Walgreens shares soar 27% on big earnings beat, as drugstore chain cuts costs

Walgreens On Friday Reported Fiscal First-Quarter Earnings and Revenue that Topped Expectations, As It Shutters Stores and Cuts Other costs to steer it is its item out of a rough.

Here’s what walgreens reported for the three-month period ended nov. 30 compared with what wall street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by lseg:

• Earnings per share: 51 cents adjusted vs. 37 cents Expected
• Revenue: $ 39.46 billion vs. $ 37.36 Billion Expected

Even after the big beats, walgreens mainted its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings guidance of $ 1.40 to $ 1.80 per share. The company did not include annual sales guidance in its release. In October, Walgreens said it expects revenue for the fiscal year of $ 147 billion to $ 151 billion.

The company’s shares spiked 27% on Friday.

“We’ve started the fiscal Year by Making Progress Against Our Financial and Strategic Priesties, Despite The Challenging Backdrop for our consumer,” Walgreens Ceo Tim Wentworth SAID DURING DURING DURING DURING DURING DURINT

“Importantly, we start to progress on the options that we consider essential to s.

Walgreens cappeded off a Rocky past year marked by pharmacy reimbursment pressureSofter Consumer Spending at Its Stores and Challenges related to its push into primary careAmong other issues. The results come amid reports That the company is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm sycamore partners.

During the fiscal first Quarter, Walgreens Booked Sales of $ 39.46 Billion, Up 7.5% From the Same Period a year ago, as it three business segments grew.

The company is reported a net loss of $ 265 million, or 31 cents per share, for the fiscal first quality. It compares with a net loss of $ 67 million, or 8 cents per share, for the year-aarlier period.

Walgreens said the loss was primarily Driven by Higher Operating Losses, which reflected its Multiyear Plan to Close underperforming stores. That includes 1,200 over the next three years, with 500 in fiscal 2025 alone.

Walgreens has around 8,500 retail pharmacy locations across the US, according to its websiteThe company expects to “significantly ramp the pace of our store closures from the first quarter level,” Wentworth said.

EXCLUDING CERTAIN Items, Adjusted Earnings WHENTS PER SHARE FOR THE Quarter.

Apart from the store closures, wentworth said walgreens is “refining the way we Forecast, allocate and schedule labor” in its stores. The company is launching a new scheduling model in about 200 locations in January to improve the in-Store Experience for Customers, Patients and Employees.

The changes will schedule workers based on store-specific demand patterns, while also account for accounting for team member availability and preferences, he said.

Wentworth noted, however, that turning Around the consumer retail business has been “made more challenging by the personality deterioration in Consumer Discretionary Spending.” Shoppers face pressure from inflation and higher interest rates, and continue to show value-seeking behavior, Wenworth said.

“We are Progressing a number of elements of our retail strategy,” He said. “While we are seeing early green shoots, we still have substantial work to do here.”