# ACME UNITED CORP (ACU)

Informational only - not investment advice.

CIK: 0000002098
SIC: 3420 Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware
SIC breadcrumb: [Manufacturing](/division/D/) > [SIC Major Group 34](/major-group/34/) > [SIC 3420 Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware](/industry/3420/)
Latest 10-K filed: 2026-03-11
SEC page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=2098
Filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000119312526102079/acu-20251231.htm

## At a glance

FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · filed 2026-03-11 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 · source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000002098.json

| Metric | Value | FY | Provenance |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 196,541,816 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Net income | 10,184,421 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Assets | 170,998,209 USD | 2025 | verified |
| Free cash flow | 7,577,536 USD | 2025 | computed |
| Net margin | 5.18% | 2025 | computed |
| Operating margin | 7.49% | 2025 | computed |
| Revenue YoY | +1.05% | 2025 | computed |
| ROE | 8.66% | 2025 | computed |

Computed values are grepcent-computed from the verified facts above and may differ from ratios the company itself reports. Free cash flow = operating cash flow − capital expenditures. Net margin = net income ÷ revenue. Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Revenue YoY = FY2025 revenue ÷ FY2024 revenue − 1 (consecutive fiscal years only). ROE = net income ÷ period-end stockholders' equity.

No market price, no rating, no forecast on this site. Not investment advice.

### Peer percentile fingerprint

| Ratio | ACU | Peer median | Percentile | N |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin | 5.2% | 6.1% | 41 | 35 |
| Operating margin | 7.5% | 9.3% | 32 | 32 |
| Revenue growth | 1.1% | 4.5% | 34 | 36 |
| FCF margin | 3.9% | 10.7% | 21 | 35 |
| ROE | 8.7% | 11.6% | 44 | 35 |
| ROA | 6.0% | 4.4% | 60 | 36 |
| Liabilities / equity | 0.45 | 0.89 | 29 | 35 |
| Current ratio | 4.21 | 2.59 | 83 | 36 |

Percentile = share of the N covered peers reporting that ratio whose value is lower (ties counted half); computed among grepcent-covered companies in SIC major-group 34 SIC Major Group 34, not the whole market. A higher percentile means a higher value of the ratio, not a better company. Ratios with fewer than 8 reporting peers are omitted. Latest reported values per company; fiscal periods may differ. Descriptive arithmetic - not a score, rating, or ranking.

## Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
| --- | ---: | --- | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 196541816 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-11 |
| Net income | 10184421 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-11 |
| Assets | 170998209 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-11 |

## Financials

Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-11. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000002098.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.

| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 124,574,000 | 130,550,349 | 137,321,395 | 142,457,342 | 164,003,040 | 182,087,559 | 193,962,357 | 191,500,947 | 194,489,991 | 196,541,816 |
| Net income | 5,850,998 | 4,052,479 | 4,598,350 | 5,513,608 | 8,098,766 | 13,655,679 | 3,034,766 | 17,793,160 | 10,022,351 | 10,184,421 |
| Operating income | 8,442,056 | 7,883,053 | 7,456,906 | 8,429,348 | 11,412,664 | 12,769,987 | 6,273,302 | 13,188,617 | 14,139,942 | 14,724,514 |
| Gross profit | 45,555,056 | 47,899,273 | 50,648,982 | 52,000,858 | 59,594,714 | 64,800,357 | 63,558,785 | 72,210,235 | 76,350,824 | 77,409,848 |
| Diluted EPS | 1.64 | 1.09 | 1.30 | 1.60 | 2.31 | 3.45 | 0.82 | 4.86 | 2.45 | 2.49 |
| Operating cash flow | 8,857,211 | 4,810,876 | 4,475,269 | 14,702,231 | 5,721,036 | 5,140,578 | 2,891,739 | 28,899,495 | 11,975,240 | 18,229,449 |
| Capital expenditures | 1,809,823 | 3,146,194 | 2,850,993 | 1,680,479 | 2,569,174 | 6,372,615 | 4,304,264 | 4,673,717 | 7,148,648 | 10,651,913 |
| Dividends paid | 1,332,757 | 1,408,428 | 1,484,829 | 1,608,956 | 1,604,706 | 1,792,356 | 1,903,346 | 1,993,049 | 2,221,924 | 2,343,305 |
| Assets | 92,066,092 | 114,729,806 | 109,477,786 | 110,748,853 | 129,867,736 | 144,438,684 | 164,377,104 | 149,241,316 | 162,170,586 | 170,998,209 |
| Liabilities | 45,945,746 | 64,791,813 | 57,145,375 | 55,043,872 | 67,151,293 | 67,356,723 | 85,346,972 | 51,342,632 | 55,189,951 | 53,387,100 |
| Stockholders' equity | 46,120,346 | 49,937,993 | 52,332,411 | 55,704,981 | 62,716,443 | 77,081,961 | 79,030,132 | 97,898,684 | 106,980,635 | 117,611,109 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 5,910,770 | 9,338,269 | 4,409,042 | 6,821,883 | 4,167,376 | 4,843,349 | 6,100,409 | 4,795,953 | 6,398,692 | 3,595,978 |
| Free cash flow | 7,047,388 | 1,664,682 | 1,624,276 | 13,021,752 | 3,151,862 | -1,232,037 | -1,412,525 | 24,225,778 | 4,826,592 | 7,577,536 |

