We recently compiled a list of the 10 Stocks Defy Market Optimism as Investor Caution Lingers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) stands against the other stocks.

The stock market stood its ground on Wednesday, with all major indices eking out gains as President Donald Trump softened trade restrictions for three large automakers, reviving hopes that the trade war may not be as bad as it seemed.

The Dow Jones grew 1.14 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 1.12 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.46 percent.

On Wednesday, the White House granted three large automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs after a call with the president, sending their share prices higher during the session.

Ten firms, however, bucked an overall optimism, recording modest declines during the past trading session. In this article, we have listed the 10 names and detailed the reasons behind their performance.

To come up with Wednesday’s worst performers, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

A close-up of a customer trying on a piece of apparel in the retailer's spacious dressing room, emphasizing the company's focus on personal care and experience.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) declined for a third straight day on Wednesday, dropping 9.24 percent to finish at $87.23 apiece following the release of its latest earnings performance where it guided a weaker-than-expected outlook for the business.

According to Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), it now expects net sales to grow by 3 to 5 percent this year as compared with the 6.77 percent Wall Street analysts expected. It would also represent a slow growth from the 14 percent in net sales clocked in 2024.

"We expect the first half will be adversely impacted by higher year-over-year freight costs and more normalized carryover inventory selling, and the second half will benefit from expected lower freight than last year," said ANF CFO Robert Ball in an investors call, adding that the company's outlook includes current tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico but not "other potential incremental tariffs.”

Overall ANF ranks 2nd on our list of Wednesday's worst performers. While we acknowledge the potential of ANF as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ANF but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

 

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.