Dollar General Corporation
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
The business demonstrably works: revenue has not fallen in any of the last five fiscal years, operating cash flow reached $3,634.5 million in fiscal 2025, equity grew to $8,512.0 million, the Altman Z-score stands at 4.87 and the Piotroski F-score at 7 of 9. Nothing supports red: no going-concern doubt, positive and growing equity, $230.6 million of interest expense against $2,203.7 million of operating profit, and an undrawn $2.375 billion credit facility. Green is out of reach because the operating question is too large and too open: 56 percent of the fiscal 2025 pre-tax increase came from lower shrink, which had already flattened to $22.9 million in the quarter ended May 1, 2026, while the filing reports "significantly higher fuel costs" of uncertain duration. A turnaround whose second half is still ahead is yellow — even when the balance sheet can carry it. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
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.
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.
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.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at DG since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 95.90 $ to 156.20 $ · Last price: 125.00 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Discount Stores
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar General Corporation DG | 27.2 | 17.6 | 12.1 | 31.2 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 20.1 |
| Walmart Inc. WMT | 834.0 | 38.3 | 19.5 | 24.8 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.3 |
| Costco Wholesale Corp COST | 397.1 | 46.5 | 26.9 | 12.9 | 3.7 | 8.2 | -6.6 |
| Target Corporation TGT | 72.6 | 21.0 | 9.1 | 28.4 | 4.5 | -1.7 | 87.0 |
| Dollar Tree Inc DLTR | 22.0 | 20.0 | 9.9 | 37.2 | 9.1 | 10.4 | 17.0 |
| BJs Wholesale Club Holdings Inc BJ | 11.9 | 22.8 | 12.8 | 18.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 | -6.0 |
| BBB Foods Inc. TBBB | 6.1 | – | 101.7 | 16.4 | -0.1 | 27.6 | 93.0 |
| PriceSmart Inc PSMT | 5.2 | 33.6 | 15.5 | 17.6 | 5.1 | 7.3 | 45.3 |
| Ollie's Bargain Outlet Hldg OLLI | 4.6 | 19.6 | 11.6 | 40.6 | 10.6 | 16.6 | -44.4 |
| Median of companies shown | 22.0 | 21.9 | 12.8 | 24.8 | 4.5 | 7.3 | 17.0 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 21,987 | 2,063 | 1,251 | 4.43 | 1,605 | 5,406 | 11,672 |
| 2018 | 23,471 | 2,008 | 1,539 | 5.63 | 1,802 | 6,126 | 12,517 |
| 2019 | 25,625 | 2,116 | 1,589 | 5.97 | 2,144 | 6,417 | 13,204 |
| 2020 | 27,754 | 2,302 | 1,713 | 6.64 | 2,238 | 6,703 | 22,825 |
| 2021 | 33,747 | 3,555 | 2,655 | 10.62 | 3,876 | 6,661 | 25,863 |
| 2022 | 34,220 | 3,221 | 2,399 | 10.17 | 2,866 | 6,262 | 26,327 |
| 2023 | 37,845 | 3,328 | 2,416 | 10.68 | 1,985 | 5,542 | 29,083 |
| 2024 | 38,692 | 2,446 | 1,661 | 7.55 | 2,392 | 6,749 | 30,796 |
| 2025 | 40,612 | 1,714 | 1,125 | 5.11 | 2,996 | 7,414 | 31,133 |
| 2026 | 42,724 | 2,204 | 1,512 | 6.85 | 3,635 | 8,512 | 30,964 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| 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 |
| 2026: Q3 | 2.48 | 33.30 | 11,290 | 5.20 | 4.90 | 781 | 781 |
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.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 7 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
Research
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. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/31/2027 | 7.91 | 7.30 – 8.07 | 44,540 | 14.5% | 27 |
| 01/31/2028 | 8.36 | 8.00 – 8.97 | 46,347 | 5.5% | 28 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly -1.8% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $2.70B |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $27.21B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $2.26B |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 43.8% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 3.4% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
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
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 4.1%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 4.2%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -0.8%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 10.8%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 30.7%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 14.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 4.5 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 4,724 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 9.2%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.3%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
5/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 7.7%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 4.2%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 0.7%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 10.5%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 6.6x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 51.8%
- Return on equity > 15% 50.9%
- ROCE > 15% 9.2%
- Expected return > 10% 20.2%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 2026 | Reardon Kathleen A | EVP & Chief People Officer | Sell | 5,578 | 131.33 | 732,555 |
The company
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.
- Employees
- 194,000
- Headquarters
- Goodlettsville, TN
- Address
- 100 Mission Ridge, 37072 Goodlettsville, United States
- Phone
- 615 855 4000
- Website
- dollargeneral.com
- IPO Date
- 11/13/2009
- ISIN
- US2566771059
- Stock Split
- 1:4 on 01/09/2020
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.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/28/2026 DOLLAR GENERAL CORP (DG): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/27/2026 DOLLAR GENERAL CORP (DG): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 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.