By Patrick Wingrove and Bhanvi Satija
(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (J.N.J), fresh off a $14.6 billion deal to buy neurological drugmaker Intra-Cellular, reported fourth-quarter sales and profit that topped Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, driven by strong sales of its cancer treatments. .
J&J’s share price was up more than 1% before the bell on Wednesday.
The New Jersey-based drugmaker also said it expects sales of between $90.9 billion and $91.7 billion in 2025 and earnings of between $10.75 and $10.95 per share on an adjusted basis. Analysts were expecting 2025 sales of $90.98 billion and earnings of $10.56 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
J&J’s fourth-quarter sales were $22.52 billion, up 5.3% from a year earlier and beating analyst expectations of $22.42 billion, according to LSEG data.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.04 per share in the quarter — which included a 22-cent charge related to the acquisition of medical device-maker V-Wave — down about 11% from a year earlier but beating analysts’ estimates of $2.01. per share
Quarterly sales of J&J’s cancer drugs rose 19% worldwide, including more than $3 billion for multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex, up 20.9% from a year earlier.
“Darzalex remains a pillar brand in terms of performance,” J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk said in an interview, noting that sales from Shockwave Medical also helped drive growth.
The company is fueling growth in its medical device unit through deals focused on heart health — including its $13.1 billion deal to acquire Shockwave Medical.
Shockwave generated $258 million in sales for the quarter and $564 million for the year, according to J&J.
J&J’s innovative medicine unit posted sales of $14.33 billion in the fourth quarter while its medtech unit generated $8.19 billion, up 4.4% and 6.7%, respectively, from a year ago.
Sales of J&J’s blockbuster psoriasis treatment Stelara fell 14.7% to $2.35 billion in the fourth quarter. Analysts had expected sales of $2.25 billion, according to LSEG data.
Closed copies of Stelara launched last year in Europe, Canada and some other markets. Several Stelara biosimilars are expected to launch in the US this year.
For the full year, Stellara brought in $10.36 billion in revenue, more than 18% of J&J’s total drug sales of $56.96 billion for 2024. Analysts were expecting sales of $10.59 billion.
Annual sales of the drug are expected to fall to about $7 billion this year.
