MILLERKNOLL, INC. (MLKN) FY 2026 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This Management's Discussion and Analysis should be read in conjunction with the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Refer also to the information provided under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Executive Overview
MillerKnoll is a collective of dynamic brands that comes together to design the world we live in. From the spaces we make that help us live and work better, to how we manufacture our products, to the ways we solve challenges facing our customers and global community, design is our tool for creating positive impact. Our optimism leads us as we redefine modern for the 21st century, shaping a future that’s more sustainable, caring, and beautiful for all people and our planet.
MillerKnoll's products are sold internationally through controlled subsidiaries or branches in various countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, and Brazil. The Company’s products are sold in over 100 countries primarily through independent contract furniture dealers, direct customer sales, owned and independent retailers, direct-mail catalogs, and the Company’s eCommerce platforms.
The Company is globally positioned in terms of manufacturing operations. In North America, manufacturing and distribution operations are in Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas in the United States, as well as Toronto and Mexico City. In Europe, the Company's manufacturing presence is in the United Kingdom and Italy. Manufacturing operations globally also include facilities located in Brazil, China, and India. The Company manufactures products using a system of lean manufacturing techniques collectively referred to as the MillerKnoll Performance System (MKPS). For its contract furniture business, MillerKnoll strives to maintain efficiencies and cost savings by minimizing the amount of inventory on hand. Accordingly, production is order-driven with direct materials and components purchased as needed to meet demand. These factors result in a high rate of inventory turns related to our manufactured inventories.
A key element of the Company's manufacturing strategy is to limit fixed production costs by sourcing component parts from strategic suppliers. This strategy has allowed the Company to increase the variable nature of its cost structure, while retaining proprietary control over those production processes that the Company believes provide a competitive advantage. As a result of this strategy, the Company's manufacturing operations are largely assembly-based.
A key element of the Company's growth strategy is to scale the Global Retail business through the Company's Herman Miller and Design Within Reach ("DWR") retail channels. DWR provides a channel to bring MillerKnoll's iconic and design-centric products across our brands such as Knoll, Muuto, and HAY, to retail customers, along with other proprietary and third-party products, with a focus on modern design.
The Company is comprised of various operating segments as defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (U.S. GAAP). The operating segments are determined on the basis of how the Company internally reports and evaluates financial information used to make operating decisions. The Company has identified the following segments:
•North America Contract — Includes the operations associated with the design, sourcing, manufacture, and sale of furniture products directly or indirectly through an independent dealership network for office, healthcare, and educational environments throughout the United States and Canada as well as the global operations of the Spinneybeck, FilzFelt, Maharam, Edelman, and Knoll Textile brands.
•International Contract — Includes the operations associated with the design, sourcing, manufacture, and sale of furniture products, directly or indirectly through an independent dealership network for office, healthcare, and educational environments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
•Global Retail — Includes global operations associated with the sale of modern design furnishings and accessories to third party retailers, as well as direct to consumer sales through eCommerce, direct-mail catalogs, and physical retail stores, along with the global operations of the Holly Hunt brand.
The Company also reports a corporate category consisting primarily of unallocated corporate expenses related to general corporate functions, including, but not limited to, certain legal, executive, corporate finance, information technology, administrative, and acquisition-related costs.
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Core Strengths
The Company relies on the following core strengths in delivering solutions to customers:
•Product Portfolio and Brand Collective - MillerKnoll is a collective of globally recognized design brands known for working with some of the most well-known and respected designers in the world. Combined, the Company represents over 100 years of design research and exploration in service of humanity. Within the industries in which the Company operates, Herman Miller and Knoll, along with Colebrook Bosson Saunders, Design Within Reach, Edelman, FilzFelt, Geiger, HAY, Holly Hunt, Maharam, Muuto, NaughtOne and Spinneybeck are acknowledged as leading brands that inspire architects and designers to create their best design solutions. This portfolio has enabled MillerKnoll to connect with new audiences, channels, geographies, and product categories. Leveraging the collective brand equity of MillerKnoll across the lines of business is an important element of the Company's business strategy.
•Design Leadership - The Company is committed to developing research-based functionality and aesthetically innovative new products and has a history of doing so, in collaboration with a global network of leading independent designers. The Company believes its skills and experience in matching problem-solving design with the workplace needs of customers provide the Company with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. An important component of the Company's business strategy is to actively pursue a program of new product research, design, and development. The Company accomplishes this through the use of an internal research and engineering staff that engages with third party design resources generally compensated on a royalty basis.
•Unique Business Model - The Company has built a multi-channel distribution capability that it considers unique. Through contract furniture dealers, direct customer sales, retail stores and studios, eCommerce, wholesalers, and independent retailers, the Company serves contract and residential customers across a range of channels and geographies. As it pertains to its operations, the Company was among the first in the industry to embrace the concept of lean manufacturing. MKPS provides the foundation for all the Company's manufacturing operations. The Company is committed to continuously improving both product quality and production and operational efficiency. The Company believes these concepts hold significant promise for further gains in reliability, quality, and efficiency.
•Global Scale and Reach - In addition to its global omni-channel distribution capability, the Company has a global network of designers, suppliers, manufacturing operations, and research and development centers that position the Company to serve contract and residential customers globally. The Company believes that leveraging this global scale will be an important enabler to executing its strategy.
•Extraordinary People - We believe that our employees are a critical success factor for our business. We strive to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain the best employees. Our ability to attract, engage, and retain key employees has been and will remain critical to our success.
Channels of Distribution
The Company's products and services are offered to most of its customers under standard trade credit terms between 30 and 45 days. For all the items below, revenue is recognized when control transfers to the customer. The Company's products and services are sold through the following distribution channels:
•Independent Contract Furniture Dealers - Most of the Company's product sales are made to a global network of independently owned and operated contract furniture dealerships. These dealers purchase the Company's products and distribute them to end customers. Many of these dealers also offer furniture-related services, including product installation.
•Direct Contract Sales - The Company sells products and services directly to end customers without an intermediary (e.g., sales to the U.S. federal government). In most of these instances, the Company contracts separately with a dealer or third-party installation company to provide sales-related services.
•eCommerce - The Company sells products in its portfolio of brands across the globe, through localized Herman Miller, Knoll, and DWR websites. These sites complement the Company’s existing methods of distribution and extend the Company's brands' reach for new and existing customers and clients.
•Wholesale - Through the Company's Global Retail segment, certain products are sold on a wholesale basis to independent retailers located in various markets around the world.
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•Retail Locations - As of May 30, 2026, the Company operated 93 retail stores, including 45 DWR stores, 39 Herman Miller stores, 4 Knoll stores, 1 Muuto store, 1 HAY store, and 3 outlet stores.
Areas of Strategic Focus
Our strategy is designed to harness the full potential of MillerKnoll while driving growth across all business segments, geographies, and customer groups and creating value for all our stakeholders. We will capitalize on global trends including hybrid and flexible work, consumers’ focus on investing in their homes, a focus on health and well-being, and an expectation of corporate social responsibility. Our strategy includes three key focus areas:
Drive Customer Demand and Order Growth
We are prioritizing programs to deliver world class experiences with every client interaction. We have a global, go-to-market framework for contract sellers, Design With Impact, that is organized around well-being, connection and change, and we are investing in MillerKnoll showrooms that bring our brands closer together to show the breadth of our offerings. As part of this work, we are enhancing and opening MillerKnoll showrooms in select markets, including, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and San Francisco. In addition, we will continue to leverage the wide reach of our dealers’ showrooms around the globe.
In retail, we are working to evolve and enhance the DWR experience. We are expanding the retail footprint of both our DWR and Herman Miller stores into new geographic markets, with a primary focus on growth within the United States. We are testing new store formats, expanding our product assortment and offering design services both in store and online to enhance the customer experience, attract new customers and grow existing customers. In addition, we continue to launch new online tools to support our trade customers, making it easier for them to incorporate our products in their client projects.
Foster a Culture of Highly Engaged Associates
As MillerKnoll, we have created one of the most talented teams in the industry. We are committed to nurturing this distinct competitive advantage by fostering a culture of highly engaged associates and inspiring belief in our shared future. We empower our associates to be agile and hold our teams accountable for living our actions and delivering high performance.
The Company believes that engagement and education are critical to enabling Associates to deliver extraordinary performance. The Company conducts annual engagement surveys across its global associate population to gather feedback on its human capital practices and measure employee engagement. The results help identify areas for improvement and guide action plans that support continued associate engagement and development.
Our priorities include offering a seamless MillerKnoll employee experience via a global Human Resources technology platform; delivering an externally competitive and internally equitable compensation and benefits program; growing internal capabilities through development opportunities for all career levels; and investing to make MillerKnoll an employer of choice around the world.
Deliver Value to our Associates and Shareholders
We believe there is opportunity for meaningful long-term growth in each of our business segments. MillerKnoll is uniquely positioned to capitalize on these opportunities given the breadth of our Contract and Global Retail businesses and product portfolios, global reach, and omni-channel distribution and fulfillment capabilities.
Our collective of dynamic brands is united in its commitment to our purpose - design for the good of humankind - and offers a complementary set of design solutions. By leveraging our global operations footprint, we are able to fuel our brands and build solutions in market closer to our customers, and we are creating centers of excellence in our operations facilities to support all brands in each region.
To capitalize on the opportunity ahead, we will seek to lead the industry in product innovation, design excellence, and sustainability; fortify the flagship Knoll and Herman Miller brands while nurturing and growing each of the brands within MillerKnoll; position the North America Contract business to lead; drive outsized growth in International Contract; and continue transforming our Global Retail business.
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Business Overview
The following summary provides an overview of the Company’s operating performance and segment results for the year ended May 30, 2026:
Consolidated Results
•Net sales were $3,841.7 million, representing an increase of 4.7% when compared to the prior year. Growth was primarily driven by increased sales volumes across all segments, along with the positive impact of pricing actions and favorable foreign currency translation. On an organic basis, net sales were $3,800.4 million(*), representing an increase of 3.6% when compared to the prior year.
•Gross margin was 38.8% in both fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2025.
•Operating expenses decreased by $81.6 million or 5.9% as compared to the prior year. The decrease was driven primarily from the impact of non-cash intangible impairment charges in the prior year, partially offset by an increase in fixed and variable compensation costs and incremental costs related to the expanded retail store footprint.
◦Operating earnings were $198.3 million in fiscal 2026 compared to $50.5 million in fiscal 2025.
◦Adjusted operating income was $238.4 million in fiscal 2026 compared to $248.7 million in fiscal 2025.
•The effective tax rate was 25.3% compared to negative 53.1% for the prior year. The fiscal 2025 tax rate was impacted by non-deductible goodwill impairment charges that did not occur in fiscal 2026.
•Diluted earnings per share for the full year totaled $1.32 compared to loss per share of $0.54 in the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share(*) totaled $1.86 in fiscal 2026 compared to $1.95 in fiscal 2025.
•The Company declared cash dividends of $0.75 per share in both fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2025.
Segment Results
•The North America Contract segment reported a net sales increase of 4.9% and an organic sales increase of 4.8%(*) year-over-year. Operating margin increased 280 basis points year-over year and 60 basis points on an adjusted basis(*).
•The International Contract segment reported a net sales increase of 2.1% and an organic sales decrease of 1.2%(*) year-over-year. Operating margin decreased 150 basis points year-over-year and decreased 250 basis points on an adjusted basis(*).
•The Global Retail segment reported a net sales increase of 5.9% and an organic sales increase of 4.3%(*) year-over-year. Operating margin increased 860 basis points year-over year and decreased 200 basis points on an adjusted basis(*). The increase on a reported basis was primarily driven by non-cash intangible asset impairment charges recorded in the prior year.
The remaining sections of Item 7 include additional analysis of the fiscal year ended May 30, 2026, including discussion of significant variances compared to the prior year period. A detailed review of our fiscal 2025 performance compared to our fiscal 2024 performance is set forth in Part II, Item 7 of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025.
(*) Non-GAAP measurements; see accompanying reconciliations and explanations.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This report contains non-GAAP financial measures that are not in accordance with, nor an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and may be different from non-GAAP measures presented by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to the related GAAP measurement. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Our presentation of non-GAAP measures should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or infrequent items. We compensate for these limitations by providing equal prominence of our GAAP results. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP are provided in the financial tables included within this presentation. The Company believes these non-GAAP measures are useful for investors as they provide financial information on a more comparative basis for the periods presented. Certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted operating earnings, are used by the Company in its executive compensation program.
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The non-GAAP financial measures referenced within this report include: Adjusted Earnings per Share - Diluted, Adjusted Operating Earnings (Loss), Adjusted Operating Margin and Organic Growth (Decline).
Adjusted Earnings per Share - Diluted represents reported diluted earnings per share excluding the impact from amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles, integration charges, restructuring expenses, impairment charges, Knoll pension plan termination charges, debt extinguishment charges, CEO transition costs, and the related tax effect of these adjustments.
Adjusted Operating Earnings (Loss) represents reported operating earnings less integration charges, amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles, restructuring expenses, impairment charges, Knoll pension plan termination charges, and CEO transition costs.
Adjusted Operating Margin is calculated as Adjusted Operating Earnings (Loss) divided by Net Sales.
Organic Growth (Decline) represents the change in sales and orders, excluding currency translation effects.
•Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles: Includes expenses associated with the amortization of acquisition related intangibles acquired as part of the Knoll acquisition. The revenue generated by the associated intangible assets has not been excluded from the related non-GAAP financial measure. We exclude the impact of the amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles as such non-cash amounts were significantly impacted by the size of the Knoll acquisition. Furthermore, we believe that this adjustment enables better comparison of our results as Amortization of Knoll Purchased Intangibles will not recur in future periods once such intangible assets have been fully amortized. Any future acquisitions may result in the amortization of additional intangible assets. Although we exclude the Amortization of Knoll Purchased Intangibles in these non-GAAP measures, we believe that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets were recorded as part of purchase accounting and contribute to revenue generation.
•Integration charges: Knoll integration-related costs include severance, asset impairment charges associated with lease and operations facility consolidation activity, and expenses related to synergy realization efforts and reorganization initiatives.
•Restructuring charges: Includes costs associated with actions involving targeted workforce reductions, facility consolidation charges, and accelerated depreciation of fixed assets.
•Knoll pension plan termination charges: Includes expenses incurred associated with the termination of the Knoll pension plan which was completed in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025.
•Debt extinguishment charges: Includes expenses associated with the extinguishment of debt. We excluded these items from our non-GAAP measures because they relate to a specific transaction and are not reflective of our ongoing financial performance.
•Impairment charges: Includes non-cash charges for the impairment of the Knoll and Muuto trade names as well as impairment of goodwill attributed to the Global Retail and Holly Hunt reporting units.
•CEO transition costs: Includes expenses consisting primarily of severance, benefits and advisory fees.
We excluded the income tax benefit/provision effect of the tax related items from our non-GAAP measures because they are not associated with the tax expense on our ongoing operating results.
The following table reconciles Operating Earnings (Loss) to Adjusted Operating Earnings (Loss) by Segment and on a consolidated basis for MillerKnoll, Inc. for the periods ended as indicated below (in millions):
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| Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2026 | May 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||||
| North America Contract | |||||||||||||||
| Net sales | $ | 2,061.2 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,965.2 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
| Operating earnings | $ | 186.4 | 9.0 | % | $ | 120.9 | 6.2 | % | |||||||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 12.1 | 0.6 | % | 9.8 | 0.5 | % | |||||||||
| Integration charges | — | — | % | 24.8 | 1.3 | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles | 14.6 | 0.7 | % | 14.6 | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Impairment charges | — | — | % | 19.9 | 1.0 | % | |||||||||
| Knoll pension plan termination charges | — | — | % | 1.0 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||
| Adjusted operating earnings | $ | 213.1 | 10.3 | % | $ | 191.0 | 9.7 | % | |||||||
| International Contract | |||||||||||||||
| Net sales | $ | 674.0 | 100.0 | % | $ | 660.0 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
| Operating earnings | $ | 54.9 | 8.1 | % | $ | 63.3 | 9.6 | % | |||||||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 0.4 | 0.1 | % | 3.3 | 0.5 | % | |||||||||
| Integration charges | — | — | % | 3.2 | 0.5 | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles | 3.0 | 0.4 | % | 2.5 | 0.4 | % | |||||||||
| Impairment charges | — | — | % | 1.2 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||
| Adjusted operating earnings | $ | 58.3 | 8.6 | % | $ | 73.5 | 11.1 | % | |||||||
| Global Retail | |||||||||||||||
| Net sales | $ | 1,106.5 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,044.7 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
| Operating earnings (loss) | $ | 25.3 | 2.3 | % | $ | (66.0) | (6.3) | % | |||||||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 1.0 | 0.1 | % | 1.7 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||
| Integration charges | — | — | % | 0.3 | — | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles | 6.4 | 0.6 | % | 7.0 | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Impairment charges | — | — | % | 108.9 | 10.4 | % | |||||||||
| Adjusted operating earnings | $ | 32.7 | 3.0 | % | $ | 51.9 | 5.0 | % | |||||||
| Corporate | |||||||||||||||
| Operating (loss) | $ | (68.3) | — | % | $ | (67.7) | — | % | |||||||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||||||
| CEO transition costs | $ | 2.6 | — | % | $ | — | — | % | |||||||
| Adjusted operating (loss) | $ | (65.7) | — | % | $ | (67.7) | — | % | |||||||
| MillerKnoll, Inc. | |||||||||||||||
| Net sales | $ | 3,841.7 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,669.9 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
| Operating earnings | $ | 198.3 | 5.2 | % | $ | 50.5 | 1.4 | % | |||||||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 13.5 | 0.4 | % | 14.8 | 0.4 | % | |||||||||
| Integration charges | — | — | % | 28.3 | 0.8 | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles | 24.0 | 0.6 | % | 24.1 | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Impairment charges | — | — | % | 130.0 | 3.5 | % | |||||||||
| Knoll pension plan termination charges | — | — | % | 1.0 | — | % | |||||||||
| CEO transition costs | 2.6 | 0.1 | % | — | — | % | |||||||||
| Adjusted operating earnings | $ | 238.4 | 6.2 | % | $ | 248.7 | 6.8 | % |
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The following table reconciles net sales to organic net sales for the years ended as indicated below (in millions):
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2026 | |||||||||||
| North America Contract | International Contract | Global Retail | Total | ||||||||
| Net sales, as reported | $ | 2,061.2 | $ | 674.0 | $ | 1,106.5 | $ | 3,841.7 | |||
| % change from PY | 4.9 | % | 2.1 | % | 5.9 | % | 4.7 | % | |||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||
| Currency translation effects (1) | (2.3) | (22.2) | (16.8) | (41.3) | |||||||
| Net sales, organic | $ | 2,058.9 | $ | 651.8 | $ | 1,089.7 | $ | 3,800.4 | |||
| Organic Growth (Decline) | 4.8 | % | (1.2) | % | 4.3 | % | 3.6 | % | |||
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||
| May 31, 2025 | |||||||||||
| North America Contract | International Contract | Global Retail | Total | ||||||||
| Net sales, as reported | $ | 1,965.2 | $ | 660.0 | $ | 1,044.7 | $ | 3,669.9 | |||
| (1) Currency translation effects represent the estimated net impact of translating current period sales and orders using the average exchange rates applicable to the comparable prior year period. |
The following tables reconcile orders as reported to organic orders for the periods ended as indicated below (in millions):
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2026 | |||||||||||
| North America Contract | International Contract | Global Retail | Total | ||||||||
| Orders, as reported | $ | 2,000.8 | $ | 649.8 | $ | 1,110.4 | $ | 3,761.0 | |||
| % change from PY | (1.0) | % | (2.4) | % | 4.7 | % | 0.4 | % | |||
| Adjustments | |||||||||||
| Currency translation effects (1) | (2.3) | (21.0) | (17.0) | (40.3) | |||||||
| Orders, organic | $ | 1,998.5 | $ | 628.8 | $ | 1,093.4 | $ | 3,720.7 | |||
| Organic (Decline) Growth | (1.1) | % | (5.6) | % | 3.1 | % | (0.7) | % | |||
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||||||||
| May 31, 2025 | |||||||||||
| North America Contract | International Contract | Global Retail | Total | ||||||||
| Orders, as reported | $ | 2,021.0 | $ | 665.9 | $ | 1,060.8 | $ | 3,747.7 | |||
| (1) Currency translation effects represent the estimated net impact of translating current period sales and orders using the average exchange rates applicable to the comparable prior year period. |
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The following table reconciles EPS to Adjusted EPS for the years ended as of indicated below:
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2026 | May 31, 2025 | ||||
| Earnings (loss) per share - diluted | $ | 1.32 | $ | (0.54) | |
| Add: Amortization of Knoll purchased intangibles | 0.34 | 0.35 | |||
| Add: Integration charges | — | 0.41 | |||
| Add: Restructuring charges | 0.20 | 0.22 | |||
| Add: Impairment charges | — | 1.88 | |||
| Add: Debt extinguishment charges | 0.11 | — | |||
| Add: Knoll pension plan termination charges | — | 0.01 | |||
| Add: CEO transition costs | 0.04 | — | |||
| Tax impact on adjustments | (0.15) | (0.38) | |||
| Adjusted earnings per share - diluted | $ | 1.86 | $ | 1.95 | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding (used for calculating adjusted earnings per share) – diluted | 69,321,661 | 68,977,267 |
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Financial Results
The following is a comparison of our annual results of operations and year-over-year percentage changes for the periods indicated:
| (Dollars in millions) | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 | % Change | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $ | 3,841.7 | $ | 3,669.9 | 4.7 | % | ||||
| Cost of sales | 2,352.9 | 2,247.3 | 4.7 | % | ||||||
| Gross margin | 1,488.8 | 1,422.6 | 4.7 | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses | 1,290.5 | 1,372.1 | (5.9) | % | ||||||
| Operating earnings | 198.3 | 50.5 | 292.7 | % | ||||||
| Other expenses, net | 70.1 | 72.4 | (3.2) | % | ||||||
| Earnings (loss) before income taxes and equity income | 128.2 | (21.9) | 685.4 | % | ||||||
| Income tax expense | 32.4 | 11.6 | 179.3 | % | ||||||
| Equity (loss) income from nonconsolidated affiliates, net of tax | (0.1) | 0.3 | (133.3) | % | ||||||
| Net earnings (loss) | 95.7 | (33.2) | 388.3 | % | ||||||
| Net earnings attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests | 4.2 | 3.7 | 13.5 | % | ||||||
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to MillerKnoll, Inc. | $ | 91.5 | $ | (36.9) | 348.0 | % | ||||
| Earnings (loss) per share - diluted | 1.32 | (0.54) | 344.4 | % | ||||||
| Orders | $ | 3,761.0 | $ | 3,747.7 | 0.4 | % | ||||
| Backlog | $ | 678.8 | $ | 761.3 | (10.8) | % |
The following table presents, for the periods indicated, the components of the Company's Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income as a percentage of Net sales:
| Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |
| Cost of sales | 61.2 | % | 61.2 | % | |
| Gross margin | 38.8 | % | 38.8 | % | |
| Operating expenses | 33.6 | % | 37.4 | % | |
| Operating earnings | 5.2 | % | 1.4 | % | |
| Other expenses, net | 1.8 | % | 2.0 | % | |
| Earnings (loss) before income taxes and equity income | 3.3 | % | (0.6) | % | |
| Income tax expense | 0.8 | % | 0.3 | % | |
| Equity (loss) income from nonconsolidated affiliates, net of tax | — | % | — | % | |
| Net earnings (loss) | 2.5 | % | (0.9) | % | |
| Net earnings attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests | 0.1 | % | 0.1 | % | |
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to MillerKnoll, Inc. | 2.4 | % | (1.0) | % |
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Net Sales
The following chart presents graphically the primary drivers of the year-over-year change in Net sales. The amounts presented in the bar graph are expressed in millions and have been rounded.
Net sales for fiscal 2026 increased $172 million, or 4.7% compared to the prior year. This increase was primarily driven by the following factors:
•Price increases, net of discounting, which positively impacted Net sales by approximately $74 million.
•Favorable foreign currency translation, which increased Net sales by approximately $41 million.
•Increased sales volume in the North America Contract, Global Retail, and International Contract segments contributed approximately $25 million, $24 million and $8 million respectively.
Gross Margin
Gross margin for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2025 was 38.8%. Gross margin was stable year over year, reflecting offsetting favorable and unfavorable impacts as described below.
•Favorable channel and product mix and the impact of incremental list price increases, partially offset by contract price discounting, which positively impacted margin.
•Favorable leverage on fixed costs due to higher sales volumes which positively impacted margin.
•These increases were offset by tariff-related costs, partially offset by pricing actions, incurred in the first half of the year which adversely impacted gross margin.
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Operating Expenses
The following chart presents graphically the primary drivers of the year-over-year change in Operating expenses. The amounts presented in the bar graph are expressed in millions and have been rounded.
Operating expenses decreased by $82 million or 5.9% compared to the prior year fiscal period. The following factors contributed to the change:
•Impairment charges of $130 million related to goodwill attributed to the Global Retail and Holly Hunt reporting units, as well as related to the Knoll and Muuto indefinite-lived trade name intangible assets, that occurred in the prior year period.
•Acquisition-related integration charges which totaled approximately $28 million, that occurred in the prior year. These decreases were offset in part by:
•Increased fixed and variable compensation costs of approximately $33 million.
•Incremental costs of $15 million associated with the impact from opening new stores.
•Variable selling costs, including sales-based commissions and royalty expenses, which rose by approximately $14 million.
•Foreign currency translation also contributed an increase in operating expenses of approximately $10 million.
•Increase of approximately $5 million in other expenses driven in part by program spend.
