Dollar General Holding Its Own With Strong Q3 Earnings

Dollar General released favorable Q3 2024 earnings alongside current annual financial estimates. Despite increased competition from big-box stores like Walmart, the discount retailer is holding its own.

In the third quarter, which ended Nov. 2, Dollar General’s revenue reached $10.18 billion. The figure is up from Q3 2023’s $9.69 billion and just over the $10.14 billion Wall Street expected. Earnings per share came in at 89 cents, which was well below projections of 94 cents a share.

For the fiscal year, Dollar General predicts a 4.8% to 5.1% increase in annual net sales, which is mostly in line with analysts’ projections of 4.7% to 5.3%. Annual earnings per share will likely be between $5.50 and $5.90.

According to CEO Todd Vasos, the company remained successful at reaching its core customers and achieved its same-store sales goals for the quarter. Vaso credited Dollar General’s Back to Basics initiative for improving efficiency and creating an overall better store experience for customers.

Dollar General ‘Looking Ahead’

The discount retailer remains optimistic about the future and is investing some money to add more stores and remodel others. By 2026, Dollar General wants an additional 575 new U.S. locations up and running. About 2,250 stores will undergo an overhaul as well. As of now, the company has about 19,000 stores nationwide.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about our robust real estate plans for 2025,” stated Vasos in the earnings report. “We believe our balance of new store growth and a significantly increased number of projects impacting our mature store base will further solidify Dollar General as an essential partner to communities in rural America, while strengthening our foundation to drive long-term sustainable growth and shareholder value.”

This is the second time Vasos has been in the Dollar General driver’s seat. The company played a short round of musical chairs when Jeff Owen took the CEO position in 2022 from Vasos. Yet, it was Vasos who came around and took back the leadership position a year later.

It was after several quarters of loss under Owen that Vasos was reappointed as CEO. Based on the most recent quarter, it appears Vasos is making the right moves to effectively compete against rivals, both online and offline, and get Dollar General back on track.