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HNI Corporation (HNI) Q2 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

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HNI Corporation (HNI)

Q2 2026 Earnings Call· Thu, Jul 30, 2026

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HNI Corporation Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the HNI Corporation Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results Conference Call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Matt McCall. Please go ahead.

Matthew McCall

Management

Good morning. My name is Matt McCall. I'm Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development for HNI Corporation. Thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter 2026 results. With me today are Jeff Lorenger, Chairman, President and CEO; and VP. Berger, Executive Vice President and CFO. Copies of our financial news release and non-GAAP reconciliations are posted on our website. Statements made during this call that are not strictly historical facts are forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks. Actual results could differ materially. The financial news release posted on our website includes additional factors that could affect actual results. The corporation assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. I'm now pleased to turn the call over to Jeff Lorenger. Jeff?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Second quarter demonstrates the focus of our members, indicates an improving demand environment and supports expectations of stronger 2026 earnings growth. Through focused cost management and the net benefits of price cost and productivity, we were able to deliver second quarter results that were in line with our expectations. And encouragingly, our internal leading indicators improved further in the quarter. The positive momentum of our strategies, both revenue and cost focused, the benefits of our diversified revenue streams, the merits of our customer-first business model and the integration of Steelcase are delivering significant shareholder value. And we continue to expect a strong year in 2026 with a fifth straight year of double-digit earnings improvement and revenue growth in the low single digits in both segments. On today's call, I'll break my comments into 3 sections. First, our quarterly results. Again, we delivered solid second quarter earnings with EPS in line with our expectations. Second, our back half outlook. Our revenue backdrop strengthened in the second quarter, providing increased confidence in the full year outlook. And third, our outlook beyond 2026. We have numerous sources of margin improvement and EPS visibility, and we project double-digit EPS growth again next year, and we have multiple years of elevated earnings growth visibility beyond 2027. Following my comments, VP will provide more details about the second quarter, our outlook, cash flow and balance sheet. I will close with some additional commentary before we open the call to your questions. I will start with some highlights from the second quarter. We continue to effectively manage the middle of the income statement, and we're able to deliver solid second quarter results. Non-GAAP EPS was $1.27, and was up 14% year-over-year. Versus the second quarter of 2025, the addition of Steelcase profit, price/cost, including the net impact of tariffs, legacy network optimization savings and productivity benefits combined to double operating profit on a year-over-year basis. Revenue was in line with our expectations in both segments with Workplace up slightly and Building Products down slightly. Encouragingly, and as we expected, second quarter orders strengthened. I will provide more color on the order patterns in a moment. In the legacy Workplace Furnishings businesses, second quarter net sales were up slightly year-over-year on an organic basis, consistent with commentary we provided last quarter. Growth was fueled by our businesses focused on small- and medium-sized customers. Moreover, a firming industry backdrop became more apparent during the quarter. In 2026, we expect stronger organic revenue growth in the back half and solid year-over-year margin expansion in legacy Workplace while we continue to invest to drive future growth. The integration of Steelcase is going well and synergy capture and accretion are progressing as expected. A new leadership team is largely in place, and we expect the President to be on board in the second half. We continue to expect modest accretion in 2026 and now expect total synergies will reach at least $120 million when fully mature. In Residential Building Products, revenue decreased 1.6% versus the prior year period. Again, this was consistent with our expectations communicated on the first quarter call. Revenue from the remodel retrofit business increased solidly, but was more than offset by continued market-driven weakness in the new construction channel. In both markets, our members continue to deliver strong relative performance. Second quarter segment operating margin expanded 470 basis points year-over-year, including net benefits of tariffs, reaching a strong 20.4%. Our unique operating model continues to deliver strong profit margins. Despite expectations of ongoing housing uncertainty, we remain encouraged about opportunities tied to the broader markets, and we continue to invest to grow our operating model and revenue streams. In summary, the strength of our strategies and our ability to manage daily uncertainty through varying macroeconomic conditions, all while remaining focused on investing for the future was evident in the second quarter results. That leads to my comments on our outlook for the second half of 2026. Again, our revenue backdrop strengthened in the second quarter, providing increased confidence for the remainder of the year. In addition to an improving organic revenue growth rate, the Steelcase acquisition and operational productivity gains are expected to continue driving strong results in the second half. From a segment perspective, beginning in our legacy Workplace businesses, we expect volume growth to return in the third quarter, driving mid- to high single-digit net sales growth in the second half. Our segment outlook is supported by external industry metrics and by internal pipeline data. Specifically, in addition to strengthening orders in the quarter, preorder metrics all remain highly active, including project funnel, bid quotes and design requests. For Steelcase, after a market soft patch to start the year, we saw pre-order activity and order momentum accelerate in late Q1 and continue in the second quarter. As we expect second half revenue -- and we expect second half revenue to increase solidly year-over-year. We project Steelcase will be modestly accretive in the second half and for the full year. In Residential Building Products, our structural changes to organize around the customer, along with our growth investments are expected to drive continued market outperformance. For 2026, we expect modest price-driven revenue growth in the second half despite expectations of ongoing housing market softness. From a profit perspective, we project both our legacy Workplace and our Building Products segments will solidly expand margins in 2026. Moving on to my third point, our outlook beyond 2026. We have multiple sources of margin improvement and EPS growth visibility, and we project double-digit EPS growth again next year, driven primarily by expected synergies from Steelcase and legacy network optimization projects. Beyond 2027, we have numerous years of elevated earnings visibility driven by multiple factors. During the quarter, we continue to smartly manage costs across all our businesses as we continue to navigate ongoing geopolitical and macro dynamics. Benefits associated with these cost management actions are in addition to the previously announced $30 million of legacy workplace network optimization savings and the synergies associated with the integration of Steelcase, which, as I stated earlier, are on track and now expected to be at least $120 million. The combination of our disciplined cost management, Steelcase synergies and ongoing legacy network optimization projects continue to support our earnings visibility story. Of note, additional items may provide incremental benefits. For context, our current synergy projections are focused on the Steelcase Americas business only, and we are assuming no benefits from revenue synergies. In addition, our outlook for double-digit EPS growth next year does not rely on improved volume from current levels. Now I will turn the call over to VP. VP?

