At a glance
American Eagle Outfitters Inc is worth $3.26B, about 18 times its fiscal 2026 earnings. Revenue grew 4.1% to $5.55B in fiscal 2026, with 3.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 8.1% a year. It pays a 2.67% dividend yield, and returned $712.5M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2022–FY2026. The stock returned +19.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −1.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 47.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 60.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 6 months and 17 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) designs and sells casual clothing and accessories through two main brands. American Eagle, dating to 1977, is known for its jeans and everyday outfits. Aerie sells intimates (bras and underwear), apparel and swimwear, and its OFFLINE by Aerie line covers activewear. Two small brands round out the group: Todd Snyder, a premium New York menswear label, and Unsubscribed, a “slow fashion” line of clothes meant to last.
AEO makes money by selling directly to shoppers in its own stores, online, through its apps and in shop-in-shops. It does not make its own clothes. It designs them and has outside factories, mostly in Asia, produce them. As of January 31, 2026, it ran 1,168 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico, including 805 American Eagle and 332 stand-alone Aerie stores. Partners licensed to use its brands ran another 357 stores and shop-in-shops in about 30 countries.
In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, revenue grew 4.1% to $5.55 billion. The American Eagle brand produced 61.5% of it and Aerie 35%. The US accounted for 83.4% of sales. Profit margins are thin: net income was $192 million, about 3.5 cents per dollar of sales. That year AEO also decided to close Quiet Platforms, its regional order-fulfillment network, which had also served outside customers.
Price history
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AEO +19.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| American Eagle Brand | $3.41B | 61.5% |
| Aerie Brand | $1.94B | 35% |
By geography
| US | $4.63B | 83.4% |
| Non Us | $920.0M | 16.6% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2027 (ended Aug 1, 2026), revenue was $1.38B, up 7.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $134.1M (+72.7%).
- For fiscal 2026, revenue was $5.55B (+4.1% year over year; +8.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 3.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2026) | +8.1% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.1% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.5% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2026) | 11.3% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2026) | 4.8% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $93.0M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $3.76B | $-209.3M | $74.5M |
| FY2022 | $5.01B | $419.6M | $69.8M |
| FY2023 | $4.99B | $125.1M | $145.9M |
| FY2024 | $5.26B | $170.0M | $406.3M |
| FY2025 | $5.33B | $329.4M | $254.3M |
| FY2026 | $5.55B | $192.0M | $195.4M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.26B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 17.9 |
| Dividend yield | 2.67% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
American Eagle Outfitters’s market value went from $2.76B at the end of 2016 to $3.26B on Oct 28, 2026, up 18%; since the end of 2025 it is down 27%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.26B | -27.0% |
| 2025 | $4.47B | +39.6% |
| 2024 | $3.20B | -23.4% |
| 2023 | $4.18B | +59.8% |
| 2022 | $2.62B | -38.7% |
| 2021 | $4.27B | +28.0% |
| 2020 | $3.34B | +35.9% |
| 2019 | $2.45B | -28.0% |
| 2018 | $3.41B | +2.3% |
| 2017 | $3.33B | +20.8% |
| 2016 | $2.76B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEO price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -24.2% | +19.0% | +7.1% | -1.4% | +4.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -24.2% |
| 2025 | +65.0% |
| 2024 | -19.3% |
| 2023 | +54.9% |
| 2022 | -43.5% |
| 2021 | +29.8% |
| 2020 | +38.9% |
| 2019 | -22.1% |
| 2018 | +5.6% |
| 2017 | +28.7% |
| 2016 | +1.0% |
| 2015 | +15.2% |
| 2014 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | -28.0% |
| 2012 | +46.8% |
| 2011 | +8.0% |
| 2010 | -8.5% |
| 2009 | +86.3% |
| 2008 | -53.6% |
| 2007 | -32.4% |
| 2006 | +105.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 63.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 70.8%, back to its old high 44.3 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 44.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 47.6%, back to its old high 5.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 59.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.8%, back to its old high 17.1 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 2 sales ($130K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | Cary D Mcmillan Director | sell | $66K |
| Oct 2, 2026 | Noel Joseph Spiegel Director | sell | $64K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 13.4% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.26% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Wellington Management Group LLP | 3.6% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| FMR LLC | 2.6% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in AEO
| DGRS WisdomTree US Smallcap Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 0.97% |
| MYLD Cambria Micro and SmallCap Shareholder Yield ETF | 0.9% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.7% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.67% |
| CSB VictoryShares US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Wtd ETF | 0.63% |
| DSMC Distillate Small/Mid Cash Flow ETF | 0.44% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.35% |
| NIXT Research Affiliates Deletions ETF | 0.33% |
What could go wrong
- Tariffs and dependence on Asian suppliers. Nearly all merchandise comes from suppliers outside North America, mostly in Asia, and much flows through one international buying agent. Higher US tariffs raise costs and could squeeze margins or force price increases.
