AEO vs BKE vs GAP Stock Comparison

American Eagle Outfitters, Buckle and Gap Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BKE Buckle Inc
$46.58 +10.1% 1M -16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.35B
P/E
10.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.33B
Div. yield
0.10%
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
4 wins
GAP Gap Inc
$22.25 +1.9% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$7.75B
P/E
6.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.33B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Gap leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gap 5, Buckle 4, American Eagle Outfitters 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAEOBKEGAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.26B $2.35B $7.75B GAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.7x 10.7x 6.2x GAP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.9x 11.2x 9.1x AEO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.2% +6.2% +1.1% AEO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% 16.6% 8.1% BKE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.0% — 23.3% GAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x — -0.5x GAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.10% 0.00% BKE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.5% -16.4% -5.2% AEO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.8%/yr +2.7%/yr +0.4%/yr BKE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.4% 29.9% 46.6% BKE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 66/100 81/100 GAP

Percentile Scorecard

AEOBKEGAP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAEOBKEGAP
Valuation 85 #16 of 104 65 #37 of 104 91 #10 of 104
Growth 79 #22 of 99 35 #65 of 99 75 #26 of 99
Profitability 76 #25 of 99 95 #6 of 99 80 #21 of 99
Financial Health 80 #23 of 113 88 #14 of 113 70 #35 of 113
Shareholder Returns 63 #28 of 73 47 #39 of 73 90 #8 of 73
Overall 76 66 81
  • AEO ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BKE ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • GAP ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAEOBKEGAPSPY
1 month +13.4%+10.1%+1.9% -0.8%
3 months +5.9%+6.8%+13.2% +3.5%
6 months +5.1%-17.6%-11.5% +7.0%
Year to date -28.7%-12.8%-13.1% +12.2%
1 year +13.5%-16.4%-5.2% +13.0%
3 years +8.2%+40.6%+74.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +2.7%+12.0%+20.3% +23.1%
5 years -21.8%+14.1%+2.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.8%+2.7%+0.4% +11.0%
10 years +10.2%+117.7%-17.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.0%+8.1%-1.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAEOBKEGAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.4%29.9%46.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.9%32.1%48.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.180.381.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.26-0.55-0.11 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.7%-50.0%-70.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-20.0%-23.6% -1.8%
52-week high $28.19$58.25$29.13 $779.14
52-week low $14.52$40.26$18.34 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAEOBKEGAP
P/E now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 16.7x 10.7xmedian 16.7x 6.3xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 0.5x 1.8xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 9.0x 7.0xmedian 9.0x 3.1xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 16.5x 12.5xmedian 16.5x 8.2xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.7x 4.9xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.39median 0.72 -3.37median 0.72 0.05median 0.72

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAEOBKEGAP
Revenue $5.75B $1.33B $15.33B
Gross profit $2.33B $650.37M $6.63B
Operating income $447.95M $276.81M $1.68B
Net income $330.75M $220.84M $1.25B
Free cash flow $343.50M $191.32M $957.00M
EPS (diluted) $1.98 $4.33 $3.44
Cash & equivalents $147.95M $264.78M $2.10B
Total debt $55.00M – $1.49B
Shares (diluted) 170.18M 51.01M 362.00M
Enterprise value $2.66B $1.16B -$2.81B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAEOBKEGAP
P/E 9.3x 10.7x 6.3x
P/FCF 9.2x 12.5x 8.2x
P/Operating cash flow 5.3x 9.3x 5.1x
P/S 0.5x 1.8x 0.5x
P/B 1.8x 4.9x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 4.9x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 4.6x 7.0x 3.1x
EV/EBIT 6.8x 7.6x 4.0x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 1.6x 0.4x
EV/FCF 8.9x 11.0x 7.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.1x 8.2x 4.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.39 -3.37 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEOBKEGAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.2% 6.2% 1.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 0.5% 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% 6.3% 6.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 0.0% 6.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 68.2% 10.5% 44.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.1% -2.6% 88.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 71.1% 9.6% 40.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.7% -2.4% 126.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 72.4% 8.7% 46.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.1% -3.2% 127.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 46.3% 1.5% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 0.4% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 126.5% -9.1% 24.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.3% -4.7% 3.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEOBKEGAP
Gross margin 40.5% 49.0% 43.3%
EBITDA margin 11.6% 22.9% 14.3%
Operating margin 7.8% 20.8% 11.0%
Pretax margin 7.6% 21.9% 11.1%
Net margin 5.9% 16.6% 8.1%
FCF margin 6.0% 14.4% 6.2%
Operating cash flow margin 10.4% 19.4% 10.0%
Return on equity 19.3% 46.6% 32.8%
Return on assets 7.9% 20.6% 10.0%
Return on invested capital 19.0% – 23.3%
Return on capital employed 13.4% 32.9% 18.2%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.2x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 1.3% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEOBKEGAP
Debt / assets 1.3% – 11.6%
Debt / equity 0.0x – 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x – -0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.2x – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 58.8% 55.3% 69.3%
Equity / assets 41.2% 44.7% 30.7%
Interest coverage – – 18.1x
Current ratio 1.6x 2.1x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.2x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 3.46 5.03 2.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEOBKEGAP
Dividend yield 2.7% 9.4% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 2.2% – 7.4%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 9.4% 10.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.5% 102.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 24.5% 117.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -7.0% 13.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 28.9% 3.5% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAEOBKEGAP
Forward P/E 8.9xFY2026 11.2xFY2026 9.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.11FY2026 $4.16FY2026 $2.45FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +40.7%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026 +15.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -10.9% +3.8% +10.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.01BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026 $15.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.3%FY2026 +2.5%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.1% +2.6% -1.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEOBKEGAP
Held by institutions 100.0% 61.0% 60.0%
Institutions holding 344 294 484
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.9% +0.0% -4.1%
Institutions buying 164 151 240
Institutions selling 135 97 179
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.56 1.34

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AEOBKEGAP
AEO 1.00 0.51 0.56
BKE 0.51 1.00 0.57
GAP 0.56 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEO, BKE and GAP?

Gap (GAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) $3.26B, Buckle (BKE) $2.35B, Gap (GAP) $7.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEO, BKE and GAP?

Gap (GAP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 9.7x, Buckle (BKE) 10.7x, Gap (GAP) 6.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is cheapest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 8.9x, Buckle (BKE) 11.2x, Gap (GAP) 9.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +9.2%, Buckle (BKE) +6.2%, Gap (GAP) +1.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Buckle (BKE) has the highest net margin (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 5.9%, Buckle (BKE) 16.6%, Gap (GAP) 8.1%). On return on invested capital, Gap (GAP) leads (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 19.0%, Gap (GAP) 23.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) returned the most: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +13.5%, Buckle (BKE) -16.4%, Gap (GAP) -5.2%. Over five years, Buckle (BKE) compounded fastest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) -4.8%/yr, Buckle (BKE) +2.7%/yr, Gap (GAP) +0.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Buckle (BKE) has the highest dividend yield: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 0.03%, Buckle (BKE) 0.10%, Gap (GAP) 0.00%. Gap (GAP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Buckle (BKE) has been the steadiest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 52.4%, Buckle (BKE) 29.9%, Gap (GAP) 46.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEO, BKE and GAP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Gap (GAP) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.