In December, phrase unfold that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) was reportedly contemplating promoting itself to PE agency Sycamore Companions. A month later, specialists consider that the stress in these talks has subsided.

Though WBA struggled in 2024, a sale to Sycamore is now unlikely, executives indicated.

“Walgreens' first quarter 2025 earnings report confirms that the corporate's turnaround is formally underway after an extremely troublesome 2024, during which it completed because the S&P's worst-performing inventory of the 12 months,” Emarketer analyst Rajiv advised me Leventhal to Forbes. “And CEO Tim Wentworth's feedback about his dedication to a retail pharmacy-led enterprise mannequin that can drive long-term worth point out that the rumored sale to PE agency Sycamore Companions is much less doubtless.”

At Walgreens, one other sale is high of thoughts. The corporate continues to be within the strategy of promoting VillageMD and evaluating choices for Summit Well being+CityMD.

“We’re inspired by the management of latest healthcare CEO Jim Murray,” Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth stated Friday throughout the firm's first-quarter earnings name. “To be clear, our final intention to exit the market is unchanged, and we stay dedicated to reallocating any proceeds to scale back our internet debt and enhance the well being of our steadiness sheet.”

Final summer season, Walgreens made it clear that it might not proceed investing in its brick-and-mortar main care practices.

Walgreens first backed VillageMD in 2019. Through the years, the corporate's stake within the main care supplier has ballooned to greater than $6 billion by means of varied investments. VillageMD additionally contains Summit Well being+CityMD, which the corporate acquired in 2023.

Walgreens continues with its plan to shut hundreds of shops.

“As a reminder, we have now lots of expertise with retailer closures – we have now closed roughly 2,000 places within the final ten years,” Wentworth stated. “That stated, to deal with the elevated tempo over the following three years, we have now put collectively a devoted group centered solely on the end-to-end course of to enhance our historic outcomes. This group has already mapped out the following roughly 450 retailer closures, and right now we’re very assured in executing this course of by means of the tip of 2025. Naturally, we count on our future footprint to assist stronger efficiency.”

Total, Walgreens' U.S. Healthcare section had revenues of $2.2 billion within the first quarter, up from $1.9 billion within the first quarter of 2024. VillageMD posted revenues of $1.6 billion and grew 9% year-over-year -on-year, regardless of the affect of clinic closures.

This enhance was pushed by progress in full threat lives and fee-for-service income, famous Manmohan Mahajan, govt vp and international CFO of Walgreens.