Dollar Tree forecasts upbeat fiscal 2026 earnings; reiterates annual targets

(Reuters) -Dollar Tree on Wednesday forecast fiscal 2026 profit above Wall Street estimates and upheld its annual targets, signaling steady demand for affordable groceries and essentials. Shares of the company soared 7% in premarket trading after it also maintained its current quarter forecast. They have risen about 28% so far this year. With inflation and uncertainty squeezing budgets, more middle- and higher-income consumers have also been turning to discount stores to meet their needs. Ahead of its investor day in New York City on Wednesday, the discount store operator said it now expects earnings for fiscal 2026 to grow by a high-teen percentage. Analysts on average were expecting a 14.04% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. The reiterated fiscal year 2025 and current-quarter forecast comes a month after Dollar Tree gave a cautious outlook for the third quarter due to rising tariff costs. At the time, CEO Mike Creedon said the impact from tariffs on the company's costs had shifted to later in the year. However, he reiterated that Dollar Tree would mitigate most of the impact by moving sourcing and raising prices. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)