Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now

On Wednesday, Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS  ) will release its latest quarterly results. As one of the hottest retailers in the high-end market, Kors has seen its stock perform extremely well since going public in late 2011. But with shares at premium valuations, can the company deliver on the promise that shareholders see in it?

Kors has done an excellent job lately of navigating the luxury-retail industry, taking advantage of favorable conditions in many parts of the market while avoiding some of the missteps that have plagued its rivals. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Michael Kors over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Michael Kors

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.39

Change From Year-Ago EPS

77%

Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2015: The Pantry Inc.(PTRY)

The Pantry, Inc. operates a chain of convenience stores in the southeastern United States. The company?s stores offer a selection of merchandise, fuel, and ancillary products and services. Its merchandise products include cigarettes, grocery and other tobacco products, packaged beverages, beer, and wine. The company operates stores under various selected banners, which primarily include Kangaroo Express. As of September 29, 2011, it operated 1,649 convenience stores located in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri; and 233 quick service restaurants. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of The Pantry (NASDAQ: PTRY  ) were down as much as 15% today after the convenience-store chain posted a second-quarter loss and missed Wall Street estimates.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Pantry (Nasdaq: PTRY  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST)

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses that offer a selection of branded and private label products in a range of merchandise categories in no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities. The company's product categories include candy, snack foods, tobacco, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and cleaning and institutional supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, office supplies, garden and patio, sporting goods, toys, seasonal items, and automotive supplies; dry and institutionally packaged foods; apparel, domestics, jewelry, house wares, media, home furnishings, cameras, and small appliances; meat, bakery, deli, and produce; and gas stations, pharmacy, food court, optical, one-hour photo, hearing aid, and travel. It also provides business and gold star (individual) membership services. As of April 26, 2011, the company operated 581 warehouses, including 425 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 80 in Canada, 22 in the Uni ted Kingdom, 7 in Korea, 6 in Taiwan, 8 in Japan, 1 in Australia, and 32 in Mexico. It also has Costco Online, an electronic commerce Web site, at costco.com in the United States and at costco.ca in Canada. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Meanwhile, Barclays Capital analyst Matthew McClintock expects to get �� good read��on the teen category from both Aeropostale (ARO) and American Eagle (AEO) when they report results on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Meanwhile, November sales for Gap (GPS), L Brands (LB), and Costco Wholesale (COST) are slated to be released on Thursday.

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In times of economic hardship, those willing to sell goods at a reduced price may find a great growth opportunity. Over the past years, discount stores such as Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Target Corp (TGT) have been able to increase their market share, largely due to a rise in low income consumers. As both firms seem to follow similar roads, including the incursion into the food business and expansion outside the U.S., Target seems to be merely following in Costco�� footsteps.
  
  Global Presence and Membership Fee

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: Fast Retailing Co Ltd (FRCOF)

FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. is a Japan-based holding company primarily engaged in the clothing business. The Company operates in three business segments. The UNIQLO segment is engaged in the sale of casual clothing such as men's, women's, children's and babies' clothing, as well as other goods in domestic market and overseas markets under the brand name of UNIQLO. The Global Brand segment is engaged in the planning, manufacture and sale of clothing under the brands of COMPTOIR DES COTONNIERS, PRINCESSE TAM.TAM, Theory, Helmut Lang, PLST and others in domestic and overseas markets. The Others segment is involved in the leasing of real estate and others. As of August 31, 2012, the Company had 91 consolidated subsidiaries and six non-consolidated subsidiaries. In December, 2012, it acquired a 80.1% stake in United States-based J Brand Holdings, LLC. In September 2013, it established a wholly owned subsidiary, J Brand Japan Co., Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks have ended with losses in every session this week, and sure enough, the Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) was down 0.6% in early Friday trade, though off an opening 0.8% defecit, while the Topix carried a 0.7% loss. Overnight losses for the U.S. and further strength in the yen (with the dollar falling to 楼101.28 from 楼101.56 a day earlier) helped drag the market lower, as did results from Fast Retailing Co. (JP:9983) (FRCOF) , the shares of which hold the heaviest weighting on Nikkei Average. Fast Retailing said that while its Uniqlo brand was doing great business, weakness for its J Brand luxury demin label helped send September-May profit down 4% and prompted another cut to Fast's full-year outlook. Consequently, its shares traded 0.7% lower, though rivals Takashimaya Co. (JP:8233) and J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) (JFROF) also saw losses of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Among other decliners, Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) lost 0.7%, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) fell 2.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7012) (KWHIY) fell 1.5%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201)

