revenue growth
5–9 pct
Q3 2026
official guidance
AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS, INC.
Last · —$17.60-0.18 (-1.01%)live · yahoo · 0s ago
Market cap$3.03B—
P/E · TTM9.4fwd — · eps —
Beta—vs S&P 500
Div yield—annual · TTM
52w range
——
Volume—session
| Revenue | $5.7B |
|---|---|
| Operating income | $447.9M |
| Net income | $336.9M |
| Free cash flow | $343.5M |
| Operating margin | 7.8% |
| Net margin | 5.9% |
| Return on equity | 19.1% |
| Period | TTM 2026-08-01 |
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OpenFilings analyst
Our analyst
Agentic read of the latest earnings call — recommendation updates when we process a new transcript. Research synthesis, not investment advice.
Strong BuyBuyHoldSellStrong Sell
Aerie is strong, but core-brand execution and reported profitability remain unresolved.
Hold: AEO delivered 8% revenue growth to $1.38 billion, 6% comparable-sales growth, and Aerie revenue growth of 25%, but American Eagle comps fell 1% and $161 million of operating income came from tariff refunds. The strong Aerie engine supports the thesis, while AE inventory cleanup, markdowns, tariffs, and the one-off nature of the refund keep this from being a clean buy.
Themes
- Aerie Growth
- American Eagle Recovery
- Tariff Refunds
- Inventory Rebalancing
- Retail Margins
Near term
Aerie and OFFLINE are guided to high-teens to 20% comparable-sales growth in Q3, while American Eagle is expected to be approximately flat.
American Eagle markdowns and seasonal inventory rightsizing, especially in shorts and older denim fits, can pressure Q3 merchandise margin.
Q3 operating income guidance is $110 million to $115 million, with gross margin expected to be similar to last year.
Section 301 tariffs and possible freight or fuel surcharges remain near-term gross-margin risks.
Longer term
Aerie has substantial awareness runway at 59% versus 76% for American Eagle, if growth can continue without excessive marketing or promotion.
The investment case depends on American Eagle returning to durable positive comps through better product, traffic, and conversion rather than relying on Aerie alone.
Management expects SG&A leverage at a low- to mid-single-digit level in fiscal 2027 after elevated advertising spending laps.
Red flags
The $161 million operating-income tariff benefit materially inflated reported profitability, while merchandise margin actually deleveraged 330 basis points.
Inventory cost rose 14% and units rose 9%, with management still expecting markdowns and rebalancing.
Full-year operating-income guidance of $540 million to $550 million was trimmed because American Eagle is now expected to be flat rather than low-single-digit positive.
Forward outlook
OpenFilings analyst view from primary-source filings and earnings calls — not investment advice.
From latest 10-K · 2026-03-30
- Earnings Decline
- Tariff Uncertainty
- Store Impairments
- Lease Burden
- Receivables Reserve
- Quiet Platforms
- Consumer Demand
Red flags
- Net income attributable to AEO declined 41.7% to $192.0 million in Fiscal 2025 from $329.4 million in Fiscal 2024.
- Fiscal 2025 recorded $71.9 million of impairment charges: $33.4 million on operating lease ROU assets, $37.2 million on fixed assets, and $1.3 million on Quiet Platforms intangible assets.
- The allowance for doubtful accounts increased to $25.5 million from $8.9 million, including $17.3 million of additional expense versus $0.8 million in Fiscal 2024.
- The company paid $423.5 million in operating lease cash payments and carried $41.8 million of finance lease liabilities at January 31, 2026.
Upcoming earnings
9:00 PM UTC+1
Period
Oct 2026
Est. EPS
$0.49
Est. revenue
1.5B
Earnings transcripts
Documents
FormReporting forFiledFlags