Ross Stores earnings fell far short of views, after off-price rival TJX missed Q1 estimates but said said sales at reopened stores have been strong so far.

Post coronavirus it's all about location. Location, Location.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 edged closer to 100,000 on Friday, as the news emerged that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been combining the results of two different types of tests for the illness in a move that has been sharply criticized by health experts.

The S&P 500 index was largely unchanged on Thursday as growing U.S.-China trade tensions and concerns about a rebound from a coronavirus-led economic slump were offset by an upbeat outlook from retailer TJX. The discount chain's shares jumped 7.6% to a more than two-month high and were the biggest boost to the benchmark S&P 500 after it flagged strong sales at its stores that had reopened post-coronavirus lockdowns.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) today reported its financial results for the fiscal 2020 first quarter. Both sales and earnings reflect the closure of all Ross Dress for Less® and dd’s DISCOUNTS® locations starting on March 20th through the quarter end due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States.

TJX Cos. says that the early results from the reopening of more than 1,600 stores around the world have been positive, giving analysts reason to believe that if the price is right, shoppers will head back to stores after the coronavirus pandemic. The TJX (TJX)  portfolio includes T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores.

Q1 2020 Ross Stores Inc Earnings Call

Stocks edged down Friday morning as ongoing signs of the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic compounded with fears of rising U.S.-China tensions. A slew of quarterly corporate earnings results came in mixed.

Wall Street's main indexes eased on Thursday from more than two-month highs hit in the previous session, as growing Sino-U.S. tensions and concerns about a rebound from a coronavirus-led economic slump hit sentiment. The three indexes have risen in four of the past five sessions, but have lost steam amid mixed headlines on progress in developing a coronavirus vaccine and a return of U.S.-China trade tensions to the forefront. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday again criticized Beijing's handling of the outbreak and a Chinese official said the country will not flinch from any escalation in tensions.

Before we get started, on behalf of Ross Stores, I would like to note that the comments made on this call may contain forward-looking statements regarding expectations about future operations and financial results, including store openings and reopenings and other matters that are based on the Company's current forecast of aspects of its future business. Now I would like to turn the call over to Barbara Rentler, Chief Executive Officer. Joining me on our call today are Michael Hartshorn, Group President and Chief Operating Officer; Travis Marquette, Group Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Connie Kao, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Stocks in the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) were down slightly more than broader-based indexes, with the Composite dropping almost 1% shortly after 11:45 a.m. EDT. The Nasdaq 100 Index was similarly down by nearly 1%. Among notable stocks in the Nasdaq 100, Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) saw a nice gain as investors hoped that the discount apparel retailer would be able to follow in the footsteps of one of its closest industry peers.

Shares of Ross Stores Inc. fell more than 3% in the extended session Thursday after the retailer reported a surprise first-quarter loss and sales that were below Wall Street expectations. Ross said it lost $306 million, or 87 cents a share, in the quarter, versus earnings of $421 million, or $1.15 a share, in the prior-year period. Sales fell to $1.8 billion from $3.8 billion a year ago. Ross said that since most of its stores were open for less than seven weeks of the 13-week period, it was not reporting same-store sales. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 13 cents a share on sales of $2.2 billion in the quarter. "Our first-quarter results reflect the unprecedented impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our business," Chief Executive Barbara Rentler said in a statement. The company began reopening some of its stores last week depending on location, and about 700 stores have reopened since. "We have a deep bench of proven and experienced leaders throughout the business as well as a very strong financial foundation with over $3.0 billion in liquidity, which in addition to our cash balances includes a new $500 million revolving credit facility," Rentler said. "All of this makes us confident in our ability to successfully navigate through these challenging times." The company also did not provide full-year or second-quarter guidance due to the "lack of visibility created by COVID-19 and the unknown extent of the impact the virus will have on consumer demand and store productivity." Ross shares ended the regular trading day up 6.6%.

Ross Stores (ROST) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of -2800.00% and -11.77%, respectively, for the quarter ended April 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

The remaining stores are expected to reopen over the coming weeks.

Shopping malls and clothing stores are hoping to woo back Americans emerging from lockdown with some of the heaviest discounts in years on a wide range of fashion lines. Macy’s, Ralph Lauren and TJ Maxx owner TJX are among several retailers that have disclosed writedowns on the value of their merchandise running into hundreds of millions of dollars as they turn to promotions to shed unsold stock. “A lot of the apparel is out of date as it has been sitting in stores at least since the Covid-19 outbreak,” said industry consultant Jan Rogers Kniffen, adding that the reductions being offered were the heaviest he had experienced in five decades.

Ross Stores (ROST) Q1 results were affected by temporary store closures due to the COVID-19 crisis as well as operating loss. Also, it withdrew second-quarter and fiscal 2020 views.

Ross Stores closed its 1,566 Ross Dress for Less and 266 dd’s Discounts locations in March as states began limiting non-essential retail to curb the spread of Covid-19. The company said it already has re-opened 700 stores.

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Ross Stores' shares were lower after the discount retailer swung to a fiscal-first-quarter loss amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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