TORO CO - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ý    Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2016

        o    Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the Transition Period from        to        

THE TORO COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

8111 Lyndale Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55420-1196
Telephone number: (952) 888-8801

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No ý

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ý No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No ý

The aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of the common stock on April 29, 2016, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange, was approximately $4.0 billion.

The number of shares of common stock outstanding as of December 16, 2016 was 108,108,667.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: Portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders expected to be held March 21, 2017 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

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THE TORO COMPANY
FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I

ITEM 1.   BUSINESS

Introduction

The Toro Company was incorporated in Minnesota in 1935 as a successor to a business founded in 1914 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1983. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms "company," "Toro," "we," "us," and "our" refer to The Toro Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. Our executive offices are located at 8111 Lyndale Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota, 55420-1196, and our telephone number is (952) 888-8801. Our web site for corporate and investor information is www.thetorocompany.com, which also contains links to our branded product sites. The information contained on our web sites or connected to our web sites is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.

We design, manufacture, and market professional turf maintenance equipment and services, turf irrigation systems, landscaping equipment and lighting products, snow and ice management products, agricultural micro-irrigation systems, rental and specialty construction equipment, and residential yard and snow thrower products. We produced our first mower for golf course use in 1921 when we mounted five reel mowers on a Toro tractor, and we introduced our first lawn mower for residential use in 1935. We have continued to enhance our product lines over the more than 100 years we have been in business. We classify our operations into three reportable business segments: Professional, Residential, and Distribution. Our Distribution segment, which consists of our company-owned domestic distributorship, has been combined with our corporate activities and is shown as "Other." Net sales of our three reportable segments accounted for the following percentages of our consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016: Professional, 71 percent; Residential, 28 percent; and Other, 1 percent.

Our products are advertised and sold at the retail level under the primary trademarks of Toro®, Exmark®, BOSS®, Irritrol®, Hayter®, Pope®, Unique Lighting Systems®, and Lawn-Boy® most of which are registered in the United States and/or in the primary countries outside the United States where we market such products. This report also contains trademarks, trade names, and service marks that are owned by other persons or entities, such as The Home Depot, Inc. ("The Home Depot").

We emphasize quality and innovation in our products, customer service, manufacturing, and marketing. We strive to provide well-built, dependable products supported by an extensive service network. We have committed funding for research, development, and engineering in order to improve and enhance existing products and develop new products. Through these efforts, we seek to be responsive to trends that may affect our target markets now and in the future. A significant portion of our revenues has historically been, and we expect will continue to be, attributable to new and enhanced products. We define new products as those introduced in the current and previous two fiscal years. We plan to continue to pursue targeted acquisitions using a disciplined approach that adds value while supplementing our existing brands and product portfolio.

Our purpose is to help our customers enrich the beauty, productivity, and sustainability of the land. Our vision is to be the most trusted leader in solutions for the outdoor environment. Every day. Everywhere. Our mission, or how we strive to make our vision a reality and what we intend to accomplish, is to deliver superior innovation and to deliver superior customer care.

Products by Market

We strive to be a leader in adapting advanced technologies to products and services that provide solutions for turf care maintenance, landscapes, agricultural fields, rental and specialty construction, snow and ice management, and residential demands. The following is a summary of our products, by market, for our Professional segment and our products for the Residential segment:

Professional Segment — We design professional turf, landscape and lighting, rental and specialty construction, snow and ice management, and agricultural products and market them worldwide through a network of distributors and dealers, as well as directly to government customers, rental companies, and large retailers. These channel partners then sell our products primarily to professional users engaged in creating, renovating, and illuminating landscapes; irrigating turf and agricultural fields; installing, repairing, and replacing underground utilities; managing snow and ice needs; maintaining turf, such as golf courses, sports fields, municipal properties, as well as residential and commercial landscapes.

Golf Market. Products for the golf course market include large reel and rotary riding products for fairway, rough, and trim cutting; riding and walking mowers for putting greens and specialty areas; greens rollers; turf sprayer equipment; utility vehicles; aeration equipment; and bunker maintenance equipment. In fiscal 2016, we introduced the Reelmaster® 3555-D and Reelmaster® 3575-D, fairway mowers with a lighter design that are engineered to be more productive and fuel efficient with reduced turf compaction. These mowers, as well as most other Reelmaster® and Greensmaster® models, include our new EdgeSeries^TM Reels introduced in fiscal 2016 that feature new reel material and geometry that are designed to facilitate a more accurate cut and improved after-cut appearance while reducing required maintenance.

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We manufacture and market underground irrigation systems for the golf course market, including sprinkler heads, controllers, turf sensors, and electric, battery-operated, and hydraulic valves. These irrigation systems are designed to use computerized management systems and a variety of other technologies to help customers manage their consumption of water. Several of our golf course sprinklers are equipped with a unique TruJectory™ feature that provides an adjustable angle of nozzle trajectory, as well as enhanced water distribution control. Our Network VP® Satellite combines modular flexibility, ease of use, and increased control in a single controller with programming to the individual station level that supports station-based flow management. Our Turf Guard® wireless soil monitoring systems are designed to measure and communicate soil moisture, salinity, and temperature through sensors to a user's software. Our R Series™ conversion assemblies enable the upgrade of select competitive sprinklers to our technologies, such as the above-mentioned TruJectory™ or ratcheting riser. Our INFINITY® Series golf course sprinklers with the Smart Access® feature are designed to provide easy access to critical components of the sprinkler without needing to dig. Our popular Lynx® central control system allows superintendents to control the irrigation of their course from a web-enabled device, or via our National Support Network, which provides remote troubleshooting.

Additionally, we manufacture and market Twilight™ golf lighting products that include a collection of LED-powered cup lights and removable lighting fixtures designed to illuminate putting greens during club events or special functions.

Landscape Contractor Equipment Market. We market products to landscape contractors under the Toro and Exmark brands. 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 turf renovation and tree care equipment. We offer some products with electronic fuel injection engine options, which are designed to provide improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions. In fiscal 2016, we introduced the TITAN® HD zero-turn radius riding mower which features the ability to attach tools and other accessories to the mower with tool-mounting brackets. We introduced the Exmark Radius™ zero-turn radius riding mower featuring a heavy-duty fabricated frame and improved control and handling in order to provide commercial durability, reliability, and comfort. We enhanced our line of Toro Z Master® mowers with a suspension system that provides a suspended operator platform and isolates the operator from the rest of the machine. Along with adjustable shocks, this design is intended to reduce impacts, bumps, and vibrations for a more comfortable ride. We introduced the next generation GrandStand® MULTI FORCE® stand-on mower in fiscal 2016, which features simplified hydraulic systems intended for easier maintenance, higher groundspeed for transport, and easier to use operator controls. The GrandStand® MULTI FORCE® is designed to provide year-long productivity by adding versatile attachments.

Sports Fields and Grounds Equipment Market. Products for the sports fields and grounds market include riding rotary and reel mowers and attachments, aerators, and debris management products, which include versatile debris vacuums, blowers, and sweepers. Other products include infield grooming equipment and multipurpose vehicles, such as the new Toro Workman® GTX introduced in fiscal 2016, that can be used for turf maintenance, towing, and industrial hauling. These products are sold through distributors, 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.

Snow and Ice Management Market. Products for the snow and ice management market are marketed mainly in North America under the BOSS brand and include snowplows, salt and sand spreaders, and related parts and accessories for light and medium duty trucks, all-terrain vehicles ("ATVs"), utility task vehicles ("UTVs"), skid steers, and front-end loaders. These products are mainly sold through distributors and dealers, who then sell to end-users that in many cases are the same customers as those in our landscape contractor and grounds equipment markets, such as contractors, municipalities, and other governmental entities. In fiscal 2016, we introduced the EXT Plow, with pitched-forward wings that extend the plow width from eight feet to ten feet to enhance productivity. In addition, in fiscal 2016, we began offering the HTX V-Plow designed for light-duty and half-ton trucks that combines strength with less weight. Both are equipped with our new SmartLight^TM 3 LED headlight system, which features our Ice Shield Technology^TM designed to prevent snow and ice build-up.

Rental and Specialty Construction Market. Our compact utility loaders are the cornerstone products for our Toro Sitework Systems business, which are designed to improve the efficiency in creation and renovation of landscapes. Our Dingo® TX 1000 compact utility loader provides market leading operating capacity in a lightweight, maneuverable design. We offer over 35 attachments for our compact utility loaders, including trenchers, augers, vibratory plows, and backhoes.

Products for the rental and specialty construction market include compact utility loaders, walk-behind trenchers, stump grinders, and turf renovation products, many of which are also sold to landscape contractors. We also have a line of rental products that feature concrete and mortar mixers, material handlers, compaction equipment, and other concrete equipment.

Underground Construction Market. We manufacture a line of directional drills and riding trenchers used to install water, gas, electric, and telecommunication distribution systems. Our underground products are used by specialty contractors worldwide.

Residential/Commercial Irrigation and Lighting Market. Turf irrigation products marketed under the Toro and Irritrol brands

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include rotors; sprinkler bodies and nozzles; plastic, brass, and hydraulic valves; drip tubing and subsurface irrigation; electric control devices; and wired and wireless rain, freeze, climate, and soil sensors. These products are designed for use in residential and commercial turf irrigation applications and can be installed into new systems or used to replace or retrofit existing systems. Most of the product lines are designed for professionally installed, underground automatic irrigation. Electric controllers activate valves and sprinklers in a typical irrigation system. Both the Toro and Irritrol brands have achieved Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") WaterSense certification for numerous irrigation controller families and models. Our Irritrol Climate Logic® smart device automatically adjusts irrigation system watering times based on real-time weather data from an on-site sensor combined with historical averages, while our award-winning Toro Precision™ Soil Sensor wirelessly transmits soil moisture content to an irrigation controller and signals whether or not watering is needed. Our Precision™ Spray Nozzles & Precision™ Soil Sensor are intended to deliver an optimum precipitation rate and superior distribution uniformity, resulting in the use of less water without affecting the health of landscapes. The EVOLUTION® controller is an intuitive, menu-based controller family that offers computer programming, lighting control, multiple soil sensors, smart add-ons, and downloadable updates through a USB device. The T5 Rotor with RapidSet® technology allows convenient arc adjustment with no tools, and the new stainless steel model introduced in fiscal 2016 is designed for areas subject to heavy foot traffic and sandy soil conditions.

Our retail irrigation products are designed for homeowner installation and include sprinkler heads, valves, timers, sensors, and drip irrigation systems. The XTRA SMART® ECXTRA™ sprinkler timer and its intuitive, online Scheduling Advisor™ are designed to recommend the proper watering schedule based on the local weather, plant type, and sprinkler type.

We manufacture and market lighting products under the Unique Lighting Systems® brand name consisting of a line of high quality, professionally installed lighting fixtures and transformers for residential and commercial landscapes. Our lighting product line is offered through distributors and landscape contractors that also purchase our irrigation products. The Light Logic™ remote control system provides operators with wireless scene control for landscape lighting and can upgrade existing systems with expanded control.

In fiscal 2016, we introduced two cloud-based landscape control solutions. SMRT Logic^TM under the Toro and Irritrol brands and Light Logic^TM Plus under the Unique Lighting Systems brand are our first landscape solutions using our SMRTscape^TM mobile app or website to control irrigation and lighting anywhere with an internet connection.

Micro-Irrigation Market. Products for the micro-irrigation market include products that are designed to apply water precisely, including Aqua-Traxx® PBX drip tape, Neptune® flat emitter dripline, Blue Stripe® polyethylene tubing, BlueLine® drip line, and NGE® emitters, all used in agriculture, mining, and landscape applications. Global food demand and increased water use restrictions have continued to drive the need for more efficient irrigation solutions for agriculture, including our Aqua-Traxx® FC (flow control) drip tape that is designed to allow growers to achieve water uniformity while retaining flexibility to adjust system flow rates when needed. In addition to these core products, we offer a full complement of control devices and connection options to complete the system, including a software package used to help design drip irrigation systems. These products are sold mainly through dealers and distributors who then sell to end-users for use primarily in vegetable fields, fruit and nut orchards, vineyards, landscapes, and mines.

