Dollar General Corporation: Dollar General is a public discount retailer headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Founded in 1939 by James Luther Turner and Cal Turner Sr., the company operated 20,959 stores across 48 U.S. states and Mexico as of February 27, 2026, reported $42.724 billion in fiscal 2025 net sales and is led by CEO Todd Vasos.
What Does Dollar General Do?
Dollar General operates small-format discount stores focused on consumables, household products, seasonal merchandise, health and beauty items, and basic apparel. The chain is built for convenience in rural towns, small cities, and lower-density suburbs where a full big-box trip may be inconvenient. Its store base is larger than many well-known U.S. retail and restaurant chains, giving it unusual reach into communities that larger formats often bypass.
The company's fiscal 2025 results show the scale of that model: $42.724 billion in net sales, $1.512 billion in net income, and 20,959 stores across 48 U.S. states and Mexico as of February 27, 2026. Dollar General also operates a large distribution network that includes dry, cold-storage, and combination facilities supporting its consumables-heavy assortment.
How Did Dollar General Start?
The company traces its roots to J.L. Turner and Son, a Kentucky dry-goods business founded in 1939. Cal Turner Sr. introduced the Dollar General name and the original dollar-price-point concept in 1955. Over time, inflation pushed the company beyond a strict one-dollar promise, but the brand kept its core identity around low prices, small stores, and everyday needs.
Dollar General went public in 1968, expanded through the Turner family era, was taken private by KKR in 2007, and returned to public markets in 2009. Since then it has become one of the most geographically pervasive retailers in the United States.
How Does Dollar General Make Money?
Dollar General earns revenue by selling high-turn consumables and general merchandise through a dense store network. Its economics depend on low build-out costs, disciplined real estate selection, private-label penetration, distribution efficiency, and frequent trips from customers who value proximity and price. DG Fresh, the company's self-distribution program for refrigerated and frozen products, is an important margin and supply-chain initiative.
Under returning CEO Todd Vasos, Dollar General has emphasized operational execution through its Back to Basics agenda. The focus is on in-stock availability, store standards, labor investment, shrink reduction, and better customer experience rather than simply maximizing new-store openings.
What Are Dollar General's Biggest Risks?
The main risks are wage pressure, shrink, store execution, food and freight inflation, regulatory scrutiny, and competition from Walmart, Dollar Tree, grocery chains, and local convenience retailers. Dollar General's advantage is reach, but that reach requires consistent execution across a very large store base.
Table of Contents
Dollar General Corporation Key Facts
| Company | Dollar General Corporation |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue change | +5.2% (FY2024–FY2025) |
| Financials | $42.7B (FY2025, last reviewed October 2026) |
| Market Cap | $27.0B |
| FY2025 net income | $1.5B |
| Last reviewed | By Swet Parvadiya, Founder & Editor - October 2026 |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder(s) | James Luther Turner, Cal Turner Sr. |
| CEO | Todd Vasos |
| Headquarters | Goodlettsville, Tennessee |
| Industry | Discount Retail |
| Employees | 194,000+ |
Dollar General Company Profile: Revenue, Business Model & Strategy
"Dollar General is a discount retailer founded in 1939 in Scottsville, Kentucky. It reported $42.7 billion in FY2025 net sales, operated 21,148 stores as of July 31, 2026, and is led by CEO Todd Vasos."
Why Dollar General Corporation Wins
Dollar General wins on time and distance. For millions of rural and small-town households, a Dollar General is the closest place to buy milk, detergent or snacks, and a short trip is worth more than a slightly lower price 20 miles away. Low-cost leased stores, a large self-distribution network, private brands and buying scale across 21,000-plus stores let it keep prices competitive while still earning a profit in small markets.
Dollar General Corporation operates in a competitive market alongside Walmart Inc., Dollar Tree, Inc., Target Corporation, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Five Below, Inc., The Kroger Co.. Analysts frequently compare Dollar General Corporation and Walmart Inc. due to their overlapping products, target markets, and strategic positioning.
Dollar General is a U.S. discount retailer founded in 1939 and headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It operates about 21,100 small-format stores, reported $42.7 billion in FY2025 net sales and $1.51 billion in net income, and is led by CEO Todd Vasos.