### Ratios

ROE and ROA use period-end equity/assets. Liabilities / equity uses total liabilities divided by stockholders' equity. Current ratio uses current assets divided by current liabilities when both are reported.

| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin | 4.70% | 3.10% | 3.35% | 3.87% | 4.94% | 7.50% | 1.56% | 9.29% | 5.15% | 5.18% |
| Operating margin | 6.78% | 6.04% | 5.43% | 5.92% | 6.96% | 7.01% | 3.23% | 6.89% | 7.27% | 7.49% |
| Return on equity | 12.69% | 8.12% | 8.79% | 9.90% | 12.91% | 17.72% | 3.84% | 18.18% | 9.37% | 8.66% |
| Return on assets | 6.36% | 3.53% | 4.20% | 4.98% | 6.24% | 9.45% | 1.85% | 11.92% | 6.18% | 5.96% |
| Liabilities / equity | 1.00 | 1.30 | 1.09 | 0.99 | 1.07 | 0.87 | 1.08 | 0.52 | 0.52 | 0.45 |
| Current ratio | 5.07 | 4.64 | 5.46 | 4.41 | 4.14 | 4.70 | 4.77 | 3.54 | 4.17 | 4.21 |

## As-reported value updates

No tracked differences above grepcent's stated thresholds and capped precision rule were found between the earliest XBRL-filed value and the value currently on file for the standardized annual metrics grepcent tracks.


## Quarterly

Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-08-06. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000002098.json.

Flow metrics use discrete quarter-length periods from 10-Q/10-Q/A filings. Q4 revenue and net income are derived only when annual FY and nine-month YTD facts exist for the same fiscal year; derived Q4 values are labeled. EPS Q4 is not derived.

| Quarter | End date | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS | Method |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 |  |  | 0.02 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 |  |  | 0.28 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 |  |  | 0.96 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 50,384,000 | 2,152,000 | 0.58 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 41,941,947 | 11,207,160 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 44,956,000 | 1,636,000 | 0.39 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 55,425,000 | 4,452,000 | 1.09 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 48,166,000 | 2,226,000 | 0.54 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 45,942,991 | 1,707,351 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 45,958,000 | 1,653,000 | 0.41 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 53,996,000 | 4,752,000 | 1.16 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 49,063,000 | 1,903,000 | 0.46 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 47,523,816 | 1,876,421 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 52,301,000 | 985,000 | 0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-06-30 | 62,716,000 | 5,051,000 | 1.22 | reported discrete quarter |

## Filed narrative (10-K & 10-Q)

## Business

Verbatim Item 1 Business section from ACU's latest 10-K: [/company/ACU/business/](/company/ACU/business/).

## Risk Factors

Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from ACU's latest 10-K: [/company/ACU/risk-factors/](/company/ACU/risk-factors/).

## Latest quarter (10-Q)

Latest 10-Q source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000119312526338211/acu-20260630.htm

Extracted structurally from real Item 2 body heading to real Item 3/4 boundary.
Confidence: high
Filing date: 2026-08-06
Report date: 2026-06-30

Item 2: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Information

The Company may from time to time make written or oral “forward-looking statements” including statements contained in this report and in other communications by the Company, which are made in good faith pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. When used in this document, words like “may,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “potential,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from our current expectations.

Forward-looking statements in this report, including without limitation, statements related to the Company’s plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and adequacy of resources, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may impact the Company’s business, operations and financial results.

