Johnson & Johnson bullish on 2026 outlook after deal with US administration

Johnson & Johnson’s fourth-quarter sales beat expectations, led by strong growth for several newer cancer treatments. Sales are projected to be in a range of between $100bn to €101bn (€85bn to €86bn) this year. Picture: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

Johnson & Johnson’s fourth-quarter sales beat expectations, led by strong growth for several newer cancer treatments, while issuing higher-than-expected 2026 guidance despite a recent deal with the US administration to give discounts on some of the company’s key drugs.

Sales are projected to be in a range of between $100bn to €101bn (€85bn to €86bn) this year — above the average of analyst estimates. The company sees adjusted earnings of as much as $11.63 a share for the year. J&J said fourth-quarter earnings of $2.46 a share excluding certain items were reduced by 10c due to the company’s $3.05bn (€2.6bn) deal to buy Halda Therapeutics.

Johnson & Johnson employs more than 6,000 people in Ireland across 10 sites across five counties — Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, and Mayo. 

As the first drugmaker to report earnings, J&J is viewed as a bellwether for the industry. The company’s healthy 2026 guidance suggests pharmaceutical companies are poised to do well under Donald Trump, even if they slash prices to appease the US president.

In an interview, chief financial officer Joe Wolk said the concessions J&J had to make to get to the drug pricing deal it announced January 8 added up to hundreds of millions of dollars. He declined to go into specifics because the deal is confidential. “It is not trivial,” Mr Wolk said.

Nonetheless, J&J’s newer drugs are growing steadily and giving the company confidence it can offer guidance that’s above market expectations despite the impact of the pricing agreement. Cancer treatments are a big driver of sales, even as those of Stelara, an older blockbuster drug for psoriasis, decline rapidly due to competition from biosimilars.

Six different cancer drugs reported sales growth of 20% or more in the quarter, led by Darzalex, the company’s mega-blockbuster treatment for bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma. Its sales were up 26.6%, while those of another multiple myeloma drug, the cell therapy Carvykti, surged over 65%.

Overall sales grew 9.1% in the quarter, helped by favourable currency conversions. Sales growth was 7.1% excluding the impact of currency translation.

J&J is one of 17 pharmaceutical companies that received letters from Mr Trump in July demanding they lower drug prices to match those in other wealthy nations. All but one have now cut deals with the administration, promising to lower prices for the Medicaid program and offer drug discounts directly to the public on TrumpRx, in exchange for avoiding pharmaceutical tariffs.

J&J is also trying to concentrate more on higher-growth areas in medical devices. In October, it said it planned to separate its orthopedics unit, DePuy Synthes, from the rest of the company within 18 to 24 months to focus on faster-growing device areas. Operating in Cork since 1997, DePuy employs around 1,700 people in Ringaskiddy.

Bloomberg