Which Is a Better Investment, lululemon athletica inc. or NIKE, Inc. Stock?

By Tudor Pop
October 12, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
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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 NIKE, Inc. or lululemon athletica 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 NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc.

NIKE, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services for men, women, and kids in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Greater China, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers its products under the NIKE, Jordan, Converse, Jumpman, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks. It also provides a line of performance equipment and accessories, including bags, socks, sport balls, eyewear, timepieces, digital devices, bats, gloves, protective equipment, and other equipment for sports activities; and sports apparel, as well as sells products to wholesale customers and directly to consumers through NIKE Direct operations; distributes and licenses casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories; and markets apparel with licensed college and professional team and league logos. In addition, the company offers consumer services and experiences, including sport focused events and activations; fitness and activity apps; sport, fitness, and wellness content; and digital services and features in retail stores. It sells its products to footwear stores; sporting goods stores; athletic specialty stores; department stores; skate, tennis, and golf shops; and other wholesale accounts through NIKE-owned retail stores, independent distributors, licensees, sales representatives, and digital platforms. The company was formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc. and changed its name to NIKE, Inc. in May 1971. NIKE, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.

lululemon athletica inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails technical athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories for women and men under the lululemon brand in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Greece, and internationally. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for athletic activities, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. The company also provides fitness-inspired accessories. It sells its products through company-operated stores; seasonal stores, pop-ups, university campus retailers, and yoga and fitness studios; outlets; Like New, a re-commerce program; and its e-commerce website. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Latest Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods and NIKE, Inc., lululemon athletica inc. Stock News

As of October 12, 2026, NIKE, Inc. had a $52.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods median of $2.9 million. NIKE, Inc.’s stock is down 44.5% in 2026, up 4.1% in the previous five trading days and down 48.06% in the past year.

Currently, NIKE, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.9. NIKE, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $45.9 billion with a 6.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.321 per share for the current fiscal year. NIKE, Inc. currently has a 4.6% dividend yield.

As of October 12, 2026, lululemon athletica inc. had a $10.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 79th percentile of all stocks. lululemon athletica inc.’s stock is down 54.4% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and down 45.44% in the past year.

Currently, lululemon athletica inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 7.7. lululemon athletica inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.1 billion with a 12.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.3%. There are no analysts providing consensus earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. lululemon athletica inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica 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 NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
NIKE, Inc. NKE C
lululemon athletica inc. LULU A

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.

NIKE, Inc. has a Value Score of 49, which is Average. lululemon athletica inc. has a Value Score of 87, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: lululemon athletica inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, lululemon athletica inc. is considered to have better value than NIKE, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, lululemon athletica 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.

NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
NIKE, Inc. NKE B
lululemon athletica inc. LULU B

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.

NIKE, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. lululemon athletica inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. have a grade of B. 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.

NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
NIKE, Inc. NKE F
lululemon athletica inc. LULU F

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%.

NIKE, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 17, which is Very Weak. lululemon athletica inc. has a Momentum Score of 19, which is Very Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither NIKE, Inc. or lululemon athletica 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 NIKE, Inc. or lululemon athletica inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. Grades

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

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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 NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, NIKE, Inc. or lululemon athletica inc. Stock?

Overall, NIKE, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 49, Growth Score of 73 and Momentum Score of 17.

lululemon athletica inc. stock has a Value Score of 87, Growth Score of 69 and Momentum Score of 19.

Comparing NIKE, Inc. and lululemon athletica 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.

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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.



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