Walgreens' Stock Falls After Profit And Sales Miss Expectations

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. fell 1.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the drug store chain reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. Net earnings for the quarter to Feb. 28 rose to $1.06 billion, or 98 cents a share, from $930 million, or 85 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.36, below the FactSet consensus of $1.37. Revenue declined 2.4% to $29.45 billion from $30.18 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $30.26 billion. Retail pharmacy U.S.A and international sales and pharmaceutical wholesale sales all fell more than expected. The company said set a $1 billion share buyback program, before the previous program expires at the end of this year. Walgreens maintained its full-year adjusted EPS outlook at $4.90 to $5.08, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $5.00. The stock has slipped 0.3% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.