Earnings Beat Lifted Dollar General (DG) in Q4

Pzena Investment Management recently released its fourth-quarter 2025 commentary for “Pzena Focused Value Strategy.” A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fourth quarter was defined by strong AI momentum and continued market dominance by mega-cap stocks. In this environment, Pzena Focused Value Strategy underperformed the Russell 1000® Value Index, delivering a net return of 2.5% vs. 3.8% for the Index. Given the limited leadership in the market, the firm still observes appealing valuation differences and believes the current environment is favorable for long-term value investors. In addition, you can check the Fund’s top five holdings to see its best picks for 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Pzena Focused Value Strategy highlighted Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) as one of its leading contributors. Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) is a discount retailer that provides various merchandise products. The one-month return of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) was 3.24%, and its shares gained 100.69% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 30, 2026, Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) stock closed at $143.43 per share, with a market capitalization of $31.572 billion.

Pzena Focused Value Strategy stated the following regarding Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Consumer discretionary, financials, and consumer staples were the largest contributing sectors during the quarter. The largest individual contributor was discount retailer Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG), which delivered strong same store sales and margin improvement, resulting in an earnings beat. Store traffic increased as higher-end customers traded down from grocery and pharmacy channels, while continued progress on shrink provided a tailwind to margins that are expected to persist into 2026.”

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 54 hedge fund portfolios held Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) at the end of the third quarter, compared to 55 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.