Shares of Dollar General Corp. DG dove 6.8% toward a nine-month low in premarket trading Thursday, after the discount retailer warned of a fourth-quarter profit miss, citing the negative effect of Winter Storm Elliott on December sales. The company now expects earnings per share for the quarter ended Feb. 2 of $2.91 to $2.96, below the previous guidance range of $3.15 to $3.30, and now projects same-store sales to rise 5.7% from a year ago versus previous expectations of 6%-to-7% growth. “The company believes the lower-than-expected results are primarily attributable to lower-than-anticipated sales and higher-than-anticipated inventory damages, both of which were negatively impacted, to varying degrees, by Winter Storm Elliott during the fourth quarter,” the company said in a statement. “While both November and January same-store sales results were within the company’s expected guidance range for the fourth quarter at 6.7% and 6.5%, respectively, December’s same-store sales results were lower than anticipated at 4.5%, believed to be primarily as a result of the storm.” The company currently expects fiscal 2023 same-store sales growth of 3% to 3.5%, surrounding the FactSet consensus for a 3.3% rise. The stock, which is on track to open at the lowest price seen since May 26, 2022, has tumbled 12.1% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has slipped 0.9%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.