Five Below stock leaps 14% on raised guidance, new CEO announcement

Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE ) shares jumped 8% after the discount retailer reported better-than-expected third quarter results and raised its full-year outlook. The company also announced the appointment of a new CEO.

Five Below posted Q3 adjusted earnings per share of $0.42, significantly beating analyst estimates of $0.17. Revenue rose 14.6% YoY to $843.7 million, surpassing the consensus forecast of $796 million. Comparable sales (comps) increased 0.6% in the quarter.

"It is hard not to be more positive on FIVE given the magnitude of its Q3'24 comp acceleration," Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS ) analysts said in a post-earnings note.

"Given FIVE's historical premium valuation, the multiple has a lot of room to run if the positive trends are sustainable for this good, high returning business," they added, raising the price target on the stock from $100 to $120. 

The company raised its full-year 2024 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS of $4.78-$4.96 on revenue of $3.84-$3.87 billion. This outlook is above Wall Street's projections of $4.61 EPS and $3.8 billion in revenue.

"We are pleased to report third quarter results that exceeded our outlook," said Ken Bull, Interim CEO and COO. "We delivered stronger performance across a broader group of our merchandise worlds compared to the second quarter and improved our operational execution."

Five Below opened 82 new stores in Q3, ending the period with 1,749 locations across 44 states. This represents an 18.1% increase in store count from the same quarter last year.

The company also announced the appointment of Winnie Park as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective December 16, 2024.

Looking ahead to Q4, Five Below expects revenue between $1.35-$1.38 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.23-$3.41, assuming a 3-5% decrease in comparable sales.

In contrast to Morgan Stanley, analysts at Bank of America took a more cautious stance on FIVE, citing uncertainty surrounding sustainable comp growth.

"We reiterate our Underperform rating as we do not see a clear path to sustainable positive comps and see margin risk from further deleverage and potential tariffs," analysts led by Melanie Nuñez noted.

Analysts slightly lifted their FIVE target price from $75 to $80. 

Senad Karaahmetovic contributed to this report. 

Source: Investing.com