While Dollar General has fallen in early morning trading, their shares briefly soared yesterday afternoon after they posted better than expected quarterly earnings. Dollar General posted 63 cents of EPS, 4 cents better than expectations on a 13% revenue jump. The company also raised its annual guidance by 3 cents per share to a range of $2.68 to $2.78. The retailer of low-cost goods has seen its profit push higher in recent quarters as it has opened new stores and added better-known brands of merchandise to its shelves. The company also has been trying out bigger stores and refurbishing old ones. Dollar General reported a quarterly profit of $213.4 million, or $0.63 a share, compared with $157, or $0.45 a share in 2011. Meanwhile, revenue rose by 13% to $3.9 billion with same store sales growing by 6.7%. For the fiscal year, the company raised its per-share earnings estimate by three cents to a range of $2.68 to $2.78 and affirmed its guidance for overall sales and same-store sales growth.
Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com