DLTR · Consumer staples(retail-variety stores) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2026-01-31
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Dollar Tree, Inc. reported revenue of $19.4 billion in fiscal 2026, after shrinking 0.7% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin held steady at about 8.5% from 2017, and it earned 20.1% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $19.7 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 47.0% went back into the business and 23.6% to buybacks; the share count fell 12.9%. On the accounting screens, it passes 8 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 2.26 is in the grey zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; none of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202619.4B-0.7% a year over 9 years
Operating margin8.5%gross margin 36.4%
Return on invested capital20.1%14.8% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay997.8M5.1% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.7×net debt 1.7B
Piotroski F-score8/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
-10.0B010.0B20.0B30.0B
2017Revenue 20.7BOperating income 1.7B
2018Revenue 22.2BOperating income 2.0B
2019Revenue 22.8BOperating income -939.5M
2020Revenue 23.6BOperating income 1.3B
2021Revenue 25.5BOperating income 1.9B
2022Revenue 26.3BOperating income 1.8B
2023Revenue 15.4BOperating income 2.1B
2024Revenue 16.8BOperating income 1.8B
2025Revenue 17.6BOperating income 1.5B
2026Revenue 19.4BOperating income 1.7B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+8.0%
-5.3%
-0.7%
Operating income
-7.7%
-2.6%
-0.3%
Net income
-7.4%
-0.9%
+4.1%
Earnings per share
-4.8%
+1.9%
+5.7%
Free cash flow per share
+5.6%
-7.7%
+1.0%
Shares
-2.7%
-2.8%
-1.5%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 8.1%
-20.0%-10.0%0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%
2017Return on invested capital 9.8%
2018Return on invested capital 15.5%
2019Return on invested capital -11.5%
2020Return on invested capital 9.5%
2021Return on invested capital 13.9%
2022Return on invested capital 13.2%
2023Return on invested capital 13.1%
2024Return on invested capital 12.6%
2025Return on invested capital 14.9%
2026Return on invested capital 20.1%
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Economic profit
Economic profit
-2.0B-1.0B01.0B
2017Economic profit 195.5M
2018Economic profit 939.7M
2019Economic profit -1.9B
2020Economic profit 133.5M
2021Economic profit 600.1M
2022Economic profit 566.8M
2023Economic profit 605.8M
2024Economic profit 476.9M
2025Economic profit 498.2M
2026Economic profit 739.2M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
34.2%
Return on assets
9.5%
Asset turnover
1.44×
Overheads (SG&A)
28.2% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-4.0B-2.0B02.0B
2017Net income 896.2MFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 1.0B
2018Net income 1.7BFree cash flow 878.0MAfter stock-based pay 812.3M
2019Net income -1.6BFree cash flow 948.9MAfter stock-based pay 885.8M
2020Net income 827.0MFree cash flow 835.0MAfter stock-based pay 773.6M
2021Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 1.8BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2022Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 410.3MAfter stock-based pay 330.4M
2023Net income 1.6BFree cash flow 975.8MAfter stock-based pay 884.3M
2024Net income -998.4MFree cash flow 1.5BAfter stock-based pay 1.4B
2025Net income -3.0BFree cash flow 892.8MAfter stock-based pay 785.9M
2026Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 997.8M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2026
19.7B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 47%9.2B
Acquisitions 0%0
Dividends 0%0
Share buybacks 24%4.6B
Kept, or used to pay down debt 29%5.8B
Over the same years it paid 749.2M in stock. The share count fell 12.9%. 3.9B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-20.00$-10.00$0.00$10.00
2017Earnings per share $3.78Free cash flow per share $4.68
2018Earnings per share $7.21Free cash flow per share $3.69
2019Earnings per share $-6.69Free cash flow per share $3.99
2020Earnings per share $3.47Free cash flow per share $3.50
2021Earnings per share $5.65Free cash flow per share $7.66
2022Earnings per share $5.80Free cash flow per share $1.79
2023Earnings per share $7.21Free cash flow per share $4.35
2024Earnings per share $-4.54Free cash flow per share $6.78
2025Earnings per share $-14.03Free cash flow per share $4.14
2026Earnings per share $6.22Free cash flow per share $5.12
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
200.0M210.0M220.0M230.0M240.0M
2017Diluted shares 236.8M
2018Diluted shares 237.7M
2019Diluted shares 237.9M
2020Diluted shares 238.3M
2021Diluted shares 237.3M
2022Diluted shares 229.0M
2023Diluted shares 224.1M
2024Diluted shares 219.9M
2025Diluted shares 215.9M
2026Diluted shares 206.3M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
02.0B4.0B6.0B
2017Net debt 5.5B
2018Net debt 4.6B
2019Net debt 3.8B
2020Net debt 3.2B
2021Net debt 1.8B
2022Net debt 2.4B
2023Net debt 2.8B
2024Net debt 3.0B
2025Net debt 2.2B
2026Net debt 1.7B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.7×
Interest coverage
— operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.07 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
—
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
8of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✕Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellfailed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✓Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforepassed
✓Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforepassed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
2.26grey zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.02 × 6.56+0.11
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.28 × 3.26+0.92
Operating income ÷ assets 0.12 × 6.72+0.82
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.39 × 1.05+0.41
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.47below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.92
Gross margin slipping 0.98+0.52
Soft assets 1.39+0.56
Sales growth 1.10+0.98
Slower depreciation 0.91+0.10
Overheads vs sales 1.02-0.18
Profit not in cash -0.07-0.32
Leverage rising 0.71-0.23
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
None of the six cross-checks fires for the latest year: receivables and inventory move with revenue, profit turns into cash, investment keeps up with depreciation, the tax rate is ordinary and debt is moderate.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$23.89discounted at 8.1% a year · 56% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
3.8×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
2.9×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.3×
Free cash flow yield
20.2%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today3.0B
Everything after, today3.7B
The whole business6.6B
Minus net debt-1.7B
What belongs to shareholders4.9B
Divided among 206.3M shares: <strong>$23.89</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B
2017Reported 1.0B
2018Reported 812.3M
2019Reported 885.8M
2020Reported 773.6M
2021Reported 1.7B
2022Reported 330.4M
2023Reported 884.3M
2024Reported 1.4B
2025Reported 785.9M
2026Reported 997.8M
2027Projected 480.5M
2028Projected 460.5M
2029Projected 445.2M
2030Projected 434.0M
2031Projected 426.8M
2032Projected 423.2M
2033Projected 423.2M
2034Projected 426.8M
2035Projected 433.9M
2036Projected 444.7M
2017201920212023202520272029203120332035
Year by year
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
Revenue
18.4B
17.7B
17.1B
16.6B
16.4B
16.2B
16.2B
16.4B
16.6B
17.1B
Growth
-5.0%
-4.2%
-3.3%
-2.5%
-1.7%
-0.8%
0.0%
0.8%
1.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
Free cash flow
480.5M
460.5M
445.2M
434.0M
426.8M
423.2M
423.2M
426.8M
433.9M
444.7M
Worth today
444.3M
393.8M
352.0M
317.3M
288.5M
264.6M
244.7M
228.1M
214.5M
203.3M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
7.1%
25
27
31
34
39
7.6%
22
24
27
30
34
8.1%
20
22
24
26
29
8.6%
18
20
21
23
26
9.1%
17
18
19
21
23
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-9.0%
-7.0%
-5.0%
-3.0%
-1.0%
2.1%
15
17
19
21
24
2.4%
17
19
21
24
27
2.6%
19
21
24
27
30
2.9%
21
23
26
30
33
3.1%
23
26
29
32
36
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$-0.01
Median$24.01
90th percentile$54.14
$0.00$50.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$10.81</b> and <b>$38.16</b>; one in ten below $-0.01, one in ten above $54.14.
Does the long run make sense?
4.0×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 4.0 times that year's EBITDA.
4%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 59% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 4% on the new capital — it has earned 15% on average over the last five years.
56%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 5 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market—none in the period
Sold on the open market$470,8172 sale(s) by 2 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans0%of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Which large funds report holding it
From the Form 13F of the 28 institutions followed on this site, as of the end of their last reported quarter. A 13F is filed up to 45 days later and shows only long positions in US-listed shares.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.