CTAS US S&P 500NASDAQ-100Russell 1000 Earnings call
Cintas (CTAS) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $227.26 · 2026-11-11
Cintas provides uniform rental and facility services, as well as first aid and safety products to businesses of all sizes. The company operates in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-07-29)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · fiscal Q1 2027 · published 23 Sep 2026 and 15 Jul 2026
Net income up 8.0% on the previous quarter. Management sounded about as positive as a typical company call, in its script and in answers to analysts.
1 · Numbers
+8.0%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 551.7M vs 511.0M
Revenue +3.7%
Why Against the same quarter last year (+12.3%), net income rose because growth from volume and margin expansion resulting from technology investments and corporate culture drove operating income up 17.6% when excluding UniFirst transaction-related expenses.
2 · How management spoke
Typical
More upbeat than 64% of company calls
Answers to analysts: typical, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
Cintas raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to a range of $12.15 billion to $12.27 billion, reflecting a growth rate of 7.9% to 8.9%.
Valuation
Is Cintas undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2026-05-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 8.5% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $93.91 a share — the stock trades 142% above it. Today's price assumes 20.0% growth a year.
Current price
$227.26
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+20.0% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$93.91
Buy below
$70.43
Price vs fair value
Overvalued 142%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Management expects
Revenue +8.4% · from the Q3 2026 report: “CTAS raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance from $12.10 billion to $12.25 billion to a new range of $12.15 billion to $12.27 billion, reflecting a growth rate of…”
A guidance figure for revenue, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.
Read between the lines
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Guidance
CTAS raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance from $12.10 billion to $12.25 billion to a new range of $12.15 billion to $12.27 billion, reflecting a growth rate of 7.9% to 8.9%.
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Figure
Quarter total revenue grew 10.9% to $3.01 billion.
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Figure
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue reached an all-time high of 51.5% in Q1 2027.
Source quote
“Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 51.5%, an all-time high.”
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Figure
The company invested $107.5 million in capital expenditures for technology, automation, capacity expansion, and infrastructure to support future growth.
Source quote
“We invested $107.5 million in capital expenditures during the quarter, primarily focused on technology, automation, capacity expansion and infrastructure investments that support future growth.”
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Figure
CTAS increased its regular quarterly dividend by 15.6% and completed $545 million in share repurchases during the quarter.
Source quote
“During the quarter, we increased our regular quarterly dividend by 15.6% and up through today made $545 million in share repurchases.”
3 more
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Figure
The workday impact on incrementals in the first quarter was 400 basis points.
Source quote
“If you think about the workday impact on incrementals in the first quarter, it was 400 basis points.”
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Key theme
Management does not expect energy costs to be a headwind because the guidance is slightly above the costs experienced in Q4.
Source quote
“We feel really comfortable with how we've got energy contemplated in our guide, which is slightly above where we actually experienced Q4, and we're not expecting energy to be a headwind relative to our guide.”
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Guidance
The company expects this to be a double-digit growth business.
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“And I think it's important to note that the vast majority of our growth and the momentum we have is in volume growth, which is more new customers, better retention...”
“And as we look at trying to expand our margin and deliver strong financials, it always starts for us with strong top line growth.”
“Gross margin for the Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment increased 110 basis points from last year to achieve an all-time high gross margin of 50.8%.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-08-31)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-08-31 | Q2 2026period end 2026-05-31 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 3.01B | 2.91B | +3.7% | 2.72B | +10.9% |
| Gross profit | 1.55B | 1.48B | +4.9% | 1.37B | +13.7% |
| Operating income | 711.9M | 673.0M | +5.8% | 617.9M | +15.2% |
| Net income | 551.7M | 511.0M | +8.0% | 491.1M | +12.3% |
| EPS | 1.36 | 1.26 | +7.9% | 1.20 | +13.3% |
| P/E today 43.9 | 39.8 | 34.9 | +4.9 | 46.7 | −6.9 |
Topics
Most discussed now
- Cintas is maintaining strong customer retention while pricing remains consistent with prior years.
- Cintas continues to expand its relationships with existing customers by adding new products and services.
- As her company expanded, she found herself spending more and more time managing restroom supplies, floor mats, air fresheners and...
- Comparing to the prior year operating margin of 22.7%, the adjusted operating margin for the first quarter was 23.6%, a...
- Operating income as a percentage of revenue was at an all-time high at 23.6% in the first quarter of fiscal...
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading Cintas also benefited from technology investments, a high performing supply chain team that is effectively navigating a dynamic macro…
- Dropped Throughout fiscal 2026, Cintas' capital allocation was in line with its long term priorities and was supported by robust cash...
- Fading Cintas also continues to sell additional processing services to its existing customer base.
- Fading Cintas generated $709.1 million operating cash flow, its strongest cash flow generation of the year.
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
- Other events · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation entered into a merger agreement with UniFirst Corporation and expects the transaction to close before the end of the 2026 calendar year.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation reported revenue of $3.01 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 10.9% from $2.72 billion in the same period last year.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
Melanie W. Barstad notified Cintas Corporation on August 26, 2026, of her decision not to stand for re-election at the 2026 annual meeting of shareholders.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation appointed Jim Rozakis as President and COO effective August 1, 2026, with a base salary of $900,000 and a target annual cash incentive of $1,125,000.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $11.26 billion, up 8.9% from $10.34 billion in fiscal 2025, with diluted EPS of $4.91 compared to $4.40 the previous year.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation entered into a merger agreement with UniFirst Corporation, with UniFirst shareholders voting to approve the acquisition and the merger expected to close in the second half of 2026.
- Material agreement; Agreement terminated; New financial obligation · SEC 8-K
Cintas Corporation's subsidiary entered into a $2.0 billion revolving credit facility on March 27, 2026, which includes a $300.0 million letter of credit sub-facility and a $150.0 million swing line sub-facility.
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
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August 14, 2026
dividend for the shareholders of record
Source quote
“We were active in M&A and increased our dividend 15.6% for the shareholders of record as of August 14, 2026.”
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by the end of calendar 2026
deal closure for the acquisition of UniFirst
Source quote
“We remain optimistic that the deal will close by the end of calendar 2026.”
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fiscal 2027
expected net interest expense
Source quote
“The fiscal 2027 net interest expense is expected to be approximately $103 million.”
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fiscal 2027
expected effective tax rate
Source quote
“A fiscal 2027 effective tax rate of 20.4% compared to 20.2% in fiscal 2026.”
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Q2 through 4
net interest expense
Source quote
“When you think about our guide on our net interest expense of $103 million, we're really not changing the guide for Q2 through 4.”