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (LL)

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) is retailer of hardwood flooring, and hardwood flooring enhancements and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of wood flooring, which includes prefinished domestic and exotic hardwoods, engineered hardwoods, unfinished hardwoods, bamboo, cork and laminates, as well as resilient flooring. Its flooring enhancements and accessories include moldings, noise-reducing underlay and adhesives. Lumber Liquidators and Bellawood are it brands. Its hardwood flooring products are available in various widths and lengths. It offers approximately 350 different flooring product stock-keeping units. In September 2011, it acquired certain assets of Sequoia Floorings Inc. (Sequoia) relating to Sequoia�� quality control and assurance, product development and logistics operations in China.

In June 2013, Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc announced that the Company has opened its 300th store, located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company opened 40 stores. As of February 20, 2012, the Company operated 266 stores located in 46 states and Canada. During 2011, Lumber Liquidators opened its first stores in Canada. It operates a central distribution center located in Hampton, Virginia, supplemented by its facilities in Toano, Virginia. In addition, it operates a facility in Toronto, Canada, with both a store front and a small warehouse serving that metropolitan market. In 2011, Lumber Liquidators finished approximately 79% of its Bellawood products at its finishing facility in Toano, Virginia.

Solid Hardwood

The Company�� solid hardwood products are milled from one thick piece of wood, which can be sanded and refinished numerous times. It offers flooring products made from more than 25 wood species, including both domestic woods, such as ash, beech, birch, hickory, northern hard maple, northern red oak, pine and American walnut, and exotic woods, such as bloodwood, cherry, cypress, e! bony, koa, mesquite, mahogany, rosewood and teak. Lumber Liquidators sells these products either prefinished or unfinished.

Engineered Hardwood

The Company�� engineered hardwood products are produced by bonding a layer of hardwood to a plywood or fiber board backing. Its engineered hardwood floors are offered in domestic and exotic wood species, and in either glue down or floating application. All of its engineered hardwood products are prefinished. Engineered flooring is designed primarily to be installed in areas where hardwood is not conducive, such as slab construction, basements and areas where moisture may be a factor.

Laminates

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc.�� laminate flooring is constructed with a fiber board core, inserted between a melamine laminate backing and photographic paper displaying an image of wood and a ceramic finish, abrasion-resistant laminate top. Its laminate flooring brands allow for easy-click installation, and some include a pre-glued undersurface, moisture repellent, soundproofing, single-strip format or a handscraped textured finish.

Moldings and Accessories

Lumber Liquidators offer a variety of wood flooring moldings and accessories. It sells stair treads and risers in both finished and unfinished versions. Accessories include underlayments that are placed between the new floor and the sub-floor, insulating sound and cushioning the floors. In addition, it sells installation supplies, such as sealers, adhesives and trowels, floor cleaning supplies, and butcher-block kitchen countertops.

Bamboo and Cork

The Company�� bamboo products, harvested from the bamboo plant, are offered as a prefinished, natural or stained, solid or engineered floor. Its cork flooring is produced by harvesting the outer bark of the cork oak tree.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Then we have Trex (NYSE: TREX  ) and Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL  ) , the wood-alternative decking and hardwood-flooring retailers that posted double-digit revenue growth in their most recent quarters. Yes, those stocks trade at slightly higher multiples, but in this video longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz explains why they are worth it and why it might be time to trade in the orange aprons for a better alternative to both Lowe's and Home Depot stock.

