SEGMENT DATA

The company's businesses are organized, managed, and internally grouped into segments based on differences in products and services. Segment selection was based on the manner in which management organizes segments for making operating and investment decisions and assessing performance. The company has identified nine operating segments and has aggregated those segments into three reportable segments: Professional, Residential, and Distribution. The aggregation of the company's segments is based on the segments having the following similarities: economic characteristics, types of products and services, types of production processes, type or class of customers, and method of distribution. The company's Distribution segment, which consists of a company-owned domestic distributorship, has been combined with the company's corporate activities and elimination of intersegment revenues and expenses and is shown as "Other" due to the insignificance of the segment.

The Professional business segment consists of turf and landscape equipment, snow and ice management equipment, and irrigation products. Turf and landscape equipment products include sports fields and grounds maintenance equipment, golf course mowing and maintenance equipment, landscape contractor mowing equipment, landscape creation and renovation equipment, rental and specialty construction equipment, and other maintenance equipment. Snow and ice management equipment products include snowplows, salt and sand spreaders, and related parts and accessories for light and medium duty trucks, ATVs, UTVs, skid steers, and front-end loaders. Irrigation products consist of sprinkler heads, electric and hydraulic valves, controllers, computer irrigation central control systems, and micro-irrigation drip tape and hose products, as well as professionally installed lighting products offered through distributors and landscape contractors that also purchase irrigation products. Professional business segment products are sold mainly through a network of distributors and dealers to professional users engaged in maintaining golf courses, sports fields, municipal properties, agricultural fields, residential and commercial landscapes, and removing snow, as well as directly to government customers, rental companies, and large retailers.

The Residential business segment consists of walk power mowers, riding mowers, snow throwers, replacement parts, and home solutions products, including trimmers, blowers, blower-vacuums, and underground and hose-end retail irrigation products sold in Australia. Residential business segment products are sold to homeowners through a network of distributors and dealers, and through a broad array of home centers, hardware retailers, and mass retailers, as well as over the internet.

The Other segment consists of the company's Distribution segment and corporate activities and elimination of intersegment revenues and expenses. Corporate activities include general corporate expenditures (finance, human resources, legal, information services, public relations, and similar activities) and other unallocated corporate assets and liabilities, such as corporate facilities, parts inventory, and deferred tax assets.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in Note 1. The company evaluates the performance of its Professional and Residential business segment results based on earnings from operations plus other income, net. Operating loss for the Other segment includes earnings (loss) from domestic wholly owned distribution companies, corporate activities, other income, and interest expense. The business segment's operating profits or losses include direct costs incurred at the segment's operating level plus allocated expenses, such as profit sharing and manufacturing expenses. The allocated expenses represent costs that these operations would have incurred otherwise, but do not include general corporate expenses, interest expense, and income taxes. The company accounts for intersegment gross sales at current market prices.

The following table shows summarized financial information concerning the company's reportable segments:


Fiscal years ended October 31		Professional		Residential		Other			Total

2016
Net sales	$	1,705,312	$	669,131	$	17,732		$	2,392,175
Intersegment gross sales		28,138		354		(28,492	)		—
Earnings (loss) before income taxes		352,060		73,691		(95,291	)		330,460
Total assets		774,762		188,920		423,836			1,387,518
Capital expenditures		27,296		13,794		9,633			50,723
Depreciation and amortization		40,715		10,406		12,976			64,097

2015
Net sales	$	1,639,659	$	725,682	$	25,534		$	2,390,875
Intersegment gross sales		45,634		406		(46,040	)		—
Earnings (loss) before income taxes		308,010		84,956		(101,935	)		291,031
Total assets		805,686		217,093		280,879			1,303,658
Capital expenditures		29,016		9,953		17,405			56,374
Depreciation and amortization		42,799		9,131		11,213			63,143

2014
Net sales	$	1,477,578	$	672,443	$	22,670		$	2,172,691
Intersegment gross sales		41,376		424		(41,800	)		—
Earnings (loss) before income taxes		276,305		76,916		(96,776	)		256,445
Total assets		573,086		172,984		446,345			1,192,415
Capital expenditures		25,226		12,417		33,495			71,138
Depreciation and amortization		34,228		8,883		10,027			53,138

The following table presents the details of the Other segment operating loss before income taxes:


Fiscal years ended October 31		2016			2015			2014

Corporate expenses	$	(95,288	)	$	(95,167	)	$	(88,539	)
Interest expense		(19,336	)		(18,757	)		(15,426	)
Other income		19,333			11,989			7,189

Total	$	(95,291	)	$	(101,935	)	$	(96,776	)

The following table presents net sales for groups of similar products and services:


Fiscal years ended October 31		2016		2015		2014

Equipment	$	2,001,150	$	2,004,274	$	1,765,845
Irrigation and lighting		391,025		386,601		406,846

Total	$	2,392,175	$	2,390,875	$	2,172,691

Sales to one customer in the Residential segment accounted for 11 percent of total consolidated gross sales in fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014.

Geographic Data

The following geographic area data includes net sales based on product shipment destination. Long-lived assets consist of net property, plant, and equipment, which is determined based on physical location in addition to allocated capital tooling from U.S. plant facilities.


Fiscal years ended October 31		United States		Foreign Countries		Total

2016
Net sales	$	1,812,587	$	579,588	$	2,392,175
Long-lived assets		188,869		33,169		222,038

2015
Net sales	$	1,780,240	$	610,635	$	2,390,875
Long-lived assets		190,262		34,733		224,995

2014
Net sales	$	1,550,077	$	622,614	$	2,172,691
Long-lived assets		169,797		35,398		205,195