WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE NASDAQ: WBA
Background of Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. is a holding company which owns retail pharmacy chains Walgreens and Boots with its acquisition portfolio consisting of several pharmaceutical, manufacturing, wholesale, and distribution companies.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a rich history spanning across more than 170 years, going all the way back to 1849 when John Boot opened the first Boots store, selling herbal remedies in the United Kingdom.
- In 1851, Maison Thomas pharmaceutical distributor was founded in Agen, France and in 1870, the Boots business started to develop under John Boot’s son, Jesse Boot.
- In 1896, Interpharm pharmaceutical distributor was created in The Netherlands and in 1901, Charles R. Walgreen Senior purchases the drugstore where he was employed as a pharmacist in Chicago, United States.
- IN 1909, Walgreen Co. was formed, and the drugstore chain expansion started with the opening of a second store, while Edgar Moss opened the first Moss Chemist store in Middlesex, United Kingdom in 1915.
- During 1919, S.A.F.A pharmaceutical distributor was created in Spain and in 1922, Walgreens invented the malted milkshake. By 1927, the Walgreens stock became publicly traded and in the same year, Boots acquired Beeston site in Nottingham.
- Boots opened its 1,000th store by 1933 and by 1934, Walgreens stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1935, Boots launched No7 cosmetics and in 1938, UniChem group was formed in the United Kingdom to serve wholesale pharmaceutical products to independent pharmacies.
- Boots launched Soltan sun care in 1939 and in 1950, Walgreens started the transition to self-service stores, with Moss Chemists prescription delivery vans starting operation during the same year.
- In 1951, the first self-service Boots stores were trialled in the United Kingdom, followed by Walgreens entering the Puerto Rico market by 1960. In 1968, Walgreens became the first major drugstore chain in the United States to place its prescriptions in containers that were child resistant.
- In 1969, Boots launched Ibuprofen in the United Kingdom and by 1975, Walgreens reached sales to the value of $1 billion (14.6 billion ZAR).
- In 1977, Alleanza Farmaceutica was founded by Stefano Pessina in Italy and by 1981, the first Intercom pharmacy computers were installed in Walgreens pharmacies in Iowa. In Italy, 1982, Ornella Barra had founded pharmaceutical wholesaler Di Pharma.
- In 1984, Walgreens had opened its 1,000th store and in 1991, Walgreens opened its first drive-thru pharmacy, followed by UniChem’s purchase of Moss Chemists in the United Kingdom.
- During the same year, Alliance Santé group is formed following a merger between Alleanza Salute Italia and French pharmaceutical wholesalers ERPI and IFP.
- In 1997, Alliance UniChem was formed as result of a merger between UniChem and Alliance Santé followed by Alliance UniChem’s acquisition of S.A.F.A in Spain. During the same year, Boots became the largest retail pharmacy chain located in Ireland.
- In 1999, Walgreens.com launched its first online pharmacy and by 2000, it opened its 3,000th store in Chicago. During the same year, Alliance UniChem continued its purchase of Alliance Apotekene pharmacies located in Norway as well as a 25% stake acquisition in the Turkish pharmaceutical wholesaler, Hedef.
- In the same year, Alliance UniChem acquired Interpharm as well as the De Vier Vijzels pharmacy chain in The Netherlands.
- By 2002, Walgreens became the first drugstore in history to offer prescription labels presented in multiple languages. During the same year, Alliance UniChem increased its stake in Hedef Alliance to 50%.
- In 2004, Alliance UniChem purchased 29.99% of the German wholesaler ANZAG and in 2006, it merged with Boots Group to form Alliance Boots.
- During the same year, Walgreens purchased Happy Harry’s drugstore chain followed by offering in-store health clinics.
- Alliance Boots wholesale businesses started a rebranding journey to Alliance healthcare in 2007, after which it was privatized. During the same year, Walgreens opened its first store in Hawaii along with its 6,000th store, located in Louisiana.
- During the same year, Walgreens purchased Take Care Health Systems along with Option Care. There were also more than 1,000 Alliance Pharmacy stores in the United Kingdom that started rebranding to “Your local Boots pharmacy” and in 2008, Alliance Boots formed a 50/50 joint venture with Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a major wholesaler of pharmaceuticals in China.
- 2009 saw a merger between Boots Opticians and Dolland & Aitchison, forming the second largest optical chain in the United Kingdom.
- In 2010, Alliance Boots became the largest shareholder in Hedef Alliance and ANZAG while Walgreens completed a purchase of Duane Reade drugstore chain in New York during the same year, followed by Walgreens opening the first Well Experience format in stores in the same year.
- During 2011, Duane Reade opened a 24-hour flagship store in New York and Walgreen completed a purchase of drugstore.com as well as Beauty.com.
- In 2012, Walgreens purchased a 45% stake in Alliance Boots which marked the first step in the strategic partnership to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise in history. During the same year, Walgreens opened its 8,000th store in Los Angeles followed by an acquisition of USA Drug, a pharmacy chain in mid-South US.
- In 2013, Walgreens and Alliance Boots announced a strategic and long-term relationship with AmerisourceBergen to collaborate on opportunities in global supply chain.
- By 2014, Walgreens had exercised the option to complete the second step in its strategic partnership with Alliance Boots, resulting in the establishment of Walgreens Boots Alliance as result of the full combination of Walgreens and Alliance Boots.
- After this, Walgreens Boots Alliance completed several acquisitions and by 2018, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average as one of 30 components.
- Today, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has multiple divisions with global operations and more than 450,000 employees.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Shares Growth Driver
- Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a long, rich history consisting of growth, impressive performance and combination of several prominent components that lead to one large entity that has global reach.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. is a global leader in retail pharmacy with the purpose of helping people around the world lead happier and healthier lives.
- Throughout its history until today, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has served communities around the world, with consistent effort in pushing the overall industry forward while remaining true to its core purpose, caring for customers and patients every day, without diverting from this objective.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Investor Tip
- Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. trades its shares on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ) under the stock symbol WBA. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. forms part of the NASDAQ-100, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 100, and the S&P 500
- An analysis on the market performance for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. in the second quarter of 2025 indicated that sales increased by 12.1% from the same quarter in 2025 to $34 billion (496 billion ZAR) while the total earnings per share (EPS) was $1.38 (20.15 ZAR), with net cash from operating activities at a value of $4.3 billion (62.7 billion ZAR).
- Data from the analysis should be weighed against forecasted performance during this pandemic, but for now, prices on shares and in turn dividends remain unaffected, which provides shareholders with assurance that they will have a strong buy-in on NASDAQ.
Sector
Healthcare
Industry
Pharmaceutical Retailers
Sub industry
Retail, wholesale, pharmaceutical products, and services
Latest News
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