Walgreens Boots Alliance Beats On Earnings, Sales Slightly Below Estimates

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Thursday it had net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.01 a share, in its fiscal first quarter, compared with $850 million, or 89 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.03, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 96 cents. Sales rose 48.5% to $29 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $29.251 billion. The company said it is raising the low end of its outlook for fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS by 5 cents to $4.30 to $4.55. The current FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $4.44. Shares fell 1.4% in premarket trade, but are up 4% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.8%.