The story
Founded by Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Sr. on Jan 1, 2015, in Chicago.1
WBA on NASDAQ
Logo: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons5
Defunct American drug retail company
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) was an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. 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 It was founded by Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Sr.1 Its chief executive is Stefano Pessina.1 Its revenue was $133 billion in 2022.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Price unavailable
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Compare with CVS Health, Rite Aid or 111, Inc., or pick any stock.
See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) was an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. 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. 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. Walgreens became a subsidiary of the newly created company after the transactions were completed. 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 WBA into five new companies: Walgreens, The Boots Group, VillageMD, CareCentrix and Shields Health Solutions.3
From the company’s reports to the SEC. Every number links to the filing it came from.
Out of $147.7B in revenue.6 The company lost money this year.
Out of $1.0B of cash from operations. Spending exceeded cash from operations; the rest came from savings or borrowing.6
| Fiscal year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $118.2B11 | $131.5B12 | $120.1B13 | $122.0B14 | $132.5B15 | $132.7B6 | $139.1B6 | $147.7B6 |
| Cost of revenue | $89.1B11 | $100.7B12 | $91.9B13 | $95.9B14 | $104.4B15 | $104.4B6 | $112.0B6 | $121.1B6 |
| Gross profit | $29.2B11 | $30.8B12 | $28.2B13 | $26.1B14 | $28.1B15 | $28.3B6 | $27.1B6 | $26.5B6 |
| Selling, general and admin | $23.8B11 | $24.7B12 | $23.6B13 | $25.4B14 | $24.6B15 | $27.3B6 | $34.2B6 | $28.1B6 |
| Operating income | $5.5B11 | $6.3B12 | $4.8B13 | $982.0M14 | $2.3B15 | $1.4B6 | -$6.9B6 | -$14.1B6 |
| Interest | $693.0M11 | $616.0M12 | $650.0M13 | $613.0M14 | $905.0M15 | $400.0M6 | $580.0M6 | $482.0M6 |
| Income before tax | $4.0B6 | -$5.4B6 | -$14.2B6 | |||||
| Income tax | $760.0M11 | $998.0M12 | $577.0M13 | $339.0M14 | $667.0M15 | -$30.0M6 | -$1.9B6 | $1.2B6 |
| Net income | $4.1B11 | $5.0B12 | $4.0B13 | $456.0M14 | $2.5B15 | $4.3B6 | -$3.1B6 | -$8.6B6 |
| Earnings per share | $3.8011 | $5.0712 | $4.3213 | $0.5214 | $2.9415 | $5.026 | -$3.576 | -$10.016 |
| Earnings per share (diluted) | $3.7811 | $5.0512 | $4.3113 | $0.5214 | $2.9315 | $5.016 | -$3.576 | -$10.016 |
| Shares (weighted, basic) | 864.4M shares6 | 863.2M shares6 | 863.1M shares6 | |||||
| Shares (weighted, diluted) | 865.9M shares6 | 863.2M shares6 | 863.1M shares6 |
| Fiscal year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $3.3B18 | $785.0M11 | $1.0B12 | $469.0M13 | $559.0M15 | $1.4B6 | $728.0M6 | $1.3B6 |
| Receivables | $5.0B15 | $5.4B6 | $5.9B6 | |||||
| Inventory | $8.4B15 | $8.3B6 | $8.3B6 | |||||
| Current assets | $19.8B18 | $17.8B11 | $18.7B12 | $18.1B13 | $15.8B14 | $16.9B15 | $15.5B6 | $18.3B6 |
| Goodwill | $22.3B6 | $28.2B6 | $15.5B6 | |||||
| Intangible assets | $10.7B15 | $13.6B6 | $13.0B6 | |||||
| Total assets | $66.0B18 | $68.1B11 | $67.6B12 | $87.2B13 | $81.3B14 | $90.1B15 | $96.6B6 | $81.0B6 |
| Accounts payable | $11.3B15 | $12.6B6 | $14.1B6 | |||||
| Short-term debt | $1.1B15 | $917.0M6 | $1.5B6 | |||||
| Current liabilities | $18.5B18 | $21.7B11 | $25.8B12 | $27.1B13 | $22.1B14 | $22.6B15 | $24.5B6 | $27.0B6 |
| Long-term debt | $12.7B18 | $12.4B11 | $11.1B12 | $12.2B13 | $7.7B14 | $10.6B15 | $8.1B6 | $8.0B6 |
| Long-term liabilities | $37.1B15 | $43.6B6 | $41.9B6 | |||||
| Total liabilities | $66.0B13 | $57.1B14 | $59.7B15 | $68.1B6 | $68.9B6 | |||
| Retained earnings | $37.8B15 | $33.1B6 | $23.3B6 | |||||
| Shareholders’ equity | $27.5B18 | $26.0B11 | $23.5B12 | $20.6B13 | $23.4B14 | $25.3B15 | $20.0B6 | $10.4B6 |
| Shares outstanding | 1.1B shares19 | 949.2M shares18 | 892.5M shares11 | 865.9M shares12 | 865.6M shares20 | 864.8M shares14 | 863.9M shares21 | 864.6M shares6 |
Cash flow is reported year to date, not quarter by quarter, so there are no separate quarterly figures.
| Fiscal year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | $7.3B11 | $8.3B12 | $5.6B13 | $5.5B14 | $5.6B15 | $3.9B6 | $2.3B6 | $1.0B6 |
| Depreciation and amortization | $2.0B6 | $2.3B6 | $2.5B6 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation | $391.0M6 | $385.0M6 | $182.0M6 | |||||
| Capital spending | $1.4B11 | $1.4B12 | $1.7B13 | $1.4B14 | $1.4B15 | $1.7B6 | $2.1B6 | $1.4B6 |
| Free cash flow | $5.9B | $6.9B | $3.9B | $4.1B | $4.2B | $2.2B | $141.0M | -$363.0M |
| Cash from investing | -$1.1B6 | -$3.1B6 | $1.9B6 | |||||
| Dividends paid | $1.7B11 | $1.7B12 | $1.6B13 | $1.7B14 | $1.6B15 | $1.7B6 | $1.7B6 | $1.3B6 |
| Share buybacks | $5.2B11 | $5.2B12 | $4.2B13 | $1.6B14 | $110.0M15 | $187.0M6 | $150.0M6 | $69.0M6 |
| Cash from financing | -$1.5B6 | -$887.0M6 | -$538.0M6 | |||||
| Dividend per share | $1.5218 | $1.6411 | $1.7812 | $1.8413 | $1.8814 | $1.9115 | $1.926 | $1.236 |
Walgreens Boots Alliance sits at the top of its group. 76 entities, 12 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.
Major holders of Walgreens Boots Alliance
Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 of annual reports filed with the SEC; subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G; stakes of 5% or more it reported on Schedules 13D and 13G (3 companies). Each entity in the chart links to its source.
What Walgreens Boots Alliance reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.
| Item | Latest | A year before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance-lease assets | $680.0M6 Aug 31, 2024 | $678.0M6 Aug 31, 2023 | +0.3% |
| Operating-lease assets (leased space) | $20.3B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $21.7B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −6.1% |
| Item | Latest | A year before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $1.3B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $728.0M6 Aug 31, 2023 | +81.2% |
| Marketable securities, current | $1.8B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $11.0M6 Aug 31, 2023 | +16172.7% |
| Stakes in other companies (equity method) | $2.3B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $3.5B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −35.1% |
| Item | Latest | A year before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodwill | $15.5B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $28.2B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −45.0% |
| Intangible assets, net (excluding goodwill) | $13.0B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $13.6B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −4.9% |
| Indefinite-lived intangibles (excluding goodwill) | $5.6B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $5.5B6 Aug 31, 2023 | +2.4% |
| Finite-lived intangibles, gross | $10.7B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $10.8B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −0.2% |
| Accumulated amortization | $3.4B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $2.6B6 Aug 31, 2023 | +29.5% |
| Finite-lived intangibles, net | $7.4B6 Aug 31, 2024 | $8.2B6 Aug 31, 2023 | −9.7% |
Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1
Founded by Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Sr. on Jan 1, 2015, in Chicago.1
Who has led Walgreens Boots Alliance, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.
Listed on Wikidata.1
Walgreens and Duane Reade operated 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 had 9,021 drugstores as of August 31, 2020. Walgreens runs, or ran, several online stores, such as: Beauty.com, Drugstore.com, VisionDirect.com, and Walgreens.com.
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 $22.2 billion in 2024). However, that deal was later scrapped due to antitrust concerns in favor of a $5.18 billion deal (equivalent to $6.5 billion in 2024), in which Walgreens only acquired half of Rite Aid locations.
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 $5.5 billion in 2024), which was completed in January 2018.
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.
Boots formed the main part of the Retail Pharmacy International division of the company. The Boots brand has a history stretching back over 170 years in the United Kingdom (UK) and is a familiar sight on Britain's high streets. 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.
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.
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, there are Boots-branded stores outside the UK in Ireland, Norway and Thailand, with Boots franchise operations in the Middle East and Indonesia.
The remainder of the division was made up of the pharmacies Benavides in Mexico and Farmacias Ahumada (FASA) in Chile.
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. 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.
In June 2021, the majority of the Alliance Healthcare wholesale division was sold to AmerisourceBergen for $6.28 billion (equivalent to $7.15 billion in 2024) in cash.
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.
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. 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.
First launched in 1995, the Botanics range, developed in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, uses plant extracts in a variety of products and includes a range of organic products. The Boots Botanics range is also available through third party retailers.
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.
Boots now owns Almus Pharmaceuticals, a brand of generic prescription drugs, launched in 2003. 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".
In 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance paid £140 million (equivalent to £186 million in 2024) for UK skincare brand Liz Earle Naturally Active, an Avon Products subsidiary since 2010. Liz Earle Beauty Co co-founder Liz Earle, 'one of the biggest names in the beauty industry' stayed on as an 'ambassador' after selling the company for an undisclosed sum 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...' In 2012, Liz Earle announced that she had left the company.
From Wikipedia’s article on Walgreens Boots Alliance, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8
From Wikidata.1 Ownership links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); each one cites its LEI record. The subsidiaries the company lists in Exhibit 21 of its annual report, as filed.
Upcoming dates from Nasdaq's calendar; past results from the company's 8-K filings (Item 2.02). The full markets calendar
422 filings to the SEC since October 2021: 7 annual reports, 12 quarterly reports, 73 major events, 230 insider forms, 17 large holders, 83 other. The latest 20:
The 422 filings since October 2021 can be filtered by form type and year here when JavaScript is on.
Every filing from the last five years, summarized. The full record is on SEC EDGAR.
13 open-market trades by officers, directors and large owners since October 2021: 7 buys and 6 sales. Grants, option exercises and gifts are left out.