These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: (i) changes in the Company’s plans, strategies, objectives, expectations and intentions, which may be made at any time at the discretion of the Company; (ii) the impact of volatility in global economic conditions, including the impact on the Company’s suppliers and customers; (iii) international trade policies of the United States or foreign governments and their impact on demand for our products and our competitive position, including the imposition of new tariffs, changes in existing tariff rates or the threat of any such action; (iv) the continuing adverse impact of inflation, including product costs, transportation costs and interest rates; (v) currency fluctuations; (vi) potential adverse effects on the Company, its customers, and suppliers resulting from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East; (vii) additional disruptions in the Company’s supply chains, whether caused by pandemics, natural disasters, including trucker shortages, port closures, port strikes or otherwise; (viii) labor related costs the Company has and may continue to incur, including costs of acquiring and training new employees and rising wages and benefits; (ix) changes in client needs and consumer spending habits; (x) the Company’s ability to effectively manage its inventory in a rapidly changing business environment; (xi) the impact of competition; (xii) the impact of technological changes including, specifically, the growth of online marketing and sales activity; (xiii) the Company’s ability to manage its growth effectively, including its ability to successfully integrate any business it might acquire; and (xiv) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company, see the Risk Factors described in Item 1A included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and below under “Financial Condition”. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to the Company on the date of this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Critical Accounting Estimates

There have been no material changes to the Company’s critical accounting estimates as previously reported in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Results of Operations

Traditionally, the Company’s sales and profits are stronger in the second and third quarters and weaker in the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year, due to the seasonal nature of the Westcott back-to-school market.

Net sales

Consolidated net sales for the three months ended June 30, 2026 were $62,716,000 compared to $53,996,000 in the same period in 2025, an increase of 16%. Consolidated net sales for the six months ended June 30, 2026 were $115,017,000 compared to $99,954,000 in the same period in 2025, an increase of 15%. Excluding the incremental sales resulting from the acquisition of the assets of My Medic on January 15, 2026, sales increased 8% and 7%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2025.

Net sales in the U.S. for the three months ended June 30, 2026 increased 17% compared to the same period in 2025. Net sales in the U.S. for the six months ended June 30, 2026 increased 15% compared to the same period in 2025. The sales increases for the three and six months were due to strong sales across all product lines and contribution from the acquisition of the My Medic business.

18

Net sales in Canada for the three months ended June 30, 2026 increased 1% in U.S. dollars and 3% in local currency compared to the same period in 2025. Net sales in Canada for the six months ended June 30, 2026 increased 7% in U.S. dollars and 6% in local currency compared to the same period in 2025. The increases in net sales for both periods were due to higher sales of first aid products.

European net sales for the three months ended June 30, 2026 increased 24% in U.S. dollars and 19% in local currency compared to the same period in 2025. European net sales for the six months ended June 30, 2026 increased 28% in U.S. dollars and 19% in local currency compared to the same period in 2025. The sales increases for the three and six months were due primarily to higher ecommerce sales and contribution from the line of cutting and sharpening products acquired in Germany on October 1, 2025.

Gross profit

Gross profit for the three months ended June 30, 2026 was $26,688,000 (42.6% of net sales) compared to $22,149,000 (41.0% of net sales) in the same period in 2025. Gross profit for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was $47,473,000 (41.3% of net sales) compared to $40,066,000 (40.1% of net sales) in the same period of 2025. The increases for the three and six months were primarily due to the inclusion of the new My Medic direct to consumer business.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2026 were $19,858,000 (31.7% of net sales) compared with $15,759,000 (29.2% of net sales) in the same period in 2025, an increase of $4,099,000. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2026 were $38,899,000 (33.8% of net sales) compared with $31,250,000 (31.3% of net sales) in the same period in 2025, an increase of $7,649,000. The increases in SG&A expenses for the three and six months were primarily due to the acquisition of the assets of My Medic as well as higher personnel related expenses. The increase in SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales was due to the higher amount of advertising needed for the direct to consumer My Medic business.

Operating income

Operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2026 was $6,830,000 compared with $6,390,000 in the same period of 2025. Operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was $8,574,000 compared with $8,816,000 in the same period of 2025. The decrease in operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was primarily due to higher cost of sales. Tariff expenses were recognized during the first six months as the Company sold inventory that had been subject to the high tariff rates imposed in 2025.

Operating income in the U.S. segment decreased by $24,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Operating income in the U.S. segment decreased by $1,344,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

Operating income in the Canadian segment increased by $11,000 and $215,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same periods in 2025. The increase in operating income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 was primarily due to higher sales of first aid products.

Operating income in the European segment increased by $453,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025. Operating income in the European segment increased by $887,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. The increases in operating income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 were primarily due to higher sales.

Interest expense, net

Interest expense, net for the three months ended June 30, 2026 was $532,000 compared with $401,000 in the same period of 2025, a $131,000 increase. Interest expense, net for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was $1,018,000 compared with $798,000 in the same period of 2025, a $220,000 increase. The increase in interest expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 resulted from higher average outstanding borrowings.

Other income (expense), net

Other income, net was $5,000 in the three months ended June 30, 2026 compared to $99,000 in the same period of 2025. Other expense, net was $11,000 in the six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to Other income, net of $188,000 in the same period of 2025.

Income taxes

The effective income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 was 20% compared to 22% in the same periods of 2025.

