A rose by any other name may smell just as sweet, but don't mix up your dollar stores.

While Dollar General has struggled in 2026, Dollar Tree has held its own: It hasn't quite matched the S&P 500, but it has outperformed other retailers that are tracked by the State Street SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund. Those gains show that its transition to selling higher priced items is working, although its second-quarter results will be the latest test of the strategy.

Analysts expect Dollar Tree earnings of $1.14 a share on $4.9 billion in revenue when it reports results on Thursday.

Dollar Tree shares soared after reporting first-quarter earnings and announcing a delivery partnership with DoorDash in May. Although Dollar Tree sells fewer essentials than discretionary items, which lower-income shoppers might be avoiding amid higher gas prices, it benefits from higher-income consumers trading down.

By moving beyond offering only $1 items, it can offer a wider range of merchandise. However, that means it also puts itself more squarely up against other discounters like Dollar General and Walmart, and the latter's disappointing results last week are concerning. Some traffic weakness in recent quarters-along with the need to look past the temporary benefits of tariff refunds-means that same-store sales could be the key item in focus for investors, as it has been for many other retailers this season.