Residential Segment — We market our Residential segment products to homeowners through a variety of distribution channels, including outdoor power equipment distributors and dealers, hardware retailers, home centers, mass retailers, and over the Internet. We also license our trademark on certain home solutions products as a means of expanding our brand presence.

Walk Power Mower Products. We manufacture and market numerous walk power mower models under our Toro and Lawn-Boy brand names, as well as the Hayter brand in the United Kingdom. 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 push mowers. We offer a line of rear-roller walk power mowers, a design that provides a striped finish, for the United Kingdom market. In fiscal 2016, we extended our SmartStow® technology that allows the mower to be stored vertically, thereby reducing space needed for storage, to walk power motors with our Personal Pace® self-propel system. We introduced the new Lawn-Boy all-wheel drive lawnmower that delivers power to all four wheels, which is designed to make it easier to climb hills and power through rough terrain.

Riding Products. We manufacture and market riding products under the Toro brand name. Riding products primarily consist of zero-turn radius mowers that are designed to save homeowners time by using superior maneuverability to cut around obstacles more quickly and easily than tractor technology. Our TimeCutter® SS and TimeCutter® MX zero-turn radius riding mowers are equipped with our Smart Speed® control system, which is designed to allow the operator to choose different ground speed ranges with the flip of a lever without changing the blade or engine speed. We sell direct-collect riding mowers that are manufactured and sold in the European market. Many models of our riding products are available with a variety of engines, decks, transmissions, and accessories.

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Home Solutions Products. We design and market home solutions products under the Toro and Pope brand names. Our Toro brand name products include yard tools such as electric, gas, and cordless grass trimmers; electric and cordless hedge trimmers; and electric, gas, and cordless blower-vacuums. In Australia, we design and market garden product offerings, such as underground, hose and hose-end retail irrigation products under the Pope brand name.

Snow Thrower Products. We manufacture and market a range of gas-powered single-stage and two-stage snow thrower models, as well as a range of electric snow thrower models. Single-stage snow throwers are walk behind units with lightweight four-cycle gasoline engines. Most single-stage snow thrower models include Power Curve® snow thrower technology, and some feature our Quick Shoot™ control system that is designed to enable operators to quickly change snow-throwing direction. Our pivoting scraper is designed to keep the rotor in constant contact with the pavement. Our two-stage snow throwers are generally designed for relatively large areas of deep and heavy snow. Our two-stage snow throwers include a line of models featuring our patented Anti-Clogging System and Quick Stick® chute control technology. Our electric snow throwers are lightweight and ideal for clearing up to six inches of snow from decks, steps, sidewalks, and small driveways. The Toro SnowMaster® snow thrower combines the power of a two-stage snow thrower to handle deep snow with the handling and maneuverability of a lightweight, single-stage snow thrower in a design intended to increase efficiency by clearing more snow per minute.

Financial Information about International Operations and Business Segments

We currently manufacture our products in the United States ("U.S."), Mexico, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, and China for sale throughout the world. We maintain sales offices in the U.S., Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, Italy, South Korea, and Germany. New product development is pursued primarily in the U.S. Our net sales outside the U.S. were 24.2 percent, 25.5 percent, and 28.7 percent of total consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.

A portion of our cash flow is derived from sales and purchases denominated in foreign currencies. To reduce the uncertainty of foreign currency exchange rate movements on these sales and purchase commitments, we enter into foreign currency exchange contracts for select transactions. For additional information regarding our foreign currency exchange contracts, see Part II, Item 7A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" of this report. For additional financial information regarding our international operations and geographical areas, and each of our three reportable business segments, see Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, in the section entitled "Segment Data," included in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this report.

Engineering and Research

We are committed to an ongoing engineering program dedicated to developing innovative new products and improvements in the quality and performance of existing products. However, a focus on innovation also carries certain risks that new technology could be slow to be accepted or not accepted by the marketplace. We attempt to mitigate these risks through our focus on and commitment to understanding our customers' needs and requirements. We invest time upfront with customers, using "Voice of the Customer" tools, to help us develop innovative products that are intended to meet or exceed customer expectations. We use Design for Manufacturing and Assembly ("DFM/A") tools to ensure early manufacturing involvement in new product designs intended to reduce production costs. DFM/A focuses on reducing the 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, reduce costs, and improve quality.

Our engineering expenses are primarily incurred in connection with the development of new products that may have additional applications or represent extensions of existing product lines, improvements to existing products, and cost reduction efforts. Our expenditures for engineering and research were $77.4 million (3.2 percent of net sales) in fiscal 2016, $73.6 million (3.1 percent of net sales) in fiscal 2015, and $69.7 million (3.2 percent of net sales) in fiscal 2014.

Manufacturing and Production

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. We design component parts in cooperation with our vendors, contract with them for the development of tooling, and then enter into agreements with these vendors to purchase component parts manufactured using the tooling. In addition, our vendors regularly test new technologies to be applied in the design and production of component parts. Manufacturing operations include robotic and computer-automated equipment intended to speed production, reduce costs, and improve the quality, fit, and finish of our products. 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 effectively, we pursue continuous improvements in our

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manufacturing processes with the use of Lean methods that are intended to streamline work and eliminate waste. 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. We also have some agreements with other third party manufacturers to manufacture products on our behalf.

Our Professional segment products are manufactured throughout the year. Our Residential segment lawn and garden products are also generally manufactured throughout the year. However, our Residential segment snow thrower products are manufactured in the summer and fall months but may be extended into the winter months, depending upon demand. Our products are tested in conditions and locations similar to those in which they are used. 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 cost.

Our production levels and inventory management goals are based on estimates of retail demand for our products, taking into account production capacity, timing of shipments, and field inventory levels. Our production system utilizes Kanban, supplier pull, and build-to-order methodologies in our manufacturing facilities, as appropriate, for the business units they support in order to better align the production of our products to meet customer demand. We believe this has resulted in improved service levels for our participating suppliers, distributors, and dealers.

We periodically shut down production at our manufacturing facilities in order to allow for maintenance, rearrangement, capital equipment installation, and as needed, to adjust for market demand. Capital expenditures for fiscal 2017 are planned to be approximately $65 million as we continue to invest in tooling and technology, as well as the renovation of our corporate facilities located in Bloomington, Minnesota. Additionally, we plan to invest in production processes and equipment, replacement production equipment, and investments in new and existing facilities.

Raw Materials

We purchase raw materials such as steel, aluminum, petroleum and natural gas-based resins, linerboard, and other commodities, and components, such as engines, transmissions, transaxles, hydraulics, and electric motors, for use in our products. In addition, we are a purchaser of components and parts containing various commodities, including steel, aluminum, copper, lead, rubber, and others that are integrated into our end products. During fiscal 2016, we experienced lower average commodity prices compared to the average prices paid for commodities in fiscal 2015. We anticipate commodity prices in fiscal 2017 to be slightly higher than average prices paid for commodities during fiscal 2016. Historically, we have mitigated, and we currently expect that we would mitigate, commodity cost increases, if any, in part, by collaborating with suppliers, reviewing alternative sourcing options, substituting materials, engaging in internal cost reduction efforts, and increasing prices on some of our products, all as appropriate.

Most of the raw materials and components used in our products are affected by commodity cost pressures, are commercially available from a number of sources, and are in adequate supply. However, certain components are sourced from single suppliers. In fiscal 2016, we experienced no significant work stoppages because of shortages of raw materials or commodities. The largest spend for raw materials and components are generally for steel, engines, hydraulic components, transmissions, resin, and electric motors, all of which we purchase from several suppliers around the world.

Service and Warranty

Our products are warranted to ensure customer confidence in design, workmanship, and overall quality. Warranty coverage is generally 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. An authorized company 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. Warranty expense is accrued at the time of sale based 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, the historical length of time between the sale and resulting warranty claim, and other minor factors. Special warranty reserves are also accrued for major rework campaigns. Service support outside of the warranty period is provided by authorized distributors and dealers at the customer's expense. We sell extended warranty coverage on select products for a prescribed period after the original warranty period expires.

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Product Liability

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.

Patents and Trademarks

We own patents, trademarks, and trade secrets related to our products in the U.S. and certain countries outside the U.S. in which we conduct business. We expect to apply for future patents and trademarks, as appropriate, in connection with the development of innovative new products, services, and enhancements. Although we believe that, in the aggregate, our patents are valuable, and patent protection is beneficial to our business and competitive positioning, our patent protection will not necessarily deter or prevent competitors from attempting to develop similar products. We are not materially dependent on any one or more of our patents. However, certain Toro trademarks that contribute to our identity and the recognition of our products and services, including the Toro® name and logo, are an integral part of our business.

We regularly review certain patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") and international patent offices to help avoid potential liability with respect to others' patents. Additionally, we periodically review competitors' products to prevent possible infringement of our patents by others. We believe these activities help us minimize our risk of being a defendant in patent infringement litigation. We are currently involved in patent litigation cases where we are asserting our patents against competitors and defending against patent infringement assertions by others. Such cases are at varying stages in the litigation process.

Similarly, we periodically monitor various trademark registers and the market to prevent infringement of and damage to our trademarks by others. From time to time, we are involved in trademark oppositions where we are asserting our trademarks against third parties who are attempting to establish rights in trademarks that are confusingly similar to ours. We believe these activities help minimize risk of harm to our trademarks, and help maintain distinct products and services that we believe are well regarded in the marketplace.

Seasonality

Shipments of our Residential segment products, which accounted for 28 percent of total consolidated net sales in fiscal 2016, are 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 in-season snowfalls, pre-season demand, and product availability. Opposite seasons in global markets in which we sell our products somewhat moderate this seasonality of our Residential segment product sales. Seasonality of Professional segment product sales also exists, but is tempered because the selling season in the Southern U.S. and our markets in the Southern hemisphere continue for a longer portion of the year than in Northern regions of the world. The BOSS business offers a portfolio of counter-seasonal products in our Professional segment with our shipments of snowplows and salt and sand spreaders occurring primarily between April and December, which also results in a greater variability of shipment volumes due to dependency on snowfalls for these products.

Overall, our worldwide shipment levels are historically highest in our fiscal second quarter and retail demand is generally highest in our fiscal third quarter. Typically, our accounts receivable balances increase between January and April because 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 balances, cash flows from operations, and short-term borrowings under our credit facilities.

The following table shows total consolidated net sales and net earnings for each fiscal quarter as a percentage of the total fiscal year.

Effects of Weather

From time to time, weather conditions in particular geographic regions or markets may adversely or positively affect sales of some of our products and field inventory levels and result in a negative or positive impact on our future net sales. If the percentage of our net sales from outside the U.S. increases, our dependency on weather in any one part of the world decreases. Nonetheless, weather conditions could materially affect our future net sales.

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Working Capital

Our businesses are seasonally working capital intensive and require funding for purchases of raw materials used in production; replacement parts inventory; payroll and other administrative costs; capital expenditures; establishment of new facilities; expansion, renovation, and upgrading of existing facilities; as well as for financing receivables from customers that are not financed with Red Iron Acceptance, LLC ("Red Iron"), our joint venture with TCF Inventory Finance, Inc. ("TCFIF"). We fund our operations through a combination of cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, short-term borrowings under our credit facilities, and long-term debt. Cash management is centralized, and intercompany financing is used, wherever possible, to provide working capital to wholly owned subsidiaries as needed. In addition, our credit facilities are available for additional working capital needs, acquisitions, or other investment opportunities.

Distribution and Marketing

We market the majority of our products through 36 domestic and 110 international distributors, as well as a large number of equipment dealers, irrigation dealers and distributors, hardware retailers, home centers, mass retailers, and online in more than 90 countries worldwide.

