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Cintas vs W.W. Grainger: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

W.W. Grainger holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — W.W. Grainger holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — W.W. Grainger's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 10 points in favour of W.W. Grainger, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.78
Similar
Peer-set rank: #11
within Cintas Corporation's functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The strongest overlap appears in revenue stability and margin consistency.

Similarity drivers
revenue stabilitymargin consistency
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CTAS
Cintas Corporation
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
GWW
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
69
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: CTAS vs GWW Profitability 64 83 Stability 79 76 Valuation 48 51 Growth 47 70 CTAS GWW
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +23
#2 Profitability +19
#3 Valuation +3
#4 Stability +3
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CTAS and GWW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CTASGWW Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup is mixed: neither company clearly combines the stronger profile with the more supportive price setup.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CTAS and GWW each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CTAS Neutral · near norm 0th 50th 100th 38 pct gap GWW Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 61st 99th
Today CTAS sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (61st percentile), while GWW sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, CTAS is at a historically more favourable entry position than GWW. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both profiles are strong on growth, but W.W. Grainger, Inc. leads clearly.
Profitability
On profitability, the edge is clear — both rank well, but W.W. Grainger, Inc. sits noticeably higher.
Growth — Dominant Gap
CTAS
47
GWW
70
Gap+23in favour of GWW

The main growth separation is clear, driven by a meaningfully stronger expansion profile.

What else supports the lead

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 5.9-point ROIC advantage.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and profitability, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CTAS vs GWW comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how CTAS and GWW each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.