The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) and the rest of the non-discretionary retail stocks fared in Q4.

Food is non-discretionary because it's essential for life (maybe not those Oreos?), so consumers naturally need a place to buy it. Selling food is a notoriously tough business, however, as the costs of procuring and transporting oftentimes perishable products and operating stores fit to sell those products can be high. Competition is also fierce because the alternatives are numerous. While online competition threatens all of retail, grocery is one of the least penetrated because of the nature of the product. Still, we could be one startup or innovation away from a paradigm shift.

The 9 non-discretionary retail stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.8% below.

While some non-discretionary retail stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.1% since the latest earnings results.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR)

A treasure hunt because there’s no guarantee of consistent product selection, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) is a discount retailer that sells general merchandise and select packaged food at extremely low prices.

Dollar Tree reported revenues of $5.45 billion, up 9% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Dollar Tree delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 4.2% since reporting and currently trades at $111.93.

Read our full report on Dollar Tree here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Dollar General (NYSE: DG)

Appealing to the budget-conscious consumer, Dollar General (NYSE: DG) is a discount retailer that sells a wide range of household essentials, groceries, apparel/beauty products, and seasonal merchandise.

Dollar General reported revenues of $10.91 billion, up 5.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Dollar General delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 9.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $131.10.

Is now the time to buy Dollar General? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO)

Due to its differentiated procurement and buying approach, Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO) is a discount grocery store chain that offers substantial discounts on name-brand products.

Grocery Outlet reported revenues of $1.22 billion, up 10.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

As expected, the stock is down 32% since the results and currently trades at $5.98.

Read our full analysis of Grocery Outlet’s results here.

Target (NYSE: TGT)

With a higher focus on style and aesthetics compared to other large general merchandise retailers, Target (NYSE: TGT) serves the suburban consumer who is looking for a wide range of products under one roof.

Target reported revenues of $30.45 billion, down 1.5% year on year. This number was in line with analysts’ expectations. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Target had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 3.3% since reporting and currently trades at $116.88.

Read our full, actionable report on Target here, it’s free.

Costco (NASDAQ: COST)

Designed to be a one-stop shop for the suburban consumer, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is a membership-only retail chain that sells groceries, apparel, toys, and household items, often in bulk quantities.

Costco reported revenues of $69.6 billion, up 9.2% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is up 1.4% since reporting and currently trades at $996.48.

Read our full, actionable report on Costco here, it’s free.

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