GIL vs XELB Stock Comparison

Gildan Activewear and XCel Brands Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GIL Gildan Activewear Inc.
$40.35 -1.5% 1M -33.2% 1Y
Market cap
$6.42B
P/E
30.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.72B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
8 wins
XELB XCel Brands, Inc.
$0.36 -56.1% 1M -74.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.09M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.73M
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Gildan Activewear leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Gildan Activewear 8, XCel Brands 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGILXELBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.42B $2.09M GIL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.4x -0.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.4x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +38.0% -18.1% GIL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.5% -362.5% GIL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% -44.6% GIL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.9x -1.3x XELB
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -33.2% -74.1% GIL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.3%/yr -51.7%/yr GIL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.3% 116.6% GIL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 22/100 GIL

Percentile Scorecard

GILXELB

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

AxisGILXELB
Valuation 33 #31 of 46 20 #37 of 46
Growth 52 #21 of 43 43 #25 of 43
Profitability 44 #24 of 42 5 #40 of 42
Financial Health 29 #38 of 53 19 #43 of 53
Shareholder Returns 18 #28 of 34 –
Overall 35 22
  • GIL ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • XELB 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

PeriodGILXELBSPY
1 month -1.5%-56.1% -0.8%
3 months -20.4%-71.7% +3.5%
6 months -30.3%-84.3% +7.0%
Year to date -35.4%-66.7% +12.2%
1 year -33.2%-74.1% +13.0%
3 years +47.9%-96.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.9%-67.3% +23.1%
5 years +11.8%-97.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.3%-51.7% +11.0%
10 years +57.1%-99.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.6%-38.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGILXELBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.3%116.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.6%118.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.211.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.79-0.64 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.5%-98.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.4%-85.2% -1.8%
52-week high $72.58$2.43 $779.14
52-week low $40.30$0.34 $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.

MultipleGILXELB
P/E now vs peer median 30.6xmedian 16.6x -0.1xmedian 16.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 0.7x 0.5xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 9.7x -1.5xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 12.2x —median 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.2x 0.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.41median 0.64 0.00median 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 monthsGILXELB
Revenue $4.72B $4.73M
Gross profit $1.41B –
Operating income $380.85M -$12.63M
Net income -$60.80M -$17.25M
Free cash flow $703.50M –
EPS (diluted) $1.32 $-2.78
Cash & equivalents $268.30M $399.00K
Total debt $3.59B $49.59M
Shares (diluted) 160.20M 6.16M
Enterprise value $5.34B -$1.93M

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
MetricGILXELB
P/E 30.6x -0.1x
P/FCF 10.6x –
P/Operating cash flow 12.6x –
P/S 1.6x 0.5x
P/B 2.2x 0.2x
P/Tangible book 21.5x -0.2x
EV/EBITDA 16.0x -1.5x
EV/EBIT 28.3x -1.1x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 3.0x
EV/FCF 15.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.41 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGILXELB
Revenue growth (1Y) 38.0% -18.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.9% -39.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -29.8% 34.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.0% 19.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -127.3% 25.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.5% 6.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -16.4% 71.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.8% 34.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 273.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 141.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGILXELB
Gross margin 30.0% –
EBITDA margin 14.3% -191.4%
Operating margin 8.1% -267.1%
Pretax margin 7.6% -363.9%
Net margin 4.5% -362.5%
FCF margin 14.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.6% –
Return on equity 1.5% -108.4%
Return on assets 0.5% -48.3%
Return on invested capital 5.2% -44.6%
Return on capital employed 4.8% -41.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -9.7x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 16.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGILXELB
Debt / assets 35.7% 37.2%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.9x -1.3x
Debt / FCF 5.1x –
Liabilities / assets 66.8% 57.3%
Equity / assets 33.2% 42.7%
Interest coverage 1.8x -2.8x
Current ratio 1.9x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.65 -5.46

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGILXELB
Dividend yield 2.4% –
Net buyback yield -3.7% –
Shareholder yield -1.3% –
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.

ConsensusGILXELB
Forward P/E 8.4xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $4.81FY2026 $-1.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +37.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +17.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.67BFY2026 $6.58MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +56.6%FY2026 +33.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.5% +89.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGILXELB
Held by institutions 100.0% 11.6%
Institutions holding 463 11
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% -14.1%
Institutions buying 197 6
Institutions selling 149 3
Buyers to sellers 1.32 2.00

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.

GILXELB
GIL 1.00 0.03
XELB 0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GIL and XELB?

Gildan Activewear (GIL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gildan Activewear (GIL) $6.42B, XCel Brands (XELB) $2.09M.

Which company is growing faster?

Gildan Activewear (GIL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gildan Activewear (GIL) +38.0%, XCel Brands (XELB) -18.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gildan Activewear (GIL) has the highest net margin (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 4.5%, XCel Brands (XELB) -362.5%). On return on invested capital, Gildan Activewear (GIL) leads (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 5.2%, XCel Brands (XELB) -44.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Gildan Activewear (GIL) returned the most: Gildan Activewear (GIL) -33.2%, XCel Brands (XELB) -74.1%. Over five years, Gildan Activewear (GIL) compounded fastest (Gildan Activewear (GIL) +2.3%/yr, XCel Brands (XELB) -51.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gildan Activewear (GIL) has been the steadiest (Gildan Activewear (GIL) 42.3%, XCel Brands (XELB) 116.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do GIL and XELB move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.03, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, GIL and XELB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Gildan Activewear (GIL) leads on 8. 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.