For the second quarter, Five Below posted significant sales and earnings gains versus the period in 2020 and 2019 but, although net income exceeded expectations, revenues came in just short of a Wall Street estimate.
Second-quarter 2021 earnings beat a Yahoo Finance-published analyst average earnings per diluted share estimate of $1.11, although Five Below sales came in slightly short of a $648.2 million revenue estimate.
Comparable sales gained 39.2% versus the year-earlier quarter and 21% in the 2019 period. Net sales increased to $646.6 million, up 51.7% from fiscal 2020 and 54.9% from fiscal 2019. Operating income was $86.2 million compared to $33.1 million in the 2020 quarter and $36 million in the 2019 period.
In a conference call, Joel Anderson, Five Below president and CEO, said sales gains had been broad-based and included advances on a one- and two-year basis in the home-oriented Room segment as well as in Sports, Tech, Candy and Style.
In announcing the financial results, Anderson said, “We had another strong quarter, with the team executing well in a dynamic operating environment. Sales increased 55% and earnings per share increased 125% versus the second quarter of 2019. Once again, the strength was broad-based throughout our worlds. New store growth continued with the opening of 34 new stores across 19 states, bringing our new store count for the first half to a record 102 new stores.”
He added that the third fiscal quarter, “is off to a strong start from a sales perspective. We are innovating across our three key strategic priorities: product, experience and supply chain, where the teams are working diligently to mitigate the impact of global disruptions. We are confident that our Wow assortment, the flexibility of our unique model with eight worlds and our new Five Beyond offering, combined with the operating discipline of our teams across the organization, will continue to serve us well as we drive sustainable long-term growth and realize our 2,500-plus store potential in the U.S.”
Five Below, with the 34 new locations opened in the period, ended the second quarter with 1,121 stores in 39 states.
