Ross Stores Reports Q2 Earnings Beat

Ross Stores, Inc. ROST reported a second-quarter earnings beat after Thursday's closing bell.

Earnings came in at $1.14, beating estimates by 2 cents. Sales came in at $3.98 billion, beating estimates by $20 million.

"We delivered respectable gains in both sales and earnings for the second quarter," said CEO Barbara Rentler. "While our Ladies business continued to trail the chain, trends in this important area showed some improvement during the period. Operating margin of 13.7% was better than expected, mainly due to favorable timing of expenses that are expected to reverse in the second half. During the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2019, we repurchased 3.2 million and 6.6 million shares of common stock, respectively, for an aggregate price of $320 million in the quarter and $640 million year-to-date. As planned, we expect to buy back a total of $1.275 billion in common stock during fiscal 2019."

Highlights

• Sales grew 6% year-over-year
• Comps up 3%

Ross Stores shares closed higher by 1.6% at $107.40. The stock initially sold off about 2% in after-hours trading.