. Polling indicates strong bipartisan support for cannabis legalization and likely passage of amendment 30. Broad endorsements, including high-profile figures such as David Portnoy and former President Trump, underscore the widespread support for this common-sense approach to cannabis. Amendment 3 is about personal freedom and giving adults over the age of 21 the opportunity to purchase and consume limited quantities of cannabis without fear of arrest or adverse events from unregulated, untested products, all while generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to be reinvested into our communities. We believe that Florida is ready to turn the page on prohibition and will vote yes on Amendment 3. I want to acknowledge everyone who has supported this campaign over the past two years, including elected officials, members of law enforcement, community leaders, physicians, grassroots organizations, and volunteers. At Trulieve, we believe in leaving it all in the field, and we can confidently say that that is the case with our support of legalization in Florida. It's now up to the voters to decide. While Amendment 3 is top of mind for Trulieve, the presidential election has meaningful implications for the industry. Those presidential candidates have publicly expressed support for federal reform, acknowledging the failed approach of the current policies. Federal rescheduling of cannabis is underway with a preliminary hearing set for December 2nd and additional hearings in January or February to collect information on the proposed move to Schedule 3. The next administration will oversee the completion of the rescheduling process. Based on the favorable public positions of both candidates, we are optimistic that rescheduling could be completed in 2025, representing a meaningful milestone for the industry. Rescheduling not only removes the punitive QAE tax burden from legal cannabis operators, but it also reduces stigma and opens the door for research. Cannabis remains more popular than politicians, and we believe widespread support and continued adoption at the state level adds pressure for broader federal reform. Before we dive into results, I would like to say a few words on the recent hurricanes. Our hearts go out to all of those who were affected by these storms. Thankfully, none of our employees were injured, although several had significant damage to homes and personal property. Chili's has been helping recovery efforts through our employee assistance program and donations to state disaster relief funds. From an operational standpoint, none of our production facilities were damaged during either storm. For retail, 65 stores were closed during Helene and 108 stores were closed during Milton. Virtually all were able to resume normal operations within two days. Thank you to everyone on the team who worked around the clock to make sure that our customers have access to the products they rely on, especially those who were also personally impacted by the storm. Moving on to our third quarter results. Revenue was in line with our guidance while gross margin continued to exceed expectations. Revenue of $284 million, up 3% from last year, reflects solid performance despite headwinds from seasonality and Hurricane Helene. Growth margin improved to 61%, bolstered by efficiencies and low cultivation costs. SG&A increased in the third quarter with higher spending to support additional store openings and infrastructure to manage long-term growth alongside increased campaign support. Adjusted EBITDA of $96 million improved by 24% compared to last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 34% was driven by best-in-class growth margin, partly offset by increased investment. We ended the quarter with $319 million in cash and short-term investments. During the third quarter, retail results were influenced by seasonality in Arizona and Florida, as well as temporary store closures related to Hurricane Helene. Traffic increased 10% year-over-year and 1% sequentially, while basket size declined 3% compared to last year and 6% versus the second quarter. Average basket size declined sequentially in all markets with seasonal pressure in Arizona and Florida. For the second year, seasonal impacts in Florida were influenced by new residents from northern states who leave Florida during hot summer months. Data shows some customers trading down into mid- and value-tier products and higher visits per month indicating wallet pressures influencing customer behavior. We are closely monitoring the data to discern if a trend is emerging or if transient pressure has abated. Spending patterns during the last six weeks of the year will be an important indication of consumer flexibility. Customers expect a clear value proposition for all products, seeking out reasonably priced products in value and mid-tier and truly differentiated quality for premium tier. As always, we are prepared to meet evolving customer preferences by leaning into value and mid-tier products while maintaining very high standards for premium offerings. In Q3, we expanded our industry-leading retail network to 215 locations company-wide with 14 new locations in Florida and one in Pennsylvania. Subsequent to quarter end in Florida, we were able to open five additional locations that were previously delayed due to the hurricanes. Our commitment to selling high-quality branded products through our branded retail locations is a core part of our strategy. This has been a key driver for reinforcing customer loyalty and building long-term brand equity. Freely has over 4 million square feet of production capacity company-wide, and the team continues to deliver very high-quality products while driving efficiencies and lower costs. In the third quarter, we sold over 11.5 million branded product units in line with the second quarter. Low cultivation costs in Florida and improving margins in other markets contributed to gross margin this quarter. Wholesale revenue increased in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia due in part to greater availability of products. Over the past year, we have made continuous adjustments in our retail operations, all designed to deliver best-in-class customer experiences. Our relentless push to drive customer retention and overall satisfaction through superior products, customer service, and effective messaging continues to pay dividends. Third quarter customer retention was 65% company-wide and 74% in medical-only markets, comparable to the second quarter. Overall satisfaction and NPS scores increased in nearly all markets. Training, leadership engagement, and financial incentives for employees collectively reinforce our customer-centric focus across our retail platform. During the first half of the year, we rolled out a new customer rewards program featuring fully stackable points that can be redeemed in all markets. Enrollment in our For Fresh Loyalty program has exceeded expectations, reaching over 450,000 rewards members, up from 325,000 at our last earnings call. On average, loyalty members spend approximately 123% more per month than non-loyalty members. In Ohio, adult use sales commenced at our three retail locations on August 6th. Traffic per store increased by 60% and sales per store increased by 35% in the five weeks following the launch. Our team did a phenomenal job managing customer traffic while working to maintain high service standards. We are planning to expand our Westerville location by year end and open additional Ohio retail locations in 2025. Upgrades at our partner's grower processor facility in Ironton have been completed, and we are on track to have Trulieve brands available in Ohio by year end. Working together with partner brands allows Trulieve to offer greater product assortment and optionality for customers while providing specialty brands access to our loyal customer base. We recently announced a partnership with Black Buddha, offering premium flower in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Black Buddha is a purpose-led, women-owned cannabis brand that aligns with Truly's commitment to wellness, innovation, and quality. To date, customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are thrilled to be working with the brand. Trulieve continues to blaze new trails, entering the first sports partnership for a non-CBD cannabis company. In August, we announced partnerships with the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball. Trulieve is sponsoring a dozen pickleball events in Arizona, Florida, and Georgia this year and next, allowing us to reach new audiences and foster a sense of community that accelerates cannabis acceptance. Turning now to Florida. Voters will decide today whether to legalize adult use cannabis. With 23 million residents and 140 million annual tourist visits, we estimate the Florida market could reach $6 billion in annual sales. Assuming passage of Amendment 3, adult use sales would be allowed six months from today. Florida legislators have an opportunity before launch to further refine rules for adult use, such as prohibiting smoking in public and allowing home grow. Trulieve is incredibly well positioned for an abilities launch in May of 2025. We have made significant investments in production, retail, and technology in preparation for catalysts such as this one. Today, we have over 3 million square feet of production capacity in Florida. Given the modular nature of our production site, idle capacity can be quickly ramped and further expansion can occur as needed in short order. Across our retail network of 156 dispensaries in Florida, we have the ability to manage higher traffic and utilize additional points of sale. We recently conducted a series of retail pilot studies to improve the in-store experience of seeming higher traffic, and we can readily implement adjustments in advance of recreational sales. Trulieve is committed to maintaining high service standards for all customers. especially our existing medical patients who rely on our products. Over the past several months, we completed the upgrade to our Web 2.0 platform and a major upgrade to our SAT platform, expanding functionality and capability to facilitate higher transaction volumes. We will be fully prepared to welcome the Bill East Customer Store next May with high-quality products and world-class customer service. In summary, the team continues to deliver outstanding results while preparing for upcoming catalysts. We have done everything that we can to drive home a win at the polls today and truly will be fully prepared for adult youth in Florida when Amendment 3 passes. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to our CFO, Wes Getman. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Kim, and good morning, everyone. Third quarter revenue was $284 million, up 3% year-over-year, driven by new store openings and growth in the wholesale channel. Third quarter GAAP gross profit was $173 million with 61% margin of 1% from the second quarter. Gross margin will continue to fluctuate quarter to quarter depending on product and market mix, inventory sell-through, commercial activity, and idle capacity costs. SG&A expenses in the third quarter were $149 million or 52% of revenue. Higher SG&A included new store opening expenses, technology and infrastructure investments, and additional support for the Smart and Safe Florida Campaign. Third quarter net loss was 60 million compared to a net loss of 12 million in the second quarter. Third quarter loss per share was 33 cents compared to a loss of 5 cents in the second quarter. Excluding 48 million in campaign support and other non-recurring charges, third quarter net loss would have been 6 cents per share compared to break-even results in the second quarter. Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $96 million, or 34% margin, reflects strong gross margin partly offset by investments in retail and infrastructure. Turning now to our balance sheet and tax strategy. We ended the quarter with $319 million in cash and short-term investments and $481 million in debt. As a reminder, Trulieve adopted a tax position challenging the applicability of 280 to our business last year, following the many returns for tax years 2019 through 2021. To date, we have received refund checks totaling over $115 million. Final resolution to our approach may ultimately take years to conclude. In the interim, we continue to accrue an uncertain tax position on our balance sheet while realizing lower cash tax payments. Upon rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III, the 280 tax burden will be removed, effectively capping the downside risks to our tax challenge. Notably, if the impact of 280 were removed, year-to-date results would show positive net income. Cash flow from operations totaled $30 million in the third quarter. Capital expenditures were $37 million, with free cash flow outflows of $7 million. Absent the noted campaign contributions, cash flow from operations would have been $78 million, and free cash flow would have been $41 million. Year-to-date cash flow from operations totaled $241 million, with free cash flow of $162 million. Turning now to our outlook. Based upon the visibility that we have today, we anticipate fourth quarter revenue will be up low single digits sequentially. Typically, fourth quarter results include higher holiday traffic and promotional activity. We anticipate fourth quarter gross margins will be consistent with margins year to date. We expect full year cash flow from operations will be at least $250 million with capital expenditures of $130 million. The increase in capital expenditures is due to investments in new retail locations, production upgrades, and long-term infrastructure to support future growth. the team remains focused on executing to our plan. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Kim.

