Cintas
CTASNASDAQUSD
- Source valuation snapshot. Not a live recalculation.
- Latest filed annual earnings; price snapshot date unavailable. Not forward P/E.
- Diluted earnings per share from the latest filed annual.
- $225.28 Prior regular-session close from the quote source.
- $223.97–$227.45 Regular-session low and high so far today.
- 1.4M Regular-session shares traded · Nov 11, 4:00 PM ET.
- Not yet confirmed The company has not confirmed its next report date. Reported quarters are available in the chart’s Earnings view.
- $161.16–$233.46 52-week trading low and high returned by the quote source.
Understand the Business
Why the Stock Moved
Period-matched expectations history is not yet available. Current metrics are not a substitute for a historical explanation.
The core investment thesis
Own CTAS if that service advantage keeps producing margin expansion and cash conversion despite a mature, competitive market.
CTAS price history
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Investment thesis
What must happen next
Businesses continue to prefer outsourcing daily workplace image, cleanliness and safety tasks to Cintas rather than managing fragmented uniform and facility programs internally, allowing Cintas to expand wallet share across a large customer base.StrengtheningMateriality: High
Item 1 profile description says Cintas helps more than one million businesses get READY by providing products and services that enhance customer image and keep facilities and employees clean, safe and looking their best. If this holds, revenue growth has a recurring-service engine; if it breaks, Cintas becomes more cyclical and more exposed to price competition.
Watch: A downturn in U.S. employment-heavy verticals reduces wearer counts, facility stops and service frequency before reported revenue weakens.
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
Item 1 profile description says Cintas helps more than one million businesses get READY by providing products and services that.
Open source ↗Cintas’s dense recurring routes and scale purchasing/laundry operations allow it to price on reliability and convenience rather than garment cost alone, preserving spread over labor, textile and fuel inflation.StrengtheningMateriality: High
GAAP annual gross profit increased from $3.315 billion in FY2021 to $5.174 billion in FY2025. This is the core moat: if route density and service reliability protect price, growth compounds profitably; if not, revenue growth can come with margin compression.
Watch: Aramark or UniFirst uses aggressive national-account pricing to reset customer expectations lower.
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
GAAP annual gross profit increased from $3.315 billion in FY2021 to $5.174 billion in FY2025.
Open source ↗Cintas can layer additional services onto existing customer relationships, routes and operating infrastructure, so incremental revenue should convert to operating income rather than require a proportional new cost base.StrengtheningMateriality: Medium
GAAP annual operating income rose from $1.385 billion in FY2021 to $2.360 billion in FY2025. Operating leverage is what turns a service roll-up into an earnings compounder; if incremental growth needs equal incremental cost, the premium quality case weakens.
Watch: New growth requires heavy investment in plants, trucks, route labor or sales capacity instead of using existing infrastructure.
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
GAAP annual operating income rose from $1.385 billion in FY2021 to $2.360 billion in FY2025.
Open source ↗Recurring billed services and disciplined working-capital/rental-inventory management should convert earnings into operating cash flow that funds reinvestment, tuck-in acquisitions and shareholder returns without relying on large cash balances.StrengtheningMateriality: Medium
GAAP annual operating cash flow was $2.166 billion in FY2025, exceeding GAAP net income of $1.812 billion. Cash conversion determines whether Cintas can compound per-share value internally or must use debt/equity to keep growing.
Watch: Rental merchandise, receivables or inventory needs rise faster than sales, absorbing cash before revenue weakness is visible.
Supporting sources
Source notes are factual paraphrases; read the original disclosures below.
GAAP annual operating cash flow was $2.166 billion in FY2025, exceeding GAAP net income of $1.812 billion.
Open source ↗
Full investment case & evidence
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Original research
Businesses continue to prefer outsourcing daily workplace image, cleanliness and safety tasks to Cintas rather than managing fragmented uniform and facility programs internally, allowing Cintas to expand wallet share across a large customer base. If this holds, revenue growth has a recurring-service engine; if it breaks, Cintas becomes more cyclical and more exposed to price competition.
Cintas’s dense recurring routes and scale purchasing/laundry operations allow it to price on reliability and convenience rather than garment cost alone, preserving spread over labor, textile and fuel inflation. This is the core moat: if route density and service reliability protect price, growth compounds profitably; if not, revenue growth can come with margin compression.
Cintas can layer additional services onto existing customer relationships, routes and operating infrastructure, so incremental revenue should convert to operating income rather than require a proportional new cost base. Operating leverage is what turns a service roll-up into an earnings compounder; if incremental growth needs equal incremental cost, the premium quality case weakens.
Recurring billed services and disciplined working-capital/rental-inventory management should convert earnings into operating cash flow that funds reinvestment, tuck-in acquisitions and shareholder returns without relying on large cash balances. Cash conversion determines whether Cintas can compound per-share value internally or must use debt/equity to keep growing.
All standing thesis claims
Original report summary
that service advantage keeps producing margin expansion and cash conversion despite a mature, competitive market.
Bull case and bear case
Bull case and bear case for Cintas
Where the evidence on Cintas stands: Strengthening on the latest evidence (Oct 13, 2026). Of its 4 thesis points, 4 strengthening.
Bull case: what the evidence supports
Businesses continue to prefer outsourcing daily workplace image, cleanliness and safety tasks to Cintas rather than managing fragmented uniform and facility programs internally, allowing Cintas to expand wallet share across a large customer base.
Cintas’s dense recurring routes and scale purchasing/laundry operations allow it to price on reliability and convenience rather than garment cost alone, preserving spread over labor, textile and fuel inflation.
Cintas can layer additional services onto existing customer relationships, routes and operating infrastructure, so incremental revenue should convert to operating income rather than require a proportional new cost base.
Recurring billed services and disciplined working-capital/rental-inventory management should convert earnings into operating cash flow that funds reinvestment, tuck-in acquisitions and shareholder returns without relying on large cash balances.
Bear case: what would count against it
A downturn in U.S. employment-heavy verticals reduces wearer counts, facility stops and service frequency before reported revenue weakens.
Aramark or UniFirst uses aggressive national-account pricing to reset customer expectations lower.
New growth requires heavy investment in plants, trucks, route labor or sales capacity instead of using existing infrastructure.
Company research
Research on Cintas
- Reporting · Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) Raises 2027 Guidance as Margins Expand
Organic growth reached 8.9% and operating margin widened. The updated revenue midpoint rose only $35 million, making execution the more important signal.
Thesis-Break Engine
Thesis-break watch · Cintas
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MARKET + FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
The numbers behind the thesis
What Changed
- MixedOther material event.
Cintas filed an SEC 8-K on 2026-10-06: Other material event. It is a dated development that tests the current thesis.
- MixedReported results of operations (earnings release).
Cintas filed an SEC 8-K on 2026-09-23: Reported results of operations (earnings release). It is a dated development that tests the current thesis.
- MixedDirector or principal officer change.
Cintas filed an SEC 8-K on 2026-08-27: Director or principal officer change. It is a dated development that tests the current thesis.
Risks / falsifiers
What could break the thesis
- A downturn in U.S. employment-heavy verticals reduces wearer counts, facility stops and service frequency before reported revenue weakens.
- Aramark or UniFirst uses aggressive national-account pricing to reset customer expectations lower.
- New growth requires heavy investment in plants, trucks, route labor or sales capacity instead of using existing infrastructure.
- Rental merchandise, receivables or inventory needs rise faster than sales, absorbing cash before revenue weakness is visible.
CTAS news
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Financial statements
CTAS income statement
Annual filed results · USD · Oldest to newest. Margins are calculated from the reported figures.
CTAS: quick answers
- Have members of Congress traded CTAS?
- Reports made public in the last 90 days disclose 4 trades in CTAS by 1 filer: 2 purchases and 2 sales. They are filed under the STOCK Act by members of Congress, the President and senior officials. Every disclosed CTAS trade
- Which well-known investors own CTAS?
- 1 of the 37 well-known funds tracked here reported CTAS shares in their latest 13F filing. By share of the fund's portfolio: Bridgewater Associates (Ray Dalio), 0.0%. Fund portfolios
CTAS in well-known investors’ portfolios
1 of 37 funds reported CTAS shares in their latest 13F filing. A 13F shows quarter-end positions and arrives up to 45 days later.
| Fund | Of its portfolio | Value | Change | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray DalioBridgewater Associates | 0.02% | $5.5M | +182.3% | Q2 2026 |