Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) raised its 2026 guidance on October 13 after reporting third-quarter sales of $25.4 billion, up 5.9% from a year earlier. The New Brunswick, New Jersey company now expects full-year reported sales of $101.2 billion at the midpoint, up from $101.1 billion in its July 29 forecast.
The update comes as the healthcare group manages the loss of U.S. exclusivity for its immunology drug Stelara, which has faced biosimilar competition since 2025. The company is also working through talc litigation and a planned separation of its Orthopaedics business, both of which it lists among the risks to its outlook.
#Talc Charge Cuts Johnson & Johnson Quarterly Profit to $0.09 a Share
Net earnings fell to $210 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, from $5.2 billion, or $2.12 per share, a year earlier. The company said the result reflects a one-time charge for its proposed talc litigation resolution, along with costs tied to its Firefly Bio acquisition and Sail Biomedicines collaboration.
Litigation-related pre-tax charges totaled $5.5 billion in the quarter, according to the company's non-GAAP reconciliation. Johnson & Johnson has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc-based powder products caused cancer, claims the company has denied.
Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude special items and intangible amortization, fell 7.5% to $2.59 from $2.80. The company said the adjusted figure also reflects the impact of the Firefly Bio and Sail Biomedicines deals.
Research and development expense rose 26.7% to $4.7 billion in the quarter, compared with $3.7 billion a year earlier.
#Johnson & Johnson Raises 2026 Guidance as Tremfya Sales Rise 68%
The company raised its adjusted EPS guidance by $0.06 to $11.10 at the midpoint, within a range of $11.05 to $11.15. Its estimated reported sales range now stands at $101 billion to $101.4 billion.
Innovative Medicine sales rose 7.7% to $16.8 billion. The company attributed the growth to Tremfya, Darzalex, Carvykti, Tecvayli, Rybrevant, Erleada, Spravato and Caplyta.
Tremfya, an immunology treatment, generated sales of $2.4 billion, up 68.3% from a year earlier.
Darzalex, a multiple myeloma therapy, posted sales of $4.2 billion, up 15.4%.
Stelara sales fell 54.4% to $716 million. The company estimated the decline reduced Innovative Medicine growth by about 690 basis points.
MedTech sales rose 2.5% to $8.6 billion. The company said growth came mainly from electrophysiology products, its Shockwave heart devices, contact lenses and trauma products.
U.S. sales grew 9.1% to $15 billion, while international sales rose 1.5% to $10.4 billion.
Chief Executive Joaquin Duato pointed to the Ottava authorization and Phase 3 multiple myeloma data in his remarks. "This progress, together with strategic investments in high-growth areas, gives us clearer line of sight to double-digit growth by the end of the decade," Joaquin Duato, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson, said in the earnings release.
Year-to-date free cash flow was about $15.1 billion through the third quarter, compared with $14.2 billion a year earlier, according to the company's estimate.
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#FDA Authorizes Johnson & Johnson's Ottava Surgical Robot
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted De Novo market authorization in July for Ottava, which the company describes as the world's first table-integrated soft tissue robotic system. The system enters a surgical robotics market where Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci platform is widely used.
The FDA also approved Imaavy for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a condition in which the immune system attacks the body's own red blood cells.
Separately, the agency granted priority review to Rybrevant Faspro for advanced head and neck cancer. Priority review is an FDA designation that shortens the agency's target review period.
Johnson & Johnson does not provide GAAP forecasts, saying it cannot reasonably predict the outcome of legal proceedings, acquisition-related expenses and other items. The talc resolution remains a proposal, and the company cites patent expirations, competition and the Orthopaedics separation among factors that could cause results to differ.
Management projected 2026 adjusted operational sales growth of 6.4% to 6.8%, though talc litigation, biosimilar competition for Stelara and the planned Orthopaedics separation remain key risks to the outlook.