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Side-by-side financial comparison of ACME UNITED CORP (ACU) and Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Business First Bancshares, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($83.1M vs $52.3M, roughly 1.6× ACME UNITED CORP). On growth, ACME UNITED CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (13.8% vs 7.1%). Over the past eight quarters, Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (16.8% CAGR vs -2.9%).

Acme United Corporation is a supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products for the school, home, office, hardware and industrial markets. The company was organized as a partnership in 1867 and incorporated in 1873 under the laws of the State of Connecticut. It is publicly traded on the NYSE American with symbol ACU.

First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina and one of the largest banks in the United States. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank, which operates over 500 branches in 23 states. A second subsidiary is Silicon Valley Bank, which operates 39 offices in 15 states.

ACU vs BFST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
BFST
BFST
1.6× larger
BFST
$83.1M
$52.3M
ACU
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ACU
ACU
+6.7% gap
ACU
13.8%
7.1%
BFST
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BFST
BFST
Annualised
BFST
16.8%
-2.9%
ACU

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Revenue
$52.3M
$83.1M
Net Profit
$985.0K
Gross Margin
39.7%
Operating Margin
3.3%
33.2%
Net Margin
1.9%
Revenue YoY
13.8%
7.1%
Net Profit YoY
-40.4%
EPS (diluted)
$0.24
$0.71

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$52.3M
Q4 25
$47.5M
$83.1M
Q3 25
$49.1M
$80.9M
Q2 25
$54.0M
$81.5M
Q1 25
$46.0M
$79.2M
Q4 24
$45.9M
$77.6M
Q3 24
$48.2M
$66.9M
Q2 24
$55.4M
$66.2M
Net Profit
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$985.0K
Q4 25
$1.9M
Q3 25
$1.9M
$22.9M
Q2 25
$4.8M
$22.1M
Q1 25
$1.7M
$20.5M
Q4 24
$1.7M
Q3 24
$2.2M
$17.8M
Q2 24
$4.5M
$17.2M
Gross Margin
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
39.7%
Q4 25
38.2%
Q3 25
39.1%
Q2 25
41.0%
Q1 25
39.0%
Q4 24
38.7%
Q3 24
38.5%
Q2 24
40.8%
Operating Margin
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
3.3%
Q4 25
6.1%
33.2%
Q3 25
6.1%
35.7%
Q2 25
11.8%
34.4%
Q1 25
5.3%
32.6%
Q4 24
5.0%
27.5%
Q3 24
6.1%
34.0%
Q2 24
11.5%
32.9%
Net Margin
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
1.9%
Q4 25
3.9%
Q3 25
3.9%
28.2%
Q2 25
8.8%
27.1%
Q1 25
3.6%
25.9%
Q4 24
3.7%
Q3 24
4.6%
26.7%
Q2 24
8.0%
26.0%
EPS (diluted)
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$0.24
Q4 25
$0.46
$0.71
Q3 25
$0.46
$0.73
Q2 25
$1.16
$0.70
Q1 25
$0.41
$0.65
Q4 24
$0.43
$0.51
Q3 24
$0.54
$0.65
Q2 24
$1.09
$0.62

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$4.2M
$411.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$33.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$116.7M
$896.9M
Total Assets
$195.2M
$8.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.28×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$4.2M
Q4 25
$3.6M
$411.2M
Q3 25
$5.1M
$399.1M
Q2 25
$3.6M
$495.8M
Q1 25
$3.4M
$312.9M
Q4 24
$6.4M
$319.1M
Q3 24
$5.7M
$213.2M
Q2 24
$3.8M
$208.1M
Total Debt
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$33.0M
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$116.7M
Q4 25
$117.6M
$896.9M
Q3 25
$115.8M
$878.4M
Q2 25
$113.7M
$848.4M
Q1 25
$108.3M
$826.3M
Q4 24
$107.0M
$799.5M
Q3 24
$106.3M
$699.5M
Q2 24
$104.0M
$664.5M
Total Assets
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
$195.2M
Q4 25
$171.0M
$8.2B
Q3 25
$173.0M
$8.0B
Q2 25
$170.9M
$7.9B
Q1 25
$163.0M
$7.8B
Q4 24
$162.2M
$7.9B
Q3 24
$165.5M
$6.9B
Q2 24
$173.5M
$6.7B
Debt / Equity
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
0.28×
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$92.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$92.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
110.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$165.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
Q4 25
$8.2M
$92.1M
Q3 25
$7.1M
$32.4M
Q2 25
$6.3M
$14.0M
Q1 25
$-3.3M
$28.7M
Q4 24
$6.4M
$61.4M
Q3 24
$8.9M
$21.4M
Q2 24
$6.9M
$15.1M
Free Cash Flow
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
Q4 25
$7.3M
$92.0M
Q3 25
$301.0K
$32.1M
Q2 25
$4.7M
$13.8M
Q1 25
$-4.7M
$27.7M
Q4 24
$4.7M
$59.8M
Q3 24
$7.5M
$21.0M
Q2 24
$4.4M
$14.0M
FCF Margin
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
Q4 25
15.3%
110.7%
Q3 25
0.6%
39.6%
Q2 25
8.7%
16.9%
Q1 25
-10.2%
34.9%
Q4 24
10.2%
77.1%
Q3 24
15.6%
31.4%
Q2 24
8.0%
21.2%
Capex Intensity
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.9%
0.1%
Q3 25
13.8%
0.4%
Q2 25
3.0%
0.3%
Q1 25
2.9%
1.3%
Q4 24
3.7%
2.0%
Q3 24
2.8%
0.6%
Q2 24
4.5%
1.6%
Cash Conversion
ACU
ACU
BFST
BFST
Q1 26
Q4 25
4.34×
Q3 25
3.72×
1.42×
Q2 25
1.33×
0.63×
Q1 25
-2.02×
1.40×
Q4 24
3.73×
Q3 24
3.99×
1.20×
Q2 24
1.55×
0.88×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

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