Sifting through countless of stocks in the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc.

Gildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products. The company provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, sports shirts, polos, and tank tops under Gildan, Hanes, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Gildan Softstyle, Gildan Heavy Cotton, Gildan Ultra Cotton, Gildan DryBlend, Gildan HeavyBlend, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, ALLPRO, ComfortWash, BEEFY, Bonds and Champion brands. It also offers hosiery products comprising athletic, dress, casual and workwear socks, liner socks, and socks for therapeutic purposes under Gildan, GoldToe, Signature Gold by GoldToe, GoldToe Edition, Peds, MediPeds, Hanes, and Powersox brands. In addition, the company provides men's and boys' underwear products and ladies' panties under Gildan, Gildan Platinum, Gildan Softstyle, Gildan Performance, BareSoft, Gildan Performance, EZBreeze, Bonds, Berlei, Bras N Things, Polo Ralph Lauren brands. Further, it provides women's lingerie, bras and shapewear under Bali, Playtex, WonderBra, Maidenform, Bonds, Bras N Things, Berle brands. It sells its products to wholesale distributors, screenprinters, and embellishers in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, as well as to retailers in North America, including mass merchants, department stores, national chains, specialty retailers, craft stores, and online retailers; and manufactures products for lifestyle brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Kontoor Brands, Inc., a lifestyle apparel company, designs, manufactures, procures, sells, and licenses apparel, footwear, and accessories, primarily under the Wrangler, Lee, and Helly Hansen brands. The company operates through two segments: Wrangler and Lee. It licenses and sells apparel under the Musto, Chic, and Rock & Republic brand names. The company sells its products through mass merchants, outdoor and sporting goods stores, specialty stores, department stores, company-operated stores, business-to-business through workwear and uniform businesses, and online, including digital marketplaces, as well as through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels. It operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Kontoor Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Latest Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods and Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Gildan Activewear Inc. had a $9.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods median of $2.8 million. Gildan Activewear Inc.’s stock is down 16.5% in 2026, down 2% in the previous five trading days and down 1.83% in the past year.

Currently, Gildan Activewear Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 42.5. Gildan Activewear Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.7 billion with a 1.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 72.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.673 per share for the current fiscal year. Gildan Activewear Inc. currently has a 1.9% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Kontoor Brands, Inc. had a $4.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 63rd percentile of all stocks. Kontoor Brands, Inc.’s stock is up 17.6% in 2026, down 6% in the previous five trading days and down 8.62% in the past year.

Currently, Kontoor Brands, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.7. Kontoor Brands, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.4 billion with a 7.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.286 per share for the current fiscal year. Kontoor Brands, Inc. currently has a 2.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Gildan Activewear Inc.	GIL	D
Kontoor Brands, Inc.	KTB	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Gildan Activewear Inc. has a Value Score of 27, which is Expensive. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a Value Score of 66, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Kontoor Brands, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Kontoor Brands, Inc. is considered to have better value than Gildan Activewear Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Kontoor Brands, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Gildan Activewear Inc.	GIL	A
Kontoor Brands, Inc.	KTB	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Gildan Activewear Inc. has a Growth Score of 82, which is Very Strong. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Gildan Activewear Inc.	GIL	D
Kontoor Brands, Inc.	KTB	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Gildan Activewear Inc. has a Momentum Score of 32, which is Weak. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 38, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Gildan Activewear Inc. stock has a Value Score of 27, Growth Score of 82 and Momentum Score of 32.

Kontoor Brands, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 66, Growth Score of 95 and Momentum Score of 38.

Comparing Gildan Activewear Inc., Kontoor Brands and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.