There is a good chance you have heard of Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) before. They are primarily a uniform company with a steady base of customers and a long history of growth. But as many investors eyes have turned to the sexier technology stocks, the smart investors have paid attention to boring stocks like Cintas.
In this post, I am going to show you why you need to pay attention to this stock if you have forgotten about it and why it is worth investing in right now.
The Business of Cintas
As I mentioned, Cintas is known as a uniform company. They provide uniform sales and rentals to businesses and have made a successful business out of doing so. But the company also offers safety and first aid services as well.
Most investors don’t know this and for good reason. The uniform segment of the business is the one that provides 85% of the revenue for the company. While the safety and first aid segment is small at just 15% of revenues, it has the potential for serious growth.
This isn’t to say that everything Cintas does turns to gold. Back in the day they were in the document management business. This segment never panned out for the company, so they shuttered it and focused more on the uniform and safety and first aid segments.
This focus has paid off. Recent earnings reports show that they beat earnings per share estimates by $0.04 and beat revenues by $20 million. This was an increase of 27%. In fact, Cintas has met or beaten estimates each quarter since 2015 and has missed estimates just twice in 4 plus years.
The Future Growth of Cintas
You might not realize this but the uniform business is extremely competitive. As such, future growth for Cintas won’t be easy. After all, when you are the dominate player in a competitive field, there just aren’t that many new opportunities to grow.
While the company will be able to add accounts here and there, the real growth to the uniform segment will come from acquisitions.
