American Eagle rides Cyber Monday momentum

American Eagle Outfitters said it is positioned well for the holiday shopping season, especially following what executives said was the company’s “best online day ever” on Cyber Monday.

CEO Jay Schottenstein said the South Side-based apparel company saw a 30 percent increase in comparable sales during the popular online shopping day.

“Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Week exceeded our expectations,” noted Chad Kessler, global brand president for American Eagle. “Although we have a lot of holiday business ahead of us, I’m extremely pleased to see stronger sales trends with promotions contained at last year’s level.”

The days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday were good for a lot of retailers. The National Retail Federation said more than 174 million Americans shopped in stores and online during the long holiday

weekend, beating the trade group’s earlier estimate of 164 million.

Average spending per person over the five-day period was $335.47, with $250.78 — 75 percent — specifically going toward gifts, NRF said.

American Eagle reported a slip in profits during the third quarter, with net income at $63.7 million, or 36 cents per share, compared to $75.7 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same period last year.

But consolidated comparable sales, a key measure that tracks stores open for longer than a year, were up 3 percent during the quarter, following a 2 percent increase last year.

“The third quarter produced record sales, sequential margin improvement and marked 11 straight quarters of comp sales growth,” said Mr. Schottenstein. “Digital sales continued to grow at a rapid pace, while we also saw store sales strengthen.”

Shares of American Eagle closed at $16.50 after adding 39 cents on Wednesday.

Analysts at Jefferies noted the teen retailer’s “solid” quarter. “We are encouraged that trends have accelerated into the critical holiday season, and continue to see AEO benefiting from a consolidating space, plus a strong bottoms cycle.”

In the fourth quarter, the company expects earnings per share to range between 42 cents and 44 cents.