Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) stock is in the spotlight as of November 29, 2025, following a decisive shareholder vote in favor of its merger with Gildan Activewear, a mixed third-quarter earnings season, and an unusually heavy spike in trading volume heading into the weekend. Together, these developments are shaping both the near-term price action and the longer-term outlook for HBI shares.
Latest HBI Stock Performance: Weak Session, Huge Volume
On Friday, November 28, 2025, Hanesbrands shares fell 1.82% to close at $6.47, marking a second consecutive day of losses and underperforming a broadly positive U.S. equity market. The S&P 500 gained 0.54% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.61% on the same day, highlighting how HBI lagged its benchmark peers. [1]
The move came on extraordinary volume: around 112.1 million shares changed hands, far above the company’s 50-day average of about 7.2 million shares. [2] Hanesbrands was also listed among the most actively traded names in the after-hours session on November 28, underscoring intense short-term interest in the stock. [3]
Despite recent selling pressure, HBI remains a mid-single-digit stock. The shares now trade roughly 28% below their 52-week high of $8.98, set on December 3, 2024, leaving the name in a discounted range versus its recent history. [4]
Shareholders Approve Merger With Gildan Activewear
The most important structural development for Hanesbrands is its pending acquisition by Gildan Activewear Inc. (NYSE: GIL).
On November 25, 2025, Hanesbrands announced that its shareholders had approved the proposed merger with Gildan at a special meeting. Approximately 73.3% of outstanding shares were represented; of those, 243.9 million shares voted in favor, 15.1 million voted against, and about 0.3 million abstained. [5]
The transaction involves a multi-step structure under which a Gildan subsidiary (Helios Merger Sub, Inc.) will merge with and into Hanesbrands, after which Hanesbrands will be converted into a Maryland limited liability company and combined with additional Gildan entities as laid out in the August 13, 2025 merger agreement. [6]
Regulatory progress is also underway:
- The Hart–Scott–Rodino (HSR) waiting period expired on November 20, 2025, satisfying a key U.S. antitrust condition for the deal. [7]
- The merger remains subject to additional regulatory consents and customary closing conditions before it can be finalized. [8]
In a sign of how focused management is on the transaction, Hanesbrands has chosen not to host earnings conference calls around its latest results, explicitly citing the pending deal with Gildan. [9]
For shareholders, the merger effectively turns HBI into a special-situation stock: short-term trading is now strongly influenced by merger-arbitrage dynamics, regulatory risk, and expectations about the final closing timeline, rather than only by fundamentals like sales and margins.
Q3 2025 Earnings: Higher Profit, Flat Sales, and a Big Tax Boost
Hanesbrands reported results for its third quarter of fiscal 2025 on November 6, 2025. The numbers present a nuanced picture:
- Net sales came in at about $892 million, down roughly 1% year over year. [10]
- Operating profit rose about 14% to $108 million, with operating margin improving from 10.4% to 12.1%. [11]
- On an adjusted basis, operating profit increased around 3% to about $116 million, with adjusted operating margin at 13.0%. [12]
Earnings were boosted by a sizable tax item:
- Reported EPS surged to $0.76, helped by a discrete tax benefit of $0.64 per share, implying that underlying profitability was much more modest.
- Adjusted EPS—stripping out that tax benefit and other items—was $0.15, up about 25% from the prior year’s $0.12. [13]
However, from a market-expectations perspective, the quarter was not flawless. Analysts tracked by Zacks had expected slightly stronger results, and both revenue and adjusted EPS fell just short of the consensus, with sales around $891.7 million versus roughly $896.7 million expected and adjusted EPS $0.15 versus a $0.16 estimate. [14]
Management pointed to:
- Cost savings and lower SG&A (selling, general and administrative expenses down nearly 8% year over year). [15]
- Lower interest expense and a more efficient capital structure. [16]
These helped offset flat to weaker sales in certain U.S. and international channels and contributed to the margin expansion that has attracted renewed investor interest. [17]
Balance Sheet and Leverage: Gradual De-Risking
One of the strategic objectives for Hanesbrands in recent years has been deleveraging after periods of higher leverage and restructuring.
