Dollar General Cuts Financial Outlook Amid Current Economic Climate

(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Will dollar stores make a comeback in 2025?

It’s important to remember that what the stock market does is one thing, but what consumers are doing is another.

12/5/24 12:19PM

At a time when everyone is complaining about not having enough dollars, why do dollar stores keep disappointing investors?

Five Below, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree each reported better-than-expected earnings this week, leading to a temporary boost in their stock prices. But all three are still down over 40% this year.

Not unlike fast food, discount stores have struggled to maintain their perception of value with customers as prices everywhere have gone up. If something at Dollar Tree costs roughly the same at Walmart or Target, a customer may just go there, where they can buy a wider variety of items as well. Those stores also have more and stronger e-commerce infrastructure than dollar stores.

Dollar General, which tends to be concentrated in rural areas, said it plans to open fewer stores next year and focus on refurbishing the ones it already has. Dollar Tree said it’s making progress on its “back-to-basics work” focusing on “value and convenience.” Five Below — which mostly sells nonfood items that are $5 or less — was a bit cheerier and reported solid Black Friday sales, leading to a bump in its stock price.

These companies each appear to be in a transition period, which has included some executive shake-ups.

Dollar Tree announced this week that its chief financial officer, Jeff Davis, would resign. That comes after its former CEO, Rick Dreiling, abruptly stepped down last month. Five Below this week named Winnie Park, former CEO of Forever 21, as its new CEO.

It’s important to remember that what the stock market does is one thing, but what consumers are doing is another. Investors don’t like it when companies don’t beat growth estimates. Discount stores saw their sales grow after 2020, but now that growth has plateaued.

But consumers are in fact still spending more at discount stores than they used to. Combined, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below made over $18 billion in sales in this most recent quarter, compared to about $13 billion in 2019.

Tom Jones

hut’s off

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Yum! Brands might have found a potential buyer for Pizza Hut

Yum! is in exclusive talks with private equity firm LongRange Capital about a sale, per reports.

Hyunsoo Rim

hot dogs & half tanks

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Costco’s gas stations are breaking records as drivers seek cheaper fuel

Higher prices have pushed many members to the retailer’s pumps for the first time.

Max Knoblauch5/29/26

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a 50% made-in-America requirement for USMCA tariff relief

Qualifying for USMCA-related lower tariffs may soon require more US-made vehicle components, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to introduce a 50% US content requirement for vehicles covered by the trade pact to receive lower tariffs. The content would be measured by cost, according to the WSJ.

There currently isn’t any US-specific requirement for those lower tariff rates, but in order to receive preferential tariffs, vehicles are must contain at least 75% regional content (components made in North America). Per Reuters reporting, the Trump admin is seeking to raise the regional requirement to 82%.

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Overall, Tesla will likely have the easiest time qualifying for any stricter requirements. The automaker’s vehicles contained the highest amount of US/Canadian content in 2025, according to American University research. Ford, GM, and Stellantis all scored lower.

Notably: the underlying government data that many domestic content measurements rely on intentionally combines US and Canadian components, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much of any given vehicle is specifically US-made.

Exclusive | Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America

These reported plans are subject to change as the US negotiates USMCA terms with Mexico over the next few months.

Tom Jones5/29/26

The $640,000 Luce makes the average Ferrari look like a bargain

Put aside the shape; put aside the smoothing out of Ferrari’s iconic sharp edges; put aside, even, the calls from former Chairman and President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo to “take the Prancing Horse off.” On the grounds of price alone, Luce detractors might have a point.

By now, many of us will have read the criticisms of Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle, as the Luce — which was unveiled to the world earlier this week and promptly saw the company’s shares crash out in New York and Milan — gets subtly shaded by competitors online and not-so-subtly shaded by basically everyone else.

What makes all of this worse for Ferrari is that, even by the luxury car maker’s notoriously high standards, they’ve slapped a pretty hefty price tag on the Luce, and the company’s CEO, Benedetto Vigna, has already been forced to defend the €550,000 ($640,000) price point, saying yesterday that it’s “fair to pay for innovation,” per Reuters.

While Ferrari’s cars have been getting more expensive of late, as recently as 2022, Ferrari’s average revenue per car sold was around $340,000. At nearly twice that price, this new electric model is obviously proving a little much (visually, conceptually, and financially) for many loyal and long-standing fans of the Prancing Horse to stomach.