Cintas fiscal Q1 2027 revenue rose 10.9% to $3.01B (8.9% organic) and diluted EPS rose 13.3% to $1.36 as gross margin hit a record 51.5%; full-year guidance was raised.
Revenue
$3.0B
+10.9% YoY
Net income
$552M
+12.3% YoY
Diluted EPS
$1.36
+13.3% YoY
Operating margin
23.6%
Overview
Cintas rents and cleans work uniforms, mats and restroom supplies, and sells first aid, safety and fire-protection services to more than one million businesses. In its fiscal Q1 2027 (the three months ended August 31, 2026), revenue rose 10.9% to $3.01 billion, operating income rose 15.2% to $711.9 million, and diluted EPS rose 13.3% to $1.36. Management raised its full-year revenue and adjusted EPS guidance.
Profit grew faster than sales because costs grew more slowly than revenue. Gross margin (revenue left after the direct cost of delivering the product or service) rose 120 basis points to a record 51.5%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point, so 120 basis points is 1.2 points. That happened even after $14.4 million of one-off expenses tied to Cintas's pending acquisition of rival UniFirst.
This analysis is based on Cintas's earnings release (Exhibit 99 to its September 23, 2026 Form 8-K). The full 10-Q for the quarter has not been filed yet, so the management commentary that explains segment trends in detail (pricing, volume, energy and merchandise costs) is not available. Where this report explains why a segment's margin moved, it relies only on the figures in the release.
Key metrics
Metric
Fiscal Q1 2027
Fiscal Q1 2026
YoY Change
Revenue
$3,014.0M
$2,718.1M
+10.9%
Organic revenue growth
8.9%
—
—
Gross margin
51.5%
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The headline 10.9% revenue growth is flattered by the calendar. The quarter had 66 workdays against 65 a year earlier, and Cintas earns revenue per working day. Adjusting for that extra day, revenue grew 9.2%. Acquisitions and currency added another 0.3 points on top of that. Stripping both out gives organic revenue growth of 8.9%: roughly the growth from existing operations and new customers, not from buying companies or from calendar and currency effects. That is still strong for a company of Cintas's size, but it is the better number to compare against other quarters than the 10.9% headline.
Segment performance
Segment
Revenue
YoY
Gross margin (vs. last year)
Operating income
YoY
Operating margin (vs. last year)
Uniform Rental and Facility Services
$2,294.7M
+9.7%
50.8% (49.7%)
$575.1M
+15.0%
25.1% (23.9%)
First Aid and Safety Services
$388.5M
+16.1%
57.6% (56.8%)
$99.5M
+23.9%
25.6% (24.0%)
All Other (mainly Fire Protection)
$330.7M
+13.1%
49.5% (47.2%)
$51.7M
+37.4%
15.6% (12.9%)
Segment gross and operating margins for First Aid and All Other are calculated from the segment revenue, cost of sales and operating income figures in the release.
Uniform Rental and Facility Services is three-quarters of revenue and most of the story. Its revenue grew 9.7%, but its direct costs grew only 7.3% ($1,128.9M vs. $1,052.6M), so gross margin rose 1.1 points to 50.8%. Its selling and administrative costs grew 9.7%, in line with revenue, so all of the operating-margin gain (23.9% to 25.1%) came from the gross-margin line. The release doesn't split that gain between price increases, route density, and lower energy or garment costs. That breakdown usually comes in the 10-Q's management discussion.
First Aid and Safety Services was the fastest-growing segment at 16.1%, and it has the highest margins in the company. Operating income rose 23.9%. Because it is growing faster than the uniform business, it slowly lifts Cintas's overall margin through mix: more of each dollar of revenue comes from the higher-margin segment.
All Other, which is mainly the Fire Protection Services business, had the biggest margin gain. Operating margin rose 2.7 points to 15.6%, and operating income rose 37.4% on 13.1% revenue growth. It is still the lowest-margin part of the company.
Below the operating line
Operating income grew 15.2%, but net income grew only 12.3%. The gap is taxes. The effective tax rate rose to 20.0% from 17.6%, so tax expense rose 31.8% to $138.1M. Cintas says both quarters' rates were affected by discrete items, mainly the tax treatment of employee stock compensation, and it expects a 20.4% rate for the full year. Last year's low Q1 rate made this year's comparison harder. Interest expense was essentially flat at $24.7M.
EPS grew slightly faster than net income (13.3% vs. 12.3%) because buybacks cut the diluted share count by 1.2%, to 404.3 million from 409.3 million. Cintas spent $544.7 million on buybacks during the quarter and through September 22, and paid a $208.8 million quarterly dividend on September 15.
Operating cash flow rose to $572.3M from $414.5M. Capital spending was $107.5M, so free cash flow (cash generated after equipment and facility spending) was $464.8M, up 48.7%. The release doesn't explain the jump. Part of it is the higher net income, and part is working-capital timing, including current income taxes payable that rose to $140.1M from $44.1M at May 31. The detailed cash-flow discussion will be in the 10-Q.
The UniFirst deal
Cintas has agreed to acquire UniFirst, a direct competitor in uniform rental, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reviewing the deal. Management said it expects the deal to close before the end of calendar 2026. The deal cost $14.4M this quarter ($0.03 per share). Excluding those costs, operating margin would have been about 24.1% rather than 23.6%. Guidance for the year leaves out UniFirst entirely: it excludes its revenue and profit, its deal costs, and the borrowing needed to pay for it. Once the deal closes, reported figures will shift significantly, and guidance will likely need to be restated.
Takeaway: Cintas is turning each extra dollar of sales into more profit: organic revenue grew 8.9%, while operating income grew 15.2% even after UniFirst deal costs, because costs in its largest segment grew more slowly than revenue. The main near-term uncertainties are the FTC review of UniFirst and a higher tax rate that absorbs part of the operating gains.
Guidance and outlook
Management raised its fiscal 2027 guidance (year ending May 31, 2027):
Guidance item
Previous range
New range
Growth vs. fiscal 2026 (new range)
Total revenue
$12.10B – $12.25B
$12.15B – $12.27B
7.9% – 8.9%
Adjusted diluted EPS
$5.36 – $5.50
$5.45 – $5.54
10.3% – 12.1% (vs. $4.94)
Fiscal 2027 has one more workday than fiscal 2026 (261 vs. 260). On a workday-adjusted basis, the revenue range implies 7.4% to 8.5% growth. The guidance assumes no further acquisitions, constant exchange rates, no future buybacks, net interest of about $103M, and a 20.4% tax rate.
The revenue midpoint rose only about $35M (0.3%), but the adjusted EPS midpoint rose about $0.065 (1.2%). So management expects most of the upgrade to come from margins, not extra sales. The revenue range also implies that growth over the rest of the year runs a little below Q1's 8.9% organic pace. If margins keep expanding at anything like this quarter's rate, the EPS range looks achievable, though the full-year tax rate guide (20.4%) is above this quarter's 20.0%. The bigger swing factor is UniFirst: an approval before year-end would change the size of the company, and the FTC could also require conditions such as selling off some operations.