Quality Investor

Five Below, Inc.

Rank #193HypergrowthWatchlistCompare with other stocks

FIVE · Nasdaq · Consumer Cyclical

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) — Rank #193 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.32) · ROE 14.5% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001177609 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Five Below, Inc. operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States.

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It offers assortment of classic and novelty candy bars, movie-size box candy, seasonal-related candy, gum, and snack food products, as well as sells chilled drinks through coolers; socks, jewelry, hair accessories, cozy loungewear, and t-shirts; personal care essentials, skincare, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and party goods, decorations, gag gifts, greeting cards, and every day and special occasion merchandise products. The company also provides personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options; assortment of craft activity kits with various arts and crafts supplies, such as markers, paint, canvas, compounds, slime, beads, and stickers; and supplies craft activities and school products. In addition, it offers cell phone cables and chargers, power banks, phone cases and accessories, screen protectors, auto phone accessories, and computer and tablet accessories, as well as earbuds, headphones, and speakers. Further, the company provides assortment of sport balls, sports accessories and fitness products, including hand weights and yoga mats; toys, including brand name board games, puzzles, action figures, construction sets, remote control, collectibles, novelty toys, and plush products; and outdoor toys for the pool and beach. Additionally, it offers seasonally relevant items to use for the occasions and milestones, such as Holiday, Easter, Halloween, Summer, and Back to School. The company was formerly known as Cheap Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Five Below, Inc. in August 2002. Five Below, Inc.

was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Industry
Specialty Retail
Sector
Consumer Cyclical
State
PA
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
January 30

Company Snapshot

P/S is the primary valuation lens — earnings are reinvested, not available for P/E.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

7,800

Industry

Specialty Retail

Exchange

Nasdaq

11/11

Flags passed

FIVE passes 11/11 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

No data Balance sheet — not counted as a pass.

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.32
Return on equity
14.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.13
Current ratio
2.22×
Net cash
$1.20B

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.7%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
22.9%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
0.5%

Revenue growth and the path to profitability (margin trend) are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.32

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.32

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

5th of 5 SIC 53 peers

Return on equity

14.5%

Gross margin

36.0%

4th of 5 SIC 53 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

22.9%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

15.7%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

19.4%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

11.1%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

87.0%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 15% above net income

Free cash flow

$411.69M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

14.8%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.7%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $1.20B, F-Score 7/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.13

5th of 5 SIC 53 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.22×

4th of 5 SIC 53 peers

Quick ratio

—

Net cash

$1.20B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

7 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Share count trend
0.5%2/5 Fair
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
4.1%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Value
Hypergrowth
Op. Leverage

Price History

FIVE+26.1% · +4.7% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR