Dollar General beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and revenue as comparable sales rose 4.3% year over year.
At the same time, the retailer outlined initiatives aimed at strengthening non-consumables sales, including adding new brands to a portfolio that already includes Kathy Ireland and Dolly Parton and expanding a new store layout designed to encourage browsing across its store base.
Net income was $426.3 million, or $1.93 per diluted share, versus $191.2 million, or 87 cents per diluted share, in the year-before quarter.
Dollar General beat a Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate of $1.61 per diluted share with revenues ahead of the forecast by 1.17%.
Comparable sales advanced 4.3% year over year. Net sales were $10.91 billion versus $10.3 billion in the year-prior quarter. Operating profit was $606.3 million, up from $294.2 million in the year-earlier period, the company noted.
For the full fiscal year, Dollar General net income was $1.51 billion, or $6.85 per diluted share, versus $1.13 billion, or $5.11 per diluted share, in the year before.
Net sales were $42.72 billion versus $40.61 billion in the year prior. Operating profit was $2.2 billion versus $1.71 billion in the year earlier, the company maintained.
For the current fiscal year, Dollar General expects net sales growth in the range of 3.7% to 4.2% and diluted earnings per share to fall in the range of $7.10 to $7.35, assuming a negative impact of 13 cents due to the expiration of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit on December 31, 2025.
Todd Vasos, Dollar General CEO, said in a conference call, “For the fourth consecutive quarter, we delivered broad-based category sales growth with positive comp sales in each of our consumables, seasonal, home and apparel categories. Notably, sales in the combined non-consumable categories outpaced a solid increase in consumable sales also for the fourth consecutive quarter.”
After recent efforts on the digital sales front, key initiatives the company is driving in 2026 include enhancements to physical stores and product assortment.
“We have reimagined our traditional store format by creating a new layout in response to what customers have told us they want from their shopping trip. This new format is designed to be more open and inviting, resulting in greater browsing and treasure hunt shopping as customers are exposed to more categories as they navigate the store. We tested this new format in a portion of our 2025 remodel projects and are pleased with the incremental sales lift and relative sales outperformance compared to traditional remodels. Ultimately, we believe this format will help drive both increased transactions and ticket sales as the store provides for an even fuller fill-in trip. As we look to build on our success in 2025 and further increase penetration of non-consumable sales, we have exciting plans to drive growth in our discretionary categories. More specifically, we’re continuing to evolve and expand our offering.
Following the highly successful brand expansion in 2025, including Dolly Parton, Kathy Ireland, and others, we expect to launch at least 15 new brands in non-consumable categories in 2026. In addition, as we look to showcase even more value in non-consumable categories this year while continuing to drive profitable sales growth, we also plan to capitalize on a number of other exciting opportunities in these areas, including building on our proven closeout buying strategy, launching a loyalty program in key non-consumable categories and growing non-consumable sales through Shoppable Social marketing.”
Plans to boost general merchandise sales will continue beyond 2026.
“Notably, our goal is to increase non-consumable sales penetration to as high as 20% by 2029. This would represent meaningful gross margin expansion and is an important component of our long-term financial framework,” Vasos said.
In announcing the fourth quarter financial results, Vasos stated, “Our fourth quarter performance was highlighted by a 4.3% increase in same-store sales and continued advancement of our key initiatives, which contributed to strong operating margin expansion and EPS growth that well exceeded our expectations. Overall, this momentum reflects the progress we’ve made with our strategy and the continued relevance of our unique combination of value and convenience, particularly in the thousands of rural communities we serve. Looking ahead to 2026, we are excited about our plans to drive continued growth through a variety of initiatives designed to further enhance the customer experience, elevate our brand, drive greater enterprise-wide efficiencies and extend our reach, all while creating long-term shareholder value.”
