January 29,  January 31, (In thousands, except share data) 2005 2004 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 106,532  $ 84,190 Short-term investments 211,275  84,495 Merchandise inventories 615,483  525,643 Deferred tax assets (Note 3) 8,072 11,716 Prepaid expenses and other current assets (Note 2) 28,525 16,525 Total current assets 969,887 722,569 Property, plant and equipment, net (Notes 2, 5 and 12) 685,386 634,427 Intangibles, net (Notes 2 and 10) 129,032 123,738 Other assets, net (Notes 11 and 12) 8,367 20,785 TOTAL ASSETS $1,792,672  $1,501,519 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities: Current portion of long-term debt (Note 5) $ 19,000  $ 25,000 Current installments of obligations under capital leases (Note 2) 12,212 5,324 Accounts payable 124,195 114,972 Other current liabilities (Note 2) 105,279 89,959 Income taxes payable 33,669 37,035 Total current liabilities 294,355 272,290 Long-term debt, excluding current portion (Notes 5 and 12)  250,000 142,568 Obligations under capital leases, excluding current installments (Note 2) 534 12,259 Deferred tax liabilities (Note 3) 42,075 29,717 Other liabilities (Notes 6 and 8) 41,496 30,163 Total liabilities 628,460 486,997 Shareholders’ equity (Notes 6, 7 and 9): Common stock, par value $0.01. 300,000,000 shares authorized, 113,020,941 and 114,083,768 shares issued and outstanding at January 29, 2005 and January 31, 2004, respectively 1,130 1,141 Additional paid-in capital 177,684 208,870 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (294) (970) Unearned compensation (101) (62) Retained earnings 985,793  805,543 Total shareholders’ equity 1,164,212  1,014,522 Commitments and contingencies — — TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $1,792,672 $1,501,519 See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 28 DOLLAR TREE STORES, INC. • 2004 ANNUAL REPORT CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS