Walgreen, Drugstore | featured news

Walgreen's fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings fell 55% as less customer traffic at the drugstore chain contributed to a steeper-than-expected sales decline.

Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. says its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 69 percent, boosted in part by a gain from the sale of its pharmacy benefits management business.

Drugstore operator Walgreen Co. says it will spend about $429 million to buy online retailer drugstore.com in a deal that gives it access to 3 million online customers.

Fewer vaccinations impact drugstore chain's second-quarter results, which fall short of estimates.

Walgreen posted a 1.6% drop in quarterly profit, but sales rose and the drugstore chain's gross profit margin improved.

Drugstore operator Walgreen will offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year, providing tests and routine treatment for minor ailments through its walk-in clinics though patients will still pay for prescriptions.

Walgreen profit fell 6.7% as sales outside of the pharmacy department slipped. Discounts dented profit margins.

Walgreen Co. executives are considering selling booze at its drugstores after phasing out beer and wine at all but a few hundred stores in the 1990s.