Dollar General Corp. vs CarMax, Inc — how do they compare? Dollar General Corp. trades at $120.2 (market cap $26.49B), while CarMax, Inc trades at $58.5 (market cap $8.26B). The key difference: Dollar General Corp. is far larger — about 3.2× CarMax, Inc's market cap, and Dollar General Corp. pays a 1.97% dividend while CarMax, Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| DG | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $26.49B | $8.26B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $156.26 | $62.17 |
52-Week Low | $95.94 | $30.88 |
Enterprise Value | $40.93B | $26.77B |
Dividend Yield | 1.97% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Dollar General (DG) trades at $119.65, down 2.24% amid broader market weakness. The stock shows strong fundamentals with a P/E of 16.98 and P/S of 0.62, trading below analyst consensus target of $128.45. Recent earnings beats and positive cash flow trends ($395M net in 2025) support the bullish case, though profit margins have compressed from 7.01% in 2022 to 2.77% in 2025. Technical indicators show mixed signals with bullish overall sentiment but bearish moving averages.
Outlook remains positive given 52% analyst buy ratings and projected earnings growth, but investors face margin pressure and competitive threats from Walmart and Amazon. The stock offers value characteristics with upside to price targets, though same-store sales growth and cost management will be critical for sustained performance.
CarMax (KMX) trades at $58.705, down 0.13% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed quarterly earnings, missing in Q2 2025 but beating in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, with net income of $500.56M in 2025. Recent news includes a Zacks Strong Buy rating and a partnership with Sierra to enhance customer service, though ongoing legal investigations pose a headwind.
The stock's outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by improving cash flow trends and analyst buy ratings, but risks include high debt levels and margin pressures. With a consensus price target of $53.09 below the current price, near-term upside may be limited despite positive momentum indicators.
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 →CarMax sells, finances, and services used and new cars through a chain of over 230 used retail stores. It was formed in 1993 as a unit of Circuit City and spun off into an independent company in late 2002. Used-vehicle sales typically account for about 83% of revenue and wholesale about 13%, with the remaining portion composed of extended service plans and repair. In fiscal 2022, the company retailed and wholesaled 924,338 and 706,212 used vehicles, respectively. CarMax is the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S. but still estimates that it has only about 4% U.S. market share of vehicles 0-10 years old in 2021. It seeks over 5% share by the end of calendar 2025 and revenue between $33 billion to $45 billion by fiscal 2026. CarMax is based in Richmond, Virginia.
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