Dollar General shares surged 6% in the cash session Thursday morning after stronger customer traffic fueled a second-quarter earnings beat and prompted the discount retailer to raise its full-year outlook.
Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe wrote in a first take on earnings that "traffic-led momentum drives another beat."
The discount retailer, with 21,000 stores nationwide, most of them located in low-income ZIP codes, reported second-quarter earnings of $2.48 per share, up from $1.86 a year earlier and well above the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of $2. Revenue increased 5.2% to $11.29 billion, while comparable sales rose 3.5%, exceeding the 2.63% expected by analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
Operating profit in the quarter jumped 29% to $769.2 million, beating the $637 million estimate. Gross margin expanded to 32.6% from 31.3% one year ago and came in well above the 31.7% consensus forecast.
Tarlowe said the results reflected "broad-based category strength" and continued traffic momentum, with customer visits rising 2%.
Dollar General raised its 2027 comparable-sales growth forecast to a range of 2.5% to 2.9%, from a previous range of 2.2% to 2.7%. The retailer now expects earnings of $7.80 to $8 per share, up from $7.20 to $7.45 and also above estimates.
That strength may be a little deceiving and might not signal a healthy consumer. Dollar General's traffic-led growth suggests cash-strapped households continue to trade down.
Last week, Walmart repo
