The retailer has seen strong comparable sales growth over
the past several quarters and expects comp sales to increase in the low single
digits for the first quarter. American Eagle has been seeing healthy growth in
its brands and this strength is expected to boost the company’s performance in the
first quarter. However, higher expenses could impact margins negatively.
In the fourth quarter, American Eagle beat earnings estimates while revenues fell short. Revenues inched up by 1% to $1.24 billion while adjusted EPS was $0.44. Comparable sales rose 6%. For the Aerie brand, comp sales grew 23% while for the AE brand, they grew 3%.
For the first quarter of 2019, the company has guided for EPS to be around $0.19 to $0.21. At the end of fiscal 2019, American Eagle expects its store count to be in the range of 1,072 to 1,092 stores.
American Eagle’s shares have fallen 5% so far this year and over 20% in the trailing 52 weeks.