GILDAN ACTIVEWEAR INC. vs LEVI STRAUSS & CO., two Apparel stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Gildan supplies blank shirts to the trade; Levi Strauss sells its own denim to the world. Levi earns more on equity, 28.05% against Gildan's 11.2%, and their net margins are close, 9.52% for Levi and 11.02% for Gildan. The market pays 15.74 times earnings for Levi and 20.26 for Gildan, an unusual case where the branded name is the cheaper one. Levi pays 2.2% and carries some debt at 0.48; Gildan pays nothing and runs clean, yielding 6.18% in free cash flow to Levi's 4.9%. A wholesale basics maker priced above a household denim brand is a quirk worth noticing.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | GIL | LEVI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $52.51 | $24.32 |
| Market cap | $8.0B | $9.5B |
| Sector | Apparel | Apparel |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +13.2% | +19.1% |
| P/E | 20.1 | 15.1 |
| P/B | 2.26 | 4.17 |
| P/S | 2.22 | 1.43 |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.1 | 12.8 |
| Revenue growth | +5.6% | +7.5% |
| Gross margin | 31.2% | 62.7% |
| Operating margin | 17.1% | 7.8% |
| Net margin | 11.0% | 9.7% |
| Return on equity | 11.2% | 28.1% |
| Return on assets | 3.8% | 9.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 14.6% | 16.4% |
| FCF yield | 6.2% | 5.9% |
| Dividend yield | — | 2.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.46 |
| Current ratio | 2.11 | 1.60 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.68 | 2.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 7 / 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.