Cintas Corporation vs GILDAN ACTIVEWEAR INC., two Apparel stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CTAS and GIL diverge most: on p/b, CTAS reads 15.72 and GIL reads 2.18; on altman z (solvency), CTAS reads 9.21 and GIL reads 1.66. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's CTAS price has a different growth bar priced in than GIL (+27.7% implied for CTAS vs +5.9% for GIL); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What CTAS's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). What GIL's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CTAS | GIL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $202.32 | $41.96 |
| Market cap | $81.8B | $7.8B |
| Sector | Apparel | Apparel |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +27.7% | +5.9% |
| P/E | 39.9 | 16.1 |
| P/B | 15.72 | 2.18 |
| P/S | 7.08 | 2.15 |
| EV/EBITDA | 28.4 | 15.4 |
| Revenue growth | +9.5% | +5.6% |
| Gross margin | 51.5% | 31.2% |
| Operating margin | 23.6% | 17.1% |
| Net margin | 17.8% | 11.0% |
| Return on equity | 39.6% | 11.2% |
| Return on assets | 19.3% | 3.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 28.3% | 6.6% |
| FCF yield | 2.5% | 6.4% |
| Dividend yield | 0.9% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.47 | 1.21 |
| Current ratio | 1.45 | 2.11 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.21 | 1.66 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.