Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) -) posted stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings Tuesday, while boosting its full-year profit forecast, thanks in part to solid gains for its new cancer treatments.
Johnson & Johnson said adjusted earnings for the three months ending in September were pegged at $2.66 per share, up 4.3% from the same period last year and firmly ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $2.52 per share. Group revenues, Johnson & Johnson said, nudged 1.5% higher to $21.35 billion, a figure that also topped analysts' estimates of a $21.04 billion tally.
Pharmaceuticals sales were up 5.1% to $13.9 billion while Medtech sales jumped 10% to $7.46 billion. Consumer health sales were spun-off to Kenvue, the group's stand-alone entity, earlier this year.
Johnson & Johnson also lifted its 2023 earnings forecast by around 5 cents per share, talking the mid-point to around $10.10 per share, with operational sales expected between $83.6 billion and $84 billion. The new figures exclude the impact of Kenvue.
“Johnson & Johnson delivered strong results and significant pipeline advances in the third quarter, providing a solid foundation for future sustained growth,” said CEO Joaquin Duato. “With a sharpened focus on Innovative Medicine and MedTech solutions, Johnson & Johnson is innovating across the spectrum of healthcare and is poised to deliver the medical breakthroughs of tomorrow.”
Johnson & Johnson shares were marked 0.13% lower in early trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $157.38 each, a move that keeps the stock in negative territory for the past six months.
"A sharpened focus on Innovative Medicine and MedTech appears to be creating a solid foundation for future sustained growth," said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen, who carried an 'overweight' rating with a $215 price target on the stock.
"We continue to believe that upward earnings estimate revisions and multiple expansion, driven by above-market growth in its key franchises, should move Johnson & Johnson shares higher," she added.
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