Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street’s second-quarter expectations and bumped up its 2020 forecast even though COVID-19 contributed to a 40% drop in U.S. medical device sales
By
TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer
July 16, 2020, 1:17 PM
2 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleJohnson & Johnson had a surprisingly strong second quarter and bumped up its 2020 forecast even after COVID-19 contributed to a 40% drop in U.S. medical device sales.
Growing pharmaceutical sales, also in the U.S., helped the world’s biggest health products maker counter damage from the pandemic, which forced patients to delay surgeries.
J&J on Thursday said it expects 2020 earnings of $7.75 to $7.95 per share, and sales of between $81 billion and $82.5 billion. That comes a few months after the company surprised investors by cutting its profit forecast for the year by about 15% and slashing its sales forecast because of the pandemic.
The new forecast tops Wall Street expectations on the top end. Analyst surveyed by FactSet are projecting per-share earnings of $7.75 per share, and $79.77 billion in revenue.
J&J’s quarterly net income fell 35% to $3.63 billion, while adjusted earnings totaled $1.67 per share. Total revenue also fell 11% to $18.34 billion.
Industry analysts had expected J&J to take a bigger hit from the pandemic, having projected per-share earnings of $1.49, and $17.61 billion in revenue.
The company’s pharmaceutical sales grew nearly 6% in the U.S. and 2% globally. That segment was helped by the immune disorder drug Stelara and cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica.
Worldwide revenue from consumer health products fell 7% to $3.3 billion in the quarter. The company said sales of Tylenol and Listerine mouthwash helped balance a hit from the pandemic on health and beauty products.
J&J also saw medical device revenue fall in the first quarter. That segment is more vulnerable to economic downturns because many of its products are for elective surgery, such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery.
Shares of New Brunswick, New Jersey, based J&J started climbing Thursday in premarket trading.
