Gap and Ross Stores Have a Weather Problem

But you wouldn’t know it from their earnings calls…

The first step to a cure is admitting you have a problem —Alcoholics Anonymous

I’d planned on doing a rundown on the earnings results of specialty apparel when most of the companies I follow report next week, but on the back of the GAP and ROST earnings beats yesterday, I’m breaking them out separately this morning — because the commentary from leadership was unusually instructive.

A little background first: more than 20 years ago, both Gap and Ross were clients of mine. I know how their businesses move with the weather. Their sales aren’t just weather-influenced; they’re weather-driven — especially during the fall (and spring!) transitions when a few degrees can accelerate or stall entire categories.

So no, I wasn’t surprised (and neither were you, dear readers) when both companies beat the Street… bigly.

Gap (NYSE: GPS): Surprises With Q3 CY2025 Sales
Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST): Q3 CY2025 Beats on Revenue

If you’re a regular reader, you may recall that I’ve been calling for this kind of u…