Walgreens beats Street views but sees sharp profit decline

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. reported third-fiscal-quarter net income totaling $289 million, or 33 cents per share, down from $1.197 billion, or $1.38 per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of 96 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 92 cents. Sales of $32.6 billion were down from $34.03 billion a year before and ahead of the FactSet consensus for $32.06 billion. U.S. comparable retail sales were up 2.4%, excluding tobacco. Walgreens administered 4.7 million COVID-19 vaccines and 3.9 million tests during the quarter. The Walgreens Health segment of the business, which includes VillageMD, a primary healthcare company, saw a 65% pro forma sales increase year-over-year. Walgreens announced this week that, after a strategic review, it will keep the Boots business. Walgreens continues to forecast full-year adjusted EPS growth at a low-single-digits percentage. The FactSet consensus calls for EPS of $5.04, implying an increase of 2.6%. Walgreens stock fell 1.6% in Thursday premarket trading and is down 21.6% to date in 2022. The S&P 500 index is down nearly 20% on the year.

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