Revenue growth has decelerated from 20.2% in Q1 2026 to 2.9% in Q4 2026, yet net margin still expanded roughly 620 basis points to 13.9% on the back of a 710-basis-point gross margin gain to 53.8%, suggesting the Intelligent Spaces mix shift and operating leverage are partially insulating earnings from volume softness.
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) annual income statement — 25-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | TTM | Aug'25 | Aug'24 | Aug'23 | Aug'22 | Aug'21 | Aug'20 | Aug'19 | Aug'18 | Aug'17 | Aug'16 | Aug'15 | Aug'14 | Aug'13 | Aug'12 | Aug'11 | Aug'10 | Aug'09 | Aug'08 | Aug'07 | Aug'06 | Aug'05 | Aug'04 | Aug'03 | Aug'02 | Aug'01 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 4.64B | 4.35B | 3.84B | 3.95B | 4.01B | 3.46B | 3.33B | 3.67B | 3.68B | 3.51B | 3.29B | 2.71B | 2.39B | 2.09B | 1.93B | 1.8B | 1.63B | 1.66B | 2.03B | 1.96B | 1.84B | 2.17B | 2.1B | 2.05B | 1.97B | 1.98B |
| Revenue Growth % | 6.82% | 13.14% | -2.81% | -1.35% | 15.75% | 4.05% | -9.43% | -0.2% | 4.99% | 6.5% | 21.6% | 13.09% | 14.57% | 8.04% | 7.69% | 10.38% | -1.84% | -18.22% | 3.15% | 6.72% | -15.27% | 3.26% | 2.68% | 3.88% | -0.5% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 2.29B | 2.27B | 2.06B | 2.24B | 2.33B | 1.99B | 1.92B | 2.19B | 2.19B | 2.02B | 1.86B | 1.56B | 1.41B | 1.25B | 1.15B | 1.07B | 965.4M | 1.02B | 1.21B | 1.22B | 1.19B | 1.32B | 1.25B | 1.24B | 1.17B | 1.14B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 52.17% | 53.61% | 56.65% | 58.25% | 57.38% | 57.84% | 59.71% | 59.64% | 57.74% | 56.36% | 57.68% | 59.09% | 59.91% | 59.25% | 59.35% | 59.34% | 61.68% | 59.75% | 62.12% | 64.54% | 60.95% | 59.57% | 60.31% | 59.27% | 57.57% |
| Gross Profit | 2.35B | 2.08B | 1.78B | 1.71B | 1.67B | 1.48B | 1.4B | 1.48B | 1.49B | 1.48B | 1.44B | 1.15B | 979.2M | 837.6M | 788M | 730M | 661.5M | 635.1M | 815.79M | 744.32M | 652.84M | 848.54M | 850.79M | 813.41M | 803.51M | 841.35M |
| Gross Margin % | 50.64% | 47.83% | 46.39% | 43.35% | 41.75% | 42.62% | 42.16% | 40.29% | 40.36% | 42.26% | 43.64% | 42.32% | 40.91% | 40.09% | 40.75% | 40.65% | 40.66% | 38.32% | 40.25% | 37.88% | 35.46% | 39.05% | 40.43% | 39.69% | 40.73% | 42.43% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 16.66% | 4% | 2.42% | 13.4% | 5.18% | -5.22% | -0.38% | 0.29% | 3.13% | 25.37% | 16.99% | 16.91% | 6.29% | 7.95% | 10.36% | 4.16% | -22.15% | 9.6% | 14.01% | -23.06% | -0.26% | 4.6% | 1.23% | -4.5% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 1.61B | 1.48B | 1.23B | 1.24B | 1.16B | 1.05B | 1.05B | 1.02B | 1.02B | 953.6M | 961M | 769.3M | 680.1M | 616.1M | 580M | 541.3M | 503.8M | 481.3M | 554.74M | 521.89M | 500.72M | 741.8M | 712.86M | 703.13M | 683.39M | 701.76M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 34.17% | 31.98% | 31.37% | 29.03% | 30.26% | 31.52% | 27.69% | 27.84% | 27.21% | 29.2% | 28.42% | 28.41% | 29.49% | 29.99% | 30.14% | 30.97% | 29.04% | 27.37% | 26.56% | 27.2% | 34.14% | 33.88% | 34.31% | 34.64% | 35.39% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 