AYI vs SMID vs URI Stock Comparison

Acuity Inc. (De), Smith Midland and United Rentals Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AYI Acuity Inc. (De)
$316.80 +3.6% 1M -12.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.41B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.64B
Div. yield
0.25%
Building Products Industrials
3 wins
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$21.49 -10.9% 1M -44.4% 1Y
Market cap
$114.05M
P/E
14.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
3 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,174.94 +12.5% 1M +34.2% 1Y
Market cap
$72.84B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
0.66%
Equipment Rental Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAYISMIDURILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.41B $114.05M $72.84B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.1x 14.8x 25.6x SMID
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.8x — 21.3x AYI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% -1.6% +9.4% URI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 8.6% 16.3% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 12.8% 14.0% AYI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -0.5x 2.3x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.25% 0.00% 0.66% URI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.7% -44.4% +34.2% URI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.1%/yr +1.4%/yr +25.4%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.0% 51.0% 42.2% AYI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 82/100 82/100 55/100 SMID

Percentile Scorecard

AYISMIDURI

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

AxisAYISMIDURI
Valuation 74 #15 of 55 83 #10 of 55 20 #37 of 46
Growth 84 #9 of 51 82 #10 of 51 90 #5 of 39
Profitability 79 #11 of 48 70 #15 of 48 92 #4 of 39
Financial Health 89 #7 of 54 93 #5 of 54 20 #38 of 47
Shareholder Returns 83 #8 of 41 – 52 #16 of 32
Overall 82 82 55
  • AYI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAYISMIDURISPY
1 month +3.6%-10.9%+12.5% +0.9%
3 months -5.1%-26.5%+11.3% +5.9%
6 months +10.8%-35.2%+23.4% +8.5%
Year to date -12.0%-40.9%+45.2% +13.3%
1 year -12.7%-44.4%+34.2% +12.4%
3 years +100.1%+10.9%+194.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +26.0%+3.5%+43.4% +23.5%
5 years +54.2%+7.5%+209.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +9.1%+1.4%+25.4% +11.0%
10 years +42.0%+498.6%+1,458.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +3.6%+19.6%+31.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAYISMIDURISPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.0%51.0%42.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.6%51.6%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.400.981.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.34-0.870.81 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.7%-72.4%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-46.0%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $376.69$39.82$1,174.94 $779.14
52-week low $257.79$21.20$710.47 $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.

MultipleAYISMIDURI
P/E now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 20.0x 14.8xmedian 20.0x 25.6xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.5x 1.3xmedian 1.5x 4.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 11.3x 7.5xmedian 11.3x 13.8xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 15.3x 27.4xmedian 15.3x 81.7xmedian 22.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.8x 2.0xmedian 2.8x 7.5xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.09median 0.99 0.11median 0.99 2.68median 2.36

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 monthsAYISMIDURI
Revenue $4.64B $89.50M $17.50B
Gross profit $2.35B $21.00M $6.84B
Operating income $713.70M $10.80M $4.47B
Net income $531.30M $7.73M $2.86B
Free cash flow $747.90M $4.17M $892.00M
EPS (diluted) $17.06 $1.46 $45.89
Cash & equivalents $636.30M $10.66M $153.00M
Total debt $697.40M $17.45M $14.67B
Shares (diluted) 31.15M 5.31M 62.26M
Enterprise value $7.71B $64.91M $71.96B

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
MetricAYISMIDURI
P/E 18.1x 14.8x 25.6x
P/FCF 12.6x 27.4x 81.7x
P/Operating cash flow 11.4x 7.8x 11.8x
P/S 2.0x 1.3x 4.2x
P/B 3.2x 2.0x 7.5x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 3.6x 7.9x
EV/EBITDA 10.9x 7.5x 13.8x
EV/EBIT 13.3x 10.0x 19.6x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.2x 5.0x
EV/FCF 12.7x 25.8x 97.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.5x 7.4x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.09 0.11 2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAYISMIDURI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% -1.6% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 18.4% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.1% -18.4% 10.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 35.0% 6.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% -30.8% 11.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 134.1% 5.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.0% -49.1% 12.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 136.0% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.1% -35.9% 16.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 135.4% 9.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.3% 92.5% 24.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 97.2% 10.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% 459.8% 98.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.5% 38.5% 83.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAYISMIDURI
Gross margin 50.6% 23.5% 39.1%
EBITDA margin 18.7% 16.1% 36.1%
Operating margin 15.4% 12.1% 25.5%
Pretax margin 14.7% 12.0% 21.8%
Net margin 11.4% 8.6% 16.3%
FCF margin 16.1% 4.7% 5.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.8% 16.3% 35.4%
Return on equity 18.2% 13.7% 30.2%
Return on assets 11.2% 8.6% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 12.8% 14.0%
Return on capital employed 19.5% 13.8% 16.5%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.1% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAYISMIDURI
Debt / assets 14.3% 4.8% 44.7%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x -0.5x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 1.0x 16.4x
Liabilities / assets 39.0% 34.2% 70.4%
Equity / assets 61.0% 65.8% 29.6%
Interest coverage – 48.9x –
Current ratio 1.7x 4.1x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x 3.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.9x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 5.97 5.03 3.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAYISMIDURI
Dividend yield 0.3% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 3.0% – 2.5%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 0.0% 3.2%
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.

ConsensusAYISMIDURI
Forward P/E 15.8xFY2027 – 21.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $20.01FY2027 – $55.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.6%FY2027 – +31.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.7% – +6.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.68BFY2027 – $18.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 – +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.4% – +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAYISMIDURI
Held by institutions 99.2% 57.0% 95.9%
Institutions holding 631 56 1,587
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% -1.1% +4.7%
Institutions buying 330 23 804
Institutions selling 190 17 537
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.35 1.50

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.

AYISMIDURI
AYI 1.00 0.17 0.26
SMID 0.17 1.00 0.19
URI 0.26 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AYI, SMID and URI?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) $9.41B, Smith Midland (SMID) $114.05M, United Rentals (URI) $72.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, AYI, SMID and URI?

Smith Midland (SMID) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 18.1x, Smith Midland (SMID) 14.8x, United Rentals (URI) 25.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) is cheapest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.8x, United Rentals (URI) 21.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

United Rentals (URI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +6.8%, Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 11.4%, Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%, United Rentals (URI) 16.3%). On return on invested capital, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) leads (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.4%, Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%, United Rentals (URI) 14.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Rentals (URI) returned the most: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) -12.7%, Smith Midland (SMID) -44.4%, United Rentals (URI) +34.2%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +9.1%/yr, Smith Midland (SMID) +1.4%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +25.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest dividend yield: Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 0.25%, Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%, United Rentals (URI) 0.66%. Smith Midland (SMID) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) has been the steadiest (Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 38.0%, Smith Midland (SMID) 51.0%, United Rentals (URI) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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