Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) reported fiscal second-quarter revenue that beat estimates, though it posted a steep loss as it incurred billions of dollars in impairment charges.

The retail pharmacy giant posted revenue of $37.1 billion, above analyst estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, and narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance to a range of $3.20 to $3.35 from the previous range of $3.20 to $3.50.

Walgreens Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Wentworth said the company is still optimistic it will achieve its previously announced goals of cutting about $1 billion in costs this fiscal year, as it continues to operate in a "challenging retail environment."

For the quarter, Walgreens posted a loss of $6.85 per share, widening from the prior quarter's loss of 8 cents per share, because of nearly $6 billion in impairment charges, mostly from the reduction in goodwill value of VillageMD. Walgreens acquired an almost two-thirds stake in the company in October 2021 with a $5.2 billion investment, as one of a number of investments to expand beyond retail and into the wider healthcare space.

As part of its cost-cutting efforts, Walgreens has reportedly closed a number of VillageMD clinics this year. For the second quarter, VillageMD was assigned a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $5.8 billion.