Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) today reported earnings per share for the third quarter ended October 29, 2022 of $1.00 on net income of $342 million. These results compare to earnings per share of $1.09 on net income of $385 million for the 13 weeks ended October 30, 2021. Sales for the 2022 third quarter were $4.6 billion, in line with the prior year, with comparable store sales down 3% on top of a robust 14% gain for the same period in 2021.
CEO Barbara Rentler commented, “Third-quarter results were above our expectations as we delivered stronger values throughout our stores. Operating margin for the period was 9.8% versus 11.4% last year, reflecting the deleveraging effect from the comparable sales decline as well as pressure from higher markdowns and unfavorable timing of packaway-related costs.”
Rentler added, “During the third quarter, we repurchased 2.8 million shares of common stock for an aggregate price of $244 million. We remain on track to buy back a total of $950 million in common stock during fiscal 2022 under our two-year $1.9-billion repurchase program that extends through fiscal 2023.
“We now expect fourth-quarter same-store sales to be flat to down 2% on top of a 9% gain in the prior year, with earnings per share forecasted to be in the range of $1.13 to $1.26. Based on our year-to-date results and our fourth quarter forecast, earnings per share for fiscal 2022 are now projected to be in the range of $4.21 to $4.34 versus $4.87 last year.”
ROST shares popped $15.85, or 16.2%, to $113.78.