Contacts: William W. Sheehan II Connie Kao
Contacts: William W. Sheehan II Connie Kao Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations Chief Financial Officer (925) 965-4668 (925) 965-4150 connie.kao@ros.com
Ross Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROST) today reported financial results for the 13‑week quarter ended August 1, 2026.
• Total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 13% versus last year, with comparable store sales up a very strong 10%, primarily driven by customer traffic.
• Second quarter operating profits were $1.1 billion, which includes approximately $253 million from IEEPA tariff refunds. Operating margin increased 610 basis points, including 405 basis points from the tariff refunds. Excluding this benefit, operating margin increased by 205 basis points, well above the Company’s plan for an increase of 130 to 150 basis points.
• Earnings per share for the second quarter were $2.66, which includes an approximate $0.60 per share benefit from the tariff refunds, well above our guidance of $1.85 to $1.93.
• Opened 47 new stores during the quarter, including 35 Ross and 12 dd’s DISCOUNTS. Increasing 2026 store opening plans to 115 new locations.
Jim Conroy, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We achieved stellar sales and earnings growth in the second quarter. I am incredibly proud of our teams across the Company, whose dedication and strong execution drove these outstanding results. Our performance was fueled by our compelling merchandise offerings, engaging marketing initiatives, and continued enhancements to the in-store experience. We were pleased to see strength throughout the quarter, with comparable store sales growth once again primarily driven by customer traffic. Importantly, that growth was supported by both an increase in new customers and higher engagement from existing customers. These trends
5130 Hacienda Drive, Dublin, CA 94568 (925) 965-4400 reinforce our belief that the actions we are taking are not only driving the current business performance but that we can continue to build on our early successes.”
Sales for the second quarter increased 13% to $6.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2025. Comparable store sales rose a very strong 10% for the quarter on top of a 2% gain last year. Net income was $851 million versus $508 million last year, while earnings per share were $2.66 compared to $1.56 per share in the prior year period.
For the first six months of fiscal 2026, sales increased a robust 17% to $12.3 billion, up from $10.5 billion in 2025. Comparable store sales for the six-month period were up 13%. Net income was $1.5 billion versus $987 million last year, while earnings per share were $4.69 compared to $3.03 per share in the prior year period.
Both the second quarter and first six months 2026 results include about $253 million in IEEPA tariff refunds, benefiting earnings per share by approximately $0.60.
During the 2026 second quarter, a total of 1.4 million shares of common stock were repurchased for an aggregate price of $319 million under the Company’s two- year $2.55 billion authorization approved by its Board of Directors in March 2026. The Company remains on track to buy back a total of $1.275 billion in common stock during fiscal 2026.
Mr. Conroy commented, “Looking ahead, we exited the second quarter with building momentum and are excited for the plans we have in place entering the Fall season. Despite facing significantly more challenging year-over-year comparisons in the back half, we are raising our outlook for both the third and fourth quarters. Comparable store sales are now expected to increase 6% to 7% in the third quarter and 4% to 5% in the fourth quarter. If the second half of 2026 performs in line with these sales projections, our earnings per share ranges for the third and fourth quarters are projected to be $1.75 to $1.83 and $2.17 to $2.26, respectively.” 2 Mr. Conroy continued, “Based on our strong first half results and our updated second half guidance, we are increasing our 2026 fiscal year earnings per share projections to be in the range of $8.61 to $8.77, which again includes an approximate $0.60 earnings per share benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds recognized in the second quarter. From a store growth perspective, we continue to be encouraged by the success of our expansion strategy across both new and existing markets. As a result, we are increasing our 2026 new store opening plan to 115 locations, consisting of approximately 90 Ross Dress for Less and 25 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores.”
