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Ross Stores (ROST) Risk Analysis

Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning. Ross Stores disclosed 20 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Ross Stores reported the most risks in the “Ability to Sell” category.

Risk Overview Q3, 2026

Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Aug 01, 2026, filed Sep 01, 2026

Risk Distribution
20Risks
Sector Avg.Finance & CorporateTech & InnovationLegal & RegulatoryProductionAbility to SellMacro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy

Risk Change Over Time

Ross Stores disclosed risks per quarterNo. of Risks192021222324Q3Q4Q12023Q2Q3Q12024Q2Q3Q4Q12025Q2Q4Q2Q3Showing: Q4, 2025
Risks removedRisks addedRisks changedRoss Stores Risk Factors
  • Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
    Changes and uncertainty in U.S. trade or tax policy regarding apparel and apparel, home-related merchandise merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell produced in other countries could adversely affect our business.

    A predominant portion of the apparel, home-related merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell is originally manufactured in other countries, including China. While we directly import only a small portion of our merchandise, more than half of the goods we sell originate from China. The U.S. government has indicated a willingness to significantly change existing trade policies, and has imposed increased tariffs on goods imported into the United States, in particular on goods produced in China. This exposes us to risks of disruption and significant cost increases in our established patterns for sourcing our merchandise, and creates increased uncertainties in planning our sourcing strategies and forecasting our margins. Changes in tariffs, quotas, trade relationships, or tax provisions that reduce the supply or increase the relative cost of goods produced in China and other countries could significantly increase our cost of goods and/or increase our effective tax rate. Although such changes would have implications across the entire retail sector, we may fail to effectively adapt and manage the adjustments in sourcing strategy that would be necessary in response to those changes. In addition to the general uncertainty and overall risk from potential changes in laws and policies, as we make business decisions in the face of uncertainty as to potential changes, we may incorrectly anticipate the outcomes, miss out on business opportunities, or fail to effectively adapt our business strategies and manage the adjustments that are necessary in response to those changes. These risks could adversely affect our revenues and expenses, increase our effective tax rates, and reduce our profitability and market share.

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Ability to Sell (2)
Macro & Political (1)

Risk Highlights Q3, 2026

Main Risk Category
Ability to Sell
With 8 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
20
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 32
Recent Changes
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Aug 2026
Number of Risk Changed
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 1

Risk Word Cloud

changes and uncertainty in u.s. trade or tax policy regarding apparel, home-related merchandise, shoes, and other goods we sell produced in other countries could adversely affect our business.adversely affect our businessto support our continuing operations, our new store and distribution center growth plans and other capital investment plans, our stock repurchase program, our debt repayments, and our quarterly dividends, we must maintain sufficient liquidity.our stock repurchase programour inability to continually attract, train, and retain associates with the retail talent necessary to execute our off-price retail strategies, as well as labor shortages, increased turnover, or increased labor costs could adversely affect our operating results.adversely affect our operating resultsdamage to our corporate reputation or brands could adversely affect our sales and operating results.damage to our corporate reputationour ability to effectively advertise and market our business could impact customer traffic and demand for our merchandise.our ability to effectively advertiseour inability to continually attract, train, and retain associates with the retail talent necessary to execute our off-price retail strategies, as well as labor shortages, increased turnover, or increased labor costs could adversely affect our operating results.our inability to continually attractinformation or data security breaches, including cyberattacks on our transaction processing and computer information systems (including malware intrusion, data exfiltration, identity theft, and other types of cybersecurity threats), could disrupt our operations, result in theft or unauthorized disclosure of our confidential and valuable business information or credit card and other customer information, and could adversely affect our business, disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, increase our costs, and create significant legal exposure.unauthorized disclosure of our confidentialto support our continuing operations, our new store and distribution center growth plans and other capital investment plans, our stock repurchase program, our debt repayments, and our quarterly dividends, we must maintain sufficient liquidity.to support our continuing operationsin order to achieve our planned gross margins, we must effectively manage our inventories, markdowns, and inventory shortage.effectively manage our inventoriesinformation or data security breaches, including cyberattacks on our transaction processing and computer information systems (including malware intrusion, data exfiltration, identity theft, and other types of cybersecurity threats), could disrupt our operations, result in theft or unauthorized disclosure of our confidential and valuable business information or credit card and other customer information, and could adversely affect our business, disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, increase our costs, and create significant legal exposure.types of cybersecurity threats

Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 20

Competition1 | 5.0%
  • Competition - Risk 1
    Competitive pressures and the pace of change in the retailing industry are high.

    The retail industry is highly competitive and the marketplace is fragmented, as many different retailers compete for market share by utilizing a variety of store and online formats and merchandising strategies. We expect competition to increase in the future. There are limited economic barriers for others to enter the off-price retail sector. We compete for customers, associates, store locations, and merchandise with other off-price retailers, traditional department stores, mass merchandisers, specialty stores, online and catalog businesses, and other local, regional, and national retailers. Our retail competitors constantly adjust their pricing, business models and strategies, and promotional activity (particularly during holiday periods) in response to changing market conditions or their own financial condition. The substantial sales growth in e-commerce and the increasing use of consumer data analytics has encouraged the entry of many new competitors, new business models, and an increase in competition from established companies looking for ways to create successful online and in person shopping alternatives. While our business is exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores, consumer e-commerce spending continues to increase. Advancements in technology (including artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies) will present opportunities to inform merchandising, pricing, assortment, and other key business decisions; however, there are costs, risks and potential adverse consequences from premature adoption or over-reliance on those emerging technologies. At the same time, if competitors successfully implement these capabilities more quickly or effectively than we do, our competitive position could be adversely affected. Intense pressures from our competitors, our inability to adapt effectively and quickly to a changing competitive landscape, or a failure to effectively execute our off-price model, could reduce demand for our merchandise, decrease our inventory turnover, cause us to take greater markdowns, and negatively affect our sales and margins.

Demand1 | 5.0%
Sales & Marketing5 | 25.0%
Brand / Reputation1 | 5.0%

See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.

FAQ

What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment. They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result. It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process. Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”. Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report. According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing. You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector. Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements. A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below. 1. Financial & Corporate Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results. Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing. Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments. Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances. 2. Legal & Regulatory Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company. Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation. Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy. Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives. 3. Production Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory. Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers. Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls. Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation. 4. Technology & Innovation Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development. Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology. Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks. Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying. 5. Ability to Sell Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers. Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes. Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration. Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation. 6. Macro & Political Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions. Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19. International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company. Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.