The Toro Company (TTC) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

These Other activities consist of earnings (loss) from a wholly-owned domestic distribution company, certain corporate activities, and the elimination of intersegment revenues and expenses. Net sales of our reportable segments and Other activities accounted for the following percentages of our consolidated net sales for fiscal 2022: Professional, 76.0 percent; Residential, 23.7 percent; and Other, 0.3 percent.

Sustainability is a constant theme of our enterprise strategic priorities of accelerating profitable growth, driving productivity and operational excellence, and empowering our people. Our focus on alternative power, smart connected, and autonomous solutions, as well as our continued efforts to address sustainability-focused matters, including environmental, social, and governance priorities, are embedded as part of our "Sustainability Endures" initiative.

On March 2, 2020, during the second quarter of fiscal 2020, we completed our acquisition of Venture Products, Inc. ("Venture Products"), a privately held Ohio corporation and manufacturer of Ventrac-branded products. Venture Products designs, manufactures, markets, and sells articulating turf, landscape, and snow and ice management equipment for grounds, landscape contractor, golf, municipal, and rural acreage customers and provides innovative product offerings that broadened and strengthened our Professional segment and expanded our dealer network. The acquisition consideration was $163.2 million, of which $24.9 million of cash consideration was paid to the former Venture Products shareholders during fiscal 2021 upon the satisfaction of

We design, manufacture, market, and sell Toro and Ventrac-branded equipment products that are intended to provide innovative turf maintenance solutions to sports fields and grounds customers. Equipment products for the sports fields and grounds market primarily include riding rotary and reel mowers and attachments, aerators, infield grooming equipment, all-wheel drive articulating tractors, multipurpose vehicles and debris management products, which include versatile debris vacuums, blowers, and sweepers. In addition to equipment products, we also market and sell irrigation products under the Toro and PERROT brands that are designed to provide innovative water application solutions for sports fields and grounds turf maintenance. These irrigation products primarily include sprinkler heads, controllers, turf sensors, valves and operating software. These products are primarily sold to distributors and dealers, who then sell to owners and/or managers of sports fields, governmental properties, and residential and commercial landscapes, as well as directly to government customers.

We design, manufacture, market, and sell equipment products under the Toro, eXmark, Spartan and Ventrac brands that are intended to provide innovative turf management solutions to landscape contractors. Equipment products for the landscape contractor market include zero-turn radius riding mowers, heavy-duty walk behind mowers, mid-size walk behind mowers, stand-on mowers, and all-wheel drive articulating tractors, as well as lawn solution, turf renovation, and tree care equipment. These equipment products are primarily sold to distributors and dealers, who then sell to landscape contractors engaged in turf maintenance activities.

We design, manufacture, market, and sell a range of professional grade products to serve the underground construction market under the Ditch Witch, American Augers, Trencor, HammerHead, Subsite, and Radius brands, including horizontal directional drills, walk and ride trenchers, vacuum excavators, horizontal directional drilling guidance and support equipment, utility locators, utility inspection systems, pipe rehabilitation and replacement solutions, as well as after-market tools, including drive chucks and sub savers, drill pipe, starter rods and quick connects, bits and blades, rock tools, reamers, and swivels. Such products are utilized by specialty contractors worldwide to install water, gas, electric, telecommunication, fiber optic, and other utility distribution systems.

We design, manufacture, market, and sell Toro and Ditch Witch-branded equipment products that are intended to provide innovative solutions to serve the rental and specialty construction market. These products primarily consist of stand-on skid steers, walk-behind trenchers, stump grinders, and turf renovation products. We also have a line of Toro-branded rental products that feature concrete and mortar

drip tape, polyethylene tubing, drip line, emitters, filters, and fitting solutions. In addition to these core products, we offer a complement of design software and connection options to complete the ag-irrigation system. Our ag-irrigation products are sold through dealers and distributors who then sell to end-users for use primarily in vegetable fields, fruit and nut orchards, and vineyard applications.

We market and sell our Residential segment products to homeowners through a variety of distribution channels, including outdoor power equipment distributors and dealers, mass retailers, hardware retailers, home centers, as well as online (direct to end-users). We also license our trademark on certain home solutions products as a means of expanding our brand presence. The following sections describe our Residential segment products.

We design, manufacture, market, and sell walk power mower equipment products under our Toro and Lawn-Boy brand names, as well as the Hayter brand in the United Kingdom. Our walk power mower equipment products are designed to provide innovative turf cutting solutions primarily to homeowners. Models differ as to cutting width, type of starter mechanism, method of grass clipping discharge, deck type, operational controls, and power sources, and are either self-propelled or operator-propelled push mowers.

Our residential zero-turn riding mower equipment products are designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold under the Toro brand name and are intended to provide innovative and time saving turf cutting solutions by using superior maneuverability to navigate around obstacles more efficiently and effectively than tractor technology. Many models of our residential zero-turn riding mowers are available with a variety of engines, decks, transmissions, and accessories.

We design, manufacture, market, and sell a range of Toro-branded battery, electric, and gas-powered single-stage and two-stage snow thrower equipment products, as well as battery and electric-powered power shovel equipment products. Single-stage snow throwers are walk behind units that are generally designed for small areas of light snow and our two-stage snow throwers are generally designed for relatively large areas of deep and heavy snow. Our battery and electric-powered power shovels are designed to be lightweight and ideal for clearing light snow from decks, steps, sidewalks, and small driveways.

Our home solutions equipment products are designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold under the Toro and Pope brand names. Our Toro-branded home solution equipment products consist of a variety of yard tools that generally include battery, electric, and/or gas-powered options and

number of parts required to assemble new products, as well as designing products to move more efficiently through the manufacturing process. We strive to make improvements to our new product development system as part of our continuing focus on Lean methods to shorten development time and reduce costs, while also improving quality.

Our manufacturing facilities are designed to provide efficient and flexible assembly-line manufacturing of our products. In addition to most final assembly, we have strategically identified specific core manufacturing competencies for vertical integration, such as injection molding, extrusion, welding, stamping, fabrication, laser cutting, painting, machining, and aluminum die casting, and have chosen outside vendors to provide other services, where applicable. We design component parts through collaboration with our vendors, contract with them for the development of tooling, and subsequently enter into agreements with such vendors to purchase component parts manufactured using the tooling. We also have agreements with third-party manufacturers to produce certain standalone end-products on our behalf. In addition, our vendors regularly test new technologies to be applied in the design and production of component parts. Our manufacturing operations include robotic and computer-automated equipment intended to speed production, reduce costs, and improve resource use and the quality, fit, and finish of our products. Our operations are also designed to be flexible enough to accommodate product design changes that are necessary to respond to market conditions and changing customer requirements.

In order to utilize our manufacturing facilities and technology more efficiently and effectively, we pursue continuous improvements in our manufacturing processes with the use of Lean methods that are intended to streamline work and eliminate waste. Additionally, we use computer-aided design and manufacturing systems to shorten the time between initial concept and final production. DFM/A principles are used throughout the product development process to optimize product quality and reduce cost. We spend considerable effort to reduce manufacturing costs through Lean methods and process improvement, product and platform design, application of advanced technologies, enhanced environmental management systems, safety improvements, and improved supply-chain management.

Our Professional segment products and Residential segment lawn and garden products are generally manufactured throughout the year with peak production generally occurring ahead of the key selling seasons for certain of our businesses and product lines that are more subject to seasonality. However, our Residential segment snow thrower products are generally manufactured in the summer and fall months but may be extended into the winter months, depending upon weather conditions in key regions, the related demand for such products and certain impacts from global supply chain disruptions. Our production levels and inventory management goals are based on estimates of wholesale and

caused disruptions in our ability to procure the commodities, components, and parts required to manufacture our products.

Our products are warranted to ensure customer confidence in design, workmanship, and overall quality. Standard warranty coverage is generally for specified periods of time and on select products' hours of usage, generally covers parts and labor, and may cover certain other expenses for non-maintenance repairs. We also sell extended warranty coverage on select products for a prescribed period after the original warranty period expires. Warranty coverage generally does not cover operator abuse or improper use. An authorized distributor or dealer must perform warranty work. Distributors and dealers submit claims for warranty reimbursement and are credited for the cost of repairs, labor, and other expenses as long as the repairs meet our prescribed standards. At the time of sale, we recognize expense and record an accrual by product line for estimated costs in connection with forecasted future warranty claims. Our estimate of the cost of future warranty claims is based primarily on the estimated number of products under warranty, historical average costs incurred to service warranty claims, the trend in the historical ratio of claims to sales, and the historical length of time between the sale and resulting warranty claim. Additionally, from time to time, we may also establish warranty accruals for our estimate of the costs necessary to settle major rework campaigns on a product-specific basis during the period in which the circumstances giving rise to the major rework campaign become known and when the costs to satisfactorily address the situation are both probable and estimable. The warranty accrual for the cost of a major rework campaign is primarily based on an estimate of the cost to repair each affected unit and the number of affected units expected to be repaired. Service support outside of the warranty period is provided by authorized distributors and dealers at the customer's expense.

We have rigorous product safety standards and continually work to improve the safety and reliability of our products. We monitor for accidents and possible claims and establish liability estimates based on internal evaluations of the merits of individual claims. We purchase insurance coverage for catastrophic product liability claims for incidents that exceed our self-insured retention levels.

may result in a negative or positive impact on our net sales and other operating results for a particular period.

Our shipment volumes generally precede and overlap the key selling seasons of our channel partners in order to better allow our channel partners to align field inventory levels with the anticipated retail demand from end-customers. As a result, our shipment volumes have historically been the highest in our fiscal second quarter, and retail demand for our products is generally highest in our fiscal third quarter. Typically, our accounts receivable balances increase between January and April as a result of higher shipment volumes and extended payment terms made available to our customers. Accounts receivable balances typically decrease between May and December when payments are received. Our financing requirements are subject to variations due to seasonal changes in working capital levels, which typically increase in the first half of our fiscal year and decrease in the second half of our fiscal year. Seasonal cash requirements of our business are financed from a combination of cash flows from operations, cash on hand, and borrowings under our revolving credit facility, as applicable.

Shipments of our Residential segment products tend to be more seasonal, with shipments of lawn and garden products occurring primarily between February and June, depending upon seasonal weather conditions and demand for our products. Shipments of snow thrower products occur primarily between July and January, depending upon pre-season demand, in-season snowfalls, and product availability. Opposite seasons in global markets in which we sell our Residential products somewhat moderate this seasonality of our Residential segment product sales.

Seasonality of Professional segment product sales also exists but is slightly tempered because the selling season in the Southern U.S. and our markets in the Southern hemisphere generally continue for a longer portion of the year than in Northern regions of the world. Our BOSS and Ventrac brands offer a portfolio of counter-seasonal snow and ice management products in our Professional segment with our shipments of snow and ice management products occurring primarily between April and December, which can result in variability of shipment volumes depending upon pre-season demand, in-season snowfalls, and product availability. Additionally, our rental, specialty, and underground construction business is generally less seasonal than certain of our Professional segment businesses primarily due to the strong presence of certain of the underlying brands in the Southern U.S. markets and the inherent nature of the underground construction market being less impacted by seasonal factors.

From time to time, seasonal weather conditions in particular geographic regions or markets, specifically severe wet or dry conditions, as well as significant weather events such as fires, hurricanes, tornados, drought, rainfall, unseasonably warm winter months, or other weather events, including those exacerbated by global climate change, may adversely or

by our independent distributors, as well as facilitating ownership transfers.

Our current marketing strategy is to maintain distinct brands and brand identification for Toro, Ditch Witch, eXmark, Spartan, BOSS, Ventrac, American Augers, Trencor, Pope, Subsite, HammerHead, Radius, PERROT, Hayter, Unique Lighting Systems, Irritrol, and Lawn-Boy products. Across our brands, we market our Professional and Residential segment products during the appropriate seasons through multiple channels, including digital and online media, radio, print, direct mail, email, television, and social media. Most of our advertising and marketing efforts emphasize our brands, products, features, and other valuable trademarks. Advertising is purchased by us, through our agency partners, as well as through cooperative programs with distributors, dealers, and retailers.

We are party to a joint venture with TCF Inventory Finance, Inc. ("TCFIF"), now doing business as Huntington Distribution Finance, Inc. ("HDF"), a subsidiary of The Huntington National Bank, established as Red Iron Acceptance, LLC ("Red Iron"). TCF Inventory Finance, Inc. changed its name to Huntington Distribution Finance, Inc. on September 1, 2022. The primary purpose of Red Iron is to provide floor plan inventory financing to certain distributors and dealers of certain of our products in the U.S.

Under separate agreements between Red Iron and the dealers and distributors, Red Iron provides loans to the dealers and distributors for the advances paid by Red Iron to us. Under these financing arrangements, down payments are not required, and depending on the finance program for each product line, finance charges are incurred by us, shared between us and the distributor and/or the dealer, or paid by the distributor or dealer. Red Iron retains a security interest in the distributors' and dealers' financed floor plan inventories and such inventories are monitored regularly. Financing terms to the distributors and dealers require payment as the inventory, which secures the indebtedness, is sold to customers or when payment otherwise becomes due under the agreements between these financing entities and the distributors and dealers, whichever occurs first.

Under a separate agreement, TCF Commercial Finance Canada, Inc. ("TCFCFC"), now doing business as Huntington Commercial Finance Canada, Inc. ("HCFC"), provides inventory financing to dealers of certain of our products in Canada. TCF Commercial Finance Canada, Inc. changed its name to Huntington Commercial Finance Canada, Inc. on September 1, 2022. We also have floor plan financing agreements with other third-party financial institutions to provide floor plan financing to certain dealers and distributors not financed through Red Iron or HCFC, which include agreements with third-party financial institutions in the U.S. and internationally. Additionally, we continue to provide financing in the form of open account terms directly

Our global business operations result in us competing with many U.S. and non-U.S. companies across our various markets, industries, and product offerings. These competitors and the degree of competition vary widely by industry, product line, end market, geographic scope and/or geographic location, including some competitors that have substantially larger operations and financial resources than we do and some that have smaller operations offering various capabilities to customers. We also experience a certain level of competition among our own brands within certain industries and end markets. Because of the diversity of our product portfolios and markets, our businesses typically have a different set of competitors in each geographic area and end market in which they participate. Accordingly, estimating the number of competitors or precise market share is challenging; however, we believe that we are a principal competitor in most of our industries and markets.

