Abercrombie & Fitch slumps as guidance disappoints

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Abercrombie & Fitch tumbled on Wednesday as the clothing retailer's guidance disappointed. The company said it expects 2025 net sales growth of between 3% and 5%, below analysts' expectations of 6.8% growth.

Abercrombie sees the operating margin at between 14% and 15% and net income per diluted share in the range of $10.40 to $11.40.

For the first quarter, the retailer expects net sales growth of 4% to 6% and net income per diluted share of $1.25 to $1.45, which is below estimates of $1.96.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company said net sales rose 9% on the same period a year earlier to $1.58bn, with comparable sales up 14%. Operating income ticked up to $256m from $223m and net income per diluted share was $3.57, up from $2.97.

Chief executive Fran Horowitz said: "In fiscal 2024, we once again delivered on our commitments to our global customers and shareholders. We entered the fiscal year with the goal of achieving sustainable, profitable growth on top of a defining fiscal 2023, and our collective effort and focus produced results well beyond our initial expectations. We grew net sales 16% to nearly $5bn while expanding operating margin to 15%, with operating income and EPS growth of 53% and 72%, respectively.

"We enter fiscal 2025 with highly relevant brands, an agile playbook, and a motivated global team driven by a culture of innovation and growth. Our expectation in 2025 is to build on the past two years of outstanding results and again deliver profitable growth while strengthening our brands and operating model."

At 1420 GMT, the shares were down 10.4% at $86.13.