Acme United Corporation

ACU

Household & Personal Products · Consumer Defensive

Price

$47.55

+0.03 (+0.06%)

Market Cap

$181.2M

Exchange

New York Stock Exchange American

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count rising — dilution

+3.3% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 4.0M (2021) → 4.1M (2025)

Acme United Corporation makes cutting tools and safety products that people use every day. Its main products include scissors, knives, rulers, and first-aid kits sold under brand names like Westcott, Clauss, and PhysiciansCare. The company sells to schools, offices, medical facilities, and industrial workplaces across North America and Europe.

Acme United earns money by selling its products through retailers, distributors, and direct channels to businesses and institutions. It is a small company with a market cap of around $200 million, competing against much larger consumer goods brands. Its competitive edge comes from long-standing brand recognition in niche product categories and established relationships with major retail and distribution partners. The main risk the company faces is pricing pressure from larger competitors and private-label alternatives, while its key growth opportunity lies in expanding its first-aid and safety product lines into new commercial and industrial customers.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+13.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-40.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

21.3%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Runway

~3 months

$4M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Acme United Corporation has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin

39.7%

Modest — 39.7% gross margin

Operating Margin

3.3%

Thin — 3.3% operating margin

ROCE

1.1%

Weak — 1.1% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+3.8%

Slow sales growth (3.8% YoY)

EPS YoY

-7.0%

Earnings shrinking (-7.0% YoY)

Slight earnings drop. Typical near a cyclical low.

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

203%

Turns 203% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

4.0%

Thin free cash flow (4.0%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.37

Conservative — low debt load (0.37)

Interest Cover

10.90x

Comfortably covers interest (10.9x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

18.9x

Fair value — P/E 18.9

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

P/E vs Forward

-4.9

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.37%

Small dividend — 1.37% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+4.9%

Dividend growing modestly (4.9% YoY)

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