Ross Stores (ROST) Financials

Ross Stores delivered another solid quarter in Q1 2026, with revenue, profit, and cash generation all remaining strong. The bigger story over the last four years is that Ross has steadily grown sales and earnings while keeping a very healthy balance sheet and consistently returning cash to shareholders. At the same time, inventory levels, leverage, and buybacks are worth watching as the company continues to deploy capital aggressively.

• Q1 2026 revenue rose to $6.01 billion, up from $4.99 billion in Q1 2025, showing strong top-line growth over the past year.
• Net income in Q1 2026 reached $650.0 million, slightly above $649.0 million in Q1 2025, indicating earnings remained resilient despite higher costs.
• Operating cash flow was strong at $836.0 million in Q1 2026, supporting the business with plenty of internal cash generation.
• Ross ended Q1 2026 with $4.13 billion in cash and equivalents, giving it significant liquidity.
• Total common equity increased to $6.31 billion in Q1 2026 from $5.58 billion in Q1 2025, reflecting continued retained earnings growth.
• Over the multi-year period, earnings have generally trended higher: quarterly net income moved from about $371 million in Q1 2023 to $650 million in Q1 2026.
• The company has consistently generated strong free cash flow after capital spending, with capital expenditures running around $200 million per quarter.
• Gross margin appears relatively stable. In Q1 2026, gross profit was $1.78 billion on $6.01 billion of revenue, broadly consistent with recent quarters.
• Selling, general and administrative expense has also stayed controlled, at $975.9 million in Q1 2026 versus $797.1 million in Q1 2025, but as a share of revenue it remains manageable.
• Ross continues to repurchase shares, but diluted shares outstanding only moved modestly over the period, suggesting buybacks are helping offset dilution rather than dramatically shrinking the share count.
• Inventory climbed to $2.98 billion in Q1 2026 from $2.67 billion in Q1 2025, which could signal more working capital tied up in merchandise.
• Short-term debt rose sharply to $241.3 million in Q1 2026 from $0 a year earlier, while long-term debt remained material at $776.8 million.
• Ross used a lot of cash in financing activities in Q1 2026, including $500 million of debt repayment and $452.9 million of share repurchases, which reduced cash by $462.8 million during the quarter.
• Total liabilities increased to $9.25 billion in Q1 2026 from $8.73 billion in Q1 2025, so the balance sheet is still strong but leverage bears watching if borrowing continues to rise.

Overall, Ross Stores still looks like a high-quality retailer with consistent profitability, strong cash flow, and ample liquidity. The main watch items are inventory growth, rising debt, and ongoing heavy capital returns. For retail investors, that means the company appears fundamentally solid, but future results will depend on how well it manages inventory and maintains margin discipline in a competitive retail environment.