Sierra, Marshalls and TJ Maxx Parent TJX Tops Q4 Guide; Sierra Adds 28 Doors in 2025

TJX Cos. reported adjusted earnings rose 16 percent in the fourth quarter, exceeding guidance as companywide same-store sales grew 5 percent. TJX opened four Sierra locations in the quarter and added 28 overall during the year, bringing the total to 145.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026 were $17.7 billion, up 9 percent versus the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2025. Fourth quarter Fiscal 2026 consolidated comparable sales increased 5 percent, topping guidance in the range of 2 percent to 3 percent. For the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026, net income was $1.8 billion and diluted earnings per share were $1.58, up 28 percent versus $1.23 in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2025. Excluding a net benefit of $.15 from the litigation settlement and related expenses, adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $1.43, up 16 percent versus the prior year. Guidance had called for EPS in the range of $1.33 to $1.36.

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, net sales were $60.4 billion, up 7 percent versus last year. Fiscal 2026 consolidated comparable sales increased 5 percent. For Fiscal 2026, net income was $5.5 billion and diluted earnings per share were $4.87, up 14 percent versus $4.26 in Fiscal 2025. Excluding a net benefit of $.14 from the litigation settlement and related expenses, adjusted diluted earnings per share for the full year Fiscal 2026 were $4.73, up 11 percent versus the prior year.

CEO and President Comments
Ernie Herrman, chief executive officer and president of The TJX Companies, Inc., stated, “I am extremely pleased with our excellent performance in 2025. Thanks to the collective efforts and sharp execution of our teams, we delivered above-plan results on both the top- and bottom-line. Annual sales surpassed $60 billion, marking a major milestone for our company. Full-year comparable sales grew a very strong 5 percent, and overall profitability and earnings per share both increased significantly. We are pleased with the strong and consistent sales performance across all of our businesses, with each division delivering comp sales growth of 4 percent or better for the year. We had an excellent fourth quarter, with sales, profitability, and earnings per share all well above our plan. Throughout the year, we stayed focused on our off-price fundamentals to bring customers great values, brands, and fashions as well as an exciting treasure-hunt shopping experience every day. As we begin 2026, the first quarter is off to a strong start, and the availability of quality merchandise continues to be outstanding. Long term, we are excited about the opportunities we see to keep growing our business and capture additional market share around the world for many years to come.”

Comparable Sales by Division
The company’s comparable sales by division for the fourth quarter and full year Fiscal 2026 and Fiscal 2025 were as follows:

FQ4 Fiscal 2026 Margins
For the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026, the company’s pretax profit margin was 13.5 percent, up 1.9 percentage points versus last year’s 11.6 percent. Excluding a net benefit from the litigation settlement and related expenses, adjusted pretax profit margin was 12.2 percent, up 0.6 percentage points versus the prior year.

Gross profit margin for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026 was 30.9 percent, up 0.4 percentage points versus last year’s 30.5 percent. Excluding the impact from litigation settlement-related expenses, adjusted gross profit margin was 31.1 percent, up 0.6 percentage points versus the prior year. This was primarily driven by higher merchandise margins and greater expense leverage on sales, partially offset by unfavorable inventory hedges.

SG&A costs as a percent of sales for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026 were 17.6 percent, a 1.6 percentage point decrease versus last year’s 19.2 percent. Excluding a net benefit from the litigation settlement and related expenses, adjusted SG&A costs were 19.1 percent, a 0.1 percentage point decrease versus the prior year.

Net interest income negatively impacted the fourth-quarter Fiscal 2026 pretax profit margin by 0.1 percentage points versus the prior year.

The company’s fourth quarter Fiscal 2026 adjusted pretax profit margin was well above plan, primarily driven by lower-than-expected inventory shrink expense and expense leverage on the above-plan sales, partially offset by higher incentive compensation accruals.

