What Happened?
Shares of clothing and accessories retailer Gap (NYSE: GAP) jumped 6% in the afternoon session after a positive report highlighted the company's remarkable comeback and signs of strength appeared in the broader retail sector.
The report noted that customer traffic in 2025 increased by 1.1% compared to 2024, a significant achievement after years of declines. This turnaround was credited to the brand's renewed focus on marketing and selling trend-right, high-quality, and affordable American fashion, which resonated well with shoppers. The positive mood in the retail space was also helped by strong results from peers. For instance, UK retailer Next reported better-than-expected Christmas sales and raised its full-year profit forecast.
Is now the time to buy Gap? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Gap’s shares are very volatile and have had 21 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 29 days ago when the stock dropped 3.7% on the news that an SEC filing showed that a major insider, William Sydney Fisher, sold a significant amount of stock.
The filing revealed that Fisher, who is a 10% owner and a director on the company's board, sold 400,000 shares for a total of $10.8 million. Large sales by high-level insiders can often trouble the market because they may suggest a lack of confidence in the company's near-term prospects. This can prompt other investors to follow suit and sell their shares, which created downward pressure on the stock's price.
Gap is up 6.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $26.92 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $28.89 from May 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Gap’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,257.
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