The principal competitive factors in our markets are product innovation; quality and reliability; pricing and sales promotion and incentive programs; product support and customer service; warranty; brand awareness; reputation; distribution, shelf space, and product availability; and financing options. We believe we offer total solutions and full service packages with high quality products that have the latest technology and design innovations. In addition, by selling our products through a network of distributors, dealers, mass retailers, hardware retailers, and home centers, as well as online (direct to end-users), users are offered comprehensive service support during and after the warranty period. We believe that we have a competitive advantage because we manufacture a broad range of product lines, we are committed to product innovation and customer service, we have a strong history in, and focus on, the markets in which our businesses operate, and our distribution channels position us well to compete in various markets.

Our Residential segment products generally face a higher volume of competition than our Professional segment products given the relatively low barriers to entry resulting in numerous other manufacturers selling products that compete directly with our products. Internationally, our Residential segment products face more competition because many foreign competitors design, manufacture, market, and sell products in their respective countries. We experience this competition primarily in Europe. In addition, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar affect the price of our products in foreign markets, thereby impacting their competitiveness. We provide pricing support to foreign customers, invoice in local currency, and execute foreign currency derivative hedging instruments, as appropriate, to remain competitive in international markets.

practices are also regularly featured in our employee newsletters and town halls.

We provide all employees with the opportunity to share their opinions and feedback on our culture through an engagement survey. Results of the survey are measured and analyzed to enhance the employee experience, promote employee retention, drive change and leverage the overall success of our organization.

Our key talent philosophy is to develop talent from within and supplement with external hires. We provide all employees a wide range of professional development opportunities, both formal and informal, at all stages in their careers. Our formal career development offerings include apprenticeships, job training, mentoring and coaching, leadership development, tuition reimbursement, a diverse curriculum of learning programs, leadership development experiences, vocational training and external partnerships across the globe. One of our unique leadership development programs is our Front-Line Leadership Excellence program ("FLEX"), which focuses on building the leadership capabilities of our manufacturing supervisors globally, those with direct oversight of the people building our products. FLEX is designed to focus on helping our supervisors work through obstacles and communication challenges in order to enable the success of their teams.

We have transitioned many of our professional development opportunities to virtual delivery options and expanded our offerings for on-demand learning to ensure that robust learning opportunities were still available to our employees who were not required to be physically present at our facilities and sites to perform their job responsibilities. One such example of a virtual development program is our Engaging Effectively program, which we offer to leaders who are required to manage differently in a remote and hybrid environment, yet still engage and achieve high performance standards with their teams.

The health and wellness of our employees are critical to our success. We provide our employees with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs. Such programs are designed to support employees’ physical and mental health by providing tools and resources to help them improve or maintain their health status and encourage engagement in healthy behaviors.

We recognize that our best performance comes when our teams are diverse, and accordingly, diversity, equity and inclusion ("DEI") is core to us. To promote DEI in the workplace, our DEI committee is focused on its strategic pillars of nurturing an inclusive workspace, attracting and maintaining a diverse workforce, and impacting the communities and markets in which our employees live and

Our business, operations, facilities, and products are subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations relating to, among others, climate change; emissions to air, including Tier 4 or similar engine emission regulations; discharges to water; restrictions placed on water usage and water availability; product and associated packaging; use of certain chemicals; restricted substances, including "conflict minerals" disclosure rules; recycling and waste disposal; import and export compliance, including country of origin certification requirements; worker and product user health and safety; energy efficiency; product life-cycles; outdoor noise laws; and the generation, use, handling, labeling, collection, management, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, and other regulated materials. For example:

matters will have a material adverse effect on our Consolidated Financial Position or Results of Operations.

The following are material risk factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results, industry, financial position, or future financial or operational performance. The risks described below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business, reputation, operating results, industry, financial position, or future financial or operational performance.

This summary is not complete and should be read in conjunction with the more detailed risk factors set forth below.

Adverse economic conditions and outlook in the U.S. and in other countries in which we conduct business have and could continue to impact our net sales and earnings. These adverse economic conditions include, but are not limited to, business closures, slowdowns, suspensions or delays of production and commercial activity; recessionary conditions; slow or negative economic growth rates; slowdowns or reductions in levels of interest in the game of golf or golf course activity, development, renovation, and improvement; golf course closures; reduced governmental or municipal spending; reduced levels of home ownership, construction, and sales; home foreclosures; negative consumer confidence; reduced consumer spending levels; increased or prolonged high unemployment rates; higher costs, longer lead times, and reduced availability of commodities, components, parts, and accessories, including as a result of transportation-related costs, inflation, changing prices, foreign currency fluctuations, tariffs, and/or duties; inflationary or deflationary pressures; reduced infrastructure spending; the impact of U.S. federal debt, state debt, and sovereign debt defaults and austerity measures by certain European countries; reduced credit availability or unfavorable credit terms for our distributors, dealers, and end-user customers; higher short-term, mortgage, and other interest rates; and general economic and political conditions and expectations. In the past, some of these factors have caused and may continue to cause our distributors, dealers, and end-user customers to reduce spending and delay or forego purchases of our products, which has had an adverse effect on our net sales and earnings.

One of our strategies is to develop innovative, customer-valued and high-quality products to generate revenue and earnings growth. In the past, our sales from new products, which we define as those introduced in the current and previous two fiscal years, have represented a significant portion of our net sales and are expected to continue to represent a significant portion of our future net sales. We may not be able to compete as effectively and ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of our customers, unless we

COVID-19 created significant worldwide volatility, uncertainty and disruption and has materially adversely impacted portions of our business and such adverse impact may continue. The extent and duration of such possible impacts will depend on numerous factors, including:

Weather conditions in a particular geographic region have adversely impacted, and will likely in the future, adversely affect sales, demand, and field inventory levels of some of our products. Weather conditions also have disrupted our own manufacturing and distribution facilities and our supply chain, which has impacted our ability to manufacture product to fulfill customer demand, and such disruptions may occur in the future. For example, past drought or unusually wet conditions have had an adverse effect on sales of certain mowing equipment products. Unusually rainy weather or severe drought conditions that result in watering bans, or otherwise, have had an adverse effect on sales of our irrigation products, and lower snowfall accumulations in key markets have had an adverse effect on sales of our Residential snow thrower products and products of our

The elimination, reduction, or changes in the placement of shelf space assigned to our Residential segment products at mass retailers and home centers could adversely affect our Residential segment net sales. Our Residential segment net sales also depend upon the buying patterns of consumers and changes to buying patterns could result in reduced sales. For example, as consumers purchase products at home centers and mass retailers that typically offer broader and lower price points than dealers, demand for and sales of our Residential segment products purchased at mass retailers and home centers have increased. We believe that our diverse distribution channels and customer base should reduce the long-term impact on us if we were to lose any substantial customer, but the loss of any such customer, a significant reduction in sales to such customers, our inability to maintain adequate product placement at mass retailers and home centers or our inability to respond to future changes in buying patterns of consumers or new distribution channels could have a material adverse impact on our business and operating results. Furthermore, our quarterly or annual results can be impacted as a result of the timing of significant sales or promotional events for our Residential products.

fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar may affect the price of our products in foreign markets, thereby impacting their competitiveness. Competitors may move manufacturing operations to low cost countries for significant cost and price reductions, and we may not be able to compete, which could harm our business and operating results.

We purchase commodities, components, parts, and accessories for use in our manufacturing process and end-products or to be sold as stand-alone end-products, such as steel, aluminum, petroleum and natural gas-based resins, linerboard, copper, lead, rubber, engines, transmissions, transaxles, hydraulics, electrification components, and other commodities, components, parts and accessories. Increased costs and/or inflation, increased tariff, duties, or other charges as a result of changes to U.S. or international trade policies or trade agreements, trade regulation and/or industry activity, or antidumping and countervailing duty petitions on certain products imported from foreign countries, including certain engines imported into the U.S. from China, or the inability of suppliers to continue operations or otherwise remain in business, have affected our profit margins, operating results and businesses and could continue to result in declines in our profit margins, operating results and businesses. Historically, we have mitigated commodity, component, parts, or accessories cost increases, in part, by increasing prices on some of our products and executing on our strategic productivity initiatives, which include, but are not limited to, collaborating with suppliers, reviewing alternative sourcing options, substituting materials, utilizing Lean methods, and engaging in internal cost reduction efforts, all as appropriate. However, during fiscal 2022, we experienced higher material, freight and manufacturing costs, which adversely affected our margins, and we may not be able to fully offset increased commodity, component, parts, or accessories costs in the future. Further, if our price increases are not accepted by our customers and the market, our net sales, profit margins, earnings, and market share could be adversely affected.

Production downtime and/or the inability to produce products at our facilities and those of our suppliers or other disruptions have occurred and could continue to occur as a result of several factors, including supply chain challenges, labor shortages, natural disasters, inclement weather, man-made disasters or other external events, such as terrorist acts or acts of war, pandemics and/or epidemics, boycotts and sanctions, widespread criminal activities, or protests and/or social unrest, or other events, at or in proximity to any of our facilities or in our manufacturing or other operations, or those

We are subject to risks relating to the inventory management decisions and operational and sourcing practices of our distribution network. Our distribution channel customers carry inventories of our products as part of their ongoing operations and adjust those inventories based on their assessments of future needs, including anticipated end-customer demand. Such adjustments have impacted our inventory management and working capital goals as well as operating results, and such adjustments may impact us in the future.

If we fail to maintain an effective network of distribution channel partners, including distributors, dealers, mass retailers, and home centers, for our products, we may not have adequate market coverage for the optimal level of sales

including, among other things, our accounting and financial functions; our manufacturing and supply chain processes; managing personal data or other data relating to our customers, suppliers, and employees; and the data related to our research and development efforts. We may be unable to enhance our existing information systems and software or implement new information systems or software when necessary; may experience unanticipated delays, complications, or expenses in implementing, integrating, and operating our systems; and/or require substantial expenditures or interruptions in operations in connection with any system changes we might pursue, including as may be necessary during the integration of acquisitions. The failure of our information systems or software or those of our business partners or third-party service providers to perform properly, or difficulties encountered in the development of or transfer over to new systems or the modification or upgrade of existing systems, could disrupt our business and harm our reputation, which may result in decreased sales, increased overhead costs, excess or obsolete inventory, and product shortages, causing our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results to suffer.

Additionally, we take steps to secure our information systems and software and any access provided by our business partners or third-party service providers, including our computer systems, intranet and internet sites, email and other telecommunications and data networks. However, the security measures we have implemented may not be effective and our systems may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage, and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, data privacy breaches, natural or man-made disasters, cyber attacks, computer viruses, malware, phishing, denial of service attacks, power loss, or other disruptive events. Information technology security threats have been increasing in frequency and sophistication. Cyber attacks may be random, coordinated, or targeted, including sophisticated computer crime threats. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks including those that may be used by our products, and those of our business partners and third-party service providers, and to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of our data or data of our customers, suppliers or employees. Our business, reputation, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected if a significant cyber event or other event, disrupts or shuts down our operations; our confidential, proprietary information or data of our customers, suppliers, or employees is stolen or disclosed; our intranet and internet sites are compromised; data is manipulated or destroyed; we incur costs, are required to pay fines or face other regulatory enforcement actions, or our customers lose confidence in our ability to adequately protect their information in connection with stolen or disclosed customer, employee, or other confidential or sensitive information; we must dedicate significant resources to system repairs or increase cyber security protection; or we otherwise incur significant litigation or other costs. As we continue to develop internet-connected products and other new, emerging, and/or

Our international operations may not produce desired levels of net sales or, among other things, the factors listed above may harm our business and operating results. Any material decrease in our international sales or profitability could also adversely impact our operating results.

We are continually renovating and, where appropriate or necessary, expanding our facilities, primarily driven by the growth of our business and the need to expand our manufacturing capacity. We have historically financed, and expect to continue to finance, such efforts with cash on hand and cash from operating activities. Expanding and renovating our facilities could disrupt our business operations, and such effects could include but are not limited to potential interruption in manufacturing processes, delivery of raw materials, shipping finished goods, and data flow; unforeseen construction, scheduling, engineering, environmental, or geological problems; and unanticipated cost increases.

In addition, we need effective internal controls to provide reliable and accurate financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. Integrating acquired businesses may make our systems and controls more complex and difficult to manage. We devote significant resources and time to comply with the internal control over financial reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. However, we cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we design, implement, and maintain adequate control over our financial processes and reporting in the future, particularly in the context of acquisitions of other businesses, regardless of whether such acquired business was previously privately or publicly held. In fiscal 2022, we have excluded Intimidator Group in our assessment in accordance with applicable SEC guidance, and continue to integrate its controls into our internal control over financial reporting. Any difficulties in the assimilation of acquired businesses into our internal control framework could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.

Also, some acquisitions may require the consent of the lenders under our credit agreements. We cannot predict whether such approvals would be forthcoming or the terms on which the lenders would approve such acquisitions. These risks, among others, could be heightened if we complete a

In connection with our acquisitions and other business combinations, including our January 2022 acquisition of Intimidator and March 2020 acquisition of Venture Products, applicable accounting standards require the net tangible and intangible assets of the acquired business to be recorded on our consolidated balance sheet at their fair values as of the date of acquisition and any excess in the purchase price paid by us over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets of any acquired business to be recorded as goodwill. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are tested at least annually for impairment or more frequently as events and circumstances dictate. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is generally an operating segment or underlying business component. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at the individual indefinite-lived intangible asset or asset group level, as appropriate. Finite-lived intangible assets other than goodwill considered long-lived assets for impairment testing purposes, are tested for impairment as events and circumstances dictate, and are required to be amortized over their estimated useful lives and this amortization expense may be significant to our ongoing financial results.

If we determine that the anticipated future cash flows from our reporting units, indefinite-lived intangible assets or asset groups, or long-lived asset groups may be less than their respective carrying values, our goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, and/or long-lived assets may be deemed to be impaired. If this occurs, applicable accounting rules may require us to write down the value of the goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, and/or long-lived assets on our balance sheet to reflect the extent of any such impairment. Any such write-down of goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, and/or long-lived assets would generally be recognized as a non-cash expense in our Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the accounting period during which any such write down occurs. As of October 31, 2022, we had goodwill of $583.3 million, which is maintained in various reporting units, including goodwill from the Intimidator and Venture Products business combinations, and indefinite-lived intangible assets of $289.4 million, which together comprise 24.5 percent of our total assets as of October 31, 2022. Impairment charges, could be significant and could adversely affect our consolidated operating results and financial condition.

disadvantage us relative to other companies that may be subject to fewer, if any, restrictions or may otherwise adversely affect our business.