Full Year Fiscal 2026 Margins
For Fiscal 2026, the company’s pretax profit margin was 12.1 percent, up 0.6 percentage points versus last year’s 11.5 percent. Excluding a net benefit from the litigation settlement and related expenses, the full-year Fiscal 2026 adjusted pretax profit margin was 11.7 percent, up 0.2 percentage points versus the prior year.

Gross profit margin for Fiscal 2026 was 31.0 percent, up 0.4 percentage points versus last year’s 30.6 percent. Excluding the litigation settlement-related expenses, the full-year Fiscal 2026 adjusted gross profit margin was also 31.0 percent. Lower inventory shrink expense resulted in a 0.2 percentage point benefit to the full-year Fiscal 2026 gross profit margin.

SG&A costs as a percent of sales for the full year Fiscal 2026 were 19.1 percent, a 0.3 percentage point decrease versus last year’s 19.4 percent. Excluding a net benefit from the litigation settlement and related expenses, full-year Fiscal 2026 adjusted SG&A costs were 19.5 percent, a 0.1 percentage point increase versus the prior year.

Net interest income negatively impacted full-year Fiscal 2026 pretax profit margin by 0.1 percentage point versus the prior year.

Inventory
Total inventories as of January 31, 2026, were $7.3 billion, compared to $6.4 billion at the end of Fiscal 2025. Consolidated inventories on a per-store basis as of January 31, 2026, including distribution centers, but excluding inventory in transit and the company’s e-commerce sites, were up 10 percent on a reported basis and up 8 percent on a constant currency basis versus last year. The constant currency basis reflects inventory adjusted for any impact from foreign currency exchange rates, as described below. The company enters the year with a strong inventory position to capitalize on market availability and flow fresh assortments to its stores and online this spring.

Cash and Shareholder Distributions
For the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026, the company generated $3.2 billion of operating cash flow. For the full year Fiscal 2026, the company generated $6.9 billion of operating cash flow and ended the year with $6.2 billion of cash.

During the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2026, the company returned $1.26 billion to shareholders. The company repurchased 5.1 million shares of TJX stock for a total of $784 million and paid $472 million in dividends to shareholders during the quarter.

In Fiscal 2026, the company returned $4.3 billion to shareholders. The company repurchased 18.5 million shares of TJX stock for a total of $2.5 billion and paid $1.8 billion in dividends to shareholders.

With continued strong cash flow, the company announced today that it intends to increase the regular quarterly dividend on its common stock expected to be declared in March 2026 and payable in June 2026 to $.48 per share, subject to the approval of the company’s Board of Directors. This would represent a 13 percent increase over the most recent per-share dividend.

The company is also announcing today its plan to repurchase approximately $2.50 to $2.75 billion of TJX stock during the fiscal year ending January 30, 2027. With $1.1 billion remaining at Fiscal 2026 year-end under the company’s existing stock repurchase program, the company’s Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $3.0 billion of TJX common stock from time to time. The new authorization represents approximately 1.8 percent of the company’s outstanding shares at current prices. The new stock repurchase program marks the 26th program approved by the Board since 1997. Under the company’s repurchase programs, shares may be repurchased from time to time in market or private transactions, including through derivative transactions. The repurchase program announced today has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The company may adjust the amount purchased under this program up or down depending on various factors. The company remains committed to returning cash to shareholders while continuing to invest in the business to support TJX’s near- and long-term growth.

First Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2027 Outlook
For the first quarter of Fiscal 2027, the company is planning consolidated comparable sales to be up 2 percent to 3 percent, a pretax profit margin in the range of 10.3 percent to 10.4 percent, and diluted earnings per share in the range of 97 cents to 99 cents.

For the full year Fiscal 2027, the company is planning consolidated comparable sales to be up 2 percent to 3 percent, a pretax profit margin in the range of 11.7 percent to 11.8 percent, and diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.93 to $5.02.

Stores by Concept
During the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, the company increased its store count by 129 stores to 5,214 and increased square footage by 2 percent versus the prior year.

Image and tables courtesy TJX Companies / Sierra