“Over the long run, we always expect to grow operating income faster than sales.”

In context

“nd then, wondering if you could just talk a little bit about what you're seeing on 1Q to-date in terms of comp performance? Richard McPhail: Sure. So it may be more helpful to talk about the construction of operating margin year-to-year, just to kind of tick that out. That gives you a better sense. So, in a flat comp environment, we would expect to see deleverage on a fixed cost base and obviously in an inflationary environment as exists today. That deleverage is somewhere between 30 to 40 basis points. In addition, our wage investment represents about 60 basis points of movement in year-to-year wage. And then offsetting that are productivity initiatives that we expect will generate between 10 and 20 basis points of recapture of margin. And so that's how we walk from the 15.3 to the 14.5. Over the long run, we always expect to grow operating income faster than sales. We've been managing in a unique environment and certainly our guidance implies the wage investment that we've made today. And the second part of your question I'm sorry I forgot. Karen Short: It was just -- could you -- any color you could provide on 1Q performance in terms of comps? Richard McPhail: Well, as I shared just a few questions ago we do anticipate that comps in the first half will be slightly lower than the second half and our performance to-date reflects that guidance. Karen Short: Okay. Thanks very much. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Zach Fadem with Wells Fargo. Please proceed with your question. Zach Fadem: Hey, good morning. Richard it sounds like most of the margin pressure in 2023 is expected to land at the operating expense line. And I'm curious if”