Walgreens CEO Brewer steps down, and the stock bounces off 14-year low

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
WBA,
-1.13%
bounced 1.3% in premarket trading Friday, off the previous session’s 14-year closing low, after the drugstore chain and health care services company said Chief Executive Rosalind Brewer has stepped down after 2 1/2-years in the role. The company has appointed Ginger Graham, the current lead independent director of Walgreen’s board, as interim CEO. Brewer, which joined Walgreens in March 2021 as CEO, will act as an advisor while the company searches for a permanent CEO. Brewer’s departure follows the surprising news a month ago that the company’s chief financial officer was leaving. The leadership change comes as Walgreens’ stock tumbled 15.6% in August, the biggest monthly decline since it plunged 19.3% in December 2018, to close Thursday at the lowest price since March 20, 2009. It has tumbled 16.5% over the past three months through Thursday, while shares of rival CVS Health Corp.
CVS,
-2.48%
have lost 5.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.48%
has gained 5.0%.