Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) CEO Barbara Rentler on Q1 2022 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Q1 2022 Results Conference Call May 19, 2022 4:30 PM ET

Company Participants

Barbara Rentler - CEO

Michael Hartshorn - Group President and COO

Adam Orvos - EVP and CFO

Connie Kao - Group VP and IR

Conference Call Participants

Kimberly Greenberger - Morgan Stanley

Mark Altschwager - Baird

Lorraine Hutchinson - Bank of America

Matthew Boss - JPMorgan

Michael Binetti - Credit Suisse

Chuck Grom - Gordon Haskett

Ike Boruchow - Wells Fargo

Simeon Siegel - BMO Capital Markets

Adrienne Yih - Barclays

Marni Shapiro - Retail Tracker

Aneesha Sherman - Bernstein

Dana Telsey - Telsey Advisory

Laura Champine - Loop Capital

Mauricio Serna - UBS

Corey Tarlowe - Jefferies

Daniel Hofkin - William Blair

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ross Stores First Quarter 2022 Earnings Release Conference Call. The call will begin with prepared comments by management, followed by a question-and-answer session. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's call is being recorded.

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 8-Ks on file with the SEC.

Now, I would like to turn the call over to Barbara Rentler, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Barbara Rentler

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

We'll begin our call today with a review of our first quarter 2022 performance, followed by our outlook for the second quarter and fiscal year. Afterwards, we'll be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

As noted in today's press release, we are disappointed with our lower-than-expected first quarter results. We knew 2022 would be a difficult year to predict, especially the first half when we were facing last year's record levels of government stimulus and significant customer pent-up demand as COVID restrictions eased. The external environment has also proven extremely challenging as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has exacerbated inflationary pressures on the consumer not seen in 40 years. As a result of these factors, our first quarter results underperformed our expectations.