Ahead Of The Bell: Cintas Estimates Cut

Cintas said Wednesday it earned $71.8 million, or 47 cents per share, down from $81.8 million, or 53 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $908.6 million, from almost $976 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 48 cents per share on revenue of $959.4 million.

Shirvaikar said the revenue miss was drastic by Cintas' standards. He cited the impact of client layoffs and hiring freezes.

"While this should persist, lower energy costs and impressive cost takeouts helped limit the earnings-per share miss," he said. "The environment will likely not improve in the near-term, but becoming leaner is a long-term plus for Cintas."