Dollar General has gotten hit by steep fines for safety violations, slammed on late-night TV and even overruled by its own shareholders.
On Thursday, CEO Todd Vasos laid out on an earnings call with investors the discounter’s plans to try to turn around both the company’s performance and its public relations problems. He said the retailer will put more workers in the front of its stores, slow down new store openings, take underperforming items off shelves and step up efforts to keep merchandise in stock.
It marked the first earnings call since Vasos took the helm again. He was brought out of retirement in October, after his successor Jeff Owen got ousted less than a year into the job.
At the time, the board’s chairman, Michael Calbert, said in a news release that the company needed the leadership change “to restore stability and confidence.”
On the call Thursday, Vasos said, “We have some hard work yet ahead of us, but we know what to do. We’ve done it before and we are absolutely set on doing it again, as quickly as possible.”
Here’s what the retailer reported for the three-month period that ended Nov. 3 compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.26 vs. $1.19 expected
- Revenue: $9.69 billion vs $9.64 billion expected
In the fiscal third quarter, Dollar General’s net income fell to $276.2 million, or $1.26 per share, from $526.2 million, or $2.33 per share, in the year-ago period. Net sales rose from $9.46 billion a year ago.
Dollar General may have topped Wall Street’s fiscal third-quarter expectations, but it has had a tough year. The company is the fastest-growing retailer by store count, but its sales have slowed, its stock price has slumped and its reputation has gotten hurt by federal scrutiny over work conditions.
Shares of Dollar General closed Wednesday at $133.92, down by about 46% so far this year. The company has far underperformed the 18% gains of the S&P…
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