Walgreens reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted profit on Tuesday that beat Wall Street's expectations as the corporate cut costs to emerge from the difficult situation.

The retail drugstore chain also said it plans to shut about 1,200 stores over the subsequent three years, including 500 in fiscal 2025 alone. The company said these closures would have an “immediate positive impact” on its adjusted earnings and free money flow.

Walgreens has around 8,700 locations within the USA, 1 / 4 of which is unprofitable.

These closures will give Walgreens a “healthier store base” and “allow us to respond to changes in consumer behavior and purchasing preferences,” the corporate's CEO Tim Wentworth said during an earnings call on Tuesday. He added that Walgreens intends to maintain the vast majority of employees affected by the closures employed, even though it is unclear what number of employees could lose their jobs.

The company's shares closed greater than 15% higher on Tuesday.

The results cap a difficult 2024 fiscal yr for Walgreens, which is scuffling with pharmacy reimbursement pressures, weaker consumer spending and challenges related to its push into primary care, amongst other issues. The company said Tuesday that it exceeded its goal of $1 billion in cost savings in fiscal 2024. These included closing underperforming stores, shedding employees and using artificial intelligence to make the provision chain more efficient.

Most of the advantages of cost reductions were seen in the corporate's U.S. retail pharmacy segment, Walgreens CFO Manmohan Mahajan said through the call.

In June, Walgreens said it planned to shut a “significant” variety of its underperforming stores by 2027. Tuesday's announcement appears to be the corporate's first accurate estimate of what number of locations it’ll close.

Here's what Walgreens reported for the three-month period ended Aug. 31, in comparison with Wall Street's expectations based on an LSEG analyst survey:

• Earnings per share: 39 cents adjusted versus 36 cents expected
• Revenue: $37.55 billion versus expected $35.76 billion

Walgreens reported revenue of $37.55 billion within the quarter, up 6% from the identical period last yr.

The company reported a net lack of $3 billion, or $3.48 per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter. This reflects a so-called valuation allowance intended to cut back the corporate's deferred tax assets, primarily related to opioid settlements.

That compares with a net lack of $180 million, or 21 cents per share, within the year-ago period.

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were 39 cents per share.

Fourth-quarter and full-year results “reflect our disciplined execution of cost management, working capital initiatives and capital expenditure reductions,” Wentworth, who took the role nearly a yr ago, said in a news release.

The company's forecast for fiscal yr 2025 was in keeping with analysts' expectations. Walgreens expects growth in its U.S. healthcare and international segments, offset by a decline in its retail pharmacy segment.

The company is in a “multi-year process of realigning our relationship” with pharmacy profit managers, who negotiate drug discounts on behalf of health plans and reimburse pharmacies for prescribed drugs, Wentworth said through the call. Walgreens hopes this may help improve margins in its pharmacy business.

Walgreens expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.40 to $1.80 for the approaching fiscal yr. According to LSEG, analysts forecast adjusted earnings of $1.75 per share.

The company also expects revenue of $147 billion to $151 billion for the yr. Wall Street analysts estimate sales at $147.3 billion.

Walgreens reported growth across its three business units in its fiscal fourth quarter.

Sales at the corporate's U.S. healthcare division jumped to $2.11 billion, up 7.1% from the identical period last yr.

Analysts had expected sales of $2.10 billion, in accordance with StreetAccount estimates.

This reflects, partially, the expansion of primary care provider VillageMD and specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions. Shields' revenue rose 27.8% within the period, which the corporate attributed to growth in existing partnerships.

Specialty pharmacies are designed to produce medications with unique handling, storage and distribution requirements, often for patients with complex diseases reminiscent of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

Notably, Walgreens posted a big net loss in its fiscal second quarter as the corporate took a big charge of nearly $6 billion related to the decline in the worth of its investment in VillageMD. In August, the corporate said in a securities filing that it was considering selling the provider.

Walgreens' U.S. pharmacy segment generated revenue of $29.47 billion within the fiscal fourth quarter, up 6.5% from the identical period last yr. Analysts had expected sales of $28.09 billion, in accordance with StreetAccount estimates.

This segment operates the Company's drugstores, which sell prescription and over-the-counter medications, in addition to health and wellness, beauty, personal care and grocery products.

Walgreens said pharmacy sales increased 9.6% and comparable pharmacy sales increased 11.7% within the quarter in comparison with the identical period last yr, due partially to cost inflation for brand-name drugs.

