New York, Jan 9, 2026, 14:54 EST — Regular session
- Abercrombie & Fitch shares fell about 3.7% in afternoon trade.
- UBS lifted its price target to $160 from $130 and kept a Buy rating.
- U.S. jobs and consumer-sentiment data put spending and rate bets back in focus.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares fell about 3.7% to $125.09 in afternoon trading on Friday, after swinging between $133.16 and $124.17.
The drop came as investors digested a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report that pulled attention back to the health of the consumer — and the path for interest rates. “Hiring is still stuck in stall speed,” said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, after payrolls rose 50,000 in December; the report also showed job losses in retail and left expectations intact for the Federal Reserve to hold rates at its Jan. 27-28 meeting. (Reuters)
Another read on demand was mixed. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to 54.0 in early January from 52.9, but “they remain guarded about the overall strength of business conditions and labor markets,” surveys director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. (Reuters)
On Thursday, UBS analyst Mauricio Serna raised his price target on Abercrombie to $160 from $130 and kept a Buy rating. Serna pointed to expected upside in 2026 earnings per share (EPS, a common profit measure) across “softline” retailers — the industry term for apparel and other non-food goods — and flagged a “Health & Wellness 2.0” trend. (TipRanks)
Moves across the space were uneven on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters fell about 3.7%, while Urban Outfitters rose about 0.7%; the SPDR S&P Retail ETF was up about 0.2%.
Abercrombie last updated investors in November, when it raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast after a strong third quarter led by its Hollister brand, which accounts for more than half of sales, the company said. It also forecast fourth-quarter sales growth of 4% to 6%. (Reuters)
For ANF, the next question is whether the holiday quarter keeps the company on that track without needing heavier promotions. Traders have treated the stock like a margin story as much as a sales story, and those can turn quickly.
But the macro tape is getting noisy. If hiring stays soft and households keep fretting about prices, discretionary spending can cool fast — and specialty retailers usually feel it first, through markdowns.
Investors now look to the Fed’s Jan. 27-28 meeting and the company’s next results for direction; Nasdaq currently estimates Abercrombie will report around March 4, though the company has not confirmed the date. (Nasdaq)
