Topic: How To Invest

Q: May I have your assessment of Five Below as a stock to buy? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Five Below Inc., $231.75, symbol FIVE on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 56.0 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; www.fivebelow.com), is a retailer that offers a broad range of merchandise for teen and pre-teen customers. Most of its products are priced between $1 and $5. However, in recent years it has added merchandise priced above $5. Its novelty items and trinkets are in the following eight categories: Sports, Tech, Create, Party, Candy, Style, Room, and New & Now. The company opened its first store in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in 2002. It now operates more than 1,087 locations in 39 states. The stores average 9,000 square feet and are typically located in high-traffic centres. The average store requires a $300,000 investment to open. That investment is paid back in less than a year, according to the company. A typical location generates $2.2 million in annual sales. Over the last five years, Five Below’s revenue rose 96.1%, from $1.00 billion in 2016 to $1.06 billion in 2020. Excluding one-time…