Ross Stores Stock (ROST) Dives 15% on Outlook Update

Ross Stores (ROST) stock plummeted on Friday after the retail chain withdrew its 2025 outlook in its latest earnings report. According to CEO Jim Conroy, this decision was made in light of, “Heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.” The company leader said prolonged inflation and evolving trade policies will put pressure on its profitability if tariffs remain elevated.

While Ross Stores canceled its Fiscal 2025 guidance, it did offer an outlook for the second quarter of the year. The company expects comparable store sales to be flat to up 3%, and earnings per share of $1.40 to $1.55, compared to Wall Street’s estimate of $1.53.

The withdrawal of Ross Stores guidance overshadowed the company’s Q1 2025 results. Earnings per share of $1.47 and revenue of $4.98 billion surpassed analysts’ estimates of $1.44 and $4.96 billion.

ROST Stock Movement Today

Shares of ROST stock were down 14.38% on Friday morning, extending the company’s year-to-date loss of 13.64%. That also came with heavy trading as 5.14 million shares change hands, compared to a three-month daily average of 2.75 million units.

Analysts also took ROST stock to task after the company withdrew its guidance. This resulted in several price target cuts.

• Five-star Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih lowered her price target to $156 from $157.
• Five-star Morgan Stanley analyst Alexandra Straton cut her price target to $126 from $128.
• Four-star Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow reduced his price target to $150 from $155.
• J.P. Morgan analyst Matthew Boss dropped his price target to $141 from $161.

Is ROST Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Ross Stores is Strong Buy, based on 13 Buy and four Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average ROST stock price target of $156.69, representing a potential 20.15% upside for the shares. These ratings and price targets will likely change as more analyst updates follow the company’s earnings report.

See more ROST stock analyst ratings