Walgreens CEO lost $1.2B in one day
Walgreens Chief Executive Stefano Pessina lost a staggering $1.2 billion on Tuesday after the nation’s largest drugstore chain slashed its forecast for 2019, sending the stock plummeting.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Pessina, a multimillionaire who owns about 15 percent of the company, saw his net worth plunge close to 10.4 percent to $10.17 billion from $11.35 billion following Walgreen’s quarterly earnings report.
Walgreen shares fell by 13 percent in trading on Tuesday -- the most since August 2014, Bloomberg reported.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE INC. | 8.30 | +0.06 | +0.73% |
The Deerfield, Illinois-based company -- which has more than 9,000 stores in the U.S. -- now expects full-year earnings for 2019 to be roughly flat, compared to its previous guidance of 7 percent to 12 percent growth. Walgreens also said it plans to cut costs by more than $1.5 billion by 2022, instead of its originally anticipated $1 billion.
“The market challenges and macro trends we have been discussing for some time accelerated, resulting in the most difficult quarter we have had since the formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance,” Pessina said in a statement.
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Pessina blamed the worse-than-expected report on reimbursement pressure, which he said was compounded by lower generic deflation and “consumer market challenges” in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.