ROST vs NKE vs AEO Stock Comparison

Ross Stores, Nike and American Eagle Outfitters Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ROST Ross Stores, Inc.
$229.30 -2.0% 1M +46.4% 1Y
Market cap
$74.35B
P/E
28.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.51B
Div. yield
0.01%
Apparel Retail Consumer Discretionary
8 wins
NKE NIKE, Inc.
$37.32 +3.5% 1M -46.4% 1Y
Market cap
$56.24B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.89B
Div. yield
0.04%
Footwear Consumer Discretionary
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ross Stores leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Ross Stores 8, American Eagle Outfitters 3, Nike 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionROSTNKEAEOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $74.35B $56.24B $3.13B ROST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.0x 18.2x 9.3x AEO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.4x 30.6x 8.5x AEO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.0% -1.2% +9.2% ROST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.8% 6.7% 5.9% ROST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 33.9% 13.0% 19.0% ROST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.8x -0.1x -0.1x ROST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.04% 0.03% NKE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +46.4% -46.4% +8.2% ROST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.8%/yr -25.6%/yr -6.0%/yr ROST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.0% 36.6% 52.1% ROST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 43/100 77/100 AEO

Percentile Scorecard

ROSTNKEAEO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisROSTNKEAEO
Valuation 13 #91 of 104 36 #30 of 46 86 #15 of 104
Growth 87 #14 of 99 12 #38 of 43 79 #22 of 99
Profitability 91 #10 of 99 54 #20 of 42 78 #23 of 99
Financial Health 87 #16 of 113 58 #23 of 53 80 #23 of 113
Shareholder Returns 51 #36 of 73 58 #15 of 34 60 #30 of 73
Overall 66 43 77
  • ROST ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • NKE ranked among 53 companies in Apparel and Luxury
  • AEO ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodROSTNKEAEOSPY
1 month -2.0%+3.5%+12.5% -1.0%
3 months -4.0%-10.3%+5.4% +2.9%
6 months +1.3%-16.5%0.0% +6.4%
Year to date +27.3%-41.4%-32.1% +11.4%
1 year +46.4%-46.4%+8.2% +13.1%
3 years +98.0%-64.5%+1.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +25.6%-29.2%+0.5% +21.5%
5 years +107.7%-77.2%-26.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +15.8%-25.6%-6.0% +10.9%
10 years +261.7%-27.9%+1.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.7%-3.2%+0.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureROSTNKEAEOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.0%36.6%52.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.4%38.6%55.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.520.581.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.78-1.270.16 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-80.9%-67.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.2%-46.4%-36.5% -2.5%
52-week high $255.23$69.68$28.19 $779.14
52-week low $156.66$33.90$14.52 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleROSTNKEAEO
P/E now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 16.7x 17.9xmedian 15.9x 8.9xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 0.5x 1.2xmedian 0.7x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 9.1x 12.2xmedian 9.2x 4.4xmedian 9.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 16.6x 26.3xmedian 12.2x 8.7xmedian 16.6x
P/B now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 1.7x 3.6xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 0.73 -1.28median 0.57 0.37median 0.73

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsROSTNKEAEO
Revenue $24.51B $45.89B $5.75B
Gross profit $7.27B $19.77B $2.33B
Operating income $3.37B $3.76B $447.95M
Net income $2.66B $3.09B $330.75M
Free cash flow $2.79B $2.11B $343.50M
EPS (diluted) $8.32 $2.08 $1.98
Cash & equivalents $4.29B $6.90B $147.95M
Total debt $1.02B $31.94B $350.00M
Shares (diluted) 319.45M 1.48B 170.18M
Enterprise value $57.27B $22.44B $2.53B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricROSTNKEAEO
P/E 27.4x 17.9x 8.9x
P/FCF 26.3x 26.3x 8.7x
P/Operating cash flow 20.0x 19.9x 5.0x
P/S 3.0x 1.2x 0.5x
P/B 10.9x 3.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 10.9x 3.7x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 17.9x 12.2x 4.4x
EV/EBIT 20.8x 14.6x 6.5x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 1.2x 0.5x
EV/FCF 25.1x 26.1x 8.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 19.8x 4.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 -1.28 0.37

