CVS, Walgreen: Drugstore Stock Losers
NEW YORK (
) -- Drug store stocks reported some disappointing results this morning.
Walgreen
(WAG)
reported a 1.3% decline in October same-store sales, a bigger drop than expected. Analysts were forecasting a smaller 0.5% decrease.
During the month, the drug store saw comparable pharmacy sales fall 1.6%, while front-end sales slipped 0.8%. Walgreen attributed the weaker traffic to a slower flu season.
Rival
Rite Aid
(RAD) - Get Report
also reported last week a 1.7% drop in its monthly sales figure, and likewise blamed a weaker cough, cold and flu season, as well as the introduction of cheaper generic drugs.
During the month, Rite Aid's front-end comparable sales declined 1.3%, while pharmacy sales slipped 1.8%. The introduction of new cheaper generic drugs also weighed on results.
Those reports come on the heels of
CVS Caremark
(CVS) - Get Report
announcing that its third-quarter profit dropped 20% and cutting the high-end of its full-year outlook.
CVS now expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.68 to $2.70 a share. It previously predicted the high-end of its forecast at $2.73 a share.
During the quarter, CVS earned $809 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with $1.02 billion, or 71 cents, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company actually earned 65 cents a share, matching consensus estimates.
CVS revenue fell 3.1% to $23.88 billion, due in part to lost pharmacy benefit contracts.
--Written by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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