BURL vs. ROST: Burlington Stores vs. Ross Stores Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Burlington Stores (BURL) 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

Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST) are both classified in the Apparel Retail sub-industry within the broader Specialty Retail industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Profile Item	BURL	ROST
Name	Burlington Stores 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	Apparel Retail	Apparel Retail
Market Capitalization	15.50 billion USD	74.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	October 2, 2013	August 8, 1985
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BURL

ROST

GSPC

Burlington Stores (BURL) 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 Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
Total Return (1Y)	-9.83%	49.04%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	24.64%	26.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-3.29%	16.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BURL

ROST

GSPC

Burlington Stores (BURL) 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 Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	41.03%	27.67%
Beta (5Y)	1.48	0.83
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-63.32%	-40.66%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.46M	2.30M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BURL 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 Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.34	1.62
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.48	2.70

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 41.41% and Ross Stores (ROST) at 42.63% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

41.41%

Max: 62.17%
BURL: 41.41%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

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%

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ross Stores (ROST) at 10.85% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 5.85%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

5.85%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
BURL: 5.85%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ross Stores (ROST) at 13.58% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Burlington Stores (BURL) at 6.72%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

6.72%

Max: 21.45%
Q3: 10.89%
BURL: 6.72%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
ROE (TTM)	41.41%	42.63%
ROA (TTM)	6.15%	12.79%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.85%	10.85%
Operating Margin (TTM)	6.72%	13.58%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.08%	33.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 8.76% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 21.92% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Ross Stores (ROST) at 4.59% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for BURL.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.76%	7.67%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.95%	6.76%
EPS Growth (YoY)	21.92%	4.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	39.67%	14.70%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.17 and Ross Stores (ROST) at 1.61 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.17

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
BURL: 1.17
Q1: 1.00
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Ross Stores (ROST) at 0.70 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while Burlington Stores (BURL) at 2.95 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.95

Max: 3.93
BURL: 2.95
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

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

Burlington Stores (BURL) vs. Ross Stores (ROST): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.17	1.61
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.95	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.82	0.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) 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.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
BURL: 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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) 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.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
BURL: 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%

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

Dividend Metrics

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

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 22.17 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.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

22.17

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
BURL: 22.17
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Burlington Stores (BURL) at 1.27 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ross Stores (ROST) at 3.02 sits in the pricier quartile — ROST costs more per dollar of sales.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.27

Max: 4.32
Q3: 1.99
BURL: 1.27
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Burlington Stores (BURL) at 7.74 and Ross Stores (ROST) at 10.96 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

BURL

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

7.74

Max: 10.96
BURL: 7.74
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

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

Burlington Stores (BURL) 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 Burlington Stores (BURL) and Ross Stores (ROST)
Metric	BURL	ROST
P/E Ratio (TTM)	22.17	27.94
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.27	3.02
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.74	10.96
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.69%	2.70%