Why Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Is Falling Today
On Thursday morning, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) reported fiscal 2023 first-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations, but its retail sales fell year over year, and management offered tepid guidance. Investors were disappointed, and sent shares of Walgreens down as much as 7.8% in morning trading. As of 12:13 p.m. ET, the stock was off by 7.6%.
For the period that ended Nov. 30, Walgreens earned $1.16 per share on revenue of $33.38 billion, exceeding analysts' consensus expectations for $1.13 per share in earnings on $32.83 billion in sales. But the company's retail sales declined by 3% year over year, largely due to a fall-off in demand for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing.
The results were also clouded by a $6.5 billion charge tied to settlements of opioid-related lawsuits. Investors knew those settlements were coming, but seemed to be caught off guard by the lack of momentum in the retail business during what has been an active winter for colds, influenza, and other illnesses.
Source Fool.com
