Prescription drug sales propelled Johnson & Johnson to another quarterly earnings beat, while sales of its signature baby products and other consumer goods showed slight improvement.
The company also gave its financial forecast for this year that was close to what Wall Street is expecting.
J&J forecast 2019 earnings of between $8.50 and $8.65 per share and revenue in the range of $80.4 billion to $81.2 billion. Analysts previously said they expected earnings $8.60 per share and $82.69 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv.
Shares of J&J rose about 1 percent Tuesday in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported during the last three months of 2018 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.97, adjusted, vs. $1.95 expected
- Revenue: $20.4 billion vs. $20.2 billion expected
In the fourth quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported net income of $3.04 billion, or $1.12 per share, up from a loss of $10.7 billion, or a loss of $3.99 per share a year earlier due to amortization expenses and special items. Excluding an amortization expense of $1 billion and a net charge for special items of $1.4 billion, J&J earned $1.97 per share, above the $1.95 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 1 percent to $20.4 billion, above expectations of $20.2 billion. The company has now beaten consensus earnings estimates 21 quarters in a row and revenue 14 of the past 21 quarters.
Pharmaceutical sales continued to shine for J&J in the quarter. Sales reached $10.19 billion, surpassing the $9.99 billion analysts had expected.
J&J’s consumer business improved slightly, matching sales estimates of $3.55 billion in the quarter, a slight improvement from the $3.54 billion in revenue it generated during the same quarter in 2017.
Its medical device segment continued to struggle. Sales totaled $6.67 billion, short of the $6.68 billion Wall Street had anticipated and down more than 4 percent from $6.97 billion in the same period a year earlier.
J&J’s usually steady stock has been under pressure recently. A December report from Reuters said J&J knew for decades its talc baby powder contained asbestos. The company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and stands behind its namesake baby powder.
Since Reuters published its report, J&J shares have fallen by about 9.5 percent. Analysts called the selloff overdone, saying any litigation risk would cost less than the billions of dollars J&J lost in market cap.
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