Diamonds and Dogs

3/15/18

Dollar General (DG) surged following earnings, improved 2018 outlook and a buyback. Dollar General is up 5% on lackluster earnings. Four quarter earnings were inline as sales rose just 2% to $6.13 billion. But Dollar General dramatically boosted 2019 guidance, increased their dividend by 12% and announced a billion dollar buyback. Discount stores might be benefiting from a pullback in spending in the broader consumer sector this year as U.S. retail sales fell for the third consecutive month in February.

ADT (ADT) gets Amazoned. Home security company ADT (ADT) is down 7% following a surprise loss for the fourth quarter, its first quarterly report since coming public in January. ADT lost 6 cents a share as revenue rose 5% to $1.11 billion. The board declared a dividend and issued in line guidance for the rest of the year, but Wall Street was not satisfied. It has been an eventful start to 2018 for Florida-based ADT, which went public in January, got whacked on news of an Amazon (AMZN) deal in February to enter the home security market with the purchase of e-commerce giant Ring, which makes a smart doorbell that streams audio and visuals to smartphones.