Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) shares surged more than 15% after its first quarter earnings significantly beat estimates and the discount retailer raised its full-year profit and sales guidance.
For the first quarter, earnings per share (EPS) were $1.78 above the consensus estimate of about $1.48.
Revenue of $10.44 billion, up 5.4% year-over-year, topped estimates of $10.27 billion.
Same-store sales increased 2.4% from the year-ago quarter, reflecting a 2.7% increase in average transaction amount and a 0.3% decrease in customer traffic. Growth was observed across each of the consumables, seasonal, home products and apparel categories.
“We are pleased with our start to the year, including strong same-store sales and EPS results,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said. “Looking ahead, we are uniquely well-positioned to serve our customer in a variety of economic environments.”
For the full year and assuming current tariffs remain in place through to mid-August, Dollar General now expects EPS in the range of $5.20 to $5.80, above its previous outlook of $5.10 to $5.80.
Sales growth is projected to be in the range of 3.7% to 4.7%, up from its earlier expectation of 3.4% to 4.4%.
Shares of Dollar General traded up 15.8% at $112.50 on Tuesday morning.