Johnson & Johnson (J&J) exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for fourth-quarter revenues and profits on Wednesday, driven by robust sales of its cancer treatments.
The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant, fresh off its $14.6 billion acquisition of neurological drugmaker Intra-Cellular, reported better-than-expected earnings for the period. The company has been on an acquisition spree to bolster its pharmaceutical and medical device divisions since spinning off its consumer unit in 2023.
The Intra-Cellular deal, announced last week, marks J&J’s largest acquisition in two years and is expected to boost its portfolio of psychiatric drugs. The company projects the deal will add 30 to 35 cents to its annual earnings in 2025.
For the full year 2024, J&J expects sales between $90.9 billion and $91.7 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) between $10.75 and $10.95, excluding the impact of the Intra-Cellular acquisition and a 25-cent hit from foreign currency fluctuations. Analysts had anticipated 2025 sales of $90.98 billion and an EPS of $10.56, according to data from LSEG.
However, the company’s guidance reflected a stronger-than-expected impact from the stronger U.S. dollar, causing J&J’s shares to drop by 1.5% to $145.96 in premarket trading. Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which holds around 193,000 J&J shares, described the currency impact as a “negative surprise” in an otherwise solid earnings report.
J&J’s cancer drug sales saw a 19% increase worldwide, with multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex continuing to drive growth. The drug brought in over $3 billion in sales for the quarter, reflecting a 20.9% increase compared to the previous year.
“Darzalex remains a cornerstone of our portfolio in terms of performance,” said Joe Wolk, J&J’s Chief Financial Officer. Additionally, the company saw significant sales contributions from Shockwave Medical, a heart device maker acquired by J&J for $13.1 billion last year. Shockwave Medical generated $258 million in sales for the quarter and $564 million for the year.
For 2024, J&J’s international sales reached $38.52 billion, accounting for about 43.4% of its total revenue.
