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Side-by-side financial comparison of ACUITY INC. (DE) (AYI) and STEPAN CO (SCL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

ACUITY INC. (DE) is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $604.5M, roughly 1.7× STEPAN CO). ACUITY INC. (DE) runs the higher net margin — 9.2% vs 3.3%, a 5.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ACUITY INC. (DE) posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.9% vs 1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, ACUITY INC. (DE)'s revenue compounded faster (4.4% CAGR vs 4.2%).

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Stepan Company is an American manufacturer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Alfred C. Stepan, Jr., and has approximately 2,000 employees. It is currently run by his grandson, F. Quinn Stepan, Jr. The company describes itself as the largest global merchant manufacturer of anionic surfactants, which are used to enhance the foaming and cleaning capabilities of detergents, shampoos, toothpastes, and cosmetics.

AYI vs SCL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AYI
AYI
1.7× larger
AYI
$1.1B
$604.5M
SCL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
AYI
AYI
+3.0% gap
AYI
4.9%
1.9%
SCL
Higher net margin
AYI
AYI
5.9% more per $
AYI
9.2%
3.3%
SCL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
AYI
AYI
Annualised
AYI
4.4%
4.2%
SCL

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Revenue
$1.1B
$604.5M
Net Profit
$96.8M
$19.7M
Gross Margin
49.3%
10.7%
Operating Margin
12.6%
4.7%
Net Margin
9.2%
3.3%
Revenue YoY
4.9%
1.9%
Net Profit YoY
24.9%
EPS (diluted)
$3.09
$0.86

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
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$1.1B
$604.5M
Q4 25
$1.1B
$553.9M
Q3 25
$1.2B
$590.3M
Q2 25
$1.2B
$594.7M
Q1 25
$1.0B
$593.3M
Q4 24
$951.6M
$525.6M
Q3 24
$1.0B
$546.8M
Q2 24
$968.1M
$556.4M
Net Profit
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$96.8M
$19.7M
Q4 25
$120.5M
$5.0M
Q3 25
$114.0M
$10.8M
Q2 25
$98.4M
$11.3M
Q1 25
$77.5M
$19.7M
Q4 24
$106.7M
$3.4M
Q3 24
$118.9M
$23.6M
Q2 24
$113.9M
$9.5M
Gross Margin
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
49.3%
10.7%
Q4 25
48.4%
9.3%
Q3 25
48.9%
12.0%
Q2 25
48.4%
12.1%
Q1 25
46.5%
12.7%
Q4 24
47.2%
10.8%
Q3 24
47.3%
13.8%
Q2 24
46.7%
12.5%
Operating Margin
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
12.6%
4.7%
Q4 25
14.0%
1.9%
Q3 25
14.9%
3.7%
Q2 25
11.9%
3.0%
Q1 25
11.0%
4.8%
Q4 24
14.0%
1.5%
Q3 24
15.2%
4.4%
Q2 24
15.0%
3.4%
Net Margin
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
9.2%
3.3%
Q4 25
10.5%
0.9%
Q3 25
9.4%
1.8%
Q2 25
8.3%
1.9%
Q1 25
7.7%
3.3%
Q4 24
11.2%
0.6%
Q3 24
11.5%
4.3%
Q2 24
11.8%
1.7%
EPS (diluted)
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$3.09
$0.86
Q4 25
$3.82
$0.22
Q3 25
$3.61
$0.47
Q2 25
$3.12
$0.50
Q1 25
$2.45
$0.86
Q4 24
$3.35
$0.14
Q3 24
$3.77
$1.03
Q2 24
$3.62
$0.42

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$272.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$697.1M
$328.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.8B
$1.2B
Total Assets
$4.6B
$2.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.25×
0.28×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$272.5M
Q4 25
$376.1M
$132.7M
Q3 25
$422.5M
$118.5M
Q2 25
$371.8M
$88.9M
Q1 25
$397.9M
$107.5M
Q4 24
$935.6M
$99.7M
Q3 24
$845.8M
$147.3M
Q2 24
$699.0M
$124.7M
Total Debt
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$697.1M
$328.4M
Q4 25
$626.7M
Q3 25
$655.5M
Q2 25
$658.0M
Q1 25
$659.3M
Q4 24
$625.4M
Q3 24
$688.5M
Q2 24
$657.1M
Stockholders' Equity
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$2.8B
$1.2B
Q4 25
$2.8B
$1.2B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$1.2B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$1.2B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$1.2B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$1.2B
Q2 24
$2.3B
$1.2B
Total Assets
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$4.6B
$2.3B
Q4 25
$4.7B
$2.4B
Q3 25
$4.8B
$2.4B
Q2 25
$4.6B
$2.4B
Q1 25
$4.6B
$2.4B
Q4 24
$3.9B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$3.8B
$2.4B
Q2 24
$3.6B
$2.3B
Debt / Equity
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
0.25×
0.28×
Q4 25
0.50×
Q3 25
0.53×
Q2 25
0.53×
Q1 25
0.55×
Q4 24
0.53×
Q3 24
0.56×
Q2 24
0.55×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$229.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.38×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$229.9M
Q4 25
$140.8M
$60.0M
Q3 25
$202.5M
$69.8M
Q2 25
$207.3M
$11.2M
Q1 25
$59.4M
$6.9M
Q4 24
$132.2M
$68.3M
Q3 24
$174.1M
$22.7M
Q2 24
$152.5M
$29.5M
Free Cash Flow
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$114.8M
$25.4M
Q3 25
$177.7M
$40.2M
Q2 25
$192.3M
$-14.4M
Q1 25
$49.7M
$-25.8M
Q4 24
$113.3M
$32.1M
Q3 24
$151.1M
$-4.0M
Q2 24
$140.5M
$-208.0K
FCF Margin
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.0%
4.6%
Q3 25
14.7%
6.8%
Q2 25
16.3%
-2.4%
Q1 25
4.9%
-4.3%
Q4 24
11.9%
6.1%
Q3 24
14.6%
-0.7%
Q2 24
14.5%
-0.0%
Capex Intensity
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.3%
6.3%
Q3 25
2.1%
5.0%
Q2 25
1.3%
4.3%
Q1 25
1.0%
5.5%
Q4 24
2.0%
6.9%
Q3 24
2.2%
4.9%
Q2 24
1.2%
5.3%
Cash Conversion
AYI
AYI
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
2.38×
Q4 25
1.17×
11.99×
Q3 25
1.78×
6.44×
Q2 25
2.11×
0.99×
Q1 25
0.77×
0.35×
Q4 24
1.24×
20.38×
Q3 24
1.46×
0.96×
Q2 24
1.34×
3.10×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AYI
AYI

Segment breakdown not available.

SCL
SCL

Surfactants$453.7M75%
Polymers$130.0M22%
Specialty Products$20.8M3%

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