| Date | Who | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2025 | Pessina StefanoExecutive Chairman of Board | Buy | 832,258 | $11.01 | $9.2M | Form 4 |
| Apr 27, 2025 | Pessina StefanoExecutive Chairman of Board | Sale | 832,258 | $11.01 | $9.2M | Form 4 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | Bhandari Inderpal SDirector | Buy | 3,000 | $18.05 | $54.1K | Form 4 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | Mahajan ManmohanEVP and Global CFO | Buy | 6,000 | $19.38 | $116.3K | Form 4 |
| Jan 29, 2024 | JARRETT VALERIE BDirector | Buy | 4,456 | $22.44 | $100.0K | Form 4 |
| Jan 16, 2024 | SCHLICHTING NANCY MDirector | Sale | 15,209 | $23.05 | $350.6K | Form 4 |
| Jan 5, 2024 | WENTWORTH TIMOTHY CChief Executive Officer | Buy | 10,000 | $24.22 | $242.2K | Form 4 |
| Nov 10, 2023 | Gates Richard P.SVP, Chief Pharmacy Officer | Sale | 1,000 | $20.45 | $20.4K | Form 4 |
| Jun 30, 2023 | DRISCOLL JOHN PATRICKEVP, Pres. U.S. Healthcare | Buy | 5,172 | $28.42 | $147.0K | Form 4 |
| Mar 29, 2023 | BREWER ROSALIND GCEO | Buy | 10,000 | $33.95 | $339.5K | Form 4 |
| Nov 18, 2022 | Ban Kevin M.EVP, Chief Medical Officer | Sale | 10,303 | $40.19 | $414.1K | Form 4 |
| Nov 17, 2022 | SCHLICHTING NANCY MDirector | Sale | 16,570 | $39.89 | $661.0K | Form 4 |
| Nov 19, 2021 | SCHLICHTING NANCY MDirector | Sale | 2,725 | $47.16 | $128.5K | Form 4 |
From Forms 4 filed with the SEC.
Investors who own more than 5% of the shares must tell the SEC: a 13D if they may seek to influence the company, a 13G if they hold passively.
Walgreens Boots Alliance has told the SEC it owns more than 5% of 3 companies, latest first (Schedules 13D and 13G).
21 trades disclosed by members of Congress. “Vs S&P since” is the stock’s change since the trade minus the S&P 500’s.
| Date | Member | Trade | Amount | Vs S&P since | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2025 | Val T. HoyleDemocratic, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 26, 2025 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.Democratic, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 12, 2025 | Julie JohnsonDemocratic, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Jan 15, 2025 | Julie JohnsonDemocratic, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Apr 30, 2024 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Sale | $50,001 - $100,000 | Report | |
| Mar 21, 2024 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $15,001 - $50,000 | Report | |
| Mar 1, 2024 | Michael C. Burgess, House | Partial sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Jul 25, 2023 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Jun 13, 2023 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $15,001 - $50,000 | Report | |
| Jun 12, 2023 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| May 26, 2023 | Zoe LofgrenDemocratic, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| May 8, 2023 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 22, 2022 | Marjorie Taylor GreeneRepublican, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Jan 12, 2022 | Tommy TubervilleRepublican, Senate | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Jun 16, 2021 | Marjorie Taylor GreeneRepublican, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 16, 2021 | Peter Meijer, House | Sale | $15,001 - $50,000 | Report | |
| Sep 16, 2020 | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.Democratic, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Aug 10, 2020 | Dean Phillips, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Dean Phillips, House | Buy | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 28, 2020 | Dean Phillips, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report | |
| Feb 27, 2020 | Kevin HernRepublican, House | Sale | $1,001 - $15,000 | Report |
Members report amounts as ranges, not exact figures. Returns are price-only (no dividends).
How Walgreens Boots Alliance is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, from its EDGAR record and the cover page of its latest annual report.
425 (15), PX14A6G (15), 424B5 (12), DEF 14A (11), 10-K (10), FWP (9), S-8 POS (7), SCHEDULE 13D/A (7), 13F-HR (6), 4/A (6), UPLOAD (6), CORRESP (5), NO ACT (5), S-3ASR (5), SC 13E3/A (5), SC 13G (5), 8-K/A (4), 10-K/A (3), 424B7 (3), ARS (3), POSASR (3), S-8 (3), SC 13D (3), SCHEDULE 13G/A (3), 25-NSE (2), 8-A12B (2), S-4/A (2), 144/A (1), 15-12G (1), 25 (1), 3/A (1), 424B3 (1), 8-K12B (1), CERT (1), CERTNYS (1), CT ORDER (1), DEFM14A (1), EFFECT (1), N-PX (1), PRE 14A (1), PREM14A (1), PRER14A (1), PX14A6N (1), S-4 (1), SC 13E3 (1), SCHEDULE 13G (1)
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.