• [By John Udovich]

  The shorts appear to be trying to crack small cap Tile Shop Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: TTS)���meaning it might be worth taking a realistic look at the stock and any potential problems surrounding it plus the performance of other home improvement retailers or peers like Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE: LL), which is not into tiles, and The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies, Inc (NYSE: LOW) which would be into tiles.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  sixflags.com Plenty of stocks go up and down in any given week. The gainers inspire us to keep investing. The decliners keep greed in check while reminding us about the risks of the equity markets. Let's go over some of last week's best and worst performers. Regulus Therapeutics (RGLS) -- Up 161 percent last week Last week's biggest winner was a biotech upstart that got welcome news on a potential hepatitis C treatment. Regulus Therapeutics is showing that patients receiving a single injection of its drug are reporting lower viral loads a month later. There are still plenty of regulatory hurdles to clear, but it's certainly encouraging. Select Comfort (SCSS) -- Up 21 percent last week Shares of Select Comfort moved higher after it announced blowout quarterly results. The company behind the Sleep Number air-chambered mattresses saw net sales and earnings per share climb 23 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Select Comfort's strong performance was fueled by an impressive 16 percent spike in comparable-store sales. The favorable momentum is going to linger: Select Comfort is boosting its guidance for the entire year. Six Flags (SIX) -- Up 16 percent last week It was a summer of thrills at Six Flags. Shares of the regional amusement park operator rose like a coaster on a chain lift after it announced better-than-expected revenue growth. Revenue increased 7 percent on a combination of a slight uptick in attendance, higher admission prices, and guests spending more once inside the park. The report was encouraging enough for Six Flags to boost its dividend. The stock is now yielding a hearty 5.3 percent. Boulder Brands (BDBD) -- Down 31 percent last week Shares of Boulder Brands lost nearly a third of their value after the food company behind Smart Balance buttery spreads and EVOL frozen entrees warned of a soft holiday quarter. It now foresees net sales of $132 million to $137 million for the fourth quarter. We would be looking at a sequential dip from

• [By Brian Hill]

  Definitely not hard times in hardwood
  Home Depot and Lowe's both strive to provide everything the homeowner needs to complete a wide range of home projects.� Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL  ) has a different but equally effective approach: to be the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring.

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: J.C. Penney Company Inc. Holding Company(JCP)

J. C. Penney Company, Inc., through its subsidiary, J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc., operates department stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company sells family apparel and footwear, accessories, fine and fashion jewelry, beauty products, and home furnishings. It also provides various services, such as styling salon, optical, portrait photography, and custom decorating. The company also sells its products through its Internet Web site, jcp.com. J. C. Penney Company, Inc. has strategic alliance with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. As of December 7, 2011, it operated approximately 1,100 department stores. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Zeiler]

  Activist investors have been more active than ever before over the past year and increasingly have gone after some of the most commonly held stocks in Corporate America, including Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP).

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  J.C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) was down, falling 13.15 percent to $9.05 after the company priced its underwritten public offering of 84.0 million shares of its common stock at $9.65 per share.

• [By Alyssa Oursler]

  JCPenney (JCP) shareholders have sprinted for the exits in the past week or so, and that number now includes hedge fund and top shareholder Perry Capital dumping JCP stock.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was reinstated as a Neutral by Goldman Sachs.

  Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was reiterated as Neutral and noted cautiously with lowered earnings estimates by Sterne Agee until the new CEO situation and board room uncertainty is resolved.

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: McKesson Corp (MCK)

McKesson Corporation, incorporated on July 7, 1994, delivers pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and healthcare information technologies. The Company operates in two segments: McKesson Distribution Solutions segment and McKesson Technology Solutions segment. The McKesson Distribution Solutions segment distributes drugs, medical-surgical supplies and equipment and health and beauty care products throughout North America. The McKesson Technology Solutions segment delivers enterprise clinical, patient care, financial, supply chain, strategic management software solutions, pharmacy automation for hospitals, as well as connectivity, outsourcing and other services, including remote hosting and managed services, to healthcare organizations. In February 2013, the Company completed acquisition of Pss World Medical Inc. In February 2014, McKesson Corporation announced that its ownership in Celesio AG exceeds 75% interest.

