Walgreens on Friday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectations as the company closes stores and cuts other costs to emerge from the difficult situation.

Here’s what Walgreens reported for the three-month period ended Nov. 30, compared to Wall Street’s expectations based on an LSEG analyst survey:

• Earnings per share: 51 cents adjusted versus 37 cents expected
• Revenue: $39.46 billion versus expected $37.36 billion

Even after the big price losses, Walgreens stuck to its adjusted earnings forecast for the 2025 fiscal year of $1.40 to $1.80 per share. The company did not provide annual revenue guidance in its press release. In October, Walgreens said it expected revenue of $147 billion to $151 billion for the fiscal year.

Shares rose more than 5% in premarket trading.

The company capped a difficult past year marked by pressure on pharmacy reimbursement, weaker consumer spending and challenges related to its push into primary care, among other things. The results come amid reports that the company is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

In its fiscal first quarter, Walgreens posted revenue of $39.46 billion, up 7.5% from the same period last year, as its three business segments grew.

The company reported a net loss of $265 million, or 31 cents per share, for the fiscal first quarter. That compares with a net loss of $67 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Walgreens said the loss was primarily due to higher operating losses reflecting its multi-year plan to close underperforming stores. This includes 1,200 over the next three years, including 500 in the 2025 financial year alone.

According to its website, Walgreens has approximately 8,500 retail pharmacies in the United States.

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were 51 cents per share.

The first quarter results “reflect our disciplined execution of our 2025 priorities: stabilizing retail pharmacy by optimizing our footprint, controlling operating costs, improving cash flow and further addressing reimbursement models,” Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said in a press release.

He added: “While our turnaround will take time, our initial progress reinforces our belief in a sustainable, retail pharmacy-led operating model.”

Walgreens reported growth across its three business segments in the fiscal first quarter.

The company’s U.S. pharmacy division generated revenue of $30.87 billion, up 6.6% from the same period last year. Analysts had expected sales of $29.21 billion, according to StreetAccount estimates.

This unit operates the Company’s drugstores, which sell prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as health and wellness, beauty, personal care and grocery products.

Walgreens said pharmacy sales increased 10.4% and comparable pharmacy sales increased 12.7% in the quarter compared to the same period last year, due in part to price inflation for brand-name drugs.

Total prescriptions filled in the quarter, including vaccines, were 316.3 million, up 1.5% from the same period last year. Retail sales fell 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year, and comparable retail sales fell 4.6%. The company cited a weaker cough, cold and flu season as well as lower sales in discretionary product categories.

Revenue from the company’s U.S. healthcare division jumped to $2.17 billion in the fiscal first quarter, up more than 12% from the same period last year. Analysts had expected sales of $2.09 billion, according to StreetAccount estimates.

This reflects, in part, the growth of primary care provider VillageMD and specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions. Specialty pharmacies are designed to supply medications with unique handling, storage and distribution requirements, often for patients with complex medical conditions.

Walgreens’ international unit, which operates more than 3,000 retail stores abroad, had sales of $6.43 billion in the fiscal first quarter. This is an increase of 10.2% compared to the same period last year.

Analysts expected revenue of $5.85 billion for the period, according to StreetAccount.

The company said sales at its UK-based drugstore chain Boots rose 4.5%.