- After over two years in the position, Roz Brewer departs as Walgreens CEO.
- Walgreens’ stock has faced a challenging year with performance struggles.
- The company’s finances have been adversely affected by a drop in demand for COVID vaccines and tests.
Walgreen Boots Alliance announced on Friday that Roz Brewer had resigned from her position as the company’s CEO and also stepped down from the company’s board, effective as of Thursday. This decision was made through mutual agreement, according to an official press release.
Leading up to this development, both Brewer and Walgreens faced significant challenges. The company’s stock experienced a decline of more than 32% this year as of Thursday’s market close, primarily due to reduced demand for Covid testing and vaccines. In June, Walgreens reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that fell below Wall Street’s expectations for the first time since July 2020, and the company had also revised its profit guidance for the year.
Walgreens is currently in the process of conducting a search for a new CEO. In the interim, Ginger Graham, the lead independent director, will serve as the acting chief executive.
Roz Brewer, a seasoned executive with prior experience at Walmart and Starbucks, had been leading Walgreens since March 2021. During her tenure, which coincided with a significant portion of the Covid pandemic, the company initiated a strategic transition aimed at repositioning Walgreens as a healthcare-focused entity rather than merely a pharmacy chain.
In Friday’s announcement, Brewer expressed confidence in Walgreens’ ongoing journey towards becoming a leading consumer-centric healthcare company, with a particular emphasis on serving communities in need of improved healthcare access.
Surprise Resignation: Walgreens CEO Brewer Steps Down in Under Three Years
On September 1, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) made a significant announcement, revealing that CEO Rosalind Brewer has stepped down from her position, less than three years into her leadership at the pharmacy chain operator.
The departure was characterized as a mutual decision between the company’s board and Brewer, although specific details were not disclosed.
Rosalind Brewer, formerly an executive at Starbucks (SBUX.O), joined Walgreens in 2021. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in overseeing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and establishing several agreements to expand the company’s presence in the healthcare sector, including operating doctors’ offices.
However, the revenue generated from COVID testing and vaccine sales has seen a decline, and this, coupled with other factors, led to a downturn in Walgreens’ stock performance in recent months.
Back in June, the company issued a warning, citing lower consumer spending due to inflation concerns and a more substantial-than-expected drop in COVID-19 product sales that was likely to extend into the following year.
Since Rosalind Brewer assumed the CEO role in March 2021, Walgreens’ stock has witnessed a decrease of approximately 47% in value.
In response to Brewer’s departure, the company has appointed Ginger Graham, the Lead Independent Director, as the interim Chief Executive. Simultaneously, they have initiated the search for a permanent CEO.
Walgreens also disclosed that Brewer will continue to serve the company as a special adviser until February 2024, with an accompanying monthly consulting fee of $375,000.
Furthermore, the pharmacy chain operator indicated that it anticipates its adjusted earnings per share for the full year of 2023 to be around the lower end of its previously stated range. In the premarket trading session, the company’s shares experienced marginal gains in a volatile market.
Stock Stumble: Walgreens Faces Largest Monthly Decline in Over Four Years
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) saw a 0.4% increase in premarket trading on Thursday. Nevertheless, the company is grappling with its most challenging month in over four years. Throughout August, WBA’s stock witnessed a significant decline of 14.6%, ranking it as the poorest-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by a considerable margin. The next lowest performer this month is Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), which experienced a 7.7% loss.
Several factors have contributed to this decline, including a slowdown in consumer spending and the unexpected resignation of the company’s Chief Financial Officer. It’s worth noting that the stock reached a 14-year low of $25.17 by the close of trading on Tuesday. This marks the most substantial monthly percentage decline since April 2019 when it experienced a 15.3% drop.