Cintas Corporation (CTAS) - Company Research

Last Updated: 3 May 2026

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is the largest uniform-rental and facility-services operator in North America, with approximately 35% of the rental market and roughly 1.1 million business customers serviced from a route-based network of more than 470 locations. Cintas's fiscal year ends 31 May, and Q3 FY26 (the quarter ended 28 February 2026) was reported on 25 March 2026: revenue of $2.84 bn (+8.9% YoY, +8.2% organic), gross margin of 51.0% (an all-time high — +40 bp YoY), operating income of $659.9 m (+8.2%), and diluted EPS of $1.24 (+9.7%). Management raised FY26 guidance to revenue of $11.21–$11.24 bn (+8.4–8.7%) and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.86–$4.90 (+10.5–11.4%). The dominant strategic story is the agreed acquisition of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) for $310.00 per share ($155.00 cash + 0.7720 CTAS shares) at an enterprise value of $5.5 bn, announced 11 March 2026 and unanimously approved by both boards after Cintas's prior 2022, 2025 and December 2025 attempts were rejected. The Croatti family, which controls ~two-thirds of UniFirst's voting power, has signed a voting support agreement; closing is targeted for 2H calendar 2026, subject to FTC/HSR clearance (filings submitted 8 April 2026) and customary divestitures may be required. Cintas finished 1 May 2026 at $170.80 with a market cap of ~$67.9 bn, well off the 6 June 2025 high of $229.24 but ~3% above the 27 March 2026 low of $165.60. For live price action see live charts; for upcoming earnings dates the economic calendar; community discussion is on the forum.

1. Company Snapshot

Company	Cintas Corporation
Ticker	NASDAQ: CTAS (Nasdaq-100; S&P 500)
Sector / Industry	Industrials — Commercial Services / Uniform Rental & Facility Services
HQ	6800 Cintas Boulevard, Cincinnati, OH 45262, USA
CEO	Todd M. Schneider (President & CEO since 2021; with company since 1989)
CFO	Scott A. Garula (EVP & CFO since 1 June 2025; succeeded Mike Hansen)
Chair Emeritus	Scott D. Farmer (former CEO 2003–2021; Chairman until 2024)
Founded	1929 (Acme Industrial Laundry, Cincinnati — founded by Richard "Doc" Farmer)
IPO	1983 (Nasdaq)
Stock split	4-for-1 forward split on 12 September 2024
Employees	~46,000+ ("employee-partners")
Customers	~1.1 million businesses across North America
Locations	470+ rental, first-aid, fire and direct-sale facilities
Fiscal year end	31 May
Share price (1 May 2026 close)	$170.80
52-week range	$165.60 (27 Mar 2026) – $229.24 (6 Jun 2025)
Shares outstanding	~400.1 m (split-adjusted)
Market cap	~$67.9 bn
FY25 revenue (year ended 31 May 2025)	$10.30 bn (+7.7% YoY)
FY26 revenue guidance	$11.21–$11.24 bn (+8.4–8.7%)
Annual dividend	$1.80 (quarterly $0.45) — 42 consecutive years of dividend growth
Next results	Q4 / FY26 full year — expected Thursday 9 July 2026

