Walgreens Boots Alliance posted a wider quarterly loss, hit by the costs of closing stores and weaker retail sales, but shares surged after a smaller-than-expected drop in adjusted earnings. Walgreens shares soared more than 28% to$11.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA), better known as Walgreens, was one of the worst-performing stocks of 2024. Although the S&P 500 index rose by more than 20% for the year, Walgreens dropped by a staggering 64% due to consumer spending headwinds and poor performance from its primary care business efforts.

Walgreens was the worst stock in the S&P 500 last year. An analyst writes that it’s still “premature to say that Walgreens is on a stable path to growth” despite upbeat earnings.