CVS vs Walgreens: Which NNN Investment Wins in 2026?

CVS and Walgreens built similar real estate: freestanding corner pharmacies on long corporate leases. CVS Health Corporation’s long-term debt is rated BBB/Baa3 at S&P and Moody’s, at or above the BBB-/Baa3 threshold that separates investment grade credit from everything below it, and CVS Health remains a public company. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) was taken private by Sycamore Partners on August 28, 2025; its Form 8-K that day said Walgreen Co. would operate as a private standalone company. The last ratings WBA reported in an SEC filing, as of May 31, 2025, were below that threshold: a Ba3 corporate family rating from Moody’s (under review) and BB- from S&P (on negative CreditWatch). As of October 8, 2026, we have not verified any current S&P or Moody’s rating for WBA or Walgreen Co. from an agency or company source. Our investment grade guide explains the threshold; this page shows how far apart the two tenants’ asking cap rates sit today, a gap that is also associated with differences in lease term, location and store performance.

CVS vs Walgreens: Side-by-Side Comparison

CVS figures from its 2024 and 2025 Forms 10-K. Walgreens figures from Walgreens Boots Alliance’s fiscal 2024 Form 10-K (filed October 15, 2024), its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2025 and its Form 8-K of August 28, 2025; WBA filed Form 15 on September 8, 2025 to end its SEC reporting. Live figures come from listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks that pass our net lease screen, are observed as active, are not marked under contract, contract pending, closed or on hold, are not suppressed, and ask at least $150,000 or show no price; cap rate figures use only listings that publish an asking cap rate; ground lease offerings are included without separate adjustment, and listings that bundle several properties or tenants, leasehold interests, vacant or dark stores, land or owner-user sales, and listings with billboard, ATM or cell tower income are excluded. The latest listing observations are dated October 16, 2026 (CVS) and October 16, 2026 (Walgreens). Asking cap rates and prices are not closing cap rates or sale prices, and Walgreens assets in particular vary with remaining term and store performance.

Credit Rating Comparison: A Threshold Case Study

CVS Health Corporation’s long-term debt is rated BBB (Stable) by S&P, Baa3 (Stable) by Moody’s, and BBB (Negative) by Fitch. In its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, CVS Health said it believes the agencies considered, among other things, its capital structure and financial policies, its balance sheet, its historical acquisition activity and its expectations for future earnings and cash flows. CVS Health reported $402.1 billion of total revenues for 2025 across its health insurance (Aetna), pharmacy services (Caremark) and retail pharmacy businesses. For a specific store, confirm which CVS entity signed the lease and whether CVS Health guarantees it before pricing the lease off the corporate rating.

As of October 8, 2026, we have not verified any current S&P or Moody’s rating for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. or for Walgreen Co., which runs the Walgreens business, from an agency or company source. The last ratings WBA reported, in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 31, 2025, were a Ba3 corporate family rating from Moody’s (under review) and BB- from S&P (on negative CreditWatch), both below the investment grade threshold. Sycamore Partners completed its acquisition of WBA on August 28, 2025, in a transaction WBA valued at up to $23.7 billion when it was announced in March 2025, a figure that included net debt and other liabilities. At closing, Sycamore said it was acquiring the business in partnership with Stefano Pessina and his family, who reinvested 100% of their interests in WBA, and that Walgreens, The Boots Group, Shields Health Solutions, CareCentrix and VillageMD would operate as separate standalone companies. For a landlord, that means underwriting a privately held obligor whose financial statements are no longer filed with the SEC. Both tenants can be tracked on our credit tenant ratings index.

Cap Rate Comparison: Asking Cap Rates Side by Side

Live asking cap rates for CVS, Walgreens and comparable tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 16, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file.

Across the active listings we track, CVS asks a median of 6.50% and Walgreens 7.57%, a difference of 107 basis points. That gap is associated with several differences at once, including credit, remaining lease term, location, building and store performance, so it is not a measured price of crossing the investment grade threshold.

Median asking cap rate by remaining lease term, as of October 8, 2026, in the listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks (listings that state both a cap rate and a remaining term; 58 CVS and 117 Walgreens listings that state a cap rate but no remaining term are left out):

In this snapshot, Walgreens asking cap rates were highest where remaining term was shortest. The CVS medians did not follow that order, and the small CVS samples limit what they show.

Asking cap rates can differ from closing cap rates. Buyers should request store-level sales where available, check whether the location has appeared in closure reporting, and price residual reuse value as if the lease might not run its full term. Full tenant detail: CVS credit rating & NNN cap rate and Walgreens credit rating & NNN cap rate.

