Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

Type| Private

Traded as

* NASDAQ: WBA

Industry| Retail and pharmaceuticals

Predecessors|

* Walgreen Company
* Alliance Boots

Founded| December 31, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-12-31)
Headquarters|

Deerfield, Illinois

U.S.

Number of locations

| 12,712 (2024)

Area served

| Worldwide

Key people

* Stefano Pessina (executive chairman)
* Tim Wentworth (CEO)
* Ornella Barra (COO)

Revenue|  US$147.7 billion (2024)

Operating income

|  US$–14.1 billion (2024)

Net income

|  US$–8.64 billion (2024)
Total assets|  US$81.04 billion (2024)
Total equity|  US$12.01 billion (2024)
Owner| Sycamore Partners

Number of employees

| 312,000 (2024)
Divisions|

* Retail Pharmacy U.S.
* Duane Reade
* Walgreens
* Retail Pharmacy International
* Boots
* Almus Pharmaceuticals
* Farmacias Ahumada
* Farmacias Benavides

Website| walgreensbootsalliance.com
Footnotes / references
Financials as of August 31, 2024[update].[1]

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.[2] The company was formed on December 31, 2014, after Walgreens bought the 55% stake in Alliance Boots (owner of Boots UK Limited) that it did not already own. The total price of the acquisition was $4.9 billion in cash and 144.3 million common shares with fair value of $10.7 billion.[3] Walgreens had previously purchased 45% of the company for $4.0 billion and 83.4 million common shares in August 2012 with an option to purchase the remaining shares within three years.[4] Walgreens became a subsidiary of the newly created company after the transactions were completed.[5] As of 2022[update], Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[6]

In fiscal year 2022, the company saw sales of $132.7 billion, up 0.1% from fiscal 2021, and saw net earnings increase to $4.3 billion. The combined business has operations in 9 countries, as of August 31, 2022[update]. Walgreens had formerly operated solely within the United States and its territories, while Alliance Boots operated a more multinational business.[7]

The company began trading on the Nasdaq in its inception, under the symbol WBA.[8] On June 26, 2018, Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced General Electric on the Dow Jones Industrial Index.[9][10] Walgreens Boots Alliance was subsequently replaced by Amazon on the Dow Jones Industrial Index on February 26, 2024. The company was also a component of the S&P 500 index until 2025; it was formerly a Nasdaq-100 company until 2024.

In March 2025, the company announced that it had agreed to be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion. The private equity firm completed the acquisition in August and split the company into 5 companies.[11][12][13]

## Contents

* 1 Operations
* 1.1 Retail Pharmacy USA
* 1.2 Retail Pharmacy International
* 2 Former operations
* 3 Finances
* 4 Product brands
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Operations

### Retail Pharmacy USA

Walgreens and Duane Reade operate within the Retail Pharmacy USA division of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Both businesses sell prescription and non-prescription drugs, and a range of household items, including personal care and beauty products. Walgreens provides access to consumer goods and services, plus pharmacy, photo department, health and wellness services in the United States through its retail drugstores. The division has 9,021 drugstores as of August 31, 2020.[14] Walgreens runs, or ran,[vague] several online stores, such as: Beauty.com, Drugstore.com, VisionDirect.com, and Walgreens.com.[citation needed]

Walgreens has stores in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On October 27, 2015, Walgreens announced the purchase of competitor Rite Aid for $17.2 billion (equivalent to $18.5 billion in 2024).[15][16] However, that deal was later scrapped due to antitrust concerns in favor of a $5.18 billion deal (equivalent to $5.43 billion in 2024),[15] in which Walgreens only acquired half of Rite Aid locations.[17]

On September 19, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission approved a fourth deal agreement to purchase 1,932 Rite Aid stores for $4.38 billion total (equivalent to $4.59 billion in 2024),[15] which was completed in January 2018.[18]

In June 2024, Walgreens announced that only 75% of its 8,600 U.S. locations were profitable and that the company was planning to shutter more than 2,000 locations by the year 2027. The stock price of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) fell by more than 55% between January and July of 2024.[19]

### Retail Pharmacy International

Boots forms the main part of the Retail Pharmacy International division of the company. The Boots brand has a history stretching back over 170 years[20] in the United Kingdom (UK) and is a familiar sight on Britain's high streets.[21] Stores are located in prominent high street and city center locations as well as in local communities. Most branches include a pharmacy and focus on healthcare, personal care, and cosmetic products, with most stores selling over-the-counter medicines. Larger stores typically offer a variety of healthcare services in addition to dispensing prescriptions, and chlamydia testing and treatment (private service). Optician services are also offered in many larger stores, with Boots Opticians providing eye tests along with the sale of spectacles and contact lenses.[citation needed]

Many stores also feature traditional photo processing and/or a Cewe picture kiosk where users of digital cameras and camera phones can create prints via Bluetooth, USB, or CD. Larger stores usually offer a range of electrical equipment such as hairdryers, curlers, and foot massagers, while selected stores offer a range of sandwiches, baguettes, wraps, salads, and beverages.[citation needed]

Since 1936, there have been Boots stores outside the UK. Stores in countries as widely spread as New Zealand, Canada (see Pharma Plus), and France were all closed in the 1980s. As of 2022[update], there are Boots-branded stores outside the UK in Ireland, Norway and Thailand, with Boots franchise operations in the Middle East and Indonesia.[22]

The remainder of the division is made up of the pharmacies Benavides in Mexico and Farmacias Ahumada (FASA) in Chile.[22]

## Former operations

With the acquisition of Alliance Boots, the company gained a pharmaceutical wholesale division, operating twice-daily deliveries to more than 16,500 delivery points in the UK alone.[23] Internationally, the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division, which mainly operated under the Alliance Healthcare brand, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 115,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals each year from 306 distribution centers in 11 countries.[24]

In June 2021, the majority of the Alliance Healthcare wholesale division was sold to AmerisourceBergen for $6.28 billion (equivalent to $6.28 billion in 2024)[15] in cash.[25]

## Finances

For the fiscal year 2020, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported earnings of US$456 million, with an annual revenue of US$139.5 billion, an increase of 2.5% over the previous fiscal cycle. Numbers before 2014 are for Walgreens only.[26] As of 2022[update], Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[6]

Year  | Revenue
in mil. USD  | Net income
in mil. USD  | Total Assets
in mil. USD  | Price per Share
in USD  | Employees  | Stores

|
|
|
|
|
|

2005  | 42,202  | 1,560  | 14,609  | 36.34  | 179,000  | 4,950
2006  | 47,409  | 1,751  | 17,131  | 36.17  | 195,000  | 5,461
2007  | 53,762  | 2,041  | 19,314  | 35.64  | 226,000  | 5,997
2008  | 59,034  | 2,157  | 22,410  | 26.93  | 237,000  | 6,934
2009  | 63,335  | 2,006  | 25,142  | 26.59  | 238,000  | 7,496
2010  | 67,420  | 2,091  | 26,275  | 28.40  | 244,000  | 8,046
2011  | 72,184  | 2,714  | 27,454  | 33.76  | 247,000  | 8,210
2012  | 71,633  | 2,127  | 33,462  | 30.37  | 240,000  | 8,385
2013  | 72,217  | 2,548  | 35,481  | 45.76  | 248,000  | 8,582
2014  | 76,392  | 1,932  | 37,250  | 61.68  | 251,000  | 8,309
2015  | 103,444  | 4,220  | 68,782  | 80.08  | 360,000  | 12,755
2016  | 117,351  | 4,173  | 72,688  | 77.52  | 360,000  | 12,848
2017  | 118,214  | 4,078  | 66,009  | 76.94  | 345,000  | 12,822
2018  | 131,537  | 5,024  | 68,124  | 68.03  | 354,000  | 14,327
2019  | 136,866  | 3,982  | 67,596 [27] | 60.08 [28] | 342,000 [27] | 13,822 [27]
2020  | 139,537  | 456  | 87,174 [27] | 37.22 [28] | 331,000 [27] | 13,449 [27]
2021  | 132,509  | 2,542  | 81,285  | 52.16  | 315,000  | 12,996
2022  | 132,703  | 4,337  | 90,124  | 35.06  | 325,000  | 13,000
2023  | 139,081  | −3,080  | 96,628  |  | 331,000  | 13,532
2024  | 147,658  | −8,636  | 81,037  |  | 312,000  | 12,712

## Product brands

Boots produces a large number of brands, including No. 7, Soltan and Botanics, Boots Pharmaceuticals, and Boots Laboratories, that Alliance Boots and Walgreens sought to launch internationally following the first share purchase in 2012.[29]

Launched in 1935, the No. 7 brand is best known for its anti-aging beauty serums, developed in Nottingham, England. The range comprises products designed to target the aging concerns of specific age groups.[21] No. 7 became available in Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the US from November 2012, beginning in Los Angeles. Launched in 1939, Soltan markets its UVA 5-star suncare protection, a standard of protection developed by Boots and now adopted as the benchmark for suncare products in the UK. However, in both 2004 and 2015, Watchdog, a BBC consumer investigative TV program and cited on BBC News, plus the consumer Which? magazine, each did an investigation finding the SPF rating to be lower than stated on the packaging, according to their tests.[30][31]

The Boots own brand range of products includes skincare, medicines, healthcare products, and many more. Boots Laboratories skincare range for independent pharmacy customers was launched in France and Portugal in 2008/09 and is also sold in Spain, Italy, and Germany.[32]

Boots now owns Almus Pharmaceuticals, a brand of generic prescription drugs, launched in 2003.[33] It is now sold in five countries and is an umbrella brand for a wide range of lower cost generic medicines. Almus placed considerable emphasis on the design of the packaging in an attempt to reduce the number of errors by the dispensing chemist and by the patient relating to incorrect dosage which can result in either a dangerous accidental overdose or an equally dangerous under dose. Walgreens has a self-branded line of products, "Well at Walgreens".[34]

In 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance paid £140 million (equivalent to £142 million in 2023)[35] for UK skincare brand Liz Earle Naturally Active, an Avon Products subsidiary since 2010.[36] Liz Earle Beauty Co co-founder Liz Earle, 'one of the biggest names in the beauty industry'[37] stayed on as an 'ambassador'[38] after selling the company for an undisclosed sum[39] and told her own Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine's website that '...alongside my new digital and print publishing venture...at the moment I'm still connected to Liz Earle Beauty Co and continue to work as a consultant to the brand that carries my name. I'm involved in new product development...'[40] In 2012, Liz Earle announced that she had left the company.[41]

## References

1. ↑ "FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 15, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1618921/000161892124000084/wba-20240831.htm.
2. ↑ Sadin, S., Walgreens Boots Alliance, Chicago Tribune, published 16 April 2015, accessed 12 May 2023
3. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form 8-K12B, Filing Date Dec 31, 2014". secdatabase.com. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/190/119312514457671/filing-main.htm.
4. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Dec 30, 2014". secdatabase.com. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2538/114036114046619/filing-main.htm.
5. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form S-4/A, Filing Date Nov 18, 2014". secdatabase.com. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/646/119312514416141/filing-main.htm.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Fortune 500". fortune.com. https://fortune.com/company/walgreens-boots-alliance/fortune500/.
7. ↑ "Form 10-K". October 13, 2022. https://s1.q4cdn.com/343380161/files/doc_financials/2022/q4/6f84a562-5799-4c41-bdbb-fa1395f05cc9.pdf.
8. ↑ Linnane, Ciara (December 31, 2014). "Walgreen ticker changes to WBA after merger with Boots Alliance". http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walgreen-ticker-changes-to-wba-after-merger-with-boots-alliance-2014-12-31.
9. ↑ "GE Says Goodbye to the Dow" (in en-us). NASDAQ.com. June 20, 2018. https://www.nasdaq.com/article/-ge-says-goodbye-to-the-dow-cm981193.
10. ↑ LaVito, Angelica (June 19, 2018). "GE booted from the Dow, to be replaced by Walgreens" (in en). CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/19/walgreens-replacing-ge-on-the-dow.html.
11. ↑ "Sycamore Partners finishes deal to take drugstore chain Walgreens private" (in en). 2025-08-28. https://apnews.com/article/walgreens-going-private-sycamore-partners-a620a4392369bea0a01017136b939ba9.
12. ↑ "Walgreens agrees to acquisition by private equity firm for almost $10 billion" (in en). PBS. March 6, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/walgreens-agrees-to-acquisition-by-private-equity-firm-for-almost-10-billion.
13. ↑ "Sycamore Partners Completes Acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance" (in en). 2025-08-27. https://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/news-media/press-releases/2025/sycamore-partners-completes-acquisition-walgreens-boots-alliance.
14. ↑ "Retail Pharmacy USA". http://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/about/company/retail-pharmacy-usa/.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2020). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/usgdp/. Retrieved September 22, 2020 United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
16. ↑ Wattles, Jackie (October 27, 2015). "Walgreens buys Rite Aid in $17.2 billion deal". https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/investing/walgreens-rite-aid-deal/index.html.
17. ↑ Terlep, Sharon; Kendall, Brent (June 29, 2017). "Walgreens, Rite Aid End $9.4 Billion Merger". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/walgreens-rite-aid-end-9-4-billion-merger-walgreens-to-buy-half-of-rite-aid-stores-1498735324.
18. ↑ Langreth, Robert; McLaughlin, David (September 19, 2017). "Walgreens Wins U.S. Approval for Rite Aid Deal on Fourth Try". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/walgreens-pact-to-buy-fewer-rite-aid-stores-wins-u-s-approval.
19. ↑ Burris, Devan (August 4, 2024). "Why pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS are shuttering locations" (in en). CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/08/04/why-pharmacy-chains-like-walgreens-and-cvs-are-shuttering-locations.html.
20. ↑ Hammet, Ellen (May 28, 2019). "Why Boots is getting a makeover: 'Brand love alone is not enough'" (in en). MarketingWeek. https://www.marketingweek.com/boots-makeover/.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 McGiven, Sarah (15 August 2012). "Weekend Shopping: Rediscovering High Street Beauty With Boots' No.7". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sarah-mcgiven/boots-weekend-shopping-rediscovering-no7_b_1595886.html.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Retail Pharmacy International". Walgreens Boots Alliance. January 6, 2020. https://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/our-business/retail-pharmacy-international.
23. ↑ "Alliance Healthcare celebrates 80th anniversary". Pharmacy Magazine. November 5, 2018. https://www.pharmacymagazine.co.uk/alliance-healthcare-celebrates-80th-anniversary.
24. ↑ "Pharmaceutical Wholesale". October 26, 2020. http://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/about/company/pharmaceutical-wholesale/.
25. ↑ "AmerisourceBergen completes acquisition of Alliance Healthcare businesses". 2 June 2021. https://www.alliance-healthcare.co.uk/alliance-healthcare-news-updates/amerisourcebergen-completes-acquisition-alliance-healthcare.
26. ↑ "Walgreens Financial Statements 2005-2019 | WBA". https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/WBA/walgreens/financial-statements.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 "Walgreens Boots Alliance 2021 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 14 October 2021. https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1618921/000161892121000085/wba-20210831.htm.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "WBA Stock Price | Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Stock Quote (U.S.: Nasdaq) | MarketWatch". https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wba.
29. ↑ "Walgreen Co, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Oct 19, 2012". secdatabase.com. http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2007/10420712000098/filing-main.htm.
30. ↑ "Tests cast doubt on sunscreens". BBC News. July 1, 2004. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3850655.stm.
31. ↑ Milligan, Brian (May 14, 2015). "Sunscreen lotions failing protection tests, says Which?". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32738241.
32. ↑ "Boots Laboratories". http://www.allianceboots.com/our-product-brands/boots-laboratories.aspx. [self-published source]
33. ↑ "Almus reaches 10 year milestone in the UK" (in en-UK). http://www.alliance-healthcare.co.uk/latest-news/news/-/asset_publisher/4JdC/content/almus-reaches-10-year-milestone-in-the-uk?redirect=http://www.alliance-healthcare.co.uk/latest-news/news?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_4JdC&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1&p_r_p_564233524_tag=walgreens+boots+alliance.
34. ↑ "Walgreens recalls bottles of women's multivitamins". Pharmaceutical Processing. Associated Press. June 12, 2015. http://www.pharmpro.com/news/2015/06/walgreens-recalls-bottles-womens-multivitamins.
35. ↑ United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/ukgdp/. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
36. ↑ "Liz Earle sells beauty business to Avon". Evening Standard (London). 25 March 2010. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/liz-earle-sells-beauty-business-to-avon-6769774.html.
37. ↑ "Jackie - the influence and impact of a First Lady, Women-led marches, Liz Earle, Anne the "forgotten" Bronte". Woman's Hour. 17 January 2017. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
38. ↑ "Our ambassadors". http://uk.lizearle.com/ambassadors.
39. ↑ "Avon buys UK's Liz Earle Beauty in all cash deal". Reuters. 25 March 2010. https://www.reuters.com/article/avon-idUSN2521628520100325.
40. ↑ "Q&A with Liz". https://lizearlewellbeing.com/qa-with-liz/.
41. ↑ "Co-founder leaves Liz Earle". Isle of Wight County Press. April 27, 2012. http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/cofounder-leaves-liz-earle-44123.aspx.

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