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By Suzanne Blake
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Walgreens has continued downsizing its store blueprint this year, and so far, 15 store closures have been confirmed across 12 states and Washington, D.C.
The pharmacy giant has been working to streamline operations and focus on more profitable locations just two years after the company announced plans to shutter roughly 1,200 underperforming stores over three years.
The company’s closures are part of a broader turnaround strategy due to financial pressures and changing consumer habits, and mounting competition from online pharmacies.
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"We are prioritizing closing locations that are cash flow negative, underperforming stores where we own the locations and ones where the lease expirations are coming due in the next few years," Walgreens Global Chief Financial Officer Manmohan Mahajan said last year.
Walgreens also underwent a major ownership change after being acquired by Sycamore Partners and taken private in 2025. For 2026, Walgreens said it expects to close fewer than 100 stores, but retail experts say business troubles are plaguing the larger industry.
“Walgreens' latest store closures are less about struggling neighborhoods and more about a broader effort to reshape a business model that has been under pressure for years from a range of issues, including more operational costs and shifting priorities from customers,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“While some individual locations are underperforming, the more prominent story is that national retailers are increasingly willing to prioritize profitability over maintaining a large physical footprint.”
Why It Matters
Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy operators in the United States, with more than 8,500 stores nationwide.
Store closures can leave some communities with fewer options for prescription medications, vaccinations, or even basic health services.
The company's restructuring is also being closely watched across the retail and health-care sectors. Rival chains CVS and Rite Aid have also reduced their footprints in recent years as consumers increasingly shift toward online prescription services and same-day delivery.
Map Shows Where Walgreens Is Closing the Most Stores
Illinois has seen the largest number of confirmed Walgreens closures in 2026, with four locations shutting down. Other states have recorded one or two closures each.
“It's a slowdown under new ownership, which is genuinely surprising given Sycamore's reputation for cutting hard and fast,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
“Roughly three-fourths of a Walgreens' revenue comes from the pharmacy counter, not the aisles. Stores don't close because nobody bought shampoo. They close because prescription volume at that address can't cover the rent under current reimbursement math.”
Walgreens Closures Confirmed in 2026
Source: Inc.
Why Is Walgreens Closing More Stores?
Walgreens executives have repeatedly described the moves as a store optimization strategy rather than a retreat from the pharmacy business.
The company first announced plans in October 2024 to close approximately 1,200 underperforming stores over three years, including around 500 closures during fiscal 2025.
Newsweek reached out to Walgreens for comment via email.
Retail experts say the company’s underlying challenges are numerous.
For one, Walgreens has experienced declining pharmacy reimbursement rates. That plus softer retail sales and shifting consumer purchasing patterns has made the company focus on getting rid of less profitable stores.
“National math decides how many stores close. Local specifics decide which ones,” Ryan said. “That's why the list looks so random, a SF storefront next to a strip center in Ft. Myers. It isn't geography. It's lease expiration dates, script counts, and who's across the street.”
The closures also come as Walgreens faces increasing pressure from online retailers and digital pharmacy providers.
Competitor Amazon has prioritized digital fulfillment and home delivery for prescriptions while Walgreens has sought to maintain a large physical-store network.
“The corner drugstore ran on a subsidy that quietly disappeared. For decades, fat generic dispensing margins paid the rent on real estate chosen purely for convenience, because convenience was worth a premium,” Ryan said.
“Two things happened. Generic margin got compressed by the middlemen. And convenience got commoditized by same-day delivery.”
How Is Walgreens Performing?
The closures are occurring as the company still struggles to return to a type of sustainable profitability.
In its fiscal third-quarter 2025 results, Walgreens reported sales of $39 billion, up 7.2 percent from the year-earlier period. However, the company posted a net loss of $175 million, compared with net earnings of $344 million in the prior-year quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share also fell from $0.63 to $0.38. Walgreens said continued weakness in front-end retail sales weighed on these results, but cost-cutting initiatives provided some help.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Wentworth has said the company is getting benefits from its cost-savings initiatives but will stay focused on executing a long-term turnaround plan.
“We remain focused on our turnaround plan, which will require time, disciplined focus and a balanced approach to manage future cash needs with investments necessary to navigate an evolving pharmacy and retail environment,” Wentworth said.
The difficulties go back even several more years, however. In fiscal 2024, Walgreens reported a net loss of approximately $3 billion in its fourth quarter and announced its plan to close 1,200 stores.
Despite these challenges, Walgreens remains one of the nation's largest pharmacy operators.
What Happens Next
Walgreens is expected to continue evaluating underperforming locations as part of its multiyear restructuring strategy.
For consumers, patients may need to transfer prescriptions or travel farther for pharmacy services.
“A lot of chains built their footprint around being the closest option. When closest stops being worth paying extra for, the whole real estate assumption breaks,” Ryan said.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Gray R. Thomas
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