Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Q1 2022 earnings

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday exceeded analysts’ expectations for the fiscal first-quarter and raised its forecast for the year, as customers came to its stores for Covid vaccines and testing.

The drugstore chain’s shares rose more than 2% in premarket trading.

Here’s what Walgreens reported compared with what analysts were expecting for the first quarter ended Nov. 30, based on Refinitiv data:

• Earnings per share: $1.68 adjusted vs. $1.33 expected
• Revenue: $33.90 billion vs. $32.74 billion expected

In the quarter, net income rose to $3.58 billion, or $4.13 per share, compared with a net loss of $308 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.68 per share, topping the $1.33 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Sales rose to $33.90 billion from $31.44 billion a year earlier, higher than the $32.74 billion that analysts expected.

Walgreens shares closed Wednesday at $54.00, up nearly 1%. The company’s shares have risen 31% over the past 12 months, bringing its market value to $46.74 billion.