You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: I'll start by acknowledging the sad and disturbing recent events in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area and across the nation that began with the horrific death of one of our community members George Floyd.
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Mr. Floyd and the communities directly affected.
Regrettably, these events are representative of larger social and systemic issues.
As our communities work together through these tragic circumstances, we must stand for what is right.
The Toro Company has a long-standing focus on the importance of respect for all in our workplaces, in how we conduct business, and in the communities we serve.
In addition to the events of the past week, we all continue to deal with the effects of COVID-19.
We hope all of you and your families are safe during this difficult time.
It was humbling to see how so many people and organizations moved forward without hesitation to do what was needed to help others as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world.
In response to the coronavirus, we prioritized the safety, well-being and support of our employees, customers and communities.
In addition to our value of respect for all as previously mentioned, some of our other core people values include carrying relationships, trust and integrity.
Even through significant personal and family challenges, our team has transformed the way we work to protect the safety of one another, support our customers, and help our communities.
I am deeply grateful for all of our employees around the world, many who are coming into our facilities each day, to develop, test, build and ship our products.
The team's flexibility, resourcefulness and resolve is being demonstrated as we've acted to make our facilities safe and implement work-from-home policies.
At the same time, we are maintaining the critical functions of our manufacturing operations.
All of this is vital, given The Toro Company's standing as an essential business.
In support of our communities, we launched a special COVID-19 giving initiative called Together We Can Do More.
Through this initiative, we directly donate and match all employee contributions made to COVID-19 relief efforts.
In addition, The Toro Foundation contributed $500,000 to organizations supporting families and communities most directly affected by the pandemic.
Recognizing the financial strain among our employees and their families, we expanded the availability of the Melrose/Hoffman Employee Critical Need Fund.
Additional voluntary contributions were made to that fund by our leadership team and the Board of Directors.
To quote our legendary former Chairman and CEO, Ken Melrose who sadly passed away last month, everyone has the potential to contribute to achieving the goals of the company.
If you unleash that potential, success will be a natural byproduct.
These words mean a lot coming from Ken who successfully led The Toro Company through some of the most challenging times in our history.
I will turn now to our business and financial review.
From a business perspective, our focus has been on maintaining ample liquidity, growing our position in the market, and balancing short and long-term objectives.
Our results this quarter were net sales sales of $929 million, down 3.4% from the prior year, primarily due to reduced Professional segment retail demand as a result of COVID-19.
We reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.92, down 21.4% from the prior year.
To provide specific information by business segments, in the Professional segment, total net sales were $661 million, down 8.6%.
Sales benefited from incremental contributions from the Charles Machine Works and Venture Products acquisitions.
This quarter, we passed the one-year anniversary of the Charles Machine Works acquisition.
We are fortunate to have this business and its employees as part of our company.
Charles Machine Works added scale and diversification to our portfolio, open access to new markets and provided additional opportunities for synergy and value creation across the company.
We are on track to achieve or exceed our stated synergy targets.
Offsetting the gains from acquisitions were declines in most of our Professional businesses as a result of soft retail demand due to COVID-19.
The declines were most pronounced in commercial golf and grounds which saw fewer shipments of turf equipment and irrigation products.
This was driven by budget deferrals at golf course and municipalities, landscape contractor businesses which had fewer shipments as our channel partners aligned field inventory levels which reduced retail demand and rental specialty and underground construction businesses which have experienced reduced sales volumes as a result of global economic slowdown and impact on the construction and oil and gas markets.
It's important to note the Professional segment performance was tracking consistent with our expectations of modest growth until mid-March.
In April, we experienced additional and significant declines in most of our Professional markets.
We typically do not discuss the current quarter in our earnings calls.
However, we appreciate that this quarter is very different.
So, we'll share some color on what happened in May.
For the Professional segment, it was largely a story of new equipment purchase deferrals and focus on service and repair.
We're seeing continued challenges across golf and grounds, landscape contractor, and rental specialty and underground construction businesses.
These challenges stem more from lower budgets and deferred purchases than from temporary facility closures.
For golf, most play has resumed and demand for rounds has been robust.
However, lower food and beverage and event revenue has negatively affected club budgets, putting pressure on new equipment purchases.
For our municipal grounds customers, budgets have been lowered or diverted to non-ground support which has resulted in reduced equipment demand.
The repair and defer story is the same with landscape contractors.
However, with the lessening of stay-at-home restrictions, there were some improvements in these categories starting in late May.
