Ross Stores Posts 10% Comp Growth, Pulls Ahead of TJX in Off-Price Race

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8.22.2026

Quick Facts

Ross reported Q2 fiscal 2026 comparable store sales up 10%, its second straight quarter of double-digit growth, while TJX’s Marmaxx division posted just 1% comp growth.
Net earnings rose 68% to $851.3 million, with diluted EPS of $2.66 beating Wall Street’s estimate of $1.94.
CEO James Conroy, who joined in February 2025 after leading Boot Barn, has elevated brand assortment and revamped marketing to attract new and lapsed customers.

Ross Stores has overtaken TJX as the standout performer in off-price retail. The company reported Q2 fiscal 2026 results on August 20, posting $6.26 billion in sales, a 13% increase year over year, with comparable store sales rising 10%. Shares jumped 7.92% to $247.12 in after-hours trading.

“Ross is now retail’s boss,” Wells Fargo analysts led by Ike Boruchow wrote in a research note following the results. The contrast with rival TJX was stark: the Marmaxx division, which includes T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, reported only 1% comp growth in the same period.

Net earnings for the quarter reached $851.3 million, up 68% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share came in at $2.66, well above the analyst consensus of $1.94. Operating income hit $1.10 billion, with operating margin expanding 610 basis points.

Roughly $253 million in IEEPA tariff refunds contributed about $0.60 per share and 405 basis points of that margin expansion. Even stripping out the tariff benefit, operating margin increased 205 basis points, ahead of the company’s own guidance of 130 to 150 basis points.

The strong quarter was not an anomaly. In Q1 fiscal 2026, Ross posted 17% comp growth, total sales up 21%, and diluted EPS of $2.02 against guidance of $1.60 to $1.67. For the first half of the fiscal year, sales totaled $12.3 billion, up 17%, with net income rising to $1.5 billion from $987.2 million.

Much of the credit goes to CEO James Conroy, 54, who took over from longtime chief Barbara Rentler on February 2, 2025. Conroy spent more than a decade as president and CEO of Boot Barn before joining Ross. His focus has been on three areas: bringing in more recognizable brand names, improving the in-store experience, and launching a new marketing campaign.

Conroy said the new customers Ross is attracting “span a broad range of income demographics and age cohorts.” The company reported higher traffic from both new and lapsed shoppers, a sign that the marketing push and improved merchandising are converting beyond the chain’s traditional base.

Store-level execution has also improved. Management cited shorter checkout lines, better organization, and faster inventory recovery as factors driving repeat visits and higher spend per trip.

Ross Stores operates 1,952 Ross Dress for Less locations across 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, making it the largest off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the country. The company also runs 376 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores in 23 states. Fiscal 2025 revenues totaled $22.8 billion.

For operators watching the off-price channel, Ross’s results signal that consistent merchandising upgrades and in-store improvements can move traffic in a meaningful way, even as consumer spending remains uneven across other retail categories.