Walgreens

Shares cut in half after prices trend back up Continue reading... […]

In this episode of Market Foolery, Chris Hill chats with Motley Fool analyst Brian Feroldi about some retail stocks making headlines today. They've got some rough reports and news about store closures and job cuts. […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- When the strongest players pull back from a market, that looks like a bad omen for the weaker peers left behind. But in U.K. retail, there are silver linings for the stragglers.The iconic John Lewis Partnership Plc last week said it would close eight shops including two big department stores, with the loss of up to 1,300 jobs. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is cutting 4,000 jobs in its U.K. Boots business, including in the head office. It will also close 48 optician practices. The group was already shuttering 200 Boots stores.Further pain had been expected for Britain’s shopping malls and high streets amid the pandemic. Although some shoppers are returning, mostly to retail parks, June footfall was down 57% year-on-year, according to data provider Springboard.But the latest retreats are especially significant. John Lewis has only 36 large department stores, a relatively small estate. It has benefited from owning Waitrose supermarkets, which have performed well during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some 40% of sales were already online prior to the Covid-19 crisis, thanks to early digital investment.There is a question mark over whether John Lewis really needs to cull two major sites. Its Watford store, north-west of London, already had a rent-free deal with landlord Intu Properties Plc. Likewise, an important anchor tenant such as John Lewis could have surely done a deal with Hammerson Plc, the landlord of the Birmingham store, for better terms.As for Boots, the chain has suffered from a slump in sales of high-margin beauty and fragrance products, but most of its stores remained open during the lockdown while the government forced the closure of non-essential shops.  Other retailers have not enjoyed these advantages. Mid-market fashion looks particularly exposed. Marks & Spencer Group Plc traditionally caters to an older demographic in its clothing and home furnishings business. Rising Covid-19 cases around the world may be making its customers even more reluctant to venture out. The group is already about halfway through closing 110 stores.Billionaire Philip Green’s Arcadia Group also faces a fall in demand for clothing. It has some big sites in city centers, where consumers are particularly nervous about shopping.But as the big names pull back, the tenants who remain enjoy a lessening of competition. Plus they gain some bargaining power over landlords. New Look Retail Group is among the firms in discussions about moving to more flexible rents. The shock of John Lewis closing two flagship stores could make property owners more acquiescent.One player who can be expected to make the most of this environment is Mike Ashley. The retail entrepreneur owns a majority stake in Frasers Group Plc, whose Sports Direct division is likely to have traded well through the pandemic, bolstered by online demand for home workout gear. With rival Debenhams Plc and now John Lewis shrinking, that can only help Ashley’s bid to transform some of his House of Fraser department stores using his much-maligned “Harrods of the High Street” concept. And he’s not one to miss an opportunity to put pressure on landlords. In fact, it’s his specialty.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P. […]

Q3 2020 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc Earnings Ca […]

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) reported a $1.71 billion quarterly loss and announced 4,000 jobs cuts due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic sending shares down 8%.The stock dropped to $39.01 at the close on Thursday after the drugstore chain operator announced that it will also suspend its share repurchase program and will need to take a non-cash impairment charge of $2 billion mainly as result of the COVID-19 impact on its Boots UK business. As part of a restructuring plan to cut costs, Walgreens said it will close 48 of its Boots opticians stores and lay off 4,000 employees, or 7% of its workforce.Net loss was $1.71 billion, or $1.95 per share, in the three months ended May 31, versus a profit of $1.03 billion, or $1.13 per share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of $1.19 per share. Revenue rose 0.1% to $34.6 billion.“Prior to the pandemic our financial performance for fiscal 2020 was on track with our expectations. However, this unprecedented global crisis led to a loss in the quarter as stay-at-home orders affected all of our markets,” Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina said. “Shopping patterns are evolving more rapidly than ever as consumers further embrace digital options, spurring us to accelerate our ongoing investments in digital transformation and neighborhood health destinations.”Walgreens total digitally initiated sales rose 22.7% in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year. The drugstore chain recently formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) and Adobe to launch a marketing technology and customer data platform for personalized healthcare and shopping experiences.Earlier this week, Walgreens announced that it will be expanding the size of its care clinics by nearly 700 retail stores over the next few years as part of an overhaul of its business model from being primarily a drug pharmacy to a primary care clinic.With Walgreens’ stock down now 34% year-to-date, analysts are sidelined on the stock. The Hold analyst consensus shows an unanimous 4 Hold ratings. Looking ahead, the $47.75 average price target implies 22% upside potential from current levels. (See Walgreens stock analysis on TipRanks).Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky Goldwasser earlier this month cut the stock’s price target to $45 from $49 and reiterated a Hold rating, saying that investors are weighing whether, or not the challenges the company is exposed to are valued into the shares.Goldwasser remains cautious for now and lowered her full-year per share earnings forecast by 8 cents to $5.48. The analyst expects Walgreens to report EPS of $1.16 in the fourth quarter, which is slightly below consensus estimates.Related News: Costco June Sales Beat Estimates As Shoppers Go Online; Top Analyst Raises PT Lookout Walmart, Amazon Is Coming for Your Grocery Customers, Says Analyst Walmart To Launch Online Subscription Service For $98 Per Year- Report More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Moderna Inks Deal With Rovi To Supply Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Outside U.S. * Sony Invests $250M For Minority Stake In Fortnite Maker Epic Games * Amazon: Top Analyst Raises Estimates… Again * GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) Stock Is a Winner, But How Much Higher Can It Go? […]