Five Below (6F1) Q2 2026 Earnings Report
CH:6F1 Q2 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- CHF 1.39
- Consensus EPS
- CHF 1.16
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +CHF 0.23
- One Year Ago EPS
- CHF 0.67
CH:6F1 Q2 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- CHF 1.04B
- Expected Revenue
- CHF 1.01B
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +CHF 32.94M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +22.85%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q2 2026
- Date
- 09/02/2026
- Time
- After Close
- Conference Call
- Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Five Below's next earnings date is estimated for December 2, 2026, based on past reporting schedules.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q2 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly positive. Management reported exceptional second-quarter sales, traffic, profitability, new store productivity, cash generation, and customer engagement, raised full-year guidance, and described multiple growth initiatives as still being in the early innings. The primary challenges discussed were higher fuel costs, an unfavorable upcoming shrink comparison, an evolving tariff environment, moderated fourth-quarter comparable sales guidance, and developing omnichannel and personalization capabilities.
For the third quarter, Five Below expects total sales in the range of $1.21 billion to $1.23 billion, or growth of about 18% at the midpoint, with comparable sales growth between 8% and 10%, approximately 40 net new stores, adjusted operating margin at the midpoint of about 6%, an increase of 160 basis points versus last year, adjusted gross margin at the midpoint up about 100 basis points, net interest income of approximately $8 million, an effective tax rate of approximately 25%, adjusted net income of $59 million at the midpoint, up 57% versus Q3 last year, and adjusted diluted earnings per share at the midpoint of $1.07 compared to $0.68; for the full year, sales are expected to be in the range of $5.63 billion to $5.71 billion, an increase of 19% at the midpoint, comparable sales growth between 10% and 12%, or 24% at the midpoint on a 2-year stack basis, adjusted operating margin of approximately 12.5% at the midpoint, up 250 basis points, adjusted net interest income of approximately $36 million, a full year effective tax rate of approximately 25%, adjusted diluted earnings per share of $10.07 at the midpoint on 55.5 million shares outstanding, growth of 51% versus 2025, and capital expenditures between $250 million and $260 million, or 4.5% of net sales at the midpoint, excluding the impact of tenant allowances, reflecting 150 net new store openings; the fourth quarter is positioned at about a 3% comp growth profile and an 18% 2-year stack, while the Five Beyond program requires probably in the range of $40,000 to $45,000 of CapEx per store.
- Strong Second-Quarter Sales and Comparable GrowthNet sales increased 23% versus last year to $1.3 billion. Comparable sales increased just over 14%, driven primarily by transaction growth, while unit growth was approximately 9%. This was the fifth straight quarter of double-digit comparable sales growth, with a 26.5% two-year stacked increase.
- Broad-Based Traffic and Customer GrowthGrowth was driven by robust traffic, increased customer engagement, and transaction growth from both new and returning customers. Management reported broad-based growth across customer cohorts, geographies, income cohorts, demographics, and product categories.
- Adjusted Profitability More Than DoubledAdjusted operating income more than doubled to $113 million, while adjusted operating margin increased approximately 360 basis points to 9%. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS each more than doubled to $93 million and $1.68, respectively.
- Gross Margin ExpansionAdjusted gross profit increased 31% to $449 million. Gross margin expanded approximately 220 basis points year-over-year to 35.6%, primarily due to merchandise margin expansion, fixed-cost leverage on strong comparable sales, and an improved shrink reserve rate based on 2025 physical inventory results.
- SG&A Leverage Despite Planned InvestmentsAdjusted SG&A was $336 million, or 26.6% of sales, representing a 140-basis-point improvement in rate of sale. The improvement was largely due to fixed-cost leverage, partially offset by planned higher marketing investments and incremental labor costs related to the timing of physical inventory counts. Labor costs were leveraged year-over-year despite those timing headwinds.
- Successful New Store ExpansionFive Below opened 52 net new stores across 26 states versus 32 net new stores in the prior-year quarter, ending the quarter with 2,022 stores. New store productivity outperformed, with strong results from the 2025 and 2026 store vintages reinforcing the benefits of the company's disciplined real estate strategy.
- Expansion Milestones and Future Market EntryThe company celebrated the opening of its 2,000th store, entered its 47th state with its first Idaho location, and continued exploring fill-in opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. Five Below also plans to enter Puerto Rico in the back half of 2027, initially opening a handful of stores.
- Raised Full-Year OutlookFull-year sales guidance was raised to $5.63 billion to $5.71 billion, representing approximately 19% growth at the midpoint. Comparable sales growth is expected to be between 10% and 12%, or 24% at the midpoint on a two-year stacked basis. Adjusted operating margin is expected to increase 250 basis points to approximately 12.5%, and adjusted diluted EPS is expected to be $10.07 at the midpoint, up 51% versus 2025.
- Positive Third-Quarter GuidanceThird-quarter sales are expected to be $1.21 billion to $1.23 billion, or approximately 18% growth at the midpoint, with comparable sales growth between 8% and 10%. Adjusted operating margin is expected to be about 6%, up 160 basis points year-over-year, while adjusted net income is expected to increase 57% to $59 million at the midpoint and adjusted diluted EPS is expected to be $1.07 versus $0.68 last year.
- Healthy Cash Position and Free Cash FlowThe company ended the quarter with approximately $1.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, including $170 million in pretax IEEPA refunds. Management highlighted strong free cash flow generation, a healthy balance sheet, and ample liquidity.
- Share Repurchases and New AuthorizationFive Below repurchased approximately 311,000 shares for about $60 million during the quarter. Its Board subsequently approved a new $600 million share repurchase authorization without an expiration date.
- Continued Investment in Store Growth and CapabilitiesFirst-half capital expenditures were just over $110 million, 36% above the same period last year, reflecting disproportionate investment in new unit growth. Full-year capital expenditures are now expected to be $250 million to $260 million, or 4.5% of net sales at the midpoint, including 150 net new store openings and investments in store experience, infrastructure, and technology.
- Merchandising and Product Storytelling ProgressThe company is shifting from an item-focused merchandising approach to assortment and product storytelling. Management cited rolling newness across categories, including Asian food and snacks, slime, create, squishy collections, pool and beach products, back-to-school items, dorm products, toys, tech, room decor, and accessories.
- Strong Response to Trends and Cultural MomentsManagement reported strong customer response to trends and cultural events, including World Cup Madness, blockbuster movies, music and entertainment trends, FIFA and NBA licensed items, Toy Story, Spider-Man, and Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters. The Golden Ticket Squishy Dumpling event was described as successfully executed across the chain and supported by continued social storytelling.
- Squishy Trend and Assortment BreadthThe squishy trend continued to drive traffic across quarters, with customers who entered through the trend purchasing across the broader assortment. Squishy Dumplings were a low single-digit contributor to comparable sales growth, while also contributing a larger halo effect through traffic gains and trend amplification.
- Marketing Reach and Customer RetentionFive Below continued redirecting media spend from traditional commercials into social and digital channels, including connected TV through YouTube for Gen Alpha. Management reported improved brand awareness, double-digit growth in new customer counts and repeat growth, and noted that customers acquired in 2025 returned throughout the first half of 2026.
- Store Experience TransformationThe company is evolving stores by simplifying pricing, improving sight lines, creating immersive product worlds, and co-locating toys, games, collectibles, crafts, style, beauty, and room products. The company has begun removing the walled-off Five Beyond area and expects the changes to improve productivity, customer acceptance, crew experience, and basket building.
- Investment in Digital and Customer ExperienceManagement said IEEPA tariff refunds provide optionality to accelerate investments in the in-store customer experience, digital platform and online shopping experience, and product newness and value proposition. The company expects these investments to be disproportionately reflected in capital expenditures over time.
- Growing Licensing StrategyLicensing is becoming increasingly important, with Five Below moving from placing individual licenses into relevant products toward delivering 360-degree experiences and full collections, as demonstrated by Toy Story. Management also expects to bring additional new licenses to market across toys, games, collectibles, and other categories.
- Strong New Store Productivity DriversManagement attributed new store productivity to growth across geographies and customer demographics and to a more disciplined real estate process covering site selection, lease terms, market seeding, store activation, and execution from entry through grand opening.
CH:6F1 Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 02, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.93- | 0.56 | ― | ― |
| Sep 02, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 1.161.39 | 0.67 | 107.41% (+0.72) | |
| Jun 03, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 1.461.83 | 0.71 | 158.14% (+1.12) | |
| Mar 18, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 3.303.55 | 2.87 | 23.85% (+0.68) | |
| Dec 03, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.210.56 | 0.35 | 61.90% (+0.21) | |
| Aug 27, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.510.67 | 0.45 | 50.00% (+0.22) | |
| Jun 04, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.690.71 | 0.49 | 43.33% (+0.21) | |
| Mar 19, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 2.792.87 | 3.01 | -4.66% (-0.14) | |
| Dec 04, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.140.35 | 0.21 | 61.54% (+0.13) | |
| Aug 28, 2024 | 2024 (Q2) | 0.450.45 | 0.69 | -35.71% (-0.25) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.