Five Below, Inc. (FIVE): BCG Matrix [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear-eyed view of where Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) is putting its capital and generating its returns right now, mapping its business segments onto the classic Boston Consulting Group Matrix as of late 2025. The story shows aggressive investment in Stars-planning approximately 150 net new stores in fiscal 2025 on the back of a 12.4% comparable sales jump-while the established 1,858+ locations act as reliable Cash Cows funding that growth. Still, the e-commerce business remains a clear Dog, contributing only the low single digits to total revenue, leaving the high-potential Five Beyond initiative as the capital-hungry Question Mark you need to watch closely. Dive in to see the full breakdown of this retail portfolio.

Background of Five Below, Inc. (FIVE)

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) is a high-growth value retailer that started back in 2002 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You know the concept: it's the place where most of the trend-right, high-quality products are priced between $1 and $5, with some extreme value items going beyond that five-dollar mark. The whole idea centers on offering a fun store experience across various merchandising worlds like Candy, Style, Room, and Tech, aiming to be the cool store for kids and the yes store for parents.

The company has been aggressively expanding its physical footprint. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025, Five Below, Inc. operated 1,858 stores across 44 states. This represented an 11.5% increase in store count compared to the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2024. The plan for the full fiscal year 2025 includes opening approximately 150 net new stores, which would bring the total store count close to 1,921 locations by year-end.

Financially, the momentum has been strong leading up to late 2025. For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, net sales jumped 19.5% year-over-year to $970.5 million, supported by a 7.1% comparable sales increase. The second quarter showed even stronger acceleration, with net sales climbing 23.7% to $1,026.8 million and comparable sales growing by 12.4%. Based on this performance, Five Below, Inc. raised its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting total net sales between $4.44 billion and $4.52 billion.

Under the leadership of CEO Winnie Park, the company has been focused on executing a customer-centric strategy involving trend-right product selection and enhancing the in-store experience. You might also note a recent leadership transition, where Chief Operating Officer Ken Bull stepped in as the interim Chief Financial Officer following the departure of Kristy Chipman.

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) - BCG Matrix: Stars

You're looking at the engine room of Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) performance, the area where high market share meets a rapidly expanding market-that's the Star quadrant. These are the businesses that demand heavy investment to maintain their lead, but they're the ones that will fund the rest of the portfolio down the road. Honestly, the numbers coming out of the recent quarters definitely position the core business here.

The aggressive physical footprint growth is a clear indicator of a Star. Five Below, Inc. is executing a massive expansion plan, aiming for a total store count of over 3,500+ stores by 2030. This long-term vision shows management believes the market is far from saturated, which is the definition of a high-growth market for a retailer like this. To get there, the plan for the current fiscal year is significant.

Specifically, the plan calls to open approximately 150 net new stores in fiscal 2025. This investment in physical placement is crucial for maintaining and growing that high market share. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the company already operated 1,858 stores in 44 states, showing the pace of this aggressive build-out. The growth isn't just in new doors, though; the existing stores are performing exceptionally well, too.

The comparable sales performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 was a real highlight. Comparable sales increased by a robust 12.4%. What this estimate hides is that this growth was transaction-driven, with comparable transactions increasing by 8.7%. That tells you the core customer is coming in more often, which is a powerful sign of market leadership.

Here's the quick math on the overall revenue trajectory reflecting this Star performance:

To keep this Star shining, Five Below, Inc. must continue to feed it capital for expansion and promotion. The strategy centers on a few key operational wins that support this high-growth status:

• Plan to open approximately 150 net new stores in fiscal 2025.
• Targeting 3,500+ stores by 2030.
• Q2 2025 comparable sales increased by 12.4%.
• Full-year 2025 net sales projected to hit $4.44 billion to $4.52 billion.

If Five Below, Inc. sustains this success as the overall market growth naturally slows, you can expect these units to transition into the Cash Cow quadrant. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) - BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

Cash Cows are business units or products with a high market share but low growth prospects. Five Below, Inc.'s established core business model fits this profile, generating the necessary cash to fund other portfolio segments.

Core $1-$5 product assortment: The established, high-volume, extreme-value foundation of the brand.

• Most items priced between $1 and $5.
• Some extreme value items priced beyond $5.

Mature store base: The majority of the 1,858+ locations generate consistent, reliable cash flow.

The store count as of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025 was 1,858 stores across 44 states. This represents an 11.5% increase in stores from the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2024.

High transaction volume: The core model drives a transaction-driven comparable sales increase, funding expansion.

Performance metrics for the year-to-date period ended August 2, 2025, show strong momentum:

The full-year fiscal 2025 outlook projects comparable sales growth in the range of 5% to 7%.

Operational efficiency: Strong EBITDA margin of 12.7% (FY21-24 average) in a low-price sector.

Financial results for the second quarter ended August 2, 2025, illustrate current profitability metrics:

The company ended the second quarter of fiscal 2025 with $670 million in cash and no debt.

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) - BCG Matrix: Dogs

Dogs, are units or products with a low market share and low growth rates. They frequently break even, neither earning nor consuming much cash. Dogs are generally considered cash traps because businesses have money tied up in them, even though they bring back almost nothing in return. These business units are prime candidates for divestiture.

For Five Below, Inc. (FIVE), the e-commerce channel fits squarely into the Dogs quadrant based on its current market share contribution relative to the overall business, despite having positive, albeit modest, growth expectations for 2025. This segment operates in a market that, while growing overall, represents a small slice of the company's total revenue pie, suggesting low relative market share.

The core of the analysis for this quadrant rests on the following quantitative realities:

This data illustrates the Dog classification. The e-commerce operations are characterized by a very small footprint within the total sales structure, which is the definition of low relative market share in this context.

The specific characteristics aligning with the Dogs quadrant are detailed below:

• E-commerce operations: Digital sales remain in the low single digits of total revenue.
• Minimal online growth contribution: Projected 2025 online revenue growth is a modest 5-10%.
• Lack of digital focus: Management views e-commerce as icing on the cake, prioritizing the in-store experience.
• Low relative market share: Online sales are a tiny fraction of the projected $4.44 billion+ total sales.

Dogs are in low growth markets and have low market share. Dogs should be avoided and minimized. Expensive turn-around plans usually do not help. The low projected growth rate of 5-10% for online revenue in 2025, when compared to the overall company growth trajectory, confirms the low growth aspect of this quadrant. The actual online sales contribution, which was around 4.3% of the lower-end 2025 projection based on 2024 figures, firmly places it in the low market share category.

The current strategic emphasis appears to be on the physical store experience, which is the primary driver of the company's overall growth, including the projected full-year net sales range of $4.44 billion to $4.52 billion for Fiscal 2025. This prioritization suggests that significant capital or management attention is unlikely to be diverted to aggressively elevate the e-commerce segment out of the Dog position in the near term.

Consider the following implications for this unit:

• Avoidance: Resources are better allocated to Stars or Question Marks showing higher potential.
• Minimization: The unit should be managed for break-even or minimal cash consumption.
• Divestiture Candidate: If the unit ties up capital without meaningful returns, divestiture becomes a logical consideration.

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) - BCG Matrix: Question Marks

Question Marks represent business segments within Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) that operate in high-growth markets but currently hold a relatively low market share. These areas require significant cash investment to capture market share quickly, or they risk becoming Dogs. The strategy here is heavy investment to convert these into Stars.

Five Beyond initiative: Items priced above $5, a high-growth concept with currently lower market share

The Five Beyond offering is the primary example of a Question Mark, as it represents a deliberate push into higher price points within a growing retail segment. While the core brand is built on the $5 price point, this initiative tests the market's appetite for more premium, higher-margin items. The investment in this concept is substantial, as evidenced by the overall capital plan.

The actual price points being tested in this segment show the range of this high-growth exploration:

New market penetration: Recent aggressive expansion into underpenetrated regions like the Pacific Northwest

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) is aggressively pursuing market penetration, which fuels the high-growth market characteristic of a Question Mark. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the company operated 1,858 stores across 44 states. Management has stated a long-term goal to operate up to 3,500 locations nationwide by the end of 2030, indicating a significant runway for growth that these new markets represent. The planned expansion for the full fiscal year 2025 is 150 net new stores, a clear cash commitment to this growth strategy.

The expansion targets regions where the store density is currently low, such as states in the Pacific Northwest, which are among the few that do not yet have a Five Below presence. The company is investing heavily to establish initial market share in these new territories.

• Total planned net new stores for FY2025: 150.
• Store count increase year-over-year as of Q2 FY2025: 11.5%.
• Total states with a presence as of Q2 FY2025: 44.
• Long-term store count target: up to 3,500.

Higher-priced categories: Testing new categories like electronics and housewares to boost average ticket size

The introduction and scaling of higher-priced items, often found in the Five Beyond section, are designed to increase the average transaction value, which has been a focus area. While the core business is built on the $5 price point, external pressures like tariffs have also caused some traditional items to shift price points, effectively testing the elasticity of the customer base.

You are seeing items in electronics, such as Bluetooth speakers and USB hubs, and housewares, like decorative jars and storage, priced above the historical ceiling. Furthermore, some items that were previously priced at or below $5 are now being observed at $6 or $7, reflecting the cost of goods sold pressures that necessitate testing higher price acceptance across the entire assortment.

Store remodels: Investing capital in new store prototypes and remodels to integrate the Five Beyond concept

The capital required to support the Five Beyond concept, new market penetration, and store experience enhancements is substantial, representing the cash consumption of these Question Marks. For the full fiscal year 2025, Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) has guided its Gross capital expenditures to be approximately $210 million or in the range of $210 million to $230 million. This investment covers the build-out of new locations and the necessary remodels to support the larger, higher-priced Five Beyond sections within the store footprint.

This capital outlay is the financial manifestation of the decision to heavily invest in these growth areas, hoping to transition them from cash-consuming Question Marks to high-revenue Stars.