An American Eagle advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney on a billboard in Times Square in New York, United States, Thursday, August 7, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
American Eagle issued bullish holiday forecasts and raised its full-year forecast Tuesday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.
The clothing company expects its fiscal fourth-quarter comparable sales to rise between 8% and 9%, about four times better than the 2.1% forecast by analysts, according to StreetAccount.
American Eagle now expects its full-year adjusted operating profit to be between $303 million and $308 million, up from its previous range of $255 million to $265 million.
American Eagle shares rose as much as 15% in extended trading.
The company exceeded third-quarter expectations for revenue and net income.
Here are American Eagle’s results in the quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 53 cents versus 44 cents expected
- Income: $1.36 billion versus $1.32 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three months ended Nov. 1 was $91.34 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with $80.02 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sales reached $1.36 billion, up about 6% from $1.29 billion a year earlier.
This is the first time investors have seen the impact of a full quarter of American Eagle’s blockbuster campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce.
Companywide, American Eagle saw its comparable sales rise 4%, better than the 2.7% analysts expected, according to StreetAccount. Although the company’s overall results beat expectations, they were primarily driven by Aerie, which saw its comparable sales increase 11% and revenue increase about 13%.
At American Eagle, where the campaigns were focused, comparable sales rose just 1%, worse than the 2.1% analysts expected, according to StreetAccount.
The company told CNBC that the campaigns were “attracting more customers” and creating more attention around the brand, but results show they have yet to be a major revenue driver.
However, they also don’t have a major impact on profits. During the quarter, American Eagle’s operating margin was 8.3%, better than the 7.5% expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.
Beyond its marketing campaigns, American Eagle told CNBC that it saw record revenue during its third quarter and that “strong momentum” continued into the current quarter, where it experienced a “record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend.”
The rosy holiday comment comes after peers like Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap And Urban outfitters posted better-than-expected results ahead of the crucial holiday shopping period. Investors are closely watching discretionary retailers for drops in consumer demand due to tariffs, but many have shown resilience so far. They show that for the moment, rising prices do not prevent consumers from making their purchases, provided they feel they are getting value for their money.
The industry-wide holiday outlook from outside consulting firms has been relatively murky, but the latest earnings slate from discretionary retailers boded well for holiday sales. Additionally, attendance for the so-called “Turkey 5” shopping weekend, the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, was stronger than expected, according to the National Retail Federation.