CSL vs AYI Stock Comparison

Carlisle Companies and Acuity Inc. (De) Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSL Carlisle Companies Inc
$345.26 +6.5% 1M +2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$13.93B
P/E
19.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.10B
Div. yield
0.01%
Building Products Industrials
7 wins
AYI Acuity Inc. (De)
$318.76 +4.1% 1M -13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.69B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.64B
Div. yield
0.00%
Building Products Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Carlisle Companies leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Carlisle Companies 7, Acuity Inc. (De) 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSLAYILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.93B $9.69B CSL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.2x 18.2x AYI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.7x 15.9x CSL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.9% +6.8% AYI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.2% 11.4% CSL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.4% 15.4% CSL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 0.1x AYI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% CSL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.0% -13.9% CSL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.7%/yr +9.3%/yr AYI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.7% 37.9% CSL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 80/100 AYI

Percentile Scorecard

CSLAYI

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

AxisCSLAYI
Valuation 43 #32 of 55 74 #15 of 55
Growth 32 #35 of 51 84 #9 of 51
Profitability 84 #9 of 51 74 #14 of 51
Financial Health 47 #32 of 59 86 #9 of 59
Shareholder Returns 75 #11 of 41 83 #8 of 41
Overall 56 80
  • CSL ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • AYI ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSLAYISPY
1 month +6.5%+4.1% -1.0%
3 months +2.7%-3.5% +2.9%
6 months -4.1%+10.1% +6.4%
Year to date +7.9%-11.5% +11.4%
1 year +2.0%-13.9% +13.1%
3 years +42.9%+96.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.7%+25.3% +21.5%
5 years +51.5%+55.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +8.7%+9.3% +10.9%
10 years +233.0%+32.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +12.8%+2.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCSLAYISPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.7%37.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.7%41.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.171.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.05-0.37 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-34.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.5%-15.4% -2.5%
52-week high $418.74$376.69 $779.14
52-week low $295.41$257.79 $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.

MultipleCSLAYI
P/E now vs peer median 19.2xmedian 19.9x 18.2xmedian 19.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.5x 2.0xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 12.6x 10.9xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 16.1x 12.7xmedian 16.1x
P/B now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 3.0x 3.2xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 2.37median 0.98 1.10median 0.98

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 monthsCSLAYI
Revenue $5.10B $4.64B
Gross profit $1.80B $2.35B
Operating income $1.02B $713.70M
Net income $724.50M $531.30M
Free cash flow $866.60M $747.90M
R&D $48.80M –
EPS (diluted) $17.89 $17.06
Cash & equivalents $665.30M $636.30M
Total debt $2.88B $697.40M
Shares (diluted) 40.50M 31.15M
Enterprise value $10.28B $7.99B

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
MetricCSLAYI
P/E 19.2x 18.2x
P/FCF 15.9x 12.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x 11.5x
P/S 2.7x 2.0x
P/B 8.5x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 54.1x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 10.9x
EV/EBIT 15.7x 13.3x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 2.1x
EV/FCF 18.4x 12.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.8x 11.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.37 1.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSLAYI
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.9% 6.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 5.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -2.7% 13.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 11.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.0% 26.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 14.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -10.1% 34.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.0% 15.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.7% 36.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 16.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.9% 37.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.9% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.9% 13.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSLAYI
Gross margin 35.3% 50.6%
EBITDA margin 23.8% 18.7%
Operating margin 19.9% 15.4%
Pretax margin 18.6% 14.7%
Net margin 14.2% 11.4%
FCF margin 17.0% 16.1%
Operating cash flow margin 19.8% 17.8%
Return on equity 44.3% 18.2%
Return on assets 11.9% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 17.4% 15.4%
Return on capital employed 19.4% 19.5%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSLAYI
Debt / assets 46.3% 14.3%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 0.1x
Debt / FCF 3.3x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 74.1% 39.0%
Equity / assets 25.9% 61.0%
Interest coverage 9.7x –
Current ratio 2.6x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 5.13 5.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSLAYI
Dividend yield 1.3% 0.3%
Net buyback yield 7.6% 3.0%
Shareholder yield 8.9% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.2% 4.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 21.1% 3.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 15.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 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.

ConsensusCSLAYI
Forward P/E 15.7xFY2026 15.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $21.98FY2026 $20.03FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +13.3%FY2026 +0.7%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +15.9% +21.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.97BFY2026 $4.67BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY -1.0%FY2026 +0.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSLAYI
Held by institutions 100.0% 99.2%
Institutions holding 795 631
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +4.1%
Institutions buying 367 330
Institutions selling 291 190
Buyers to sellers 1.26 1.74

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.

CSLAYI
CSL 1.00 0.41
AYI 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSL and AYI?

Carlisle Companies (CSL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Carlisle Companies (CSL) $13.93B, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) $9.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSL and AYI?

Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Carlisle Companies (CSL) 19.2x, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 18.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Carlisle Companies (CSL) is cheapest (Carlisle Companies (CSL) 15.7x, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.9x). 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: Carlisle Companies (CSL) +1.9%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +6.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Carlisle Companies (CSL) has the highest net margin (Carlisle Companies (CSL) 14.2%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Carlisle Companies (CSL) leads (Carlisle Companies (CSL) 17.4%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 15.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Carlisle Companies (CSL) returned the most: Carlisle Companies (CSL) +2.0%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) -13.9%. Over five years, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) compounded fastest (Carlisle Companies (CSL) +8.7%/yr, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) +9.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Carlisle Companies (CSL) has the highest dividend yield: Carlisle Companies (CSL) 0.01%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 0.00%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Carlisle Companies (CSL) has been the steadiest (Carlisle Companies (CSL) 36.7%, Acuity Inc. (De) (AYI) 37.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CSL and AYI move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.41, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CSL and AYI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Carlisle Companies (CSL) leads on 7. 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.