Ross Stores Are Growing Despite Miss in Ladies Apparel

Ross Stores are still growing — even if shoppers aren’t buying women’s clothing there. The off-pricer announced first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2019 Thursday after the bell, improving on both top and bottom lines. Revenues grew 6 percent during the quarter to $3.79 billion, up from $3.58 billion during 2018’s first quarter. Net income was also up to $421 million, compared with $418 million last year. In addition, same-store comps improved for the chain store, which operates more than 1,500 stores Ross Stores and 243 dd’s Discounts stores. The company said it was planning on opening approximately 28 new stores, including 22 Ross Store locations and six dd’s Discounts in the near term. But investors weren’t impressed. A combination of disappointing sales in ladies apparel and slightly lower-than-expected earnings per share expectations for the second quarter caused shares to fall by more than 3 percent during after-hours trading. “For the first quarter, we delivered sales gains at the high end of our guidance as well as better-than-expected earnings-per-share growth despite continued underperformance in ladies apparel,” Barbara Rentler, chief executive officer of Ross, said in a statement. The women’s section of a Ross Store in Hawaii.  Shutterstock / Eric Broder Van Dyke Rentler then

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