American Eagle Outfitters announced strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024, which ended February 1, 2025. For Q4 2024, total net revenue was $1.60 billion, a 4% decline year-over-year due to one less selling week and a retail calendar shift, but matched Street forecasts. Comparable sales increased 3%, exceeding expectations, driven by 6% growth at Aerie and 1% at American Eagle.
GAAP net income for Q4 was $104.3 million, or $0.54 diluted EPS, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.50 per share. For the full fiscal year 2024, total net revenue reached $5.3 billion, a 1% increase, with comparable sales up 4%. Adjusted operating income grew 19% to $445 million, reflecting an 8.3% operating margin.
Despite the strong 2024 performance, the company issued a cautious outlook for fiscal year 2025. It expects Q1 FY25 revenue to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage and full-year FY25 revenue to decline by a low-single-digit percentage, significantly below analyst expectations for growth. FY25 operating income is projected between $360 million and $375 million. CEO Jay Schottenstein cited a "slower start" to Q1 due to less robust demand and colder weather, and CFO Michael Mathias noted potential $5-$10 million tariff impacts on gross margin, with plans to reduce China sourcing to under 10% by year-end.
In a move to return value to shareholders, the Board of Directors authorized an additional 50 million shares for repurchase on March 11, 2025, increasing the total authorization to 68.5 million shares through February 3, 2029. The company repurchased 3.5 million shares for $60 million in Q4, bringing full-year repurchases to $191 million.
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