LULU vs XELB Stock Comparison

Lululemon Athletica and XCel Brands Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LULU lululemon athletica inc.
$104.59 +3.2% 1M -42.3% 1Y
Market cap
$11.15B
P/E
8.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.09B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
XELB XCel Brands, Inc.
$0.34 -58.5% 1M -74.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.20M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.73M
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Lululemon Athletica leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Lululemon Athletica 7). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLULUXELBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.15B $2.20M LULU
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.3x -0.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.2x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% -18.1% LULU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.8% -362.5% LULU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -44.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -42.3% -74.8% LULU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -25.1%/yr -52.3%/yr LULU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.9% 116.5% LULU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 23/100 LULU

Percentile Scorecard

LULUXELB

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

AxisLULUXELB
Valuation 84 #8 of 45 21 #36 of 45
Growth 29 #31 of 43 43 #25 of 43
Profitability 98 #2 of 41 5 #39 of 41
Financial Health 75 #14 of 52 22 #41 of 52
Shareholder Returns 97 #2 of 34 –
Overall 76 23
  • LULU ranked among 52 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • XELB ranked among 52 companies in Apparel and Luxury

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLULUXELBSPY
1 month +3.2%-58.5% -0.2%
3 months -13.1%-72.8% +3.9%
6 months -26.5%-85.3% +8.2%
Year to date -49.7%-68.5% +12.9%
1 year -42.3%-74.8% +12.3%
3 years -73.0%-96.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year -35.4%-67.9% +23.3%
5 years -76.4%-97.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -25.1%-52.3% +10.9%
10 years +82.8%-99.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.2%-39.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLULUXELBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.9%116.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.0%118.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.201.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.90-0.64 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.0%-98.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.6%-86.0% -1.2%
52-week high $215.88$2.43 $779.14
52-week low $91.88$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.

MultipleLULUXELB
P/E now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 16.4x -0.1xmedian 16.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 0.5xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 9.9x -1.5xmedian 9.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 12.0x —median 12.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.2x 0.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.50median 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 monthsLULUXELB
Revenue $11.09B $4.73M
Gross profit $6.22B –
Operating income $1.98B -$12.63M
Net income $1.42B -$17.25M
Free cash flow $1.35B –
EPS (diluted) $12.56 $-2.78
Cash & equivalents $1.39B $399.00K
Total debt – $49.59M
Shares (diluted) 112.92M 6.16M
Enterprise value $5.40B -$3.95M

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
MetricLULUXELB
P/E 8.3x -0.1x
P/FCF 8.2x –
P/Operating cash flow 5.6x –
P/S 1.0x 0.5x
P/B 2.3x 0.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x -0.2x
EV/EBITDA 3.9x -1.5x
EV/EBIT 4.9x -1.1x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 2.9x
EV/FCF 7.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 4.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.50 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLULUXELB
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% -18.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.9% -39.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -20.7% 34.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 19.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -20.6% 25.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.1% 6.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.8% 71.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 34.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLULUXELB
Gross margin 56.1% –
EBITDA margin 22.7% -191.4%
Operating margin 17.8% -267.1%
Pretax margin 18.1% -363.9%
Net margin 12.8% -362.5%
FCF margin 12.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% –
Return on equity 29.5% -108.4%
Return on assets 16.7% -48.3%
Return on invested capital – -44.6%
Return on capital employed 29.5% -41.9%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 16.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLULUXELB
Debt / assets – 37.2%
Debt / equity – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.3x
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets 43.5% 57.3%
Equity / assets 56.5% 42.7%
Interest coverage – -2.8x
Current ratio 2.2x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.91 -5.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLULUXELB
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 10.4% –
Shareholder yield 10.4% –
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.

ConsensusLULUXELB
Forward P/E 10.2xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.26FY2026 $-1.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -22.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -16.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.00BFY2026 $6.58MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.9%FY2026 +33.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -9.7% +89.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLULUXELB
Held by institutions 71.6% 11.6%
Institutions holding 846 11
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% -14.1%
Institutions buying 407 6
Institutions selling 330 3
Buyers to sellers 1.23 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.

LULUXELB
LULU 1.00 0.04
XELB 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LULU and XELB?

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lululemon Athletica (LULU) $11.15B, XCel Brands (XELB) $2.20M.

Which company is growing faster?

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lululemon Athletica (LULU) +1.7%, XCel Brands (XELB) -18.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) has the highest net margin (Lululemon Athletica (LULU) 12.8%, XCel Brands (XELB) -362.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lululemon Athletica (LULU) returned the most: Lululemon Athletica (LULU) -42.3%, XCel Brands (XELB) -74.8%. Over five years, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) compounded fastest (Lululemon Athletica (LULU) -25.1%/yr, XCel Brands (XELB) -52.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) has been the steadiest (Lululemon Athletica (LULU) 46.9%, XCel Brands (XELB) 116.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do LULU and XELB move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.04, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, LULU 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, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) leads on 7. 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.