AEO vs BURL vs HD Stock Comparison

American Eagle Outfitters, Burlington Stores and Home Depot Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BURL Burlington Stores, Inc.
$247.52 -3.8% 1M -7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$15.14B
P/E
21.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.22B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
HD Home Depot, Inc.
$319.64 +7.7% 1M -17.0% 1Y
Market cap
$317.76B
P/E
22.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$169.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Home Improvement Retail Consumer Discretionary
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAEOBURLHDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.13B $15.14B $317.76B HD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.3x 21.2x 22.3x AEO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 21.9x 22.9x AEO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.2% +10.9% +2.5% BURL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% 5.8% 8.4% HD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.0% -115.4% 23.3% HD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x -0.2x 2.0x BURL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.03% HD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.2% -7.7% -17.0% AEO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.0%/yr -2.3%/yr -2.7%/yr BURL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.1% 40.4% 26.9% HD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 44/100 41/100 AEO

Percentile Scorecard

AEOBURLHD

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

AxisAEOBURLHD
Valuation 86 #15 of 104 18 #85 of 104 23 #80 of 104
Growth 79 #22 of 99 86 #15 of 99 29 #71 of 99
Profitability 78 #23 of 99 41 #59 of 99 90 #11 of 99
Financial Health 80 #23 of 113 30 #79 of 113 32 #77 of 113
Shareholder Returns 60 #30 of 73 43 #42 of 73 31 #51 of 73
Overall 77 44 41
  • AEO ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BURL ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • HD ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAEOBURLHDSPY
1 month +12.5%-3.8%+7.7% -1.0%
3 months +5.4%-29.3%-4.0% +2.9%
6 months 0.0%-25.4%-4.8% +6.4%
Year to date -32.1%-14.3%-7.1% +11.4%
1 year +8.2%-7.7%-17.0% +13.1%
3 years +1.6%+106.0%+12.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +0.5%+27.3%+4.1% +21.5%
5 years -26.6%-11.1%-12.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -6.0%-2.3%-2.7% +10.9%
10 years +1.4%+227.3%+152.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +0.1%+12.6%+9.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAEOBURLHDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.1%40.4%26.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 55.9%43.4%26.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.160.760.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.16-0.19-0.63 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.7%-63.3%-35.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.5%-33.5%-18.3% -2.5%
52-week high $28.19$372.18$391.05 $779.14
52-week low $14.52$232.24$281.12 $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.

MultipleAEOBURLHD
P/E now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 16.7x 21.8xmedian 16.7x 22.3xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 0.5x 1.3xmedian 0.5x 1.9xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 9.1x -3.1xmedian 9.1x 14.6xmedian 9.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 16.6x 37.7xmedian 16.6x 21.1xmedian 16.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.7x 7.8xmedian 1.7x 19.2xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.37median 0.73 0.55median 0.73 -5.48median 0.73

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 monthsAEOBURLHD
Revenue $5.75B $12.22B $169.18B
Gross profit $2.33B $5.45B $56.18B
Operating income $447.95M -$5.83B $21.02B
Net income $330.75M $714.18M $14.23B
Free cash flow $343.50M $412.54M $15.10B
EPS (diluted) $1.98 $11.18 $14.28
Cash & equivalents $147.95M $703.69M $2.09B
Total debt $350.00M $7.95B $214.74B
Shares (diluted) 170.18M 63.90M 996.00M
Enterprise value $2.53B $11.87B $311.00B

