27% profit every 20 days?
This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.
Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG) reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday. Shares of the company are neutral.
Below are some key highlights from its conference call:
ENTER TO WIN $500 IN STOCK OR CRYPTO
Enter your email and you'll also get Benzinga's ultimate morning update AND a free $30 gift card and more!
• We've put into place a strong blended management team for the future Walgreen Boots Alliance organization.
• We achieved $491 million in synergies through our WBAD joint venture.
• Our retail pharmacy market share grew 30 basis points to 19% in fiscal 2014,
• Filled a record 856 million prescriptions.
• In pharmacy, health and wellness, our script comp was up 3.9% in the quarter.
• Turning to our front-end comp sales, which increased 1.3% in the fourth quarter, average basket size grew 3.5% while traffic was down 2.2%
• Our strategic partnership with Alliance Boots contributed $0.06 of adjusted EPS accretion in the fourth quarter
Financials:
• Net sales were $19.1 billion, up 6.2% from $17.9 billion in the fourth quarter last year.
• GAAP operating income for the quarter was $969 million, down 5.8% from $1 billion last year.
• The GAAP loss per share in the fourth quarter equaled $0.25 compared to earnings per share of $0.69 last year.
• Fourth quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.74, up 1.4% from $0.73 in the same quarter last year.
• Sales were $76.4 billion compared to $72.2 billion last year.
• Our full year GAAP earnings per diluted share were $2, down 21.9% from $2.56 last year.
• Average diluted shares outstanding were 968 million versus 957 million last year.
• Adjusted EPS accretion totaled $0.06 for the quarter and $0.43 for the fiscal year.
• Accounts receivable increased 22.3%.
• And returning cash to shareholders by committing to a 30% to 35% dividend payout target over the long-term
Guidance:
• We'll continue our strong focus on cost reduction
• Driving to achieve our $1 billion target over three years, which we announced in August.
• We've put headquarters and non-labor spending reductions into immediate effect
• Continuing to work toward greater efficiencies in our processes through Walgreens Lean Six Sigma.
• We continued to face headwinds to our pharmacy margin from ongoing pressure from reimbursement and generic drug inflation.
• By the end of the fiscal year, we now have access to more than 100 limited distribution drugs by manufacturers.
• For the first quarter of 2015, we expect accretion from Alliance Boots to total $0.10 to $0.11 versus $0.14 in the quarter and in the first quarter of 2014.
• We're well positioned to capitalize on industry tailwinds, an aging population, growth in chronic conditions, consumerization of health care, increased new generics and growing demand for a personalized experience.
• We expect to continue to drive sales and margin growth in the front-end, offering ultimate convenience, the best in customer loyalty and extraordinary customer care with a focus on integrating health, beauty, and convenience.
• For fiscal 2015, we expect the combined synergies to be approximately $650 million.
• We're currently executing against our $3 billion share repurchase authorization.
27% profit every 20 days?
This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.