Walgreens Falls as Investors Worry That Covid Gains Won’t Last
- Vaccines helped chain beat quarterly earnings estimates
- Company looks for second boosters to bring shoppers back
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. shares tumbled after the pharmacy giant left its outlook for the remainder of the year unchanged, suggesting that a surge in business helped by demand for Covid-19 vaccines and testing is starting to run out of steam.
The drugstore operator reported adjusted earnings of $1.59 a share Thursday, well above the $1.37 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. But it affirmed its annual forecast of adjusted earnings per share growth in the low single digits -- a sign that the trends that drove the better-than-expected outcome this winter won’t be sustained.