Johnson & Johnson exceeded expectations for second-quarter profit and revenue on Wednesday, thanks to strong sales of its drugs, including cancer treatment Darzalex and blockbuster psoriasis drug Stelara.
The drug and device maker’s stock rose 1.4% to $153.15 in choppy premarket trading. According to LSEG data, revenue of $22.4 billion exceeded the consensus estimate of $22.3 billion. Adjusted earnings of $2.82 per share exceeded analysts’ expectations of $2.70.
LSEG data show that Stelara sales increased 3.1 percent to $2.89 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Darzalex sales increased 18.4 percent to $2.88 billion, matching analysts’ average estimate of $2.86 billion.
The New Jersey-based drugmaker now expects total 2024 sales of $89.2 billion to $89.6 billion, up from its previous forecast of $88.7 billion to $89.1 billion.
J&J also reduced its annual per-share forecast to $10 to $10.10 from $10.60 to $10.75 to account for a 5-cent increase from improved performance and a 68-cent decrease from merger and acquisition costs, including its $13 billion acquisition of cardiac medical device company Shockwave.
Despite falling 8.5% from the previous year’s quarter, J&J’s cancer drug Imbruvica sales reached $770 million, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $718 million. Carvykti, the company’s cancer cell therapy, generated $186 million in sales, nearly 60% higher than the previous year, but fell short of analysts’ expectations of $201 million.
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