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

<h1>Dollar Tree vs Dollar General: Which Discount Retailer Delivers the Smarter Return for Your Portfolio?</h1>
<h3>Quick Read</h3>
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<li> <p class="yf-1fy9kyt">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.</p></li>
<li> <p class="yf-1fy9kyt">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.</p></li>
<li> <p class="yf-1fy9kyt">A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality.</p><a href="https://247wallst.com/lp/the-simple-habit-that-can-double-americans-retirement-savings-and-why-you-should-start-today/?i=92b7e4b9-befc-496a-a9b5-bea2732dfb3c&amp;p=ebadc3d1-a33c-4a9b-912c-8b2543ac0c0b&amp;pos=keypoints&amp;tpid=1567597&amp;utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_content=feed||1567597">Read more here</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Dollar Tree (<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DLTR/">NASDAQ: DLTR</a>) and Dollar General (<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DG/">NYSE: DG</a>) are both sitting in the discount bin right now, and retirement-focused investors may want to research which name aligns with their goals.</p>
<h2>Valuation: Edge to Dollar Tree</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>Yield and Income: Dollar General Wins Clearly</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Read: <a href="https://247wallst.com/lp/the-simple-habit-that-can-double-americans-retirement-savings-and-why-you-should-start-today/?i=92b7e4b9-befc-496a-a9b5-bea2732dfb3c&amp;p=d474a5a7-790a-4f9f-bfcb-02fc45c14ad3&amp;pos=mid_content&amp;tpid=1567597">Data Shows One Habit Doubles American’s Savings And Boosts Retirement</a></p>