Dollar General Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Dollar General (NYS: DG) reported earnings on March 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Feb. 1 (Q4), Dollar General met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew slightly. GAAP earnings per share increased.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Dollar General recorded revenue of $4.21 billion. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $4.26 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.97. The 27 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.90 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.97 for Q4 were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.85 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 32.5%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.5%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.5%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.25 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.71.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $17.66 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.28.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 207 members out of 234 rating the stock outperform, and 27 members rating it underperform. Among 41 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give Dollar General a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Dollar General is outperform, with an average price target of $53.55.

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The article Dollar General Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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