Sales of non-consumable, including the home category, helped push Dollar General to a Wall Street beat in a strong third quarter.
Net income was $282.7 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, versus $196.5 million, or 89 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter.
A Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate called for Dollar General third-quarter earnings per diluted share of 92 cents with revenues of $10.61 billion.
Comparable sales advanced 2.5% in the quarter year over year with a 2.5% increase in customer traffic and a flat average transaction amount, the company maintained. Net sales were $10.65 billion versus $10.18 billion in the year-before period. Operating profit was $425.9 million versus $323.8 million in the quarter a year prior.
In updated fiscal 2025 guidance, Dollar General stated it now expects year-over-year net sales growth of 4.7% to 4.9% compared to its previous expectation of 4.3% to 4.8%; comp growth of 2.5% to 2.7% compared to 2.1% to 2.6%; and diluted EPS of $6.30 to $6.50 compared $5.80 to $6.30.
The company reported it would execute a total of about 4,885 real estate projects in the current fiscal year, including opening 575 new stores in the United States and as many as 15 new stores in Mexico. It plans to upgrade 2,000 stores through its Project Renovate, redate 2,250 stores through its Project Elevate and relocate 45 stores.
Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said in a conference call, “For the third consecutive quarter, we delivered broad-based category sales growth with positive comp sales in each of our consumables, seasonal, home and apparel categories.”
He noted non-consumable comp sales gains led those of consumables in the quarter, adding the company enjoyed, in a driving customer count increase, a disproportionately large gain from higher-income households.
In announcing the financial results, Vasos said, “These results were highlighted by EPS growth of 44%, strong operating margin performance and balanced sales growth, including market share gains across both consumable and non-consumable categories. We are especially pleased with the continued progress we are making against our key initiatives and are excited about the opportunities ahead of us at Dollar General, including the 2026 real estate growth plans we announced today.”
