What Happened?
Shares of young adult apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) jumped 3.3% in the morning session after the company reported second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and profit.
The company posted GAAP earnings of $2.91 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion, significantly surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.30 per share on revenue of $1.20 billion. The strong quarterly performance appeared to outweigh a mixed outlook from the company. While revenue guidance for the upcoming third quarter came in slightly ahead of expectations, the full-year earnings forecast was only in line with prior projections. Investors seemed to focus on the solid execution in the reported quarter, which featured 6.6% year-over-year sales growth, sending the shares higher despite the lack of a significant guidance raise.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $95.97, down 0.8% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Abercrombie and Fitch’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 37 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock dropped 4.7% on the news that the major indices continued to pull back, with technology stocks accounting for most of the market's largest decliners.
A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains were concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed. Despite the downturn, some analysts viewed this as an opportunity to own some of the "Core AI winners." Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities commented, "In our view, the tech bull cycle will be well intact for at least another 2-3 years, given the trillions being spent on AI infrastructure/software/chips/power/apps looking ahead. This remains our tech playbook and investor roadmap." Additionally, mixed earnings reports from retailers, such as Target, have added to the market's weakness. Investors are closely monitoring these reports for insights into the broader economic health and the potential impact of new tariffs on inflation.
Abercrombie and Fitch is down 37.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $95.97 per share, it is trading 42.4% below its 52-week high of $166.61 from August 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Abercrombie and Fitch’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $7,978.
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