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Acme United Corp

ACU NYSE Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware Financials FY2016–FY2025

Revenue Total sales reported in the income statement.
$197M
1.1% vs prior year
Operating margin Operating income as a share of revenue.
7.5%
0.2 pts
Net income Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
$10.2M
1.6%
Free cash flow Cash from operations minus capital spending.
$7.6M
57.0%
Return on capital After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
9.1%
0.7 pts
Market cap Last close times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate.
—
P/E Last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters.
—
On $2.38 EPS (TTM)

What Acme United Corp does

No business description yet.

Legal name
ACME UNITED CORP
Fiscal year ends
December 31, 2025
Latest annual report
10-K · Mar 11, 2026
Accession · CIK
0001193125-26-102079
0000002098

Revenue and margins

Acme United Corp had $197M of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 1.1% on the year before.

Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 4.7% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.

Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS

Returns on capital

After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.

Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
Return on capital Return on equity Return on assets

Cash flow

Free cash flow was $7.6M in fiscal 2025, 3.9% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.

Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending

Dividends, buybacks and share count

Acme United Corp returned $2.3M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 31% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.3%.

Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)

Balance sheet

Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Acme United Corp can carry it.

Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Cash Debt
Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments $4.8M$6.1M$4.8M$6.4M$3.6M
Debt incl. finance leases $33.0M$49.9M$13.1M$17.6M$11.9M
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x4.0x0.5x0.6x0.4x
Debt / equity 0.4x0.6x0.1x0.2x0.1x
Interest coverage 13.9x2.6x4.3x6.8x8.7x
Current ratio 4.7x4.8x3.5x4.2x4.2x
Quick ratio 2.1x1.9x1.4x1.7x1.6x
Total assets $144M$164M$149M$162M$171M
Total liabilities $67.4M$85.3M$51.3M$55.2M$53.4M
Shareholders' equity $77.1M$79.0M$97.9M$107M$118M
Net debt (− = net cash) $28.2M$43.8M$8.3M$11.2M$8.3M

Insider trades

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Bought, 12 months

$0.0M

0 insiders

Sold, 12 months

$0.0M

0 insiders

Of sales under plans

—

$0.0M

No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.

Piotroski F-score

Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.

TestFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Net income is positive ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash from operations is positive ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Return on assets rose — ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✕
Cash from operations exceeds net income ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
Debt fell relative to assets — ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✓
Current ratio rose — ✕ ✓ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓ ✓
Share count didn't rise — ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✓
Gross margin rose — ✓ ✓ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✓ ✓
Revenue rose relative to assets — ✕ ✓ ✓ ✕ ✕ ✕ ✓ ✕ ✕
F-score — / 34 / 98 / 97 / 94 / 95 / 94 / 98 / 95 / 97 / 9
Accruals ratio −3.3%−0.7%0.1%−8.3%2.0%6.2%0.1%−7.1%−1.3%−4.8%
Altman Z'' 6.876.026.416.446.236.785.977.397.467.65

10 years of figures

US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.

