AYI vs GFF vs LCUT Stock Comparison

Acuity Inc. (De), Griffon and Lifetime Brands Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AYI Acuity Inc. (De)
$316.80 +3.6% 1M -12.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.91B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.64B
Div. yield
0.00%
Building Products Industrials
4 wins
GFF Griffon Corp
$99.89 +4.0% 1M +30.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.52B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.75B
Div. yield
0.01%
Building Products Industrials
5 wins
LCUT Lifetime Brands, Inc
$8.24 -10.6% 1M +127.6% 1Y
Market cap
$182.87M
P/E
5.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$661.06M
Div. yield
–
Home Appliances Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Griffon leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Griffon 5, Acuity Inc. (De) 4, Lifetime Brands 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAYIGFFLCUTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.91B $4.52B $182.87M AYI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.7x 25.2x 5.8x LCUT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.8x 19.7x 4.2x LCUT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% +26.9% -1.5% GFF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 6.5% 4.8% AYI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 19.0% 13.6% GFF
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 2.2x 1.8x AYI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% GFF
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.7% +30.2% +127.6% LCUT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.1%/yr +30.4%/yr -13.5%/yr GFF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.0% 36.0% 81.4% GFF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 82/100 59/100 65/100 AYI

Percentile Scorecard

AYIGFFLCUT

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

AxisAYIGFFLCUT
Valuation 74 #15 of 55 57 #24 of 55 98 #2 of 41
Growth 84 #9 of 51 86 #8 of 51 75 #11 of 41
Profitability 79 #11 of 48 85 #8 of 48 76 #10 of 39
Financial Health 89 #7 of 54 25 #41 of 54 45 #24 of 43
Shareholder Returns 83 #8 of 41 43 #24 of 41 33 #19 of 28
Overall 82 59 65
  • AYI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • GFF ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • LCUT ranked among 44 companies in Household Durables

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAYIGFFLCUTSPY
1 month +3.6%+4.0%-10.6% +0.9%
3 months -5.1%+14.1%-1.7% +5.9%
6 months +10.8%+12.7%+23.7% +8.5%
Year to date -12.0%+35.6%+108.6% +13.3%
1 year -12.7%+30.2%+127.6% +12.4%
3 years +100.1%+152.3%+55.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +26.0%+36.2%+15.9% +23.5%
5 years +54.2%+277.1%-51.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +9.1%+30.4%-13.5% +11.0%
10 years +42.0%+499.9%-41.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +3.6%+19.6%-5.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAYIGFFLCUTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.0%36.0%81.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.6%32.7%74.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.401.330.92 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.340.841.57 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.7%-39.3%-84.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-6.8%-16.8% -0.9%
52-week high $376.69$107.22$9.90 $779.14
52-week low $257.79$66.79$2.98 $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.

MultipleAYIGFFLCUT
P/E now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 20.0x 24.5xmedian 20.0x 5.7xmedian 15.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.5x 1.7xmedian 1.5x 0.3xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 11.3x 10.8xmedian 11.3x 4.1xmedian 9.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 15.3x 15.3xmedian 15.3x 9.1xmedian 11.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.8x 35.2xmedian 2.8x 0.9xmedian 1.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.09median 0.99 0.66median 0.99 0.11median 0.62

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 monthsAYIGFFLCUT
Revenue $4.64B $2.75B $661.06M
Gross profit $2.35B $1.11B $286.63M
Operating income $713.70M $459.31M $56.07M
Net income $531.30M $178.97M $31.80M
Free cash flow $747.90M $297.20M $20.78M
EPS (diluted) $17.06 $3.96 $1.41
Cash & equivalents $636.30M $110.35M $5.45M
Total debt $697.40M $1.27B $148.24M
Shares (diluted) 31.15M 45.15M 22.61M
Enterprise value $8.22B $4.10B $147.16M

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
MetricAYIGFFLCUT
P/E 18.1x 24.5x 5.7x
P/FCF 12.6x 15.3x 9.1x
P/Operating cash flow 11.4x 13.3x 6.9x
P/S 2.0x 1.7x 0.3x
P/B 3.2x 35.2x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 4.8x -20.9x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA 10.9x 10.8x 4.1x
EV/EBIT 13.3x 12.4x 5.9x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 2.1x 0.5x
EV/FCF 12.7x 19.2x 16.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.5x 16.7x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.09 0.66 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAYIGFFLCUT
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% 26.9% -1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 0.0% -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.1% 17.9% 14.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 5.4% 4.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% 151.5% 566.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 51.1% 34.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.0% 155.8% 191.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 35.2% 55.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.1% 156.8% 188.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 36.9% 53.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.3% 11.2% 16.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -7.7% -23.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% 17.2% 4.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.5% -9.7% -29.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAYIGFFLCUT
Gross margin 50.6% 40.5% 43.4%
EBITDA margin 18.7% 19.3% 12.1%
Operating margin 15.4% 16.7% 8.5%
Pretax margin 14.7% 13.9% 5.7%
Net margin 11.4% 6.5% 4.8%
FCF margin 16.1% 10.8% 3.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.8% 12.4% 4.2%
Return on equity 18.2% 166.5% 15.3%
Return on assets 11.2% 9.5% 5.5%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 19.0% 13.6%
Return on capital employed 19.5% 27.8% 14.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.4x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.9x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.1% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAYIGFFLCUT
Debt / assets 14.3% 69.0% 24.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 9.8x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 2.2x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 4.3x 7.1x
Liabilities / assets 39.0% 93.0% 64.8%
Equity / assets 61.0% 7.0% 35.2%
Interest coverage – 5.2x 3.0x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.4x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 5.97 – 1.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAYIGFFLCUT
Dividend yield 0.3% 0.9% 2.0%
Net buyback yield 3.0% 3.1% –
Shareholder yield 3.2% 4.0% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 4.5% 21.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 3.2% 13.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 15.5% 0.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -45.4% –

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.

ConsensusAYIGFFLCUT
Forward P/E 15.8xFY2027 19.7xFY2026 4.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.01FY2027 $5.06FY2026 $1.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.6%FY2027 -10.4%FY2026 +142.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.7% +18.0% -46.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.68BFY2027 $1.71BFY2026 $703.72MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 -32.1%FY2026 +8.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.4% +5.3% +4.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAYIGFFLCUT
Held by institutions 99.2% 79.9% 43.3%
Institutions holding 631 347 88
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% +0.9% +9.6%
Institutions buying 330 179 65
Institutions selling 190 120 15
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.49 4.33

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.

AYIGFFLCUT
AYI 1.00 0.41 0.05
GFF 0.41 1.00 0.13
LCUT 0.05 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AYI, GFF and LCUT?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) $9.91B, Griffon (GFF) $4.52B, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) $182.87M.

Which stock is cheaper, AYI, GFF and LCUT?

Lifetime Brands (LCUT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 18.7x, Griffon (GFF) 25.2x, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 5.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) is cheapest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.8x, Griffon (GFF) 19.7x, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 4.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Griffon (GFF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +6.8%, Griffon (GFF) +26.9%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) -1.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) has the highest net margin (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 11.4%, Griffon (GFF) 6.5%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Griffon (GFF) leads (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.4%, Griffon (GFF) 19.0%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 13.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lifetime Brands (LCUT) returned the most: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) -12.7%, Griffon (GFF) +30.2%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) +127.6%. Over five years, Griffon (GFF) compounded fastest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +9.1%/yr, Griffon (GFF) +30.4%/yr, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) -13.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Griffon (GFF) has the highest dividend yield: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 0.00%, Griffon (GFF) 0.01%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 0.00%. Lifetime Brands (LCUT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Griffon (GFF) has been the steadiest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 38.0%, Griffon (GFF) 36.0%, Lifetime Brands (LCUT) 81.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AYI, GFF and LCUT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Griffon (GFF) leads on 5. 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.