Retail

Why Abercrombie & Fitch Is Friday's Biggest Earnings Winner

Thinkstock

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) released its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Friday. While the retail sector has been under assault by Amazon, most companies have been fairly muted in their performance. But it seems like Abercrombie & Fitch is breaking out, at least for now.

The company posted $0.30 in earnings per share (EPS) and $859.1 million in revenue, compared with a consensus forecast from Thomson Reuters of $0.22 in EPS on revenue of $818.9 million. In the fiscal third quarter of last year, the retailer posted EPS of $0.02 and $821.73 million in revenue.

During the quarter, comparable sales increased 4%, compared with a decrease of 1% in the second quarter. Comparable sales increased 8% in the Hollister brand but fell 2% in the Abercrombie brand.

In terms of the outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter, the company expects to see comparable sales to be up low-single digits, and net sales to be up mid- to high-single digits. There are consensus estimates that are calling for $0.80 in EPS and $1.06 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.

On the books, Abercrombie cash and cash equivalents totaled $459.3 million at the end of the quarter, compared with $469.7 million last year.

CEO Fran Horowitz commented:

We are pleased by the clear progress across all brands, delivering another quarter of sequential comparable sales improvement, and a return to positive comparable sales. This sales performance in combination with disciplined expense management drove profit growth, despite the promotional environment. Our customers remain at the center of all we do, and that singular focus continues to drive both our brands forward, with effective engagement across all channels driving positive overall traffic and conversion trends. Hollister delivered another quarter of sales growth across all channels and geographies, and Abercrombie is beginning to show signs of stabilization.

Shares of Abercrombie were last seen up about 27% at $15.94. The consensus analyst price target is just $11.31 for now, and a 52-week trading range is $8.81 to $16.36.

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

 

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

1 https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.