Gap Same-Store Sales Surge 5%—Shares Rise 4% After Hours

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Jang Won Lee, Senior Reporter = Apparel retailer Gap Inc. (NYSE: GAP) reported a 5% increase in company-wide same-store sales for the third quarter, significantly surpassing Wall Street expectations, CNBC reported on the 20th (U.S. local time).

This figure far exceeds the Wall Street consensus of 3.1% and marks the strongest quarterly growth since 2017, excluding temporary surges related to the pandemic.

Gap’s sales momentum is attributed to the success of its “Better in Denim” campaign, launched in collaboration with the girl group Cat’s Eye.

Richard Dickson, Gap’s Chief Executive Officer, told CNBC, “We did not have to resort to frequent discounting to drive new product sales,” indicating robust demand and a recovery in brand strength.

However, due to tariff impacts, Gap’s third-quarter net income fell approximately 14% year-on-year to $236 million (about 348.1 billion won).

Nevertheless, the company’s gross margin reached 42.4%, beating the market estimate of 41.2%.

This improvement is attributed to successful full-price sales and strict cost controls.

Gap raised its annual operating margin guidance to approximately 7.2%, up from the previous range of 6.7–7.0%.

On the back of strong earnings, Gap shares traded at $24.16 in after-hours trading, up $1.10 (4.77%) from the regular session close.

jang73@yna.co.kr

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