I work in a property development-related industry, and we are seeing tons of new Walgreens and CVS's (among other pharmacies) being built right now. I haven't taken a single glimpse at their balance sheets, but it seems like they might be oversaturating the market and cannibalizing same store sales. Around here, there seems to be at least two competing drug stores at every main intersection (and more on the way in a city near you!). I've also noticed average store size creeping up and up. Most new stores are weighing in around 15,000 square feet, up significantly from 8-10 years ago. I guess they are looking to have a wider selection of retail items in their stores now.
Recent pharmacy growth reminds me of walmart up until this year. Walmart has slowed down to a crawl in opening up new stores - probably will see very few new stores opening in 2009, at least in the SE united states. Saturation of the market, cannibalization, and lagging YoY same store sales (from what I've heard anecdotally).