Critical Comparison: Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) versus Amer Sports (NYSE:AS)

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) and Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amer Sports and Carter’s”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amer Sports	$4.64 billion	2.00	-$208.60 million	N/A	N/A
Carter’s	$2.88 billion	0.85	$232.50 million	$6.34	10.56

Carter’s has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Amer Sports.

Profitability

This table compares Amer Sports and Carter’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amer Sports	-2.79%	-0.63%	-0.15%
Carter’s	8.29%	28.65%	10.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Amer Sports and Carter’s, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amer Sports	0	4	10	1	2.80
Carter’s	2	5	0	0	1.71

Amer Sports presently has a consensus price target of $18.86, indicating a potential upside of 2.54%. Carter’s has a consensus price target of $71.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.30%. Given Carter’s’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Carter’s is more favorable than Amer Sports.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.3% of Amer Sports shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Carter’s shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Amer Sports

Amer Sports, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, China, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technical Apparel, Outdoor Performance, and Ball & Racquet Sports. The Technical Apparel segment offers outdoor apparel, footwear, and accessories which includes climbing gear. The Outdoor Performance segment provides hiking and running footwear, functional apparel, skiing and snowboarding gear, and lifestyle footwear. The Ball & Racquet Sports segment offers sports equipment for tennis, baseball, american football, basketball, golf, and various other professional and recreational sports. This segment provides custom-fitting protective gear and apparel for baseball, softball, football, and lacrosse. It sells its products under the Arc'teryx, PeakPerformance, Salomon, Atomic, Armada, ENVE, Wilson, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, EvoShield, and ATEC brands. The company distributes its products through retail stores, general sporting goods retailers, specialty stores, independently operated partner stores, and distributors, as well as its e-commerce websites, and retailer-owned and third-party e-commerce websites. The company was formerly known as Amer Sports Management Holding (Cayman) Limited and changed its name to Amer Sports, Inc. in August 2023. Amer Sports, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.

About Carter’s

Carter's, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, and markets branded childrenswear under the Carter's, OshKosh, Skip Hop, Child of Mine, Just One You, Simple Joys, Little Planet, and other brands in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail, U.S. Wholesale, and International. The company's Carter's products include babies and young children products, such as bodysuits, layette essentials, sleep and play, pants, tops and t-shirts, multipiece sets, dresses, and sleepwear; and OshKosh brand products comprise playclothes, such as denim jeans, overalls, core bottoms, knit tops, t-shirts, and layering pieces. It provides products for playtime, travel, mealtime, bath time, and home gear, as well as kid's bags under the Skip Hop brand. In addition, the company offers bedding, home décor, cribs and baby furniture, diaper bags, footwear, gift sets, hair accessories, jewelry, outerwear, paper goods, socks, shoes, swimwear, and toys. The company operates through wholesale locations, including department stores, national chain stores, and specialty stores, as well as retail stores. It sells its products through its eCommerce websites, such as carters.com, oshkosh.com, skiphop.com, and mobile application, as well as other international wholesale accounts and licensees. Carter's, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.