On Thursday, Dollar General Corp ( DG ) shares are trading higher in premarket after the company reported fourth-quarter FY24 earnings today.

The company reported fourth-quarter sales growth of 4.5% year-on-year to $10.304 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $10.264 billion.

Same-store sales increased 1.2% versus last year, driven by an increase of 2.3% in average transaction amount and a decrease of 1.1% in customer traffic.

The gross profit margin for the quarter decreased 8 basis points Y/Y to 29.4%. The operating margin contracted 302 basis points to 2.86%, and operating income for the quarter declined 49.2% to $294.2 million.

EPS of $0.87 missed the consensus estimate of $1.51.

The company held $932.576 million in cash and equivalents as of January 31, 2025. Operational cash flow for the twelve months increased 25.3%, totaling $3 billion.

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As of January 31, 2025, total merchandise inventories, at cost, were $6.7 billion compared to $7 billion as of February 2, 2024. 

On March 11, 2025, the company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.59 per share on its common stock, payable on or before April 22 to shareholders of record on April 8. 

“We were pleased with the underlying performance of the business in the fourth quarter, including improved execution and solid top-line results,” said CEO Todd Vasos.

As a result of store portfolio optimization review during the quarter, the company plans to close 96 Dollar General ( DG ) stores and 45 pOpshelf stores, and convert an additional six pOpshelf stores to Dollar General ( DG ) stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

The company’s operating profit for the fourth of quarter included charges of $232 million, which resulted in a negative impact to EPS of approximately $0.81, primarily due to these store closures as well as pOpshelf impairment charges.

Outlook: Dollar General ( DG ) expects FY25 sales growth of 3.4% – 4.4% and same-store sales growth of 1.2% – 2.2%.

The company anticipates FY25 EPS of $5.10 – $5.80 versus an estimate of $5.85. Capital expenditure of $1.3 billion – $1.4 billion.

Dollar General ( DG ) reaffirmed its plan to execute 4,885 real estate projects, including 575 new store openings, 2,000 remodels, and 45 store relocations in 2025. The company also updated its long-term financial framework.

Price Action: DG shares are trading higher by 7.76% at $80.66 in premarket at last check Thursday.

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