Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AYI scored 68.8, MLI scored 77.1 — MLI leads.
Compare another set
AYI
Acuity Inc.
Electrical Equipment & Parts · Quality-Growth
68.8
$298.34 · $8.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
8.3
MLI leads
MLI
Mueller Industries, Inc.
Metal Fabrication · Quality-Growth
77.1
$60.71 · $13.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestMLI15.8x
Fastest growthMLI+14.8%
Strongest balance sheetMLI0.01
Highest qualityMLI83 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AYI
stronger →← stronger
MLI
79
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
83
65
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
84
63
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
66
MLI is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AYI
MLI
$639mC+
FCF
$666mC+
+10.5%B
Rev
+14.8%B+
0.23A-
D/E
0.01A
17.5xA-
P/E
15.8xA-
1.61C+
PEG
3.41D
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AYI
MLI
3% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
22% above
~8%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~13%/yr
-10%
1-yr DCF upside
-26%
-3%
5-yr DCF upside
-18%
+6%
10-yr DCF upside
-5%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AYI
Why this score
Buying back stock
MLI
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Diluting shareholders
The companies
AYIAcuity Inc.
Electrical Equipment & Parts · $298.34 · beta 1.30
Why now
Electrical Equipment & Parts · market cap $8.9b. Down 22% from 52-week high of $380.17 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +10%, comfortably above the S&P median. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $375.17 (implying +26% upside).
Moat
ROE 17% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 135% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
MLIMueller Industries, Inc.
Metal Fabrication · $60.71 · beta 1.09
Why now
Metal Fabrication · market cap $13.4b. 15% off the 52-week high of $71.12. Revenue growing +15%, comfortably above the S&P median.
Moat
Net margin 18% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 24% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AYI and MLI diverge
On the headline score the gap is 8.3 points in favor of MLI. The widest single difference is Growth, where MLI leads by 18.7 points.
GrowthAYI 65.4 · MLI 84.1MLI +18.7
QualityAYI 78.7 · MLI 82.8MLI +4.1
ValueAYI 63.3 · MLI 65.8level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MLI or AYI the better stock?
MLI scores higher: MLI 77.1, AYI 68.8 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MLI and AYI differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where MLI leads by 19 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. MLI also leads quality, while value is effectively level between them.
How are MLI and AYI scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.