Abercrombie & Fitch’s blowout second-quarter earnings were supported by improving sales, margins, buybacks, and growth.

  • Jefferies raised Abercrombie & Fitch’s price target to $175 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating.
  • The firm highlighted Abercrombie’s stronger full-price sales, improving August trends, and new growth opportunities. 
  • Abercrombie CEO Fran Horowitz said Q2 results exceeded the benefit from tariff refunds.

Abercrombie & Fitch’s (ANF) stock is heading toward its best month in thirteen years as a strong second-quarter (Q2) earnings beat, raised full-year outlook, and regional growth fueled investor optimism. Jefferies also raised its price target, citing improving full-price sales, healthier margins, and emerging growth drivers. 

Jefferies Says ANF Sales Momentum Got Better

Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe lifted ANF’s price target to $175 from $135 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating, implying an 18% upside to the stock’s last close. The analyst pointed to improving trends at the A&F brand, stronger sales at regular prices and the company's increased guidance as reasons for the more bullish view.

Tarlowe said the company's business remained healthy even after accounting for the benefit of tariff refunds. Better full-price sales suggest shoppers have remained willing to pay without relying as heavily on discounts, supporting the retailer's profit.

The analyst also said recent August performance has been encouraging. Jefferies sees additional growth opportunities emerging across the business, giving investors more reasons to expect continued momentum beyond Q2. The firm added that Abercrombie's expanding share repurchases could further support shareholder returns as the company builds on its operating gains. 

Abercrombie & Fitch stock edged 0.04% lower overnight after rocketing more than 35% in the regular session, its best day since November 2025. 

Abercrombie & Fitch Results Outpaced Tariff Benefit 

During the Q2 earnings call, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz said tariff refunds helped the quarter, but the company performed better than that benefit alone would suggest. 

“While we benefited from tariff refunds in the quarter, we beat our outlook by more than the refund on both operating margin and earnings per share. Year-to-date, we've repurchased approximately 7% of shares outstanding at the beginning of the year.” 

Horowitz added that ANF’s sales increased across geographic markets during the quarter. The Americas advanced 5%, supported by growth through the company's direct sales channels. Europe, the Middle East and Africa returned to positive revenue growth, while the U.K. continued to perform particularly well. Germany and the Middle East also improved sequentially as teams managed merchandise levels and incoming inventory effectively. 

The lifestyle retailer’s record Q2 sales of $1.27 billion rose 5% year-on-year and beat analysts’ $1.26 billion estimate, according to Fiscal.ai data. The company raised its fiscal 2026 sales growth outlook to 5%, compared to its earlier range of 3% to 5%. 

ANF Stock: Retail Stance 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ANF remained ‘extremely bullish,’ with a 100% increase in message volume over the past week. 

A user said, “I thought the 30% spike in a day was outrageous. The 40% spike afterwards was out of my imagination. That must be a power of short squeeze. The market does what market does.”

ANF stock has gained 17% year-to-date. 

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