Dollar General stock holds near USD 122 after raised guidance

Published on 09/22/2026 at 17:51 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Dollar General stock opened at USD 122.17 on September 22, 2026, with a USD 26.95 billion market value. Q2 EPS rose 33 percent year over year.

Fotorealistisches Außenbild einer US-Discountfiliale mit Parkplatz und blauem Himmel — Dollar General Einzelhandelsfiliale liegt im amerikanischen Vorort mit ISIN US2566771059 an der NYSE, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Dollar General Corporation (ISIN US2566771059) opened at USD 122.17 on the NYSE on September 22, 2026, while its market capitalization stood at USD 26.95 billion. The stock's 12-month range was USD 95.11 to USD 158.23, putting the opening price USD 36.06 below the high and USD 27.06 above the low.

Quarterly profit beats estimates

The latest reported quarter, released on August 27, 2026, produced earnings per share of USD 2.48 against a consensus estimate of USD 2.01, a USD 0.47 beat. According to MarketBeat on September 22, 2026, quarterly revenue reached USD 11.29 billion, up 5.2 percent year over year and above the USD 11.20 billion estimate.

The earnings comparison was also favorable against the prior-year quarter: EPS increased from USD 1.86 to USD 2.48, a gain of USD 0.62. TheStreet reported on September 21, 2026, that operating profit rose 29.2 percent to USD 769 million.

Guidance sets the next test

Management set fiscal 2026 earnings guidance at USD 7.80 to USD 8.00 per share and projected net sales growth of 4.0 percent to 4.3 percent. The same outlook calls for same-store sales growth of 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent, according to TradingView on September 22, 2026.

The quality of that outlook matters because the second-quarter margin improvement included tariff refunds. According to TheStreet on September 21, 2026, refunds contributed about 66 basis points of the 126-basis-point operating-margin improvement and added USD 0.25 to EPS, while management expects no material net refund benefit in the second half.

Targets remain above the quote

Analyst expectations remain higher than the September 22 opening price, but the consensus is not uniformly bullish. MarketBeat reported on September 22, 2026, that analysts held a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of USD 135.46. Piper Sandler raised its target from USD 118.00 to USD 123.00 and kept a Neutral rating in a report dated August 28, 2026.

The average target was USD 13.29 above the opening price, while Piper Sandler's revised target was only USD 0.83 higher. That spread shows why the guidance range and the durability of the operating-margin gain are more important than the headline EPS beat alone.

Dollar General stock stays below its high

Dollar General stock opened at USD 122.17 on the NYSE on September 22, 2026. Its USD 158.23 12-month high leaves a gap of USD 36.06, while the USD 95.11 low leaves the shares USD 27.06 above the bottom of the range.