Walgreens Broke a 368-Quarter Streak Dating Back to 1933… And Even Their Fridges Are Suing?

Have you ever tried to impress your date by cooking a fancy steak dinner, but ended up just picking up McDonald’s after setting off the smoke alarm?

Well, Walgreens is having that kind of start to their 2025. But this time they’re dealing with lawsuits, store closures, and a stock price that’s getting destroyed (it’s lost over 50% of its value in the past year).

First, the really bad news (which, for Walgreens, is basically all the news). The company announced it’s shutting down 1,200 stores… which is like a neighborhood pharmacy disappearing from every other block in America. Even their urgent care partner, Advocate Health, peaced out, closing 47 in-store clinics in Illinois. But let’s talk about the lawsuit story, because this is where it gets fun (for us, not Walgreens).

In their quest to be the “cool” pharmacy (pun intended), Walgreens decided to install high-tech digital fridge doors that display ads while you’re reaching for a Red Bull. Sounds smart, right?

In case you wanted to get one for your home, they're called Cooler Screens, a startup that former Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson helped create. (Because running a pharmacy empire apparently wasn’t thrilling enough for him?) But like that trampoline park startup your cousin wouldn't shut up about at Thanksgiving dinner, things didn't exactly go as planned.

The problem was that Walgreens allegedly didn’t pay their bills. So, as you’d imagine, Cooler Screens' CEO Arsen Avakian shut down the screens at over 100 Chicago stores at the same time… just to prove a point. Now, they’re suing Walgreens for $200 million in damages.

But wait, it gets better. While Walgreens and Cooler Screens are playing their version of "Judge Judy: Fridge Edition," another company called Alpha Modus Holdings jumped in like my one friend who always has to one up my golf hole in one story.

Just when Walgreens thought it had enough fridge-related problems, another company (Alpha Modus Holdings) jumped in with its own lawsuit, claiming Walgreens is infringing on their patents. And they’re reportedly seeking billions in damages.

While all this chaos unfolds, Walgreens' stock is hovering around $9, which is its lowest level in 25 years. To make matters worse, they just suspended their quarterly dividend… something they’ve been paying out since the Great Depression. (Not kidding, 368 consecutive quarters.)

So, to recap: Walgreens is closing stores, getting sued from every angle, and watching its stock crumble. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that companies rarely bounce back when their lawsuits start outnumbering their locations. You’re welcome for the history lesson.

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Stocks.News has positions in Walgreens and McDonald’s mentioned in article.