Why is AEO stock soaring? American Eagle is in the headlines again—but this time, its timing couldn’t be better

Shares of American Eagle rose Wednesday after football star Travis Kelce announced a partnership with the apparel brand, just one day after news of his proposal and engagement to singer Taylor Swift went viral on the internet.

Kelce, an NFL player and tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, has been dating Swift for the past two years—and is often photographed next to the pop star in bold, colorful outfits.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. stock (AEO) was up over 8% in midday trading on Wednesday.

The collaboration is a limited-edition partnership between Kelce’s Tru Kolors sportswear and lifestyle brand. More than a year in the making, AE x Tru Kolors by Travis Kelce pairs the popular clothing brand with one of the most recognizable faces in football and entertainment. The collaboration includes vintage T-shirts, reimagined varsity jackets, cricket sweaters, rugby polos and utility cargos pants.

“It was an awesome opportunity to team up with an established brand where both sides were excited to truly collaborate on every decision in the design and creative process,” Kelce, who is the creative director of the collection, said in a statement.

American Eagle’s partnership with Travis Kelce follows a controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign

American Eagle’s partnership with Travis Kelce comes on the heels of its highly publicized and controversial recent advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.

In that ad, Sweeney says—”Jeans are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color . . . My jeans are blue,” followed by the tagline: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”

The ad has been criticized for the double meaning of the word “jeans” as “genes.” The implication that blonde hair and blue eyes represent superior genes is an example of Nazi eugenics at worst, and at best, is in bad taste.

American Eagle by the numbers

American Eagle Outfitters’ most recent quarterly results cover the company’s fiscal 2025 Q2, which ended on June 30. The company delivered mixed earnings with revenue coming in $10 million short at $1.14 billion, instead of $1.15 billion as analysts expected. Earnings per share (EPS) came in higher at $0.34 (over estimates by $.06).

The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion at the time of this writing.