Carter's Inc. (CRI)

Children's clothing stores, counted by place. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending January 3, 2026, filed February 27, 2026. Ranked 35 of the 161 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

The filing counts 15,400 employees by place, 12,180 in retail stores, 1,650 in corporate offices and 1,570 in distribution centers, 79% in the United States.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 24% now, 31% at the end of 2027, 33% at the end of 2028, 34% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 34% desk work, 25% people work and 41% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 66% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 21% becomes checking a model's work and 12% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

15,400 employees as of January 3, 2026 (stated). 12,230 of 15,400 employees in the United States (79%), 2,200 in Canada, 700 in Mexico and 270 elsewhere, from the filing's table.

The filing: “As of the end of fiscal 2025, we had approximately 15,400 employees globally: retail stores 12,180, corporate offices 1,650, distribution centers 1,570.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: 12,180 in retail stores, 1,650 in corporate offices, 1,570 in distribution centers; 12,230 in the United States, 2,200 in Canada, 700 in Mexico, 270 elsewhere; no hourly, part-time or union figure stated.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

• TJX (TJX, 377,000 employees)24% now, 31% by 2028
• Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST, 111,000 employees)23% now, 29% by 2028
• Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL, 83,309 employees)24% now, 31% by 2028
• The Gap, Inc. (GAP, 79,000 employees)24% now, 32% by 2028
• American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO, 45,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF, 43,200 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
• Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU, 39,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN, 31,000 employees)24% now, 30% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

3 sentences in the filing name AI. Three risk-factor sentences: competitors may use developing technology including data analytics and AI more successfully and incorporate AI into products and customer engagement faster, and cyber criminals' techniques change with AI and machine learning.

• “As a result, these competitors may be able to adapt to changes in customer requirements and preferences more quickly, take advantage of acquisitions and other opportunities more readily, devote greater resources to the marketing and sale of their products, adopt more aggressive pricing strategies than we can, and more successfully utilize developing technology, including data analytics, artific...”
• “Additionally, our competitors may outpace us in incorporating new technologies, such as AI, into their product offerings and engagement with customers, which could affect our competitiveness and operational outcomes.”
• “The techniques used by cyber criminals change frequently, including as a result of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, may not be recognized until launched, and can originate from a wide variety of sources, including outside groups such as external service providers, organized crime affiliates, terrorist organizations, or hostile foreign governments or a...”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20210median 0
• Fiscal 20220median 0
• Fiscal 20231median 1
• Fiscal 20242median 4
• Fiscal 20253median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The corporate offices count (1,650) holds the wholesale, design and sourcing staff as the filing groups them; it is read at management of companies under rule 6.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001060822-26-000016, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.