Raised Q4 comp guidance to 3-4% on strong momentum
Ross Stores reported a strong Q3 with a 7% comp, driven by a successful branded strategy, improved marketing, and broad-based strength. Management raised Q4 guidance and expressed confidence in the holiday season, noting that tariff-related costs will be negligible. Q3 comps accelerated to +7%, up from +2% in Q2, with broad-based strength across categories.
Buzzberg readRaised Q4 comp guidance to 3-4% on strong momentumRoss Stores reported a strong Q3 with a 7% comp, driven by a successful branded strategy, improved marketing, and broad-based strength. Management raised Q4 guidance and expressed confidence in the holiday season, noting that tariff-related costs will be negligible. Q3 comps accelerated to +7%, up from +2% in Q2, with broad-based strength across categories.Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Ross Stores reported a strong Q3 with a 7% comp, driven by a successful branded strategy, improved marketing, and broad-based strength. Management raised Q4 guidance and expressed confidence in the holiday season, noting that tariff-related costs will be negligible. Q3 comps accelerated to +7%, up from +2% in Q2, with broad-based strength across categories.
Ladies' business comped above the chain average, driven by the branded strategy.
Q4 EPS guidance raised to $1.77-$1.85 and comps guided to +3-4%.
Tariff impact expected to be negligible in Q4, and management sees pricing stability into 2026.
Revenue$5.6009B
reported
EPS$1.58
reported
Gross margin28%
reported
Op margin11.58%
reported
What changed this quarter
01
Guidance
Raised Q4 comp guidance to 3-4% on strong momentum
Guidance · revenue to 7%
02
Supply Chain
Tariff impact expected negligible in Q4 and into 2026
Q3 comps accelerated to +7%, up from +2% in Q2, with broad-based strength across categories.
03
Merchandising
Branded strategy drove ladies' comp above chain average
Ladies' business comped above the chain average, driven by the branded strategy.
04
Marketing
New marketing campaigns driving traffic and customer engagement
Q4 EPS guidance raised to $1.77-$1.85 and comps guided to +3-4%.
Demand & capex
Demand
Bookings & conversion
Q3 comp acceleration broad-based across categories and regions. Management expressed optimism about momentum, highlighted broad-based strength, and raised guidance, while acknowledging ongoing macro uncertainties.
Capex
Investment and capacity
Management discussed store refresh investments and the rollout of self-checkout, with 80 stores currently equipped, and noted the continued deleverage from a new distribution center opened earlier this year. They expect to expand these initiatives into 2026 and beyond.
Tone · Confident
Management expressed optimism about momentum, highlighted broad-based strength, and raised guidance, while acknowledging ongoing macro uncertainties.
Supply-chain alpha
A1
Tariff-related costs are now expected to be negligible in Q4, and management expects pricing stability into 2026 barring policy changes, indicating the supply chain has absorbed the shock.
“In addition, with some tariff stability, we've been able to normalize ticketing activities in our distribution centers. Going forward, it's too early to speak for 2026, but barring any meaningful changes in the tariff policy, we would expe…”
Ross is opening stores in New York (e.g., Brooklyn) and Puerto Rico, with new stores outperforming plan, indicating an aggressive push into new dense markets.
“we're really optimistic about a Northeast expansion. We feel good about the real estate landscape. We have a very healthy pipeline.”
Ross is rolling out self-checkout to high-volume stores after a long trial period, implying it has solved loss-prevention issues and is now confident in deployment.
“We now have a prototype that's worked well for us over the last year, and we're not only seeing lower shrink, but we're seeing high customer adoption rates We're seeing sales impacts in the stores that we put it in.”