NKE vs. RL: NIKE vs. Ralph Lauren Stock Comparison

July 23, 2026

How do NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL) 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

NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL) both belong to the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods industry, though NKE is classified under Footwear while RL falls under Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods.

Company profile comparison for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Profile Item	NKE	RL
Name	Nike, Inc. - Class B	Ralph Lauren Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Durables & Apparel	Consumer Durables & Apparel
GICS Industry	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods
GICS Sub-Industry	Footwear	Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods
Market Capitalization	63.73 billion USD	22.79 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 2, 1980	June 12, 1997
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NKE

GSPC

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL), 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 NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Total Return (1Y)	-40.37%	34.04%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-25.15%	47.02%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-21.95%	30.79%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NKE

GSPC

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL), 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 NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

NIKE (NKE) is heavily traded at around 22.69M shares per day, whereas Ralph Lauren (RL) sees a more moderate 688.73K — larger orders in the latter may require more patience and tighter control over order sizing.

Risk profile metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	35.63%	35.40%
Beta (5Y)	1.11	1.35
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-75.10%	-36.51%
Avg. Volume (3M)	22.69M	688.73K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NKE and RL 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 NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-1.25	0.85
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-1.58	1.34

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both NIKE (NKE) at 22.14% and Ralph Lauren (RL) at 34.66% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

22.14%

Max: 35.09%
NKE: 22.14%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 10.01%
Q1: 4.54%
Min: -12.26%

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

34.66%

Max: 35.09%
RL: 34.66%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 10.01%
Q1: 4.54%
Min: -12.26%

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ralph Lauren (RL) at 11.60% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of NIKE (NKE) at 6.70%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

6.70%

Max: 16.30%
Q3: 8.38%
NKE: 6.70%
Median: 4.94%
Q1: 1.53%
Min: -6.30%

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

11.60%

Max: 16.30%
RL: 11.60%
Q3: 8.38%
Median: 4.94%
Q1: 1.53%
Min: -6.30%

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ralph Lauren (RL) at 13.37% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of NIKE (NKE) at 12.69%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

12.69%

Max: 27.58%
Q3: 13.34%
NKE: 12.69%
Median: 8.03%
Q1: 3.73%
Min: -9.19%

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

13.37%

Max: 27.58%
RL: 13.37%
Q3: 13.34%
Median: 8.03%
Q1: 3.73%
Min: -9.19%

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
ROE (TTM)	22.14%	34.66%
ROA (TTM)	6.97%	10.88%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.70%	11.60%
Operating Margin (TTM)	12.69%	13.37%
Gross Margin (TTM)	43.25%	69.87%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ralph Lauren (RL) at 14.63% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while NIKE (NKE) at 0.19% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for RL.

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ralph Lauren (RL) at 30.15% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while NIKE (NKE) at -2.78% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for RL.

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	0.19%	14.63%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-3.24%	7.99%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-2.78%	30.15%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-13.37%	25.85%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both NIKE (NKE) at 1.96 and Ralph Lauren (RL) at 2.13 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

1.96

Max: 8.27
Q3: 4.34
Median: 2.47
NKE: 1.96
Q1: 1.67
Min: 0.78

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

2.13

Max: 8.27
Q3: 4.34
Median: 2.47
RL: 2.13
Q1: 1.67
Min: 0.78

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both NIKE (NKE) at 0.74 and Ralph Lauren (RL) at 1.06 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

0.74

Max: 2.69
Q3: 1.30
NKE: 0.74
Median: 0.52
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.00

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

1.06

Max: 2.69
Q3: 1.30
RL: 1.06
Median: 0.52
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.00

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.96	2.13
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.74	1.06
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.41	0.62

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

NIKE (NKE) at 3.75% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Ralph Lauren (RL) at 0.97% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, NKE the richer one.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

3.75%

Max: 4.35%
NKE: 3.75%
Q3: 2.16%
Median: 0.68%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

0.97%

Max: 4.35%
Q3: 2.16%
RL: 0.97%
Median: 0.68%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ralph Lauren (RL) at 24.16% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while NIKE (NKE) at 77.62% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

77.62%

Max: 99.29%
NKE: 77.62%
Q3: 40.04%
Median: 13.34%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

24.16%

Max: 99.29%
Q3: 40.04%
RL: 24.16%
Median: 13.34%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.75%	0.97%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	77.62%	24.16%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both NIKE (NKE) at 20.75 and Ralph Lauren (RL) at 24.93 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

20.75

Max: 46.68
Q3: 28.76
NKE: 20.75
Median: 19.14
Q1: 13.32
Min: 6.63

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

24.93

Max: 46.68
Q3: 28.76
RL: 24.93
Median: 19.14
Q1: 13.32
Min: 6.63

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

NIKE (NKE) at 1.37 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ralph Lauren (RL) at 2.81 sits in the pricier quartile — RL costs more per dollar of sales.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

1.37

Max: 3.84
Q3: 1.93
NKE: 1.37
Median: 1.05
Q1: 0.60
Min: 0.01

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

2.81

Max: 3.84
RL: 2.81
Q3: 1.93
Median: 1.05
Q1: 0.60
Min: 0.01

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both NIKE (NKE) at 4.28 and Ralph Lauren (RL) at 8.10 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

NKE

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

4.28

Max: 8.10
NKE: 4.28
Q3: 4.09
Median: 2.04
Q1: 1.16
Min: 0.62

RL

Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group

8.10

RL: 8.10
Max: 8.10
Q3: 4.09
Median: 2.04
Q1: 1.16
Min: 0.62

NIKE (NKE) vs. Ralph Lauren (RL): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Durables & Apparel industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for NIKE (NKE) and Ralph Lauren (RL)
Metric	NKE	RL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.75	24.93
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.37	2.81
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.28	8.10
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.96%	2.88%