Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) is a Deerfield, Illinois-based company that operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retailer in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and around the world. Shares of the retailer plunged over 20% in after-hours trading ahead of the market open on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The company’s stock was hit hard after the drugstore chain cut its profit guidance.
Investors were able to see Walgreens’ third quarter (Q3) fiscal 2024 earnings before markets opened on June 27, 2024. In Q3 2024, the company reported earnings per share (EPS0 of $0.40 – up from $0.14 in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. However, without the inclusion of a non-cash impairment adjusted EPS dropped 36% year-over-year to $0.63 on a constant currency basis. This was due to a challenging U.S. retail environment and “recent pharmacy industry trends”.
The company announced that it was lowering its full-year fiscal 2024 guidance to between $2.80 to $2.95. Once again, Walgreens pointed to “challenging pharmacy industry trends” and a “worse-than-expected U.S. consumer environment”.
Walgreens also provided an update on its strategic review. The company stated that it was finalizing its multi-year footprint optimization program to close certain underperforming U.S. stores. Moreover, it is launching a U.S. Retail Pharmacy action plan to invest in and deliver an improved customer and patient experience across channels.
Shares of Walgreens are trading in favourable value territory compared to its industry peers at the time of this writing. Moreover, its earnings are still positioned to deliver a recovery in the months ahead.