Thanks, Wes. Cannabis continues to gain momentum with the majority of Americans in favor of legalization and broad support across all demographics, proving that cannabis is not a partisan issue. It's a human one. Adoption for medicinal and recreational purposes is increasing as adults choose cannabis as a preferred alternative to prescription drugs and alcohol. This industry is far beyond the tipping point, and eventually reform will catch up to evolving attitudes. Opportunities for incremental reform in the near term are progressing at both federal and state levels. With rescheduling to Schedule 3 well underway, we remain optimistic that the process will be completed and ultimately lead to further federal reform. Next month, a preliminary hearing will be conducted, followed by a hearing in early 2025 to provide additional information on the record. We believe a final rule could be published in 2025, marking the first major federal reform in decades. With both presidential candidates in favor of cannabis reform, we believe additional progress, such as safe banking, could advance in the next administration. State efforts to support medical and adult use cannabis markets continue to gain traction as cannabis becomes more mainstream. In Pennsylvania, bipartisan momentum continues to build as neighboring states adopt adult use programs. We remain optimistic that adult use legislation will pass in Pennsylvania in the next one to two years. Today's general election includes cannabis ballot measures in four states. In Florida, we expect Amendment 3 to pass, leading to the largest adult use conversion in the industry to date. With 156 stores in Florida, scaled production capacity, and sufficient capital to support further investment, Trulieve is best positioned to fully prepare for the launch of recreational sales next spring. Trulieve has been out front pushing for expanded access to cannabis for years. And I am so proud to lead this team. As I said before, I wouldn't trade hands with anyone in the industry. Thank you for joining us today. And as I always say, onward and yes on three. At this time, Kim Rivers and Wes Getman will be available to answer any questions.

Operator, please open up the call for questions.

Certainly. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star, then 2.

At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our question. Our next question comes from Luke Hannon with Canaccord Genuity.

Please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Kim, it's been a long journey to get to where we are today when it comes to the prospect of there being an adult use cannabis market in Florida. You mentioned in your prepared remarks that polling indicates likely passage of Amendment 3, but curious to know, are there any other learnings or insights that have come out of your efforts in getting out the vote that also underpin your conviction here along with the favorable polling data?

Yeah, and I would tell you that, you know, it has been just so encouraging for us to have such a broad base of support. And I think that, you know, our opportunity has been, which I think we've taken full advantage of, to talk to Floridians across different walks of life and different ideologies and different demographics about cannabis and really to lean into an education-first campaign to that's backed by data and science. And that's what we all do in this industry every day is to really, again, educate folks and fight back against the stigma. And so when sitting here today, the fact that we have Right. Former President Trump, who is a Floridian and who has specifically endorsed amendment theory and in no uncertain terms, the fact that we have another presidential candidate on the Democratic side, Kamala Harris, who just this week expressed her support for cannabis reform. But I think maybe more importantly, just down as we as we've drilled down to local levels and have gotten folks on all sides of the issue to you know, all sides of the spectrum really excited and enthusiastic about going to the polls and voting yes on three. And, you know, I talk to people every single day. The campaign talks to people every single day. Hundreds and thousands of phone calls have been made over the last period. And it just, again, the response that we're getting is very encouraging.

Great to hear. Thanks. And then for my follow-up here, I wanted to ask, if I heard you correctly in your prepared remarks, you mentioned that you've done a series of retail pilot studies to sort of figure out what happens with adult use sales in Florida if we do get passage here. I'm curious to know, are there any KPIs or maybe other learnings you can share that came out of those studies that indicate how well positioned you are in the event that we do get passage?

Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, this team and again, right, I mean, we're running this company and I'm very proud of our results this quarter and how the team has been able to really focus in on today and making sure that we're continuing to service our medical patients here in the state of Florida. while also looking ahead and planning for all kinds of different scenarios, right? It's a four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle right now because you also have, of course, 280E looming ahead as well. And so within that work, right, going in and doing a bunch of pilot studies and different scenario planning, workforce management planning, I mean, there's a lot that goes into that. Thinking through or beginning to think through a conversion of this magnitude. And so what we found is that we're really well positioned with, again, the upgrades that we have been layering in into this organization over the last several years, right? This doesn't happen overnight. I mentioned in the remarks, you know, our Web 2.0 upgrade, as an example, along with our SAP upgrade, none of these things are flashy, right, or necessarily really exciting, but they provide the infrastructure to enable us to handle transactions in a faster manner, to make sure that we've got the ability to have separate, you know, lines and dedicated registers and the flow within our retail locations from back of house to front of house. And again, along with our technology upgrades that will allow folks to minimize weight in transaction times on a conversion. So I do feel like we're well positioned. And candidly, those investments serve us kind of regardless, right? And as we look at our improved opportunity across the country, not only today, but in the upcoming years.

That's great.

Thank you very much and best of luck tonight. Thanks. Thank you.

The next question comes from Frederico Gomez with ATB Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. First question on Ohio. Have sales in that market performed in line with your expectations? I think you mentioned sales per store increase of 35%. So is that sort of what you were expecting? And also, you know, in terms of the supply demand balance, you know, high pricing, etc. How has that evolved since July? Thanks.

Yes. So absolutely, Ohio is performing. We're very proud of that team. As we mentioned, we have some limitations and have had some limitations in Ohio just given our footprint along with some product availability. You know, that is, again, not unusual in a conversion. That is improving. And when I mentioned that we're going to be doing some expansion there, that's really so that we can more effectively serve through the transactions and the transactions. Candidly, the customer base that we know that we've got in Ohio. So I feel like the team did a phenomenal job with what we have today. But again, that actual market and our kind of physical presence in that market, if you will, is improving and will continue to improve not only through the end of this year, but also through next year. You know, we're very excited to get our brands into that market and have been working very, very hard on that. And so, you know, that'll be an important next milestone for us in Ohio as we get those into market by the end of the year.

Thank you. And then my second question is just on, I guess, looking back in Florida, From a customer behavior standpoint, have you seen any noticeable impact from the Florida campaign? I guess just given that consumers probably have increased awareness given the campaign that's going on there. So have you seen any sort of change in terms of consumer behavior, be it for better or worse?

