Quality Investor

Acme United Corporation

Rank #141ValueWatchlistCompare with other stocks

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

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

  • CAUTION
    Disclosure regression

    A previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No 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 pass
GP / assets
0.39
Return on equity
8.4%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.65
Current ratio
3.23×
Net cash
-$17.60M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.0%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
1.1%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
-0.3%

Dividend 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.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
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

PASS

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).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

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.

PASS

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

Good
Payout ratio
23.0%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
3.23×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
5 yr3/5 Good
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.65 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-0.3%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
5 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
1.7%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Value

Price History

ACU+77.3% · +12.1% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR