Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

The financial data reveals several notable trends in asset composition and changes over the six-year span.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents demonstrated a steady increase from 2017 to 2019, rising from approximately 1.11 billion to 1.41 billion US dollars. However, there was a sharp escalation in 2021 and 2022, with balances reaching nearly 4.82 billion and 4.92 billion US dollars respectively. This indicates a significant accumulation of liquid assets in the most recent years.

Short-term Investments

Short-term investments were only reported in 2018, with a value of approximately 512 thousand US dollars, after which no amounts were recorded in subsequent years, suggesting a possible shift away from this asset category or reporting exclusion.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable steadily increased throughout the period, growing from approximately 75.15 million US dollars in 2017 to 119.25 million US dollars in 2022, indicating a consistent rise in outstanding customer payments.

Merchandise Inventory

Merchandise inventory rose steadily from 2017 through 2020, peaking at about 1.83 billion US dollars. In 2021, there was a notable decline to roughly 1.51 billion, followed by a substantial jump to approximately 2.26 billion US dollars in 2022, suggesting potential changes in inventory management or stock acquisition aligned with business strategies or market conditions.

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

This category exhibited gradual growth from 2017 to 2020, approximately 113 million to 147 million US dollars, followed by a sharp increase to near 249 million US dollars in 2021. In 2022, it declined to roughly 169 million US dollars, indicating fluctuations in prepaid expenditures or related items over the later years.

Current Assets

Current assets increased progressively from about 2.81 billion US dollars in 2017 to 3.43 billion in 2020. A dramatic rise occurred in 2021 and 2022, reaching approximately 6.69 billion and 7.47 billion US dollars respectively, driven largely by the surge in cash and inventory balances.

Property and Equipment (Net)

Property and equipment saw moderately consistent growth over the years, increasing from around 2.33 billion US dollars in 2017 to approximately 2.90 billion in 2022, reflecting ongoing capital investment and asset base expansion.

Operating Lease Assets

Operating lease assets were not recorded prior to 2020, after which they remained stable around 3.0 billion US dollars through 2022. This suggests implementation of lease accounting standards starting in 2020, capturing lease liabilities as assets on the balance sheet.

Deferred Compensation

Deferred compensation increased steadily from approximately 100 million US dollars in 2017 to about 164 million in 2022, indicating a growing obligation in this category.

Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents

This asset category remained relatively stable, with a slight decline from about 55 million US dollars in 2017 to roughly 49 million US dollars in 2022, showing limited material changes in restricted cash balances.

Other and Other Long-term Assets

"Other" assets showed a gradual increase from approximately 13.3 million US dollars in 2017 to nearly 28.8 million in 2022, while other long-term assets grew steadily from around 168 million to 241 million US dollars during the same period, indicating diversification or accumulation in minor asset categories.

Long-term Assets

Long-term assets were relatively constant from 2017 to 2019, roughly 2.50 billion to 2.67 billion US dollars. A marked increase appeared in 2020 to approximately 5.92 billion US dollars, maintaining a rising trend to about 6.17 billion in 2022. This jump correlates closely with the adoption of operating lease assets and possible reclassification or addition of long-term holdings.

Total Assets

Total assets increased steadily from 5.31 billion US dollars in 2017 to 6.07 billion in 2019, followed by a pronounced surge to 9.35 billion in 2020. The upward trajectory continued sharply through 2021 and 2022, reaching approximately 12.72 billion and 13.64 billion US dollars respectively. This reflects significant balance sheet expansion, largely propelled by increased liquidity, inventory, operating lease assets, and capital investments.

Overall, the data indicates strong asset growth over the period, with notable increases in cash reserves, inventory, lease-related assets, and total asset base, suggesting strategic asset accumulation and changes in accounting treatment impacting financial statement presentation.