Cintas vs Leidos
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Cintas and Leidos side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Leidos is the larger business, with $17.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $11.3B for Cintas, about 1.5 times as much.
- Cintas grew revenue faster (8.9%, against 3.1%).
- Cintas kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (23.1% operating margin, against 12.3%).
- Cintas turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.7% FCF margin, against 9.5%).
- Cintas earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (31.7%, against 19.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Cintas’s earnings: a P/E of 44.6x against 13.1x for Leidos.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Cintas
CTAS
9/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Leidos
LDOS
2/11
Piotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CTAS FY26 | LDOS FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $91.3B | $17.6B |
| Revenue | $11.3B | $17.2B |
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | $1.6B |
| Net income | $2.0B | $1.4B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.9% | 3.1% |
| 5-year growth | 9.6% | 6.9% |
| Share count change | −1.0% | −4.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 50.7% | 18.0% |
| Operating margin | 23.1% | 12.3% |
| Net margin | 17.8% | 8.4% |
| FCF margin | 16.7% | 9.5% |
| Return on capital | 31.7% | 19.3% |
| Return on equity | 40.7% | 31.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.1B | $3.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | 1.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.7B | $611M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 44.6x | 13.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 9 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.