American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

[HenryTo]

Prepare for some horrible retail numbers tomorrow. However, AEO is actually up 19 cents as I am typing this:
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American Eagle Same-Store Sales Fall
Wednesday February 6, 4:31 pm ET
American Eagle Same-Store Sales Drop 7 Percent in January As Traffic Declines

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Wednesday its same-store sales fell 7 percent in January, widely missing Wall Street analyst estimates due to a drop in store traffic.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

The drop was far lower than Wall Street analysts expected. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted same-store sales would fall 3.4 percent at the chain.

For the four-week period ended Feb. 2, total sales fell 21 percent to $163.9 million from $207.1 million in the same period of 2007. The company said excluding sales from an extra week in the 2006 fiscal year, total sales rose 4 percent.

American Eagle said its store traffic fell during the month, but it was able to clear through its fall and holiday inventories.

Sales at most retailers have slowed recently as consumers restrict spending to deal with rising mortgage payments and high prices for food and gas.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it same-store sales fell 2 percent.

Total sales rose 2 percent to $995.4 million from $973.4 million for the 2006 fourth quarter. Excluding sales from the extra week in the prior fiscal year, the retailer said its quarterly sales rose 7 percent.

The company also reiterated its fourth-quarter guidance for earnings per share between 64 cents and 65 cents. Analysts expect earnings of 65 cents per share.

In the 2006 fourth quarter, the company earned 66 cents per share.

The company will report fourth-quarter earnings on March 12.

Shares rose 13 cents to $20.75 in electronic after-hours trading. During regular trading, shares fell 76 cents, or 3.6 percent, to close at $20.62

[HenryTo]

Shares currently up over 9% on better-than-expected earnings:
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American Eagle profit falls
Wednesday May 28, 8:40 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc (NYSE:AEO - News) said on Wednesday quarterly net profit fell, hurt by greater markdowns resulting from lower-than-expected sales.

The mall-based chain, known for colorful, casual fashions, said net profit in the first quarter was $43.9 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $78.8 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company had forecast a first-quarter profit ranging from 18 cents to 20 cents per share.

The Pittsburgh-based company operates the preppy American Eagle Outfitters chain as well as aerie, which sells intimates for young women, and Martin & Osa, which sells sportswear for men and women aged 25 to 40.

As previously disclosed, sales rose 5 percent to $640.3 million in the quarter, which ended on May 3, but same-store sales, a key retail metric, fell 6 percent.

American Eagle said it expects earnings for the current quarter to range from 28 cents to 30 cents per share, which would be down from 37 cents per share a year ago.

[gggupup]

Technically, AEO has been showing support around $15.32 and resistance in the $19.69 range. The buying signal was on today with the $24.11 target price but not strong.
(http://www.9trading.com/index.php?symbol=aeo)

[HenryTo]

American Eagle's April same-store sales actually beat estimates but the stock is down - as the entire retail industry sells off this morning:
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American Eagle April sales up; maintains outlook
Thu May 8, 2008 8:23am EDT

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Teen clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year rose 2 percent in April, and stood by its first-quarter outlook.

Analysts, on average, had expected a decrease of 0.6 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total sales rose 15 percent to $197.7 million for the four weeks ended May 3.

Sales in the month were helped by an improvement in store traffic, more seasonal weather and its summer line of products, the company said in a statement.

Sales rose 5 percent to $640.3 million in the quarter. However, sale-store sales fell 6 percent in the 13-week period, the company said.

Still, American Eagle said it continues to expect a first-quarter profit of 18 cents a share to 20 cents a share.