Professional segment products are sold to distributors and dealers primarily for resale to golf courses, sports fields, industrial facilities, contractors, and government customers, and in some markets for resale to dealers. We sell some Professional segment products directly to government customers, rental companies, and agricultural irrigation dealers, as well as to end-users in certain international markets. Select residential/commercial irrigation and lighting products are sold to professional irrigation and lighting distributors and dealers, and certain retail irrigation products are sold directly to home centers. Products for the rental and specialty construction market are sold directly to dealers and rental companies. Toro and Exmark landscape contractor products are also sold directly to dealers in certain regions of North America. BOSS snow and ice management products are sold to distributors and dealers for resale to contractors.

Residential segment products, such as walk power mowers, zero-turn radius riding mowers, and snow throwers, are generally sold directly to home centers, dealers, hardware retailers, and mass retailers. In certain markets, these same products are sold to distributors for resale to hardware retailers and dealers. Home solutions products are primarily sold directly to home centers, mass retailers, and hardware retailers. We also sell select Residential segment products over the Internet. Internationally, Residential segment products are sold directly to dealers and mass merchandisers in Australia, Canada, and select countries in Europe. In most other countries, Residential segment products are mainly sold to distributors for resale to dealers and mass retailers.

On November 27, 2015, in our first quarter of fiscal 2016, we completed the sale of our Northwestern U.S. distribution company. During the remainder of fiscal 2016, we owned one domestic distribution company. Our primary purpose for continuing to own a domestic distributorship is to improve operations, as well as to test and deploy new strategies and business practices that could be replicated by our independent distributors.

Our distribution systems are intended to assure quality of sales and market presence, as well as to provide effective after-purchase service and support. We believe our distribution network provides a competitive advantage as it is focused on selling and marketing our products, as well as having long-term established relationships with experienced personnel to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction.

Our current marketing strategy is to maintain distinct brands and brand identification for Toro®, Exmark®, BOSS®, Irritrol®, Hayter®, Pope®, Unique Lighting Systems®, and Lawn-Boy® products.

Across our brands, we market our Professional segment and Residential segment products during the appropriate season through multiple channels, including television, radio, print, direct mail, email, digital and online media, 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.

Customers

Overall, we believe that in the long-term we are not dependent on any single customer; however, the Residential segment of our business is dependent on The Home Depot as a customer, which accounted for approximately 11 percent of our total consolidated gross sales in fiscal 2016 and 2015. While the loss of any substantial customer, including The Home Depot, could have a material adverse short-term impact on our business, we believe that our diverse distribution channels and customer base should reduce the long-term impact of any such loss.

Backlog of Orders

Our backlog of orders is dependent upon when customers place orders and is not necessarily an indicator of our expected results for our fiscal 2017 net sales. The approximate backlog of orders as of October 31, 2016 and 2015 was $92.4 million and $106.7 million, respectively, a decrease of 13.4 percent. The decrease was mainly driven by low snowfall totals in the 2015/2016 winter season which decreased pre-season demand of our snow products; this decrease was partially offset by increased orders of new products. We expect the existing backlog of orders will be filled in early fiscal 2017.

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Competition

Our products are sold in highly competitive markets throughout the world. The principal competitive factors in our markets are product innovation, quality and reliability, pricing, product support and customer service, warranty, brand awareness, reputation, distribution, shelf space, 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, hardware retailers, home centers, and mass retailers, we offer comprehensive service support during and after the warranty period. We compete in many product lines with numerous manufacturers, some of which have substantially larger operations and financial resources than us. 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 irrigation and maintaining turf and landscapes, and our distribution channels position us well to compete in various markets.

Internationally, our Residential segment products face more competition because many foreign competitors design, manufacture, and market 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, as needed, to foreign customers to remain competitive in international markets.

Environmental Matters and Other Governmental Regulation

We 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; 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:

•

The United States EPA, the California Air Resources Board, and similar regulators in other U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we sell our products have phased in, or are phasing in, emission regulations setting maximum emission standards for certain equipment. Specifically, these agencies from time to time adopt increasingly stringent engine emission regulations. Following the EPA implementation of Tier 4 emission requirements applicable to diesel engines several years ago, China and the European Union ("EU") also have adopted similar regulations, and similar emission regulations are also being considered in other markets in which we sell our products.

•

The United States federal government, several U.S. states, and certain international jurisdictions in which we sell our products, including the EU and each of its member states, have implemented one or more of the following: (i) product life-cycle laws, rules, or regulations, which are intended to reduce waste and environmental and human health impact, and require manufacturers to label, collect, dispose, and recycle certain products, including some of our products, at the end of their useful life, including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment ("WEEE") directive, which mandates the labeling, collection, and disposal of specified waste electrical and electronic equipment; (ii) the Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances ("RoHS") directive or similar substance level laws, rules, or regulations, which restrict the use of several specified hazardous materials in the manufacture of specific types of electrical and electronic equipment; (iii) the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals ("REACH") directive or similar substance level laws, rules, or regulations that require notification of use of certain chemicals, or ban or restrict the use of certain chemicals; (iv) country of origin laws, rules, or regulations, which require certification of the geographic origin of our finished goods products and/or components used in our products through documentation and/or physical markings, as applicable; (v) energy efficiency laws, rules, or regulations, which are intended to reduce the use and inefficiencies associated with energy and natural resource consumption and require specified efficiency ratings and capabilities for certain products; (vi) outdoor noise laws, which are intended to reduce noise emissions in the environment from outdoor equipment; and (vii) conflict minerals laws, such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which require specific procedures for the determination and disclosure of the use of certain minerals, known as "conflict minerals," which are mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries.

•

Our products, when used by residential customers, may be subject to various federal, state, and international laws, rules, and regulations that are designed to protect consumers, including rules and regulations of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Although we believe that we are in substantial compliance with currently applicable laws, rules, and regulations, we are unable to predict the ultimate impact of adopted or future laws, rules, and regulations on our business, properties or products. Such laws, rules, or regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses to achieve or maintain compliance, may require us to modify our products, may adversely affect the price of or demand for some of our products, and may ultimately affect the way we conduct

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our operations. Failure to comply with these current or future laws, rules, or regulations could result in harm to our reputation and/or could lead to fines and other penalties, including restrictions on the importation of our products into, or the sale of our products in, one or more jurisdictions until compliance is achieved.

We are also involved in the evaluation and clean-up of a limited number of properties currently and previously owned. We do not expect that these matters will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Customer Financing

Wholesale Financing. We are party to a joint venture with TCFIF, a subsidiary of TCF National Bank, established as Red Iron. The primary purpose of Red Iron is to provide inventory financing to certain distributors and dealers of our products in the U.S. Under a separate arrangement, TCF Commercial Finance Canada, Inc. ("TCFCFC") provides inventory financing to dealers of our products in Canada. 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 inventories, and those inventories are monitored regularly. Floor plan terms to the distributors and dealers require payment as the equipment, which secures the indebtedness, is sold to customers or when payment terms become due, whichever occurs first. Rates are generally indexed to LIBOR 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.

We continue to provide financing in the form of open account terms directly to home centers and mass retailers; general line irrigation dealers; international distributors and dealers other than the Canadian distributors and dealers to whom Red Iron provides financing arrangements; micro-irrigation dealers and distributors; government customers; rental companies; and a limited number of BOSS dealers. Some independent international dealers continue to finance their products with third party sources.

End-User Financing. We have agreements with third party financing companies to provide lease-financing options to golf course and sports fields and grounds equipment customers in the U.S and select countries in Europe. The purpose of these agreements is to increase sales by giving buyers of our products alternative financing options when purchasing our products.

We have agreements with third party financing companies to provide financing programs under both generic and private label programs in the U.S. and Canada. These programs, offered primarily to Toro and Exmark dealers, provide end-user customers revolving and installment lines of credit for Toro and Exmark products, parts, and services.

Distributor Financing. Occasionally, we enter into long-term loan agreements with some distributors. These transactions are used for expansion of the distributors' businesses, acquisitions, refinancing working capital agreements, or ownership transitions.

Employees

During fiscal 2016, we employed an average of 6,834 employees. The total number of employees as of October 31, 2016 was 6,329. We consider our employee relations to be good. As of October 31, 2016, we had four collective bargaining agreements that expire in October 2017, March 2018, May 2018, and October 2019, and cover approximately 17 percent of our total employees.

Available Information

We are a U.S. public reporting company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act"), and file reports, proxy statements, and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Copies of these reports, proxy statements, and other information can be inspected and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Because we make filings to the SEC electronically, you may also access this information from the SEC's home page on the Internet at http://www.sec.gov.

We make available, free of charge on our web site www.thetorocompany.com (select the "Investor Information" link and then the "Financials" link), our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements on Schedule 14A, Section 16 reports, amendments to those reports, and other documents filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information contained on our web site or connected to our web site is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains, or incorporates by reference, not only historical information, but also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and that are subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. In addition, we or others on our behalf may make forward-looking statements from time to time in oral presentations, including telephone conferences and/or web casts

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open to the public, in press releases or reports, on our web sites or otherwise. Statements that are not historical are forward-looking and reflect expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations of future events, and often can be identified in this report and elsewhere by using words such as "expect," "strive," "looking ahead," "outlook," "guidance," "forecast," "goal," "optimistic," "anticipate," "continue," "plan," "estimate," "project," "believe," "should," "could," "can," "will," "would," "possible," "may," "likely," "intend," "seek," "potential," "pro forma," or the negative thereof and similar expressions or future dates. Our forward-looking statements generally relate to our future performance, including our anticipated operating results, liquidity requirements, and financial condition; our business strategies and goals; and the effect of laws, rules, regulations, new accounting pronouncements, and outstanding litigation on our business and future performance.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. The most significant factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, reputation, operations, industry, financial position, or future financial performance are described below in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors." We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement which speaks only as of the date made and to recognize that forward-looking statements are predictions of future results, which may not occur as anticipated. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and from historical results, due to the risks and uncertainties described elsewhere in this report, including in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," as well as others that we may consider immaterial or do not anticipate at this time. The risks and uncertainties described in this report, including in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," are not exclusive and further information concerning our company and our businesses, including factors that potentially could materially affect our operating results or financial condition, may emerge from time to time.

We make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect actual results, events or circumstances occurring or existing after the date any forward-looking statement is made, or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such forward-looking statements. We advise you, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our future Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that we file with or furnish to the SEC.

ITEM 1A.   RISK FACTORS

The following are significant factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results, industry, financial position, or future financial performance.

Our net sales and earnings could be adversely affected by economic conditions and outlook in the United States and in other countries in which we conduct business.

Adverse economic conditions and outlook in the U.S. and in other countries in which we conduct business can impact demand for our products and, ultimately, our net sales and earnings. These include, but are not limited to, recessionary conditions; slow or negative economic growth rates; the impact of U.S. federal debt, state debt, and sovereign debt defaults and austerity measures by certain European countries; slow down or reductions in levels of golf course development, renovation, and improvement; golf course closures; reduced levels of home ownership, construction, and sales; home foreclosures; negative consumer confidence; reduced consumer spending levels resulting from tax increases or other factors; prolonged high unemployment rates; higher commodity and components costs and fuel prices; inflationary or deflationary pressures; 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 our distributors, dealers, and end-user customers to reduce spending and delay or forego purchases of our products, which have had an adverse effect on our net sales and earnings. Our net sales and earnings could be adversely impacted by economic conditions and outlook in the U.S. and in other countries in which we conduct business.

Weather conditions may reduce demand for some of our products and adversely affect our net sales or otherwise adversely affect our operating results.

