Description

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. operates as a pharmacy-led health and wellbeing company. It operates through three segments: Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International, and Pharmaceutical Wholesale. The Retail Pharmacy USA segment sells prescription drugs and an assortment of retail products, including health, wellness, beauty, personal care, consumable, and general merchandise products through its retail drugstores and convenient care clinics. It also provides specialty pharmacy services and mail services; and manages in-store clinics. As of August 31, 2019, this segment operated 9,277 retail stores under the Walgreens and Duane Reade brands in the United States; and 6 specialty pharmacies. The Retail Pharmacy International segment sells prescription drugs; and health and wellness, beauty, personal care, and other consumer products through its pharmacy-led health and beauty stores and optical practices, as well as through boots.com and an integrated mobile application. This segment operated 4,605 retail stores under the Boots, Benavides, and Ahumada in the United Kingdom, Thailand, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Mexico, and Chile; and 606 optical practices, including 165 on a franchise basis. The Pharmaceutical Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale and distribution of specialty and generic pharmaceuticals, health and beauty products, and home healthcare supplies and equipment, as well as provides related services to pharmacies and other healthcare providers. This segment operates in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Turkey, Spain, the Netherlands, Egypt, Norway, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Microsoft and Adobe to launch second phase of digital transformation at the intersection of health and technology. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Deerfield, Illinois.

Statistics (YTD)

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TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (109.8%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of -64.5% of Walgreens is smaller, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is -69.8%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 42.5% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (16%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -18.8% of Walgreens is lower, thus worse.
  • During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is -33%, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 12.6% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of Walgreens is 40.8%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (17.9%) in the same period.
  • Looking at volatility in of 45.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (18.4%).

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

Which means for our asset as example:
  • Looking at the downside volatility of 28% in the last 5 years of Walgreens, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.5%)
  • During the last 3 years, the downside risk is 31.5%, which is larger, thus worse than the value of 12.6% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of -0.52 in the last 5 years of Walgreens, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.75)
  • Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of -0.78 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.55).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.08) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside risk / excess return profile of -0.76 of Walgreens is lower, thus worse.
  • Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of -1.13 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.8).

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The Downside risk index over 5 years of Walgreens is 44 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (8.48 ) in the same period.
  • During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index is 49 , which is larger, thus worse than the value of 5.54 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

Applying this definition to our asset in some examples:
  • The maximum DrawDown over 5 years of Walgreens is -82.4 days, which is lower, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-24.5 days) in the same period.
  • Looking at maximum drop from peak to valley in of -78.6 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-18.8 days).

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Compared with the benchmark SPY (488 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days under water of 1028 days of Walgreens is higher, thus worse.
  • Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 745 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (199 days).

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

Using this definition on our asset we see for example:
  • Looking at the average days under water of 437 days in the last 5 years of Walgreens, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (119 days)
  • During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 371 days, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 44 days from the benchmark.

Performance (YTD)

Historical returns have been extended using synthetic data.

Allocations ()

Allocations

Returns (%)

  • Note that yearly returns do not equal the sum of monthly returns due to compounding.
  • Performance results of Walgreens are hypothetical and do not account for slippage, fees or taxes.