We recently published a list of 10 Firms Kick Off Monday Leading Gains. In this article, we are going to take a look at where American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO) stands against other firms that kick off Monday leading gains.

The stock market kicked off the week’s trading on a positive note, with all main indices finishing in the green territory, as economies took a pause from their tariff war, while investors breathed a sigh of relief on the February retail sales report which didn’t come worse.

According to the latest figures, retail sales rose 0.2 percent, albeit below the 0.6 percent as expected by analysts. Excluding autos, sales are up by 0.3 percent, in line with economists’ expectations.

Following the news, the Dow Jones clocked in a 0.85-percent gain, followed by the S&P 500 with 0.64 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq with 0.31 percent.

Meanwhile, 10 companies that led the rally posted modest gains as fresh company developments sparked investor buying. In this article, we have listed Monday’s 10 top performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains.

To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.

A close-up of a customer trying on a stylish Aerie item, smiling with satisfaction.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle rose for a second day on Monday, adding 8.77 percent to finish at $12.03 each following news that it would embark on a $200-million share buyback program.

In a statement, AEO said it entered into an accelerated share repurchase program with Bank of America to repurchase $200 million of its common stock, equating to roughly 18.1 million shares at the closing price on March 14, 2025.

The company said it intended to complete the buyback in connection with its existing share repurchase buyback of 68.5 million shares.

“We are pleased to announce an accelerated share repurchase program, which reflects our strong capital position and confidence in our long-term strategic growth plan. This program, combined with our quarterly cash dividend, underscores our commitment to a balanced approach to capital allocation and delivering strong returns to shareholders,” said AEO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jay Schottenstein.

Overall, AEO ranks 5th on our list of firms that kick off Monday leading gains. While we acknowledge the potential of AEO 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 as promising as AEO 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.