From time to time, weather conditions in a particular geographic region may adversely affect sales, demand, and field inventory levels of some of our products. For example, in the past, drought 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 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 snow thrower products and sales of products of our BOSS professional snow and ice management business. Similarly, adverse weather conditions in one season may negatively impact customer purchasing patterns and our net sales for some of our products in another season. For example, lower snowfall accumulations may result in lower winter season revenues for landscape contractor professionals, causing such customers to forego or postpone spring purchases of our mowing products. To the extent that unfavorable weather conditions are exacerbated by global climate change or otherwise, our sales and operating results may be affected to a greater degree than we have previously experienced.

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Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates have in the past affected our operating results and could continue to result in declines in our reported net sales and net earnings.

Because the functional currency of most of our foreign operations is the applicable local currency, and because our financial reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires that we translate the assets, liabilities, expenses, and revenues of our foreign operations into U.S. dollars at applicable exchange rates. Accordingly, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk arising from transactions in the normal course of business, such as sales and loans to wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as sales to third party customers, purchases from suppliers, and bank lines of credit with creditors denominated in foreign currencies. Our reported net sales and net earnings are subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that have in the past affected our operating results and could continue to result in declines in our reported net sales and net earnings. Because our products are manufactured or sourced primarily from the U.S. and Mexico, a stronger U.S. dollar and Mexican peso generally have a negative impact on our operating results, while a weaker U.S. dollar and Mexican peso generally have a positive effect. In addition, currency exchange rate fluctuations may affect the comparative prices between products we sell and products our foreign competitors sell in the same market, which may adversely affect demand for our products. Substantial exchange rate fluctuations as a result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar or otherwise, may have an adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition, and cash flows, as well as the comparability of our consolidated financial statements between reporting periods. Our primary foreign currency exchange rate exposure is with the Euro, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the British pound, the Mexican peso, the Japanese yen, the Chinese Renminbi, and the Romanian New Leu against the U.S. dollar, as well as the Romanian New Leu against the Euro including exposure as a result of the volatility and uncertainty that may arise as a result of the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union. While we actively manage the exposure of our foreign currency market risk in the normal course of business by entering into various foreign exchange contracts, these instruments involve risks and may not effectively limit our underlying exposure from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations or minimize our net earnings and cash volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate changes. Further, the failure of one or more counterparties to our foreign currency exchange rate contracts to fulfill their obligations to us could adversely affect our operating results.

Increases in the cost of raw materials and components that we purchase and/or increases in our other costs of doing business, may adversely affect our profit margins and businesses.

We purchase raw materials such as steel, aluminum, petroleum and natural gas-based resins, linerboard, and other commodities, and components, such as engines, transmissions, transaxles, hydraulics, and electric motors, for use in our products. In addition, we are a purchaser of components and parts containing various commodities, including steel, aluminum, copper, lead, rubber, and others that are integrated into our end products. To the extent that commodity prices increase and we do not have firm pricing from our suppliers, or our suppliers are not able to honor such prices, increases in the cost of such raw materials and components and parts may adversely affect our profit margins. In addition, increases in other costs of doing business may also adversely affect our profit margins and businesses. For example, an increase in fuel costs may result in an increase in our transportation costs, which also could adversely affect our operating results and businesses. In addition, changes to international trade agreements could result in additional tariffs, duties or other charges on raw materials or components we import into the U.S.

Historically, we have mitigated cost increases, in part, by collaborating with suppliers, reviewing alternative sourcing options, substituting materials, engaging in internal cost reduction efforts, and increasing prices on some of our products, all as appropriate. However, we may not be able to fully offset such increased 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.

Disruption in the availability of raw materials and components used in our products may adversely affect our business.

Although most of the raw materials and components used in our products are generally commercially available from a number of sources and in adequate supply, certain components are sourced from single suppliers. Any disruption in the availability of raw materials and components used in our products, our inability to timely or otherwise obtain substitutes for such items, or any deterioration in our relationships with, the financial viability or quality of, or the personnel relationships at our suppliers, could adversely affect our business.

Our Professional segment net sales are dependent upon certain factors, including golf course revenues and the amount of investment in golf course renovations and improvements; the level of new golf course development and golf course closures; the level of property owners who outsource their lawn care and snow and ice removal activities; the level of residential and commercial construction; continued acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets; the timing and occurrence of winter weather conditions; the demand for our products in the rental and specialty construction market; the availability of cash or credit to Professional segment customers on acceptable terms to finance new product purchases; and the amount of government revenues, budget, and spending levels for grounds maintenance equipment.

Our Professional segment products are sold by distributors or dealers, or directly to government customers, rental companies, and professional users engaged in maintaining and creating properties and landscapes, such as golf courses, sports fields,

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residential and commercial properties and landscapes, and governmental and municipal properties. Accordingly, our professional segment net sales are impacted by golf course revenues and the amount of investment in golf course renovations and improvements; the level of new golf course development and golf course closures; the level of property owners who outsource their lawn care and snow and ice removal activities; continued acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets; the timing and occurrence of winter weather conditions; the demand for our products in the rental and specialty construction market; the level of residential and commercial construction; availability of cash or credit on acceptable terms to finance new product purchases; and the amount of government spending for new grounds maintenance equipment. Among other things, any one or a combination of the following factors could have an adverse effect on our Professional segment net sales:

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reduced levels of investment in golf course renovations and improvements and new golf course development; reduced number of golf rounds played at public and private golf courses resulting in reduced revenue for such golf courses; decreased membership at private golf courses resulting in reduced revenue and, in certain cases, financial difficulties for such golf courses; and increased number of golf course closures, any one of which or any combination of which could result in a decrease in spending and demand for our products;

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reduced consumer and business spending on property maintenance and/or unfavorable weather conditions, causing property owners, including homeowners, and landscape contractor professionals to forego or postpone purchases of our products;

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low or reduced levels of commercial and residential construction, resulting in a decrease in demand for our products;

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a decline in acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets and our products in the rental and specialty construction market; and

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reduced tax revenue, increased governmental expenses in other areas, tighter government budgets and government deficits, generally resulting in reduced government spending for grounds maintenance equipment.

Our Residential segment net sales are dependent upon consumers buying our Residential segment products at dealers, mass retailers, and home centers, such as The Home Depot, Inc.; the amount of product placement at mass retailers and home centers; consumer confidence and spending levels; and changing buying patterns of customers.

The elimination or reduction of shelf space assigned to our residential products or other changes to the placement of our products by mass retailers and home centers, such as The Home Depot, could adversely affect our Residential segment net sales. Our Residential segment net sales also are dependent upon buying patterns of customers. For example, as consumers purchase products at home centers and mass retailers that offer broader and lower price points than dealers, we have experienced increased demand and sales of our Residential segment products purchased at mass retailers and home centers. The Home Depot is a substantial customer of ours, which accounted for approximately 11 percent of our total consolidated gross sales in each of fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014. We believe that our diverse distribution channels and customer base should reduce the long-term impact on us if we were to lose The Home Depot or any other substantial customer. However, the loss of any substantial customer, a significant reduction in sales to The Home Depot or other customers, or our inability to maintain adequate product placement at retailers and home centers or our inability to respond to future changes in buying patterns of customers or new distribution channels could have a material adverse impact on our business and operating results. Changing buying patterns of customers could also result in reduced sales of one or more of our Residential segment products, resulting in increased inventory levels.

Changes in our product mix impact our financial performance, including profit margins and net earnings.

Our Professional segment products generally have higher profit margins than our Residential segment products. Our financial performance, including our profit margins and net earnings, can be impacted depending on the mix of products we sell during a given period. For example, if we experience lower sales of our Professional segment products that generally carry higher profit margins than our Residential segment products, our financial performance, including profit margins and net earnings, could be negatively impacted.

We intend to grow our business in part through acquisitions and alliances, strong customer relations, and new joint ventures and partnerships, which could be risky and may harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

One of our growth strategies is to drive growth in our businesses and accelerate opportunities to expand our global presence through targeted acquisitions and alliances, strong customer relations, and new joint ventures and partnerships that add value while supplementing our existing brands and product portfolio. Our ability to grow through acquisitions will depend, in part, on the availability of suitable candidates at acceptable prices, terms, and conditions, our ability to compete effectively for acquisition candidates, and the availability of capital and personnel to complete such acquisitions and run the acquired business effectively. Any acquisition, alliance, joint venture, or partnership could impair our business, financial condition, reputation, and operating results. The benefits of an acquisition, or new alliance, joint venture, or partnership may take more time than expected to develop or integrate into our operations, and we cannot guarantee that previous or future acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, or partnerships will, in fact, produce any benefits. Acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, and partnerships may involve a number of risks, including:

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diversion of management's attention;

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disruption to our existing operations and plans;

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inability to effectively manage our expanded operations;

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difficulties or delays in integrating and assimilating information and financial systems, operations, and products of an acquired business or other business venture or in realizing projected efficiencies, growth prospects, cost savings, and synergies;

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inability to successfully integrate or develop a distribution channel for acquired product lines;

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potential loss of key employees, customers, distributors, or dealers of the acquired businesses or adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers, customers, distributors, and dealers;

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delays or challenges in transitioning distributors and dealers of acquired businesses to using our Red Iron financing joint venture with TCFIF;

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violation of any non-compete agreement by any key employee of an acquired business;

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adverse impact on overall profitability if our expanded operations do not achieve the financial results projected in our valuation models;

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reallocation of amounts of capital from other operating initiatives and/or an increase in our leverage and debt service requirements to pay acquisition purchase prices or other business venture investment costs, which could in turn restrict our ability to access additional capital when needed or pursue other important elements of our business strategy;

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failure by acquired businesses or other business ventures to comply with applicable international, federal, and state product safety or other regulatory standards;

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infringement by acquired businesses or other business ventures of intellectual property rights of others;

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inaccurate assessment of additional post-acquisition or business venture investments, undisclosed, contingent or other liabilities or problems, unanticipated costs associated with an acquisition or other business venture, and an inability to recover or manage such liabilities and costs; and

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incorrect estimates made in the accounting for acquisitions, incurrence of non-recurring charges, and write-off of significant amounts of goodwill or other assets that could adversely affect our operating results.

In addition, effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable and accurate financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. The integration of acquired businesses may result in our systems and controls becoming increasingly complex and more 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, especially in the context of acquisitions of other businesses. Any difficulties in the assimilation of acquired businesses into our control system 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 large acquisition or other business venture or multiple transactions within a relatively short period of time.

If we underestimate or overestimate demand for our products and do not maintain appropriate inventory levels, our net sales and/or working capital could be negatively impacted.

Our ability to manage our inventory levels to meet our customers' demand for our products is important for our business. For example, our residential lawn and garden products are generally manufactured throughout the year and our residential snow thrower products are manufactured in the summer and fall months but may be extended into the winter months, depending upon demand. However, our production levels and inventory management goals for our Residential segment products are based on estimates of retail demand for our products, taking into account production capacity, timing of shipments, and field inventory levels. If we overestimate or underestimate demand for any of our products during a given season, we may not maintain appropriate inventory levels, which could negatively impact our net sales or working capital, hinder our ability to meet customer demand, or cause us to incur excess and obsolete inventory charges.

Our business and operating results are subject to the inventory management decisions of our distribution channel customers.

We sell many of our products through various distribution channels and are subject to risks relating to their inventory management decisions and operational and sourcing practices. 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. Such adjustments may impact our inventory management and working capital goals as well as operating results. If the inventory levels of our distribution channel customers are higher than they desire, they may postpone product purchases from us, which could cause our sales to be lower than the end-user demand for our products and negatively impact our inventory management and working capital goals as well as our operating results. Similarly, our results could be negatively impacted through the loss of sales if our distribution channel customers do not maintain field inventory levels sufficient to meet end-user demand.

We face intense competition in all of our product lines with numerous manufacturers, including some that have larger operations and financial resources than us. We may not be able to compete effectively against competitors' actions, which could harm our business and operating results.

