Key Highlights

  • Net sales rose 18% to USD 58.0 million, or 10% excluding sales from the My Medic acquisition.
  • Net income rose 80% to USD 3.4 million, or USD 0.80 per diluted share, against USD 0.46 a year earlier.
  • Gross margin reached 45.3% from 39.1%, including about 690 basis points from a tariff refund.
  • Bank debt less cash was USD 29.7 million, up from USD 23.1 million a year earlier.

Sales Growth Across Segments

Acme United (NYSE American:ACU) reported on Tuesday third-quarter net sales of USD 58.0 million, up from USD 49.1 million. Excluding My Medic, which the company acquired on Jan. 15, the increase was 10%. Nine-month sales rose 16% to USD 173.0 million, or 8% excluding My Medic.

U.S. segment sales rose 20%, with strong results across all product lines and a contribution from My Medic. European sales rose 5% in U.S. dollars and 7% in local currency, helped by e-commerce and a cutting and sharpening line acquired in Germany on Oct. 1, 2025. Canadian sales rose 9% in U.S. dollars and 12% in local currency on higher first-aid sales. Chairman and chief executive Walter C. Johnsen described the quarter as a record for sales.

One-Time Items Shape the Margin

The company received USD 6.0 million of IEEPA tariff refunds and recognized USD 4.0 million as a reduction of cost of goods sold, with the remaining USD 2.0 million recorded as an accrued liability. It also booked USD 1.0 million of variable compensation expense related to the refund. Cost of goods sold included USD 1.8 million for the closure of the DMT sharpening facility.

Gross margin of 45.3% compares with 39.1% a year earlier. The tariff refund added about 690 basis points and the closure costs subtracted about 310 basis points. Removing both items leaves a margin near 41.5% on that arithmetic, which the company says remained above prior-year levels, helped by the My Medic direct-to-consumer business.

Net income rose to USD 3.4 million from USD 1.9 million. Nine-month net income was USD 9.5 million, or USD 2.29 per diluted share, up 14%. My Medic had minimal earnings impact in the quarter because most of its profit arrives in the fourth quarter, according to the company.

Nine-month gross margin was 42.6% against 39.8%, with the tariff refund adding about 230 basis points and the DMT costs subtracting about 105 basis points. Net income in both periods also included about USD 0.4 million of tax benefits from stock option exercises, and the company paid about USD 14.5 million for the My Medic assets over the past twelve months, after USD 4.1 million of holdbacks.

Cost and Cash Markers to Follow

Tracking points include the effect of rising transportation and raw material costs, the planned closure of the DMT plant in Massachusetts, which the company says would save more than USD 1.0 million in 2027, and My Medic's fourth-quarter contribution.

Bank debt less cash was USD 29.7 million, and free cash flow over twelve months was about USD 13.8 million, including the tariff refunds. The company also distributed about USD 2.4 million in dividends over that period and said it continues to look for acquisitions that fit its criteria.