Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold29 ratings
Bullish1137.9%
Neutral1655.2%
Bearish26.9%
Cintas Corporation · CTAS · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q3 2025
Cintas Raises FY2026 Guidance as Route-Based Growth Holds
The quarter supports a constructive operating picture: Cintas combined broad route-based organic growth with improved gross margin and higher full-year guidance. The main test is whether growth and margin execution persist as SAP costs, tariffs, direct-sale softness and the acquisition pipeline develop.
Reported Before market openNASDAQIndustrials
$79.13B market cap
100quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$1.20
Consensus $1.19
EPS surprise
+0.8%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$2.72B
Consensus $2.70B
Revenue surprise
+0.7%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
-0.3%
Event window
SPY move
-0.3%
Same window
Abnormal move
+0.0%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.5×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
-3.2%
Up to 20 sessions
CTASSPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about CTAS FY2026 Q1
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did CTAS fall 0.3% after beating EPS estimates in FY2026 Q1?What changed in CTAS's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q1?Give me the bull and bear case for CTAS after FY2026 Q1 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
Compared with the prior-quarter analysis, management moved from maintained to raised guidance. The current analysis also reports 8.7% year-over-year revenue growth, improved gross margin, continued acquisitions and technology investment, alongside specific pressure from SAP costs in Fire Protection and tariffs.
Guidance delta
Management raised full-year fiscal 2026 guidance to $11.06-$11.18 billion of revenue and $4.74-$4.86 EPS.
Key takeaways
- Q1 fiscal 2026 revenue grew 8.7% year over year, with 7.8% organic growth across the three route-based segments.
- Gross margin improved to 50.3%; Uniform Rental margin rose 40 basis points while First Aid & Safety margin was 56.8%.
- Management cited conversion of non-programmer customers, safety-apparel rentals, technology investment and acquisitions as growth avenues.
- Capital allocation included $102 million of capex, $347 million of share repurchases and a 15.4% dividend increase.
Management priorities
- Continue the technology stack build-out, including AI, analytics, SAP and the myCintas portal.
- Roll out SAP across the Fire Protection business and other segments while managing implementation costs.
- Pursue strategic acquisitions in route-based businesses.
- Expand the Carhartt high-visibility apparel rental program and convert non-programmer customers.
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Beat
Miss
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
$197.74Previous close
$23.44Low
$183.29Average
$250High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Citigroup | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Sep 22, 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 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 14, 2023 |
| 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 $197.74. 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 | +21.4% | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $222 | $191.97 | +12.3% | Sep 24, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $203.66 | +16.3% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $214 | $192.37 | +8.2% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $250 | $192.37 | +26.4% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $231 | $192.37 | +16.8% | Jul 15, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $228 | $168.85 | +15.3% | Mar 26, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $250 | $198.34 | +26.4% | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $245 | $192.72 | +23.9% | Jan 14, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $235 | $188.31 | +18.8% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $225 | $189.89 | +13.8% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $205 | $189.89 | +3.7% | Dec 19, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $188.45 | +6.2% | Dec 17, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $185 | $182.16 | -6.4% | Nov 25, 2025 |
| Redburn Partners | Oliver Davies | $184 | $185.25 | -6.9% | Nov 11, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $206 | $202.05 | +4.2% | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $218 | $202.05 | +10.2% | Sep 25, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $227 | $206.25 | +14.8% | Mar 27, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $204.71 | +16.3% | Mar 26, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $184 | $183.03 | -6.9% | Dec 20, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $202 | $211.59 | +2.2% | Dec 12, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Chan | $240 | $210.39 | +21.4% | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $212 | $208.84 | +7.2% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $181 | $208.71 | -8.5% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Barclays | Manav Patnaik | $210 | $204.23 | +6.2% | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $225 | $203.77 | +13.8% | Sep 17, 2024 |
| CFRA | Caydee Blankenship | $170 | $203.8 | -14.0% | Sep 11, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Jason Haas | $183.75 | $189.91 | -7.1% | Aug 12, 2024 |
| Redburn Partners | Oliver Davies | $167.5 | $187.61 | -15.3% | Aug 9, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $199.5 | $189.64 | +0.9% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $193.75 | $190.73 | -2.0% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $181.25 | $171.76 | -8.3% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $197.5 | $171.16 | -0.1% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $193.75 | $170.51 | -2.0% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| UBS | Joshua Chan | $197.5 | $171.41 | -0.1% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Andrew Wittmann | $187.5 | $171.41 | -5.2% | Mar 28, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $193.75 | $171.41 | -2.0% | Mar 27, 2024 |
| J.P. Morgan | Andrew Steinerman | $160 | $158.67 | -19.1% | Mar 26, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jasper Bibb | $156.25 | $133.98 | -21.0% | Nov 13, 2023 |
| Argus Research | John Eade | $135 | $126.38 | -31.7% | Sep 26, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $32.69 | $29.03 | -83.5% | Mar 30, 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $33.13 | $29.03 | -83.2% | Dec 21, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $23.31 | $24.26 | -88.2% | Sep 29, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $27.19 | $24.71 | -86.2% | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $24.3 | -88.9% | Sep 27, 2022 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $29.69 | $27.36 | -85.0% | Aug 17, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Toni Kaplan | $22.63 | $24.18 | -88.6% | Jul 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22.63 | $24.39 | -88.6% | Jul 15, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $29.06 | $23.05 | -85.3% | Jul 5, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22.31 | $23.55 | -88.7% | May 26, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Faiza Alwy | $129.25 | $105.97 | -34.6% | Apr 3, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | George Tong | $28.75 | $27.19 | -85.5% | Dec 23, 2021 |
| RBC Capital | Ashish Sabadra | $29.69 | $26.39 | -85.0% | Nov 30, 2021 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Shlomo Rosenbaum | $23.63 | $24.09 | -88.0% | Oct 1, 2021 |
| Jefferies | Hamzah Mazari | $28 | $24.22 | -85.8% | Sep 29, 2021 |
| Credit Suisse | Kevin Mcveigh | $23.44 | $23.97 | -88.1% | Jul 16, 2021 |
Track every rating change on CTAS the moment it posts. Free to start.
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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| DCI Donaldson Company, Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026 | +1.8% | +2.1% | Donaldson posts record FY26 and targets further growth |
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Get the CTAS recap when the next report posts
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:36:15.940040+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-30T09:36:10.540448+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-30T09:36:10.537558+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 2026-09-30. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.