ANNOUNCES NEW TWO-YEAR REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION AND 10% INCREASE IN QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND
PROVIDES FIRST QUARTER AND FISCAL 2026 GUIDANCE
DUBLIN, Calif., March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ross Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROST) today reported financial results for the 13--week fourth quarter and 52--week fiscal year ended January 31, 2026.
Highlights:
-- Total sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 grew 12%, with
comparable store sales increasing a robust 9%
-- Fourth quarter operating margin of 12.3% exceeded the Company's plan of
11.5% to 11.8%, primarily from the strong sales performance
-- Earnings per share for the fourth quarter of $2.00 was well above
guidance of $1.77 to $1.85
-- For the full year, sales reached a record $22.8 billion, with comparable
store sales growth of 5%, and earnings per share of $6.61
Jim Conroy, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to report that business momentum accelerated further in the fourth quarter, with both sales and earnings significantly surpassing our expectations. Throughout the holiday season, we delivered compelling merchandise assortments to our stores, benefited from higher customer engagement through our new marketing campaigns, and executed in--store initiatives that enhanced the customer experience."
Mr. Conroy continued, "For the full year, we delivered a solid performance. While the first half presented challenges amid a dynamic macroeconomic environment, including the impact of tariffs and broader consumer uncertainty, we remained focused on executing our strategy and managing the business with discipline. As the year progressed, underlying trends steadily improved, reflecting the strength of our merchandising efforts, enhanced marketing programs, and improved shopping experience. This momentum built throughout the back half of the year and culminated in a strong finish, positioning us well as we move into the year ahead."
Fourth Quarter Results
Sales increased 12% to $6.6 billion, up from $5.9 billion in 2024. Comparable store sales rose a robust 9% for the quarter on top of a solid 3% gain last year. Net income was $646 million versus $587 million last year, while earnings per share increased to $2.00, compared with $1.79 per share in the prior year period. Excluding a $0.14 per share gain from the sale of a packaway facility in 2024, earnings per share grew 21%.
Fiscal 2025 Results
Total sales increased to a record $22.8 billion, up 8% compared with last year's $21.1 billion. Comparable store sales grew 5% on top of a solid 3% gain in fiscal 2024. Net income for fiscal 2025 was $2.1 billion, similar to the prior year, while earnings per share were $6.61, up from $6.32 last year. Excluding the $0.14 per share gain from the facility sale in fiscal 2024 and the approximate $0.16 per share impact from tariff-related costs this year, earnings per share growth for the full year was 10%.
Update on Shareholder Payouts
During the recently completed fourth quarter, 1.5 million shares of common stock were repurchased for a total price of $262 million. For fiscal 2025, a total of 7.1 million shares were repurchased for an aggregate purchase price of $1.05 billion, completing the two-year stock repurchase program as planned.
The Company's Board of Directors recently approved a new two-year $2.55 billion stock repurchase authorization for fiscal 2026 and 2027. This new program represents a 21% increase over the recently completed repurchase of $2.1 billion of common stock during 2024 and 2025 combined. The Board also authorized a 10% increase in the Company's quarterly cash dividend to $0.445 per share. This higher quarterly dividend amount is payable on March 31, 2026 to stockholders of record as of March 13, 2026.
Mr. Conroy noted, "The increases to our stock repurchase and dividend programs reflect our continued commitment to return excess cash to our shareholders after funding growth and other capital needs of our business."
Fiscal 2026 Guidance
Looking ahead, Mr. Conroy said, "We ended the fourth quarter with solid momentum, and while early, we are encouraged by the very strong start to the Spring season. As such, for the 13 weeks ending May 2, 2026, comparable store sales are forecasted to increase 7% to 8%. If sales perform in line with this forecast, earnings per share are projected to be $1.60 to $1.67, compared to $1.47 for the first quarter ended May 3, 2025. For the 52 weeks ending January 30, 2027, we are projecting same store sales growth of 3% to 4% on top of a 5% gain in 2025. Based on these assumptions, fiscal 2026 earnings per share are projected to be in the range of $7.02 to $7.36, compared to $6.61 for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026."
Mr. Conroy concluded, "As we reflect on 2025, we are proud of the meaningful progress we made across the business, including advancing key initiatives to further drive topline growth, while improving our operational performance. These solid results are a testament to the dedication and hard work of our Associates. As we move into 2026, we are encouraged by the strength of our business and confident in the strategic priorities we have set for the year. With a healthy balance sheet, disciplined execution, and a clear focus on delivering compelling value to our customers, we believe we are well-positioned to capture additional market share and drive sustainable, profitable growth in the year ahead and beyond."
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern time to provide additional details concerning its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025 results, and management's outlook for fiscal 2026. A real-time audio webcast of the conference call will be available in the Investors section of the Company's website, located at www.rossstores.com. An audio playback will be available at 201-612-7415, PIN #13758467 until 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on March 10, 2026, as well as on the Company's website.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release and the related conference call remarks contain forward-looking statements regarding, without limitation, projected sales, costs, and earnings, planned new store growth, capital expenditures, and other matters. These forward-looking statements reflect our then-current beliefs, plans, and estimates with respect to future events and our projected financial performance and operations, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from management's current expectations. The words "plan," "expect," "target," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "forecast," "projected," "guidance," "outlook," "looking ahead," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Risk factors for Ross Dress for Less$(R)$ ("Ross") and dd's DISCOUNTS(R) include without limitation, risk from changes in the macroeconomic environment, government regulation or policy, geopolitical conditions, and financial and credit markets; continuing inflation, tariff increases (or threats of increases), potential supply chain disruptions, and other external events may have significant negative effects on our costs, and also on consumer confidence, shopping behavior, and spending, which may adversely affect our sales and profitability; changes and uncertainty in U.S. trade or tax policy regarding apparel, home-related merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell produced in other countries could adversely affect our business; competitive pressures and the pace of change in the retailing industry are high; unexpected changes in the level of consumer spending or preferences could adversely affect us; adverse or unseasonable weather may affect shopping patterns and consumer demand for seasonal apparel and other merchandise, and may result in temporary store closures and disruptions in deliveries of merchandise to our stores; we may experience volatility in sales and earnings; we depend on the market availability, quantity, and quality of attractive brand name merchandise at desirable discounts, and on the ability of our buyers to source and purchase merchandise to enable us to offer customers a wide assortment of merchandise at competitive prices; to achieve growth, we need to expand in existing markets and enter new geographic markets; our inability to continually attract, train, and retain associates with the retail talent necessary to execute our off-price retail strategies, as well as labor shortages, increased turnover, or increased labor costs could adversely affect our operating results; we need to obtain acceptable new store sites with favorable consumer demographics to achieve our planned growth; our ability to effectively advertise and market our business could impact customer traffic and demand for our merchandise; in order to achieve our planned gross margins, we must effectively manage our inventories, markdowns, and inventory shortage; information or data security breaches, including cyberattacks on our transaction processing and computer information systems (including malware intrusion, data exfiltration, identity theft, and other types of cybersecurity threats), could disrupt our operations, result in theft or unauthorized disclosure of our confidential and valuable business information or credit card and other customer information, and could adversely affect our business, disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, increase our costs, and create significant legal exposure; disruptions in our supply chain or in our information systems could impact our ability to process sales and to deliver product to our stores in a timely and cost-effective manner; we are subject to risks associated with importing and selling merchandise produced in other countries; damage to our corporate reputation or brands could adversely affect our sales and operating results; to support our continuing operations, our new store and distribution center growth plans and other capital investment plans, our stock repurchase program, our debt repayments, and
our quarterly dividends, we must maintain sufficient liquidity; a natural or man-made disaster in a region where we have a concentration of stores, offices, or a distribution center could harm our business; consumer problems or legal issues involving the quality, safety, or authenticity of products we sell could harm our reputation, result in lost sales, and/or increase our costs; an adverse outcome in various legal, regulatory, or tax matters could damage our reputation or brand and increase our costs. Other risk factors are set forth in our SEC filings including the Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 Form 8-Ks and 10-Qs on file with the SEC. The factors underlying our forecasts and plans are dynamic and subject to change. As a result, any forecasts or forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are given and do not necessarily reflect our outlook at any other point in time. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements.
About Ross Stores, Inc.
Ross Stores, Inc. is an S&P 500, Fortune 500, and Nasdaq 100 $(ROST)$ company headquartered in Dublin, California, with fiscal 2025 revenues of $22.8 billion. The Company operates Ross Dress for Less(R) ("Ross"), the largest off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States with 1,904 locations in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico at fiscal 2025 year-end. Ross offers first-quality, in-season, brand name and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire family at savings of 20% to 60% off department and specialty store regular prices every day. The Company also operates 363 dd's DISCOUNTS(R) stores in 22 states at fiscal 2025 year-end that feature a more moderately-priced assortment of first-quality, in-season apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire family at savings of 20% to 70% off moderate department and discount store regular prices every day. Additional information is available at www.rossstores.com.
Ross Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------
($000, except
stores and per
share data,
unaudited) January 31, 2026 February 1, 2025 January 31, 2026 February 1, 2025
------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------
Sales $ 6,635,490 $ 5,912,279 $ 22,750,559 $ 21,129,219
Costs and Expenses
Cost of goods sold 4,831,277 4,343,622 16,447,256 15,260,506
Selling, general
and
administrative 990,098 837,633 3,595,946 3,283,127
---------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------
Operating income 814,115 731,024 2,707,357 2,585,586
Interest income,
net (34,145) (39,741) (134,800) (171,568)
Earnings before
taxes 848,260 770,765 2,842,157 2,757,154
Provision for taxes
on earnings 202,395 183,981 697,113 666,424
---------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------------
Net earnings $ 645,865 $ 586,784 $ 2,145,044 $ 2,090,730
============================ ============================ ============================ ============================
Earnings per share
Basic $ 2.02 $ 1.80 $ 6.66 $ 6.36
Diluted $ 2.00 $ 1.79 $ 6.61 $ 6.32
Weighted-average
shares outstanding
(000)
Basic 319,733 326,014 322,220 328,593
Diluted 322,225 328,519 324,416 330,984
Store count at end
of period 2,267 2,186 2,267 2,186
Ross Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
($000, unaudited) January 31, 2026 February 1, 2025
-------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------
Assets
Current Assets
Cash and cash
equivalents $ 4,594,392 $ 4,730,744
Accounts receivable 181,301 144,482
Merchandise
inventory 2,630,970 2,444,513
Prepaid expenses
and other 233,434 218,957
------------------------- -------------------------
Total current
assets 7,640,097 7,538,696
Property and
equipment, net 4,088,760 3,792,403
Operating lease
assets 3,519,610 3,294,858
Other long-term
assets 300,270 279,375
------------------------- -------------------------
Total assets $ 15,548,737 $ 14,905,332
========================= =========================
Liabilities and
Stockholders'
Equity
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable $ 2,386,418 $ 2,126,317
Accrued expenses
and other 666,978 626,490
Current operating
lease liabilities 727,855 703,337
Accrued payroll and
benefits 484,407 462,284
Income taxes
payable 61,779 43,666
Current portion of
long-term debt 499,743 699,731
------------------------- -------------------------
Total current
liabilities 4,827,180 4,661,825
Long-term debt 1,017,863 1,515,080
Non-current
operating lease
liabilities 2,966,877 2,764,281
Other long-term
liabilities 287,947 267,911
Deferred income
taxes 261,427 187,040
Commitments and
contingencies
Stockholders' Equity 6,187,443 5,509,195
------------------------- -------------------------
Total liabilities
and stockholders'
equity $ 15,548,737 $ 14,905,332
========================= =========================
Ross Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Twelve Months Ended
------------------------------------------------------
($000, unaudited) January 31, 2026 February 1, 2025
-------------------- -------------------------- --------------------------
Cash Flows From
Operating
Activities
Net earnings $ 2,145,044 $ 2,090,730
Adjustments to
reconcile net
earnings to net cash
provided by
operating
activities:
Depreciation and
amortization 509,391 446,788
Stock-based
compensation 175,354 156,298
Gain on sale of
property -- (61,575)
Deferred income
taxes 74,387 (9,198)
Change in assets and
liabilities:
Merchandise
inventory (186,457) (252,293)
Other current
assets (47,382) (27,319)
Accounts payable 285,244 154,664
Other current
liabilities 50,784 (123,556)
Income taxes 17,161 (27,457)
Operating lease
assets and
liabilities, net 2,362 12,627
Other long-term,
net 995 (2,721)
-------------------------- --------------------------
Net cash provided
by operating
activities 3,026,883 2,356,988
-------------------------- --------------------------
Cash Flows From
Investing
Activities
Additions to
property and
equipment (819,275) (720,104)
Proceeds from sale
of property -- 82,642
-------------------------- --------------------------
Net cash used in
investing
activities (819,275) (637,462)
-------------------------- --------------------------
Cash Flows From
Financing
Activities
Issuance of common
stock related to
stock plans 25,330 25,085
Treasury stock
purchased (79,878) (86,092)
Repurchase of common
stock (1,050,021) (1,049,979)
Excise tax paid on
repurchase of
common stock (9,443) (8,798)
Dividends paid (528,085) (488,721)
Payment of long-term
debt (700,000) (250,000)
-------------------------- --------------------------
Net cash used in
financing
activities (2,342,097) (1,858,505)
-------------------------- --------------------------
Net decrease in
cash, cash
equivalents, and
restricted cash and
cash equivalents (134,489) (138,979)
Cash, cash
equivalents, and
restricted cash and
cash equivalents:
Beginning of period 4,796,462 4,935,441
-------------------------- --------------------------
End of period $ 4,661,973 $ 4,796,462
========================== ==========================
Reconciliations:
Cash and cash
equivalents $ 4,594,392 $ 4,730,744
Restricted cash and
cash equivalents
included in
prepaid expenses
and other 20,950 17,087
Restricted cash and
cash equivalents
included in other
long-term assets 46,631 48,631
-------------------------- --------------------------
Total cash, cash
equivalents, and
restricted cash and
cash equivalents: $ 4,661,973 $ 4,796,462
========================== ==========================
Supplemental Cash
Flow Disclosures
Interest paid $ 55,778 $ 80,316
Income taxes paid,
net $ 605,565 $ 703,079
Contacts: William W. Sheehan II Connie Kao
----------
Senior Vice President, Investor
Executive Vice President, Relations
Chief Financial Officer (925) 965-4668
(925) 965-4150 connie.kao@ros.com
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ross-stores-reports-fourth-quarter-earnings-well-above-guidance-302702970.html
SOURCE Ross Stores, Inc.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 03, 2026 16:01 ET (21:01 GMT)
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