CluenexBurlington Stores BURL
Burlington Stores scores good on business quality (6.0 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Burlington Stores does
Burlington Stores makes money by operating a chain of off-price retail stores, selling apparel and home goods to budget-conscious shoppers at steep discounts. The company relies on opportunistic buying and quick inventory turns to drive volume across its store footprint.
- What it does best
Burlington drives industry-leading gross margins of 44.6%, outpacing peers like TJX at 32.0% and ROST at 28.6%. This edge stems from its deep supplier relationships and flexible buying model, allowing it to secure branded merchandise at low costs.
- The main risk
Heavy reliance on store traffic and discretionary spending exposes the business to margin compression if consumer demand falters. High capital expenditures, sitting at $1.0B, create pressure if new store openings fail to match anticipated sales volumes.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins sit at 8.1% while net margins reach 5.8%, placing the company in the middle of the pack for sector operating margins. High capital expenditures currently weigh on profitability as the store base expands.
Scale and vendor relationships create a strong cost advantage that locks in bargain-seeking consumers and deters new entrants. Gross margin ranks in the top quartile of the sector at the 61st percentile.
Revenue grew 8.8% to reach $12.2B, accelerating from prior years as store expansion gained momentum.
Total debt of $2.1B and net debt of $849.0M are balanced by $1.2B in cash, while interest coverage of 13.4x keeps debt costs manageable. Free cash flow recovered to $412.0M, indicating a strengthening cash generation profile.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on BURL
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Burlington Stores scores good on the Cluenex quality check (6.0 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat strong, growth steady and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 23, 2026.
See BURL today
- Today's verdict on BURL, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Burlington Stores (BURL)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/burl/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.