ACME UNITED CORP
ACUdata completeness 100%16 fiscal years on fileData notes: no data for concept 'investmentsAtFairValue'; no data for concept 'netInvestmentIncome'; no data for concept 'gainsOnRealEstateSales'; no data for concept 'realEstateImpairment'
ACME UNITED CORP earns about 11% on invested capital, comfortably above its ~9% cost of capital, but has diluted owners by 3% over 5 years — a real edge showing up in the numbers. The estimate methods put fair value between $25.72 and $33.45 a share.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.
| Figure | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $182.1M1 | $194M2 | $191.5M3 | $194.5M4 | $196.5M4 |
| Net income | $13.7M5 | $3.03M6 | $17.8M7 | $10M8 | $10.2M8 |
| Operating cash flow | $5.14M9 | $2.89M10 | $28.9M11 | $12M12 | $18.2M12 |
| Capital expenditure | $6.37M13 | $4.3M14 | $4.67M15 | $7.15M16 | $10.7M16 |
| Free cash flow (derived) | −$1.23M9 | −$1.41M10 | $24.2M11 | $4.83M12 | $7.58M12 |
| Total debt | $33M17 | $49.9M18 | $13.1M19 | $17.6M20 | $11.9M20 |
| Cash & equivalents | $4.84M21 | $6.1M22 | $4.8M23 | $6.4M24 | $3.6M24 |
| Diluted shares | 4.0M | 3.7M | 3.7M | 4.1M | 4.1M |
Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).
10 shares is a claim on $287.76 of net worth that earned you $24.92 and generated $18.54 of cash last year, against $29 of debt.
It earned about 11% on invested capital against a ~9% cost of capital — comfortably above the cost of funding, a moderate advantage.
seeing a moat in the numbers →Share count is up 3% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has fallen 64% — deleveraging.
reading capital allocation →Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.
The 3 estimate methods that apply put fair value between $25.72 and $33.45 a share. They rest on different assumptions, so where they diverge is the story; the Graham Number is a stricter floor, not a target.
assumptions (10)
- riskFreeRate4.7%
- equityRiskPremium5.0%
- beta100.0%
- equityWeight85.0%
- costOfDebtSpread1.5%
- taxRate21.0%
- terminalGrowth2.5%
- projectionYears10
- fcfGrowth5.0%
- fcfBase$7.58M
assumptions (10)
- riskFreeRate4.7%
- equityRiskPremium5.0%
- beta100.0%
- equityWeight85.0%
- costOfDebtSpread1.5%
- taxRate21.0%
- terminalGrowth2.5%
- projectionYears5
- fcfGrowth5.0%
- fcfBase$7.58M
assumptions (8)
- riskFreeRate4.7%
- equityRiskPremium5.0%
- beta100.0%
- equityWeight85.0%
- costOfDebtSpread1.5%
- taxRate21.0%
- normalizedEarnings$10.2M
- growthAssumed0.0%
assumptions (1)
- grahamMultiplier2250.0%
Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →
| Bear | 0.0% | $24.31 |
| Base | 5.0% | $30.68 |
| Bull | 10.0% | $38.3 |
Bear/base/bull growth = 0% / filed history / history + 5pp. Type a price to see the return each case implies.
Default growth 5.0%= this company’s own filed history (median-to-median FCF CAGR, clamped 0–20%). Your adjustments are recorded anonymously. They become the “what do owners actually believe” dataset.
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (Revenues)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (Revenues)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (Revenues)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (Revenues)
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (NetIncomeLoss)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (NetIncomeLoss)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (NetIncomeLoss)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (NetIncomeLoss)
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
- 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-23-003422 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
- 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-027907 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
- 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-034843 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
- 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001193125-26-102079 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)