American Eagle Holiday Sales Weaker Than Expected

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. warned its core sales could miss expectations for the fourth quarter, despite what the retailer called a solid holiday season.

Shares plunged 12% to $14 in premarket trading.

The teen retailer said Friday that its sales at established stores, or same-store sales, are up 4% so far in the quarter. Analysts polled by Retail Metrics had forecast growth of 4.7% in the core metric.

Chief Executive Jay Schottenstein said the company saw positive results at its namesake and Aerie brands and strong online sales.

American Eagle backed its earnings guidance for the quarter. The company will release results for the period March 2.

Amid a competitive market for teen retail, American Eagle has worked lately to revamp its merchandise assortment. It has been outperforming some of its peers and posting steady core sales growth.

Holiday sales results from retailers have been a mixed bag so far, with strong results from retailers such as L Brands Inc. and disappointing sales from big names such as Macy's Inc. and Gap Inc.

Overall, consumers didn't pull back as much as feared during the holidays, but their late spending surge didn't help retailers that were ill-equipped to deal with changes in behavior that will last beyond the season.

Traffic to physical stores continued to decline as consumers shift toward online shopping and spending on travel and restaurants. Overall, retail sales rose 3.3% from Oct. 31 through Jan. 4, about the same pace as they grew the previous year, according to First Data Corp.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 08, 2016 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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