19

Financial Condition

Liquidity and Capital Resources

During the first six months of 2026, working capital increased approximately $4.2 million. Inventory turnover, calculated using a twelve-month average inventory balance, was 1.9 at June 30, 2026 and 2.0 at December 31, 2025. Receivables increased approximately $9.6 million at June 30, 2026 compared to December 31, 2025. The average number of days sales outstanding in accounts receivable was 52 days at June 30, 2026 compared to 54 days at December 31, 2025. Accounts payable and other current liabilities increased by approximately $12.0 million at June 30, 2026 compared to December 31, 2025.

The Company's working capital, current ratio and long-term debt to equity ratio are as follows (dollar amounts in thousands):

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","June 30,","","","December 31,"],["","","2026","","","2025"],["Working capital","","$","77,517","","","$","73,324"],["Current ratio","","","3.23","","","","4.21"],["Long term debt to equity ratio","","","26.3","%","","","18.1","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

Long-term debt consists of (i) borrowings under the Company’s revolving loan agreement with HSBC Bank USA, N.A. (“HSBC”) and (ii) amounts outstanding under the fixed rate mortgage on the Company’s manufacturing and distribution facilities in Rocky Mount, NC and Vancouver, WA. Effective as of June 26, 2025, the Company entered into Amendment No. 11 to the Revolving Loan Agreement dated as of April 5, 2012, as amended (the ”Loan Agreement”), between the Company and HSBC. Amendment No. 11 extended the scheduled maturity of the $65 million secured revolving credit facility under the Loan Agreement to May 31, 2027. The terms of the Loan Agreement otherwise remain unchanged. The Loan Agreement provides for borrowings of up to $65 million at an interest rate of Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus a margin of +1.75%; interest is payable monthly. The Company must pay a facility fee, payable quarterly, in an amount equal to one eighth of one percent (.125%) per annum of the average daily unused portion of the revolving credit line. The facility is intended to provide liquidity for operating activities, growth, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and other business activities. Under the Loan Agreement, the Company is req

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

## Latest 10-K MD&A

MD&A text quarantined because Item 7 boundaries were low-confidence, or no Item 7 text was extracted. No filing narrative is emitted for this company until the parser has a clean span.

All MD&A years: /company/ACU/mda/


## MD&A history

Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. Each year's full verbatim text is on its own sub-page.

- FY 2024: filed 2025-03-06; accession 0000950170-25-034843 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000095017025034843/acu-20241231.htm); MD&A text quarantined because Item 7 boundaries were low-confidence; no filing narrative is published for this year.
- FY 2023: filed 2024-03-07; accession 0000950170-24-027907 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000095017024027907/acu-20231231.htm); MD&A text quarantined because Item 7 boundaries were low-confidence; no filing narrative is published for this year.
- FY 2022: filed 2023-03-10; accession 0001564590-23-003422 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000156459023003422/acu-10k_20221231.htm); MD&A text quarantined because Item 7 boundaries were low-confidence; no filing narrative is published for this year.
- FY 2021: filed 2022-03-30; accession 0001564590-22-012597 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2098/000156459022012597/acu-10k_20211231.htm); MD&A text quarantined because Item 7 boundaries were low-confidence; no filing narrative is published for this year.




## Macro cross-references

Indicators mapped to this company's SIC classification (industry 3420 Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware) by grepcent's deterministic macro-sector crosswalk. A navigational mapping, not a statistical or causal claim.

- [INDPRO](/indicator/INDPRO/): Industrial Production: Total Index
- [TCU](/indicator/TCU/): Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- [PPIACO](/indicator/PPIACO/): Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- [GDPC1](/indicator/GDPC1/): Real Gross Domestic Product
- [DGS10](/indicator/DGS10/): Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- [FEDFUNDS](/indicator/FEDFUNDS/): Federal Funds Effective Rate
- [CES0500000003](/indicator/CES0500000003/): Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- [PAYEMS](/indicator/PAYEMS/): All Employees, Total Nonfarm

Macro-to-micro threads including this sector: [Inflation (CPI / PCE / PPI)](/thread/inflation-cpi-pce-ppi/), [US labor market](/thread/us-labor-market/), [Growth & output](/thread/growth-output/), [Money & trade](/thread/money-trade/), [Government finances](/thread/government-finances/), [Sector employment](/thread/sector-employment/), [Industrial orders & inventories](/thread/industrial-orders/), [Trade & external](/thread/trade-external/).

All macro indicators: /indicators/


## For LLMs & downloads

Markdown twin: /company/ACU.md · JSON record: /company/ACU.json · verified financials: /company/ACU/financials.json / /company/ACU/financials.csv · machine TOC for the whole site: /llms.txt