XELB vs KTB vs VFC Stock Comparison

XCel Brands, Kontoor Brands and V F Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
KTB Kontoor Brands, Inc.
$75.69 +15.8% 1M -10.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.13B
P/E
16.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.95B
Div. yield
–
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
8 wins
VFC V F Corp
$16.93 +19.6% 1M +3.8% 1Y
Market cap
$6.67B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.51B
Div. yield
0.02%
Apparel Consumer Discretionary
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Kontoor Brands leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Kontoor Brands 8, V F 2, XCel Brands 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionXELBKTBVFCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.09M $4.13B $6.67B VFC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -0.1x 16.6x 24.3x KTB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.9x 15.4x KTB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -18.1% +18.6% +0.2% KTB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -362.5% 8.5% 2.9% KTB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -44.6% 14.5% 8.3% KTB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.3x — 3.3x XELB
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -74.1% -10.9% +3.8% VFC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -51.7%/yr +7.5%/yr -24.9%/yr KTB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 116.6% 47.9% 48.9% KTB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 22/100 52/100 49/100 KTB

Percentile Scorecard

XELBKTBVFC

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

AxisXELBKTBVFC
Valuation 20 #37 of 46 22 #36 of 46 53 #22 of 46
Growth 43 #25 of 43 57 #19 of 43 76 #11 of 43
Profitability 5 #40 of 42 88 #6 of 42 59 #18 of 42
Financial Health 19 #43 of 53 31 #37 of 53 25 #40 of 53
Shareholder Returns – 61 #14 of 34 33 #23 of 34
Overall 22 52 49
  • XELB ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • KTB ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • VFC 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

PeriodXELBKTBVFCSPY
1 month -56.1%+15.8%+19.6% -0.8%
3 months -71.7%-11.8%-1.1% +3.5%
6 months -84.3%+8.9%-12.6% +7.0%
Year to date -66.7%+23.9%-6.4% +12.2%
1 year -74.1%-10.9%+3.8% +13.0%
3 years -96.5%+62.2%+0.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year -67.3%+17.5%+0.1% +23.1%
5 years -97.4%+43.5%-76.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year -51.7%+7.5%-24.9% +11.0%
10 years -99.3%—-68.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year -38.9%—-11.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureXELBKTBVFCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 116.6%47.9%48.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 118.2%46.0%50.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.370.791.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.64-0.230.08 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -98.3%-48.3%-87.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -85.2%-14.2%-21.4% -1.8%
52-week high $2.43$88.17$21.55 $779.14
52-week low $0.34$57.48$12.62 $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.

MultipleXELBKTBVFC
P/E now vs peer median -0.1xmedian 16.6x 16.7xmedian 16.6x 24.2xmedian 16.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 0.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -1.5xmedian 9.7x —median 9.7x 11.1xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 12.2x —median 12.2x 10.6xmedian 12.2x
P/B now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 2.2x 6.7xmedian 2.2x 3.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.00median 0.64 2.22median 0.64 0.75median 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 monthsXELBKTBVFC
Revenue $4.73M $2.95B $9.51B
Gross profit – $1.38B $5.23B
Operating income -$12.63M $332.45M $580.11M
Net income -$17.25M $249.37M $274.18M
Free cash flow – – $628.20M
EPS (diluted) $-2.78 $4.49 $0.70
Cash & equivalents $399.00K $58.46M $670.06M
Total debt $49.59M $1.14B $3.51B
Shares (diluted) 6.16M 55.50M 392.11M
Enterprise value -$1.93M $3.83B $3.29B

