The “college style” renaissance has taken the world by storm! ANF.US net profit surged 30% and stock price surged more than 30%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the latest performance report released by ANF.US (ANF.US), a well-known casual wear retail company in the US, showed that the company's revenue data exceeded the unanimous expectations of Wall Street analysts and unexpectedly raised its full-year profit guidelines. Financial data and performance forecasts show that even though same-store sales growth remains sluggish for another quarter, the trendy college clothing company is still regaining some of its growth momentum. In early trading of US stocks in New York on Wednesday, the company's stock price once violently rose by more than 30%. By the close of trading on Tuesday, the stock had a cumulative decline of 13% this year.

Affinci's net sales for the second fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2026 were about US$1,267 million, up 4.8% year on year, higher than Wall Street analysts' unanimous expectations of US$1.25 billion; GAAP earnings per share were US$4.17, an increase of 43.3% over US$2.91 in the same period last year, and far exceeded analysts' unanimous expectations of US$1.99, while net profit data surged about 30% year over year. The flagship brand's revenue increased by 8% and same-store sales by 4%, driving management to raise the annual net sales growth rate guide to about 5%, and drastically raised the earnings per share guide for the full fiscal year from 10.20-11.00 US dollars to 13.10-13.60 US dollars, forming a direct catalyst for the stock price to soar by more than 30% at the beginning of the market.

But this is not a flawless overall recovery report. The company's overall comparable sales remained flat, falling short of market expectations of 0.8%; Hollister's same-store sales fell 3%, indicating that demand from younger consumers is still under pressure. Meanwhile, quarterly profit includes about $100 million in tariff refunds, contributing approximately $1.75 to earnings per share. After removing this factor from machinery, earnings per share were about $2.42, which was still higher than market expectations, but the margin that exceeded expectations narrowed markedly. Therefore, the current Efinch financial report is a benefit of “improving actual business performance combined with one-time income”. Continued revaluation still depends on Hollister's resumption of growth and whether the underlying profit margin can continue to be maintained.

Revenue exceeded expectations, leading academics ignited a new round of bull market

Affinci's stock price surged 30% due to overall revenue data that exceeded expectations, as well as the company's management's upward performance guidelines and flagship brand growth, leading the sports, leisure and retail apparel sector in the US stock market.

In terms of more detailed performance data, the company's net profit for the second fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2026 was US$183.7 million, up 29.9% from US$141.4 million in the same period last year; operating profit increased by 22.3% from US$206.7 million to US$252.7 million, up 22.3% year on year, and operating margin rose from 17.1% to 19.9%. The company achieved net sales growth for the 15th consecutive quarter, but overall comparable sales remained flat, about 0.8 percentage points lower than the market's consensus forecast, which largely indicates that total revenue growth is mainly due to the new product structure, store expansion and brand portfolio, rather than the simultaneous acceleration of demand for omnichannel same-store products.

In terms of brand structure, the revenue of the Efinch brand of the same name was about 596.8 million US dollars, up 8% year on year, and comparable sales increased 4%; Hollister's revenue was about 669.9 million US dollars, up 2% year on year, but comparable sales fell 3%. On the regional side, revenue in the Americas increased by 5%, Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 2%, and revenue in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 19%; overall inventory for the second fiscal quarter was approximately US$592 million, which was basically the same as the previous year, indicating that the company did not rely on aggressive preparation in exchange for revenue data growth.

In terms of a more detailed performance outlook, the company expects net sales to increase by 5% to 6% for the third fiscal quarter, which is about 4.3% higher than market expectations; earnings per share are expected to be 2.90-3.20 US dollars, with a median value of $3.05, which is about 8.2% higher than market expectations of $2.82. The median earnings per share guide for the year is $13.35, which is about 24.5% higher than the market forecast of $10.72; however, the annual tariff refund is expected to contribute about $2.10, and the median value after excluding machinery is about $11.25, which is still higher than the agreed estimate of about 4.9%. The company also raised its annual share repurchase plan from about US$450 million to at least US$500 million, providing further support for the company's fundamentals and stock price prospects.

Brand revival and fragmentation occurred, and Hollister became the next test question

Known for its polos and branded sweatshirts, Avinci is one of the fashion industry's success stories in recent years. CEO Fran Horowitz focused on building it into a high-end lifestyle brand, and this strategy was recognized by consumers—especially those who grew up with the brand, such as those older this year. In the latest quarter, the company's revenue data for the brand of the same name increased 8% year over year, while same-store sales increased 4% year over year.

Hollister, which is increasingly popular among the younger generation, saw same-store sales fall more than the market's agreed expectations, despite a 2% increase in business revenue.

Abercrombie & Fitch (Abercrombie & Fitch) is essentially a global omni-channel professional apparel retailer rather than a sporting goods manufacturer: its five major brands cover children, teenagers and millennials. Its core products include jeans, shirts, dresses, knitwear, outerwear, casual pants, underwear, swimwear, perfumes and accessories, and extends to sportswear and casual wear (Activewear) through the YPB series.

Avinci's long-standing value proposition is “college style+American leisure+high-end lifestyle”. Competitiveness mainly comes from brand aesthetics, product updates, size inclusiveness, inventory management, and collaboration between stores and e-commerce, rather than professional sports technology or competitive performance.

Compared to Lulu Lemon, Skechers, and American casual wear brand GAP, Affinch is more like a “fashion-driven high-end casual wear platform”: the advantage is that there is no need to compete head-on with sports giants in the performance shoe market, and profits are more flexible when the brand revives; the risk is that the moat relies more on trend judgment and same-store sales. Once the style is incorrect or the popularity of brands such as Hollister cools down, performance fluctuations are usually higher than competitors with footwear technology platforms.