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
MetricAEOBURLHD
P/E 8.9x 21.8x 22.3x
P/FCF 8.7x 37.7x 21.1x
P/Operating cash flow 5.0x 11.0x 17.0x
P/S 0.5x 1.3x 1.9x
P/B 1.7x 7.8x 19.2x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 8.8x 52.0x
EV/EBITDA 4.4x -3.1x 14.6x
EV/EBIT 6.5x -2.9x 17.6x
EV/Revenue 0.5x 1.4x 2.2x
EV/FCF 8.5x 40.6x 24.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.9x 11.8x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.37 0.55 -5.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAEOBURLHD
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.2% 10.9% 2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 10.3% 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% 13.3% 2.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 13.0% 2.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 68.2% -6.3% -2.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.1% -5.5% -3.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 71.1% 30.7% -2.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.7% 39.1% -4.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 72.4% 30.7% -2.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.1% 39.9% -4.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 46.3% 76.0% 5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 22.0% -1.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 126.5% 235.2% 6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.3% 5.1% -2.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAEOBURLHD
Gross margin 40.5% 44.6% 33.2%
EBITDA margin 11.6% -44.0% 15.0%
Operating margin 7.8% -47.7% 12.4%
Pretax margin 7.6% 7.7% 11.1%
Net margin 5.9% 5.8% 8.4%
FCF margin 6.0% 3.4% 8.9%
Operating cash flow margin 10.4% 11.6% 11.1%
Return on equity 19.3% 37.2% 93.3%
Return on assets 7.9% 7.2% 13.1%
Return on invested capital 19.0% -115.4% 23.3%
Return on capital employed 13.4% -75.7% 28.5%
Asset turnover 1.4x 1.2x 1.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 2.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 1.0% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAEOBURLHD
Debt / assets 1.3% 19.1% 48.4%
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.0x 3.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x -0.2x 2.0x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 4.6x 3.5x
Liabilities / assets 58.8% 80.1% 84.8%
Equity / assets 41.2% 19.9% 15.2%
Interest coverage – -78.8x 8.7x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.42 0.84 5.53

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAEOBURLHD
Dividend yield 2.9% – 2.9%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 1.9% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 5.2% 1.9% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.5% – 64.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 24.5% – 61.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) -7.0% – 2.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 28.9% – 4.4%

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.

ConsensusAEOBURLHD
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 21.9xFY2026 22.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.11FY2026 $11.29FY2026 $13.98FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +40.7%FY2026 +15.7%FY2026 -4.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -11.4% +26.9% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.00BFY2026 $12.23BFY2026 $163.27BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 -0.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.2% +18.9% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAEOBURLHD
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 75.0%
Institutions holding 344 653 4,107
Change in shares held, QoQ +13.9% 0.0% +3.1%
Institutions buying 164 367 1,917
Institutions selling 135 215 1,766
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.71 1.09

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.

AEOBURLHD
AEO 1.00 0.20 0.35
BURL 0.20 1.00 0.21
HD 0.35 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AEO, BURL and HD?

Home Depot (HD) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) $3.13B, Burlington Stores (BURL) $15.14B, Home Depot (HD) $317.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, AEO, BURL and HD?

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 9.3x, Burlington Stores (BURL) 21.2x, Home Depot (HD) 22.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is cheapest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 8.5x, Burlington Stores (BURL) 21.9x, Home Depot (HD) 22.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Burlington Stores (BURL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +9.2%, Burlington Stores (BURL) +10.9%, Home Depot (HD) +2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Home Depot (HD) has the highest net margin (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 5.9%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 5.8%, Home Depot (HD) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, Home Depot (HD) leads (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 19.0%, Burlington Stores (BURL) -115.4%, Home Depot (HD) 23.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) returned the most: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +8.2%, Burlington Stores (BURL) -7.7%, Home Depot (HD) -17.0%. Over five years, Burlington Stores (BURL) compounded fastest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) -6.0%/yr, Burlington Stores (BURL) -2.3%/yr, Home Depot (HD) -2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Home Depot (HD) has the highest dividend yield: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 0.03%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 0.00%, Home Depot (HD) 0.03%. Burlington Stores (BURL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Home Depot (HD) has been the steadiest (American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 52.1%, Burlington Stores (BURL) 40.4%, Home Depot (HD) 26.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AEO, BURL and HD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Home Depot (HD) 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.