ACUITY INC. vs WHIRLPOOL CORP /DE/, two Appliances stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Acuity's lighting and controls business earns 16.56% on equity and converts sales to free cash at a 5.7% yield. Whirlpool, the far more famous maker of home appliances, earns 4.36% and burns cash, a negative 0.9% yield. The valuations tell the same story from opposite ends: Acuity at 3.93 times book and 24.03 times earnings, Whirlpool at 0.61 times book, priced under its net worth. That 13.61% Whirlpool dividend sits on a razor-thin 1.09% margin and negative free cash, which is a warning more than a reward. Debt is 0.24 at Acuity and 1.62 at Whirlpool. The quality gap here is wide.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | AYI | WHR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $333.10 | $40.73 |
| Market cap | $10.3B | $2.4B |
| Sector | Appliances | Appliances |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +16.3% | — |
| P/E | 22.1 | 13.8 |
| P/B | 3.62 | 0.64 |
| P/S | 2.24 | 0.16 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.7 | 7.7 |
| Revenue growth | +11.0% | -3.7% |
| Gross margin | 50.6% | 12.7% |
| Operating margin | 16.1% | 0.6% |
| Net margin | 10.3% | 1.1% |
| Return on equity | 16.6% | 4.4% |
| Return on assets | 10.2% | 1.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 14.3% | 5.3% |
| FCF yield | 6.2% | -0.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.2% | 13.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.24 | 1.62 |
| Current ratio | 2.05 | 0.88 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.21 | 6.99 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 3 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.