You know, I mean, I would say that the Florida business has been very consistent and in line, as I mentioned, with the prepared remarks, right, with our seasonal trends. I think really what we're starting to see in Florida, so to answer your question, no, there has not been any kind of dramatic change whatsoever. that would be tied or that we would see tied to the campaign. There's a lot of enthusiastic patients and a lot of folks who are very excited to get out there and vote for the amendment for sure. And we see that enthusiasm at grand openings that we have and in our stores where we've had a lot of education and information for folks about the amendment and what adult use looks like in Florida. What we have seen, though, and I think this is an important point as it relates to Florida in this quarter specifically, is an increased, you know, and we noted it last year, but I think it's important for folks to think about also as we go into next year, that this third quarter seasonality in Florida is is becoming more pronounced. Again, we've had massive population shifts in Florida with new residents coming in post-COVID, particularly from northern states, and those folks have a tendency to also do more snowboard-type patterns in that third quarter timeframe. In addition, with the hurricanes, so while our stores were closed only two days prior there still is impact, right, in those communities, particularly in certain areas like the Tampa-St. Pete area where we had massive evacuations, longtime power outages across a large part of those communities. And so it does take a bit to get those communities stabilized and back to normal and the reestablishment of what we'll call normal customer behavior patterns in some of those areas. Also, right, as we mentioned, our internal construction timelines were pushed for a number of stores and that will continue to impact kind of some of those plans. We're trying to play catch up right now, but potentially through the end of the year. So those are really more of the patterns that we're seeing. And then the only other thing I would say in Florida is as it relates to customer behavior, is that loyalty program. We did launch that in Florida. And what we are seeing, not just in Florida, but across the country where we've launched that program, is that frequency is way up with folks who are utilizing that loyalty program, which makes sense, right? Because we're able to push and communicate more real time to those customers. So they are coming in more often and that their average spend per month is significantly higher, right? The number is like over 120% higher than non-loyalty members. But then their basket per visit is lower. So again, their average spend per month higher, more frequent transactions, but average per visit is down. So it's changing kind of the buying patterns, if you will, a little bit within our store. So we're monitoring that as well.

Thank you very much for the caller.

Congrats on the quarter and good luck on the vote today. Thanks so much.

Thank you. Next question is from Aaron Gray with Alliance Global Partners. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning, and thank you for the questions. Nice to see the continued efficiency improvements, and regardless of the outcome, I know I appreciate the efforts that Julie has made regarding Amendment 3. So, gross margin up nicely Q over Q despite the lower sales, which you attributed to efficiencies and lower cultivation costs. So, We'd be interested in if this was due specifically to some more cost savings or was it higher yields regarding Jeffco that may have come above expectations previously. And then bigger picture, as we move forward, particularly in adult use scenarios, it seems like there's a lot of opportunity for higher margins as you do get higher leverage of fixed costs in adult use scenarios. So how are you thinking about potentially reinvesting those cost savings to the benefit of the customer or letting it drop to the bottom line and how that plays out and enter your thoughts as a competitive market increases ahead of adult use and when adult use starts. Thank you.

Yeah, so there are quite a few notes in there, Aaron. So I'm going to try and take them. Just let me know if I leave anything out here that you'd like further clarification on. So what I can tell you is that in this quarter specifically, we had continued great performance, of course, in Florida by Jeffco and, you know, just the team there. continuing to really focus on efficiencies and productivity. However, I'll also mention, and we mentioned this as well on the call, that we also had margin improvements outside of the state of Florida. And we have been laser focused on taking and continuing to take best practices wherever we can and applying those to other markets. And really the teams in those other markets have done a great job in really, again, drilling down and focusing on improving margins across the platform, not just in Florida. We also mentioned that we've had a wholesale increase, and one of the things with wholesale, of course, is that There's some margin, of course, degradation between wholesale platform and retail platform. But really, again, also in that wholesale channel, the team has done an amazing job of really focusing in on our product mix and the products that we're able to have great customer responses from that also allow our margin contributors. So I would say it's more than just a Florida story. It really is a company story. And I'm very proud of the team in getting those efficiencies and continuing to really deliver on our commitment to be best in class as it relates to margin. And because of that, and going into your next question, that gives us the flexibility and optionality to lean in in markets like Florida where we have the ability to really leverage that incredible margin position and scale as we look forward to a large adult use conversion. And so certainly even today, we have the ability to really make strategic decisions, to your point, in terms of where we want to pass those savings on to customers, where we want to be more competitive on pricing and where we can absolutely recognize outsized results because of our efficiencies.

That's really helpful, Carla. I appreciate that, Kim.

And then the second quick one for me, just in terms of stores and specifically in Florida, overall you had 15 stores open in the quarter for the company. It seems like the most we've had in a number of years for Trulieve. So just as we look forward, how are you thinking about Door saturation in Florida, particularly in adult use scenario, it sounds like you still have some more openings coming online as well that got delayed. There's overall outlook for retail within Florida would be helpful. Thank you.

