Five Below stock falls after it offers outlook below expectations

Five Below Inc. shares fell 4.4% in Wednesday premarket trading after the it reported a fourth-quarter sales miss and gave guidance well below the Street consensus. The discount teen retailer posted net income of $140.2 million, or $2.49 per share, up from $123.9 million, or $2.20 per share, last year. Sales of $996.3 million were up from $858.5 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $2.48 and sales of $1.006 billion. For the first quarter, Five Below is guiding for sales in the range of $644 million to $658 million and EPS in the range of 54 cents to 62 cents. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $686.6 million and EPS of 89 cents. For the year, the company's outlook is for sales in the range of $3.16 billion to $3.26 billion and EPS in the range of $5.19 to $5.70. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $3.342 billion and EPS of $5.85. "We are increasing our store potential in the U.S. from 2,500+ to 3,500+, or triple our current store count, and we are planning to double our sales and more than double our EPS through fiscal 2025," said Chief Executive in a statement. The company plans to open 375 to 400 new stores over the next two fiscal years. Five Below shares are down 10% over the past year while the S&P 500 index has gained 17% for the period.

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