Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenue Misses The Mark

UPDATE: 8 a.m. EDT — Walgreens Boots Alliance reported adjusted per share earnings of $1.31 per share in the second quarter of 2016 — a rise of 11 percent over the year-earlier period and better than analysts’ estimate of $1.28. However, the drug retailer’s profit in the quarter fell substantially, to $930 million, or 85 cents per share, from $2.04 billion, or $1.93 cents per share in the same period last year, when it benefited from a non-cash gain of $814 million.

The company’s revenue in the period, which came in at $30.18 billion, also fell short of consensus estimates. Reuters had forecast revenue of $30.66 for the quarter. Meanwhile, pharmacy sales, which accounted for 65 percent of the company’s total sales in the quarter, increased 3.2 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. The company also raised its full-year guidance for the fiscal year 2016. It now expects full-year earnings to lie between $4.35 to $4.55 per share — a 5 cents per share rise in the low end of guidance.

“Looking ahead, we remain on track to achieve our expectations for this fiscal year, as we work to mitigate lower pharmacy reimbursement rates and challenging retail sales environments,” CEO Stefano Pessina said. In the statement accompanying the earnings report, Walgreens also addressed the ongoing discussions related to the $9.4 billion acquisition of the country’s third-largest pharmacy chain Rite Aid, stating that it still expects the deal to close in the second half of the year.

Original story:

American drug retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance will report its fiscal second quarter earnings before markets open Tuesday. The company, whose recent plan to acquire its rival Rite Aid has drawn scrutiny from antitrust regulators, is expected to report earnings of $1.28 per share — up 8 percent from the same period last year.

According to Reuters estimates, the company’s revenue is expected to have jumped more than 15 percent, to $30.66 billion in the second quarter of 2016 from $26.57 billion a year earlier. Walgreens’ pretax profits, however, are expected to drop nearly 28 percent, to $1.76 billion from $2.44 billion in the quarter ending February 2015.

The company is also expected to provide an update on its planned acquisition of Rite Aid for an estimate $9.4 billion. The deal, if it goes through, would unite the country’s two biggest drugstore owners.

Rite Aid has more than 4,600 drugstores across the U.S., while Walgreens has over 8,000.

However, the acquisition, announced in October, is reportedly facing antitrust review from the Federal Trade Commission.

“As a standard part of the regulatory process in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) review, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid last month each received, as expected, a request for additional information from the FTC in connection with the proposed acquisition,” Walgreens said in a statement accompanying its first quarter earnings report in January.

On Monday, Walgreens’ shares closed down 0.45 percent. Year-to-date, the company’s stock is mostly flat, but has still managed to outperform the broader market, which is down 3.45 percent.