Potential important opportunities or transactions, such as significant acquisitions, may require the consent of our lenders, which consent may be withheld or granted subject to conditions that may affect the attractiveness or viability of the transaction. Additionally, market deterioration or other factors could jeopardize the counterparty obligations of one or more of the banks participating in our revolving credit facility, which could have an adverse effect on our business if we are not able to replace such revolving credit facility or find other sources of liquidity on acceptable terms.

We cannot assure that we will be able to comply with all of the terms of our credit arrangements and indentures, particularly the financial covenants. Our ability to comply with such terms depends on the success of our business and our operating results, as well as various risks, uncertainties, and events beyond our control. If we fail to comply with any covenant required by our credit arrangements following any applicable cure periods, the banks could terminate their commitments unless we could negotiate a covenant waiver. The banks could condition such waiver on terms that may be unfavorable to us. In addition, any amounts outstanding pursuant to our credit arrangements and indentures could become due and payable if we were unable to obtain a covenant waiver or refinance our debt under such arrangements.

Our credit ratings are important to our cost and availability of capital. The major rating agencies routinely evaluate our credit profile and assign credit ratings to us. This evaluation is based on a number of factors, which include financial strength, business and financial risk, transparency with rating agencies, and timeliness of financial reporting. Further leveraging our capital structure could result in a downgrade to our credit ratings. For instance, if our credit rating falls below investment grade and/or our leverage ratio rises above 1.50, the interest rate we currently pay on outstanding debt under our revolving credit facility could increase. As such, failure to maintain investment grade credit ratings could adversely affect our cost of funding and our liquidity by limiting the access to capital markets or the availability of funding from a variety of lenders.

In preparing the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), we must make decisions that impact

certain that we will be issued any patents from any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us, or that the claims allowed under any issued patents will be sufficiently broad to protect our technology. Without enforceable patent protection, we may be vulnerable to competitors who attempt to copy our products or gain access to our trade secrets and know-how. We also cannot be certain that our products or technologies have not infringed or will not infringe the valid proprietary rights of others. Others may initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, allege that we infringe their patents, or use their resources to design comparable products that do not infringe our patents. Additionally, we may initiate proceedings to protect our proprietary rights. Any litigation, whether initiated by us or others, may cause us to incur substantial costs and possible damages. If the outcome of any such litigation is unfavorable to us, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. We could also be forced to develop an alternative that could be costly and time-consuming, or acquire a license, which we might not be able to do on terms favorable to us, or at all.

We rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how that we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our employees, suppliers, consultants, and others. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. Even if these confidentiality agreements are not breached, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors.

We are subject to numerous international, federal, state, municipal and other governmental laws, rules, policies, regulations, and orders ("Laws") relating to, among other things; climate change; emissions to air, including engine emission requirements; discharges to water; restrictions placed on water usage and water availability; product and associated packaging; use of certain chemicals; restricted substances, including "conflict minerals" disclosure rules; import and export compliance, including country of origin certification requirements; worker and product user health and safety; energy efficiency; product life-cycles; outdoor noise laws; the generation, use, handling, labeling, collection, management, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, and other regulated materials; and the registration of certain technologies with various government agencies throughout the world and operation of those technologies within the limits imposed by those agencies, including but not limited to radio frequency, broadband or other wireless technologies and technologies within the airspace of commercial airplanes, such as unmanned aerial systems. In addition, Laws may adversely affect our operating results, including, (i) to address health and safety requirements, (ii) taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, or revised tax law interpretations or guidance, which individually or in

change accords, as well as the scope of such requirements and initiatives, we cannot currently determine the effect any such legislation, regulation, or accord may have on our products and operations. Additionally, inconsistency of regulations in the states and countries in which we operate may affect the costs of compliance with such requirements. If such laws or regulations are more stringent than current legal or regulatory requirements, we may be subject to curtailment or reduced access to resources or experience increased compliance burdens and costs to meet the regulatory obligations, which may adversely affect our business and operating results.

Additionally, various other legislative proposals, if enacted, could put us in a competitively advantaged or disadvantaged position and affect customer demand for our products. For example, any fiscal-stimulus or other legislation that inordinately impacts the lawn and garden, outdoor power equipment, or irrigation industries generally by promoting the purchase of certain types of products that we sell, such as through customer rebate or other incentive programs, could impact us positively or negatively, depending on whether we manufacture products that meet the specified legislative criteria, including in areas such as fuel efficiency, alternative energy or water usage. Such legislation may also cause customers to perceive our product offerings to be more or less attractive than our competitors' product offerings. We cannot currently predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, the specific terms and conditions of such legislation, such legislation's impact on the competitive landscape within our markets, or how, if at all, any such legislation might ultimately affect customer demand for our products or our operating results.

Because we own and lease real property, various environmental laws may impose liability on us for the costs of cleaning up and responding to hazardous substances that may have been released on our property, including releases unknown to us. These environmental laws and regulations could also require us to pay for environmental remediation and response costs at third-party locations where we disposed of or recycled hazardous substances. We are currently involved in the evaluation and clean-up of a limited number of properties we either currently or previously owned. Although we do not expect that these current matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or operating results, our future costs of complying with the various environmental requirements, as they now exist or may be altered in the future, could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

The manufacture, sale, and use of our products expose us to significant risks associated with product quality issues and

We generally provide financial projections such as our expected revenue growth and adjusted diluted earnings per share. These financial projections are based on management’s assumptions and expectations at the time made. Failure to achieve our financial projections could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

In our fiscal 2021 sustainability report, we set new sustainability goals. We also set goals and objectives for the timing of certain accomplishments, initiatives and milestones regarding our business or operating results. Whether we achieve our goals and objectives of such initiatives can vary due to a number of factors, including the risk factors described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As a result, there is no assurance that we will succeed in achieving the goals and objectives of our initiatives in the time periods that we anticipate, or ever. The failure to achieve such goals and objectives in the time periods that we anticipate, or at all, could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our ability to meet our strategic objectives and otherwise profitably grow our business will depend to a significant extent on the continued contributions of our leadership team and our ability to identify, attract, engage, develop, and retain other highly qualified employees worldwide. Competition for these individuals is intense, and we may not succeed in identifying, attracting, or retaining qualified employees. Losing any of our executive officers or other key employees, failure to identify, attract, or retain qualified leaders in the future, ineffective executive officer or other employee transitions, delays or the inability to hire necessary and qualified office or production employees due to employment conditions or otherwise, or any employee work slowdowns, strikes, or similar actions could make it difficult for us to conduct and manage our business and meet key objectives, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable reported U.S. GAAP financial measures are included in the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" within this MD&A.

Our fiscal 2022 results included the following items of significance that are provided in summary format here and described in greater detail throughout the "Results of Operations," "Business Segments," and "Financial Position" sections of this MD&A:

Please refer to the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" within this MD&A for reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable reported U.S. GAAP financial measures.

Our Professional segment achieved 17.1 percent net sales growth in fiscal 2022 primarily driven by net price realization and the acquisition of Intimidator.

Our Residential segment achieved 5.8 percent net sales growth in fiscal 2022 primarily driven by net price realization.

We continued our history of paying quarterly cash dividends throughout fiscal 2022 and increased our fiscal 2022 quarterly cash dividend by 14.3 percent to $0.30 per share

We continue to see significant pressure on global supply chains due to disruptions created by the effects of COVID-19. As always, we are maintaining focus on meeting the needs of our customers as we supply products that are critical to maintaining essential global infrastructure and agricultural food production. Ongoing communication and prioritization continues with our suppliers in an attempt to identify and mitigate such risks and to proactively manage inventory levels of commodities, components, and parts to align with anticipated demand for our products.

