MillerKnoll, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLKN) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Budd Bugatch: Okay. And that’s split €“ it’s primarily mostly in Americas, is that right? I think that’s where it’s shipping mostly. Okay. I see it. And last for me is the incentive comp. Can you quantify what that was in the quarter, how much that helped in the quarter?

Jeff Stutz: We are not €“ I am not going to quantify it, Budd, it was a primary driver in the operating expense reduction year-on-year.

Budd Bugatch: And the reason that doesn’t repeat is you have already made that reduction for €“ you had a similar reduction last year. I mean you all always have that variable issue when revenues don’t quite make expectations.

John Michael: Yes. That is correct.

Jeff Stutz: Yes. But it just depends on kind of business conditions at a given point in time and the kind of the outlook for the balance of the year.

Budd Bugatch: So, it’s already €“ we shouldn’t expect that to occur?

Jeff Stutz: Correct. You should not.

Andi Owen: You should not expect.

Budd Bugatch: I hope I said that right, or hope I am still a little confused, but we will get that squared away at later time. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good luck to you on the fourth quarter and going into next year. Hopefully, we find some bit of a normalcy as society.

John Michael: Great. Thank you, Budd.

Operator: We will take our next question from Steven Ramsey with Thompson.

Steven Ramsey: Hi. Good evening.

Andi Owen: Hi Steven.

Steven Ramsey: Hi. Maybe to start with just bringing the Americas orders and demand into the context of companies. More companies laying-off workers, but the tug of war against companies wanting workers in the office in recognizing the value, realize that the near-term maybe is a headwind. But how is that shaping conversations for the longer term, maybe as you look into the second half of calendar 2023 and beyond.

Andi Owen: It’s a great question. Stephen, John alluded earlier to the amount of activity that we are seeing, and I think it’s directly related to returning to work, to leaders of companies wanting to find ways to get people back in the office. And also, frankly, people coming back and see the office and enjoying being together and collaborating again. So, we are seeing an uptick in activity looking to find creative ways to change spaces, to adapt to the new workforce, to adapt to hybrid. So, more activity than we have in the past. And I think that’s shaping how we can help people make these decisions and how they can think about their workspaces. But John, what specifics would you add for the Americas?

John Michael: Thanks Andi. I would add that literally every C-level conversation we are having probably for the last 90 days, those executives are looking for help to get their employees back in the office. I think they understand the importance of return to office for all the reasons we have all talked about in the past, culture connections collaboration, etcetera. And I think they are becoming bolder in terms of their desire to have people back because they are understanding the business impact of not having their employees back in the workplace. So, I think to your point, ultimately that will change from a headwind to at least neutral, if not a bit of a tailwind as companies come to grips with that.