- Misreading fashion trends. Clothing tastes change quickly. If AEO misjudges styles or demand, unsold inventory can pile up and need heavy discounts, which cuts into profits. Sales also swing by season, so timing mistakes are costly.
- Fading mall traffic and long leases. Its stores sit in shopping malls, lifestyle centers and street locations, and shopping center traffic has been declining. Large lease commitments mean rent is still owed even when a store's sales disappoint.
- Shoppers cut back on clothing. Clothing is a discretionary purchase, meaning people can put it off. Recession fears, volatile interest rates and inflation can make shoppers spend less. Weak spending during the COVID-19 pandemic cut demand and hurt results.
- Heavy price competition and online traffic costs. Apparel retail is crowded, and existing and new rivals compete hard on price. AEO also relies on outside platforms to bring shoppers to its sites, and changes to their algorithms or pricing could raise costs.
- The dividend is not guaranteed. AEO says it cannot promise to keep paying dividends or match past levels. It has cut before: dividends per share fell from about $0.68 to $0.36 in the fiscal year ended in early 2023.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
AEO's dividend record is uneven. It paid $0.50 per share in both the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 and the one ended January 31, 2026, so there is no streak of increases. In the latest year, dividends took 44% of both earnings and free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The dividend fell from about $0.68 to $0.36 per share in the year ended in early 2023. The yield was 2.67% as of October 28, 2026. Over five fiscal years, AEO spent $444 million on dividends and $268 million on buybacks (share repurchases), yet shares outstanding fell only 0.6% from November 2021 to September 2026.
In past downturns the stock fell 71% in the 2008 financial crisis (about 44 months to recover), 48% in the 2020 COVID crash (about six months) and 61% in the 2022 bear market (about 17 months). Single stocks like AEO carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does American Eagle Outfitters make money?
Mainly by selling clothes it designs under the American Eagle and Aerie brands. It sells directly to shoppers through its own stores in the US, Canada and Mexico, its websites and apps, and shop-in-shops. As of January 31, 2026, licensing partners ran another 357 stores and shop-in-shops in about 30 countries. In the fiscal year ended that date, revenue was $5.55 billion and net income was $192 million, or about 3.5 cents per dollar of sales.
Does American Eagle Outfitters raise its dividend every year?
No. AEO pays a dividend but has not raised it every year. Dividends per share were $0.50 in both the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025 and the one ended January 31, 2026. Before that, the dividend was cut from about $0.68 to $0.36 per share in the year ended in early 2023. The yield was 2.67% as of October 28, 2026, and the company says it cannot promise future dividends will match past levels.
What is Aerie, and how big is it compared with American Eagle?
Aerie is AEO's second major brand. It sells intimates, apparel and swimwear, plus activewear under OFFLINE by Aerie. Its “Aerie Real” message includes a promise of no photo retouching. In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, Aerie brought in $1.94 billion, or 35% of revenue, against $3.41 billion, or 61.5%, for the American Eagle brand. On that date AEO ran 332 stand-alone Aerie stores plus 184 Aerie shops attached to American Eagle stores.
Where does American Eagle get its clothes made?
Mostly in Asia. AEO designs its clothes but has them made by third-party factories. In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, nearly all its merchandise came from suppliers outside North America, mainly in Asia. No single factory or supplier provided more than 10%, though AEO buys a large share through one international buying agent. That leaves the company exposed to import tariffs, shipping disruptions and swings in raw-material costs such as cotton.
How has American Eagle Outfitters stock performed?
Unevenly. Based on share price alone, as of October 28, 2026, AEO was up 19% over one year, down 7% in total over five years and up 53% over ten years, about 4.3% a year. Calendar years swing widely: the stock rose 65% in 2025 and fell 43% in 2022. From the start of 2026 to October 28 it was down 24%. Its price-to-earnings ratio (share price divided by yearly earnings per share) was 17.9 on that date.