Is Carter's (CRI) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Carter's (CRI) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Carter's is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 255 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Carter's is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRI's full-year earnings has moved 10.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CRI has returned 29.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of -4.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Carter's is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Dolby Laboratories (DLB), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 0.1%.

For Dolby Laboratories, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Carter's belongs to the Shoes and Retail Apparel industry, which includes 8 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 0.6% so far this year, so CRI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Dolby Laboratories falls under the Audio Video Production industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #11. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -15.7%.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Carter's and Dolby Laboratories. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2026

Hurry – you can still get in early on our 10 top tickers for 2026. Handpicked by Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian, this portfolio has been stunningly and consistently successful.

From inception in 2012 through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%.

Sheraz has combed through 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and handpicked the best 10 to buy and hold in 2026. You can still be among the first to see these just-released stocks with enormous potential.

See New Top 10 Stocks >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Carter's, Inc. (CRI): Free Stock Analysis Report

Dolby Laboratories (DLB): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research