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Dollar General Corporation (DG)

Consumer Defensive Discount Stores
117.20 $
Closing price · As of: 24. Jul 2026
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Dollar General: Shrink Fell by a Third — and Suddenly the Turnaround Looks Real

Dollar General runs 20,959 stores, most of them in towns of fewer than 20,000 people. Earnings fell for two straight years, then turned: $1,512.3 million in fiscal 2025 after $1,125.3 million the year before. The reason sits in a line item almost nobody reads — shrink included in cost of goods sold dropped from $928.9 million to $634.3 million. That is 56 percent of the entire pre-tax increase. We read the annual report (10-K) for the year ended January 30, 2026 and the quarterly report (10-Q) for the period ended May 1, 2026 line by line: what is really turning, what was a one-time clean-up, and what pushes back in 2026. Not investment advice — just the question of how much turnaround fits into a number that cannot be halved twice.

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This stock currently matches 8 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.

Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Dividends
Research
Value & GARP

Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners

Basics

Market Cap
25.5$B
Shares Outstanding
221Mio.
Float
99.1%
Beta
0.2

Performance

Perf. 1M
6.90%
Perf. 3M
0.80%
Perf. 6M
-12.50%
YTD Performance (%)
-12.90%
52-Week-High Distance
-25.7%

Valuation

P/E
16.9
Forward P/E
15.8
PEG
1.7
P/B
3.0
P/S
0.6
EV/EBITDA
12.0
Price/FCF
8.8

Profitability

Gross Margin
30.8%
EBIT Margin
5.9%
Net Margin
3.6%
Return on Equity
18.9%
Return on Assets
4.6%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio
27.9%
Debt/Equity
3.5
Altman Z
4.87
Piotroski
7 out of 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter
3.40%
EPS Growth Last Quarter
12.40%
Sales Growth (Year)
5.20%
Forward Sales Growth
4.21%
Forward EPS Growth
8.70%

Dividend

Dividend Yield
2.00%
Dividend Per Share (TTM)
2.95$
Payout Ratio
33.4%
Years Without a Cut
2Years
Increase Streak
0Years

Quality & Screener

Stage
1
RS Rating
31
EPS Rating
60
Piotroski
7 out of 9
Fundamental Rating
B (+13 out of 100)
Altman Z
4.87

AI Rating

Uses AI

Dollar General berichtet in beiden Geschäftsberichten von einer laufenden Einbindung künstlicher Intelligenz und maschinellen Lernens in die eigenen IT-Systeme und lässt die damit verbundenen Risiken vom Prüfungsausschuss überwachen; eine KI-Umsatzquelle nennen die Berichte nicht.

View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„There are also risks associated with our continued integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning within our technology systems (for example, if the types of information that applications with embedded artificial intelligence assist in producing are or are alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, or biased, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected)."

Es bestehen zudem Risiken im Zusammenhang mit unserer fortlaufenden Einbindung künstlicher Intelligenz und maschinellen Lernens in unsere Technologiesysteme (zum Beispiel könnten unser Geschäft, unsere Finanzlage und unsere Ertragslage beeinträchtigt werden, wenn die Informationen, die Anwendungen mit eingebetteter künstlicher Intelligenz erzeugen helfen, mangelhaft, unzutreffend oder verzerrt sind oder dies behauptet wird).

10-K · 2026-03-20 · View SEC filing
„In connection with its oversight of this program, our Audit Committee discusses with management the processes by which risk assessment and risk management are undertaken and our most significant financial and other risk exposures, including without limitation those relating to information systems, information security, data privacy, artificial intelligence, business continuity and disaster recovery, and third-party information security, and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures."

Im Rahmen seiner Aufsicht über dieses Programm erörtert unser Prüfungsausschuss mit der Geschäftsleitung die Verfahren der Risikobewertung und des Risikomanagements sowie unsere wesentlichsten finanziellen und sonstigen Risiken, darunter ohne Einschränkung solche in Bezug auf Informationssysteme, Informationssicherheit, Datenschutz, künstliche Intelligenz, Geschäftsfortführung und Notfallwiederherstellung sowie Informationssicherheit bei Dritten, und die Schritte, die die Geschäftsleitung zur Überwachung und Steuerung dieser Risiken unternommen hat.

10-K · 2026-03-20 · View SEC filing
„There are also risks associated with our continued integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning within our technology systems."

Es bestehen zudem Risiken im Zusammenhang mit unserer fortlaufenden Einbindung künstlicher Intelligenz und maschinellen Lernens in unsere Technologiesysteme.

