CTAS vs GEO vs UNF Stock Comparison

Cintas, Geo and Unifirst Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CTAS Cintas Corp
$212.81 +6.1% 1M +12.1% 1Y
Market cap
$85.02B
P/E
41.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.56B
Div. yield
0.88%
Facility Services Industrials
7 wins
GEO Geo Group Inc
$27.57 -8.8% 1M +65.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.65B
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.83B
Div. yield
–
Facility Services Industrials
5 wins
UNF Unifirst Corp
$251.11 -3.2% 1M +57.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.54B
P/E
44.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.58%
Facility Services Industrials

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cintas leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cintas 7, Geo 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCTASGEOUNFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $85.02B $3.65B $4.54B CTAS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.3x 12.4x 44.0x GEO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.4x 20.6x 31.9x GEO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +15.3% — GEO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 10.3% — CTAS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 28.2% 7.5% — CTAS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 3.3x — CTAS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.88% 0.00% 0.58% CTAS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.1% +65.2% +57.4% GEO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.5%/yr +27.5%/yr +4.9%/yr GEO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.8% 49.1% 34.6% CTAS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 55/100 42/100 CTAS

Percentile Scorecard

CTASGEOUNF

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

AxisCTASGEOUNF
Valuation 21 #90 of 113 54 #53 of 113 43 #65 of 113
Growth 71 #29 of 96 60 #39 of 96 20 #77 of 96
Profitability 98 #3 of 92 57 #40 of 92 –
Financial Health 69 #39 of 125 33 #84 of 125 91 #12 of 125
Shareholder Returns 41 #40 of 67 71 #20 of 67 12 #59 of 67
Overall 60 55 42
  • CTAS ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • GEO 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

PeriodCTASGEOUNFSPY
1 month +6.1%-8.8%-3.2% +0.9%
3 months -1.7%-7.9%-16.7% +5.9%
6 months +22.3%+45.5%-1.8% +8.5%
Year to date +13.2%+71.0%+30.2% +13.3%
1 year +12.1%+65.2%+57.4% +12.4%
3 years +71.5%+213.3%+56.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +19.7%+46.4%+16.1% +23.5%
5 years +96.5%+237.0%+26.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +14.5%+27.5%+4.9% +11.0%
10 years +703.6%+75.9%+106.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +23.2%+5.8%+7.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCTASGEOUNFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.8%49.1%34.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.3%50.6%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.830.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.511.331.66 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.2%-62.5%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.8%-15.9%-16.7% -0.9%
52-week high $225.93$32.78$301.48 $779.14
52-week low $163.55$13.26$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.

MultipleCTASGEOUNF
P/E now vs peer median 41.3xmedian 21.5x 12.4xmedian 21.5x 44.0xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 0.9x 1.3xmedian 0.9x 2.0xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 11.9x 11.2xmedian 11.9x —median 11.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 41.8xmedian 13.9x 138.0xmedian 13.9x 57.8xmedian 13.9x
P/B now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 2.3x 2.4xmedian 2.3x 2.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.72median 0.92 0.48median 0.92 —median 0.92

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 monthsCTASGEOUNF
Revenue $11.56B $2.83B –
Gross profit $5.89B – –
Operating income $2.70B $315.54M –
Net income $2.06B $291.54M $109.49M
Free cash flow $2.03B $26.44M –
EPS (diluted) $5.10 $2.21 –
Cash & equivalents $243.60M $54.99M $192.12M
Total debt $2.43B $6.34B –
Shares (diluted) 404.29M 132.02M 18.22M
Enterprise value $84.10B $3.26B $4.54B

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
MetricCTASGEOUNF
P/E 41.3x 12.4x 44.0x
P/FCF 41.8x 138.0x 57.8x
P/Operating cash flow 34.9x 18.4x 22.1x
P/S 7.4x 1.3x 2.0x
P/B 16.3x 2.4x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 2.6x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 27.1x 11.2x –
EV/EBIT 32.3x 16.3x –
EV/Revenue 7.5x 1.8x –
EV/FCF 42.9x 194.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 35.8x 25.8x 22.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.72 0.48 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCTASGEOUNF
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 15.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.7% 5.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.5% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.8% 11.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.2% -7.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) 11.3% 222.2% -26.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 28.5% 1.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% 242.8% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 25.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% -16.6% -30.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% -4.1% -1.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.5% -79.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.4% -42.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCTASGEOUNF
Gross margin 51.0% – –
EBITDA margin 27.8% 16.1% –
Operating margin 23.4% 11.2% –
Pretax margin 22.5% 14.0% –
Net margin 17.8% 10.3% –
FCF margin 17.6% 0.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 21.1% 7.0% –
Return on equity 39.8% 19.4% –
Return on assets 19.5% 7.7% –
Return on invested capital 28.2% 7.5% –
Return on capital employed 34.2% 9.3% –
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.7x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 0.7x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCTASGEOUNF
Debt / assets 22.8% 41.2% –
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 3.3x –
Debt / FCF 1.2x 58.3x –
Liabilities / assets 51.1% 59.5% 22.3%
Equity / assets 48.9% 40.5% 77.7%
Interest coverage 25.3x 2.1x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.7x 3.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.5x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 13.19 2.24 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCTASGEOUNF
Dividend yield 0.9% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.2% 4.8% –
Shareholder yield 2.1% 4.8% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 14.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusCTASGEOUNF
Forward P/E 36.4xFY2026 20.6xFY2026 31.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $5.85FY2026 $1.34FY2026 $7.88FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +18.4%FY2026 +55.8%FY2026 -2.7%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +44.8% +12.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.98BFY2026 $3.17BFY2026 $2.79BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +20.6%FY2026 +10.8%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +6.8% -1.3% -9.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCTASGEOUNF
Held by institutions 67.6% 94.2% 81.3%
Institutions holding 1,431 292 340
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.4% -2.2% -2.5%
Institutions buying 658 151 162
Institutions selling 576 97 121
Buyers to sellers 1.14 1.56 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.

CTASGEOUNF
CTAS 1.00 0.04 0.57
GEO 0.04 1.00 0.05
UNF 0.57 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CTAS, GEO and UNF?

Cintas (CTAS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cintas (CTAS) $85.02B, Geo (GEO) $3.65B, Unifirst (UNF) $4.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, CTAS, GEO and UNF?

Geo (GEO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cintas (CTAS) 41.3x, Geo (GEO) 12.4x, Unifirst (UNF) 44.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Geo (GEO) is cheapest (Cintas (CTAS) 36.4x, Geo (GEO) 20.6x, Unifirst (UNF) 31.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Geo (GEO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cintas (CTAS) +9.5%, Geo (GEO) +15.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cintas (CTAS) has the highest net margin (Cintas (CTAS) 17.8%, Geo (GEO) 10.3%). On return on invested capital, Cintas (CTAS) leads (Cintas (CTAS) 28.2%, Geo (GEO) 7.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Geo (GEO) returned the most: Cintas (CTAS) +12.1%, Geo (GEO) +65.2%, Unifirst (UNF) +57.4%. Over five years, Geo (GEO) compounded fastest (Cintas (CTAS) +14.5%/yr, Geo (GEO) +27.5%/yr, Unifirst (UNF) +4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cintas (CTAS) has the highest dividend yield: Cintas (CTAS) 0.88%, Geo (GEO) 0.00%, Unifirst (UNF) 0.58%. Geo (GEO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cintas (CTAS) has been the steadiest (Cintas (CTAS) 23.8%, Geo (GEO) 49.1%, Unifirst (UNF) 34.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CTAS, GEO 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.