2. Bull Case vs Bear Case

Bull Case	Bear Case
Route density moat: every additional customer on an existing truck route adds revenue at near-100% incremental margin. Q3 FY26 gross margin hit a record 51.0% — "all-time high gross margins in each of the three route-based businesses" per management.	Trades at a substantial premium — trailing P/E ~35.8×, EV/EBITDA ~24.3×, P/S 6.15× against a US Commercial Services peer average ~23× (Simply Wall St); historical 10-year median EV/EBITDA ~22.9×.
UniFirst acquisition expected to add ~$2.4 bn revenue and ~$375 m of run-rate cost synergies within four years; deal accretive to EPS by end of year 2 post-close, modelled net leverage 1.5× debt/EBITDA at close.	UniFirst deal carries antitrust execution risk: Cintas + UniFirst would hold roughly half of the US uniform-rental market; FTC/HSR filings made 8 April 2026; analysts and an independent expert review (Uniform Bright) flag potential local-route or branch divestitures.
42-year dividend-growth streak; quarterly dividend raised 15.4% to $0.45 in July 2025 ($1.80 annualised); $1.45 bn returned to shareholders YTD FY26 via buybacks + dividends; new $1.0 bn buyback authorised 28 October 2025.	Stock down ~25% from 6 June 2025 high of $229.24 to 1 May 2026 close of $170.80; 52-week price change -19.87% per StockAnalysis. Shares lagged broader market through the FY26 deceleration debate.
Recurring-revenue annuity model: ~80% of revenue from Uniform Rental & Facility Services with weekly route service contracts — predictable cash flow and exceptionally low FY25 capex intensity (~4% of revenue). FY25 operating cash flow $2.17 bn; FCF ~$1.6 bn.	Wage inflation and route-stop labour cost remain the structural pressure point for the rental industry; Vestis (Aramark spinoff) and UniFirst have flagged the same issue. New customer ramp slower amid weaker SMB hiring per management's cautious commentary on Q1 FY26 sales cycles.
FY26 guidance raised twice: revenue now $11.21–$11.24 bn (+8.4–8.7%) and adj diluted EPS $4.86–$4.90 (+10.5–11.4%) — both ranges raised at Q3.	Insider activity over the last 12 months has been net selling: CEO Todd Schneider sold 17,301 shares for ~$4 m on 28 July 2025; multiple director option exercises in 2026 with no offsetting open-market buys.

3. What Does This Company Actually Do?

Cintas operates a route-based, weekly-service business that supplies, launders and replaces work uniforms, mats, mops, restroom supplies, first-aid kits, AED defibrillators, fire extinguishers and emergency lighting equipment to ~1.1 million customers from drivers' routes that visit the same business every week. The economics are a textbook density model: each truck on a fixed route pays for itself once a minimum drop count is reached; every additional customer on that route is captured at very high incremental margin.

FY25 revenue mix (year ended 31 May 2025, $10.30 bn total):

Segment	What it does	FY25 revenue	% of FY25 sales
Uniform Rental & Facility Services	Rental and laundering of work uniforms, flame-resistant clothing, mats, mops, shop towels, hygiene/restroom supplies and dust-control products on weekly routes	$7.98 bn	~77.5%
First Aid & Safety Services	First-aid cabinets, AEDs, eyewash, safety training, defibrillator placement programmes	$1.22 bn	~11.8%
All Other (Fire Protection + Uniform Direct Sale)	Fire extinguishers, sprinklers, alarm testing, emergency/exit lighting; direct-sale uniforms for hospitality, gaming, professional sports	~$1.10 bn	~10.7%

Customer profile: No single customer represents more than ~1% of revenue. The customer base spans manufacturing, healthcare, food service, hospitality, automotive service, government and professional services — structurally diversified across the SMB and enterprise economy. Cintas has long called this its "route density" advantage: it claims that a route serving 200 customers can absorb the 201st customer at materially higher margin than any new entrant could match without the same route footprint.

4. The Business Model

• Route density flywheel: Truck drives a fixed weekly route; each additional drop is high-margin because the truck and driver were already going past. The "uniform circle" is Cintas's term for the closed-loop logistics chain — pickup, wash, repair, replace, deliver — on a 5-day cycle. Investment in any one route is capital-light once the route is established.
• Recurring contract revenue: Customer contracts are typically multi-year and renew automatically. Weekly cadence creates persistent installed-base revenue with very high renewal rates. FY25 reported revenue grew 7.7% organically without major acquisitions.
• Margin trajectory: Q3 FY26 group gross margin hit a record 51.0% (vs 50.6% YoY); Uniform Rental Facility Services gross margin 50.3%; First Aid & Safety gross margin 58.1%. Operating margin Q3 FY26 was 23.2% on a reported basis. FY25 group gross margin was 50.0%, up from 48.8% in FY24.
• Capex intensity: ~4% of revenue ($408.9 m FY25) — primarily uniforms in service, route trucks, water-recycling laundry plant equipment.
• Tech investment: Cintas has invested in route-management software (handheld driver devices, real-time route optimisation) and is rolling out an enterprise SAP S/4HANA backbone — management cited the SAP transition on the Q1 FY26 call as both a near-term cost item and a long-term productivity lever.
• Subsidies / regulatory credits: Cintas does not derive material revenue from government subsidies or regulatory credits. Earnings quality is therefore not exposed to credit-policy volatility, in contrast to EV/clean-energy peers.
• Capital allocation: Annual cash returns track ~$1.5–1.7 bn for the last several years (dividends + buybacks). $1.45 bn returned in the first nine months of FY26 alone. Buybacks accelerated in FY26 as the share price fell from the June 2025 peak.

5. Financial Health

Five-year financials (fiscal year ended 31 May). All figures restated where applicable for the September 2024 4-for-1 split.

Metric	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Revenue ($bn)	7.12	7.85	8.82	9.60	10.30
YoY %	+10.0%	+10.3%	+12.4%	+8.9%	+7.7%
Gross margin	~46%	~46%	~47.5%	~48.8%	50.0%
Operating income ($bn)	1.41	1.55	1.85	2.07	2.36
Net income ($bn)	1.11	1.24	1.35	1.57	1.81
EPS (diluted, $) split-adj	2.61	2.93	3.27	3.79	4.40
Operating cash flow ($bn)	1.65	1.51	1.85	2.07	2.17
Capex ($m)	~280	~315	~340	~360	408.9
Free cash flow ($bn)	~1.37	~1.20	~1.51	~1.71	~1.60
Annual DPS ($) split-adj	0.91	1.05	1.21	1.40	1.62

Quarterly trajectory (FY26 in progress; FY26 starts June 2025):

Period	Revenue ($bn)	YoY %	Gross margin	Diluted EPS
Q3 FY25 (ended 28 Feb 2025)	2.61	+8.4%	50.6%	$1.13
Q4 FY25 (ended 31 May 2025)	2.67	+8.0%	~50.4%	$1.13
Q1 FY26 (ended 31 Aug 2025)	2.72	+8.7%	50.3%	$1.20
Q2 FY26 (ended 30 Nov 2025)	2.80	+9.3%	~50.7%	$1.22
Q3 FY26 (ended 28 Feb 2026)	2.84	+8.9%	51.0% (record)	$1.24

Balance sheet: Cintas runs a low-leverage balance sheet by industry standards. Management has guided that the UniFirst transaction will leave net leverage at ~1.5× debt/EBITDA at close, financed via cash on hand, the new CTAS shares issued in the deal, and committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, KeyBank and Wells Fargo. Pre-deal, Cintas has been net-cash-equivalent on a working-capital basis with consistently investment-grade ratings.

6. Valuation & Market Data

Share price (1 May 2026 close)	$170.80
52-week high	$229.24 on 6 June 2025
52-week low	$165.60 on 27 March 2026
52-week price change	-19.87% (per StockAnalysis, 1 May 2026)
Shares outstanding	~400.09 m (split-adjusted)
Float	~342.08 m
Market cap	~$67.86 bn (1 May 2026)
Enterprise value	~$70.59 bn (1 May 2026)
Trailing P/E	~35.79× (StockAnalysis, 1 May 2026)
Forward P/E	~32.06× (FY26 guidance midpoint)
P/S	~6.15× (TTM)
P/B	~14.17×
EV/EBITDA	~24.32× (10-year median ~22.93×)
EV/Revenue	~6.40×
P/FCF	~37.83×; FCF yield ~2.64%
Beta (5-yr)	0.96
50-day MA	$183.50
200-day MA	$194.40
Short interest	10.60 m shares (~2.65% of outstanding); 4.07 days to cover (StockAnalysis, 1 May 2026)
Dividend per share	$1.80 annual ($0.45 quarterly); yield ~1.06%
Payout ratio	~38%
Stock split	4-for-1 forward, 12 September 2024

