“Between executing on the reinvention plan and other investments such as increases in wage benefits announced earlier this year, we expect our U.S. investments to more than double from Q3 to Q4.”

In context

“mix shift. Now moving on to the balance of fiscal year '22. While our guidance remains suspended for the balance of this fiscal year, we wanted to provide some insights regarding Q4. We now expect our Q4 margin and EPS to be lower than Q3 with greater year-over-year pressures primarily due to three reasons: First, the start of mobility recovery in China was later than expected, impacting the pace of recovery previously assumed in Q4. Second, our Q3 performance benefited from approximately $0.05 of nonrecurring benefits, including release of a custom duties accrual, tax credits, government subsidies and other items which we do not expect to continue in Q4. And third, as previously announced, Q4 will be impacted by a sequential step-up in our investments as well as our typical seasonality. Between executing on the reinvention plan and other investments such as increases in wage benefits announced earlier this year, we expect our U.S. investments to more than double from Q3 to Q4. Although these factors will impact our Q4 results, they're expected to be transitory in nature, and our commitment to accelerating long-term growth remains intact. From a shareholder return perspective, although we announced the suspension of share repurchases for the balance of fiscal year '22, we have nearly returned $6 billion between share repurchases and dividends during the first three quarters of fiscal '22. Additionally, we remain committed to sustaining an attractive dividend and continue to target an earnings payout ratio of approximately 50%, which is near the top end of growth companies of our size and scale. Our commitment reflects our confidence in the strength of the business and to returning compelling cash distributions to shareholders while retaining balance sheet flexib”