Distribution Solutions

McKesson Distribution Solutions consists of the businesses, which include United States Pharmaceutical Distribution, McKesson Canada, Medical-Surgical Distribution, McKesson Specialty Health and McKesson Pharmacy Systems and Automation. United States Pharmaceutical Distribution business supplies pharmaceuticals and/or other healthcare-related products to customers in three primary customer channels: retail national accounts (including national and regional chains, food/drug combinations, mail order pharmacies and mass merchandisers); independent retail pharmacies, and institutional healthcare providers (including hospitals, health systems, integrated delivery networks, clinics and alternate site providers). This business also provides solutions and services to pharmaceutical manufacturers. This business sources materials and products from a range of different suppliers, including the production of certain generic pharmaceutical drugs through a contract-manufacturing program.

The Company�� United States pharmaceutical distribution b! usiness operates and serves thousands of customer locations through a network of 28 distribution centers, as well as a primary redistribution center, a strategic redistribution center and two repackaging facilities, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. It invests in technology and other systems at all of its distribution centers to enhance safety and reliability and provide the product availability for its customers. In addition, it offers Mobile ManagerSM, which integrates portable handheld technology with Acumax Plus to give customers complete ordering and inventory control. The Company also offers McKesson ConnectSM, an Internet-based ordering system that provides item lookup and real-time inventory availability, as well as ordering, purchasing, third-party reconciliation and account management functionality. Together, these features help ensure customers have the right products at the right time for their facilities and patients.

The offerings of the McKesson United States Pharmaceutical Distribution business by customer group can be categorized as retail national accounts, independent retail pharmacies and institutional healthcare providers. Retail National Accounts is a business solutions that help national account customers increase revenues and profitability. Solutions include Central Fill, Redistribution Centers, EnterpriseRx, RxPak, Inventory Management, McKesson OneStop Generics and ExpressRx Track.

Independent Retail Pharmacies is a solutions for managed care contracting, branding and advertising, merchandising, purchasing, operational efficiency and automation that help independent pharmacists focus on patient care while improving profitability. Solutions include Health Mart, AccessHealth, McKesson Reimbursement Advantage, McKesson OneStop Generics, EnterpriseRx, Sunmark, FrontEdge and McKesson Sponsored Clinical Services (SCS) Network. Institutional Healthcare Providers is a electronic ordering/purchasing and supply chain management systems that help customers ! improve f! inancial performance, increase operational efficiencies and deliver better patient care. Solutions include McKesson Pharmacy Optimization, Fulfill-Rx, Asset Management, SKY Packaging, McKesson Plasma and BioLogics, McKesson OneStop Generics and McKesson 340B Solution Suite and Macro Helix.

Medical-Surgical Distribution business provides medical-surgical supply distribution, equipment, logistics and other services to healthcare providers including physicians' offices, surgery centers, extended care facilities, homecare and occupational health sites through a network of distribution centers within the United States. This business is a provider of supplies to the full range of alternate-site healthcare facilities, including physicians' offices, clinics and surgery centers (primary care), long-term care, occupational health facilities and homecare sites (extended care). McKesson Specialty Health business provides solutions for oncology and other specialty practices operating in communities across the country, as well as for pharmaceutical and biotech suppliers who manufacture specialty drugs and vaccines.

The Company provides direct-to-physician specialty distribution services, ensuring supply chain safety and delivery of specialty drugs in manufacturer recommended conditions. Third party logistics (3PL), are offered primarily for vaccine distribution, including its exclusive distributor relationship in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Vaccines for Children program. The Company also offer its industry Lynx integrated technologies, the iKnowMed Electronic Health Record, and clinical and practice management tools, all of which help community practices improve inventory management, practice workflow and reimbursement processes, as well as deliver business efficiencies and clinical-decision support. McKesson Specialty Health works with manufacturers across all phases of the product development and commercialization lifecycle, including clinical research, to optim! ize deliv! ery of complex medication to patients.

