Columbia Sportswear vs Gildan Activewear
Gildan Activewear reported revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Columbia Sportswear's $3.4 billion in fiscal 2025. Columbia Sportswear's revenue grew 0.8% in its latest year, and Gildan Activewear's grew 10.7%. Columbia Sportswear had an operating margin of 6.1%, against 17.1% at Gildan Activewear. Free cash flow was $217 million at Columbia Sportswear and $500 million at Gildan Activewear. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 31 and December 28), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Columbia Sportswear | Gildan Activewear | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 28, 2025 |
| Revenue | $3.4B | $3.6B |
| Revenue growth | 0.8% | 10.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 6.3% | 12.8% |
| Gross margin | 50.5% | 31.2% |
| Operating margin | 6.1% | 17.1% |
| Net margin | 5.2% | 11.0% |
| Free cash flow | $217M | $500M |
| Free cash flow margin | 6.4% | 13.8% |
| Return on capital | 17.0% | 9.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −3.0x | 5.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $267M | $135M |
| Change in diluted share count | −6.4% | −6.2% |
| Last close | $60.82 | $40.33 |
| P/E at the last close | 15.9× | — |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $16,320, sold $1.2 million | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Columbia SportswearGildan Activewear
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Columbia SportswearGildan Activewear
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Columbia SportswearGildan Activewear
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Columbia Sportswear and Gildan Activewear pages.