J&J quarterly earnings beat Wall Street estimates on strength of medicines unit

Johnson & ⁠Johnson beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter sales and profit on Wednesday, as strong growth from immunology ​drug Tremfya and cancer blockbuster ​Darzalex more than ​offset erosion from older products and a drop in sales for heart pumps it picked up in its 2022 acquisition of Abiomed.

J&J also increased its full-year sales and ⁠profit ‌forecast.

The healthcare conglomerate reported second-quarter sales of $25.31 billion, ⁠up 6.6% from a year earlier and above analysts’ average estimate of about $25.05 billion, according to LSEG data. Adjusted earnings were $2.90 per share, up 4.7% from a year ago and topping analyst expectations ‌of $2.85.

It now expects sales of about $101.1 billion at the midpoint, from $100.8 billion previously. The company also raised its adjusted earnings per share forecast ​to $11.68 at the midpoint, from $11.55 previously.

The company said its pharmaceutical unit generated $16.38 billion in quarterly sales, ahead of analyst estimates of $16.1 billion.

Sales of its psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease drug Tremfya rose 72.5% to $2 billion, compared with ⁠LSEG estimates of $1.74 billion. Tremfya has become increasingly important as J&J works to replace sales lost ‌from Stelara, whose revenue has fallen sharply after losing ‌its patent protection.

Second-quarter sales of blood cancer treatment Darzalex were $4.2 billion in the quarter, roughly in line with analyst estimates.

Sales at J&J’s medical technology unit were $8.93 billion, slightly trailing analyst ⁠estimates.

CFO Joseph Wolk said in an interview that Abiomed sales in the ⁠quarter were hurt after publication of a U.K. study that raised ⁠questions about the use of Impella pumps during certain high-risk coronary procedures. Abiomed sales in the quarter fell 2% year over year, ​compared with 14% growth in the ‌first quarter.

He said J&J expects the franchise to return to growth, particularly as the company releases more data showing the utility of the pumps.

“We have a big data set coming out probably in the first half of next year that should allay any fears,” Wolk ​said. “When you have 28 platforms that generate ‌at least $1 billion in revenue on an annual basis, we’re not dependent on one asset.”