AZO vs. ROST: AutoZone vs. Ross Stores Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST) both belong to the Specialty Retail industry, though AZO is classified under Automotive Retail while ROST falls under Apparel Retail.

Company profile comparison for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Profile Item	AZO	ROST
Name	AutoZone, Inc.	Ross Stores Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Specialty Retail	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Automotive Retail	Apparel Retail
Market Capitalization	51.77 billion USD	74.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	April 2, 1991	August 8, 1985
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AZO

ROST

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Total Return (1Y)	-12.81%	49.04%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	6.56%	26.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.68%	16.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AZO

ROST

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.55%	27.67%
Beta (5Y)	0.37	0.83
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-35.88%	-40.66%
Avg. Volume (3M)	268.95K	2.30M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AZO and ROST are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.56	1.62
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.74	2.70

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Ross Stores (ROST) earns 42.63% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no ROE this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 62.17%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%
AZO: --

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

42.63%

Max: 62.17%
ROST: 42.63%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): AZO does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; ROST is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both AutoZone (AZO) at 12.65% and Ross Stores (ROST) at 10.85% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

12.65%

Max: 16.94%
AZO: 12.65%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

10.85%

Max: 16.94%
ROST: 10.85%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both AutoZone (AZO) at 18.03% and Ross Stores (ROST) at 13.58% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

18.03%

Max: 21.45%
AZO: 18.03%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

13.58%

Max: 21.45%
ROST: 13.58%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
ROE (TTM)	--	42.63%
ROA (TTM)	10.97%	12.79%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.65%	10.85%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.03%	13.58%
Gross Margin (TTM)	51.71%	33.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both AutoZone (AZO) at 7.39% and Ross Stores (ROST) at 7.67% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Ross Stores (ROST) reports EPS growth of 4.59%, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no EPS growth figure this period.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.39%	7.67%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.22%	6.76%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	4.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	14.70%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ross Stores (ROST) at 1.61 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while AutoZone (AZO) at 0.90 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AZO.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.90

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
AZO: 0.90
Min: 0.48

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.61

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
ROST: 1.61
Median: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Ross Stores (ROST) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70 against its industry range, while AutoZone (AZO) reports no figure this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01
AZO: --

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.70

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
ROST: 0.70
Min: 0.01

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): AZO does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; ROST is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.90	1.61
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.00	0.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Ross Stores (ROST) reports a yield of 0.72%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.72%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
ROST: 0.72%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Ross Stores (ROST) reports a payout of 20.56%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

20.56%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
ROST: 20.56%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.72%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	20.56%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 21.08 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ross Stores (ROST) at 27.94 sits in the richer quartile — ROST needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

21.08

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
AZO: 21.08
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

27.94

Max: 40.50
ROST: 27.94
Q3: 24.26
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both AutoZone (AZO) at 2.55 and Ross Stores (ROST) at 3.02 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.55

Max: 4.32
AZO: 2.55
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

3.02

Max: 4.32
ROST: 3.02
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

AutoZone (AZO) reports a negative P/B ratio of -20.79, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Ross Stores (ROST) reports 10.96, ranking against industry peers normally.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

-20.79

Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45
AZO: -20.79

ROST

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

10.96

ROST: 10.96
Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

AutoZone (AZO) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	AZO	ROST
P/E Ratio (TTM)	21.08	27.94
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.55	3.02
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.79	10.96
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.31%	2.70%