Five Below raises outlook after Q2 2026 sales jump 23%

On Wednesday, Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE ) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call.

The full transcript is provided below.

This transcript is brought to you APIs.

For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit for a consultation.

The full earnings call is available at Summary Five Below reported a 23% increase in sales to $1.3 billion for Q2 2026, with adjusted diluted EPS of $1.68, more than doubling from last year.

The company opened 52 new stores, reaching a total of 2,022 stores, and celebrated the opening of its 2,000th store.

Strong performance was driven by comparable sales growth of 14% and new store unit growth of 9%.

The company announced plans to enter Puerto Rico in 2027, highlighting its growth strategy.

Five Below's strategy includes focusing on customer-centric merchandising, social and digital marketing, and enhancing store experiences.

The company raised its full-year outlook due to strong first-half performance and expects full-year sales between $5.63 billion and $5.71 billion, with a comparable sales growth of 10% to 12%.

Management highlighted a 'flywheel' strategy that integrates merchandising, marketing, and store operations to drive growth.

Adjusted operating income more than doubled to $113 million, with gross margin increasing by 220 basis points to 35.6% despite higher fuel costs.

The company plans to invest in customer experience enhancements and digital platforms, leveraging tariff refunds for these initiatives.

Management expressed confidence in the company's long-term growth prospects, supported by continued strong performance and strategic initiatives.

Full Transcript OPERATOR Good day and welcome to the Five Below second quarter 2026 earnings conference call.

All participants will be in listen-only mode.

Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero.

After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touchtone phone.

Please note today's event is being recorded.

I'd now like to turn the conference over to Christiana Peltz, VP, Investor Relations.

Please go ahead.

Christiana Peltz, VP Investor Relations Thank you.

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for joining us today for Five Below's second quarter 2026 financial results conference call.

On today's call are Winnie Park, Chief Executive Officer, and Dan Sullivan, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

After management has made their formal remarks, we will open the call to questions.

Certain comments made during this call may constitute forward-looking statements.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements, including those described in the press release and our SEC filings.

In this presentation we will refer to our SG&A expenses, which for us includes depreciation and amortization.

Additionally, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures.

Please review today's press release, which is posted on our investor relations website, for a reconciliation of these items to the most directly comparable U.S.

GAAP measure and a cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements.

I will now turn the call over to Winnie.

Winnie Park, Chief Executive Officer Thank you Christiana and hello all.

I want to start by thanking our amazing Five Below crew.

They continue to deliver tremendous energy, fun and executional excellence in service of our customer, the boss.