ROST changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Price
- $237.00 → $241.27(+1.8%)
- Next earnings is estimate
- Yes → No
- Thesis
- Ross trades at a premium because investors pay for its fast growth in customer traffic, its store growth and its net cash. In Q2 2026, sales rose 13% to $6,265 million and comparable store sales rose 10%, mainly from more customer traffic. EPS was $2.66, which includes about $0.60 from refunds of IEEPA tariffs that will not come again. The company raised its fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $8.61 to $8.77, against $6.61 for fiscal 2025, and it plans 115 new stores in 2026. But the second half of 2026 has much harder comparisons, and guidance for comparable store sales growth falls to 6% to 7% in Q3 and 4% to 5% in Q4. For the premium to be earned, three things must be true. Comparable store sales must keep growing near the guidance after the strong first half. The operating margin without the tariff refunds must keep rising. New stores in new markets must give good returns. The Q3 2026 removed: report, expected in mid-November added: report on November 19, 2026, and the fiscal 2027 guidance, expected in early March 2027, are the next tests. Only several years of growth in sales and margins can earn the premium.
- Checkpoints
- Aug 20, 2026: Q2 2026 results: customer traffic. Passed. Watch: Comparable store sales growth above the plan, driven by traffic, passes; a slowdown fails. Outcome: Comparable store sales rose 10%, mainly from customer traffic, and the company raised its fiscal 2026 EPS guidance. Nov 19, removed: 2026 (estimate): added: 2026: Q3 2026 results. Pending. Watch: Comparable store sales growth of 6% to 7% and EPS of $1.75 to $1.83 or more pass; lower results fail. Mar 2027 (estimate): Fiscal 2026 results and fiscal 2027 guidance. Pending. Watch: Guidance for EPS growth over fiscal 2026 without the tariff refunds passes; flat or lower EPS guidance fails.
- Recent events
- Sep 17, 2026: Ross said that Shelley H. Bransten and Christian B. Johnson join the Board on October 1, 2026, and that Sharon D. Garrett, a director since 2000, retires from the Board. Aug 20, 2026: Ross reported Q2 2026 results. Sales rose 13% to $6,265 million, comparable store sales rose 10% and EPS rose to $2.66 from $1.56. EPS includes about $0.60 from about $253 million of IEEPA tariff refunds. The company raised its fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $8.61 to $8.77 and its new store plan to 115 locations. added: May 21, 2026: Ross reported Q1 2026 results. Sales rose 21% to $6.0 billion, comparable store sales rose 17%, mainly from more customer traffic, and EPS rose 37% to $2.02, above the guidance of $1.60 to $1.67. The operating margin was 13.4%. The company raised its fiscal 2026 guidance for comparable store sales growth to 6% to 7% and for EPS to $7.50 to $7.74. Mar 3, 2026: Ross reported fiscal 2025 results. Sales rose 8% to $22.8 billion, comparable store sales rose 5% and EPS rose to $6.61 from $6.32. The Board approved a two-year share repurchase program of $2.55 billion and raised the quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.445 per share.