Vincent Berger

Management

Thanks, Jeff. I'll start with some additional comments about the second quarter. GAAP diluted EPS for the second quarter was $0.70. On a non-GAAP basis, diluted EPS totaled $1.27, which was ahead of our internal expectations. The net tariff impact on operating margin in the quarter was about 150 basis points, and we expect approximately 40 basis points of benefit for the full year. From an EPS perspective, the net tariff benefit in the second quarter was approximately $0.25. Organic volume in the quarter was negatively impacted by geopolitical pressures to begin the year, especially in the Workplace Furnishings segment. However, the addition of Steelcase profit, price/cost benefits, including the net impact of tariffs, expense control and productivity savings offset the volume softness and continued investments in initiatives aiming to drive future growth. Total net sales in the quarter increased 121% overall. From an organic standpoint, net sales were up slightly on a year-over-year basis. Moving to Q2 orders and backlog. In the Workplace Furnishings segment, organic orders in the second quarter increased 5% compared to the prior year period. Legacy order growth rates from small- to medium-sized customers and from contract customers were comparable in the quarter. Legacy Workplace backlog also ended the quarter 5% higher than the year ago period. Steelcase order growth was slightly better than legacy Workplace Furnishing trends. Over the most recent 5-week period, the year-over-year segment order growth rate accelerated above the 5% average in the second quarter. Orders in the Residential Building Products segment were mostly unchanged compared to the second quarter of 2025. Solid remodel retrofit order growth essentially offset modest declines from the new construction channel. However, both segments continue to outperform the respective markets. Over the most recent 5-week period, segment orders grew at a low single-digit pace on a year-over-year basis. For the third quarter of 2026, we expect net sales in legacy Workplace to increase to a high single-digit rate year-over-year. Including Steelcase, total Workplace Furnishings net sales are expected to increase approximately 175% to 180% versus the prior year period. In Residential Building Products, third quarter 2026 net sales are expected to be roughly unchanged versus same period in 2025. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2026 are expected to increase at a rate in the mid- to high 20% range from the third quarter 2025 levels. Steelcase accretion, productivity savings, volume growth and price costs are expected to fuel the EPS increase. Our new outlook for 2026 full year earnings reflects expectations of 20% to 25% non-GAAP EPS growth from 2025 full year of $3.46, with accelerating double-digit earnings growth in the second half of the year. As we look at the second half, we now expect non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the third quarter to be approximately 15% above the fourth quarter. This is primarily tied to the expected timing of revenue and investments. As Jeff mentioned, we expect double-digit diluted non-GAAP EPS growth again next year, and we have multiple years of elevated earnings growth visibility beyond 2027. The combination of Steelcase synergies, cost management actions and legacy workplace network optimization initiatives are expected to yield a total cumulative savings exceeding $70 million in 2027 and more than $150 million when fully mature. Next, a few additional items to assist you in your 2026 modeling. Combined depreciation and amortization are expected to be approximately $170 million to $180 million, excluding purchase accounting impact of approximately $100 million. Net interest expense is expected to total about $80 million, and our tax rate should be approximately 25% to 26%. And finally, from a cash flow and balance sheet perspective, our balance sheet is strong, and we remain committed to maintaining significant financial flexibility to fund ongoing business investments to drive growth and payment of our long-standing dividend. Free cash flow was used to reduce net debt levels by approximately $100 million during the quarter as we continue to decrease leverage following the Steelcase acquisition. Quarter ending debt leverage was at 2.4x, down from 2.5x last quarter. We continue to expect leverage to move back to pre-Steelcase acquisition levels within 18 to 24 months of the closing of the deal in December of 2025. Leverage is expected to trend lower as the year progresses. I will now turn the call back over to Jeff for some long-term thoughts and closing comments. Jeff?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Thanks, VP. Our members continue to manage our businesses well, and we delivered another solid quarter. Order patterns showed noticeable improvement during the quarter as expected, especially in Workplace. As a result, as we look forward to the remainder of 2026, we expect year-over-year volume growth in Workplace Furnishings, while Building Products volume pressure is expected to moderate. More specifically, our updated outlook calls for accelerating revenue and operating profit growth in the Workplace Furnishings segment. This view is supported by both external macro and industry demand metrics, internal preorder, order and backlog data and multiple cost and expense initiatives. In Residential Building Products, we anticipate revenue to be flat year-over-year in the second half, and we expect both of our segments to solidly expand margins in 2026. While we remain focused, conservative and ready to adjust as required, our new outlook demonstrates our growing confidence in revenue growth, our ongoing visibility story and our proven ability to manage through dynamic economic conditions. From a demand indicator perspective, the workplace furnishing spec pattern we have discussed the last few quarters is unchanged, and we remain bullish about the segment's demand environment. Return to office continues to be a positive driver. Office leasing activity grew for the fourth straight quarter in Q2 with trailing 4-quarter leasing activity now up 27% year-over-year. Net absorption of office space, which has historically been a good leading indicator of future industry demand was positive for the fourth straight quarter with more than 11 million square feet absorbed in Q2. This brings the trailing 4-quarter total to nearly 31 million square feet absorbed, the highest level since 2019. And finally, sublease activity has returned to pre-COVID levels, another indication of the improving health of the office market. While supply of new office space will remain a headwind, we see multiple cyclical drivers of growth outside of new construction. As I mentioned earlier, these encouraging industry drivers are consistent with recent order patterns and internal preorder metrics in both workplace -- legacy Workplace and Steelcase. Our funnel continues to expand with second quarter bid quotes up solidly year-over-year, and the number of large dollar projects continues to increase. Customer visits, RFPs and design requests were all strong during the second quarter. We are competing well and win rates are improving as market momentum continues to accelerate. Moving on to housing. Headlines continue to point to ongoing softness, especially in the new build space. Interest rates remain relatively elevated, prices remain high and affordability concerns persist. As a result, we expect continued new construction weakness in 2026. However, new single-family permits surprised to the upside in June and were up 4% year-over-year with each region either flat or up. Our go-to-market initiatives and growth investments will allow us to continue to outperform the market. In remodel retrofit, we are assuming modest market growth in 2026. We also expect to continue to outperform the market in our R&R business. And importantly, we expect ongoing margin and cash flow consistency from the Residential Building Products segment. In conclusion, post the acquisition of Steelcase, we are a transformed and fundamentally stronger organization. The benefits of the Steelcase acquisition, the strength of our strategies and our financial discipline are expected to continue to drive strong free cash flow and allow us to maintain a strong balance sheet. This will enable us to continue to deliver exceptional value to our shareholders, customers, dealers, members and communities. I want to thank all HNI members for their continued focus and commitment. Thank you again for joining us. We will now open the call to your questions.

