By Connor Hart

Ross Stores lifted its outlook for the year after sales rose sharply in its fiscal first quarter as consumers continued to flock to the off-price retailers for deals.

The company said Thursday it now expects comparable sales--or those from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months--to grow 6% to 7% in the current fiscal year, up from a prior outlook of up 3% to 4%.

Earnings are now projected to come in between $7.50 and $7.74 a share, compared with a previous forecast for $7.02 to $7.36 a share.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected comparable sales to climb 4.7% for the year, and for earnings of $7.45 a share.

The new outlooks came as Ross logged sharply higher sales and profit in its latest quarter. Chief Executive Jim Conroy attributed the strong results to "superb execution throughout the business," especially in the transition to its spring assortment.

"Momentum was solid throughout the quarter, with broad-based strength across the business," he said. "Customer traffic was the primary driver of the strong sales trend as compelling merchandise assortments, higher customer acquisition and engagement from our ongoing marketing initiatives, and an improved in-store experience are resonating with shoppers."

He added that the quarter likely benefited from higher consumer spending due to tax refunds.

For its quarter ended May 2, Ross posted a profit of $650 million, compared with a profit of $479.2 million a year earlier. Quarterly earnings came in at $2.02 a share, up from $1.47 per share a year ago.

Revenue surged 21% to $6.01 billion, topping Wall Street models for $5.64 billion, according to FactSet.

Comparable sales rose 17%, ahead of analyst expectations for a 9.4% increase.

The report came a day after TJX--the parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods--delivered strong quarterly sales and earnings, with profit helped by hedges against rising fuel prices. It also raised its sales and earnings guidance for the full year.

For the current quarter, Ross Stores guided for earnings of $1.85 to $1.93 a share and same-store sales to rise 6% to 7%. Analysts are projecting earnings of $1.80 a share and same-store sales growth of 5%.

Shares rose 6.6%, to $231.50, in post-market trading.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 21, 2026 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)

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