Dollar General Earnings Up Next

Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Dec. 7. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Dollar General's revenues will grow 10.2% and EPS will expand 20.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $3.96 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.60.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Dollar General notched revenue of $3.95 billion. GAAP reported sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $3.58 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.69. GAAP EPS of $0.64 for Q2 were 52% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.42 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 32.0%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.8%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.4%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $16.12 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.86.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 215 members out of 240 rating the stock outperform, and 25 members rating it underperform. Among 45 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 35 give Dollar General a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Dollar General is outperform, with an average price target of $58.33.

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