Old Navy store on 34th Street in New York City

Gap pops as the denim giant takes a big swing into beauty and accessories

The retailer is piloting beauty through shop-in-shops at Old Navy before rolling it out to Gap stores next year.

9/4/25 11:22AM

Gap shares popped nearly 5% Thursday afternoon after the retailer said it’s stepping into beauty and accessories, starting with select Old Navy stores this fall and expanding to Gap-branded locations in 2026.

The move is part of a broader push to diversify beyond apparel. About 150 Old Navy locations will feature skin care, makeup, hair care, and nail polish (most priced under $25) with about 45 pilot sites getting full beauty “shop-in-shops” staffed with dedicated associates.

Retail peers have shown beauty can move the needle. Target’s Ulta partnership has lifted traffic, and Kohl’s said its in-store Sephora shops are on track to contribute $2 billion in sales by this year. Old Navy, meanwhile, has only dabbled at the margins, selling a limited selection of e.l.f. Beauty and Burt’s Bees lip balm in checkout lanes. Those impulse buys account for just a fraction of its $8.4 billion in annual sales.

Gap also pointed to beauty’s broader momentum: the US beauty and personal care market is among the fastest-growing and most resilient categories in retail, with Euromonitor projecting it will top $100 billion in 2025.

After today’s boost, Gap shares are now roughly flat on the year.

Max Knoblauch10/24/25

Premium seats help push airlines higher following third-quarter results

Shares of American Airlines are climbing toward the carrier’s best trading day since August 12, when ultra-budget rival Spirit issued its initial warning about its ability to survive. American’s shares are up more than 7% on Friday afternoon.

Investors’ optimism comes a day after American posted a better-than-expected full-year earnings forecast. In a call with investors, American said that it’s ramping up its premium cabin offerings.

“Our ability to grow capacity in premium markets will be further supported as we take delivery of new aircraft and reconfigure our existing fleet. These efforts will allow us to grow our premium seats at nearly two times the rate of main cabin seats,” CEO Robert Isom said. American CFO Devin May said that nose-to-tail retrofits of certain wide-body jets will bump the number of premium seats available on those planes by 25%.

Extra legroom has been a boon for major carriers, particularly this quarter. Delta Air Lines said its premium product revenue grew 9% in Q3, compared to a 4% drop in economy seat revenue. Similarly, United Airlines said its premium revenue grew 6%, outpacing economy. Shares of both airlines were up more than 3% on Friday.

Carriers with less exposure to first- and business-class tickets like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue didn’t see the same amount of momentum on the day.