What is American Eagle's market cap in 2025? Russell Brand says brands only care about "profit motives" amid Sydney Sweeney ad controversy

American Eagle has been making headlines ever since the label partnered with Sydney Sweeney for its Fall 2025 collection. The brand unveiled a new ad campaign titled Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans, featuring the Euphoria star. Following the campaign's release, the company's stock began climbing, touching $12.12 on July 28.

However, the stock corrected and has been declining since. By the market close on July 31, American Eagle's stock was trading at $10.80. As of that date, the market cap of American Eagle stood at $1.87 billion. As per NBC, the stock had been down 35 percent earlier this year before it picked up following the new campaign.

The denim label has also sparked widespread discussion among the podcast community since July 23, when the new campaign was unveiled. Most recently, political commentator Russell Brand weighed in during the July 31 episode of his podcast. Sharing the episode on his X account, the podcaster wrote:

"The Sydney Sweeney situation is getting ridiculous... The outrage over the American Eagle ad isn’t about Sydney; it’s about US... Brands don’t have values, only profit motives. One year it’s “woke,” the next it’s s*x appeal... If you’re looking for meaning in marketing, congrats; you’ve already been sold."

During the podcast, Russell Brand said that people can't "rely" on the brands and said that they would do anything that helps them pick up their sales.

"If advertisers and brands will just pivot to whatever the flavor of the month is, how can we rely on them? The answer is we can't rely on them... What it tells us is that culture has no permanent set of values. It will just support whatever it believes will be successful in the marketplace. That's fine, isn't it? Because the job of Eagle Jeans is to sell jeans," Russell added.

Brand also said that people want to move to the "vicinity" of Sydney Sweeney by acquiring a pair of jeans. He added that the advertising industry targets the "primal nature" to entice consumers.

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American Eagle ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney stirred a debate online

Although the company's stock saw a brief uptick, American Eagle's Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans campaign has faced significant backlash online. In one of the ad clips, the label uses a pun that plays on the words "Jeans" and "Genes," which has led to accusations of racism from some social media users.

In another ad, Sweeney can be seen buttoning up her jeans while saying:

“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My genes are blue.”

The campaign has come under scrutiny for alleged eugenics references. However, others view the campaign as the end of the "woke" era in the advertising industry.

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On July 23, American Eagle released a press note, informing about the new ad campaign. Sweeney’s longtime stylist, Molly Dickson, styled her for this campaign. As a part of this collection, the brand has introduced a limited-edition jacket inspired by the actor's style.