Walgreens will close around 1,200 retail stores over three years, including around 500 closures in fiscal year 2025, according to its earnings report for the 2024 fiscal year ended Aug. 31.
The company shared plans to close "a significant portion" of its underperforming stores in late June due to financial difficulties and ongoing environmental pressures.
Here are six things to know:
1. The 1,200 closures also comprise 300 stores previously approved in the Transformational Cost Management Program.
2. Walgreens saw an operating loss of $978 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 117.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Net loss was $3 billion, compared to a $180 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2023. Sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 for the company increased 6% year over year to $37.5 billion.
3. The company saw $147.7 billion in sales in fiscal year 2024, a 6.2% increase from the previous year. It had an operating loss of $14.1 billion for fiscal year 2024, a 104.5% increase compared to the previous year. Net loss was $8.6 billion, a 180.4% increase from fiscal year 2023.
4. Pharmacy sales for the company increased 9.6%, with 302 million total prescriptions filled in the fourth quarter of 2024. Retail sales for Walgreens decreased 3.5% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter in 2023. "Retail margin was positively impacted by category mix and higher owned brand penetration, partly offset by elevated shrink levels," the report said.
5. "In fiscal 2025, we are focusing on stabilizing the retail pharmacy by optimizing our footprint, controlling operating costs, improving cash flow, and continuing to address reimbursement models to support dispensing margins and preserve patient access for the future," Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens, said in the report. "Fiscal 2025 will be an important rebasing year as we advance our strategy to drive value creation. This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term."
6. Walgreens comprises 12,500 locations in the U.S., Europe and Latin America and has around 312,000 employees.