Walgreens Gains on Cost-Cutting Measures

Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations, as the retail drugstore giant benefits from cost cuts and prepares to go private.

The company is in the process of being taken private by Sycamore Partners in a roughly $10-billion deal that is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Walgreens withdrew its fiscal 2025 guidance given the pending transaction. In January, it said it expects a full-year adjusted profit of $1.40 to $1.80 per share.

The historic deal with Sycamore ends Walgreens’ tumultuous run as a public company, which began in 1927.

The company is shuttering stores and cutting other costs as it gets squeezed by pharmacy reimbursement headwinds, softer consumer spending, and competition from its main rival CVS (NYSE:CVS), grocery and retail chains, and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). It’s also grappling with a troubled push into health care.

During the fiscal second quarter, Walgreens booked sales of $38.59 billion, up 4.1% from the same period a year ago, as sales grew in its U.S. retail pharmacy business and international segments.

The company reported a net loss of $2.85 billion, or $3.30 per share, for the fiscal second quarter. That figure compares with a net loss of $5.91 billion, or $6.85 per share, for the year-earlier period.

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings were 63 cents per share for the quarter.

WBA shares took on 19 cents at the start of Tuesday’s session to $10.90.