AYI
Acuity Brands, Inc.
AYI has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over AYI overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
AYI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AYI's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its revenue is stable.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
AYI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 15x | $257 | -22% |
| Forward | 15x | $330 | — |
| Current | 19x | $330 | — |
| Fair | 20x | $335 | +1.5% |
| Expensive | 24x | $412 | +25% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AYI's PE is in its fair range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over AYI in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AYI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect AYI's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
VRT has the edge over AYI on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
AYI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $21.36 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.05 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.08 | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.64 | +3.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.00 | -4.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.53 | -6.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.69 | +3.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.19 | +10% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.58 | +16% |
AYI earned $17.05 per share over the past year, up 36% from the year before.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over AYI on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AYI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +2.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +1.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +4.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $1B | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $951.6M | +1.8% |
AYI's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $1.2B last quarter, up 2.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | +3.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | +4.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +1.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | 0 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | -3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 14% | -0.2 points |
AYI's operating margin was 18% last quarter, up 3.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over AYI on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over AYI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AYI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $286.2M | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $273.6M | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $73.3M | +47% |
| Q4 2025 | $114.8M | +1.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $177.7M | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $192.3M | +37% |
| Q1 2025 | $49.7M | -44% |
| Q4 2024 | $113.3M | -35% |
AYI's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $748M over the past year, up 40% from the year before.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over AYI on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AYI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +197K shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -490K shares |
| 3 years | -3.1% | -1M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -5.4M shares |
| Available history | -21% | -8.4M shares |
AYI has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $57.3M |
| Q2 2026 | $126.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $75.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $27.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $27.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $68.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $15.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $6.7M |
AYI spent $287M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 142% from the year before.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
AYI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
AYI's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over AYI on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
AYI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 41.4 | Neutral |
AYI's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
AYI PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AYI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 24x | 19% below |
| PE % | 47 | 58 | 11 pts below |
AYI has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
AYI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $315.0 | 4.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $327.8 | 0.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $317.1 | 4.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $311.0 | 6.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $264.5 | 25% above |
AYI has the edge over VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% above its 200-week average.
AYI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $137.7 | $119.0 | -14% |
| 2021 | $119.0 | $209.0 | +76% |
| 2022 | $209.0 | $166.4 | -20% |
| 2023 | $166.4 | $204.8 | +23% |
| 2024 | $204.8 | $297.7 | +45% |
| 2025 | $297.7 | $373.3 | +25% |
| 2026 YTD | $373.3 | $330.3 | -12% |
AYI has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 12% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over AYI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.