UNF
UniFirst Corporation
UNF has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over UNF overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
UNF Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
UNF's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its cash flow is under pressure.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
UNF PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 22x | $134 | -45% |
| Fair | 28x | $167 | -31% |
| Forward | 29x | $241 | — |
| Expensive | 34x | $205 | -15% |
| Current | 40x | $241 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNF's PE is in its expensive range at 40x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 29x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over UNF in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
UNF Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for UNF, with profitability improving.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for VRT, with profitability improving.
UNF Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.45 | +40% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.02 | -25% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.34 | -22% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.38 | -8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.56 | -3.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.98 | +2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.14 | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.04 | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.82 | +31% |
UNF's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $6.02 over the past year, against $9.86 in late 2019.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over UNF on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UNF Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $645M | +5% |
| Q2 2026 | $634.4M | +3.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $622.5M | +3.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $621.3M | +2.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $614.4M | -4% |
| Q2 2025 | $610.8M | +1.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $602.2M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $604.9M | +1.9% |
UNF's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $645M last quarter, up 5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.5% | -1.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.6% | -4.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.2% | -1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.3% | -1.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.1% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.9% | -0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.2% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.2% | +0.2 points |
UNF's operating margin was 6.5% last quarter, down 1.6 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over UNF on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over UNF on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNF Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.4M | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.2M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $35.2M | -6.5% |
| Q4 2025 | -$24M | -198% |
| Q3 2025 | $55.9M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $24.4M | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $37.7M | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $24.6M | +271% |
UNF still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2024 peak: $71M over the past year.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over UNF on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UNF Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -20K shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -385K shares |
| 3 years | -3% | -566K shares |
| 5 years | -4.4% | -842K shares |
| Available history | -4.8% | -927K shares |
UNF has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $32.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $45.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $13.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $6.4M |
UNF spent $33M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 54% from the year before.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
UNF Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
UNF has the edge over VRT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has more cash than debt.
UNF Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.9 | Oversold |
UNF's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 17 (oversold).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
UNF PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | UNF | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 24x | 67% above |
| PE % | 96 | 58 | 38 pts above |
UNF is trading at 40x earnings, a 67% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT has the edge over UNF on valuation relative to its sector.
UNF Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $256.0 | 5.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $271.6 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $250.8 | 3.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $216.5 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $195.9 | 23% above |
UNF has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 23% above its 200-week average.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% above its 200-week average.
UNF Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $202.7 | $208.0 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | $208.0 | $203.2 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | $203.2 | $190.1 | -6.4% |
| 2023 | $190.1 | $182.9 | -3.8% |
| 2024 | $182.9 | $172.8 | -5.5% |
| 2025 | $172.8 | $197.6 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $197.6 | $241.5 | +22% |
UNF has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 22% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over UNF on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.