Other Income/Expense
Net other expenses for fiscal 2026 totaled $70 million, compared to $72 million in fiscal 2025. The year-over-year decrease of $2 million was primarily driven by lower interest expense due to reduced debt levels and a reduction in foreign currency losses, partially offset by a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $8 million incurred in connection with the refinancing of term loan debt during the current year.
Income Taxes
See Note 10 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
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Operating Segments Results
The business is composed of various operating segments as defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. These operating segments are determined on the basis of how the Company internally reports and how the chief operating decision maker ("CODM") evaluates financial information used to make operating decisions.
Below is a description of each reportable segment.
The North America Contract segment includes the operations associated with the design, sourcing, manufacture and sale of furniture products directly or indirectly through an independent dealership network for office, healthcare, and educational environments throughout the United States and Canada as well as the global operations of the Spinneybeck, FilzFelt, Maharam, Edelman, and Knoll Textile brands.
The International Contract segment includes the operations associated with the design, sourcing, manufacture and sale of furniture products, indirectly or directly through an independent dealership network for office, healthcare, and educational environments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
The Global Retail segment includes global operations associated with the sale of modern design furnishings and accessories to third party retailers, as well as direct to consumer sales through eCommerce, direct-mail catalogs, and physical retail stores, along with the global operations of the Holly Hunt brand.
The Company also reports a “Corporate” category consisting primarily of unallocated expenses related to general corporate functions, including, but not limited to, certain legal, executive, corporate finance, information technology, administrative and acquisition-related costs. For descriptions of each segment, refer to Note 13 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The charts below present the relative mix of net sales and operating earnings across each of the Company's segments. This is followed by a discussion of the Company's results, by segment.
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North America Contract
| (Dollars in millions) | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 | Change | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $ | 2,061.2 | $ | 1,965.2 | $ | 96.0 | ||||
| Gross margin | 753.3 | 702.3 | 51.0 | |||||||
| Gross margin % | 36.5 | % | 35.7 | % | 0.8 | % | ||||
| Operating earnings | 186.4 | 120.9 | 65.5 | |||||||
| Operating earnings % | 9.0 | % | 6.2 | % | 2.8 | % |
Net sales increased 4.9%, or 4.8%(*) on an organic basis, from the prior year due to:
•Price increases, net of discounting positively impacted net sales by approximately $69 million.
•Increased sales volume within the segment of approximately $25 million.
•Favorable foreign currency translation increased net sales by approximately $2 million.
Operating earnings increased $66 million, or 54.2% compared to the same period of the prior year due to:
•Increased Gross margin of $51 million, driven by the higher sales volumes discussed above and an increase in gross margin percentage of 80 basis points. The increase in gross margin percentage was due primarily to:
◦Price increases, net of discounting resulted in a positive impact to margin.
◦Favorable product mix and operational efficiency which increased margin.
◦These increases were partially offset by tariff-related costs, net of pricing actions, incurred in the first half of the year that adversely impacted gross margin.
•Decreased operating expenses of $15 million. The following factors contributed to the change:
◦A reduction in acquisition-related integration charges, which totaled approximately $25 million.
◦Decreased non-cash intangible impairment charges of approximately $20 million. These decreases were partially offset by:
◦Increased variable selling costs, including sales-based commissions and royalty expenses of approximately $16 million.
◦Increased compensation and benefits of approximately $13 million.
◦Increase of approximately $1 million driven primarily by restructuring charges associated with facility consolidation initiatives.
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(*) Non-GAAP measurements; see accompanying reconciliations and explanations.
International Contract
| (Dollars in millions) | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 | Change | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $ | 674.0 | $ | 660.0 | $ | 14.0 | ||||
| Gross margin | 242.8 | 240.8 | 2.0 | |||||||
| Gross margin % | 36.0 | % | 36.5 | % | (0.5) | % | ||||
| Operating earnings | 54.9 | 63.3 | (8.4) | |||||||
| Operating earnings % | 8.1 | % | 9.6 | % | (1.5) | % |
Net sales increased 2.1%, and decreased 1.2%(*) on an organic basis, from the prior year due to:
•Favorable foreign currency translation, which increased net sales by approximately $22 million.
•Higher sales volume within the segment, contributing approximately $8 million to the increase.
•These increases were partially offset by incremental discounting attributable to regional and product sales mix, partially offset by price increases, which adversely impacted net sales by approximately $16 million.
Operating earnings decreased $8 million, or 13.3%, compared to the prior year due to:
•Increased Operating expenses of $10 million driven primarily by:
◦Increased fixed and variable compensation costs of approximately $6 million.
◦Foreign currency translation which contributed an unfavorable impact of approximately $4 million compared to the prior year.
◦Incremental charges driven by the timing of program spend, partially offset by decreased acquisition-related integration charges and impairment charges during the prior year period.
•Increased gross margin of $2 million driven by the higher sales volumes explained above, partially offset by a decline in gross margin percentage of 50 basis points. The decrease in gross margin percentage was due primarily to:
◦Unfavorable foreign currency translation which negatively impacted gross margin.
◦Regional sales mix which had an unfavorable impact to gross margin.
◦These pressures were partially offset by favorable operating leverage on fixed costs resulting from increased sales volumes and favorable material performance.
(*) Non-GAAP measurements; see accompanying reconciliations and explanations.
Global Retail
| (Dollars in millions) | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 | Change | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $ | 1,106.5 | $ | 1,044.7 | $ | 61.8 | ||||
| Gross margin | 492.7 | 479.5 | 13.2 | |||||||
| Gross margin % | 44.5 | % | 45.9 | % | (1.4) | % | ||||
| Operating earnings (loss) | 25.3 | (66.0) | 91.3 | |||||||
| Operating earnings (loss) % | 2.3 | % | (6.3) | % | 8.6 | % |
Net sales increased 5.9% as reported and 4.3%(*) on an organic basis, from the prior year due to:
•Higher sales volumes within the segment, contributing approximately $24 million to the increase.
•Price increases, net of discounting positively impacted net sales by approximately $21 million.
•Favorable foreign currency translation, which increased net sales by approximately $17 million.
Operating earnings increased $91 million, or 138.3% over the prior year due to:
•Increased gross margin of $13 million driven by the higher sales volumes explained above, partially offset by a decline in gross margin percentage of 140 basis points. The decrease in gross margin percentage was due primarily to:
◦Tariff-related costs, net of pricing actions, that adversely impacted gross margin.
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◦Unfavorable foreign currency translation negatively impacted gross margin.
◦These pressures were partially offset by favorable operating leverage on fixed costs resulting from increased sales volumes.
•Decreased Operating expenses of $78 million driven primarily by decreased non-cash intangible impairment charges of $109 million compared to the prior year. This decrease was offset in part by:
◦Incremental costs of $15 million associated with the impact from opening new stores.
