Last Update24 Oct 25Fair value Increased 3.42%
Analysts have raised their fair value target for Hanesbrands from $6.26 to $6.47 per share, citing expectations for increased EPS growth and improved free cash flow after the company's acquisition by Gildan Activewear.
Analyst Commentary
Following the announced acquisition of Hanesbrands by Gildan Activewear, analysts have offered a range of perspectives regarding the transaction's implications for valuation, growth, and integration risks.
Bullish Takeaways
- Bullish analysts expect the combination to unlock meaningful revenue and cost synergies, driving attractive EPS growth and improving free cash flow generation.
- They note the strategic alignment of merging a North American activewear leader with a retail innerwear leader as a powerful driver for medium-term market share gains.
- The deal is seen as enhancing Gildan's execution capabilities, given its vertically integrated, low-cost manufacturing platform. This is now complemented by Hanesbrands' distribution strengths.
- Recent upward adjustments in price targets reflect confidence in the transaction's ability to accelerate earnings and deliver structural benefits over time.
Bearish Takeaways
- Bearish analysts maintain a cautious stance on the near-term outlook, with Q3 earnings expectations lagging consensus and limited excitement until merger synergies are realized.
- There is recognition that acquisitions of this scale carry integration risks, especially when underperforming assets are involved. This could weigh on execution and valuation multiples.
- Share price volatility is anticipated due to the sizable stock component of the transaction, which could potentially cap upside prior to deal closure.
- Some analysts emphasize that until regulatory approval is secured and integration milestones are met, the stock is expected to remain range bound.
What's in the News
- Gildan Activewear is close to acquiring Hanesbrands in a deal potentially valuing the company at $5 billion including debt. Talks are at an advanced stage but not yet finalized (The Financial Times).
- Reports indicate Gildan's offer includes both cash and stock. This would value Hanesbrands at roughly $6 per share, implying an enterprise value of nearly $4.5 billion (Bloomberg).
- The proposed acquisition is forecasted to create about $200 million or more in cost synergies and be approximately 20% accretive to Gildan's earnings (Bloomberg).
Valuation Changes
- The Fair Value Target has increased slightly from $6.26 to $6.47 per share.
- The Discount Rate has decreased modestly from 11.91% to 11.64%.
- The Revenue Growth forecast remains unchanged at 0.45%.
- The Net Profit Margin is stable at 7.64%.
- The Future P/E ratio has increased slightly from 11.42x to 11.73x.
Key Takeaways
- International expansion, e-commerce growth, and product innovation are fueling revenue gains and boosting margins through premium offerings and improved channel mix.
- Supply chain improvements, brand reinvestment, and deleveraging efforts are strengthening profitability, cash flow, and financial flexibility for future growth.
- Struggles in core categories, over-reliance on cost-cutting, external market risks, and execution missteps threaten sustained revenue growth, market share, and earnings strength.
Catalysts
About Hanesbrands- Designs, manufactures, sources, and sells a range of range of innerwear apparel for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, the Asia pacific, and internationally.
- Hanesbrands is capitalizing on the global rise in middle-class consumers and urbanization, with international expansion and diverse product extensions (e.g., absorbency products in Australia, premium T-shirts in Japan), positioning the company to grow top-line revenue by accessing larger, developing markets.
- Investments in e-commerce, direct-to-consumer channels, and exclusive partnerships (e.g., Urban Outfitters, specialty retailers in Japan) are expanding reach and customer engagement, supporting higher revenues and an ongoing shift toward structurally higher margins through channel mix improvements.
- Significant progress in supply chain productivity, fixed cost reductions, and advanced analytics (including AI-driven inventory and demand planning) are delivering consistent gross and operating margin expansion, directly enhancing earnings and free cash flow generation.
- Sustained brand reinvestment (doubling prior spending levels) and a focus on innovation (e.g., Hanes Moves, expansion into loungewear and scrubs) are increasing brand equity, enabling selective pricing power and premiumization, which are likely to support higher net margins and resilience against discount/private label competition.
- Continuous deleveraging-evidenced by a $1.5 billion debt reduction and approaching target leverage-reduces interest expense and financial risk, enabling stronger net earnings growth and greater flexibility to reinvest in long-term growth initiatives.
Hanesbrands Future Earnings and Revenue Growth
Assumptions
How have these above catalysts been quantified?- Analysts are assuming Hanesbrands's revenue will decrease by 0.4% annually over the next 3 years.
- Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 4.8% today to 7.6% in 3 years time.
- Analysts expect earnings to reach $274.0 million (and earnings per share of $0.77) by about September 2028, up from $170.0 million today.
- In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 11.4x on those 2028 earnings, down from 12.8x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Luxury industry at 20.5x.
- Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 0.35% per year for the next 3 years.
- To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 11.91%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.
Hanesbrands Future Earnings Per Share Growth
Risks
What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?- Ongoing softness in the U.S. intimates category-especially for the Maidenform brand-combined with changing consumer preferences and competition from private label disruptors, may undermine Hanesbrands' ability to grow revenues in a core segment and poses a risk to future top-line growth.
- Sustained dependence on aggressive cost reductions and productivity improvements to drive margin expansion may be difficult to maintain long-term; attenuation of these cost savings or failure to reinvest adequately in brand and innovation could result in compressed net margins and weaker earnings growth.
- Heavy retail and fixed-cost exposure in international markets, alongside continued top-line challenges and margin volatility from quarter to quarter, signals vulnerability to regional consumer downturns and could inhibit consistent long-term revenue and margin improvement.
- Uncertainty regarding future tariff environments and commodity costs (e.g., cotton, raw materials), plus Hanesbrands' reliance on surgical price increases to mitigate these, may face resistance in the mass retail channel and lead to lower unit volumes, harming both revenue and gross margins.
- Hanesbrands' transformation is reliant on consistent brand investment, supply chain streamlining, and expanding into adjacent categories; execution missteps, inability to adapt quickly to shifting secular trends (e.g., e-commerce dominance, sustainability requirements, younger consumers favoring new brands), or failure to maintain share leadership could erode revenue growth, market share, and ultimately compress earnings.
Valuation
How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?- The analysts have a consensus price target of $6.257 for Hanesbrands based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $10.3, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $1.0.
- In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $3.6 billion, earnings will come to $274.0 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 11.4x, assuming you use a discount rate of 11.9%.
- Given the current share price of $6.14, the analyst price target of $6.26 is 1.9% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
- We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.
How well do narratives help inform your perspective?
Disclaimer
AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.


