What changed in this filing

/stocks — the workspaceLOADING

Item 1. Business

2026-07-29 compared with 2025-07-28 · 37 added, 10 removed, 110 unchanged (30% of the section changed)

Cintas Corporation (Cintas, Company, we, us or our), a Washington corporation, helps more than one million businesses of all types and sizes, primarily in the United States (U.S.), as well as Canada and Latin America, get READY™ to open their doors with confidence every day by providing a wide range of products and services that enhance our customers’ image and help keep their facilities and employees clean, safe and looking their best.

With products and services including uniforms, mats, mops, shop towels, restroom supplies, workplace water services, first aid and safety products, eye-wash stations, safety training, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and alarm testing, Cintas helps customers get Ready for the Workday ® .

With products and services including uniforms, mats, mops, shop towels, restroom supplies, workplace water services, first aid and safety products, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), eye-wash stations, safety training, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and alarm testing, Cintas helps customers get Ready for the Workday ® .

Cintas was founded in 1968 by Richard T.

16 unchanged sentences

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," in Note 14 entitled Operating Segment Information of "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements."

Agreement and Plan of Merger

On March 10, 2026, UniFirst Corporation (UniFirst), the Company, Bruin Merger Sub I, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas (Merger Sub Inc.), and Bruin Merger Sub II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas (Merger Sub LLC) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (Merger Agreement), pursuant to which, (i) Merger Sub Inc.

will merge with and into UniFirst (first merger), whereupon the separate existence of Merger Sub Inc.

will cease, and UniFirst will continue as the surviving corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas, and (ii) immediately after the first merger, UniFirst will merge with and into Merger Sub LLC (second merger), whereupon the separate existence of UniFirst will cease, and Merger Sub LLC will continue as the surviving entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas.

The transaction between Cintas and UniFirst is referred to herein as the "Transaction." In connection with the Transaction, UniFirst shareholders will receive the merger consideration, which consists of (i) $155.00 in cash and (ii) 0.7720 of validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of Cintas common stock (with, if applicable, cash in lieu of fractional shares), in each case without interest and subject to any required tax withholding, and each applicable holder of such shares of UniFirst stock will cease to have any rights with respect thereto, except the right to receive the applicable merger consideration.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, subject to the satisfaction (or, to the extent permitted by applicable law in accordance with the Merger Agreement, waiver) of certain conditions, Cintas will acquire all the outstanding shares of UniFirst common stock in a transaction

valued at approximately $5.5 billion.

UniFirst is a North American company in the supply and servicing of uniform and workwear programs, facility service products, as well as first aid and safety supplies and services.

On June 12, 2026, UniFirst announced that at UniFirst’s Special Meeting of Shareholders, UniFirst’s shareholders voted to approve the pending acquisition by Cintas.

The obligations of each of Cintas, Merger Sub Inc., Merger Sub LLC and UniFirst to complete the Transaction are subject to the satisfaction or (to the extent permitted by law) waiver by Cintas and UniFirst of the following conditions:

• the shares of Cintas common stock to be issued in connection with the mergers having been approved for listing on the NASDAQ, subject to official notice of issuance;

• any applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof) under the HSR Act relating to the completion of the mergers having expired or early termination thereof having been granted and any authorization or consent from a governmental authority required to be obtained with respect to the mergers under certain antitrust laws having been obtained and remaining in full force and effect;

• the authorization or consent of the applicable governmental authority in respect of certain of UniFirst's permits having been obtained and remaining in full force and effect;

• no governmental authority of competent jurisdiction having issued or entered any order or promulgated or enacted any law after the date of the Merger Agreement having the effect of enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the completion of the mergers.

In addition, the obligations of each of Cintas, Merger Sub Inc.

and Merger Sub LLC to complete the Transaction are subject to the satisfaction or (to the extent permitted by law) waiver by Cintas of the following conditions:

• accuracy as of the closing date of the representations and warranties made by UniFirst to the extent specified in the Merger Agreement;

• UniFirst having performed or complied in all material respects with its obligations under the Merger Agreement required to be performed or complied with on or prior to the closing of the mergers;

• since the date of the Merger Agreement, no event, circumstance, occurrence, effect, fact, development or change having occurred that had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a “material adverse effect” on UniFirst that is continuing;

In addition, the obligations of UniFirst to complete the mergers are subject to the satisfaction or (to the extent permitted by law) waiver by UniFirst of the following conditions:

• accuracy as of the date of the Merger Agreement and as of the closing date of the representations and warranties made by Cintas, Merger Sub Inc.

and Merger Sub LLC to the extent specified in the Merger agreement;

• Cintas, Merger Sub Inc.

and Merger Sub LLC having performed or complied in all material respects with each of their respective obligations required under the Merger Agreement to be performed or complied with on or prior to the closing of the mergers;

The Transaction has not closed as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-K.