McKesson Pharmacy Systems and Automation business supplies integrated pharmacy management systems, automated dispensing systems and related services to retail, outpatient, central fill, specialty and mail order pharmacies. Its primary approach is to provide the customer with a pharmacy management system that suits the particular needs of their business operation.

Technology Solutions

The Company�� Technology Solutions segment provides a portfolio of software, automation, support and services to help healthcare organizations. This segment also includes its InterQual clinical criteria solution, claims payment solutions and network performance tools. Technology Solutions markets its products and services to integrated delivery networks, hospitals, physician practices, home healthcare providers, retail pharmacies and payers. The product portfolio for the Technology Solutions segment is designed to address a range of healthcare clinical and business performance needs ranging from medication safety and information access to revenue cycle management, resource utilization and physician adoption of electronic health records (EHR). Technology Solutions consists of businesses, which include McKesson Health Solutions, Enterprise Medical Imaging and Ancillary Solutions, RelayHealth, Revenue Management Solutions, Enterprise Information Solutions, Hospital Automation and International Technology.

McKesson Health Solutions services and software products is designed to manage the cost and quality of care for payers, providers, hospitals and government organizations. Solution sets include InterQual Criteria for clinical decision support and utilization management; Claims payment solutions to facilitate accurate and efficient medical claim payments; Business intelligence tools for measuring, reporting and improving clinical and financial performance; Network management tools to enable health plans to transform the performance of ! their net! works, and RelayHealth financial solutions to facilitate communication between healthcare providers and patient aggregate data for claims management and trend analysis, and optimize revenue cycle management processes.

The Company offers medical imaging and information management systems for healthcare enterprises, including a picture archiving communications system, a radiology information system and a cardiovascular information system. The Company�� enterprise approach to medical imaging enables organizations to take advantage of specialty-specific workstations, while building an integrated image repository that manages all of the images and information captured throughout the care continuum. Through its vendor-neutral RelayHealth and its intelligent network, the Company provides health information exchange solutions that streamline clinical and administrative communication between patients, providers, payers, pharmacies, manufacturers, government and financial institutions. RelayHealth helps to accelerate the delivery of care and improve financial performance through online consultation of physicians by patients, electronic prescribing by physicians, and point-of-service resolution of pharmacy claims by payers.

The Company help providers focus their resources on delivering healthcare while managing their revenue cycle operations and information technology through a suite of managed services. Services include full and partial revenue cycle outsourcing, remote hosting and business office administration. The Company also provides a solution for physician practices of all sizes, whether they are independent or employed, that includes software, revenue cycle outsourcing and connectivity services. Software solutions include practice management and EHR software for physicians of every size and specialty. The Company provides clinical and financial information systems for hospitals and health systems of all sizes. These systems are designed to improve the safety and quality of pati! ent care ! and improve clinical, financial and operational performance. Clinical functionality includes a data repository, care planning, physician order entry and documentation, nursing documentation with bar-coded medication administration, pharmacy, surgical management, emergency department and ambulatory EHR systems, and a Web-based physician portal. Automation solutions include technologies that help hospitals re-engineer and improve their medication use processes. The Company provides patient administration systems and clinical products to health and social care systems of all sizes in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) rallied on Tuesdays session, gaining 3.26 percent to $133.81 after news broke that the company was in talks to buy its competitor Celesio.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Companies that have had earnings revisions rise during the second quarter and are likely to beat earnings include Wyndham Worldwide (WYN),�CBRE Group (CBG), Consol Energy (CNX), McKesson (MCK) and Boston Properties (BXP), Sneider says.