Our products are sold in highly competitive markets throughout the world. Principal competitive factors in our markets include

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product innovation, quality and reliability, pricing, product support and customer service, warranty, brand awareness, reputation, distribution, product placement and shelf space, and financing options. We compete in many product lines with numerous manufacturers, some of which have substantially larger operations and financial resources than us. As a result, they may be able to adapt more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer preferences, or devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and sale of their products than we can. In addition, competition could increase if new companies enter the market, existing competitors consolidate their operations or if existing competitors expand their product lines or intensify efforts within existing product lines. Our current products, products under development, and our ability to develop new and improved products may be insufficient to enable us to compete effectively with our competitors. Internationally, our Residential segment products typically face more competition because many foreign competitors design, manufacture, and market products in their respective countries. We experience this competition primarily in Europe. In addition, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar may affect the price of our products in foreign markets, thereby impacting their competitiveness. We may not be able to compete effectively against competitors' actions, which may include the movement by competitors with manufacturing operations to low cost countries for significant cost and price reductions, and could harm our business and operating results.

A significant percentage of our consolidated net sales are generated outside of the United States, a portion of which are financed by third parties, and we intend to continue to expand our international operations. Our international operations require significant management attention and financial resources, expose us to difficulties presented by international economic, political, legal, regulatory, accounting, and business factors, and may not be successful or produce desired levels of net sales.

We currently manufacture our products in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, and China for sale throughout the world. We maintain sales offices in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, Italy, South Korea, and Germany. Our net sales outside the U.S. were 24.2 percent, 25.5 percent, and 28.7 percent of our total consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. International markets have been, and will continue to be, a focus for us for revenue growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We believe many opportunities exist in the international markets, and over time, we intend for international net sales to comprise a larger percentage of our total consolidated net sales. Several factors, including the implications of the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union, implications of withdrawal by the U.S. from, or revision to, international trade agreements, foreign policy changes between the U.S. and other countries, weakened international economic conditions or the impact of sovereign debt defaults by certain European countries, could adversely affect our international net sales. Additionally, the expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets require significant management attention and financial resources. Many of the countries in which we manufacture or sell our products, or otherwise have an international presence are, to some degree, subject to political, economic, and/or social instability, including drug cartel-related violence, which may disrupt our production activities and maquiladora operations based in Juarez, Mexico. Our international operations expose us and our representatives, agents, and distributors to risks inherent in operating in foreign jurisdictions. These risks include:

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increased costs of customizing products for foreign countries;

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difficulties in managing and staffing international operations and increases in infrastructure costs including legal, tax, accounting, and information technology;

•

the imposition of additional U.S. and foreign governmental controls or regulations; new or enhanced trade restrictions and restrictions on the activities of foreign agents, representatives, and distributors; withdrawal from or revision to international trade agreements and the imposition or increases in import and export licensing and other compliance requirements, customs duties and tariffs, import and export quotas and other trade restrictions, license obligations, and other non-tariff barriers to trade;

•

the imposition of U.S. and/or international sanctions against a country, company, person, or entity with whom we do business that would restrict or prohibit our business with the sanctioned country, company, person, or entity;

•

international pricing pressures;

•

laws and business practices favoring local companies;

•

adverse currency exchange rate fluctuations;

•

longer payment cycles and difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through certain foreign legal systems;

•

higher tax rates and potentially adverse tax consequences, including restrictions on repatriating cash and/or earnings to the U.S.;

•

fluctuations in our operating performance based on our geographic mix of sales;

•

transportation delays and interruptions;

•

national and international conflicts, including foreign policy changes or terrorist acts;

•

difficulties in protecting, enforcing or defending intellectual property rights; and

•

multiple, changing, and often inconsistent enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations, including rules relating to environmental, health, and safety matters.

Our international operations may not produce desired levels of net sales or, among other things one or more of 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.

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In addition, a portion of our international net sales are financed by third parties. The termination of our agreements with these third parties, any material change to the terms of our agreements with these third parties or in the availability or terms of credit offered to our international customers by these third parties, or any delay in securing replacement credit sources, could adversely affect our sales and operating results.

If we are unable to continue to enhance existing products, as well as develop and market new products, that respond to customer needs and preferences and achieve market acceptance, we may experience a decrease in demand for our products, and our net sales, which have historically benefited from sales of new products, may be adversely affected.

One of our growth strategies is to develop innovative, customer-valued products to generate revenue 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 component of our net sales and are expected to continue to represent a significant component of our future net sales. We may not be able to compete as effectively with our competitors, and ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of our customers, unless we can continue to enhance existing products and develop new innovative products for the markets in which we compete. Product development requires significant financial, technological, and other resources. Product improvements and new product introductions also require significant research, planning, design, development, engineering, and testing at the technological, product, and manufacturing process levels and we may not be able to timely develop and introduce product improvements or new products. Our competitors' new products may beat our products to market, be higher quality or more reliable, be more effective with more features and/or less expensive than our products, obtain better market acceptance, or render our products obsolete. Any new products that we develop may not receive market acceptance or otherwise generate any meaningful net sales or profits for us relative to our expectations based on, among other things, existing and anticipated investments in manufacturing capacity and commitments to fund advertising, marketing, promotional programs, and research and development.

We manufacture our products at, and distribute our products from, several locations in the U.S. and internationally. Any disruption at any of these facilities or our inability to cost-effectively expand existing, open and manage new, and/or move production between manufacturing facilities could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We currently manufacture most of our products at ten locations in the U.S., two locations in Mexico, and one location in each of Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Romania, and China. We have several locations that serve as distribution centers, warehouses, test labs, and corporate offices. In addition, we have agreements with other third-party manufacturers to manufacture products on our behalf. These facilities may be affected by natural or man-made disasters and other external events, including drug cartel-related violence that may disrupt our production activities and maquiladora operations based in Juarez, Mexico. In the event that one of our manufacturing facilities was affected by a disaster or other event, we could be forced to shift production to one of our other manufacturing facilities. Although we maintain insurance for damage to our property and disruption of our business from casualties, such insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses. Furthermore, from time to time, we may decide to open new manufacturing or distribution facilities or move production between our facilities to align production capacity with production goals, which could result in disruption and/or additional expense. Any disruption in our manufacturing capacity could have an adverse impact on our ability to produce sufficient inventory of our products or may require us to incur additional expenses in order to produce sufficient inventory, and therefore, may adversely affect our net sales and operating results. Any disruption or delay at our manufacturing facilities, including a work slowdown, strike, or similar action at any one of our facilities operating under a collective bargaining agreement, or the failure to renew or enter into new collective bargaining agreements, could impair our ability to meet the demands of our customers, and our customers may cancel orders or purchase products from our competitors, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our production labor needs fluctuate throughout the year. During periods of peak production, it is necessary to sharply increase the number of production staff. Such production staff may be new to our manufacturing processes and safety protocols. Any failure by our production labor force to adequately and safely perform their jobs could adversely affect our business, operating results, and reputation.

Our production labor needs fluctuate throughout the year. During periods of peak manufacturing activity it is necessary to sharply increase the number of production staff by utilizing new hires and temporary labor. Production staff that we hire during such periods of peak manufacturing activity may not have the same level of training, competency, experience, or commitment as our regular production employees. In addition, from time to time, we may not have available to us a sufficient pool of experienced and competent individuals to fulfill our production labor requirements on a cost-effective basis. If we are unable to adequately staff our manufacturing operations, particularly during periods of peak manufacturing activity, or if our production staff are not adequately trained or do not adhere to protocols we have established to create a safe workplace, our business, operating results, and reputation could suffer.

Management information systems are critical to our business. If our management information systems or those of our business partners or third party service providers fail to adequately perform, or if we, our business partners, or third party service providers experience an interruption in their operation, our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results could be adversely affected.

We have many management information systems that are critical to our business, some of which are managed by third parties.

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These management information systems are used to record, process, summarize, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including, among other things, our accounting and financial functions, including maintaining our internal controls; our manufacturing and supply chain processes; and the data related to our research and development efforts. The failure of our management information systems or those of our business partners or third party service providers to perform properly, or difficulties encountered in the development of new systems or the 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. Although we take steps to secure our management information systems 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, 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, natural or man-made disasters, cyber attacks, computer viruses, phishing, power loss, or other disruptive events. Information technology security threats are 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, and those of our business partners and third party service providers, and to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of our data. Our business, reputation, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected if, as a result of a significant cyber event or otherwise, our operations are disrupted or shutdown; our confidential, proprietary information is stolen or disclosed; our intranet and internet sites are compromised; data is manipulated or destroyed; we incur costs or are required to pay fines in connection with stolen customer, employee, or other confidential information; we must dedicate significant resources to system repairs or increase cyber security protection; or we otherwise incur significant litigation or other costs.

Our reliance upon patents, trademark laws, and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient to protect our intellectual property from others who may sell similar products. Our products may infringe the proprietary rights of others.

We hold patents relating to various aspects of our products and believe that proprietary technical know-how is important to our business and their loss could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Proprietary rights relating to our products are protected from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that they are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are maintained in confidence as trade secrets. We cannot be 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. In the absence of 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. Others may initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or they may use their resources to design comparable products that do not infringe our patents. We may incur substantial costs if our competitors or others initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or if we initiate any proceedings to protect our proprietary rights. If the outcome of any such litigation is unfavorable to us, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. We also cannot be certain that our products or technologies have not infringed or will not infringe the proprietary rights of others. Any such infringement could cause third parties, including our competitors, to bring claims against us, resulting in significant costs, possible damages and substantial uncertainty. 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.

Our business, properties, and products are subject to governmental regulation with which compliance may require us to incur expenses, or modify our products or operations, and non-compliance may result in harm to our reputation and/or expose us to penalties. Governmental regulation may also adversely affect the demand for some of our products and our operating results.

Our business, properties, and products are subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations relating to, among other things; climate change; emissions to air, including Tier 4 or similar 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; and the generation, use, handling, labeling, collection, management, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, and other regulated materials. In addition, our business is subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations that may adversely affect our operating results, including, (i) taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, or revised tax law interpretations, which individually or in combination may cause our effective tax rate to increase, (ii) new, recently enacted, or revised healthcare laws or

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regulations or, (iii) changes to international trade agreements that could result in additional tariffs, duties or other charges on raw materials, whole goods or components that we import. Although we believe that we are in substantial compliance with currently applicable laws, rules, and regulations, we are unable to predict the ultimate impact of adopted or future laws, rules, and regulations on our business, properties, or products. Any of these laws, rules, or regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses to achieve or maintain compliance, require us to modify our products, adversely affect the price of or demand for some of our products, and ultimately affect the way we conduct our operations. Failure to comply with any of these laws, rules, or regulations could result in harm to our reputation and/or could lead to fines and other penalties, including restrictions on the importation of our products into, and the sale of our products in, one or more jurisdictions until compliance is achieved. In addition, our competitors may adopt strategies with respect to regulatory compliance that differ significantly from our strategies. This may have the effect of changing customer preferences and our markets in ways that we did not anticipate which may adversely affect market demand for our products and, ultimately, our net sales and financial results.

Climate change and climate change regulations may adversely impact our operations.

There is growing concern from members of the scientific community and the general public that an increase in global average temperatures due to emissions of greenhouse gases ("GHG") and other human activities have or will cause significant changes in weather patterns and increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters. We are currently subject to rules limiting emissions and other climate related rules and regulations in certain jurisdictions where we operate. In addition, we may become subject to additional legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators, regulators, and non-governmental organizations, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. Foreign, federal, state, and local regulatory and legislative bodies have proposed various legislative and regulatory measures relating to climate change, regulating GHG emissions, and energy policies. If such legislation is enacted, we could incur increased energy, environmental, and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with the limitations. Due to uncertainty in the regulatory and legislative processes, as well as the scope of such requirements and initiatives, we cannot currently determine the effect such legislation and regulation may have on our products and operations.

