CTAS vs GFAI vs MSI Stock Comparison

Cintas, Guardforce AI and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CTAS Cintas Corp
$229.03 +17.2% 1M +24.4% 1Y
Market cap
$90.83B
P/E
44.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.56B
Div. yield
0.01%
Facility Services Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionCTASGFAIMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $90.83B $3.79M $87.41B CTAS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 44.1x — 41.9x MSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 39.2x 1.5x 27.0x GFAI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% — +11.4% MSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% — 16.5% CTAS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 28.2% — 18.8% CTAS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x — 2.6x CTAS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% MSI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +24.4% -77.5% +26.1% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.7%/yr -70.9%/yr +15.0%/yr CTAS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.9% 93.2% 25.1% CTAS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 — 52/100 CTAS

Percentile Scorecard

CTASGFAIMSI

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

AxisCTASGFAIMSI
Valuation 20 #92 of 114 – 46 #55 of 101
Growth 79 #21 of 98 – 37 #62 of 98
Profitability 99 #2 of 95 – 98 #3 of 97
Financial Health 70 #39 of 126 93 #10 of 126 20 #86 of 107
Shareholder Returns 45 #39 of 70 – 62 #26 of 66
Overall 62 – 52
  • CTAS ranked among 131 companies in Business Services
  • GFAI ranked among 131 companies in Business Services
  • MSI ranked among 108 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCTASGFAIMSISPY
1 month +17.2%-34.5%+9.1% -1.0%
3 months +13.7%-44.1%+13.5% -0.4%
6 months +35.2%-61.9%+14.6% +4.5%
Year to date +21.8%-65.9%+29.7% +12.4%
1 year +24.4%-77.5%+26.1% +13.6%
3 years +76.7%-94.9%+66.0% +76.4%
3 years, per year +20.9%-63.1%+18.4% +20.8%
5 years +107.3%-99.8%+100.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year +15.7%-70.9%+15.0% +10.4%
10 years +788.9%—+554.9% +267.7%
10 years, per year +24.4%—+20.7% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureCTASGFAIMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.9%93.2%25.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.0%92.2%25.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.122.430.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.02-0.831.04 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.2%-99.8%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-79.2%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $229.03$0.91$497.09 $779.14
52-week low $163.55$0.18$363.83 $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.

MultipleCTASGFAIMSI
P/E now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 23.0x —median 23.0x 39.5xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 0.9x —median 0.9x 6.5xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.1xmedian 12.1x —median 12.1x 25.2xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 45.0xmedian 15.8x —median 15.8x 32.5xmedian 26.9x
P/B now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 2.4x 0.2xmedian 2.4x 26.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.93median 1.13 —median 1.13 5.00median 0.94

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 monthsCTASGFAIMSI
Revenue $11.56B – $12.60B
Gross profit $5.89B – $6.58B
Operating income $2.70B – $3.06B
Net income $2.06B – $2.09B
Free cash flow $2.03B – $2.53B
R&D – – $1.06B
EPS (diluted) $5.10 – $12.45
Cash & equivalents $243.60M $21.30M $774.00M
Total debt $2.43B – $10.11B
Shares (diluted) 404.29M 21.92M 167.40M
Enterprise value $89.91B -$179.69M $83.87B

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
MetricCTASGFAIMSI
P/E 44.5x – 39.5x
P/FCF 45.0x – 32.5x
P/Operating cash flow 37.6x – 29.0x
P/S 7.9x – 6.5x
P/B 17.6x 0.2x 26.7x
P/Tangible book 18.6x 0.2x -197.8x
EV/EBITDA 29.1x – 25.2x
EV/EBIT 34.7x – 30.0x
EV/Revenue 8.1x – 7.3x
EV/FCF 46.1x – 36.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 38.5x – 32.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.93 – 5.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCTASGFAIMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% – 11.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.7% – 8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.5% – 13.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% – 10.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.8% – 6.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.2% – 10.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.3% – -1.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 14.3% – 7.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% – -0.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.2% – 7.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% – 7.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – 11.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.5% – 5.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.4% – 11.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCTASGFAIMSI
Gross margin 51.0% – 52.2%
EBITDA margin 27.8% – 28.9%
Operating margin 23.4% – 24.2%
Pretax margin 22.5% – 21.6%
Net margin 17.8% – 16.5%
FCF margin 17.6% – 20.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.1% – 22.5%
Return on equity 39.8% – 72.4%
Return on assets 19.5% – 10.4%
Return on invested capital 28.2% – 18.8%
Return on capital employed 34.2% – 21.7%
Asset turnover 1.1x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 3.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCTASGFAIMSI
Debt / assets 22.8% – 47.8%
Debt / equity 0.5x – 3.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x – 2.6x
Debt / FCF 1.2x – 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 51.1% 30.7% 85.4%
Equity / assets 48.9% 69.3% 14.6%
Interest coverage 25.3x – 6.7x
Current ratio 1.5x 5.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 4.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 3.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 13.90 – 4.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCTASGFAIMSI
Dividend yield 0.8% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.1% – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.9% – 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 35.2% – 37.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% – 30.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 14.8% – 10.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 15.5% – 10.9%

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.

ConsensusCTASGFAIMSI
Forward P/E 39.2xFY2026 1.5xFY2026 27.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.85FY2026 $0.13FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.4%FY2026 – +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% – +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.98BFY2026 $40.46MFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.8% +158.0% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCTASGFAIMSI
Held by institutions 67.6% – 88.3%
Institutions holding 1,433 – 1,469
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.4% – +3.4%
Institutions buying 660 – 640
Institutions selling 576 – 596
Buyers to sellers 1.15 – 1.07

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.

CTASGFAIMSI
CTAS 1.00 0.04 0.21
GFAI 0.04 1.00 -0.06
MSI 0.21 -0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CTAS, GFAI and MSI?

Cintas (CTAS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cintas (CTAS) $90.83B, Guardforce AI (GFAI) $3.79M, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $87.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, CTAS, GFAI and MSI?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cintas (CTAS) 44.1x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 41.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Guardforce AI (GFAI) is cheapest (Cintas (CTAS) 39.2x, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 1.5x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 27.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cintas (CTAS) +9.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +11.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cintas (CTAS) has the highest net margin (Cintas (CTAS) 17.8%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 16.5%). On return on invested capital, Cintas (CTAS) leads (Cintas (CTAS) 28.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 18.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Cintas (CTAS) +24.4%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) -77.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +26.1%. Over five years, Cintas (CTAS) compounded fastest (Cintas (CTAS) +15.7%/yr, Guardforce AI (GFAI) -70.9%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +15.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest dividend yield: Cintas (CTAS) 0.01%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 0.00%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.01%. Guardforce AI (GFAI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cintas (CTAS) has been the steadiest (Cintas (CTAS) 23.9%, Guardforce AI (GFAI) 93.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 25.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CTAS, GFAI and MSI?

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.