J&J second quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates, stock up on increased 2025 guidance
- - - J&J second quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates, stock up on increased 2025 guidance
Anjalee KhemlaniJuly 16, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Johnson & Johnson's JNJ) second quarter earnings beat Wall Street's estimates Wednesday, and the company raised its outlook for the year, giving the stock a boost in pre-market trading.
The pharma giant reported revenues of $23.7 billion, versus expectations of $22.8 billion. Earnings per share came in at $2.77, compared to Street estimates of $2.66.
The stock was up more than 2% in early trading. The company raised guidance at the midpoint by $2 billion dollars to 5.4% and full year earnings per share guidance by $0.25 to $10.85.
CEO Joaquin Duato said in a statement the company is looking to make up first half softness in the second half of the year.
"Our portfolio and pipeline position us for elevated growth in the second half of the year, with game-changing approvals and submissions anticipated in areas like lung and bladder cancer, major depressive disorder, psoriasis, surgery and cardiovascular, which will extend and improve lives in transformative ways," he said.
Jay Woods, Freedom Capital Markets chief global strategist, recently told Yahoo Finance that the stock has been stuck "in a neutral pattern" for some time. It's a great long-term play, consistent returns and dividends, but there isn't much that is exciting about the stock.
J&J, like other big pharma peers, faces patent expiry of some of its biggest drugs in the coming years. How it will fill that gap remains to be seen, once the drugs' market share are lost to generic competition. J&J saw its first drug face generic competition this year with Stelara, which the company attributed to some of the loss in the second quarter.
"Growth was partially offset by an approximate (1,170) basis points impact from Stelara in Immunology, and an approximate (130) basis points impact from COVID-19 in Infectious Diseases," the earnings statement said.
In addition, that drug had been embroiled in Medicare's drug pricing negotiations, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by the prior administration.
FILE PHOTO: A Johnson & Johnson banner is displayed on the front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, in New York City, U.S., December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (REUTERS / Reuters)
Those factors, plus the medtech sector facing pressure from tariffs, and the ongoing overhang of the talc litigations, are reasons why investors may have a cooler tone about the stock.
"The quarter we believe will be defined by two main items on the fundamental side (new drug launches and pipeline which we believe Street views remain more skeptical than not) and whether JNJ’s Medtech business can turn the corner and grow closer towards a 5% rate. We expect the analyst community to focus on both equally and also attempt to push management to talk more openly about its M&A strategy," wrote Jared Holz, Mizuho's healthcare sector expert, in a note to clients Tuesday.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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