In rental, specialty and underground construction, 5G infrastructure and broadband spending increased modestly in May with high demand for system capacity as a result of stay-at-home orders.
Underground infrastructure, rehab and repair projects remained steady.
However, this is being offset by continued construction and oil and gas project softness, reduced capital spending from national rental accounts resulting in new equipment purchase deferrals and lower dealer retail.
In the Residential segment, sales were up 12.9% in the second quarter.
This was mainly driven by incremental shipments to our expanded mass retail channel and strong retail demand.
Some of the demand drivers were favorable spring weather, new products and consumers focusing on home and garden improvements during stay-at-home orders.
Our product sales through captive and partnered e-commerce sites were up significantly in the second quarter.
For May, Residential segment momentum continued, driven by the same trends.
Regarding operations, all of our facilities are currently open with some operating at reduced capacity.
During the second quarter, some sites closed temporarily due to government orders or to manage inventory levels.
We will continue to align production to customer demand, comply with government orders and ensure the safety of our teams.
We had no supplier-related shutdowns in the quarter.
Regarding cash and financial flexibility, we continue to have a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity.
We took measures in the quarter to ensure that we have sufficient cash given the economic climate.
For the remainder of fiscal 2020, we are taking, across the board, pay cuts inclusive of leadership and eliminating merit increases and discretionary retirement plan contributions.
We also reduced expenses and paused new hires except for critical positions.
At the same time, we have preserved jobs and retained key talent.
We continue to benefit from productivity initiatives and enterprise synergy opportunities as a result of recent acquisitions.
As with past periods of economic challenge, we know what works and how to play to our strengths.
Our culture and business management approach are well adapted to respond to uncontrolled external variables.
While certain factors do lie out of our control, our diverse portfolio and flexibility, help us adjust to shifting situations, while continuing to provide long-term growth and sustained free cash flow.
We will continue to invest in the future for the benefit of all of our stakeholders.
The Toro Company is comprised of a balanced portfolio of products that enhance our customers' productivity across the seasons.
The company has a strong balance sheet that enables us to allocate capital effectively among a variety of alternatives, including new product development, acquisitions, dividends, debt pay down and share repurchases.
Q2 was no exception.
While the COVID-19 pandemic affected our results, we were able to adjust our operations and move the business forward.
We reported net sales of $929 million in the quarter, a 3.4% decrease from the second quarter of fiscal 2019.
Diluted earnings per share was $0.91 for the quarter compared to $1.07 last year.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.92, down 21.4% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2019.
For the first six months of fiscal 2020, net sales increased 8.4%.
Diluted earnings per share was $1.55 compared to $1.62 in the first six months of fiscal 2019.
Year-to-date adjusted diluted earnings per share was $1.56 compared to $1.69 a year ago.
Before I review segment results, I'll cover liquidity.
Back in March, we entered into a three-year term loan agreement for $190 million.
This was to refinance our revolving credit facility borrowings, incurred in connection with Venture Products acquisition which closed on March 2.
With the funding of this new term loan, the company now has liquidity of approximately $800 million including cash and cash equivalents of $200 million and availability under our revolving credit facility of approximately $600 million.
We have no significant debt maturities until April 2022.
We continue to work closely with our banking partners and monitor credit markets.
Receivable collections continue to track similar to last year.
All of this gives us confidence in our ability to weather the current and potentially extended period of macroeconomic uncertainty.
I'd like to provide more color and some of the actions we've taken so far to maintain the strength of the company given the unprecedented speed and depth of the pandemic.
From a demand perspective, we've executed business continuity plans and work to ensure product availability in areas where demand remains strong such as in our Residential segment.
Additionally, we scaled back production in areas where demand was weaker.
As Rick discussed, we have taken actions to align costs with near-term demand and we'll continue to look for ways to make our cost structure more flexible and competitive.
Meanwhile, we focus on maintaining productivity and synergy intiatives which were driven by recent acquisitions and then extended across the enterprise.
Now, to the segment results.
For the second quarter, Professional segment net sales decreased 8.6% to $661 million.
The top line benefited from the Charles Machine Works and Venture Products acquisitions which together added incremental net sales of $142 million.
Professional segment sales declined compared to the second quarter of 2019, due to lower shipments driven by COVID-related demand pull back.
Until mid-March and the impact of COVID-19, sales were tracking to modest growth in line with our expectations.
We saw a modest sales decline in the second half of March and a more significant reduction in April as compared to prior-year performance.
For the year-to-date period of fiscal 2020, net sales increased 6.6% compared to the same period of fiscal 2019.