• [By ovenerio]

  In a previous article, titled �� Top Growing Soup Company�� we saw that Campbell Soup Company (CPB) has a current ROE of 56.86% which is higher than the one exhibit by the industry median. Although its peers, such as: Pilgrims Pride (PPC), Tyson Foods (TSN) and McCormick (MCK) have good levels, Campbell surpasses those levels. So, in this article we are going to analyze it according to a DuPont Analysis.

• [By Dividend King]

  Earnings per share for the last 12 months are $2.59, and these are expected to reach $2.81 in its next fiscal year (ending September 2012). These numbers place the shares on a trailing P/E ratio of 15.43, and a forward multiple of 12.30. Comparing the forward ratio to that of direct competitors Cardinal Health (CAH) and McKesson (MCK) Amerisource trades on a slightly higher rating, though not markedly so. Cardinal Health�� forward multiple is 11.99 and McKesson�� is 11.22.

Top 10 Retail Companies To Buy Right Now: Walgreen Co (WAG)

Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), incorporated on February 15, 1909, together with its subsidiaries, operates the drugstore chain in the United States. The Company provides its customers with access to consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services in communities across America. The Company offers its products and services through drugstores, as well as through mails, by telephone and online. The Company sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandises, including household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy. On August 2, 2012, it acquired 45% interest in Alliance Boots GmbH (Alliance Boots). In September 2012, the Company completed the purchase of a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States that included 144 stores operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May��, Med-X and Drug Warehouse names. In September 2012, WP Carey & Co LLC acquired five retail stores leased to Walgreen Co. In December 2012, the Company completed a transaction giving company a ownership stake in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pharmacy LLC.

The Company's pharmacy, health and wellness services include retail, specialty, infusion and respiratory services, mail service, convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers. These services help improve health outcomes and manage costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The Company's Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is a manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the United States.

As of August 31, 2012, Walgreens operated 8,385 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2012, the Company opened or acquired 266 locations for a net increase of 175 locations after relocations and closings. As of August 31, 2012, the Com! pany had 7,930 of Drugstores, 366 of Worksite Health and Wellness Centers, 76 of Infusion and Respiratory Services Facilities, 11 of Specialty Pharmacies and two of Mail Service Facilities. The Company's drugstores are engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy.

The Company offers specialty pharmacy services that provide customers nationwide access to a variety of medications, services and programs for managing complex and chronic health conditions. In addition, the Company offers its customers infusion therapy services, including the administration of intravenous (IV) medications for cancer treatments, chronic pain, heart failure, and other infections and disorders which must be treated by IV. Walgreens provides these infusion services at home, at the workplace, in a physician's office or at a Walgreens alternate treatment site. The Company also provides clinical services, such as laboratory monitoring, medication profile review, nutritional assessments and patient and caregiver education.

Customers can also access the Company's e-commerce solutions, which extend the convenience to purchase most products available within its drugstores, as well as additional products sold exclusively online through its walgreens.com and drugstore.com Websites, including beauty.com and visiondirect.com. The Company's Websites allow consumers to purchase general merchandise including beauty, personal care, home medical equipment, contact lenses, vitamins and supplements and other health and wellness solutions. The Company's mobile applications also allow customers to refill prescriptions through their mobile device, download weekly promotions and find the nearest Walgreens drugstore. The Company also offers services through Take Care Health Systems, which manages its Take Care Clinics at select Wa! lgreens d! rugstores throughout the country.

Alliance Boots is a pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution business. As of March 31, 2012, its fiscal year end, Alliance Boots had, together with its associates and joint ventures, pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in 11 countries and operated more than 3,330 health and beauty retail stores, of which over 3,200 had a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots had approximately 625 optical practices, approximately 185 of which operated on a franchise basis. Its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution businesses, including its associates and joint ventures, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals from over 370 distribution centers in 21 countries.

