The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX)

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By division, Marmaxx comps rose 4%, compared with last year's 7%, HomeGoods increased 10% vs. last year's 6%, TJX Canada rose 2% vs. 4% year over year, and TJX Europe improved 5% vs. the tough 11% comp posted last year. Store square footage grew 5% year over year, and management reiterated long-term store growth potential to 5,150 stores (this was raised at its Oct. 22 analyst day). Pretax profit margin rose 90 basis points year over year to 12.6% -- currency had a negative impact of 2 basis points.

Gross margins rose 50 basis points year over year to 29.3%, driven by buying and occupancy leverage on the higher sales, and selling, general and administrative expense improved 40 basis points year over year to 16.6%. Inventories fell 4%, which was the real surprise, and this puts the company in great position to buy the most current fashions and product out there. The company repurchased $375 million in the quarter, and year to date it has spent $1 billion in buybacks, and guidance was to continue to spend $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion in fiscal 201