Rite Aid shares tank 20% to an all-time low: explore why

Rite Aid Corp (NYSE: RAD), on Wednesday, said its net loss nearly doubled on a year-over-year basis in its third financial quarter.

Rite Aid shares down on weak guidance

Shares tanked almost 20% this morning to their all-time low after the pharmacy chain lowered its full-year guidance for the third time.   

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Rite Aid now expects per-share loss to be in the range of $2.18 to $1.78 on revenues between $23.7 billion and $24 billion. In comparison, analysts had called for $1.78 a share loss on $23.73 billion in revenue. In the earnings press release, CEO Heyward Donigan said:

Based on recent trends, we’re lowering our full-year guidance due to headwinds including pharmacy margin, seasonal markdowns and higher shrink.

For the year, Rite Aid shares are now down roughly 75%.

Rite Aid Q3 financial highlights

• Lost $67.14 million versus the year-ago figure of $36.06 million
• Per-share loss also went up significantly from 67 cents to $1.23
• Adjusted loss was 14 cents a share as per the press release
• Revenue sunk 2.5% on a year-over-year basis to $6.08 billion
• Consensus was 15 cents of adjusted loss on $5.94 billion revenue

Rite Aid reiterated that it’s committed to generating free cash flow in the fiscal 2023. According to the Chief Executive:

We’re kicking off a performance acceleration programme, which allows us to fast-track initiatives that’ll improve sales, script volume and operating margins, and free up cash. We look forward to updating you on our progress at year end.

Despite historically low valuation, Wall Street has a consensus “sell” rating on Rite Aid shares.