... Dollar General Corp. (DG) recently lowered its outlook for 2024, citing weakness in lower-end consumer spending, and expects to increase discounting in the second half of the year. - At the same time, the company is prioritizing cash flow generation and debt repayment by reducing inventory levels, reducing capital spending, and pausing share repurchases. - We now expect adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 3.5x and about $1 billion of cash flow available for debt repayment in 2024 with leverage improving in 2025 but still in the mid-3x area. - We are affirming all our ratings including our '###' long-term issuer credit and issue-level ratings and A-2 commercial paper ratings. - The negative outlook reflects weakening consumer demand, especially for lower income individuals, increasing risk to our base case for adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 3.5x in 2024, improving in 2025....
