August 20, 2026
Lighting Grew for LSI in 2026, But Now Under 40% of Total Sales
Fourth-quarter project timing in two key verticals pulled the segment down despite orders remaining above last year
LSI Industries told investors Thursday that fiscal 2026 net sales hit a record $689.4 million, up 20% year over year. Most of that growth came from the March 2026 acquisition of Royston Group, a display and fixture manufacturer now folded into LSI's Display Solutions segment.
Strip out Royston, and fourth-quarter sales still grew 8% organically, a healthy number for the underlying business.
Lighting made up roughly two-thirds of LSI's sales five years ago, 56% in fiscal 2024, and 43% in fiscal 2025. It now stands at 39%. When Royston's numbers get rolled into all twelve months of fiscal 2027, that revenue momentum should continue to favor Display.
Display Solutions is not new to LSI. What's new is the scale of investment behind it, and how much of the company now rides on it.
Lighting Has a Growth Year, Soft Finish
Lighting segment sales fell 3% in the fourth quarter, to $70.5 million, on soft automotive and QSR project timing. For the full year, Lighting grew 7%, to $266.2 million.
The company said Lighting orders were up 5% in the quarter with a book-to-bill ratio above 1.0, evidence the softness is timing rather than lost demand. National account growth and the V-LOCITY outdoor area lighting line drove the full-year gain, and LSI said a companion Velocity Flood fixture line is due out later this calendar year.
Display Solutions Is Doing the Heavy Lifting
Display Solutions sales nearly doubled in the quarter, with 18% organic growth layered on top of Royston. Grocery vertical sales rose 21%, tied to store décor investment that LSI said has accelerated since a large grocery merger review concluded. Refueling and convenience store sales grew 16%, and the company disclosed a new multi-year, roughly 2,500-site renovation award with a major oil company, a customer win LSI framed as displacing an incumbent supplier.
The Bottom Line Moved the Wrong Direction
Reported net income fell 16% in the quarter, to $6.9 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped 31%, to $0.18. Full-year net income declined 7% despite the sales surge. LSI said acquisition costs and rising interest expense, tied to debt taken on for Royston, drove the gap. Net debt climbed to $241.7 million, pushing leverage to 2.7 times adjusted EBITDA from 0.8 times a year earlier.
The company also disclosed that CFO James Galeese will retire in August 2027, with a succession plan already underway, a detail that lands quietly next to a busy integration year.
For lighting people watching LSI can see that the acquisition strategy is working. Display Solutions is humming. It is whether Lighting, now under 40% of the business and still growing, gets treated as the core it once was or the segment everyone else grows around.
