What Are the Next Steps for Ross Stores As Sales Soar and Expansion Plans Continue Apace

Ross Stores just delivered a very impressive first-quarter report card ending May 2, as Retail TouchPoints editor Adam Blair pointed out, with the company notching a whopping 21% total sales growth in tandem with an equally notable 17% comparable sales growth stat. As a result, share prices improved by over 7% by 2 p.m. ET following the release of Q1 earnings.

“Based on the strong showing, the apparel retailer has raised its 2026 FY same-store sales growth projection to the 6%-7% range, on top of the 5% gain it achieved in FY 2025,” Blair wrote.

“Ross Stores also will continue its brick-and-mortar expansion plans: by October 2025, Ross Stores had opened the 90 new stores it had planned for its 2025 fiscal year, which would end in February 2026,” he added.

Blair cited CEO James Conroy’s remarks made during a recent conference call detailing the off-pricer’s recent performance, noting that the Ross CEO has pointed to improved customer acquisition as a key element of the company’s very healthy gains of late.

“We’re seeing that very strong growth across ethnicities, all age groups, including the young customer, all income levels,” Conroy said, also noting that — with momentum wholly on its side — Ross was dialed in on modernizing its creative message, diversifying its media mix while simultaneously pushing for more events.

“I think we’re in the very early stages of focusing on contemporizing the Ross and dd’s brands and having them get their own sort of followership. You can see our television spots and you can follow us on social media. I think it’s a very refreshing view of how to go to market in retailing, and certainly in off-price retailing,” Conroy continued.

Ross Rallies Post-Earnings. It’s ‘Just Getting Started.’ https://t.co/Lc7BeYq1ct

— Barron's (@barronsonline) May 22, 2026

Other strategic initiatives pushed by Ross as discussed in the conference call:

• Store refreshes are modest and incremental: Michael Hartshorn, group president, COO, and director, indicated that Ross is engaged in an ongoing refresh of its stores in order to modernize its aesthetic. That refresh was also calculated and modest in scope, largely pertaining to perimeter signing and wayfinding signage, in addition to necessary cosmetic repairs. Finally, the refreshes were used as a testing ground, paused halfway through the store count to both measure the sales impact of the renovations (which did drive sales, per Hartshorn), and to use new prototypes and feedback to consider a reconfiguration of the next batch of renos.
• Less risk aversion, more employee empowerment: Conroy also spoke to two shifts in operational execution which were bolstering recent success for the off-pricer. First, a “little bit of harkening back to the earlier days in Ross when it was very entrepreneurial” — this means empowering employees to make fast, on-the-spot decisions. Second: A rebalancing of a former stance leaning into risk aversion to include more growth-oriented positioning.

“So yes, I would say if you think of a continuum between playing defense and offense, we’ve shifted the whole company and the culture a little bit more towards offense, but still always being prudent and not taking undue risk,” Conroy concluded.

A pair of analysts cited by Barron’s appear bullish on Ross’ future prospects, with William Blair analyst Dylan Carden and Telsey Advisory Group’s Dana Telsey weighing in.

Carden indicated that Ross’ report card indicates the retailer is “just getting started,” and that anxieties surrounding beating tougher comparisons are unfounded due to what he believes is an observable “acceleration in new customer growth, reaching into younger and in our view likely higher and lower income brackets.”

Telsey also appeared unfazed by worries surrounding the off-pricer’s future performance, with Ross “planning increased investments in store growth that can further support top-line gains longer-term, while maintaining a healthy margin profile and a well-controlled cost structure. Furthermore, with momentum in the business, Ross continues to deliver shareholder returns through its dividend and two-year share repurchase program that can further support share upside.”