Dollar General Corporation
The sales increase of 3.4% was driven by positive sales contributions from new stores and growth in same-store sales, partially offset by the impact of store closures.
Same-Store Sales Rise On Higher Traffic And Transaction Growth
Same-store sales increased 2.0% compared to the first quarter of 2025, reflecting increases of 1.4% in customer traffic and 0.5% in average transaction amount, including growth in each of the consumables, seasonal, apparel, and home products categories.
"We are pleased with our first-quarter EPS performance, which exceeded our expectations as strong operating margin expansion more than offset the impact of severe winter weather and higher fuel costs," said Todd Vasos, Dollar General's chief executive officer. "Our topline results were highlighted by positive customer traffic and balanced category growth,
Margin Expansion Drives Profit Growth
The company reported a gross profit margin of 31.6%, an increase of 65 basis points, driven primarily by higher inventory markups and lower shrink and inventory damages; partially offset by increased markdowns and transportation costs.
Operating profit increased 10.8% to $638.5 million compared to $576.1 million a year ago.
Earnings came in at $2.00 per share, topping the Street's estimate of $1.88.
Company Lifts Profit Guidance
Dollar General reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 guidance, projecting net sales of $44.31 billion to $44.52 billion, roughly in line with analysts' consensus estimate of $44.43 billion.
The company expects net sales growth of about 3.7% to 4.2% in fiscal 2026, compared with 5.2% growth in fiscal 2025.
Dollar General forecasts earnings of $7.20-$7.45, up from prior guidance of $7.10 to $7.35 per share for 2026, versus the $7.25 per share consensus estimate.
The retailer projects same-store sales growth of approximately 2.2% to 2.7% for the year.
Plans 4,700+ Store Projects In 2026
For fiscal 2026, Dollar General reiterated plans to execute approximately 4,730 real estate projects.
These include opening about 450 new stores in the United States and about 10 new stores in Mexico, remodeling roughly 2,000 stores through Project Renovate and about 2,250 stores through Project Elevate, and relocating approximately 20 stores.
DG Stock Price Activity: Dollar General shares were down 2.62% at $107.05 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
