Inventory Growth Soars Above Topline For American Eagle: Analyst Weighs In On Q1 Projections

Telsey Advisory Group analyst Dana Telsey reiterated a Market Perform rating on the shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. AEO, with a price target of $17.
In early April, American Eagle reduced the size of its workforce at Quiet Platforms due to macro headwinds and the company’s underperformance. The analyst believes the measure to “better align” with the company’s growth projections and help reduce the overall loss.
American Eagle will report its first quarter 2023 results on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
Entering FY23, inventory growth will remain above topline growth, the analyst notes. The supply chain is also expected to improve, supporting the ability to better chase demand in the coming seasons.
The analyst also applauds the company’s goal of targeting even more cost savings in FY23.
Considering these, the analyst sees Q1 EPS to be flat year over year at $0.16 vs. the consensus estimate of $0.17.
On the top line, the analyst sees sales of $1.07 billion, up 1.5% year over year, driven by a comp gain of 1%.
In Q1, gross margin is expected to expand by 70 bps to 37.5%, while operating expense is expected to be flat Y/Y as a percentage of sales.
Taken together, the operating margin is expected to be 4% (up 10 bps Y/Y).
However, the analyst cautions about the ongoing macro pressures and limited visibility to improved profitability for the company.
Price Action: AEO shares are trading higher by 2.80% to $13.02 on the last check Wednesday.
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