Yeah, I mean, so obviously we've got, you know, a strategy as it relates to our store openings. We're looking and we have, you know, again, a pretty robust modeling that happens where we're looking at, again, traffic counts, you know, what we anticipate demand will be. in certain areas, registers. We've said we've done a whole bunch of modeling as it relates to retail efficiencies. So what you're seeing from us is somewhat of a result of that work that the team has put in. And so I think we feel very comfortable in terms of where we're headed as it relates to our retail footprint here in the state of Florida. And just remember, right, that these stores have come in over time. And so Some of our earlier locations, we were very restricted in terms of where we could go. Store footprints there may not be as high as it relates to number of registers that we have in those locations or even storage areas or vault areas. And so we also look to augment and offset some of those limitations as well. So, again, feel great. And to your point, you know, we had a really busy quarter this quarter as it relates to store openings in the state of Florida, and really proud of this team for the push.

Okay, great. Thanks so much for the call, and I'll go ahead and jump back into the queue. Thanks.

Thank you. The next question is from Russell Stanley with Beacon Securities. Please go ahead.

Good morning, and thanks for the question. Maybe if I could switch gears to Arizona. Just wondering if you can update us there. It's Q4, kind of a normal seasonal ramp-up after the typically slow Q3. And I think as well, the state's now allowing home delivery for adult use. Wondering if that's something you'd be looking at, if that's a worthy opportunity, how much of an opportunity there is for you there. Thanks.

Yeah, thanks, Russ. So Arizona, you know, again, very proud of the team there. We've been making great progress in terms of, again, increasing efficiencies and really focusing on margin improvement. in that state. And the team, again, is continuing to really improve also on our customer metrics there as it relates to our customer satisfaction. MPS had an amazing and very successful launch of our loyalty program in Arizona as well. But Q3 is always tough in Arizona, and I think we're very transparent about that. And, you know, per usual, right, Q4 is starting to come back. And I think that we're going to have kind of a normal-ish seasonal trend. But just like we said on the call, a lot of that's going to depend on how holiday does, right? Q4 is always somewhat dependent on how we see customers behave in November and December during the holiday period. feel good that the Arizona team is focused on the right things. And we'll see, right? I think we're just going to have to see how delivery plays out. Delivery has had varying successes in different markets. And so, again, in Arizona, we're hopeful that it will be additive for sure. But we'll have to see how it shakes out there.

Thanks, and maybe for my follow-up, I love your latest view around acquisitions. I know you've highlighted on the last call the importance of staying focused, but given you're closing in on the end of the campaign aspect of adult use in Florida, wondering what your appetite is now. Thanks.

Yeah, Russ, why don't we talk about that maybe next quarter? Let's get through the vote today, and then we can have that conversation.

All right, sounds good.

Thanks again, and good luck today. Thanks.

Thank you. The next question is from Eric Delorius with Craig Helm Capital Group. Please go ahead.

Great, thank you for taking my questions. First one, I guess a bit of a follow-up on sort of the seasonality seen Q4 to date. So it sounds like in Florida, you know, some of these sort of consumer downtrading trends are continuing into Q4 so far. Overall, are you seeing any kind of change in foot traffic? Are you seeing any of the snowbirds sort of coming back to Florida and Arizona? Just kind of any additional insights on the seasonality in Arizona and Florida, and I guess the hurricane impact as well.

Yeah, so we are. I mean, we are seeing, again, kind of the traffic and purchasing patterns begin to show up in line, right, with what we've seen in the past. You know, I think that, again, last year we were a little bit uncertain still as to sort of the seasonality impact in Florida, and we called that out a year ago. And so I think now we're saying, yes, right, that is absolutely more of a, we'll call it predicted trend now. With it also, though, of course, you know, starting to come back into Q4. And again, I mean, I just want to make sure everybody heard me on this loyalty program, right? That is also, I think, potentially shifting some of our consumer behavior in that, We're seeing increased frequency, increased total spend per month, but a decrease on average order per time, which makes sense, right? If you're coming in, before you only came in, you know, maybe... two times a month, and now you're coming in four times a month, right? Your overall spend is actually increasing, but you're not going to spend the same amount that you spent two times, you know, four times. And so we are seeing some of those adjustments as well, and that may, you know, continue to, so we're, again, we're in early days of the loyalty program, so we need that to settle a bit. before we can, so I just say that because we're talking about these, quote, trends on consumers, but there is an added layer here that some of it may have an outsized influence because of, again, one, you have seasonality, so you've got folks that typically may spend more that are out of the system for a bit of time because they're traveling over that period, plus you have, right, with customers who are remaining in system, you have, again, this loyalty impact, which is, kind of, again, triangulating around us being able to say, is this a true underlying wallet pressure issue or are we actually driving some of this behavior because of the loyalty construct?

