CTAS
Cintas Corporation
Industrials · Specialty Business Services · United States · Stock
Score Breakdown
Scored for Dividend Income profile
Sub-scores are 0–20 each; Model Score is weighted by your selected investment goal. How it works →
Why Ranked Here
- Cintas earns its Core Holding Candidate label primarily through near-top-tier profitability scores, with a 22.8% operating margin and 18.4% return on assets anchoring the composite.
- Consistent sequential quarterly growth in revenue, net income, and operating income across four quarters contributes meaningful momentum credit to the overall 62.1/100 score.
- Conservative leverage with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52 and a substantial asset base of $9,825,241,000 support a Low risk rating, reinforcing the holding-quality designation.
Why Not Higher
- Revenue growth of +7.7% is solid but not exceptional, and the absence of any macro theme assignment means the model awards zero theme-based score, leaving 20 potential points unclaimed.
- The dividend score is constrained by the sharp per-share drop from FY2022 to FY2023 and a relatively modest absolute payout level, limiting income-factor contribution to the composite.
Data Confidence
10 / 10
Very High — full data coverage
Why This Score
Grounded in figures from this company's SEC EDGAR filings — not a restatement of the score itself.
Revenue grew from FY2024's $9,596,615,000 to FY2025's $10,340,181,000, a gain of +7.7%, while net income rose +15.3% over the same period and diluted EPS expanded +16.1% from FY2024 to FY2025.
The model rewarded the accelerating bottom-line growth — net income and EPS both outpacing revenue growth — but the mid-single-digit revenue growth rate likely tempered the score below the top tier.
In FY2025, Cintas posted an operating margin of 22.8%, a net margin of 17.5%, and a return on assets of 18.4%, reflecting broad-based profitability across the income statement and balance sheet.
The model rewarded the combination of a high operating margin, a healthy net margin, and a strong return on assets, all of which signal efficient operations and effective asset utilization, driving a near-top score.
In FY2025, Cintas carried a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52 against total assets of $9,825,241,000, suggesting a moderately leveraged balance sheet with a substantial asset base.
The model likely rewarded the conservative leverage level, while the score falling short of the top range may reflect data gaps in other health metrics such as liquidity ratios that were not available for this factor.
Over the last four reported quarters, revenue rose steadily from $2,667,652,000 in 2025Q4 to $2,841,444,000 in 2026Q3, net income climbed from $448,256,000 to $502,496,000, and operating income increased from $597,452,000 to $659,904,000, each series showing consistent sequential growth.
The model rewarded the unbroken upward trajectory across revenue, net income, and operating income over four consecutive quarters, reflecting stable positive business momentum, though the pace of sequential gains was gradual rather than sharply accelerating.
In FY2025, Cintas maintained a dividend payout ratio of 33.7% of net income. The dividends per share history shows FY2022 at $3.80, FY2023 at $1.15, FY2024 at $1.35, and FY2025 at $1.56, indicating growth in recent years following a significant drop between FY2022 and FY2023.
The model likely recognized the consistent recent per-share dividend growth from FY2023 through FY2025 and the moderate payout ratio, but the sharp decline from FY2022 to FY2023 and the relatively low absolute yield implied by the payout level may have constrained the score to the mid-range.
Cintas is not currently assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes in the model.
The absence of a theme assignment means the model awarded no theme-based score; this reflects the current classification state and is not an indicator of the company's underlying business quality.
Research Summary
AI-generated analysis reflects data and conditions as of the report date shown above. Verify any specific figures through primary sources before acting on this analysis.
Cintas Corporation delivered strong FY2025 results, with revenue growing +7.7% to $10,340,181,000 and net income rising +15.3%, demonstrating that bottom-line growth is outpacing top-line expansion. The company's profitability profile is exceptional, with a 22.8% operating margin, 17.5% net margin, and 18.4% return on assets, reflecting highly efficient operations. Financial health appears solid with a conservative debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, and quarterly momentum has been consistently positive across revenue, net income, and operating income over the last four reported quarters. The composite score of 62.1/100 and a Low risk rating support a Core Holding Candidate designation, though the absence of a macro theme assignment and mid-single-digit revenue growth temper the overall ranking.
Plain English
Cintas is a highly profitable, steadily growing business — it made more money each quarter in a row, keeps its debt low, and turns a strong share of every revenue dollar into profit, making it a reliable but not flashy holding.
Bull Case vs. Bear Case
Bull Case
- Exceptional profitability: Cintas posted a 22.8% operating margin and 17.5% net margin in FY2025, alongside an 18.4% return on assets, signaling that the business converts revenue into profit very efficiently.
- Accelerating bottom-line growth: Net income grew +15.3% and diluted EPS expanded +16.1% in FY2025, both well ahead of the +7.7% revenue growth rate, indicating improving operational leverage.
- Consistent quarterly momentum: Revenue, net income, and operating income each rose sequentially across all four of the most recently reported quarters, from 2025Q4 through 2026Q3, reflecting stable and durable business execution.
Bear Case
- Mid-single-digit revenue growth: The +7.7% top-line gain, while solid, is not high-octane growth and likely caps the upside potential for investors seeking rapid revenue expansion.
- Dividend history disruption: Dividends per share fell sharply from $3.80 in FY2022 to $1.15 in FY2023, and while growth has resumed since, this historical discontinuity may concern income-focused investors.
- No macro theme exposure: Cintas is not assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes, meaning it does not benefit from thematic tailwinds that could amplify returns in the current model framework.
What Could Change the Picture
Bullish Triggers
- A sustained acceleration in revenue growth beyond the current +7.7% rate, combined with continued margin expansion, could push the composite score meaningfully higher.
- Assignment to one or more macro themes — such as infrastructure services or labor efficiency — could add thematic score credit currently absent from the model.
Bearish Triggers
- A reversal in the sequential quarterly growth trend across revenue or net income would undermine the momentum factor that currently supports the score.
- A significant increase in the debt-to-equity ratio beyond the current 0.52 level could weaken the financial health assessment and raise the risk profile.
Risk Profile
Low RiskCintas carries a conservative debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52 against a total asset base of $9,825,241,000, suggesting limited balance sheet stress. Sequential quarterly growth across revenue, net income, and operating income over the last four quarters further supports the Low risk rating by demonstrating operational consistency.
This report is for educational and research purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice — always conduct your own due diligence before making investment decisions.