Five Below Earnings: An Early Look

Earnings season is just about over, with almost all companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still a few companies left to report, and Five Below (FIVE 0.51%) is about to release its quarterly earnings. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarterly reports is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

The teen and preteen retail market is a tough place to be, with fickle customers moving quickly from one hot trend to the next without building much loyalty along the way. But Five Below hopes to tap the success of the dollar-store retail trend and adapt it to accessories and other merchandise, keeping prices of all of its products at $5 or less. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Five Below over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report on Wednesday.

Stats on Five Below

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will Five Below give investors what they want this quarter?
Analysts have stuck by their original estimates on Five Below's earnings in recent months, keeping their calls unchanged both for the just-ended holiday quarter and the full 2014 fiscal year. The stock, though, has rocketed higher, jumping 25% since mid-December.

We've already received some positive signs about Five Below's holiday quarter, as the company released early guidance back in January. With an increase in its anticipated ranges for revenue and earnings, Five Below said that same-store sales rose 4.2% for the first 11 weeks of the quarter. Even though existing major shareholders took the opportunity to announce a secondary offering of 8.1 million shares, the stock rallied in response.

The key to Five Below's success is capitalizing on cash-strapped kids. Dollar Tree (DLTR -0.14%) and Family Dollar (FDO.DL) established the success of that business model in general merchandise retail, one-upping behemoth discounters with their deeper-discount strategy and gaining market share during the recession and slow recovery over the past several years. Similarly, Five Below hopes to grab share from privately held competitors Claire's Stores and Forever 21 as young customers seek to economize.

In its quarterly report, watch for Five Below to discuss its expansion plans into Texas. With expectations to open 15 stores in the Lone Star State, Five Below believes that the strong Texas economy should translate into strong sales there. If it's right, then Five Below could be entering another big growth spurt.

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