COLM vs VFC vs GIL Stock Comparison

Columbia Sportswear, V F and Gildan Activewear Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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COLM Columbia Sportswear Co
$60.82 +5.6% 1M +13.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.10B
P/E
15.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.41B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
VFC V F Corp
$16.93 +19.6% 1M +3.8% 1Y
Market cap
$6.51B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.51B
Div. yield
0.02%
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
GIL Gildan Activewear Inc.
$40.35 -1.5% 1M -33.2% 1Y
Market cap
$6.45B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.72B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Columbia Sportswear leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Columbia Sportswear 5, V F 3, Gildan Activewear 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCOLMVFCGILLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.10B $6.51B $6.45B VFC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.1x 23.7x 30.6x COLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.4x 15.3x 8.3x GIL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.1% +0.2% +38.0% GIL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 2.9% 4.5% COLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.3% 5.2% VFC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.3x 4.9x VFC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.4% +3.8% -33.2% COLM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.4%/yr -24.9%/yr +2.3%/yr GIL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.1% 48.9% 42.3% COLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 49/100 35/100 COLM

Percentile Scorecard

COLMVFCGIL

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

AxisCOLMVFCGIL
Valuation 82 #9 of 46 53 #22 of 46 33 #31 of 46
Growth 31 #30 of 43 76 #11 of 43 52 #21 of 43
Profitability 71 #13 of 42 59 #18 of 42 44 #24 of 42
Financial Health 81 #11 of 53 25 #40 of 53 29 #38 of 53
Shareholder Returns 85 #6 of 34 33 #23 of 34 18 #28 of 34
Overall 70 49 35
  • COLM ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • VFC ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • GIL ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCOLMVFCGILSPY
1 month +5.6%+19.6%-1.5% -0.8%
3 months -4.2%-1.1%-20.4% +3.5%
6 months -0.4%-12.6%-30.3% +7.0%
Year to date +10.4%-6.4%-35.4% +12.2%
1 year +13.4%+3.8%-33.2% +13.0%
3 years -14.7%+0.2%+47.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year -5.2%+0.1%+13.9% +23.1%
5 years -39.0%-76.1%+11.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year -9.4%-24.9%+2.3% +11.0%
10 years +5.7%-68.7%+57.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +0.6%-11.0%+4.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCOLMVFCGILSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.1%48.9%42.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.0%50.9%44.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.631.671.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.370.08-0.79 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.0%-87.5%-44.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.3%-21.4%-44.4% -1.8%
52-week high $67.79$21.55$72.58 $779.14
52-week low $49.63$12.62$40.30 $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.

MultipleCOLMVFCGIL
P/E now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 16.6x 24.2xmedian 16.6x 30.6xmedian 16.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x 1.6xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 9.7x 11.1xmedian 9.7x 16.0xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 12.2x 10.6xmedian 12.2x 10.6xmedian 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.2x 3.8xmedian 2.2x 2.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.87median 0.64 0.75median 0.64 -1.41median 0.64

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 monthsCOLMVFCGIL
Revenue $3.41B $9.51B $4.72B
Gross profit $1.78B $5.23B $1.41B
Operating income $257.00M $580.11M $380.85M
Net income $206.03M $274.18M -$60.80M
Free cash flow $321.30M $628.20M $703.50M
EPS (diluted) $4.02 $0.70 $1.32
Cash & equivalents $532.31M $670.06M $268.30M
Total debt – $3.51B $3.59B
Shares (diluted) 51.26M 392.11M 160.20M
Enterprise value $916.17M $3.13B $5.37B

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
MetricCOLMVFCGIL
P/E 15.1x 24.2x 30.6x
P/FCF 9.7x 10.6x 10.6x
P/Operating cash flow 8.1x 8.8x 12.6x
P/S 0.9x 0.7x 1.6x
P/B 1.9x 3.8x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 22.1x 21.5x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 11.1x 16.0x
EV/EBIT 9.7x 16.4x 28.3x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 1.0x 2.3x
EV/FCF 7.7x 15.1x 15.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.5x 12.6x 18.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.87 0.75 -1.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCOLMVFCGIL
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.1% 0.2% 38.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.5% -4.5% 14.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.2% 2.0% 10.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.3% -2.7% 16.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -5.8% 70.5% -29.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -10.9% -14.4% -13.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -8.3% 680.4% -127.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.0% 32.8% -28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -2.1% 677.3% -16.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.3% 32.3% -21.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% 115.2% 273.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 58.0% 96.9% 32.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.9% 141.9% 141.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 92.8% 60.4% 9.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCOLMVFCGIL
Gross margin 52.2% 55.0% 30.0%
EBITDA margin 9.2% 9.0% 14.3%
Operating margin 7.5% 6.1% 8.1%
Pretax margin 8.1% 3.8% 7.6%
Net margin 6.0% 2.9% 4.5%
FCF margin 9.4% 6.6% 14.9%
Operating cash flow margin 11.2% 7.9% 12.6%
Return on equity 12.9% 15.2% 1.5%
Return on assets 7.7% 2.9% 0.5%
Return on invested capital – 8.3% 5.2%
Return on capital employed 13.3% 9.0% 4.8%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 2.8x -9.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCOLMVFCGIL
Debt / assets – 37.1% 35.7%
Debt / equity – 2.0x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.3x 4.9x
Debt / FCF – 5.6x 5.1x
Liabilities / assets 42.8% 81.4% 66.8%
Equity / assets 57.2% 18.6% 33.2%
Interest coverage – 3.8x 1.8x
Current ratio 2.5x 1.4x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.39 1.73 1.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCOLMVFCGIL
Dividend yield 2.0% 2.1% 2.4%
Net buyback yield 7.0% – -3.7%
Shareholder yield 8.9% 2.1% -1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 51.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 22.4% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 0.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -39.1% –

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.

ConsensusCOLMVFCGIL
Forward P/E 14.4xFY2026 15.3xFY2026 8.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.21FY2026 $1.11FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.1%FY2026 +32.1%FY2026 +37.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.8% +14.4% +18.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.31BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026 $5.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.8%FY2026 +1.8%FY2026 +57.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.8% -4.1% +11.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCOLMVFCGIL
Held by institutions 51.1% 91.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 323 553 463
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +3.6% +7.8%
Institutions buying 161 267 197
Institutions selling 111 182 149
Buyers to sellers 1.45 1.47 1.32

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.

COLMVFCGIL
COLM 1.00 0.56 0.36
VFC 0.56 1.00 0.34
GIL 0.36 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COLM, VFC and GIL?

V F (VFC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Columbia Sportswear (COLM) $3.10B, V F (VFC) $6.51B, Gildan Activewear (GIL) $6.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, COLM, VFC and GIL?

Columbia Sportswear (COLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 15.1x, V F (VFC) 23.7x, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 30.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gildan Activewear (GIL) is cheapest (Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 14.4x, V F (VFC) 15.3x, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 8.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gildan Activewear (GIL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Columbia Sportswear (COLM) -0.1%, V F (VFC) +0.2%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) +38.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Columbia Sportswear (COLM) has the highest net margin (Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 6.0%, V F (VFC) 2.9%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 4.5%). On return on invested capital, V F (VFC) leads (V F (VFC) 8.3%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 5.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Columbia Sportswear (COLM) returned the most: Columbia Sportswear (COLM) +13.4%, V F (VFC) +3.8%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) -33.2%. Over five years, Gildan Activewear (GIL) compounded fastest (Columbia Sportswear (COLM) -9.4%/yr, V F (VFC) -24.9%/yr, Gildan Activewear (GIL) +2.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 0.00%, V F (VFC) 0.02%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 0.00%. Columbia Sportswear (COLM) and Gildan Activewear (GIL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) has been the steadiest (Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 36.1%, V F (VFC) 48.9%, Gildan Activewear (GIL) 42.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, COLM, VFC and GIL?

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