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BURL vs ROST
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Ross Stores (ROST) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- BURL and ROST operate in the off-price retail sector, offering branded merchandise at discounted prices, making them direct competitors with similar exposure to consumer discretionary spending.
- ROST delivered stronger year-to-date returns of approximately 33% compared to BURL's roughly 13-16% through mid-August 2026, driven by robust second-quarter results.
- Recent market activity showed ROST shares rising over 4% following its August 20 earnings release, while BURL shares experienced a pullback ahead of its August 27 earnings date.
- Both companies reported solid comparable-store sales growth in their most recent quarters, though ROST's 10% comps and raised full-year guidance provided a clearer near-term catalyst.
- Sector sentiment remains tied to macroeconomic factors such as inflation, consumer confidence, and inventory levels, with both stocks exhibiting beta above 1.0 relative to the broader market.
- Relative performance highlights trade-offs between ROST's recent momentum and BURL's established growth trajectory in a competitive retail landscape.
Introduction
BURL and ROST represent leading players in the off-price retail industry, where value-conscious consumers seek branded apparel, footwear, and home goods at lower prices. This comparison examines their recent stock behavior, business models, and market positioning to assist investors and traders evaluating relative opportunities within the consumer discretionary sector. Market participants focused on sector rotation, earnings momentum, or defensive growth characteristics may find this analysis relevant for assessing how these names have responded to similar macroeconomic influences over recent weeks.
BURL Overview and Recent Performance
Burlington Stores operates as an off-price retailer specializing in high-quality branded merchandise across apparel, accessories, and home goods. In recent market activity, the stock has traded in a range reflecting broader sector volatility, with shares around $326-336 as of late August 2026. Year-to-date performance reached approximately 13-16%, supported by strong first-quarter results that included 14% total sales growth and 6% comparable-store sales increases. Sentiment has been influenced by anticipation surrounding the company's second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release scheduled for August 27, amid ongoing focus on inventory management and consumer spending patterns.
ROST Overview and Recent Performance
Ross Stores functions as a major off-price retailer emphasizing apparel, footwear, and home merchandise at everyday low prices. Recent performance has been positive, with shares advancing to approximately $239 following a 4.39% gain on August 21 after reporting second-quarter results. Year-to-date returns have reached about 33%, outperforming the broader market. Key drivers included 13% total sales growth, 10% comparable-store sales increases, and an upward revision to full-year earnings guidance, which bolstered investor confidence in the company's execution amid favorable inventory positioning.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
BURL and ROST share an off-price retail model that benefits from opportunistic inventory sourcing and appeal to price-sensitive shoppers, yet differences emerge in scale and execution. ROST maintains a larger market capitalization and broader store footprint, contributing to greater liquidity and analyst coverage. In recent weeks, ROST exhibited stronger relative momentum following its earnings beat and guidance raise, while BURL faced near-term pressure ahead of its own report. Both face similar risk factors including shifts in consumer discretionary spending, supply chain dynamics, and competition from other value retailers. Sector exposure remains concentrated in apparel and home goods, with market sentiment influenced by macroeconomic indicators such as employment data and inflation trends. ROST's recent outperformance underscores potential advantages in scale and operational consistency, whereas BURL's trajectory reflects steady expansion within a comparable framework.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as recent earnings momentum, trend consistency, and relative positioning, Tickeron's AI would currently assign a higher probabilistic preference to ROST. The stock's post-earnings response, raised guidance, and superior year-to-date returns provide measurable evidence of stronger near-term catalysts compared with BURL's pre-earnings positioning. This assessment remains probabilistic and tied to available data rather than forward projections.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is BURL is a Hold and ROST is a StrongBuy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
BURL’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileROST’s FA Score has 4 green FA rating(s).
- BURL’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- ROST’s FA Score: 4 green, 1 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
BURL’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while ROST’s TA Score has 6 bullish TA indicator(s).
- BURL’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- ROST’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 3 bearish.
Price Growth
BURL (@Apparel/Footwear Retail) experienced а -6.43% price change this week, while ROST (@Apparel/Footwear Retail) price change was +2.03% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Apparel/Footwear Retail industry was -1.07%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -2.71%, and the average quarterly price growth was +3.50%.
Reported Earning Dates
BURL is expected to report earnings on Aug 27, 2026.
ROST is expected to report earnings on Nov 12, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Apparel/Footwear Retail (-1.07% weekly)Companies in the apparel and/or footwear retail industry sell clothing, accessories and footwear, for different age groups and genders. The industry’s product categories could range from basics, such as underwear, to luxury items. Some retailers source items from wholesalers or an apparel brand to sell in their stores; some others are licensed to make and market their own retail goods under particular brands. Several companies outsource production of clothing to developing/emerging economies where labor costs are relatively inexpensive. Apparel retail is often influenced by fashion trends, and many companies feel the need to adapt to what’s “in vogue” to retain customers and attract new ones. A major disruption in this industry has been the burgeoning trend in digital shopping – to compete with rapidly growing e-commerce, even traditional retail players are upping the ante on their online platforms. Much of the products’ performance in apparel/footwear retail is cyclical, i.e., economic boom times encourage consumer spending, while recessions induce thriftiness among people. Some large-cap U.S. apparel/footwear retail companies include TJX Companies Inc., Ross Stores, Inc., Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Burlington Stores, Inc.
| BURL | ROST | BURL / ROST | |
| Capitalization | 19.8B | 77.4B | 26% |
| EBITDA | 1.33B | 3.6B | 37% |
| Gain YTD | 9.147 | 34.438 | 27% |
| P/E Ratio | 32.44 | 29.16 | 111% |
| Revenue | 11.9B | 23.8B | 50% |
| Total Cash | 747M | 4.13B | 18% |
| Total Debt | 5.87B | 4.72B | 124% |
BURL | ROST | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 66 | 78 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 79 Overvalued | 93 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 16 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 25 | 25 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 53 | 21 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 53 | 24 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 90 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
BURL's Valuation (79) in the Apparel Or Footwear Retail industry is in the same range as ROST (93). This means that BURL’s stock grew similarly to ROST’s over the last 12 months.
ROST's Profit vs Risk Rating (16) in the Apparel Or Footwear Retail industry is significantly better than the same rating for BURL (100). This means that ROST’s stock grew significantly faster than BURL’s over the last 12 months.
ROST's SMR Rating (25) in the Apparel Or Footwear Retail industry is in the same range as BURL (25). This means that ROST’s stock grew similarly to BURL’s over the last 12 months.
ROST's Price Growth Rating (21) in the Apparel Or Footwear Retail industry is in the same range as BURL (53). This means that ROST’s stock grew similarly to BURL’s over the last 12 months.
ROST's P/E Growth Rating (24) in the Apparel Or Footwear Retail industry is in the same range as BURL (53). This means that ROST’s stock grew similarly to BURL’s over the last 12 months.
| BURL | ROST | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 54% | 2 days ago 63% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 73% | 2 days ago 62% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 66% | 2 days ago 51% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 53% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 69% | 2 days ago 65% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 73% | 2 days ago 67% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 72% | 3 days ago 63% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 67% | 7 days ago 54% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 72% | 2 days ago 80% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 65% |
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BURL and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, BURL has been loosely correlated with ROST. These tickers have moved in lockstep 50% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if BURL jumps, then ROST could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To BURL | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BURL | 100% | -4.65% | ||
| ROST - BURL | 50% Loosely correlated | -0.14% | ||
| DBI - BURL | 41% Loosely correlated | -5.64% | ||
| TJX - BURL | 40% Loosely correlated | -0.87% | ||
| BOOT - BURL | 34% Loosely correlated | -1.31% | ||
| CAL - BURL | 33% Loosely correlated | -4.40% | ||
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ROST and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, ROST has been loosely correlated with BURL. These tickers have moved in lockstep 52% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if ROST jumps, then BURL could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To ROST | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROST | 100% | -0.14% | ||
| BURL - ROST | 52% Loosely correlated | -4.65% | ||
| CAL - ROST | 40% Loosely correlated | -4.40% | ||
| DBI - ROST | 37% Loosely correlated | -5.64% | ||
| GCO - ROST | 36% Loosely correlated | -4.13% | ||
| URBN - ROST | 36% Loosely correlated | -0.36% | ||
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