Current:Home > FinanceOpioid settlement pushes Walgreens to a $3.7 billion loss in the first quarter-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Opioid settlement pushes Walgreens to a $3.7 billion loss in the first quarter
View Date:2024-12-23 17:10:43
A huge opioid settlement dragged Walgreens to a $3.7 billion loss in its fiscal first quarter, but the drugstore chain still beat Wall Street forecasts.
The company also reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the new year.
Walgreens said Thursday that it recorded a $5.2 billion, after-tax charge in the quarter that ended Nov. 30 for opioid-related litigation.
Walgreens and rival CVS Health Corp. finalized last month a settlement with state and local governments to resolve lawsuits related to opioid abuse. Opioids have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades.
Drugstores were subject to claims that they should have realized they were filling too many opioid prescriptions.
Not counting that charge, Walgreens adjusted earnings totaled $1.16 per share in the quarter. Sales slipped less than 2% to $33.4 billion.
Analysts expect earnings of $1.14 per share on $32.89 billion in sales, according to FactSet.
Walgreens remains "firmly in the black" when not counting the legal charge, noted Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. runs a network of around 13,000 drugstores globally. Most of its locations are in the United States. It's stores also have become a growing source for care.
The company is working with VillageMD to open primary care practices next to some locations with the idea that drugstores and doctor offices work together to help keep patients healthy. But drugstores are still its main business.
Sales from Walgreens' U.S. pharmacies slid 3% to $27.2 billion compared to last year's quarter. A rush of COVID-19 vaccinations and testing helped results last year, and currency exchange rates hurt in the recent quarter.
Strong sales of cough, cold and flu products helped in the most recent quarter, the company said.
Walgreens' developing U.S. health care business brought in first-quarter sales of $989 million after totaling $51 million a year ago.
Walgreens also said Thursday it still expects adjusted earnings to range between $4.45 and $4.65 per share in its new fiscal year. That's the same forecast the company laid out in October.
FactSet says analysts expect $4.51 per share.
Shares of Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens slipped nearly 3% to $36.42 in early trading Thursday.
The price of Walgreens' stock tumbled about 28% last year. That tripled the nearly 9% decline of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which Walgreens is a component.
veryGood! (6446)
Related
- Contained, extinguished and mopping up: Here’s what some common wildfire terms mean
- Fat Tuesday means big business for New Orleans bakers under exploding demand for King Cakes
- What Jersey Shore's Snooki Would Change About the Infamous Letter to Sammi Today
- Lawyers for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger seek change of trial venue, citing inflammatory publicity
- QTM Community Introduce
- It’s so cold and snowy in Alaska that fuel oil is thickening and roofs are collapsing
- Drew Barrymore Wants To Be Your Gifting Fairy Godmother Just in Time for Valentine's Day Shopping
- Michigan school shooter’s mom could have prevented bloodshed, prosecutor says
- King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
- A Trump-era tax law could get an overhaul. Millions could get a bigger tax refund this year as a result.
Ranking
- Judge recuses himself in Arizona fake elector case after urging response to attacks on Kamala Harris
- Did the groundhog see his shadow? See results of Punxsutawney Phil's 2024 winter forecast
- The Daily Money: All about tax brackets
- Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldn’t have discharged woman who died, police should have helped
- Georgia State University is planning a $107M remake of downtown Atlanta
- A timeline of what's happened since 3 football fans found dead outside Kansas City home
- Black tennis trailblazer William Moore's legacy lives on in Cape May more than 125 years later
- LSU football coach Brian Kelly releases bald eagle, treated by the university, back into the wild
Recommendation
-
Father sought in Amber Alert killed by officer, daughter unharmed after police chase in Ohio
-
Sofía Vergara Steps Out With Surgeon Justin Saliman for Dinner in L.A.
-
Did Buckeye Chuck see his shadow? Ohio's groundhog declares an early spring for 2024
-
Towering over the Grammys is a Los Angeles high-rise tagged with 27 stories of graffiti
-
Duke basketball vs Kentucky live updates: Highlights, scores, updates from Champions Classic
-
Drew Barrymore Wants To Be Your Gifting Fairy Godmother Just in Time for Valentine's Day Shopping
-
What is TAYLOR-CON? Taylor Swift's management group files trademark application
-
Arkansas parole board chair was fired from police department for lying about sex with minor