Johnson & Johnson beats on earnings and hikes outlook as medtech, pharmaceutical sales surge

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday reported adjusted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations, driven by a surge in sales in the company’s medical devices and pharmaceutical business divisions.

It marks J&J’s first quarterly results since the company completed the separation from its consumer health spinoff Kenvue in August.  

Upon that split, J&J lowered its full-year sales and profit guidance. 

The drugmaker raised that revised outlook on Tuesday: J&J expects 2023 sales of $83.6 billion to $84 billion, compared to a previous guidance of $83.2 billion to $84 billion in August. J&J also expects adjusted earnings per share of $10.07 to $10.13, up from a previous forecast of $10.00 to $10.10.

Here’s what J&J reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.66 adjusted vs. $2.52 expected
• Revenue: $21.35 billion vs. $21.04 billion expected

J&J’s stock rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday. Shares of J&J have dropped nearly 11% for the year, putting the company’s market value at roughly $379 billion.

The company, whose financial results are considered a bellwether for the broader health sector, said its sales during the quarter grew 6.8% over the same period last year. 

The pharmaceutical giant reported net income of $4.31 billion, or $1.69 per share. That was flat compared with net income of $4.31 billion, or $1.62 per share, for the same period a year ago.

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share were $2.66 for the period.

The third-quarter results come amid investor anxiety over the thousands of lawsuits claiming that J&J’s talc-based products were contaminated with the carcinogen asbestos, which caused ovarian cancer and several deaths.

Those products, including J&J’s namesake baby powder, now fall under Kenvue. But J&J will assume all talc-related liabilities that arise in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2021, J&J offloaded its talc liabilities into a new subsidiary, LTL Management, and immediately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections. But a federal bankruptcy judge in July rejected J&J’s second attempt to resolve those lawsuits in bankruptcy.

J&J previously said LTL Management intends to appeal the decision.

J&J will hold a conference call with investors at 8:30 am ET.