ACU · NYSE · Consumer Defensive
Acme United Corporation (ACU) — Rank #141 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.39) · ROE 8.4% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.
As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000002098 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.
About
Acme United Corporation supplies cutting, measuring, first aid, and sharpening products to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods, and industrial markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally.
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The company offers scissors, shears, knives, rulers, pencil sharpeners, paper trimmers, safety cutters, lettering products, glue guns, and other craft products under the Westcott brand name; and cutting tools under the Clauss brand. It also provides sharpening knives, scissors, chisels, skis, skates, and other edges under the DMT brand. In addition, the company offers first aid kits and safety solutions under the First Aid Only brand; portable eyewash solution and over-the-counter medication, including active ingredients aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen under the PhysiciansCare brand; bodily fluid and spill clean-up solution under the Spill Magic brand; various first aid kit, refill, and safety supplies, including CPR kits, burn kits, and automotive and emergency first aid kits under the First Aid Central; first aid kits for the promotional products industry under Safety Made brand; alcohol prep pads, alcohol wipes, benzalkonium chloride wipes, various antiseptic wipes under the Med-Nap brand, and Pac-Kit, as well as My Medic brands. It sells its products directly and through its independent manufacturer representatives to wholesale, contract, and retail stationery distributors; office supply superstores, mass market retailers, industrial and medical distributors, school supply distributors, drug store retailers, sporting goods stores, hardware chains, and wholesale florists, as well as through its websites. The company was formerly known as Acme Shear Company and changed its name to Acme United Corporation in 1971.
Acme United Corporation was founded in 1867 and is based in Shelton, Connecticut.
- Industry
- Household & Personal Products
- Sector
- Consumer Defensive
- State
- CT
- Filer Category
- Accelerated filerSmaller reporting company
- Fiscal Year End
- December 31
- Website
- acmeunited.com
Company Snapshot
P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.
Market Cap
—
P/E (annual)
—
P/S (annual)
—
P/B
—
P/OCF (annual)
—
Shareholder Yield
—
Employees
649
Industry
Household & Personal Products
Exchange
NYSE
11/12
Flags passed
ACU passes 11/12 quality flags
1 caution to review
- CAUTIONDisclosure regression
A previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why
- PASSGross margin holding
- PASSDilution within 2%
- PASSFCF not negative from investment
- PASSRevenue not declining
- PASSOperating margin holding
- PASSFree cash flow intact
- PASSPasses safety gate
- PASSBalance sheet stable
- PASSNo competitive retreat
- PASSSBC not compressing margin
- PASSNo valuation convergence
Strengths Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)
A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.
Quality Profile
Profitability
1/1 passSafety
1/1 passCash Flow
2/3 passGrowth
2/2 passDividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).
Profitability
Does it make money well?
No warning flags · GP/assets 0.39
Gross profitability (GP / assets)
0.39
Primary signal (Novy-Marx).
3rd of 12 SIC 34 peers
Return on equity
8.4%
Gross margin
39.4%
5th of 12 SIC 34 peers
Revenue growth (YoY)
1.1%
Gross margin improving
Margin trend vs prior year.
Operating Leverage
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue vs COGS | ||||
| Revenue vs OpEx | ||||
| Op. Income vs Revenue |
Growth
Revenue CAGR (3Y)
0.4%
Revenue CAGR (5Y)
3.7%
Earnings CAGR (3Y)
49.7%
FCF CAGR (3Y)
—
Cash Flow Health
Is the cash real?
No warning flags · FCF 26% below net income
Free cash flow
$7.58M
Operating cash flow minus capex.
Positive free cash flow
FCF vs net income
-25.6%
(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.
FCF not below net income
Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).
Accruals healthy
Cash-backed earnings.
SBC / revenue
1.0%
Stock-based comp intensity.
Balance Sheet Strength
Can it survive a storm?
No warning flags · net debt $17.60M, F-Score 7/9
Balance-sheet safety
Composite anti-fragile check.
Debt / equity
0.65
6th of 12 SIC 34 peers (best = lowest)
Current ratio
3.23×
4th of 12 SIC 34 peers
Quick ratio
1.26×
Net cash
-$17.60M
Cash & equivalents minus total debt.
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Fundamental-strength score (0-9).
Valuation
Is the price reasonable?
No warning flags
Dividend safety
Composite score
3.8 / 5
Capital allocation quality
Composite score
3.0 / 5
Lifecycle Phase History
Price History
Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports