Shares of Walgreens rose 27 percent on big earnings, as the drugstore chain cuts costs.

Walgreens On Friday, it reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations, as it closed stores and cut other expenses to pull itself out of a rough spot.

Here’s what Walgreens reported for the three-month period ended Nov. 30, compared with Wall Street’s expectations, based on an LSEG survey of analysts:

• Earnings per share: 51 cents adjusted vs. 37 cents expected
• Income: $39.46 billion vs. $37.36 billion expected

Even after the big beats, Walgreens maintained its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings guidance of $1.40 to $1.80 per share. The company did not include annual sales guidance in its release. In October, Walgreens said it expected fiscal year revenue of $147 billion to $151 billion.

The company’s shares rose 27 percent on Friday.

“We started the fiscal year making progress against our financial and strategic priorities despite a challenging backdrop for our customers,” Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said during an earnings call Friday.

“Importantly, we have begun to make progress on opportunities that we believe are essential to our long-term transformation,” he said, adding that the “cornerstone” of that effort is its U.S. retail pharmacy. Consolidating the business of

Walgreens ended last year’s cliffhanger. Pharmacy payment pressureRelaxation of consumer spending at its stores and related challenges Push into primary careamong other issues. Results come. Between reports that the company is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners;

During the first quarter of the fiscal year, Walgreens posted sales of $39.46 billion, up 7.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, as its three business segments grew.

The company reported a net loss of $265 million, or 31 cents per share, for the fiscal first quarter. That compares with a net loss of $67 million, or 8 cents per share, for the year-earlier period.

Walgreens said the loss was primarily driven by higher operating losses, reflecting its multi-year plan to close underperforming stores. That includes 1,200 over the next three years, with 500 in fiscal year 2025 alone.

According to Walgreens, there are approximately 8,500 retail pharmacy locations across the United States. Website. Wentworth said the company expects “our store closing pace to increase significantly from first quarter levels.”

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were 51 cents per share.

In addition to the store closings, Wentworth said Walgreens is “improving the way we forecast, allocate and schedule labor” in its stores. The company is launching a new scheduling model at nearly 200 locations in January to improve the in-store experience for customers, patients and employees.

The changes will schedule workers based on store-specific demand patterns, while also accounting for team member availability and preferences, he said.

However, Wentworth noted that turning around the consumer retail business “has been made more difficult by the continued deterioration in consumer discretionary spending.” Buyers are facing pressure from inflation and high interest rates, and continue to show value-seeking behavior, Wainworth said.

“We are advancing multiple elements of our retail strategy,” he said. “While we’re seeing early green shoots, we still have a lot of work to do here.”