The costs of complying with the various environmental laws related to our ownership and/or lease of real property, such as clean-up costs and liability that may be associated with certain hazardous waste disposal activities, could adversely affect our financial condition and 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 position 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.

Legislative enactments could impact the competitive landscape within our markets and affect demand for our products.

Various legislative proposals, if enacted, could put us in a competitively advantaged or disadvantaged position and affect customer demand for our products relative to the product offerings of our competitors. For example, any fiscal-stimulus or other legislative enactment that inordinately impacts the lawn and garden, outdoor power equipment, or irrigation industries generally by promoting the purchase, such as through customer rebate or other incentive programs, of certain types of mowing, snow and ice management or irrigation equipment or other products that we sell, 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, or if, as a result of such legislation, customers perceive our product offerings to be relatively more or less attractive than our competitors' product offerings. We cannot currently predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, what any such legislation's specific terms and conditions would encompass, how any such legislation would impact 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.

We operate in many different jurisdictions and we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making certain improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The continued expansion of our international operations could increase the risk of violations of these laws in the future. Significant violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could harm our reputation, could disrupt our business, and could result in significant fines and penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

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We are required to comply with the "conflict minerals" rules promulgated by the SEC, which impose costs on us and could raise reputational and other risks.

As required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC adopted rules regarding disclosure of the use of certain minerals, known as "conflict minerals," which are mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries, as well as procedures regarding manufacturers' efforts to discover the origin of such minerals and metals produced from those minerals. These conflict minerals are commonly referred to as "3TG" and include tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold. We have, and we expect that we will continue to, incur additional costs and expenses, which may be significant in order to comply with these rules, including for (i) due diligence to determine whether conflict minerals are necessary to the functionality or production of any of our products and, if so, verify the sources of such conflict minerals; and (ii) any changes that we may desire to make to our products, processes, or sources of supply as a result of such diligence and verification activities. Since our supply chain is complex, ultimately we may not be able to sufficiently verify the origin of the conflict minerals used in our products through the due diligence procedures that we implement, which may adversely affect our reputation with our customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders. In such event, we may also face difficulties in satisfying customers who require that all of our products are certified as conflict mineral free. If we are not able to meet such requirements, customers may choose not to purchase our products, which could adversely affect our sales and the value of portions of our inventory. Further, there may be only a limited number of suppliers offering conflict free minerals and, as a result, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain metals, if necessary, from such suppliers in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. Any one or a combination of these various factors could harm our business, reduce market demand for our products, and adversely affect our profit margins, net sales, and overall financial results.

We are subject to product liability claims, product quality issues, and other litigation from time to time that could adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.

The manufacture, sale, and use of our products expose us to significant risks associated with product liability claims. If a product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or in excess of our insurance coverage, and it is ultimately determined that we are liable, our business could suffer. While we believe that we appropriately instruct our customers on the proper usage of our products, we cannot ensure that they will implement our instructions accurately or completely. If our products are defective or used incorrectly by our customers, injury may result and this could give rise to product liability claims against us or adversely affect our brand image or reputation. Any losses that we may suffer from any liability claims, and the effect that any product liability litigation may have upon the reputation and marketability of our products, may have a negative impact on our business, reputation, and operating results. Product defects can occur through our own product development, design, and manufacturing processes or through our reliance on third parties for certain component design and manufacturing activities. Some of our products or product improvements were developed relatively recently and defects or risks that we have not yet identified, such as unanticipated use of our products, may give rise to product liability claims. Additionally, we could experience a material design, testing, or manufacturing failure in our products, a quality system failure, failures in our products and other challenges that are associated with our inability to properly manage changes in the suppliers and components that we use in our products, insufficient testing procedures, other safety issues, or heightened regulatory scrutiny that could warrant a recall of some of our products. A recall of some of our products could also result in increased product liability claims. Unforeseen product quality problems in the development and production of new and existing products could also result in loss of market share, reduced sales, rework costs, and higher warranty expense.

We are also subject to other litigation from time to time that could adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.

If we are unable to retain our executive officers or other key employees, attract and retain other qualified personnel, or successfully implement executive officer, key employee or other personnel transitions, we may not be able to meet strategic objectives and our business could suffer.

Our ability to meet our strategic objectives and otherwise grow our business will depend to a significant extent on the continued contributions of our leadership team. Our future success will also depend in large part on our ability to identify, attract, and retain other highly qualified managerial, technical, sales and marketing, operations, and customer service personnel. Competition for these individuals is intense, and we may not succeed in identifying, attracting, or retaining qualified personnel. The loss or interruption of services of any of our executive officers or other key employees, the inability to identify, attract, or retain qualified personnel in the future, the inability to successfully implement executive officer, key employee or other personnel transitions, delays in hiring qualified personnel, 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 operating results.

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As a result of our Red Iron financing joint venture with TCFIF, we are dependent upon the joint venture to provide competitive inventory financing programs to certain distributors and dealers of our products. Any material change in the availability or terms of credit offered to our customers by the joint venture, challenges or delays in transferring new distributors and dealers from any business we might acquire or otherwise to this financing platform, any termination or disruption of our joint venture relationship or any delay in securing replacement credit sources could adversely affect our net sales and operating results.

We are a party to a financing joint venture with TCFIF for the primary purpose of providing reliable, competitive financing to certain of our distributors and dealers in the U.S. to support their businesses and increase our net sales, as well as to free up our working capital for our other strategic purposes. As a result, we are dependent upon the joint venture for our inventory financing programs. Additionally, we are dependent upon TCFCFC to provide inventory financing to dealers of our products in Canada.

The availability of financing from our joint venture or otherwise will be affected by many factors, including, among others, the overall credit markets, the credit worthiness of our dealers and distributors, and regulations that may affect TCFIF, as the majority owner of the joint venture and a subsidiary of TCF National Bank, a national banking association. Any material change in the availability or terms of credit offered to our customers by the joint venture, challenges or delays in transferring new distributors and dealers from any business we might acquire or otherwise to this financing platform, any termination or disruption of our joint venture relationship or any delay in securing replacement credit sources could adversely affect our sales and operating results.

The terms of our credit arrangements and the indentures governing our senior notes and debentures could limit our ability to conduct our business, take advantage of business opportunities and respond to changing business, market, and economic conditions. Additionally, we are subject to counterparty risk in our credit arrangements.

Our credit arrangements and the indentures governing our 6.625% senior notes and 7.800% debentures include a number of financial and operating restrictions. For example, our credit arrangements contain financial covenants that, among other things, require us to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum debt to earnings ratio. Our credit arrangements and/or indentures also contain provisions that restrict our ability, subject to specified exceptions, to, among other things:

•

make loans and investments, including acquisitions and transactions with affiliates;

•

create liens or other encumbrances on our assets;

•

dispose of assets;

•

enter into contingent obligations;

•

engage in mergers or consolidations; and

•

pay dividends that are significantly higher than those currently being paid, make other distributions to our shareholders, or redeem shares of our common stock.

These provisions may limit our ability to conduct our business, take advantage of business opportunities, and respond to changing business, market, and economic conditions. In addition, they may place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other companies that may be subject to fewer, if any, restrictions or may otherwise adversely affect our business. Transactions that we may view as important opportunities, such as significant acquisitions, may be subject to the consent of the lenders under our credit arrangements, which consent may be withheld or granted subject to conditions specified at the time that may affect the attractiveness or viability of the transaction.

Although we have in place a $150 million revolving credit facility that does not expire until October 2019, 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.

If we are unable to comply with the terms of our credit arrangements and indentures, especially the financial covenants, our credit arrangements could be terminated and our senior notes, debentures, term loan, and any amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility could become due and payable.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with all of the terms of our credit arrangements and indentures, especially the financial covenants. Our ability to comply with such terms depends on the success of our business and our operating results. Various risks, uncertainties, and events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with the terms of our credit arrangements and/or indentures. If we were out of compliance 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 amendments to the terms of our credit arrangements that may be unfavorable to us. In addition, our 6.625% senior notes, 7.800% debentures, term loan, and any amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility could become due and payable if we were unable to obtain a covenant waiver or refinance our medium-term debt under our credit arrangements. If our credit rating falls below investment grade and/or our debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") ratio rises above 1.50, the interest rate we currently pay on outstanding debt under our credit arrangements would increase, which could adversely affect our operating results.

We are expanding and renovating our corporate facilities and could experience disruptions to our operations in connection with such efforts.

We are expanding and renovating our corporate facilities, driven by our need to expand the space available for our product

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development and test capacities, as well as our need for additional information technology and office space. These expansion efforts included the construction of a new corporate facility that was completed in fiscal 2014, and we are renovating our corporate facilities located in Bloomington, Minnesota to accommodate expansion needs of our product development, test, and business capacities. We financed, and expect to continue to finance, such efforts with cash on hand and cash from operating activities. The expansion and renovation of our corporate facilities entail risks that could cause disruption in the operations of our business. Such risks include potential interruption in data flow; unforeseen construction, scheduling, engineering, environmental, or geological problems; and unanticipated cost increases.

Our business is subject to a number of other miscellaneous risks that may adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, or business.

Other miscellaneous risks that could affect our operating results, financial condition, or business include:

•

our ability to achieve the revenue growth, operating earnings, and working capital goals of our "Destination PRIME" initiative or any quarterly financial guidance;

•

natural or man-made disasters or global pandemics, which may result in shortages of raw materials and components, higher fuel and commodity costs, delays in shipments to customers, and increases in insurance premiums;

•

financial viability of distributors and dealers, changes in distributor ownership, changes in channel distribution of our products, relationships with our distribution channel partners, our success in partnering with new dealers and our customers' ability to pay amounts owed to us;

•

a decline in retail sales or financial difficulties of our distributors or dealers, which could cause us to repurchase financed product;

•

new or revised accounting standards; and

•

the threat of terrorist acts and war, which may result in heightened security and higher costs for import and export shipments of components or finished goods, reduced leisure travel, and contraction of the U.S. and worldwide economies.

ITEM 1B.   UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

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ITEM 2.   PROPERTIES

As of October 31, 2016, we utilized manufacturing, distribution, warehouse, and office facilities totaling approximately 6.3 million square feet of space worldwide. We had approximately 72 acres of excess land in Wisconsin adjacent to a distribution center, 70 acres of land in Minnesota utilized as a testing and storage facility, and 21 acres of land in California used as a testing site. Plant utilization varies during the year depending on the production cycle. We consider each of our current facilities to be in good operating condition. Management believes we have sufficient manufacturing capacity for fiscal 2017, although strategies for future operational growth are currently being assessed. We are expanding and renovating our corporate facilities located in Bloomington, Minnesota, which included the construction of a 75,000 square foot facility that was completed in fiscal 2014, renovation of a portion of our original corporate facility that was completed in fiscal 2016 to accommodate additional expansion needs for our product development and test capacities, and future planned renovations in fiscal 2017. Our significant facilities are listed below by location, ownership, and function as of October 31, 2016:

ITEM 3.   LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are a party to litigation in the ordinary course of business. Litigation occasionally involves claims for punitive, as well as compensatory, damages arising out of the use of our products. Although we are self-insured to some extent, we maintain insurance against certain product liability losses. We are also subject to litigation, administrative, and judicial proceedings with respect to claims involving asbestos and the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. Some of these claims assert damages and liability for personal injury, remedial investigations or clean-up, and other costs and damages. We are also typically involved in commercial disputes, employment disputes, and patent litigation cases in the ordinary course of business. To prevent possible infringement of our patents by others, we periodically review competitors' products. To avoid potential liability with respect to others' patents, we regularly review certain patents issued by the USPTO and foreign patent offices. We believe these activities help us minimize our risk of being a defendant in patent infringement litigation. We are currently involved in patent litigation cases, including cases by or against competitors, where we are asserting and defending against claims of patent infringement. Such cases are at varying stages in the litigation process.

