Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call November 17, 2022 4:15 PM ET

Company Participants

Barbara Rentler - Chief Executive Officer

Michael Hartshorn - Group President and Chief Operating Officer

Adam Orvos - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Connie Kao - Group Vice President, Investor Relations

Conference Call Participants

Matthew Boss - JPMorgan

Mark Altschwager - Robert W. Baird

Lorraine Hutchinson - Bank of America

Chuck Grom - Gordon Haskett

Paul Lejuez - Citigroup

Brooke Roach - Goldman Sachs

Michael Binetti - Credit Suisse

Adrienne Yih - Barclays

Laura Champine - Loop Capital

Marni Shapiro - Retail Tracker

John Kernan - Cowen

Jay Sole - UBS

Jesse Sobelson - Wells Fargo

Aneesha Sherman - Bernstein

Corey Tarlowe - Jefferies

Bob Drbul - Guggenheim Securities

Dan Stroller - BMO Capital Markets

Operator

Good afternoon and welcome to the Ross Stores Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Release Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Before we get started, on behalf of Ross Stores, I would like to note that the comments made on this call will contain forward-looking statements regarding expectations about future growth and financial results, including sales and earnings forecasts, new store openings and other matters that are based on the company’s current forecast of aspects of its future business. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance or current expectations. Risk factors are included in today’s press release and the company’s fiscal 2021 Form 10-K and fiscal 2022 Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks on file with the SEC.

And now I’d like to turn the call over to Barbara Rentler, Chief Executive Officer. Thank you, ma’am. Please go ahead.

Barbara Rentler

Good afternoon. Joining me on our call today are Michael Hartshorn, Group President, Chief Operating Officer; Adam Orvos, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Connie Kao, Group Vice President, Investor Relations.

We will begin our call today with a review of our third quarter performance, followed by an update on our outlook for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Afterwards, we will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

As noted in today’s press release, third quarter results were above our expectations as we delivered stronger value 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.