Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.32 EPS

Posted by Stanley Muller on May 21st, 2026

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.32, FiscalAI reports. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.500-7.740 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 1.850-1.930 EPS.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3%

ROST stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $217.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,360,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,277. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.37. Ross Stores has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $231.16.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ross Stores

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,448 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 672 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Truist Financial started coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.56.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ross Stores

More Ross Stores News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ross Stores this week:

Positive Sentiment: Ross Stores reported Q1 EPS of $2.02, topping estimates of $1.70, and revenue of $6.01 billion versus expectations of $5.64 billion, highlighting a significant beat on both profit and sales. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: The company raised second-quarter 2026 EPS guidance to $1.85-$1.93, above the consensus estimate of $1.79, suggesting management sees continued momentum. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Ross Stores also lifted fiscal 2026 EPS guidance to $7.50-$7.74, ahead of the Street’s $7.31 estimate, reinforcing a favorable earnings outlook. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, which supports the investment case but is unlikely to be the main driver of the stock move. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary still flags tariff risks as a potential headwind, which could temper optimism if costs rise or margins come under pressure. Article Title

Ross Stores Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.