What's Going On With Abercrombie & Fitch Shares After Q4 Earnings?

Abercrombie & Fitch Company ANF shares are trading lower on Wednesday.

The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.97, beating the analyst consensus of $2.83.

The company reported sales of $1.453 billion, beating the street view of $1.430 billion.

Abercrombie delivered fourth-quarter net sales growth of 21%, led by 35% growth in Abercrombie brands. Quarterly comparable sales up 16%.

Abercrombie brand sales rose year over year to $755.20 million, while Hollister brand sales increased 9% to $697.70 million.

The additional week in fiscal 2023 benefited fourth quarter net sales by approximately $50 million, or 430 basis points.

The quarterly gross profit rate was 62.9%, up 720 basis points as compared to last year. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by 430 basis points of higher average unit retail and 290 basis points associated with lower freight and raw material costs.

As of February 3, 2024, the company had cash and equivalents of $901 million as compared to $518 million last year. The company exited the quarter with inventories of $469 million, a decrease of approximately 7% over last year.

“This year, our goal is to deliver sustainable, profitable growth while making the necessary investments to build and support our longer-term ambition of $5 billion in global sales,” said Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer.

Outlook: Abercrombie & Fitch expects FY24 revenue of $4.47 billion-$4.56 billion versus $4.426 billion estimate.

Abercrombie & Fitch expects first-quarter revenue growth to be up by low double-digits year over year from $836 million versus the $896.57 million estimate.

Price Action: ANF shares are trading lower by 4.64% to $133.46 on the last check Wednesday. 

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