1.61B | 1.48B | 1.13B | 1.12B | 1.07B | 1.04B | 1.03B | 1.01B | 1.02B | 942.3M | 946M | 756.9M | 680.3M | 607.6M | 566.7M | 541.3M | 495.4M | 454.6M | 540.1M | 521.89M | 500.43M | 718.13M | 710.93M | 703.13M | 679.07M | 683.79M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 34.17% | 29.32% | 28.23% | 26.66% | 30.17% | 30.92% | 27.64% | 27.69% | 26.88% | 28.74% | 27.96% | 28.42% | 29.08% | 29.31% | 30.14% | 30.45% | 27.43% | 26.65% | 26.56% | 27.18% | 33.05% | 33.79% | 34.31% | 34.42% | 34.49% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 102.3M | 97.1M | 95.1M | 88.3M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | 2.66% | 2.46% | 2.37% | 2.55% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.9M | 0 | -85M | 20M | 1.8M | 5.6M | 11.3M | 15M | 12.4M | -200K | 8.5M | 13.3M | 0 | 8.4M | 26.7M | 14.64M | 0 | 292K | 23.66M | 1.93M | 0 | 4.32M | 17.96M |
| Operating Income | 713.7M | 593.6M | 553.3M | 473.4M | 509.7M | 427.6M | 353.9M | 462.9M | 460.8M | 527.5M | 475.2M | 376.3M | 299.1M | 221.5M | 208M | 188.7M | 157.7M | 153.75M | 261.06M | 222.42M | 152.12M | 106.75M | 137.93M | 110.28M | 120.13M | 139.59M |
| Operating Margin % | 15.38% | 13.66% | 14.41% | 11.98% | 12.72% | 12.35% | 10.64% | 12.6% | 12.52% | 15.05% | 14.44% | 13.9% | 12.5% | 10.6% | 10.76% | 10.51% | 9.69% | 9.28% | 12.88% | 11.32% | 8.26% | 4.91% | 6.55% | 5.38% | 6.09% | 7.04% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 7.28% | 16.88% | -7.12% | 19.2% | 20.83% | -23.55% | 0.46% | -12.64% | 11.01% | 26.28% | 25.81% | 35.03% | 6.49% | 10.23% | 19.66% | 2.57% | -41.1% | 17.37% | 46.22% | 42.51% | -22.61% | 25.07% | -8.2% | -13.94% | - |
| EBITDA | 831.5M | 726.7M | 644.4M | 566.6M | 604.5M | 527.7M | 455M | 551.2M | 541.1M | 602.1M | 537.8M | 422.1M | 342.5M | 262.3M | 247.8M | 228.8M | 194.2M | 189.49M | 294.9M | 253.77M | 182.81M | 147.82M | 180.89M | 156.31M | 169.62M | 202.5M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 17.91% | 16.72% | 16.78% | 14.34% | 15.09% | 15.25% | 13.68% | 15.01% | 14.7% | 17.18% | 16.34% | 15.59% | 14.31% | 12.56% | 12.81% | 12.74% | 11.94% | 11.43% | 14.55% | 12.92% | 9.93% | 6.8% | 8.6% | 7.63% | 8.6% | 10.21% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 24.57% | 12.77% | 13.73% | -6.27% | 14.55% | 15.98% | -17.45% | 1.87% | -10.13% | 11.96% | 27.41% | 23.24% | 30.58% | 5.85% | 8.3% | 17.82% | 2.49% | -35.74% | 16.21% | 38.82% | 23.67% | -18.28% | 15.72% | -7.84% | -16.24% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 117.8M | 133.1M | 91.1M | 93.2M | 94.8M | 100.1M | 101.1M | 88.3M | 80.3M | 74.6M | 62.6M | 45.8M | 43.4M | 40.8M | 39.8M | 40.1M | 36.5M | 35.74M | 33.84M | 31.35M | 30.69M | 41.08M | 42.96M | 46.04M | 49.49M | 62.91M |
| EBIT | 486M | 522.2M | 573.9M | 495.3M | 508.4M | 420.4M | 378.2M | 460.1M | 461.4M | 526.7M | 506.1M | 376.2M | 298.3M | 225M | 210.3M | 188M | 148.6M | 156.88M | 265.3M | 228.49M | 153.07M | 106.75M | 137.93M | 110.28M | 120.13M | 143.67M |
| Net Interest Income | -21.5M | -22M | 4.5M | -18.9M | -24.9M | -23.2M | -23.3M | -33.3M | -33.5M | -32.5M | -32.2M | -31.5M | -32.1M | -31.2M | -30.7M | -29.9M | -29.4M | -28.5M | -28.41M | -29.85M | -33.02M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 3.8M | 20.5M | 29.8M | 9M | 2.1M | 1M | 3.1M | 3.1M | 2M | 1.6M | 1.1M | 1.1M | 500K | 700K | 0 | 500K | 400K | 1.01M | 6.33M | 4.45M | 1.23M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 29.4M | 42.5M | 25.3M | 27.9M | 27M | 24.2M | 26.4M | 36.4M | 35.5M | 34.1M | 33.3M | 32.6M | 32.6M | 31.9M | 30.7M | 30.4M | 29.8M | 29.56M | 34.75M | 30.14M | 33.23M | 35.73M | 34.88M | 37.38M | 40.69M | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -33M | -93.4M | -4.7M | -26.7M | -15.8M | -31.4M | -29.2M | -38M | -34.9M | -34.9M | -30.6M | -32.7M | -33.4M | -28.4M | -29M | -31.1M | -38.9M | -26.43M | -30.51M | -28.24M | -33.3M | -31.91M | -35.31M | -35.7M | -37.29M | -70.44M |
| Pretax Income | 680.7M | 500.2M | 548.6M | 446.7M | 493.9M | 396.2M | 324.7M | 424.9M | 425.9M | 492.6M | 444.6M | 343.6M | 265.7M | 193.1M | 179M | 157.6M | 118.8M | 127.32M | 230.55M | 194.19M | 118.82M | 74.83M | 102.62M | 74.58M | 82.84M | 69.15M |
| Pretax Margin % | 14.66% | 11.51% | 14.28% | 11.3% | 12.33% | 11.45% | 9.76% | 11.57% | 11.57% | 14.05% | 13.51% | 12.69% | 11.1% | 9.24% | 9.26% | 8.78% | 7.3% | 7.68% | 11.38% | 9.88% | 6.45% | 3.44% | 4.88% | 3.64% | 4.2% | 3.49% |
| Income Tax | 149.4M | 103.6M | 126M | 100.7M | 109.9M | 89.9M | 76.4M | 94.5M | 76.3M | 170.9M | 153.8M | 121.5M | 89.9M | 65.7M | 62.7M | 52.1M | 39.8M | 42.13M | 81.92M | 65.5M | 39.15M | 22.6M | 35.4M | 26.8M | 30.81M | 28.65M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 21.95% | 20.71% | 22.97% | 22.54% | 22.25% | 22.69% | 23.53% | 22.24% | 17.92% | 34.69% | 34.59% | 35.36% | 33.84% | 34.02% | 35.03% | 33.06% | 33.5% | 33.09% | 35.53% | 33.73% | 32.95% | 30.2% | 34.5% | 35.93% | 37.2% | 41.43% |
| Net Income | 531.3M | 396.6M | 422.6M | 346M | 384M | 306.3M | 248.3M | 330.4M | 349.6M | 321.7M | 290.8M | 222.1M | 175.8M | 127.4M | 116.3M | 105.5M | 79.6M | 84.91M | 148.25M | 148.05M | 106.56M | 52.23M | 67.21M | 47.78M | 52.02M | 40.5M |
| Net Margin % | 11.45% | 9.13% | 11% | 8.75% | 9.59% | 8.85% | 7.46% | 9% | 9.5% | 9.18% | 8.84% | 8.21% | 7.34% | 6.1% | 6.01% | 5.88% | 4.89% | 5.12% | 7.32% | 7.54% | 5.79% | 2.4% | 3.19% | 2.33% | 2.64% | 2.04% |
| Net Income Growth % | 33.96% | -6.15% | 22.14% | -9.9% | 25.37% | 23.36% | -24.85% | -5.49% | 8.67% | 10.63% | 30.93% | 26.34% | 37.99% | 9.54% | 10.24% | 32.54% | -6.25% | -42.73% | 0.14% | 38.94% | 104.03% | -22.29% | 40.67% | -8.15% | 28.44% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 531.3M | 396.6M | 422.6M | 346M | 384M | 306.3M | 248.3M | 330.4M | 349.6M | 321.7M | 290.8M | 222.1M | 175.8M | 127.4M | 116.3M | 105.5M | 79M | 85.2M | 148.63M | 148.05M | 106.56M | 52.23M | 67.21M | 47.78M | 52.02M | 40.5M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 600K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 17.28 | 12.53 | 13.44 | 10.76 | 11.08 | 8.37 | 6.27 | 8.30 | 8.53 | 7.43 | 6.63 | 5.09 | 4.05 | 2.95 | 2.72 | 2.42 | 1.80 | 2.04 | 3.56 | 3.37 | 2.34 | 1.17 | 1.56 | 1.15 | 1.26 | 0.99 |
| EPS Growth % | 36.47% | -6.77% | 24.91% | -2.89% | 32.38% | 33.49% | -24.46% | -2.7% | 14.8% | 12.07% | 30.26% | 25.68% | 37.29% | 8.46% | 12.4% | 34.44% | -11.76% | -42.7% | 5.64% | 44.02% | 100% | -25% | 35.65% | -8.73% | 27.27% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 12.85 | 13.68 | 10.88 | 11.23 | 8.44 | 6.29 | 8.32 | 8.55 | 7.46 | 6.67 | 5.13 | 4.07 | 2.97 | 2.75 | 2.46 | 1.84 | 2.08 | 3.65 | 3.48 | 2.43 | 1.21 | 1.60 | 1.15 | 1.26 | 0.99 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 30.75M | 31.64M | 31.45M | 32.16M | 34.65M | 36.6M | 39.6M | 39.8M | 41M | 43.3M | 43.8M | 43.4M | 43M | 42.5M | 41.9M | 42.8M | 43.3M | 41.56M | 41.61M | 43.9M | 45.58M | 44.64M | 43.09M | 41.72M | 41.29M | 41.07M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 29.96M | 30.86M | 30.89M | 31.81M | 34.18M | 36.3M | 39.5M | 39.7M | 40.9M | 43.1M | 43.5M | 43.1M | 42.8M | 42.2M | 41.4M | 42.2M | 42.5M | 40.78M | 40.66M | 42.59M | 43.88M | 43.16M | 42.01M | 41.46M | 41.29M | 41.07M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | 5.19% | 4.31% | 4.86% | 4.71% | 6.24% | 8.38% | 6.3% | 6.12% | 7.06% | 7.87% | 10.22% | 12.8% | 17.58% | 18.92% | 21.42% | 28.39% | 25.48% | 15.15% | 17.8% | 25.2% | 50.44% | 37.8% | 52.13% | 35.76% | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying AYI stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) reported total revenue of $4.35B. This represents a 119.2% increase compared to $1.98B in 2001.
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) is profitable, generating $396.6M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 9.1%.
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) reported an operating income of $593.6M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 13.7%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) generated $2.08B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 47.8%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Revenue deceleration undermining margin expansion durability
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Growth Momentum Fading After Mid-2025 Surge
According to recent SEC filings, AYI's quarterly revenue growth has decelerated sharply from 20.2% in Q1 2026 to just 2.9% in Q4 2026, a stark contrast to the 17–22% expansion rates seen throughout mid-2025, suggesting the recovery period may be losing steam.
The top-line trajectory presents a clear inflection: after three consecutive quarters of double-digit YoY growth (Q2 2025 through Q1 2026), growth rates collapsed to 4.9%, 1.6%, and 2.9% in the latest three quarters. This pattern appears consistent with the softness in non-residential construction flagged in recent earnings commentary, where the Architecture Billings Index has remained subdued. Investors should assess whether the deceleration reflects a normalization from a restocking cycle at the distributor level or genuine end-demand weakness, particularly in the ABL segment.
Gross Margin Expands 710 Basis Points Over Ten Quarters
As reported in financial statements, AYI's gross margin has climbed from 46.7% in Q3 2024 to 53.8% in Q4 2026 — a gain of roughly 710 basis points — suggesting the Intelligent Spaces-led mix shift and pricing discipline appear to be delivering durable structural improvement rather than cyclical tailwind.
The gross margin trajectory is notably consistent, advancing from the mid-46% range into the high-53% range with only minor dips, indicating that the expansion is structural rather than episodic. This level of gross margin significantly exceeds the peer set — Hubbell at 35.5% and nVent at 37.7% — which suggests Acuity's proprietary controls and software integrations are commanding a pricing premium that commodity-oriented competitors cannot easily replicate. However, the acceleration from 50.6% (Q3 2026) to 53.8% (Q4 2026) in a single quarter warrants scrutiny; such a jump may partly reflect favorable product mix timing or one-time cost benefits that could reverse.
Operating Leverage Amplifying as SG&A Discipline Emerges
Based on recent reported figures, AYI's operating margin has expanded from 11.9% in Q3 2025 to 18.2% in Q4 2026, a gain of roughly 630 basis points that outpaced gross margin improvement by a wide margin, suggesting the company appears to be capturing meaningful incremental profitability through overhead discipline.
What stands out is that operating income has scaled faster than gross profit: gross profit grew from $570.2M to $670.1M (approximately 17.5%) between Q3 2025 and Q4 2026, while operating income surged from $139.8M to $227.0M (approximately 62%). This suggests that SG&A leverage is real and material, likely reflecting the 'Acuity Business Process' cost structure initiatives absorbing the impact of softer volumes. A noteworthy accounting shift occurred between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, when R&D of $102.3M appears to have been reclassified into SG&A, causing the SG&A line to jump from $229.4M to $316.0M; analysts should normalize for this when assessing the true pace of overhead growth.
Net Margin Expansion Signals Mix-Driven Quality
As reported in quarterly financial statements, AYI's net margin has expanded from 7.7% in Q2 2025 to 13.9% in Q4 2026 — an improvement of roughly 620 basis points — suggesting that earnings quality is being reinforced by structural mix shift and operating leverage rather than non-operating items or one-off gains.
The EPS trajectory supports this interpretation: diluted EPS swung from negative growth (−14.1% in Q2 2025) to 56.0% in Q4 2026, but investors should recognize the base effect at play since Q4 2025 EPS of $3.61 reflected depressed year-earlier comparables. Stock-based compensation, running at $10.3M–$13.6M per quarter, remains modest relative to revenue (~1% of the latest quarter's top line), so dilution risk appears contained. With the company's very low debt-to-equity ratio (~0.37%) and negligible interest expense, the reported net income growth appears to be driven primarily by operational execution rather than financial engineering or leverage — a positive signal for earnings sustainability, though the absence of disclosed guidance introduces forward uncertainty.
Margin Expansion Faces Demand Headwinds
Despite impressive margin gains, AYI's revenue growth has slowed to 2.9% in Q4 2026 while the Architecture Billings Index signals continued weakness in non-residential construction, raising the analytical question of whether the current profitability profile can hold if volumes continue to decelerate toward zero or negative territory.
The principal risk to the current narrative is that margin expansion may prove cyclical rather than structural. Gross margin expansion occurred alongside a period of modest revenue growth, which raises the possibility that some of the margin gain reflects favorable input costs or pricing that was achieved during an earlier period of stronger order volumes — orders that have yet to flow through to the income statement. If non-residential construction continues to soften, Acuity could face volume deleveraging on a cost base that has been calibrated for higher throughput. Additionally, the Intelligence Spaces segment's growth trajectory requires careful organic vs. inorganic disaggregation, as acquisition accounting may obscure whether the software business is truly scaling at the pace implied by the headline revenue figures.