Operator

Operator

And our first question comes from Reuben Garner of Benchmark.

Reuben Garner

Analyst · Benchmark

So the subtle tweak to the language on the Steelcase synergies, I think there was something similar several quarters after the Kimball acquisition. Can you just talk about why the tweak and what you're seeing there so far in the integration process? And then, I guess, any potential upside to that figure as we move forward?

Vincent Berger

Management

Sure, Reuben. I think there's 2 parts to it. We went in with a target of $120 million that we've said we've been confident in. That was pure analytics. That was before we even got in and start working with the teams, and that was based on KI's history as well as taking the Steelcase EBITDA business to the legacy targets. They were just over 8%, and we were driving over 13.5%. So our confidence was high. And what's happened in the last 7 months is we've put the integrated management office teams together. Their bottom-up project lists have started in SG&A, logistics, procurement, network optimization. And we now have a view of a list of projects that are larger than $120 million, which is very consistent to Kimball. So now what we'll do, which is why you heard Jeff say at least. Now what we'll do over the next 60 days is put project time lines on those and finalize our confidence levels. And with that, we'll come back to a new adjusted target. So I think we're kind of -- you called it well. It's similar to what we did with Kimball. And I'd say we're on track, and we're encouraged that the number is going to be higher than $120 million.

Reuben Garner

Analyst · Benchmark

And then a little help on the gross margin line. I think you guys -- your accounting maybe a little bit different than the way Steelcase accounted gross versus SG&A or cost of goods versus SG&A expenses. Can you just talk about on a like-to-like basis, what gross margins have been doing and what you expect for the balance of the year kind of embedded in your guide?

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes. The way you would have looked at the Steelcase margin would not mirror against the legacy workplace because of what's in there in freight and distribution. So to answer your question on what to expect on the workplace side, we still have high confidence of 150 basis point increase this year from 10.5% to 12% before the tariff refund that happened. So those projects, and Jeff talked about improving margins in both the businesses, those projects are in place, and we still have high confidence there. On the residential side on margins, we feel the same. There's a 90-basis point plan for incremental improvement this year, and that's before the tariff refund. And then if you look at actual Steelcase, you follow P&L throughout the year, you'll see that it's now aligning with the way we did with legacy, and you'll start to see the benefits of the synergies. We will have synergies hit in the third and fourth quarter that will start to improve those margins. And ultimately, analytically, the $120 million, that will incrementally improve margins for Steelcase and overall Workplace, each quarter for the next several years.

Reuben Garner

Analyst · Benchmark

And I'm going to sneak one more in. The mid-single-digit order growth, the 5-week comment about it accelerating. Just to clarify, I don't know if that was the last 5 weeks of the quarter or if that was essentially the month of July. But either way, what mid-single-digit kind of growth rate last quarter in orders, your outlook is for high single-digit revenue growth for the balance of the year in that segment. What gives you the confidence that, that acceleration is to come?

