MillerKnoll expects fiscal 2027 revenues between $3.88 billion and $4.03 billion, a reduction from its prior estimate of $3.93 billion to $4.13 billion. The Zeeland, Mich.-based company lowered its guidance amid a challenging macroeconomic environment and rising energy prices.
The revision accompanied the release of fiscal first-quarter results for the three-month period ended Aug. 31. During that quarter, MillerKnoll reported sales of $923.4 million, a 3.4 percent decline year-over-year. Net sales from the contract business fell 6.4 percent to $156.8 million, though the firm noted that forecasts remained positive in the early months of the second quarter.
Interim chief executive officer Jeff Stutz told analysts on a conference call that the company is carefully managing expenses and production levels. He described the measures as an enterprise-wide effort to make deliberate spending choices across all expense lines while optimizing manufacturing capacity.
Workforce adjustments have also been part of the strategy. In May, Holly Hunt president Marc Szafran and executive creative director Joannah Kornak departed the business, and press reports indicated that multiple managers and employees were laid off. Despite these changes, MillerKnoll improved its cash flow from operations to $49.1 million in the first quarter, up from $9.4 million in the same period of the prior year.
Operating income benefited from approximately $10 million in tariff refunds, which helped push adjusted operating income to $65.7 million from $60.1 million a year earlier. The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $18.75 cents per share.
The guidance change occurs as MillerKnoll navigates leadership uncertainty following the June 2 announcement that Andi Owen was stepping down as CEO. Owen had joined Herman Miller in 2018 and oversaw the $1.8 billion merger between Herman Miller and Knoll in 2021.
Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company hit a five-year low in November 2025, during a period marked by macroeconomic headwinds including U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy, inflation, and rising shipping costs.
For the fiscal second quarter of 2027, MillerKnoll projects sales between $972 million and $1 billion. Stutz said the company is working to balance the product mix in its international contract segment to capitalize on new opportunities, noting that individual product categories in this segment are high profit.