Why Is Ross Stores (ROST) Stock Soaring Today

What Happened?

Shares of off-price retail company Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) jumped 7.1% in the afternoon session after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations. 

The company's sales grew 12.2% year-over-year to $6.64 billion, while its earnings per share reached $2.00, both beating analysts' forecasts. A key highlight was the robust 9% increase in same-store sales, a significant acceleration that pointed to strong customer demand. Ross Stores also demonstrated improved cash generation, with its free cash flow margin expanding to 13.9%. While its earnings guidance for the upcoming year was in line with expectations, investors focused on the strong top-line growth and profitability in the reported quarter.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Ross Stores’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 10 months ago when the stock dropped 12.8% on the news that the company reported an underwhelming first quarter of 2025 results: its revenue and EPS guidance for the next quarter fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Management also withdrew full-year guidance, reflecting the uncertainty around evolving trade policy and inflation, especially given that over half of its merchandise originates from China. On the other hand, Ross Stores beat analysts' revenue, EPS, and EBITDA expectations during the quarter. Still, this was a softer quarter.

Ross Stores is up 15.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $211.08 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Ross Stores’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,884.

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