ANF vs AEO: Abercrombie & Fitch vs American Eagle Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Abercrombie & Fitch is a brand turnaround story targeting the aspirational 20s demographic through Abercrombie and the teen beach lifestyle market through Hollister, while American Eagle is a more inclusive teen and 20s brand with Aerie as its growth engine. ANF's brand recovery has been more impressive recently; AEO's Aerie positioning is more defensible through brand loyalty.
ANF vs AEO is a brand turnaround story versus an inclusive brand loyalty story — Abercrombie wins if the 20s aspiration thesis continues driving full-price selling; American Eagle wins if Aerie's body-positive brand sustains loyalty against fast-fashion pricing pressure.
ANF and AEO are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly. AEO has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+63.58% vs +0.08%), though ANF has the better forward P/E setup (7.86x vs 8.31x for AEO). Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +18.36% for ANF and +20.67% for AEO.
- →want exposure to a successful brand turnaround with momentum in the 20s demographic
- →believe Hollister revitalization adds meaningful upside to Abercrombie's recovery
- →prefer aspirational brand positioning that supports full-price selling and margin improvement
- →are comfortable with fashion execution risk in a brand-sensitive retail segment
- →value Aerie's Gen-Z brand loyalty as a durable competitive advantage in intimates and activewear
- →believe American Eagle's denim expertise is defensible vs fast-fashion commodity competition
- →prefer a more inclusive brand positioning that broadens the addressable customer demographic
- →want exposure to Quiet Platforms as a logistics monetization option
| Metric | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 40.7 | 26.1 |
| AI rank | #1106 | #2647 |
| Latest close | $92.17 | $16.16 |
| 1M return | +1.77% | -13.35% |
| 6M return | -10.32% | -36.63% |
| 1Y return | +0.08% | +63.58% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.01K (+0.1%) started 2025-07-14 | $16.82K (+68.2%) started 2025-07-14 |
| 5Y ago | $21.82K (+118.2%) started 2021-07-14 | $5.97K (-40.3%) started 2021-07-14 |
| 10Y ago | $70.1K (+601.0%) started 2016-07-14 | $17.23K (+72.3%) started 2016-07-14 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.1B | $2.71B |
| Trailing P/E | 8.91 | 10.16 |
| Forward P/E | 7.86 | 8.31 |
| Price/Sales | 0.78 | 0.48 |
| EV/Revenue | 0.90 | 0.79 |
| Analyst target | $109.09 | $19.50 |
| Target upside | +18.36% | +20.67% |
| Metric | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 1.50% | 9.70% |
| Earnings growth | -7.50% | N/A |
| EPS growth | -7.50% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +5.36% | +2.55% |
| Operating margin | N/A | N/A |
| Profit margin | 9.34% | 4.96% |
| ROIC proxy | 39.22% | 17.57% |
| Return on equity | 39.22% | 17.57% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 2.97% |
| Beta | 0.88 | 1.29 |
| Debt/equity | 95.46 | 114.06 |
| Current ratio | 1.45 | 1.54 |
| Quick ratio | 0.78 | 0.38 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +0.08% | +63.58% |
| CAGR | +0.08% | +63.64% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.22 | 0.97 | |
| Max drawdown | 45.65% | 46.69% | |
| Max daily drop | 17.69% | 13.90% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.64% | 24.87% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +118.21% | -48.74% |
| CAGR | +16.89% | -12.51% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.48 | -0.07 | |
| Max drawdown | 69.93% | 72.18% | |
| Max daily drop | 28.58% | 17.47% | |
| Max wkly drop | 42.78% | 24.87% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +474.36% | +26.39% |
| CAGR | +19.10% | +2.37% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.52 | 0.22 | |
| Max drawdown | 72.45% | 75.66% | |
| Max daily drop | 28.58% | 19.30% | |
| Max wkly drop | 42.78% | 26.08% |
| Category | ANF | AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Abercrombie & Fitch Co. | American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. |
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary | Consumer Discretionary |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Specialty apparel retailer with Abercrombie & Fitch (20s aspirational), Hollister (teen beach lifestyle), and Abercrombie Kids brands. ANF underwent a dramatic brand turnaround under CEO Fran Horowitz, shifting from logo-heavy exclusivity to size-inclusive aspirational fashion. | Specialty retailer with American Eagle (teen and 20s denim and basics) and Aerie (inclusive intimates, activewear, and swimwear). Aerie's body-positive positioning has built a loyal following among Gen-Z consumers. |
| Investor focus | Brand heat across 20s demographic, international expansion, Hollister revitalization, comparable-store sales momentum, and operating margin expansion. | Aerie revenue growth and margin expansion, American Eagle brand health vs SHEIN and fast-fashion competition, comparable-store sales, and Quiet Platforms logistics monetization. |
- →Dramatic brand turnaround under current CEO has transformed ANF from a struggling legacy retailer to a fashion-forward aspirational brand
- →20s demographic focus positions Abercrombie in a higher-income cohort than teen-focused peers
- →International e-commerce and new store openings provide geographic growth runway
- →Aerie's body-positive brand identity has created genuine Gen-Z loyalty that is difficult for competitors to replicate
- →American Eagle's denim expertise gives it credibility in a category where quality and fit matter
- →Quiet Platforms logistics subsidiary provides a potential long-term asset monetization opportunity
- →Fashion execution risk — ANF's recovery is heavily dependent on maintaining brand heat with the 20s consumer
- →Hollister has been slower to recover and still represents a meaningful revenue headwind
- →Operating margin improvement requires sustained revenue leverage without promotional pricing
- →Fast-fashion competition from SHEIN and Temu pressure American Eagle's core denim and basics business on price
- →Aerie's growth has slowed from its pandemic highs as the activewear market matured
- →Promotional environment in teen apparel creates margin headwinds
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