Vincent Berger

Management

There's 3 parts to that, Reuben. Yes, that -- it's a good catch. So there's 3 parts. First, backlog at 5% going into a quarter and order growth rates at 5% going into -- coming out of the quarter support it. The second thing is the order acceleration that happened after the quarter. You heard Jeff mention that orders accelerated. That was at a much higher percentage than 5%, specifically on the contract side of our business. That was a lot stronger. So that supports the high single digits. And then the third thing is a weighted funnel. So the mention of preorder metrics, we can see what's out in front of us that's actually going to come in, in the quarter. So we have a good feel because our customers order based on our lead times. So those 3 things give us confidence in the high single digits for the third quarter.

Operator

Operator

And our next question comes from Greg Burns of Sidoti. We'll go to our next question. Our next question comes from Steven Ramsey of Thompson Research Group.

Steven Ramsey

Analyst · Sidoti. We'll go to our next question. Our next question comes from Steven Ramsey of Thompson Research Group

I wanted to continue the thoughts on workplace strength. And you talked about win rates improving. Maybe you can put into context the drivers of better win rates, dissect where it's coming from, if it's legacy and/or Steelcase and if the marketplace around you is being rational as we see the backdrop improve.

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Yes, good question. I think, Steven, it's kind of across the board, both legacy and Steelcase, teams are competing well. There's been -- it's a lot of project business, small, medium and large kind of across the board by business. And so there's not like a standout. It's kind of universal. I think it kind of goes to these macro drivers, I believe, that are happening with the leasing activity and the absorption and the dealer surveys are trending positive. And so that's the bottom line. And I don't really -- the marketplace seems to be rational at this point. I know we've all been through our periods as we've been in this space long enough. But right now, it seems everyone is -- there's nothing that pops as being unusual relative to how the market is behaving or how our customers and our sales teams are addressing those behaviors.

Steven Ramsey

Analyst · Sidoti. We'll go to our next question. Our next question comes from Steven Ramsey of Thompson Research Group

And then on the resi side of things, I want to make sure I understand this. The pricing-driven revenue growth in the second half, is there an implication that volumes are negative in the second half? And maybe you can talk to mix in that picture.

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes, Steven, the volume in the second half in the residential is low single digits negative. So there's a little bit of pressure. The price is going to offset that to make it relatively flattish for the second half or low single digits. So the point is even in a challenging housing market, we're going to hold revenue flat.

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Yes, Steven, I think I would add that I kind of made the comment, we believe we're outperforming the markets we're in, given kind of the macro and the cyclical and the headwinds that we are seeing. But I think we're pretty happy with that performance relative to our specific investments. We've done a lot with focusing on builders specifically, the service model that we continue to build out and work on our RDC and our service model and our lean process with the vertical integration. So all that is being ramped with some more new product development because like I said, we're bullish on this space long term. And so we're taking this time to make investments when the market does turn in the meantime, kind of outperform while the markets are flattish or slightly down.

Operator

Operator

And our next question comes from Greg Burns of Sidoti.

Gregory Burns

Analyst · Sidoti

Can you hear me now?

Operator

Operator

We can hear you now.

