Acuity is a leading industrial technology company that offers lighting, lighting controls, and intelligent building solutions. It designs, manufactures, and brings to market products and services relating to these and other offerings.
It is a $8.93B technology company. Revenue grew 6.8% over the last year, it keeps 11¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~0.1 years of free cash flow. It trades at 16.8× earnings — around the middle of its own history.
- Website
- acuityinc.com
- Location
- Atlanta, GA
- Employees
- 13 800
- Sector
- Technology
- Founded
- 1969
Skills
Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.
Strong valuation, profitability, health, quality and moat.
Valuation90
- P/E vs own history38th pct · 20/25
- FCF yield8.4% · 25/25
- P/S1.9x · 25/25
- EV/EBITDA10.3x · 20/25
Growth58
- Revenue CAGR3.8% · 6/25
- Net income CAGR8.5% · 12/25
- EPS CAGR ~5Y15.3% · 20/25
- Fwd implied growth16.4% · 20/25
Profitability80
- ROIC17.5% · 20/25
- ROE18.5% · 20/25
- Net margin11.4% · 20/25
- Operating margin15.4% · 20/25
Health88
- Altman Z4.54 · 25/25
- Current ratio1.70 · 18/25
- Interest coverage27.6x · 25/25
- Net cash / debtD/A 1% · 20/25
Quality100
- Piotroski F8/9 · 25/25
- Beneish M-2.62 · 25/25
- FCF conversion135% · 25/25
- Margin stabilityσ 1.4% · 25/25
Moat88
- ROIC >12% years11/11 yrs · 25/25
- Median gross margin42.6% · 20/25
- FCF-positive years11/11 yrs · 25/25
- Worst-year net marginworst 7.5% · 18/25
Experience
The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.
- FY2026FinancialBest year on record$531M net income
- Q2 2026Insiders2 open-market insider purchases~1K shares bought by insiders
- FY2019FinancialBecame debt-freecash now exceeds total debt
- FY2016FinancialProfitable every year on record11 consecutive profitable years in our data
- FY2016FinancialRevenue already above $1B$3.29B in first reported year
- FY2016FinancialPositive free cash flow every year since11-year streak
- 2007MilestoneEffective July 2007, the company's chemical division, Acuity Specialty Products, spun off as Zep, Inc
- 2001MilestoneInitially incorporated as L&C Spinco in June 2001, it was renamed Acuity Brands in November of the same year
- 1999AcquisitionNSI acquired several other lighting manufacturers over the next 30 years, the largest of which occurred in 1999
- 1997AcquisitionThe chemical division expanded further in 1997 with the acquisition of Enforcer Products and Pure Corporation
- 1969FoundedNSI acquired Lithonia Lighting Inc., a light fixture manufacturer founded in Georgia in 1946
- 1968MilestoneZep became synonymous with NSI's chemical division, acquiring Selig Chemical Industries in 1968 and several smaller…
- 1966AcquisitionZep co-founder Erwin Zaban, who had stayed on following the company's acquisition and was also Weinstein's neighbor,…
- 1964MilestoneTo better reflect its new variety of business units, National Linen became National Service Industries (NSI) in 1964
- 1962AcquisitionNational Linen's first acquisition outside of linens and uniforms was Zep Manufacturing Company, an Atlanta-based…
- 1928IPOThe company went public in 1928 as National Linen Service Corporation and continued to grow, eventually expanding to…
Achievements
Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.
Strengths & watch-outs
What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.
Strengths
- High gross margin (49.5%)
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 16.1% of revenue
- Could repay net debt from ~0.1 years of free cash flow
- Interest covered 27.6× by operating earnings
- High returns on invested capital (ROIC 17.5%)
Watch-outs
Nothing stands out as a concern in the available data.
Qualifications
The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.
- Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+6.8% YoY
- Profitable — makes more than it spends$531M TTM
- Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+16.6% YoY
- Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$748M TTM
- Debt under control — could handle its obligations~0.1y of cash flow to repay
- Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$8.93B market cap
- Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-14.9% shares over ~5y
- Proven track record — years of profitability behind it11/11 profitable years
- Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 4.5 — safe
- Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 0.27%
- Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 16.8
Peer comparisonAcuity Inc. vs 6 largest technology peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾Close ▴
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AYI this company | $8.9B | 16.8 | +6.8% | 11.4% | Strong |
| NVDA Nvidia Corp | $5.5T | 28.6 | +83.4% | 63.7% | Mixed |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | $4.9T | 38.1 | +14.2% | 27.6% | Strong |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | $4.3T | 17.6 | +20.1% | 54.8% | Mixed |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp | $4.0T | 29.7 | +17.8% | 40.3% | Strong |
| SPCX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | $2.1T | — | +33.2% | -34.0% | Strained |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | $1.8T | 26.9 | +27.7% | 29.8% | Mixed |
Head-to-head: AYI vs NVDA · AYI vs AAPL · AYI vs GOOGL
References
What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.
Appendix · Financial records
The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2026. For readers who want to check the numbers.
Live data and quarterly detail: stockcv.com/AYI
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Deeper analysis of AYI on PreMarketPriceFigures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $298.34 · market cap $8.93B.