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3 Stocks to Gain From Trump’s Return-to-Office MandateAramark NYSE: ARMK executives said the company’s growth-focused operating model, higher client retention and expansion into data-center workforce hospitality are supporting an outlook for continued revenue growth and margin improvement.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Global Consumer and Retail Conference, Executive Vice President and CFO Jim Tarangelo said the company’s recent performance reflects years of work to shift toward a growth-oriented model. Aramark realigned employee incentives around new business wins and retention, decentralized its organization, added experienced leadership and nearly doubled the size of its growth and retention teams, he said.

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3 Compelling Reasons to Keep Aramark Stock on Your Radar“We think that the elevated retention levels, record levels of new business, double-digit underlying growth that we have seen, we do think is very much sustainable,” Tarangelo said.

Broad-Based U.S. Growth Tarangelo said growth has been broad-based across Aramark’s U.S. portfolio, including retention, new business wins and base business, which the company defines as same-store sales.

Business and industry operations, including refreshments and micro markets, have posted double-digit growth for 21 consecutive quarters, according to Tarangelo and Pat Liebler, CEO of Aramark Nexus. Sports and entertainment also continued to grow strongly, supported by playoff activity, the World Cup and Major League Baseball during the third quarter, Tarangelo said.

Aramark’s healthcare and collegiate hospitality businesses have also accelerated. In healthcare, Tarangelo cited two major client wins: Penn Medicine last year and RWJBarnabas this year. Those contracts are ramping up and contributing to double-digit healthcare growth, he said.

Nexus Targets Data-Center Workforce Communities Liebler, who has been with Aramark for 20 years and previously led Aramark Refreshments, said Nexus is intended to bring higher-end hospitality services to workforce communities supporting the construction of data centers.

The offering goes beyond food and lodging, he said, encompassing on-trend food concepts, hotel-like amenities, wellness and fitness centers, recreational activities and potentially golf courses. The objective is to create a more attractive environment for skilled workers who are needed to build large data-center facilities on accelerated timelines.

Liebler said competition for skilled labor is expected to increase, citing statistics that the country could face a shortage of approximately 500,000 skilled workers by 2028. He also cited statistics indicating workers satisfied with their work community, housing, food and sleeping environments are 68% more productive.

Tarangelo said Aramark sees an estimated addressable market ranging from $40 billion to $50 billion, though some estimates place it closer to $100 billion. He said the company believes Nexus could become a $2 billion to $3 billion business over the next several years.

Aramark has three data-center-related sites in various stages of mobilization, including two connected to a hyperscaler and one associated with a co-locator. One site is currently serving meals, Tarangelo said. Each of the three initial sites represents about $150 million in annualized revenue, supporting the company’s previously cited $400 million to $500 million opportunity through 2027 and 2028. A newly announced Texas workforce-community contract is still being developed but could represent more than $100 million in revenue, with a likely ramp in the first half of calendar 2027 or sooner. Tarangelo said the company has an active annualized development pipeline of roughly $450 million to $550 million, with a portion expected to be recognized in fiscal 2027. The scope of some initial contracts has increased as clients added more beds, residences, services and amenities while accelerating construction schedules, he said.

Higher-Margin, Asset-Light Model Tarangelo said Nexus contracts are generally structured as fee-based, cost-reimbursable arrangements with margins above Aramark’s company average. He also described the model as capital-light, with favorable working-capital characteristics.

Executives said Aramark’s scale and experience in complex, remote operations differentiate the company in the emerging market. Tarangelo pointed to the company’s operation of 17 Summer Olympic Games, remote mining services in Chile, operations in Canada’s tar sands, offshore work in the North Sea and hospitality operations at destinations including Yosemite National Park.

Liebler said Nexus was established as a separate line of business so it could draw expertise from across Aramark while operating under a single strategy. The company’s current focus is on expanding Nexus in North America, Tarangelo said, while leaving open the possibility of international opportunities over time.

Tarangelo said Nexus is expected to contribute approximately 1 percentage point to growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. As the business scales, it could help Aramark operate above its historical 5% to 8% revenue-growth range and sustain margin accretion of 30 to 40 basis points, compared with a longer-term steady-state expectation of 20 to 30 basis points.

