ARMK vs CTAS vs UNF Stock Comparison

Aramark, Cintas and Unifirst Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARMK Aramark
$52.57 -5.7% 1M +31.8% 1Y
Market cap
$14.34B
P/E
37.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.85B
Div. yield
0.01%
Facility Services Industrials
4 wins
CTAS Cintas Corp
$224.10 +16.7% 1M +16.5% 1Y
Market cap
$90.42B
P/E
43.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Facility Services Industrials
7 wins
UNF Unifirst Corp
$281.20 +9.2% 1M +80.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.04B
P/E
43.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.49B
Div. yield
–
Facility Services Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cintas leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cintas 7, Aramark 4, Unifirst 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARMKCTASUNFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.34B $90.42B $5.04B CTAS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.5x 43.9x 43.5x ARMK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.5x 38.3x 39.3x ARMK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.0% +9.5% +1.4% ARMK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% 17.8% 4.6% CTAS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.8% 28.2% — CTAS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.1x 0.7x — CTAS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% ARMK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.8% +16.5% +80.4% UNF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.5%/yr +16.0%/yr +6.4%/yr CTAS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.4% 23.3% 32.9% CTAS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 60/100 47/100 CTAS

Percentile Scorecard

ARMKCTASUNF

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisARMKCTASUNF
Valuation 48 #59 of 112 18 #92 of 112 38 #70 of 112
Growth 84 #16 of 96 73 #27 of 96 38 #60 of 96
Profitability 47 #50 of 93 98 #3 of 93 58 #40 of 93
Financial Health 18 #103 of 126 70 #38 of 126 86 #18 of 126
Shareholder Returns 32 #46 of 67 41 #40 of 67 14 #58 of 67
Overall 46 60 47
  • ARMK ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • CTAS ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • UNF ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodARMKCTASUNFSPY
1 month -5.7%+16.7%+9.2% -1.0%
3 months -8.1%+8.8%-4.5% +2.9%
6 months +13.6%+27.4%+8.1% +6.4%
Year to date +42.6%+19.2%+45.8% +11.4%
1 year +31.8%+16.5%+80.4% +13.1%
3 years +98.3%+77.2%+71.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +25.7%+21.0%+19.7% +21.5%
5 years +43.4%+110.0%+36.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +7.5%+16.0%+6.4% +10.9%
10 years +42.2%+742.1%+138.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +3.6%+23.8%+9.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureARMKCTASUNFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.4%23.3%32.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.4%23.1%20.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.600.110.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.210.712.44 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.4%-28.2%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.7%0.0%-6.7% -2.5%
52-week high $62.39$224.10$301.48 $779.14
52-week low $36.04$163.55$150.02 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleARMKCTASUNF
P/E now vs peer median 36.2xmedian 21.0x 43.5xmedian 21.0x 43.9xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 0.9x 7.7xmedian 0.9x 2.0xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 12.3x 28.5xmedian 12.3x 17.2xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.0xmedian 15.1x 44.0xmedian 15.1x 57.6xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.4x 17.2xmedian 2.4x 2.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.09median 1.02 2.86median 1.02 8.37median 1.02

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsARMKCTASUNF
Revenue $19.85B $11.56B $2.49B
Gross profit $1.69B $5.89B $914.27M
Operating income $870.70M $2.70B $143.93M
Net income $382.71M $2.06B $115.79M
Free cash flow $432.81M $2.03B $88.25M
EPS (diluted) $1.43 $5.10 $6.36
Cash & equivalents $499.43M $243.60M $163.23M
Total debt $6.13B $2.43B –
Shares (diluted) 268.54M 404.29M 18.22M
Enterprise value $12.29B $89.51B $4.38B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricARMKCTASUNF
P/E 36.2x 43.5x 43.9x
P/FCF 32.0x 44.0x 57.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.2x 36.8x 21.2x
P/S 0.7x 7.7x 2.0x
P/B 4.1x 17.2x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 9.4x 18.2x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.0x 28.5x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 22.4x 34.0x 34.2x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 7.9x 2.0x
EV/FCF 45.0x 45.1x 55.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.4x 37.7x 20.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.09 2.86 8.37

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARMKCTASUNF
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.0% 9.5% 1.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 8.7% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.6% 11.5% 2.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 25.2% 11.2% 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.8% 11.8% -23.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 30.2% 13.2% 3.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.8% 11.3% -23.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.1% 14.3% 4.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.6% 12.7% -22.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -11.7% 15.2% 5.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.7% 14.8% -19.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 68.3% 14.4% 10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 19.5% -41.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 77.8% 17.4% 152.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARMKCTASUNF
Gross margin 8.5% 51.0% 36.7%
EBITDA margin 7.0% 27.8% 11.5%
Operating margin 4.4% 23.4% 5.8%
Pretax margin 2.6% 22.5% 6.0%
Net margin 1.9% 17.8% 4.6%
FCF margin 2.2% 17.6% 3.5%
Operating cash flow margin 4.6% 21.1% 9.6%
Return on equity 11.5% 39.8% 5.3%
Return on assets 2.8% 19.5% 4.1%
Return on invested capital 6.8% 28.2% –
Return on capital employed 8.0% 34.2% 5.7%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 1.2x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.1% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARMKCTASUNF
Debt / assets 43.9% 22.8% –
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.1x 0.7x –
Debt / FCF 14.2x 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 75.7% 51.1% 22.1%
Equity / assets 24.3% 48.9% 77.9%
Interest coverage – 25.3x –
Current ratio 1.3x 1.5x 3.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.7x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 2.55 13.68 7.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARMKCTASUNF
Dividend yield 0.9% 0.8% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 1.1% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 1.3% 2.0% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.0% 35.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.3% 35.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.9% 14.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.3% 15.5% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusARMKCTASUNF
Forward P/E 24.5xFY2026 38.3xFY2026 39.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.15FY2026 $5.85FY2026 $7.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.8%FY2026 +18.4%FY2026 -13.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.9% +10.4% +6.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $21.42BFY2026 $12.98BFY2026 $2.63BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.7%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.6% +6.8% +5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARMKCTASUNF
Held by institutions 98.9% 67.6% 81.3%
Institutions holding 544 1,428 340
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.0% +6.4% -2.5%
Institutions buying 320 656 162
Institutions selling 157 575 121
Buyers to sellers 2.04 1.14 1.34

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ARMKCTASUNF
ARMK 1.00 0.28 0.29
CTAS 0.28 1.00 0.55
UNF 0.29 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARMK, CTAS and UNF?

Cintas (CTAS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Aramark (ARMK) $14.34B, Cintas (CTAS) $90.42B, Unifirst (UNF) $5.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARMK, CTAS and UNF?

Aramark (ARMK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Aramark (ARMK) 37.5x, Cintas (CTAS) 43.9x, Unifirst (UNF) 43.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aramark (ARMK) is cheapest (Aramark (ARMK) 24.5x, Cintas (CTAS) 38.3x, Unifirst (UNF) 39.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Aramark (ARMK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Aramark (ARMK) +11.0%, Cintas (CTAS) +9.5%, Unifirst (UNF) +1.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cintas (CTAS) has the highest net margin (Aramark (ARMK) 1.9%, Cintas (CTAS) 17.8%, Unifirst (UNF) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Cintas (CTAS) leads (Aramark (ARMK) 6.8%, Cintas (CTAS) 28.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Unifirst (UNF) returned the most: Aramark (ARMK) +31.8%, Cintas (CTAS) +16.5%, Unifirst (UNF) +80.4%. Over five years, Cintas (CTAS) compounded fastest (Aramark (ARMK) +7.5%/yr, Cintas (CTAS) +16.0%/yr, Unifirst (UNF) +6.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Aramark (ARMK) has the highest dividend yield: Aramark (ARMK) 0.01%, Cintas (CTAS) 0.01%, Unifirst (UNF) 0.00%. Unifirst (UNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cintas (CTAS) has been the steadiest (Aramark (ARMK) 26.4%, Cintas (CTAS) 23.3%, Unifirst (UNF) 32.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARMK, CTAS and UNF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cintas (CTAS) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.