Growth Metrics

Unifirst (UNF) Return on Capital Employed (2016 - 2026)

Quarterly Return on Capital Employed fell 96.0% to 6.8% in Q1 2026 from the year-ago period, while the trailing twelve-month figure was 6.8% through Feb 2026, down 96.0% year-over-year, with the annual reading at 7.54% for FY2025, 27.0% down from the prior year.

Unifirst filings provide 17 years of Return on Capital Employed readings, the most recent being 6.8% for Q1 2026.

  • Return on Capital Employed hit 6.8% in Q1 2026 for Unifirst, down from 6.97% in the prior quarter.
  • Across five years, Return on Capital Employed topped out at 7.76% in Q1 2025 and bottomed at 5.86% in Q3 2023.
  • Average Return on Capital Employed over 5 years is 6.81%, with a median of 6.8% recorded in 2026.
  • The largest annual shift saw Return on Capital Employed plummeted -313bps in 2022 before it soared 181bps in 2024.
  • Unifirst's Return on Capital Employed stood at 6.05% in 2022, then grew by 2bps to 6.16% in 2023, then grew by 24bps to 7.63% in 2024, then fell by -9bps to 6.97% in 2025, then fell by -2bps to 6.8% in 2026.
  • Per Business Quant, the three most recent readings for UNF's Return on Capital Employed are 6.8% (Q1 2026), 6.97% (Q4 2025), and 7.44% (Q3 2025).

Peer Comparison

# Company Market Cap Enterprise Value Gross Profit (Qtr) ROCE (Qtr)
1 Relx 81.40 Bn 81.16 Bn - 47.48%
2 Rentokil Initial 79.56 Bn 78.10 Bn - -
3 Cintas 69.26 Bn 69.08 Bn 1.45 Bn 30.25%
4 Copart 33.09 Bn 28.01 Bn 971.24 Mn 16.88%
5 UL Solutions 20.56 Bn 20.32 Bn 381.00 Mn 27.02%
6 Global Payments 19.88 Bn 14.69 Bn 1.70 Bn 3.08%
7 Rb Global 19.08 Bn 18.89 Bn 869.50 Mn 7.10%
8 Aramark 13.57 Bn 13.16 Bn 426.35 Mn 7.90%
9 Amentum Holdings 5.65 Bn 5.74 Bn 345.00 Mn 5.80%
10 Unifirst 4.77 Bn 4.61 Bn 218.82 Mn 6.80%

Historic Data

Download Data 🔒
DateValue
Feb 28, 2026 6.80%
Nov 29, 2025 6.97%
Aug 30, 2025 7.44%
May 31, 2025 7.62%
Mar 1, 2025 7.76%
Nov 30, 2024 7.63%
Aug 31, 2024 7.67%
May 25, 2024 7.00%
Feb 24, 2024 6.41%
Nov 25, 2023 6.16%
Aug 26, 2023 5.86%
May 27, 2023 5.86%
Feb 25, 2023 5.90%
Nov 26, 2022 6.05%
Aug 27, 2022 6.18%
May 28, 2022 6.75%
Feb 26, 2022 7.73%
Nov 27, 2021 8.61%
Aug 28, 2021 9.31%
May 29, 2021 9.27%
Feb 27, 2021 8.14%
Nov 28, 2020 8.41%
Aug 29, 2020 8.79%
May 30, 2020 9.75%
Feb 29, 2020 11.53%
Nov 30, 2019 12.80%
Aug 31, 2019 12.72%
May 25, 2019 11.96%
Feb 23, 2019 11.50%
Nov 24, 2018 10.65%
Aug 25, 2018 11.31%
May 26, 2018 7.89%
Feb 24, 2018 7.22%
Nov 25, 2017 7.00%
Aug 26, 2017 6.78%
May 27, 2017 10.97%
Feb 25, 2017 11.79%
Nov 26, 2016 12.07%
Aug 27, 2016 13.29%
May 28, 2016 13.19%