◦Increased fixed and variable compensation costs of approximately $14 million.
◦Foreign currency translation which contributed an unfavorable impact of approximately $2 million compared to the prior year.
(*) Non-GAAP measurements; see accompanying reconciliations and explanations.
Corporate
Corporate unallocated expenses totaled $68 million for fiscal 2026, an increase of $1 million from fiscal 2025. The increase primarily related to higher stock-based compensation expense.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The table below summarizes the net change in cash and cash equivalents for the fiscal years indicated.
| Fiscal Year Ended | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In millions) | 2026 | 2025 | ||||
| Cash provided by (used in): | ||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 199.9 | $ | 209.3 | ||
| Investing activities | (115.6) | (100.9) | ||||
| Financing activities | (117.0) | (150.3) | ||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes | 6.7 | 5.2 | ||||
| Net change in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (26.0) | $ | (36.7) |
Cash Flow — Operating Activities
The principal source of our operating cash flow is net earnings, meaning cash receipts from the sale of our products, net of costs to manufacture, distribute, and market our products. Net cash provided by operating activities for the twelve months ended May 30, 2026, totaled $199.9 million compared to $209.3 million in the twelve months ended May 31, 2025. Working capital remained a use of cash in the current year and increased compared to the prior year. Our working capital consists primarily of receivables from customers, inventory, prepaid expenses, accounts payable, accrued compensation, and accrued other expenses. The following all affect these account balances:
•Fluctuations in inventory levels;
•The timing of collection of our receivables;
•Fluctuations in customer deposits; and
•Changes in accruals related to variable compensation.
Cash Flow — Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities for the twelve months ended May 30, 2026, was $115.6 million, as compared to $100.9 million in the twelve months ended May 31, 2025, primarily reflecting increased capital expenditures in the current year. Cash used in the prior year included $6.0 million of offsetting proceeds from the sale of a manufacturing facility located in Wisconsin.
Capital expenditures for the current year were $122.3 million as compared to $107.6 million in the prior year. At the end of fiscal 2026, there were outstanding commitments for capital purchases of $82.1 million. The Company plans to fund these commitments through a combination of cash on hand and cash generated from operations. The Company expects capital spending in fiscal 2027 to be between $125.0 million and $135.0 million, which will be primarily related to investments in the Company's facilities, (including manufacturing, showrooms, and retail stores) and equipment.
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Cash Flow — Financing Activities
Cash used in financing activities for the twelve months ended May 30, 2026 was $117.0 million, compared to $150.3 million in the twelve months ended May 31, 2025. The decrease in cash used in the current year, compared to the prior year, was primarily due to:
•The Company repurchased 965,907 shares at a cost of $16.3 million in the current year as compared to 3,291,176 share repurchases totaling $84.9 million in the prior year.
•Net payments on the credit facility of $21.6 million in the current period compared to $61.7 million in the same period of the prior year.
•During the current period the Company entered into a three-year accounts receivable securitization facility. Net proceeds from the facility totaled $42.9 million in the current period. This was offset in part by:
•Scheduled principal payments on term loan debt as well as the refinancing of Term Loan B resulted in a net cash outflow of $69.5 million in the current period. In the prior year, term loan debt was increased by $47.4 million due to the refinancing of Term Loan A, net of scheduled principal payments.
Sources of Liquidity
The Company is closely managing spending levels, capital investments, and working capital. The Company maintains an open market share repurchase program under our existing share repurchase authorization and may repurchase shares from time to time based on management’s evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors.
At the end of fiscal 2026, the Company has a well-positioned balance sheet and liquidity profile. The Company has access to liquidity through credit facilities as well as cash and cash equivalents. These sources have been summarized below. For additional information, refer to Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
| (In millions) | May 30, 2026 | May 31, 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 167.7 | $ | 193.7 | ||
| Availability under revolving lines of credit(1) | 404.0 | 382.2 | ||||
| Total liquidity | $ | 571.7 | $ | 575.9 |
(1) Available access to our revolving line of credit is subject to covenant restrictions outlined in our credit agreement.
Of the cash and cash equivalents noted above at the end of fiscal 2026, the Company had $161.7 million of cash and cash equivalents held outside the United States.
The Company’s syndicated revolving line of credit, which matures in April 2030, provides the Company with up to $725 million in revolving variable interest borrowing capacity and allows the Company to borrow incremental amounts, at its option, subject to negotiated terms as outlined in the agreement. Outstanding borrowings bear interest at rates based on the prime rate, federal funds rate, SOFR or negotiated terms as outlined in the agreement.
As of May 30, 2026, the total debt outstanding related to borrowings under the syndicated revolving line of credit was $309.2 million with available borrowings against this facility of $404.0 million.
The Company intends to repatriate $119.9 million of undistributed foreign earnings, all of which is held in cash in certain foreign jurisdictions. The Company has recorded a $1.4 million deferred tax liability related to foreign withholding taxes on these future dividends received in the U.S. from foreign subsidiaries. A significant portion of the $119.9 million of undistributed foreign earnings was previously taxed under the U.S. Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA). The Company intends to remain indefinitely reinvested in the remaining undistributed earnings outside the U.S. which is estimated to be approximately $377.8 million on May 30, 2026.
Material Cash Requirements
As of May 30, 2026, the Company's primary material cash requirements consisted of debt obligations, operating lease commitments, purchase obligations, pension and other post-employment benefit plan funding requirements, and dividend commitments.
Debt obligations, including associated interest payments, represented the Company's most significant contractual cash requirement, totaling approximately $1.6 billion. Scheduled principal and interest payments are expected to be funded through a
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combination of cash generated from operations, existing cash balances, and available borrowing capacity under the Company's credit arrangements.
The Company also had operating lease commitments of approximately $621.6 million, primarily related to manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, showrooms, offices, and retail locations. Lease payments are expected to be made throughout the remaining lease terms, with approximately $111.8 million due in fiscal 2027 and the remainder payable over future periods.
Purchase obligations totaled approximately $61.4 million and primarily relate to commitments with suppliers for inventory, raw materials, and other goods and services used in the normal course of business. The majority of these commitments are expected to be settled within the next fiscal year.
In addition, the Company expects to make future contributions related to pension and other post-employment benefit plans totaling approximately $58.3 million based on current funding estimates. The timing and amount of future contributions may vary depending on changes in plan asset values, interest rates, regulatory requirements, and other actuarial assumptions.
The Company also had cash requirements related to declared stockholder dividends and other contractual commitments totaling approximately $17.0 million as of May 30, 2026.
