Carter's vs Kontoor Brands
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Carter's and Kontoor Brands side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Kontoor Brands is the larger business, with $3.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.9B for Carter's.
- Kontoor Brands grew revenue faster (20.9%, against 1.9%).
- Kontoor Brands kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (10.7% operating margin, against 5.0%).
- Kontoor Brands turned more of its sales into free cash flow (13.8% FCF margin, against 2.4%).
- Kontoor Brands earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (21.2%, against 11.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Kontoor Brands’s earnings: a P/E of 15.8x against 5.9x for Carter's.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Carter's
CRI
2/11
Gross marginNet debt / EBITDA
Kontoor Brands
KTB
9/11
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CRI FY25 | KTB FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $1.1B | $4.2B |
| Revenue | $2.9B | $3.2B |
| Free cash flow | $68.6M | $435M |
| Net income | $91.8M | $228M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.9% | 20.9% |
| 5-year growth | −0.9% | 8.5% |
| Share count change | −0.3% | −0.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 45.4% | 45.2% |
| Operating margin | 5.0% | 10.7% |
| Net margin | 3.2% | 7.2% |
| FCF margin | 2.4% | 13.8% |
| Return on capital | 11.9% | 21.2% |
| Return on equity | 10.3% | 47.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $80.1M | $1.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | 2.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $56.4M | $141M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 5.9x | 15.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.