Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) stock fell 4.26% (As on March 12, 11:35:25 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company issues 2026 outlook with slower sales growth. The company reported gross profit margin of 30.4% compared to 29.4% a year ago, driven primarily by lower shrink, higher inventory markups, and lower inventory damages; partially offset by an increased LIFO provision. Operating profit increased 106.1% to $606.3 million compared to $294.2 million a year ago. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, $232 million in charges related to a store portfolio optimization review negatively impacted the company’s operating profit. Annual Cash Flow From Operations Increased 21.3% to $3.6 Billion. The Company reported net income of $426.3 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of 122.9% compared to $191.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

DG in the fourth quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.93, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.65. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 5.9 percent to $10.91 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $10.82 billion. This was driven by growth in same-store sales and positive sales contributions from new stores, partially offset by the impact of store closures. Same-store sales increased 4.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting increases of 2.6% in customer traffic and 1.7% in average transaction amount.s

Dollar General issued fiscal 2026 guidance projecting net sales of $44.31 billion to $44.52 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $44.36 billion. The company expects net sales growth of about 3.7% to 4.2% in fiscal 2026, compared with 5.2% growth in fiscal 2025. Dollar General also forecast earnings of $7.10 to $7.35 per share for 2026, versus the $7.23 per share consensus estimate. The retailer projects same-store sales growth of approximately 2.2% to 2.7% for the year.

For fiscal 2026, Dollar General reiterated plans to execute approximately 4,730 real estate projects. These include opening about 450 new stores in the United States and about 10 new stores in Mexico, remodeling roughly 2,000 stores through Project Renovate and about 2,250 stores through Project Elevate, and relocating approximately 20 stores. In January, Dollar General agreed to a $15 million settlement resolving nationwide claims that shoppers were charged prices at checkout that did not match advertised shelf prices, even as the company itself did not admit to any wrongdoing.