Download CSV
Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue $125M $131M $137M $142M $164M $182M $194M $192M $194M $197M
Net interest income −$0.9M −$1.3M −$1.9M −$1.8M −$0.9M −$0.9M −$2.4M −$3.0M — —
Provision for credit losses — — — — — — — −$0.1M $0.4M $0.0M
Gross profit $45.6M $47.9M $50.6M $52.0M $59.6M $64.8M $63.6M $72.2M $76.4M $77.4M
Research and development $0.8M $0.8M $0.7M $0.6M $0.3M — — — — —
Operating income $8.4M $7.9M $7.5M $8.4M $11.4M $12.8M $6.3M $13.2M $14.1M $14.7M
Interest expense $0.9M $1.4M $1.9M $1.8M $0.9M $0.9M $2.4M $3.1M $2.1M $1.7M
Pretax income $7.5M $6.5M $5.5M $6.5M $9.8M $15.2M $3.7M $22.7M $12.3M $13.1M
Income tax $1.6M $2.4M $0.9M $1.0M $1.7M $1.5M $0.6M $4.9M $2.3M $2.9M
Net income $5.9M $4.1M $4.6M $5.5M $8.1M $13.7M $3.0M $17.8M $10.0M $10.2M
Diluted EPS $1.64 $1.09 $1.30 $1.60 $2.31 $3.45 $0.82 $4.86 $2.45 $2.49
Diluted shares 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B 0.00B
Cash flow
Cash from operations $8.9M $4.8M $4.5M $14.7M $5.7M $5.1M $2.9M $28.9M $12.0M $18.2M
Capital expenditure $1.8M $3.1M $2.9M $1.7M $2.6M $6.4M $4.3M $4.7M $7.1M $10.7M
Free cash flow $7.0M $1.7M $1.6M $13.0M $3.2M −$1.2M −$1.4M $24.2M $4.8M $7.6M
Depreciation and amortization $2.4M $2.9M $3.2M $3.4M $3.8M $4.0M $4.6M $5.0M $6.1M $6.3M
Stock-based compensation $0.4M $0.7M $0.9M $1.0M $1.3M $1.8M $1.8M $1.9M $2.2M $2.0M
Acquisitions — — — — — — $9.6M $0.8M $0.8M —
Dividends paid $1.3M $1.4M $1.5M $1.6M $1.6M $1.8M $1.9M $2.0M $2.2M $2.3M
Dividends and buybacks $1.3M $1.4M $1.5M $1.6M $1.6M $1.8M $1.9M $2.0M $2.2M $2.3M
Balance sheet
Cash and short-term investments $5.9M $9.3M $4.4M $6.8M $4.2M $4.8M $6.1M $4.8M $6.4M $3.6M
Total debt $32.9M $43.5M $40.3M $33.2M $38.8M $33.0M $49.9M $13.1M $17.6M $11.9M
Current assets $65.0M $77.8M $73.0M $73.1M $83.7M $95.3M $106M $92.0M $95.5M $96.2M
Current liabilities $12.8M $16.8M $13.4M $16.6M $20.2M $20.3M $22.1M $26.0M $22.9M $22.9M
Inventory $37.2M $40.1M $41.3M $39.3M $50.7M $53.6M $63.3M $55.5M $56.3M $59.9M
Property and equipment, net $8.0M $13.7M $14.5M $14.0M $20.2M $24.0M $26.4M $28.0M $31.7M $38.5M
Goodwill $3.9M $4.7M $4.7M $4.7M $4.8M $4.8M $8.2M $8.2M $9.9M $9.9M
Intangible assets $14.0M $17.9M $17.0M $15.8M $18.7M $17.2M $20.8M $19.0M $20.3M $19.5M
Total assets $92.1M $115M $109M $111M $130M $144M $164M $149M $162M $171M
Total liabilities $45.9M $64.8M $57.1M $55.0M $67.2M $67.4M $85.3M $51.3M $55.2M $53.4M
Shareholders' equity $46.1M $49.9M $52.3M $55.7M $62.7M $77.1M $79.0M $97.9M $107M $118M
Margins
Gross margin 36.6% 36.7% 36.9% 36.5% 36.3% 35.6% 32.8% 37.7% 39.3% 39.4%
Operating margin 6.8% 6.0% 5.4% 5.9% 7.0% 7.0% 3.2% 6.9% 7.3% 7.5%
EBITDA margin 8.7% 8.3% 7.8% 8.3% 9.3% 9.2% 5.6% 9.5% 10.4% 10.7%
Net margin 4.7% 3.1% 3.3% 3.9% 4.9% 7.5% 1.6% 9.3% 5.2% 5.2%
FCF margin 5.7% 1.3% 1.2% 9.1% 1.9% −0.7% −0.7% 12.7% 2.5% 3.9%
Net interest share of revenue −0.7% −1.0% −1.4% −1.3% −0.6% −0.5% −1.2% −1.6% — —
Returns
Return on capital 9.0% 6.1% 7.0% 8.6% 9.7% 10.9% 4.2% 9.7% 9.8% 9.1%
Return on capital employed 10.7% 8.0% 7.8% 9.0% 10.4% 10.3% 4.4% 10.7% 10.2% 9.9%
Return on equity 12.7% 8.4% 9.0% 10.2% 13.7% 19.5% 3.9% 20.1% 9.8% 9.1%
Return on assets 6.4% 3.9% 4.1% 5.0% 6.7% 10.0% 2.0% 11.3% 6.4% 6.1%
Return on tangible equity 20.8% 14.8% 15.0% 15.7% 20.7% 24.8% 6.1% 25.2% 13.1% 11.5%
Growth
Revenue growth — 4.8% 5.2% 3.7% 15.1% 11.0% 6.5% −1.3% 1.6% 1.1%
Net income growth — −30.7% 13.5% 19.9% 46.9% 68.6% −77.8% 486.3% −43.7% 1.6%
EPS growth — −33.5% 19.3% 23.1% 44.4% 49.4% −76.2% 492.7% −49.6% 1.6%
FCF growth — −76.4% −2.4% 701.7% −75.8% −139.1% — — −80.1% 57.0%
Share count change — 4.1% −4.9% −2.5% 1.6% 12.7% −6.0% −1.7% 12.1% −0.3%
Financial health
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 3.2x 3.4x 2.2x 2.3x 1.7x 4.0x 0.5x 0.6x 0.4x
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.9x 0.8x 0.6x 0.6x 0.4x 0.6x 0.1x 0.2x 0.1x
Interest coverage 9.7x 5.8x 3.9x 4.6x 12.1x 13.9x 2.6x 4.3x 6.8x 8.7x
Current ratio 5.1x 4.6x 5.5x 4.4x 4.1x 4.7x 4.8x 3.5x 4.2x 4.2x
Quick ratio 2.2x 2.2x 2.4x 2.0x 1.6x 2.1x 1.9x 1.4x 1.7x 1.6x
Capital allocation
Capex / revenue 1.5% 2.4% 2.1% 1.2% 1.6% 3.5% 2.2% 2.4% 3.7% 5.4%
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 1.0% 0.9% 1.0% 1.1% 1.0%
Payouts / FCF 18.9% 84.6% 91.4% 12.4% 50.9% — — 8.2% 46.0% 30.9%
Quality scores
Piotroski F-score — 4.0 8.0 7.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 8.0 5.0 7.0
Altman Z'' 6.9 6.0 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.8 6.0 7.4 7.5 7.7
Accruals ratio −3.3% −0.7% 0.1% −8.3% 2.0% 6.2% 0.1% −7.1% −1.3% −4.8%

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000002098). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.

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