Dollar Tree vs Dollar General: Which Discount Retailer Delivers the Smarter Return for Your Portfolio?

By Trey Thoelcke Published Mar 16, 9:15AM EDT

Quick Read

Dollar Tree (DLTR) posted Q4 FY2025 EPS of $2.56 with full-year adjusted diluted EPS of $5.75, guiding FY2026 to $6.50 to $6.90 (midpoint $6.70) at a forward P/E of 16x, while Dollar General (DG) trades at 18x forward P/E on $7.10 to $7.35 guided EPS; Dollar Tree’s pure-play format transformation attracted 3 million new households (60% from $100,000-plus income bracket) with full-year FY2025 revenue growth of 10.43% to $19.41B and net income surge of 140.44%, versus Dollar General’s slower 2.5% Q3 comp sales growth.
Dollar Tree’s sharp 14.75% one-month decline following strong earnings has attracted institutional accumulation from Alliancebernstein, EdgePoint, Schroder, and Korea Investment, while Dollar General’s 1.74% dividend yield and 0.22 beta appeal to income-focused retirement investors seeking lower volatility.

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Dollar Tree vs Dollar General: Which Discount Retailer Delivers the Smarter Return for Your Portfolio? — © 24/7 Wall St.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR | DLTR Price Prediction) and Dollar General (NYSE: DG) are both sitting in the discount bin right now, and retirement-focused investors may want to research which name aligns with their goals.

Valuation: Edge to Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree just reported Q4 FY2025 EPS of $2.56, capping a full year in which adjusted diluted EPS came in at $5.75. Management guided FY2026 adjusted EPS to $6.50 to $6.90, putting the midpoint at $6.70. At a current price of $107.46, that implies a forward P/E of roughly 16x. Dollar General’s forward P/E sits at 18x, based on FY2026 guided EPS of $7.10 to $7.35. Dollar Tree’s lower multiple, combined with stronger near-term earnings momentum, gives it the valuation edge. Analyst consensus targets Dollar Tree at $126.30 versus Dollar General at $148.86, reflecting meaningful upside from current levels for both.

Yield and Income: Dollar General Wins Clearly

For retirement portfolios that depend on income, this dimension is not close. Dollar General pays $0.59 per quarter, or $2.36 annualized, with the next ex-dividend date on April 7, 2026. At current prices, that works out to a yield of approximately 1.74%. Dollar Tree pays no dividend at all. Instead, it returned $1.548 billion through share repurchases in FY2025, with $1.8 billion remaining under its buyback authorization. Buybacks benefit long-term shareholders through earnings-per-share accretion, but they do not put cash in a retiree’s account each quarter. Dollar General wins this dimension outright.

Growth Trajectory: Dollar Tree Has the Momentum

Dollar Tree’s transformation into a pure-play retailer following the Family Dollar divestiture completed July 7, 2025, is producing measurable results. Full-year FY2025 revenue grew 10.43% to $19.41 billion, and net income surged 140.44%. The Dollar Tree 3.0 multi-price format now spans approximately 5,300 converted stores, and the chain has attracted 3 million new households, with 60% coming from the $100,000-plus income bracket, a meaningful trade-down signal given that University of Michigan consumer sentiment averaged just 55.5 over the past 12 months, well below the 80 neutral threshold. Dollar General’s recovery is real but slower. FY2024 net income fell 32.27%, and while three consecutive EPS beats through Q3 FY2025 signal a genuine turnaround, comp sales growth of 2.5% in Q3 trails Dollar Tree’s 5.0% in Q4. Dollar Tree has the stronger near-term growth story.

The Verdict

Both stocks have pulled back sharply. Dollar Tree is down 14.75% over the past month and 12.64% year to date. Dollar General has dropped 14.30% over the same one-month window while holding roughly flat year to date, down just 0.3%. That divergence matters. Dollar Tree’s sharper dip came immediately after a strong earnings report. Institutional buyers including AllianceBernstein, EdgePoint, Schroder, and Korea Investment have been accumulating Dollar Tree shares, a signal worth noting.

Investors focused on income may find Dollar General worth researching further given its consistent dividend and its beta of 0.22, which makes it one of the least volatile large-cap retailers in the market. Its turnaround is progressing, and its dividend remains consistent.

Those researching growth-oriented discount retailers may find Dollar Tree’s earnings inflection and format transformation worth examining. The format transformation is gaining traction with higher-income shoppers, and the stock is trading below its 200-day moving average of $110.32 for the first time in months.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.