Revisiting this old, tempting idea.

It's fascinating how similar the financial stats of these 2 companies are, coincidentally.


DG 220.7m implied shares outstanding , share price $69.50, market cap $15.3b, TTM sales $40.2b, net income TTM $1.33b, so P/E=15.3/1.33 = 11.5

DLTR 220.3m implied shares outstanding, share price $69.00, market cap $15.2b, TTM sales $31.2b, net income temporarily (?) negative from the FD write-down, but same ballpark in recent years.

And both are down almost exactly 50% since a year ago (actually 49%, so close on the chart I can't tell which is which.) They are both at prices almost identical to their share price 10 years ago. At least DG pays a (small) dividend, and also buys back its own shares, but obviously the buybacks have been at far higher prices than the current share price.

Probably the best time to buy is when know-nothing investors like me are looking at the price chart and shaking their heads in dismay, but I can't get up the courage to go contrarian on this one. I can't help thinking these two are like the stuff they sell: cheap for a reason.