MW Ross Stores stock falls as discount chain warns of slowing trends this year

By Bill Peters

CEO says winter weather, volatile economic environment hurt customer traffic last quarter

Shares of Ross Stores Inc. fell after hours on Tuesday after the discount retailer forecast the possibility of weaker same-store sales this year, following slowing trends over recent weeks as harsh weather kept people indoors last month and worries about the economy persisted.

Ross Stores said it expects same-store sales to be within a range of down 1% to up 2%, worse than FactSet expectations for a 3% gain. The chain said it expects earnings per share of $5.95 to $6.55, compared with FactSet forecasts for $6.67.

Ross Stores' stock $(ROST)$ fell 3.3% after hours on Tuesday.

Chief Executive Jim Conroy said in a statement that it was wise to stay cautious on financial forecasts, given recent trends.

"While we were pleased with our 2024 results, including the holiday selling period, sales trends began softening later in January and into February," he said. "We believe a combination of unseasonable weather and heightened volatility in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environments has negatively impacted customer traffic."

He added that some of the recent difficulties could be "transitory in nature."

For the fourth quarter, Ross Stores earned $1.79 a share, with revenue of $5.9 billion and a 3% same-store sales increase.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.66, on revenue of $5.94 billion and a 2.6% same-store sales gain.

-Bill Peters

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March 04, 2025 16:23 ET (21:23 GMT)

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