CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 22, 2026--
LSI Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LYTS) is celebrating 50 years since its founding in Cincinnati in 1976, coming off a record fiscal 2026 that is moving the company into its next phase of growth. Ranked among the 25 largest manufacturers in the Cincinnati region by the Cincinnati Business Courier, LSI has grown into a leading U.S.-based provider of lighting, brand imaging and display solutions, with nearly 3,000 employees across 23 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Adding to a milestone year, LSI President and CEO Jim Clark has been named CEO of the Year at the Business Courier's 2026 C-Suite Awards.
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The C-Suite Awards recognize outstanding executive leaders in the Greater Cincinnati community. Clark was selected from three public company CEO finalists, and the winners were announced at an evening event on Oct. 15.
Under Clark's leadership, LSI has transformed from a company focused primarily on lighting into a diversified, solutions-driven business serving customers across lighting, display solutions and retail environments. LSI achieved record revenue in fiscal 2025, with more than 20% year-over-year growth, alongside expanding EBITDA and consistent free cash flow. In 2026, LSI delivered record net sales of nearly $700 million, up 20% from the prior year, along with record profitability. Following its acquisition of Royston Group, LSI is closing in on $1 billion in annual revenue in the near future.
Clark has executed a balanced growth strategy that pairs organic innovation with targeted acquisitions. LSI has completed four acquisitions in recent years, most recently in March 2026, expanding the company's size and capabilities. Through LSI's Fast Forward plan, he has aligned the organization around clear financial targets, cross-selling opportunities and a culture of ownership, accountability and continuous improvement.
In accepting the award, Clark credited LSI's employees.
"Thank you to the Business Courier. I'm grateful, but let me be clear about whose award this is. It belongs to the nearly 3,000 people of LSI. On our plant floors, in our offices and on job sites, they sweat the details, treat our customers and each other with respect, and do what they say they will do. That's how you build a company that lasts 50 years.
"We started in 1976 making canopy lights for gas stations, right here in Cincinnati. Today we light, brand and outfit the places people stop every day: gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, restaurants and car dealerships.
"Together, we delivered the best year in our history. Thank you to my leadership team for setting the pace, and to our board for its trust. I've never been prouder to be part of LSI."
The C-Suite Awards honor executives who have driven measurable business performance, strengthened company culture, championed innovation and contributed to the Greater Cincinnati community.
ABOUT LSI INDUSTRIES
Headquartered in Cincinnati, LSI is a publicly held company traded over the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol LYTS. The company manufactures advanced lighting, graphics, and display solutions across strategic vertical markets. The company's American-made products, which include non-residential indoor and outdoor lighting, print graphics, digital graphics, refrigerated and custom displays, help create value for customer brands and enhance the consumer experience. LSI also provides comprehensive project management services in support of large-scale product rollouts. The company employs approximately 3,000 people at 23 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada. Additional information about LSI is available at www.lsicorp.com.
LSI Industries President & CEO Jim Clark
Asian shares were mostly lower Friday after the latest shudder for artificial-intelligence stocks weighed on markets around the world, giving the benchmark S&P 500 its worst day since July.
Oil prices were hovering at their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran, with Brent crude up 0.5% at $113.73 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil added 0.6% to $100.08 per barrel.
In share trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.7% to 61,825.26, while the Kospi in South Korea declined 2.4% to 5,403.32.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.2% to 22,983.80 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.3% to 3,610.52.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 8,777.00.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6%. The weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the U.S. market, where the majority of stocks actually rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1%.
AI-related stocks have been swinging on worries that their boom may be under threat because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to build data centers and buy more AI chips. Investors fear their prices shot too high during a yearslong frenzy, even though companies in the industry continue to report growth.
Meta Platforms, which is pushing its Muse AI agent, lost 7% after reporting stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell short. The company behind Facebook and Instagram also said it’s creating a new class of stock to raise money to pay for AI investments and other expenses.
Tesla fell 3.1% after reporting a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected, though its revenue was weaker than forecast.
The global tide against AI stocks knocked Nvidia down 4.4%. Because the chip giant is the largest company on Wall Street by total value, movements for its stock carry more weight on the S&P 500 than any other, and it was the single strongest force pulling the index lower.
CoreWeave, which has borrowed money to buy Nvidia’s AI chips that it rents out to customers over the cloud, has been particularly shaky in recent weeks because of worries about its debt. It dropped 10.1%.
Higher oil prices also have been weighing on stocks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil leaped 4% on Thursday and has shot up from less than $97 at the start of the month on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.
Worries about big government debt loads and strained budgets are hanging over almost every developed economy. Protests across France have raised pressure on the government to increase spending, which could add further to its debt.
In the United States, such concerns, along with high inflation, signals of a still-strong U.S. economy and other factors, have pushed yields in the U.S. bond market recently to their highest levels in decades.
But U.S. yields fell sharply Thursday in a signal that investors were buying U.S. government bonds in search of something safer to own as AI stocks tumbled.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury tumbled to 4.97% from 5.13% late Wednesday and from more than 5.30% earlier this month. That’s a major move for the bond market.
Thursday’s drop in yields came even as another report suggested the U.S. economy may be doing better than economists expected. It said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which could signal that layoffs remain low across the country.
In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar rose to 156.93 Japanese yen from 156.77 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.1215.
AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.
A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