Lease Structure: Term, Escalations, and Guarantee

Both chains operate their own stores rather than franchising, so there is no franchisee credit to underwrite. CVS Health’s 2025 Form 10-K says its store leases generally have initial terms of 15 to 25 years, and its real estate leases generally include renewal options of up to five years each. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s fiscal 2024 Form 10-K described initial U.S. lease terms generally of 10 to 25 years, followed by renewal options at five-year intervals, and said leases may include rent escalation clauses. Rent schedules in the listings we track vary for both tenants: some show flat rent through the primary term with increases only in renewal options, and others show periodic increases, so confirm the schedule in each lease.

The guarantee is where the two have diverged. A CVS lease guaranteed by CVS Health is backed by a public company with investment grade ratings. A Walgreens lease depends on whichever Walgreens entity signed or guarantees it; after the buyout those entities are privately owned, and WBA ended its SEC reporting with a Form 15 filed on September 8, 2025. A long lease protects a landlord only as far as the tenant and any guarantor can pay and the lease and guaranty terms are enforceable. A store closure does not by itself end the obligation to pay rent, but it can weaken renewal prospects and residual value, so store performance is a separate risk to underwrite.

Store Footprint and Closure Risk

CVS had approximately 9,000 retail locations at December 31, 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2021 it announced plans to close about 900 retail stores from 2022 through 2024, and it had closed about 900 by December 31, 2024 (2024 Form 10-K). In the third quarter of 2024 it planned 271 retail store closures for 2025, and during 2025 it closed 221 retail stores under that restructuring action; including other closures, it closed 243 locations and opened 87 during the year (2025 Form 10-K). Landlords should still underwrite store-level performance.

In its fiscal 2024 Form 10-K, filed October 15, 2024, Walgreens Boots Alliance said it expected to close 1,200 to 1,300 stores over the next three years. Its last Form 10-Q, for the quarter ended May 31, 2025, put that at 1,200 to 1,300 stores by the end of fiscal 2027 and reported 423 store closures under these programs in the nine months to that date. WBA stopped filing reports with the SEC after the buyout, and we have not obtained a company filing or release that updates the plan or reports closures for fiscal 2026, so treat the plan’s current scope as unconfirmed. For landlords, closure risk is a central underwriting variable: rent may continue on a dark store for the rest of the term, but a dark pharmacy can erode residual value and re-leasing prospects. Former Rite Aid stores left vacant after that chain’s bankruptcy can add re-leasing competition in some of the same areas. Our pharmacy NNN sector guide covers reuse value in depth, and our Walgreens owner update tracks the closure plan.

Bond Yields vs NNN Cap Rates: The Pivot

CVS Health issues investment grade rated bonds, which gives NNN buyers a public reference point. On August 11, 2025, CVS Health priced 5.450% senior notes due 2035 at a yield to maturity of 5.453%, according to its pricing term sheet filed with the SEC. The ICE BofA BBB US Corporate Index effective yield is 6.19% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED), against a median CVS asking cap rate of 6.50% in the listings we track, a difference of +31 bps. These are not like-for-like returns: a bond’s yield to maturity is the annual return it offers if held to maturity and paid as scheduled, while an asking cap rate divides a property’s stated net operating income by its asking price, before financing, capital costs, any change in value and taxes. Owning the real estate can add 1031 exchange eligibility, residual land value and depreciation on the building, but whether those help depends on the investor’s basis, holding purpose and tax situation; under 26 U.S.C. 1031(a), deferral applies only to real property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment that is exchanged solely for like-kind real property to be held for either of those purposes. This is general information, not tax advice. The full comparison is here: CVS bonds vs NNN.

Walgreens does not offer that comparison in the same way. WBA’s Form 8-K of August 28, 2025 said its 2030, 2046 and 2050 notes that were not tendered remain outstanding, while the other series covered by the tender offer were called for redemption and satisfied and discharged. We have not established a transparent, lease-relevant public bond benchmark for Walgreens lease obligations, and we have not verified a current rating for WBA or Walgreen Co. Investors who want to understand how bond pricing frames NNN value across the rated universe can start with our investment grade bonds hub.

Which Tenant Fits Which Buyer?

CVS may fit buyers who want an investment grade rated parent behind the lease, provided the executed lease or a guaranty makes CVS Health Corporation liable for rent. Financing terms vary by lender and depend on factors including the remaining term, the guarantor and the loan amount.

Walgreens may fit buyers who are prepared to underwrite credit and store risk directly: store-level sales verified where available, closure reporting checked, and residual value underwritten as a primary protection. The higher asking cap rate reflects a mix of credit, term, location and store factors, so it is not a bargain on its own. A Walgreens purchase today calls for real estate underwriting, not only a credit view.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tenant and Sector Resources

• CVS Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate
• Walgreens Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate
• Pharmacy NNN Properties: Credit, Closure & Reuse Value
• Investment Grade Credit Tenant Ratings
• NNN Properties for Sale