Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) just can’t seem to get it right. Whatever the strategy is intended to be doing, it needs a real change in the world of a CVS, Walgreen, and Wal-Mart dominance. The drug store chain just reported a wider loss than expected and this is getting to be just about enough for even the most patient investors in the world.
The company reported a second-quarter adjust loss of -$0.18 EPS versus Thomson Reuters estimates of -$0.17 EPS. Revenue was also a tad light for the quarter at $6.16 billion, which is under the estimate of $6.21 billion. Meanwhile, comparable store sales fell 1.5% in the second quarter.
But wait, there’s more. The company has lowered its Fiscal-2011 guidance from a loss of -$0.41 to -$0.65 down to a slightly wider loss of -$0.46 to -$0.67. On the sales front, Rite Aid now expects $25.0 to $25.4 billion from a prior range of $25.2 to $25.6 billion.
Unless the company is announcing a whole new management team and a whole new strategy, this is likely to remain a huge conundrum. Rite Ad is a stock which could still double, but it could also ultimately end up on the garbage pile. After years and years, it remains a turnaround which just will not turn around.
JON C. OGG
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