Dollar General's Profit Moves Up

Dollar General (NYSE: DG) announced its results for the third quarter on December 5, 2011. Let's take a closer look at the company's industry, financials, and commentary and see what steps you can take next.

Earnings and Revenue:
Dollar General managed to exceed Wall Street estimates with stronger-than-expected EPS and revenues. The company reported EPS of 50 cents/share versus the 48 cents/share estimate and revenues of $3.6 billion versus the $3.57 billion estimate. EPS rose 35% while revenue climbed 11.5% from the same period last year.
Last quarter marked the third in a row of rising net income. Dollar General's revenue has grown during each of the past four quarters on a year-over-year basis.

Income:
Over the past year, Dollar General reported net income of $2.14/share. The company trumped analyst projections of $2.09 by 2.4%. According to the reported number, the company's income rose 34% from last year's levels.

Conference Call:
The conference call for third quarter earnings can be accessed here.

Official Comment:
"Dollar General delivered another great quarter, and we expect to continue to build upon our strong track record of delivering excellent results for our shareholders," said Rick Dreiling, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our same-store sales increased 6.3 percent in the third quarter, representing our third consecutive quarter of accelerating same-store sales growth and demonstrating our ability to balance the challenges of pricing and rising input costs."

Industry:
Dollar General is in the retail-discount industry. That industry is currently enjoying price/earnings growth of 1.2%.

What to Do Next:
Now you're all set to decide what to do with those Dollar General shares until the next earnings announcement. Whether you buy, sell, or hold, check back with us before the company's next earnings release for a full preview.

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(Estimates Source: Zacks)