ROST
Ross Stores
Dividend / Cash flow
★ Quality 77/100Price today
$230.69
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What this business is made of
The business
Ross buys the brands' leftovers and clears them out in bulk.
Ross Stores sells brand-name clothing and home goods at 20-60% discounts under two chains: Ross Dress for Less and dd's Discounts. It buys closeouts and manufacturer overstock and resells them fast across more than 2,100 physical stores. It booked $22.8B in revenue with a 28% gross margin.
The off-price model depends on buying opportunistic inventory cheap and turning it over at scale — something that only works with volume and decades-long supplier relationships. Ross and TJX dominate that game; a newcomer can't match their buying power. It's not a wide moat, but operational discipline protects it.
Revenue history
From $18.9B to $22.8B in 4 years. The business grows steadily.
Where each $100 of sales goes
Revenue $22.8B · FY2026
Of every $100 in sales, $91 goes to costs and operations; $9 is left as net profit (9% margin).
Catalysts and risks
Expansion plan toward ~2,900 Ross stores and ~700 dd's over the long term, adding openings every year.
FCF generation of $2.2B that sustains buybacks and growing dividends.
Positive net cash balance sheet: $4.6B in cash versus $1.5B in debt, ammunition to return capital.
The 28% gross margin is structurally low; any pressure on freight costs or wages erodes it fast.
100% dependent on physical stores, with no meaningful e-commerce, in a consumer that's migrating online.
The low-income customer is sensitive to inflation and cuts in discretionary spending.
Charlie's note
“A boring business that prints cash selling cheap to people who count every dollar. No spectacular moat, but the buying discipline and clean balance sheet make up for it. At 19x normalized FCF, you're paying a fair price for a modest compounder.”
Analysis · June 2026
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