Why Investors Bailed From UniFirst Stock Today

By Eric Volkman | October 22, 2025, 6:14 PM

Key Points

It's safe to say UniFirst (NYSE: UNF) wasn't first in the minds of many market players Wednesday. The uniform and workwear specialist's share price took a nearly 5% hit on the day, following the company's release of fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results. Its stock decline was notably more pronounced than the 0.5% dip of the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

Fundamentals declined, but still topped projections

The quarter saw UniFirst earned revenue of just over $614 million, which was down from nearly $640 million in the same period of fiscal 2024. Net income according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) also slid over that stretch of time, landing at slightly more than $41 million ($2.23 per share) against the year-ago profit of $44.6 million.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Person looking at laptop screen with head in hands.

Image source: Getty Images.

Despite weakening fundamentals, both figures topped the average analyst estimates. Collectively, prognosticators tracking UniFirst's fortunes were anticipating less than $608 million on the top line, and GAAP bottom-line profitability of $2.08 per share.

UniFirst said in its earnings release that its revenue decline was due to factors such as acquisitions and the impact of an extra week of business operations near the end of 2024. Had it not been for these, the company would have posted organic -- which excludes these and other items -- growth of almost 3%.

Guidance was an issue

Investors likely would have been pleased by the double beat; however, most of them tend to trade on future potential rather than trailing performance.

And that was the rub for UniFirst. For the entirety of its current fiscal year (2026), it's modeling revenue of nearly $2.48 billion to almost $2.5 billion, with earnings per share coming in at $6.58 to $6.98. However, both ranges are below the average analyst forecasts of nearly $2.51 billion and $8.69, respectively.

Should you invest $1,000 in UniFirst right now?

Before you buy stock in UniFirst, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and UniFirst wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,449!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,110,486!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,076% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Mentioned In This Article

Latest News