Cintas (CTAS) Q3 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Third quarter revenue grew 8.4% year-over-year to $2.61 billion, with organic growth at 7.9%.

• Net income rose 16.6% to $463.5 million, and diluted EPS increased 17.7% to $1.13, reflecting a stock split.

• Operating income increased 17.1% to $609.9 million, with a margin of 23.4%, driven by operating leverage and productivity initiatives.

• Nine-month revenue grew 7.7% to $7.67 billion, with net income up 17.9% to $1.36 billion and diluted EPS up 18.6% to $3.31.

• Free cash flow for the first nine months increased to $1.24 billion, up from $1.08 billion.

Financial highlights

• Uniform Rental and Facility Services revenue increased 7.7% to $2.02 billion; First Aid and Safety Services revenue rose 14.9% to $301.8 million.

• Gross margin for Q3 was 50.6%, up from 49.4% last year; Uniform Rental and Facility Services gross margin was 50.0%, First Aid and Safety Services 57.0%.

• Selling and administrative expenses were 27.2% of revenue; adjusted for the property sale, 27.8%.

• Net interest expense for the quarter was $23.4 million, down from $24.6 million year-over-year.

• Effective tax rate for Q3 was 21.0%, up from 19.9% last year.

Outlook and guidance

• Annual revenue guidance updated to $10.28–$10.305 billion, with organic growth guidance at 7.4–7.7%.

• Annual diluted EPS guidance raised to $4.36–$4.40, implying 15–16.1% growth.

• Guidance assumes no major acquisitions or economic disruptions; foreign currency expected to negatively impact revenue by 0.4% in H2.

• Fiscal 2025 effective tax rate expected at 20.2%; Q4 tax rate expected at 23%.

• One less workday in Q4 will negatively impact revenue growth by 160 basis points.