Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA sank 6.1% toward an 11-year low in premarket trading Tuesday, after the drug store chain and health care services company reported fiscal third-quarter profit that missed expectations and slashed its full-year outlook, citing “challenging consumer and macroeconomic conditions, and lower COVID-19 vaccine and testing volumes.” Net income for the quarter to May 31 fell to $118 million, or 14 cents a share, from $289 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.00 missed the FactSet consensus of $1.07. Sales rose 8.6% to $35.42 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $34.32 billion, amid strength in its U.S. Healthcare business. For fiscal 2023, the company cut its adjusted EPS guidance to $4.00 to $4.05 from $4.45 to $4.65. The company said it increased its cost-cutting program target to $4.1 billion from $3.5 billion, as it cut capital and project spending. The stock has dropped 15.4% year to date through Monday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has gained 1.7%.
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