Ross Stores, Inc. · ROST · FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q1 2026

Ross Stores Q4 sales rise 12%, comps +9%; FY26 EPS outlook $7.02-$7.36

Ross Stores reported a strong fiscal Q4, with total sales up 12% to $6.6 billion and comparable-store sales up 9%, driven by higher transaction counts, successful holiday marketing and modest margin expansion. The company beat consensus EPS ($2.00 vs $1.90) and revenue ($6.64B vs $6.41B). Management guided to FY2026 sales growth of 5-7%, EPS of $7.02-$7.36 and operating margins of 12.0-12.3%, and laid out a 110-store expansion. The tone is confident but organic, with no major planned increases in marketing or store labor spend, while tariff pressure, higher incentive costs and weather effects remain the watch items.

Reported After market closeNASDAQConsumer Cyclical $75.51B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $2.00 Consensus $1.90
EPS surprise +5.3% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $6.64B Consensus $6.41B
Revenue surprise +3.4% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move +8.0% Event window
SPY move +0.7% Same window
Abnormal move +7.3% Stock minus SPY
Volume 3.1× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +3.0% Up to 20 sessions
ROSTSPY benchmark

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What changed

Q4 came in above expectations: EPS of $2.00 topped the $1.90 estimate (beat of 5.3%) and revenue of $6.64B beat the $6.41B consensus (beat of 3.4%). The market reacted strongly, with ROST up about 8.0% versus SPY's +0.7% over the event window. Guidance sentiment was maintained but the FY2026 outlook was lifted to reflect higher sales, EPS and operating margin expectations, and management confirmed 110 new stores for the year.

Guidance delta

Management maintained its guidance tone but lifted expectations for fiscal 2026, guiding to higher sales, EPS and operating margin. The call cited FY2026 sales growth of 5-7%, EPS of $7.02-$7.36 and operating margins of 12.0-12.3% as it keeps inventory and cost discipline in place.

Key takeaways

  • Q4 total sales grew 12% to $6.6 billion with comparable-store sales up 9%, ahead of expectations.
  • Reported EPS of $2.00 beat the $1.90 estimate; revenue of $6.64B topped the $6.41B consensus.
  • Store base reached 2,267 locations; FY2026 plan adds 110 stores (85 Ross, 25 dd's DISCOUNTS) for roughly 5% growth.
  • FY2026 guidance reflects higher sales, EPS and operating margin expectations.
  • Inventory rose 8% but remains well-positioned, supporting merchandising and marketing momentum.

Management priorities

  • Open 85 new Ross and 25 new dd's DISCOUNTS stores in FY2026
  • Complete a second distribution center and begin build-out of an additional DC
  • Expand the self-checkout pilot to more locations
  • Continue modest experimentation with marketing and store labor spend
  • Maintain inventory positioning to support sales momentum

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
ROST EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 2 future estimate-only quarters. Q3 '24 estimate $1.22 Q3 '24 actual $1.33, beat Q4 '24 estimate $1.65 Q4 '24 actual $1.82, beat Q1 '25 estimate $1.35 Q1 '25 actual $1.46, beat Q2 '25 estimate $1.50 Q2 '25 actual $1.59, beat Q2 '26 estimate $1.53 Q2 '26 actual $1.56, beat Q3 '26 estimate $1.42 Q3 '26 actual $1.58, beat Q4 '26 estimate $1.90 Q4 '26 actual $2.00, beat Q1 '27 estimate $1.73 Q1 '27 actual $2.02, beat Q2 '27 estimate $1.95 Q2 '27 actual $2.66, beat Q3 '27 estimate $1.75 Q4 '27 estimate $2.14
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy47 ratings
Bullish3063.8%
Neutral1327.7%
Bearish48.5%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$236.12Current
$99Low
$200.29Average
$310High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 26, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainAug 21, 2026
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainAug 21, 2026
Truist Securities Buy BuyMaintainAug 21, 2026
Morgan Stanley Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainAug 21, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainAug 21, 2026
Show 42 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $236.12. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$294$240.15 +24.5%Aug 21, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$285$238.34 +20.7%Aug 21, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$290$238.82 +22.8%Aug 21, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$234$238.36 -0.9%Aug 21, 2026
BernsteinAneesha Sherman$240$228.99 +1.6%Aug 21, 2026
See 98 more

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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Ross Stores, Inc., through its various subsidiaries, manages a chain of off-price retail establishments focusing on apparel and home goods. These stores operate under two main brand names: Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS. Their product selection primarily includes clothing, accessories, footwear, and household decor. The Ross Dress for Less outlets primarily serve middle-income households, offering merchandise at prices considerably lower than traditional department and specialty stores. Conversely, dd's DISCOUNTS stores cater to moderate-income households, providing products at prices below those typically found in department and discount stores. As of July 5, 2022, the company had approximately 1,950 stores operating across 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Ross Stores, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is based in Dublin, California.

Historical context

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-25T23:31:07.465503+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-25T23:31:07.462782+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-25. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.