Why American Eagle Outfitters Stock Rose 6% in Early Trading Today

Shares of teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) rose roughly 6% as Wall Street opened for trading on Tuesday. Around 90 minutes into the trading day, that gain had dipped a bit, to around 4%, but the more interesting story here is that peers Abercrombie & Fitch and Urban Outfitters both witnessed sharp declines in early trading today. The difference was actually kind of subtle, given that all three companies posted solid top- and bottom-line third quarter earnings numbers.

American Eagle Outfitters had sales of $1.27 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up 24% from a year ago and 19% from 2019, before the pandemic. Notably, sales at the retailer's Aerie nameplate, which it is counting on to drive growth, rose 28% year over year in 2021 after posting 34% growth the prior year. Meanwhile, sales at its namesake brand bounced back, up 21% following an 11% decline year over year between 2020 and 2019.

So overall, the company is performing fairly well as it looks to revitalize its business. Earnings per share came in at $0.74 compared to $0.32 a year ago and $0.48 in 2019.

Source Fool.com