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Key Takeaways
- Johnson & Johnson shares slipped following the release of a first-quarter earnings report that included sales figures below estimates, but better-than-expected income.
- The company also increased its dividend, marking 62 straight years it has done so.
- Johnson & Johnson narrowed its full-year guidance, projecting increases to sales and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of about 5% and 7%, respectively.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) posted a mixed first-quarter earnings Tuesday, and raised its dividend while narrowing full-year guidance for 2024.
Sales narrowly missed expectations, with Johnson & Johnson posting $21.38 billion in total sales, shy of the $21.44 billion analysts expected, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The healthcare technology and pharmaceutical giant also reported adjusted net income of $6.58 billion, or $2.71 per share, beating estimates of $6.39 billion and $2.62 per share, respectively.
Revenue increased 2.3% from last year’s first-quarter mark of $20.89 billion, with adjusted income and EPS rising 3.8% and 12.4%, respectively, from last year’s figures of $6.34 billion and $2.41 per share.
The company also increased its dividend for the 62nd straight year, bumping it 4.2% to $1.24 per share from $1.19 per share, for a yearly payout of $4.96. The next quarterly dividend will be paid June 4 to shareholders of record on May 21, Johnson & Johnson said.
Johnson & Johnson narrowed the range of its full-year sales guidance to between $88 billion and $88.4 billion from the $87.8 billion to $88.6 billion range it projected in January. Adjusted EPS was also narrowed slightly, to a range of $10.57 to $10.72 from $10.55 to $10.75.
Tuesday’s report kicks off Johnson & Johnson’s first full fiscal year after completing its split last year that separated its consumer brands like Band-Aid, Tylenol, and Listerine from the company’s two other sectors, a change it first announced in 2021. The consumer brands became Kenvue (KVUE), while the Johnson & Johnson name was retained for the medical technology and pharmaceutical divisions.
Johnson & Johnson’s sales increased 7.8% in the U.S. compared to the first quarter of 2023, while international sales fell about 3.4%. The company has spent billions on a number of acquisitions already in 2024, including Ambrx Biopharma and Shockwave Medical as Johnson & Johnson works to expand its offerings in the cancer drug and cardiovascular sectors, respectively.
Johnson & Johnson stock slipped about 2% to $144.60 as of 10:08 a.m. ET, and is down almost 10% so far this year.