Ralph Lauren and GIII Apparel have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 22, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Ralph Lauren's RL as the Bull of the Day and GIII Apparel GIII as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Intel Corp. INTC and NVIDIA Corp. NVDA.

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Part of the reason some of the other stocks in the low-rated Zacks Textile-Apparel Industry may be struggling is because of Ralph Lauren's dominance.

Although the Textile-Apparel Industry is currently in the bottom 31% of over 240 Zacks industries, Ralph Lauren stock has been a notable standout.

Thanks to its strategic expansion and digital transformation, Ralph Lauren is taking market share from mid-tier competitors like GIII Apparel GIII, Levi Strauss LEVI, Urban Outfitters URBN, and even PVH PVH, which operates iconic brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

Furthermore, while other apparel retailers have experienced weakness stemming from an inflation-conscious consumer, Ralph Lauren has continued to expand its clothing, footwear, and apparel brand as a lifestyle repertoire that's increasingly desirable across generations and geographies.

Ralph Lauren's Blazing Stock Performance

Speaking to Ralph Lauren's industry-leading stock gains, RL shares are up more than +35% YTD, to blaze the benchmark S&P 500's +14%, with many of its textile-apparel peers being in correction territory outside of Levi Strauss and Urban Outfitters.

Over the last three years, only Urban Outfitters has been able to match Ralph Lauren's blazing gains of +235%, which has impressively topped the benchmark's +76% and has demolished the Zacks Textile-Apparel Market's -21%.

Global Expansion & Digital Transformation

Themed as the "Next Great Chapter," Ralph Lauren's Accelerate Plan is driving growth by expanding its presence in key cities and capitalizing on direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.

Building off of its dominance in North America, and giving Ralph Lauren a broader edge on emerging domestic apparel companies, such as Urban Outfitters, is that its digital sales have surged in Europe and Asia in particular. Attributed to investments in mobile shopping, fulfillment services, and personalized promotions, Ralph Lauren has added nearly 3.5 million new customers to its DTC business this year.

Helping to streamline Ralph Lauren's premiumization strategy and DTC growth is that the company is leveraging AI-driven insights and social media storytelling to deepen its connection with global audiences.

Record Growth & Positive EPS Revisions

Focusing on high-margin, luxury offerings that resonate with affluent consumers (premiumization), Ralph Lauren's total sales are expected to be up 6% in its current fiscal 2026 and are projected to increase another 5% in FY27 to what would be an all-time high of $7.87 billion.

Hitting multi-year revenue peaks, Ralph Lauren's top line has rebounded swiftly since the pandemic, stretching 60% in the last five years, from $4.4 billion in FY21 to over $7 billion in FY25.

Even better, has been Ralph Lauren's increased profitability, achieving record EPS. Ralph Lauren's annual earnings are now forecasted to spike another 20% in FY26 to $14.77 per share, versus a previous EPS peak of $12.33 in FY25.

Plus, FY27 EPS is projected to rise another 9% to $16.08. More exhilarating, in the last 60 days, FY26 and FY27 EPS estimates have risen over 7% respectively.

RL Average Zacks Price Target

Based on the short-term price targets offered by 17 analysts, the Average Zacks Price Target of $340.06 a share still suggests 8% upside for Ralph Lauren's stock.

It's also noteworthy that Ralph Lauren is starting to receive upgrades from several analysts who have adjusted their price targets to over $350, including analysts at Barclays BCS and UBS UBS, with UBS having a street-high price tag of $404.

Ralph Lauren's Valuation is Still Reasonable

While it might be surprising to see Ralph Lauren stock soaring to such a lofty price tag, its valuation is still reasonable and supports the bullish outlook being relayed by analysts.

To that point, Ralph Lauren stock trades at 21.2X forward earnings, which is near its industry average of 16X and still offers a discount to the S&P 500's 25.5X. RL shares are also trading near the optimum level of less than 2X sales.

Conclusion & Summary

Ralph Lauren has long been one of the most popular and iconic apparel brands, but we've never seen the company (or its stock) fire on all cylinders like this. Attributed to its global expansion and digital transformation, Ralph Lauren has taken the lid off its growth potential.

Bear of the Day:

Losing market share to the coinciding Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Bull of the Day pick, Ralph Lauren RL, GIII Apparel Group GIII stock lands a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day.

While Ralph Lauren has been one of the few exceptions in regard to apparel companies that have been able to navigate the downturn from a more inflation-conscious consumer, GIII Apparel is struggling with weakening demand and operational challenges.

This comes as the Zacks Textile-Apparel Industry is currently in the bottom 31% of over 240 Zacks industries.

GIII's Lackluster YTD Performance

Correlating with the notion that some mid-tier apparel companies are also struggling because of Ralph Lauren's market dominance, RL shares are up a blazing +35% year to date, with GIII down nearly 20% and closer to the low-rated Textile-Apparel Industry's -28% return.

Licensing Risk & Brand Transition

For GIII, specifically, the company is struggling amid its transition from being overly reliant on selling third-party licensed brands, including PVH's Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, which have historically driven a large portion of its revenue.

The shift towards its own clothing, footwear, and accessory brands has introduced uncertainty, especially at a time when market acceptance of new or reintroduced labels has also been curbed by a conservative consumer. Elaborating on GIII's operational challenges, the company's gross margins have contracted due to a higher mix of licensed brand sales and increased SG&A (Selling, General, and Administrative) expenses.

Additionally, tariff pressures have weighed on GIII's operations, with the company anticipating $155 million in incremental tariff costs, with about $75 million unmitigated.

Lowered Guidance & Declining EPS Revisions

Despite exceeding its Q2 expectations earlier in the month, GIII cut its full-year guidance, with its top and bottom lines contracting sharply from the prior year quarter.

GIII now expects annual sales to dip 5% to $3.02 billion, with adjusted EPS projected to drop to between $2.53-$2.73 in its current fiscal 2026 from $4.42 per share in FY25.

Attributed to its weaker and cautious outlook, FY25 EPS revisions have fallen 6% in the last 30 days. More concerning and starting to take away from hopes of a rebound in GIII's stock in the near future is that FY27 EPS estimates have fallen 15% over the last month from $3.50 to $2.98.

Bottom Line

Although GIII stock may look more appealing at under $30 and 10X forward earnings, it may still be best to avoid investing in the company while it goes through a tough transitional phase that has been affected by inflationary and tariff pressures.

Additional content:

Is NVIDIA's $5B Stake a Signal to Buy, Hold, or Sell Intel Stock?

It's been almost two decades since Intel Corp. rejected acquiring NVIDIA Corp. for $20 billion. But now the role has reversed, with NVIDIA investing in Intel. Will this bet lead to a turnaround for Intel, making it a buy now? Let's explore –

Why Intel Just Had Its Best Day in Nearly 38 Years

At the start of the year, Intel's shares fell to their lowest level in over a decade. However, Intel's shares have begun to recover, with INTC stock posting its strongest day since October 1987 on Thursday. Shares jumped 22.8%, bringing year-to-date gains to 52%, surpassing the Semiconductor - General industry's 24.9% increase.

NVIDIA's willingness to invest $5 billion in Intel common stock boosted the share price. As part of the deal, NVIDIA will acquire Intel shares at $23.28 each, reflecting a 6.5% discount to INTC's closing price on Wednesday. Intel's strategic alliance with NVIDIA could help the struggling chipmaker regain its former glory and become the undisputed tech leader it once was in Silicon Valley.

What's Behind NVIDIA's $5B Stake in Intel?

NVIDIA and Intel plan to develop several generations of custom products for data centers and personal computers (PCs) that will accelerate workloads and applications across hyperscale and consumer sectors. For data centers, NVIDIA will integrate Intel's custom x86 chips into its artificial intelligence (AI) platforms. NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang said that "this historic collaboration tightly couples NVIDIA's AI and accelerated computing stack with Intel's CPUs and the vast x86 ecosystem," citing nvidianews.nvidia.com.

In the PC market, NVIDIA's RTX GPU chiplets will be combined with Intel's x86 system-on-chips (SOCs). These new x86 RTX SOCs will power various PCs that demand seamless integration of industry-leading central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan added that "Intel's x86 architecture has been foundational to modern computing for decades — and we are innovating across our portfolio to enable the workloads of the future," citing the newsroom.intel.com.

What Does NVIDIA's $5B Investment Mean for Intel?

Intel's foundry business has been struggling for a while and is in urgent need of funding. Now, NVIDIA's investment has become a vital lifeline helping Intel scale up its cutting-edge process nodes. Intel is launching its new 18A process at its manufacturing plants, supporting at least three client generations. The company is also seeking a major client for its 14A node.

Despite a couple of acquisitions, Intel has lagged behind the AI revolution and lost ground to NVIDIA's dominance. Therefore, partnering with NVIDIA has not only reclaimed Intel's relevance in the AI-driven tech industry but also provided a much-needed boost to its manufacturing ambitions.

Here Is How to Trade Intel Stock Now

NVIDIA's $5 billion investment in Intel has revived hopes of a turnaround. Financial support from the Trump administration and SoftBank Group Corp.'s (SFTBY) $2 billion investment with Intel are some of the other positives. All these developments should encourage investors to stay committed to Intel stock for future gains.

However, new investors should remain cautious. Intel's financials show little improvement, with revenue growth in the second quarter remaining flat and gross margins under pressure due to increased capital expenditures.

The effectiveness of Tan's cost-cutting measures is not yet clear, and Intel remains an overvalued stock. This suggests Intel's share price could fall sharply if there is a significant correction in the broader market. Based on the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, Intel trades at 210.83 times forward earnings compared to the industry's forward earnings multiple of 42.91.

For now, Intel stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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