CTAS · Q4 2026 Earnings

Cautious

Cintas

Reported July 15, 2026

30-second summary

Cintas closed FY26 with Q4 revenue of $2.905B (+8.9% YoY, 8.4% organic) and adjusted EPS of $1.29, beating consensus by 1.2% and 4.9% respectively, and finishing FY26 above the prior guide on both lines ($11.265B revenue vs $11.21–$11.24B; $4.94 adjusted EPS vs $4.86–$4.90). FY27 guidance of $12.10–$12.25B revenue (+7.4–8.6% YoY reported, 7.0–8.3% Workday-adjusted) and $5.36–$5.50 adjusted EPS (+8.5–11.3% YoY) sets a lower bar than FY26 delivered — organic decelerates ~50bps at the floor, EPS growth moderates from the +11.7% just printed, and the operating margin floor management withdrew four quarters ago still has not been restored. The UniFirst deal is guided as excluded and expected to close H2 CY2026.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q4 FY2026

$1.29

+4.9% vs est.

Revenue

Q4 FY2026

$2.90B

+8.9% YoY

+1.2% vs est.

Gross margin

Q4 FY2026

51.0%

Operating margin

Q4 FY2026

23.2%

Key financials

Q4 FY2026

Metric	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY	Q3 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$2.90B	$2.67B	+8.9%	$2.84B	+2.3%
EPS	$1.29	$1.09	+18.3%	$1.24	+4.0%
Gross margin	51.0%	49.7%	+130bps	51.0%	+0bps
Operating margin	23.2%	22.4%	+80bps	23.2%	+0bps

Guidance

Strong Q4 FY2026 beat on both revenue and EPS; FY2027 guidance reflects solid mid-single-digit growth with modest deceleration from FY2026 organic pace.

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	$11.21B–$11.24B	$11.265B	+$0.025B above high end	Beat
Adjusted Diluted EPS	FY2026	$4.86–$4.90	$4.94	+$0.04 above high end	Beat

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	FY2027	$12.10B–$12.25B	+7.4–8.6% YoY
Adjusted Diluted EPS	FY2027	$5.36–$5.50	+8.5–11.3% YoY
Interest Expense, Net	FY2027	approximately $105.0 million	—
Effective Tax Rate	FY2027	20.2%	—

Segment KPIs

Q4 FY2026

Segment	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Uniform Rental and Facility Services	$2.198B	$2.031B	+8.2%
First Aid and Safety Services	$0.368B	$0.324B	+13.6%
All Other	$0.339B	$0.313B	+8.3%

Other KPIs

Q4 FY2026

Segment	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Organic Revenue Growth (Q4)	8.4%	9.0%	—
Organic Revenue Growth (FY2026)	8.3%	—	—
Operating Margin (Q4)	23.2%	—	—
Operating Margin (FY2026)	23.1%	—	—
Net Income Margin (Q4)	17.6%	16.8%	—
Net Income Margin (FY2026)	17.8%	—	—
Free Cash Flow (FY2026)	$1.881 billion	—	—
Capital Expenditures as % of Revenue (FY2026)	3.5%	—	—

Management tone

No earnings call transcript was available for this Q4 print; tone analysis is limited to what the press release and guidance framing signal.

Q4-25 (defensive FY26 setup) → Q1-26 (confident execution, dropped margin floor) → Q2-26 (record margins, aggressive capital return) → Q3-26 (offensive growth thesis, structural margin claim) → Q4-26 (in-line close, cautious FY27 setup)

The four-quarter arc of raise-raise-raise-raise-beat has ended with a guide that concedes deceleration. Three quarters ago management was describing gross margin expansion as structural and the unmanaged-market TAM as "immense." This quarter's press-release framing steps back to bounded ranges and a new "Workday-adjusted revenue growth" metric — a disclosure change that reads as preparation for organic-vs-M&A framing once UniFirst closes. The introduction of the metric itself is notable: management is telling investors to focus on underlying operational momentum separate from acquisition contribution, which is a helpful lens but also implies that the reported-vs-organic gap is about to widen materially.

The interest expense guide moving from ~$101M for FY26 to ~$105M for FY27 is the first quantified pre-close signal of UniFirst financing. Management has consistently characterized the deal as culturally aligned and operationally ready; the $4M step-up is small enough not to matter to earnings but signals real balance sheet activity ahead of a close that management still describes as H2 CY2026.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q4 FY26 incremental margin delivery — Q4 revenue grew 8.9% and adjusted EPS grew ~14.2% vs the prior-year Q4 adjusted EPS of ~$1.13 (implied from FY25 $4.42 non-GAAP EPS ex-Q4 base) — incrementals appear well above the 30% H2 ramp implied last quarter, validated by the $0.04 beat above the guide's high end. Q4 operating margin held at 23.2%, matching Q3, not expanding — so the incremental margin came through EPS via other levers rather than through headline operating margin expansion.

Resolved positively

Rental segment organic recovery — Rental reported +8.2% in Q4, reaccelerating from Q3's +7.7% and clearing the 8% threshold the FY26 guide required. Reverses the sequential deceleration flagged last quarter and closes FY26 with the core segment on its front foot.

Resolved positively

UniFirst close timing and transaction-cost true-up — Close still expected in H2 CY2026, unchanged from the Q3 framing. The FY27 guide explicitly excludes UniFirst impacts with no new transaction-cost disclosure alongside it; the $105M net interest guide (+$4M vs FY26) is the only quantified financing signal. Timing has not moved; no true-up figure was provided.

Continue monitoring

Operating margin floor restoration — FY26 closed at 23.1% operating margin (three consecutive quarters ≥23%), yet the FY27 guide contains no explicit operating margin floor or range. The vocabulary omission that began four quarters ago is now a permanent feature of Cintas's guidance disclosure.

Resolved negatively

Fire-segment ERP rollout timing — The press release did not include explicit FY27 ERP cost commentary or a bounded margin-headwind figure for fire; other-segment growth decelerated to +8.6% from +10.8% in Q3 but segment margin was not disclosed in the release. The 100bps headwind risk flagged last quarter is neither confirmed nor retired.

Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Q1 FY27 organic growth vs the 7.0–8.3% Workday-adjusted band — Against a Q1 FY26 base of $2.72B, the FY27 revenue guide of $12.10–$12.25B implies quarterly revenue averaging ~$3.03–$3.06B. Watch whether Q1 FY27 organic prints in the 7.0–8.3% range or above — a print at the floor would validate the decel implied by the guide; above 8% would suggest FY27 guidance is conservatively set, consistent with the four-prior-quarter pattern.

Operating margin trajectory without an explicit floor — Watch whether Q1 FY27 operating margin holds above 22.7% (the Q1 FY26 print that fell below the prior "above 23%" language). A repeat sub-23% Q1 with no floor to defend it changes the interpretive baseline for FY27 margin.

UniFirst close timing shift or transaction-cost true-up — If close moves within CY2026 or slips to CY2027, expect FY27 guide revision. Watch specifically for a bounded FY27 transaction-cost figure comparable to the $0.03–$0.04 FY26 disclosure — its absence in the initial guide is atypical for Cintas's usual carve-out precision.

First aid growth decel from +13.5% — First aid decelerated 140bps in Q4 after four straight quarters of expansion. Watch whether Q1 FY27 stabilizes above 12% or continues to step down, which would materially change the first aid growth thesis Cintas has built over the past year.

Net interest expense as UniFirst financing proxy — The $105M FY27 guide is the pre-close baseline. Watch whether Q1 commentary revises this figure — an upward revision would signal earlier or larger debt draw ahead of close.

Sources

Cintas Q4 FY2026 press release — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723254/000072325426000025/ex992026-5x31.htm
Cintas Q3 FY2026 Tapebrief — for guidance comparison and watch list resolution
Consensus estimates via tradefeeds (as of 2026-07-15)

Get the next brief, free.

We publish analyst-grade earnings briefs the same day or morning after every call — headline numbers, segment KPIs, Q&A highlights, and tone analysis. Free during beta.

This is not investment advice.