10-K · 2025-03-21 · View SEC filing

Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-06-02 · 10-Q 2025-12-04 · 10-Q 2025-08-28 · 10-Q 2025-06-03 · 10-K 2026-03-20 · 10-K 2025-03-21

Rated on July 26, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2025: Q1 · 10,304.5 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 10,436.0 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 10,727.7 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 10,649.5 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 10,911.2 $M Q1 2026: Q2 · 10,787.0 $M Q2
Earnings Per Share Per Quarter ($)
2025: Q1 · 0.87 $ Q1 2025: Q2 · 1.78 $ Q2 2025: Q3 · 1.86 $ Q3 2025: Q4 · 1.28 $ Q4 2026: Q1 · 1.93 $ Q1 2026: Q2 · 2.00 $ Q2
Net Margin Per Quarter (%)
2025: Q1 · 1.9 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 3.8 % Q2 2025: Q3 · 3.8 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 2.7 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 3.9 % Q1 2026: Q2 · 4.1 % Q2
Operating Cash Flow Per Quarter ($M)
2025: Q1 · 800.9 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 847.2 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 967.7 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 1,004.0 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 1,819.6 $M Q1 2026: Q2 · 716.2 $M Q2
Free Cash Flow Per Quarter ($M)
2025: Q1 · 528.1 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 556.2 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 564.7 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 690.4 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 1,272.4 $M Q1 2026: Q2 · 364.6 $M Q2
Sales Growth vs. Year-Ago Quarter (%)
2025: Q1 · 4.5 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 5.3 % Q2 2025: Q3 · 5.1 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 4.6 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 5.9 % Q1 2026: Q2 · 3.4 % Q2
EPS Growth vs. Year-Ago Quarter (%)
2025: Q1 · -52.4 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 7.8 % Q2 2025: Q3 · 9.6 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 43.2 % Q4 2026: Q1 · 121.6 % Q1 2026: Q2 · 12.6 % Q2
Price Change in Quarter (%)
2025: Q1 · 16.9 % Q1 2025: Q2 · 30.9 % Q2 2025: Q3 · -9.2 % Q3 2025: Q4 · 29.2 % Q4 2026: Q1 · -10.2 % Q1 2026: Q2 · -3.0 % Q2

Quarterly Figures

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2025: Q1 0.87 -52.40 10,305 4.50 1.90 801 528
2025: Q2 1.78 7.80 10,436 5.30 3.80 847 556
2025: Q3 1.86 9.60 10,728 5.10 3.80 968 565
2025: Q4 1.28 43.20 10,650 4.60 2.70 1,004 690
2026: Q1 1.93 121.60 10,911 5.90 3.90 1,820 1,272
2026: Q2 2.00 12.60 10,787 3.40 4.10 716 365
What Do These Terms Mean?
EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Assessment: Opportunities & Risks

Demand & business model

Revenue rose without interruption from $37.8 billion (fiscal 2022) to $42.7 billion (fiscal 2025), with same-store sales up 3.0 percent most recently after 1.4 percent. The quarter ended May 1, 2026 added another 2.0 percent, carried by 1.4 percent more customer traffic. With 20,959 stores, about 80 percent of them in towns of 20,000 people or fewer, the company is often the nearest place to shop in its markets.

Earnings turn

Net income turned from $1,125.3 million (fiscal 2024) to $1,512.3 million (fiscal 2025), with the gross margin up 107 basis points to 30.7 percent. In the quarter ended May 1, 2026 it added another 65 basis points to 31.62 percent, operating profit rose 10.8 percent to $638.5 million and diluted earnings per share 12.4 percent to $2.00.

Source of the earnings jump

Pre-tax income rose $524.8 million in fiscal 2025. Of that, $294.6 million (56 percent) came from shrink falling from $928.9 million to $634.3 million and another $43.8 million (8 percent) from lower interest expense. In the quarter ended May 1, 2026 the shrink decline was down to $22.9 million ($153.2 million after $176.1 million) — the lever is fading.

Balance sheet & financing

Operating cash flow rose from $2,391.8 million (fiscal 2023) to $3,634.5 million (fiscal 2025), equity from $7,413.7 million to $8,512.0 million, and $1.7 billion of long-term obligations was repaid in fiscal 2025 alone; total debt stood at $4.6 billion as of January 30, 2026. At the same time the credit covenants had to be loosened on March 11, 2025 through January 30, 2026, with a buyback ban in force, and Moody's cut the rating in 2025 from Baa2 to Baa3 — the lowest investment-grade notch.

Cost lines in 2026

The quarterly report for the period ended May 1, 2026 cites "significantly higher fuel costs" and expects the trend to continue "for an uncertain duration"; selling, general and administrative expenses rose 25 basis points in the quarter to 25.70 percent of net sales. Add the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that expired for hires after December 31, 2025 (effective tax rate 24.9 percent in the quarter versus 23.4 percent) and unresolved tariff questions after the Supreme Court ruling of February 20, 2026.

Valuation & capital returns

Roughly $25.5 billion of market value (220,586,647 shares, price $117.20 on July 26, 2026) equates to a price-to-earnings ratio near 17 and a price-to-sales ratio of 0.6 — at a 3.6 percent net margin the latter is no bargain signal. Of 31 analysts the average price target is $130.90, with 18 of them on hold. There have been no buybacks since fiscal 2023, and the dividend is unchanged at $0.59 per quarter.

Bottom Line

Dollar General has left the bottom behind: after two years of falling profits, fiscal 2025 net income rose from $1,125.3 million to $1,512.3 million, the gross margin by 107 basis points to 30.7 percent and operating cash flow to $3,634.5 million — on revenue that never fell. The uncomfortable half: 56 percent of the pre-tax increase came from a single line, shrink, which dropped from $928.9 million to $634.3 million and contributed only $22.9 million in the quarter ended May 1, 2026. Working against it are "significantly higher fuel costs" with an open end, an expired tax credit and unresolved tariff questions. The financing is solid but scarred: covenants loosened from March 11, 2025, a Moody's rating of Baa3 since 2025, three years without a buyback. Not investment advice.

Worth Noting:
  • Hook: our in-house stock scanner "Turnaround Candidates" — rank 24 of 60 U.S. hits, turnaround check 6 of 8, measured on the live list on July 26, 2026. The lists are recalculated daily; rank and score are a dated snapshot, not a permanent state. 6 of 8 is also the display floor.
  • The scanner's two mandatory pillars: at least 50 percent below the all-time high and an Altman Z-score of at least 1.1. Pillar 2 is comfortably met at 4.87; pillar 1 only narrowly, with a stored distance of −51.0 percent (dividend-adjusted, data cut-off July 26, 2026). If the price rises above roughly $120 (from $117.20 on July 26, 2026), pillar 1 breaks and the stock leaves the list without anything changing in the business. The average analyst price target of $130.90 sits above that threshold.
  • Plausibility check on the all-time-high figure: the stored value of −51.0 percent was recomputed against our own price history. Unadjusted closing prices give −55.0 percent (highest close $260.44 on October 28, 2022 against $117.23 on July 24, 2026); dividend-adjusted prices give −51.6 percent. All measures sit in the same corridor — there is no misplaced all-time high here.
  • No takeover situation: as of July 26, 2026 the SEC filing history contains neither a solicitation/recommendation statement (SC 14D9) nor a merger document. The tender offer documents (SC TO-T) from 2014/2015 belong to the company's own, ultimately failed bid for Family Dollar. The 2026 proxy-related materials concern shareholder proposals that were rejected on May 28, 2026.
  • The fiscal year ends on the Friday nearest to January 31: fiscal 2025 = 52 weeks ended January 30, 2026. The most recent periodic report is the 10-Q for the period ended May 1, 2026 (filed June 2, 2026); after that, as of the July 26, 2026 data cut-off, only the current report 8-K of the same day and routine insider filings were on file.
  • Price figures are dated valuation anchors, not buy arguments: price $117.20 (data cut-off July 26, 2026), closing price $117.23 on July 24, 2026, 52-week high $156.24 (February 27, 2026), 52-week low $95.94 (November 6, 2025). Cross-check on market value: 220,586,647 shares per the cover page of May 29, 2026 times $117.23 gives $25.86 billion — matching the value from fundamental data. A further anchor sits in the annual report itself: $21.1 billion of non-affiliate market value as of August 1, 2025 at a closing price of $108.53.
  • Risk of confusion: Dollar General Corporation (DG) is not Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR) and not the Dollar Tree subsidiary Family Dollar — both are named as competitors in the annual report. The ticker DG stands for other companies on other exchanges; the reference here is the NYSE listing under CIK 0000029534.

About the Company

Dollar General Corporation ist ein Discounteinzelhändler, der diverse Warenprodukte im Süden, Südwesten, Mittleren Westen und Osten der USA anbietet. Es bietet Verbrauchsprodukte wie Papierhandtücher, Toilettenpapier, Einweggeschirr, Müll- und Aufbewahrungsbeutel, Desinfektionsmittel und Waschmittel an.

Employees194,000
HeadquartersGoodlettsville, TN
Websitedollargeneral.com
IPO Date13. Nov 2009

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Todd J. Vasos CEO & Director 1962
Donny H. Lau Executive VP & CFO 1980
Emily C. Taylor Chief Operating Officer 1977
Carman R. Wenkoff Executive VP & Chief Information Officer 1968
Rhonda M. Taylor J.D. Executive VP & General Counsel 1968
Anita C. Elliott Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer 1965
Tom Hutchins Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer
Kevin Walker Vice President of Investor Relations
Tony Rogers Senior VP & CMO
Kathleen A. Reardon Executive VP & Chief People Officer 1972

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

Data as of: July 24, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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