American Eagle Outfitters vs Abercrombie & Fitch
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- American Eagle Outfitters is the larger business, with $5.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $5.3B for Abercrombie & Fitch.
- Abercrombie & Fitch grew revenue faster (6.4%, against 4.1%).
- Abercrombie & Fitch kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (13.3% operating margin, against 4.1%).
- Abercrombie & Fitch turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.2% FCF margin, against 3.5%).
- Abercrombie & Fitch earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (91.0%, against 11.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Abercrombie & Fitch’s earnings: a P/E of 14.2x against 9.6x for American Eagle Outfitters.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
American Eagle Outfitters
AEO
1/10
Share count change
Abercrombie & Fitch
ANF
9/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AEO FY25 | ANF FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $3.2B | $7.3B |
| Revenue | $5.5B | $5.3B |
| Free cash flow | $195M | $378M |
| Net income | $192M | $507M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.1% | 6.4% |
| 5-year growth | 8.1% | 11.0% |
| Share count change | −10.3% | −8.5% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.5% | — |
| Operating margin | 4.1% | 13.3% |
| Net margin | 3.5% | 9.6% |
| FCF margin | 3.5% | 7.2% |
| Return on capital | 11.5% | 91.0% |
| Return on equity | 11.1% | 37.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$197M | −$785M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.4x | −0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $142M | $451M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 9.6x | 14.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.