Dollar General Corporation reported that tariff refunds helped drive second-quarter fiscal 2026 gross margin up 127 basis points year over year to 32.6%, with the refunds after related reinvestments contributing approximately 81 basis points to that expansion. Operating profit rose 29.2% to $769.2 million and operating margin expanded 126 basis points to 6.8%, with tariff refunds adding roughly 66 basis points, while earnings per share climbed 33% to $2.48, including an estimated 25 cents benefit from the refunds. The company said it received the majority of its expected tariff refunds in the quarter and does not anticipate a material impact from them in the second half of fiscal 2026, and it directed a substantial portion toward targeted promotions, lower everyday prices and customer-facing initiatives. For comparison, Walmart said tariff refunds lifted second-quarter fiscal 2027 operating income by an approximately 750-basis-point net benefit after price investments, and Target recognized $994 million of pretax tariff refunds that added $752 million to net earnings and $1.65 to earnings per share, contributing 3.7 percentage points to both gross margin and operating margin. Dollar General shares have advanced 8% over the past three months against the industry's 1.7% decline, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings per share for the current and next fiscal year has increased by 50 cents and 32 cents to $7.89 and $8.39, respectively, over the past 30 days.
Dollar General CorporationTariff refunds drove Q2 gross margin up 127bp, operating profit up 29.2%, and EPS up 33% to $2.48.
Target Corporation
Walmart Inc.