Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Issues Earnings Results

Posted by Brian Himes on Nov 6th, 2026

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 59.71%. The firm had revenue of $685.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $694.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Kontoor Brands’ conference call:

Third-quarter continuing-operations revenue rose 3% to $685 million, while adjusted gross margin expanded 230 basis points to 48.1% and adjusted EPS increased 40% to $1.50. Kontoor raised its full-year outlook to adjusted EPS of $5.40, up 31%, and gross margin of 50.0%–50.2%.
Wrangler’s U.S. men’s-bottoms POS softened to 1% growth in September, and retail partners’ inventories were down at a high-single-digit rate. The company expects Wrangler revenue to grow about 1% in Q4, assuming continued cautious retailer inventory management and no improvement in POS trends.
Helly Hansen revenue grew 3% in the quarter, and year-to-date revenue was up 8% on a reported pro forma basis, ahead of Kontoor’s acquisition plan. Management expects Q4 growth of about 5% and said its 2027 plans remain in line with the brand’s longer-term growth strategy.
Kontoor closed the Lee sale for $698 million in net proceeds and plans $450 million of Q4 share repurchases, including a $400 million accelerated program, plus $280 million in voluntary debt payments. The company expects to return about $1 billion of capital this year through buybacks, dividends, and debt reduction.
Management set a 2027 adjusted EPS floor of $6.60, representing more than 20% growth, and expects cash from operations of at least $325 million. The outlook includes elevated one-time costs and about $30 million of incremental full-year tariff expense; Kontoor expects cash flow to exceed $400 million beyond 2027.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $79.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.86. Kontoor Brands has a one year low of $56.19 and a one year high of $88.96. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 184,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.40, for a total value of $15,379,210.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 261,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,832,952.40. The trade was a 41.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 7,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.43, for a total transaction of $639,073.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,091,006.09. The trade was a 23.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTB has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kontoor Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.56.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kontoor Brands

Key Headlines Impacting Kontoor Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Kontoor Brands this week:

Positive Sentiment: Kontoor earned $1.50 per share, topping the $1.34 consensus estimate and the $1.44 reported a year earlier. The company cited growth at Wrangler and Helly Hansen and gross-margin expansion. Kontoor Brands tops Q3 earnings estimates
Positive Sentiment: Management strengthened its 2026 earnings outlook and expects to repurchase $450 million of shares after completing the Lee divestiture. The transaction also sharpens the company’s focus on its remaining brands. Kontoor Brands Q3 results and outlook
Negative Sentiment: Revenue was $685.3 million, below the $694.2 million estimate, and down 19.7% year over year. The sales shortfall tempers the earnings beat, although the Lee divestiture affects comparisons. Kontoor Q3 revenue versus estimate

About Kontoor Brands

(Get Free Report)

Kontoor Brands, Inc (NYSE: KTB) is a global lifestyle apparel company focused on denim and casualwear. Its portfolio includes the Wrangler and Lee brands, as well as Rock & Republic, offering jeans, shirts, jackets, tops, bottoms, accessories and related products for men, women and children.

The company sells its products through wholesale customers, including department stores, specialty retailers and mass merchants, as well as through company-operated stores and e-commerce channels. Kontoor serves consumers in North America and international markets, with products distributed across multiple regions worldwide.

Kontoor Brands became an independent publicly traded company in 2019 following its separation from VF Corporation.

Earnings History for Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB)

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