On March 21, Ross Stores
- Sales increased 14% to $1.6 billion from a strong holiday season in the mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions, and strength in the Home and Shoe departments.
- For the year, 57 net new Ross locations were added, in addition to six dd's DISCOUNTS stores. Meanwhile, comparable-store sales rose 1%.
- Ross Stores is fitted with a three-star ranking in Motley Fool CAPS, our free interactive stock database. Meanwhile, competitor TJX Companies
(NYSE:TJX) has a two-star rating, while Syms(NYSE:SYM) hasn't yet received enough attention to merit any ranking. To throw in your two cents, log on to CAPS.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q4 2006 |
Q4 2005 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$1,608.4 |
$1,411.5 |
14% |
|
Net Profit |
$93.1 |
$71.0 |
31.2% |
|
EPS |
$0.66 |
$0.49 |
34.7% |
|
Diluted Shares |
140.2 |
144.7 |
(3.1%) |
Get back to basics with the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q4 2006 |
Q4 2005 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
23.5% |
22.9% |
0.6 |
|
Operating Margin |
9.3% |
8.2% |
1.1 |
|
Net Margin |
5.8% |
5% |
0.8 |
Margins are the earnings engine.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q4 2006 |
Q4 2005 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$372.6 |
$204.5 |
82.2% |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$30.1 |
$29.1 |
3.4% |
|
Inventory |
$1,051.7 |
$938.1 |
12.1% |
|
Liabilities |
Q4 2006 |
Q4 2005 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$1,049.7 |
$803.4 |
30.7% |
|
Total Debt |
$150.0 |
$50.0 |
200% |
The balance sheet reflects the company's health.
Cash Flow Highlights
|
2006 |
2005 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
$506.9 |
$375.2 |
35.1% |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$136.6 |
$175.9 |
(22.3%) |
|
Free Cash Flow |
$370.2 |
$199.3 |
85.7% |
Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.
Related Foolishness:
- Ross Stores: When Not Bad Is Good
- At Ross, a Discount in the Margins
- Ross Stores Ramping Up: Fool by Numbers
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.
