UNIFIRST CORP (UNF)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any documents incorporated by reference may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance, including statements regarding the transaction between UniFirst Corporation (“we”, “our”, the “Company”, or “UniFirst”) and Cintas Corporation (“Parent” or “Cintas”) (the “Transaction”). Forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any documents incorporated by reference are subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “strategy,” “objective,” “assume,” “strive,” “design,” “assumption,” “vision” “drive,” or the negative versions thereof, and similar expressions and by the context in which they are used. Such forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date made. Such statements are highly dependent upon a variety of risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements.

The following Transaction-related factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements: the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstance that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive merger agreement between Cintas and UniFirst; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Cintas or UniFirst; the possibility that the Transaction does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder, or other approvals and other conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all (and the risk that seeking or obtaining such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the Transaction); the risk that the benefits from the Transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected, including as a result of changes in, or problems arising from, general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, trade policy (including tariff levels), laws and regulations and their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which Cintas and UniFirst operate; any failure to promptly and effectively integrate the businesses of Cintas and UniFirst; the possibility that the Transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; reputational risk and potential adverse reactions of Cintas’ or UniFirst’s customers, employees or other business partners, including those resulting from the announcement, pendency or completion of the Transaction; the dilution caused by Cintas’ issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the Transaction; changes in the trading price of Cintas’ or UniFirst’s capital stock; and the diversion of management’s attention and time to the Transaction from ongoing business operations and opportunities.

Additional factors include, but are not limited to, uncertainties caused by an economic recession or other adverse economic conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of elevated inflation or interest rates or extraordinary events or circumstances such as geopolitical conflicts like the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and the United States and Iran and other disruption in the Middle East, and their impact on our customers’ businesses and workforce levels, disruptions of our business and operations, including limitations on, or closures of, our facilities, or the business and operations of our customers or suppliers in connection with extraordinary events or circumstances, uncertainties regarding our ability to consummate acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired businesses, and the performance of such businesses, uncertainties regarding any existing or newly-discovered expenses and liabilities related to environmental compliance and remediation, any adverse outcome of pending or future contingencies or claims, our ability to compete successfully without any significant degradation in our margin rates, seasonal and quarterly fluctuations in business levels, our ability to preserve positive labor relationships and avoid becoming the target of corporate labor unionization campaigns that could disrupt our business, the effect of currency fluctuations on our results of operations and financial condition, our dependence on third parties to supply us with raw materials, which such supply could be severely disrupted as a result of extraordinary events or circumstances such as the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and the United States and Iran, any loss of key management or other personnel, increased costs as a result of any changes in federal, state, international or other laws, rules and regulations or governmental interpretation of such laws, rules and regulations, uncertainties regarding, or adverse impacts from continued high price levels of natural gas, electricity, fuel and labor or increases in such costs, the negative effect on our business from sharply depressed oil and natural gas prices, the continuing increase in domestic healthcare costs, increased workers’ compensation claim costs, increased healthcare claim costs, our ability to retain and grow our customer base, demand and prices for our products and services, fluctuations in our nuclear business, political or other instability, supply chain disruption or infection among our employees in Mexico and Nicaragua where our principal

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garment manufacturing plants are located, our ability to properly and efficiently design, construct, implement and operate a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) computer system, interruptions or failures of our information technology systems, including as a result of cyber-attacks, additional professional and internal costs necessary for compliance with any changes in or additional Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), New York Stock Exchange and accounting or other rules, strikes and unemployment levels, our efforts to evaluate and potentially reduce internal costs, the impact of U.S. and foreign trade policies and tariffs or other impositions on imported goods on our business, results of operations and financial condition, our ability to successfully implement our business strategies and processes, including our capital allocation strategies, our ability to successfully remediate the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2025 and the other factors described under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 30, 2025 and in our other filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, under Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they are made.

Business Overview

UniFirst, a corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1950, together with its subsidiaries, is one of the leading providers of workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in North America. We design, manufacture, personalize, rent, clean, deliver, and sell a wide range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, aprons and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments. We also rent and sell industrial wiping products, floor mats, facility service products and other non-garment items, and provide restroom and cleaning supplies and first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies as well as provide certain safety training, to a variety of manufacturers, retailers and service companies. We serve businesses of all sizes across multiple industries and sectors. We provide our products and services to over 300,000 customer locations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

As mentioned and described in Note 13, “Segment Reporting,” beginning with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, we reorganized our business into three reportable operating segments based on the information reviewed by our Chief Executive Officer: Uniform & Facility Service Solutions, First Aid & Safety Solutions and Other. Refer to Note 13, “Segment Reporting” to our Consolidated Financial Statements for our disclosure of segment information. We have recast certain prior period segment results to conform with the current presentation.

The Uniform & Facility Service Solutions segment consolidates the former Corporate, Manufacturing (“MFG”) and U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning operating segments and includes our cleanroom operations, which was previously part of the Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning (“Specialty Garments”) reporting segment. The Uniform & Facility Service Solutions reporting segment designs, manufactures, purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells, uniforms and protective clothing and non-garment items in the U.S. and Canada. Certain operations of the Uniform & Facility Service Solutions reporting segment are referred to by the Company as “industrial laundry operations” and we refer to the locations related to this reporting segment as our “industrial laundries”. Additionally, the Uniform & Facility Service Solutions consists of our distribution center, sales and marketing, information systems, engineering, materials management, manufacturing planning, finance, budgeting, human resources, other general and administrative costs and interest expense. The segment, through the Company’s cleanroom operations, also purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells specialty garments and non-garment items primarily for cleanroom applications and provides cleanroom cleaning at limited customer locations.

We renamed our First Aid reporting segment as the First Aid & Safety Solutions reporting segment to better reflect the scope of services and products offered. The First Aid & Safety Solutions reporting segment sells first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies, provides certain safety training and maintains wholesale distribution and pill packaging operations for non-prescription medicines.

The Other reporting segment currently consists of our nuclear business, which was previously part of the Specialty Garments reporting segment with our cleanroom operations. The segment purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells, specialty garments and non-garment items primarily for nuclear applications.

Merger Agreement

On March 10, 2026, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Cintas, Bruin Merger Sub I, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas (“Merger Sub Inc.”), and Bruin Merger Sub II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cintas (“Merger Sub LLC”).

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Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger of the Company with and into Merger Sub Inc., each share of (i) our common stock, par value $0.10 per share, and (ii) our Class B common stock, par value $0.10 per share, (clauses (i) and (ii) “Common Stock”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of this merger (other

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Business Overview

We are one of the leading providers of workplace uniforms and protective clothing in North America. We design, manufacture, personalize, rent, clean, deliver, and sell a wide range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, aprons and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments. We also rent and sell industrial wiping products, floor mats, facility service products and other non-garment items, and provides restroom and cleaning supplies and first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies as well as provide certain safety training, to a variety of manufacturers, retailers and service companies. We serve businesses of all sizes across multiple industries and sectors. We provide our products and services to over 300,000 customer locations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

U.S. GAAP establishes standards for reporting information regarding operating segments in annual financial statements and requires selected information of those segments to be presented in interim financial reports issued to shareholders. Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise for which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision-maker, or decision-making group, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. Our chief operating decision-maker is our Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to May 31, 2025, we organized our business into six operating segments: U.S. Rental and Cleaning, Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing (“MFG”), Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning (“Specialty Garments”), First Aid and Corporate. The U.S. Rental and Cleaning and Canadian Rental and Cleaning operating segments were previously combined to form the U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning reporting segment, and as a result, we had five reporting segments. We previously referred to our U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, MFG, and Corporate segments combined as our “Core Laundry Operations.”

Beginning with the fourth quarter of 2025, we reorganized our business into three reportable operating segments based on the information reviewed by our Chief Executive Officer: Uniform & Facility Service Solutions, First Aid & Safety Solutions and Other. Refer to Item 1, “Business” and Note 15, “Segment Reporting” to our Consolidated Financial Statements for our disclosure of segment information. We have recast certain prior period segment results to conform with the current presentation.

The Uniform & Facility Service Solutions segment consolidates the former Corporate, MFG and U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning operating segments and includes our cleanroom operations, which was previously part of the Specialty Garments reporting segment. The Uniform & Facility Service Solutions reporting segment designs, manufactures, purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells, uniforms and protective clothing and non-garment items in the U.S. and Canada. Certain operations of the Uniform & Facility Service Solutions reporting segment are referred to by the Company as “industrial laundry operations” and we refer to the locations related to this reporting segment as our “industrial laundries”. Additionally, the Uniform & Facility Service Solutions consists of our distribution center, sales and marketing, information systems, engineering, materials management, manufacturing planning, finance, budgeting, human resources, other general and administrative costs and interest expense. The segment, through the Company’s cleanroom operations, also purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells specialty garments and non-garment items primarily for cleanroom applications and provides cleanroom cleaning at limited customer locations.

We renamed our First Aid reporting segment as the First Aid & Safety Solutions reporting segment to better reflect the scope of services and products offered. The First Aid & Safety Solutions reporting segment sells first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies, provides certain safety training and maintains wholesale distribution and pill packaging operations for non-prescription medicines.

The Other reporting segment currently consists of our nuclear business, which was previously part of the Specialty Garments reporting segment with our cleanroom operations. The segment purchases, rents, cleans, delivers and sells, specialty garments and non-garment items primarily for nuclear applications.

Approximately 91.2% of our revenues in fiscal 2025 were derived from our Uniform & Facility Service Solutions segment. A key driver of this business is the number of workers employed by our customers. Our revenues are directly impacted by fluctuations in these employment levels. First Aid & Safety Solutions represented approximately 4.7% of our total revenues in fiscal 2025. Revenues from our Other segment, which accounted for approximately 4.1% of our fiscal 2025 revenues, increases during outages and refueling by nuclear power plants, as garment usage increases at these times.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We believe the following critical accounting policies reflect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Use of Estimates

We prepare our financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We utilize key estimates in preparing the financial statements, including casualty and environmental estimates, valuation of intangible assets acquired in connection with a business combination, recoverability of goodwill, intangibles, income taxes and long-lived assets. These estimates are based on historical information, current trends, and information available from other sources. Our results are affected by economic, political, legislative, regulatory and legal actions. Economic conditions, such as recessionary trends, inflation, interest and monetary exchange rates, government fiscal policies, and changes in the prices of raw materials, can have a significant effect on operations. These factors and other events could cause actual results to differ from management’s estimates.

Revenue Recognition and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We recognize revenue from rental operations and related services in the period in which the services are provided. Direct sale revenue is recognized in the period in which the services are performed or when the product is shipped. Our judgment and estimates are used in determining the collectability of accounts receivable and evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts as well as our sales credits reserve. We consider specific accounts receivable and historical bad debt experience, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and the age of outstanding balances as part of our evaluation in assessing the allowance for doubtful accounts. We consider our historical credit experience in assessing the sales credits reserve. Changes in our estimates are reflected in the period they become known. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. Material changes in our estimates may result in significant differences in the amount and timing of bad debt expense recognition for any given period. Our revenues do not include taxes we collect from our customers and remit to governmental authorities.

Inventories and Rental Merchandise in Service

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, net of any reserve for excess and obsolete inventory. Work-in-process and finished goods inventories consist of materials, labor and manufacturing overhead. Judgments and estimates are used in determining the likelihood that new goods on hand can be sold to our customers or used in our rental operations. We monitor canceled or terminated contracts (and reductions in customer orders) as part of its ongoing assessment of realizability. If such cancellations or reductions indicate that inventory held for those contracts may not be sold or used, additional reserves or write-downs are recorded. Historical inventory usage and current revenue trends are considered in estimating both excess and obsolete inventories. If actual product demand and market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required. We use the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method to value our inventories, which primarily consist of finished goods. Rental merchandise in service is being amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated service lives of the merchandise, which range from six to thirty-six months. In establishing estimated lives for merchandise in service, our management considers historical experience and the intended use of the merchandise. Material differences may result in the amount and timing of operating profit for any period if we make significant changes to our estimates.

Goodwill, Intangibles and Other Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we do not amortize goodwill. Instead, we test goodwill at the reporting unit level for impairment on an annual basis and between annual tests if events and circumstances indicate it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. Our evaluation considers changes in the operating environment, competitive information, market trends, operating performance and cash flow modeling.

We completed our annual goodwill impairment test as of the first day of the fourth quarter in fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023. There have been no impairments of goodwill or other intangible assets in fiscal 2025, 2024 or 2023.

We cannot predict future economic conditions and their impact on us or the future net realizable value of our stock. A decline in our market capitalization and/or deterioration in general economic conditions could negatively and materially impact our assumptions and assessment of the fair value of our business. If general economic conditions or our financial performance

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deteriorate, we may be required to record a goodwill impairment charge in the future which could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Property, plant and equipment, and definite-lived intangible assets are depreciated or amortized over their useful lives. Useful lives are based on our estimates of the period that the assets will generate economic benefits. Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate an asset may be impaired. There were no material impairments of long-lived assets in fiscal 2025, 2024 or 2023.

Business Combinations

The Company accounts for business acquisitions using the purchase method of accounting, in accordance with which assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their respective fair values at the acquisition date. The fair value of the consideration paid, including contingent consideration, is assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

The Company’s management exercises significant judgments in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as intangibles and their estimated useful lives. Fair value and useful life determinations are based on, among other factors, estimates of future expected cash flows, royalty cost savings and appropriate discount rates used in co

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