AYI vs MAS vs SHW Stock Comparison

Acuity Inc. (De), Masco and Sherwin Williams Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AYI Acuity Inc. (De)
$323.34 +1.2% 1M -12.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.64B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.64B
Div. yield
0.00%
Building Products Industrials
3 wins
MAS Masco Corp /De/
$75.15 +9.1% 1M +10.0% 1Y
Market cap
$14.82B
P/E
16.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.62B
Div. yield
1.69%
Building Products Industrials
6 wins
SHW Sherwin Williams Co
$325.95 -0.9% 1M -3.0% 1Y
Market cap
$77.39B
P/E
28.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.91B
Div. yield
–
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAYIMASSHWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.64B $14.82B $77.39B SHW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.1x 16.9x 28.9x MAS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.2x 15.7x 25.7x MAS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% -0.6% +7.0% SHW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 11.6% 10.7% MAS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 33.9% 19.5% MAS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x — 2.4x AYI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.69% 0.00% MAS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.7% +10.0% -3.0% MAS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.2%/yr +2.8%/yr +0.3%/yr AYI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.0% 35.6% 28.0% SHW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 62/100 55/100 AYI

Percentile Scorecard

AYIMASSHW

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

AxisAYIMASSHW
Valuation 73 #16 of 56 71 #17 of 56 29 #67 of 94
Growth 82 #10 of 52 41 #31 of 52 66 #32 of 91
Profitability 79 #11 of 49 94 #4 of 49 98 #3 of 86
Financial Health 87 #8 of 56 44 #32 of 56 23 #73 of 95
Shareholder Returns 83 #8 of 41 63 #16 of 41 58 #30 of 70
Overall 81 62 55
  • AYI ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products
  • MAS ranked among 60 companies in Construction Products
  • SHW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAYIMASSHWSPY
1 month +1.2%+9.1%-0.9% -0.2%
3 months -6.1%-7.9%-8.0% +3.9%
6 months +13.4%+1.1%+0.5% +8.2%
Year to date -10.2%+18.4%+0.6% +12.9%
1 year -12.7%+10.0%-3.0% +12.3%
3 years +104.2%+47.2%+38.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +26.9%+13.8%+11.4% +23.3%
5 years +55.4%+14.7%+1.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +9.2%+2.8%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +43.2%+146.4%+294.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +3.7%+9.4%+14.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAYIMASSHWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.0%35.6%28.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.6%33.8%25.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.401.120.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.340.28-0.11 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.7%-38.9%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.2%-9.2%-12.5% -1.2%
52-week high $376.69$82.77$372.60 $779.14
52-week low $257.79$58.60$293.00 $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.

MultipleAYIMASSHW
P/E now vs peer median 18.5xmedian 20.1x 16.9xmedian 20.1x 29.3xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.5x 1.9xmedian 1.5x 3.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 11.8x —median 11.8x 18.9xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 16.2x 13.2xmedian 16.2x 25.6xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.9x -40.6xmedian 2.9x 19.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.11median 0.99 2.15median 0.99 5.24median 1.66

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 monthsAYIMASSHW
Revenue $4.64B $7.62B $24.91B
Gross profit $2.35B $2.82B $12.11B
Operating income $713.70M $1.34B $4.03B
Net income $531.30M $937.00M $2.68B
Free cash flow $747.90M $1.13B $3.08B
EPS (diluted) $17.06 $4.45 $11.02
Cash & equivalents $636.30M $548.00M $264.20M
Total debt $697.40M $3.25B $11.80B
Shares (diluted) 31.15M 199.00M 242.80M
Enterprise value $7.94B $12.92B $76.41B

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
MetricAYIMASSHW
P/E 18.5x 16.9x 29.3x
P/FCF 12.8x 13.2x 25.6x
P/Operating cash flow 11.6x 11.5x 21.4x
P/S 2.1x 1.9x 3.2x
P/B 3.2x -40.6x 19.8x
P/Tangible book 4.9x -26.5x 338.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.1x – 18.9x
EV/EBIT 13.5x 13.1x 22.4x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 2.3x 3.6x
EV/FCF 12.9x 15.6x 29.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.7x 13.6x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.11 2.15 5.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAYIMASSHW
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% -0.6% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -2.5% 2.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.1% 1.4% 6.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 1.7% 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% -0.7% 7.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 2.1% 3.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.0% 9.7% 4.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 3.0% 3.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.1% 16.6% 6.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 7.9% 5.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.3% 33.0% 11.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 5.0% 4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% 39.2% 26.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.5% 10.8% 8.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAYIMASSHW
Gross margin 50.6% 37.0% 48.6%
EBITDA margin 18.7% – 19.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 17.5% 16.2%
Pretax margin 14.7% 16.2% 14.0%
Net margin 11.4% 11.6% 10.7%
FCF margin 16.1% 14.8% 12.4%
Operating cash flow margin 17.8% 16.9% 14.8%
Return on equity 18.2% – 68.3%
Return on assets 11.2% 17.6% 9.9%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 33.9% 19.5%
Return on capital employed 19.5% 36.4% 23.6%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAYIMASSHW
Debt / assets 14.3% 60.1% 43.7%
Debt / equity 0.2x -8.9x 3.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x – 2.4x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 2.9x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 39.0% 106.8% 85.3%
Equity / assets 61.0% -6.8% 14.7%
Interest coverage – 13.0x 7.5x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.1x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 6.03 3.87 3.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAYIMASSHW
Dividend yield 0.2% 1.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.9% 6.1% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 7.8% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 4.5% 27.5% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 3.2% 22.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 15.5% 0.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 0.3% –

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.

ConsensusAYIMASSHW
Forward P/E 16.2xFY2027 15.7xFY2026 25.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.01FY2027 $4.79FY2026 $12.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.6%FY2027 +21.0%FY2026 +10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.7% -7.5% -0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.68BFY2027 $7.23BFY2026 $23.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 -4.3%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.4% +15.5% +4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAYIMASSHW
Held by institutions 99.2% 100.0% 82.7%
Institutions holding 631 921 1,740
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% +0.7% +3.3%
Institutions buying 330 497 746
Institutions selling 190 289 718
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.72 1.04

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.

AYIMASSHW
AYI 1.00 0.36 0.36
MAS 0.36 1.00 0.71
SHW 0.36 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AYI, MAS and SHW?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) $9.64B, Masco (MAS) $14.82B, Sherwin Williams (SHW) $77.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, AYI, MAS and SHW?

Masco (MAS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 18.1x, Masco (MAS) 16.9x, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 28.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Masco (MAS) is cheapest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 16.2x, Masco (MAS) 15.7x, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 25.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +6.8%, Masco (MAS) -0.6%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Masco (MAS) has the highest net margin (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 11.4%, Masco (MAS) 11.6%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 10.7%). On return on invested capital, Masco (MAS) leads (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.4%, Masco (MAS) 33.9%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 19.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Masco (MAS) returned the most: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) -12.7%, Masco (MAS) +10.0%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) -3.0%. Over five years, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) compounded fastest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +9.2%/yr, Masco (MAS) +2.8%/yr, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Masco (MAS) has the highest dividend yield: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 0.00%, Masco (MAS) 1.69%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 0.00%. Sherwin Williams (SHW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sherwin Williams (SHW) has been the steadiest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 38.0%, Masco (MAS) 35.6%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 28.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AYI, MAS and SHW?

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