Cintas Corporation (CTAS), a uniform rental and cleaning supply company, released its second quarter earnings on Thursday, December 18. After announcing increased quarterly revenue, the company’s stock rose by over 2% following the release of the report.

Revenue for the second quarter reached $2.80 billion, up 9.3% from revenue of $2.56 billion reported during the same quarter last year. This was above analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion.

“We delivered another strong quarter, with record revenue driven by attractive growth across all our business segments, an all-time high operating margin and robust cash generation,” said Cintas’ CEO, Todd Schneider. “These results reflect the disciplined execution of our strategy, the benefits of our on-going technology investments and the exceptional commitment of our employee-partners to serving our customers."

Cintas reported quarterly net income of $495.34 million or $1.21 per diluted share. This was up from $448.50 million or $1.09 per diluted share during the same quarter last year.

The company’s uniform rental and facility services segment grew 8.3% year-over-year, reaching $2.16 billion. The first aid and safety services segment reported $342.24 million in revenue. Operating income came in at $655.71 million, an increase of 10.9% compared to last year’s second quarter. Throughout the quarter, Cintas paid dividends totaling $180.7 million to shareholders. The company raised its full fiscal year 2026 guidance and expects annual revenue to be between $11.15 billion to $11.22 billion.

Cintas Corporation (CTAS) shares closed at $184.88, down 3.5% for the week.

Carnival Cruises to Record Earnings

Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) released its fourth quarter and full-year results on Friday, December 19. After posting record earnings, the cruise ship operator’s shares climbed almost 10% following the earnings release.

Revenue for the fourth quarter totaled $6.33 billion, up from $5.94 billion report one year ago and slightly below the $6.37 billion that analysts predicted. Full-year record revenue came in at $26.62 billion, up from $25.02 reported last year.  

“2025 was a truly phenomenal year,” said Carnival CEO, Josh Weinstein. “We set new records across our business, achieved investment grade leverage metrics and, as announced just today, reinstated our dividend. These milestones reflect the collective strength of our cruise line portfolio and confidence in our long-term future.”

The company reported net income of $422 million or $0.31 per diluted share for the quarter. This was up from net income of $303 million or $0.23 per diluted share during the same quarter last year. For the full year, the company reported net income of $2.76 billion, up from $1.92 billion reported last year.

During the quarter, Carnival’s passenger ticket revenue reached $4.05 billion with onboard and other revenues at $2.28 billion for the quarter. The company’s occupancy rate reached 102% compared to 103% experienced at this time last year. Total customer deposits in the quarter reached $6.83 billion, up from $6.43 billion last year. For the full year 2026, the company expects adjusted net income to increase 12% to $3.5 billion.

Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) shares ended the week at $30.92, up 1.5% for the week.

Conagra Brands Announces Revenue

Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) announced its second quarter earnings on Friday, December 19. After reporting a decline in revenue, shares in the packaged foods company remained relatively unchanged following the release.

The company reported revenue of $2.98 billion during the second quarter. This was a decrease in revenue from $3.20 billion in the same quarter last year and just below analysts’ estimates of $2.99 billion.

“While we continued to navigate a challenging consumer environment in the second quarter, I am pleased with the continued underlying momentum we are seeing across the business,” said Conagra CEO, Sean Connolly. “As we look ahead to the second half, we are well positioned to return to organic net sales growth supported by a robust innovation pipeline, increased merchandising and A&P investment, and a resilient supply chain. While the macro environment remains dynamic, our active management and focused execution give us confidence in our path forward. Accordingly, we are reaffirming our fiscal 2026 guidance."

For the quarter, Conagra reported a net loss of $663.6 million or $1.39 per diluted share. This is compared to net income of $284.5 million or $0.59 per diluted share at the same time last year.

Conagra, which holds popular brands such as Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice and Birds Eye, reported that organic net sales decreased 3.0% due to, among other things, lower consumption trends. The company’s Grocery and Snacks segment accounted for $1.2 billion, an 8.5% decrease in net sales during the quarter. Conagra’s Refrigerated and Frozen segment decreased 6.5% to $1.3 billion in the quarter while Foodservice decreased 1.3% to $288 million. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook and expects organic net sales to range from a decline of 1% to an increase of 1%, with adjusted earnings per share between $1.70 to $1.85.

Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) shares ended the week at $17.30, remaining relatively unchanged for the week.

The Dow started the holiday week of 12/29 at 48,637 and closed at 48,382 on 1/2. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,904 and closed at 6,858. The NASDAQ started the week at 23,415 and closed at 23,236.

U.S. Treasury yields rose early in the holiday-shortened week as investors reacted to the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting which revealed a divisive split on lowering interest rates. Towards the end of the week, yields moved higher after jobless claims fell more than expected.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) latest meeting, where the Fed approved a quarter-point interest rate cut to between 3.50% to 3.75%. At the meeting, Fed officials voted 9-3 in favor of an interest rate cut, revealing a deeper level of divide among policy makers as to how to help support the economy.

“Policymakers are all over the place because there is uncertainty in nearly every direction,” said global head of market strategy at TradeStation, David Russell. “They want to cut but inflation is still too high. They are unsure about data and see no reason to rush. They also know stimulus is coming and is expected to boost GDP in 2026. Markets could view these minutes as slightly hawkish because some doves were on the fence about easing. We could be near the end of this rate-cutting cycle.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of December 29 at 4.14% and traded as high as 4.18% on Wednesday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.81% and traded as high as 4.85% on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased by 16,000 to 199,000 for the week ending December 27. This was less than the 220,000 claims that analysts anticipated. Continuing claims decreased by 47,000 to 1.87 million.

"The drop in initial unemployment claims to 199,000 in the week of Christmas was likely another seasonal-adjustment distortion," said chief economic adviser at Brean Capital, John Ryding. "Bigger picture, we have not seen a meaningful increase in layoffs as signaled by these data in 2025 with the average level of claims in the year at 226,100 compared to 223,000 in 2024."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the holiday week of 12/29 at 4.20%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.88%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Wednesday, December 31. The survey showed the 30-year mortgage rate decreasing to the lowest levels seen in 2025.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.15%, down from last week’s average of 6.18%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.91%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.44% this week, down from last week’s 5.50%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.13%.

“After starting the year close to 7%, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved to its lowest level in 2025 this week, an encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year,” said Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater.

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.39% as of 12/15. The one-year CD averaged 1.63%.

Editor’s Note: The publicly available financial information is offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends. This article is not an endorsement of any company, product or service.