UNIFIRST CORP

6. Employee Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Retirement Savings Plan

The Company has a defined contribution retirement savings plan with a 401(k) feature for all eligible U.S. and Canadian employees not under collective bargaining agreements. The Company matches a portion of the employee’s contribution and may make an additional contribution at its discretion. Contributions charged to expense under the plan for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 were $15.9 million, $15.6 million and $20.3 million, respectively.

Pension Plan and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

The Company accounts for its pension plan and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan on an accrual basis over employees’ estimated service periods.

The Company maintains an unfunded Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) for certain eligible employees of the Company. The benefits are based on the employee’s compensation upon retirement. The amount charged to expense related to this plan amounted to approximately $1.2 million, $1.6 million and $1.7 million for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

The Company maintains a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan (“UniFirst Plan”) covering employees at one of its locations. The benefits are based on years of service. The UniFirst Plan assets are invested in a Guaranteed Deposit Account (“GDA”) that is maintained and operated by a third-party investment manager. The amount charged to expense related to this plan amounted to approximately $0.2 million for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024.

Plan Termination

The UniFirst Plan was terminated during fiscal 2026. In connection with the termination, the Company remeasured the plan's benefit obligation using assumptions appropriate for a terminating plan, reflecting an expected mix of lump-sum and annuity settlements with participants. During fiscal 2026, the Company made lump-sum distributions and other settlement payments to a portion of plan participants, resulting in a settlement charge recognized in other expense, net, representing the proportionate recognition of previously unrecognized net actuarial losses in accordance with ASC 715-30. The Company expects to complete the distribution of substantially all remaining plan assets and settle the remaining benefit obligation during fiscal 2027. Completion of the plan termination will require recognition of the remaining unrecognized net actuarial loss and prior service cost as an additional settlement charge, the amount of which will depend on final participant distribution elections, annuity pricing and interest rates at the time of settlement. The Company does not expect the additional settlement charge to be material to its results of operations.

Net periodic benefit cost other than service costs have been recorded in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income in other expense, net.

The components of net periodic benefit cost for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 are as follows (in thousands):

The Company’s obligations and funded status as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025 are as follows (in thousands):

As of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025, the accumulated benefit obligations related to the UniFirst Plan were $2.6 million and $3.0 million, respectively. As of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025, the accumulated benefit obligations related to the SERP were $20.4 million and $21.7 million, respectively.

The amounts recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025 are as follows (in thousands):

As of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025, the amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss are as follows (in thousands):

The weighted average assumptions used in calculating the Company’s projected benefit obligation as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025 are as follows:

The weighted average assumptions used in calculating the Company’s net periodic service cost for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 are as follows:

The benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, are expected to be paid for the five fiscal years subsequent to August 29, 2026 and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):

Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan

The Company adopted the NQDC Plan effective on February 1, 2022. The NQDC Plan is an unfunded, non-qualified deferred compensation plan that allows eligible participants to voluntarily defer receipt of their salary and annual cash bonuses up to approved limits. In its discretion, the Company may credit one or more additional contributions to participant accounts. NQDC Plan participants who are not accruing benefits under the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan are eligible to have discretionary annual employer contributions credited to their NQDC Plan accounts. All participants are also eligible to have employer supplemental contributions and employer discretionary contributions credited to their NQDC Plan accounts. The amounts of such contributions, if any, may differ from year to year and from participant to participant.

The amounts for employee or employer contributions charged to expense related to the NQDC Plan for fiscal 2026, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, were $1.3 million, $1.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

The Company, at its discretion, may also elect to transfer funds to a trust account with the intention to fund the future liability. Total NQDC Plan assets were $5.7 million and $4.7 million as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025, respectively, and are included within other long-term assets in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Total NQDC Plan liabilities were $3.7 million and $2.8 million as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025, respectively, and are included within current accrued liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Earnings and losses on contributions, based on investment elections, are recorded as a component of compensation expense in the period earned and are included within other (income) expense, net. For fiscal 2026, fiscal 2025, and fiscal 2024 other income was $0.6 million, $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

7. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

When the Company acquires a business, the amount assigned to the tangible assets and liabilities and intangible assets acquired is based on their respective fair values determined as of the acquisition date. The excess of the purchase price over the tangible assets and liabilities and intangible assets is recorded as goodwill. The Company does not amortize goodwill, but it is reviewed annually or more frequently if certain indicators arise, for impairment. There wereno impairment losses related to goodwill or intangible assets during fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (in thousands):

As of August 29, 2026, the Company has allocated $651.3 million, $20.3 million and $3.8 million of goodwill to its Uniform & Facility Service Solutions, First Aid & Safety Solutions and Other segments, respectively.

Intangible assets, net in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025 are as follows (in thousands):

Estimated amortization expense for the five fiscal years subsequent to August 29, 2026 and thereafter, based on intangible assets, net as of August 29, 2026 are as follows (in thousands):

8. Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of August 29, 2026 and August 30, 2025 consists of the following (in thousands):

9. Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset retirement obligations generally result from legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction, development and/or the normal operation of a long-lived asset. Accordingly, the Company recognizes asset retirement obligations in the period in which they are incurred if a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made. The associated asset retirement costs are capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset. The Company continues to depreciate, on a straight-line basis, the amount added to property, plant and equipment and recognizes accretion expense in connection with the discounted liability over the various remaining lives which range from approximatelyone toeighteen years.

The Company recognized as a liability the present value of the estimated future costs to decommission its nuclear laundry facilities. The estimated liability is based on historical experience in decommissioning nuclear laundry facilities, estimated useful lives of the underlying assets, external vendor estimates as to the cost to decommission these assets in the future, and federal and state regulatory requirements. The estimated current costs have been adjusted for the estimated impact of inflation at 3% per year, and the liability has been discounted to present value using a credit-adjusted risk-free rate.

Revisions to the liability could occur due to changes in the Company’s estimated useful lives of the underlying assets, estimated dates of decommissioning, changes in decommissioning costs, changes in federal or state regulatory guidance on the decommissioning of such facilities, or other changes in estimates. Changes due to revised estimates are recognized by adjusting the carrying amount of the liability and the related long-lived asset if the assets are still in service, or charged to expense in the period if the assets are no longer in service.

A reconciliation of the Company’s asset retirement liabilities for fiscal 2026 and 2025 are as follows (in thousands):

The Company’s asset retirement obligations are included in long-term accrued liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.