Bear of the Day: 1-800 Flowers (FLWS)

Short-sellers along with speculative traders looking to profit from a short squeeze may be watching 1-800-Flowers FLWS stock, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

The specialty e-commerce provider has seen its stock plummet more than 40% in 2025 and has re-entered penny stock status at around $5 a share.

Unfortunately, those on the short squeeze side may be early as FLWS could be headed lower given 1-800 Flowers' diminishing outlook despite being known for its online niche in floral products and gifts.

High Short Interest for FLWS

Reflecting pessimism for 1-800 Flowers stock, the short interest in FLWS is above 50% as more than half of publicly traded shares are being borrowed and sold by investors who expect the stock price to decline.

Free-falling from a 52-week high of $9 a share, the technical analysis for FLWS reflects a very bearish outlook with limited short-term support levels. To that point, the 50-Day  simple moving average (Green Line) for FLWS has been bearishly below its 200-Day SMA (Red Line) since Q3 of last year, with both support levels currently under $6 a share.

Increased Direct & Indirect Competitors

As a brief synopsis, specialty retail headwinds have added to 1-800 Flowers' deteriorating financial metrics. Opening the door to increased competition from large e-commerce giants, a more inflation-conscious consumer has sought out flower and gift offerings from Amazon (AMZN), Walmart WMT, and Costco COST.

On top of this, an abundance of direct floral competitors have continued to emerge, including Teleflora, ProFlowers, and UrbanStems, among others.

1-800 Flowers' Declining Financial Metrics

Facing substantial drops in both revenue and profit margins, 1-800 Flowers hasn’t been profitable since its fiscal year 2022, posting a net loss of $200 million or -$0.82 per share in its most recent FY25.

Hopes of positive EPS in FY26 or FY27 have also subsided as revisions are down over the last 60 days to projections of -$0.62 and -$0.18, respectively.

This paints the picture as to why FLWS could float lower with there being no meaningful top-line expansion to give the benefit of the doubt to a company that has been public since 1999.

1-800 Fowers’ Cash Crunch

Not to prolong the conversation of a clear downtrend in FLWS, but what makes the compressed top and bottom line figures more concerning is that 1-800 Flowers appears to be in a cash crunch.   

Reporting negative free cash flow in the last twelve months (-$68 million), it's noteworthy that 1-800 Flowers now has less than $50 million in cash & equivalents with more than $130 million in long-term debt.

Bottom Line

Investors who are looking at 1-800 Flowers' "cheap" stock price as a bargain may want to think again. While FLWS could eventually be a candidate for a short squeeze, it may keep falling for now as 1-800 Flowers doesn’t appear to be in a position to cover short-term debt obligations without liquidating assets or seeking additional financing.

Correlating with such, 1-800 Flowers has undergone a leadership change and is reevaluating its strategy to adapt to shifting consumer expectations and competitive pressures.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research