Walgreen 3Q profit jumps but misses expectations
Walgreen says its fiscal third quarter earnings jumped 16 percent compared with last year, helped in part by a lower income tax rate, but the nation’s largest drugstore chain missed Wall Street’s expectations.
The Deerfield, Ill., company says it earned $722 million, or 75 cents per share, in the quarter that ended May 31. It earned $624 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.
Walgreen Co.’s revenue climbed 6 percent to $19.4 billion. Adjusted earnings excluding one-time items totaled 91 cents per share.
Analysts forecast earnings of 93 cents per share on $19.44 billion in revenue.
The company operates 8,217 drugstores, or more than competitors CVS-Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp.