Better Buy: CVS vs. Walgreens Boots Alliance
If you've been an investor in Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) for the past five years, you haven't been thrilled with its performance. The stock has declined each of the past four years. It fell 13.7% in 2019, and that negative momentum continued into 2020 as the price is down 12% year-to-date.
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) -- the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., ahead of No. 2 Walgreens -- hasn't been much better over that same period. But the stock did have a positive year in 2019, returning 13.4%, and is down only 3.1% year-to-date in 2020.
Both stocks are facing headwinds from shifts in both the retail and healthcare markets. Not only are they seeing increased competition from Walmart and Amazon, but they're dealing with lower prices for generic drugs and a decline in reimbursement rates, among other factors. That's why both of these companies are in transition periods. The better buy for investors will be the company that can more effectively pivot to move forward.
Source Fool.com
