Ross also reported a large increase in profits.

The company earned $2.66 per share during the quarter. That was well above its previous forecast of $1.85 to $1.93 per share. Net income rose to about $851 million, compared with $508 million during the same quarter last year.

However, there was an important reason for part of that increase. Ross received about $253 million in refunds related to tariffs. The refunds added roughly 60 cents to earnings per share.

That means the tariff refund gave profits a significant one-time boost. Even without that benefit, however, the company had a strong quarter. Sales and customer traffic were both up, while the company’s operating performance improved.

Ross Raised Its Forecast

After the strong results, Ross Stores raised its expectations for the rest of the year. The company now expects to earn between $8.61 and $8.77 per share for fiscal 2026. Its previous forecast was between $7.50 and $7.74.

Ross also expects sales at existing stores to continue growing during the second half of the year. The company expects comparable-store sales to increase 6% to 7% in the third quarter and 4% to 5% in the fourth quarter. Those forecasts suggest that management believes shoppers will continue looking for bargains.

Ross is also planning to expand. The company now expects to open 115 new stores in 2026, up from its previous goal of 110. Opening more stores gives Ross another way to increase sales and reach new customers. 

The company believes there is still plenty of room to grow its store base. The expansion also shows that Ross is confident about the long-term demand for its discount shopping model.

Why Shoppers Are Choosing Ross

Ross’ results come at a time when many consumers are paying close attention to prices. Higher costs for everyday expenses have made shoppers more interested in discounts. Instead of paying full price, customers may be willing to shop at stores such as Ross to find lower prices on clothing, home products and other merchandise.

Ross also benefits from the excitement of finding something unexpected at a discount. The company’s stores regularly change their selection, which can encourage customers to visit more often. The latest results suggest that strategy is working.

The Outlook

Ross Stores’ second-quarter results were strong, but investors should keep one thing in mind: the tariff refund helped boost profits.

That benefit is not expected to happen every quarter. The more important question is whether Ross can continue attracting customers and increasing sales without that extra boost. So far, the signs are positive. Customer traffic is growing, sales are increasing and the company is raising its expectations for the year.

For shoppers looking for bargains, Ross appears to be in a good position. And for investors, the company’s latest results suggest that its discount-focused business model remains strong even as consumers continue to watch their spending closely.

What’s Next?

Strong sales, higher customer traffic and improved earnings helped the company deliver a better-than-expected quarter and raise its full-year outlook.

The tariff refund provided a meaningful boost to profits, but the underlying results were still encouraging. If Ross can maintain customer traffic, grow sales and successfully expand its store base, the company could continue benefiting from consumers’ preference for affordable merchandise. For now, Ross appears well positioned to remain a strong player in the discount retail market.

ROST stock has been one of the market’s most consistent performers, rewarding investors with a steady climb from pandemic-era lows to fresh all-time highs above $212. TGT stock, meanwhile, has spent the better part of four years in a drawn-out decline from its 2021 peak near $270, and sits today around $122.

With both companies having delivered solid reports, investors face a compelling question: do you stay with a proven winner trading at a premium valuation, or do you bet on a turnaround story that appears to be gaining real momentum?

Target: Beating Expectations and Betting on Growth

Target’s Q4 2025 results were mixed, but better than feared. Fourth quarter net sales came in at $30.45 billion, essentially in line with estimates for $30.47 billion. On the bottom line, adjusted EPS of $2.44 beat expectations of $2.16 by more than 12% and came in ahead of the prior year’s $2.41 on the same basis.

The report also showed gross margin improvement to 26.6% from 26.2% a year ago, driven by lower shrink and reduced supply chain costs. However, full-year comparable sales declined 2.6%, and annual adjusted EPS came in at $7.57, down from $8.86 the prior year, as the company absorbed meaningful headwinds from markdowns and purchase order cancellation costs.

The more bullish signal came from management guidance and commentary. CEO Michael Fiddelke noted that Target delivered a healthy, positive sales increase in February. Fiddelke predicted this will be a meaningful early read on the new fiscal year.

For full-year 2026, the company guided to roughly 2% net sales growth and an operating income margin rate approximately 20 basis points above the 4.6% adjusted rate in 2025. EPS guidance of $7.50 to $8.50 suggests management expects to return to earnings growth, backed by accelerating digital initiatives including a 30%-plus surge in same-day delivery and membership revenue that more than doubled year over year.

