Overview
- Dollar General reported Q2 earnings on Thursday with diluted EPS of $2.48, net sales of $11.3 billion, same-store sales up 3.5% and customer traffic up about 2%.
- The company raised full-year guidance to $7.80–$8.00 in EPS, increased its comparable-sales outlook, and authorized up to $700 million in share repurchases beginning in Q3.
- Dollar Tree also beat Q2 expectations with adjusted EPS of $2.70 and $4.89 billion in revenue, but its Q3 EPS guide of $0.80–$0.95 fell well below Street expectations.
- Both chains received large one-time tariff-refund benefits this quarter that materially boosted margins and EPS—Dollar General disclosed roughly a $0.25 EPS lift and Dollar Tree reported about $1.31 per share—making analysts strip these items to judge core performance.
- Investors reacted sharply to the split guidance with Dollar General shares jumping about 8% premarket and Dollar Tree down roughly 3%; analysts say future marks to watch are comp sales, traffic trends, fuel costs and competitors’ pricing because those determine whether gains will endure and what customers pay.