Despite the struggles of the retail industry, some companies such as American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:$AEO) was able to rise above these hurdles and even profit. On Wednesday, August 23rd, the popular retail company surprised the market by releasing a second quarter report that exceeded the expectations of a number of analysts. The rise in revenue and profit for the quarter was largely due to heightened demand for its lingerie line by Aerie, along with other products, according to the retailer. As of 2:47 PM EDT on Wednesday, August 23rd, American Eagle’s stock has gone up by 7% to reach $12.

“We are particularly encouraged by the progress made in categories like jeans, where more emphasis on features like style and fit have helped to boost sales and attract more customers,” Anthony Riva, an analyst at GlobalData Retail, said. “Early data suggests that American Eagle did well in denim over the key back to school period.”

American Eagle’s Aerie brand saw its comparable sales increase by 26% for its second quarter. Overall, American Eagle’s comparable sales went up by 2% in its second quarter – a surprise to the analysts who’d estimated a fall of 0.4% in comparable sales, according to Thomson Reuters. Net income for the retail company’s second quarter was $21.2 million, or $0.12 per share. Not including certain items, American Eagle saw an earnings per share of $0.19. This was higher than the average expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, which was an earnings per share of $0.16. Revenue for the company’s second quarter was $845 million, again beating Thomson Reuters average analysts’ expectations of $824 million.

American Eagle’s success can be largely attributed to its Aerie brand. The company had – along with many of others in the retail industry – faced a number of challenges in the face of rising online retailers. As a result, some investors are not fully confident that American Eagle’s recent results will continue. “Although AEO’s results are a little above expectation, they still point to a company that is split in terms of performance,” Riva noted. Still, the analyst praised Aerie and American Eagle’s new marketing strategy which focuses on body positivism, both of which drove up sales.

Although the company saw quite a rise after the release of its earnings report, American Eagle’s shares have fallen about 35% in the past year. There is still hope that it can pick itself up again, though – shares have gone up by 8% in total over the last three months, not including today’s rise.

Featured Image: twitter