If the lingering effects from COVID-19 continue or worsen beyond expectations, our business and related results of operations, financial position, or cash flows could be adversely impacted. Any sustained adverse impacts to our business, the industries in which we operate, market demand for our products, and/or certain suppliers or customers may also affect the future valuation of certain of our assets, and therefore, may increase the likelihood of a charge related to an impairment, write-off, valuation adjustment, allowance, or reserve associated with such assets, including, but not limited to, goodwill, indefinite and finite-lived intangible assets, inventories, accounts receivable, deferred income taxes, right-of-use assets, and property, plant and equipment. Such a charge could be material to our future results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. For additional information regarding risks associated with COVID-19, refer to Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Consolidated net sales in fiscal 2022 were $4,514.7 million compared to $3,959.6 million in fiscal 2021, an increase of 14.0 percent. This net sales increase was primarily driven by net price realization and the acquisition of Intimidator.

Net sales in international markets were $879.2 million for fiscal 2022 compared to $827.6 million in fiscal 2021, an increase of 6.2 percent. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates resulted in a decrease in our net sales of $15.8 million in fiscal 2022. The international net sales increase was primarily driven by the acquisition of Intimidator, and

offset by net favorable fiscal 2021 legal settlements which did not reoccur in fiscal 2022.

Interest expense primarily consists of interest costs incurred on outstanding borrowings related to our fixed and variable interest rate debt arrangements, as well as amortization of the debt issuance costs associated with our debt arrangements. Interest expense for fiscal 2022 increased $7.1 million compared to fiscal 2021. This increase was driven by higher average outstanding borrowings under our debt arrangements due to the acquisition of Intimidator and higher average interest rates in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021.

Other income, net primarily consists of our proportionate share of income or losses from our Red Iron joint venture, realized foreign currency exchange rate gains and losses, interest and dividend income, gains or losses recognized on actuarial valuation changes for our pension and post-retirement plans, retail financing revenue, and other miscellaneous income. Other income, net for fiscal 2022 was $12.6 million compared to $10.2 million in fiscal 2021, an increase of $2.4 million. This increase in other income, net was primarily due to higher income from our Red Iron joint venture as a result of higher field inventory levels and higher financing rates throughout fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021.

The effective tax rate for fiscal 2022 was 19.8 percent compared to 18.0 percent in fiscal 2021. The increase in the effective tax rate for fiscal 2022 was primarily due to less favorable one-time adjustments and lower tax benefits recorded as excess tax deductions in fiscal 2022 compared fiscal 2021.

The adjusted effective tax rate for fiscal 2022 was 20.2 percent, compared to an adjusted effective tax rate of 19.6 percent in fiscal 2021. The adjusted effective tax rate excludes the impact of discrete tax benefits recorded as excess tax deductions for stock-based compensation. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable reported U.S. GAAP financial measures are included in the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" within this MD&A.

Professional segment net sales represented 76.0 percent and 74.0 percent of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2022 and 2021, respectively. The following table presents our Professional segment's net sales, earnings, and earnings as a percentage of net sales (dollars in millions):

Net sales for our Professional segment in fiscal 2022 increased 17.1 percent compared to fiscal 2021. This increase was primarily driven by net price realization and the acquisition of Intimidator.

The following table presents net sales and operating loss for our Other activities (dollars in millions):

Net sales for our Other activities in fiscal 2022 decreased $3.4 million compared to fiscal 2021, primarily driven by lower sales by the wholly-owned domestic distribution company and increased intercompany sales eliminations for sales from our Professional and Residential segments to the wholly-owned domestic distribution company.

Operating loss for our Other activities increased $15.2 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. This year over year operating loss increase was primarily driven by a fiscal 2021 favorable net legal settlement with Briggs & Stratton Corporation, partially offset by a fiscal 2021 charge incurred for a legal settlement related to a series of ongoing patent infringement disputes, both of which did not reoccur in fiscal 2022.

Given the challenging macroeconomic environment that has created supply chain disruption and more specifically, resulted in challenging conditions for sourcing adequate amounts of certain commodities and components, our working capital strategy continues to place primary emphasis on procuring key commodities and components when available in an attempt to maintain requisite inventory levels to meet our anticipated production requirements, avoid manufacturing delays, and meet the anticipated continued strong demand for our products, as well as attempting to ensure service parts availability for our customers. The following table highlights several key measures of our working capital performance (dollars in millions):

Acquisitions and capital expenditures are a significant use of our capital resources. These investments are intended to enable sales growth in new, existing, and expanding markets, help us meet product demand, and increase our manufacturing efficiencies and capacity. Cash used in investing activities in fiscal 2022 increased by $419.8 million from fiscal 2021. This increase was primarily due to cash used for the acquisition of Intimidator and higher purchases of property, plant and equipment in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021.

Cash provided by financing activities in fiscal 2022 was $42.2 million compared to $503.7 million of cash used in financing activities in fiscal 2021. This change in cash was mainly due to higher net borrowings under our debt arrangements during fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021 and less cash used for repurchases of shares of our common stock under our Board authorized repurchase program, partially offset by more cash used for payments of common stock dividends.

Cash and cash equivalents as of the end of fiscal 2022 decreased by $217.4 million compared to the end of fiscal 2021. As of October 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents held by our foreign subsidiaries were $93.4 million. We expect that $32.3 million of cash and cash equivalents held by our foreign subsidiaries will be indefinitely reinvested. Should these cash and cash equivalents be distributed in the future in the form of dividends or otherwise, we may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, state income taxes, and/or additional federal taxes for currency fluctuations. As of October 31, 2022, the unrecognized deferred tax liabilities for temporary differences related to our investment in non-U.S. subsidiaries, and any withholding, state, or additional federal taxes upon any future repatriation, are not material and have not been recorded.

We make ongoing capital investments in our property, plant, and equipment and believe that in periods of normalized supply chain our historical capital investments in our manufacturing facilities and other capital assets will increase the production capacity and efficiencies of our operations to better enable us to meet the needs of our customers. Fiscal 2022 capital expenditures of $143.5 million were $39.5 million higher than fiscal 2021. This increase was primarily due to additional capital investment in our facilities to support growth and efficiency goals, new product tooling, productivity improvements in our distribution process, and continued replacement of production equipment.

We anticipate fiscal 2023 capital expenditures in the range of $150.0 million to $170.0 million as we plan to continue to invest in future growth through the expansion of our manufacturing operations and other facilities, capital assets,

We currently believe that our existing liquidity position, including the funds available through existing, and potential future, financing arrangements and forecasted cash flows from operations will be sufficient to provide the necessary capital resources for our anticipated working capital needs, capital expenditures, lease payments, purchase commitments, investments, contingent consideration payments, debt repayments, interest payments, quarterly cash dividend payments, and common stock repurchases, all as applicable, for at least the next twelve months. As of October 31, 2022, we had available liquidity of $785.2 million, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $188.3 million, of which $93.4 million was held by our foreign subsidiaries, and availability under our revolving credit facility of $596.9 million.

