KTB vs LEVI: How Kontoor Brands and Levi Strauss & Co Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: KTB is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. KTB and LEVI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined KTB and LEVI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE: KTB) is a Greensboro, North Carolina apparel company that was carved out of VF Corporation in May 2019 with the denim brands VF did not want in its outdoor portfolio. The core asset is Wrangler, a mass-channel jeans and western wear brand sold heavily through Walmart, Target and Amazon alongside its own stores and site. In 2025 Kontoor bought Helly Hansen, the Norwegian sailing, ski and workwear brand, from Canadian Tire for about CAD ~1.3 billion, and in May 2026 it signed a definitive agreement to sell the Lee business to Authentic Brands Group for ~$750 million up front plus an earnout of up to ~$250 million, a deal expected to close in the second half of 2026. Lee now sits in discontinued operations, so the reported company is effectively Wrangler plus Helly Hansen.

Full KTB guide

Levi Strauss & Co. designs and sells jeans, casualwear and related apparel under the Levi's, Dockers, Beyond Yoga and Denizen brands across roughly 110 countries. It sells through three channels: its own retail stores and e-commerce (direct-to-consumer), traditional wholesale partners, and licensing. The company has been deliberately shifting its mix toward direct-to-consumer, which carries higher gross margins, and toward women's and non-denim categories, with women's apparel now around 35% of the business and Beyond Yoga expanding its premium activewear reach.

Full LEVI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• KTB drivers: Helly Hansen is the growth line; The Lee exit converts a drag into cash.
• LEVI drivers: Direct-to-consumer margin mix shift; Brand strength and denim leadership.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Wrangler's US wholesale revenue leans on a small number of large discount retailers, so shelf-space decisions and traffic at Walmart and Target flow straight into results. For LEVI, apparel is cyclical and discretionary, so a weaker consumer or slower back-to-school and holiday seasons can pressure sales quickly.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick KTB if you believe its drivers more; LEVI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the KTB and LEVI guides.

KTB. The headline ~45% growth rate is acquisition arithmetic, not demand: strip out Helly Hansen and Wrangler grew about ~1%. That gap is why the forward multiple of roughly ~12x sits well below the trailing ~17x, since guidance assumes a full year of the acquired brand plus a cleaner continuing-operations base once Lee leaves. The stock has traded between about ~$56 and ~$89 over the past year, a wide band for an apparel company of this size, and the mean analyst 12-month target sits near ~$92.

LEVI. Figures are approximate as of early July 2026 and move with the market. Levi's reported Q1 FY2026 net revenues of about $1.7 billion, up 14% reported, and guided full-year FY2026 reported revenue growth of roughly 5% to 6% with adjusted EBIT margin expanding toward 11.8% to 12%. Q2 FY2026 results are due July 8, 2026, so figures here predate that report.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): KTB shows revenue (q1 2026, continuing ops) ~$613 million, up ~45% year over year, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$3.44 billion, market cap ~$4 billion, p/e ~17x trailing, ~12x forward; LEVI shows market cap ~$9.4B, share price ~$25, revenue (ttm) ~$6.3B, net income (ttm) ~$580M.

KTB and LEVI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined KTB and LEVI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.