DG Dollar General
Profitability Metrics
Valuation Metrics
Growth & Cash Flow
Price Change
Analysis
Company Overview
Dollar General operates a chain of small-format discount retail stores serving low-income and rural consumers with everyday essentials at competitive prices. Sector: Consumer Staples.
Overview
Dollar General (DG) is an individual stock. The analysis below presents key financial metrics for the company, covering profitability, capital efficiency, valuation, margins, and growth.
Profitability & Capital Efficiency
Looking at how effectively the company deploy capital, ROIC is 7.08%, WACC is 4.17%, and the economic spread is 2.91%. On balance, the spread between ROIC and WACC is narrow, leaving little buffer but still pointing to net positive value generation. Supporting metrics show ROE at 18.99% and ROA at 4.69%, a combination that helps frame whether profitability strength is broad enough to hold through different market conditions. Taken together, the return profile suggests a company that is value-creative but with less room for execution slippage.
Valuation
On valuation, the company registers trailing P/E of 17.48, forward P/E of 16.45, PEG of 2.27. The minimal trailing-to-forward compression implies limited earnings growth expectations are embedded in current prices. The PEG reading here implies the market is pricing growth at roughly fair value — a setup where the investment case depends more on execution than on multiple expansion. A current ratio reading of 1.13 suggests the company carries less short-term financial cushion than the broader market average. Taken together, the multiple and liquidity picture suggests a company that is priced for a constructive outcome — but where execution against earnings estimates will be the key determinant of whether that price is justified.
Margins & Cash Generation
Across the three margin layers, gross margin sits at 30.66%, operating margin at 5.23%, and free cash flow margin at 5.60%. The company's gross margins reflect businesses operating in environments with meaningful cost pressure at the production layer. At this level, operating margins reflect the company where operational leverage has not yet fully materialized. At this level, free cash flow generation is present but not a defining strength of the company's underlying businesses. This margin configuration supports a cautious interpretation: profitability exists, though durability is less certain under stress.
Growth & Forward Outlook
Two key indicators frame the near-term view: TTM revenue growth of 5.89% a signal of steady demand without the volatility of high-growth names, while the estimated 12-month price change of 18.34%, where the target distribution indicates incremental upside rather than outsized repricing. The near-term return case is built on whether reported trends and analyst projections can remain close enough to make current prices look justified. Whether the setup resolves positively or negatively will depend as much on the macro backdrop as on the capacity of the company to deliver against current estimates. The estimated 12-month price change is based on analyst consensus price target estimates, sourced from publicly available data, and should not be interpreted as a reliable prediction of future performance.
Conclusion
BuyBalancing the strengths against the areas of uncertainty, the weight of evidence favors an optimistic view with appropriate risk awareness.
This assessment is based solely on the quantitative metrics presented above and does not constitute financial advice. Investors should consider their own risk tolerance and conduct independent research before making investment decisions.