Carter's Growth Supported by Brands, Digital Efforts & Cost Savings

Carter's, Inc. CRI is pursuing several strategic initiatives to drive growth and reinforce its leadership in the children's apparel market. The company continues to invest in its core brands, including Carter's, OshKosh B'gosh and Little Planet. Innovation, broader assortments and trend-right designs are helping strengthen brand appeal, enhance customer engagement and maintain relevance with consumers.

The company is also enhancing its e-commerce and omnichannel capabilities to provide a more seamless shopping experience across channels. Investments in digital marketing, personalization and mobile commerce are helping deepen customer relationships and support direct-to-consumer sales. At the same time, the company is working to improve store productivity through portfolio optimization, selective store openings and enhanced in-store experiences. These initiatives are designed to drive traffic, improve conversion and support long-term profitability.

Carter’s continues to rely on strategic pricing actions, product innovation and productivity initiatives to help offset tariff-related cost pressures and boost profitability. It continues to balance pricing actions with value-oriented offerings to navigate a tough consumer landscape. Its strong brand equity and broad product range help attract both value-conscious and premium shoppers.

Carter's is also expanding its global presence through wholesale partnerships, licensing arrangements and digital channels in select international markets, creating additional opportunities for long-term revenue growth. At the same time, the company is pursuing productivity initiatives across sourcing, logistics and other operational areas. These efforts, along with supply-chain enhancements and disciplined cost management, are expected to improve operational efficiency, support earnings growth and provide greater flexibility to navigate changing market conditions.

CRI’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Carter’s shares have lost 4.9% in the past six months against the industry’s 37% decline.

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From a valuation standpoint, CRI trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91X compared with the industry’s average of 16.84X.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRI’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year drop of 5.5%, while that of 2027 shows growth of 5%. The company’s EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved north in the past 30 days.

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Carter’s currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

More Key Picks in the Consumer Discretionary Space

Duluth Holdings Inc. DLTH, which deals in casual wear, workwear and accessories for men and women, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

Duluth Holdings delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 107.5%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLTH’s current financial-year EPS indicates a decline of 11.6% from the year-ago number. 

Columbia Sportswear COLM engages in marketing and distribution of outdoor and active lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, and currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COLM’s current financial-year EPS indicates a rise of 4.6% from the corresponding year-ago reported figure. COLM delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 44.1%, on average.

Ralph Lauren Corporation RL, which is a designer and marketer of premium lifestyle products, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. 

RL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.1%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ralph Lauren’s current financial-year sales indicates growth of 6.3% from the year-ago number. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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