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Walgreens continues to profit from the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations.
Getty Images/Joe Raedle
Walgreens Boots Alliance is a joint venture between Walgreens and Boots.
Although the company announced stronger earnings than expected and raised its financial forecast for the year, it wasn’t enough to keep the stock in the black.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is a joint venture between Walgreens and Boots.
(ticker: WBA) shares rose 2.2 percent in premarket trade before plummeting 6.7 percent as regular trading began. So far this year, the stock has gained around 23%.
In 2021, the stock will make a stunning recovery. Last year, Walgreens stock dropped 32.4 percent, making it the second-worst performer in the S&P 500.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index that measures how well a
It was the third greatest this year, behind
The Goldman Sachs Group is a global investment bank.
(GS) as well as
American Express is a credit card company based in
(AXP) as of Wednesday’s closing of business. The business said in its earnings report on Thursday morning that it now expects a 10% increase in adjusted per-share earnings from continuing operations in 2021. This is up from its previous earnings report, which stated that “mid-to-high single digit growth” was projected. According to FactSet, the Wall Street average expects Walgreens earnings decreasing 1.1 percent from last year’s levels. Walgreens announced adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share for the third quarter of its fiscal year, exceeding the FactSet consensus expectation of $1.16. Sales of $34 billion were recorded, exceeding the FactSet consensus estimate of $33.5 billion. Guggenheim analyst Glen Santangelo noted in an early Thursday note that the results are consistent with the loosening of pandemic-era restrictions. Santangelo noted, “The company’s operations appear to be benefiting consistent with the reopening.” “We feel the results are sufficient to maintain the stock today, but we recognize that investors are still interested in learning more about how the new CEO’s long-term plan differs from that of previous management.” Rosalind Brewer, the company’s new CEO, took over from former CEO Stefano Pessina in March. Walgreens reported quarterly revenues of $28.7 billion, up 5.1 percent from the same period last year. It claimed that the business had already given out more than 25 million Covid-19 vaccinations, with Walgreens administering 8 million and Boots administering 3 million. Part of the company’s increased profitability projection can be ascribed to the Covid-19 vaccines it is currently providing. The business stated, “The revised outlook reflects solid third-quarter results and additional clarity on the impact of COVID-19 immunizations.” The company’s balance sheet is better than it was before it sold its Alliance Healthcare business to Guggenheim, according to Santangelo’s note on the earnings report.
AmerisourceBergen
(ABC), a $6.5 billion deal that was completed in June. “Given the retail pharmacy business’s long-term structural issues, we believe investors should wait and see on the stock until the plan becomes more transparent,” Santangelo wrote. The stock is rated as a Buy by Santangelo. Only two of the 21 analysts that follow Walgreens for FactSet rank the stock as Buy or Overweight, while 17 rate it as Hold and two rate it as Sell or Underweight. Josh Nathan-Kazis may be reached at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com./n
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