Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas (asi/162167) ended its 2026 fiscal year on a high note.

The publicly traded company reported 8.9% annual revenue growth for its fiscal year that ended May 31, 2026, based on newly released financial reporting from the Cincinnati, OH-headquartered firm. Cintas met the higher annual revenue and diluted earnings per share (EPS) expectations that it increased at the end of its third quarter, following its acquisition of fellow uniform provider UniFirst in the spring after several years of bids and negotiation.

Taking into account the impact of the acquisition and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, Cintas reported an organic revenue growth rate of 8.4%.

Total revenue for the year was $11.26 billion, which includes sales for both the company’s uniform and facilities services and its business in the promotional products sector, up from $10.34 billion in 2025. EPS for the year were $4.91, up from $4.40 in 2025 for an increase of 11.6%.

The company also reported its all-time highest full-year gross margin of 50.7%. Net income was up 10.4% from $1.81 billion in 2025 to just shy of $2 billion.

“This marks the 55th year out of the last 57 years that we’ve grown both our top and bottom line,” said CEO Todd Schneider on Cintas’ Q4 earnings call. “Our strong top-line performance highlights the durability of our business model in all macro-environments. It shows how we are capitalizing on a total addressable market that’s massive, and it shows that we have a long runway for future growth of customers of all sizes across all industries.”

Specifically in the fourth quarter, Cintas recorded $2.9 billion in sales, also an 8.9% increase over Q4 2025’s $2.67 billion in sales. Diluted EPS were $1.26, which includes a $0.03 per share impact of expenses related to the UniFirst acquisition.

On the earnings call, Schneider said the merger of Cintas and UniFirst was approved by UniFirst shareholders in June, and the company is currently working toward obtaining regulatory clearance to finalize the deal.

“We are excited about the substantial value we expect to create for shareholders and customers through the UniFirst transaction, and we look forward to welcoming UniFirst Team Partners to Cintas once the transaction is complete,” Schneider said. “We still expect the acquisition to close in the second half of calendar 2026.”

For the 2027 fiscal year, which began June 1, Cintas is projecting annual revenue of $12.10 billion to $12.25 billion, and an adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $5.36 to $5.50.

Based on an estimated 2024 North American promotional products-specific revenue of $236.5 million, Cintas ranked 14th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. New rankings are due out later in July.