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Strong Showing from Teen Chains
11/29/06 - 06:10 PM EST
AEOS HOTT ZUMZ
Rob Lenihan
theFirst
American Eagle Outfitters(AEOS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) posted another big sales rise for November, while perennial laggard Hot Topic (HOTT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) surprised Wall Street with a milder-than-expected decline.
American Eagle said same store sales increased 14% for the fiscal period ended Nov. 25 , just shy of Wall Street's 14.8% projection.
The Warrendale, Pa.-based teen-apparel retailer said total November sales increased 21% to $247 million. The company said it saw a strong kick-off to the holiday shopping season in November, especially during the Thanksgiving weekend.
American Eagle reiterated that it expects fourth-quarter earnings of 94 cents to 96 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call predict earnings of 97 cents a share
Hot Topic(HOTT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said November same-store sales fell 4.3%, beating analysts' expectations for a 6.8% drop. The City of Industry, Calif.-based retailer said November total sales rose 2% to $55.7 million.
The stronger-than-expected sales sent Hot Topic's shares up $1.43, or 11%, to $14.33 in after-hours trading.
However, Hot Topic shaved the top end of its fourth-quarter earnings guidance, citing the November sales trends. The company now expects earnings of 33 cents to 38 cents a share, compared with its earlier forecast of 33 cents to 44 cents.
The guidance is still at or above analysts' average forecast of 33 cents a share. This company's projection assumes fourth-quarter same-store sales will drop by a low- to mid-single digit percentage.
