Dollar General Corp raised its fiscal 2021 profit forecast on Thursday, as a fresh round of stimulus checks prompted consumers to spend more on home goods.
Discount stores have performed strongly during the pandemic as their strategy of selling low-priced goods at wafer-thin margins attracts customers who turn cost-conscious in a tough year or are on a tight budget.
Forecast
The chain now expects fiscal 2021 earnings per share between $9.50 and $10.20, compared with its prior range of between $8.80 and $9.50.
Dollar General also expects its fiscal 2021 net sales to increase by up to 1%, compared with its prior range of a flat-to-2% decline.
Net sales fell to $8.40 billion in the first quarter from $8.45 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' average estimates of $8.28 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Last month, Dollar General said it would recruit up to 20,000 employees this spring through hiring events to fill positions in its stores, distribution centres and corporate offices.
The company had hired more than 50,000 workers around the same time last year, which was nearly double its normal hiring rate, to support a surge in sales at its stores at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Dollar Tree
Elsewhere, Dollar Tree Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly sales, as the discount store operator benefited from higher demand for low-priced goods from cost-conscious shoppers.
The company's net sales rose to $6.48 billion in the first quarter from $6.29 billion a year earlier, beating estimates of $6.42 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
