American Eagle lifts outlook as Sydney Sweeney campaign boosts sales – Financial Times
American Eagle Outfitters shares jumped as strong demand for its leggings and lingerie as well as its advertising campaigns fronted by prominent US celebrities prompted it to raise its full-year sales outlook.
The apparel retailer, which was dragged into the “culture wars” over the summer for its marketing campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney, said on Tuesday afternoon it had also experienced a solid start to the current quarter and expected the momentum to continue into 2026.
“Strong momentum has continued into the fourth quarter, including an excellent start to the holiday season. We delivered a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend,” chief executive Jay Schottenstein said.
American Eagle’s robust outlook helped its shares close 15.1 per cent higher on Wednesday in New York. The rosy forecasts also put it among companies that continue to benefit in a US economy where the rich are spending relatively freely, but affordability is becoming a growing issue for many consumers.
Even as persistent inflation and economic uncertainty have caused consumers to pull back spending, American Eagle’s marketing campaigns that feature Sweeney and Super Bowl-winning American football player Travis Kelce, who is engaged to Taylor Swift, have helped spur demand for its apparel.
The Sweeney advertising campaign, launched in July, featured the actor talking about her “good jeans”, which some viewers took to be a play on the word “genes”. The wording triggered a debate about whether she was making a political point. She was later defended by President Donald Trump.
The third quarter was the first full three-month period to include the boost from those campaigns. Executives said on Tuesday’s investor call that Sweeney’s and Kelce’s campaigns had driven demand from new and existing customers.
“The traffic we’re seeing digitally off of those campaigns is significant,” said Michael Matthias, executive vice-president and chief financial officer. “That’s where we’re seeing a lot of the gains from those efforts and from the effectiveness of those campaigns.”
The company also expects gains from its recent holiday collection with Martha Stewart, with executives mentioning that the octogenarian lifestyle media entrepreneur resonates with Gen Z.
American Eagle raised its fourth-quarter outlook, forecasting comparable sales growth to be between 8 and 9 per cent, while Wall Street analysts expected about 2 per cent. That prompted the retailer to lift its full-year comparable sales outlook, tipping an increase in the low single digits from previous expectations of flat growth.
It reported a 6 per cent jump in revenue to $1.4bn, a third-quarter record, that beat Wall Street expectations of $1.3bn. Net income rose almost 7 per cent to $91.3mn and it also reported a lower net impact from tariffs than it had forecast three months ago.
Schottenstein attributed some of the record sales to “outstanding” growth at its lingerie brand Aerie and activewear label Offline. Comparable sales at Aerie increased 11 per cent in the three months that ended November 1, while sales at American Eagle increased only 1 per cent in that same period.
