Walgreen’s (WAG) Shares Down Despite Sales Rise

Despite the company’s announcement last Thursday that its same-store sales jumped 7.5% in June due to higher strength in its pharmacy segment, shares of Walgreen (WAG) continue to trade below their three month high of $76.08 reached on June 18.

Overall sales in the nation’s largest drugstore jumped 8.9% y/y, to $6.28 billion.

Last month, Walgreen reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter. Drugstore retailers have been experiencing lower drug sales as more generic-drugs, which are typically cheaper alternatives to branded medicines, keep hitting the markets. Walgreen said new generic drugs dragged down same-store sales by 0.9% in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, same-store sales in the co.’s pharmacy section rose 11.3% in June, and prescriptions filled improved 7.3%. Pharmacy sales accounted for 65.2% of total sales for the month.

During June, same-store sales ticked 1.3% higher in the front end of the store. Comparable traffic declined 2%, while basket size rose 3.3%.

Walgreen shares are down around 50 cents today, trading at $73.50 as of 11:10AM EDT. Through Monday’s open the ticker, which is up more than 28% year-to-date, posted a monthly loss of nearly 2%.

Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.