An American Eagle ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney on a billboard in Times Square, New York, USA, on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
american eagle issued bullish holiday guidance and raised its full-year forecast on Tuesday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.
According to Street accounts, the company expects comparable sales to rise 8% to 9% in its fiscal fourth quarter, about four times the 2.1% expected by analysts.
American Eagle now expects full-year adjusted operating income to be between $303 million and $308 million, up from the previous range of $255 million to $265 million.
American Eagle shares rose as much as 15% in extended trading.
The company exceeded expectations in the third quarter for sales and bottom line profits.
Here’s how American Eagle’s current quarter results compare to Wall Street expectations, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG.
Earnings per share: 53 cents vs. 44 cents expected Earnings: $1.36 billion vs. $1.32 billion expected
The company reported net income of $91.34 million, or 53 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 1, compared with $80.02 million, or 41 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Sales were $1.36 billion, an increase of about 6% from $1.29 billion in the same period last year.
The results mark the first time investors have seen the impact of American Eagle’s splashy campaign starring Sidney Sweeney and Travis Kelce in a full quarter.
American Eagle’s companywide sales rose 4%, according to Street Accounts, beating analysts’ expectations of 2.7%. Performance across the business exceeded expectations, primarily driven by Aerie, where comparable sales increased 11% and revenue increased approximately 13%.
At campaign-focused American Eagle, comparable sales grew just 1%, below analysts’ expectations of 2.1%, according to Street Accounts.
The company told CNBC that the campaign is “attracting more customers” and increasing attention to the brand, but results show it’s not yet a major revenue driver.
However, it has not had a significant impact on profits. According to Street Accounts, American Eagle’s operating margin for the quarter was 8.3%, beating analysts’ expectations of 7.5%.
Beyond the marketing campaign, American Eagle told CNBC that it had record revenue in the third quarter and that “strong momentum” carried over into this quarter, with a “record Thanksgiving weekend.”
Rosy holiday comments come after colleagues like Abercrombie & Fitch, gap and urban outfitters The company announced better results than feared ahead of the important year-end sales season. Investors are closely monitoring discretionary retailers for a drop in consumer demand due to tariffs, but many have shown resilience so far. They have so far shown that higher prices do not deter consumers from shopping as long as they feel they are getting value for money.
Although the outlook for the industry-wide holiday season is relatively uncertain according to outside consulting firms, the latest financial results for discretionary retailers are a positive sign for the season. Additionally, the National Retail Federation said participation was higher than expected during the so-called Turkey 5 shopping week, the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
