Key Takeaways
- Abercrombie & Fitch stock soared more than 25% in premarket trading Wednesday after the retailer topped first-quarter estimates.
- Sales, profit, and comparable store sales all came in better than Visible Alpha consensus projections.
- The retailer lifted the top end of its full-year sales outlook, but cut its profit forecast as it said it expects a $50 million hit from the impact of tariffs.
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) shares surged 27% in premarket trading Wednesday after the apparel retailer reported better first-quarter results than analysts had expected.
The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.59 on sales that grew 8% year-over-year to a record $1.10 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had forecast $1.41 and $1.06 billion, respectively.
Comparable sales rose 4%, well above the 2.3% growth that analysts had projected. Sales grew across all three of the company’s geographic regions, while a 4% drop in sales at the Abercrombie brand was offset by a 22% jump at Hollister.
Retailer Lifts Full-Year Sales Outlook, Cuts Profit Projection
Abercrombie & Fitch raised the top end of its full-year sales growth forecast to 3% to 6% growth from the prior 3% to 5% range. The retailer lowered its projected EPS range to $9.50 to $10.50 from $10.40 to $11.40 previously. The company said the new outlook “assumes approximately $50 million of tariff expense, or 100 basis points as a percent of net sales.”
The retailer forecasts second-quarter sales growth of 3% to 5% and EPS of $2.10 to $2.30. Visible Alpha consensus calls for sales growth of 4.1% and EPS of $2.56.
Shares were up 26% less than an hour before the opening bell. They entered Wednesday down nearly 50% since the start of the year.
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