Oh, that makes sense and actually segues nicely into my follow-up question here. So on the loyalty program, you know, certainly very encouraging metrics that you shared in the prepared remarks. Can you maybe talk about any differences that you've seen in customer adoption or sort of anything else worth calling out between adult use markets and medical markets, and then the sort of obvious implication of sort of any insights into how you potentially look to capture a strong share of adult use consumers into the loyalty program in Florida if we do get a successful vote here.

Yeah, I mean, I think that it was really great for us to be able to be in a position to be able to launch this loyalty program this year, right, ahead of Florida adult youth because we were able to launch it in Arizona, which had really no loyalty program and is heavy on the adult youth side and had super strong adoption. And so I think there's a lot of learnings from that Arizona market that we can bring into that. a market like Florida and or Pennsylvania when it ultimately converts. And so, you know, I would say that the strength in our adoption has been, again, very, very encouraging and not just the strength in the adoption, right, but also the utilization of the program once adopted. And so, again, Again, I think that speaks to just the way that the loyalty program was constructed, that it is connecting and resonating with our customers as we're seeing, again, as I mentioned, with the increased frequency and increased overall spend numbers.

Very helpful. Congrats on the great quarter, and good luck tonight. Thanks.

Thank you. We have the next question from Mike Regan with Excelsior. Please go ahead.

Hey, thanks for taking the question. Quick question on the change in the frequency versus the, you know, basically coming to the store more often and buying less when they come in each trip. Are you seeing a shift in actually the package size and, you know, basically would that impact the gross margin, the pricing, sort of a, you know, reverse bulk shift? order, you know, you pay less per gram when you buy more and pay more per gram when you buy less?

Yeah, no, we're not seeing that, Mike.

Oh, that's great to hear. And then just looking just on the gross margin, it just seems like it's that sort of higher plateau level. So if you have any thoughts on how your gross margins might be inherently different under adult use, you know, ignoring any any choice to reinvest in margin, you know, more just from a mixed standpoint or, you know, product standpoint, anything like that?

Yeah, I mean, I think that we would anticipate margin being, you know, relatively, I mean, we're going to say right until we know different that it would be relatively in line because, right, I mean, again, our underlying cost profile, we're continuing to focus on it, but also at the same time, right, we're We've got, you know, our efficiencies are where they're at, which we are very happy with and proud of. You know, I don't anticipate in adult use in Florida, and we've had a lot of conversation about this internally as well, I think it's very important that we have pricing that is attractive. You know, listen, the whole goal here is to get folks off of the street and out of the black market and into a regulated environment, right? It's still yet to be determined as it relates to the tax rate, although I am encouraged and believe that, you know, the legislature will make it reasonable. But that being said, right, we need to make sure as an organization, and we have the flexibility, which I'm very happy that we have the flexibility to ensure that pricing is reasonable so that we are able to attract a strong customer base. And look, that's one of the things that Shirley was known for. I mean, candidly, when we opened Florida, and we were first off the gate in Florida, there were a lot of markets across the country that were launching medical programs, New York and Pennsylvania come to mind, where pricing was ridiculously high, in my opinion. And we made the strategic decision from the beginning to look at other markets, more mature markets, like in Arizona, like in Colorado, and even California, to make sure that the products that we were selling to Florida medical patients were reasonable as it relates to price. And I think that that has really served us well as an organization because it's focused us in on efficiency and ensuring that we are very laser focused on cost control and have been as an organization from day one, as opposed to some companies who started at a very, very high price point and then have had to reconfigure their business As normalized pricing has come in, and I'll use Pennsylvania as an example, right? When we went to Pennsylvania, we purposely came in at what we consider more normalized pricing. And it's one of the reasons that we've been so successful in Pennsylvania to have such a loyal market. customer base there today. So from our lens, we believe that it's very important that we come in, again, with normal, I'll call it strategic pricing in Florida. We have a shot to really make this market work from a conversion standpoint and, again, get those folks off the street and into a regulated retail environment.