The total variety of prescriptions filled this quarter, including vaccines, was 302 million, up 1.7% from the identical period last yr. In particular, declining reimbursement rates for prescribed drugs reduced pharmacies' margins, the corporate said.

Retail sales fell 3.5% in comparison with the identical quarter last yr, and comparable retail sales fell 1.7%. The company cited, amongst other things, a “challenging” retail environment.

Walgreens' international unit, which operates greater than 3,000 retail stores abroad, reported sales of $5.97 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter. This is a rise of three.2% in comparison with the identical period last yr.

Analysts expected revenue of $5.81 billion for the period, in accordance with StreetAccount.

The company said sales at its UK-based drugstore chain Boots rose 2.3%.

Approximately 165 million Americans get their medical insurance through work, and yet most don't spend much time fascinated with what advantages their employer will offer and the way much they are going to cost.

In fact, employees only spent about 45 minutes a yron average determine which profit options suit them best, a report from Aon found.

Open Enrollment Seasonwhich normally runs until early December, is a chance to take a more in-depth have a look at what it's all about.

And to start with, the prices increase significantly.

The costs of healthcare have been rising steadily for years. There has been a big increase more recently.

For employers, these cost increases are reaching proportions Post-pandemic highin response to WTW, a consulting firm formerly often known as Willis Towers Watson. U.S. employers expect their health care costs to rise 7.7% in 2025, in comparison with 6.9% in 2024 and 6.5% in 2023, the corporate said.

Because of upper costs, employers are considering recent ways to regulate their plan offerings, WTW noted.

To date, 52% of firms said they plan to implement programs to scale back overall costs, and just as many plan to shift to lower-cost providers and treatment locations, potentially leading to a narrower network of physicians to select from.

According to an expert services firm, employers currently subsidize a median of about 81% of the associated fee of medical insurance while employees pay the remainder Aeon.

However, among the higher costs are inevitably passed on to the workers.

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About a 3rd, or 34%, of employers expect to shift some costs to employees in the approaching yr through higher premiums or increasing copays for high-deductible health plans, the WTW report said.

Per-employee costs are expected to extend by a median of 5.8% in 2025, which might mark the third consecutive yr of rising health care costs over 5%after a decade with a median of just around 3%, in response to a separate report from consulting firm Mercer.

“These are changes that employees will feel,” said Beth Umland, research director for health and human services at Mercer.

Health care costs are already high for employees: Family premiums for employer-sponsored medical insurance rose 7% this yr to a median of $25,572. KFF's 2024 Employer Health Benchmark Survey found. More than $6,200 of that quantity is the responsibility of employees, while the remainder is borne by employers.

“As cost increases peak post-pandemic, companies are concerned about the burden they are placing on their workforce, particularly as it impacts insurance coverage and care decisions,” said Tim Stawicki, chief actuary for health and advantages at WTW, in a press release.

Employees are sometimes presented with options for selecting a medical insurance plan: one with a better monthly cost, called a premium, and a lower deductible, which is the quantity you will need to pay before your employer's plan takes effect, and an alternative choice with a better one Out-of-pocket costs, but lower premiums.

“When you go through open enrollment, the first thing you see is usually the deductible and out-of-pocket costs,” said Regina Ihrke, WTW North America director of health, equity and well-being.

When weighing options, look to previous years, says Gary Kushner, chairman and president of Kushner & Company, a advantages design and administration firm.

He said it’s best to think, “Am I a low, medium or high family? Did I have an incident that required acute care or basically a lot of preventative care?”

If you normally only go to the doctor annually for a check-up, you possibly can go for the so-called high deductible plan with the lower monthly costs.

In addition to high-deductible medical insurance, greater than 50% of employers also offer one Health Savings Accountor HSA, which may help cover additional healthcare costs.

To use an HSA, you will need to have an eligible high-deductible medical insurance plan. The IRS defines a “high deductible” as at the least $1,650 for self-only plans or $3,300 for family coverage for 2025.

The IRS also sets the utmost allowable contribution annually: the brand new one HSA contribution limit for 2025 the quantity is $4,300 for people, up from $4,150 in 2024, and $8,550 for families, up from $8,300 in 2024. Employees aged 55 and over could make an extra catch-up contribution of $1,000. Contribute dollars in excess of the annual IRS limits.

The HSA contributions then grow tax-free and the funds can cover out-of-pocket costs, including doctor's visits and prescription medications, including expensive weight-loss medications.

As costs proceed to rise, HSAs are a vital safety net for coping with these out-of-pocket costs, WTW's Ihrke said. Unused funds may be rolled over from yr to yr.

“Make sure you think about how you can put some money into the savings account so you can use it to pay a medical bill or save it for years to come,” Ihrke explained.

With open enrollment, employees may additionally be offered various disability and life insurance options, often included in a normal advantages package.

Employer-issued life insurance policies typically cover an annual salary. You can take out additional life insurance through your employer. This is named supplemental life insurance or voluntary life insurance and is optional coverage which you could add to your employer's basic group policy.

There are principally two kinds of occupational disability insurance: Short-term disability normally replaces 60 to 70% of your basic salary and the premiums are sometimes covered by your employer. Long-term disability, which generally occurs after three to 6 months, typically replaces 40 to 60% of your income.

Even if you’ve got these policies for work, it could only be a fraction of what it is advisable to protect babies or other dependents.

Think about what amount is true for you and your loved ones, then consider whether you ought to take out additional insurance or additional insurance through your group plan at work, or take out your individual policy, which many advisors recommend.

Additional advantages could also be optional, but they are only as vital today, especially relating to well-being. According to a recent report by , nearly one in five open enrollment employees report worsening mental health Gallagher.

“Now more than ever, we are seeing employers wanting to address the evolving needs of their workforce,” said Tom Kelly, head of Gallagher’s health and advantages practice, and “today’s workforce is looking for more holistic support for their well-being.”

The summer travel season is in full swing and sometimes brings with it further flight delays and cancellations.

But depending on the basis cause and the airline's specific policies, travelers could also be out of luck in relation to reimbursement for such disruptions, experts say.

“In the U.S., airlines generally don't really have an obligation to pay you anything at any point,” says Eric Napoli, general counsel at AirHelp, which helps passengers claim compensation for delayed or canceled flights.

Mid-June to the top of August is normally the height season for flight cancellations, said Napoli.

“This summer we will see more aircraft in the sky, frequent bad weather and increased use of U.S. airspace,” says an announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration. Website on summer trips.

According to FAA data through July 21, bad weather has up to now accounted for 66% of all minutes of flight delays. In 2023, the share can be about 72% during this era.

This data probably also includes the worldwide IT outage on July 19, which brought 1000’s of flights to a standstill.

According to the FAA, one other 15 percent of delays this 12 months were resulting from “volume.”

Summer generally brings “higher passenger and flight volumes” as school is out and “millions of Americans” are on vacation, Hayley Berg, senior economist at Hopper, recently wrote in a evaluation of travel interruptions.

According to the FAA, 8 of the ten busiest travel days of 2024 were in June, July and August Data As of Sunday.

In general, airlines have an overriding duty in relation to compensating passengers: If they cancel a flight or make a “significant change” to it, they’re obliged to refund the ticket price and charges – no matter the explanation, in accordance with the US Department of Transportation.

Consumers will only be entitled to a refund in the event that they don’t accept another option offered by the airline, equivalent to rebooking on one other flight, the Department of Transport said.

This obligation also applies to those that have purchased non-refundable tickets.

One essential caveat, nevertheless: The Department of Transportation doesn’t currently define what constitutes a “significant” change. That determination relies on aspects equivalent to the length of the delay and flight, in addition to special circumstances, the agency said.

Starting October 28, airlines may have to issue refunds to their customers “immediately” and robotically, in accordance with a recent rule issued by the Biden administration. A delay of three hours for domestic flights and 6 hours for international flights is taken into account a “significant” change.

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In general, airline compensation policies vary for delays and cancellations.

A dashboard from the Ministry of Transport outlines the guarantees of the main airlines for purchasers within the event of cancellations or delays of greater than three hours. (These airlines include: Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.)

The airlines are obliged to maintain these guarantees, the agency said.

For example, all airlines comply with rebook passengers on the identical airline freed from charge and to supply a free meal if a cancellation means they need to wait at the very least three hours for a brand new flight. Most offer overnight hotel accommodation for delays, but none offer financial compensation for delays of three hours or more.

Importantly, these compensation policies only apply to “controllable” delays and cancellations, i.e. those attributable to the airline's operations. The same obligations may not apply to situations outside its control, equivalent to bad weather.

For example, the spate of delays and cancellations related to last month's global IT outage was classified as a “controllable” event. A failed technical update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected Microsoft services utilized by several airlines.

Depending on international regulations, passengers on international flights could have more rights, experts say.

For example, passengers flying to and from Europe generally have more rights to compensation under European Union law, in accordance with AirHelp.

Experts recommend some ways to reduce the likelihood of a flight disruption and higher cope with delays or cancellations in the event that they occur:

• Book the primary flight of the day. According to Berg, flights departing after 9 a.m. are twice as prone to be delayed as flights scheduled between 5 a.m. and eight a.m.
• Avoid connecting flights to scale back the likelihood of disruption. This isn't at all times possible, depending on aspects equivalent to ticket price, airport and destination. If you might have a connecting flight, make sure to allow loads of time for a layover, Napoli said. Travelers should allow at the very least 45 minutes for domestic flights and 90 minutes for international flights, Berg said.
• Build in a buffer day. Leave some “wiggle room” at your destination so that you simply don’t miss any “big” events or plans within the event of a delay or cancellation, advises Berg.
• Fly on days with less traffic. Weekdays like Tuesday or Wednesday are inclined to have less air traffic, Napoli said. Travelers are less prone to experience certain delays and have more available seats in the event that they must rebook. Tickets also are inclined to be cheaper on those days.
• Pack cleverly. Those carrying carry-on luggage or personal items should pack strategically in case of a delay or cancellation, Napoli said. For example, it could be a superb idea to have a change of garments, snacks, electronic devices, valuables and a toothbrush available in case checked luggage is unavailable, he said.
• Multitasking while waiting. In the event of a delay or cancellation, use your time correctly, experts advise. “Walk in line to speak to an airline representative while simultaneously calling the customer support center,” advises Berg. This way, you increase your probabilities of talking to a representative more quickly when multiple passengers are attempting to get through at the identical time.

India offers a “very favorable” environment for firms to launch IPOs, said Shailendra Singh, managing director at Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India & Southeast Asia.

“My general opinion is that the regulatory framework, particularly in the public markets of India, what the Securities and Exchange Board of India is doing, what the Reserve Bank of India is doing, what other regulators are doing, is actually really good,” Singh said told CNBC's Tanvir Gill.

Singh, who has been with the VC firm for 18 years and has headed it since 2011, said India has created “a very conducive environment” for firms to go public. “In India, it is both safe and dynamic for a young company to go public.”

There were 220 IPOs in India last yr, 48% greater than in 2022, making India the world's second-largest IPO market, in line with a study EY report. Although mainland China took the highest spot, the variety of IPOs there fell 29% to 302.

The Indian IPO market is will remain strong in 2024buoyed by optimistic investor sentiment, a strong economy and expectations of lower inflation and rate of interest cuts, EY said.

“The Indian capital markets have evolved significantly. Markets have deepened in terms of liquidity. There's a lot of interest in technology companies because … we're starting to see a large number of companies with triple-digit million revenues,” Singh said.

India is emerging as a bright spot amid global macroeconomic uncertainty, driven largely by optimism about the country's robust economic fundamentals. KPMG said last month in its report “IPOs in India”.

On why some Indian firms prefer to list locally, Singh said, “Founders realize that US markets may not all the time understand Indian firms.”

As many as 20 companies, including Zomato and Mamaearth in Peak XV's portfolio, have listed through IPOs, the company said. Peak XV Partners, one of Asia's largest technology investors, has $9 billion in assets under management.

In June, Sequoia split its global partnership into three independent entities, namely Sequoia Capital in the US and Europe, Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia, and HongShan in China.

The venture capital firm has invested in more than 400 technology, software, financial services and consumer companies, including Indian fintech firm Pine Labs, Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, Singapore-based online marketplace Carousell and edtech companies Byju's and Unacademy.

India has several “pretty exciting” investment areas, Singh said, citing cross-border software, fintech and consumer as the company's biggest investment sectors.

Cross-border software is a key area that Peak XV is betting on, given the potential for India to build software companies for the world, he said.

“Our second-“[biggest] The sector tends to be fintech. We are a very strong fintech investor. I think India is one of the most fertile markets in the world because of Aadhaar, UPI and the India stack.”

In the consumer-facing sector, he cited consumer brands, education technology and healthcare as the company's investment priorities.

“In the long term, we will build a lot of good education companies,” Singh said, as consumers in countries like India and China understand that the path to upward social mobility is through education.

There are also emerging areas such as deep tech and semiconductors that are interesting, even if they are still in their infancy, he said. “We are [just] I start making bets.