Management expects these cash requirements to be funded through a combination of cash flows generated from operating activities, cash and cash equivalents on hand, and available borrowing capacity. Based on current operating plans and liquidity levels, the Company believes it has sufficient resources to meet both its short-term and long-term cash requirements as they become due.
Contingencies
The Company is involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the outcome of such proceedings and litigation currently pending will not materially affect the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements. Refer to Note 12 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information relating to contingencies.
Basis of Presentation
The Company's fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to May 31. The fiscal year ended May 30, 2026, the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, and the fiscal year ended June 1, 2024, all contained 52 weeks.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our goal is to report financial results clearly and understandably. We follow accounting principles generally accepted in the United States in preparing our Consolidated Financial Statements, which require us to make certain estimates and apply judgments that affect our financial position and results of operations.
We continually review our accounting policies and financial information disclosures. These policies and disclosures are reviewed at least annually with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
We believe that of our significant accounting policies, which are described in Note 1 of our consolidated financial statements, the following accounting policies and specific estimates involve a greater degree of judgment and complexity.
Goodwill, Indefinite-lived Intangibles and Long-lived Assets
We perform our annual impairment assessment for goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets each year as of March 31 or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment might be possible. We may consider qualitative factors to assess if it is more likely than not that the fair value for goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets is below the carrying amount. We may also elect to bypass the qualitative assessment and perform a quantitative assessment.
When the Company performs a quantitative assessment, the Company makes estimates about fair value by using a weighting of the income approach and the market approach. The income approach is based on projected discounted cash flows using a market participant discount rate. The market approach is based on financial multiples of companies comparable to each reporting unit and applies a control premium. We corroborate the fair value through a market capitalization reconciliation to determine if the implied control premium is reasonable based on the qualitative considerations, such as recent market transactions.
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The Company believes its assumptions for assessing the impairment of its long-lived assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived trade names are reasonable, but future changes in the underlying assumptions could occur due to the inherent uncertainty in making such estimates.
Further declines in the Company’s operating results due to challenging economic conditions, an unfavorable industry or macroeconomic development or other adverse changes in market conditions could change one of the key assumptions the Company uses to calculate the fair value of its long-lived assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived trade names, which could result in a further decline in fair value and require the Company to record an impairment charge in future periods.
Goodwill
Certain business acquisitions have resulted in the recording of goodwill. At May 30, 2026, and May 31, 2025, we had goodwill recorded within the Consolidated Balance Sheets of $1,161.3 million and $1,152.4 million, respectively.
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually, or more frequently, when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit has more likely than not declined below its carrying value. When testing goodwill for impairment, the Company may first assess qualitative factors. If an initial qualitative assessment identifies that it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, additional quantitative testing is performed. The Company may also elect to bypass the qualitative testing and proceed directly to the quantitative testing. If the quantitative testing indicates that goodwill is impaired, the carrying value of goodwill is written down to fair value.
During the fourth quarter of the current year, the Company performed its annual impairment assessment. For the current year, the Company elected to take a quantitative valuation approach for all four reporting units.
The Company used a weighting of the income and market approaches to estimate the fair value of our reporting units. These approaches are based on a discounted cash flow analysis and observable comparable company information that use several inputs, including:
•actual and forecasted revenue growth rates and operating margins,
•discount rates based on the reporting unit's weighted average cost of capital, and
•revenue and EBITDA of comparable companies.
The Company selected the assumptions used in the financial forecasts using historical data, supplemented by current and anticipated market conditions, management’s long-term strategic plans, and guideline companies.
The test for impairment requires the Company to make several estimates about fair value, most of which are based on projected future cash flows and market valuation multiples.
The Company employed a market-based approach in selecting the discount rate used in our analysis. The discount rate selected represents the market rate of return equal to what the Company believes a market participant would expect to achieve on investments of similar size to each reporting unit.
Generally, changes in estimates of expected future cash flows would have a similar effect on the estimated fair value of the reporting unit. For example, a 1.0% decrease in estimated annual future cash flows would decrease the estimated fair value of the reporting unit by approximately 1.0%. The estimated long-term growth rate can have a significant impact on the estimated future cash flows, and therefore, the fair value of each reporting unit. Of the other key assumptions that impact the estimated fair values, most reporting units have the greatest sensitivity to changes in the estimated discount rate. In completing the goodwill impairment test, the respective fair values were estimated using discount rates ranging from 13.5% to 16.5% and a long-term growth rate of 2.5%. The increase in the discount rates, from a range of 12.0% to 15.0% in the prior year, was primarily attributable to higher company-specific risk premiums reflecting current market conditions. The current year quantitative assessment resulted in the fair values of the North America Contract, International Contract, Global Retail and Coverings reporting units exceeding their respective carrying values by 45.5%, 3.1%, 1.1% and 8.5%, respectively. While no impairment was recognized in the current year, the International Contract, Global Retail and Coverings reporting units remain sensitive to changes in key assumptions, including projected revenue growth, operating margins, and discount rates. Management will continue to monitor these reporting units, as adverse changes in market conditions or operating performance could result in future impairment charges.
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The Company evaluated the sensitivity of changes in projected revenue growth rates, operating margin rates and discount rates for the reporting units as of March 31, 2026. For any reporting unit not specifically identified below, the simulated sensitivity changes would not have resulted in an impairment charge.
•A decrease in the forecasted sales by 500 basis points in all years, leaving all other assumptions static, would result in impairment for the International Contract, Global Retail and Coverings reporting units of $99.4 million, $177.3 million and $18.9 million, respectively.
•A decrease in the operating margin of 100 basis points in all years, leaving all other assumptions static, would result in impairment for the International Contract and Global Retail reporting units of $46.6 million and $70.9 million, respectively.
•An increase in the discount rate of 100 basis points, leaving all other assumptions static, would result in impairment for the International Contract and Global Retail reporting units of $29.2 million and $36.6 million, respectively.
The sensitivities above are calculated assuming all other variables remain constant. However, changes in these assumptions may not occur in isolation. A change in multiple assumptions could compound the calculated impairment impact on our reporting units.
During the third quarter of fiscal 2025, management identified impairment triggering events resulting from lower-than-expected operating performance and, accordingly, performed a quantitative goodwill impairment assessment for each reporting unit. As a result, the Company recognized non-cash goodwill impairment charges of $30.1 million and $62.2 million related to the Global Retail and Holly Hunt reporting units, respectively. This impairment was driven primarily by reduced sales and profitability projections, as well as higher discount rates. Additionally, in connection with a third-quarter organizational realignment that modified the Company's reportable segments and reporting units, goodwill was reassigned using a relative fair value approach. This resulted in the transfer of $26.1 million from the Americas Contract reporting unit to International Contract and the reassignment of the remaining $33.0 million of Holly Hunt goodwill to the Global Retail reporting unit. Following this reorganization, the Company's reporting units consisted of North America Contract, International Contract, Global Retail, and Coverings.
