March 29, 2000

Ready to fall into the Gap <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") end if %>? Not all Fools seem to be as willing. When you're a long. When you're a short. This week we try on the popular specialty retailer for size.

Barbara Eisner Bayer (TMF Venus) and Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible) are Dueling Fools. The racks are fully stocked with their bullish and bearish thoughts. Which side suits you?

When you're done with the Duel, why not go from jeans to genes and check out our Amgen <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") end if %> Duel Flashback.

The Bull Argument... Over the past five years, shareholders have been richly rewarded, as the company enjoyed compound annual sales growth of 26%, while profits rose 28.6% annually, and EPS grew more than 31% on average. Fiscal 1999 proved to be another strong year, as sales grew 29% and profits surged 37%. Continue »

The Bear Argument... Same-store sales were flat last year for the stateside Gap stores. So far this year, they are trending negative. It's not a good sign when the biggest piece of Gap's 3000-unit portfolio is tanking. It's a pretty darn spooky sign when you consider how easy it is for the rest of the stores to follow suit. Continue »

The Bull Argument »

 This Week's Duel