Acuity Reports Fiscal 2026 Third-Quarter Results
Solid Execution Delivers Sales Growth, EPS Improvement and Strong Cash Flow
■Delivered Net Sales of $1.2B, an Increase of 2% Compared to the Prior Year
■Delivered Operating Profit of $193M, Up 38% Compared to the Prior Year; Grew Adjusted Operating Profit to $224M, Up 1% Compared to the Prior Year
■Delivered Diluted EPS of $4.56, Up 46% Compared to the Prior Year; Grew Adjusted Diluted EPS to $5.31, Up 4% Compared to the Prior Year
ATLANTA, June 25, 2026 - Acuity Inc. (NYSE: AYI), ("Acuity"), a market-leading industrial technology company, delivered net sales of $1.2 billion in the third quarter, ended May 31, 2026, an increase of $19.4 million, or 1.6 percent, compared to the prior year.
"We demonstrated solid execution in our third quarter of fiscal 2026," stated Neil Ashe, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Inc. "We grew net sales, we expanded our adjusted operating profit and we increased our adjusted diluted earnings per share. We generated strong cash flow and allocated capital effectively."
During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, we received $6.4 million in tariff refunds in Acuity Brands Lighting, which are reflected as non-GAAP adjustments in our results.
Operating profit was $193.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $53.5 million, or 38.3 percent, compared to the prior year. Operating profit as a percent of net sales was 16.1 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of 420 basis points compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit was $223.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $1.8 million, or 0.8 percent, compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit as a percent of net sales was 18.7 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of 10 basis points compared to the prior year.
Diluted earnings per share was $4.56 in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $1.44, or 46.2 percent, compared to the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $5.31 in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $0.19, or 3.7 percent.
Segment Performance
Acuity Brands Lighting ("ABL")
ABL generated net sales of $905.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of $18.0 million, or 1.9 percent, compared to the prior year.
Operating profit was $160.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $26.6 million, or 19.9 percent, compared to the prior year. Operating profit as a percent of ABL net sales was 17.7 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of 320 basis points compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit was $164.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of $9.3 million, or 5.3 percent, compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit as a percent of ABL net sales was 18.2 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of 60 basis points compared to the prior year.
Acuity Intelligent Spaces ("AIS")
AIS generated net sales of $303.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $39.4 million, or 14.9 percent, compared to the prior year.
Operating profit was $56.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $29.1 million, or 106.2 percent, compared to the prior year. Operating profit as a percent of AIS net sales was 18.6 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of 820 basis points compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit was $76.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of $14.0 million, or 22.5 percent, compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit as a percent of AIS net sales was 25.1 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, an increase of 150 basis points compared to the prior year.
Cash Flow and Capital Allocation
Net cash from operating activities was $520.2 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2026. Year to date, we repurchased approximately 766,000 shares of common stock for a total of $230 million.
Call Details
We will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET today, Thursday, June 25, 2026. Neil Ashe, Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Inc. will lead the call. The conference call and earnings release can be accessed via our Investor Relations section of our website at www.investors.acuityinc.com. A replay of the call will also be posted to the Investor Relations website within two hours of the completion of the conference call and will be available on the website for a limited time.
About Acuity
Acuity Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light and more things to come. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) and Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in people's lives.
We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and an audio, video and control platform. We focus on
customer outcomes and drive growth and productivity to increase market share and deliver superior returns. We look to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.
Acuity Inc. is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 13,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuityinc.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This news release includes the following non-generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") financial measures: "adjusted gross profit", "adjusted gross profit margin", "adjusted operating profit" and "adjusted operating profit margin" for total company and by segment; for total company only we additionally include: "adjusted net income;" "adjusted diluted EPS;" "earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA");" "EBITDA margin;" "adjusted EBITDA;" and "adjusted EBITDA margin". These non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the reader's overall understanding of our current financial performance and prospects for the future. Specifically, management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors by excluding or adjusting items for amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, acquired profit in inventory, acquisition-related items, and special charges.
We also provide "free cash flow" ("FCF") to enhance the reader's understanding of our ability to generate additional cash from its business.
Management typically adjusts for these items for internal reviews of performance and uses the above non-GAAP measures for baseline comparative operational analysis, decision making and other activities. Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide greater comparability and enhanced visibility into our results of operations as well as comparability with many of its peers, especially those companies focused more on technology and software. Non-GAAP financial measures included in this news release should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, results prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted gross profit and adjusted gross profit margin for total company are "gross profit" and "gross profit margin," respectively, which include the impact of acquired profit in inventory and tariff refunds. Adjusted gross profit margin is adjusted gross profit divided by net sales for total company and by segment. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted operating profit and adjusted operating profit margin for total company and by segment are "operating profit" and "operating profit margin," respectively, which include the impact of amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, acquired profit in inventory, acquisition-related costs, special charges, and tariff refunds. Adjusted operating profit margin is adjusted operating profit divided by net sales for total company and by segment. The most directly comparable GAAP measures for adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS are "net income" and "diluted EPS," respectively, which include the impact of amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, acquired profit in inventory, acquisition-related costs, special charges, and tariff refunds. Adjusted diluted EPS is adjusted net income divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding. The most directly comparable GAAP measure for EBITDA is "net income", which includes the impact of net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization of acquired intangible assets. EBITDA margin is EBITDA divided by net sales for total company. The most directly comparable GAAP measure for adjusted EBITDA is "net income", which includes the impact of net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, share-based payment expense, acquired profit in
inventory, acquisition-related items, special charges, miscellaneous (income) expense, net, and tariff refunds. Adjusted EBITDA margin is adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales for total company. A reconciliation of each measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in this news release.
We define FCF as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. A calculation of this measure is available in this news release.
Our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, have limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures. Our presentation of such measures, which may include adjustments to exclude unusual or non-recurring items, should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by other unusual or non-recurring items.