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
MetricXELBKTBVFC
P/E -0.1x 16.7x 24.2x
P/FCF – – 10.6x
P/Operating cash flow – – 8.8x
P/S 0.5x 1.4x 0.7x
P/B 0.2x 6.7x 3.8x
P/Tangible book -0.2x 24.2x 22.1x
EV/EBITDA -1.5x – 11.1x
EV/EBIT -1.1x 15.7x 16.4x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 1.8x 1.0x
EV/FCF – – 15.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – – 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.00 2.22 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELBKTBVFC
Revenue growth (1Y) -18.1% 18.6% 0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 4.0% -4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 22.2% 2.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 7.9% -2.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 34.8% 6.3% 70.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 1.5% -14.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.5% -0.8% 680.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 6.7% 32.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 71.0% 0.1% 677.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.0% 7.5% 32.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – 115.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 96.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 141.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 60.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELBKTBVFC
Gross margin – 46.8% 55.0%
EBITDA margin -191.4% – 9.0%
Operating margin -267.1% 11.3% 6.1%
Pretax margin -363.9% 9.8% 3.8%
Net margin -362.5% 8.5% 2.9%
FCF margin – – 6.6%
Operating cash flow margin – – 7.9%
Return on equity -108.4% 41.3% 15.2%
Return on assets -48.3% 9.3% 2.9%
Return on invested capital -44.6% 14.5% 8.3%
Return on capital employed -41.9% 16.6% 9.0%
Asset turnover 0.1x 1.1x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 16.5% – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELBKTBVFC
Debt / assets 37.2% 42.9% 37.1%
Debt / equity 0.9x 1.8x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.3x – 3.3x
Debt / FCF – – 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 57.3% 76.8% 81.4%
Equity / assets 42.7% 23.2% 18.6%
Interest coverage -2.8x 4.9x 3.8x
Current ratio 0.3x 1.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -5.46 3.11 1.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELBKTBVFC
Dividend yield – 2.8% 2.1%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 2.8% 2.1%
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.

ConsensusXELBKTBVFC
Forward P/E – 13.9xFY2026 15.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.59FY2026 $5.45FY2026 $1.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -2.5%FY2026 +31.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +12.1% +14.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.58MFY2026 $2.85BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +33.1%FY2026 -9.5%FY2026 +1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +89.0% -5.1% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELBKTBVFC
Held by institutions 11.6% 100.0% 91.8%
Institutions holding 11 429 553
Change in shares held, QoQ -14.1% +6.9% +3.6%
Institutions buying 6 214 267
Institutions selling 3 137 182
Buyers to sellers 2.00 1.56 1.47

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.

XELBKTBVFC
XELB 1.00 0.08 0.12
KTB 0.08 1.00 0.47
VFC 0.12 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XELB, KTB and VFC?

V F (VFC) is the largest by market capitalisation: XCel Brands (XELB) $2.09M, Kontoor Brands (KTB) $4.13B, V F (VFC) $6.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, XELB, KTB and VFC?

Kontoor Brands (KTB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (XCel Brands (XELB) -0.1x, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 16.6x, V F (VFC) 24.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kontoor Brands (KTB) is cheapest (Kontoor Brands (KTB) 13.9x, V F (VFC) 15.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kontoor Brands (KTB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: XCel Brands (XELB) -18.1%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) +18.6%, V F (VFC) +0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kontoor Brands (KTB) has the highest net margin (XCel Brands (XELB) -362.5%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 8.5%, V F (VFC) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Kontoor Brands (KTB) leads (XCel Brands (XELB) -44.6%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 14.5%, V F (VFC) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year V F (VFC) returned the most: XCel Brands (XELB) -74.1%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) -10.9%, V F (VFC) +3.8%. Over five years, Kontoor Brands (KTB) compounded fastest (XCel Brands (XELB) -51.7%/yr, Kontoor Brands (KTB) +7.5%/yr, V F (VFC) -24.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: XCel Brands (XELB) 0.00%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 0.00%, V F (VFC) 0.02%. XCel Brands (XELB) and Kontoor Brands (KTB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kontoor Brands (KTB) has been the steadiest (XCel Brands (XELB) 116.6%, Kontoor Brands (KTB) 47.9%, V F (VFC) 48.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, XELB, KTB and VFC?

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