Cintas Corporation vs lululemon athletica inc., two Apparel stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CTAS and LULU diverge most: on debt / equity, CTAS reads 0.55 and LULU reads 0.00; on p/s, CTAS reads 7.56 and LULU reads 1.18. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What CTAS's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). What LULU's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CTAS | LULU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $205.95 | $114.31 |
| Market cap | $83.4B | $13.2B |
| Sector | Apparel | Apparel |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 28.5 | 9.3 |
| P/B | 17.41 | 2.74 |
| P/S | 7.56 | 1.18 |
| EV/EBITDA | 32.3 | 5.1 |
| Revenue growth | +8.7% | +4.7% |
| Gross margin | 51.0% | 54.2% |
| Operating margin | 23.2% | 11.2% |
| Net margin | 17.6% | 13.0% |
| Return on equity | 40.5% | 30.3% |
| Return on assets | 18.9% | 17.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 27.0% | 28.9% |
| FCF yield | 2.1% | 9.7% |
| Dividend yield | 0.8% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.55 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.98 | 2.23 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.24 | 4.58 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.