Abercrombie and American Eagle win on "the brand behind the brand"

Stop trying to make Fitch happen... Abercrombie & Fitch stock (yep, that's a thing) jumped after its earnings beat Wall Street's expectations. You probably remember Abercrombie as the place where you took pictures with shirtless "models" as a middle schooler, or bought hoodies for your foreign cousin. Abercrombie stock has plunged 70% from its 2008 peak, but is up nearly 30% this week. How the moose performed last quarter:

• Online sales jumped 43%, and made up nearly half of total sales in the past 12 months.
• Overall sales fell 5%, but Abercrombie managed to notch a $42M profit after cutting store and distribution expenses.

Smells like Abercrombie in here... but that's an illusion. Abercrombie's sub-brand Hollister actually made up 58% of total sales last quarter. Hollister is the beach bum California cousin to Abercrombie's East Coast college bro. Hollister's sub-sub-brand Gilly Hicks boosted demand, thanks to its WFH-friendly loungewear and bralettes. Other winning sub-brands:

• Aerie sales soared 34% last quarter and it posted record profits, while parent brand American Eagle's sales fell 11%.
• Free People was Urban Outfitter's best-performing division last quarter and makes up over 20% of Urban's sales.
• Old Navy makes up over half of Gap's sales.