OLSCHAN BRIAN S 4

What Happened
Brian S. Olschan, President & COO and a director of ACME UNITED CORP (ACU), exercised stock options to acquire 35,000 shares at an exercise price of $22.66 per share (total exercise cost: $793,100). As part of a net share settlement, 24,091 of the newly issued shares were withheld/surrendered to cover the exercise price and tax liabilities at a market price of $53.94 per share (value: $1,299,469). After withholding, Olschan received a net 10,909 shares (approx. $588,431 at $53.94).

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-07-24; Form 4 filed: 2026-07-27.
• Option exercise (Code M): 35,000 shares @ $22.66 = $793,100.
• Tax/exercise withholding (Code F): 24,091 shares @ $53.94 = $1,299,469.
• Net shares received: 10,909 shares (35,000 − 24,091), approx. $588,431 at $53.94.
• Footnote: F1 — the exercise was effected via net share settlement (shares withheld to cover taxes/exercise).
• Shares owned after the transaction: filing does not specify total holdings; transaction resulted in a net increase of 10,909 shares.

Context
This was an option exercise with net-share settlement (a common way to satisfy exercise and tax obligations) rather than an open-market purchase or separate sale. Net-share settlements often reflect compensation mechanics more than a direct signal of buying or selling intent. The filing reports the mechanics and values so investors can see the concrete impact on insider holdings.