Dollar General (NYSE:DG) is a Tennessee-based discount retailer that provides various merchandise products in the southern, southwestern, midwestern, and eastern United States. The dollar store/discount retailer space has enjoyed massive success and growth over the last 15 years, greatly expanding its consumer base. Its value proposition has become more potent in an era of higher inflation and rising interest rates. The company unveiled its first batch of fiscal 2024 earnings this week.
Shares of Dollar General have dropped 4% in the morning hours after its earnings release. The stock is now down 4.8% in the year-to-date period at the time of this writing. Its shares were down 34% year over year.
The company unveiled its first quarter (Q1) fiscal 2024 earnings on Thursday, May 30, 2024. Dollar General reported net sales of $9.9 billion in Q1 2024 – up 6.1% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, it posted same-store sales growth of 2.4% while its operating profit dropped 26% to $546 million. Cash flows from operations surged 247% to $663 million. Dollar General benefited from an increase in customer traffic while the average transaction amount declined.
For the rest of the 2024 fiscal year, Dollar General is projecting net sales growth between 6.0% to 6.7% and same-store sales growth in the range of 2.0% to 2.7%. Moreover, it is projecting diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the range of roughly $6.80 to $7.55.
Shares of Dollar General currently possess a favourable price-to-earnings ratio of 17. Moreover, it offers a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share. That represents a modest 1.7% yield.