...A. Sales of $7.6 billion increased 4.3% over prior year, driven by organic growth of 5% and acquisition growth of 1% despite 1 fewer sales day and foreign exchange, which had a combined 1.7% negative impact. B. We delivered a 31% gross margin, which strengthened sequentially by 130 basis points. C. Strong volume growth, gross margin improvement, moderating deflation and the early benefits of streamlining our business drove profitable growth. D. Operating profit increased 6.1% and operating margin expanded 20 basis points to 9.4%. E. Diluted earnings per share increased 7.8% over the prior year to $2.50. F. We continue to execute our capital priorities, deploying approximately $690 million during the quarter, including completing three acquisitions and returning $417 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. G. Our balance sheet remains strong with net debt to EBITDA of 1.2 times. H. Net sales grew 4.5% as we drove volume growth with moderating headwinds from deflation....