7. What Are They Building / What's Coming?

• UniFirst acquisition (announced 11 March 2026): $5.5 bn enterprise value; consideration $310.00 per UNF share ($155.00 cash + 0.7720 CTAS shares based on $200.77 close on 9 March 2026). Multiple of 8.0× UniFirst run-rate trailing-12-month EBITDA, including ~$375 m of expected operating cost synergies within four years. Cintas guided that the deal becomes EPS-accretive by the end of the second full year after closing; net leverage ~1.5× debt/EBITDA at close. Bridge financing committed by Morgan Stanley, KeyBank and Wells Fargo. $350 m reverse termination fee payable to UniFirst if the transaction fails.
• Regulatory pathway: Cintas and UniFirst filed HSR notifications with the DOJ/FTC on 8 April 2026; S-4 registration statement filed 24 April 2026. UniFirst shareholders must approve; the Croatti family (~two-thirds of UniFirst voting power) signed a voting support agreement. Closing targeted second half of calendar 2026.
• Integration scope: The combined business would serve ~1.5 million customers and consolidate two of the largest national rental fleets, with management framing the synergies as route-density driven (eliminating overlapping routes and shared backbone investments in laundry plants, rolling stock and SAP S/4HANA).
• SAP S/4HANA rollout: Cintas continues a multi-year migration to SAP S/4HANA across order-to-cash, inventory and route systems. Management cited the migration as a near-term cost item but a long-term lever for handheld route productivity, dynamic routing and customer self-service.
• First Aid & Safety as growth engine: First Aid & Safety organic revenue grew 14.6% in Q3 FY26 (segment gross margin 58.1%). Management has guided that this is the highest-growth revenue line in the portfolio and the priority for organic and bolt-on M&A.
• Capital return: $1.0 bn share buyback authorised on 28 October 2025 (in addition to prior authorisations); 42-year dividend growth streak; quarterly dividend $0.45 (declared 20 January 2026; ex-date 15 May 2026; payable 15 June 2026 per most recent announcement).
• Q4 / FY26 results: Expected pre-market on Thursday 9 July 2026 covering the quarter ended 31 May 2026. Current FY26 guidance: revenue $11.21–$11.24 bn; adj diluted EPS $4.86–$4.90; effective tax rate 20.0%; net interest ~$101.0 m. Guidance excludes the UniFirst transaction.

8. Competitive Landscape

The US uniform-rental and facility-services market is dominated by three national players (Cintas, Vestis, UniFirst) plus Alsco (private) and a long tail of regional operators. The pending Cintas-UniFirst combination would consolidate the #1 and #3 players and reshape the share map.

Peer	Approx. US uniform-rental share (pre-deal)	Annual revenue	Notes
Cintas (CTAS)	~35%	~$10.3 bn FY25	Subject company — #1 by share, broadest service portfolio (uniforms + first aid + fire + direct sale)
Vestis (VSTS)	~14%	~$2.8 bn	Spun out of Aramark in October 2023; pure-play national rental
UniFirst (UNF)	~9%	~$2.4 bn	Croatti family controlled; agreed to be acquired by Cintas (March 2026)
Alsco Uniforms	~8%	~$2.3 bn	Private; Steiner family; founded 1889 in Lincoln, Nebraska
Regional / local operators	~34%	n/a	Hundreds of independents; addressable market for tuck-in M&A

Competitive impact analysis (Cintas + UniFirst): Combining Cintas (~35%) and UniFirst (~9%) would create a single operator at ~44% of US uniform-rental share — about three times Vestis and five times Alsco. This is the principal antitrust question. Independent expert reviews and antitrust commentary published in March/April 2026 flagged that the FTC could require divestiture of overlapping routes or branches in dense metropolitan markets where the combined Cintas-UniFirst share would approach or exceed 50%, particularly cited geographies are the Northeast and Southern California. The $350 m reverse termination fee and the bridge-loan structure indicate Cintas is willing to absorb meaningful regulatory cost to complete the deal. The Vestis spin-off (October 2023) created a pure-play comparator and put share data into clearer public view, which has accelerated the consolidation narrative.

9. Leadership and Ownership

CEO: Todd M. Schneider has been President & CEO since July 2021 (the Farmer-to-Schneider transition formally completed June 2021). He joined Cintas in 1989 as a service sales representative and held progressively senior roles in the Rental Division before becoming COO and then CEO. As of recent disclosures Schneider beneficially owns ~626,158 CTAS shares.

CFO: Scott A. Garula was promoted to EVP & CFO effective 1 June 2025, succeeding J. Michael Hansen who stepped into an Assistant to the CEO role and retired from the CFO seat after a long tenure. Garula joined Cintas in 1996 and has held roles across First Aid & Safety, Fire Protection and most recently President & COO of the Rental Division (June 2023–May 2025).

