Five Below shares slid 8.0% on Q1 earnings report

Five Below Inc (NASDAQ: FIVE) blamed higher operating costs as it reported a decline in its Q1 profit on Wednesday. Shares are down 8.0% in extended trading.

Five Below Q1 financial highlights

• Earned $32.7 million in the first quarter versus year-ago figure of $49.6 million.
• Per-share earnings of 59 cents were significantly below last year’s 88 cents.
• Revenue went up 7.0% to $639.6 million, as per the earnings press release.
• FactSet consensus was for 58 cents of EPS on $652.7 million in revenue.
• Comparable sales were down 3.6% in the recent financial quarter.

According to Five Below, its inventory levels, unlike industry leaders like Target, are in good shape. The stock is down roughly 40% for the year.

Five Below lowered its full-year outlook

Shares also slipped after-hours because Five Below slashed its guidance for the full financial year. It now forecasts revenue to fall in the range of $3.04 billion to $3.12 billion on up to $5.24 of per-share earnings.

The discount retailer says its comparable sales will remain unchanged in fiscal 2022 or slip up to 2.0%. It’s aiming for 160 store openings this year. In the earnings press release, CEO Joel Anderson said: