Walgreens will close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as the drugstore chain seeks to turnaround a struggling U.S. business that contributed to a $3 billion quarterly loss.
The company said Tuesday that about 500 store closures will come in the current fiscal year and should immediately support adjusted earnings and free cash flow. Walgreens didn't say where the store closings would take place.
Walgreens operates about 8,500 stores in the United States and a few thousand overseas. All of the stores that will be closed are in the United States.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. leaders said in late June that they were finalizing a turnaround plan for its U.S. business, and that push could result in the closing of hundreds of underperforming stores.
The plan announced Tuesday includes the closing of 300 stores that had been approved under a previous cost-cutting plan.
Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said in a statement that fiscal 2025, which began last month, will be an important “rebasing year” for the drugstore chain.
"This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term,” he said.
Walgreens, like its competitors, has been struggling for years with tight reimbursement for the prescriptions it sells as well as other challenges like rising costs to operate its stores. Plus drugstore chains have been dealing with more competition from online retail giant Amazon and Walmart and Target.
Rival CVS Health Corp. is wrapping up a three-year plan to close 900 stores. Another major chain, Rite Aid Corp., emerged from a bankruptcy reorganization earlier this year after whittling its store count down to about 1,300 locations.
Walgreens also has been backing away from a plan to add primary care clinics next to some if its stores after launching an aggressive expansion under previous CEO Rosalind Brewer.
The Deerfield, Illinois, company said in August that it was reviewing its U.S. healthcare business, and it might sell all or part of its VillageMD clinic business. That announcement came less than two years after the company said it would spend billions to expand the business.
The company started 2024 by cutting the dividend it pays shareholders to get more cash to grow its business. The drugstore chain then slashed its forecast for fiscal 2024 in June.
Walgreens said Tuesday that its net loss swelled to more than $3 billion in the final quarter of 2024. The company said a softer U.S. retail and pharmacy performance hurt. It also booked some hefty charges tied to opioid litigation settlements the company had recognized in previous quarters and an equity investment in China.
The performance topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts expect, on average, earnings of 36 cents per share on $35.75 billion in revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter, according to FactSet.
The company also said it expects adjusted earnings in the new fiscal year to fall between $1.40 and $1.80 per share, with growth in its U.S. healthcare and international businesses countering the U.S. retail pharmacy decline.
For the fiscal 2025, analysts expect adjusted earnings of $1.72 per share.
Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny said in a research note the company's fourth-quarter performance and 2025 forecast were not as bad as they could have been. But the information released Tuesday “does not answer any of the big questions surrounding the (Walgreens Boots Alliance) story and the improved operating path forward under still new CEO Tim Wentworth.”
Walgreens shares rose almost 4% Tuesday before the opening bell.
The stock had shed nearly two thirds of their value so far this year, falling to $9 as of Monday’s close.
FILE - A Walgreens store in Bradenton, Fla., is shown on Feb. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Debutant Kamran Ghulam scored a resolute century on a tricky recycled wicket and carried Pakistan to 259-5 at stumps on Day 1 of the second test against England on Tuesday.
Ghulam answered Pakistan’s batting problems at No. 4 with a patient 118 off 224 balls. He became the 13th Pakistan batsman to score a century on test debut and is the first to do so against England.
Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (1-66) broke through Ghulam's defenses late in the final session when he tickled the leg bail with the second new ball just four overs old.
Mohammad Rizwan, who could have been out caught behind early but England didn’t go for the television referral, was unbeaten on 37 and first test century-maker Salman Ali Agha was 5 not out at stumps.
The 29-year-old Ghulam had long been knocking at the doors of test cricket with 16 first class centuries before he was finally given a chance after Pakistan left out Babar Azam for the remaining two matches of the series.
Ghulam reached his memorable century off 192 balls in the final session when he drove Joe Root to mid-wicket boundary for his ninth four. He knelt down and kissed the turf.
England squeezed the runs early in the final session through some impeccable reverse swing of Brydon Carse (1-14 in 11 overs) and Matthew Potts (1-36 in 17 overs) as Pakistan lost Saud Shakeel cheaply when the left-hander got a thick edge off Carse.
Jack Leach (2-92) had taken two wickets inside the first 45 minutes to give Pakistan an early shock at 19-2 after captain Shan Masood won the toss and elected to bat on a dry wicket tailor-made for Pakistan’s spin-heavy bowling attack.
Ghulam blunted the spin of Leach and Bashir by combining in a 149-run stand with Saim Ayub, who raised his third half century in the last four test matches and made 77.
England captain Ben Stokes, back after two months out injured, kept on pressing for the breakthrough with an umbrella field in front of both sides of the wicket. It was without success before Ayub chipped an easy catch to Stokes at short mid-off at the stroke of tea interval.
But Ghulam didn’t feel the pressure and waited patiently for the loose balls to hit 11 fours and a six in his memorable debut before he was undone by Bashir.
Earlier, Leach knocked back the off-stump of Abdullah Shafique (7) in his second over and Masood (3) fell to the trap of close-in fielders when Zak Crawley pounced on a low catch at short mid-wicket.
England deployed both spinners with the new ball after just five overs after Pakistan opted to reuse the same wicket on which it suffered a historic innings and 47-run defeat in the first test last week.
Potts, one of the two changes made by England, and Carse, virtually found no seam movement or swing on a dry wicket before Stokes turned to his spinners and even Root bowled two overs of off-spin before lunch.
Ghulam struck a straight six against Leach in a show of rare aggression.
Stokes, who missed England’s 2-1 win at home against Sri Lanka and also last week’s victory in Multan, replaced Chris Woakes. Fast bowler Gus Atkinson made way for Potts.
Pakistan, which is on an 11-match winless streak at home, made four changes after it became the first test-playing nation to lose a match by an innings after scoring 500-plus runs in the first innings.
Four senior players, including out-of-form Babar, were rested for the remaining two tests of the series. The spin trio of Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood, who haven’t played first-class cricket for nine months, were included in the playing XI with Agha and Ayub the other spin options for Pakistan.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam, right, and Saim Ayub bumps their fists during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Jack Leach, right, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Saim Ayub, center, follows the ball after playing a shot as England's Jamie Smith watches during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Ben Stokes, right, bowls as Zak Crawley fields during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Brydon Carse, front, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Saud Shakeel during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam celebrates after scoring century during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan bats during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam celebrates after scoring century during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Jack Leach, second right, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Jack Leach, right, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Shan Masood during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam, right, follows the ball after playing a shot as England's Jamie Smith watches during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam, left, and Saim Ayub run between the wickets during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Saim Ayub, second left, plays a shot as England's Jamie Smith, right, and Ollie Pope watch during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Shan Masood reacts as he walks off the the field after his dismissal during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Shan Masood, right, looks to England's Zak Crawley, center, who taking his catch during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Jack Leach, center, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique, right, is bowled out by England's Jack Leach during the first day of the second test cricket match between Pakistan and England, in Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England's Ben Stokes runs during a practice session, in Multan, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
England cricket captain Ben Stokes smiles during press conference, in Multan, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
