Dollar Gen Corp New — Financial Results
A Strong Earnings Recovery in 2025 After a Difficult 2024
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $38.7B | $40.6B | $42.7B |
| Operating profit | $2.45B | $1.71B | $2.20B |
| Net income | $1.66B | $1.13B | $1.51B |
| Diluted EPS | $7.55 | $5.11 | $6.85 |
After a rough 2024 where profits fell sharply, Dollar General bounced back meaningfully in 2025. Net income jumped 34.4% and diluted earnings per share (EPS, the profit attributed to each share) rose from $5.11 to $6.85. That said, the company has not yet returned to 2023 profit levels, so the recovery is real but not yet complete.
Gross Margins Recovered Thanks to Less Theft and Damage
Gross profit margin (the percentage of sales left after the cost of goods) improved by 107 basis points (1.07 percentage points) to 30.7%. The key drivers were lower inventory shrink (losses from theft and administrative errors) and fewer damaged goods. Both had been major problems in prior years. This improvement went straight to the bottom line, and management says further progress on damages is still a work in progress.
Same-Store Sales Accelerated, Driven by More Shoppers Visiting
Same-store sales (revenue growth at stores open for at least 13 months, which strips out the effect of new openings) rose 3.0% in 2025, up from 1.4% in 2024. Both customer traffic (+1.6%) and the average amount spent per visit (+1.4%) increased. All four product categories — consumables, seasonal, home products, and apparel — grew, which is a broader improvement than 2024 when only consumables were positive.
Inventory Is Leaner and Turning Faster
| Metric | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory turnover | 4.1x | 4.5x |
| Per-store inventory change | — | -7.0% |
Dollar General deliberately reduced its inventory levels in 2025, with per-store inventory down 7%. Inventory turnover (how many times per year the company sells through its stock) improved from 4.1 to 4.5 times. Leaner inventory means less cash tied up on shelves and less risk of markdowns on slow-moving goods.
The Company Paid Down $1.7 Billion in Debt
During 2025, Dollar General redeemed three separate batches of senior notes (fixed-rate loans sold to investors), totalling $1.65 billion. This reduced interest expense by $43.8 million year-over-year. The company temporarily loosened its own debt-ratio targets via a lender agreement in early 2025, but was back in full compliance with its original covenants by year-end — a sign its finances stabilised faster than expected.
Store Expansion Is Slowing; Remodels Are the New Priority
In 2025, Dollar General opened 589 new stores but also closed 290, and in 2026 it plans to open only ~450. Instead, the focus is shifting to remodelling existing stores: 4,270 remodel or relocation projects are planned for 2026, up from 4,348 in 2025 but with far fewer net new stores. The new Project Elevate partial-remodel program — which refreshes merchandising without a full rebuild — reached 2,254 stores in its first year, with another ~2,250 planned in 2026.
A Tax Credit Expiry Could Weigh on Future Profits
Dollar General has historically benefited from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a federal program that reduces taxes owed for hiring workers from certain disadvantaged groups. That program expired for new hires after December 31, 2025. If Congress does not renew it, management flagged this as a "significant negative impact" on future tax rates — meaning a larger slice of pre-tax profits would go to taxes going forward.