International Growth and Capital Allocation Outside the U.S., Tarangelo said Aramark has recorded 20 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. Recent growth was supported by the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Chile and South America. The company has targeted areas where it has differentiated capabilities, including sports and entertainment, festivals, remote mining services and offshore operations.

Tarangelo said Aramark does not need to expand into additional countries to find growth opportunities internationally. Instead, the company plans to gain share and broaden its sector offerings in existing markets, including areas such as healthcare.

On capital allocation, Tarangelo said Aramark expects to be below 3 times net leverage by the end of the year. He noted that Moody’s and S&P recently upgraded the company, with S&P raising its rating to BB+.

The company intends to continue investing about 3.5% of sales in capital expenditures, pursue targeted and disciplined acquisitions, and return excess cash flow to shareholders through low-double-digit dividend growth and increased share repurchases, Tarangelo said. He added that management sees little reason to reduce leverage materially below roughly 2.6 to 2.7 times.

About Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)Aramark NYSE: ARMK is a global provider of food services and facilities management solutions. The company serves organizations across education, healthcare, business and industry, sports and leisure, corrections, and other institutional markets.

Its food services include dining operations, catering, concessions, hospitality, and culinary programs. Aramark also provides facilities services such as housekeeping, plant operations, maintenance, workplace services, and related support programs designed to help clients manage their physical environments.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Aramark serves customers in the United States and internationally.

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3 Stocks to Gain From Trump’s Return-to-Office MandateAramark NYSE: ARMK reported fiscal third-quarter organic revenue growth of 9% to $5 billion, while highlighting record client retention, rising new-business wins and early progress in its Aramark Nexus data-center hospitality initiative.

Chief Executive Officer John Zillmer said client retention reached approximately 98%, while fiscal year-to-date new client wins exceeded $1.6 billion, up 51% from the comparable prior-year period. He said growth was broad-based across the company’s U.S. and international operations, with every U.S. sector growing organically aside from an education-related calendar shift.

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3 Compelling Reasons to Keep Aramark Stock on Your RadarThe calendar shift reduced company organic revenue growth by approximately 2 percentage points during the quarter, management said. Aramark expects the education-related impact to be fully recaptured in the fourth quarter.

Revenue Growth Across U.S. and International Segments Food and Support Services U.S. organic revenue rose 8% to $3.5 billion, or more than 10% excluding the calendar shift, according to Zillmer. Education would have posted growth of more than 7% without the timing impact, aided by increased residential meal-plan enrollment, record retention and what management described as its strongest collegiate selling season in recent history.

Sports, Leisure & Corrections also contributed to U.S. growth, supported by Major League Baseball activity and an expanded client portfolio in Major League Soccer and collegiate athletics. The company served 15 FIFA World Cup matches at stadiums it operates during the quarter, with four additional matches occurring after quarter-end. Zillmer said those events produced unprecedented attendance and record per-capita spending.

Aramark also cited higher NHL and NBA playoff activity, including the San Antonio Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals. Recent sports-related client wins included Florida State University Athletics and Texas State Athletics.

In Healthcare+, Aramark continued the rollout of services at Penn Medicine and began mobilizing multiple service lines across RWJBarnabas Health’s 18 locations. Workplace Experience and Refreshments delivered double-digit compounded growth for the 19th consecutive quarter, according to the company.

International organic revenue increased 11% to $1.5 billion, led by Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. Concert and festival activity was particularly strong in Europe, while the company served more than 300,000 fans at the Formula One Grand Prix in Barcelona through nearly 100 food and beverage locations.

Aramark International won nearly 200 client-location accounts during the quarter, including remote hospitality work for Discovery Silver Mine in Canada and Codelco’s Chuquicamata and Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mines in Chile.

Profit, Earnings and Cash Flow Operating income increased 18% from the prior-year period to $216 million. Adjusted operating income, or AOI, rose 13% to $261 million, with margins expanding nearly 20 basis points. Chief Financial Officer Jim Tarangelo said the calendar shift reduced AOI by an estimated $20 million; excluding that impact, AOI growth would have been approximately 21%, with nearly 50 basis points of constant-currency margin expansion.

