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WASHINGTON, D.C. – New earnings data released by Dollar Tree reveals the company saw its total revenue climb to over $6.9 billion after the company increased prices to $1.25 on its customers. During its recent earnings call, Dollar Tree’s CEO Michel Witynski touted its first quarter as the “strongest quarter in company history” and even bragged about how “shoppers are responding favorably” to its price jumps at consumers’ expense. Dollar Tree also reported that its net income skyrocketed by 43.2% year-over-year and spent $14.2 million on stock buybacks in its first quarter — with a staggering $2.5 billion still remaining in its program.

Similarly, Dollar General touted “solid financial results” in Q2 FY 2022, as its CEO boasted that they’ve “never felt better about our price position’” after taking the opportunity […] “to sharpen prices even more,” while buying back $746 Million in stock and spending $125 million on dividends.

 

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Even at discount stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General, consumers are paying the price of corporate greed. They join a long list of companies bragging to investors about huge new profits resulting from price increases – making clear they did not need to raise prices so high on everyday families. It’s obvious their price increases far outweigh any new costs of doing business they’ve faced. Unfortunately, too many companies are continuing to choose to chase higher and higher profits instead of keeping prices stable for consumers.”

Kyle Herrig, President of Accountable.US

Over the last several months, Accountable.US has been documenting how clear pandemic profiteering and corporate greed from the big oil, meat packing, shipping, trucking and railroad companies are making inflation/supply chain problems worse for everyday consumers. 

MORE EXAMPLES OF PANDEMIC PROFITEERING: 

  • In its earnings report, General Mills said the quiet part out loud, admitting to expecting strong fourth quarter numbers thanks to “ongoing elevated consumer demand for food at home.” The company saw its quarterly net income increase 11% to $660 million and spent $934 million on dividends this fiscal year after price hikes of up to 20% on hundreds of items in January.

  • In its earnings data, Hormel Foods — which planned on hiking prices not once, but twice, in 2021 — touted “its fifth consecutive quarter of record net sales” and $132 million in first quarter shareholder dividends. The company is doing so well that it completed a $3.35 billion acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s Planters peanuts — the largest acquisition in the company’s history. CEO Jim Snee even admitted that this acquisition was a “catalyst for earnings growth.”

  • After Mondelez — whose brands include Oreo, Ritz, Wheat Thins, and Triscuits — saw its gross profit increase by over $800 million in 2021, the company still increased prices by up to 7% in January 2022 and is leaving the door open to raising them again despite spending nearly $4 billion on stock buybacks and dividends in 2021.

  • In December 2021, Kroger’s Chairman and CEO said the company was “in a position of strength“ as the grocery chain reported a third quarter operating profit of $868 million and spent $297 million on quarterly stock buybacks just months after it said it was “‘passing along higher cost to the customer.'” 
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