For a description of our material legal proceedings, see Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under the heading "Commitments and Contingent Liabilities – Litigation" included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated into this Item 3 by reference.

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ITEM 4.   MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The list below identifies those persons designated by our Board of Directors as executive officers of the company. The list sets forth each such person's age and position with the company as of December 16, 2016, as well as other positions held by him or her for at least the last five years. There are no family relationships between any director, executive officer, or person nominated to become a director or executive officer of the company. There are no arrangements or understandings between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which he or she was selected as an officer of the company.

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PART II

ITEM 5.   MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol "TTC." The high, low, and last sales prices for our common stock and cash dividends paid for each of the quarterly periods for fiscal 2016 and 2015 were as follows:

¹

Per share data and sales prices have been adjusted for all periods presented to reflect the impact of the company's two-for-one stock split effective September 16, 2016.

²

Future cash dividends will depend upon our financial condition, capital requirements, results of operations, and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. Restrictions on our ability to pay dividends are disclosed in Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

Common Stock – 175,000,000 shares authorized, $1.00 par value, as of October 31, 2016 and 2015. 108,427,393 and 109,301,832 shares outstanding as of October 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Preferred Stock - 1,000,000 voting shares and 850,000 non-voting shares authorized, $1.00 par value, no shares outstanding.

Shareholders - As of December 15, 2016, we had approximately 3,225 shareholders of record.

Purchases of Equity Securities - The following table sets forth information with respect to shares of our common stock purchased by the company during each of the three fiscal months in our fourth quarter ended October 31, 2016.

¹

Shares and per share data have been adjusted for all periods presented to reflect the impact of the company's two-for-one stock split effective September 16, 2016.

²

On December 11, 2012, the company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of 10,000,000 shares of our common stock in open-market or in privately negotiated transactions. This program has no expiration date but may be terminated by our Board of Directors at any time. The company repurchased 593,922 shares during the period indicated above under this program and no shares remain available to repurchase under this program.

³

On December 3, 2015, the company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional 8,000,000 shares of the company's common stock in open-market or in privately negotiated transactions. This program has no expiration date but may be terminated by the company's Board of Directors at any time. The company repurchased 307,285 shares during the period indicated above under this program and 7,692,715 shares remain available to repurchase under this program.

⁴

Includes 1,695 units (shares) of our common stock purchased in open-market transactions at an average price of $47.59 per share on behalf of a rabbi trust formed to pay benefit obligations to participants in deferred compensation plans. These 1,695 shares were not repurchased under our repurchase program, described in footnotes 2 and 3 above.

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The Toro Company Common Stock Comparative Performance Graph

The information contained in The Toro Company Common Stock Comparative Performance Graph section shall not be deemed to be "soliciting material" or "filed" or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically request that it be treated as soliciting material or incorporate it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

The following graph and table depict the cumulative total shareholder return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) on $100 invested in each of Toro common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and an industry peer group for the five-year period from October 31, 2011 through October 31, 2016. Data has been adjusted for all periods presented to reflect the impact of the company's two-for-one stock split effective September 16, 2016.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among The Toro Company, the S&P 500 Index,
and Peer Group

                                *$100 invested on 10/31/11 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.

                                Fiscal years ending October 31.

The industry peer group is based on companies previously included in the Fortune 500 Industrial and Farm Equipment Index, which was discontinued after 2002 and currently includes: AGCO Corporation, The Alpine Group, Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Caterpillar Inc., Crane Co., Cummins Inc., Deere & Company, Dover Corporation, Flowserve Corporation, General Cable Corporation, Harsco Corporation, Illinois Tool Works Inc., International Game Technology Plc, ITT Inc., Kennametal Inc., Lennox International Inc., NACCO Industries, Inc., Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Pentair Plc, Snap-On Inc., Teleflex Inc., Terex Corporation, The Timken Company, and Walter Energy Inc.

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ITEM 6.   SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table presents our selected financial data for each of the fiscal years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2016. The table should be read in conjunction with Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

¹

The company's consolidated financial statements include results of the BOSS business from November 14, 2014, the date of acquisition.

²

Per share data and sales prices have been adjusted for all periods presented to reflect the impact of the company's two-for-one stock splits effective September 16, 2016 and June 29, 2012.

³

Average net working capital is defined as monthly average net accounts receivable plus net inventory less accounts payable.

ITEM 7.   MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") is intended to provide a reader of our financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of management on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and certain other factors that may affect our future results. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the comparisons presented in this MD&A refer to the prior fiscal year. Statements that are not historical are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this report. These risks could cause our actual results to differ materially from any future performance suggested below.

OVERVIEW

The Toro Company is in the business of designing, manufacturing, and marketing professional turf maintenance equipment and services, turf irrigation systems, landscaping equipment and lighting products, snow and ice management products, agricultural micro-irrigation systems, rental and specialty construction equipment, and residential yard and snow thrower products. We sell our products worldwide through a network of distributors, dealers, hardware retailers, home centers, mass retailers, and online. Our businesses are organized into three reportable business segments: Professional, Residential, and Distribution. Our Distribution segment, which consists of our company-owned domestic distributorship, has been combined with our corporate activities and is shown as "Other." We strive to provide innovative, well-built, and dependable products supported by an extensive

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service network. A significant portion of our net sales has historically been, and we expect will continue to be, attributable to new and enhanced products. We define new products as those introduced in the current and previous two fiscal years. Shares and per share data have been adjusted for all periods presented to reflect the impact of our two-for-one stock split effective September 16, 2016.

Summary of Fiscal 2016 Results

In fiscal 2016, we achieved net sales of $2,392.2 million and net earnings growth of 14.6 percent. Our fiscal 2016 results included the following items of significance:

•

Net sales for fiscal 2016 increased by 0.1 percent compared to fiscal 2015 to $2,392.2 million. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations negatively impacted our net sales growth by 1.3 percent. The sales increase was primarily attributable to strong demand of our Professional segment products including the successful introduction of new innovative products, primarily offset by lower Residential segment sales driven mainly by decreased pre-season snow products demand.

•

Professional segment net sales grew 4.0 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015. Sales increased primarily from strong demand for our golf and landscape contractor equipment, increased product placement of our micro-irrigation products, along with continued growth in our rental and specialty construction businesses.

•

Residential segment net sales decreased 7.8 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015, primarily due to lower sales of snow products and decreased shipments of zero-turn radius riding mowers, partially offset by increased shipments of walk power mowers.

•

International net sales for fiscal 2016 decreased by 5.1 percent compared to fiscal 2015 mainly due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates that reduced our total net sales by approximately $30.6 million in fiscal 2016. International net sales comprised 24.2 percent of our total consolidated net sales in fiscal 2016 compared to 25.5 percent in fiscal 2015 and 28.7 percent in fiscal 2014. These declines were primarily the result of foreign currency exchange rate changes.

•

Fiscal 2016 net earnings of $231.0 million increased 14.6 percent compared to fiscal 2015, and diluted net earnings per share increased 15.7 percent to $2.06 in fiscal 2016 compared to $1.78 in fiscal 2015.

•

Gross margin was 36.6 percent in fiscal 2016, an increase of 160 basis points from 35.0 percent in fiscal 2015. This increase was primarily the result of favorable commodity costs and enhanced productivity, as well as favorable segment mix.

•

Selling, general, and administrative ("SG&A") expense was up 0.6 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015, or up 10 basis points to 22.6 percent.

•

Receivables decreased by 7.8 percent as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to the end of fiscal 2015 primarily as a result of more receivables financed through Red Iron. Our inventory levels were down by 8.2 percent as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to the end of fiscal 2015 primarily due to focused production planning in the latter half of fiscal 2016. Average net working capital (net accounts receivable plus net inventory less trade payables) as a percent of net sales was 15.9 percent as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to 16.0 percent as of the end of fiscal 2015. Our domestic field inventory levels were up as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to the end of fiscal 2015, primarily due to higher levels in the Professional segment with higher retail demand and anticipated strong retail of new products in fiscal 2017.

•

We continued our history of paying quarterly cash dividends in fiscal 2016. We increased our fiscal 2016 quarterly cash dividend by 20 percent to $0.15 per share compared to our quarterly cash dividend in fiscal 2015 of $0.125 per share.

•

Our stock repurchase program returned $112.0 million to our shareholders during fiscal 2016, which reduced our number of shares outstanding. This reduction resulted in a benefit to our diluted net earnings per share of $0.03 per share in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015.

Destination PRIME

Our current multi-year initiative, "Destination PRIME," began our journey into our second century. Similar to our previous Destination 2014 initiative, this three-year initiative is intended to help us drive revenue and earnings growth and further improve productivity, while also continuing our century-long commitment to innovation, relationships, and excellence. Through our Destination PRIME initiative, we will strive to achieve our goals by pursuing a progression of milestones for organic revenue growth, operating earnings, and working capital.

Organic Revenue Growth. We intend to pursue strategic growth of our existing businesses and product categories with an annual organic revenue growth goal. The organic revenue growth goal of our Destination PRIME initiative is to achieve at least five percent organic revenue growth each fiscal year of this initiative. We define organic revenue growth as the increase in net sales, less net sales from acquisitions that occurred in the prior twelve-month period. In both fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, we fell short of this goal by achieving 0.1 percent and 4.1 percent organic revenue growth, respectively.

Operating Earnings. The operating earnings goal is to raise operating earnings as a percentage of net sales to 13 percent or higher by the end of fiscal 2017. In fiscal 2016, we achieved this goal as we realized 14.0 percent of operating earnings as a percentage of net sales. In fiscal 2015, we realized 12.5 percent of operating earnings as a percentage of net sales.

Working Capital. The working capital goal of our Destination PRIME initiative is to drive down average net working capital as

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a percentage of net sales to 13 percent or lower by the end of fiscal 2017. In fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, our average net working capital as a percentage of net sales was 15.9 percent and 16.0 percent, respectively.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Fiscal 2016 net earnings were $231.0 million compared to $201.6 million in fiscal 2015, an increase of 14.6 percent. Fiscal 2016 diluted net earnings per share were $2.06, an increase of 15.7 percent from $1.78 per share in fiscal 2015. The primary factors contributing to the net earnings increase were gross margin improvement and a decrease in our effective tax rate. However, these improvements were partially offset by an increase in our SG&A expense. Our net earnings per diluted share were also benefited by $0.03 per share in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015 as a result of reduced shares outstanding from repurchases of our common stock.

Fiscal 2015 net earnings were $201.6 million compared to $173.9 million in fiscal 2014, an increase of 15.9 percent. Fiscal 2015 diluted net earnings per share were $1.78, an increase of 17.5 percent from $1.51 per share in fiscal 2014. The primary factors contributing to the net earnings improvement were higher net sales, leveraging fixed SG&A costs over higher sales volumes, and a decrease in our effective tax rate. However, these improvements were partially offset by a decline in our gross margin rate and an increase in interest expense. Our net earnings per diluted share were also benefited by $0.03 per share in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014 as a result of reduced shares outstanding from repurchases of our common stock.

The following table summarizes our results of operations as a percentage of our consolidated net sales.

Fiscal 2016 Compared with Fiscal 2015

Net Sales. Worldwide net sales in fiscal 2016 were $2,392.2 million compared to $2,390.9 million in fiscal 2015, an increase of 0.1 percent. This net sales change was attributable to the following factors:

•

Increased sales of Professional segment products were driven by higher shipments and demand of golf, landscape contractor, and rental and specialty equipment products primarily due to continued market growth and increased demand for our innovative product offerings and the successful introduction of new products. Micro-irrigation and irrigation product sales also increased mainly due to improved product placement and higher project sales. However, sales of snow and ice management products were down primarily due to decreased pre-season demand.

•

Decreased sales of Residential segment products were mainly driven by lower sales and pre-season retail demand of snow thrower products, decreased shipments of zero-turn radius riding mowers, and unfavorable weather conditions in many of our markets. However, sales of our walk power mowers increased mainly due to strong shipments driven by our innovative product offerings and favorable growing season weather in key markets.

