Forensic Analysis · Apparel & Specialty Retail · as of Nov 9, 2026

American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO)

A forensic read on American Eagle Outfitters Inc built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

B · Sound & dependable

Forensic grade

Safe

Financial health

4.0

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

11.1%

ROE

4.1%

Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 4.0, placing it in the Safe zone. 2 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.

What the filings flag

6.1%

FY2026

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 6.1% in the latest fiscal year, against 6.8% in FY2024, having run between 6.1% and 12.8% across FY2024–FY2026 with no direction held. After-tax operating profit was $158M in FY2024 and $168M in FY2026, with operating income at 4.2% of revenue in FY2024, 8.0% in FY2025 and 4.1% in FY2026. The capital base behind it grew +20% across FY2024–FY2026, from $2.3B to $2.8B, while the return fell 0.7 points, so the dollars added over that window earned less than the 6.8% the older base was already earning. FY2024's operating profit carried a $116M asset write-down and a $40M goodwill write-off that took about 4.8 points off that year's return, and FY2026's carried a $87M asset write-down that took about 2.3 points off the latest; so, net of each other, the two charges add about 2.5 points to the -0.7-point change across FY2024–FY2026. A non-cash write-down lowers the reported return in the year it lands.

$40M

FY2024

Goodwill impairments. Took $40M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2024 ($40M)) — about 23% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$5.55B

Revenue Growth YoY+4.1%

Revenue CAGR (2yr)+2.7%

Net Margin3.5%

Free Cash Flow$195.4M

Return on Equity11.1%

Debt / Equity0.00x

The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from American Eagle Outfitters Inc's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

Generate the AI investment read →

No credit card · informational only, not investment advice · see the track record

← Browse all forensic stock analyses

Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.