Walgreens pares gains dragging rivals amid concerns over labor costs
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Following a 4% gain in the pre-market on its sixth consecutive quarterly beat, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA
-1.9%) is trading lower for the first time in four sessions after the management highlighted rising labor costs at the earnings call.

According to CNBC, Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) Chief Financial James Kehoe has announced that the company will spend an additional ~$120M on wages as the pharmacy retailer tries to meet the demand and fights rivals in a tight labor market.
Its competitors, CVS Health (CVS
-0.7%) and Rite Aid (RAD
-9.1%), are also on the decline in morning hours.
A recent article from NBC News highlighted the challenges faced by major drugstore chains such as Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD), CVS (NYSE:CVS), and Walgreens (WBA) amid a wave of resignations among pharmacy technicians. Many of them have decided to leave the industry due to rising workload and stress, it said.
In December, Rite Aid (RAD) shares jumped, propelling its bigger rivals after announcing a better than expected guidance for fiscal 2022.