The following is a summary of our indebtedness (in thousands):

Principal payments required on our outstanding indebtedness, based on the maturity dates defined within our debt arrangements, for each of the next five fiscal years are as follows: fiscal 2023, $0.0 million; fiscal 2024, $0.0 million; fiscal 2025, $37.0 million; fiscal 2026, $263.0 million; fiscal 2027, $270.0 million; and after fiscal 2027, $425.0 million. Interest payments required on our outstanding indebtedness, assuming no prepayments of indebtedness, for each of the next five fiscal years are as follows: fiscal 2023, $47.2 million; fiscal 2024, $47.2 million; fiscal 2025, $46.7 million; fiscal 2026, $44.8 million; fiscal 2027, $28.3 million; and after fiscal 2027, $125.8 million. Interest on variable rate debt was calculated using the interest rate as of October 31, 2022.

We are party to inventory financing arrangements with Red Iron, HCFC, and other third-party financial institutions (collectively, the "financial institutions") which provide inventory financing to certain dealers and distributors of certain of our products in the U.S. and internationally. These financing arrangements are structured as an advance in the form of a payment by the financial institutions to us on behalf of a distributor or dealer with respect to invoices financed by the financial institution. These payments extinguish the obligation of the dealer or distributor to make payment to us under the terms of the applicable invoice.

Under separate agreements between the financial institutions and the dealers and distributors, the financial institutions provide loans to the dealers and distributors for the advances paid by the financial institutions to us. Under these financing arrangements, down payments are not required, and depending on the finance program for each product line, finance charges are incurred by us, shared between us and the distributor and/or the dealer, or paid by the distributor or dealer. The financial institutions retain a security interest in the distributors' and dealers' financed inventories and such inventories are monitored regularly through audits. Financing terms to the distributors and dealers require payment as the inventory, which secures the indebtedness, is sold to end-users or when payment otherwise become due under the agreements between the financial institutions and the distributors and dealers, whichever occurs first. Rates are generally indexed to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"), or an alternative variable rate, plus a fixed percentage that differs based on whether the financing is for a distributor or dealer. Rates may also vary based on the product that is financed.

The net amount of receivables financed for dealers and distributors under the arrangements with HCFC and the other third-party financial institutions during fiscal 2022 and 2021 was $633.5 million and $460.5 million, respectively. As of October 31, 2022 and 2021, $220.0 million and $151.5 million, respectively, of receivables financed by HCFC and the other third-party financial institutions were outstanding.

We have entered into a limited inventory repurchase agreement with Red Iron and HCFC under which we have agreed to repurchase certain repossessed products, up to a

requirements could have a material adverse impact on our future operating results.

We have provided non-GAAP financial measures, which are not calculated or presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, as information supplemental and in addition to the most directly comparable financial measures presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We use these non-GAAP financial measures in making operating decisions and assessing liquidity because we believe they provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our core operational performance and cash flows, as a measure of our liquidity, and provide us with a better understanding of how to allocate resources to both ongoing and prospective business initiatives. Additionally, these non-GAAP financial measures facilitate our internal comparisons to both our historical operating results and to our competitors' operating results by factoring out potential differences caused by charges and benefits not related to our regular, ongoing business, including, without limitation, certain non-cash, large, and/or unpredictable charges and benefits; acquisitions and dispositions; legal judgments, settlements, or other matters; and tax positions.

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, provide investors with useful supplemental financial information to better understand our core operational performance and cash flows. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures used by other companies.

We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. Free cash flow conversion percentage represents free cash flow as a percentage of net earnings. We consider free cash flow and free cash flow conversion percentage to be non-GAAP liquidity measures that provide useful information to management and investors about our ability to convert net earnings into cash resources that can be used to pursue opportunities to enhance shareholder value, fund ongoing and prospective business initiatives, and strengthen our Consolidated Balance Sheets, after reinvesting in necessary capital expenditures required to maintain and grow our business.

sales promotion and incentive program is classified and recorded as a reduction from gross sales or as a component of SG&A expense within the Consolidated Statements of Earnings when revenue is recognized, depending on the nature of the respective program. Generally, the cost of a program is recorded as a reduction from gross sales when revenue is recognized and thus is considered to be variable consideration if the expense is determined to represent a price concession because the program either: (i) results in an immediate reduction of the transaction price with no anticipated future costs or consideration to be provided to the customer or (ii) we anticipate a future cost based on historical or expected future business practice for which we do not receive a distinct good or service in exchange for the future consideration provided to the customer under the program. In other circumstances, the anticipated future cost of a program based on historical or expected future business practice is recorded as SG&A expense because we receive a distinct good or service in exchange for the future consideration provided to the customer under the program.

Examples of significant sales promotions and incentive programs that are considered to be variable consideration because the cost of the program is classified as a reduction from gross sales are as follows:

uncertainty as they require inputs and assumptions that are more susceptible to change or subjectivity. Specifically, our rebate programs are primarily sensitive to fluctuations in historical payment and rebate claims experience as compared to actual realized payment and rebate claims, field inventory levels, and forecasted wholesale and retail sales volumes and the quantity or mix of products.

Adjustments to sales promotions and incentive accruals are made from time to time as actual usage becomes known in order to properly estimate the amounts necessary to generate consumer demand based on market conditions as of the balance sheet date. As of October 31, 2022, we had recorded an accrual for sales promotion and incentive programs of $123.9 million within the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We believe that our accrual for sales promotion and incentive programs is adequate as of October 31, 2022 and historically has been adequate; however, due to the inherent uncertainty in the accrual estimation process, actual results may differ from these estimates if competitive factors dictate the need to enhance or modify sales promotion and incentive programs or if customer usage, product mix, or field inventory levels vary from historical trends.

Our impairment testing for goodwill is performed separately from our impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets; however, for both types of assets we may elect to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether

step process. In performing the quantitative analysis, we compare the carrying value of a reporting unit, including goodwill, to its fair value. The carrying amount of each reporting unit is determined based on the amount of equity required for the reporting unit's activities, considering the specific assets and liabilities of the reporting unit. We do not assign corporate assets and liabilities to reporting units that do not relate to the operations of the reporting unit or are not considered in determining the fair value of the reporting unit.

Our estimate of the fair value of our reporting units under the income approach requires the use of significant judgment regarding the selection of various inputs and assumptions, including projected operating results and growth rates from our forecasting process, applicable tax rates, estimated capital expenditures and depreciation, estimated changes in working capital, terminal growth rates applied to projected operating results in the terminal period, and a WACC rate. These inputs and assumptions, which are independently determined and vary for each reporting unit, are based on historical experience, our projections of future operating results and contemplate current and future business, industry, and economic conditions, as well as relevant observable market inputs and consideration of risk regarding future performance for purposes of determining the WACC and terminal growth rates. The WACC rate selected is commensurate with the risks and uncertainty inherent in the respective reporting unit and in our projected operating results and is calculated based on weighted average returns on debt and equity from guideline public companies. Therefore, changes in the market that are beyond our control and that impact our guideline public companies may have an adverse effect on our future calculations of the estimated fair values of our reporting units. Terminal growth rates are generally determined based on economic and industry growth expectations, while also considering the lifecycle stage of each respective reporting unit. Where available, and as appropriate, comparable EBITDA and revenue multiples are derived from the market prices of stocks of guideline public companies and are used to assist in developing an estimated business enterprise value of our reporting units under the market approach to corroborate our determination of the estimated fair values of our reporting units under the income approach. Identifying appropriate guideline public companies for purposes of computing estimated market multiples and selecting an appropriate WACC rate is subjective. We select guideline public companies that are engaged in the same or similar lines of business and that have reasonably similar qualitative factors as our reporting units, while also considering relevant quantitative factors such as profitability and market capitalization, where applicable. As a final corroboratory step, we reconcile the aggregate estimated fair value of our reporting units resulting from the income approach to our company's market capitalization.