Revenue
$42.7B
Founded
1939
Employees
194K+
Market Cap
$27.0B
Explore Dollar General In Depth
Detailed research across every dimension of Dollar General — history, financials, leadership, and strategy.
Company History
Dollar General is often described as America's neighborhood general store. From its Goodlettsville, Tennessee headquarters it runs more than 21,000 small-box stores that sell food, household essentials, health and…
Full Dollar General history →Revenue & Financials
Dollar General had $42.7B in revenue for fiscal year 2025. Data covers 10 fiscal years. Market capitalization stands at approximately $27B.
Dollar General financials →Founders
Dollar General was founded by James Luther Turner, Cal Turner Sr. in 1939. Explore each founder's background, motivations, and their role in building the company.
Dollar General founders →CEO & Leadership
Dollar General is currently led by Todd Vasos. Explore the full CEO history — leadership transitions, tenures, and the strategic decisions of each chief executive.
Dollar General CEO history →Business Model
Dollar General earns nearly all of its revenue from in-store retail sales. Its model rests on three choices: small leased stores (typically around 7,500 square feet of selling space) that cost far less to build and run…
How Dollar General makes money →Acquisitions
Dollar General has completed 1 documented acquisition. Explore the full acquisition history and strategic rationale behind each deal.
Dollar General acquisitions →Competitive Strategy
Rather than chase store count, Dollar General now spends most of its real estate budget on existing stores. Its FY2026 plan calls for about 4,730 real estate projects: roughly 450 new U.S.
Dollar General strategy →Related Company Comparisons
Our analysts compile business strategy profiles from public financial filings, press releases, and analyst reports. Each profile is reviewed for accuracy before publication by our editorial desk and updated on a rolling basis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dollar General
How does Dollar General make money?
Dollar General makes money by selling low-priced everyday essentials in about 21,100 small stores. Consumables such as food, snacks, paper products and cleaning supplies produced about 82% of net sales in the first half of fiscal 2026, followed by seasonal (10%), home products (5%) and apparel (3%). FY2025 net sales were $42.7 billion and net income was $1.51 billion.
Who owns Dollar General?
Dollar General is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DG. It has no controlling shareholder; most shares are held by institutional investors such as index and mutual fund managers. KKR owned the company from 2007 until its 2009 IPO.
Who is the CEO of Dollar General?
Todd Vasos is CEO of Dollar General. He led the company from 2015 to 2022, then returned in October 2023 to run its Back to Basics turnaround. Donny Lau has been chief financial officer since October 2025.
How many Dollar General stores are there?
Dollar General had 21,148 stores as of July 31, 2026, including Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf locations in 48 U.S. states and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico. It plans about 450 new U.S. stores and 10 in Mexico in fiscal 2026.
Who are Dollar General's main competitors?
Dollar General's main competitors are Walmart, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Five Below, Aldi, Kroger and other grocers, drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS, convenience stores and Amazon.
What was Dollar General's revenue in 2025?
Dollar General reported net sales of $42.7 billion for fiscal 2025 (ended January 30, 2026), up 5.2% from $40.6 billion, with same-store sales up 3.0%. In Q2 fiscal 2026 net sales rose 5.2% to $11.3 billion.
When was Dollar General founded and by whom?
Dollar General traces its roots to 1939, when J.L. Turner and his son Cal Turner Sr. opened J.L. Turner and Son in Scottsville, Kentucky. The first Dollar General store opened in Springfield, Kentucky, in June 1955.
Is Dollar General the same company as Dollar Tree or Family Dollar?
No. Dollar General is an independent public company. Dollar Tree is a separate public company, and Family Dollar was sold by Dollar Tree in July 2025 to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management.
What is DG Fresh?
DG Fresh is Dollar General's self-distribution program for refrigerated and frozen products. It lets the company deliver dairy, deli and frozen foods from its own temperature-controlled facilities and supports the expansion of fresh produce to thousands of stores.
Are Dollar General and Dollar Tree the same company?
No, Dollar General and Dollar Tree are entirely separate, competing discount retail companies.
Analysis: How Dollar General Corporation Makes Money
Deep dive into the Dollar General Corporation business model, revenue streams, and strategic moats in 2026.
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