Sydney Sweeney’s ‘great jeans’ ad helps fuel 25% surge in American Eagle stock

American Eagle Outfitters saw its stock rise up to 25% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, September 4, following the announcement of fiscal second-quarter earnings that easily beat expectations.

The company attributed its success to its recent marketing campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney marking it as its best advertising move so far.

The retailer shared that the forecasted earnings per share were 21 cents but the actual earnings surged to 45 cents per share marking a more than two-times increase in profits.

In addition to this, American Eagle generated a revenue of $1.28 billion, which was also greater than the forecasted $1.24 billion.

CEO Jay Schottenstein stated, “The fall season is off to a positive start. Fueled by stronger product offerings and the success of recent marketing campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, we have seen an uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales.”

The ad also faced criticism due to its controversial slogan “good jeans”, which is pronounced as “good genes” as the blue-eyed actress is posing in American Eagle jeans saying: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring… My body’s composition is determined by my genes.”

However, all that criticism couldn’t resist the business improvement the company yielded due to Sydney Sweeney’s campaign.

The campaign was launched on July 23, 2025, and since then, American Eagle has gained 700,000 new customers and driven “double digit traffic growth” with denim products selling out instantly.

Both Sydney-labelled products including Sydney Jacket and Sydney Jean sold out within 24 hours.

The company also donated 100% of the earnings from “The Sydney Jean” to the mental health organization “Crisis Text Line” contributing to corporate social responsibility.

The company asserted that while the marketing ad drives sales, operating income became lower due to tariff impacts.

Due to this, the company now expects operating income to be around $255 million to $265 million which was previously projected between $360 million and $375 million.