Abercrombie & Fitch Was the Top-Performing Stock in 2023's S&P 1500 Index
Even outperforming AI boom-empowered brands like Nvidia.
2023 marked Abercrombie & Fitch‘s best annual performance since going public back in 1996. Jumping 285%, the fashion company was last year’s highest-performing stock in the S&P 1500 Index – even beating out artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
Abercrombie’s rebrand and smart expansion of apparel – now including workwear and outerwear, for example – has clearly paid off, literally, with the retailer’s annual gain nearing a whopping 300%. Nvidia, on the other hand, saw a commendable gain as well of 239%, Business of Fashion reports.
While the S&P Retail Select Industry Index at large saw a mere 20 percent surge this year, Abercrombie’s solid quarterly results – with an especially impressive third quarter – led the label to the top of the rankings after a harsh 2022; two years back, Abercrombie & Fitch saw a 34% drop in share prices as the stock market suffered.
“The work that’s been done to right-size the store base, reduce occupancy costs, remodel the stores, improve and make investments in the digital channel and the store channel is what’s allowing them to drive both margin growth and improve profitability,” noted Telsey Advisory Group’s CEO Dana Telsey (who has an outperform rating and $95 USD price target) – shares per Business of Fashion. “They’ve done a very good job which has shown up in the stock price.”