Gregory Burns

Analyst · Sidoti

All right. Great. So a lot of the focus on the Steelcase acquisition has been on the cost side of the equation. I just maybe wanted to get your thoughts on the longer term maybe revenue synergy opportunities. Any early indications of how the brands are working together across your dealer network? And maybe any plans on putting specific programs in place to maybe accelerate any of that activity that you might be seeing in the network?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Yes, it's a great question, Greg. I mean I think that as you well know, none of that was programmed into our thinking going in. And so we're kind of watching that. I would tell you, some of that is occurring naturally in the ecosystem. And so that is -- there was a lot of excitement at Design Days this year, a lot of customers and dealers visiting all the spaces going to the Hans space, going to the Kimball space, what have you. So I think that's been really positive. I think the teams are excited about the opportunities. We have focused a lot. The sales force, we're going to continue to invest in selling. That's a critical element as we build this potential revenue synergy out. I will say we're not going to -- we haven't forced it at this point because this first year in these kind of transactions, we're very pleased with where we're at. And there's a lot of moving parts. So we kind of want to get through the transition year. But you are right, there will be -- there are opportunities that we have kind of studied relative to how we're seeing the natural ecosystem respond and where we could program in some benefits in order to help that to happen. And the other thing I've said in the past, too, is the whole price mixing and blending of the floor plate in a lot of these opportunities. That's the way the market is kind of developing over time. And we have -- this all goes to how we can configure the network in order to take advantage of not only our assets, but to meet the market where the market is headed anyway.

Operator

Operator

And our next question comes from David MacGregor of Longbow Research.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

Congratulations on the progress. Yes. I guess on your third quarter outlook, can you just talk in greater detail about what you're seeing in the presale indicators? Obviously, it's giving you a lot of confidence in the outlook.

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes. David, I think us sharing more about preorder activity and presale indicators, we're seeing all of them increase. We're seeing RFPs increase. A little bit about the question earlier about win rate. Some of the investments that we made over the last few years when volume wasn't helped in the front and more salespeople on the street allowed us to sophisticate some of these systems to see it. So you think of -- not just win rates, the amount of bids and size of bids, all of those are what's given us confidence to lean into the third quarter. And I think the last is the point on the weighted funnel. We can actually see in working with our clients that this preorder metric of won but not ordered is going to get ordered. So I think as this evolves, we'll just get more confidence to how that weighted funnel plays inside the quarter. That's obviously our internal. Certainly, Jeff mentioned a lot of the macro items, specifically absorption and leasing activity. All of those are green, and it's not accelerating as well. So market health plus our sales management systems give us confidence there.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

And then the third quarter adjusted EPS guidance of up mid- to high 20s, how much of that is the improving demand fundamentals versus how much is acceleration in cost synergies, execution versus maybe how much is just push forward from the January, February pause in purchase orders?

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes. I mean a lot of it, when we just -- if I talk dollars just at the highest level, David, the Steelcase profit is going to drive a lot of it. Our productivity is increasing. And then everything we just talked about on volume, we're back to volume growth. We haven't talked about that in a few quarters. And that's obviously a significant driver. And actually, the one that we're probably most excited about because that's the better indication of what the market is doing and it's getting momentum.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

And then you noted the double-digit EPS growth you expect in 2027. How much of that is kind of the strong pattern of growth you're seeing in new orders versus Steelcase cost synergies?

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes, minimal. We've been conservative on that approach. Our visibility story for '27 of the $70 million is Steelcase network and the network optimization. And those numbers have been consistent. Those projects are in place, and we're building them. So growth on top of that is not in the economics, and certainly, that would be upside.

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

So I just want to be clear, VP, you've got synergies in there, obviously, you just mentioned that. You probably have some pricing in there as well, price cost, but you just don't have any volume. I just want to make sure I'm clear on that.

Vincent Berger

Management

Price cost is assumed neutral and there is no -- there's minimal volume in there, David. That would be upside.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

So there's quite a bit of upside here if the strength you're seeing in the market right now should continue.

