A window display of actress Sydney Sweeney is seen on a window of an American Eagle store on August 01, 2025 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Shares of American Eagle surged more than 15% on Monday after President Donald Trump complimented the retailer’s marketing campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney.
“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves.’ Go get ’em Sydney!” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social not long after markets opened.
Shortly after Trump’s post, shares of American Eagle surged, and just before 11 a.m. ET, were still trading more than 15% higher. Monday’s gains come a little over a week after American Eagle first announced that the “Euphoria” star would headline its fall marketing campaign with the slogan: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
Initially, the stock surged in an apparent bout of meme stock mania, but over the past week, shares of the company have been down as American Eagle has faced criticism that the campaign was sexist and out of touch. That slump rebounded on Monday when Trump weighed in on the discourse.
As of Friday’s close, shares of American Eagle were down more than 27% so far this year as the company grapples with larger macroeconomic concerns related to tariffs, consumer spending and its own merchandising missteps.
Earlier this year, the company said it would take a $75 million write-down in spring and summer merchandise after it pulled its full-year guidance due to slow sales, steep discounting and a volatile macroeconomic environment.
For its current quarter, American Eagle said in May that it expects revenue to fall 5%, comparable sales to be down 3% and gross margin to be lower compared with the prior year. Its operating income for the second quarter is expected to be between $40 million and $45 million.
The impact the Sweeney campaign is having on its sales, for better or worse, remains to be seen.