Founder family / Chair Emeritus: Scott D. Farmer was CEO 2003–2021 and Chairman until 2024; he is the son of company founder Richard "Dick" Farmer (CEO 1968–2003, took the company public in 1983). The Farmer family retains a meaningful but minority equity stake; Cintas is otherwise widely held by institutional investors.

Top institutional holders (per recent 13F/13G filings): Vanguard Group (~25.48 m shares, ~6.36% per Schedule 13G filed in early 2026), BlackRock, State Street.

Recent Section 16 insider transactions (selected):

Date	Insider	Role	Action	Shares	Price	Value	Notes
9 Apr 2026	Robert E. Coletti	Director	Option exercise	12,544	$26.86 / $27.10	~$340k cost	Direct holdings rose to 26,744 shares; per Form 4
Mar 2026	Robert E. Coletti	Director	Phantom unit award	25.59 units	$194.28	n/a	Cash retainer converted to phantom stock
11 Aug 2025	Todd M. Schneider	CEO	Restricted stock award	46,350	$223.88	n/a	Non-derivative grant under Equity Compensation Plan
28 Jul 2025	Todd M. Schneider	CEO	Sale	17,301	~$231	~$4.0 m	Most recent open-market sale by CEO; check Form 4 for 10b5-1 designation

Aggregate trend: insider activity over the trailing 12 months has been net selling, dominated by the CEO July 2025 disposal at ~$231 (close to the all-time high) and routine director option exercises. There have been no disclosed open-market insider purchases in the period. Cintas's policy framework permits Section 16 insiders to transact under Rule 10b5-1 plans; the specific 10b5-1 designation per transaction is footnoted on each Form 4.

10. Risks and Challenges

• UniFirst regulatory risk: Combined Cintas + UniFirst would hold ~44% of US uniform-rental share. FTC/HSR filings made 8 April 2026; closing targeted 2H 2026. Possible required divestitures in concentrated metro markets (notably Northeast US, Southern California). $350 m reverse termination fee payable if the transaction fails. Independent expert reviews are already public.
• Valuation premium: Trailing P/E ~35.8×, EV/EBITDA ~24.3×, P/S 6.15×. The premium is structurally justified by the route-density model and dividend record but leaves limited margin for operational miss; the 25% drawdown from June 2025 highs to March 2026 illustrates the sensitivity.
• SMB hiring cycle: New uniform-rental contract growth is correlated with small/medium business job creation. Management noted in Q1 FY26 cautious commentary on sales-cycle elongation; an SMB hiring slowdown would directly compress the new-customer ramp and gross add cadence.
• Wage inflation: Route drivers, plant labour and front-line service staff are the biggest variable cost line. Industry-wide wage inflation pressures gross margin if pricing cannot keep pace; Cintas has so far offset wage inflation with productivity (record 51.0% gross margin in Q3 FY26).
• Integration execution risk: Even if the FTC clears UniFirst, integrating ~$2.4 bn of revenue, ~50,000 customer accounts and a separate IT stack is a multi-year programme. The targeted ~$375 m of cost synergies are net of meaningful execution and retention risk.
• SAP S/4HANA cost lump: Multi-year ERP migration is a recurring near-term operating expense item; management has framed it as a productivity tailwind beyond completion but a margin headwind during deployment.
• Concentration of capital return on a single share class: Buybacks were the dominant capital-return instrument over the last several years; if leverage rises post-UniFirst, near-term buyback cadence may slow even with the $1.0 bn authorisation in place.
• Customer-segment mix: Hospitality, food service and gaming — meaningful in Uniform Direct Sale — remain consumer-cycle exposed.
• Litigation / regulatory: Routine product-liability, wage-and-hour and environmental litigation typical of a national industrial laundry operator; no extraordinary disclosed contingencies in the FY25 10-K.
• FX: Limited — the vast majority of revenue is generated in the United States and Canada.

