Michelle Chapman, AP Business Writer
Dollar General sets a quarterly sales record of $10.44 billion and upgrades its annual profit and sales outlook as Americans tighten their budgets amidst economic uncertainty and spend more on bargain stores and out-of-price retailers.
The US economy shrank at an annual pace of 0.2% from January to March as President Donald Trump’s trade war stopped corporate spending. Consumers’ spending has slowed down dramatically.
Dollar General, based in Goodletville, Tennessee, stands out as most traditional retailers, such as Macy’s, Target and Best Buy, are backing their profit and sales forecasts, citing uneasy customers and tariff effects, while raising expectations for the year.
During the period ended May 2nd, total dollar revenues rose 5% from $99.1 billion to $10.444 billion. That’s better than Wall Street’s $10.29 billion expectation, according to a Zacks Investment Research poll.
Store sales increased 2.4%, having been operating for at least a year, a key indicator of retailer health.
Customer traffic fell 0.3%, while average trading volume increased 2.7%.
Stocks rose more than 15% on Tuesday, while Rival Dollar Tree shares reported quarterly performance up 5% on Wednesday.
Dollar General scored $391.9 million in the quarter, or $1.78 per share, blowing beyond Wall Street’s expected $1.47 per share, earning a profit of $363.3 million recorded in the same period last year.
Dollar General said there is a lot of uncertainty about how tariffs will affect businesses and customers for the remainder of the year, despite breaking through its own expectations.
People are visiting a chain of trades or bargains as they are trying to extend their spending, but low-income Americans are far more vulnerable.
“The macro background is very useless and core low-income consumers are still facing considerable financial pressure, which was alleviated quarterly by consumers gently raising things in anticipation of tariffs,” Global Data Managing Director said in a statement.
Kinese Jones, who visited the local Dollar General four times a week in Detroit, recently experienced a sticker shock, focusing on industrial-sized cleaning solutions for $13.
Jones, 40, worries that the prices of what she buys at General Dollar will rise as many people are imported.
“This is as cheap as it is now,” she said.
Dollar General currently projects 2025 revenues in the range of approximately $5.20-5.80 per share. Previous earnings forecasts were around $5.10 to $5.80 per share.
Analysts surveyed by Factset are looking for a profit of $5.61 per share.
Sales are expected to rise by about 3.7% to 4.7%. Dollar General previously forecast sales growth of around 3.4% to 4.4%. Currently, the same store’s sales growth rate is expected to increase by around 1.5% to 2.5% from previous forecasts, from about 1.2% to 2.2% growth.
Associated Press Reporter Corey Williams contributed to this report from Detroit.
Original issue: June 3, 2025, 8:46am EDT
