DG
Dollar General
$126.68
▼ 0.6%Updated Today 11:30 AM ET
DG at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Favorable · 62/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 1.0% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$26.07B
P/E
18.03x
Forward P/E (est.)
13.37x
ROE
18.6%
Revenue Growth
4.7%
EPS Growth
34.9%
Profit Margin
3.6%
FCF Yield
11.7%
Debt / Equity
0.54x
ROIC
12.0%
Interest Coverage
6.74x
Current Ratio
1.17x
Dividend Yield
2.0%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
-0.2%
Rating Score
62/100
Dollar General (DG) is a large-cap company in the Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail industry, part of the Consumer Staples sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $26.07B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $42.72B in revenue and $1.51B in net profit.
Our model rates DG Favorable (62/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (10 years of history).
The filed history looks like a business competitors struggle to attack: high and steady margins, revenue that grows through cycles, and strong returns on capital.
30.2% average over the last 3 years
±0.6 pts around 30.8% across 10 years
grew in 9 of the last 9 year-over-year periods
positive in 10 of 10 years
12.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what DG's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. DG trades near $126.68, above its 50-day average ($111.54) and 200-day average ($121.28). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 56 it is in neutral territory — neither stretched nor washed out.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. DG's is $3.92 (~3.1% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month DG found buyers near $102.65 (support) and sellers near $120.93 (resistance); its 52-week range is $95.11–$158.23. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 1.0× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
5.7%
Revenue moved from $21.99B in 2017 to $42.72B in 2026, a 7.7% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year was roughly flat (4.7%) year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Gross Margin
30.7%
Operating Margin
5.2%
Net Margin
3.5%
ROE
18.6%
Dollar General keeps about 3.6% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 30.7% gross margin and 5.2% operating margin. Return on equity is 18.6% and return on invested capital about 12.0%. Thin margins leave less cushion if costs rise.
Total Debt
$5.19B
Net Debt
$3.84B
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.74x
Debt / Equity
0.54x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 0.5x, and operating profit covers interest about 6.7x, with a current ratio of 1.2x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $5.19B of total debt against $1.35B of cash.
Operating CF
$3.63B
Free Cash Flow
$2.39B
FCF Margin
5.6%
In the latest year Dollar General produced about $3.63B of operating cash flow and $2.39B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 11.7% on today's price. Strong cash generation funds dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
2.0%
Per share (latest FY)
$2.36
Total paid (latest FY)
$519.51M
History on record
10 years
dividend uses 22% of free cash flow
34% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 9 years in a row
no cuts in the last 10 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
18.03x
P/S
0.59x
P/B
4.13x
EV / EBITDA
—
DG trades at 18.0x trailing earnings (about 13.4x on estimated forward earnings), 0.6x sales, and 4.1x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly -0.2% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a fairly typical valuation for a profitable company.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$194.02
Current price
$126.68
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$2.39B
Growth, years 1–5
4.7%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where DG sits versus its Consumer Staples sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 48 Consumer Staples companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How DG stacks up against its Consumer Staples peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Consumer Staples sector (74 S&P 500 companies), DG ranks #7 of 74 by our overall rating. It trades at a discount versus the sector on earnings (18x P/E vs. 22x median) with a higher return on equity (18.6% vs. 18.1%) and faster revenue growth (4.7% vs. 3.4%).
P/E vs sector
18x
median 22x
ROE vs sector
18.6%
median 18.1%
Growth vs sector
4.7%
median 3.4%
Sector rank
#7
of 74 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Consumer Staples companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 74 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $126.68 today · expected CAGR -2% – 9%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $44.86B | $47.10B | $49.46B | $51.93B | $54.53B |
| Net income | $1.79B | $1.88B | $1.98B | $2.08B | $2.18B |
| EPS | $8.72 | $9.16 | $9.61 | $10.10 | $10.60 |
| Share price (low) | $95.93 | $100.72 | $105.76 | $111.05 | $116.60 |
| Share price (high) | $156.97 | $164.82 | $173.06 | $181.71 | $190.80 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -24% / 24% | -11% / 14% | -6% / 11% | -3% / 9% | -2% / 9% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for DG:
- Strong return on equity (18.6%) shows capital is put to work well.
- Healthy free-cash-flow yield (~11.7%) funds buybacks and dividends.
- Pays a 2.0% dividend on top of any price gains.
- Our model's overall read is Favorable (62/100).
The case against DG:
- Thin net margins (3.6%) leave little room for error.
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Margin risk — thin profitability (3.6%) is vulnerable to cost or pricing pressure.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the fundamentals screen favourably: Dollar General is a large-cap consumer staples business growing at a mature pace, with modest profitability, and a sound balance sheet. It trades at 18.0x earnings, which our model scores Favorable (62/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 40 Wall Street analysts covering DG recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more cautious over the last three months (-6 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
DG's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
In the Idea Lab
DG — frequently asked questions
Is DG a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Dollar General Favorable (62/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is DG's rating on The Stocks School?
Dollar General currently scores 62/100 (Favorable) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does DG's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Dollar General's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for DG calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this DG analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell DG. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.