Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
ANF,
pulled back 0.5% in premarket trading Wednesday, following their recent rocket ride to the previous session’s record close, despite the apparel and accessories retailer reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and providing an upbeat sales outlook. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 3 rose to $158.4 million, or $2.97 a share, from $38.3 million, or 75 cents a share, in the year-ago period. That beat the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $2.83. Sales grew 21.1% to $1.45 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.43 billion, as Abercrombie sales rose 34.8% to $755.2 million and Hollister sales increased 9.1% to $697.7 million. Same-store sales, or sales of stores open at least a year, rose 16%. Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter sales to be up in the “low double-digits” percentage range, while the current FactSet consensus of $897 implies 7.3% growth. The stock, which has gained in 13 of the past 14 sessions, has run up 58.6% year to date through Tuesday, after rocketing a yearly record of 285.1% in 2023.
