Five Below gains, Salesforce change, jobless claims and more: Thursday’s 5 things to know

Here are the key events taking place on Thursday that could impact trading.

FIVE BELOW GAINS: Shares rose 8% in extended trading as sales rose significantly ahead of market and management views.

Profit did decline for the fiscal-third quarter amid higher costs.

The discount chain said its net income fell to $16.1 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $24.2 million, or 43 cents, for the year-earlier period, according to Dow Jones.

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Five Below store location. (iStock / iStock)

Revenue increased 6.2% to $645.0 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast revenue of $614.1 million, while the company had guided for sales between $600 million to $619 million.

Comparable sales declined 2.7% from the prior year, but the company had previously guided for a decline in the range of 7% to 9%.

SALESFORCE CHANGE: Shares traded down 6% in extended trading as the company announced a CEO change. Co-CEO Bret Taylor is leaving a year after he was promoted to work alongside Chairman Marc Benioff.

Benioff will become sole chief executive again and continue to serve as company chairman. 

Revenue increased to $7.84 billion during the period, slightly higher than the $7.83 billion analysts had expected, according to FactSet.

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The company maintained its outlook for fiscal-year revenue to be between $30.9 billion to $31 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Salesforce missed analysts’ expectations for billings, a measure of business actually transacted during the period, by roughly 8%. 

Adjusted earnings per share came to $1.40, above analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet.

EARNINGS REPORTS: Thursday’s reports kick off in the morning with Big Lots, Designer Brands, Dollar General, Duluth Holdings, Kroger, and Lands’ End. 

After the bell, American Outdoor Brands (which includes Smith & Wesson) and Ulta Beauty will dominate investors’ interests. 

Labor Department reports jobless claims on Thursdays. (FBN)

US COMPANIES ADDED JUST 127,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER AS HIRING SLOWS

JOBLESS CLAIMS: The Labor Department will release the number of new jobless claims for last week. Expectations are for 235,000, up slightly from the previous week and signaling a labor market that remains tight. 

“The recent spike seen in new claims for unemployment benefits to 240,000 is consistent with the uptick in job cut announcements centered in the tech sector’, said Bankrate.com senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick. “The latest level of new claims is close to what was seen a year ago, although the total number of individuals receiving jobless assistance remains below the year ago level.”

Continuing claims, which track the total number of workers collecting unemployment benefits, are expected to rise for the seventh consecutive week to 1.573 million.

Shoppers search for clothing at Uniqlo Retail Clothing Company in New York City.  (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

INCOME & SPENDING: Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate spending to jump 0.8% month-over-month in October, above September’s 0.6% growth. Personal income, meantime, is expected to rise 0.4% for the fourth month in a row. 

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The PCE Price Index rose 0.3% month-over-month in September and was up 6.2% annually (the Fed bases its 2% inflation target on the annual change in the PCE Price Index). The Core PCE Price Index, which factors out volatile food and energy costs, is expected to rise 0.3% in October, trailing September’s 0.5% increase. The year-over-year change in the Core PCE Price Index, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, is anticipated to slow to 5.0%.