#8 Ross Stores
????Ticker: ROST
????YTD stock performance: 50%
????Market cap: $10.5 billion
????Fortune 500 Rank: 303
????As high employment continues to plague the nation, Americans have been shopping for bargains. That helped Ross Stores, which sells brand-name merchandise at discounts between 20% and 70%, generate strong sales growth every quarter this year.
????During both the second and third quarter of the year, when signs of a slowing economy were in the spotlight, overall revenue jumped by a robust 9% during each three-month period, while same-stores sales, a key measure for retailers, grew at a healthy 5%.
????Though the discount retailer boasts store locations across 27 states and Guam, it continues to notably grow in big markets. Ross recently opened 12 new stores in Chicago, and has significant plans to expand across the Midwest.