11. Recent Developments

• 1 May 2026: CTAS closed at $170.80; market cap ~$67.86 bn; 52-week range $165.60 – $229.24.
• 29 April 2026: UBS Group AG disclosed reduced position in CTAS in a 13F-style update.
• 24 April 2026: Cintas filed Form S-4 registration statement with the SEC for the UniFirst transaction (definitive proxy/prospectus to follow once SEC review is complete).
• 9 April 2026: Director Robert E. Coletti exercised options for 12,544 shares at $26.86/$27.10; direct holdings rose to 26,744.
• 8 April 2026: Cintas and UniFirst filed HSR Act notifications with the DOJ/FTC for the proposed merger.
• 27 March 2026: Shares hit 52-week low of $165.60 (post-Q3 print + UniFirst overhang).
• 25 March 2026 — Q3 FY26 results: Revenue $2.84 bn (+8.9%; +8.2% organic); record gross margin 51.0% (+40 bp); operating income $659.9 m (+8.2%); diluted EPS $1.24 (+9.7%); net income $502.5 m. Uniform Rental Facility Services organic +7.3% with 50.3% gross margin; First Aid & Safety organic +14.6% with 58.1% gross margin (record). FY26 guidance raised: revenue $11.21–$11.24 bn, adj diluted EPS $4.86–$4.90; ~$1.45 bn returned to shareholders YTD via buybacks + dividends.
• 11 March 2026: Cintas and UniFirst announce $5.5 bn definitive merger agreement at $310.00 per UNF share ($155.00 cash + 0.7720 CTAS shares); both boards unanimously approve; Croatti family signs voting support agreement; ~$375 m four-year synergy target; $350 m reverse termination fee.
• 22 December 2025: Cintas publicly proposes $275.00 per share cash bid for UniFirst (third attempt; rejected initially in March 2025 after non-binding proposal in late 2024).
• 18 December 2025 — Q2 FY26 results: Revenue $2.80 bn (+9.3%); diluted EPS ~$1.22; First Aid & Safety + All Other revenue $644.6 m (+12.8%).
• 28 October 2025: 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held; quarterly cash dividend of $0.45 declared (paid 15 December 2025); new $1.0 bn stock buyback authorisation approved.
• 24 September 2025 — Q1 FY26 results: Revenue $2.72 bn (+8.7%; +7.8% organic); diluted EPS $1.20; gross margin 50.3%; FY26 guidance raised first time.
• 11 August 2025: CEO Todd Schneider awarded 46,350 restricted shares at $223.88 under the Equity Compensation Plan.
• 28 July 2025: CEO Todd Schneider sold 17,301 shares for ~$4 m at ~$231 (most recent open-market CEO disposal).
• 29 July 2025: Quarterly dividend raised 15.4% to $0.45 per share ($1.80 annualised).
• 17 July 2025 — Q4 / FY25 full-year results: FY25 revenue $10.30 bn (+7.7%); net income $1.81 bn (+15.3%); diluted EPS $4.40 (+16.1%); operating cash flow $2.17 bn; gross margin 50.0%; capex $408.9 m.
• 6 June 2025: CTAS hit 52-week high closing price of $229.24.
• 1 June 2025: Scott Garula assumed EVP & CFO role; Mike Hansen transitioned to Assistant to the CEO.

12. Key Dates Coming Up

Date	Event
15 May 2026	Ex-dividend date for $0.45 quarterly cash dividend
15 June 2026 (approx.)	Quarterly dividend payment ($0.45 per share)
9 July 2026 (Thursday, pre-market, expected)	Q4 / FY26 full-year results — quarter ended 31 May 2026
2H calendar 2026	Targeted close of UniFirst acquisition (subject to FTC/HSR clearance and UniFirst shareholder vote)
Late September 2026 (expected)	Q1 FY27 results
Late October 2026 (expected)	2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
December 2026 (expected)	Q2 FY27 results
FY26 (current guidance)	Revenue $11.21–$11.24 bn (+8.4–8.7%); adj diluted EPS $4.86–$4.90 (+10.5–11.4%); effective tax rate 20.0%; net interest expense ~$101.0 m. UniFirst impact excluded.

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Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. ChartsView does not use analyst price targets, ratings, or consensus estimates. All figures are sourced from Cintas Corporation press releases, 10-K and 10-Q filings, SEC Form 4 filings, and public market data as at 1–3 May 2026. Always do your own due diligence.