RRX - Acuity Brands Barely Budges On Better-Than-Expected Earnings

2024-04-04 15:40:39 ET

Summary

• Acuity Brands, Inc. announced financial results for Q2 of fiscal year 2024, with revenue declining but profitability improving.
• Revenue fell by 4% due to weakness in the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls segment, but the Intelligent Spaces Group segment saw a 17% increase in sales.
• Earnings per share exceeded expectations, with improvements in cost of products sold and selling, distribution, and administrative costs contributing to higher profitability.
• Even so, Acuity Brands shares look more or less fairly valued, especially after how much they have risen since I last wrote about them.

On April 3rd, the management team at Acuity Brands, Inc. ( AYI ), a company that focuses on producing and selling lighting solutions like commercial and architectural lighting, as well as a variety of other offerings such as building management systems and location-aware applications, announced financial results covering the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal year. Those who follow my work closely might know that I'm not the most enthusiastic person about the enterprise. But if you look at my past regarding the business, you would know that my calls have also been wrong. In March of 2022, I wrote an article about Acuity Brands wherein I rated it a "hold." This was based on some growth-related struggles the company saw, even prior to the pandemic. Its balance sheet and cash flows were impressive, but the stock looked more or less fairly valued....

For further details see: