Ross Stores Outperformed TJX Last Quarter
Last Tuesday, off-price giant TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) posted somewhat disappointing results for the second quarter. Comparable-store sales growth slowed to 2% (compared to 5% a quarter earlier), which was at the low end of the company's guidance range. Additionally, TJX's pre-tax margin declined modestly, despite an easy year-over-year comparison.
By contrast, on Thursday afternoon, Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter. However, the No. 2 off-price retailer issued a cautious outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, comp sales rose 2% year over year at Ross Stores, driving a 5.8% increase in total revenue. While that was a respectable result, management said that some merchandise planning missteps in the women's apparel business -- which accounts for more than a quarter of the company's revenue -- weighed on growth.
Source Fool.com
