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Acuity Brands

AYI
48
Electrical Equipment & Parts · Industrials
Price
$333.72
-6.53 (-1.92%)
Market Cap
$9.99B
Winston Score
48
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

13.5% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 36.6M (2021) → 31.6M (2025)

Acuity Brands makes lighting products and building control systems. Its main products include LED lights, fixtures, and software that helps buildings automatically manage lighting and energy use. The company sells to contractors, electricians, retailers, and commercial building owners across offices, schools, warehouses, and factories, making it one of the largest lighting manufacturers in North America.

Acuity earns most of its revenue by selling physical lighting products, but it is growing a software and controls segment called Intelligent Spaces Group, which charges recurring fees for building management technology. The company operates primarily in the United States and Canada, with some international sales, and generates roughly $4 billion in annual revenue. Its competitive edge comes from combining hardware and software together, making it harder for customers to switch to a competitor once they adopt its full system — though slowing construction activity and pricing pressure from lower-cost lighting manufacturers remain the key risks to watch.

Winston Score History

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Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+4.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+26.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

Declining (-100% vs prior year)

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

1.3%ownership

Rising

Insiders increasing their stake — aligned with shareholders

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$273M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Acuity Brands is growing revenue at 5% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

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
49.3%
Healthy — 49.3% gross margin
Operating Margin
12.6%
Healthy — 12.6% operating margin
ROCE
3.6%
Weak — 3.6% 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
+9.9%
Steady sales growth (9.9% YoY)
EPS YoY
-12.5%
Earnings shrinking (-12.5% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency
0/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
144%
Turns 144% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
11.1%
Modest free cash flow (11.1%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.28
Conservative — low debt load (0.28)
Interest Cover
12.99x
Comfortably covers interest (13.0x)

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

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
26.6x
Growth-priced — P/E 26.6

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward
+8.4
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (26.6 → 18.1)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
0.21%
Small dividend — 0.21% yield

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

Dividend Growth
+16.7%
Dividend growing fast (16.7% YoY)

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