Mr. Conroy concluded, “The year is off to a very strong start with the entire organization executing at a high level. As our efforts to improve topline growth continue, we remain focused on disciplined, consistent execution across the business. Moving forward, we believe we are well positioned to capture additional market share and drive profitable growth over the long term.” 3 The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern time to provide additional details concerning its second quarter results and management’s outlook for the second half and fiscal year 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 #13762049 until 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on August 27, 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, liquidity 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, operations, and competitive position, 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, risk from adverse changes in the macroeconomic environment, government regulations and policies, geopolitical conditions and conflicts, and financial and credit markets; increased costs of fuel and other consumer necessities, continuing inflation and other external economic trends and events may have significant negative effects on consumer confidence, shopping behavior, and spending, and also on our costs; tariff increases (or threats of increases) and other changes and uncertainty in U.S. trade or tax policy regarding apparel, home-related merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell that are produced in other countries; competitive pressures and the pace of change in the retailing industry; unexpected changes in the level of consumer spending or preferences; 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; our dependence 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; our need to expand in existing markets and enter new geographic markets in order to achieve growth; our need to obtain acceptable new store sites with favorable consumer demographics in order to achieve growth; our need 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; our need to effectively manage our inventories, markdowns, and inventory shortage in order to achieve our planned gross margins; 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 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; risks associated with importing and selling merchandise produced in other countries; damage to our corporate reputation or brands; a natural or man-made disaster in a region where we have a concentration of stores, offices, or a distribution center; 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 2025 and fiscal 2026 Form 8-Ks and 10-Q 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. 4
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. Currently, the Company operates Ross Dress for Less ® ("Ross"), the largest off- price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States with 1,952 locations in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 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 376 dd's DISCOUNTS ® stores in 23 states 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 . 5
Begin… of 4,661… 4,796… period End of $ 4,356… $ 3,913… period Reco… Cash and $ 4,288… $ 3,847… cash equiva… Restri… cash and cash equiva… includ… 21,328 17,232 in prepaid expens… and other Restri… cash and cash equiva… 47,472 49,045 includ… in other long-t… assets Total cash, cash equi… and rest… $ 4,356… $ 3,913… cash and cash equi…
Full text with the tables
Exhibit 99.1
_______________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: William W. Sheehan II Connie Kao
Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Investor
Relations
Chief Financial Officer (925) 965-4668
(925) 965-4150 connie.kao@ros.com
Ross Stores Reports Strong Second Quarter Sales and Earnings Results
Raises Second Half and Fiscal 2026 Outlook
Dublin, California, August 20, 2026 --
Ross Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROST) today reported financial results for the
13‑week quarter ended August 1, 2026.
Highlights:
• Total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 13% versus last
year, with comparable store sales up a very strong 10%, primarily driven by
customer traffic.
• Second quarter operating profits were $1.1 billion, which includes
approximately $253 million from IEEPA tariff refunds. Operating margin increased
610 basis points, including 405 basis points from the tariff refunds. Excluding
this benefit, operating margin increased by 205 basis points, well above the
Company’s plan for an increase of 130 to 150 basis points.
• Earnings per share for the second quarter were $2.66, which includes an
approximate $0.60 per share benefit from the tariff refunds, well above our
guidance of $1.85 to $1.93.
• Opened 47 new stores during the quarter, including 35 Ross and 12 dd’s
DISCOUNTS. Increasing 2026 store opening plans to 115 new locations.
Jim Conroy, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We achieved stellar sales and
earnings growth in the second quarter. I am incredibly proud of our teams across
the Company, whose dedication and strong execution drove these outstanding
results. Our performance was fueled by our compelling merchandise offerings,
engaging marketing initiatives, and continued enhancements to the in-store
experience. We were pleased to see strength throughout the quarter, with
comparable store sales growth once again primarily driven by customer traffic.
Importantly, that growth was supported by both an increase in new customers and
higher engagement from existing customers. These trends
ROSS STORES, INC.
5130 Hacienda Drive, Dublin, CA 94568 (925) 965-4400
reinforce our belief that the actions we are taking are not only driving the
current business performance but that we can continue to build on our early
successes.”
Second Quarter and First Six Months Results
Sales for the second quarter increased 13% to $6.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion
in 2025. Comparable store sales rose a very strong 10% for the quarter on top of
a 2% gain last year. Net income was $851 million versus $508 million last year,
while earnings per share were $2.66 compared to $1.56 per share in the prior
year period.
For the first six months of fiscal 2026, sales increased a robust 17% to $12.3
billion, up from $10.5 billion in 2025. Comparable store sales for the six-month
period were up 13%. Net income was $1.5 billion versus $987 million last year,
while earnings per share were $4.69 compared to $3.03 per share in the prior
year period.
Both the second quarter and first six months 2026 results include about $253
million in IEEPA tariff refunds, benefiting earnings per share by approximately
$0.60.
Update on Shareholder Payouts
During the 2026 second quarter, a total of 1.4 million shares of common stock
were repurchased for an aggregate price of $319 million under the Company’s two-
year $2.55 billion authorization approved by its Board of Directors in March
2026. The Company remains on track to buy back a total of $1.275 billion in
common stock during fiscal 2026.
Fiscal 2026 Guidance
Mr. Conroy commented, “Looking ahead, we exited the second quarter with building
momentum and are excited for the plans we have in place entering the Fall
season. Despite facing significantly more challenging year-over-year comparisons
in the back half, we are raising our outlook for both the third and fourth
quarters. Comparable store sales are now expected to increase 6% to 7% in the
third quarter and 4% to 5% in the fourth quarter. If the second half of 2026
performs in line with these sales projections, our earnings per share ranges for
the third and fourth quarters are projected to be $1.75 to $1.83 and $2.17 to
$2.26, respectively.”
2
Mr. Conroy continued, “Based on our strong first half results and our updated
second half guidance, we are increasing our 2026 fiscal year earnings per share
projections to be in the range of $8.61 to $8.77, which again includes an
approximate $0.60 earnings per share benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds
recognized in the second quarter. From a store growth perspective, we continue
to be encouraged by the success of our expansion strategy across both new and
existing markets. As a result, we are increasing our 2026 new store opening plan
to 115 locations, consisting of approximately 90 Ross Dress for Less and 25 dd’s
DISCOUNTS stores.”
Mr. Conroy concluded, “The year is off to a very strong start with the entire
organization executing at a high level. As our efforts to improve topline growth
continue, we remain focused on disciplined, consistent execution across the
business. Moving forward, we believe we are well positioned to capture
additional market share and drive profitable growth over the long term.”
3
The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 4:15
p.m. Eastern time to provide additional details concerning its second quarter
results and management’s outlook for the second half and fiscal year 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 #13762049 until 8:00 p.m.
Eastern time on August 27, 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, liquidity 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, operations, and competitive
position, 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, risk from
adverse changes in the macroeconomic environment, government regulations and
policies, geopolitical conditions and conflicts, and financial and credit
markets; increased costs of fuel and other consumer necessities, continuing
inflation and other external economic trends and events may have significant
negative effects on consumer confidence, shopping behavior, and spending, and
also on our costs; tariff increases (or threats of increases) and other changes
and uncertainty in U.S. trade or tax policy regarding apparel, home-related
merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell that are produced in other
countries; competitive pressures and the pace of change in the retailing
industry; unexpected changes in the level of consumer spending or preferences;
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; our
dependence 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; our need to expand in existing
markets and enter new geographic markets in order to achieve growth; our need to
obtain acceptable new store sites with favorable consumer demographics in order
to achieve growth; our need 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; our need
to effectively manage our inventories, markdowns, and inventory shortage in
order to achieve our planned gross margins; 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
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; risks associated
with importing and selling merchandise produced in other countries; damage to
our corporate reputation or brands; a natural or man-made disaster in a region
where we have a concentration of stores, offices, or a distribution center;
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 2025
and fiscal 2026 Form 8-Ks and 10-Q 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.
4
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.
Currently, the Company operates Ross Dress for Less ® ("Ross"), the largest off-
price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States with 1,952 locations
in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 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 376 dd's DISCOUNTS ® stores in 23 states 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 .
5
R…
S…
I…
C…
C…
S…
of
E…
(…
e…
s…
a…
p…
s… Th… Au… Au… Six Aug… Aug…
d… Mo… 1, 2, Mon… 1, 2,
u… En… 20… 20… End… 2026 2025
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
S… $ 6,… $ 5,… $ 12… $ 10…
C…
a…
E…
Co…
of 4,… 4,… 8,… 7,…
go…
so…
Se…
ge… 1,… 88… 1,… 1,…
and
ad…
O… 1,… 63… 1,… 1,…
i…
I…
i… -3… -3… -6… -6…
n…
E…
b… 1,… 67… 1,… 1,…
t…
P…
f…
t… 28… 16… 47… 32…
on
e…
N… $ 85… $ 50… $ 1,… $ 98…
e…
E…
p…
s…
Ba… $ 2.… $ 1.… $ 4.… $ 3.…
Di… $ 2.… $ 1.… $ 4.… $ 3.…
W…
s…
o…
(…
Ba… 31… 32… 31… 32…
Di… 31… 32… 32… 32…
S…
c…
at 2,… 2,… 2,3… 2,2…
e…
of
p…
6
Ross
Store…
Inc.