As of Q3 2025:
- Net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA has been brought down to 3.3×, an improvement of roughly one full turn compared with the prior year. [18]
- SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales have declined meaningfully versus 2024, reflecting cost-cutting and efficiency initiatives. [19]
This gradual balance-sheet repair is important both for stand-alone valuation and for the Gildan integration, as a cleaner capital structure typically makes post-merger integration easier and reduces refinancing risk.
Analyst Views and Valuation: “Hold” With Limited Upside
Despite the recent excitement around the merger and earnings, analyst sentiment remains cautious rather than euphoric.
- According to StockAnalysis, five analysts currently rate Hanesbrands stock as a “Hold”, with a 12-month price target around $6.60. [20]
- MarketBeat data also shows an average target of $6.60, with individual targets ranging from $5.00 on the low end to $9.00 on the high end. [21]
With HBI closing near $6.47 on November 28, the consensus targets imply only modest upside (or even slight downside) from current levels, depending on the source and the intra-day price used as a base. [22]
Recent fundamental analysis notes that:
- Profitability has improved meaningfully due to margin expansion, cost savings, and lower financing costs.
- Nonetheless, the stock has declined more than 25% over the last year, even after accounting for recent rallies, reflecting lingering concerns about growth, brand momentum, and the apparel cycle. [23]
In short, many analysts appear to view Hanesbrands as fairly valued relative to its risk profile, with the merger outcome now acting as a central driver of any re-rating.
Strategic Initiatives: Digital Transformation and Operational Efficiency
Beyond the Gildan transaction, Hanesbrands is continuing to invest in operational and digital modernization.
In a notable move, the company entered a 10-year strategic alliance with Infosys earlier in 2025. The partnership aims to implement an “AI-first” strategy across Hanesbrands’ technology stack, leveraging Infosys platforms to enhance supply chain efficiency, demand forecasting, and customer engagement. [24]
This digital transformation push is designed to:
- Improve inventory planning and reduce working capital.
- Support omnichannel retail and e-commerce initiatives.
- Strengthen data-driven decision making in merchandising and pricing. [25]
Combined with ongoing cost reduction efforts and the expected synergies from the Gildan combination, these initiatives could help underpin margins and cash flow in the medium term—assuming consumer demand for basics and innerwear remains resilient.
Key Factors to Watch for HBI Investors
As of November 29, 2025, the HBI investment story sits at the intersection of event risk (the merger) and fundamental execution (margins, leverage, and growth). Several catalysts will be critical over the coming months:
- Regulatory and Closing Milestones for the Gildan Deal
Additional regulatory approvals and closing conditions must be satisfied. Any delays, new regulatory concerns, or changes to the deal terms could affect the share price and the merger spread. [26] - Short-Term Trading Dynamics and Volume Spikes
The sharp increase in trading volume and the stock’s appearance among the most active after-hours movers suggests heightened interest from arbitrageurs and speculative traders. Sustained volatility is possible as the market digests each new regulatory or legal update. [27] - Margin Sustainability and Cost Controls
Investors will look for confirmation that operating margin gains in Q3—driven by cost cuts and lower SG&A—are sustainable and not overly dependent on short-term levers or one-off tax benefits. [28] - Balance-Sheet Deleveraging
Continued progress in reducing leverage and interest expense could provide a buffer in case consumer demand weakens or macroeconomic conditions deteriorate. [29] - Analyst Re-Ratings and Target Revisions
Any change in analyst targets or ratings, particularly if tied to updated merger probabilities or revised synergy estimates, may sway sentiment around HBI shares. [30]
Bottom Line
Hanesbrands Inc. stock enters the final weeks of 2025 as a merger-driven, event-sensitive name with improving profitability but limited organic growth, trading at a discount to its 52-week high and roughly in line with analyst targets. Heavy trading, a newly approved merger with Gildan, and a complex earnings profile dominated by tax and cost-saving effects mean that near-term performance will likely be driven as much by headlines and regulatory milestones as by standard apparel fundamentals.
References
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