American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), a fashion retailer that competes with Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), didn't do too well in Q2. Total sales went down 5%, and earnings per share on a GAAP basis fell a most awful 50% to 14 cents. According to Bloomberg, the adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share came up short of analyst expectations by three pennies.

Same-store sales hit the double-digit mark to the downside: they decreased 10%. Not a good number for this kind of business. Promotional markdowns helped to drive the gross margin down. The operating margin also took a hit.

Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), a retailer that competes with Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), and Gap (NYSE: GPS), posted what I thought was a superb second-quarter earnings summary on Thursday after the bell. The figures were very appealing, and I would've expected a better after-hours reaction by the stock to the news. Then again, the market can never be predicted. It will do whatever the heck it wants.

Net sales increased 20%. Not bad, am I right? Wait, check this out. Earnings per share came in at 57 cents, compared to the 31 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. According to Reuters, that was a penny ahead of expectations. But that penny beat on the bottom line isn't what impresses me the most. It's the strong per-share profit expansion that I find compelling.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), whose colleagues include Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI), is one sexy company. It operates the Victoria's Secret chain of stores among other concepts. However, it's been having trouble increasing sales and income during the recession -- like every other retailer out there, of course. But the stock has been strong, and the bulls have yet more evidence that their thesis on the business might be justified.

Limited Brands reported second quarter results Wednesday after the close. Its adjusted earnings were 19 cents per share versus 27 cents per share in the comparable period last year. Total sales dropped 9.5%, and same-store revenues collapsed 9%. With numbers like those, where do I get the idea that the bulls might have a case?

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) is such a funny stock story. The company reports what I thought was a quarter full of dire results, and the market still sends shares higher. They closed almost 4% higher, in fact, on Friday. I don't get it.

For the second quarter, sales decreased 23%, and the overall same-store sales statistic, which is a really important metric for retailers, sank 30%. A net loss of 30 cents per share was booked, mostly on the back of the discontinuation of the Ruehl business. Excluding the effect of the closure, Abercrombie made 8 cents per share, and that, according to Reuters, beat by a mile the expected loss of 7 cents per share.

Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES), a fashion retailer that competes in the mall with companies like Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Gap (NYSE: GPS), and JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), told the market how it did in Q1 on Thursday after the bell. As I write this during the early afternoon on Friday, shares of Guess? are up well over 6% on very good volume. Was there something to this earnings report?

I didn't think the numbers were particularly fetching. Revenues declined nearly 10%, thanks in part to the effects of currency translation (maybe that should be no thanks). Earnings per share came in at $0.35, a massive 30% decline. And same-store sales in North America dipped 10% (take out currency, and the dip was 6%, which still wasn't good).

J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG), a retailer that shares space at the mall with Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Gap (NYSE: GPS), and American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), has, as a stock, been doing extremely well.

As of this writing, shares of J. Crew have doubled over the last six months. It certainly hasn't hurt the company to see that the Obama family wears its clothes.

Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) didn't have that bad of a first quarter. I was actually surprised to see increases in both comparable sales and earnings per share. Not every retailer can boast such a claim.

The press release said that net sales from continuing operations were essentially flat. Keeping the top line steady is something of a victory in this economy. On an adjusted basis, Children's Place earned $0.74 per diluted share from continuing operations. That's actually three pennies better than the previous year's performance. It would have been nice if the retailer had been able to beat the analysts in the expectations game, but it was not to be. The bottom line merely met the call.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), the retailer that runs stores such as Bath & Body Works, Pink, and the sexy Victoria's Secret, issued its Q1 numbers after the bell on Wednesday.

The bottom line didn't look bad. Not that it looked great, mind you. The company earned 1 cent per share. The fact that there was any profit at all was big news. According to analysts, a loss of 3 cents per share was more likely.

The revenue picture was not so pretty, however. Net sales dropped by 10%. And same-store sales decreased 7%. I guess buying lingerie isn't a top priority during a time when jobs are being cut and consumers look in terror upon their 401(k) balances.

JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), whose colleagues at the mall include Gap (NYSE: GPS), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), brought out its Q1 earnings report from the backroom on Friday. I can't call the numbers great by any stretch of the imagination. But the stock is up slightly as I write this, so I guess the market didn't have a hard time with them.

Net sales declined a little under 6%. Net income came in at $0.11 per share. This represented an enormous drop compared to last year's performance of $0.54 per share. There was, however, a tax/pension issue going on that amounted to $0.32 per share. Still, according to this source, JCPenney beat expectations by a penny. Another source I checked said that the retailer met expectations. Either way, I think you can qualify the quarter as basically in-line.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was not hot at all in the first quarter. It's funny. You hear about the recession coming to an end this year, about things getting better, and then you check out some retail stats and you begin to wonder.

Anyway, Abercrombie, which shares space at the mall with names like J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), Gap (NYSE: GPS), and Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), saw its top line decline by 24%. Same-store sales for the company's entire operations dropped 30%. Same-store sales at the Abercrombie & Fitch brand itself plunged 26%. Earnings per share took a dive of more than 50% to $0.31. It should be noted, however, that there is a pending non-cash charge that will be added to these results at a later time.

Several national chains are talking up demands for reduced retail rents at locations across the country, according to a post in BNET.

That can't be good news for strapped mall operators, such as Simon Property Group (NYS: SPG), which have recently seen their fortunes turn upwards on the backs of analyst upgrades and economists calling a bottom to the Great Recession.

If you are addicted to fashion, then I have good news that should brighten your shopping days. Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC) announced Tuesday that retailer Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) will become the anchor at Santa Monica Place after the mall reopens.

The mall itself, which is scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2009, is seeing a major renovation from an enclosed shopping center to a three-level, 550,000-square-foot open-air retail plaza linking to the Third Street Promenade.

Leading fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom has signed a letter of intent to open a three-level, 122,000-square-foot store in the fall of 2010. "The extraordinary appeal of Nordstrom is a great match for this exceptional market, and for what we believe will be a one-of-a-kind retail project two blocks from the beach in downtown Santa Monica," Randy Brant, executive vice president, real estate, for Macerich stated.

Some people refuse to shop online because they want to actually try on the shirt and see how it fits them, or they want to hold the camera, try out the zoom and feel its weight. Other people stay with the common brand-name store because they don't like to mail back returned items.

Some people shop online because they hate malls; they hate the masses, the pain of shopping at one store after another and the waiting in line with everyone else for that one small purchase.

Regardless of the shopper, e-tailers are trying to win new business. In the new product showcase site at Newark, Delaware, 60-70 "companies and brands with limited or no previous store space will lease space for individual shops in an empty mall anchor location, according to developer Convergent Retail."

Internet consumers beware! Don't be fooled! This is really a mall!

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Amazing. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), that big online retailer, sees the flix for the net. The shares keep rising for the online DVD rental company-up about 15%, highest since January-- even if their discs do come a little scratched. More than that though is while new subscribers are coming on; it's not exactly going gangbusters. Still, 6.8M is a whole lot of subscribers. Will Amazon, or someone else, overpay?

Rackable Systems Inc (NASDAQ: RACK)

Which came first: The ongoing takeover rumors or the higher stock price? Or was it that Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) is said to be after Rackable, a provider of servers and storage products for high density data center deployments. Rack it up.

Feldman Mall Properties Inc (NYSE: FMP)

Word is that this real estate investment trust will look for a sale, combo or merger. They said the venerable firm of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. will help them "explore strategic alternatives." Then the stock went up.

STILL FLYING AROUND

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP)

Dennis Gomes, whose name surfaced in March, is a one time gaming exec and regulator. He's signed a confidentiality agreement to have a look see at the firm's Atlantic City casinos. Separately, Las Vegas' Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) has also been mentioned as a possible contender.

YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW)

The CEO of this Kansas-based transportation service provider has been quoted as saying that a takeover is possible. An LBO is likely. This week the shares have actively been trading up.

Dollar Tree Stores Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR)

Imagine a dollar tree where the stock keeps going up, up, up. Well, here it is, once again, a subject of takeover talk.

BUZZ

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X): Russia's Severstal may be prowling around...Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE: PXP): Takeover candidate's stock is sharply higher... Micron Technology Inc (NYSE: MU): Blackstone has interest...Ameristar Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA): A hot stock and takeover rumors abound...Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA): Remains an LBO candidate...The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD): The student loan business is booming and earnings growth is strong, but who would buy it?...Marriott International Inc (NYSE: MAR): A target? But where's the movement?...Oakley Inc (NYSE: OO) as a target has been around and around, and now some say it will be bought by Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX).