TJX Companies runs over 5,200 stores across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia under six brand names: TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Homesense, Winners, and Sierra. Every time a customer walks in and buys something, that is how the company makes money. There are no subscriptions, no service contracts, no recurring fees. The whole model is built around one simple idea: buy discounted merchandise from brands, manufacturers, and other retailers, then sell it to shoppers at prices that are generally 20% to 60% below what a regular department store would charge. The company employs over 1,400 buyers who search the market year-round for closeouts, cancelled orders, and overstock from more than 21,000 vendors across more than 100 countries. That constant hunt for surplus goods is what keeps the shelves fresh and the prices low. The diagram below traces where the money goes.
Five years of financial data tell a clear story about direction. Revenue has grown every single year, from $48.5 billion in fiscal 2022 to $60.4 billion in fiscal 2026. That is not a bumpy recovery. It is a consistent climb, even as the broader retail world dealt with inflation, supply chain disruptions, and shifting consumer habits.
Gross margin tells an equally encouraging story. It dipped slightly to 27.6% in fiscal 2023, but then recovered and kept climbing, reaching 31.0% in fiscal 2026. That means TJX is keeping a slightly larger share of each dollar it takes in, even as the company gets bigger. Free cash flow, the money left over after paying for operations and capital spending, jumped from $2.0 billion in fiscal 2022 to $4.9 billion in fiscal 2026. That is real money available to pay dividends, buy back shares, and build new stores.
The balance sheet is also in a comfortable position. Net debt has been negative in each of the five years shown, meaning the company holds more cash than it owes in debt. In fiscal 2026, net debt sat at negative $2.4 billion. TJX held $6.2 billion in cash as of January 31, 2026, with no short-term borrowings outstanding. The company returned $4.3 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in fiscal 2026 alone.
The company's growth plan still relies heavily on opening new physical stores. TJX currently estimates it can eventually operate up to 7,000 stores worldwide, compared to 5,214 at the end of fiscal 2026. That leaves room to add roughly 1,800 more locations across all its brands and regions, with the biggest expansion potential in HomeGoods (up to 1,800 stores) and TJX International (up to 1,225 stores). In fiscal 2027, the company plans to open stores in Spain for the first time under the TK Maxx name.
Several documented risks could disrupt the business. The most immediate is tariffs. In 2026, a new global tariff was issued after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down earlier tariff rules. TJX sources goods from China, India, Southeast Asia, and many other countries. Higher import costs could squeeze the price gap that makes the whole concept attractive to shoppers. The company says its buying team is working to offset this, but it openly states it cannot predict the outcome.
A second risk is the human judgment at the center of the model. Buyers decide what to stock, when to buy it, and how much to order. If they guess wrong, stores end up with inventory that has to be marked down, cutting into profits. A third risk is cybersecurity. TJX experienced a major data breach affecting nearly 46 million customers, announced in early 2007, which showed how damaging a systems failure can be to the company's finances and reputation. The 10-K lists cyberattacks and system failures as a current high-severity risk. Finally, the company is locked into long-term store leases. If a store underperforms, the rent and other fixed costs keep running regardless.
The seasonal nature of the business adds one more layer of complexity. TJX earns a disproportionate share of its sales and income in the second half of the year, covering back-to-school and the year-end holiday season. A weak holiday quarter has an outsized effect on the full-year result.