By Connor Hart
Dollar General logged higher profit and sales in its fiscal first quarter as it opened new stores and as consumers continued relying on the company for low-cost goods.
The discount retailer on Tuesday posted a profit of $444.1 million for its quarter ended May 1, up from $391.9 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, quarterly earnings of $2 a share topped the $1.89 a share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.
Sales climbed 3.4% to $10.79 billion, just ahead of the $10.81 billion that Wall Street modeled. The company attributed the increase to new store openings, which outpaced store closures, as well as higher same-store sales.
Comparable sales, which account for store openings and closings, rose 2%, in line with analyst views and reflecting growth in both traffic and average transaction amount. The company noted growth across its consumables, seasonal, apparel and home-products categories.
Chief Executive Todd Vasos said Dollar General benefited from strong margin expansion during the recent period, which he said more than offset the impact of severe winter weather and higher fuel costs.
"Looking ahead, we believe the essential nature of our offering and our expansive footprint position us well to navigate the current macroeconomic environment," he added.
Shares rose 4.6%, to $115, in premarket trading.
For the year, Dollar General now expects earnings of $7.20 to $7.45 a share, up from a prior forecast of $7.10 to $7.35 a share. Analysts were looking for $7.23 a share.
The company continues to anticipate same-store sales to be up 2.2% to 2.7%, and for net sales growth of 3.7% to 4.2%.
The report comes after rival Dollar Tree last week said its value proposition continues to resonate with customers across all income levels, boosting profit and revenue in the latest quarter and giving the company confidence to raise its outlook for the year.
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2026 07:37 ET (11:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.