With TGT stock trading near multi-year lows and the forward P/E sitting well below the broader consumer discretionary sector, the valuation case is increasingly compelling — even if the stock remains elevated relative to its own five-year trough.

Ross Stores: A Blowout Quarter That Raises Valuation Questions

Ross Stores delivered a quarter that blew past every metric. Total Q4 sales jumped 12% to $6.6 billion, and comparable store sales surged 9%. That was nearly triple the 3% gain posted in the year-ago period. Earnings per share of $2.00 came in well above the company’s own guidance range of $1.77 to $1.85. Operating margin hit 12.3%, surpassing the planned range of 11.5% to 11.8%.

For the full fiscal year 2025, sales reached a record $22.8 billion, and the company generated over $3 billion in operating cash flow.

Looking ahead, Ross guided first-quarter comparable-store sales growth of 7% to 8%, with EPS projected at $1.60 to $1.67, up from $1.47 a year ago. Full-year fiscal 2026 EPS is guided at $7.02 to $7.36. The Board also authorized a new $2.55 billion two-year repurchase program — a 21% increase over the prior program. Plus, the company raised the quarterly dividend 10% to $0.445 per share.

All of that is genuinely impressive execution. The concern for new buyers is that at over 30x trailing earnings and trading near all-time highs above $212, a great deal of good news is already priced into ROST stock. Analysts remain broadly bullish, but the margin of safety for a fresh entry is thin.

Technical Analysis: Momentum vs. Mean Reversion

The weekly charts for ROST and TGT tell starkly different stories. ROST stock bottomed near $75 in late 2022 and has since nearly tripled, accelerating sharply higher in early 2026 to print fresh all-time highs on heavy volume. The trend is unambiguously bullish, and there is no visible technical resistance overhead — a hallmark of a true breakout. Momentum traders and growth-oriented funds have little reason to sell.

TGT stock presents the inverse setup. After cratering from its 2021 peak of roughly $270 to a low near $90 in early 2025, the stock has staged a recovery to the $120 range. Critically, TGT is now testing a long-standing area of horizontal support-turned-resistance near $125 to $130. A decisive close above that zone would represent a meaningful technical breakout and could attract trend-following capital. 4.

Until that happens, the stock remains in a multi-year downtrend on a weekly basis, and the pattern fits the profile of a base-building turnaround rather than a confirmed momentum trade. For investors with patience, TGT’s current setup may offer a better risk-reward than ROST’s extended chart.

Risks to the Retail Thesis

Neither stock is without risk. Both retailers flagged tariff headwinds as a material concern, given the significant share of merchandise sourced internationally. A renewed escalation in trade policy could compress margins across the sector.

Consumer spending data remains mixed, with lower-income shoppers under particular pressure from persistent inflation. This is a headwind that could disproportionately slow discretionary purchases even at off-price chains.

For Target specifically, execution risk remains real; the company has missed expectations in multiple recent quarters, and its guidance assumes a turnaround that has yet to fully materialize. For Ross, the risk is simpler but equally important: at 30-plus times earnings, any growth deceleration could trigger a sharp re-rating lower.

Conclusion: Two Valid Strategies, One Asymmetric Opportunity

ROST stock remains a high-quality compounder with exceptional execution, strong shareholder returns, and bullish analyst sentiment — but it is priced for perfection. TGT stock is not priced for perfection; it is priced for continued mediocrity, and the Q4 results suggest that mediocrity may finally be giving way to genuine recovery.

For momentum investors, Ross is the cleaner trade. For contrarian or value-oriented investors willing to accept some execution risk, Target’s combination of a depressed valuation, improving fundamentals, and aggressive growth investment may represent the more asymmetric opportunity heading into 2026.

BURL stock is up roughly 6% in the last 12 months, a modest recovery relative to the broader market and industry benchmarks. But the short-term trend tells a more encouraging story—shares have climbed 13.8% in the 30 days ending January 14, 2026, suggesting that investors may be beginning to price in improving fundamentals ahead of next quarter’s earnings report. 

For long-term shareholders, the recent rally is a welcome change. The discount retail sector has delivered resilient performance in a high-inflation environment—chains like TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) and Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) have capitalized on value-conscious shoppers shifting away from full-price retailers. However, Burlington has been an outlier, and not in the best way. Over the past five years, BURL has posted a total return of about 19.8%, while TJX has surged more than 145% over the same period. 

