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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC (AEO) and BELDEN INC. (BDC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.4B vs $696.4M, roughly 2.0× BELDEN INC.). BELDEN INC. runs the higher net margin — 7.3% vs 6.7%, a 0.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BELDEN INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.4% vs 5.7%). AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($-2.5M vs $-63.1M). Over the past eight quarters, BELDEN INC.'s revenue compounded faster (7.3% CAGR vs 2.3%).

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company that also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear. The Silvermans sold half their ownership interests in 1980 to the Schottenstein family and the remainder in 1991. American Eagle Outfitters is the parent company of Aerie, Unsubscribed, and T...

Belden Inc. is an American, multinational, publicly traded company specializing in the design, manufacture, and distribution of end-to-end networking, security and connectivity products. The company serves the Industrial Automation Solutions, Smart Buildings and Broadband & 5G markets.

AEO vs BDC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AEO
AEO
2.0× larger
AEO
$1.4B
$696.4M
BDC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BDC
BDC
+5.7% gap
BDC
11.4%
5.7%
AEO
Higher net margin
BDC
BDC
0.6% more per $
BDC
7.3%
6.7%
AEO
More free cash flow
AEO
AEO
$60.5M more FCF
AEO
$-2.5M
$-63.1M
BDC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BDC
BDC
Annualised
BDC
7.3%
2.3%
AEO

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Revenue
$1.4B
$696.4M
Net Profit
$91.3M
$51.0M
Gross Margin
40.5%
37.1%
Operating Margin
8.3%
11.2%
Net Margin
6.7%
7.3%
Revenue YoY
5.7%
11.4%
Net Profit YoY
14.2%
-1.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.53
$1.30

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$696.4M
Q4 25
$1.4B
$720.1M
Q3 25
$1.3B
$698.2M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$672.0M
Q1 25
$624.9M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$666.0M
Q3 24
$1.3B
$654.9M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$604.3M
Net Profit
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$51.0M
Q4 25
$91.3M
$67.9M
Q3 25
$77.6M
$56.7M
Q2 25
$-64.9M
$61.0M
Q1 25
$51.9M
Q4 24
$80.0M
$58.4M
Q3 24
$77.3M
$53.7M
Q2 24
$67.8M
$49.0M
Gross Margin
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
37.1%
Q4 25
40.5%
36.6%
Q3 25
38.9%
37.7%
Q2 25
29.6%
38.5%
Q1 25
39.3%
Q4 24
40.9%
37.5%
Q3 24
38.6%
37.3%
Q2 24
40.6%
37.5%
Operating Margin
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
11.2%
Q4 25
8.3%
12.2%
Q3 25
8.0%
10.9%
Q2 25
-7.8%
11.8%
Q1 25
11.6%
Q4 24
8.2%
10.4%
Q3 24
7.8%
11.5%
Q2 24
6.8%
11.4%
Net Margin
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
7.3%
Q4 25
6.7%
9.4%
Q3 25
6.0%
8.1%
Q2 25
-6.0%
9.1%
Q1 25
8.3%
Q4 24
6.2%
8.8%
Q3 24
6.0%
8.2%
Q2 24
5.9%
8.1%
EPS (diluted)
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$1.30
Q4 25
$0.53
$1.70
Q3 25
$0.45
$1.41
Q2 25
$-0.36
$1.53
Q1 25
$1.27
Q4 24
$0.41
$1.41
Q3 24
$0.39
$1.30
Q2 24
$0.34
$1.19

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$112.8M
$272.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.6B
$1.3B
Total Assets
$4.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.98×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$272.2M
Q4 25
$112.8M
$389.9M
Q3 25
$126.8M
$314.3M
Q2 25
$87.9M
$301.5M
Q1 25
$259.0M
Q4 24
$160.2M
$370.3M
Q3 24
$191.8M
$323.0M
Q2 24
$300.5M
$564.8M
Total Debt
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$0
Q3 24
$0
Q2 24
$0
Stockholders' Equity
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$1.6B
$1.3B
Q3 25
$1.5B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$1.5B
$1.2B
Q1 25
$1.2B
Q4 24
$1.7B
$1.3B
Q3 24
$1.7B
$1.2B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$1.2B
Total Assets
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$4.2B
$3.5B
Q3 25
$4.1B
$3.4B
Q2 25
$3.8B
$3.4B
Q1 25
$3.3B
Q4 24
$3.7B
$3.3B
Q3 24
$3.5B
$3.3B
Q2 24
$3.6B
$3.5B
Debt / Equity
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
0.98×
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.00×
Q3 24
0.00×
Q2 24
0.00×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$67.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-2.5M
$-63.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-0.2%
-9.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.1%
6.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.74×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-169.8M
$180.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$67.1M
$160.4M
Q3 25
$27.8M
$105.0M
Q2 25
$-54.7M
$82.0M
Q1 25
$7.4M
Q4 24
$52.9M
$174.7M
Q3 24
$78.3M
$91.7M
Q2 24
$-38.1M
$83.0M
Free Cash Flow
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
$-63.1M
Q4 25
$-2.5M
$121.3M
Q3 25
$-43.1M
$65.3M
Q2 25
$-116.3M
$56.9M
Q1 25
$-24.8M
Q4 24
$-7.8M
$116.4M
Q3 24
$17.5M
$67.2M
Q2 24
$-74.3M
$61.0M
FCF Margin
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
-9.1%
Q4 25
-0.2%
16.8%
Q3 25
-3.4%
9.4%
Q2 25
-10.7%
8.5%
Q1 25
-4.0%
Q4 24
-0.6%
17.5%
Q3 24
1.4%
10.3%
Q2 24
-6.5%
10.1%
Capex Intensity
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
6.4%
Q4 25
5.1%
5.4%
Q3 25
5.5%
5.7%
Q2 25
5.7%
3.7%
Q1 25
5.2%
Q4 24
4.7%
8.8%
Q3 24
4.7%
3.7%
Q2 24
3.2%
3.6%
Cash Conversion
AEO
AEO
BDC
BDC
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.74×
2.36×
Q3 25
0.36×
1.85×
Q2 25
1.34×
Q1 25
0.14×
Q4 24
0.66×
2.99×
Q3 24
1.01×
1.71×
Q2 24
-0.56×
1.69×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AEO
AEO

American Eagle Brand$800.4M59%
Aerie Brand$429.1M31%
Other$133.2M10%

BDC
BDC

Segment breakdown not available.

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