The shares of Dollar General have plummeted by 25% after the discount store chain lowered its annual projections for sales and profit on Thursday.
Releasing its quarterly earnings, Dollar General reported earnings per share of $1.70, while the company’s revenue came at $10.21 billion. Both missed the estimates by a significant margin. The analysts expected $1.79 per share in EPS and revenue of $10.21 billion.
More importantly, Dollar General is bracing for a worse year compared to their previous predictions. It now forecasts same-store sales to increase by 1.0% to 1.6% in 2024 compared to previously expected growth of 2% to 2.7%. The chain also lowered its previous forecast of EPS from $6.80 to $7.55 per share to a range of $5.50 to $6.20.
According to CEO Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s weakening sales can be attributed to increased financial constraints its core customer base is dealing with.
“Despite advancing several of our operational goals and driving positive traffic growth, we are not satisfied with our financial results, including top-line results,” Vasos added.
Dollar General’s stock traded at $123.84 per share, being 11% down year-to-date before sharing its earnings. After the report came out, the stock went down as low as $91.84 per share.