Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

The asset structure exhibits a significant strategic shift between 2014 and 2015, transitioning from a reliance on tangible assets and equity investments toward a balance sheet dominated by intangible assets and goodwill. Non-current assets generally increased their share of total assets, rising from 67.08% in 2014 to 72.34% by 2019.

Current Asset Composition

Current assets fluctuated over the analyzed period, peaking at 35.61% in 2016 before settling at 27.66% in 2019. A notable decline in the relative weight of cash and cash equivalents is observed, falling from 7.12% in 2014 to 1.51% in 2019, despite a temporary spike to 13.49% in 2016. Conversely, accounts receivable demonstrated a steady upward trend, increasing from 8.65% in 2014 to 10.69% by 2019. Inventories, which represented 16.34% of assets in 2014, decreased and stabilized between 12% and 14% from 2015 through 2019.

Intangible and Fixed Asset Trends

A fundamental reallocation of assets occurred between 2014 and 2015. Property, plant, and equipment net decreased sharply from 32.96% to 21.91% and remained consistently around the 20% mark for the remainder of the period. This decline coincides with a substantial increase in goodwill, which rose from 6.34% in 2014 to 23.80% in 2015, eventually reaching 24.50% by 2019. Similarly, net intangible assets surged from 3.17% in 2014 to a range of 14% to 17% between 2015 and 2019, indicating a structural shift toward an asset base driven by acquired intangibles.

Investment and Other Non-Current Assets

Equity method investments experienced extreme volatility, plummeting from 19.49% in 2014 to 1.81% in 2015, followed by a gradual recovery to 10.13% by 2019. Other non-current assets remained a marginal component of the balance sheet, peaking at 5.95% in 2015 before declining and stabilizing below 2% after 2016.