Johnson & Johnson raised its 2023 profit forecast in its first earnings report since spinning off its consumer health business, with the company's fortunes now tied more closely to sales of blockbusters like its arthritis drug Stelara.
The company's shares were up about 2% in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Investors are focused on how J&J, now a standalone pharmaceutical and medical devices company, will reach its goal of $57 billion in drug sales by 2025. That year the company will face fresh competition from the first close copy of Stelara and a potential slowdown in its sales.
Johnson & Johnson recorded a $21-billion gain in the third quarter from the spin-off of its consumer health unit.
Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato at the company's headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on April 21, 2022. (Amir Hamja/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"A sharpened focus on Innovative Medicine and MedTech appears to be creating a solid foundation for future sustained growth," Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen said.
Stelara, J&J's top-selling anti-inflammatory drug, brought in sales of $2.86 billion in the quarter, above LSEG estimates of $2.61 billion.
Johnson & Johnson has signed settlements to delay the launch of copycat rivals of Stelara until 2025, which may help the drug continue to significantly contribute to the company's sales.
While the company doesn't expect a decline in Stelara U.S. revenue until 2025, European sales of the drug could drop from the middle of next year after a key patent expires, J&J CFO Joseph Wolk told Reuters. "We could see a little bit of an impact."
The company's innovative medicine unit reported quarterly sales of $13.89 billion, of which Stelara accounted for more than 20%.
"COVID vaccine sales this quarter are very minimal, whereas in the third quarter of last year they were pretty substantial," Wolk added.
The company's COVID-19 vaccine brought in sales of $41 million in the quarter, compared with $489 million a year earlier.
Johnson & Johnson displayed on screen with medical syringe and vaccine vial with pills, on August 12, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Sales at J&J's medical device unit came in at $7.46 billion, missing estimates of $7.58 billion.
Sales of the company's devices used in abdomen surgeries took a hit from a slowdown in demand for procedures such as bariatric surgery, as well as increased competition in the United States.
Johnson & Johnson's third-quarter total sales of $21.35 billion came in above analysts' estimates of $21.04 billion.
Excluding its consumer health unit, J&J now expects 2023 adjusted profit of $10.07 to $10.13 per share, compared with its previous outlook of $10.00 to $10.10 per share.
J&J finalized the biggest shake-up in its 137-year history in August through an exchange of its shares with former consumer health unit Kenvue, leaving the pharmaceutical giant with a reduced 9.5% stake in its former unit.
Excluding items, J&J reported a profit of $2.66 per share, above estimates of $2.52.