Sifting through countless of stocks in the Specialty Retail 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a sporting goods and outdoor recreational retailer in the United States. The company’s outdoors division comprises camping products, such as coolers and drinkware, camping accessories and equipment, and watersports and equipment; fishing products, including marine equipment and fishing rods, reels, and baits and equipment; and hunting products, which includes firearms, ammunition, archery and archery equipment, camouflage apparel, waders, shooting accessories, gun safes, optics, airguns, and hunting equipment. Its sports and recreation division offers fitness equipment, fitness accessories, and nutrition supplies; team and specialty sports equipment, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, racket sports, volleyball, backpacks, and sports bags; recreation products, which includes patio furniture, outdoor cooking, trampolines, and play sets, as well as wheeled goods that include bicycles, skateboards, and other ride-on toys; and electronics, watches, and sunglasses, as well as front-end products, such as consumables, batteries, etc. The company’s apparel division provides outdoor and seasonal apparel, denim, work apparel, graphic t-shirts, accessories, and outerwear; boys and girls outdoor, and athletic apparel and swimwear; sporting and fitness apparel; and professional and collegiate team licensed apparel and accessories. Its footwear division offers casual shoes, slippers, seasonal footwear, and socks; work and western boots, shoes, and hunting footwear; boys and girls footwear; athletic footwear, such as running shoes, athletic lifestyle, and training shoes; and team and specialty sports footwear, and slides. The company sells its products under the Academy Sports + Outdoors, Magellan Outdoors, BCG, O'rageous, Game Winner, Outdoor Gourmet, Freely, R.O.W., Redfield, and H2OX brand names. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Katy, Texas.

The Gap, Inc. operates as an apparel retail company in the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and internationally. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. The company offers its products through company-operated stores, franchise stores, websites, and third-party arrangements, as well as licensing partnerships. It has franchise agreements to operate Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The Gap, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

The Gap, Inc. operates as an apparel retail company in the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and internationally. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. The company offers its products through company-operated stores, franchise stores, websites, and third-party arrangements, as well as licensing partnerships. It has franchise agreements to operate Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The Gap, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Latest Specialty Retail and Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc. Stock News

As of August 20, 2026, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. had a $2.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Specialty Retail median of $892.4 million. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.’s stock is down 8.1% in 2026, down 4.3% in the previous five trading days and down 13.25% in the past year.

Currently, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 8.0. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.1 billion with a 6.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.465 per share for the current fiscal year. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. currently has a 1.3% dividend yield.

As of August 20, 2026, The Gap, Inc. had a $7.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 72nd percentile of all stocks. The Gap, Inc.’s stock is down 21.6% in 2026, down 2.6% in the previous five trading days and down 5.12% in the past year.

Currently, The Gap, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 7.8. The Gap, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.4 billion with a 6.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.348 per share for the current fiscal year. The Gap, Inc. currently has a 3.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.	ASO	C
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	C
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	C

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.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average. The Gap, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. The Gap, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.	ASO	D
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	D
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	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%.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 29, which is Weak. The Gap, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 29, which is Weak. The Gap, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 29, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc.	ASO	D
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	D
The Gap, Inc.	GAP	D

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

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 38, which is Negative. The Gap, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 32, which is Negative. The Gap, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 32, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc. Grades

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

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 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 43, Momentum Score of 29 and Estimate Revisions Score of 38.

The Gap, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 29 and Estimate Revisions Score of 32.

The Gap, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 29 and Estimate Revisions Score of 32.

Comparing Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., The Gap, Inc., The Gap 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.