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

ACUITY INC. (DE) is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $932.4M, roughly 1.1× Waters Corporation). Waters Corporation runs the higher net margin — 24.2% vs 9.2%, a 15.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Waters Corporation posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.8% vs 4.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Waters Corporation's revenue compounded faster (21.0% CAGR vs 4.4%).

Squarespace, Inc. is an American website building and hosting company based in New York City. It provides software as a service for website building and hosting, and allows users to use pre-built website templates and drag-and-drop elements to create and modify webpages.

Waters Corporation is an American company headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts that provides analytical instruments and software used for chromatography, mass spectrometry, laboratory informatics, and rheometry by the life sciences, materials, and food industries.

AYI vs WAT — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AYI
AYI
1.1× larger
AYI
$1.1B
$932.4M
WAT
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WAT
WAT
+1.9% gap
WAT
6.8%
4.9%
AYI
Higher net margin
WAT
WAT
15.0% more per $
WAT
24.2%
9.2%
AYI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
WAT
WAT
Annualised
WAT
21.0%
4.4%
AYI

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Revenue
$1.1B
$932.4M
Net Profit
$96.8M
$225.2M
Gross Margin
49.3%
61.1%
Operating Margin
12.6%
29.0%
Net Margin
9.2%
24.2%
Revenue YoY
4.9%
6.8%
Net Profit YoY
24.9%
-2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$3.09
$3.76

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
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$1.1B
Q4 25
$1.1B
$932.4M
Q3 25
$1.2B
$799.9M
Q2 25
$1.2B
$771.3M
Q1 25
$1.0B
$661.7M
Q4 24
$951.6M
$872.7M
Q3 24
$1.0B
$740.3M
Q2 24
$968.1M
$708.5M
Net Profit
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$96.8M
Q4 25
$120.5M
$225.2M
Q3 25
$114.0M
$148.9M
Q2 25
$98.4M
$147.1M
Q1 25
$77.5M
$121.4M
Q4 24
$106.7M
$231.4M
Q3 24
$118.9M
$161.5M
Q2 24
$113.9M
$142.7M
Gross Margin
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
49.3%
Q4 25
48.4%
61.1%
Q3 25
48.9%
59.0%
Q2 25
48.4%
58.3%
Q1 25
46.5%
58.2%
Q4 24
47.2%
60.1%
Q3 24
47.3%
59.3%
Q2 24
46.7%
59.3%
Operating Margin
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
12.6%
Q4 25
14.0%
29.0%
Q3 25
14.9%
24.0%
Q2 25
11.9%
24.4%
Q1 25
11.0%
22.9%
Q4 24
14.0%
33.5%
Q3 24
15.2%
28.5%
Q2 24
15.0%
26.7%
Net Margin
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
9.2%
Q4 25
10.5%
24.2%
Q3 25
9.4%
18.6%
Q2 25
8.3%
19.1%
Q1 25
7.7%
18.3%
Q4 24
11.2%
26.5%
Q3 24
11.5%
21.8%
Q2 24
11.8%
20.1%
EPS (diluted)
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$3.09
Q4 25
$3.82
$3.76
Q3 25
$3.61
$2.50
Q2 25
$3.12
$2.47
Q1 25
$2.45
$2.03
Q4 24
$3.35
$3.88
Q3 24
$3.77
$2.71
Q2 24
$3.62
$2.40

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$272.5M
$587.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$697.1M
$1.4B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.8B
$2.6B
Total Assets
$4.6B
$5.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.25×
0.55×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$272.5M
Q4 25
$376.1M
$587.8M
Q3 25
$422.5M
$459.1M
Q2 25
$371.8M
$367.2M
Q1 25
$397.9M
$382.9M
Q4 24
$935.6M
$325.4M
Q3 24
$845.8M
$331.5M
Q2 24
$699.0M
$327.4M
Total Debt
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$697.1M
Q4 25
$1.4B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$1.6B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$2.8B
Q4 25
$2.8B
$2.6B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$2.3B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$2.2B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$2.0B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$1.8B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$1.6B
Q2 24
$2.3B
$1.4B
Total Assets
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$4.6B
Q4 25
$4.7B
$5.1B
Q3 25
$4.8B
$4.9B
Q2 25
$4.6B
$4.7B
Q1 25
$4.6B
$4.6B
Q4 24
$3.9B
$4.6B
Q3 24
$3.8B
$4.5B
Q2 24
$3.6B
$4.4B
Debt / Equity
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
0.25×
Q4 25
0.55×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.89×
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
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$229.9M
$164.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.38×
0.73×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
$229.9M
Q4 25
$140.8M
$164.6M
Q3 25
$202.5M
$187.3M
Q2 25
$207.3M
$41.1M
Q1 25
$59.4M
$259.6M
Q4 24
$132.2M
$240.1M
Q3 24
$174.1M
$204.6M
Q2 24
$152.5M
$54.5M
Free Cash Flow
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$114.8M
Q3 25
$177.7M
Q2 25
$192.3M
Q1 25
$49.7M
Q4 24
$113.3M
Q3 24
$151.1M
Q2 24
$140.5M
FCF Margin
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.0%
Q3 25
14.7%
Q2 25
16.3%
Q1 25
4.9%
Q4 24
11.9%
Q3 24
14.6%
Q2 24
14.5%
Capex Intensity
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.3%
Q3 25
2.1%
Q2 25
1.3%
Q1 25
1.0%
Q4 24
2.0%
Q3 24
2.2%
Q2 24
1.2%
Cash Conversion
AYI
AYI
WAT
WAT
Q1 26
2.38×
Q4 25
1.17×
0.73×
Q3 25
1.78×
1.26×
Q2 25
2.11×
0.28×
Q1 25
0.77×
2.14×
Q4 24
1.24×
1.04×
Q3 24
1.46×
1.27×
Q2 24
1.34×
0.38×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

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