Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson reported third-quarter 2026 sales of $25,399 million on 13 October, up 5.9 percent from $23,993 million a year earlier 1.

Net earnings fell to $210 million from $5,152 million, after a $5.5 billion charge for the proposed ovarian talc settlement and about $1.0 billion of research expense from the Firefly Bio purchase 12.

Chief executive Joaquin Duato credited "the accelerating momentum of our focused portfolio" 1. Innovative Medicine sales rose 7.7 percent to $16,757 million, while MedTech rose 2.5 percent to $8,642 million 1.

The drug TREMFYA, for psoriasis and bowel disease, brought in $2,396 million against $1,424 million a year earlier, while STELARA, which now faces cheaper copies called biosimilars, fell to $716 million from $1,570 million 2.

The company raised its 2026 outlook and now expects reported sales of $101.2 billion at the midpoint and adjusted earnings per share of $11.10 1.

On 27 July the company announced a proposed settlement of ovarian talc claims, with a $5.5 billion commitment, conditioned on at least 95 percent of the remaining claims taking part 4. About 76,500 plaintiffs had direct talc claims as of 27 September, and the mesothelioma docket is not covered by the proposal 2.

Open questions are whether enough claimants join the talc settlement and how the planned spin-off of the Orthopaedics business, which the company expects to finish in mid-2027, will be structured 2.

Johnson & Johnson was incorporated in New Jersey in 1887 and is a holding company whose operating companies work in virtually all countries 3. It has about 138,200 employees and two business segments, Innovative Medicine (prescription drugs) and MedTech (devices for surgery, the heart, joints and eyes) 3.

The company separated its Consumer Health business, Kenvue, in August 2023, which left it with the two segments it has today, so the shape of the business changed in 2023 11.

The company still carried the cost of talc lawsuits, taking a charge of about $7.0 billion for talc matters in fiscal 2023 11. It kept a 9.5 percent stake in Kenvue until a debt-for-equity exchange completed in 2024, which cost $0.4 billion 113.

In 2024 sales rose 4.3 percent to $88.8 billion 12. The company bought Shockwave Medical on 31 May 2024, a maker of devices that break up hardened calcium in arteries, and Cardiovascular sales rose 21.4 percent to $7.7 billion 12.

In 2025 sales grew 6.0 percent to $94.2 billion, with volume adding 8.4 points and lower prices subtracting 3.1 points 3. The loss of STELARA sales to biosimilars cut worldwide growth by about 6.2 points 3.

Cancer medicines carried the year: Oncology sales rose 22.1 percent to $25,380 million, led by DARZALEX at $14,351 million 3. STELARA, once the largest immunology product, fell 41.3 percent to $6,078 million from $10,361 million 3.

The company filled the gap with deals, buying Intra-Cellular Therapies on 2 April 2025 for $14.5 billion, adding the brain medicine CAPLYTA, and Halda Therapeutics on 26 December 2025 2. The two deals cost $17.5 billion net of cash acquired 2.

Talc cases swung the results 2. After a third bankruptcy case was dismissed, the company reversed about $7.0 billion of its talc reserve in early 2025 2. Net earnings for the year were $26,804 million against $14,066 million a year earlier 3.

Sales by geography show the weight of the home market: United States companies sold $53.8 billion in 2025, up 6.9 percent, and international companies $40.4 billion, up 5.0 percent 3.

Research and development spending was $14,665 million in 2025, against $17,232 million a year earlier 3.

On 14 October 2025 the company said it intended to separate its Orthopaedics business, which made about $9.2 billion of sales in fiscal 2024 8. In the first nine months of 2026, sales were $74.8 billion, up 7.4 percent 2.

Innovative Medicine: the larger segment

Innovative Medicine makes prescription drugs for cancer, immune diseases, brain disorders, lung-artery disease, infections and heart and metabolic conditions 3. Its 2025 sales were $60.4 billion, up 6.0 percent, with $36.3 billion in the United States 3.

In the third quarter of 2026 the segment sold $16.8 billion, up 7.7 percent, and STELARA's decline cut its operational growth by about 6.9 points 2.

Cancer medicines

Oncology was the biggest area in the third quarter at $7,602 million, up 16.4 percent 2. DARZALEX, a multiple myeloma treatment, brought in $4,239 million, and the CAR-T cell therapy CARVYKTI $710 million 2.

Other lines were ERLEADA for prostate cancer at $1,023 million, RYBREVANT/LAZCLUZE for lung cancer at $320 million and IMBRUVICA at $563 million, which fell on share loss to competitors 2.

Immunology

Immunology sales were $4,221 million in the third quarter, up 1.3 percent, as TREMFYA's growth offset declines in STELARA, SIMPONI and REMICADE 2. TREMFYA treats plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis 3.

The newest launches sit in Other Immunology, which rose to $147 million from $12 million on uptake of IMAAVY and ICOTYDE in the United States 2.

Brain, lung and other medicines

Neuroscience sales were $2,375 million, up 17.3 percent, led by SPRAVATO for treatment-resistant depression at $624 million and CAPLYTA at $398 million 2. Pulmonary hypertension fell to $897 million as OPSUMIT/OPSYNVI dropped 35.7 percent 2.

MedTech: devices

MedTech makes products for heart rhythm treatment, heart support, joint replacement, surgery and eye care, and its 2025 sales were $33.8 billion, up 6.1 percent 3. The company expects to separate its Orthopaedics franchise 3.

By franchise in 2025, Surgery sold $10.1 billion, Orthopaedics $9.3 billion, Cardiovascular $8.9 billion and Vision $5.5 billion 3. Electrophysiology reached $5,634 million, Abiomed heart pumps $1,751 million and Shockwave $1,146 million 3.

In the third quarter Cardiovascular sales were $2,307 million, up 4.3 percent, though Pulsed Field Ablation catheters faced competitive pressure 2. The company said the FDA authorized its OTTAVA robotic surgical system 1.

Plants and people

The company runs 63 manufacturing facilities covering about 10.4 million square feet, 22 of them in the United States and 22 in Europe 3. It generally seeks to own, rather than lease, its manufacturing sites 3.

Joaquin Duato became chief executive in 2022 and chairman in 2023, and Joseph Wolk has been chief financial officer since 2018 3. Tom Cavanaugh joined the Executive Committee on 1 September 2026 as head of Innovative Medicine, succeeding the retiring Jennifer Taubert 7.

Rivals and current problems

The annual report names no rivals, but it says the company competes with companies of all sizes, and that sales often fall after patents end and copies enter 3.

A securities class action filed in February 2018 over talc is in expert discovery, and the Supreme Court declined the company's appeal in April 2026 2. A class action from December 2023 accuses Janssen of delaying STELARA biosimilars, and the class was certified in December 2025 2.

In June 2026 three relators filed an amended False Claims Act complaint against the company and DePuy Synthes, and the Justice Department declined to join the case 2. The company says it is defending itself 2.

The umbrella, in words

The brands are medicine names such as DARZALEX, TREMFYA and CAPLYTA and device names such as ATTUNE knees, ACUVUE contact lenses and Impella heart pumps 23.

Its subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 include Janssen Biotech, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Intra-Cellular Therapies, Abiomed, Shockwave Medical, DePuy Synthes, Biosense Webster and Ethicon 9. The exhibit says Johnson & Johnson is not a subsidiary of any other entity 9.

Companies it owns by purchase include Intra-Cellular, Halda Therapeutics (agreed and closed 26 December 2025) and Firefly Bio, bought for $1 billion in cash on 29 July 2026 25. It has a collaboration, an equity investment and an option to acquire Sail Biomedicines for $2.58 billion 6.

The largest holder on a Schedule 13G is Vanguard Capital Management, which reported 7.49 percent of the common stock as of 31 March 2026 10. Shareholders at the April 2026 meeting elected all 12 directors and did not approve a proposal for an independent board chair 13.

For 2026 the company expects adjusted operational sales growth of 6.4 to 6.8 percent and adjusted earnings per share of $11.05 to $11.15, with a midpoint of $11.10, raised from $11.04 in July 1.

Mr. Duato said the quarter's progress gives "clearer line of sight to double-digit growth by the end of the decade" 1.

The talc settlement calls for a first payment of no more than $3 billion in 2027, and no further payments are due before 2028 4. The company expects the Orthopaedics separation to be complete in mid-2027, and it recorded $0.4 billion of separation costs in the third quarter 2.

In the separation announcement the company said the standalone business would operate as DePuy Synthes under Namal Nawana, and that the parent would keep six growth areas: Oncology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular, Surgery and Vision 8.

The FDA has given RYBREVANT FASPRO priority review for advanced head and neck cancer, and the company announced two-year ICOTYDE psoriasis data in the quarter 1.

The company said biosimilars of SIMPONI entered the European market in the second quarter of 2026, with a possible United States entrant later in 2026, and that this will likely reduce its sales 2.

Talc payments depend on at least 95 percent of the remaining ovarian claims joining, and the company says the mesothelioma docket continues, with the total talc reserve at about $9.0 billion 2.

Intra-Cellular has patent suits pending against generic makers that filed to market versions of CAPLYTA before certain patents expire, and these cases began in March 2024 2.

The company expects 2026 operational sales of $100.5 billion to $100.9 billion, and it says it cannot predict the outcome of legal proceedings well enough to give guidance on a GAAP basis 1.

The company's stated capital priorities are R&D investment, annually increasing dividends, acquisitions and share repurchases 8.

Past

Johnson & Johnson's revenue grew from $72 billion in fiscal 2017 to $94 billion in fiscal 2025, a pace of 3.1% a year, rising in 8 of 9 years; the deepest fall was 5% from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022 Net income was positive in 10 of 10 filed years Over the three fiscal years to 2025, the diluted share count shrank about 3.0% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 19% of operating cash flow Officers and directors filed 29 sales and 1 purchase of their own stock in the year to 2026-09-30 1

Present

In the fiscal year ended 2025-12-28, Johnson & Johnson reported revenue of $94 billion and a profit of $27 billion Return on equity was about 33 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money, and gross profitability was about 32 cents per dollar of everything the company owns Leverage was about 59 cents per dollar of assets, and the share count was unchanged over the year 21

Johnson & Johnson's revenue of $94 billion ranks in the top 1% by size among 315 graded names in its industry family; a net margin of 28.5% ranks in the top 10%; revenue growth of 5.6% a year over the last three filed years ranks in the bottom 48% Shareholders' equity was $81.54 billion as of 2025-12-28 Book value per share was $33.57 on 2.43 billion diluted average shares for fiscal 2025 13

The chief executive, Joaquin Duato, has been filing under that title since 2022-01-19, 4.8 years; the 23 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 5.9 years 1

Future

A quarterly report for the quarter ending 2026-10-31 is due by 2026-12-10 An annual report for the fiscal year ending 2027-01-03 is due by 2027-03-04 4

Cash of $20 billion against debt of $39 billion leaves -9.9% of assets as net cash, in the bottom 10% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 20.9% of revenue, in the top 12%; a gross margin of 67.9% ranks in the bottom 47%; research spending of 15.6% of revenue ranks in the bottom 20% Revenue grew 5.6% a year over the last three filed years against 3.1% over all 10, speeding up in the top 25% of its family; the newest year grew 6.1%; research spending grew 1.2% a year in the bottom 49%; capital spending grew 6.4% a year in the top 32% 1

How the company operates

Johnson & Johnson's revenue in fiscal 2025 came from Innovative Medicine at 64% and Med Tech at 36%; by geography, the United States accounted for 57% and outside the United States for 43% Innovative Medicine generated $60 billion and Med Tech generated $34 billion; both lines grew against the year before 21

New moves

On 2026-10-13, Johnson & Johnson filed a Form 8-K reporting results released under item 2.02 4