UniFirst Corporation (UNF) Key Metrics
UNF valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $4.76B
- Enterprise value
- $4.71B
- P/E (TTM)
- 41.5 10-yr median 25.7
- Forward P/E
- 19.2
- PEG ratio
- 2.42
- Price / sales
- 1.9 10-yr median 1.8
- Price / book
- 2.2 10-yr median 1.9
- EV / EBITDA
- 16.5 10-yr median 11.9
- Dividend yield
- 0.45% $1.46 a year
- Beta
- 0.61
UNF key metrics, FY2016–FY2025
Fiscal year ended August 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsUNF valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
UNF returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
UNF per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
UNF financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
UNF efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
UNF valuation history
UNF returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
UNF debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
UNF cash returned to shareholders
UNF price vs earnings per share
UNF key metrics
FY2016–FY2025| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | FY2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $3.30B | $3.55B | $3.30B | $3.41B | $4.36B | $3.67B | $3.76B | $3.70B | $2.91B | $2.59B |
| Enterprise value | $3.17B | $3.45B | $3.28B | $3.09B | $3.89B | $3.23B | $3.38B | $3.43B | $2.56B | $2.22B |
| P/E ratio | 22.3 | 24.4 | 31.9 | 33.0 | 28.9 | 27.0 | 21.0 | 22.6 | 41.5 | 20.7 |
| Price / sales | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Price / book | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| Price / free cash flow | 23.4 | 26.3 | 75.5 | — | 55.4 | 21.6 | 23.2 | 31.5 | 26.5 | 23.7 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 11.2 | 12.0 | 15.3 | 27.8 | 20.5 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 16.1 | 13.3 | 12.5 |
| EV / sales | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| EV / EBITDA | 9.4 | 10.4 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 11.7 | 9.9 | 12.1 | 12.6 | 7.8 |
| EV / free cash flow | 22.4 | 25.6 | 74.9 | — | 49.5 | 19.0 | 20.8 | 29.2 | 23.3 | 20.3 |
| Earnings yield | 4.5% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 4.4% | 2.4% | 4.8% |
| Free cash flow yield | 4.3% | 3.8% | 1.3% | −0.6% | 1.8% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.2% | 3.8% | 4.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 2.9% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 4.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $177.82 | $189.69 | $176.13 | $180.26 | $229.07 | $192.62 | $195.91 | $185.20 | $143.60 | $128.39 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $130.91 | $129.64 | $119.02 | $105.68 | $95.92 | $94.75 | $94.26 | $84.98 | $78.47 | $72.84 |
| Earnings per share | $7.98 | $7.77 | $5.53 | $5.46 | $7.94 | $7.13 | $9.33 | $8.21 | $3.46 | $6.20 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $15.91 | $15.77 | $11.50 | $6.48 | $11.15 | $15.06 | $14.70 | $11.52 | $10.77 | $10.30 |
| Free cash flow per share | $7.61 | $7.20 | $2.33 | −$1.14 | $4.13 | $8.93 | $8.46 | $5.88 | $5.41 | $5.43 |
| Cash per share | $11.26 | $9.35 | $4.78 | $19.88 | $26.94 | $24.94 | $20.07 | $13.55 | $17.25 | $18.05 |
| Book value per share | $116.73 | $112.61 | $106.81 | $101.19 | $98.38 | $91.44 | $85.50 | $73.38 | $71.67 | $67.72 |
| Tangible book value per share | $75.64 | $71.55 | $64.52 | $72.55 | $71.37 | $64.63 | $60.81 | $49.92 | $49.58 | $49.89 |
| Dividends per share | $1.33 | $1.25 | $1.18 | $1.10 | $0.95 | $0.82 | $0.43 | $0.21 | $0.14 | $0.14 |
| Capex per share | $8.31 | $8.57 | $9.17 | $7.62 | $7.02 | $6.13 | $6.24 | $5.65 | $5.35 | $4.87 |
| Debt per share | $3.90 | $3.67 | $3.45 | $2.73 | $2.27 | $2.20 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Shares outstanding | 18.6M | 18.7M | 18.8M | 18.9M | 19.0M | 19.0M | 19.2M | 20.0M | 20.3M | 20.2M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −0.8% | −0.2% | −0.9% | −0.6% | −0.0% | −0.8% | −3.8% | −1.5% | +0.6% | +0.4% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 6.9% | 7.1% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 8.4% | 8.0% | 11.5% | 11.2% | 5.0% | 9.6% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 6.9% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 6.9% | 11.1% | 10.3% | 14.3% | 13.9% | 6.4% | 12.6% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 5.4% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 6.6% | 6.4% | 9.2% | 8.9% | 4.0% | 7.7% |
| Return on tangible assets | 7.4% | 7.5% | 5.8% | 5.5% | 8.1% | 8.0% | 11.4% | 11.9% | 5.1% | 9.3% |
| Free cash flow margin | 5.8% | 5.6% | 2.0% | −1.1% | 4.3% | 9.4% | 9.0% | 6.9% | 6.9% | 7.5% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.99 | 2.03 | 2.08 | 1.19 | 1.40 | 2.11 | 1.58 | 1.40 | 3.11 | 1.66 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $72.4M | $68.8M | $64.8M | $51.7M | $43.2M | $41.8M | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Cash & short-term investments | $209.2M | $175.1M | $89.6M | $376.4M | $512.9M | $474.8M | $385.3M | $270.5M | $349.8M | $363.8M |
| Net debt | −$136.7M | −$106.3M | −$24.8M | −$324.7M | −$469.7M | −$433.0M | −$385.3M | −$270.5M | −$349.8M | −$363.8M |
| Debt / equity | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Debt / assets | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.40 | −0.32 | −0.10 | −1.34 | −1.55 | −1.56 | −1.13 | −0.95 | −1.71 | −1.27 |
| Current ratio | 3.12 | 3.25 | 3.14 | 4.36 | 4.33 | 4.61 | 4.81 | 3.95 | 4.58 | 5.09 |
| Quick ratio | 1.83 | 1.85 | 1.66 | 2.84 | 3.06 | 3.37 | 3.31 | 2.62 | 3.28 | 3.67 |
| Interest coverage | — | — | — | 47.1 | 187.2 | 33.5 | 25.5 | 32.9 | 25.8 | 217.0 |
| Working capital | $614.4M | $634.2M | $572.9M | $820.1M | $849.1M | $759.2M | $723.9M | $586.3M | $636.4M | $625.0M |
| Invested capital | $2.03B | $2.00B | $1.98B | $1.59B | $1.40B | $1.31B | $1.26B | $1.19B | $1.10B | $1.00B |
| Tangible asset value | $1.41B | $1.34B | $1.21B | $1.37B | $1.36B | $1.23B | $1.17B | $996.6M | $1.01B | $1.01B |
| Net current asset value | $295.6M | $327.8M | $274.1M | $551.8M | $595.7M | $511.4M | $507.7M | $406.4M | $448.3M | $440.4M |
| Graham number | $144.77 | $140.31 | $115.24 | $111.51 | $132.55 | $121.11 | $133.98 | $116.43 | $74.72 | $97.22 |
| Graham net-net per share | $0.02 | −$0.33 | −$3.67 | $12.50 | $17.00 | $15.25 | $14.30 | $8.76 | $11.81 | $12.53 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $24.6M | $23.3M | $22.1M | $20.8M | $18.1M | $15.7M | $8.3M | $4.2M | $2.9M | $2.9M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $70.9M | $23.8M | $255,000 | $44.4M | $11.2M | $21.7M | $30.5M | $146.0M | $2.4M | $6.0M |
| Dividend payout ratio | 16.6% | 16.0% | 21.3% | 20.1% | 12.0% | 11.6% | 4.6% | 2.6% | 4.1% | 2.3% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 67.6% | 34.9% | 51.1% | — | 37.3% | 22.0% | 23.9% | 128.0% | 4.8% | 8.1% |
| Capex / revenue | 6.3% | 6.6% | 7.7% | 7.2% | 7.3% | 6.5% | 6.6% | 6.6% | 6.8% | 6.7% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 52.2% | 54.3% | 79.7% | 117.7% | 62.9% | 40.7% | 42.5% | 49.0% | 49.7% | 47.3% |
| Capex / depreciation | 1.08 | 1.13 | 1.42 | 1.33 | 1.26 | 1.11 | 1.16 | 1.17 | 1.22 | 1.20 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| SG&A / revenue | 23.2% | 21.1% | 22.3% | 22.6% | 21.0% | 20.1% | 18.5% | 21.3% | 21.5% | 19.4% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 42.3 | 41.9 | 43.2 | 41.7 | 39.9 | 39.9 | 40.8 | 41.7 | 39.4 | 38.3 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 83.3 | 91.4 | 94.6 | 97.2 | 93.7 | 85.5 | 88.1 | 85.5 | 82.2 | 88.7 |
| Days payables outstanding | 20.3 | 21.4 | 21.5 | 22.8 | 23.2 | 22.2 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 21.2 | 20.6 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 105.3 | 112.0 | 116.2 | 116.1 | 110.3 | 103.2 | 104.6 | 103.4 | 100.4 | 106.5 |
| Receivables turnover | 8.62 | 8.70 | 8.45 | 8.75 | 9.15 | 9.15 | 8.95 | 8.75 | 9.26 | 9.52 |
| Payables turnover | 17.95 | 17.06 | 16.94 | 15.98 | 15.70 | 16.41 | 15.05 | 15.29 | 17.19 | 17.71 |
| Inventory turnover | 4.38 | 3.99 | 3.86 | 3.75 | 3.90 | 4.27 | 4.14 | 4.27 | 4.44 | 4.11 |
| Asset turnover | 0.89 | 0.92 | 0.89 | 0.83 | 0.80 | 0.85 | 0.93 | 0.93 | 0.90 | 0.91 |
| Average receivables | $282.1M | $279.0M | $264.1M | $228.8M | $199.6M | $197.2M | $202.1M | $194.0M | $171.9M | $154.2M |
| Average payables | $93.7M | $92.6M | $87.4M | $81.7M | $72.7M | $71.0M | $75.7M | $69.1M | $57.8M | $50.9M |
| Average inventory | $383.9M | $395.8M | $383.8M | $348.0M | $292.8M | $272.9M | $274.9M | $247.5M | $223.7M | $218.9M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 27.5% | 28.5% | 30.9% | 22.3% | 21.6% | 23.2% | 23.1% | 25.4% | 24.6% | 21.1% |
Computed from UNF's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed October 29, 2025) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
UNF valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (August 31, 2025), UniFirst traded at 22.3 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 25.7. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 41.5 and the forward P/E is 19.2. UniFirst earned a return on equity of 6.9% and a return on invested capital of 6.9% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $72.4 million of debt and $209.2 million in cash and short-term investments, a net cash position of $136.7 million. It returned $95.5 million to shareholders: $24.6 million in dividends and $70.9 million in share buybacks, 68% of free cash flow. The share count fell 7.8% from 20.2M to 18.6M over 9 years.
See the UNF income statement, the UNF chart for price history, or the UNF stock overview for the latest quote and news.
UNF key metrics FAQ
What is UniFirst's P/E ratio?
UniFirst's trailing P/E ratio is 41.5 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 19.2. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 22.3, compared with a 10-year median of 25.7.
What is UniFirst's EV/EBITDA?
UniFirst's enterprise value was 9.4 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $3.2 billion, EBITDA $337.9 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 16.5.
What is UniFirst's return on equity?
UniFirst's return on equity (ROE) was 6.9% in fiscal 2025: net income of $148.3 million on average shareholders' equity of $2.1 billion.
What is UniFirst's ROIC?
UniFirst's return on invested capital was 6.9% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does UniFirst have?
UniFirst had total debt of $72.4 million at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03 and more cash than debt.
What is UniFirst's dividend yield?
UniFirst's forward dividend yield is 0.45%. UniFirst paid $24.6 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($1.33 per share), a payout ratio of 16.6%.
Does UniFirst buy back its shares?
Yes. UniFirst spent $70.9 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed −0.8% over the year, to 18.6M..
What is UniFirst's free cash flow yield?
UniFirst generated $141.4 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 4.3% on its market value at year-end ($3.3 billion).
What is UniFirst's current ratio?
UniFirst's current ratio was 3.12 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 3.12 times current liabilities.