American Greetings Reaffirms Fiscal 2002 Earnings Per Share Estimates;
Provides Projections For EPS (Assuming Dilution)

CLEVELAND, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) today reaffirmed its previously announced earnings per share estimate of $1.10 to $1.20 per share for fiscal 2002, excluding one-time special charges. American Greetings also issued estimates for earnings per share (assuming dilution) to reflect the impact of its recently issued $175 million in 7 percent convertible subordinated notes, which are expected to have a dilutive effect in the second half of the Corporation's current fiscal year.

As a result of the Corporation reporting a net loss for the second quarter and year to date of fiscal 2002, the effect of the convertible subordinated notes was antidilutive. However, as the Corporation expects to report net income, excluding special one-time charges, for the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2002, the impact of the convertible subordinated notes is expected to be dilutive for these quarters.

American Greetings expects earnings per share (assuming dilution) for the full year to be between 98 cents and $1.08, excluding one-time special charges. The Corporation also projects that its quarterly earnings per share for fiscal 2002 should be in the following ranges:

                              EPS                     EPS (ASSUMING DILUTION)
    Third quarter ending
      Nov. 30, 2001:          60 cents to 65 cents    49 cents to 54 cents
    Fourth quarter ending
      Feb. 28, 2002:          65 cents to 70 cents    54 cents to 59 cents

These estimates exclude the previously announced expected impact of one- time special items, including charges related to the Corporation's current restructuring effort, the implementation of scan-based trading at select retailers and changes in contractual relationships with strategic partners in the Corporation's Internet business.

Third quarter earnings release and conference call

American Greetings will release its third quarter results at 9 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 and broadcast its conference call live on the Internet at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time the same day.

The conference call will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the American Greetings corporate Web site at
http://corporate.americangreetings.com/. Minimum requirements to listen to the Web cast are Windows Media Player software (available free at http://www.microsoft.com/), audio capabilities, and at least a 14.4Kbps connection to the Internet. A replay of the call will also be available on the site.

About American Greetings Corporation

American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings has annual sales of more than $2.5 billion. For more information on
the company, visit http//www.americangreetings.com on the World Wide Web.

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: retail bankruptcies and consolidations, successful implementation of the Corporation's restructuring, a weak retail environment, consumer acceptance of products as priced and marketed, the impact of technology on core product sales and competitive terms of sale offered to customers. Risks pertaining specifically to the Corporation's electronic marketing business include the viability of online advertising as a revenue generator and the public's acceptance of online social expression products and subscriptions thereto.