At a glance
Acuity Brands Inc is worth $9.42B, about 19 times its fiscal 2026 earnings. Revenue grew 6.8% to $4.64B in fiscal 2026, with 11.4% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 6.0% a year. It pays a 0.25% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 3 years, and returned $1.37B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2022–FY2026. The stock returned −12.4% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +9.1% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 38.8% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 32.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months and 19 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Acuity Inc., formerly Acuity Brands, makes lighting and building technology used in offices, schools, stores, airports and homes. Its larger segment, Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL), brought in about $3.58 billion. That was 77% of the company's $4.64 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2026. ABL sells light fixtures, which the industry calls luminaires, plus the drivers and controls that power and connect them. Its brands include Lithonia Lighting, Juno, Holophane and nLight. ABL sells mainly through independent sales agencies, electrical distributors and retailers. It also sells directly to large corporate accounts and equipment makers. Its products go into new buildings, renovations and repairs.
Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS) brought in about $1.11 billion, or roughly 24% of revenue. It has three main businesses. Distech Controls makes building management systems that control heating, cooling, refrigeration, lighting and access. Atrius is a data and cloud software platform for buildings. QSC makes Q-SYS, a platform that runs audio, video and controls. AIS sells mainly through system integrators, the firms that design and install these systems. Its customers include airports, universities, sports venues, hotels and retailers.
Demand rises and falls with the construction and renovation of commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. About 87% of fiscal 2026 sales were in the US. Acuity kept 50.6% of revenue after production costs and 15.4% after all operating expenses.
Price history
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AYI -12.4% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| ABL | $3.58B | 77% |
| AIS | $1.11B | 23.8% |
By geography
| Domestic | $4.05B | 87.3% |
| International | $587.5M | 12.7% |
Latest results
- In Q4 FY2026 (ended Aug 31, 2026), revenue was $1.24B, up 2.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $173.0M (+51.8%).
- For fiscal 2026, revenue was $4.64B (+6.8% year over year; +6.0% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 11.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2026) | +6.0% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 15.4% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 16.1% good |
| Return on equity (FY2026) | 17.9% good |
| Return on assets (FY2026) | 10.9% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-61.1M watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $3.46B | $306.3M | $364.9M |
| FY2022 | $4.01B | $384.0M | $259.8M |
| FY2023 | $3.95B | $346.0M | $511.4M |
| FY2024 | $3.84B | $422.6M | $555.2M |
| FY2025 | $4.35B | $396.6M | $533.0M |
| FY2026 | $4.64B | $531.3M | $747.9M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $9.42B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 18.6 |
| Dividend yield | 0.25% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Acuity Brands’s market value went from $10.18B at the end of 2016 to $9.42B on Oct 28, 2026, down 7%; since the end of 2025 it is down 15%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $9.42B | -14.6% |
| 2025 | $11.02B | +22.2% |
| 2024 | $9.02B | +42.2% |
| 2023 | $6.34B | +19.0% |
| 2022 | $5.33B | -28.0% |
| 2021 | $7.39B | +63.2% |
| 2020 | $4.53B | -17.2% |
| 2019 | $5.47B | +18.4% |
| 2018 | $4.62B | -37.6% |
| 2017 | $7.41B | -27.2% |
| 2016 | $10.18B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AYI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -11.7% | -12.4% | +26.4% | +9.1% | +3.9% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -11.7% |
| 2025 | +23.5% |
| 2024 | +43.0% |
| 2023 | +24.1% |
| 2022 | -21.5% |
| 2021 | +75.4% |
| 2020 | -11.8% |
| 2019 | +20.5% |
| 2018 | -34.4% |
| 2017 | -23.6% |
| 2016 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | +67.4% |
| 2014 | +28.7% |
| 2013 | +62.5% |
| 2012 | +28.9% |
| 2011 | -7.2% |
| 2010 | +63.8% |
| 2009 | +4.0% |
| 2008 | -21.4% |
| 2007 | +5.5% |
| 2006 | +66.1% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 52% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 61.7%, back to its old high 19.9 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 38.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 38.8%, back to its old high 8.1 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 21.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 32.4%, back to its old high 18.6 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 3 open-market purchases ($363K) and 20 sales ($14.1M), 18 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | Neil Ashe President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $2.3M |
| Oct 28, 2026 | Neil Ashe President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $2.1M |
| Oct 28, 2026 | Neil Ashe President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $1.7M |
| Jan 28, 2026 | Karen J Holcom SVP & Chief Financial Officer | sell (plan) | $1.5M |
| Oct 27, 2026 | Barry R Goldman SVP & General Counsel | sell | $1.2M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| FMR LLC | 12% | Apr 30, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 8.9% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.24% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in AYI
| QCLN First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund | 5% |
| SIMS SPDR S&P Kensho Intelligent Structures ETF | 1.75% |
| DVLU First Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Value ETF | 1.19% |
| CCSO Carbon Collective Climate Solutions U.S. Equity ETF | 0.99% |
| FFSM Fidelity Fundamental Small-Mid Cap ETF | 0.91% |
| FSCS First Trust SMID Capital Strength ETF | 0.81% |
| RFG Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Growth ETF | 0.77% |
| SMOT VanEck Morningstar SMID Moat ETF | 0.65% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy reliance on Mexican factories and imports. About half its finished goods come from Mexico, and 18% are bought from Asian suppliers. Tariffs, trade disputes or stricter rules in Mexico's Maquiladora program, which lets it import materials duty-free, could raise costs.
- Tied to the construction cycle. Sales depend on non-residential construction and renovation. Higher interest rates, tighter credit or a recession can delay building projects and cut demand for its lighting, controls and audio-video systems.
- Price competition could squeeze margins. Rivals include importers, startups and large diversified firms that bundle products. Aggressive pricing could stop Acuity from passing on higher costs. If its costs fall, rivals could also force price cuts.
- Fast-changing technology and new rivals. Product life cycles are getting shorter, which raises the risk of writing down unsold inventory. Software and artificial intelligence rivals, from large tech companies to startups, could build platforms that change how the industry makes money.
- Acquisitions may not pay off. Acuity uses capital to buy businesses and enter new markets. Deals can be hard to integrate, and it has written down acquired intangible assets before. More non-cash write-downs are possible.
- Metal and component costs can swing. Acuity buys most of its steel, aluminum, electronic components and plastics on the open market. It does little hedging (locking in prices ahead of time), so price spikes or shortages can hurt profits.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Acuity pays a dividend, but a small one. The regular dividend stayed at $0.52 a share from fiscal 2021 through 2023. It then rose three years in a row to $0.77 in fiscal 2026. That used only 4.5% of earnings and 3.2% of free cash flow (the cash left after capital spending). The yield was 0.25% as of October 28, 2026. That means the stock supplies little income, and returns depend mostly on share price gains. Buybacks are far larger: about $1.28 billion over fiscal 2022–2026, against $97.5 million in dividends. They helped cut the share count by about 15% between October 2021 and October 2026.
In past downturns the shares fell sharply. They dropped about 62% from June 2008 to March 2009 and took about 20 months from the low to recover. They fell about 39% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered within about eight months. In 2022 they fell about 32% and took about 19 months to recover. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Acuity make money?
Acuity makes money mainly by selling lighting and building technology. Its Acuity Brands Lighting segment sells brands such as Lithonia Lighting and Juno. It brought in about 77% of the $4.64 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2026. Acuity Intelligent Spaces brought in about 24%. It sells Distech Controls building management systems, Atrius building data software and QSC audio-video systems. Demand is tied to the construction and renovation of commercial and institutional buildings. About 87% of sales were in the US.
Is Acuity Inc. the same company as Acuity Brands?
Yes. Acuity Inc. was formerly named Acuity Brands Inc. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker AYI. The old name lives on in its lighting segment, Acuity Brands Lighting, which sells fixtures under brands such as Lithonia Lighting, Juno and Holophane. In its annual report for fiscal 2026, the company calls itself an industrial technology company. Its second segment, Acuity Intelligent Spaces, focuses on building controls, building data software and audio-video systems.
Does Acuity pay a dividend?
Yes, but it is small. Acuity paid $0.77 a share in regular dividends in fiscal 2026, up from $0.66 in fiscal 2025. That was its third straight yearly increase. The dividend used about 4.5% of earnings, and the yield was 0.25% as of October 28, 2026. The company returns much more cash through share buybacks. These totaled about $1.28 billion from fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2026, compared with $97.5 million in dividends.
How has Acuity stock performed?
Unevenly. Based on prices as of October 28, 2026, the shares returned about 3.9% a year over 10 years, 9.1% a year over five years and 26.4% a year over three years. They fell 12.4% over one year and 11.7% in 2026 through that date. Calendar years ranged from a 75.4% gain in 2021 to a 34.4% loss in 2018. The deepest decline in about 21 years of price history was 74.2%. A one-year beta of 1.39 means the stock has moved more than the overall market.
Where are Acuity's products made?
Mostly in Mexico. In fiscal 2026, about 52% of Acuity's finished goods came from Mexico, 25% from the US, 18% from Asia and 5% from elsewhere. Its fiscal 2026 annual report lists 18 factories: seven in Mexico, six in the US, three in Canada and two in Europe. About 29% of finished goods were bought from outside makers, mostly in Asia. This mix makes the company sensitive to tariffs and duties. It is also exposed to changes in Mexico's Maquiladora program, which lets it import materials duty-free if the finished goods are exported.