As the Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the non-discretionary retail industry, including Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) and its peers.

Food is non-discretionary because it’s essential for life (maybe not those Oreos?), so consumers naturally need a place to buy it. Selling food is a notoriously tough business, however, as the costs of procuring and transporting oftentimes perishable products and operating stores fit to sell those products can be high. Competition is also fierce because the alternatives are numerous. While online competition threatens all of retail, grocery is one of the least penetrated because of the nature of the product. Still, we could be one startup or innovation away from a paradigm shift.

The 8 non-discretionary retail stocks we track reported a strong Q1. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 37.4% above.

While some non-discretionary retail stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 2.9% since the latest earnings results.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR)
A treasure hunt because there’s no guarantee of consistent product selection, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) is a discount retailer that sells general merchandise and select packaged food at extremely low prices.

Dollar Tree reported revenues of $4.64 billion, up 11.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance beating analysts’ expectations.

“Our strong first quarter performance underscores the progress we’ve made against our strategic priorities and is a clear signal that our customers are responding positively to the changes we are making,” said Mike Creedon, Chief Executive Officer.

Dollar Tree pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.4% since reporting and currently trades at $98.

Is now the time to buy Dollar Tree? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Sprouts (NASDAQ:SFM)
Playing on the secular trend of healthier living, Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) is a grocery store chain emphasizing natural and organic products.

Sprouts reported revenues of $2.24 billion, up 18.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. The business had an exceptional quarter with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.