Acme United Corporation. Common Stock (ACU)

FairStock Score: 52/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

As a Graham-and-Buffett style investor, I start with what Acme United is: a 649-employee consumer-defensive supplier of scissors, knives, rulers, first-aid and sharpening products under Westcott and Clauss. The business has modest brand recognition and distribution, but I do not see a wide moat; returns reflect that. FairStock's calculations on the 2026-10-13 close of $62.37 show ROE 8.35%, ROCE 4.87%, and a Piotroski F-Score of 7/9. The balance sheet is conservative: D/E 0.32 and Altman Z-Score 3.44. In fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, revenue was $62.7M versus $54.0M in fiscal Q2 2025, and net income was $5.1M versus $4.8M; that is better top-line momentum. But fiscal FY2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, showed revenue $196.5M and net income $10.2M, only slightly above fiscal FY2024, the year ended 2024-12-31, which had $194.5M revenue and $10.0M net income. FairStock classifies it as a SLOW GROWER, with five-year profit growth of 4.7% and revenue growth of 3.7%. The price is demanding: P/E 26.21, P/B 1.97, PEG 4.17, EV/EBITDA 12.73, and Graham Number $41.16, implying a -51.53% margin of safety. FCF yield of 6.5% and dividend yield 1.04% offer some support, but not enough to offset slow growth and modest returns. The FairStock Score of 52/100 captures that middling picture. The recent quarter is encouraging, but one quarter does not change a slow-growth record. I need either a wider moat or a lower price to get excited.

In plain English: Acme United sells everyday cutting, measuring, first-aid, and sharpening products, often under Westcott and Clauss brands. It is a small, steady consumer company with modest profits and a conservative balance sheet, though its recent quarter showed stronger sales. At the 2026-10-13 close of $62.37, the shares look expensive compared with the company’s earnings, book value, and long-term growth record.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer