09:22 AM EST, 12/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Dollar General's ( DG ) fiscal third-quarter earnings came in below Wall Street estimates while revenue beat expectations as the discount retailer narrowed its full-year bottom-line outlook amid hurricane-related business disruptions.

The company now anticipates per-share earnings to come in between $5.50 and $5.90 for fiscal 2024, reflecting a lower top end versus the previous forecast of $6.20. The retailer also tightened its sales growth guidance range to 4.8% to 5.1% from prior projections of 4.7% to 5.3%. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $5.82 and revenue of $40.52 billion.

Same-store sales growth is pegged at about 1.1% to 1.4% for the ongoing fiscal year, compared with the previous outlook for a 1% to 1.6% gain. The Street is looking for same-store sales to incline by 1.2%.

The revised guidance includes $32.7 million of expenses incurred in the third quarter due to hurricanes, according to the retailer. It also estimates a roughly $10 million hurricane-related hit in the ongoing three-month period.

Dollar General's ( DG ) net income dropped 29% year over year to $0.89 a share for the quarter ended Nov. 1, missing the Street's view for $0.96. Sales advanced 5% year over year to $10.18 billion, ahead of analysts' $10.14 billion estimate. The stock inclined 2.2% in premarket activity.

Same-store sales increased 1.3% during the quarter, above the 1% increase modeled by the market, amid gains in customer traffic and average transaction amount. Same-store sales rose in the consumables category, but home, seasonal and apparel products recorded declines, according to the company.

"We are pleased with our team's execution in the third quarter, particularly in light of multiple hurricanes that impacted our business," Chief Executive Todd Vasos said in a statement. "While we continue to operate in an environment where our core customer is financially constrained, we delivered same-store sales near the top end of our expectations for the quarter."

Gross profit as a percentage of sales declined 18 basis points year over year to 28.8%, mainly due to increased markdowns and inventory damages, among other factors. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $2.61 billion from $2.38 billion in the prior-year quarter.

For the fiscal year ending January 2026, Dollar General ( DG ) aims to carry out about 4,885 real estate projects, including opening roughly 575 new stores in the US. The company continues to plan to launch 730 new stores in fiscal 2024.