Bear of the Day: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters Company Overview

Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is a Pittsburgh-based specialty casual apparel retailer. American Eagle Outfitters offers accessories and footwear for men and women, with a main target demographic of people between 15 and 25 years old. The company and its subsidiaries design and market casual clothing including jeans, cargo pants, graphic T-shirts, outerwear, and other accessories. AEO has three main brands, including:

·       AE Brand: Under this brand, the company sells the latest fashion apparel and accessories for men and women in the 15 to 25 age group.

·       Aerie by American Eagle: Launched in 2006, Aerie is a lifestyle brand that provides simple and stylish apparel, especially for young girls. The company sells apparel through its standalone Aerie stores across the United States and Canada and globally through its online channel, aerie.com.

·       AEO Direct: AEO Direct is American Eagle’s online retailing channel, through which it sells a wide range of apparel and accessories from its different brands. The company merchandises its products through e-commerce websites, ae.com and aerie.com.

The Death of the Mall

The number of malls in the US has dropped precipitously over the past few decades from more than 2,000 in the 1980s to roughly 700 today. While there has been a slight resurgence in the beginning of 2025, mall foot traffic has exhibited a troubling downtrend over the past five years in the wake of the COVIDD-19 pandemic and a shift to online shopping. Though AEO operates an e-commerce website, it is heavily reliant on its brick-and-mortar stores, which represent about two-thirds of its revenue.

Tariffs Impact American Eagle

President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” threw a wrench into businesses like American Eagle. The company sources its close from several tariff-impacted countries including China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Indonesia to name a few.

AEO Exhibits Relative Price Weakness

AEO shares are showing troubling relative price action versus the S&P 500 Index. Year-to-date, shares are down nearly 40%, while the S&P 500 is flat.

The Competition is Winning

A challenging retail landscape and aggressive promotional strategies contribute to American Eagle’s poor performance. For instance, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), a casual apparel retailer that serves a similar crowd to AEO, expects EPS to jump 70% in 2025 compared to AEO’s 14%.

AEO: Analysts See More Pain Ahead

Markets are generally forward-looking. However, Wall Street analysts see negative EPS growth this year and AEO’s EPS to plunge by 52% next year!

Bottom Line

“The death of the mall,” ongoing tariff impacts, and relative price weakness paint a challenging picture for casual apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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