WBA vs CVS: Walgreens vs CVS Health Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Walgreens is a pharmacy retail and international health chain that has struggled to evolve beyond its core pharmacy model, while CVS has built an integrated healthcare company combining pharmacy, PBM, insurance, and primary care. CVS is the more strategically diversified healthcare entity; Walgreens is simpler but structurally challenged.
WBA vs CVS is a restructuring pharmacy chain vs an integrated health services company navigating insurance margin pressure — Walgreens wins if store closures improve profitability and VillageMD headwinds stabilize; CVS wins if Aetna MLR normalizes, Oak Street integration delivers, and the integrated care model creates durable competitive advantage.
CVS holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. WBA leads on both 1-year return (+31.60%) and forward P/E quality (8.15x vs 10.94x for CVS), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, WBA is growing revenue faster (7.20%), while CVS maintains the higher operating margin (3.86%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CVS (+24.74%) than for WBA (+1.12%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want deep-value exposure to a pharmacy retail restructuring at a very low valuation
- believe Walgreens' core pharmacy business stabilizes as store closures reduce cost structure
- are comfortable with significant dividend reduction and balance sheet risk in a turnaround
- prefer a simpler business model without insurance and PBM complexity
- want an integrated healthcare company with pharmacy, PBM, insurance, and primary care
- believe Aetna's medical loss ratio normalizes and integrated care model creates long-term value
- value Caremark's PBM scale as a durable competitive asset in prescription drug management
- prefer a more financially stable, diversified healthcare business vs Walgreens' simpler but structurally challenged pharmacy model
| Metric | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 23.6 | 42.1 |
| AI ranki | #3569 | #901 |
| Latest closei | $11.98 | $92.36 |
| 1M returni | +3.01% | +0.70% |
| 3M returni | +7.06% | -14.06% |
| 6M returni | +6.68% | +19.48% |
| 1Y returni | +31.60% | +14.49% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.73K (+37.3%) started 2024-08-29 | $11.35K (+13.5%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $5.28K (-47.2%) started 2020-08-31 | $14.1K (+41.0%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $3.13K (-68.7%) started 2015-08-31 | $18.86K (+88.6%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $0 | $119.02B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 24.55 |
| Forward P/Ei | 8.15 | 10.94 |
| Price/Salesi | 0.06 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.26 | 0.44 |
| Analyst targeti | $12.11 | $116.08 |
| Target upsidei | +1.12% | +24.74% |
| Metric | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 7.20% | 7.10% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 188.80% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +188.80% |
| FCF margini | +2.93% | +1.96% |
| Operating margini | 0.74% | 3.86% |
| Profit margini | -4.07% | 1.18% |
| ROIC proxyi | -69.58% | 6.21% |
| Return on equityi | -69.58% | 6.21% |
| Dividend yieldi | 8.35% | 2.86% |
| Payout ratioi | N/A | 70.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.77 | 0.60 |
| Debt/equityi | 409.88 | 95.50 |
| Current ratioi | 0.60 | 0.87 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.15 | 0.62 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +33.45% | +13.51% |
| CAGRi | +33.54% | +13.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 54.07% | 31.39% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.71 | 0.42 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.36 | 0.58 | |
| Max drawdowni | 27.61% | 23.10% | |
| Current drawdowni | 7.35% | 16.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.00% | 7.58% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.25% | 9.75% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.30% | 14.15% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 15.54% | 10.46% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -59.84% | +23.73% |
| CAGRi | -16.70% | +4.36% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.66% | 30.40% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.38 | 0.15 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.55 | 0.20 | |
| Max drawdowni | 82.41% | 56.79% | |
| Current drawdowni | 73.68% | 16.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 39.19% | 24.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 47.74% | 28.08% | |
| Max daily dropi | 22.16% | 16.84% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.12% | 20.15% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | -79.94% | +39.14% |
| CAGRi | -14.85% | +3.36% | |
| Volatilityi | 35.04% | 29.55% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.41 | 0.11 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.58 | 0.15 | |
| Max drawdowni | 87.80% | 56.79% | |
| Current drawdowni | 81.75% | 16.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 41.46% | 19.85% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 47.85% | 23.53% | |
| Max daily dropi | 22.16% | 16.84% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.12% | 20.15% |
| Category | WBA | CVS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. | CVS Health Corporation |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Pharmaceutical Retailers | Healthcare Plans |
| Core business | Global pharmacy retail chain with 8,000+ US locations under the Walgreens brand and international operations under Boots. Walgreens generates revenue from prescription fills, front-end retail, and healthcare services through VillageMD and Shields Health Solutions. | Integrated health company combining pharmacy retail (~9,000 locations), Caremark pharmacy benefit management (PBM) processing hundreds of millions of prescriptions, Aetna health insurance (35M+ members), and MinuteClinic/Oak Street Health primary care. |
| Investor focus | Pharmacy same-store sales, healthcare clinic profitability (VillageMD), store optimization and closure program, and dividend sustainability. | Aetna insurance membership and medical loss ratio management, Caremark PBM script volume, Oak Street primary care expansion profitability, and leverage reduction. |
- Walgreens is one of the two largest pharmacy chains in the US with massive reach and consumer brand recognition
- Specialty pharmacy through Shields Health Solutions is a high-margin growing segment
- International Boots business provides UK and European consumer healthcare brand exposure
- CVS's integrated model across retail pharmacy, PBM, insurance, and primary care creates data and distribution advantages no pure-play competitor can replicate
- Caremark is the second-largest PBM in the US processing hundreds of billions in drug spending annually
- Aetna gives CVS access to government-funded Medicare Advantage and Medicaid populations with long-term demographic tailwinds
- Walgreens has dramatically cut its dividend and has struggled with front-end retail traffic declines and pharmacy margin pressure
- VillageMD primary care clinic investments have been costly and unprofitable — Walgreens has been closing clinics
- Debt load is high and restructuring complexity is significant following years of strategic pivots
- Aetna's medical loss ratio spiked sharply in 2024 as healthcare utilization and costs exceeded expectations — earnings pressure significant
- PBM business faces regulatory pressure on pricing transparency and spread pricing practices
- Oak Street Health acquisition added debt load and primary care losses that weigh on near-term earnings
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