Professional segment operating earnings for the second quarter decreased 29.2% to $106 million, reflecting a 460 basis point decline in segment operating earnings as a percent of sales, primarily due to manufacturing variance as a result of COVID-19 related facility closures and social distancing initiatives, incremental marketing, engineering and administrative costs as a result of the Charles Machine Works and Venture Products acquisitions, higher warranty expense and unfavorable product mix.
This was partially offset by favorable net price realizations, productivity and synergy gains, lower commodity and tariff costs and decreased incentive compensation expense.
Year-to-date Professional segment operating earnings declined 12.3% compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year.
Professional segment operating earnings decreased 360 basis points to 16.6%.
Residential segment net sales for the second quarter were up 12.9% $262 million, mainly driven by incremental shipments of zero turn riding and walk power mowers to the expanded mass retail channel as well as strong retail demand.
Year-to-date fiscal 2020 net sales increased 13.4% compared to the same period of fiscal 2019.
Residential segment operating earnings were up 68.5% to $37 million.
This reflects a 470 basis point year-over-year increase in segment operating earnings to 14.2%.
This improvement was largely driven by productivity and synergy gains, lower commodity and tariff costs, lower freight costs and SG&A leverage.
This was partially offset by unfavorable manufacturing variance and higher warranty expense.
Year-to-date Residential segment operating earnings increased 67.2% to $58.7 million.
On a percent of sales basis, segment earnings increased 440 basis points to 13.7%.
Moving to our operating results.
We reported gross margin for the second quarter of 33%, a decrease of 40 basis points over the prior year period.
Excluding acquisition-related charges and one-time costs associated with the inventory writedown of the Toro branded underground business, adjusted gross margin decreased 100 basis points to 33.4%.
The decrease in adjusted gross margin was primarily driven by manufacturing variance due to production downtime and inefficiencies as a result of COVID-19 related closures and product mix with higher Residential segment net sales compared to Q2 of 2019.
This was partially offset by productivity and synergy gains, favorable net price realizations within our Professional segment and lower commodity and tariff costs.
For the first six months of fiscal 2020, gross margin was 35.1% compared with 34.3% in the prior year period.
Adjusted gross margin was 35.3% compared with 34.9% in the first six months of fiscal 2019.
SG&A expense as a percent of sales increased 40 basis points to 19.5% for the quarter due to incremental marketing and engineering costs as a result of the Professional segment acquisitions as well as higher warranty expense.
These cost increases were partially offset by decreased incentive compensation costs and lower transaction and integration costs.
SG&A expense as a percent of sales for the first six months of fiscal 2020 was 22.3%, up 130 basis points from the prior year period.
Operating earnings as a percent of net sales decreased 80 basis points to 13.5% for the second quarter.
Adjusted operating earnings as a percent of net sales decreased 240 basis points to 14%.
For the first six months of fiscal 2020, operating earnings as a percent of net sales were 12.8% compared to 13.3% a year ago.
Adjusted operating earnings as a percent of net sales for the first six months of fiscal 2020 were 13.1% compared with 14.7% a year ago.
Interest expense increased $2 million and $5.4 million for the second quarter and year-to-date, respectively, compared to a year ago.
These increases were due to higher debt outstanding related to the Professional segment acquisitions.
For the full year, we anticipate interest expense of about [Phonetic] $34 million.
The effective tax rate was 18.9% for the second quarter and the adjusted effective tax rate was 20%.
For the first six months of fiscal 2020, the effective tax rate was 18.8% and the adjusted effective tax rate was 20.4%.
For the full year, we anticipate an adjusted effective tax rate of about [Phonetic] 20.5%.
Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow.
Accounts receivable totaled $400 million.
This was down 6.6% from a year ago as a result of lower professional segment sales at the end of the second quarter, driven by reduced demand due to COVID-19.
This was partially offset by incremental residential segment sales to the expanded mass retail channel and additional receivable as a result of the Venture Products acquisition.
Inventory was up 16.8% to $714 million from a year ago, primarily due to higher finished goods in our Professional segment due to COVID-19 related sales reduction, increased raw materials and work in process as a result of production downtime due to facility closures and production inefficiencies and incremental inventories from Venture Products.
Accounts payable decreased 16.4% to $327 million from a year ago.
This was mainly due to decreased material purchases as we align production levels with reduced sales volume.
Incremental payables from Venture Products partially offset the decline in purchases.
We expect depreciation and amortization for fiscal 2020 of about $100 million which includes approximately $3 million of fair value step-up related to the acquired inventory from Venture Products.
