Quality Investor

Cintas Corporation

Rank #68Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

CTAS · Nasdaq · Industrials

Cintas Corporation (CTAS) — Rank #68 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.54) · ROE 38.4% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000723254 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Cintas Corporation provides corporate identity uniforms and other garments in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

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It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company offers rental and servicing of uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items. It also provides restroom cleaning services and supplies; and sells uniforms from catalogs. In addition, the company offers first aid and safety products and services; workplace water services; and fire protection products and services. Further, it provides automated external defibrillators; eye-wash stations; safety training; fire extinguishers; sprinkler systems; and alarm services. The company sells its products and services through its distribution network and local delivery routes, or local representatives to small service and manufacturing companies, as well as major corporations. It serves gaming, hospitality, healthcare, automotive, government, education, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, skilled trades, and food processing industries.

The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Industry
Specialty Business Services
Sector
Industrials
State
WA
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
May 31
Website
cintas.com

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

48,100

Industry

Specialty Business Services

Exchange

Nasdaq

12/12

Flags passed

CTAS passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.54
Return on equity
38.4%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.05
Current ratio
1.45×
Net cash
-$2.19B

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.1%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
8.9%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-1.0%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.54

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.54

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

Return on equity

38.4%

Gross margin

50.7%

Revenue growth (YoY)

8.9%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

8.5%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

9.6%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

14.1%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

14.1%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 6% below net income

Free cash flow

$1.88B

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-5.9%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.1%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $2.19B, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.05

Current ratio

1.45×

Quick ratio

0.68×

Net cash

-$2.19B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

44.1xFair
22.9xmed 38.5x50.1x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

7.8xFair
2.9xmed 5.9x8.7x

P / B

Price / book value per share

17.1xFair
6.7xmed 13.3x19.3x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

15.4xFair
6.4xmed 12.6x17.5x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

46.8xExpensive
25.4xmed 37.9x51.5x

Dividend safety

Composite score

2.8 / 5

Fair
Payout ratio
35.1%4/5 Strong
FCF coverage
2.68×4/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
4 yr2/5 Fair
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.05 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.2 / 5

Fair
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-1.0%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
vs own P/E history1/5 Weak
Dividend growth consistency
4 yr2/5 Fair
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
0.2%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Value
Capital Return

Price History

CTAS+107.4% · +15.6% CAGRSPY+84.0% · +12.9% CAGR