Goodwill and other intangible assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2020

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of goodwill

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by reportable segment consist of the following activity (in millions):

	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
August 31, 2018	$	10,483	$	3,370	$	3,061	$	16,914
Acquisitions	8		—		—		8
Dispositions	—		(9)		—		(9)
Currency translation adjustments	—		(182)		(171)		(353)
August 31, 2019	$	10,491	$	3,179	$	2,890	$	16,560
Acquisitions	$	62	$	—	$	—	$	62
Impairment	—		(1,675)		—		(1,675)
Currency translation adjustments	—		90		231		321
August 31, 2020	$	10,553	$	1,593	$	3,122	$	15,268

Schedule of finite-lived intangible assets by major class

The carrying amount and accumulated amortization of intangible assets consists of the following (in millions):

	August 31, 2020		August 31, 2019
Gross amortizable intangible assets
Customer relationships and loyalty card holders1	$	4,389	$	4,290
Favorable lease interests and non-compete agreements2	61		654
Trade names and trademarks	410		461
Purchasing and payer contracts	337		382
Total gross amortizable intangible assets	5,197		5,787
Accumulated amortization
Customer relationships and loyalty card holders1	$	1,511	$	1,262
Favorable lease interests and non-compete agreements2	26		410
Trade names and trademarks	228		250
Purchasing and payer contracts	95		99
Total accumulated amortization	1,860		2,021
Total amortizable intangible assets, net	$	3,337	$	3,766
Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Trade names and trademarks	$	5,388	$	5,232
Pharmacy licenses	2,028		1,878
Total indefinite-lived intangible assets	$	7,416	$	7,110
Total intangible assets, net	$	10,753	$	10,876

¹Includes purchased prescription files.

²Transferred favorable lease interest to right-of-use assets upon adoption of ASC 842. Refer to note 1, summary of major accounting policies for additional information.

Schedule of finite-lived intangible assets, future amortization expense

Estimated future annual amortization expense for the next five fiscal years for intangible assets recorded at August 31, 2020 is as follows (in millions):

	2021		2022		2023		2024		2025
Estimated annual amortization expense	$	445	$	426	$	391	$	371	$	336