Conde…
Conso…
Balan…
Sheets
($000,
unaud…
Assets
Curre… August August
Assets 1, 2026 2, 2025
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Cash
and $ 4,288,1… $ 3,847,0…
cash
equiva…
Accoun… 248,140 210,520
receiv…
Mercha… 3,087,3… 2,608,4…
invent…
Prepaid
expens… 252,726 259,815
and
other
Total
current 7,876,3… 6,925,8…
assets
Prope…
and 4,257,8… 3,906,3…
equip…
net
Opera…
lease 3,545,3… 3,374,5…
assets
Other
long-… 302,763 288,761
assets
Total $ 15,982,… $ 14,495,…
assets
Liabi…
and
Stock…
Equity
Curre…
Liabi…
Accoun… $ 2,621,7… $ 2,205,6…
payable
Accrued
expens… 744,284 655,218
and
other
Current
operat… 752,302 716,162
lease
liabil…
Accrued
payroll 440,837 315,893
and
benefi…
Income
taxes 84,916 —
payable
Current
portion
of 241,459 499,122
long-t…
debt
Total
current 4,885,5… 4,392,0…
liabil…
Long-… 777,053 1,017,2…
debt
Non-c…
opera… 2,968,3… 2,835,4…
lease
liabi…
Other
long-… 295,611 279,258
liabi…
Defer…
income 312,557 238,985
taxes
Commi…
and
conti…
Stock… 6,743,1… 5,732,5…
Equity
Total
liabi…
and $ 15,982,… $ 14,495,…
stock…
equity
7
Ross
Stor…
Inc.
Cond…
Cons…
Stat…
of
Cash
Flows
($00…
unau…
Cash
Flows
From Six
Oper… Months August August
Acti… Ended 1, 2026 2, 2025
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Net $ 1,501… $ 987,2…
earn…
Adju…
to
reco…
net
earn…
to
net
cash
prov…
by
oper…
acti…
Deprec…
and 272,7… 242,3…
amorti…
Stock-… 106,3… 83,239
compen…
Deferr…
income 51,130 51,945
taxes
Change
in
assets
and
liabil…
Merch… -456,… -163,…
inven…
Other
curre… -85,7… -92,0…
assets
Accou… 226,3… 101,9…
payab…
Other
curre… 65,676 -83,1…
liabi…
Income 29,788 -54,1…
taxes
Opera…
lease
assets 166 4,301
and
liabi…
net
Other
long-… 399 369
net
Net
cash
provi… 1,711… 1,078…
by
opera…
activ…
Cash
Flows
From
Inve…
Acti…
Addi…
to
prop… -460,… -409,…
and
equi…
Net
cash
used -460,… -409,…
in
inves…
activ…
Cash
Flows
From
Fina…
Acti…
Issu…
of
comm…
stock 13,183 12,380
rela…
to
stock
plans
Trea…
stock -136,… -64,4…
purc…
Repu…
of -637,… -525,…
comm…
stock
Exci…
tax
paid
on -9,496 -9,443
repu…
of
comm…
stock
Divi… -286,… -265,…
paid
Paym…
of -500,… -700,…
long…
debt
Net
cash
used -1,55… -1,55…
in
finan…
activ…
Net
decr…
in
cash,
cash
equi… -305,… -883,…
and
rest…
cash
and
cash
equi…
Cash,
cash
equi…
and
rest…
cash
and
cash
equi…
Begin…
of 4,661… 4,796…
period
End of $ 4,356… $ 3,913…
period
Reco…
Cash
and $ 4,288… $ 3,847…
cash
equiva…
Restri…
cash
and
cash
equiva…
includ… 21,328 17,232
in
prepaid
expens…
and
other
Restri…
cash
and
cash
equiva… 47,472 49,045
includ…
in
other
long-t…
assets
Total
cash,
cash
equi…
and
rest… $ 4,356… $ 3,913…
cash
and
cash
equi…
Supp…
Cash
Flow
Disc…
Inte… $ 19,839 $ 35,939
paid
Inco…
taxes $ 390,0… $ 326,4…
paid,
net
8