Johnson & Johnson narrowly tops quarterly estimates as pharmaceutical, medtech sales jump

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that narrowly edged out Wall Street’s expectations as sales in the company’s pharmaceutical and medical devices businesses surged.

J&J also provided full-year guidance for 2024, forecasting sales of $87.8 billion to $88.6 billion and adjusted earnings of $10.55 to $10.75 per share. 

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

• Earnings per share: $2.29 adjusted vs. $2.28 expected
• Revenue: $21.40 billion vs. $21.01 billion expected

J&J, whose financial results are considered a bellwether for the broader health sector, booked $21.40 billion in total sales for the final three months of 2023, up 7.3% from the same quarter in 2022. 

The pharmaceutical giant reported net income of $4.13 billion, or $1.70 per share during the quarter. That compares with net income of $3.23 billion, or $1.22 per share, for the year-ago period. 

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share were $2.29 for the fourth-quarter of 2023.

The results come six months after J&J completed its spinoff of consumer health unit Kenvue, the company’s biggest shake-up in its nearly 140-year history. J&J is now zeroing in on its pharmaceutical and medical devices divisions to drive growth. 

J&J’s medical devices business generated sales of $7.67 billion, up 13.3% from the fourth quarter of 2022. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $7.50 billion, according to StreetAccount.

J&J said its acquisition of Abiomed, a cardiovascular medical technology company, in December fueled the year-over-year rise.

The company said growth also came from electrophysiological products, which evaluate the heart’s electrical system and help doctors understand the cause of abnormal heart…