BURL vs. WSM: Burlington Stores vs. Williams-Sonoma Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) both belong to the Specialty Retail industry, though BURL is classified under Apparel Retail while WSM falls under Homefurnishing Retail.

Company profile comparison for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Profile Item	BURL	WSM
Name	Burlington Stores Inc.	Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Specialty Retail	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Apparel Retail	Homefurnishing Retail
Market Capitalization	15.50 billion USD	29.92 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 2, 2013	July 7, 1983
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BURL

WSM

GSPC

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Total Return (1Y)	-9.83%	34.84%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	24.64%	54.88%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-3.29%	22.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BURL

WSM

GSPC

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	41.03%	34.01%
Beta (5Y)	1.48	1.48
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.32%	-51.92%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.46M	1.10M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BURL and WSM are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.34	0.90
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.48	1.45

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 41.41% and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 54.96% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

41.41%

Max: 62.17%
BURL: 41.41%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

54.96%

Max: 62.17%
WSM: 54.96%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 14.73% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 5.85%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

5.85%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
BURL: 5.85%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

14.73%

Max: 16.94%
WSM: 14.73%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 17.27% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 6.72%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

6.72%

Max: 21.45%
Q3: 10.89%
BURL: 6.72%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

17.27%

Max: 21.45%
WSM: 17.27%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
ROE (TTM)	41.41%	54.96%
ROA (TTM)	6.15%	16.64%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.85%	14.73%
Operating Margin (TTM)	6.72%	17.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.08%	45.69%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 8.76% and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 1.24% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 21.92% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 0.57% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for BURL.

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.76%	1.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.95%	-3.45%
EPS Growth (YoY)	21.92%	0.57%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	39.67%	2.70%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.17 and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 1.45 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.17

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
BURL: 1.17
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.45

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
WSM: 1.45
Median: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 0.71 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while Burlington Stores (BURL) at 2.95 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.95

Max: 3.93
BURL: 2.95
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.71

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
WSM: 0.71
Min: 0.01

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.17	1.45
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.95	0.71
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.82	0.30

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Williams-Sonoma (WSM) reports a yield of 1.10%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
BURL: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.10%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
WSM: 1.10%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Williams-Sonoma (WSM) reports a payout of 29.13%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
BURL: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

29.13%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
WSM: 29.13%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.10%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	29.13%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 22.17 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 26.06 sits in the richer quartile — WSM needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

22.17

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
BURL: 22.17
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

26.06

Max: 40.50
WSM: 26.06
Q3: 24.26
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.27 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 3.74 sits in the pricier quartile — WSM costs more per dollar of sales.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.27

Max: 4.32
Q3: 1.99
BURL: 1.27
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

3.74

Max: 4.32
WSM: 3.74
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Burlington Stores (BURL) at 7.74 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) at 13.98 prices even higher, above its industry range.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

7.74

Max: 10.96
BURL: 7.74
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

WSM

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

13.98

WSM: 13.98
Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Williams-Sonoma (WSM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
Metric	BURL	WSM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	22.17	26.06
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.27	3.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.74	13.98
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.69%	3.57%