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Activists Target Stores Like Dollar General That Have Walked Back DEI Commitments
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Dollar General soars on earnings beat and boosted outlook

Shoppers are flocking to the discount chain as more consumers look to cut costs.

Nia Warfield

Dollar General shares jumped more than 10% in premarket trading Tuesday, helping lead S&P 500 gains, after the discount retailer crushed Q1 expectations.

Earnings per share rose nearly 8% to $1.78, beating FactSet estimates of $1.48. Revenue also topped forecasts at $10.4 billion versus the $10.2 billion expected. Same-store sales grew 2.4%, well above the 1.5% forecast, with the average transaction amount also ticking higher.

“Our efforts to improve execution and enhance the associate and customer experience are yielding positive outcomes in both our operational performance and our financial results,” CEO Todd Vasos said. He added that those efforts helped Dollar General gain market share across both consumables and nonconsumables as well as drive growth with customers.

Looking ahead, the company now expects net sales to grow 3.7% to 4.7% for the full year, up slightly from its previous 3.4% to 4.4% forecast. Same-store sales growth is expected to rise 1.5% to 2.5%, versus earlier guidance of 1.2% to 2.2%.

Shares of peer Dollar Tree, which is slated to report earnings tomorrow, also jumped on this encouraging report.

Dollar General shares were up 28% year to date prior to this morning’s pop.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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