UniFirst Revenue Growth Reaccelerates Ahead of Cintas Deal

The Tip Desk · October 27, 2026 · 3 min read

Fourth-quarter sales rose 5.0% to $645.0 million as organic Uniform & Facility growth picked up and Adjusted EBITDA reached $94.9 million.

UniFirst Corporation (UNF), a North American supplier of uniform, workwear and facility-service programs, closed fiscal 2026 with a pickup in sales growth as it prepared to be acquired by Cintas. Consolidated revenue for the quarter ended August 29, 2026, rose 5.0% to $645.0 million, faster than the 3.9% increase in the third quarter and the 3.4% rise in the second quarter.

The company said the gain was driven primarily by organic growth in Uniform & Facility Service Solutions. That core segment’s revenue increased 4.5% to $585.4 million, after 3.9% growth in the third quarter and 3.2% in the second. Organic growth, which excludes acquisitions and Canadian-dollar effects, was 4.6%, versus 3.6% in the third quarter and 2.8% in the second. UniFirst said new-customer account acquisitions were solid and that customer retention rates continued to improve.

Adjusted EBITDA was $94.9 million, or 14.7% of revenue, compared with $88.1 million and 14.3% a year earlier. Operating income was $41.7 million and operating margin was 6.5%. Net income was $34.7 million, or $1.90 a share. The quarterly tax rate was 19.8%.

Those GAAP results included about $14.4 million of costs tied to the proposed merger with Cintas, consisting primarily of legal, advisory and other professional fees, plus $2.8 million of enterprise-resource-planning costs. Together those items reduced operating income by $17.3 million, Adjusted EBITDA by $2.8 million, net income by $12.9 million and diluted earnings by $0.71 a share.

Uniform & Facility Service Solutions posted an operating margin of 6.8% and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.5%. Transaction-related and Key Initiative costs cut segment operating and Adjusted EBITDA margins by 3.0% and 0.5%. Key Initiative costs in the prior year period reduced both margins by 0.2%. The company said the year-over-year comparison benefited from lower merchandise and selling costs as a percentage of revenue, partially offset by higher production and healthcare-claims expenses.

First Aid & Safety Solutions revenue rose 13.0% to $35.2 million. The segment reported an operating loss of $1.5 million and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.1 million. UniFirst said the results again reflected investments in its First Aid van business. Other, which includes nuclear solutions, had revenue of $24.5 million, operating income of $3.3 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $4.2 million. The company said European operations grew strongly, partially offset by the wind-down of a large refurbishment project and fewer reactor outages.

Cash and cash equivalents were $192.1 million, with no long-term debt outstanding as of August 29, 2026. In fiscal 2026 the company paid $25.2 million in dividends and repurchased 194,100 shares for about $31.7 million, leaving $8.9 million under its remaining authorization.

President and Chief Executive Officer Steven Sintros said the company closed the fiscal year with a solid fourth quarter delivering improved growth and profitability.

On October 2, UniFirst and Cintas certified to the Federal Trade Commission that they had substantially complied with the Second Request and entered a timing agreement barring closing before December 11, 2026, unless the FTC closes its investigation earlier. The companies also certified to the Canadian Competition Bureau on September 29 that they had completed responses to a supplementary information request. UniFirst said the transaction is expected to close prior to the end of calendar 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Because of the pending deal, the company is no longer providing financial guidance or hosting quarterly conference calls.