Inventory Turnover › By Retailer › Five Below
Five Below Inventory Turnover: Steady Through Fast Growth
Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) turned its inventory 4.0x in fiscal 2025 (52 weeks ended January 31, 2026), about 90 days on hand. The notable thing is not the level but the consistency: four straight years between 4.0x and 4.1x while the chain grew from 1,340 to 1,921 stores. All figures are from the company's 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR.
Quick answer: Five Below's fiscal 2025 and 2024 10-K inventory turnover ratio
Fiscal 2025 (10-K)
4.0x for the 52 weeks ended January 31, 2026. $3,049.5M cost of goods sold over $753.05M average inventory ($659.5M opening, $846.6M closing). About 90 days on hand.
Fiscal 2024 (10-K)
4.1x for the 52 weeks ended February 1, 2025. $2,523.9M cost of goods sold over $622.05M average inventory. About 90 days on hand.
Turnover = cost of goods sold / average inventory (mean of opening and closing balance-sheet inventory). Five Below's cost of goods sold includes store occupancy, distribution and buying costs. Figures from Five Below's 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR (CIK 0001177609), verified 10 November 2026.
Fiscal 2022 - fiscal 2025 turnover history
| Fiscal Year | Cost of Sales | Inv (start) | Inv (end) | Turnover | Days on Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 (ended Jan 28, 2023) | $1,980.8M | $455.1M | $527.7M | 4.0x | 91 |
| FY2023 (ended Feb 3, 2024) | $2,285.5M | $527.7M | $584.6M | 4.1x | 89 |
| FY2024 (ended Feb 1, 2025) | $2,523.9M | $584.6M | $659.5M | 4.1x | 90 |
| FY2025 (ended Jan 31, 2026) | $3,049.5M | $659.5M | $846.6M | 4.0x | 90 |
Inventory (start) equals the prior year's inventory (end). Five Below names each fiscal year after the year in which it starts. Fiscal 2023 was a 53-week year, which lifts that year's cost of goods sold slightly. Store counts are from the store-growth table in the fiscal 2025 10-K.
4.0x · The chain ended the year with 1,340 stores. Year-end inventory rose 16% as the store base grew.
4.1x · A 53-week year with 204 net new stores. Cost of sales grew 15%, faster than inventory, nudging turnover to 4.1x.
4.1x · 227 net new stores, the most in the window, while comparable sales fell 2.7%. Turnover held at 4.1x regardless.
4.0x · Net sales rose 22.9% on a 12.8% comparable sales gain and 150 net new stores. Year-end inventory rose 28%, but cost of goods sold rose 21%, so turnover only eased to 4.0x.
Growth without a turnover penalty
Fast store growth normally costs turnover. Every new store needs a full set of merchandise on its shelves before its first sale, and in its first months it sells less than a mature store. A chain adding stores quickly tends to see average inventory rise faster than cost of goods sold.
Five Below added 581 net stores over three fiscal years, a 43% larger chain, and its turnover never left a 4.0x to 4.1x band. Cost of goods sold grew 54% over the same period and year-end inventory 60%, close enough that the ratio barely moved. The new stores carried their weight almost from the start.
The company plans about 150 more net new stores in fiscal 2026 and sees room for more than 3,500 locations over time. The question for future 10-Ks is whether that consistency survives fiscal 2025's step up in inventory per store, which pushed year-end stock up 28% against an 8.5% rise in store count.
What holds Five Below near 4x
1. Sourcing built for sell-through
The 10-K says Five Below sources products in a way designed to achieve low cost, fast response, and high item velocity and sell-through. Buying for quick sell-through, rather than for a deep permanent range, limits how much slow stock builds up in each store.
2. Low price points
Most products are priced at $5 and below, across eight merchandise “worlds” from Candy and Party to Tech and Sports. The 10-K calls it a dynamic, edited assortment of trend-right products: a narrow, frequently refreshed range holds less slow stock than a deep permanent one.
3. A seasonal year-end peak
The 10-K notes that inventory builds to its highest levels in the third and fourth quarters ahead of the holiday season. The January balance sheet date falls after that peak has sold through, so the opening and closing balances used here sit below the stock Five Below carries in the autumn.
4. Cost of goods sold includes occupancy
Five Below's cost of goods sold includes store occupancy, distribution and buying costs as well as merchandise. That raises the numerator compared with a merchandise-only measure, so the ratio is best compared with retailers that report the same way, such as TJX.
Where 4.0x sits among retailers
Latest 10-K inventory turnover, times per year
Each figure is cost of sales over average inventory from the company's latest 10-K. Every retailer here has its own case study; the full ranked list is on the inventory turnover by retailer page.
Five Below sits in the same band as the dollar stores: Dollar General at 4.5x and Dollar Tree at 4.8x. It turns faster than specialty formats with deep ranges, such as Ulta Beauty at 3.6x, and slower than off-price chains like TJX (6.1x) and Ross (6.5x), which buy closer to the selling season.
Its real comparison is with itself. A value retailer growing its store base by 8% to 15% a year would normally expect turnover to slip as each new store fills its shelves. Five Below's did not, across three years of rapid expansion. For the closest format comparison see the Dollar Tree case study.
Frequently asked questions
What is Five Below's inventory turnover ratio?
Five Below turned its inventory 4.0x in fiscal 2025, the 52 weeks ended January 31, 2026. That is $3,049.5M of cost of goods sold divided by $753.05M average inventory (the mean of the $659.5M opening and $846.6M closing balances) from its 10-K. It works out to about 90 days of inventory on hand.
How has Five Below kept turnover steady while opening so many stores?
Between the end of fiscal 2022 and the end of fiscal 2025 Five Below grew from 1,340 to 1,921 stores, yet turnover stayed between 4.0x and 4.1x every year. New stores need a full opening inventory before they sell anything, which usually drags turnover down during fast expansion. Five Below's ratio held because its existing stores kept selling through quickly: the 10-K describes sourcing designed for low cost, fast response, high item velocity and sell-through.
How is Five Below's inventory turnover calculated from the 10-K?
Divide cost of goods sold by average inventory, where average inventory is the mean of the opening and closing inventory balances on the balance sheet. Five Below's cost of goods sold includes merchandise, inbound freight and tariffs, store occupancy, distribution and buying costs, and inventory is valued at weighted-average cost. For fiscal 2025: $3,049.5M / (($659.5M + $846.6M) / 2) = 4.0x.
Why did Five Below's inventory rise 28% in fiscal 2025?
Year-end inventory rose from $659.5M to $846.6M while the store count rose 8.5% to 1,921, so inventory per store went up too. Sales grew faster than at any point in the window, with net sales up 22.9%, so the extra stock largely matched extra demand and turnover only eased from 4.1x to 4.0x. The 10-K values inventory including inbound freight and tariffs, so higher import costs also raise the balance without any change in units.
Related
Dollar Tree Case Study
The standalone dollar store, at 4.8x.
Dollar General Case Study
The rural dollar-store model, at 4.5x.
TJX Case Study
Off-price buying, at 6.1x.
Turnover by Retailer
All 25 retailers ranked.
Days Sales of Inventory
Turn 4.0x into 90 days on hand.
Sell-Through Rate
The metric behind fast-moving assortments.