Growth

14 metrics
MetricROSTNKEAEO
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.0% -1.2% 9.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -3.8% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.5% 1.5% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% -4.1% 7.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.6% 9.9% 68.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.6% -13.6% 17.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.9% 6.8% 71.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.3% -15.1% 17.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.1% 6.5% 72.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.5% -14.0% 24.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.0% -21.1% 46.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% -19.9% -3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 66.2% -30.0% 126.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.2% -22.1% -7.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricROSTNKEAEO
Gross margin 29.7% 43.1% 40.5%
EBITDA margin 16.0% 9.8% 11.6%
Operating margin 13.7% 8.2% 7.8%
Pretax margin 14.3% 8.5% 7.6%
Net margin 10.8% 6.7% 5.9%
FCF margin 11.4% 4.6% 6.0%
Operating cash flow margin 14.9% 6.1% 10.4%
Return on equity 40.8% 20.6% 19.3%
Return on assets 16.9% 8.1% 7.9%
Return on invested capital 33.9% 13.0% 19.0%
Return on capital employed 31.0% 14.1% 13.4%
Asset turnover 1.6x 1.2x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.9x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.5% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricROSTNKEAEO
Debt / assets 6.4% 20.9% 1.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.5x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.8x -0.1x -0.1x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 3.7x 0.2x
Liabilities / assets 57.8% 59.7% 58.8%
Equity / assets 42.2% 40.3% 41.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.6x 2.1x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.2x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.68 3.40 3.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricROSTNKEAEO
Dividend yield 0.8% 4.4% 2.9%
Net buyback yield 1.6% -0.4% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 4.0% 5.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 20.6% 78.4% 25.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 19.7% 115.2% 24.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.9% 4.0% -7.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 5.7% 28.9%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusROSTNKEAEO
Forward P/E 28.4xFY2026 30.6xFY2026 8.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.06FY2026 $1.22FY2026 $2.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.9%FY2026 -41.9%FY2026 +40.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.6% +18.0% -11.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.93BFY2026 $40.49BFY2026 $6.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 -12.7%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.3% +11.8% +3.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersROSTNKEAEO
Held by institutions 93.4% 80.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,420 1,734 344
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +1.9% +13.9%
Institutions buying 763 797 164
Institutions selling 440 754 135
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.06 1.21

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ROSTNKEAEO
ROST 1.00 0.25 0.28
NKE 0.25 1.00 0.26
AEO 0.28 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ROST, NKE and AEO?

Ross Stores (ROST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ross Stores (ROST) $74.35B, Nike (NKE) $56.24B, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) $3.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, ROST, NKE and AEO?

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ross Stores (ROST) 28.0x, Nike (NKE) 18.2x, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 9.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is cheapest (Ross Stores (ROST) 28.4x, Nike (NKE) 30.6x, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 8.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ross Stores (ROST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ross Stores (ROST) +14.0%, Nike (NKE) -1.2%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +9.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ross Stores (ROST) has the highest net margin (Ross Stores (ROST) 10.8%, Nike (NKE) 6.7%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Ross Stores (ROST) leads (Ross Stores (ROST) 33.9%, Nike (NKE) 13.0%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 19.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ross Stores (ROST) returned the most: Ross Stores (ROST) +46.4%, Nike (NKE) -46.4%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) +8.2%. Over five years, Ross Stores (ROST) compounded fastest (Ross Stores (ROST) +15.8%/yr, Nike (NKE) -25.6%/yr, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) -6.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nike (NKE) has the highest dividend yield: Ross Stores (ROST) 0.01%, Nike (NKE) 0.04%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ross Stores (ROST) has been the steadiest (Ross Stores (ROST) 26.0%, Nike (NKE) 36.6%, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 52.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ROST, NKE and AEO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ross Stores (ROST) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.