Samuel R. Strickland
Analyst · Wells Fargo
I don't know that we have talked about win rates, either competitive or recompetes or -- in the past, I think ours are certainly consistent with other numbers that I've heard in the industry. In terms of the pricing, which I think is your real question, certainly, in certain markets, we see pricing pressures. In certain markets, we see the need to rotate to less expensive staff. Honestly, we think that's likely to be a, let's call it, certainly no more than a medium-term phenomena, as clients are, as you would expect in these times, wanting to get more bang for their buck. And there is a natural tendency, given the division between the contracting staff and the technical staff, there's a natural tendency to want to move towards a lower price, technically acceptable. Oftentimes, that translates into more junior, less experienced staff. And of course, I think then the technical side starts to understand that you do get what you pay for. So while we're seeing that in certain areas and we're certainly capable of being competitive in those environments, we have always tried to focus our expansion, our investments on areas where there really is an appreciation that you get what you pay for, and so we'll tend to focus on locating best value acquisitions. So that said, I mean, it's clear we are seeing that, as is every other contractor that we're aware of. We feel like we're being as successful there as we have always been. And again, I do think it's a, let's call it, a shorter-term phenomena. It will take 1 year or 2 or so. Again, I think once the budgetary environment settles down and people again start focusing on, "Okay, we've got a mission. Let's get it done," I think you'll see some of that pressure to just do -- what I'll call to just do the low cost, technically acceptable, which is very a difficult concept to define. I think you'll see that pressure abate.