DAVOS, SWITZERLAND — After more than a year at the helm, Gap (GAP) CEO Richard Dickson is putting to bed long-running chatter of breaking up the retailer to maximize shareholder value.

"Of course, we think about it, and we've analyzed it, and we believe the portfolio that we have in place is a powerful portfolio. We've spent a lot of time differentiating each one of our brands, and now you go online and you start to feel the brand storytelling that's distinct from each other," Dickson told Yahoo Finance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Gap had extensively explored a breakup under its prior management team in 2019, but decided in the late stages not to pull the trigger. The company owns Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

Instead, they opted to hire Dickson, the former Barbie savior at Mattel (MAT), in August 2023.

Dickson said it would be "difficult" to untangle the company. Instead, it's focusing on growing its platform and reach, improving its operations and profit, and increasing sales.

"The platform is going to be leveraged, and there's going to be a lot of various and different ways to optimize and create shareholder value," he said.

Since taking over, Dickson has spent time visiting distribution centers and stores while meeting with the company's top decision-makers. The group diagnosed habitual issues (clunky website, less-than-cool products, supply chain inefficiencies) that had plagued the company's performance and stock price.

He has since rebuilt his management team and hired star designer Zac Posen to head creative direction.

The end result: a string of better earnings reports, a stretch of viral marketing campaigns, and clothes shoppers actually want to buy, from Old Navy to Banana Republic. The company also has a new stock ticker: GAP, rather than GPS.

Gap's stock is up 30% in the past year compared to a 23% gain for the S&P 500.

"The turnaround is gaining momentum across all brands," said Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih.

Gap's turnaround will be tested in 2025 amid higher expectations on the Street and the real threat of fresh tariffs.

During Trump's second presidential run, he pitched a variety of new duties on imports. Ideas he floated include a 10% to 20% tariff on all foreign imports, a 60% to 100% additional tariff on Chinese imports, and a 25% tariff on Mexican imports.

Read more: How do tariffs work, and who really pays them?

Tariffs could materially impact apparel companies as an outsized portion of their merchandise is sourced from China.