To continue getting breaking news and the full stories from The Boston Globe, subscribe today.

The Boston Globe

Business

Market Movers

Important gauge falls at pharmacy giant

Walgreen operates more than 8,000 drugstores.

JB Reed/Bloomberg News/File

Walgreen operates more than 8,000 drugstores.

A key Walgreen Co. revenue gauge slid more than analysts expected in December. The Deerfield, Ill., company said revenue from stores open at least a year dropped 6.1 percent last month as a shift toward generic drugs and a calendar quirk hurt sales. Pharmacy revenue tumbled 8.9 percent, while revenue from the rest of the stores fell 2.3 percent. Analysts had expected a slightly larger-than-reported drop of 9 percent drop in pharmacy revenue.