Walgreens Boots Alliance (BUE:WBA) Interest Coverage: 0.10 (As of May. 2025) — 99% Below Median


What is Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage?

Walgreens Boots Alliance BUE:WBA 15 Interest Coverage is 0.10 as of May. 2025, which is 99% below its 10-year median of 7.14. GuruFocus rates BUE:WBA with a GF Score™ of 15/100. The stock has 7 warning signs investors should review.

Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income by its Interest Expense. Walgreens Boots Alliance's Operating Income for the three months ended in May. 2025 was ARS15,386.98 Mil. Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Expense for the three months ended in May. 2025 was ARS-149,135.34 Mil. Walgreens Boots Alliance's interest coverage for the quarter that ended in May. 2025 was 0.10. The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.

The historical rank and industry rank for Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:


BUE:WBA's Interest Coverage is not ranked *
in the Healthcare Providers & Services industry.
Industry Median: 7.99
* Ranked among companies with meaningful Interest Coverage only.

Note: If both Interest Expense and Interest Income are empty, while Net Interest Income is negative, then use Net Interest Income as Interest Expense.

Walgreens Boots Alliance  (BUE:WBA) Interest Coverage Explanation

Ben Graham requires that a company has a minimum interest coverage of 5 with the companies he invested. If the interest coverage is less than 2, the company is burdened by debt. Any business slow or recession may drag the company into a situation where it cannot pay the interest on its debt.

Interest Coverage is an important factor when GuruFocus ranks a company's overage Financial Strength .

Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage Related Terms

Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Note: For Interest Coverage, "No debt" indicates no long-term debt. An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no long-term debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage Chart

Walgreens Boots Alliance Annual Data
Trend Aug15 Aug16 Aug17 Aug18 Aug19 Aug20 Aug21 Aug22 Aug23 Aug24
Interest Coverage
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 1.05 3.85 2.43 0.00 0.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance Quarterly Data
Aug20 Nov20 Feb21 May21 Aug21 Nov21 Feb22 May22 Aug22 Nov22 Feb23 May23 Aug23 Nov23 Feb24 May24 Aug24 Nov24 Feb25 May25
Interest Coverage Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.59 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10

BUE:WBA vs WGRX, PETS, BHIC: Interest Coverage Comparison

For the Pharmaceutical Retailers subindustry, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage, along with its competitors' market caps and Interest Coverage data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage vs Healthcare Providers & Services Industry

For the Healthcare Providers & Services industry and Healthcare sector, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage falls into.


Walgreens Boots Alliance Interest Coverage Calculation

Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income (EBIT) by its Interest Expense:

If Interest Expense is negative and Operating Income is positive, then

Interest Coverage=-1* Operating Income /Interest Expense

Else if Interest Expense is negative and Operating Income is negative, then

The company did not have earnings to cover the interest expense.

Else if Interest Expense is 0 and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation is 0, then

The company had no debt (1).


Note: If both Interest Expense and Interest Income are empty, while Net Interest Income is negative, then use Net Interest Income as Interest Expense.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2024 is calculated as

Here, for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2024, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Expense was ARS-449,223.99 Mil. Its Operating Income was ARS-1,480,947.96 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was ARS26,995,379.33 Mil.

Walgreens Boots Alliance did not have earnings to cover the interest expense.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage for the quarter that ended in May. 2025 is calculated as

Here, for the three months ended in May. 2025, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Expense was ARS-149,135.34 Mil. Its Operating Income was ARS15,386.98 Mil. And its Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was ARS30,977,539.51 Mil.

Interest Coverage=-1* Operating Income (Q: May. 2025 )/Interest Expense (Q: May. 2025 )
=-1*15386.979/-149135.335
=0.10

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's Financial Strength is.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Interest Coverage →
What does a Interest Coverage of 0.10 mean?
Walgreens Boots Alliance (BUE:WBA) has a Interest Coverage of 0.10 as of May. 2025. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Walgreens Boots Alliance and its competitors. This is 99% below median its historical median of 7.14. Over the past decade, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.05 to 10.01.
Is Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage too high?
Walgreens Boots Alliance's current Interest Coverage of 0.10 is 99% below median its 10-year median of 7.14. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.05 to a high of 10.01. The Healthcare Providers & Services industry median Interest Coverage is 7.99. Walgreens Boots Alliance's value of 0.10 is 98.7% below this industry median. Overall, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a GF Score™ of 15/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage compare to WGRX and PETS?
Walgreens Boots Alliance's Interest Coverage of 0.10 can be compared against companies in the Healthcare Providers & Services industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 7.99. Walgreens Boots Alliance's value of 0.10 is 98.7% below this benchmark. Historically, Walgreens Boots Alliance's own Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.05 to 10.01 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 7.14 vs. the industry median of 7.99, Walgreens Boots Alliance has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Interest Coverage for a Healthcare Providers & Services company?
The median Interest Coverage among Healthcare Providers & Services companies is 7.99, based on 452 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Interest Coverage significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Interest Coverage should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Walgreens Boots Alliance's current Interest Coverage of 0.10 is 98.7% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Interest Coverage mean?
A high Interest Coverage can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Walgreens Boots Alliance and its competitors. For the Healthcare Providers & Services industry, the median Interest Coverage is 7.99 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Walgreens Boots Alliance's current Interest Coverage is 0.10, which is 99% below median its own 10-year median of 7.14. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Walgreens Boots Alliance stock overvalued right now?
Walgreens Boots Alliance (BUE:WBA) has a current Interest Coverage of 0.10. The current Interest Coverage is 0.10, which is 99% below median its 10-year median of 7.14 and 98.7% below the Healthcare Providers & Services industry median of 7.99. Walgreens Boots Alliance's overall GF Score™ is 15/100 with 7 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Interest Coverage calculated?
Interest Coverage is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Walgreens Boots Alliance (BUE:WBA), the current Interest Coverage is 0.10 as of May. 2025. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Business Description

Address 108 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, IL, USA, 60015
Walgreens Boots Alliance is one of the largest retail pharmacy chains in the US, with over 8,000 locations. Nearly three quarters of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens location. Roughly two thirds of revenue is generated from prescription drug sales; Walgreens makes up 20% of total prescription revenue in the US. Walgreens also generates sales from retail products (general wellness consumables and its own branded merchandise), European drug wholesale, and healthcare. With more locations incorporating additional services like Health Corner and Village Medical, Walgreens creates an omnichannel experience for patients and positions itself as a one-stop healthcare provider.