Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) shares are up today on second-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast.
Shares of JNJ rose more than 5% to $159.50 apiece in morning trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was up slightly.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company posted profits of $5.1 billion. That amounts to $1.96 per share on sales of $25.5 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The company posted a 6.9% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 6.3%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share totaled $2.80. That landed 18¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts projected sales of $24.6 billion.
Johnson & Johnson MedTech posted revenues of $7.9 billion, marking a 12.9% improvement year over year. Growth drivers for the segment included electrophysiology products in interventional solutions and trauma in orthopedics. Wound closure products, biosurgery offerings and contact lenses also contributed.
The company said in a news release that the $16.6 billion acquisition of Abiomed contributed to 4.8% growth.
“Our robust performance in the second quarter and first half of 2023 is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our colleagues around the world,” said Joaquin Duato, chair and CEO. “We are entering the back half of the year from a position of strength with numerous catalysts, including becoming a two-sector company focused on Pharmaceutical and MedTech innovation.”
For the full year, Johnson & Johnson now expects to log adjusted EPS between $10.70 and $10.80. That marks a 10¢ increase from the range of $10.60 to $10.70 that the company set in April. The company also increased its sales guidance to between $98.8 billion and $99.8 billion. It previously expected between $97.9 billion and $98.9 billion in revenue.
The analyst’s view
BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman wrote in a report that he found the second-quarter Johnson & Johnson results “encouraging.”
“Specifically within MedTech, JNJ expects a stable procedural and staffing environment with normal seasonality throughout the balance of the year with the potential for accelerated VBP and OUS headwinds in 2H23,” Zimmerman wrote.