Sandy hurts Walgreen's results
The No. 2 drugstore chain's fiscal Q1 EPS sank 18% as higher costs resulting from Superstorm Sandy dented sales. EPS fell 8% to 58 cents a share, but that beat estimates by 12 cents. Walgreen's (WAG) sales dipped 5% to $17.32 bil, less than the $17.43 bil consensus analyst forecast. CEO Greg Wasson said on a conference call that he saw the quarter as a turning point for the company, which is trying to regain customers lost during a dispute with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts (ESRX) this year. Shares fell 3.3% to 36.31.
