Unifirst
UNF on NYSE. UniFirst rents uniforms and provides workplace supplies to businesses. Market value $3.2bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to May 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to August 2025.
We can't read total debt from the filing, so debt is left out.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Retail & consumer stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $1.89 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Quality score: 66 of 100. Price score: 40 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$251.72 a share, 70% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $147.66 to $306.67.
Dividend: 0.5% a year
Paid every year for at least 5 years
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
Spare cash swings from quarter to quarter here: $88 million in the past 12 months, $143 million in the year to August 2025.
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $1.8bn | $2.0bn | $2.2bn | $2.4bn | $2.4bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 10.7% | 6.7% | 6.0% | 7.6% | 7.6% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.02bn | 0.02bn | 0.02bn | 0.02bn | 0.02bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive4 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)5 of 7 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- DebtUnknown
- Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 6.2% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 2% fewer since 2021
The quarter to May 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $634 million last quarter, up 4% on a year ago.
- Profit: $20 million, down 50% on a year ago.
- It keeps 6 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, down from 8 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $88 million, down from $150 million.
- 2% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Sales grew on a year ago in 3 of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| August 2024 | $640m |
| November 2024 | $605m |
| February 2025 | $602m |
| May 2025 | $611m |
| August 2025 | $614m |
| November 2025 | $621m |
| February 2026 | $623m |
| May 2026 | $634m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| August 2024 | $45m |
| November 2024 | $43m |
| February 2025 | $24m |
| May 2025 | $40m |
| August 2025 | $41m |
| November 2025 | $34m |
| February 2026 | $20m |
| May 2026 | $20m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 29 October 2025
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 7 October 2026
Who owns it
7 long-term investors we follow own it, down from 8 last quarter. 340 funds in all.
- Tweedy, BrowneTweedy Browne partners
- Value
- $27m
- Share of fund
- 2.0%
- GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli
- Value
- $912,387
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandes Investment PartnersCharles Brandes | $30m | 0.2% | Cut |
| Tweedy, BrowneTweedy Browne partners | $27m | 2.0% | |
| Fenimore Asset Management (FAM Funds)John Fox | $12m | 0.2% | New |
| Hotchkis & WileyHotchkis & Wiley team | $7m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Third Avenue ManagementMatthew Fine | $6m | 0.9% | Cut |
| GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli | $912,387 | <0.1% | |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $640,787 | <0.1% | Cut |
Sold out this quarter
- Engine CapitalArnaud AjdlerSold out
- Royce & AssociatesChuck RoyceSold out
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$580mAdded
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$220m
- London CO of Virginia$196mCut
- Dimensional Fund Advisors LP$193mCut
- Vanguard Capital Management$173m
- State Street$154mAdded
- Millennium Management$135mCut
- Geode Capital Management$100mAdded
- Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management$91mCut
- Morgan Stanley$80mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
6 investors own more than 5%.
- Cintas CorpStrategic holder18.7%Since 10 March 2026
What they said
Items 3 and 5 are incorporated by reference in this Item 4 as if fully set forth herein. The purpose of the Mergers (as defined below) is for Cintas Corporation to acquire control of, and the entire equity interest in, the Issuer. Merger Agreement On March 10, 2026, Cintas…
Read the filing - BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor14.3%Since 30 June 2025
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor5.7%Since 31 March 2026
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor5.2%Since 31 March 2026
- Dimensional Fund Advisors LPPassive investor5.1%Since 31 December 2024
- The London CompanyPassive investor5.1%Since 30 June 2026
- River Road Asset Management, LLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 16 March 2026
What they said
The Stock was acquired for investment purposes in the ordinary course of business. As such, the Filer may purchase, hold, vote, trade, dispose, sell or otherwise deal the Stock for the benefit of its clients depending on changes in the per share price of the Stock, or related to…
Read the filing - The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
Cintas Corp Strategic holder | 18.7% | 10 March 2026 | What they saidItems 3 and 5 are incorporated by reference in this Item 4 as if fully set forth herein. The purpose of the Mergers (as defined below) is for Cintas Corporation to acquire control of, and the entire equity interest in, the Issuer. Merger Agreement On March 10, 2026, Cintas… Read the filing |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 14.3% | 30 June 2025 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 5.7% | 31 March 2026 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 5.2% | 31 March 2026 | |
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Passive investor | 5.1% | 31 December 2024 | |
The London Company Passive investor | 5.1% | 30 June 2026 | |
River Road Asset Management, LLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 16 March 2026 | What they saidThe Stock was acquired for investment purposes in the ordinary course of business. As such, the Filer may purchase, hold, vote, trade, dispose, sell or otherwise deal the Stock for the benefit of its clients depending on changes in the per share price of the Stock, or related to… Read the filing |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 2 sold $576,313, $576,313 of it under preset trading plans.
- Katz David MartinExecutive VP, Sales/MarketingSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 17 February 2026
- Shares
- 1,464
- Price
- $237.54
- Value
- $347,759
- Ross William MastersExecutive Vice PresidentSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 9 February 2026
- Shares
- 1,128
- Price
- $201.38
- Value
- $227,157
- Katz David MartinExecutive VP, Sales/MarketingSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Shares
- 9
- Price
- $155.26
- Value
- $1,397
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 February 2026 | Katz David Martin Executive VP, Sales/Marketing | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,464 | $237.54 | $347,759 |
| 9 February 2026 | Ross William Masters Executive Vice President | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,128 | $201.38 | $227,157 |
| 3 November 2025 | Katz David Martin Executive VP, Sales/Marketing | Sold under a preset trading plan | 9 | $155.26 | $1,397 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.