Ross Stores (ROST) reports earnings on Thur 8/20/15 a/h

** charts before earnings **

** charts after earnings **

Ross Stores beats by $0.01, beats on revs; maintains cautious outlook for the second half

Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.63 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.62; revenues rose 8.7% year/year to $2.97 bln vs the $2.94 bln consensus. "While we hope to do better, we are maintaining a cautious outlook for the second half when we face more challenging sales and earnings comparisons. In addition, the macro-economic and retail landscapes remain uncertain."

• Guidance for Q3: sees EPS of $0.48-0.50 vs. $0.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees Same Store Sales up 1% to 2% on top of a 4% increase in the prior year.
• Guidance for Q4 (Jan): sees EPS of $0.60-0.63 vs. $0.65 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees Same Store Sales flat to up 1% versus a 6% gain in the prior year.