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Five Below (FIVE): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q2 FY27, to Aug 1, 2026, filed Sep 3, 2026; rules v1.1
Five Below (FIVE): 1 rule of 10 triggered on the filings to Aug 1, 2026: FCF growth = the business improved. 2 to review; 3 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
FCF growth = the business improved Triggered · severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $305M (+286%), from $107M to $412M, but working capital released $5M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $149M: 51% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $150M.
Innocent reading: An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good.
Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued To review · confidence medium
Net income of $619M is at a high against a median of $262M over eight years; at 21.4× the market is not pricing it as cheap, but a multiple on this year's profit still understates the mid-cycle one (50.7×).
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 228.36 a share (price 239.03); 72% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from 184.55 to 272.17; across every method the research ran the range is -37 to 689. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Triggered severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $305M (+286%), from $107M to $412M, but working capital released $5M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $149M: 51% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $150M.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY25 |
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $431M |
| Operating cash flow | $586M |
| Capex, year before | $324M |
| Capex | $175M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $107M |
| Free cash flow | $412M |
| Change in FCF | $305M |
| Change in capex | −$149M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $5M |
| Of which: capex cut | $149M |
| Of which: working capital released | $5M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +50.7% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 150316000.00 |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY26 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY25 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
What would explain it innocently
- An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good
- Suppliers agreed longer payment terms in a contract
- Inventory was brought down after a glut and will stay down
What to look for in the filing
- Maintenance capex (what it costs to keep the assets working)
- Supplier payment terms and any supply-chain financing
- Management's capex guidance for next year
What would show the trap does not apply
- Next year's FCF holds or rises with capex back at its earlier level and working capital no longer releasing cash
- The 10-K's capex guidance and the segment capex show the cut is a completed programme, not deferral
- The working-capital release matches a disclosed change in terms or a divestiture, not stretched payables or a collection push
Look again: next filing.
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 0.7% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Stock compensation | $35M |
| Revenue | $4.8B |
| SBC / revenue | +0.7% |
| Buybacks | 0 |
| Buybacks / SBC | 0.0 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 55.2M shares |
| Diluted shares | 55.4M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.5% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY26 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Insufficient data
fewer than five quarters with receivables and revenue on file (a year-over-year comparison needs five)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Insufficient data
no debt figure could be read from the balance sheet (the filing may tag it in other lines)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 417% and net income rose 418% in Q2 FY27; the share count rose 0.2%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q2 FY27 |
| Quarter before | Q2 FY26 |
| EPS, year before | $0.77 |
| EPS | $3.99 |
| Net income, year before | $43M |
| Net income | $221M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 55.4M shares |
| Diluted shares | 55.5M shares |
| EPS growth | +417.0% |
| Net income growth | +417.7% |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.1% |
| eps from profit | $3.23 |
| eps from share count | -$0.01 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q2 FY27 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q2 FY26 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued To review confidence medium
Net income of $619M is at a high against a median of $262M over eight years; at 21.4× the market is not pricing it as cheap, but a multiple on this year's profit still understates the mid-cycle one (50.7×).
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $13.3B |
| net income ttm | $619M |
| pe ttm | 21.40 |
| net income median fy | $262M |
| pe mid cycle | 50.70 |
| net income peak fy | $359M |
| years | FY19 / 150.0; FY20 / 175.0; FY21 / 123.0; FY22 / 279.0; FY23 / 262.0; FY24 / 301.0; FY25 / 254.0; FY26 / 359.0 |
| down years in window | 3 |
P/E on the trailing twelve months' net income against the P/E on the median net income of the last eight fiscal years (a mid-cycle stand-in); 'at a peak' = this year's profit at or above 90% of the best year and at least 1.3× the median
Source: Q2 FY27 (net income, trailing twelve months)
What would show the trap does not apply
- Profit holds at this level through the next two years (the eight-year peak was a new base, not a top)
- The industry's capacity and prices stay where they are rather than reverting
Look again: next filing.
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 228.36 a share (price 239.03); 72% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from 184.55 to 272.17; across every method the research ran the range is -37 to 689. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 228.36 |
| price | 239.03 |
| terminal value share | +72.0% |
| swing by input | Operating margin / ±3 pts / 184.55 / 272.17; Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 193.76 / 268.99; WACC / ±1 pt / 205.18 / 257.81; Tax rate / ±5 pts / 214.11 / 242.61 |
| range all methods | -37.42; 689.12 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Five Below: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.