– Walgreens Slashes Earnings Guidance, Blames “Cautious Consumers,” Shares Plunge To Decade Low:
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. shares plunged more than 8% in pre-market trading Tuesday in New York after the company slashed its full-year earnings guidance and missed Wall Street expectations for its fiscal third quarter due to “a more cautious and value-driven consumer.”
The drugstore chain and healthcare services company revised its earnings guidance lower to a range of $4.00 to 4.05 per share for the full year, down from its previous estimate of $4.65. Adjusted earnings were $1 per share, missing analysts’ average estimate of $1.06. However, revenue in the quarter was $35.4 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $34.2 billion.
Year Forecast
- Sees adjusted EPS $4.00 to $4.05, saw $4.45 to $4.65, estimate $4.44 (Bloomberg Consensus)
Third Quarter Results
- Adjusted EPS $1.00, estimate $1.06
- Sales $35.42 billion, estimate $34.21 billion
- US sales $27.87 billion, estimate $26.78 billion
- International sales $5.6 billion, estimate $5.42 billion
- Adjusted gross margin 18.8%, estimate 20.4%
“Our revised guidance takes an appropriately cautious forward view in light of consumer spending uncertainty while still demonstrating clear drivers of a return to operating growth next fiscal year,” Chief Executive Rosalind Brewer said. She continued:
“We are raising our cost savings program target to $4.1 billion and taking immediate actions to optimize profitability for our US.”
Shares of Walgreens plunged 9%. If losses hold in the pre-market, the stock will hit the lowest level since 2010 in the cash session.
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