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    Shareholder Revolt Over Governance Could Be A Game Changer For UniFirst (UNF)

    Simply Wall St·12/18/2025 21:22:09
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    • In December 2025, activist investor Engine Capital, backed by proxy advisers and fellow shareholders, won majority common-shareholder support for its UniFirst board nominees, intensifying pressure on the company to address governance concerns and consider a potential sale.
    • The vote exposed a sharp divide between UniFirst’s dual-class control structure and the preferences of common shareholders, who are increasingly pushing for an independent strategic review and greater accountability from the Croatti family and existing leadership.
    • We’ll now examine how this shareholder push for a strategic review and possible sale could reshape UniFirst’s existing investment narrative.

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    UniFirst Investment Narrative Recap

    To own UniFirst, you need to believe its uniform rental and services model can convert steady customer relationships and ongoing efficiency projects into dependable cash flows, despite modest growth. The recent activist win among common shareholders could make governance and a potential sale the key short term catalyst, while also raising execution risk if leadership distraction slows operational improvements and technology rollouts.

    The most relevant recent development is the public pressure around UniFirst’s rejection of multiple premium acquisition offers from Cintas at US$275 per share. That backdrop, combined with Engine Capital’s push for a formal strategic review and a potential sale, sharpens the focus on whether UniFirst’s board will prioritize exploring alternatives or stay the course on its multi year ERP and margin improvement initiatives.

    Yet investors should be aware that increased activist pressure could collide with UniFirst’s already tight margin profile and...

    Read the full narrative on UniFirst (it's free!)

    UniFirst's narrative projects $2.7 billion revenue and $179.2 million earnings by 2028. This requires 2.7% yearly revenue growth and about a $27.3 million earnings increase from $151.9 million today.

    Uncover how UniFirst's forecasts yield a $165.50 fair value, a 6% downside to its current price.

    Exploring Other Perspectives

    UNF 1-Year Stock Price Chart
    UNF 1-Year Stock Price Chart

    Two members of the Simply Wall St Community place UniFirst’s fair value between US$165.50 and about US$172.27, showing how closely grouped some private estimates can be. You should weigh those views against the current activist driven push for a strategic review and possible sale, which could affect how quickly UniFirst’s operational and technology initiatives translate into financial outcomes.

    Explore 2 other fair value estimates on UniFirst - why the stock might be worth as much as $172.27!

    Build Your Own UniFirst Narrative

    Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

    • A great starting point for your UniFirst research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
    • Our free UniFirst research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate UniFirst's overall financial health at a glance.

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    This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.