Even dollar stores are getting slammed by the retail theft crisis.
Dollar Generals shares tanked Thursday after the discounter provided a bleak outlook for the rest of the year because of rising thefts and weak consumer demand at its 19,000 stores nationwide.
The Tennessee-based company warned Wall Street that profits may plunge by as much as 34% compared to its previous forecast for an 8% decline to flat growth as cut its full-year profit and sales targets for the second time this year.
“Our revised guide is really a function of the slower transactions that we’re seeing, and higher expected shrink,” Dollar General CFO Kelly Dilts said on a call with analysts after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
The reference to “shrink” — an industry term for stolen or damaged goods — follows a troubling trend cited by other major retailers who have blamed the scourge of organized retail theft for impacting their bottom line.
Target has said it expects to lose $500 million because of theft at its stores.
Dollar Tree said in May that it would need to raise prices in some regions because of persistent shoplifting.
Dollar General’s gross profit as a percentage of net sales fell 126 basis points in the quarter as retail shrink worsened. It flagged $100 million in additional shrink headwinds since its last earnings call in June.
CEO Jeff Owen did not elaborate on the extent of the theft, instead pointing to still-stubborn inflation for shoppers feeling “financially constrained.
Dollar Generals core customers are feeling the acute pressure of the cost-of-living-crisis, echoed Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, in a report Thursday.
Dollar General lowered its same store sales guidance to a decline of about 1% and 1% increase compared to its previous forecast of a 1% to 2% increase.
The companys comparable sales dropped by 1% in the second quarter ended Aug. 4 and the company expects a pileup of inventory to be a drag on its earnings for the rest of the year as it slashes prices on items that havent been selling.
The quarter “marks the fourth consecutive guide down for Dollar General, which admittedly creates further uncertainty if we are hitting the bottom yet,” said Raymond James analyst Bobby Griffin.
The stock nosedived down more than 12% Thursday to close at $138.59.
It has tracked a nearly three-and-a-half-year low, slumping as much as 18.2% to hit $128.96 — making it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 index this year.
As inflation continued to batter shoppers this year, more customers flocked to Dollar General and its rival Dollar Tree among other big discounters.
But food and other essential items are less profitable for those stores as profit margins on food are anemic.
While we are not satisfied with our overall financial results, we made significant progress in the second quarter improving execution in our supply chain and our stores, as well as reducing our inventory growth rate and further strengthening our price position, Owen said in a statement.
Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed and he’s due to sign it into law on Independence Day. Mark Stone and David Blevins discuss how the bill will supercharge his presidency, despite its critics.
They also chat Gaza and Ukraine, as Donald Trump meets with freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and talks to Vladimir Putin.
If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.
Image: Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk. Pic: Reuters
Image: Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Pic: PA
Jota, 28, leaves behind his wife of only 11 days, Rute Cardoso, and three young children.
His younger brother, 25, was an attacking midfielder for Penafiel in the second tier of Portuguese football.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, captain Virgil Van Dijk and teammates including Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez were seen at the service.
More from World
Former teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho were also there.
Van Dijk carried a red wreath with Jota’s number 20, while Robertson had a wreath featuring number 30, Silva’s number at Penafiel.
Image: Manchester United and Portugal player Bruno Fernandes. Pic: PA
Image: Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s player Andrew Robertson. Pic: Reuters
Some of Jota’s teammates in the Portuguese national side also attended, including Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga, of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo, from Wolves, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.
Ruben Neves was one of the pallbearers after flying in from Florida where he played for Al Hilal in the Club World Cup quarter-final on Friday night.
‘More than a friend’
In a post published on Instagram before the service, he told Jota he had been “more than a friend, we’re family, and we won’t stop being that way just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!”
Jota’s fellow Liverpool midfielder, Alexis Mac Allister, said on Instagram: “I can’t believe it. I’ll always remember your smiles, your anger, your intelligence, your camaraderie, and everything that made you a person. It hurts so much; we’ll miss you. Rest in peace, dear Diogo.”
Instagram
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Porto FC president Andre Villas-Boas and Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez were also in attendance.
‘With us forever’
Speaking after the ceremony, Martinez said the period since their deaths had been “really, really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we showed we are a large, close family.
“Their spirit will be with us forever.”
The service was private, but the words spoken by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, were broadcast to those standing outside the church.
He told Jota’s children, who were not at the service, that he was praying for them specifically, as well as their mother and grandparents.
“There are no words, but there are feelings,” he said, adding: “We also suffer a lot and we are with you emotionally.”
The brothers died after a Lamborghini they were travelling in burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday morning.
No other vehicles are said to have been involved in the incident.
Liverpool have delayed the return of their players for pre-season following Jota’s death and players past and present paid tribute to him and his brother on social media.
Hidden among the majestic canyons of the Utah desert, about 7 miles from the nearest town, is a small research facility meant to prepare humans for life on Mars.
The Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that runs the Mars Desert Research Station, or MDRS, invited CNBC to shadow one of its analog crews on a recent mission.
“MDRS is the best analog astronaut environment,” said Urban Koi, who served as health and safety officer for Crew 315. “The terrain is extremely similar to the Mars terrain and the protocols, research, science and engineering that occurs here is very similar to what we would do if we were to travel to Mars.”
SpaceX CEO and Mars advocate Elon Musk has said his company can get humans to Mars as early as 2029.
The 5-person Crew 315 spent two weeks living at the research station following the same procedures that they would on Mars.
David Laude, who served as the crew’s commander, described a typical day.
“So we all gather around by 7 a.m. around a common table in the upper deck and we have breakfast,” he said. “Around 8:00 we have our first meeting of the day where we plan out the day. And then in the morning, we usually have an EVA of two or three people and usually another one in the afternoon.”
An EVA refers to extravehicular activity. In NASA speak, EVAs refer to spacewalks, when astronauts leave the pressurized space station and must wear spacesuits to survive in space.
“I think the most challenging thing about these analog missions is just getting into a rhythm. … Although here the risk is lower, on Mars performing those daily tasks are what keeps us alive,” said Michael Andrews, the engineer for Crew 315.