Ralph Lauren vs Williams-Sonoma
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The short version
- Ralph Lauren is the larger business, with $8.1B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $7.8B for Williams-Sonoma.
- Ralph Lauren grew revenue faster (14.6%, against 1.2%).
- Williams-Sonoma kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (18.1% operating margin, against 14.5%).
- Williams-Sonoma turned more of its sales into free cash flow (13.5% FCF margin, against 9.2%).
- Williams-Sonoma earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (106.5%, against 45.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Williams-Sonoma’s earnings: a P/E of 25.9x against 23.8x for Ralph Lauren.
| Latest fiscal year | RL · FY26 | WSM · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $23.1B | $30.0B |
| Revenue | $8.1B | $7.8B |
| Free cash flow | $746M | $1.1B |
| Net income | $941M | $1.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 14.6% | 1.2% |
| 5-year growth | 13.0% | 2.9% |
| Share count change | −2.7% | −3.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 69.9% | 46.2% |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 18.1% |
| Net margin | 11.6% | 13.9% |
| FCF margin | 9.2% | 13.5% |
| Return on capital | 45.4% | 106.5% |
| Return on equity | 34.7% | 51.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$593M | −$1.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.4x | −0.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $840M | $1.2B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 23.8x | 25.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 5 |
Revenue
FY17
RL $6.7B
WSM $5.3B
FY18
RL $6.2B
WSM $5.7B
FY19
RL $6.3B
WSM $5.9B
FY20
RL $6.2B
WSM $6.8B
FY21
RL $4.4B
WSM $8.2B
FY22
RL $6.2B
WSM $8.7B
FY23
RL $6.4B
WSM $7.8B
FY24
RL $6.6B
WSM $7.7B
FY25
RL $7.1B
WSM $7.8B
FY26
RL $8.1B
WSM —
RL
WSM
Operating margin
FY17
RL −1.4%
WSM 8.6%
FY18
RL 8.1%
WSM 7.7%
FY19
RL 8.9%
WSM 7.9%
FY20
RL 5.2%
WSM 13.4%
FY21
RL −1.0%
WSM 17.6%
FY22
RL 12.8%
WSM 17.3%
FY23
RL 10.9%
WSM 16.1%
FY24
RL 11.4%
WSM 18.6%
FY25
RL 13.2%
WSM 18.1%
FY26
RL 14.5%
WSM —
RL
WSM
Free cash flow
FY17
RL $669M
WSM $310M
FY18
RL $814M
WSM $396M
FY19
RL $586M
WSM $421M
FY20
RL $484M
WSM $1.1B
FY21
RL $273M
WSM $1.1B
FY22
RL $549M
WSM $699M
FY23
RL $194M
WSM $1.5B
FY24
RL $905M
WSM $1.1B
FY25
RL $1.0B
WSM $1.1B
FY26
RL $746M
WSM —
RL
WSM
Return on capital
FY17
RL −2.5%
WSM 24.3%
FY18
RL 10.9%
WSM 30.4%
FY19
RL 19.5%
WSM 32.7%
FY20
RL 15.2%
WSM 74.8%
FY21
RL −1.8%
WSM 144.2%
FY22
RL 33.5%
WSM 104.9%
FY23
RL 24.9%
WSM 84.4%
FY24
RL 28.4%
WSM 120.7%
FY25
RL 36.5%
WSM 106.5%
FY26
RL 45.4%
WSM —
RL
WSM
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.