Acuity Brands vs Rockwell Automation
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Acuity Brands and Rockwell Automation side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Rockwell Automation is the larger business, with $8.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.6B for Acuity Brands, about 1.8 times as much.
- Acuity Brands grew revenue faster (6.8%, against 0.9%).
- Rockwell Automation kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.4% operating margin, against 15.4%).
- Rockwell Automation earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.9%, against 17.9%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Acuity Brands
AYI
6/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginNet marginNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Rockwell Automation
ROK
5/11
Operating marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AYI FY26 | ROK FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $10.1B | $49.0B |
| Revenue | $4.6B | $8.3B |
| Free cash flow | $748M | $1.4B |
| Net income | $531M | $869M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.8% | 0.9% |
| 5-year growth | 6.1% | 5.7% |
| Share count change | −1.6% | −1.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 50.6% | 48.1% |
| Operating margin | 15.4% | 20.4% |
| Net margin | 11.5% | 10.4% |
| FCF margin | 16.1% | 16.3% |
| Return on capital | 17.9% | 20.9% |
| Return on equity | 18.6% | 24.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $61.1M | $2.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | 1.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $311M | $1.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 41.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.