Dollar General ups FY outlook after Q3 sales beat

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Dollar General were set to rise strongly when US markets opened on Thursday after the American discount retailer raised its full-year outlook on the back of a strong third-quarter sales performance. The company, which operates from nearly 21,000 locations nationwide, said it now expects net sales for the fiscal year ending 30 January 2026 to rise by 4.7% to 4.9%, ahead of previous guidance of 4.3-4.8% growth, while the same-store sales growth forecast has been lifted to 2.5-2.7% from 2.1-2.6%.



Earnings per share are expected to come in at $6.30-6.50, ahead of previous guidance of $5.80-6.30, with full-year capital expenditure now tipped to be within the lower end of the $1.3bn-1.4bn range.

Net sales over the three months to 31 October were up 4.6% year-on-year at $10.65bn, slightly above the consensus forecast of $10.62bn, as comparable sales growth fo 2.5% beat the 2.3% estimate.

Dollar General said growth was helped by a 2.5% increase in customer traffic during the period, while average transaction amounts were flat over year.

Net profits for the period totalled $282.7m, up 43.8% over last year, with EPS growing by the same amount to $1.28, comfortably ahead of the 95 cents forecast.

Dollar General futures were up 4.1% at $114.40 in pre-market trade on Wall Street.