FSS U.S. AOI increased 11%, with margins improving more than 20 basis points. Excluding the calendar shift, management said AOI growth would have been about 22% and margin improvement would have approached 65 basis points. International AOI grew 24%, while constant-currency margins expanded nearly 60 basis points.

GAAP earnings per share were $0.36, and adjusted EPS was $0.52, up nearly 30% year over year. Tarangelo said adjusted EPS growth would have been almost 45% excluding the calendar effect.

Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $41 million, while free cash flow reached $42 million. Subsequent to the quarter’s end, the company repaid $100 million of term loans. Aramark had more than $1.4 billion in cash availability at quarter-end and reiterated its goal of reducing leverage below three times by fiscal year-end.

Nexus Expansion Targets Data-Center Workforce Communities Aramark began operating its first Texas site for a top global hyperscaler late in the third quarter. Zillmer said the scope of the first site increased approximately 40% from original estimates, with expected annual revenue of roughly $140 million. A second site for the same client is being mobilized and is expected to be larger, at approximately $160 million of annual revenue.

The first hyperscaler site was originally expected to support about 3,500 employees, while the second is estimated at 4,000 beds. The company also has an agreement with an AI data-center colocation provider covering five additional sites in varying stages of development. One co-location site, expected to have approximately 4,500 beds, is scheduled to begin mobilizing in the first half of Aramark’s next fiscal year.

Management said the three sites under active mobilization and development could represent $400 million to $500 million of annualized revenue as they ramp through fiscal 2027 and into fiscal 2028. Nexus contributed only a small amount of revenue in the third quarter, while Tarangelo said it is expected to account for roughly 1% of fourth-quarter revenue growth.

Zillmer said Nexus contracts are intended to provide food, retail, housekeeping, facilities management and other hospitality amenities for workers living at remote construction and data-center communities. Tarangelo said the contracts are primarily cost-reimbursable, capital-light and carry margins above the company average.

Outlook Raised for Revenue Growth Aramark raised its fiscal 2026 organic revenue growth outlook to 9% to 10%, citing broad-based momentum and early contributions from the hyperscaler contract. The company reaffirmed projected AOI growth of 12% to 17% and adjusted EPS growth of 20% to 25%.

Management expects accelerated AOI growth and margin expansion in the fourth quarter, though it also noted that record new-business mobilizations will bring startup costs. Tarangelo said newly won accounts in higher education, destinations and healthcare are expected to ramp further in fiscal 2027.

Looking beyond the current year, management said it expects continued margin expansion in the core business of roughly 30 to 40 basis points, with Nexus providing an additional tailwind as the business scales.

About Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)Aramark NYSE: ARMK is a global provider of food services, facilities management and uniform solutions, serving clients across a wide array of industries including education, healthcare, business and government. The company operates through three primary segments: Food and Support Services, Uniform and Career Apparel, and Facility Services, delivering integrated solutions designed to enhance guest experiences, improve operational efficiencies and maintain safe, clean environments. Aramark's offerings include corporate dining, patient and senior nutrition, campus dining, sports and entertainment concessions, custodial services, technical maintenance and industrial laundry.

Founded in 1959 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Aramark has expanded its footprint to more than 20 countries, with a strong presence in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

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Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) will release its third quarter earnings report before the opening bell on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Analysts expect the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company to report quarterly earnings of 48 cents per share, up from 40 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Aramark’s quarterly revenue is $4.94 billion. It reported $4.63 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

On Aug. 5, Aramark’s board approved a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share of common stock.

Shares of Aramark fell 0.4% to close at $55.71 on Monday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.

Truist Securities analyst Jasper Bibb maintained a Buy rating and increased the price target from $58 to $70 on July 27, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 67%. Oppenheimer analyst Ian Zaffino maintained an Outperform rating and raised the price target from $60 to $65 on June 29, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 68%. Citigroup analyst Leo Carrington maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $63 to $70.5 on June 22, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 53%. B of A Securities analyst Gary Bisbee maintained the stock with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $59 to $62 on June 2, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 55%. Morgan Stanley analyst Toni Kaplan maintained the stock with an Equal-Weight rating and boosted the price target from $45 to $50 on May 13, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 61% Considering buying ARMK stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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