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

And then can you just talk about how the mix of business you're seeing is changing with the Steelcase acquisition? And given they typically play in a space where I guess the project sizes are typically larger than what the legacy HNI was used to seeing. And also, what are you learning from that in terms of how you reinvest back in the business going forward?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Yes, it's a good question. We are -- this first year is a year of, I would say, transition. There's a lot of moving parts. But their exposure, obviously, is to larger opportunities than we typically have been operating kind of the standard deviation. It makes it a little lumpier, I would say. So we're kind of getting our arms around predictability. That's kind of why we're talking a lot about the funnel and the activities because that's kind of a precursor. But some of the pace of some of these from one to order and kind of in the funnel is -- we're working with the Steelcase team to make sure we have a -- we can predict that more accurately. But that's the beauty of this, though, it's exposure to pieces of the market we didn't have before and Steelcase does a great job. Their sales team does a great job, and they're really connected in with their customer base. So -- and this has gone well. I would say the team has responded well. We will probably look to reinvest more in the NPD. As you recall, last quarter, we talked about one of the surprises we had was this -- they had a BT project, and we kind of came in and made a fairly good deep assessment that we needed to stop that. We thought there was another way to do that was kind of holding back some other areas of business. And now the team has responded well. We're diverting those resources and some of this into actions in product development, supporting the sales force, all to kind of what I call win at the point of attack in the market. And so I think we get through that, and we've got that kind of retriggered going into the back half now, that's -- we really like where we're positioned as we look out into '27 with those moves.

Vincent Berger

Management

Yes. I mean you talked about the investment. One of the things that we picked up in our dealer checks this quarter was just a lot of dealers investing in their showrooms right now. I guess we should interpret that as an indication of confidence.

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Yes, I think so. I think the dealers are bullish, and we're spending a lot of time there. And they're investing, we're investing. That's the beauty. And I think that's what it's going to take to win the race long term. And that, again, goes to this -- goes to the transaction in general. And look, it's only 7 months in, but seeing -- couldn't be more pleased with how everyone's responded relative to that kind of the Steelcase ecosystem, super excited. People have been great, and we're hitting at the right time with some of the macro drivers.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

And I guess just you were referencing earlier a little bit about NeoCon this year. Just what did you take away from the NeoCon experience in terms of the commercial synergy potential?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

I took away that there's a lot of opportunity. There is a lot of -- to get to know you, it's an exploration -- that's why some of this is -- will happen naturally. There's early adopters. There's other people that are comfortable with where they're at. So you kind of got -- you got to kind of look at the whole network. But the bottom-line takeaway is there's a lot of opportunity as our businesses cover the entire floor plate, like we've said, and the mixing and matching that's potentially available to some of our dealer partners is starting to be recognized. It's early days, but it's starting to be recognized. And all it takes is 1 or 2 experiences to win a job. But you also got to understand you don't snap your fingers. I mean we have sales forces. We have people getting to know each other. Some of this is just natural matriculation of the system. And at the right time, we can then -- I got the question earlier, you can then kind of program in some of that, but you want to make sure you do that when people are ready and understand the program.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

And do you think you're making progress with the international Steelcase business and how you can better sort of leverage that asset?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

That -- international, it's early days there. I was -- I've gotten more visibility. I did a trip over there, and there's opportunities to uncover there, the fresh eyes. But look, I mean, the international piece is there's 2 segments for us. We've got the EMEA and the APAC -- and so those even operate a little differently. But yes, there clearly is opportunities there to configure that network to maybe even be more potent than it is, but they have nice coverage. EMEA, obviously, is -- they've got some headwinds with the local economics and the war that too shall pass. And we've got good teams over there and people that are eager to contribute. So that's all you can ask for in the early days.

David S. MacGregor

Analyst · Longbow Research

Last question for me. I just -- you mentioned the Steelcase hiring of a President in the second half. I guess I'm just curious, how does that second half hire impact the synergies cadence? Do we see an acceleration shortly thereafter? Or how are you thinking about that?

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

No, I don't think so, David. I think we've got, as VP mentioned and we mentioned, we got the IMO structure. We pretty much tipped that up and it's operating without a President. I mean, I think the President will spend more time in the market with dealers, with the sales force, winning business and getting to know the ecosystem well because we kind of have the IMO kind of locked down. It doesn't mean it won't -- they'll be involved, but we want to kind of focus on the front and focus on selling to start with.

Operator

Operator

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn it back to Mr. Lorenger for closing remarks.

Jeffrey Lorenger

Management

Well, great. Thanks for taking the time today. I know it's always a busy time of the year. So I really appreciate everybody joining us for the summer call, so to speak. Thanks so much.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.