If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill of the reporting unit is not impaired. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge would be recognized for the amount by

points with no impairment indicated for any of our material indefinite-lived intangible assets. The royalty rate was decreased by 80 basis points with no impairment indicated for any of our material indefinite-lived intangible assets.

Determining the estimated fair values of our reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets, or asset groups, requires considerable judgment and such estimate are sensitive to changes in the underlying inputs and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that the inputs and assumptions made for purposes of our annual impairment assessments will prove to be an accurate prediction of the future. Certain events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key inputs and assumptions ultimately affect the estimated fair values of our reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets, and may require us to assess for impairment on an interim basis. Such events or circumstances could include a decrease in expected future operating results and the related cash flows; adverse economic, market, and industry conditions, including unfavorable impacts on our guideline public companies used in determining our WACC rate and the business enterprise value of our reporting units under the market approach; prolonged periods of unfavorable weather conditions; changes in regulatory conditions impacting our products and industries; a continued volatile supply chain environment and/or additional increases in the costs of commodities, component parts, and labor; lack of customer acceptance of new or innovative technologies; increased competition; and other factors. While our annual impairment assessment in fiscal 2022 supported the carrying amount of our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, we may be required to re-evaluate the carrying amount in future periods utilizing different inputs and assumptions that reflect the then current market conditions and expectations regarding our operating performance, which may result in a future impairment that could be material.

Our products are warranted to provide assurance that the product will function as expected and to ensure customer confidence in design, workmanship, and overall quality. Warranty coverage on our products is generally provided for specified periods of time and on select products' hours of usage, and generally covers parts, labor, and other expenses for non-maintenance repairs. Warranty coverage generally does not cover operator abuse or improper use. In addition to the standard warranties offered on our products, we also sell separately priced extended warranty coverage on select products for a prescribed period after the original warranty period expires.

At the time of sale, we recognize expense and record a warranty accrual by product line for estimated costs in connection with forecasted future warranty claims. Our estimate of the cost of future warranty claims is based primarily on the estimated number of products under warranty, historical average costs incurred to service warranty claims, the trend in the historical ratio of warranty

estimated net realizable value or market value for the inventory depending on inventory costing method. The inventory valuation adjustment to net realizable value or market value establishes a new cost basis of the inventory that cannot be subsequently reversed. Such inventory valuation adjustments for excess, obsolete, and slow moving inventory are not reduced or removed until the product is sold or disposed of.

In developing inventory valuation adjustments for excess, slow moving, and obsolete inventory, we are required to use judgment and make estimates of future sales demand and production requirements compared with current inventory levels. Our estimate of forecasted sales demand and production requirements is primarily based on actual orders received, historical demand, technological and product life cycle changes, product pricing, economic trends, and competitive factors, such as market and pricing trends for similar products. Although we believe our inventory valuation reserve for excess, slow-moving, and obsolete inventory is adequate at $38.7 million as of October 31, 2022, forecasting sales demand and production requirements involves significant management judgment regarding future events. Future events that could significantly influence our judgments and related estimates include general economic conditions within the specific markets in which we operate, changes in demand for our products and customer preference, price fluctuations, and actions of our competitors, including the introduction of new products, technological advances, and pricing changes. Forecasted sales demand and production requirements can also be affected by the significant redesign of our existing products or the replacement of an existing product by an entirely new generation of product. It is possible that an unfavorable adjustment to our inventory valuation adjustment for excess, slow moving, and obsolete inventory may be required in the future if there is a change in any of the aforementioned factors that adversely impacts our estimates of future demand for our products and we do not adjust our purchases or production schedule accordingly.

When applicable, we account for the acquisition of a business in accordance with the accounting standards codification guidance for business combinations, whereby the total consideration transferred is allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, including amounts attributable to non-controlling interests, when applicable, based on their respective estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition. Goodwill represents the excess of consideration transferred over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired in a business combination.

Assigning estimated fair values to the net assets acquired requires the use of significant estimates, judgments, inputs, and assumptions regarding the fair value of intangible assets that are separately identifiable from goodwill, inventory, and property, plant, and equipment. While the ultimate responsibility for determining estimated fair values of the acquired net assets resides with management, for material

for entity-specific factors including legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic, and/or other factors such as customer attrition rates and product or order lifecycles that may limit the useful life of the respective acquired intangible asset. In determining the estimated fair value of acquired inventory, we typically utilize the cost approach for raw materials and the sales comparison approach for work in process, finished goods, and service parts. In determining the estimated fair value of acquired property, plant, and equipment, we typically utilize the sales comparison approach or the cost approach depending on the nature of the respective asset and the recency of the construction or procurement of such asset.

We may refine the estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, if necessary, over a period not to exceed one year from the date of acquisition by taking into consideration new information about facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date that, if known as of the date of acquisition, would have affected the estimated fair values ascribed to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value assigned to assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as the estimated useful life and depreciation or amortization method of each asset, can materially impact the net earnings of the periods subsequent to an acquisition through depreciation and amortization, and in certain instances through impairment charges, if the asset becomes impaired in the future. During the measurement period, any purchase price allocation changes that impact the carrying value of goodwill will affect any measurement of goodwill impairment taken during the measurement period, if applicable. If necessary, purchase price allocation revisions that occur outside of the measurement period are recorded within cost of sales or selling, general and administrative expense within the Consolidated Statements of Earnings depending on the nature of the adjustment.

Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices. We are exposed to market risk stemming from changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and commodity costs. We are also exposed to equity market risk pertaining to the trading price of our common stock. Changes in these factors could cause fluctuations in our earnings and cash flows. See further discussion on these market risks below.

Our interest rate risk relates primarily to fluctuations in variable interest rates on our revolving credit facility and term loan credit agreements, as well as the potential increase in the fair value of our fixed-rate long-term debt resulting from a potential decrease in interest rates. We generally do not use interest rate swaps to mitigate the impact of fluctuations in interest rates. We have no earnings or cash flow exposure due to interest rate risks on our fixed-rate long-term debt obligations.

Our indebtedness as of October 31, 2022 included $524.1 million of gross fixed rate debt that is not subject to variable interest rate fluctuations and $470.0 million of gross variable rate debt under our term loan credit agreements. As of October 31, 2022, we did not have an outstanding balance on our variable-rate revolving credit facility. As of October 31, 2022, the estimated fair value of gross long-term debt with fixed interest rates was $489.8 million compared to its carrying amount of $524.1 million. Interest rate risk for fixed-rate, long-term debt is estimated as the potential increase in the fair value of gross fixed rate debt, resulting from a hypothetical 10 percent decrease in interest rates, and amounts to $21.5 million. The estimated fair value of gross fixed rate debt is estimated by discounting the projected cash flows of our gross fixed rate debt using the current interest rate that could be obtained for similar amounts of debt and a similar financing term.

Most of the commodities, components, parts, and accessories used in our manufacturing process and end-products, or to be sold as standalone end-products, are exposed to commodity cost changes. These changes may be affected by several factors, including, demand; inflation; deflation; foreign currency fluctuations; tariffs; duties; trade regulatory actions; industry actions; the inability of suppliers to absorb incremental costs related to inefficiencies, continue