First-quarter net income tumbled about 25% as the drugstore chain filled fewer prescriptions than expected and continued to work through a cost-cutting program geared to produce billions in future savings.
Future savings were overshadowed by the current environment of sliding profits, however. Shares of
The company and its competitors have been hurt by challenges like tighter prescription reimbursement from insurers and other payers and growing competition from online options like Amazon.com. That has eaten into sales at the front end of their stores, or the areas outside the pharmacy.
The company also is partnering with the grocer
The potential growth from these partnerships will take years to develop, believes Edward Jones analyst
“We anticipate that profitability and sales growth may be hard to come by for the foreseeable future,” Boylan wrote in a research note.
Executive Vice Chairman and CEO
“I hope that in the end, we will be right,” he said.
Earnings adjusted for one-time items totaled
Analysts expected, on average, earnings of
FactSet says analysts expect, on average, adjusted earnings of
The
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