Start here if you're new
what it is
The Children's Place sells kids' clothes, shoes, and accessories through stores, websites, and franchise partners.
how it gets paid
Last year S Place made $1.4B in revenue. U.S. stores was the main engine at $0.65B, or 46% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 13.5% last year. 32.3% gross margin mattered because the goods still carry markup.
what just happened
$880M of revenue did not stop the quarter from posting -$1.99 per share.
At a glance
C balance sheet — red flag territory — real financial stress
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
3.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.7% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$4.53 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 24/100 — weak
What they do
The Children's Place sells kids' clothes, shoes, and accessories through stores, websites, and franchise partners.
You get 494 stores, 3 websites, and 190 international points of distribution. That is reach, not romance. Omnichannel means stores plus online. Leaving is painful because your kid's next size is one click or one trip away.
How they make money
$1.4B
annual revenue · their business grew -13.5% last year
U.S. stores
$0.65B
U.S. e-commerce
$0.33B
International franchise
$0.24B
Canada and Puerto Rico stores
$0.18B
The products that matter
core apparel business
The Children's Place
$1.4B annual revenue reference
This is the main business, and the page ties it to $1.4B in annual revenue that fell 13.5%. That is the key insight: the core brand is still sizable, but it is not growing its way out of trouble.
declining base
digital sales channel
Online Sales
$0.4B · down 9.6%
Online brings in about $0.4B here, or roughly 29% of the channel mix. You care because even the more scalable channel is shrinking, which weakens the easy rescue story.
29% of mix
brand refresh attempt
Gymboree
march 2026 collaboration
Gymboree launched a Marchesa Mini collaboration in March 2026. No standalone revenue is broken out here, so you should treat it as a traffic test, not a proven growth driver.
catalyst watch
Key numbers
$1.4B
annual revenue
You are looking at a $1.4B business that trades like a rescue story, not a growth story.
$224M
long-term debt
That debt is 74% of capital. The lender gets a louder voice than the stock chart.
3.9x
trailing P/E
You pay $3.90 for $1 of trailing earnings. That only works if the earnings stick.
32.3%
gross margin
The product still marks up well. The problem is what happens after rent and payroll show up.
Financial health
C
strength
- balance sheet grade C — very weak — significant financial distress
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $224M (74% of capital)
C — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for PLCE right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
$880M of revenue did not stop the quarter from posting -$1.99 per share.
Revenue was $880M, up 159% vs. prior year. EPS was -$1.99, and gross margin was 32.3%. Bigger sales did not fully fix the bottom line.
$880M
revenue
-$1.99
eps
32.3%
gross margin
gross margin
32.3% gross margin mattered because the goods still carry markup. The leak is below that line.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
The #1 risk here is continued sales declines while debt stays heavy. PLCE is a kids' apparel retailer with $224M of long-term debt, an $80M market cap, and a -7.5% comparable-sales trend. That combination leaves very little room for a slow turnaround.
high
sales keep falling
Q1 2025 net sales fell 9.6% to $242.1M, and comparable retail sales for the nine months ended November 1, 2025 were down 7.5%. If demand keeps sliding, fixed costs do the rest.
this hits the whole model because both stores and online are already moving the wrong way
high
debt outruns the equity story
Long-term debt sits at $224M, or 74% of capital, against an equity market value of roughly $80M. That is a capital structure the market rarely forgives when operations stay weak.
even modest operating misses matter more when debt is larger than the market cap
med
the leadership reset does not reset the business
The company appointed a new President and CEO in November 2025 and added a new Executive Director on February 24, 2026. New leadership helps only if the sales line stops deteriorating.
if traffic and conversion do not improve, management change becomes motion without results
med
brand refresh attempts do not scale
The March 2026 Marchesa Mini x Gymboree launch may help attention, but no standalone revenue is shown for Gymboree here. You should assume limited proof until the company shows otherwise.
collaborations can create buzz without fixing the underlying demand problem
$224M of long-term debt against an $80M market cap means the balance sheet can overwhelm the equity case fast.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
Comparable sales trend
The -7.5% comparable retail sales figure is the cleanest read on whether the turnaround is real. You want that number moving toward flat, not staying deeply negative.
risk
Debt load versus equity value
With $224M of long-term debt and an $80M market cap, capital structure matters as much as merchandising. If debt does not move down from here, the stock stays fragile.
calendar
Post-March 16, 2026 earnings commentary
Listen for fewer promises and more evidence. You need management to show where demand stabilized, not just where they hope it will.
trend
Gymboree collaboration follow-through
The March 2026 Marchesa Mini launch only matters if it lifts traffic or repeat buying. One collection is not a strategy.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
5 / 100
A 5 / 100 predictability score means the earnings line is noisy. In human-speak, analysts do not have a clean handle on what the next few quarters look like.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for PLCE is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$4
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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