We expect the Transaction to close in the second half of calendar 2026.

We provide our products and services to over one million businesses of all types, from small service and manufacturing companies to major corporations that employ thousands of people.

2 unchanged sentences

The primary markets served by each of the Cintas operating segments are local in nature and highly fragmented.

Cintas competes with national, regional and local providers, large national retailers and small local retailers as well as companies with a significant online presence and the level of competition varies at each of Cintas' local operations.

In addition, businesses may decide to perform certain services in-house instead of outsourcing these services.

35 unchanged sentences

Cintas is also required to comply with increasingly complex and changing laws and regulations enacted to protect business and personal data in the U.S.

and other jurisdictions regarding privacy, data protection and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, use, transmission and protection of personal information and other consumer, customer, vendor or employee data.

and other jurisdictions regarding privacy, data protection and data security, including those related to the collection,

storage, use, transmission and protection of personal information and other consumer, customer, vendor or employee-partner data.

With respect to the laws and regulations noted above, as well as other applicable laws and regulations, Cintas’ compliance programs may under certain circumstances involve material investments in the form of additional processes, training, personnel, information technology and capital.

In fiscal 2025, compliance with the

applicable laws, government regulations, including environmental regulations, and standards did not have a material effect on Cintas’ capital expenditures or consolidated results of operations.

In fiscal 2026, compliance with the applicable laws, government regulations, including environmental regulations, and standards did not have a material effect on Cintas’ capital expenditures or consolidated results of operations.

For a discussion of the risks associated with government regulations that may materially impact Cintas, please see “ Item 1A:

6 unchanged sentences

Cintas' SEC filings can be found on the Investor Relations page of its website at www.cintas.com/investors/financial-reports and its Code of Conduct and Business Ethics can be found under the About - Who We Are page of its website at www.cintas.com/company.

Cintas intends to post any amendments or waivers to its Code of Conduct and Business Ethics on its website within four business days after approval.

Cintas intends to post on its website, within four business days after approval, any amendments or waivers to provisions of the Cintas Code of Conduct and Business Ethics for officers or directors in accordance with and if required by applicable law.

These documents are available in print to any shareholder who requests a copy by writing or calling Cintas as set forth on the Investor Information page under the FAQs.

18 unchanged sentences

Talent Development

Cintas is committed to actively recruiting, retaining, developing and advancing a diverse and talented workforce.

Cintas is committed to actively recruiting, retaining, developing and advancing a talented workforce.

We provide numerous training opportunities for our employee-partners, with a focus on continuous learning and development and methodologies to manage performance, provide feedback and develop talent.

2 unchanged sentences

We also have multiple Employee-Partner Business Resource Groups which help foster inclusion among all employee-partners to build awareness, recruit and retain a diverse workforce and support the overall success of Cintas.

In addition, we offer mentoring programs, a management trainee program and executive leadership programs to support the professional growth of our employee-partners and ensure we have the right succession plans in place.

addition, we offer mentoring programs, a management trainee program and executive leadership programs to support the professional growth of our employee-partners and ensure we have the right succession plans in place.

Health and Safety

8 unchanged sentences

In addition, we provide several channels for all employee-partners to speak up, ask for guidance and report concerns related to ethics or safety violations, and we seek to address those concerns and take appropriate actions to uphold our Cintas values and health and safety culture.

Through these efforts, Cintas has reduced our recordable injury rate by over 80% since 2008, has been awarded 140 OSHA VPP Star sites in the VPP, which is more than triple any other U.S.

Through these efforts, Cintas has reduced our recordable injury rate by over 80% since 2008, has been awarded 140 OSHA VPP Star sites, which is more than triple any other U.S.

company, and has received numerous safety, health and ergonomics awards from national and international groups.

2 unchanged sentences

We provide our employee-partners and their families with access to a variety of health and wellness programs, including our long-running Live Well program that supports employee-partners on their health and wellness journeys.

We provide free annual biometric screening and health assessments at work or offsite, annual free flu shots, a tobacco cessation program, weight management programs and an employee-partner assistance program, which offers advice on mental health, legal and financial issues.

We provide free annual biometric screening and health assessments at work or offsite, a tobacco cessation program, weight management programs and an employee-partner assistance program, which offers advice on mental health, legal and financial issues.

Compensation Programs and Employee Benefits

2 unchanged sentences

Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business