Abercrombie & Fitch tumbles as guidance underwhelms investors, despite sales beat
Abercrombie & Fitch shares took a dive after the mall retailer gave chilly expectations for the year.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares tumbled Wednesday, despite the zillennial-favorite retailer delivering a solid Q4 holiday quarter.
The stock was recently down 15% shortly after the open.
Sales surged 9% to $1.58 billion, ticking just above Wall Street’s $1.56 billion forecast. Earnings per share hit $3.57, roughly in line with expectations. Meanwhile, comparable sales jumped 14%, with a major assist from Hollister — Abercrombie’s Cali-based sibling — that made up more than half of total sales. This marks the first time since 2022 that Hollister has outpaced Abercrombie’s flagship brand during the holiday quarter.
Abercrombie has thrived in recent years, thanks to its rebrand as a fashion-forward destination for young professionals and adults. But some of that heat is starting to fade. For the current quarter, the company expects earnings per share to be between $1.25 and $1.45, well below the expected $1.97. For the full year, Abercrombie expects sales to jump between 3% and 5%, also coming in below expectations of 6.8%.
Abercrombie faces a tougher shopping environment as broader consumer spending softens amid sticky inflation and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies. The company also expects a full-year operating margin of 14% to 15%, factoring in potential tariff impacts on goods imported from China, Mexico, and Canada. Even with Abercrombie’s stock hovering near one-year lows, Wall Street is seeing a sale sign — around 75% of FactSet analysts now rate the stock a “buy,” up from just 35% last January.
Go deeper: Check out our visual story about how mall stocks have been making a comeback.