Alliance Boots�� stores located in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Lithuania and through its associates and joint ventures in Switzerland, China, Italy, Russia and Croatia. In addition, as of March 31, 2012, there were 58 Boots stores operated in the Middle East on a franchised basis. In its Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots has product brands such as No7, Soltan and Botanics, together with other brands, such as Boots Pharmaceuticals and Boots Laboratories. Through its Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and several of its associates, Alliance Boots sells Almus, its line of generic medicines, in five countries and Alvita, its line of patient care products, in six countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Nell Redmond/APHoward Kraft looks over health care information in his Lincolnton, N.C. home Monday. A painful spinal problem left him unable to work as a hotel bellman, but Redmond has coverage because federal law now forbids insurers from turning away people with health problems. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After a troubled rollout, President Barack Obama's health care overhaul now faces its most personal test: How will it work as people seek care under its new mandates? Most major pieces of the Affordable Care Act take full effect with the new year. That means people who had been denied coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition can book appointments and get prescriptions. Caps on yearly out-of-pocket medical expenses will mean people shouldn't have to worry about bankruptcy after treatment for a catastrophic illness or injury. And all new insurance policies must offer a minimum level of essential benefits, ranging from emergency room treatment to maternity care. The law's benefits apply to individual policies as well as those offered through employers. But one benefit didn't take effect as expected after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor late Tuesday night temporarily blocked the part of the law requiring some religious-affiliated organizations to provide their workers with insurance that includes birth control. Government officials have until Friday to respond to her emergency stay. Administration officials said this week that 2.1 million consumers have enrolled through the federal and state-run health insurance exchanges that are a central feature of the Affordable Care Act. Millions more have been enrolled in Medicaid, after the federal law allowed states to expand the health insurance program for the poor. Yet how many of those who signed up for coverage on the exchanges will follow through and pay their premiums won't be known for a couple of weeks. People who signed up on the federal website have until Jan. 10 to pay premiums for coverage

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Russel A. Daniels/AP Walgreen Co.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings soared 86 percent, as the nation's largest drugstore chain booked gains from its method of inventory accounting and its acquisition of a stake in European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots. The Deerfield, Ill., company said Tuesday that it earned $657 million, or 69 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Aug. 31. That compares with earnings of $353 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue climbed 5 percent to $17.94 billion. Adjusted earnings totaled 73 cents a share, excluding acquisition-related costs among other items. Analysts forecast earnings of 72 cents a share on $17.96 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. Walgreen (WAG) shares slipped 15 cents to $53.65 Tuesday before markets opened and after the company announced results. Walgreen recorded an $8 million "last-in-first-out" inventory benefit in this year's quarter, compared with a $132 million charge last year. LIFO is a method of accounting for inventory that assumes a company sells its newest inventory first. The company takes a credit or charge each quarter according to the anticipated inflation rate for the year. The company attributed the big swing to lower-than-anticipated prescription drug inventory ahead of a transition it made to AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC). Walgreen had announced earlier this year that it and Alliance Boots were buying an ownership stake in drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. Walgreen also entered into a supply agreement with AmerisourceBergen for its drugstores, mail order and specialty pharmacy businesses. Last year, Walgreen acquired a 45 percent stake in Swiss-based Alliance Boots for about $4 billion in cash plus 83.4 million Walgreen shares. Walgreen then booked $124 million in equity earnings from its stake in this year's quarter. Walgreen runs the nation's largest chain of drugstores, with 8,116 locations nationwide. The company said an influx of generic drugs a

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Nevertheless, Rite Aid's relatively strong fiscal year 2013 results were driven by a number of one-time or short-term benefits. These items helped mask the company's fundamental competitive disadvantages vis-a-vis larger rivals Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) and CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS  ) . While Rite Aid could generate impressive stock returns in a best-case scenario, the company's poor competitive positioning creates substantial long-term risk for shareholders. Therefore, I still think investors would be wise to avoid the stock.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Just within the past month, Carl Icahn won three board seats at Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ), and Rosenstein snagged two board seats at Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG). Of course, Icahn also pushed Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) last year to pay a bigger dividend and buy back stock.