Dollar General Corp. vs Essex Property Trust, Inc. — how do they compare? Dollar General Corp. trades at $120.07 (market cap $27.00B), while Essex Property Trust, Inc. trades at $282.11 (market cap $18.20B). The key difference: Dollar General Corp. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Essex Property Trust, Inc. pays the higher dividend (3.66%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| DG | ESS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $27.00B | $18.20B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Real Estate |
52-Week High | $156.26 | $298.33 |
52-Week Low | $95.94 | $239.61 |
Enterprise Value | $41.45B | $24.80B |
Dividend Yield | 1.93% | 3.66% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Dollar General (DG) trades at $126.59, down 0.69% on the day, with strong technical momentum indicated by bullish moving averages and oversold RSI conditions. The company demonstrates consistent earnings beats with Q1 2026 EPS of $2.00 exceeding expectations of $1.89, while maintaining solid profitability metrics including 18.91% ROE. Recent cash flow trends show improvement with 2025 net cash flow of $395 million, and the balance sheet reflects declining debt-to-asset ratios from 22.73% to 20.03% year-over-year.
The outlook remains positive with analyst consensus favoring Buy ratings (52%) and a $128.45 price target offering modest upside. Key opportunities include consumer trade-down benefits and margin improvement, while risks involve competition from Walmart and Amazon, market saturation concerns, and ongoing cost pressures. The stock presents a value proposition with attractive P/S (0.65) and P/E (17.91) multiples relative to historical norms.
ESS trades at $288.1, up 1.05% daily, with a neutral technical signal and support near $284. The stock shows strong profitability with a 21.48% net margin and recent Q2 2026 earnings miss on EPS but beat on FFO, leading to raised full-year guidance. Revenue growth is steady, reaching $1.89B in 2025, though net income declined to $670M from $742M in 2024.
Outlook is cautiously optimistic with a consensus price target of $305.86, implying ~6% upside. Risks include high debt levels (debt-to-asset ratio of 51.92% in 2024) and regional economic exposure. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 40% buy ratings, but institutional interest grew with Amundi increasing its stake in Q1 2026.
Trailing returns across standard periods
A leading American discount retailer, Dollar General operates over 18,000 stores in 47 states, selling branded and private-label products across a wide variety of categories. In fiscal 2021, 77% of net sales came from consumables (including paper and cleaning products, packaged and perishable food, tobacco, and health and beauty items), 12% from seasonal merchandise (such as toys, greeting cards, decorations, and gardening supplies), 7% from home products (for example, kitchen supplies, small appliances, and cookware), and 4% from basic apparel. Stores average roughly 7,400 square feet, and about 75% of Dollar General locations are in towns of 20,000 or fewer people. The firm emphasizes value, with most of its items sold at everyday low prices of $5 or less.
Read more on DG →Essex Property Trust owns a portfolio of 253 apartment communities with over 62,000 units and is developing three additional properties with 571 units. The company focuses on owning large, high-quality properties on the West Coast in the urban and suburban submarkets of Southern California, Northern California, and Seattle.
Read more on ESS →