By Mackenzie Tatananni

Shares in Dollar General tumbled Thursday even after the discount retailer posted quarterly earnings and sales that beat consensus expectations.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Dollar General reported earnings of $1.93 a share on sales of $10.9 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for profit of $1.66 a share on sales of $10.8 billion. Comparable sales, or those from stores and digital channels in operation for at least a year, rose 4.3%. ahead of the 3.5% increase Wall Street had anticipated.

Fiscal-year guidance was a bit soft. Dollar General sees earnings of $7.10 to $7.35 a share, slightly below analysts' calls for $7.25 a share at the midpoint of the range. The retailer expects same-store sales growth in the range of 2.2% to 2.7% versus analysts' calls for a 2.5% increase.

Despite the earnings surprise, shares fell 4% in premarket trading. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 were down 0.5%.

One factor could be the stock's strong performance over the past 12 months. Heading into Thursday, shares have risen 81% in that period, far outstripping a 21% gain for the benchmark S&P 500 index.

The stock reaction Thursday was anticipated as far back as February, when Citi Research analyst Paul Lejuez remarked that fourth-quarter events likely wouldn't be "an event that will drive the stock higher" amid lofty expectations.

Rival Dollar Tree declined 1.1%.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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March 12, 2026 07:38 ET (11:38 GMT)

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