So what’s been holding Burlington back? And what could make 2026 different? 

A Business in Need of a Refit 

Burlington’s challenges over the past several years are well known. The company’s store base underperformed peers, its merchandising strategy lacked consistency, and its supply chain fell behind modern standards. As logistics costs soared and inventory management became a critical differentiator, Burlington’s outdated distribution centers became a drag on both margins and execution. 

These issues left the retailer unable to fully capture the pandemic-era boost that benefited other discount chains. While competitors implemented technology-driven inventory planning and faster restocking models, Burlington’s lower operational efficiency limited its ability to meet shifting consumer demand. 

Though management acknowledged the operational gaps, execution on turnaround initiatives took time. Investors grew restless, and the stock lagged despite rising net sales and store expansion. 

But the tide may finally be turning. 

Earnings Growth Suggests Progress 

Despite its uneven stock performance, Burlington’s underlying financial improvement has been notable. Over the past two years, earnings per share (EPS) have grown more than 30%, showing that cost-control measures and store optimization are making an impact. Analysts forecast another 16.7% EPS growth in 2026, pointing to accelerating profitability even in a competitive retail landscape. 

The company has benefited from its sharpened focus on off-price apparel assortments, tighter cost management, and operational streamlining. Burlington’s model—with limited e-commerce exposure and reliance on in-store “treasure hunt” experiences—also aligns with the trends that have supported TJX and Ross. As consumers trade down, Burlington’s value-driven mix could help it capture renewed foot traffic and margin expansion in 2026. 

However, investors should note that optimism is already reflected in valuations. The stock currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of roughly 34x, which is well above its historical average and well above the apparel retail sector average, according to Yardeni Research. That premium valuation implies that much of Burlington’s recovery story may already be priced into the stock, leaving less margin for error if growth stalls. 

BURL Stock: An Ironic Buy-the-Dip Candidate 

I’ve spent most of this article explaining why Burlington Stores needs a catalyst to push the stock higher. So, it’s a little ironic to say that BURL stock looks a little extended at the moment. But that’s what the chart shows. 

After the stock’s recent rally, the relative strength indicator (RSI) puts the stock in overbought territory. Plus, the MACD line (not shown) has moved from bullish and supportive to nearly flat. That suggests that short-term momentum is bearish. 

That said, analysts have a consensus price target of $335.94, which offers about 11% upside. However, if the stock pulls back to its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) around $280, it will give investors nearly 10% more upside.  

Strategic Tailwinds and Risks for 2026 

Looking ahead, Burlington’s outlook hinges on two key drivers: operational execution and consumer resilience. 

1. Supply Chain and Inventory Modernization: 
The company has invested in upgrading its distribution centers, improving inventory flow, and centralizing purchasing decisions. These efforts should reduce bottlenecks and improve in-store assortment, enabling Burlington to be more responsive to shifts in demand. 

2. Store Expansion and Productivity Gains: 
Burlington plans to expand its store base while optimizing existing locations, moving toward smaller-format stores that deliver higher returns per square foot. This shift could enhance its long-term earnings leverage, particularly if traffic remains strong. 

3. Consumer Spending Trends: 
While off-price retail typically outperforms in uncertain economic environments, sustained wage growth and moderating inflation could shift discretionary spending patterns. If consumers trade back up to mid-tier retailers, Burlington could see pressure on same-store sales. 

4. Competitive Positioning: 
The company’s main rivals, TJX and Ross, maintain structural advantages in scale and efficiency. Burlington’s growth potential depends on narrowing that gap through disciplined execution and margin expansion rather than rapid top-line growth alone. 

If management delivers on those fronts, Burlington could move from being a sector laggard to a meaningful growth story in 2026. But given its current valuation, investors will expect consistent quarterly execution to justify further multiple expansion. 

Conclusion: A Potential Comeback Worth Watching 

As a fan of The Office I think it’s appropriate to close this article by pointing out the recurring mention of Burlington Coat Factory. The store was portrayed as a reminder that “a little money can go a long way.” That sentiment could apply again here. Burlington Stores doesn’t need to dominate the retail sector to deliver meaningful shareholder value. It just needs to keep executing.