Cintas Corporation · CTAS · FY2025 Q2 · Calendar Q4 2024
Cintas: Strong Margins, Softer Pricing and a Lower Revenue Ceiling
The supplied analysis supports a constructive but qualified view: demand, operating execution, technology initiatives and M&A support growth, while softer pricing, tariff exposure and margin normalization are meaningful constraints.
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusMarket reaction
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Transcript intelligence
What changed
Relative to the prior quarter, guidance sentiment shifted from raised to lowered: the top end of revenue guidance was trimmed amid pricing pressure. The quarter also added evidence of strong execution, including 7.1% organic growth, record operating margin and roughly 60% incremental EBITDA margin, while Uniform Direct Sales declined 9.2%.
Guidance delta
Management lowered the top end of full-year revenue guidance, citing pricing pressure, while maintaining a positive overall growth outlook.
Key takeaways
- Organic growth was 7.1%, with double-digit growth in First Aid & Safety and Fire Protection.
- Gross margin reached 49.8% and operating margin reached a record 23.1%.
- Pricing increases returned to historical 0–2% levels, limiting future pricing leverage.
- Uniform Direct Sales declined 9.2% in the quarter.
- Management highlighted technology investment, cross-selling, M&A and supply-chain optimization.
Management priorities
- Continue investing in SAP, SmartTruck and myCintas.
- Pursue acquisitions in rental, fire protection and first-aid services.
- Expand cross-selling across the broader service portfolio.
- Optimize supply chain and routing to protect margins.
- Maintain dividends and opportunistic share repurchases.
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 7, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citigroup | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 29, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 24, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 24, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Sep 24, 2026 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Sep 24, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 26, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Dec 17, 2025 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 2, 2025 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Sep 26, 2024 |
| CFRA | Sell | Strong Sell | Maintain | Sep 12, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Perform | Perform | Maintain | Apr 1, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 16, 2021 |
| William Blair | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Apr 6, 2020 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Sep 25, 2019 |
| Nomura | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 22, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jan 3, 2019 |
| Nomura Instinet | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jun 27, 2017 |
| Instinet | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jun 27, 2017 |
| KeyBanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 3, 2016 |
| Macquarie | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 25, 2016 |
| Sterne Agee CRT | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Mar 22, 2016 |
| PiperJaffray | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 18, 2013 |
| Barrington Research | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Jul 17, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $195.96. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $240 | $196.85 | +22.5% | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $222 | $191.97 | +13.3% | Sep 24, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $203.66 | +17.4% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $214 | $192.37 | +9.2% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $250 | $192.37 | +27.6% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $231 | $192.37 | +17.9% | Jul 15, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $228 | $168.85 | +16.4% | Mar 26, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $250 | $198.34 | +27.6% | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $245 | $192.72 | +25.0% | Jan 14, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $235 | $188.31 | +19.9% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $189.89 | +14.8% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $189.89 | +4.6% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $188.45 | +7.2% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $185 | $182.16 | -5.6% | Nov 25, 2025 |
| Redburn Partners | Oliver Davies | $184 | $185.25 | -6.1% | Nov 11, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $206 | $202.05 | +5.1% | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $218 | $202.05 | +11.2% | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $227 | $206.25 | +15.8% | Mar 27, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $204.71 | +17.4% | Mar 26, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $184 | $183.03 | -6.1% | Dec 20, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $202 | $211.59 | +3.1% | Dec 12, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Chan | $240 | $210.39 | +22.5% | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $212 | $208.84 | +8.2% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $181 | $208.71 | -7.6% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $210 | $204.23 | +7.2% | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $225 | $203.77 | +14.8% | Sep 17, 2024 |
| CFRA | Caydee Blankenship | $170 | $203.8 | -13.2% | Sep 11, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $183.75 | $189.91 | -6.2% | Aug 12, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Oliver Davies | $167.5 | $187.61 | -14.5% | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $199.5 | $189.64 | +1.8% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $193.75 | $190.73 | -1.1% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $181.25 | $171.76 | -7.5% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $197.5 | $171.16 | +0.8% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $193.75 | $170.51 | -1.1% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Chan | $197.5 | $171.41 | +0.8% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $187.5 | $171.41 | -4.3% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $193.75 | $171.41 | -1.1% | Mar 27, 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan | Andrew Steinerman | $160 | $158.67 | -18.4% | Mar 26, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $156.25 | $133.98 | -20.3% | Nov 13, 2023 |
| Argus Research | John Eade | $135 | $126.38 | -31.1% | Sep 26, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $32.69 | $29.03 | -83.3% | Mar 30, 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $33.13 | $29.03 | -83.1% | Dec 21, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $23.31 | $24.26 | -88.1% | Sep 29, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $27.19 | $24.71 | -86.1% | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $24.3 | -88.8% | Sep 27, 2022 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $29.69 | $27.36 | -84.8% | Aug 17, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $22.63 | $24.18 | -88.5% | Jul 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22.63 | $24.39 | -88.5% | Jul 15, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $29.06 | $23.05 | -85.2% | Jul 5, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22.31 | $23.55 | -88.6% | May 26, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Faiza Alwy | $129.25 | $105.97 | -34.0% | Apr 3, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $28.75 | $27.19 | -85.3% | Dec 23, 2021 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $29.69 | $26.39 | -84.8% | Nov 30, 2021 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $23.63 | $24.09 | -87.9% | Oct 1, 2021 |
| Jefferies | Hamzah Mazari | $28 | $24.22 | -85.7% | Sep 29, 2021 |
| Credit Suisse | Kevin Mcveigh | $23.44 | $23.97 | -88.0% | Jul 16, 2021 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationCintas Corporation specializes in supplying professional uniforms and a range of essential business services primarily across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The company's operations are divided into three main divisions: Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and an 'All Other' segment. Within its Uniform Rental and Facility Services division, Cintas offers rental and maintenance for various workwear, including flame-resistant apparel, alongside floor mats, mops, and industrial towels.…
Historical context
All CTAS earningsIndustrials peers this season
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Latest beats and misses
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- ACNFY2026 Q4 · October 1, 2026+3.5% EPS+15.8% move
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2024-12-05T00:03:44.862429+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-07T11:30:40.941108+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-07T11:30:40.938382+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-07. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.