We performed our annual quantitative impairment test as of March 31, 2026. Subsequently, we performed a qualitative assessment from April 1, 2026 to May 30, 2026 to determine if any triggering events occurred. No such events were identified.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
Certain business acquisitions have resulted in the recording of trade names as indefinite-lived intangible assets, which are not amortized. At May 30, 2026, and May 31, 2025, the Company held trade name assets with a carrying value of $435.3 million and $432.5 million, respectively.
The Company evaluates indefinite-lived trade name intangible assets for impairment using a qualitative assessment annually. The Company also tests for impairment using a quantitative assessment if events and circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is below its carrying amount. An impairment charge is recorded if the carrying amount of an indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds the estimated fair value on the measurement date.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 the Company performed its annual test of the indefinite-lived intangible assets. The Company performed qualitative tests over all of the indefinite-lived intangible assets, with the exception of the Knoll, Muuto, and Holly Hunt trade name assets. The Company elected to perform quantitative tests over these assets due to the history of recent impairments and corresponding expectation that there was little cushion between the fair values and carrying values of these assets. As a result of the qualitative and quantitative test over indefinite-lived intangible assets, we concluded there were no impairments in the current year.
In performing quantitative assessments, we estimate the fair value of these intangible assets using the relief-from-royalty method which requires assumptions related to:
•actual and forecasted revenue growth rates,
•assumed royalty rates that could be payable if we did not own the trademark, and
•a market participant discount rate based on a weighted-average cost of capital.
In the current year assessment, the Knoll and Muuto trade name asset fair values exceeded their carrying values by 6.8% and 2.1%, respectively. These fair values were estimated using discount rates ranging from 12.7% to 13.0%, royalty rates ranging
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from 2.0% to 4.5% and long-term growth rates ranging from 2.5% to 3.0%. The Company’s estimates of the fair value of its indefinite-lived intangible assets are sensitive to changes in the key assumptions above as well as projected financial performance. If the estimated cash flows related to the Company's indefinite-lived intangibles were to decline in future periods, the Company may need to record impairment charges.
For the Knoll trade name, keeping all other assumptions constant, a 500 basis point decrease in forecasted sales would have resulted in a $15.0 million pre-tax impairment charge; a decrease in the royalty rate of 25 basis points would have resulted in an $8.0 million of impairment charge; and a 100 basis point increase in the discount rate would have resulted in a $4.0 million impairment charge.
For the Muuto trade name, keeping all other assumptions constant, a 500 basis point decrease in forecasted sales would have resulted in $12.0 million pre-tax impairment charge; a decrease in the royalty rate of 25 basis points would have resulted in an $3.0 million of impairment charge; and a 100 basis point increase in the discount rate would have resulted in a $5.0 million impairment charge.
The sensitivities above are calculated assuming all other variables remain constant. However, changes in these assumptions may not occur in isolation. A change in multiple assumptions could compound the calculated impairment impact on our indefinite-lived intangible assets.
In fiscal 2025, the Company performed quantitative assessments in testing the Knoll product brand and Muuto brand indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, which resulted in the carrying values of the trade names exceeding their fair values by $37.7 million, resulting in impairment charges.
In fiscal 2024, the Company performed quantitative assessments in testing the Knoll product brand and Muuto brand indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, which resulted in the carrying values of the trade names exceeding their fair values by $16.8 million, resulting in impairment charges.
If the estimated cash flows related to the Company's indefinite-lived intangibles were to decline in future periods, the Company may need to record additional impairment charges.
We performed our annual quantitative impairment test as of March 31, 2026. Subsequently, we performed a qualitative assessment from April 1, 2026 to May 30, 2026 to determine if any triggering events occurred. No such events were identified.
Long-lived Assets
The Company evaluates other long-lived assets and acquired business units for indicators of impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of assets may not be recoverable. If such indicators are present, the future undiscounted cash flows attributable to the asset group are compared to the carrying value of the asset or asset group. The judgments regarding the existence of impairment are based on market conditions, operational performance, and estimated future cash flows. If the carrying value of a long-lived asset is considered impaired, an impairment charge is recorded to adjust the asset to its estimated fair value. As of and for the year ended May 30, 2026 we have not identified any asset groups where the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are not in excess of their carrying values.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the decision was made to cease the use of certain leased locations resulting in impairment charges of $17.4 million related to the right of use assets associated with these locations.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, the decision was made to cease the use of certain leased locations resulting in impairment charges of $5.5 million related to the right of use assets associated with these locations.
The Company believes its assumptions for assessing the impairment of its long-lived assets, goodwill and indefinite-lived trade names are reasonable, but if actual results are not consistent with management's estimates and assumptions, a material impairment charge could occur, which could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements.
New Accounting Standards
Refer to Note 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for information related to new accounting standards.
Forward Looking Statements
This report includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include those relating to future events, anticipated results of operations, our expectations regarding future market conditions, our business strategies, our assessment of risks we
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face, and other aspects of our operations or operating results. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “forecasts,” “estimates” or other words or phrases of similar import. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition or the price of our stock. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to:
•The effects of the ongoing conflict and broader geopolitical instability in the Middle East, including with respect to negative impacts on our supply chain, decreased sales within the region or beyond due to supply chain constraints, and broader inflationary and macroeconomic effects;
•Changes to U.S. and international trade policies, including new or increased tariffs and changing import/export regulations, which impact both the cost and availability of materials and components used to manufacture our products as well as demand for our products;
•Challenges in implementing our growth strategy and the possibility that the assumptions on which that strategy was built prove inaccurate;
•Consumer spending levels, which have a significant impact on demand for our products within our Global Retail segment;
•Global and national economic conditions such as heightened inflation, uncertainty regarding future interest rates, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war, and potential governmental responses to these events;
•Cybersecurity threats and risks;
•Public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics, and governmental policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or to maintain the functioning of national or global economies;
•Risks related to the additional debt incurred in connection with our acquisition of Knoll, including increased interest expense, our ability to comply with our debt covenants and obligations, and limitations on certain business activities imposed by our credit agreement;
•Availability and pricing of raw materials;
•Financial strength of our dealers and customers;
•Pace and level of government procurement; and
•Outcome of pending litigation or governmental audits or investigations.
For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to our periodic reports and other filings with the SEC, including the risk factors identified in this report. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date of this report, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
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