•

Our overall net sales in international markets decreased by 5.1 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015 due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations that reduced our total net sales by approximately $30.6 million in fiscal 2016.

Gross Margin. Gross margin represents gross profit (net sales less cost of sales) as a percentage of net sales. See Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, in the section entitled "Cost of Sales," for a description of expenses included in cost of sales. Gross margin increased by 160 basis points to 36.6 percent in fiscal 2016 from 35.0 percent in fiscal 2015. This increase was mainly the result of the following factors:

•

Lower costs to purchase commodities, primarily steel and resin, and productivity improvements.

•

Segment mix from a higher mix of Professional segment product sales.

Somewhat offsetting those positive factors were unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expense. SG&A expense increased $3.4 million, or 0.6 percent, in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015. See Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, in the section entitled "Selling, General, and Administrative Expense," for a description of expenses included in SG&A expense. SG&A expense rate represents SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales. SG&A expense rate in fiscal 2016 increased 10 basis points to 22.6 percent compared to 22.5 percent in fiscal 2015. The increase in SG&A expense was driven primarily by the following factors:

•

Continued investments in engineering and new product development that resulted in higher expense of $3.8 million.

•

Increased warranty expense of $3.1 million driven by higher claims experience for the year.

•

Higher direct marketing expense of $2.2 million mainly due to increased media spend and paid commissions.

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Somewhat offsetting those increases were:

•

Decreased administrative expense of $3.4 million.

•

Decreased incentive expense of $3.3 million due to actual performance against specified goals.

Interest Expense. Interest expense for fiscal 2016 increased $0.6 million compared to fiscal 2015.

Other Income, Net. Other income, net consists mainly of our proportionate share of income or losses from equity investments (affiliates), currency exchange rate gains and losses, litigation settlements and recoveries, interest income, and retail financing revenue. Other income for fiscal 2016 was $15.4 million compared to $10.7 million in fiscal 2015, an increase of $4.7 million. The increase in other income, net was primarily due to foreign currency contract exchange gains of $1.8 million, a fiscal 2016 litigation recovery of $1.3 million, and higher earnings from our equity investment in Red Iron of $1.2 million.

Provision for Income Taxes. The effective tax rate for fiscal 2016 was 30.1 percent compared to 30.7 percent in fiscal 2015. The decrease was primarily the result of more favorable one-time adjustments related to prior years, and the permanent extension of the federal research credit.

Fiscal 2015 Compared with Fiscal 2014

Net Sales. Worldwide net sales in fiscal 2015 were $2,390.9 million compared to $2,172.7 million in fiscal 2014, an increase of 10.0 percent. This net sales change was attributable to the following factors:

•

Increased sales of Professional segment products driven by the acquisition of the BOSS business which resulted in incremental net sales of $128.5 million for fiscal 2015. In addition, our Professional segment net sales were positively impacted by higher shipments of landscape contractor and rental and specialty equipment products due to continued market growth and increased demand for our innovative product offerings and newly introduced products. However, sales of irrigation products were down primarily due to unfavorable weather conditions in key markets, and sales of micro-irrigation products were lower due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and continued adverse political and economic conditions in key international markets.

•

Increased sales of Residential segment products due to strong shipments and demand for our newly introduced zero-turn radius riding and walk power mower products and expanded product placement. However, Residential segment net sales in Australia were down due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate changes.

•

Our overall net sales in international markets slightly decreased by 1.9 percent in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014 due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations that reduced our total net sales by approximately $47 million in fiscal 2015.

Gross Margin. Gross margin decreased by 60 basis points to 35.0 percent in fiscal 2015 from 35.6 percent in fiscal 2014. This decline was mainly the result of the following factors:

•

Unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate movements.

•

Purchase accounting impact of the incremental charge for the sale of inventory that was written-up to fair value as a result of the acquisition of the BOSS business.

Somewhat offsetting those negative factors were:

•

Improved price realization.

•

Costs for a supplier component rework issue that impacted certain walk power mowers in fiscal 2014 that was not repeated in fiscal 2015.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expense. SG&A expense increased $26.7 million, or 5.2 percent, in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014. SG&A expense rate in fiscal 2015 decreased 100 basis points to 22.5 percent compared to 23.5 percent in fiscal 2014 due to fixed SG&A costs spread over higher sales volumes. However, the increase in SG&A expense of $26.7 million was driven mainly by the following factors:

•

Incremental SG&A expense of $19 million from the BOSS business.

•

Increased administrative expenses of $7 million.

•

Investments in engineering and new product development that resulted in higher expense of $2 million.

Interest Expense. Interest expense for fiscal 2015 increased $3.3 million compared to fiscal 2014 due to higher levels of debt as a result of borrowings that were used to pay the purchase price for the BOSS business.

Other Income, Net. Other income for fiscal 2015 was $10.7 million compared to $8.7 million in fiscal 2014, an increase of $2.0 million. This increase in other income, net was primarily due to higher earnings from our equity investment in Red Iron of $1.1 million and lower foreign currency exchange rate losses of $0.7 million in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014.

Provision for Income Taxes. The effective tax rate for fiscal 2015 was 30.7 percent compared to 32.2 percent in fiscal 2014. The decrease in the effective tax rate was attributable to the benefit in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 for the retroactive re-enactment of the federal research credit for calendar 2014 and higher earnings in lower tax jurisdictions.

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PERFORMANCE BY BUSINESS SEGMENT

As more fully described in Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, we operate in three reportable business segments: Professional, Residential, and Distribution. Our Distribution segment, which consists of our company-owned domestic distributorship, has been combined with our corporate activities and is shown as "Other." Operating earnings for our Professional and Residential segments are defined as earnings from operations plus other income, net. Operating loss for the Other segment includes earnings (loss) from our wholly owned domestic distribution companies, corporate activities, other income, and interest expense. The following information provides perspective on our business segments' net sales and operating results.

Professional Segment

Professional segment net sales represented 71 percent of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, 69 percent for fiscal 2015, and 68 percent for fiscal 2014. The following table shows the Professional segment net sales, operating earnings, and operating earnings as a percent of net sales.

Net Sales.    Worldwide net sales for the Professional segment in fiscal 2016 were up by 4.0 percent compared to fiscal 2015 primarily as a result of the following factors:

•

Higher shipments of golf equipment and irrigation products, mainly due to demand for our innovative product offerings, the successful introduction of new products, increased golf irrigation projects, and favorable weather conditions.

•

Increased sales of landscape contractor equipment driven by strong demand of our riding and stand-on mower product lines.

•

Higher sales of micro-irrigation products which were mainly driven by improved product placement.

•

Increased sales driven by strong demand and market growth for rental and specialty construction equipment, as well as positive customer response for new products.

Somewhat offsetting those positive factors were:

•

Unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

•

A decline in sales of snow and ice management products which was driven mainly from decreased pre-season demand.

Our domestic field inventory levels of our Professional segment products were higher as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to the end of fiscal 2015 due, primarily to anticipated strong shipments of new product introductions and higher retail demand.

Worldwide net sales for the Professional segment in fiscal 2015 were up by 11.0 percent compared to fiscal 2014 primarily as a result of the following factors:

•

Incremental sales from the acquisition of the BOSS business of $128.5 million.

•

Higher shipments of landscape contractor equipment, including new and enhanced products, as contractors continued to invest in turf maintenance equipment.

•

Increased sales driven by strong demand and market growth for rental and specialty construction equipment, as well as positive customer response for new products we introduced in that market.

Somewhat offsetting those positive factors were:

•

Unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

•

A decline in sales of irrigation products due to unfavorable weather conditions in key markets.

•

Lower sales of micro-irrigation products due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and continued adverse political and economic conditions in key international markets.

Operating Earnings.    Operating earnings for the Professional segment in fiscal 2016 increased 14.3 percent compared to fiscal 2015, primarily due to higher sales volumes, higher gross margin, and lower SG&A expense. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, Professional segment operating margins increased by 180 basis points to 20.6 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to 18.8 percent in fiscal 2015. The following factors impacted Professional segment operating earnings as a percentage of net sales for fiscal 2016:

•

Higher gross margin in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015 mainly due to lower commodity costs and productivity improvements, as well as favorable product mix, partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

•

A decline in SG&A expense rate in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015 due to lower administration costs.

Operating earnings for the Professional segment in fiscal 2015 increased 11.5 percent compared to fiscal 2014 primarily due to higher sales volumes. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, Professional segment operating margins slightly increased by 10 basis points to 18.8 percent in fiscal 2015 compared to 18.7 percent in fiscal 2014. The following factors impacted Professional segment operating earnings as a percentage of net sales for fiscal 2015:

•

Lower gross margin in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014 mainly due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate movements and the purchase accounting impact for the acquisition of the BOSS business, as previously discussed.

•

A decline in SG&A expense rate in fiscal 2015 compared to fiscal 2014 due to further leveraging fixed SG&A costs over higher sales volumes.

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Residential Segment

Residential segment net sales represented 28 percent of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, 30 percent for fiscal 2015, and 31 percent for fiscal 2014.

The following table shows the Residential segment net sales, operating earnings, and operating earnings as a percent of net sales.

Net Sales.    Worldwide net sales for the Residential segment in fiscal 2016 were down by 7.8 percent compared to fiscal 2015 primarily as a result of the following factors:

•

Decreased shipments and lower retail demand of snow products due to low snowfall totals in the 2015/2016 season.

•

Lower sales of zero-turn radius riding mowers primarily driven by variable weather conditions throughout the year and a slight reduction in retail placement.

•

Unfavorable weather conditions in many of our markets.

Somewhat offsetting the decrease in Residential segment net sales were higher sales of walk power mowers driven by increased demand for our product offerings and strong customer response for our innovative models, including our SMARTSTOW® and all-wheel drive models.

Our domestic field inventory levels of our Residential segment products were lower as of the end of fiscal 2016 compared to the end of fiscal 2015 primarily due to decreased pre-season snow thrower product channel demand for the 2016-2017 winter season and inventory sell-through of walk power mowers from a strong fall growing season.

Worldwide net sales for the Residential segment in fiscal 2015 were up by 7.9 percent compared to fiscal 2014 primarily as a result of the following factors:

•

Increased shipments driven by strong retail demand and additional product placement for our new platform of zero-turn radius riding mowers.

•

Higher sales of walk power mowers due to enhanced product placement and increased demand for our product offerings, including our new all-wheel drive model.

Somewhat offsetting the increase in Residential segment net sales was a decline in sales in Australia from unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

Operating Earnings.    Operating earnings for the Residential segment in fiscal 2016 decreased 13.3 percent compared to fiscal 2015. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, Residential segment operating margins decreased 70 basis points to 11.0 percent in fiscal 2016 compared to 11.7 percent in fiscal 2015. The following factors impacted Residential segment operating earnings:

•

Higher gross margin in fiscal 2016 compared to fiscal 2015 mainly due to lower commodity costs and freight expense, partially offset by unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

•

Increased SG&A expense rate attributable to lower sales as well as increased engineering, marketing and warehousing expenses.

Operating earnings for the Residential segment in fiscal 2015 increased 10.5 percent compared to fiscal 2014. Expressed as a percentage of net sales, Residential segment operating margins increased 30 basis points to 11.7 percent in fiscal 2015 compared to 11.4 percent in fiscal 2014. The following factors impacted Residential segment operating earnings:

•

Lower gross margins primarily from unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and increased manufacturing expenses.

•

Lower SG&A expense rate attributable to further leveraging of fixed SG&A costs over higher sales volumes.

Other Segment

Other segment net sales, which includes our company-owned domestic distributors, represented 1 percent of consolidated net sales for each of fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014. During the first quarter of fiscal 2016, we sold our Northwestern U.S. distribution company. The following table shows the other segment net sales and operating losses.