Call Start: 16:15 January 1, 0000 4:55 PM ET
Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)
Q3 2023 Earnings Conference Call
November 16, 2023 16:15 ET
Company Participants
Barbara Rentler - Chief Executive Officer
Adam Orvos - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Michael Hartshorn - Group President & Chief Operating Officer
Conference Call Participants
Matthew Boss - J.P. Morgan
Mark Altschwager - Baird
Paul Lejuez - Citigroup
Lorraine Hutchinson - Bank of America
John Kernan - TD Cowen
Chuck Grom - Gordon Haskett
Brooke Roach - Goldman Sachs
Michael Binetti - Evercore
Adrienne Yih - Barclays Capital
Alex Straton - Morgan Stanley
Marni Shapiro - Retail Tracker
Dana Telsey - Telsey Advisory Group
Aneesha Sherman - Bernstein
Corey Tarlowe - Jefferies
Laura Champine - Loop Capital Markets
Arian Razai - Guggenheim Securities
Operator
Good afternoon and welcome to the Ross Stores Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Conference Call. The call will begin with prepared comments by management followed by a question-and-answer session. [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 2022 Form 10-K and fiscal 2023 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.
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 third quarter performance followed by an update on our outlook for the fourth 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 pleased that both sales and earnings outperformed our expectations for the quarter as customers responded favorably to the terrific values we offer throughout our stores. Operating margin for the period was 11.2%, up from 9.8% last year. Leverage from the same-store sales gain and lower freight costs were partially offset by higher incentives and store wages.