Walgreens suspends the quarterly dividend it’s paid since the depths of the Great Depression

Walgreen Co., the predecessor to Walgreens Boots Alliance, began paying its shareholders a quarterly dividend in 1933, a year when the US economy was reeling from the Great Depression as the unemployment rate peaked near 25% and the banking system was in shambles.

Now, in 2025, the company’s finances have deteriorated to the point where it can no longer justify giving money back to its investors. In a press release, management announced that its dividend has been suspended, after having nearly halved those payouts last year.

Shares are down double digits in the premarket.

The company highlighted two factors in particular that are driving its need to preserve more cash:

• The recent DOJ lawsuit, which alleges Walgreens “pressured” pharmacists and contributed to the opioid pandemic, and

• Its massive, massive debt load, which will need to be refinanced.

Walgreens was the worst-performing S&P 500 constituent in 2024, though its most recent quarterly results managed to clear the low bar analysts had set for revenues and earnings.

Private-equity funds have reportedly been circling the beaten-down pharmacy chain for an acquisition opportunity.