We are now estimating lower capital expenditures of $80 million versus our prior expectation of $100 million.
Free cash flow for the quarter was below prior year amounts, primarily due to decreased net earnings, lower accounts payable, and higher inventory.
Our disciplined capital allocation strategy includes investing in organic and M&A growth opportunities, maintaining an effective capital structure and returning cash to shareholders.
Our keen focus on near-term liquidity has reaffirmed our capital allocation priorities for the year.
Consistent with our objectives following the Venture Products acquisition, we will continue to prioritize debt repayments in order to manage our leverage target, curtail share repurchases for the year and consider strategically compelling acquisitions.
In May, we declared our regular quarterly dividend.
Based on our current outlook and strong financial position, we expect to maintain our dividend.
As a result of the many and evolving COVID-19 related factors we discussed today and more that could emerge, should the current economic climate extend for a prolonged period, we do not have the ability to predict its impact on our businesses and financial results.
That said, we do want to share with you some of our thinking about the remainder of the year.
At this point, based on current information regarding the global economic outlook, the company expects the most pronounced year-over-year sales and earnings per share percentage declines in the third quarter of fiscal 2020.
We also expect negative year-over-year fourth quarter sales and earnings per share growth.
This assumes continued customer behavior changes that include lower capital outlays and cash preservation, mostly in the Professional segment.
On the positive side, our products have a natural replacement life.
So we anticipate net sales will rebound in future periods.
COVID-19 related factors that could impact these expectations include: first, the company's ability to continue operations and or adjust our production schedules due to governmental actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the COVID19 pandemic; second, supplier risk and the company's ability to obtain commodities, components, parts and accessories in a timely manner and at anticipated costs; and finally, prolonged periods of economic stress that may affect customer liquidity and could impede customer buying patterns.
While we do not know how long this COVID-19 uncertainty will continue, we anticipate an easing of these pressures as we head into fiscal 2021.
In summary, with our flexible business model and strong culture as our foundation, we have taken the necessary steps to be in a position to grow as we enter fiscal 2021.
We have preserved jobs, lowered costs, strengthened our financial position, served our partners well and continued to invest in technology and innovation and we are prepared to take further actions to serve our customers in multiple potential economic scenarios.
As we've seen so for so far in 2020, we have been agile in our response to the pandemic and remain committed to our core values of innovation and caring relationships built on trust and integrity.
While our near-term visibility is limited, we've taken measures to ensure a solid financial position as we move forward.
We are confident in our ability to continue serving our global customers throughout and far beyond the pandemic.
As we look ahead, we are optimistic about our many exciting opportunities, our investments in alternative power, smart connected products, and robotic and autonomous technologies will drive an entirely new cycle of innovative products across our markets.
We continue to expand our full future portfolio of battery-powered products as customers see convenience and an opportunity to reduce emissions.
We expect the customers who deferred new equipment purchases will return to historic buying patterns as the economy improves.
In past recessionary times when we saw new equipment purchase deferrals, we experienced strong growth in the recovery.
In construction, the buildout of 5G and rural broadband should benefit sales of our underground equipment like the new JT24 horizontal directional drill.
In golf and grounds, we will continue to innovate to increase productivity and solve customer challenges.
For example, our IntelliDash course management platform professionals helps turf professionals integrate data and use information to simplify operations and use water and other resources more efficiently.
We continue to support contractors with an expanded line of high productivity equipment solutions.
For the snow and ice season, this includes the BOSS Snow Raider and Ventrac SSV and for the growing season, the Exmark Staris and Toro GrandStand Multi-Force.
These are just a few examples of how we're creating long-term growth through new product development and strategic acquisitions.
We also expect continued homeowner interest in home and garden improvement.
We have an exciting array of new products, including an expanded portfolio of 60-volt solutions, refreshed brand content and marketing and a new channel partner that is broadening our reach.
In closing, our strategic priorities are enduring.
Now and long after we emerge from this challenging time, we remain focused on accelerating profitable growth, driving productivity and operational excellence and empowering people.

user
compname reports q2 earnings per share of $0.91.
q2 adjusted earnings per share $0.92.
q2 earnings per share $0.91.
all of company's facilities are currently open with some operating at reduced capacity.
will not be providing detailed financial quarterly or full-year guidance until visibility into market conditions has improved.
expects most pronounced year-over-year sales and earnings per share percentage declines in q3 of fiscal 2020.
also expects negative year-over-year q4 sales and earnings per share growth.

assistant