Shares of Dollar General Corp. DG dropped 5.6% toward a one-year low, after the discount retailer reported fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that missed Wall Street forecasts and lowered its full-year outlook, citing a macroeconomic environment that has been more challenging to its core customer than expected. Net income for the quarter to May 5 fell to $514.4 million, or $2.34 a share, from $552.7 million, or $2.41 a share, in the year-ago period. That missed the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $2.38. Net sales rose 6.8% to $9.34 billion, but were below the FactSet consensus of $9.47 billion. Same-store sales grew 1.6%, missing expectations for a 3.4% rise, as an increase in the average transaction amount was offset by a decrease in customer traffic. For fiscal 2023, the company cut its guidance ranges for EPS growth to down 8% to flat from up 4% to 6%, and for sales to up 3.5% to 5.0% from up 5.5% to 6%. The stock has tumbled 18.3% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8.9%.
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.