What happened
Shares of discount retailer Five Below (FIVE -1.12%) sank on Thursday after the company announced quarterly financial results that missed analysts' expectations. Moreover, Wall Street wasn't a fan of management's forward guidance, adding to shareholders' pain. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT, the stock was down almost 12%.
So what
Yesterday afternoon, Five Below provided financial results for the second quarter of 2021. In Q2, the company's net sales were up 55% year over year to $647 million. The growth rate looks superb, especially considering the company's sales were up 2% last year, so this wasn't an easy year-over-year comparison. However, analysts expected revenue of $648 million on average, so the market is disappointed with Five Below's results.
Image source: Getty Images.
To make up for missing revenue expectations, Five Below beat expectations when it comes to profits. The company had earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15 compared to the average expectation of $1.11 per share. So at least shareholders can find solace in seeing its EPS more than doubling from last year.
Now what
Perhaps investors were most disappointed with Five Below's guidance and some trends they're seeing. Management expects third-quarter sales of $550 million to $565 million, a dip of 13% to 15% sequentially but an increase of 15% to 18% year over year. Keep in mind that there's some seasonality with Five Below's revenue, and Q3 revenue typically dips from Q2 revenue, so this is normal.
What is worth monitoring is Five Below's supply chain. Management noted that it's still having supply chain issues, and profitability is expected to dip because the cost of shipping is going up. Remember that the holiday quarter is crucial for this company. So buy-and-hold shareholders will certainly hope that these concerns can be addressed quickly so they don't lose out during the company's most important quarter.
