Quality Investor

Acuity Inc.

Rank #89Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

AYI · NYSE · Industrials

Acuity Inc. (AYI) — Rank #89 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.48) · ROE 17.9% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001144215 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Acuity Inc. provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, and an audio, video, and control platform in the United States and internationally.

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It operates through Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) and Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS) segments. The ABL segment provides lighting solutions and luminaires with advanced electronics under the Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Fresco, Gotham, Holophane, Hydrel, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, Nightingale, nLight, Peerless, RELOC Wiring Solutions, and SensorSwitch brand names. This segment serves electrical distributors, consumer retailers, large corporate accounts, and original equipment manufacturer customers. The AIS segment offers Distech Controls intelligent Building Management Systems (BMS), such as products for controlling heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, shades, refrigeration, and building access that prioritize end-user outcomes; Q-SYS, a full-stack audio, video, and control platform, and QSC Audio, an audio technology for live entertainers and sound reinforcement professionals. This segment serves retail stores, airports, universities, enterprise campuses, sports venues, themed entertainment, and hospitality sectors through system integrators. It offers its products and solutions under the Atrius, Distech Controls, and QSC brands. Acuity Inc. was formerly known as Acuity Brands, Inc. and changed its name to Acuity Inc. in March 2025. Acuity Inc.

was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Industry
Electrical Equipment & Parts
Sector
Industrials
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
August 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

13,900

Industry

Electrical Equipment & Parts

Exchange

NYSE

12/12

Flags passed

AYI passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • 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 · Deferred revenue growing

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
0.48
Return on equity
17.9%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.64
Current ratio
1.69×
Net cash
-$61.10M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.1%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
6.8%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-1.5%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 89th percentile of 47 SIC 36 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.48

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

89th pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Return on equity

17.9%

Gross margin

50.6%

63rd pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

6.8%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

5.5%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

6.0%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

15.4%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

13.5%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 41% above net income

Free cash flow

$747.90M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

40.8%

(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).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.1%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $61.10M, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.64

55th pctl of 45 SIC 36 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.69×

17th pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Quick ratio

1.16×

Net cash

-$61.10M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.5 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
4.5%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
31.42×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
3 yr2/5 Fair
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.64 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.3 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-1.5%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
3 yr2/5 Fair
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
10.5%5/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Capital Return
Value

Price History

AYI+77.7% · +12.2% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR