AYI vs KEQU vs SMID Stock Comparison

Acuity Inc. (De), Kewaunee Scientific and Smith Midland Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AYI Acuity Inc. (De)
$327.36 +6.1% 1M -9.4% 1Y
Market cap
$9.59B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.64B
Div. yield
0.00%
Building Products Industrials
6 wins
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$22.34 -4.9% 1M -40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$119.14M
P/E
15.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Acuity Inc. (De) leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Acuity Inc. (De) 6, Kewaunee Scientific 3, Smith Midland 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAYIKEQUSMIDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.59B $95.04M $119.14M AYI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.1x 11.5x 15.4x KEQU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.4x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% +5.3% -1.6% AYI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 3.0% 8.6% AYI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 10.2% 12.8% AYI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 1.2x -0.5x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.4% -21.9% -40.6% AYI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.8%/yr +21.2%/yr +2.2%/yr KEQU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.1% 36.2% 51.1% KEQU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 68/100 80/100 AYI

Percentile Scorecard

AYIKEQUSMID

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

AxisAYIKEQUSMID
Valuation 76 #14 of 55 100 #1 of 55 82 #11 of 55
Growth 84 #9 of 51 58 #22 of 51 82 #10 of 51
Profitability 77 #12 of 49 40 #30 of 49 65 #18 of 49
Financial Health 87 #8 of 55 61 #22 of 55 93 #5 of 55
Shareholder Returns 82 #8 of 40 80 #9 of 40 –
Overall 81 68 80
  • AYI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • KEQU ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAYIKEQUSMIDSPY
1 month +6.1%-2.4%-4.9% +0.7%
3 months -3.0%-9.3%-21.5% +3.7%
6 months +13.0%-9.5%-33.9% +7.1%
Year to date -9.1%-10.4%-38.5% +12.8%
1 year -9.4%-21.9%-40.6% +11.9%
3 years +105.6%+83.6%+10.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +27.2%+22.5%+3.5% +22.8%
5 years +59.4%+161.8%+11.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +9.8%+21.2%+2.2% +10.9%
10 years +46.7%+49.9%+522.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +3.9%+4.1%+20.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAYIKEQUSMIDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.1%36.2%51.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.7%37.9%51.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.390.660.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.25-0.61-0.80 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.7%-55.4%-72.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.1%-22.3%-43.9% -1.2%
52-week high $376.69$43.10$39.82 $779.14
52-week low $257.79$32.19$21.20 $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.

MultipleAYIKEQUSMID
P/E now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 20.3x 11.7xmedian 20.3x 15.3xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.6x 0.3xmedian 1.6x 1.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 12.6x 6.0xmedian 12.6x 7.8xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 16.9x 8.9xmedian 16.9x 28.4xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 3.0x 1.3xmedian 3.0x 2.1xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 1.13 0.43median 1.13 0.11median 1.13

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 monthsAYIKEQUSMID
Revenue $4.64B $277.22M $89.50M
Gross profit $2.35B $79.15M $21.00M
Operating income $713.70M $15.06M $10.80M
Net income $531.30M $9.06M $7.73M
Free cash flow $747.90M $10.88M $4.17M
EPS (diluted) $17.06 $2.82 $1.46
Cash & equivalents $636.30M $8.25M $10.66M
Total debt $697.40M $32.83M $17.45M
Shares (diluted) 31.15M 2.92M 5.31M
Enterprise value $7.90B $56.10M $70.00M

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
MetricAYIKEQUSMID
P/E 18.7x 11.7x 15.3x
P/FCF 13.0x 8.9x 28.4x
P/Operating cash flow 11.8x 6.5x 8.2x
P/S 2.1x 0.3x 1.3x
P/B 3.3x 1.3x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 1.6x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.2x 6.0x 7.8x
EV/EBIT 13.7x 8.1x 10.4x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 0.4x 1.3x
EV/FCF 13.1x 11.2x 26.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.8x 8.2x 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 0.43 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAYIKEQUSMID
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% 5.3% -1.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 8.1% 18.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.1% 2.4% -18.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 24.2% 35.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% -24.7% -30.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 16.3% 134.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.0% -27.5% -49.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 22.3% 136.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.1% -32.1% -35.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 27.1% 135.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.3% -30.7% 92.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 177.0% 97.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -41.8% 459.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.5% 62.7% 38.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAYIKEQUSMID
Gross margin 50.6% 28.6% 23.5%
EBITDA margin 18.7% 7.4% 16.1%
Operating margin 15.4% 5.4% 12.1%
Pretax margin 14.7% 4.5% 12.0%
Net margin 11.4% 3.0% 8.6%
FCF margin 16.1% 3.9% 4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.8% 5.3% 16.3%
Return on equity 18.2% 11.9% 13.7%
Return on assets 11.2% 5.2% 8.6%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 10.2% 12.8%
Return on capital employed 19.5% 11.6% 13.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.6x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.6x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.3% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAYIKEQUSMID
Debt / assets 14.3% 18.7% 4.8%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.4x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 1.2x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 3.0x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 39.0% 56.1% 34.2%
Equity / assets 61.0% 43.9% 65.8%
Interest coverage – 4.4x 48.9x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.2x 4.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.4x 3.1x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 6.07 3.40 5.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAYIKEQUSMID
Dividend yield 0.2% – –
Net buyback yield 2.9% 3.4% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.4% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 4.5% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 3.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 15.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 12.3% – –

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.

ConsensusAYIKEQUSMID
Forward P/E 16.4xFY2027 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $20.01FY2027 – –
EPS growth, next FY +0.6%FY2027 – –
EPS growth, the year after +21.7% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.68BFY2027 – –
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 – –
Revenue growth, the year after +14.4% – –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAYIKEQUSMID
Held by institutions 99.2% 41.8% 57.0%
Institutions holding 632 32 56
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% +1.0% -1.1%
Institutions buying 330 11 23
Institutions selling 191 7 17
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.57 1.35

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.

AYIKEQUSMID
AYI 1.00 0.21 0.18
KEQU 0.21 1.00 0.18
SMID 0.18 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AYI, KEQU and SMID?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) $9.59B, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) $95.04M, Smith Midland (SMID) $119.14M.

Which stock is cheaper, AYI, KEQU and SMID?

Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 18.1x, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 11.5x, Smith Midland (SMID) 15.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +6.8%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) +5.3%, Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) has the highest net margin (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 11.4%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 3.0%, Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%). On return on invested capital, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) leads (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.4%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 10.2%, Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) returned the most: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) -9.4%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) -21.9%, Smith Midland (SMID) -40.6%. Over five years, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) compounded fastest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +9.8%/yr, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) +21.2%/yr, Smith Midland (SMID) +2.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 0.00%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 0.00%, Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%. Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) and Smith Midland (SMID) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) has been the steadiest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 38.1%, Kewaunee Scientific (KEQU) 36.2%, Smith Midland (SMID) 51.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AYI, KEQU and SMID?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 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.