GIL vs KTB vs COLM Stock Comparison

Gildan Activewear, Kontoor Brands and Columbia Sportswear Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GIL Gildan Activewear Inc.
$40.35 -1.5% 1M -33.2% 1Y
Market cap
$6.43B
P/E
30.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.72B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
KTB Kontoor Brands, Inc.
$75.69 +15.8% 1M -10.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.14B
P/E
16.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.95B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
COLM Columbia Sportswear Co
$60.82 +5.6% 1M +13.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.11B
P/E
15.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.41B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Columbia Sportswear leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Columbia Sportswear 4, Gildan Activewear 3, Kontoor Brands 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGILKTBCOLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.43B $4.14B $3.11B GIL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.4x 16.6x 15.1x COLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.3x 13.9x 14.4x GIL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +38.0% +18.6% -0.1% GIL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.5% 8.5% 6.0% KTB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% 14.5% — KTB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -33.2% -10.9% +13.4% COLM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.3%/yr +7.5%/yr -9.4%/yr KTB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.3% 47.9% 36.1% COLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 52/100 70/100 COLM

Percentile Scorecard

GILKTBCOLM

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

AxisGILKTBCOLM
Valuation 33 #31 of 46 22 #36 of 46 82 #9 of 46
Growth 52 #21 of 43 57 #19 of 43 31 #30 of 43
Profitability 44 #24 of 42 88 #6 of 42 71 #13 of 42
Financial Health 29 #38 of 53 31 #37 of 53 81 #11 of 53
Shareholder Returns 18 #28 of 34 61 #14 of 34 85 #6 of 34
Overall 35 52 70
  • GIL ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • KTB ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • COLM 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

PeriodGILKTBCOLMSPY
1 month -1.5%+15.8%+5.6% -0.8%
3 months -20.4%-11.8%-4.2% +3.5%
6 months -30.3%+8.9%-0.4% +7.0%
Year to date -35.4%+23.9%+10.4% +12.2%
1 year -33.2%-10.9%+13.4% +13.0%
3 years +47.9%+62.2%-14.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.9%+17.5%-5.2% +23.1%
5 years +11.8%+43.5%-39.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.3%+7.5%-9.4% +11.0%
10 years +57.1%—+5.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.6%—+0.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGILKTBCOLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.3%47.9%36.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.6%46.0%31.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.210.790.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.79-0.230.37 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.5%-48.3%-54.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.4%-14.2%-10.3% -1.8%
52-week high $72.58$88.17$67.79 $779.14
52-week low $40.30$57.48$49.63 $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.

MultipleGILKTBCOLM
P/E now vs peer median 30.6xmedian 16.6x 16.7xmedian 16.6x 15.1xmedian 16.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 0.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x 0.9xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 9.7x —median 9.7x 7.9xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 12.2x —median 12.2x 9.7xmedian 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.2x 6.7xmedian 2.2x 1.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.41median 0.64 2.22median 0.64 -2.87median 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 monthsGILKTBCOLM
Revenue $4.72B $2.95B $3.41B
Gross profit $1.41B $1.38B $1.78B
Operating income $380.85M $332.45M $257.00M
Net income -$60.80M $249.37M $206.03M
Free cash flow $703.50M – $321.30M
EPS (diluted) $1.32 $4.49 $4.02
Cash & equivalents $268.30M $58.46M $532.31M
Total debt $3.59B $1.14B –
Shares (diluted) 160.20M 55.50M 51.26M
Enterprise value $5.35B $3.84B $920.52M

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
MetricGILKTBCOLM
P/E 30.6x 16.7x 15.1x
P/FCF 10.6x – 9.7x
P/Operating cash flow 12.6x – 8.1x
P/S 1.6x 1.4x 0.9x
P/B 2.2x 6.7x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 21.5x 24.2x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 16.0x – 7.9x
EV/EBIT 28.3x 15.7x 9.7x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.8x 0.7x
EV/FCF 15.3x – 7.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x – 6.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.41 2.22 -2.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGILKTBCOLM
Revenue growth (1Y) 38.0% 18.6% -0.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 4.0% -1.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.9% 22.2% 3.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 7.9% 0.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -29.8% 6.3% -5.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.0% 1.5% -10.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -127.3% -0.8% -8.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% 6.7% -11.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -16.4% 0.1% -2.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.8% 7.5% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 273.6% – 20.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.0% – 58.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 141.2% – 24.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% – 92.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGILKTBCOLM
Gross margin 30.0% 46.8% 52.2%
EBITDA margin 14.3% – 9.2%
Operating margin 8.1% 11.3% 7.5%
Pretax margin 7.6% 9.8% 8.1%
Net margin 4.5% 8.5% 6.0%
FCF margin 14.9% – 9.4%
Operating cash flow margin 12.6% – 11.2%
Return on equity 1.5% 41.3% 12.9%
Return on assets 0.5% 9.3% 7.7%
Return on invested capital 5.2% 14.5% –
Return on capital employed 4.8% 16.6% 13.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.1x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -9.7x – 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGILKTBCOLM
Debt / assets 35.7% 42.9% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 1.8x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.9x – –
Debt / FCF 5.1x – –
Liabilities / assets 66.8% 76.8% 42.8%
Equity / assets 33.2% 23.2% 57.2%
Interest coverage 1.8x 4.9x –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.8x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.5x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 1.65 3.11 4.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGILKTBCOLM
Dividend yield 2.4% 2.8% 2.0%
Net buyback yield -3.7% – 7.0%
Shareholder yield -1.3% 2.8% 8.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusGILKTBCOLM
Forward P/E 8.3xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 14.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.84FY2026 $5.45FY2026 $4.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +37.9%FY2026 -2.5%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.8% +12.1% -3.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.69BFY2026 $2.85BFY2026 $3.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +57.1%FY2026 -9.5%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.9% -5.1% +14.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGILKTBCOLM
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 51.1%
Institutions holding 463 429 323
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +6.9% +1.8%
Institutions buying 197 214 161
Institutions selling 149 137 111
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.56 1.45

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.

GILKTBCOLM
GIL 1.00 0.34 0.36
KTB 0.34 1.00 0.52
COLM 0.36 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GIL, KTB and COLM?

Gildan Activewear (GIL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gildan Activewear (GIL) $6.43B, Kontoor Brands (KTB) $4.14B, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) $3.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, GIL, KTB and COLM?

Columbia Sportswear (COLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 30.4x, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 16.6x, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 15.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gildan Activewear (GIL) is cheapest (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 8.3x, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 13.9x, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 14.4x). 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: Gildan Activewear (GIL) +38.0%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) +18.6%, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) -0.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kontoor Brands (KTB) has the highest net margin (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 4.5%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 8.5%, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 6.0%). On return on invested capital, Kontoor Brands (KTB) leads (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 5.2%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 14.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Columbia Sportswear (COLM) returned the most: Gildan Activewear (GIL) -33.2%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) -10.9%, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) +13.4%. Over five years, Kontoor Brands (KTB) compounded fastest (Gildan Activewear (GIL) +2.3%/yr, Kontoor Brands (KTB) +7.5%/yr, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) -9.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) has been the steadiest (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 42.3%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 47.9%, Columbia Sportswear (COLM) 36.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 4. 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.