Abercrombie & Fitch’s shares are up 37% thanks to Hollister’s success

Since 2019, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has undergone a resurrection from discarded early 2000s mall brand to a sought after brand for millennials and older Gen Zs.

Abercrombie reported $1.29 billion in revenue for quarter three, up 7% year-over-year. The Tuesday, November 25 earnings report is the 12th in a row with consecutive growth between quarters.

The company also beat Wall Street’s predicted $1.28 billion in revenue and reached earnings per share of $2.36 earnings, rather than the estimated $2.16, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC.

Abercrombie’s shares (NYSE:ANF) closed Tuesday up more than 37% on Tuesday, though the stock is still down 39.63% from the start of 2025.

Notably, the most recent growth of Abercrombie (the company) hasn’t been fueled by Abercrombie (the brand). This quarter saw the retail store’s net sales sink 2% YOY to $617.35 million — a 7% decrease in comparable sales. It’s an improvement from quarters one and two, during which the brand also saw declines in net sales: a 4% reduction YOY to $547.95 million in quarter one and a 5% drop YOY to $551,868 in quarter two.

Instead, it was another brand beloved by millennials as teens that has held up the once logo tee and low-rise jean-adorned fort. Abercrombie-owned Hollister reported $673.27 million in net sales for the most recent quarter. This figure represents a 16% increase YOY and a 15% jump in comparable sales. Hollister’s success left the company with a 7% improvement in net sales YOY.

Hollister has maintained significant positive growth, reporting 19% and 22% increases in net sales YOY during quarters one and two, respectively.

In an earnings call for quarter two, CEO Fran Horowitz attributed the Abercrombie brand’s decline to marking down and selling old inventory. This time around, Horowitz appeared happy enough to have made progress, stating, “Abercrombie brands made sequential progress in-line with our expectations, and we are tightly managing inventory as we aim for fourth quarter brand net sales to be approximately flat to last year’s record.”

Abercrombie expects a 6% to 7% growth overall for net sales in fiscal 2025, remaining confident it will reach a new record high.

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