That's great to hear. And thanks a lot. And Good luck with the vote today. Hopefully it goes yes.

Hey, thanks so much. And listen, just a shout out to anybody who's listening on this call. I know that you all know people in Florida or you live here. And so this takes a village. So I will just say my ask to everybody on this call. I know y'all normally ask me questions. I'm going to ask you to do something this time. Go through your phone. Find five to ten folks. text or call them and ask them if they voted and ask for them to vote yes on three because it really is a team effort. And I have always been taught that you lose every vote you don't ask for. So if you guys could do that for me today, that would be great.

Thank you.

We have the next question from Andrew Semple with Ventum Financial. Please go ahead.

Great. Good morning. Congrats on the Q3 results. First question here would just be on the full-year TAPEX guidance at $130 million. If that excludes software costs, that would seem to imply $50 million for Q4s. Correct me if I'm wrong there. It's also probably safe to assume the bulk of that's in Florida. Maybe help us understand what sort of process improvements or capacity additions you might be looking to make in the States and how much of that budget might be sensitive on the vote tonight.

Hey, Andrew, this is Wes. Appreciate the question.

Yeah, I mean, look, as Tim said in the prepared remarks, obviously, you know, this is potentially the biggest conversion, you know, that we could possibly have. So there's a lot of things with store footprint, you know, redesign, all the things noted that are important. And building in the optionality to be to scale production as needed. We want to be ready on May 5th. Obviously, today's a big day. It's going to drive, you know, some decisions in the next 24 hours as far as how we're looking at it. But, you know, we have a huge store footprint. We want to be in a position to try and supply those stores as best we can, you know, in July, hopefully, you know, that first week of May. So, you know, it's systems. You know, as Kim mentioned, the SAP upgrade, the Web 2.0, working on things, you know, to help our customers, you know, order better, faster, slicker, quicker, keep them in the ecosystem. Those are all the sorts of things that we're focused on to build that loyalty. Again, the questions earlier in the queue were around how are you thinking about May 5th and loyalty, and that's a big part of how we're thinking about where to spend. We want to get those first rec customers in the door, and we want to stay within our ecosystem.

Great, that's helpful.

And then maybe just my follow-up here, given the pretty significant improvements in margins and efficiencies achieved over the past few quarters, just want to maybe clarify, you know, you spoke to cost efficiencies continuing to be a big driver behind the margin profile here. Is that still largely coming from the Jeffco facility, or are you also seeing efficiencies across your cultivation network more broadly across the country?

Yeah, and as I mentioned before, effort, right? And certainly, Jeffco and Florida continues to be an amazing asset for us, and the team there continues to really focus and drive efficiencies at that facility. But again, across the country, we're taking those best practices to the extent we are able to, and also adding tweaks and adding upgrades to our sites across the country is to also have margin improvement in other markets. And so, again, it's a company-wide effort. I can assure you that Jeffco alone, while it's important and it's contributive, is one piece of the puzzle. And it really is a culture across Trulieve that we are focused absolutely every day on incremental improvement in all aspects of the business. You know, that being said, right, I just want to be clear here, right, we are very proud of our current margins. And so there will be the margin fluctuation in the future, right, depending on the puts and takes of a particular corridor. So, you know, again, happy with where we are today, but I feel like we're, you know, obviously we've made major strides this year. on margin, but don't want folks to get too ahead of themselves moving forward. Again, feel like we're firing pretty well in that 60% range in terms of where we are today.

And, Andrew, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention on the CapEx question that we are making investments in our other states as well, particularly kind of our processing in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona. We are making significant investments in those markets as well just to be better at what we do. So that is also a piece of that CapEx.

Great. That's helpful. And, Kim, I'll certainly go through my phone to see what snowbirds I can find. Best of luck on the boat tonight.

Thanks so much. Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session.

I would like to turn the call back to Christine Hersey for closing remarks.

Thanks everyone for your time today.

We appreciate your support of Yes on 3 and your efforts to help turn out the vote today. We look forward to sharing additional updates during our next earnings call.

Thanks again and have a great day.

Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation.