Ross Stores Reports Third Quarter Earnings, Updates Fourth Quarter Guidance
For the nine months ended November 2, 2024, earnings per share were
Barbara Rentler, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are disappointed with our third quarter sales results as business slowed from the solid gains we reported in the first half of 2024. Although our low-to-moderate income customers continue to face persistently high costs on necessities pressuring their discretionary spending, we believe we should have better executed some of our merchandising initiatives. In addition, a combination of severe weather during the quarter from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with unseasonably warm temperatures, also negatively impacted our results.”
Ms. Rentler continued, “Despite the below-plan sales results, earnings were ahead of our expectations. Operating margin for the quarter was
Ms. Rentler added, “During the third quarter, we repurchased 1.8 million shares of common stock for an aggregate price of
Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2024 Guidance
Looking ahead, Ms. Rentler said, “For the 13 weeks ending February 1, 2025, we continue to project comparable store sales to increase
Ms. Rentler concluded, “We remain confident that our ongoing focus and commitment to delivering the most compelling values possible will enable us to maximize our potential for profitable growth now and in the future.”
The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern time to provide additional details concerning its third quarter results and management’s outlook for the remainder of the year. 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 #13749868 until 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on November 29, 2024, 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® (“Ross”) and dd’s DISCOUNTS® include without limitation, uncertainties arising from the macroeconomic environment, including inflation and the price of necessities, high interest rates, housing costs, energy and fuel costs, financial and credit market conditions, recession concerns, geopolitical conditions, and public health and public safety issues that affect consumer confidence, consumer disposable income, and shopping behavior, as well as our costs; unexpected changes in the level of consumer spending on, or preferences for, apparel and home-related merchandise, which could adversely affect us; competitive pressures in the apparel and home-related merchandise retailing industry; our need to effectively manage our inventories, markdowns, and inventory shortage in order to achieve our planned gross margins; changes in
About Ross Stores, Inc.
Ross Stores, Inc. is an S&P 500, Fortune 500, and Nasdaq 100 (ROST) company headquartered in
Ross Stores, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings | ||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
( |
November 2, 2024 |
October 28, 2023 |
November 2, 2024 |
October 28, 2023 |
||||||||||||
Sales | $ |
5,071,354 |
|
$ |
4,924,849 |
|
$ |
15,216,940 |
|
$ |
14,354,440 |
|
||||
Costs and Expenses | ||||||||||||||||
Cost of goods sold |
|
3,634,283 |
|
|
3,564,268 |
|
|
10,916,884 |
|
|
10,426,241 |
|
||||
Selling, general and administrative |
|
832,855 |
|
|
810,470 |
|
|
2,445,494 |
|
|
2,364,590 |
|
||||
Interest income, net |
|
(42,527 |
) |
|
(43,319 |
) |
|
(131,827 |
) |
|
(111,930 |
) |
||||
Total costs and expenses |
|
4,424,611 |
|
|
4,331,419 |
|
|
13,230,551 |
|
|
12,678,901 |
|
||||
Earnings before taxes |
|
646,743 |
|
|
593,430 |
|
|
1,986,389 |
|
|
1,675,539 |
|
||||
Provision for taxes on earnings |
|
157,935 |
|
|
146,103 |
|
|
482,443 |
|
|
410,702 |
|
||||
Net earnings | $ |
488,808 |
|
$ |
447,327 |
|
$ |
1,503,946 |
|
$ |
1,264,837 |
|
||||
Earnings per share | ||||||||||||||||
Basic | $ |
1.49 |
|
$ |
1.34 |
|
$ |
4.56 |
|
$ |
3.76 |
|
||||
Diluted | $ |
1.48 |
|
$ |
1.33 |
|
$ |
4.53 |
|
$ |
3.74 |
|
||||
Weighted-average shares outstanding (000) | ||||||||||||||||
Basic |
|
327,710 |
|
|
334,282 |
|
|
329,453 |
|
|
336,187 |
|
||||
Diluted |
|
329,937 |
|
|
336,261 |
|
|
331,728 |
|
|
338,107 |
|
||||
Store count at end of period |
|
2,192 |
|
|
2,112 |
|
|
2,192 |
|
|
2,112 |
|
||||
Ross Stores, Inc. | ||||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||||||
( |
November 2, 2024 | October 28, 2023 | ||||
Assets | ||||||
Current Assets | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ |
4,349,262 |
$ |
4,499,497 |
||
Accounts receivable |
|
176,218 |
|
171,915 |
||
Merchandise inventory |
|
2,859,106 |
|
2,613,808 |
||
Prepaid expenses and other |
|
241,703 |
|
206,725 |
||
Total current assets |
|
7,626,289 |
|
7,491,945 |
||
Property and equipment, net |
|
3,657,679 |
|
3,397,519 |
||
Operating lease assets |
|
3,349,427 |
|
3,160,017 |
||
Other long-term assets |
|
271,791 |
|
221,139 |
||
Total assets | $ |
14,905,186 |
$ |
14,270,620 |
||
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||
Current Liabilities | ||||||
Accounts payable | $ |
2,346,479 |
$ |
2,280,278 |
||
Accrued expenses and other |
|
637,332 |
|
665,279 |
||
Current operating lease liabilities |
|
699,200 |
|
680,088 |
||
Accrued payroll and benefits |
|
459,094 |
|
509,484 |
||
Income taxes payable |
|
2,186 |
|
20,960 |
||
Current portion of long-term debt |
|
699,407 |
|
249,598 |
||
Total current liabilities |
|
4,843,698 |
|
4,405,687 |
||
Long-term debt |
|
1,514,452 |
|
2,210,073 |
||
Non-current operating lease liabilities |
|
2,821,417 |
|
2,640,068 |
||
Other long-term liabilities |
|
265,673 |
|
218,970 |
||
Deferred income taxes |
|
196,583 |
|
212,866 |
||
Commitments and contingencies | ||||||
Stockholders’ Equity |
|
5,263,363 |
|
4,582,956 |
||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ |
14,905,186 |
$ |
14,270,620 |
||
Ross Stores, Inc. | ||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | ||||||||
Nine Months Ended | ||||||||
( |
November 2, 2024 | October 28, 2023 | ||||||
Cash Flows From Operating Activities | ||||||||
Net earnings | $ |
1,503,946 |
|
$ |
1,264,837 |
|
||
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities: | ||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
|
329,584 |
|
|
300,366 |
|
||
Stock-based compensation |
|
117,212 |
|
|
111,369 |
|
||
Deferred income taxes |
|
345 |
|
|
(4,193 |
) |
||
Change in assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Merchandise inventory |
|
(666,886 |
) |
|
(590,313 |
) |
||
Other current assets |
|
(62,793 |
) |
|
(48,803 |
) |
||
Accounts payable |
|
390,398 |
|
|
259,105 |
|
||
Other current liabilities |
|
(83,300 |
) |
|
284,989 |
|
||
Income taxes |
|
(64,016 |
) |
|
(25,524 |
) |
||
Operating lease assets and liabilities, net |
|
11,057 |
|
|
8,336 |
|
||
Other long-term, net |
|
(1,116 |
) |
|
5,566 |
|
||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
1,474,431 |
|
|
1,565,735 |
|
||
Cash Flows From Investing Activities | ||||||||
Additions to property and equipment |
|
(514,122 |
) |
|
(540,458 |
) |
||
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
(514,122 |
) |
|
(540,458 |
) |
||
Cash Flows From Financing Activities | ||||||||
Issuance of common stock related to stock plans |
|
18,769 |
|
|
18,590 |
|
||
Treasury stock purchased |
|
(86,092 |
) |
|
(48,568 |
) |
||
Repurchase of common stock |
|
(787,479 |
) |
|
(703,400 |
) |
||
Excise tax paid on repurchase of common stock |
|
(8,798 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Dividends paid |
|
(367,492 |
) |
|
(342,132 |
) |
||
Payment of long-term debt |
|
(250,000 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Net cash used in financing activities |
|
(1,481,092 |
) |
|
(1,075,510 |
) |
||
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents |
|
(520,783 |
) |
|
(50,233 |
) |
||
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents: | ||||||||
Beginning of period |
|
4,935,441 |
|
|
4,612,241 |
|
||
End of period | $ |
4,414,658 |
|
$ |
4,562,008 |
|
||
Reconciliations: | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ |
4,349,262 |
|
$ |
4,499,497 |
|
||
Restricted cash and cash equivalents included in prepaid expenses and other |
|
15,041 |
|
|
13,127 |
|
||
Restricted cash and cash equivalents included in other long-term assets |
|
50,355 |
|
|
49,384 |
|
||
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents: | $ |
4,414,658 |
|
$ |
4,562,008 |
|
||
Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures | ||||||||
Interest paid | $ |
80,316 |
|
$ |
80,316 |
|
||
Income taxes paid, net | $ |
546,113 |
|
$ |
440,419 |
|
||
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241121923724/en/
Adam Orvos
Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer
(925) 965-4550
Connie Kao
Group Vice President, Investor Relations
(925) 965-4668
connie.kao@ros.com
Source: Ross Stores, Inc.