Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) AI Stock Analysis

Ross Stores, Inc., and its subsidiaries operate off-price retail stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS banners. The stores offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions at significant discounts relative to traditional retail prices. Ross Dress for Less focuses primarily on middle-income households with items sourced from department and specialty stores, while dd's DISCOUNTS serves moderate-income households with merchandise from department and discount stores. Headquartered in Dublin, California, the company operates across 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, employing 111,000 people.

Annual revenue expanded from $18.92B in FY2022 to $22.75B in FY2026, delivering a 5-year revenue CAGR of 12.7%. During this span, annual net income rose from $1.72B in FY2022 to $2.15B in FY2026, while gross margin moved from 27.5% to 27.9%. Operating margin was 11.9% in FY2026 compared to 12.3% in FY2022. For the trailing twelve months ending July 31, 2026, revenue totaled $24.51B with an operating margin of 13.6% and diluted EPS of $8.27. In the latest quarter, quarterly revenue grew 13.3% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings increased 70.5% year-over-year.

As of July 31, 2026, Ross Stores held $4.29B in cash and short-term investments alongside total debt of $4.74B, resulting in net debt of $451.0M. The company recorded a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70 on shareholders' equity of $6.74B. In FY2026, operating cash flow reached $3.03B and free cash flow stood at $2.21B. Capital expenditures were $819.3M, while cash returns included $1.13B in share buybacks and $528.1M in dividends paid, contributing to a 5-year share count change of -9.3%.

At a last close of $236.89 on October 16, 2026, Ross Stores had a market cap of $75.68B and an enterprise value of $74.73B. The stock trades at a trailing P/E of 28.6x, below the median of its Nasdaq-100 Consumer Cyclical peers of 39.8x, but its forward P/E of 27.4x stands slightly above the peer median of 26.0x. Its EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 18.3x versus the peer median of 21.7x. Over the past year, the stock returned 53.9%, outperforming the S&P 500 return of 16.8%.

Ross Stores pays a quarterly dividend with an annualized forward payout of $1.78 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.75%. The dividend payout ratio stands at 22.7%. The company has paid dividends for 33 consecutive years, achieving a 5-year annualized dividend growth rate of 41.6%. Its last ex-dividend date was September 8, 2026.

Wall Street coverage consists of 12 Strong Buy, 2 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell, and 0 Strong Sell ratings. The mean price target is $268.61, representing an upside of 13.4% from the last close of $236.89. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2027, consensus estimates project EPS of $8.78 on revenue of $25.71B. The company beat EPS estimates in all 4 of the last 4 quarters, and its next earnings date is November 19, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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