Cintas Bought Back $494.0 Million Of Stock Since August 31 As FTC Delays UniFirst Deal
A timing agreement bars a UniFirst closing before December 11, 2026 unless the FTC ends its probe, while $1.0 billion of notes fall due within a year.
Cintas has repurchased 2.5 million shares for $494.0 million since the quarter ended August 31, averaging $198.99 a share, according to its 10-Q filed Wednesday. The buying came as the company agreed to hold off closing its UniFirst purchase until at least December 11 unless the FTC finishes its review sooner.
What the 10-Q says
The repurchase total runs through October 7. Cash stood at $243.6 million on August 31.
The quarter's own buyback was $235.9 million, so the five weeks after quarter-end ran at more than double that pace. The filing shows $244.1 million spent under the October 2025 program, and says the July 23, 2024 program was completed after August 31.
The prior quarterly filing said no buybacks had occurred after February 28 and no purchases had been made under the October 2025 program.
The filing also says $1.0 billion of 3.70% senior notes fall due within a year. Revenue rose 10.9% to $3,014.0 million in the quarter, versus $2,718.1 million a year earlier; organic growth was 8.9%.
The UniFirst timeline
On October 2, Cintas and UniFirst each certified to the FTC that they had substantially complied with its Second Request, a broad information demand the agency issued June 11. Also that day, the companies agreed with the FTC that the deal cannot close before December 11, 2026 unless the agency tells them in writing it has ended its investigation.
Management's target remains a closing by the end of calendar 2026, with customary conditions still to be met. The deal, signed March 10, values UniFirst at about $5.5 billion. Each UniFirst share converts into $155.00 in cash plus 0.7720 Cintas shares.
Because part of the price is paid in Cintas stock, shares retired beforehand shrink the pool of equity to be issued against. The filing lists dilution from that issuance as a risk.
Cintas booked $15.7 million of deal costs in the quarter, mostly legal, professional and financing fees. Of that, $14.4 million hit operating income and $1.3 million hit interest expense. There were none a year earlier.
The next date that matters is December 11, the earliest closing the timing agreement allows without an FTC all-clear.
Sources
- 10-Q Filing — Cintas Corp. (CTAS) — SEC EDGAR
- 10-Q Filing — Cintas Corp. (CTAS), Q1 2026 filed 2026-04-07 (comparison basis) — SEC EDGAR
- 10-K Filing — Cintas Corp. (CTAS), filed 2026-07-29 (earlier disclosure) — SEC EDGAR
