MillerKnoll's 21.5% return over the past six months has outpaced the S&P 500 by 15.1%, and its stock price has climbed to $23.62 per share. This was partly thanks to its solid quarterly results, and the run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.

Is now the time to buy MillerKnoll, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Check out our in-depth research report to see what our analysts have to say, it's free .

Why Is MillerKnoll Not Exciting?

Despite the momentum, we're sitting this one out for now. Here are three reasons why there are better opportunities than MLKN, plus one stock we'd rather own.

1. Lackluster Revenue Growth

Long-term growth is the most important, but within business services, a stretched historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. MillerKnoll's recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its annualized revenue growth of 2.9% over the last two years was well below its five-year trend.

2. EPS Trending Down

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable — for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Sadly for MillerKnoll, its EPS declined by 11% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 9.3%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

3. Mediocre Free Cash Flow Margin Limits Reinvestment Potential

If you've followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can't use accounting profits to pay the bills.

MillerKnoll has shown poor cash profitability relative to peers over the last five years, giving the company fewer opportunities to return capital to shareholders. Its free cash flow margin averaged 2.2%, below what we'd expect for a business services business.

Final Judgment

MillerKnoll isn't a terrible business, but it doesn't pass our quality test. With its shares topping the market in recent months, the stock trades at 11.2× forward P/E (or $23.62 per share). This valuation is reasonable, but the company's shakier fundamentals present too much downside risk. We're pretty confident there are more exciting stocks to buy at the moment. We'd suggest looking at one of our top digital advertising picks .

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of MillerKnoll

WHILE YOU'RE HERE: Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks.The best stocks don't just beat the market once. They do it again. And again. Robust revenue growth, rising free cash flow, returns on capital that leave their competition in the dust. The market has already rewarded these businesses.