Ross Stores Ramping Up: Fool by Numbers

On Nov. 14, Ross Stores (Nasdaq: ROST  ) released third-quarter earnings for the period ended Oct. 28.

• Revenues increased by 10.1%, driven by strong sales in the Southwest and Texas.
• Comparable same-store sales increased 4%, with home and shoe merchandise being the best performing categories.
• Ross Stores has been rated a total of 16 times on Motley Fool CAPS, with only one rating discounting the performance of this company.

(Figures in million, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Sales	$1,362.0	$1,236.9	10.1%
Net Profit	$43.9	$36.3	20.9%
EPS	$0.31	$0.25	24%
Diluted Shares	140.9	145.7	(3.3%)

Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	21.16%	20.78%	0.38
Operating Margin	5.19%	4.79%	0.40
Net Margin	3.23%	2.94%	0.29

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$126.9	$177.8	(28.6%)
Accounts Rec.	$36.8	$35.2	4.5%
Inventory	$1,065.5	$1,065.0	0.1%

	Q3 2006	Q3 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$1,047.5	$945.4	10.8%
Long-Term Debt	$0.0	$50.0	(100%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	YTD 2006	YTD 2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$330.2	$264.2	25%
Capital Expenditures	$180.7	$139.3	29.7%
Free Cash Flow	$149.6	$124.9	19.8%

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

• TJX (NYSE: TJX  )
• Kohls (NYSE: KSS  )
• Chico 's FAS (NYSE: CHS  )

Related Foolishness:

• Foolish Forecast: What's in Store for Ross?
• Retirement Reality Check
• TJX Continues to Perform: Fool by Numbers

Want to weigh in on Ross or any other clothiers? Check out CAPS, The Motley Fool's new stock-picking service, and let your voice be heard.

Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.