ACU vs UEEC vs WST Stock Comparison

Acme United, United Health Products and West Pharmaceutical Services Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACU Acme United Corp
$65.77 +4.8% 1M +68.8% 1Y
Market cap
$251.59M
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 6, West Pharmaceutical Services 1, United Health Products 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACUUEECWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $251.59M $8.13M $28.48B WST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.8x -5.7x 50.4x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.9x — 41.6x ACU
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — — +12.4% –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 17.0% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 16.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.9x -0.3x UEEC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +68.8% -50.0% +38.6% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.8%/yr -46.6%/yr -1.1%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.7% 189.0% 31.2% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 38/100 68/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

ACUUEECWST

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACUUEECWST
Valuation 88 #28 of 227 37 #144 of 227 48 #119 of 227
Growth – 75 #56 of 219 40 #132 of 219
Profitability – – 92 #18 of 206
Financial Health 60 #97 of 238 1 #235 of 238 78 #54 of 238
Shareholder Returns 65 #48 of 134 – 81 #26 of 134
Overall 71 38 68
  • ACU ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • UEEC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • WST ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACUUEECWSTSPY
1 month +4.8%0.0%+7.5% -0.2%
3 months +10.5%0.0%+18.1% +3.9%
6 months +57.9%-33.3%+36.3% +8.2%
Year to date +63.2%-20.0%+44.7% +12.9%
1 year +68.8%-50.0%+38.6% +12.3%
3 years +116.3%-84.6%+24.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +29.4%-46.4%+7.5% +23.3%
5 years +82.7%-95.7%-5.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.8%-46.6%-1.1% +10.9%
10 years +215.0%-50.0%+449.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.2%-6.7%+18.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureACUUEECWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.7%189.0%31.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.2%332.4%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.23-0.630.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.24-0.261.24 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.5%-96.7%-59.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-60.0%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $65.77$0.10$398.10 $779.14
52-week low $35.50$0.03$230.95 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACUUEECWST
P/E now vs peer median 24.8xmedian 29.6x -6.7xmedian 29.6x 49.9xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.9x —median 2.9x 8.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x -12.5xmedian 17.4x 32.3xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 22.3x -10.3xmedian 22.3x 64.1xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.3x -2.2xmedian 2.3x 9.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.04 -1.41median 1.04 10.35median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACUUEECWST
Revenue – – $3.33B
Gross profit – – $1.22B
Operating income – -$930.33K $680.40M
Net income – $3.92M $564.90M
Free cash flow – -$950.64K $436.90M
R&D – $89.05K $74.40M
EPS (diluted) – $-0.01 $7.92
Cash & equivalents $7.94M $24.50K $435.80M
Total debt – $4.92M $202.90M
Shares (diluted) 4.14M 260.04M 71.30M
Enterprise value $251.59M $8.02M $26.10B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACUUEECWST
P/E 24.8x -6.7x 49.9x
P/FCF 15.8x -10.3x 64.1x
P/Operating cash flow – -10.3x 42.3x
P/S 1.2x – 8.4x
P/B 2.0x -2.2x 9.4x
P/Tangible book 2.7x -2.2x 9.4x
EV/EBITDA – -12.5x 32.3x
EV/EBIT – -12.5x 40.8x
EV/Revenue – – 8.4x
EV/FCF – -12.2x 63.6x
EV/Operating cash flow – -12.2x 42.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -1.41 10.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACUUEECWST
Revenue growth (1Y) – – 12.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 17.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 3.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 68.3% 17.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 29.2% 1.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 277.7% 15.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 40.2% 2.9%
EPS growth (1Y) – 52.7% 17.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 4.8% 4.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.0% -2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.5% -2.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.0% 27.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.5% 3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACUUEECWST
Gross margin – – 36.8%
EBITDA margin – – 25.9%
Operating margin – – 20.5%
Pretax margin – – 20.8%
Net margin – – 17.0%
FCF margin – – 13.1%
Operating cash flow margin – – 19.9%
Return on equity – – 18.4%
Return on assets – -407.2% 13.4%
Return on invested capital – – 16.9%
Return on capital employed – – 19.7%
Asset turnover – – 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – -0.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACUUEECWST
Debt / assets – 737.4% 5.0%
Debt / equity – -0.4x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.9x -0.3x
Debt / FCF – -1.9x 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 39.9% 1,892% 26.6%
Equity / assets 60.1% -1,792% 73.4%
Interest coverage – -8.2x 151.2x
Current ratio 3.9x 0.0x 2.8x
Quick ratio – 0.0x 1.8x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.7x
Altman Z-score – – 18.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACUUEECWST
Dividend yield 1.0% – 0.2%
Net buyback yield – – 1.5%
Shareholder yield 1.0% – 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 11.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 14.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 3.8%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACUUEECWST
Forward P/E 23.9xFY2026 – 41.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.75FY2026 – $9.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 – +31.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.0% – +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $217.65MFY2026 – $3.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 – +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% – +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACUUEECWST
Held by institutions 73.5% – 99.5%
Institutions holding 84 – 833
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% – -0.9%
Institutions buying 47 – 448
Institutions selling 21 – 261
Buyers to sellers 2.24 – 1.72

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACUUEECWST
ACU 1.00 -0.03 0.12
UEEC -0.03 1.00 0.07
WST 0.12 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACU, UEEC and WST?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acme United (ACU) $251.59M, United Health Products (UEEC) $8.13M, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $28.48B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACU, UEEC and WST?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acme United (ACU) 24.8x, United Health Products (UEEC) -5.7x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 50.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Acme United (ACU) is cheapest (Acme United (ACU) 23.9x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 41.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Acme United (ACU) +68.8%, United Health Products (UEEC) -50.0%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +38.6%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Acme United (ACU) +12.8%/yr, United Health Products (UEEC) -46.6%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -1.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Acme United (ACU) 0.00%, United Health Products (UEEC) 0.00%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.00%. Acme United (ACU) and United Health Products (UEEC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acme United (ACU) has been the steadiest (Acme United (ACU) 30.7%, United Health Products (UEEC) 189.0%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACU, UEEC and WST?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Acme United (ACU) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.