Dollar Tree tops 3Q profit forecasts

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $171.6 million.

On a per-share basis, the Chesapeake, Virginia-based company said it had profit of 72 cents. Earnings, adjusted to extinguish debt, were 81 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 79 cents per share.

The discount retailer posted revenue of $5 billion in the period, which fell short of Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.06 billion.

For the current quarter ending in January, Dollar Tree said it expects revenue in the range of $5.59 billion to $5.69 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $5.62 billion.

The company expects full-year earnings to be $3.67 to $3.76 per share, with revenue ranging from $20.67 billion to $20.77 billion.

Dollar Tree shares have risen 6 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 7.5 percent. The stock has increased 22 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DLTR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DLTR

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Keywords: Dollar Tree, Earnings Report