American Eagle Outfitters Q2 earnings jump 35 percent

American Eagle Outfitters reported EPS of 0.23 dollar for the second quarter ended July 30, 2016, a 35 percent increase from EPS of 0.17 dollar for the comparable quarter last year. Total net revenue increased 3 percent to 823 million dollars from 797 million dollars last year.

Commenting on the second quarter performance, Jay Schottenstein, CEO of the company said, “For the past few years, we have worked hard to lift our brands through merchandise leadership and innovation, strengthen our customer focus and invest in technology. Our efforts around these priorities are clearly paying off, as again evidenced by our strong earnings growth in the second quarter.”

Reports upbeat second quarter results

Consolidated comparable sales increased 3 percent, following an 11 percent increase last year. Gross profit increased 8 percent to 307 million dollars and as a rate to revenue, expanded 160 basis points to 37.3 percent driven by improved merchandise margin due to lower cost and higher realised selling prices. This was partially offset by increased delivery expense related to growth in digital sales.

In the quarter, the company opened five stores and closed seven. Internationally, the company opened 13 licensed stores. Based on an anticipated low single digit increase in comparable sales, management expects third quarter EPS to be approximately 0.40 dollar to 0.41 dollar.

Picture:American Eagle Outfitters